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VersaMax PROFINET Scanner Manual
– December 2013
GFK-2721A
4
Error Handling
The PROFINET Scanner has two error-handling methods: fatal error handling and PROFINET
Diagnostics. Fatal error handling is described below. PROFINET diagnostics are described in
the next section.
Fatal Error Handling
Any failures that occur during powerup or firmware update mode are considered fatal errors.
This includes faults detected on non-critical devices such as the USB port. After successful
powerup of the PROFINET Scanner, only catastrophic errors are treated as fatal.
If a fatal error occurs, the PROFINET scanner either blinks an error code on its LEDs or restarts
automatically, depending on its configured Fatal Error Action. If the module has not been
configured, it blinks an error code (the default setting). For example, a blink code of 4-5 is a
Watchdog error. This may be expected during heavy network traffic.
When the PROFINET Scanner detects a catastrophic failure it tries to save diagnostic
information to non-volatile storage. This information overwrites any previous diagnostic
information in storage. Only information about the most recent fatal error is retained. This
information is available on future power cycles to be retrieved and sent to GE Intelligent
Platforms for analysis.
While diagnostic information is being saved, the PROFINET Scanner blinks its OK LED amber.
The PROFINET Scanner disables Ethernet and USB communications, so communication with
the module is not possible. If the PROFINET Scanner cannot save the diagnostic information it
is considered a failed Save attempt.
After the attempt to store the information has completed (whether it succeeded or failed), the
module either blinks an error code or restarts, depending on how it is configured.
Automatic Restart
If the PROFINET Scanner is configured to automatically restart after a fatal error, on the next
successful power-up, a diagnosis alarm is generated to indicate the PROFINET Scanner reset.
This diagnosis alarm turns the Fault LED on and persists until the PROFINET Scanner is
power-cycled. There is no way to clear this fault other than a second successful restart.
This might be a preferable setting under certain conditions. For example, if you are experiencing
repeated 4-5 Watchdog errors, you could use this setting to automatically recover.
A persistent fatal error that occurs after the PROFINET Scanner has successfully powered-up
can cause the module to continually reset itself.
