The EQ7000 was designed to allow Ethernet/IP devices to communicate to nodes on the DH+ network. The purpose of the EQ7000 is to eliminate the need for a ControlLogix with Ethernet/IP and DHRIO modules in order to bridge DH+ to Ethernet/IP.
Currently it is only possible to send messages to DH+ devices via Ethernet/IP and not able to browse the DH+ network via Ethernet/IP using RSLinx.
Sending Messages to DH+ devices
To communicate to nodes on the DH+ network using Ethernet/IP, the procedure is identical to using a ControlLogix Ethernet/IP to DH+ Bridge. When using a device like a SLC 5/05 to access the DH+ network, the message must be setup to use MultiHop addressing. Below is an example of how to setup the MultiHop portion of the message being sent to the EQ7000 to address node 7 on the DH+ network.
As can be seen, the message is setup like it is communicating to a ControlLogix Bridge. When communicating to the EQ7000 use a Backplane slot number of 1. Communicating to the EQ7000 using a ControlLogix has a different setup. The setup of the message is very straight forward. All that is needed is to enter the path that directs the message out the Ethernet/IP module to the EQ7000 and use the DH+ Communication Method to specify the node. The image below shows how to setup the message instruction to communicate to node 7 on the DH+ network through the EQ7000 at 192.168.2.75.
If using a SCADA or DCS software application to poll for data, setup the message as though it is communicating through a ControlLogix Bridge.
Communicating via AB Ethernet
The EQ7000 can accept messages sent by the AB Ethernet protocol. Therefore devices capable of communicating using AB Ethernet can access devices on the DH+ network.
Browsing specific nodes on the DH+ network is possible using RSLinx. To do this, an Ethernet driver must be configured in RSLinx with the IP address of the EQ7000 mapped to each node that exists on the network.
Sending Messages to DH+ devices
To communicate to nodes on the DH+ network using AB Ethernet, remote messaging must be used. Using local messaging will only allow communication to a single device located at node 0 on the DH+.
When using remote messaging, the source and destination link ID’s are not needed and can be left as 0. The destination address (or remote address) will be the value of the DH+ node address. Please note that DH+ uses octal notation and the application that is being used to setup the message may use decimal notation.
Below is an example of how to setup a remote message in a SLC 5/05 to read data from node 7 on the DH+ network through the EQ7000 at 192.168.2.75.
Browsing DH+ Network Using RSLinx
It is possible to browse known nodes on the DH+ network with the EQ7000 using the AB Ethernet driver in RSLinx. To do this, follow the steps below.
1. Open the Configure Drivers window and create a new Ethernet Devices driver.
2. After creating the new driver, the configuration window for station mapping should appear. Enter the node address of the DH+ device in Station column and the IP address of the EQ7000 in the Host Name column. Repeat this step if there are multiple nodes to be browsed.
3. Once all the nodes are entered, enter the DH+ node address of the EQ7000 in the Station column where the Host Name is Driver. Below is an example showing DH+ nodes 3 and 7 being mapped to 192.168.2.75.
All Station numbers in station table mapping must be Decimal not Octal.
4. Once the driver is configured click OK to continue. Now that the driver is created, right click on the driver in the RSWho window and select Properties.
5. In the Properties window, click the Advanced Browse Settings tab. Check the Force network type to option and select Data Highway Plus. Below is an example of how the properties will be set. Click OK to close the window.
6. Now the driver is setup to browse the nodes specified in the driver configuration, highlight the driver that was just created and make sure Autobrowse is checked. The nodes should now appear as shown below.
In case your RSLINX version is any of the 3.6x you will not see the advanced tab, therefore you have two options.
A - Update RSLINX to latest version or any version after 3.70, that has the Advanced tab to force DH+ or DH485 network type.
B - Or have a separate driver for each PLC that you are trying to communicate with, but we recommend the 1st option which is to update RSLINX.