ARG600 network Configuration
Dear Experts,
I am having a problem configuring two ARG600 Devices with Static IP Simcards to connect a PLC with SCADA .... unfortunately the user manual is no help at all regarding the configuration is just too basic ...
so What I have is an PLC that uses Modbus TCP ( over the port 502) and SCADA that is going to read the modbus from the controller ...
the sim cards don't connect to the Internet and they can be pinged from the ARG600 "Network Test" option (1st ARG can ping the sim card in the 2ns ARG and vice versa)
but my main issue is that computer connected to the ARG600 , it looks like it's unable to forward its connection from the Ethernet Port to the Mobile Wan and thus it cannot reach the simcard "Mobile Wan network" ...
So my Questions are:
1- is this setup possible , using two ARG600 to link a SCADA with a PLC ?
2- Can I create a VPN with this setup or will i need an ARM600 at the SCADA Side ?
Here are the IP settings, if it helps in anything:
IP address of the ARG600 and Related Devices on LAN
Computer : 172.145.10.10
PLC: 172.145.10.20
1st ARG600 : 172.145.10.1
2nd ARG600 : 172.145.10.2
Sim card IPs :
1st Sim : 10.200.50.100
2nd Sim : 10.200.50.101
thank you
Answers
Hello Everyone ,
first of all thank you for the comments/feedback it helped me alot,
after all of the COVID-19 quarantine periods and delays , I managed to test some of these options but unfortunately to get the ARG600 to work , I ended up needing the ABB ARM600 communication server and create OpenVPN certificates to connect the PLCs through ARG600 to the network through openVPN and then to SCADA which is connected to the ABB communication server...
thanks again
cheers!
Tareq
by Hans-Ulli.Kroll Rank: 231 on 4/6/2020 4:24:33 AM | Like (0) | Report
Running 3G to LAN Modems on both sides is difficult
But my first question is here:
How to you get a "static" IP on you SIM Card ?
Normally you can't/(should not) overide this function on "Carrier side"
You must use the random IP, and overiding will result in a non functional Internet Connection.
by T.M Rank: 1946 on 4/6/2020 10:31:43 PM | Like (0) | Report
Technically these simcards are from the client and they have an arrangement with the "main mobile network provider" to get Static IP simcards with a Specific APN for their "clients Network"
meaning the client has many remote RTU stations connected to the SCADA over GSM/GPRS … and each station has a Static IP
by Hans-Ulli.Kroll Rank: 231 on 4/7/2020 11:32:15 AM | Like (0) | Report
So you can use 10.0.0.0/8 as transfer net
or similar
As you can ping each other devices without any problem, I assume
there is *no* "hidden" firewall or carrier grade NAT.
If you are curious please read the problems about symmetric NAT ;-)
As you have at least *two* active IP's on each side,
I think you must use here the VPN "network mode".
you have to use on each side a unique address range
i.e.
172.145.10.0/24 for right and
172.145.11.0/24 for left
and on top you want to use multiple remote RTU's
which makes it harder ...
I think this is your path you want to go ... ?
My simple (first place) solution for *each* remote "station"
one address range 172.145.x,0/24, with x from 11 to 255
to avoid a big giant "global" VPN solution
But I don't think this is possible with ARG600 on each side,
because of some software restrictions
And this will be true for most (all ?) 3G lan modems out of the box.
Need to read the manual and maybe talk to some network people ...
This is above my head.
by Hans-Ulli.Kroll Rank: 231 on 4/8/2020 12:43:44 PM | Like (1) | Report
So after reading the ARG600 manual ...
this device acts as gateway into a VPN solution
I found no OpenVPN Server option.
ABB provides for ARG600 as M2M gateway solution called ARM600
with all *fancy* options you need including
- Signal level of you "station" SIM card
- SIM card status, if you use a ARG with two SIM slots
with an easy to use interface.
And if you dare to use some other solution like OpenVPN
on some Windows Server, you will miss these fancy options.
Including monitoring and email/SMS alarms
The only thing you need is a network connection via ethernet
into your carrier/3G/4G network.
This is also true for the el cheapo OpenVPN/Windows version.
Please keep in mind the cellular networks (can) add latencies.
I experienced this up to 10.000ms (yes 10secs) on an interactive session
And this is annoying when you use SSH
Also keep in mind the connection can break at any time, so
software updates with extra precaution.
I suggest contact your regional ABB sales dept.
by lauri.helenius Rank: 8043 on 4/30/2020 2:23:18 AM | Like (1) | Report
You can use ”static key OpenVPN” server/client, provided that SIM-to-SIM traffic is allowed by private APN. Alternatively, you can NAT between cellular SIM IPs and gateways’ LANs without VPN.
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