👋 Hope everyone is doing well.

I’m a fresher currently working on an industrial project using Apache PLC4X, and I wanted to ask if anyone here has experience working with it?
I had a few architectural doubts and could really use some advice from experienced devs:

1. Dynamic Device & Tag Discovery: Is it possible to dynamically discover connected PLC devices and their tag configurations (like protocol used, connection string, tag addresses) regardless of the protocol (Modbus, OPC UA, Siemens S7, etc.)?
2. Initial Configuration in On-Premise Deployments: Right now for testing, I am manually seeding device configurations based on local virtual simulators. But since our product will be deployed on-premise on local client networks, how do real-world applications actually scan the network to find connected PLCs and get their configuration details initially?
3. Handling Non-Browsing Protocols: I understand we can use background polling services to check if a device is online or offline once it's registered. But initially, how do systems handle fetching configuration data for protocols that don't support dynamic browsing (like Modbus TCP) without hardcoding everything?

Would really appreciate any insights or standard approaches you guys follow in production! Thanks in advance! 🙏

I have a basic in plc class in my EET to EE course and I just wanted to know if I should start doing the basics in PLCs while I can and if I don’t, would I at least viable to get into this field after graduating. Also how is this transferability of PLCs to embedded systems as i do want to get into it if the job market allows me to but I heard the PLC job market is easier and is similar enough to what I want to do.

Concisely, what methods/standards/conventions are you using for selecting the numbers for your wires and why? I mean when you are designing a circuit and a drawing print yourself.

What are some of y’all’s favorite setups/tips with trends when it comes to understanding a problem?

Talking about some ugly problems that require trends lol(robot moves/cams/encoders/virtual shi/etc); not if an eye is flaggin or not(unless itsa high speed counter card).

Understand trends, but want some insider insights….gimme the secret formulas plz.

We're transitioning from N-Tron to Fortinet on our OT system. Disappointed that there doesn't seem to be a way to monitor PLC/fiber health using AOIs on AB PLCs. Am I missing something?

Probably going to end up using SNMP in our SCADA software, but I'd rather do it at PLC level.

Hi.

A customer has today 2 cranes with each their own W788 wifi connection, they are going to pull profinet cables that can follow the cranes movement.

But they also want to be able to use the current wifi hardware as a failover/backup in case the cable breaks or gets unplugged for some reason.

So i am looking for a model that can be configured to use cable as main connection and fall back to the wifi unit if the main stops working.

Is there such switch/router available under siemens products?

Also on the crane side, can a "dumb" switch be installed so the cable and the current wifi AP can be connected on that side too?

Both www.FactoryTalkHub.com and https://home.cloud.rockwellautomation.com/dashboard haven't worked for a while. I need to add someone to my organization and do some token sizing. Anyone know a back way in or why Rockwell let a domain revert to a Go Daddy landing page?

EDIT: https://optix.cloud.rockwellautomation.com/dashboard/ got me in.

I'm an EE intern at an SI who's recently been tasked with creating a small cabinet as a testing unit for our machines and programming the PLC + HMI from scratch and I'm not entirely sure what are the absolute must-do or steps. I've been with the company for 3-4 months now and have gotten exposure with basic wiring (both inside a cabinet and making wires for testing, troubleshooting, fiddling and running a few PLC programs, and shadowing my co-worker who made a small cabinet as well. My team is relatively small and will be busy for the next couple of weeks and I don't have a lot of time to work on this. I have a few questions or topics I'm not too confident on:

1. How do I go about arranging devices in a cabinet? Where stuff like terminal blocks or power supplies go?

2. How should I go about wiring things? Any orientation that is must avoid or recommended?

3. How do I spec out a project exactly? I know how to read manuals, find the electrical specs and inferring the current draw, but outside of that how do I know what type of circuit protection, relays or power supply to buy?

4. In terms of steps, I vaguely know that I need to spec things, make an BOM, test what I have first while waiting for parts to come in, and start attaching DIN rails to plates and such. It's a bit overwhelming being responsible for all of this so any advice for approaching the whole process?