Re: [foxboro] V8/Mesh/FBM232 (from: Network Issues ? or AW issues?)

com/dcom may be dying but matrikon has a solution which bypasses dcom and
allows opc to operate on seperate machines as well as networks. Its call
OPCtunneler and solves most headaches and they have great support. Any
guesses where Foxboro got their opc server from???? Thanks Matrikon....

-----Original Message-----
From: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
tom.vandewater@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 2:26 PM
To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [foxboro] V8/Mesh/FBM232 (from: Network Issues ? or AW
issues?)


William,
        Excellent reply.  Thanks for the feedback from the FeedForward
guy ;)  I was curious to know how much Fieldbus Scan Loading an FBM232
might add to the FCM segment it hangs on.  It seems like you would have
to be careful not to try to pull too much data through at too high a
rate.  After all, the 200 series fieldbus is still limited to 2MB/S
RS485 even though the FCM100E segment can talk back to the ZCP's at
100MB/S Ethernet across the MESH. Are there other 200 series FBM's on
the same fieldbus segment as the FBM232?=20
        You mention communicating to multiple PLC's via Modbus TCP and I
wondered if the FBM232's Modbus Ethernet port is connected to a sitewide
network using the sites own TCP/IP internal addresses and subnet, or is
it direct connected to the PLC's via a hub to the remote PLC's running
default private addresses, (198.162.1.1...)?
        We had an AWXP with control running Modbus TCP IO Gate at
Ver7.1.  To me, Modbus TCP seems like a much
easier/better/robust/maintainable solution than OPC for passing data
from one server/network to another.  OPC DA looks like a dead end as
Microsoft de-emphasizes COM/DCOM, (can you say ABANDONS), and OPC UA may
never get off the ground because MS may never be able to define workable
Web Services to build on.
        We have been testing a Mesh network connected to a CBLAN network
via an ATS and it seems to run reliably but only using it in a 24/7/365
real-life mode will convince me.  Glad to hear you, (or one of your
customers), are already doing that.
Thanks Again,
Tom VandeWater
Dow Corning Corp.

-----Original Message-----
From: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of William C Ricker
Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 2:16 PM
To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [foxboro] V8/Mesh/FBM232 (from: Network Issues ? or AW issues?)



>I asked a few weeks ago if anyone has any FBM232's in service
>doing Modbus, OPC, or FoxGuard interfacing.  No one answered so ...

Musta missed that one. =20

We installed a Mesh/AIM*/Batch system a couple of months back.  It is=20
up and running, and includes an FBM232 with Modbus TCP to a TI PLC and
an A-B SLC.  That FBM has run without incident since installation.  In
building the application, there was a question or two about the bit/byte

mapping codes that go on the block addressing; perhaps they don't work=20
quite as the documentation implies, perhaps we don't quite understand
what the book tries to say.  This was, however, resolved.

>From our point of view, that FBM is solid and good to go.

The Mesh net is four AW70s, 2 CP270s and an ATS to another 70 based,
nodebus system.  We had teething problems with ATS; it was delivered
to us before the software was released.  Later software proved=20
workable, and when it was still in our shop.

I haven't kept close to any issues since shipment, installation and
startup, but understand problems were minimal in every area except
Batch.  The new batch package apparently has some growing pains.

After initial startup we have had a single network problem.  On one
AW, the binding of network adaptors went funny, so the machine was
trying to go to the Mesh through the wrong adaptor.  We never found
why this happened, though on its face it looks like somebody hit
the wrong button while looking at network setup.

In building the project we had two significant problems.  First, the
calculations for estimating ZCP270 capacity were wrong.  These had
been done by Foxboro sales and turned out to be too rosey.  We added
a second CP.

Second, IACC.  It has no path to bring in a data base with a large
number of Sequence blocks.  We found that all sequence source would
have had to be retyped into IACC.  We had hundreds to deal with.
Hence, the system reverted to CIO Configurator and has been installed
that way.

In summary, this midrange system has done quite nicely with the Mesh
and V8.x software, with the exception of IACC and Batch. It is running
process 24x7 for a couple of months now, and reliably.  The FBM232 has
been problem free.  We have no trouble recommending this stuff to other
customers.

Regards,
William C Ricker
FeedForward, Inc.


=20
=20
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