Configure TwinCAT Real-Time Ethernet

TwinCAT Real-Time Ethernet is only available on x86/AMD64-based industrial PCs TwinCAT Real-Time Ethernet is not available on Arm®-based embedded PCs (e.g., CX9240, CX82x0). The following steps do not apply to these devices.

To configure TwinCAT Real-Time Ethernet (RTE) on Beckhoff RT Linux®, you must assign vfio-pci drivers to the network interfaces that are intended for real-time use. TwinCAT provides the command line tool TcRteInstall for the simple management of network interface drivers.

Run TcRteInstall -h to display the available options.

Use TcRteInstall -l to list all network interfaces and their current driver assignments:

Use the following command to list the driver assignments:

sudo TcRteInstall -l

To assign the vfio-pci driver to a network interface, use the command:

TcRteInstall --bind <xxxx:xx:xx.x>

For example, to bind the vfio-pci driver to the network interface with the address 0000:00:03.0, execute the following commands:

sudo systemctl stop TcSystemServiceUm
sudo TcRteInstall --bind 0000:00:03.0
sudo systemctl start TcSystemServiceUm

The network interface is then available in TwinCAT Engineering for the Real-Time Ethernet configuration.