Abstract: This paper details the practical process of transforming the MB+ network in the Xinyu Iron & Steel Sintering Plant into an industrial Ethernet network. It analyzes the transformation strategy in depth and explains the details of the specific implementation process. This paper provides reference and guidance for the transformation of MB+ networks into Ethernet networks. Keywords: MB+ network, industrial Ethernet 1. Current Situation Analysis To adapt to overall development, Xinyu Iron & Steel Company rationally allocated the existing 115m² sintering machine production area in the sintering plant and built a new 180m² sintering machine. Due to process layout reasons, the two sintering machines share a feeding system, namely the batching system of the 115m² sintering machine. The newly built 180m² sintering machine uses an industrial Ethernet network based on TCP/IP, with fiber optic transmission and a high data transmission rate. In contrast, the 115m² sintering machine and its feeding system, built in 2000, use a MODIBUS PLUS (MB+) network with two-core shielded twisted-pair cable, resulting in a relatively lower data transmission rate. Current process layout requires both sintering machines to share a single feeding system, necessitating a communication connection between them. The 115m² sintering machine's communication network uses a single-network architecture, making its stability and security heavily reliant on a single communication cable, thus presenting security vulnerabilities. However, the two sintering machines share some commonalities: both use MODICON's PLC control module; and both use CONCEPT and IFIX for their upper-level programming and monitoring software, albeit in different versions. Based on the above, we considered converting the single-network MB+ network of the 115m² sintering machine into a dual-network Ethernet network. Communication between the 180m² sintering machine main control room and the batching system main control room, and between the batching system main control room and the 115m² sintering machine main control room, will utilize dual optical cables. 2. Transformation Approach Through the above analysis, we have a relatively clear approach to the entire transformation project. The key to achieving communication lies in the selection of the communication module. After analyzing and comparing the TCP/IP network equipment provided by Schneider Electric, we ultimately decided to use their 140 NOE 711 X0 (100 Base Tx/Fx) Ethernet communication module for communication connections. The NOE 771 X0 module has the following advantages: it provides one RJ-45 twisted-pair interface and one MT-RJ fiber optic interface, uses Ethernet communication, supports Peer Cop definition of I/O data tables, and supports JAVA and embedded WEB services for managing PLC hardware. Its connection method is also very simple; just insert the NOE module into an empty slot on the existing PLC cabinet base plate, and it supports hot-swapping. After determining the communication module selection, our approach is as follows: 1. First, lay optical cables, from the 115m² sintering machine main control room to the batching main control room, and then from the batching main control room to the 180m² sintering machine main control room, laying double optical cables. 2. Have professionals perform fusion splicing of the optical cable heads and optical transceivers. Connect the optical transceivers to the switch using twisted-pair cables, and then use twisted-pair cables to connect from the switch to the NOE modules. 3. Install the NOE modules and Ethernet cards on the industrial control computers, configure the IP addresses of each NOE module and the corresponding industrial control computer Ethernet card, and establish communication between them. 4. Modify the configuration of the host computer programming software and monitoring software on each industrial control computer, changing it from MB+ connection mode to TCP/IP connection mode. 5. Test and verify the entire communication network, correct errors, and improve its functionality. The network structure diagram after the modification is as follows: 3. Specific Implementation First, we clarified the selection of the following equipment: Schneider's NOE 77100 communication module, and MOXA industrial switch. For the optical cable, we selected multimode armored optical cable; for the optical transceiver, we used [specific brand name]; for the network card, we used D-LINK; and for the twisted pair, we used AMP Cat5e shielded cable. Regarding hardware installation, we must pay attention to ensuring that the angle of change of the optical cable does not exceed 90 degrees during installation; we must be careful when splicing optical fibers, and it is best to use cable ties to secure the fiber optic box; when crimping the RJ45 connectors of the twisted pair, pay attention to the wiring sequence of the eight wires, and test its connectivity after crimping; when installing the network card, ensure that the network card makes good contact with the computer slot. Since we will install two network cards on each computer, we must also pay attention to the allocation of network card interrupt resources. Regarding software configuration, the focus is on IP address allocation and the configuration of the host computer programming and monitoring software. Let's first discuss IP address allocation. For example, the IP address allocation for the main control room of our 115m² sintering machine can be set as follows: NOE1 address: 84.19.4.1, NOE2 address: 84.19.4.2; ZCFOS1 operator station IP1 address: 84.19.4.101, IP2 address: 84.19.4.102; ZCFOS2 operator station IP1 address: 84.19.4.103, IP2 address: 84.19.4.104; ZCFOS3 operator station IP1 address: 84.19.4.105, IP2 address: 84.19.4.106. The IP settings for the batching system can be deduced similarly. It's important to note that the IP addresses must be assigned within the same network segment and be unique, with a subnet mask of 255.0.0.0. Next, we configure the host computer's programming and monitoring software. To enable our monitoring software, IFIX, to recognize the NOE communication module, we need to open the file "C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\hosts.ini" using the "Notepad" program included in the program's attachments (note that "C:\WINNT" should actually be the operating system's installation directory). The hosts file stores the mapping between IP addresses and device names. We modify the hosts file according to the actual situation. As shown in the figure below, assuming 84.19.4.1 and 84.19.4.2 are the IP addresses of the NOE module in the main control room of our 115m² sintering machine, their corresponding D11 is the device name configured in the IFIX host computer monitoring software. If the mapping is incorrect, it will lead to errors in signal channel lookup, and the host computer monitoring software will be unable to obtain the correct monitoring data. After modification, save and exit. This file will only take effect after the system restarts. After modifying the hosts file, we need to change the IFIX communication configuration, changing the MB+ communication mode to Ethernet communication mode. Taking the host computer configuration of the 115m² sintering machine main control room as an example, we first back up the monitoring system under MB+ communication mode, then install the IFIX Ethernet communication MBE driver. After completing the MBE driver installation, we run IFIX, open the corresponding project, click "I/O Drivers," and then "MBE" will be displayed. Double-click to enter "MBE Driver Configuration," select "Channel1," and refer to the settings in the hosts file. We set "Device Name" to D11 and "Addressing Type" to 6 digits. In "Primary Device," enter the IP address of the main NOE communication module: 84.19.4.1 in "IP Address," and in "Backup Device," enter the IP address of the slave NOE communication module: 84.19.4.2 in "IP Address." Other parameters are the system defaults. After defining the IP addresses, another important task is to define the scan data blocks. This must be defined exactly the same as the definition under MB+ mode, and the parameters of each data block must also be consistent with the previous MB+ mode to avoid errors. After defining the scan data blocks, we also need to configure the IP address of the host computer's network card in IFIX. Click "Setup" at the far right of the "Channel1" configuration window to bring up the "Channel1 Communication Setting" window, where you can set the IP address of the master network card and the slave network card. Taking the host computer configuration of the 115m2 sintering machine main control room as an example, we set the master and slave network cards of a certain host computer to 84.19.4.101 and 84.19.4.102 respectively. The slave network card settings are completed by clicking the "Advanced" option. Of course, the corresponding "Error handling" parameter can be set for each network card. The above configuration is shown in the following figure: After completing the above configuration, we need to change the point number type in the IFIX database from "MBP" to "MBE". Since there are thousands of point numbers in the above project, manually modifying them one by one is not only tedious but also prone to errors. Therefore, we can use the "Import" and "Export" functions of the IFIX database to export the data in the database as a CSV file, make the modifications in Excel, and then import it into the IFIX database. After completing the configuration changes for the monitoring software, we also need to make corresponding changes to the configuration of the programming software. Open the corresponding project in Concept, select "Configurator" under the "Project" menu, and the "PLC Configuration" window will pop up. Expand its sub-item "Config Extensions", click "Select Extensions", and set the quantity of "TCP/IP Ethernet" to 2, which means that the number of NOE modules is 2. Next, in the "I/O Map" sub-item of "PLC Configuration," we need to configure the NOE module in the slot corresponding to the physical rack. For example, if we have installed the NOE module in the first rack in the "I/O Map," its slots are slots 4 and 5, we click the button in the "Edit" column corresponding to the first rack in the "I/O Map" and add the NOE module to slots 4 and 5 in the "Local Qauntum Drop." See the image below: [align=center] [/align] After completing the above configuration, the next step is to click "Ethernet/I/O Scanner" in "Config Extensions," enter the IP address of the NOE module in the corresponding slot, and select IEEE 802.3 as the frame format. At this point, the configuration of the supervisory control and control software and the programming software are complete. After debugging and a period of actual operation, we can announce that the MB+ network transformation into an industrial Ethernet project has been successfully completed. This TCP/IP-based network effectively solves the data transmission problem between the industrial control network and the office management network. 4. Conclusion Through nearly a year of actual production operation, the upgraded industrial Ethernet has been running smoothly. Its transmission rate of up to 100Mbps has made monitoring screens run much faster. At the same time, the dual-network operation mode has effectively improved the stability of the entire production system. Relying on this network, we have connected all field information to our factory's office management network via the web, raising our factory's information management level to a new level.