3
EtherNet/IP Unit Features Section 1-1
FTP Server A built-in FTP server is provided to enable transferring files in the PLC to and
from a host computer. This enables transferring large amounts of data from a
client without any additional ladder programming.
Automatic PLC Clock
Adjustment
The clocks built into PLCs connected to Ethernet can be automatically
adjusted to the time of the clock in the SNTP server. If all of the clocks in the
system are automatically adjusted to the same time, time stamps can be used
to analyze various production histories.
Note A separate SNTP server is necessary to automatically adjust the PLC clocks.
Manage the Network with
an SNMP Manager
Internal status information from the EtherNet/IP Unit or built-in EtherNet/IP
port can be passed to network management software that uses an SNMP
manager.
Note A separate SNMP manager is necessary for network management.
Specify Servers with Host
Names
DNS client functionality allows you to use host names instead of IP addresses
to specify SNTP servers and SNMP managers. This is useful, for example,
when server IP addresses change for system revisions because the IP
addresses are automatically found when host names are used.
Note (1) A separate DNS server is necessary to use host names with the DNS cli-
ent.
(2) The DNS server is specified directly using its IP address.
Set Classless IP Address
with CIDR
A subnet mask can be set to use classless IP addresses, allowing more flexi-
bility in address settings.
Plentiful Troubleshooting
Functions
A variety of functions are provided to quickly identify and handle errors.
• Self-diagnosis at power ON
• PING command to check the connection with another node
• Error Log functions record the time of occurrence and other error details
Note The CIP (Common Industrial Protocol) is a shared industrial protocol for the
OSI application layer. The CIP is used in networks such as EtherNet/IP, Con-
trolNet, and DeviceNet. Data can be routed easily between networks that are
based on the CIP, so a transparent network can be easily configured from the
field device level to the host level.
The CIP has the following advantages.
• Destination nodes are specified by a relative path, without fixed routing
tables.
• The CIP uses the producer/consumer model. Nodes in the network are
arranged on the same level and it is possible to communicate with
required devices whenever it is necessary.
The consumer node will receive data sent from a producer node when the
connection ID in the packet indicates that the node requires the data.
Since the producer can send the same data with the same characteristics
in a multicast (either multicast or unicast can be selected), the time
required for the transfer is fixed and not dependent on the number of con-
sumer nodes.