How to set up a system with redundant controllers?

SNAP PAC Systems

How to set up a system with redundant controllers?


nvl 10-31-2007, 9:23 AM
I could not find this information in PAC documents.
Does S1, S2 controller support this feature?

Re: How to set up a system with redundant controllers?


jerry.bradford@baker-ref.com 03-14-2008, 5:36 AM
I had a customer ask me the same question. I can only find information on making the ethernet link redundant but I can't find anything on the controllers. I would like an answer on this also.
Can someone please reply to this if you know how to make this work?

Re: How to set up a system with redundant controllers?


kdowney 03-14-2008, 9:07 AM
The PAC S1 and PAC S2 do support Ethernet redundancy. To make this feature work, you will need to use the PAC Project Professional suite. You will not be able to access the redundancy features PAC Project Basic software. You can get more information regarding how to configure Ethernet Link Redundancy on page 106 of PAC Control User's Guide (Opto 22 form #1700).

Re: How to set up a system with redundant controllers?


gmitchell 03-17-2008, 9:05 AM

I would agree with jerry.bradford.  Its important to differentiate between redundant communications (a feature of PACProject Professional HW to enable the second Ethernet port) and redundant controllers, where a secondary “standby” controller takes over control of the program if it detects a failure in primary “running” controller.

 

While redundant comms are handled by the operating system, the use of redundant controllers requires the functionality to be developed as part of your application software under PACControl.

 

This is the same as many PLC’s that offer “redundancy”.  Only a few high end models include controller redundancy at the operating system level.  The rest depend on application software, examples of which are usually supplied by the manufacturer. Maybe someone nice in Opto22 could develop an example strategy for  PAC hardware.

 

Use 2 PAC-S controllers (S1 or S2) to talk through a switch to one or more SNAP-PAC-EB1 o SNAP-PAC-EB2 brains.  If you are seriously implementing redundancy you should also consider the use of separate power supplies for each SNAP-PAC-S controller and a diode arrangement for dual 5VDC power supplies for the PAC-EBx brains.

Re: How to set up a system with redundant controllers?


jbopto22 03-19-2008, 1:43 PM
This would require that one be setup as master and the other to slave. How do you ensure that one doesn't overwrite the other and how do you make sure that the variables are updated in both?

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