Connection between PLC - S7- LAN- adapter - Machina Gate; troubleshooting guide

This article describes how you can get a connection, a TSAP list and symbols from a PLC in usage of a Machina Gate and a S7-LAN-Adapter.

Set your S7 LAN- adapter correctly 

• Connect your S7-LAN-adapter to your computer
• go to your web browser and go to the IP address of your S7 LAN Adapter (default = 192.168.1.56)
• check that the S7-LAN Adapter are in the correct network and subnetmask as the second interface of the Machina Gate
• please follow How to change the IP address on an S7-Lan adapter

S7 LAN settings	SIEMENS TIA Portal settings

Scenario 1: Get a TSAP list from the PLC which is connected over the S7- LAN- adapter to the Machina Gate; without network switch

1. adjust your network settings on your Machina Gate

   • log in on the Machina Gate 

   • connect your Machina Gate to your company network switch on the first ethernet interface

   • check your network settings 

     ifconfig

   • the IP address of the first ethernet interface of the Machina Gate must be in a different network as the second ethernet interface

   • The IP- address of the 2nd interface could be e.g. 172.16.xxx.xxx

   • you can change the settings in

     sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

2. Set your S7 LAN- adapter correctly 

   • Connect your S7-LAN-adapter to your computer and check that the S7-LAN- adapter are in the same network and subnetmask as the second interface of the Machina Gate

   • please follow the instruction on the top of this documentation
     
     

3. connect the S7- LAN- adapter to the second interface of Machina Gate

   • now you can check the connection from Machina Gate to S7- LAN- adapter 

     ping <IP-ADDRESS OF S7- LAN- ADPATER>

   • after that you should have a solid connection between your Machina Gate and your S7-LAN-adapter

   • connect your S7- LAN- adapter with your PLC over the MPI interface
     
     

4. get a TSAP list

   • log in on azeti.cloud.net  

   • go to → Management → PLC Setup → Init PLC

   • fill the IP adress of the S7-LAN-adapter, also if your PLC has an own IP- address

   • get a TSAP list (if there is an error, look at the bottom "Troubeshooting")
   • if you have a SIEMENS S7-300 or a S7-400 you can NOT get symbols by click on "GET Symbols" → "Request Symbols for Unselected" !
   • if you have a SIEMENS S7-300 or a S7-400 you have to create a .symbol file by Tani "Symbolimport S7"
   • load your .symbol file up to the cloud by click on "SET Symbols", after that you can click on "GET Symbols" → "Request Symbols for Unselected"

Scenario 2: Get TSAP from the PLC which is connected to a network switch

• connect your computer to your company network

1. adjust your network settings on your Machina Gate

   • log in on the Machina Gate 

   • connect your Machina Gate to your company network switch on the first ethernet interface

   • check your network settings 

     ifconfig

   • you can change the settings in

     sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

2. Set your S7 LAN- adapter correctly 

   • Connect your S7-LAN-adapter to your computer and check that the S7-LAN- adapter are in the same network and subnetmask as the first interface of the Machina Gate

   • please follow the instruction on the top of this documentation
     

     
     

3. connect the S7- LAN- adapter to your company network

   • now you can check the connection from Machina Gate to S7- LAN- adapter 

     ping <IP-ADDRESS OF S7- LAN- ADPATER>

   • after that you should have a solid connection between your Machina Gate and your S7-LAN-adapter

   • connect your S7- LAN- adapter with your PLC over the MPI interface
     
     

4. get a TSAP list

   • log in on azeti.cloud.net  

   • go to → Management → PLC Setup → Init PLC

   • fill the IP adress of the S7-LAN-adapter, also if your PLC has an own IP- address

   • get a TSAP list (if there is an error, look at the bottom "Troubeshooting")
   • if you have a SIEMENS S7-300 or a S7-400 you can NOT get symbols by click on "GET Symbols" → "Request Symbols for Unselected" !
   • if you have a SIEMENS S7-300 or a S7-400 you have to create a .symbol file by Tani "Symbolimport S7"
   • load your .symbol file up to the cloud by click on "SET Symbols", after that you can click on "GET Symbols" → "Request Symbols for Unselected"
     
     

Troubleshooting if an connection error occurs

• check the settings of the S7- LAN- Adapter

  • is “mode” DP or MPI? On SIEMENS S7 connections you should have a MPI connection!
  • is "Enable DHCP" deactivated?
  • are you using the correct IP address? The IP address may only be assigned once in your network
  • is the subnetmask (scenario 1) the same as the 2nd ethernet of Machina Gate or (scenario 2) the same as your company?

  • is “Always in the bus” activated?

  • are you using the correct Baudrate? Compare with your SIEMENS settings in TIA Portal!

  • is the highest station address correct? Compare with your SIEMENS settings in TIA Portal!

  • "PG/PC is the only master" must be disabled
    
    
    

• check the settings of the Machina Gate

  • log in to your Machina Gate

    ifconfig

  • check the subnetmask and the IP address of the interfaces

  • check if you have a connection to the S7- LAN- adapter

    ping <IP-ADDRESS OF S7- LAN- ADPATER>

  • check if you have a connection to the cloud

    sudo /opt/azeti/SiteController/run_SiteController.py status

  • if not, look at your configuration file:

    sudo nano /opt/azeti/SiteController/config/SiteController.cfg

  • restart the SiteController 

    sudo nano /opt/azeti/SiteController/run_SiteController.py restart

  • check the follow settings 

    host=broker.azeti.net
    port=8883
    user_id
    password
    organization name
    tls_enable=True
    tls_version=PROTOCOL_TLSv1_2

  • check the DeviceConfig.ini

    sudo nano /etc/Tani/DeviceConfig.ini

    • there should be 2 default entries:
      

    • Check the follow parameter

      IsActivated=Yes

    • there should be a third entry with your connection which you set on the cloud
    • if there are more entries of other connections, you can delete these connections
      
      
      
      

• Check your SIEMENS settings to compare with the S7- LAN- adapter

  • in my test case it has no influence if the S7- Basic communication =0 or =1, the default value is ‘0', try it and check a '1’

  • this parameter indicates with how many participants the PLC has to communicate

  • check the "Transmission speed" / Baudrate
  • check the "Highest address"