Chapter 4. Configuration60 PACSystems* RX7i & RX3i TCP/IP Ethernet Communications User Manual GFK-2224QRef Address The PLC memory reference address that contains the start of the data for thisvariable.Ignore Not used for Produced exchange.Length Size of the data for this variable, expressed in units of the data type.Type Data type of the variable.Description An optional text description of this variable.To add a new variable to the end of the exchange, click the ‘Add’ button. This does not change the data offsetsof any existing variables within that exchange.To insert a new variable among the existing variables, click on an existing variable. When you click the ‘Insert’button, a new variable will be created ahead of the selected existing variable. This changes the data offsets ofall following variables in the exchange and will change the signature major number if you are using signatures.Once a new variable has been entered, double-click a data field within the row to edit that value.To delete an existing variable, click on the variable row and then click the ‘Delete’ button. If you are usingsignatures, this will cause the signature major number to change.The sum of the length for all variables in the exchange must not exceed 1400 bytes. The total length of theexchange is displayed as ‘Length (Bytes):’ above the variable list. PACSystems CPUs with firmware version 5.0and later support a maximum of 30,000 variables for all exchanges. Earlier firmware versions supportapproximately 12,000 variables for all exchanges.A variable is automatically created for the local exchange status that is returned to the PLC logic application.The exchange status is not part of the produced exchange data and is not available to the network.Configuring an Ethernet Global Data Exchange for a ConsumerTo create a new consumed exchange, right-click the “Consumed Exchanges” node and select “New.” A dialogbox lists all produced exchanges in the EGD network that have been published to the EGD Configuration Server.Select the exchange to be consumed. Once selected, the exchange is populated with the variable, length, typeand description information defined in the producer. The variable name consists of the target name, anunderscore, and the variable name in the producer. (See below for information about name generation.) Youmust either enter a reference address or select “ignore” for each variable in the exchange. You must alsoassign an adapter name and a timeout for the exchange. With these steps, the configuration of the consumeris complete.When an individual consumed exchange is selected, the following parameters can be configured in theProperties Inspector window. Typically, only the adapter name and the update timeout need to be specified forthe exchange and the reference address specified for the variables in the exchange. Changing any other valuesin a consumed exchange should only be done with expert help.Name A name assigned for this exchange. Defaults to the target name of the producer, anunderscore, and the exchange ID in the producer. Changing this name may makeresynchronization of the variable with the server impossible.Producer ID The ID of the PLC producing the exchange. Producer ID is defined by the producer;changing here it may make resynchronization with the server impossible.Group ID Used only if the produced exchange has been configured with a Destination Type ofMulticast. Group ID is defined by the producer; changing it here may make it impossible toconsume the data from the producer.Exchange ID Identifies a specific data exchange to be received by the consuming device. Exchange IDis defined by the producer; changing it here may make resynchronization with the serverimpossible.
