Can Not Query

[petersrj]

I have a customer system that I need some help with.  I have a DL450 PLC with an ECOM 100 along with a Terminator IO system.  We have a Windows Server 2008 system (with two network cards) where we run our own software based on the SDK.  All devices can be pinged without problem and our software runs and collects data without issue except for calls to the EtherQuery.  Likewise, NetEdit and DNLoader have issues:

DNLoader - When Ethernet is selected, it comes up with No Device Found

NetEdit  -  Finds no PLCs with Defualt Adapter.  When choosing the correct Adapter, NetEdit Crashes.

The PLC can be accessed with our software and the Terminator can be accessed with a Web Browser without problem.  On the server, I have made the PLC Network highest priority.  The PLC Network is in the 192.168.1.xxx range and technically has no gateway.

Are there ports that need to be opened for Broadcast messages?  Any help is appreciated.

[plcnut]

Was this a working system that is now broken?
Or is this a new system that is not yet working?

I would also guess that if you are running your proprietary software based on the Host SDK, then NetEdit will *probably* not run at the same time.
You should probably run NetEdit all by itself to set up your devices, and then launch your app.

[petersrj]

This is a new system that was running properly here but is now on their computer network.  I had an issue with a Terminator module and I wanted to check the base configuration.  When I went to do that, is when I discovered that NetEdit would not run.  I then tested DNLoader as well.  I have turned off all of my software and the issue persists.  We have several systems out there where all the software plays nice together. 

My software works fine for calls to a specific IP Address; however, the broadcast message does not work correctly and this is the call from both NetEdit and DNLoader.

[Controls Guy]

Is there a switch or router between the PC and PLC?   If addressed but not broadcast messages work, it sounds like that might be the issue.   Switches don't generally forward broadcast messages.

[BobO]

The issue is that newer versions of Windows are somewhat arbitrary on which port they send broadacasts to. The pick-a-NIC feature apparently has a bug (this is the second time I've heard this) but we haven't been able to duplicate it to fix it. This is what caused your NetEdit crash. Changing the priority doesn't seem to be helpful, only selecting the correct NIC, which is apparently crashing. DNLoader was never updated to support pick-a-NIC, although I'm pretty sure it would be crashing too.

I'm certain we have an FAQ on this multi-NIC issue, but generally the answers involve disabling the offending NIC long enough to do what you need. For older systems, using IPX protocol was a good answer, but newer Windows system don't support IPX.

I'll locate the FAQ and post the link back here.