Control system, controller, and control method

1. A control system comprising:

a plurality of controllers that each control a drive device serving as a control target; and

an information processing device connected to the same network as a network to which each of the plurality of controllers is connected, wherein

each of the plurality of controllers includes a storage medium that stores a network setting and a control program for controlling the drive device serving as the control target, the network setting including a corresponding relation between an IP (Internet Protocol) address of the controller and an identifier serving as an alternative to the IP address, wherein the identifier is the same between the plurality of controllers,

the control program includes a control instruction for controlling the drive device serving as the control target with the identifier indicated in the network setting of the controller as an input,

each of the plurality of controllers further includes

a processor configured with a program to perform operations comprising generating an IP address of the controller, different from an IP address of another controller, and rewriting, with the generated IP address, the IP address indicated in the network setting of the controller, and

a network interface that communicates with the information processing device in accordance with the IP address indicated in the network setting of the controller.

2. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured with the program to generate the IP address of the controller based on identification information that to uniquely identify the controller.

3. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein

each of the plurality of controllers is connectable to an external storage medium,

the external storage medium stores a setting value about an IP address, and

the processor is configured with the program to perform operations further comprising reading the setting value stored in the external storage medium, and generating the IP address of the controller in accordance with the setting value.

4. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein

the processor is configured with the program to perform operations further comprising making an inquiry to the other controller about whether or not the generated IP address is already used by the other controller, and

when there is no other controller that makes a response to the inquiry, the processor is configured with the program to perform operations further comprising rewriting the IP address indicated in the network setting of the controller with the generated IP address.

5. The control system according to claim 4 , wherein the processor is configured with the program to perform operations further comprising, when there is any other controller that makes a response to the inquiry, regenerating an IP address different from the IP address generated previously.

6. The control system according to claim 4 , wherein the processor is configured with the program to perform operations further comprising, when the other controller makes an inquiry about whether or not the IP address of the other controller is already set in the controller, generating the IP address of the controller so as not to be the same as the IP address of the other controller.

7. The control system according to claim 1 , wherein the control program stored in the storage medium of the controller comprises a duplicate of a control program stored in another controller.

8. A controller, among a plurality of controllers, for controlling a drive device, the controller comprising:

a storage medium that stores a network setting and a control program for controlling the drive device, the network setting including an IP address of the controller and an identifier serving as an alternative to the IP address, wherein the identifier is the same between the plurality of controllers, the control program including a control instruction for controlling the drive device with the identifier indicated in the network setting as an input;

a processor configured with a program to perform operations comprising generating an IP address of the controller, different from an IP address of another controller connected to the same network as a network to which the controller is connected, and rewriting, with the generated IP address, the IP address indicated in the network setting; and

a network interface that communicates, in accordance with the IP address indicated in the network setting of the controller, with an information processing device connected to the same network as the network to which the controller is connected.

9. A method for controlling a controller, among a plurality of controllers, for controlling a drive device, the method comprising:

obtaining, from a storage medium of the controller, a network setting and a control program for controlling the drive device, the network setting including a corresponding relation between an IP address of the controller and an identifier serving as an alternative to the IP address, wherein the identifier is the same between the plurality of controllers, the control program including a control instruction for controlling the drive device with the identifier indicated in the network setting as an input;

generating an IP address of the controller to be different from an IP address of another controller connected to the same network as a network to which the controller is connected, and rewriting, with the generated IP address, the IP address indicated in the network setting; and

communicating, in accordance with the IP address indicated in the network setting, with an information processing device connected to the same network as the network to which the controller is connected.