Configure Front Port Crossload Mode

Front Port Crossload mode is a communication mode that improves scan time performance by crossloading task data through the front Ethernet ports on the controller. Scan time decreases by 2x when data is crossloaded through the front ports compared to the backplane. For details, see Estimate Crossload Time per Sync Point.
Front Port Crossload Enabled Checkbox
Front Port Crossload Enabled Checkbox
This mode is disabled by default in the Logix Designer application.
IMPORTANT:
When redundancy is enabled, note the following:
  • The controller Ethernet ports are reserved exclusively for crossloading data.
  • The ports do not appear in the I/O Configuration tree in the Logix Designer application.
  • Attempts to use the Ethernet connections for any other purpose than crossloading data are rejected.

Media Redundancy

The two Ethernet ports on each redundant controller provide optional media redundancy to avoid a single point of failure. You are not required to use both front ports. If you use one port for crossloading data, the other port is disabled.

Ethernet Port IP Addresses

By default, this mode is enabled with fixed IP addresses assigned to the ports. The status display on the front of the controller does not show the assigned IP addresses of the front ports. To indicate this port configuration, the controller displays the following message on its status display:
Link x crossload-redundan-en

Requirements and Restrictions

Front Port Crossload mode has the following requirements and restrictions:
  • Use only a point-to-point connection between the ports.
    IMPORTANT: Only crossloaded data is permitted through the ports and general traffic is prohibited. Crossloaded data includes HMI, MSG instructions, going online, webpage access, I/O, and produce/consume data.
  • Changes to the Front Port Crossload mode (enable or disable) take effect only when you download the project to the controller.
    For more information, see Download the Project.
  • After a project is downloaded to the secondary controller during the Redundancy System Update (RSU) process, changes to the Front Port Crossload mode (enable or disable) cause the RSU process to cancel.
  • When Front Port Crossload mode is enabled, you cannot browse to the secondary controller through the front ports via
    FactoryTalk® Linx
    .

Diagnostics

To access diagnostics for the front Ethernet ports on the controller, see Access Front Port Diagnostics.
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