The software used by the AC 800M Controller is collectively referred to as Control Software. This is a generic term describing the full set of functions that operate inside the controller—it does not represent a single software package. Control Software consists of three functional layers:

Hardware functions
(supervision, communication buses, I/O buses, diagnostics, etc.)

Firmware functions
(real-time executive system, real-time clock, redundant communication handling, and other embedded system services)

Application program
(user-defined logic, library functions, communication protocols, and task execution routines)

To develop and load an application into the controller, the Control Builder engineering tool must be used. Control Builder is part of the Industrial IT 800xA System.

Firmware and Application Loading

The AC 800M controller is delivered without Control Software preloaded. To make the controller operational, the following steps are required:

1. Load the firmware into the CPU.

2. Download the application program using the Control Builder download function.

At delivery, the processor unit includes minimal firmware that enables communication via the CN1 or CN2 Ethernet ports. However, the released firmware supplied on the delivery media must always be downloaded to the CPU before loading any application program.

If the controller is shipped without preloaded firmware, it must be initialized and loaded using the COM4 serial port.