Kuka Krc4 Backup
Gigí Ruais
Sorry , guys, can you please give me any advice? I guess it is quit common issue. Just short answer is there some native function of Kuka or how can it approximately done from KRL would be already great.
Probably there is no KRL function. KRL primarily is interfacing to the real-time controller on VxWorks. Archive is handled by the UI on Windows side. Also I do not remember ever seeing a tool for automatically shedules archives.
Several years ago, I had an AutoIT script that would automate the Archive function for KSS 5.x, and later for KSS 8.x. It used the Windows Task Scheduler to execute periodically, and worked well. But at some point between KSS 8.2 and KSS 8.3 (probably at the change from WinXP to Win7), the Windows Task Scheduler quit working, even though the script still worked if executed manually. I never did manage to fix the Task Scheduler issue.
This code hasn't been tested in quite some time, and of course, as a homebrew tool, it's definitely something you use at your own risk. Newer KSS versions may have moved some of the menus around, so the simulated mouse motions may no longer be correct.
What are you trying to accomplish with this automated backup? If you only need to track program changes, you could make the C/KRC/R1 directory network-readable, and use a script on a remote computer to pull the programs periodically.
I am just to trying to organise the staff with the backing up and version control. Yes, i consider as a backup option to copy the folder with the script from the network share, just as well it will require for each new station tune the ipadresses or a bit more handy if kuka pcs will push files to the server.
"Backup" is a generic term. "Archive" is KUKA's specific name for their standard type of Archive. A KUKAbot can create an Archive een while the robot is running, without stopping or slowing production.
There are different "levels" of Archive on KUKAbots. Generally, most people just use "Archive All" -- this creates a .zip file containing all the robot programs and configuration files -- generally, everything that makes the robot different from the day it was shipped from the factory. Outside of some special cases, this is normally enough to recover the robot 100% from a "factory fresh" condition. That is, if your robot hard drive were completely destroyed, you could replace the hard drive, install the base Windows/KSS operating system package (hence "factory fresh"), then insert your Archive file and tell the robot to "Restore All". At that point, your robot should be 100% recovered, as if nothing had ever happened.
A hard drive image (that is, a set of files that records the entire hard drive of the robot, down to the last bit) is a much more comprehensive backup. On KRC4s, this can only be done using the special KSR USB stick from KUKA, or by removing the hard drive from the robot and cloning it using something like CloneZilla or Acronis on a standalone PC. This would allow you to recover your robot even if you don't have the factory-reinstall media. However, it also takes quite a bit longer, and requires rebooting the robot a few times.
In general, Best Practice is to create a KSR image of a robot when that robot's configuration is finalized and the robot is put into production (with the resulting files stored safely somewhere), and Archives are taken regularly (every month, week, or even daily, depending on how often program changes are being made) throughout the robot's production lifetime. This way, in the event of a disaster, you can recover the entire hard drive using the KSR image, then "update" the robot to the date/time of the most recent Archive.
SkyeFire - Thanks very much for the comprehensive reply which is a huge help, I've been asked to help back up some Kuka robot PC's as I'm an IT guy but I'm not at all familiar with them. The team responsible for the robots have been taking archives using the option the HMI but to be more complete, also want full backup images restored to spare drives which makes sense.
I couldn't get a display output from the PC itself and I was wary of pulling the drive when I don't know the drive structure but it seems that should be fine to use our normal Acronis tool. When you say that approach needs the robot rebooted a few times, is that because the PC needs powered down for the drive removal? Are there any risks to this approach? I've done it many times on normal PC's but I don't understand much of this system and they can't tolerate much downtime on it.
How is the KSR USB stick obtained? I've looked through one of the boxes that came with the machine and I can find a few disks some of which look like they can be used to restore the system but no sign of a USB stick so I'm wondering if that's to be purchased separately.
You can do the image like you are doing with harddisks of normal computers. And of course the robot has to be switched off to get out the harddisk. And then there is exact one reboot.
The special kuka USB stick must be purchased separately. If you use him to make an image there are two reboots do be done. One for imaging and one after imaging for normal operation. It's the same as you use for example an acronis bootstick, but the kukabots don't boot from a none kuka USB stick.
I've been asked to create a full image backup of two of our Kuka robots PCs. I intend to do this with Clonezilla which I'm very familiar with and I'm led to believe to do the Kuka PCs is pretty much the same.
What I'm not sure about is that there is no external monitor or keyboard but there is a handheld Kuka Control Panel (KCP). There does appear to be a slot for an external monitor as well as keyboard and mouse ports. Should I be using the KCP or just plug in external peripherals to make things easier?
As for rebooting control PC:
You can just switch cabinet off (wait for it all to go off) then switch back on again
you can logon as expert 'menu > Configuration > User Group' select 'expert', password: usually 'kuka'; Then go to 'Menu > shutdown' and reboot control PC from there.
I wouldn't create the image locally on the KRC, I'd extract the hard drive and plug it in as a slave into a PC.
That's how I do it. Also, as a note, use dd, not diskpart, to create the image. Diskpart can create an irrecoverable image, or even fail completely.
As for software: I always had good luck with CloneZilla, although some people caution against using that with KRCs. Norton Ghost always worked well on KRC1s, but I'm not sure they sell that anymore. I've heard good things about Acronis, but haven't used it myself.
as a linux fan I would like to do a backup using the dd command. For this purpose I want to boot the KRC4 from usb stick with a linux life version. Unfortunately the KRC4 BIOS does not let me change the boot device. When entering the BIOS configuration gui, my privileges are "user".
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Answer: Actuallyyou don't have to do anything, all archives are stored in root of the USB stick. default name for archive files is serial number of the robot - ensuring they are all unique.
And you can find the backup by select the path: File>Archive>USB(KCP).