ABTCP Driver

The ABTCP protocol supports TCP/IP and Data Highway Plus communication with Allen-Bradley PLC-5/250, PLC-2, PLC-3, SLC-500, and PLC-5 series PLCs.

No additional software is required by when Data Highway Plus is used with the KT, KTX, KTXD, PKTX cards, or the 5136-SD-ISA or 5136-SD-PCI boards. Unlike the ABEI protocol, the Allen-Bradley Interchange software is not required.

Citect SCADA 7.20 or later (or a later version of Plant SCADA) is required to use the ABTCP Driver.

When using TCP/IP, the physical communication layer is usually Ethernet. This requires an Ethernet board installed in your computer, and an Ethernet Interface with a transceiver installed at the PLC end. It is recommended you setup your specific Ethernet card as required and confirm basic network communications before proceeding with the communications configuration for the ABTCP Driver.

The same Ethernet card that is being used for communication can be used for PLC communication

The Resource Manager of the PI can provide access to Data Highway (DH/DH+) links, permitting to communicate through the PI to PLC-5s, PLC-2s, PLC-3s, and SLC-500s (via offlink addressing). An AB-KA module provides similar indirect communication through PLCs.

The maximum request length for the ABTCP protocols is 1888 bits.

Other I/O Devices may also be supported. Contact Technical Support for further information.

Hot Standby Support

The ABTCP protocol supports hot standby in the case that the PLC is put into program mode. See the [ABTCP]Status parameter.