datafeed-edge-connector
dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC
Softing´s dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC is a containerized EtherNET/IP CIP connectivity module adding OPC UA Server and MQTT Publisher/Subscriber functionality. It is possible to connect up to 20 ControlLogix and/or CompactLogix (CLX) PLCs. The Namespace configuration is created simply browsing the variables of the PLC.
Supported Operating Systems
dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC can be used on any Docker host that can execute Linux Docker containers based on an x86_64, ARM64, as well as ARM32 architecture.
Default Settings
The default settings are described at the Default Settings page.
Running dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC
In order to run dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC a working Docker environment is required. For Docker installation instructions please refer to the official Docker installation documentation
Pulling the Image
The Docker images are provided through a public registry. To get the latest Docker image you need to pull the image from https://hub.docker.com/r/softingindustrial/edgeconnector-allen-bradley-plc:
docker image pull softingindustrial/edgeconnector-allen-bradley-plc:latest
Running the Docker Container
After the Docker image has been pulled, a Docker container can be started. The webserver and OPC UA Server of the module have to be exposed on the host machine if dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC shall be accessed from outside the dockerized environment.
By default dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC is configured to allow only HTTPS access to its web-based configuration interface. If in certain situations, and after a thorough security assessment and acknowledging all security risks, it is decided that HTTP communication is necessary, then this can be achieved by defining the environment variable ENABLE_HTTP_CONFIG.
docker container run -d -p 443:443 -p 8099:8099 -p 4897:4897 --name edgeConnector -e ENABLE_HTTP_CONFIG="ON" softingindustrial/edgeconnector-allen-bradley-plc
To start dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC with the default ports mapped 1:1 to the host machine:
docker container run -p 443:443 -p 4897:4897 softingindustrial/edgeconnector-allen-bradley-plc
The above example can be adapted to match the needs of your environment. For example, if your host already runs a webserver and the https port is blocked, the command can be adjusted to expose the https port of dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC on a different port:
docker container run -p 1443:443 -p 4897:4897 softingindustrial/edgeconnector-allen-bradley-plc
The -p switch allows to map a complete port range start-end:start-end,
the -d switch allows to daemonize the container and the --name switch
allows to name the container:
docker container run -d -p 1443:443 -p 4800-4900:4800-4900 --name edgeConnector softingindustrial/edgeconnector-allen-bradley-plc
Running with specified timezone
The -e or --env switch allows to set environment variables in the container.
For setting a timezone the variable TZ must be passed with a valid TZ database name.
docker container run -d -p 1443:443 -p 4800-4900:4800-4900 --name edgeConnector -e TZ=Europe/Berlin softingindustrial/edgeconnector-allen-bradley-plc
For further information about supported command line options please refer to the Run section of the official Docker command line documentation.
Stopping the Docker Container
The module container can be stopped by the following command:
docker container stop edgeConnector
Please refer to the Stop section of the official Docker command line documentation for more details.
Starting the Docker Container
If the module container was stopped and not removed, it can be started again from its last state:
docker container start edgeConnector
Please refer to the Start section of the official Docker command line documentation for more details.
Removing the Docker Container
The module container can be removed at any time:
docker container rm -f edgeConnector
After removing the container its last state is lost. Please refer to the Remove section of the official Docker command line documentation for more details.
Configuration and MQTT-data Volumes
Optionally a Docker volume can be created to store the configuration permanently:
docker volume create edge-connector-config
docker volume create edge-connector-mqtt
In this case the container should be started like this, using the volume:
docker container run -d -v edge-connector-config:/config -v edge-connector-mqtt:/mqtt -p 1443:443 -p 4800-4900:4800-4900 --name edgeConnector softingindustrial/edgeconnector-allen-bradley-plc
Configuration
The configuration part, which is common for all kinds of dataFEED edgeConnector modules is described at the Configuration page.
ControlLogix/CompactLogix Connection Configuration
dataFEED edgeConnnector Allen-Bradley PLC provides an interface to connect and fetch data from ControlLogix and CompactLogix PLCs.
To configure a connection to a ControlLogix or CompactLogix PLC, navigate to Connectivity -> PLC -> Allen-Bradley in the navigation tree as depicted below:
The page provides an overview of the currently configured connections including its Name, its IP Address, its connection Status and its Enabled status.
| Column Name | Information Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Connection name as defined at creation time |
| IP Address | IP address or host name of PLC |
| Status | Status of PLC connection |
The connection status can be Connected if the connection to the PLC is established or Disconnected if there is no connection to the PLC |
|
| The connection status is dynamically updated every 2 seconds. | |
| Enabled | Configuration status of the PLC connection |
Possible values are Enabled or Disabled. |
|
| Note: | |
| Clicking the current configuration status icon triggers a state toggle: Enabled -> Disabled respectively Disabled -> Enabled |
From the title bar of the connection overview table a new connection can be added and existing connections can either be edited or deleted.
- To add a new connection click the Add Connection
button. - To edit an existing connection, first select it from the overview table
and click the Edit Connection
button. - To delete an existing connection, first select it from the overview
table and click the Delete Connection
button.
Adding a new connection and editing an existing connection, both open an identical page. The only difference is, that for an existing connection the Connection Name property cannot be changed.
The configuration parameters are described below:
| Parameter Name | Default Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Connection Name | <empty> | Connection name as it will show up in the connection overview page |
| The connection name has to be unique and can only be assigned when adding a new connection. | ||
| Note: | ||
| The following characters are not supported in the Connection Name field: # ^ < > / $ | ||
| Enabled | Enabled | Instructs dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC to either Enable (checked) or Disable (unchecked) the currently configured PLC connection. |
| PLC Address | <empty> | Address of the target device (ControlLogix/CompactLogix PLC). This is either an IP address or a hostname. |
| Select Address Spaces | AllConnection | Destination aggregation address space used to store the address space corresponding to this PLC connection |
| AddressSpace | It is possible to create additional aggregation address spaces by filling in the desired address space name in the input field and clicking the Add button. All available address spaces are visible in a list and can be selected as destination address space for the OPC UA Client connection by checking the corresponding checkbox. | |
| For more details about the OPC UA Server functionality and configuration please refer to the OPC UA Configuration page. |
OPC UA Server
The OPC UA Server functionality and configuration is described at the OPC UA Configuration page.
Licenses
Softing License
dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC’s scope of delivery includes a time-limited
and functionaly unlimited demo mode.
The demo mode is started immediately once the module has been started without a
valid license.
It will expire after 72 hours and dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC stops
working.
To remove the time limitation of the demo mode dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC
must be licensed.
dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC uses a floating license mechanism.
A working floating license server is required to have dataFEED edgeConnector
Allen-Bradley PLC successfully licensed.
Please see the License README page for further details.
The license activation for dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC is described at the README page of the Softing License Server.
License Server Connection Configuration
Please see the section License Server Connection Configuration of the License README file for further details.
Open Source Licenses
For the license information of the open source components used by dataFEED edgeConnector Allen-Bradley PLC, please see the Open Source page.