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julek27

NS5 ethernet connection with PC annoying problem

22 posts in this topic

Hello, I can't find resolution for my strange problem with NS5 panel and communication with computer via ethernet. Few days everything is ok, but 2 times in a week NS5 hungs up and i can't control via www (ping also don't work) PT must be restarted to establish communication via ethernet. Is any function to schedule restart NS5 for example every day at night? This problem is very annoying. Anyone knows how to resolve it? julek27.

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Do you have the system memory ($SB, $SW) mapped into the PLC??? You can monitor the $SB0 bit (run pulse) with two timers, one for On state, one for OFF state. If $SB0 stops pulsing for a few seconds, use a PLC output to cycle the power to the NS5. It is documented in section 2-4-1 of the NS programming manual (V073).

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Thank you for Your quick answer. I'm only user machine with that NS and PLC. So i'm trying to help myself. I thought that is very simple scheduler for this. If You can guide me how to do it i will be very happy. Now everytime on error i must drive 50km to restart panel:) I'm not specialist in PLC. julek27.

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Some questions: 1) What model PLC is the NS5 connected to. 2) Do you have the programming software for the NS5 and PLC?? 3) Did you install the system or was it installed by someone else??

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It needs to be established if the PLC or NS is hanging. When the NS5 'hangs', can you connect to the PLC via ethernet still? I have had occasions where the NS appears to hang, but it is actually the PLC E/IP unit. I monitor comms in the PLC as mendon suggests & if the system bit is not pulsing for more than 1x minute, I reset the E/IP module. I have not got to the bottom of this, but suspicion is that it is due to the regular interrupts that are running & the speed that they are running at. Please check your PLC comms next time it hangs. Re-booting automatically like that is not a good solution..

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When you say www, do you mean the webserver interface? we have recently set one up, that is in its infancy, via a GSM modem. I set this up & got working all fine, then left site & now it is not working. I have checked port no's etc in the modem & all is as left, but NS is not responding. I am suspecting that it has also 'hung' to the Web-server connection & waiting for a response, but I dont know for sure. I do know that the PLC still see's the NS as the system bit is pulsing, so using the failure detection method we have suggested may not work. I am going to install a relay to reboot the NS from the PLC, as I can still see this. I am also going to try & think of another way to monitor this for auto-reboot, but not too sure at present...

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Yes i mean webserver interface. NS and PLC local function is OK. I think relay will be the most simple resolution. I hook relay with alarm system. When webserver crash i send SMS to alarm system to cut power for NS for a while.

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How do you know webserver interface has lost function, only by test of connection? Then if you cannot connect, you initiate reset via SMS function? That is something that I may do as well, instead of from PLC. Does reset solve problem every time? What settings do you have in webserver interface, & maybe NS system version?

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Test connection will not work in my example because NS is behind the router. Only when i can't connect via webserver then i will send SMS. I don't know now how it works i will do that before end of week but this must work every time. Always after reset NS webserver is back.

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Sorry, I did not mean the test connection method within CX-Designer, rather yourself testing the webserver connection.. Are you only resetting the NS?

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Yes i plan reset only NS. When connection is lost i always reset NS in system menu by changing whatever and it works.

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Ahh, so you are always resetting locally at terminal at moment, no other method?

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Yes only locally, i tested few minutes ago that relay for cutting power to NS for a while will be working. Maybe there is any other idea but i don't know. julek27.
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I can't help with the webserver part of the question. I have never used the NS webserver. As a matter of fact, I stopped using NS terminals altogether about 5 years ago because of similar issues with data logging. If you want to reset the NS5 you'll need a relay wired to a PLC output. I suggest using a NC relay contact so that you have to energize the relay to reset the NS5. You will need 3 timers in the PLC program. Two of them are needed to check the $SB0 pulse to insure that it is cycling. They should each be set at about 10 seconds. The third timer is needed to get past the NS5 startup time. It needs to be fairly long (maybe 5 minutes) and must be reset by PLC startup (P_First_Cycle) and the by NS reset relay being cycled. I currently have one system running a similar setup because of problems with the data log causing the NS5 to crash.
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Was it literally crashing, or performance slowing down? I have never seen a NS crash.. Were you also logging to a CF?

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The particular application that I had trouble with was an NS5 which was set up to take 2 minutes of data once per hour. As I recall it was about 32 floating point values that it sampled every 5 seconds. It worked OK for about two years then started completely locking up as soon as data logging was enabled. It was a total lockup with $SB0 stuck and $SB1 on. I tried reloading the program, updating firmware, and almost everything else but nothing worked. I finally replaced it with a Maple Systems HMI. I still have that NS5 and it works fine as long as I don't try to write the data log to the CF card. It can read the CF card OK.

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Left field, I assume you also tried replacing the CF? I know that they say the CF has a certain no of writes, but I thought that was due to the CF itself, I wonder if it is also the writer...?

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Yep! That's actually the first thing I tried. (several different cards) The CF cards are known to be flaky and also getting to be very hard to find. That's another reason why I don't use the NS terminals anymore.

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Webserver settings are default. Maybe problems are in java script? I didn't turn off it. Unfortunately there is no data logging.

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From which city are you - julek27. I could give you some support in PLC programming

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Hello everybody, My solution with relay on power line to NS5 which is connected to alarm system works great. julek27.

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Any new information on this issue? General question -> What are the potential causes for the NS panel to stop replying to pings?

 

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