Industrial Automation Knowledge Base

Issue MQTT, used for IIOT object communication, mainly uses JSON to encode information. This document will show you how EcoStruxure Automation Expert can handle JSON strings. Resolution Understand JavaScript Object Notation and use the function blocs available in  EcoStruxure Automation Expert to create and parse JSON strings. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue The purpose of this document is to look at how and why devices using the Ethernet/IP protocol need to be managed at a switch level and how these simple settings can help improve system performance. Resolution Please review the document below. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue Programming explicit requests in EcoStruxure Control Expert requires care to ensure they execute correctly. Resolution The attached document explains how to program blocks, like READ_VAR and WRITE_VAR using a technique known as a State Machine. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is an industrial computer that is adapted for the control of manufacturing processes. Given the central role that it plays, it has been a preferred target of industrial control system attackers. ICS (or Industrial Control System) security is growing in importance as cyber-attacks increasingly focus on physical processes for either ransom or to cause harm to critical production systems. The main objective of cybersecurity is to protect information and physical assets from cyberattacks, data breaches, and identity theft, as well as to manage risks. This document aims to guide you on how to set up and configure a secure connection between EcoStruxure Control Expert and the Modicon M580 controller. Resolution The Modicon M580 controller uses HTTPS as its secure connection. HTTPS today uses Transport Layer Security or TLS. TLS is a network protocol that establishes an encrypted connection to an authenticated peer over an untrusted network. TLS is a direct replacement for SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), and both protocols serve the same purpose. With this technology, HTTPS or HTTPS via USB communication on the M580 CPU can be implemented to create a secure and encrypted connection via the engineering/programming link. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Lexium Cobot supports Socket communication to interact with accessories, PLCs or PC applications. This article describes the different instructions, their parameters usage and testing.

Issue When it comes to dealing with IIoT solutions with EAE, NETIO Basic Function Block is one of the most useful to handle interactions with cloud services. However, the help file does not elaborate in detail how to use it. Resolution Understand how NETIO is to be used for a HTTP Post with an example application. We will also get to see how the response should be handled.   Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Want to communication with a Modicon M262 with EcoStruxure Machine SCADA Expert?  Review this article and find out how!

Want to know what the requirements and the process for installing the EcoStruxure Augmented Operator Advisor Local Builder?

Issue With the standard real-time data retrieval from controllers using Node Red or EcoStruxure Operator Terminal Expert, we must add Modbus addresses to Unity Pro/EcoStruxure Control Expert variables. This increases the deployment time and effort considering that there may be iterations leading to the final variable list. Since Modbus deals natively with bytes, and the Modbus nodes generally provide data in 16-bit numbers (int, word), they must be further converted to 32-bit types using additional nodes or JS functions. Bit extraction from words also need separate nodes. Often WiFi media is used to connect the EcoStruxure Augmented Operator Advisor App on a tablet to the EcoStruxure Augmented Operator Advisor runtime. The WiFi network and/or WiFi devices may not be secure. Hence, these must be placed in an untrusted zone separated from the trusted SCADA+Controller zone by a firewall. Incoming connections from untrusted zones to trusted zones should be avoided. Outgoing connections from the trusted zone to untrusted zones can be allowed and must be monitored. To protect the controller from accidental/malicious Modbus commands, a deep packet inspection firewall (E.g. Tofino) is required. Resolution As a proof-of-concept, this article proposes to write real-time data from CItect SCADA to the EcoStruxure Augmented Operator Advisor Runtime via HTTP/json commands. This approach can mitigate the issues described above. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.  

Issue Troubleshooting industrial machinery can be time consuming. Operators on the factory floor often take more time to troubleshoot and execute maintenance tasks than what their production managers would like to see. The need to call a remote technician to assist is desired and industries are looking for ways to achieve this. Resolution See attached file. Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Schneider Electric.