Compact Logix connected to Ethernet device. How does the PLC know the connection is good?

[RFurey 0]

Hardware 1768ENBT Ethernetnet Module 1768L43 Processor SMC Ethernet valve manifold EX250-SEN1 The valve manifold is configured in Logix as a Generic Ethernet Device. The valve manifold has a couple status bits in the input area, but they only tell if the sensor and soleniod power is adequate. I'd like to know if there is any way for the PLC to know if the Ethernet connection is good, on the Tag level, something I could use in my ladder logic. Can the PLC be made to do something similar to 'pinging' the IP address and set a Tag if it gets a reply?

[Eddie Willers 2]

The status of the logical Connection between the controller and the I/O device in the network can be read using the Get System Variable (GSV) instruction to access the EntryStatus value for each I/O adapter. The EntryStatus value is encoded in bits 12-15, so you can bit-shift, divide, or mask to interpret them. I recommend just running these GSVs on a repeating timer or in a periodic task, since they do require a bit of system resource to execute.

[RFurey 0]

Ok, it works well. Thanks!