EtherNet/IP connectivity now available at device level

Rockwell Automation has launched a versatile EtherNet/IP communications auxiliary. The new module, an EtherNet/IP-to-DeviceNet link, allows products that sit on a DeviceNet network (e.g., Bulletin 193 E3 Plus Overload Relays or 825-P electronic overload relays) to easily communicate with EtherNet/IP-based scanners. The device allows up to six DeviceNet-based units to be scanned via implicit messaging and can bridge explicit messaging for all nodes on a DeviceNet network.

07/11/2011 11:19:45

The EtherNet/IP communications auxiliary uses an internal web server to configure the module, the DeviceNet network and DeviceNet-connected units that fully support the Parameter Object. It is available as a single Ethernet port or dual Ethernet port module with RJ-45 ports to connect to Ethernet cable, meeting CAT5 or above. Rockwell Automation offers a wide variety of Allen-Bradley Ethernet patch cables with its Bulletin 1585 line of Ethernet cables.

The dual-port 193-DNENCATR Module also supports a Ring Ethernet topology in which all Ethernet nodes are wired in series with one another. It can be used in the Rockwell Automation’s Device Level Ring (DLR) as a slave device in which the EtherNet/IP network will still continue to communicate, even in the event that one of the network lines is disrupted.

Both devices support a Star Ethernet topology in which all Ethernet nodes wire back to a central Ethernet switch, hub, or router. Rockwell Automation also offers a line of managed and unmanaged Allen-Bradley Ethernet Switches with its Stratix range.