Rockwell Automation 2708-NNM Network Manager Software - Manual (Page 31)

A–B
4
Chapter
4–1
The Basics
NM is a program designed specifically for collecting data from and
managing a network of DH5 Attended Workstations. One of the main
concerns for data collection programs is recognizing when a problem has
occurred in the network and being able to report it to the operator. For this
reason, NM requires information about all the workstations in the network.
Several things need to take place before NM can recognize a network. First
of all, the workstation connected to the host PC needs to be configured
specifically as a Master workstation. Secondly, the proper cable is required to
connect the Master workstation to the host PC. Finally, NM needs to be
configured so that it knows which COM ports to use and the baud rate used
by the workstation.
Consult the section on Connections & Parameters in this manual for more
information on this subject.
Once NM has communicated with the Master workstation, getting NM to
recognize the rest of the network is done in the Supervisor Menu / Change
Configuration / Network Layout menu. It will be necessary to tell NM the
role of all the workstations in the network. Once this is done, you can ‘Reset
the Network’ from the Main Menu
<F5>/‘R’ , then switch to the Network
Status menu and watch the workstations come online <F2>/‘N’ .
Workstations can fail to come online for several reasons. The following
checklist assumes that NM is communicating with the Master workstation
correctly, but one or more workstation(s) in the same network have failed to
come online.
1. Issue a Reset Network command. Did it come online?
2. Go to where the offline workstation is located.
3. Is the power cable plugged into the workstation?
4. Is the power supply plugged into the wall?
5. Is the network cable plugged into the workstation?
6. Make sure that the workstation is not displaying one of its configuration
menus. If this is the case, the workstation will be unable to communicate
with the Master workstation. Press the <EXIT> on the workstation
keypad a few times to exit the configuration menus.
7. At this point, place a known working workstation at this location to
determine whether the problem is a cable problem or a workstation
problem. After putting a known working workstation at this location,
make sure that it assumes the role of the previous workstation. ‘Reset the
Network’ from NM and see if it comes online. If it fails to come online,
the integrity of the cable is suspect.
Getting NM to Recognize
the Network