BECKHOFF DK9122-0510-0025 - Manual (Page 7)

Industrial PC
Diagnostics and configuration
Application Note DK9122-0510-0025
2. Setting of a uniform target status
If uniform pre-settings are to be made from the command level as in the case of Panel PCs, this can be accomplished in a
centralized manner with the configuration and diagnostic interface for Beckhoff IPCs. This provides the advantage that all
connected terminals have the same status. Furthermore, personnel deployment is minimized, as the update can be performed
centrally from one place.
Typical examples, which are distributed centralized to all connected terminals, are the display resolution, IP addresses, PC
name, etc.
. Support and service
Only in the rarest case can the end customer supply concrete information on the software versions in the event of a support
inquiry. If the support/service department can directly procure this necessary information itself, then the technical support is
better targeted and more effective as a result – one can enter directly. Therefore, the support/service case can be handled faster
and with fewer complications.
Technical background to MDP
MDP – what is that?
MDP stands for Modular Device Profile and represents the layout of an Industrial PC (IPC) in an object–oriented and
modularized structure. The MDP forms an information model, with which hardware and software components are represented
as individual modules. Thanks to MDP, all parameters contained in an IPC – whether operating system, hardware or user
software – can be read and changed directly. The modules can thereby be components such as a NIC or a CPU for example;
however, software components such as the TwinCAT system are also imaged in the MDP. The layer of the configuration and
diagnostic interface for Beckhoff IPCs was based on the specification of the EtherCAT automation protocol.
MDP – what’s it for?
If the levels of an IPC are modularized according to a generally accepted pattern, then this fixed structure can be imaged on
any IPC, which facilitates configuration and diagnostic procedures. The individual parameters (sub-indices) can be reached by
different means of access, depending on the operating system. Via the MDP it is possible to access parameters of the hardware,
operating system or application software in order (independent of the CPU, operating system or TwinCAT) to readout and
change diagnostic and configuration information. The MDP-based diagnostic and configuration interface is additionally not
language-dependent: whether Visual Basic, C++, C# or a PLC library, the MDP can be accessed from any environment using
ADS routines (Automation Device Specification). Furthermore, communication with the MDP can take place by UPnP, OPC-
UA or also directly by C++ and C#. In principle, access to the data takes place by MDP, as is also the case with regular access
procedures, with user authorization and password protection.
New Automation Technology Beckhoff
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