1. Introduction

1.1. What is EtherCAT®?

EtherCAT® (Ethernet for Control Automation Technology) is a high-performance Ethernet Fieldbus technology that provides a reliable, efficient, and cost-effective communication solution for a wide variety of industrial automation applications. Originally developed as an open technology by Beckhoff Automation in 2003, and subsequently turned over to an independent organization known as the EtherCAT® Technology Group, EtherCAT® has since become one of the most widely used industrial Ethernet protocols in the world.

See also

A comprehensive introduction to EtherCAT® technology can be found at https://www.acontis.com/en/what-is-EtherCAT®-communication-protocol.html.

1.2. The EC-Monitor - Features

1.3. Protected version

The EC-Monitor software is available in different protected versions:

Protected

Binary with MAC protection

Unrestricted

Binary without MAC protection

Source

Source code

The protected version will automatically stop after about 30 minutes of continuous operation. In order to remove this restriction a valid runtime license key is required. The runtime license protection is based on the MAC address of the Ethernet controller used for the EtherCAT® protocol. With a valid License Key the protected version will automatically become an unrestricted version.

1.3.1. Licensing procedure for Development Licenses

  1. Installation of EC-Monitor protected version

  2. Determine the MAC Address by calling emonGetSrcMacAddress() or from a sticker applied on the hardware near the Ethernet controller

  3. Send an Email with the subject “Development License Key Request, Commission your commission number” with the MAC address to sales@acontis.com

  4. Acontis will create the license keys and return them in a License Key Text File (CSV format).

    Number;MAC Address;License Key
1;00-00-5A-11-77-FE;DA1099F2-15C249E9-54327FBC
2;64-31-50-80-20-4E;1B7C1F86-D08E40A8-4F96F2BA

  5. Activate the License Key by calling emonSetLicenseKey() with the license key that corresponds to the MAC address on the hardware and check the return code. The license key is 26 characters long.

    dwRes = emonSetLicenseKey(0, "DA1099F2-15C249E9-54327FBC");

1.3.2. Licensing procedure for Runtime Licenses

  1. Installation of EC-Monitor protected version

  2. Determine the MAC Address by calling emonGetSrcMacAddress() or from a sticker applied on the hardware near the Ethernet controller

  3. Provide the MAC Addresses and numbers from previously ordered and unused runtime license stickers in a text file to acontis as described in the example below. Please use a separate line for each runtime license sticker number and MAC Address.

    S/N; MAC Address
100-105-1-1/1603310001;00-00-5A-11-77-FE
100-105-1-1/1603310002;64-31-50-80-20-4E

  4. Send an Email with the subject “Runtime License Key Request, Commission your commission number” with the MAC address to sales@acontis.com

  5. Acontis will create the license keys and return them in a License Key Text File (CSV format).

    Number;MAC Address;License Key
1;00-00-5A-11-77-FE;DA1099F2-15C249E9-54327FBC
2;64-31-50-80-20-4E;1B7C1F86-D08E40A8-4F96F2BA

  6. Activate the License Key by calling emonSetLicenseKey() with the license key that corresponds to the MAC address on the hardware and check the return code.

    dwRes = emonSetLicenseKey(0, "DA1099F2-15C249E9-54327FBC");

1.4. License

1.4.1. EC-Monitor license

According to EC-Monitor Software License Agreement (SLA).

1.4.2. Free Open Source Software contained in EC-Monitor

1.4.2.1. Expat XML parser license V2.6.0

Copyright (c) 1997-2000 Thai Open Source Software Center Ltd
Copyright (c) 2000      Clark Cooper <coopercc@users.sourceforge.net>
Copyright (c) 2000-2005 Fred L. Drake, Jr. <fdrake@users.sourceforge.net>
Copyright (c) 2001-2002 Greg Stein <gstein@users.sourceforge.net>
Copyright (c) 2002-2016 Karl Waclawek <karl@waclawek.net>
Copyright (c) 2016-2024 Sebastian Pipping <sebastian@pipping.org>
Copyright (c) 2016      Cristian Rodríguez <crrodriguez@opensuse.org>
Copyright (c) 2016      Thomas Beutlich <tc@tbeu.de>
Copyright (c) 2017      Rhodri James <rhodri@wildebeest.org.uk>
Copyright (c) 2022      Thijs Schreijer <thijs@thijsschreijer.nl>
Copyright (c) 2023      Hanno Böck <hanno@gentoo.org>
Copyright (c) 2023      Sony Corporation / Snild Dolkow <snild@sony.com>
Licensed under the MIT license:

Permission is  hereby granted,  free of charge,  to any  person obtaining
a  copy  of  this  software   and  associated  documentation  files  (the
"Software"),  to  deal in  the  Software  without restriction,  including
without  limitation the  rights  to use,  copy,  modify, merge,  publish,
distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit
persons  to whom  the Software  is  furnished to  do so,  subject to  the
following conditions:

The above copyright  notice and this permission notice  shall be included
in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE  SOFTWARE  IS  PROVIDED  "AS  IS",  WITHOUT  WARRANTY  OF  ANY  KIND,
EXPRESS  OR IMPLIED,  INCLUDING  BUT  NOT LIMITED  TO  THE WARRANTIES  OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN
NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR  COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM,
DAMAGES OR  OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER  IN AN  ACTION OF CONTRACT,  TORT OR
OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE
USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

1.4.3. Free Open Source Software supported by EC-Monitor

The following components are not part of EC-Monitor, but relate to it:

1.4.3.1. acontis atemsys Linux kernel module

The acontis atemsys is licensed under the GPL:

Copyright (c) 2009 - 2020 acontis technologies GmbH, Ravensburg, Germany
All rights reserved.

This program is free software; you can redistribute  it and/or modify it
under  the terms of  the GNU General  Public License as published by the
Free Software Foundation;  either version 2 of the  License, or (at your
option) any later version.

1.4.3.2. WinPCap

The WinPCap library is supported, but not shipped with EC-Monitor.

1.4.3.3. Npcap

The Npcap library is supported, but not shipped with EC-Monitor.

1.5. Versioning

EC-Monitor follows the following versioning scheme: VMAJOR. MINOR. SERVICEPACK. BUILD (e.g. V3.2.1.04).

The libraries are binary compatible by unchanged MAJOR and MINOR digits. If SERVICEPACK increments, BUILD restarts with 01. BUILD 99 is reserved for test builds that have not been officially released for productive usage.