#16 - Design and verify an Ethernet-IP network with Rockwell's Integrated Architecture Builder

A very practical tool from Rockwell to assist in the design, simulation and load verification of an industrial network is the Integrated Architecture Builder (IAB). A poorly sized network will cause problems and consume time and resources for trouble-shooting and maintenance. In this post we will show an example of using this tool. 

Download from the AB website, inserting "Product Selection Configuration" in the Search box and selecting the IAB during installation:

Create a new project within the Integrated Architecture Workspace of type Ethernet-IP Capacity Subsystem, by clicking Create> New Project:

Then select Ethernet-IP Capacity sub-system

• Configure the project's hardware in the I / O blocks and click on Compute (Note: it is possible to add devices within the 8 available blocks and to insert repeated devices, just increase the Chassis count when editing the block).
• "Stress" the network with different configurations:
• Requested Packet Interval (RPI) time
• Number of devices
• HMI on the network:
• Number of devices
• Number of Tags
• Frequency of consumption of Tags

For example, a project with a PLC, Switches, Remote IO (normal and safety), VFDs and HMI:

In the example above, we see that the usage is in red, that is, the system is under-dimensioned. In addition, the program alerts you to the maximum number of devices of each type. By changing some parameters, such as the IO RPI, it is possible to significantly optimize the system. During design, a good practice is to dimension the network so that it does not exceed the 50% limit, and preferably  be less than 20%.

• Click on the Generate button to create a simulated network architecture.