BCS-462 not connecting to network

[ChuckO2999]

ChuckO2999, can you give a little more info? Specifically, when you say it connects again (after dropping off), is that due to a power cycle, or it just spuriously reconnects? What is your connection setup (wireless/wired-to-router/direct-connect)?


When it was connected to the router:

1. What firmware revision are you using?
2. What was the IP address that you used before that worked?
3. Are you using a static IP address, or default DHCP?
4. Did you try the BCS Finder utility?

When directly connected to your computer

1. Have you connected directly to this computer before?
2. If not, have you tried these instructions?
3. Sometimes an 'ipconfig /renew' on a command line will update stubborn direct connects, particularly if you don't want to power cycle the BCS.

I have a direct connection from the BCS to the router. Also have 2 computers, one direct connect, one wireless.

I am using ver. 3.3 firmware with a static IP address of 192.168.0.206.
The BCS Finder utility sometimes finds the BCS, other times it doesn't.
When I ping the BCS address I get a normal response with no dropouts.
The reconnecting was spuriously happening. The BCS would show not connected for a time, then it would show connected with a refresh of 4 or 5 seconds, then it would not be connected again. This would happen a few times and then the BCS would not connect until I disconnected power and restarted.

The next time that I have a connection problem I will try the ipconfig / renew command to see if it reconnects. Over the past three days I had no problem with the BCS connecting.

How much sensitivity does the BCS have to line voltage? I occasionally have a problem with the power line with the voltage dropping for a second or so.

[ChuckO2999]

I think that I have solved my own problem. I can repeat the unconnected BCS consistently if I go to the Data Logging page and start a New Window for Dynamic Update. The problem came up again when I left it running for a few hours. I got no response from the BCS when I tried to refresh the screen, nor when I went back to the older window and tried to refresh. Shutting down my browser and restarting it didn't help. IPCONFIG / renew didn't work, but I could ping the BCS. I even tried to look at the BCS from a different computer and got the Main Control page visible, but it wasn't updated with my brewery information nor with the working process.

After I reset the BCS everything was fine for a period of hours. As a test I then opened a second window for Dynamic Update and the same thing happened. From this I have determined that I will not try the Dynamic Update in a new window. Might there be a problem in this coding?

[ECC]

That's very interesting. I'll try to reproduce.

[clegg]

I just recently started having a an issue that shows the same symptoms. I would also get connection drops after a few hours on my latest fermentation. Once the BCS dropped the connection it could not be re-established without a power cycle. I could ping the BCS at the same static IP I usually use without any issues, but could not connect through the browser on multiple PC's (wired or wireless).

Mine also occured with multiple (2-4) dynamic datalog screens open at a reasonable refresh (30 sec). Starting yesterday morning I closed all the dynamic logging windows and dropped refresh rate to 1 minute and it seems to have resolved the issue. It seems to me that the BCS may be getting overloaded with requests, and when that occurs there is some kind of timeout that it cannot recover from.

[ECC]

I tried running 4 dynamic data loggers on a BCS-460 simultaneously, all with a 1sec refresh. Its been running 2 days solid. Next I'll try the same test on a 462.

[clegg]

In case it matters, my BCS-462 has 6 temperature probes and 8 outputs.

Window 1 = 2 temp probes and 2 outputs
Window 2 = 2 temp probes and 2 outputs
Window 3 = 1 temp probe and 1 output
Window 4 = 1 temp probe and 1 output

I tried running 4 dynamic data loggers on a BCS-460 simultaneously, all with a 1sec refresh. Its been running 2 days solid. Next I'll try the same test on a 462.

[ECC]

I was able to reproduce the bug with multiple data loggers on the BCS-462. Looks like it takes a significant network pounding to trigger the problem. Reading big datalogs that are stored on the BCS also can cause the network dropout.

I've identified the error and have a fix that I'm testing out. Look for new firmware to be released soon. In the meantime, if the BCS drops off the network, a simple power cycle will bring it back up. Only the network communication is affected, Processes should continue to run. Thanks all for helping track this bug down!

[ECC]

fixed v3.4

[hobrew]

Have a 460 and after getting it all wired in and setup it seems to have an intermittent issue with the network. The unit is setup with a Static IP and it receives pings but the webserver just dies. I power cycle the unit and bam! it comes right back. Any ideas? I have a custom hmi. Could it be some process or ladder logic that kills it?

[JonW]

Have a 460 and after getting it all wired in and setup it seems to have an intermittent issue with the network. The unit is setup with a Static IP and it receives pings but the webserver just dies. I power cycle the unit and bam! it comes right back. Any ideas? I have a custom hmi. Could it be some process or ladder logic that kills it?

Sounds like you just asked yourself the right questions. HMI or ladder logic affecting processing? Normally I wouldn't expect the GUI to become unresponsive/unavailable, but if you have some custom script or logic that is tying up resources, it could be an issue. Backup your system process, then remove the HMI and ladder logic to see if it changes the problem.

Also, what version firmware are you on?