NETWORKS OF RS LINUX

Overview.
To communicate with the electronic system and machines, various protocol and
drives and communication protocol defined by the industries such as RS-
232(i.e., the communication occurs between monitor and CPU). RS-232, is a
serial communication standard develop by the Telecommunication Industry
Association. RS 485 (i.e., use the 0-5 V signal to transmit the data). In RS-485,
duplex communication system is used in which multiple devices on the same bus
can communication in both the direction. Ethernet/IP protocol (i.e., the
ethernet communication method) which is the most common and basic
communication method used in the industries. SCADA systems which
communications are based on 61850 protocols. All the protocol, communication
methods, types of cable, distance of cabling for reliable communications are
defines by the members of IEEE. Any PLC in the world, no matter which brand it
is need a communication method to work in industry. PLC (make: Allen Bradley)
has various communication methods which are listed below.
1. Ethernet.
2. Serial DF1
3. DH+
4. DH-485
5. Remote I/O
6. Serial DH-485
7. ControlNet.
8. Device Net.

1. DH-485 Network.
DH-485 port can be found in the chassis of SLC 500 processor. It cannot directly
communicate with the DH-485 network. It needs to be connected with 1747 AIC-
link coupler.

DH-485 PORT

Figure 1. Example of DH-485 port

There are 6 pins in the DH-485 port. They are 1) Earth 2) Shield 3) Signal Ground
4) Data-A 5) Data-B 6) Termination. To terminated each node, jumper wire is
connected between pin 5 and 6 due to which one can eliminate the impedance
build in the circuit.
The communication is setup between salve and the master device. Master
device is can control the salve device. It can also ask for the data at any given
point of time or on the specific time as per the configuration set by the operator.
This network is divided in two part which are full duplex and half duplex.
Typical configurations: -
1. FULL DUPLEX (point to point).
• Maximum 1 SLC node can be connected.
2. FULL DUPLEX (network).
• Maximum 31 SLC node can be connected.
3. HALF DUPLEX (Local mode)
• Maximum 31 SLC node can be connected.
4. HALF DUPLEX (Remote mode).
• Maximum 254 SLC node can be connected.
5. HALF DUPLEX (salve to salve communication mode).
• RSL Linux is used for communication.
The user device can communicate with the processor of the PLC using DH-485
communication mode. To able to connect between user device and processor,
1747 AIC link coupler is used and it is connected with the cable type of 1747-
C11, 1747-C10 and 1747-C13.

Figure 2. Cable type - 1747-C11

The Maximum cable length required to connect with salve and the master
device is the 1219 M with the 32 units connected simultaneously.
 2. DeviceNet network.

DeviceNet is application-level protocol used in the automation industries.

It is a communication tool that allow anyone to logically talk between plc
and major control device such as motors, conveyors, flowmeters etc. It
was originally developed by the Allen-Bradley. DeviceNet uses the
controller area network that handles all the messaging between
controller and the device. The connections can be established by
providing the connection IDs for the nodes.

There are three different types of baud rate available in DeviceNet 125
kbps which the regular baud rate, 250 kbps and 500 kbps. The baud rate
is dependent on the type of cable and the length of cable. There are three
types of data cable used according to baud rate i.e., flat cable, thick cable
and thin cable.

Table 1. Cabling Distance

Maximum Distance
Baud rate
Flat cable Thick cable Thin cable
125 kbps 420 m 500 m 100 m
250 kbps 200 m 250 m 100 m
500 kbps 75 m 100 m 100 m

By using DeviceNet, we can connect 64 SLC node at a time. The termination

resistor is also used in the DeviceNet to reflect the signal/noise. It is important
to choose the correct value of termination resistor which can match the
impedance of the cable and the device.
 3. DH+ Network: -

The full form of DH+ is “DATA HIGHWAY PLUS”. The computer and the
processor the cabled with the Local Area Network also known as “LANs”
to transmit and receive the data. On the DH+ network many computers
and other machines can be connected and used simultaneously. The
typical DH+ network is shown below.

Figure 3. DATA HIGHWAY PLUS NETWORK

DH+ has the most flexible cabling system, where user can design the cabling
system. The main part is the Trunkline which is the centre line also known as the
bus connects the all the device which are on network. The nodes and the
location define the length of the trunk line. The approximate trunk line length is
3050 m. The cable used in the trunk line is Belden 9463 twin-axial cable.
Furthermore, Dropline cabling is used which connect the individual
device/Nodes to the Trunkline. The cable length should be more than 3 m is
recommended by the Allen Bradley. Then the station connector is used which
is connects the drop line to the trunk line and also connect the trunkline
segments together.

Figure 4. Details of Belden 9463 Twin axial Cable

To Overcome the difficulty faced in the DeviceNet where only 64 nodes can be
connected, Data Highway plus can be used. One can cannot more the 64 nodes
at a time. To avoid the signal loss in the DH+ network system, Terminal 1 (GND)
and Terminal 2 (SHLD) are connected via a jumper cable.
 4. ControlNet Network.
ControlNet network is a high-speed network among all the network used in the
PLC family. It is the most reliable, unaffected and most commonly used for point
to pint communication. Ethernet/IP and ControlNet Networks are the only two
networks who can make a bridge connection network with each other and
DeviceNet and RS-232. ControlNet Network is based on the send/receive based
messaging application. Every ControlNet has “keeper” which stores all the
network configurations and programmed. When the network is started, this
program is run from the “keeper”

ControlNet supports many different types of topologies such as

trunkline/dropline, star connections, Tree connections, ring connections.
However, the most commonly used is the Trunkline/baseline topology because
of the cost effectiveness. The Maximum 99 nodes which can be connected in
the ControlNet network. The maximum length of cabling can be determined
from the number of segments and the nodes. As the nodes and the segments
increases, the length of the cable increases.