hide IP addresses
hide IP addresses
(OP)
Not sure if this is the right location for this, or if there is an appropriate forum on this site... I'm pretty new to industrial networking concepts, if there's a better forum or site for this let me know!
I have a machine that uses 2 IP addresses (PLC and HMI) to communicate. These come into an unmanaged switch which also connects these devices to the plant network. The customer wants to see only one IP on their network though. Initially we thought a managed switch would do the trick, but it looks like even if communication is prevented the blocked IP will still be visible to the network. Speaking with a technical expert at one of our vendors pointed us to a Hirschmann EAGLE One, which will work, but has a lot of features we will not utilize, and is pretty expensive.
Are there any other options out there to hide an IP address from one device (the network) while allowing communication with another device?
I have a machine that uses 2 IP addresses (PLC and HMI) to communicate. These come into an unmanaged switch which also connects these devices to the plant network. The customer wants to see only one IP on their network though. Initially we thought a managed switch would do the trick, but it looks like even if communication is prevented the blocked IP will still be visible to the network. Speaking with a technical expert at one of our vendors pointed us to a Hirschmann EAGLE One, which will work, but has a lot of features we will not utilize, and is pretty expensive.
Are there any other options out there to hide an IP address from one device (the network) while allowing communication with another device?





RE: hide IP addresses
I'd ask this question in Eng-Tips sister site Tek-Tips. Bunch of very smart computer nerds there.
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: hide IP addresses
RE: hide IP addresses
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: hide IP addresses
RE: hide IP addresses
The machine has two nodes, two addresses. These need to communicate with each other, and do so currently through an unmanaged switch. When the system is then attached to the network only one of the two IP addresses should be visible.
So the two nodes need to communicate with each other, but only one of the nodes is visible and can communicate with the outside network.
RE: hide IP addresses
RE: hide IP addresses
I think the neatest way would be to have a simple dedicated router that the two nodes plug in to so they can talk to each other. The uplink port of the router would be connected to the switch. The router could be configured to be a "transparent bridge" for the node you want visible. That means that as far as the visible node and all the nodes on the wider network are concerned, there's only one network. Quietly though, the router is forwarding packets back and forth for the visible node.