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Network recovery

The most common drift in this facility is the lab PC losing its static IP on the Ethernet 4 adapter. Symptom: ADCL WinSoft cannot reach the drive; the footer shows a red "Disconnected" indicator; Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.50.10 -Port 502 times out.

Diagnosis tree

flowchart TD
  A[Modbus connection fails] --> B{Test-NetConnection<br/>to 192.168.50.10:502}
  B -->|TcpTestSucceeded: True| C[Application-level issue<br/>see Troubleshooting]
  B -->|TcpTestSucceeded: False| D{Ethernet 4 has<br/>192.168.50.100?}
  D -->|No| E[Re-assert static IP]
  D -->|Yes| F{Cable plugged in<br/>both ends?}
  F -->|No| G[Plug it back in]
  F -->|Yes| H{RETA-01 LEDs<br/>all green?}
  H -->|No| I[Power-cycle drive;<br/>check group 51 params]
  H -->|Yes| J[Cable is bad;<br/>swap and retest]

Re-asserting the static IP on Ethernet 4

From PowerShell as Administrator on the lab PC:

$alias = 'Ethernet 4'

# Remove DHCP-assigned address if present
Remove-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias $alias -Confirm:$false -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Set-DnsClient -InterfaceAlias $alias -ResetServerAddresses
Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias $alias -Dhcp Disabled

# Set the static address
New-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias $alias `
                 -IPAddress 192.168.50.100 `
                 -PrefixLength 24

Verify:

Get-NetIPAddress -InterfaceAlias 'Ethernet 4'
Test-NetConnection -ComputerName 192.168.50.10 -Port 502

Expect to see 192.168.50.100 and TcpTestSucceeded : True.

If the adapter alias is different on your install (e.g. Ethernet, Ethernet 2, etc.), identify the right one by MAC address 6C:1F:F7:C3:96:59:

Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object MacAddress -eq '6C-1F-F7-C3-96-59'

Power-cycling the drive

If the RETA-01's MODULE STATUS LED is anything other than steady green, the recovery is:

  1. Stop any control software that might be writing to the drive.
  2. Open the main switch. Wait at least 30 s (the RETA-01 is mostly drained by then; the full 5-minute discharge wait is only required for opening the enclosure).
  3. Close the main switch. The drive boots, the RETA-01 boots; LEDs should turn green within ~15 s.
  4. Verify Modbus reachability (Test-NetConnection ...).
  5. If the LED is still not green, Parameter recovery may be needed — 51.16 might have been switched off the ABB Drives profile, or the IP in 51.04–51.07 might be wrong.

When the cable itself is at fault

The Cat 5e cable between the USB Ethernet adapter and the RETA-01 is plugged and unplugged occasionally for desk reorganization. Bad cables produce flaky Modbus connections (occasional timeouts, slow reads). Swap to a known-good cable as the second-to-last resort before declaring an adapter dead.

When the adapter is dead

The Realtek 2.5 GbE adapter has been reliable, but if it dies the replacement plan is:

  1. Buy any USB-to-Ethernet adapter that supports static IP configuration on Windows 11.
  2. Plug it in; let Windows install the driver.
  3. Identify the new adapter via the MAC address shown in Get-NetAdapter. Update this manual and the network recovery script with the new MAC.
  4. Re-assert the static IP 192.168.50.100/24.
  5. Verify Modbus reachability.

There is nothing magical about the existing adapter — any equivalent will do.