How to set up and manage controls

At Software Defined Automation, we consider Controls (PLC Twins) the abstraction of the (v)PLC configuration and control code. This section will explain how to create new controls.

Creating new controls

Please follow the workflow described below to create a new physical control (e.g. Siemens Simatic S7 1200).

In order to learn more about commissioning virtual PLCs, please refer to: Remote Commissioning of vPLC.

Start by navigating to the gateway your control (PLC) is connected to:

In the input mask, provide a name for your control, associate it with a control group from the drop down menu, and select the vendor with respect to your automation project.

If your control is secured with a username/password, please enter both in the respective fields and click "Next".

Now enter the IP address and the PLC port associated with your control. Click "Save".

Your control now shows up in the device tree to the left of your Console screen. By clicking "Check connection" in the PLC Status pane, you can verify the established connectivity to your control.

In case the "Gateway to PLC" connectivity check is not successful, there can be several reasons:

• Please check that the PLC is up and running

• Please check if the PLC can be reached from the device that is used as the gateway (e.g., you can login on try to ping the PLC on its IP). Note that even when the ping works (via protocol ICMP) it may be that your internal firewall between the gateway and the PLC may block the communication on the vendor-specific port to administer and configure the PLCs (e.g., for Siemens it is by default TCP 102). Please make sure that communication on this port is possible and align with your IT.

• Please make sure that you have chosen the right communication port for the control in the SDA Console (e.g., for Siemens it is by default TCP 102)

To learn more about "Projects" with respect to your controls, refer to this section: How to upload and manage projects

By triggering the toggle button on the bottom-left, you can also switch to the control view listing all controls directly.

Modifying controls

To modify your controls' configuration simply right-click on the respective control and press "Edit".

You are now able to change the control's configuration like name, vendor, IP address, PLC port, etc.

Deleting controls

To delete a control, simply right-click the respective control, click "Delete", and acknowledge the delete process.