How to determine the IP address of an EGX/ECC gateway

Issue
Determining the IP address of an ECC or EGX Gateway if the IP address has been forgotten.

Product Line
EGX100/300, EGX200/400, ECC21, PM8ECC

Environment
Powerlogic Ethernet Gateways and Communications Cards.

Cause
In some cases the IP address of an EGX may be set, but not documented. If this happens, the IP address may be forgotten and it will be necessary to reset the IP address to again communicate to the device.

Resolution

Method 1 - RS232 communications with Hyper Terminal
The preferred method is connecting to the EGX/ECC's RS232 port using Hyper Terminal. Please refer to Ethernet_Setup_Using_HyperTerminal PDF attached. Step-by-step instructions can be found in the Installation Manual for each gateway model.


Method 2 - PowerView Software

If PowerView software is installed, it can be used to scan all IP addresses of connected devices.


Method 3 - Local ARP Cache

If there was recent communication to the gateway, a record may still exist in the local ARP cache.
1. Open the Command Prompt and type: cd C:\ and press <enter>.
2. Type: arp -a <enter> and a list of the IP addresses with corresponding MAC addresses will populate.

The MAC address of the EGX is printed on the serial number label on the bottom/side of the device.


Method 4 - Network Protocol Analyzer (EGX100/300 and PM8ECC only)

Use a network protocol analyzer (packet sniffer) to read Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) packets being sent from the ECC/EGX

Note: This example uses Wireshark v2.6.2 from www.wireshark.org. Wireshark is a free piece of software licensed under the GNU General Public License. Any other network protocol analyzer should yield the same results.

1. Connect an ethernet cable directly from a PC to the EGX/ECC
2. Configure your PC's network connection to "automatically obtain IP address"



3. Launch Wireshark and double click on the Ethernet connection to capture it.


4. Wireshark should start capturing packets automatically. If it does not then click the "start capturing packets" icon in the top left.
5. Wireshark will now start listing/capturing every packet it sees on the network
6. While Wireshark is capturing the packets, power cycle the EGX/ECC
7. When the EGX/ECC boots, it will issue an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) packet across the network. Wireshark will capture the ARP calls and display them in the list



8. Click the " Stop capturing packets " button after sufficient time has passed for the EGX/ECC to fully boot



9. Look under the "Protocol" column for packets that show ARP . If you are connected directly with a ethernet cable, there should only be two devices giving ARP calls, your PC and the EGX/ECC. The EGX/ECC's "Source" will start with " SquareD_ "

10. Under the "Info" column, the EGX/ECC will show " Who has ???.???.???.??? ". This is the IP address of the EGX/ECC


Additional Notes: