BECKHOFF FC9001-0010 - Manual (Page 14)

Installation
3.2 TwinCAT driver for Ethernet cards
First install Software
Note
Install the Beckhoff TwinCAT automation software before installing the Beckhoff
Ethernet card.
3.2.1 Driver Overview
TwinCAT delivers two different drivers for Ethernet cards:
• TwinCAT driver for real-time Ethernet
• TwinCAT RT-Ethernet Intermediate Driver.
TwinCAT driver for real-time Ethernet
The TwinCAT driver for real-time Ethernet works only for Ethernet cards with Intel chipset!
It supports hard real time for Beckhoff Real Time Ethernet and EtherCAT applications.
TwinCAT RT-Ethernet Intermediate Driver
The TwinCAT RT-Ethernet Intermediate Driver works also with other network cards that have no Intel
chip set,
It is an evaluation driver for laboratory and test operation, to be able to test TwinCAT also with other
network cards that have no Intel chip set.
It supports no hard real time and may cause jitter!
Further information about TwinCAT RT-Ethernet Intermediate Driver may be found in the TwinCAT
Information System.
3.2.2 Installation of the TwinCAT driver for real-time Ethernet
There are three ways to install the TwinCAT driver for real-time Ethernet on your PC.
• Driver installation using the Add New Hardware Wizard:
This is the usual way to install hardware drivers.
• Driver substitution via the TwinCAT System Manager:
If your operating system installed its own driver for the Beckhoff Intel PCI/Ethernet card, you can
substitute this driver by the TwinCAT driver for real-time Ethernet manually in order to be able to
take advantage of its real-time capability.
• Manual driver installation:
If your operating system installed its own driver for the Beckhoff Intel PCI/Ethernet card, you can
substitute the TwinCAT driver for real-time Ethernet manually in order to be able to take
advantage of its real-time capability.
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