Ignition Server with an Edge Fallback Client

Ignition
1

Hello,

I just started working with Ignition Edge and had a few questions about setting it up and general understanding of how it works. Here’s my setup and goal:

Currently installed:
1 Standard Ignition Server License on my Laptop
1 Ignition Edge License on an Industrial PC (IPC)

Network connection:
Allen-Bradley PLC connected on 1 adapter of IPC
My laptop connected to other adaptor of IPC

I can ping the IPC and it can ping the PLC so the connection looks good (I’ve got a remote desktop connection to it too).

Goal: Run a vision client on the IPC and use the Edge as a fall-back client in case server connection goes out. I want this data stored and forwarded when the connection comes back.

Questions:

  1. If I make a project, do I need to load the same project onto both gateways? If I make a change to this project, will I need to make sure the change is reflected on the Edge so it doesn’t run an old project when the server connection is lost?

  2. I am using transaction groups to gather data from my OPC tags and store them in a database. How are these affected by Ignition Edge?

  3. I’ve tried accessing the PLC tags through a real-time provider setup, but I keep just seeing an error under the folder that it creates within the designer (on my server gateway). Gateway name is set to the name of my Edge Gateway and provider is set to “edge.” Is there something here that I’m missing?

  4. Is the Tag Historian module required on my server gateway to obtain data that is stored on the edge during connection failure? If this is the case, does the SQL bridge module have any use in this setup?

I’m just trying to understand how the Ignition Edge recovers from a connection disruption and how it work in conjunction with a traditional server setup. I have been going through the user manual on gateway setup for this under “Edge Common Tasks.”

2

  1. Yes, the ‘local client fallback’ project is a totally separate project hosted on the Edge system - it does not automatically tie in to the master project in any way.

  2. Edge licenses cannot contain the SQL Bridge module, so your transaction groups will have to continue to run on the master/main system.

  3. This could be caused by a variety of things - have you already set up and confirmed the gateway network connection is valid? If you have, and you still can’t get the remote provider working, I would call/email into support.

  4. Yes, tag historian is required on each gateway that is going to store or retrieve historical data.