X20ET8819- Hub

• NetTime time stamp has a resolution of 20 ns
• Recording and analysis of CRC and frame errors
• Triggers can also be activated using external digital signals
• Analysis of both half-duplex and full-duplex networks
• Able to record two networks simultaneously

POWERLINK has proven itself in the field for years and rarely has problems during commissioning and production. Nonetheless, it is still possible for communication disturbances to occur due to damaged or poor quality cables. If an error occurs, localizing and correcting it is usually very easy thanks to the heterogeneous structure of this flat network type (all data is always visible throughout the network). What's problematic are errors that occur sporadically. This is where tools such as Omnipeek or Wireshark come in.

These tools (or more likely the standard PC technology being used) reach their limits, however, when dealing with machines that have short network cycles. Either not all frames can be recorded, or some telegrams are lost altogether. In these cases, what's needed is a special hardware tool that can work very quickly, record and save every bit of traffic and then pass it on to a laptop.

This module provides different operating modes. For example, it can work passively on the network, in which case the real-time behavior remains unchanged. The device listens in and selectively takes in data when certain defined trigger conditions are met. It can read all of the data, mark it with a timestamp, store it temporarily and ultimately pass it on to a PC. The data is then analyzed in the familiar PC environment.