Distributor Port UDP

This UDP port facilitates the implementation of comprehensive broadcasting capabilities to a device. Through this functionality, you can establish a system that doesn't necessitate data requests. Instead, it continuously listens for updates and transmits information only when required or when a value undergoes a change. This marks a departure from a rigid client/server architecture. Following the initial configuration of the Broadcast Port ASCII UDP (which should occur once after controller power-up, or cyclically if retriggering is configured), the system operates autonomously. Moreover, it becomes more convenient to incorporate multiple participants into the network, as they can all simultaneously listen due to the broadcast mechanism. The data content transmitted is contingent upon the selected Transfer Data Theme and is in raw binary format.

In order to enable frame identification or perform handshaking, every outgoing frame initiates with two extra data elements at the outset. The first element, known as the Receive Data Element, is directly influenced by the incoming frame that incorporates this data element at its commencement. The second element, referred to as the Send Data Element, serves as a counter managed by the controller itself, incrementing by 1 with the introduction of each new frame.

Through the specification of offset and length for send/receive data, it becomes feasible to create a data window spanning the entire available data field. This ensures that only the necessary data is transmitted. For security considerations, it is possible to establish a retrigger time. To stay in the TransferON state, a retrigger command must be executed within this defined time interval.

• ReceivePort = 5566 (default)
• IPAddress = broadcast IP address of used network or known device IP address

e.g. existing network:
IPAddress = 192.168.1.18
SubnetMask = 255.255.255.0
⇒ Broadcast IP address = 192.168.1.255

• SendToPort = 5567 (default)
• SendToIPAddress = Broadcast IP address (default)

The Distributor Port has to be configured with the SETDISTRIBUTORPORTPROPERTIES command. See Broadcast Port ASCII/UDP for configuration details.

It can also be configured using the 'preconf.ini' file, which must be transferred to the controller via an FTP connection using the username '0' and password '0'. An example of the 'preconf.ini' file is as follows:

[AUTORUNDISTRIBUTORPORT]
; SetDistributorPortPropertiesAll[TAB]
; ...
; 0[TAB]TransferDataTheme
; 1[TAB]OffsetRecvFrom
; 2[TAB]LengthRecvFrom
; 3[TAB]OffsetSendTo
; 4[TAB]LengthSendTo
; 5[TAB]FrequencySendTo
; 6[TAB]RetriggerTimeS
; 7[TAB]IPAddressSendTo
; 8[TAB]IPPortSendTo
; 9[TAB]IPPortRecvFrom
; 10[TAB]UseTransferCounters	=> 0: Off / >0: On
; 1000[TAB]TransferON		=> 0: Off / >0: On (or Retrigger)
; x[TAB]<0			request specific identifier value
; ...
; [CR][LF]
; e.g. SeqItem0=SetDistributorPortPropertiesAll[TAB]5[TAB]-1[CR][LF]
SeqItemsCount=3
SeqItem0=SetDistributorPortPropertiesAll[TAB]6[TAB]0[CR][LF]
SeqItem1=SetDistributorPortPropertiesAll[TAB]7[TAB]192.168.5.59[CR][LF]
SeqItem2=SetDistributorPortPropertiesAll[TAB]1000[TAB]1[CR][LF]

Protocol Description

The Distributor Port data frames contain data in binary format. The amount of data to be sent is defined with Distributor Port properties and can be set with Broadcast Port ASCII/UDP.

Receive Frame:

  ([ReceiveDataElement – 4Bytes Integer])	**Only if TransferCounters are active
  [ReceiveFrame – (Length-Offset)]

Send Frame:

  ([ReceiveDataElement – 4Bytes Integer])	**Only if TransferCounters are active
  ([SendDataElement – 4Byte Integer])		**Only if TransferCounters are active
  [SendFrame – (Length-Offset)]

👉 See chapter SetDistributorportProperty about how to set up TransferCounter usage.

Byte order

Depending on the controller type, the data byte order has to be considered.

This chapter explains receive and send data frames for different TransferDataThemes. The Data Theme for the connection has to be chosen with BroadcastPort ASCII/UDP – SetDistributorportProperty: identifier=”0” (TransferDataTheme).

This data theme is used for sending and receiving online data frames.

This data theme is used to send state information from the controller.

TransferDataTheme = RTC

This data theme is used to read or send Real Time Clock information.

This data theme is used to send diagnostic data from the controller.

For testing the Distributor Port UDP communication, you can download some testing tools in the following link:

DistributorPortUDP_TestTools.zip

It includes:

• UDPClient: Tool to configure the Distributor Port on a controller manually. data traffic needs to be monitored via WireShark.
• UDPCollector: Configures the distributor port on a controller automatically and receives the UDP stream on PC. Data is stored into .dat file.

UDPClient

Start the UDPClient.exe to set up the Distributor Port on your controller.

For example:

• Controller IP address: 192.168.5.96
• Port: 5565 → fixed port for Broadcast ASCII/UDP. This port is used to send commands.
• Setup the configuration as mentioned in the example above (see General → Configuration: preconf.ini).

Set RetriggerTimeS command and click on the Start button to send:

This tool is not able to record/visualize data. If data is sent correctly, use WireShark to monitor your network traffic.

Use UDPCollector.exe to capture data on your PC. The received data will be saved in a .dat file located next to the .exe file. UDPCollector automatically configures the distributor port settings of your controller. Proceed with the following steps:

• Create an empty text file next to the UDPCollector.exe with the name (for example 192.168.5.96_#summary.sta)

 <ControllerIP>_#summary.sta 

• The tool will connect on startup to the device IP address to read all necessary information from its #summary.sta to decode the received data correctly.
• Start UDPCollector.exe
• Select the correct network adapter to receive data (in the example: 192.168.5.143)
• Click on the Start button