How-to – Reset and commissioning a ctrlX CORE

In this How-to article it is explained, how one can reset a ctrlX CORE and putting it into operation.

When is a reset useful?

A reset is needed if the user has forgotten username and/or password or if the user can no longer reach the web interface of the device (e.g. due to an incorrect NAT or firewall configuration).

It may also be useful to reset the ctrlX CORE if certain apps, such as Node-RED, no longer work and reinstalling them does not solve the problem. A reset can also be effective, if there are incorrect configurations (e.g. OPC UA configuration incorrect) or a scheduler error occurs.

There are often other ways to solve such problems. But in general, if you have not made many settings on the ctrlX CORE and the troubleshooting takes too much time, then a reset might be a good alternative.

Please note that the settings for the system apps and licenses remain unchanged after the reset. If the versions of the system apps do not match the versions of other apps or if certain licenses are missing, settings must be made in this regard.

Hardware Reset

The first step is a hardware reset, which must be carried out as described in “Hardware reset in case of ctrlX CORE and ctrlX DRIVEplus with integrated ctrlX CORE”.
The following steps are required:

1. Download the complete file structure for an external data carrier (X3_Systemimage_xx.zip) via the Collaboration Room.

   

2. Connect the external data carrier, microSD card or USB stick, to the engineering PC.
3. Delete existing files from the external data carrier and partition the external data carrier if required. The external data carrier may only have one partition formatted as FAT32.
4. Unzip the archive "X3_Systemimage_xx.zip" to the external data carrier.

   

5. Switch off the ctrlX CORE again (de-energize).
6. Insert the prepared external data carrier. MicroSD card in the CF01 slot or USB stick in the XF01 slot.
7. Switch on the ctrlX CORE again.
   • The diagnostic LED on the device starts flashing red and blue.
   • The update is completed when the LED is not flashing anymore in red and blue.
     1. LED flashes blue: Update completed successfully.
     2. LED flashes red: An error occurred.

8. Switch off the ctrlX CORE again (de-energize).
9. Remove the external data carrier from slot CF01 (microSD card) or XF01 (USB stick).
10. Switch on the ctrlX CORE again. The initial start after switching on the system again takes approximately 4-5 minutes.
    • If the LED is constantly green for ctrlX CORE X3 and ctrlX CORE^plus X3 or constantly blue for ctrlX DRIVE^plus with integrated ctrlX CORE, the start has been successfully completed.

11. The reset is completed. Continue commissioning the device.

Note that the procedure is slightly different with the ctrlX CORE^plus X7 as described in “Hardware reset in case of ctrlX CORE and ctrlX DRIVEplus with integrated ctrlX CORE”.

Commissioning

There is a

1. Connect the power supply unit to the XD10 connection point. Use the Ethernet cable to connect the XF10 engineering interface to your computer.
2. Double-click on the control symbol or enter the IP address (https://192.168.1.1) in your browser to open the web interface. Your web browser indicates an unknown certificate. Show the entire message dialog and click on “proceed” or “go on to webpage”.
3. Log in with the initial access data and accept the terms of use. Username and password are boschrexroth
4. Configure and individualize your ctrlX CORE in the web based engineering.

After successfully resetting the hardware and following the previous quick start guide, one can proceed with the commissioning of the ctrlX CORE. The required apps must be installed again in the ctrlX CORE. In the ctrlX CORE web interface, navigate to “Settings” and then to “Apps”. Working at apps and app settings is only possible in the “Service” mode.

Apps can be installed from:

1. The ctrlX Store as described in “Installing apps on the ctrlX device from the ctrlX Store”.
   • Note that the ctrlX device must be connected to the internet and connected to the ctrlX Store.

2. The engineering PC as described in “Installing apps from the engineering PC on the ctrlX device”.
   • The app data can be downloaded from the Collaboration Room.
     
     

     

System apps

As already mentioned, system apps remain unaffected by a hardware reset. They cannot be uninstalled or deactivated. Updates are possible. System apps are also available in the Collaboration Room. If new versions are available, you can install them via “Install from file” (see Figure 3) and the system apps will be updated automatically.

Adding licenses

Licenses can be added or removed at runtime under settings -> licenses. Apps that require a license check at startup whether a suitable license is available. It is generally checked for the license when started and at runtime of the app. When trying to start a function via the app website, but there is no license available for this function. The user is therefore redirected to a page informing about the missing license. A link makes it possible to go directly to the specific application in the App Store and purchase the license. Another option is to open the “Licenses” page via a second link. The licenses available on the device are displayed.