Setting about IP address and Port number for EKI Ethernet

Quote from yen_like_capoo

1. When I insert a real ethernet network line to my PC and KUKA Controller, what is the IP address and Port number I set up in the Tcp/IPv4? The one that set at Network Configuration in KUKA Controller?

Yes:

Note: the Internal Subnets cannot be used for the KLI, so you must choose your IP and Subnet Mask to ensure there is no overlap between the KLI and any of the internal subnets:

Quote from yen_like_capoo

2. What IP address and Port should my Tcp Socket constructed in PC by c++ bind to? The one that I set up in Xml file for my program?

The IP will be the IP of the robot. The port will be whatever port your EKI channel configuration exposed as a server. This is an example of an EKI server (using UDP, but TCP/IP is similar). In this example, any client application would need to open a connection to IP 172.31.1.63, Port 54601.

EKI is required to use rather high-numbered ports, in the 54000 range. You'll want to check the manual.

<ETHERNETKRL>
    <CONFIGURATION>
        <EXTERNAL>
            <TYPE>Client</TYPE>
        </EXTERNAL>
        <INTERNAL>
         <IP>172.31.1.63</IP>
            <PROTOCOL>UDP</PROTOCOL>
            <PORT>54601</PORT>
            <ALIVE Set_Flag="553"/>
            <MESSAGES Logging="warning" Display="error"/>
            <BUFFERING Mode="FIFO" Limit="128"/>
        </INTERNAL>
    </CONFIGURATION>
    <RECEIVE>
        <RAW>
            <ELEMENT Tag="inBuffer" Type="BYTE" Size="128" Set_Flag="555"/>
        </RAW>
    </RECEIVE>
    <SEND>
        <RAW>
            <ELEMENT Tag="outBuffer" Type="BYTE" Size="128" Set_Flag="556"/>
        </RAW>
    </SEND>
</ETHERNETKRL>

Quote from yen_like_capoo

3. If I want to run a background program that using EKI to send out robot joint data to PC in sps.sub and a main program that control robot motion by receiving command from PC simutaneously, should I set up different IP address and Port number for these two xml file? For example, one is 192.168.50.11 and 54611, another is 192.168.50.12 and 54612

Same IP, different ports. EKI can support up to 3 simultaneous connections. Each connection needs to have its own XML configuration file, and use a unique port.

Quote from yen_like_capoo

Thank you for this brilliant explanation. I learned a lot and understood well. Apart from using Windows Shared folder, I want to ask whether I can use Filezilla to directly send my files to Kuka Controller?

No, the KRC does not have an FTP server.

Quote from yen_like_capoo

However, I still cannot see the folder of Kuka Controller in my PC. When I use cmd to ping the ip address of Kuka, it seem to work.

Did you set a directory on the kRC to be shared? You have to go into Windows on the KRC using MInimize HMI:

Then use the Windows File Explorer to select a directory and use the Properties>Sharing menu to set that directory as Shared, and set the permissions.

Note: In general, nothing on the C: drive should have Write access from the network, with the sole exception of C:\KRC\ROBOTER\UserFiles

Likewise, most of the pre-existing directories on the D: drive should not be network-writeable, to protect critical files from being erased.

My normal practice is to create a "transfer" directory on the D: drive, make that directory network-writeable, and push my files to that directory via SMB. Then, on the SmartPad, I copy&paste the files from the Transfer directory into the robot's active RAM drive, which compiles and links them for execution.

NOTE: before doing any of this, I STRONGLY recommend making a complete KSR hard drive image backup to ensure you can recover from any damage done to the file system, just in case.

Neither. Get a KUKA recovery stick. It comes with manual. Maybe the manual can also be found in the Kuka portal. The usb stick comes with a bootable software image. It is offereing mutiple options to clone your harddisk.

Fubini

Quote from yen_like_capoo

Then how can I make a complete KSR hard drive image backup in Kuka KRC4? Should I do this inside the HMI or windows systems?

The KSR stick is bootable. It's the only "external" media that the KUKA motherboard will boot from. The KSR stick needs to be configured using a regular PC first -- there's a menu where you set what mode the stick boots in, KSRConfig.exe or something similar.

You need to be very careful with this. Setting the Stick to Restore mode will overwrite the hard drive with whatever .WIM image files are on the stick. I once accidentally destroyed my laptop by leaving the KSR plugged into it when I rebooted. The newer KSR stick software has better protections against this, but it's still a powerful tool that needs to be handled carefully.

The stick has Backup and Restore options, and Silent or GUI modes. Silent mode will let you just reboot the controller with the stick in a USB port, and it will perform an entire Backup or Restore automatically, with no user interaction. GUI mode requires connecting a monitor and keyboard before booting the KRC to the stick.

Definitely read the KSR manual before using it. It's not hard, but requires care. There are also additional options like using network drives that really aren't needed for most situations -- I always stick to the simple modes.