[INFO] CODESYS V3.5.15.0 compatibility confirmed

[Armin@netPI]

Today I checked the compatibility of the netPI Codesys basis container https://hub.docker.com/r/hilschernetpi/n...sys-basis/ with the latest runtime version of "Codesys for Raspberry Pi MC/SL" in the version V3.5.15.0 along with the Windows Development System CODESYS V3.5 SP15 Patch 1.

I can confirm that this container is still compatible with these versions and can be still used.

Changes since runtime V3.5.15.x:

Since runtime V3.5.15.x the embedded gateway responsible for communication with the Development System is no longer active. This is stated in a CODESYS forum thread at https://forum.codesys.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=9974.So trying to setup a communication to the container using the netPI IP address as gateway will fail.

Instead you have to use the gateway that is coming with the Windows Development System running on localhost at port 1217. A click on "Scan network ..."  will identify the netPI and the container then successfully:

   

Here is picture of my successful project (with PROFINET master):

   

[arj3090]

Does the netPI support saving persistent data values in Codesys? What is the typical jitter when a program runs for at least an hour?

[Armin@netPI]

Hi there,

what I can tell you is that netPI RTE 3 supports an 8Kbyte NVRAM that is connected to the I2C1 bus of Raspberry CPU. This ferromagnetic RAM is a memory that can save data non-volatile. But for sure it needs a command sequence over the I2C bus to read from and write to it.

Since for Hilscher CODESYS is a standard user program like Node-RED, or Python or node.js or any other user program you can imagine we cannot examine indeep all the capabilities of all those. If you look to my previous post and my picture post you can see in the device tree list also a I2C network. I don't know which capabilities this one have, but I could imaging that one can program the I2C bus manually with any included CODESYS IC2 driver ... so in theory CODESYS would then be able to read/write to the NVRAM.

About a jitter I can't tell. Since we have an original Raspberry Pi 3B circuit in use this would be more a question of the CODESYS forum and experiences posted there by users. We have not measured it, sorry.

Armin

[Armin@netPI]

If there is no driver for CODESYS fpr direct accessing the I2C1 bus you could easily deploy another container with Node-RED including a node for the NVRAM. With this container you could realize a Modbus TCP server to NVRAM function. Then from CODESYS you could add a Modus TCP client with the IP address of the second container that gives you read/write access to the NVRAM.

[arj3090]

When power is removed from the unit, does it do an orderly shutdown of Linux? What I am looking for is a device that has enough capacitance to float through for a few seconds and give the CM a signal that main power is lost so it can perform a shutdown of Linux. The proper Linux shutdown would trigger Codesys to save its persistent data.

[Armin@netPI]

No I am sorry to say that this is not possible with any netPI device. It has no UPS alike function and cannot shut down Linux or CODESYS.