connecting to compactlogix L32E

[parham 0]

Hi everyone I am new in allen bradley plc and I will appreciate if somebody answer my question There is a Compactlogix L32E that its controller is connected to HMI (panel view) through a hub. I want to connect to the PLC controller through Ethernet port or from one port of the hub. I know that I should have IP address of controller. How can I find its IP address (I have no RS232 cable)? Do I have to assign a new IP address for controller or there is a way that I can find out the current IP address for controller? The Ethernet cable for connecting should be crossover, no matter if I want to connect through hub or directly to the Ethernet port of controller?

[PasTech 1]

There are a number of ways to find device IP addresses. One utility I use is Angry IP Scanner (google it, it's fairly popular). This requires that you know the first 2 octets of the IP address (192.168.xxx.xxx). If the PanelView as an Allen-Bradley unit, you should be able to find the IP address of the PanelView and the PLC in: Terminal Settings > Networks and Communications > RSLinx Enterprise Communications. This path is from a unit with, most likely, older firmware than the one you will be looking at, so it may be a bit different. This also assumes you can get to the PanelView's configuration screen. As far as the cable connection, if you use the hub, use a standard ethernet cable (not a cross-over).

[Ken Roach 194]

Get a serial cable and a null-modem adapter and you should be able to connect right up over RS-232. Most modern computers will auto-detect and adapt to the type of Ethernet port you're connecting to. But in general, you use a straight-through Ethernet "Patch" cable when connecting your computer to a hub or switch, and a "crossover" cable when connecting directly to a device. Another method for determining the IP address of an unknown device on a small known-scope system is to use Wireshark to listen to the traffic or for ARP packets when the device joins the network (cycling power usually gives you a good starting point).