realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface Class Reference

High-performance EtherNet/IP interface for communication with Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation PLCs. More...

Inheritance diagram for realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface:

Public Member Functions
void	ImportSignals ()
	Discovers available tags from the connected PLC.
void	ReadSignalFile ()
	Imports signals from a CSV file.
void	TestConnection ()
	Tests connection to the PLC.
Public Member Functions inherited from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase
override void	OpenInterface ()
	Opens the interface and starts communication thread.
override void	CloseInterface ()
	Closes the interface and stops communication thread.
virtual void	PreFixedUpdate ()
	Processes PLC outputs before FixedUpdate - applies data FROM PLC TO Unity objects IMPLEMENTS IPreFixedUpdate::PreFixedUpdate.
virtual void	PostFixedUpdate ()
	Processes PLC inputs after FixedUpdate - reads data FROM Unity objects TO send to PLC IMPLEMENTS IPostFixedUpdate::PostFixedUpdate.
void	SetManualPhysicsMode (bool enabled)
	Enables or disables manual physics control mode.
void	StepPhysics (float timestep=0f)
	Steps physics simulation forward by a specified time duration.
override void	PostAllScenesLoaded ()
	Override PostAllScenesLoaded to prevent base class from opening interface too early.
void	OnInterfaceEnable ()
	Called by realvirtualController after all scenes are loaded to enable the interface.
Public Member Functions inherited from realvirtual.InterfaceBaseClass
void	UpdateInterfaceSignals (ref int inputs, ref int outputs)
	Creates a new List of InterfaceSignals based on the Components under this Interface GameObject.
Signal	CreateSignalObject (string name, SIGNALTYPE type, SIGNALDIRECTION direction)
	Create a signal object as sub gameobject.
Signal	AddSignal (InterfaceSignal interfacesignal)
void	RemoveSignal (InterfaceSignal interfacesignal)
virtual GameObject	GetSignal (string name)
	Gets a signal with a name.
void	SetAllSignalStatus (bool connected)
void	DestroyAllSignals ()
void	DeleteSignals ()
Public Member Functions inherited from realvirtual.realvirtualBehavior
virtual void	OnOwnershipChanged (bool isOwner)
	Called when network ownership changes.
void	SetNetworkOwner (bool isOwner)
	Sets IsNetworkOwner and triggers OnOwnershipChanged callback.
void	PreStartSim ()
	Is called by the realvirtualController before the component is started.
void	StartSim ()
	Is called by the realvirtualController to start or stop the component.
void	StopSim ()
Vector3	DirectionToVector (DIRECTION direction)
	Transfers the direction enumeration to a vector.
DIRECTION	VectorToDirection (bool torotatoin, Vector3 vector)
	Transfers a vector to the direction enumeration.
float	GetLocalScale (Transform thetransform, DIRECTION direction)
List< BehaviorInterfaceConnection >	UpdateConnectionInfo ()
List< Signal >	GetConnectedSignals ()
void	SetVisibility (bool visibility)
	Sets the visibility of this object including all subobjects.
List< BehaviorInterfaceConnection >	GetConnections ()
List< Signal >	GetSignals ()
GameObject	GetChildByName (string name)
	Gets a child by name.
List< GameObject >	GetChildsByName (string name)
	Gets all child by name.
GameObject	GetChildByNameAlsoHidden (string name)
List< GameObject >	GetAllMeshesWithGroup (string group)
List< GameObject >	GetAllWithGroup (string group)
List< GameObject >	GetAllWithGroups (List< string > groups)
List< GameObject >	GetAllMeshesWithGroups (List< string > groups)
List< string >	GetMyGroups ()
List< GameObject >	GetMeshesWithSameGroups ()
List< GameObject >	GetAllWithSameGroups ()
MeshRenderer	GetMeshRenderer ()
	Gets the mesh renderers in the childrens.
void	SetCollider (bool enabled, bool includeTriggers=true)
	sets the collider in all child objects
void	ErrorMessage (string message)
	Displays an error message.
void	ChangeConnectionMode (bool isconnected)
void	Log (string message)
	Logs a message.
void	Log (string message, object obj)
	Logs a message with a relation to an object.
void	Warning (string message, object obj)
	Logs a warning with a relation to an object.
void	Error (string message, object obj)
	Logs an error with a relation to an object.
void	Error (string message)
	Logs an error.
GameObject	DebugPosition (string debugname, Vector3 position, Quaternion quaternation, float scale)
	Displays a gizmo for debugging positions.
void	SetFreezePosition (bool enabled)
	Freezes all child components to the current poosition.
void	SetRbConstraints (RigidbodyConstraints constraints)
virtual void	AwakeAlsoDeactivated ()

Public Attributes
string	Gateway
	IP address of the Allen-Bradley PLC gateway.
string	Path
	Path to the PLC processor in the rack.
PlcType	PLCType
	Type of Allen-Bradley PLC (ControlLogix, CompactLogix, etc.)
Protocol	Protocol
	Communication protocol (typically ab_eip for EtherNet/IP)
int	Timeout
	Communication timeout in milliseconds.
DebugLevel	LibPlcTagDebugLevel
	Debug level for libplctag library output.
string	PLCSignalTable
	Path to CSV file containing PLC signal definitions.
ulong	UpdateCycle
	Number of update cycles completed.
int	ActiveTags
	Number of active tags in communication.
int	FailedTags
	Number of tags with communication errors.
Public Attributes inherited from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase
string	State
	Current connection status with visual indicator.
InterfaceState	state
	Internal connection state enum.
new string	ErrorMessage
	Last error message if connection failed.
int	ReconnectAttemptCount
	Number of reconnection attempts made.
bool	IsReconnecting
	Whether interface is currently attempting to reconnect.
int	InputSignals
	Total number of input signals found.
int	OutputSignals
	Total number of output signals found.
int	CommCycleMs
	Actual communication cycle time in milliseconds.
int	CycleCount
	Total number of communication cycles completed.
int	UpdateCycleMs
	Communication thread update interval in milliseconds.
bool	OnlyTransmitChangedInputs
	Only send input signals that have changed since last transmission (performance optimization)
bool	AutoReconnect
	Automatically attempt to reconnect on connection loss.
float	ReconnectIntervalSeconds
	Time to wait between reconnection attempts.
int	MaxReconnectAttempts
	Maximum reconnection attempts (-1 = unlimited)
bool	DebugMode
Public Attributes inherited from realvirtual.InterfaceBaseClass
bool	IsConnected
List< InterfaceSignal >	InterfaceSignals
Hashtable	SignalNamesOutputs
Hashtable	SignalNamesInputs
Public Attributes inherited from realvirtual.realvirtualBehavior
string	Name
	The name of the component if it should be different from the GameObject name.
ActiveOnly	Active
GameObject	FromTemplate
realvirtualController	realvirtualController
bool	HideNonG44Components
bool	SceneIsAdditive
bool	ForceStop
bool	IsNetworkOwner
	True when this component owns its simulation (local authority). Set to false by MultiplayerWEB on remote clients.

Protected Member Functions
override void	CopyPropertiesToThreadSafe ()
	Copies MonoBehaviour properties to thread-safe variables for background thread access.
override async Task	EstablishConnection (CancellationToken cancellationToken)
	Establishes connection to the Allen-Bradley PLC.
override async Task	CommunicationLoop (CancellationToken cancellationToken)
	Main communication loop for cyclic data exchange with PLC using FastSignalManager and metadata.
override void	CloseConnection ()
	Closes connection and cleans up resources.
new void	Awake ()
	Called when the component is first initialized.
new void	FixedUpdate ()
	Updates statistics display in the Unity Editor.
void	OnDestroy ()
	Cleanup when component is destroyed.
Protected Member Functions inherited from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase
virtual void	OnCommunicationError (Exception exception)
	Handles communication errors and manages reconnection logic.
virtual void	OnCommunicationStarted ()
	Called when communication thread starts successfully.
virtual void	OnCommunicationStopped ()
	Called when communication thread stops.
void	Start ()
	Unity Start - block base class behavior.
new void	OnEnable ()
	Unity OnEnable - opens interface when component is enabled.
new void	OnDisable ()
virtual void	OnApplicationPause (bool pauseStatus)
	Handles application pause events.
void	FixedUpdate ()
	Unity FixedUpdate for main thread operations (signal sync moved to PrePost FixedUpdate)
Dictionary< string, object >	GetInputsForPLC ()
	Gets all input signal values to send to PLC from background threads.
Dictionary< string, object >	GetChangedInputsForPLC ()
	Gets only changed input signal values to send to PLC from background threads.
void	ResetInputChangeDetection ()
	Resets change detection forcing all inputs to be considered changed on next call.
void	SetOutputsFromPLC (Dictionary< string, object > outputs)
	Sets output signal values from PLC data in background threads.
void	SetOutputFromPLC (string signalName, object value)
	Sets single output signal value from PLC data in background threads.
void	RebuildCachedSignalArrays ()
	Rebuilds the cached signal arrays used by SyncOutputsToUnity/SyncInputsFromUnity.
Dictionary< string, object >	ReadInputsThreadSafe ()
	[DEPRECATED] Use GetInputsForPLC() instead for clearer data flow direction
Dictionary< string, object >	ReadChangedInputsThreadSafe ()
	[DEPRECATED] Use GetChangedInputsForPLC() instead for clearer data flow direction
void	WriteOutputsThreadSafe (Dictionary< string, object > outputs)
	[DEPRECATED] Use SetOutputsFromPLC() instead for clearer data flow direction
void	WriteOutputThreadSafe (string signalName, object value)
	[DEPRECATED] Use SetOutputFromPLC() instead for clearer data flow direction
virtual void	PrepareForBackgroundThread ()
	Called on main thread to prepare any Unity GameObject data before background thread starts Override this to cache signal names, GameObject references, or other Unity-specific data that the background thread will need to access.
virtual void	CleanupAfterBackgroundThread ()
	Called on main thread after background thread stops to clean up Unity-specific resources Override this to clean up cached data, reset Unity components, or perform other main-thread cleanup.
virtual void	UpdateSignalCounts ()
	Updates input and output signal counts.
Protected Member Functions inherited from realvirtual.InterfaceBaseClass
void	OnConnected ()
void	OnDisconnected ()
void	OnEnable ()
void	OnDisable ()
Protected Member Functions inherited from realvirtual.realvirtualBehavior
bool	hidename ()
bool	hideactiveonly ()
virtual void	OnStopSim ()
virtual void	OnPreStartSim ()
virtual void	OnStartSim ()
MU	GetTopOfMu (GameObject obj)
	Gets the top of an MU component (the first MU script going up in the hierarchy)
void	InitGame4Automation ()
	Initialiates the components and gets the reference to the realvirtualController in the scene.
virtual void	AfterAwake ()
void	Awake ()

Additional Inherited Members
Public Types inherited from realvirtual.realvirtualBehavior
enum	ActiveOnly {   Always , Connected , Disconnected , Never ,   DontChange }
Static Public Member Functions inherited from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase
static bool	IsManualPhysicsMode ()
	Gets whether manual physics mode is currently enabled globally.
Static Public Member Functions inherited from realvirtual.realvirtualBehavior
static bool	DirectionIsLinear (DIRECTION direction)
	Gets back if the direction is linear or a rotation.
Protected Attributes inherited from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase
string	threadSafeErrorMessage
int	privateCycleCount
int	privateCommCycleMs
bool	threadSafeDebugMode
int	threadSafeUpdateCycleMs
Properties inherited from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase
new bool	IsConnected [get]
override bool	ShowIsConnectedField [get]
	Used by [ShowIf] to hide IsConnected field for FastInterface classes - always returns false.
bool	IsInterfaceReady [get]
	Returns true if the interface has been initialized via OnInterfaceEnable.
Properties inherited from realvirtual.InterfaceBaseClass
virtual string	InterfaceDisplayName [get]
	Display name for interface in UI lists (removes "Interface" suffix by default, can be overridden for custom names)
virtual bool	ShowIsConnectedField [get]
Properties inherited from realvirtual.IOnInterfaceEnable

Detailed Description

High-performance EtherNet/IP interface for communication with Allen-Bradley/Rockwell Automation PLCs.

This interface provides robust, thread-safe communication with ControlLogix, CompactLogix, MicroLogix, and other EtherNet/IP compatible controllers. It supports tag-based data access for seamless integration with RSLogix/Studio 5000 projects and Factory Talk applications.

Key Features:

• Thread-safe background communication using FastInterface architecture
• Support for REAL, BOOL, SINT, INT, DINT data types
• Automatic reconnection on network failuresye
• CSV-based signal table import for bulk signal configuration
• Tag discovery from connected PLC
• Metadata-based tag mapping for flexible signal routing

Common Applications:

• Virtual commissioning with Rockwell Automation systems
• Integration with Factory Talk applications
• Real-time data exchange with Allen-Bradley PLCs
• Industrial simulation with actual PLC hardware

Integration Points:

• Works with realvirtual signal system (PLCInputBool, PLCOutputFloat, etc.)
• Compatible with FastSignalManager for high-performance signal access
• Integrates with Unity's component lifecycle for proper resource management

Performance Considerations:

• Uses async/await patterns for non-blocking communication
• Batch operations for efficient tag reading/writing
• OnlyTransmitChangedInputs option for bandwidth optimization
• Configurable update cycle for balancing responsiveness and CPU usage

For detailed documentation see: https://doc.realvirtual.io/components-and-scripts/interfaces/ethernetip

Member Function Documentation

Awake()

new void realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.Awake ( )

protected

Called when the component is first initialized.

CloseConnection()

override void realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.CloseConnection ( )

protectedvirtual

Closes connection and cleans up resources.

Reimplemented from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase.

CommunicationLoop()

override async Task realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.CommunicationLoop ( CancellationToken  cancellationToken )

protectedvirtual

Main communication loop for cyclic data exchange with PLC using FastSignalManager and metadata.

Reimplemented from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase.

CopyPropertiesToThreadSafe()

override void realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.CopyPropertiesToThreadSafe ( )

protectedvirtual

Copies MonoBehaviour properties to thread-safe variables for background thread access.

Reimplemented from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase.

EstablishConnection()

override async Task realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.EstablishConnection ( CancellationToken  cancellationToken )

protectedvirtual

Establishes connection to the Allen-Bradley PLC.

Reimplemented from realvirtual.FastInterfaceBase.

FixedUpdate()

new void realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.FixedUpdate ( )

protected

Updates statistics display in the Unity Editor.

ImportSignals()

void realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.ImportSignals

(

)

Discovers available tags from the connected PLC.

OnDestroy()

void realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.OnDestroy ( )

protected

Cleanup when component is destroyed.

ReadSignalFile()

void realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.ReadSignalFile

(

)

Imports signals from a CSV file.

TestConnection()

void realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.TestConnection

(

)

Tests connection to the PLC.

Member Data Documentation

ActiveTags

int realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.ActiveTags

Number of active tags in communication.

FailedTags

int realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.FailedTags

Number of tags with communication errors.

Gateway

string realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.Gateway

IP address of the Allen-Bradley PLC gateway.

LibPlcTagDebugLevel

DebugLevel realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.LibPlcTagDebugLevel

Debug level for libplctag library output.

Path

string realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.Path

Path to the PLC processor in the rack.

PLCSignalTable

string realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.PLCSignalTable

Path to CSV file containing PLC signal definitions.

PLCType

PlcType realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.PLCType

Type of Allen-Bradley PLC (ControlLogix, CompactLogix, etc.)

Protocol

Protocol realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.Protocol

Communication protocol (typically ab_eip for EtherNet/IP)

Timeout

int realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.Timeout

Communication timeout in milliseconds.

UpdateCycle

ulong realvirtual.EthernetIPInterface.UpdateCycle

Number of update cycles completed.