EtherCAT Devices Backup

The Backup operation discovers all the devices on the EtherCATClosed ***EtherCAT is an open, high-performance Ethernet-based fieldbus system. The development goal of EtherCAT was to apply Ethernet to automation applications which require short data update times (also called cycle times) with low communication jitter (for synchronization purposes) and low hardware costs network and stores the topology information, AKD/AKD2G firmware files, and AKD/AKD2G parameters to the controller’s local storage.

Controller Local Storage
AKD PDMM or PCMM SD Memory Card (see SD Card Support for more information)

Before starting a backup of the EtherCAT Devices, you will need:

Modular EtherCAT

The following steps should be taken to backup EtherCAT devices when the modular EtherCAT feature (see Modular EtherCAT Concept for more information) is used to remove devices to create a machine variant.

  1. Run the KAS application which sets up the correct EtherCAT topology for the machine variant.
  2. Stop the KAS application.

    • Do not power cycle or reboot the controller between steps 2 and 3.
  3. Backup the EtherCAT devices (see Backup Steps).

Backup Steps

  1. From the web server home page, click on the Backup & Restore tab:
  2. Under the Backup tab, press the Backup EtherCAT Devices button.

    The web server will ask you to choose one or more firmware package files and suggest the filename that matches the firmware version on your drives. Selecting the firmware package files is a one-time event. The controller will remember your selection and will not ask you again for future backups.


    • AKD series drives have a firmware package file specific to their firmware version. AKD2G has a different firmware package file specific to its firmware version.
  3. Press the Continue Backup EtherCAT Devices button. It will take a couple of minutes or longer, depending on the number of AKD and/or AKD2Gs in the system.

When the backup is complete, the web server will indicate whether the backup was successful.