Ping

Use the Com>TCP/IP> Ping function to ping a remote device.

In your Ladder application:

Use the TCP/IP Card Init element to initialize the controller's Ethernet card, and include a PLC Name element.
Initialize the TCP/IP socket to ICMP.
Do not connect Ping directly to the left Ladder rail.

Note that in the Ping function, parameter B contains the IP of the Ping target, and parameter J contains the IP of the device that actually answers the Ping.

Note ♦

In order to ping the controller and enable it to reply, set the socket protocol to TCP.

Ping Parameters

Parameter Name

Type

Purpose

Socket

Constant

The PLC sends the data through this socket. Select a socket that is initialized to ICMP

Remote PLC

Constant, MI, XI

The IP of the remote device

Timeout (100ms)

Constant or register

User-defined. If no answer is received from the remote device within the Timeout period, the function waits for the Idle time to pass before resending the Ping data.

Idle time (100ms)

Constant or register

If no answer is received from the remote device, the function wait for the Timeout + Idle Time before resending the Ping request.

If a reply is received, the function wait for the Idle time, before resending.

Internal usage

DW, XDW

The function uses this for internal management. Set a Power-up value of 0.

Busy Bit

MB, XB

Turns ON when the function begins waiting for a reply

Turn OFF when the reply arrives, or when timeout is exceeded.
Use the status of the Busy Bit as a function condition.

Success Bit

MB, XB

Turns ON when reply is received without error.

Reset by user.

Rx to Tx Time

DW, XDW

Resolution:

Standard: 2.5 mSec
Enhanced: 1 µSec

Valid value ONLY when the Success bit rises.

Error Code

Ping supports the standard ICMPv4 Destination Unreachable Message Subtypes listed in the following table

Error Codes (ICMPv4)	Purpose
-2	Timeout exceeded– no reply at all
-1	No error
0	Network Unreachable The datagram could not be delivered to the network specified in the network ID portion of the IP address. Usually means a problem with routing but could also be caused by a bad address.
1	Host Unreachable The datagram was delivered to the network specified in the network ID portion of the IP address but could not be sent to the specific host indicated in the address. Again, this usually implies a routing issue.
2	Protocol Unreachable The protocol specified in the Protocol field was invalid for the host to which the datagram was delivered.
3	Port Unreachable The destination port specified in the UDP or TCP header was invalid.
4	Fragmentation Needed and DF Set Normally, an IPv4 router will automatically fragment a datagram that it receives if it is too large for the maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the next physical network link the datagram needs to traverse. However, if the DF (Don't Fragment) flag is set in the IP header, this means the sender of the datagram does not want the datagram ever to be fragmented. This puts the router between the proverbial rock and hard place, and it will be forced to drop the datagram and send an error message with this code. This message type is most often used in a “clever” way, by intentionally sending messages of increasing size to discover the maximum transmission size that a link can handle. This process is called MTU path discovery.
5	Source Route Failed Generated if a source route was specified for the datagram in an option but a router could not forward the datagram to the next step in the route.
6	Destination Network Unknown Not used; Code 0 is used instead.
7	Destination Host Unknown The host specified is not known. This is usually generated by a router local to the destination host and usually means a bad address.
8	Source Host Isolated Obsolete, no longer used.
9	Communication with Destination Network is Administratively Prohibited The source device is not allowed to send to the network where the destination device is located.
10	Communication with Destination Host is Administratively Prohibited The source device is allowed to send to the network where the destination device is located, but not that particular device.
11	Destination Network Unreachable for Type of Service The network specified in the IP address cannot be reached due to inability to provide service specified in the Type Of Service field of the datagram header.
12	Destination Host Unreachable for Type of Service The destination host specified in the IP address cannot be reached due to inability to provide service specified in the datagram's Type Of Service field.
13	Communication Administratively Prohibited The datagram could not be forwarded due to filtering that blocks the message based on its contents.
14	Host Precedence Violation Sent by a first-hop router (the first router to handle a sent datagram) when the Precedence value in the Type Of Service field is not permitted.
15	Precedence Cutoff In Effect Sent by a router when receiving a datagram whose Precedence value (priority) is lower than the minimum allowed for the network at that time.

Remote IP

The IP from the replying device. Note that it might be different than the “input Remote IP” due to network topology.