In this technical tutorial, we’re going to connect an Allen Bradley RSLogix / Studio 5000 based PLC to Ignition. With the popularity of the SCADA / MES platform from Inductive Automation, one of the first steps is to make sure that the data is flowing and we can read / write the tags we have on the PLC.
Introduction to the Hardware / Software for the Tutorial
In this tutorial, we will be using multiple components. It’s important to note that there are many ways to get this done and that the focus should be on the PLC and the Ignition instance. That being said, I do believe in providing a complete picture so that you can make your own assessment on how you’d like to deploy this.
- PLC - Rockwell Automation / Allen Bradley CompactLogix 5069-L306ERMS2
- Programming IDE - RSLogix / Studio 5000 v. 36.11
- Ignition Gateway - Version: 8.1.44 (b2024102210)
- Server - Dell PowerEdge R730xd
Note that I’m running Studio 5000 inside of a virtual machine on a local desktop and that the IP of the PLC is 192.168.1.33 as shown below.
Note that the Ignition Gateway is running inside of a Windows VM which is deployed on my Proxmox Dell PowerEdge R730xd. I’ve written a tutorial on how to get this VM deployed if you’re looking to try and get a server running - highly recommended.
- Step-by-Step Guide: Installing a Windows VM on a DELL PowerEdge R730xd with Proxmox [Part 1 / 2]
- Step-by-Step Guide: Installing a Windows VM on a DELL PowerEdge R730xd with Proxmox [Part 2 / 2]
Networking & Basic Configurations of Software / Hardware
Needless to say, we must have the devices properly configured so that we can pass data between them. In this instance, the network layout isn’t very complicated - both the PLC and the Ignition Gateway are on the same subnet within a local environment. I’ve given my PLC the IP address 192.168.1.33, and the Ignition Gateway is at 192.168.1.120. It’s important to note that the Windows VM which is running Ignition has two EtherNet ports - I’m using one for external access and the other one is on the private subnet. This is done so that I can keep the hardware isolated while the other subnet is exposed to the web. One could argue that malware could get in through the VM, but that’s an entirely different topic of discussion.
On my private network, I have various switches between the PLC and the Dell PowerEdge server. That being said, for the purpose of this tutorial, it’s not critical to understand that layout. If you’re curious, I’m running a few unmanaged switches, an AB Stratix 5700 on the OT side, and a TP-Link router on the ISP side.
On the IDE side, as mentioned above, I’m using v36 of Studio 5000. This basically means that the tutorial should be the same for most PLCs that run RSLogix or Studio 5000. It’s important to note that the Ignition drivers are different for older RSLogix 5000 versions.
I have written multiple tutorials and made several videos on how to connect to a PLC if you’re looking for that setup. For the purposes of this tutorial, you don’t necessarily need to connect to the PLC, but if you’re going to modify the program, understand the logic, and see the tags, you must do so. Here’s a written tutorial and a video on how to accomplish that in Studio 5000:
- Using RSLinx to Set the IP Address of a PLC
- PLC Networking Basics Tutorial | RSLinx Classic Lite EtherNet/IP Driver Configuration User Training
Adding a PLC into Ignition
Step 1 - Navigate to the Ignition Gateway.
Step 2 - Login into Ignition with your username / password
Step 3 - Navigate to the “Config” tab.
Step 4 - Open “Device Connections” under “OPC UA.”
At this point, you should see a screen, which if you haven’t connected to anything else, displays “No Devices.”
Step 5 - Click on “Create new Device…”
Step 6 - Select the “Allen-Bradley Logix Driver.”
It’s important to note here that if you’re using an older controller (Ex: 1756-L61) you should be using a different driver for better performance as the Ignition note suggests.
Step 7 - Scroll down and press on “Next.”
At this point, we’ll need to configure the driver for our device. It’s important to note that we can leave a lot of defaults with the PLC I’m using, but in many cases you’ll need to configure a proper path to get to the PLC you’re pulling data from.
Step 8 - Configure the name of the PLC. This will be used in Ignition later, so it’s good to figure out a structure that makes sense in a production environment.
Step 9 - Make sure the connection is set to “Enabled.”
Step 10 - Set an IP address of the PLC (in my instance, it’s going to be 192.168.1.33)
Step 11 - Keep the port on default unless you’ve changed it.
Step 12 - Older PLCs typically have a much lower CIP connection limit, but in this case I’ve changed my limit to 10 connections.
Step 13 - As mentioned above, you may need to set the path of the PLC. The Ignition documentation explains what the format is for different PLC types.
Step 14 - Click on “Create new Device” at the bottom of the page.
At this point, you should receive confirmation of the new connection and see a new entry on the OPC UA page. Note that you should also be able to check the status of the connection. Since everything was correct on my side, it’s displaying “Connected” for me as shown below.
Validating a PLC Connection in Ignition
At this point we’ve created a driver for the PLC, but we don’t know for sure that it’s pulling the tags / values from the device. There’s a built in client in Ignition on the gateway side which allows us to check exactly that!
Step 1 - Open “OPC Quick Client” under “OPC Client.”
Step 2 - Expand the Tag Browser
At this point you’ll notice that the tags should be automatically imported into the browser. Here, you can see controller and program scoped tags.
Conclusion on Connecting an Allen Bradley PLC to Ignition
In this tutorial we’ve covered the hardware, software, and configurations needed to connect our CompactLogix to Ignition using a gateway running on the Dell PowerEdge server.
If you have any issues, questions, or otherwise, don’t hesitate to reach out! We’re here to help with all of your automation needs.
