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ENI File (EtherCAT.xml)

Table of Contents

Generate a EtherCAT Network Info file, to define and establish your network configuration.

🔹 What is an ENI file?

An ENI (EtherCAT Network Info) file is an XML-based configuration file that defines the structure and parameters of an EtherCAT network. It encompasses details such as the network topology, connected nodes (subordinate devices), their initialization commands, and the data exchange configuration. This file is essential for the RMP's EtherCAT master to initialize and manage the network effectively.

When generating an ENI file for the RMP, the process begins with a network discovery operation, to detect all EtherCAT nodes (subordinate devices) on the network. Each detected node is identified using its VendorIdGet, ProductCodeGet, and RevisionGet, which are matched against corresponding ESI (EtherCAT Slave Information) files. For nodes officially supported by RSI, these ESI files are typically located in the RMP's /ESI folder. After this lookup, the configuration is further refined using supplementary data from NodeInfo & CustomNodeInfo files. The result of this processing is the finalized ENI file, EtherCAT.xml, which fully defines the EtherCAT network configuration for the RMP's EtherCAT master.

See here for RSI's official supported nodes. The ESI files for these nodes are included in the ESI folder in the RMP's installation directory.

🔹 How do I generate an ENI FIle?

GUI

Command Line

API

🔹 When should I regenerate the ENI file?

  • Any change to node order (not counting swapping two identical products)
  • Additional/fewer nodes
  • Changed station alias or product code
  • Updated product revision (i.e. using a different ESI file)
  • Changing sample rate (SampleRate is included in the ENI file)
  • Changing CustomNodeInfo.xml

🔹 What errors might occur when generating an ENI file?

🔹 What is ESICache.xml?

The ESICache.xml file is a cache of the ESI files that were used when generating the ENI file. This file is used to speed up the ENI generation process by avoiding the need to re-parse the ESI files. The ESICache.xml file is located in the same directory as the generated ENI file.

If you are adding new ESI files to the ESI directory, you should delete the ESICache.xml file to ensure that the new ESI files are used when generating the ENI file.

🔹 What is RapidENI.log?

The RapidENI.log file is a log file that is generated when generating the ENI file. This file contains information about the ENI generation process, including any warnings or errors that occurred. The RapidENI.log file is located in the same directory as the generated ENI file.