Ewon Flexy 205 Connection Unreliable

Ewon Support Ewon Flexy
#1

We have a customer with 5 different Ewons on the one site. 2 of them have only been introduced recently. They are connected to the internet with a LAN connection.

The connection constantly drops in and out, we never had issues with the previous 3 Ewons on this site. The connection seems to now drop in and out with all of them.

One thing i think i have done wrong is giving both new Ewon Flexys the same IP, this now leaves 3 with the same IP address assigned at the start. Im not sure how the site has handled the internet connection but i am thinking there might be some sort of interference.

Can i change the IP address of the ewon remotely without loosing access? will the key that is generated the link the ewon to eCatcher stay relevant if you change the IP address.

All 5 of the Ewons seem to randomly drop in and out. It would make you think it was the customers internet but there was never this issue before.

Thanks

#2

Hi eelliott,

Yes, the Talk2M activation key will remain tied to the Flexy after you change the IP. There should be no problem changing the Flexys’ IP addresses remotely so long as the new ones are appropriate. I would make sure that the new ones are not already in use, that they are on the appropriate subnet for the gateway the Flexys are connecting to, and that they do not conflict with the Flexys’ LAN IPs. After changing, the Flexys should reconnect automatically.

Best regards,
Hugh

#4

Good Morning Hugh,

Thanks for your help.

I have went in to the Flexy web page > System > Storage > and edited the COM cfg to alter the LAN IP. Changing from .150 to .158, This looks like it worked ok.

But within eCatcher, i try to alter the LAN IP to .158 but it always returns back to the .150 after a log off and on, should I be worried about this or should it harm my connection? I still can connect to the Flexy ok.

After connecting to the flexy this morning for 15 mins it has already dropped twice. Is there anything else I could look at?

Thanks,
Eric

#5

Hi eelliott,

I should clarify that the Flexy’s LAN IP is for its machine network. The Flexy is a gateway, and its LAN IP is the address the machines (such as PLCs or HMIs) attached to it will connect to. The Flexy’s WAN IP is the address that it uses to connect to your broader facility network and therefore the Internet, and is most likely what you need to change here, as it sounds like there are multiple devices on this network that are trying to use the same IP address.

Did you restart the device after changing the IP from your Flexy’s web interface? This is most likely why the change did not stick. However, I will reiterate that it is most likely the WAN IP you should be changing. You can do this from Setup → System → Communication → Networking → Eth2 WAN (assuming you are using an Ethernet connection).

Best regards,
Hugh

#6

Hello Hugh.

Only just getting back to this now. I have went in and checked the WAN IP Address for 3 different connections. They are all different.

One thing I did notice is, on the summary webpage you can see connected since: and when I loose connection, the time from VPN Connection: connected since restarts, but the Internet Connection: connected since doesn’t restart.

So would this seem like problem isn’t related to the WAP IP? There must be something annoying the VPN connection only, do you have any further suggestions?

Thanks,
Eric

#8

Hi eelliott,

Could you capture a support backup for me to take a look at? This will let us see the exact configuration of the device as well as the contents of the logs. You can do this through eBuddy by connecting to the same network as the Ewons (or directly from your computer’s Ethernet port to an Ewon), selecting the device in eBuddy, clicking Backup/Restore, then making sure to check “include support files” and clicking through the prompts.

Best regards,
Hugh

#9

Hi Hugh,

MOVED TO STAFF NOTE (325 KB) MOVED TO STAFF NOTE (323 KB)

I have added Line 7 and Line 8 Device. The other devices in this factory worked fine until these were installed recently.

Other devices of ours on different sites are going on and offline frequently too, but I havent actually been connecting to them to work on them I’m not sure how frequent.

Thanks,
Eric

#11

Hi eelliott,

We think we’ve spotted the problem. Is it possible for you to tighten your LAN subnet on these devices? They’re configured with subet masks of 255.0.0.0, which means any IP address that shares their first octet (10.x.x.x) will read as part of the same subnet. This is an issue because their VPN IPs in the backups also start with 10.

Best regards,
Hugh

#12

Hello Hugh,

I changed that and got a guy on site to cycle the power. I then worked on Line 8 and the VPN stayed connected for 30 minutes which is probably the longest it has stayed connected. I then moved to line 7, it may have improved slightly but it still has frequent drops on the VPN, it even took a while to get a period of connection long enough to get another backup.

I have now attached all 5 devices in this factory. If you could take a look and just make sure the changes I made were correct and if you can see any other reason for the frequent VPN issues. 1, 5 & 6 did work well until the recent install of 7 & 8.

MOVED TO STAFF NOTE (318.5 KB) MOVED TO STAFF NOTE (319.5 KB) MOVED TO STAFF NOTE (319 KB) MOVED TO STAFF NOTE (217 KB) MOVED TO STAFF NOTE (200.5 KB)

Thanks Again,
Eric

#14

HI eelliott,

The changes you made are correct. Let me double check my understanding of your setup: you have five Ewon devices. Three of these are older and had been working fine. You recently added two more, lines 7 and 8, at which point all five began experiencing frequent VPN disconnects. Is that correct?

Can you give us an idea of how the network these devices are connected to? How long are the Ethernet runs they’re using? Do you have any systems in place for load balancing?

Best regards,
Hugh

#15

Hello Hugh,

Yes that is correct, we had 3 on this site previously all working well, then we recently installed 7 & 8 which has meant problems with all 5 devices.

I am online with device 8 this morning and there is still regular disconnections.

The two new machines are connected into a switch in a new shed, so about 20 metres to the switch, then from that switch back to their main room which could be 50 metres away. This switch is used for cameras etc,

I have asked the guy on site to talk with their IT and see if they have any ideas on what might be happening or how to improve this, but I haven’t heard anything back yet.

Thanks,
Eric

#16

Hello,

Can I get any more assistance with this? All 5 Ewons are barely useable with the constant VPN disconnections

Thanks
Eric

#17

Hi eelliott,

Would you mind creating a ticket in our support system? We will be able to provide more in-depth support through this portal.

https://support.hms-networks.com/

Best regards,
Hugh