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At SPring-8 and SACLA, we are using the FL-net for many control systems as a communication protocol between front-end computers and PLCs. The FL-net is one of the Ethernet-based open standard protocols for a factory floor network authorized by the Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association. It is a UDP/IP based master-less token passing protocol and supports a cyclic transmission. At SACLA, we had some troubles in a data acquisition by using the FL-net for beam line equipment protection system. In a network based control system, an analysis of network packets is an effective way at troubleshooting. We developed a monitoring system for the FL-net protocol, which captures and analyzes all packets of an FL-net network segment, detects protocol failure events, and stores the event information into a relational database. We can easily refer to the stored information in the database via a web browser. The monitoring system is highly portable software based system without dedicated hardware implementing a protocol stack. In this paper, the design of the monitoring system for the FL-net will be presented.
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