The Network Topology entry in the Configuration menu opens three pages: Network Nodes, Network Links and Network Node Types. Together they describe the plant network that the Network Topology object draws on a page: which equipment exists, how it is connected, and where each node sits.
Every configured device is a node already. Modbus TCP, OPC UA, EtherNet/IP, EtherNet/IP Generic, S7, S7Plus, DNP3, BACnet, IEC 104, IEC 61850, MELSEC, Omron FINS, Beckhoff ADS, MQTT, Kafka and ICMP devices appear on the object with their name, their IP address and a type derived from the protocol, and their status comes from the device itself: the ChannelState of a driver device or the IsOnline point of an ICMP device. Adding a device is enough for it to appear; nothing has to be entered here first.
The two pages hold what cannot be derived from the devices. A Network Node row refines a device or adds equipment that is not a device, such as a switch that is not monitored or the redundant EnvisionSCADA server pair. A Network Link row connects two nodes. Devices without a link are grouped by their subnet on the object, so the picture is useful before any link exists and gains structure as links are added.
The pages use the configuration table with search, filters, column chooser, inline editing, an Add dialog, Delete, Import and Export. Changes are written through the Configuration API, replicated to the standby server, recorded in the Audit Trail and exported with the project (networknodes.json, networklinks.json and networknodetypes.json).
Network Node Settings
Create a node with the Add button. The Add Network Node dialog contains the sections General and Status. Enter the Name and press Create; every other field is optional. The Name field accepts any name and opens a searchable list of the configured device names while typing: a row named after a device refines that device's automatic node, any other name adds a manual node.
The grid lists every node the Network Topology object draws. A device without a row appears as an Automatic row: its Name is read-only, Type shows the type inferred from the protocol and IP Address shows the address of the device. Editing any field of an Automatic row, or pressing Settings on it, creates the row that refines that device; nothing is stored for a device until then. An Automatic row has no Delete, because a device stays a node with or without a row.
The node row shows Name, Type, Label, IP Address, Status Variable, Group, Hidden and Description and these values can be edited in place. Press the Settings icon to open the Edit Network Node dialog. Renaming a node row renames it in every Network Link as well, and renaming a device renames its node row and links with it. Deleting a device removes its node row and every Network Link connected to it.
Deleting the row of a device only drops the refinement: the device stays a node with its automatic type and keeps its links. Deleting a manual node deletes its links too.
| Setting | Description | Example | Units / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Unique node name. Equal to a device name it refines that device; any other name adds a manual node. Links refer to this name. | CoreSwitch | Letters, digits, underscore, hyphen and dot |
| Type | Symbol and legend entry of the node. The list holds the types of the Network Node Types page; a new project starts with Core switch, Switch, Firewall / router, PLC / controller, HMI, Server / broker, Workstation / thin client, Remote I/O and Host. Automatic derives the type from the device protocol (PLC protocols become PLC / controller, OPC UA, MQTT and Kafka become Server / broker, ICMP becomes Host); a manual node with Automatic is a Host. | Switch | Selection |
| Label | Text drawn under the node. Empty shows the Name. | PLANT-CORE-SW | Text |
| Group | Free grouping labels, separated by commas, so a node can belong to several groups. A Network Topology object can be limited to one or more groups, so one page per line or building shows its own slice, and can offer the groups as a filter list at runtime. | Line 1, Utilities | Text, comma separated |
| Description | Free text description for documentation purposes. Shown in the details panel of the object. | Backbone switch in the control room | Text |
| IP Address | Address shown for a manual node, or an override for a device node. Empty on a device node shows the address of the device row. The subnet grouping of the object uses this address. | 10.20.0.1 | IPv4 address |
| Status Variable | Boolean variable or expression that decides online (true) or offline (false) for this node. On a device node it replaces the device status; a manual node shows Unknown without it. | SYSTEM.IsPrimary | Variable or expression |
| Hidden | Leaves the node and its links out of every Network Topology object without deleting anything. | Unchecked | Checkbox |
No rows match the filter.
Manual positions
A node row also carries a position for the Manual Positions layout of the Network Topology object. It is not entered on this page: a user in the Administrators group drags the node into place on the object, and the position is written to the row (a row is created for a device that has none). The position is a fraction of the drawing area between 0 and 1 in both directions, so it means the same on every object. The dialog keeps the position when other fields are edited.
Network Link Settings
Create a link with the Add button on the Network Links page. The Add Network Link dialog contains the section General. Enter From Node and To Node and press Create. Both fields are dropdowns listing every node name: the configured devices and the Network Node rows. Both nodes must exist, must differ, and a pair can be entered once in either direction.
The link row shows From Node, To Node, Label, Status Variable and Description and these values can be edited in place. Press the Settings icon to open the Edit Network Link dialog.
In the Hierarchical layout of the object the first link from another node makes that node the parent; a link that closes a loop, such as a ring, is drawn dotted. A link whose node no longer exists is kept but not drawn until a node of that name exists again.
| Setting | Description | Example | Units / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| From Node | Name of the node at one end: a device name or a Network Node name. | CoreSwitch | Node name |
| To Node | Name of the node at the other end. | PLC1 | Node name |
| Label | Short text drawn on the link. | ring | Text |
| Status Variable | Boolean variable or expression that decides up (true) or down (false) for this link. Empty makes the link follow its endpoints: down when either node is offline. | SwLine1.RingOk | Variable or expression |
| Description | Free text description for documentation purposes. | Fibre ring between the line switches | Text |
No rows match the filter.
Network Node Type Settings
The Network Node Types page lists the types a node can carry in its Type field. Each type has a Label, shown in the Type lists, the legend and the details panel of the object, and a Symbol, drawn inside the node. The status of a node stays on the ring around the symbol, so the symbol only identifies the kind of equipment.
A new project starts with nine types: core, switch, firewall, plc, hmi, server, workstation, io and host. The types plc, server and host are built-in, because a device without a Network Node row gets one of them as its automatic type. Their Label and Symbol can be changed; their Name is fixed and they cannot be deleted. A built-in type is marked Built-in in the Name column. The other six types can be renamed and deleted like an added type, and a deleted type does not return.
Create a type with the Add button. The Add Network Node Type dialog contains the section General. Enter the Name, the Label and choose the Symbol, then press Create. The Symbol field opens a list of symbols grouped as Network, Control, Computing, Field devices, Energy and Facility, with a search box at the top. The new type is offered in the Type list of the Network Nodes page and in the Type filter of the Network Topology object.
The type row shows the Symbol, Name, Label, the number of Nodes that carry the type and the Description. Name, Label and Description can be edited in place; the Symbol is changed in the Edit Network Node Type dialog, opened with the Settings icon or by clicking the symbol. Renaming a type renames it on every node that carries it. A type that is used by a node cannot be deleted; give those nodes another type first.
| Setting | Description | Example | Units / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Unique type name. This is the value stored in the Type field of a node and used by the Type filter of the object. | meter | Letters, digits, underscore and hyphen |
| Label | Text shown for the type in the Type lists, the legend and the details panel. Empty shows the Name. | Energy meter | Text |
| Symbol | Symbol drawn inside the node, chosen from the symbol list. | Energy meter | Selection |
| Description | Free text description for documentation purposes. | Sub-meters per production line | Text |
No rows match the filter.
Import and Export
Each of the three pages has an Import button and an Export button. Export offers Export CSV and Export JSON and writes the selected rows, or every row when no row is selected. The columns are the settings of the page, plus X and Y on the Network Nodes page, so a layout arranged on the object is carried along. Automatic rows are not exported: a device without a row stays automatic in the target project as well.
The Import button accepts a CSV or JSON file in the same format. An existing row is updated and other rows are added: a node and a type are matched on Name, a link on its two node names in either direction. Every row is checked as in the Add dialog before anything is written; when a row is refused, the message names the row and the reason and no row of the file is imported.
A link can only refer to an existing node and a node can only carry an existing type, so a complete network is imported in the order Network Node Types, Network Nodes, Network Links.
Usage
Place a Network Topology object on a page (Design article Network Topology) to draw the result. The object re-reads the nodes and links on its Refresh interval, so a device or link added here appears on open pages without a reload. The Network Nodes and Network Links buttons in the object's context menu open these two pages.
A typical workflow: monitor the switches and other network equipment as ICMP Devices so they have a live status, give each of them a Network Node row with the type Switch, Core switch or Firewall / router, and add a Network Link from every device to the switch it is connected to. Devices that are not linked yet stay visible under their subnet.