Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server

Transcription

1 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server User s Guide Revision D August 2001 Wonderware Corporation

2 All rights reserved. No part of this documentation shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Wonderware Corporation. No copyright or patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this documentation, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. The information in this documentation is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Wonderware Corporation. The software described in this documentation is furnished under a license or nondisclosure agreement. This software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of these agreements. Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server User s Guide 2001 Wonderware Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 100 Technology Drive Irvine, CA U.S.A. (949) Trademarks All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Wonderware Corporation cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Wonderware, InTouch and FactorySuite Web Server are registered trademarks of Wonderware Corporation. FactorySuite, Wonderware FactorySuite, WindowMaker, WindowViewer, SQL Access Manager, Recipe Manager, SPCPro, DBDump, DBLoad, HDMerge, HistData, Wonderware Logger, Alarm Logger, InControl, InBatch, IndustrialSQL, FactoryOffice, FactoryFocus, License Viewer, SuiteLink, SuiteVoyager, and NetDDE are trademarks of Wonderware Corporation.

3 i Contents Introduction...1 Communication Protocols...1 Accessing Remote Items via the I/O Server...2 MOSCAD Main Window...3 View Menu...4 File Menu...5 Configuring the I/O Server...6 Configuring Gateway Node Definition...7 Gateway Node Definition...7 Configuring a Topic Definition...10 Topic Definition...10 MOSCAD Topic Definition...11 Configuring the I/O Server Settings...13 Server Settings...13 Configuring the Security...15 Security...15 Configuring the Logger...16 Set Logger Mode...16 Data Menu...17 Data Monitor...17 MOSCAD Data Monitor...18 Dump Active Data to a File...20 Dump Active Data...20 Dump Topic Database to a File...21 Accessing I/O Server Help...22 Contents...22 How to Use Help...22 About MOSCAD...22 Guidelines on Server Performance...23 Update Intervals...23 PendMsgQ...23 PendCmdQ...24 Protocol Time Multiplier...24 UpdateInterval and MaxInterval...24

4 ii Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Redundancy and Hot Standby Configuration Examples Item Names Predefined Item/Point Names UPDATEINTERVAL Item MAXINTERVAL Item STORESETTINGS Item ITEMCOUNT Item ERRORCOUNT Item WRITECOMPLETE Item STATUS Item SET_TIME Item DATE_TIME Item PendMsgQ Item PendCmdQ Item Special Item Names for Gateways Topic GW1_STAT_<nodename> Item GW2_STAT_<nodename> Item GW1_SMODE_<nodename> Item GW2_SMODE_<nodename> Item MOSCAD System Definition Files RTU Types Definition MOSCAD System Definition Monitoring the Status of Communications with a PLC Using the Status Item in Excel Monitoring the Status of Communications with InTouch Using DDEStatus and IOStatus in Excel Reading Values from the I/O Server into Excel Writing Values to the I/O Server from Excel Troubleshooting I/O Server Communication Problems Debugging Communication Between InTouch and an I/O Server Debugging Communication Between SuiteLink and an I/O Server Debugging Communication Between an I/O Server and a PLC... 43

5 1 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Introduction The Wonderware Motorola Data Link Control Gateway I/O Server (also referred as MDLC or the server through the remainder of this user s guide) is a Microsoft Windows application program that acts as a communication protocol server. It allows other Windows application programs to access data from MOSCAD Remote Terminal Units. The server communicates to a Motorola MDLC Gateway. The MDLC Gateway handles all communication to the MOSCAD RTUs. The server uses TCP/IP protocol to communicate with one or more MDLC Gateways connected via an Ethernet network. While the server is primarily intended for use with Wonderware InTouch (version 3.01 and later), it may be used by any Microsoft Windows program capable of acting as a DDE, FastDDE, or SuiteLink client. Communication Protocols Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) is a communication protocol developed by Microsoft to allow applications in the Windows environment to send/receive data and instructions to/from each other. It implements a client-server relationship between two concurrently running applications. The server application provides the data and accepts requests from any other application interested in its data. Requesting applications are called clients. Some applications such as InTouch and Microsoft Excel can simultaneously be both a client and a server. FastDDE provides a means of packing many proprietary Wonderware DDE messages into a single Microsoft DDE message. This packing improves efficiency and performance by reducing the total number of DDE transactions required between a client and a server. Although Wonderware's FastDDE has extended the usefulness of DDE for our industry, this extension is being pushed to its performance constraints in distributed environments. NetDDE extends the standard Windows DDE functionality to include communication over local area networks and through serial ports. Network extensions are available to allow DDE links between applications running on different computers connected via networks or modems. For example, NetDDE supports DDE between applications running on IBM compatible computers connected via LAN or modem and DDE-aware applications running on non-pc based platforms under operating environments such as VMS and UNIX.

6 2 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server SuiteLink uses a TCP/IP based protocol and is designed specifically to meet industrial needs such as data integrity, high-throughput, and easier diagnostics. This protocol standard is only supported on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 and Windows SuiteLink is not a replacement for DDE, FastDDE, or NetDDE. The protocol used between a client and a server depends on your network connections and configurations. SuiteLink was designed to be the industrial data network distribution standard and provides the following features: Value Time Quality (VTQ) places a time stamp and quality indicator on all data values delivered to VTQ-aware clients. Extensive diagnostics of the data throughput, server loading, computer resource consumption, and network transport are made accessible through the Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000 operating systems Performance Monitor. This feature is critical for the scheme and maintenance of distributed industrial networks. Consistent high data volumes can be maintained between applications regardless if the applications are on a single node or distributed over a large node count. The network transport protocol is TCP/IP using Microsoft s standard WinSock interface. Accessing Remote Items via the I/O Server The communication protocol addresses an element of data in a conversation that uses a three-part naming convention that includes the application name, topic name and item name. The following briefly describes each portion of this naming convention: application name topic name The name of the Windows program (server) that will be accessing the data element. In the case of data coming from or going to Motorola equipment via this server, the application portion of the address is MOSCAD. Meaningful names are configured in the server to identify specific devices. These names are then used as the topic name in all conversations to that device. For example, Topic1. Note You can define multiple topic names for the same device (PLC) to poll different points at different rates. item name A specific data element within the specified topic. For example, when using this server, an item can be a discrete input, timer, real value, analog value output, etc., in the PLC. Note The item/point names are predefined by the server. The term "point" is used interchangeably with the term "item" in this user's guide.! For more information on item/point names, see the "Item Names" section in this user's guide.

7 MOSCAD Main Window MOSCAD Main Window 3 Double-click on the server s icon to start. When the server starts, the main window will appear: The current configuration file and its full path are displayed in the main window title bar. If any topics are active, they will appear in the client area of this window called the topic monitor list.

8 4 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server View Menu The View menu has two options that change the appearance of the main window. Both options are enabled or disabled by selecting the menu option. A check next to the option indicates the option is enabled. Toolbar option adds (when enabled) or removes the toolbar (small buttons) located below the menu. Status Bar option adds (when enabled) or removes the status indication bar located at bottom of window. The main window shown above has both options enabled. The main window shown below has both options disabled.

9 File Menu 5 File Menu File menu options deal with loading and saving the internal topic configuration database. New Clears the internal Gateway mode definition and topic databases for a new configuration. This menu is disabled when the server is active. Open Replaces the internal topic database with the information contained in the user selected configuration file. This menu is disabled when the server is active. Save As Saves the internal topic database under a new name. This command is only needed if you want to save the configuration under a different name. If you edit the internal configuration database, the data is stored automatically in the current configuration file. This menu is disabled when the server is active. Exit Terminates the server.

10 6 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Configuring the I/O Server Once the server has been installed, some configuration is required. Configuring the server automatically saves the data in a configuration file. If no configuration file is selected, the user is prompted to select a filename. To access the options used for the various configurations, open the Configure menu: Note If any of the options appear grayed, then these options are not available with this software version.

11 Configuring Gateway Node Definition Configuring Gateway Node Definition 7 Use the Gateway Node Definition option to configure communication parameters for all Motorola MDLC Gateway(s) used by the server. When the Gateway Node Definition is selected, the Gateway Node Definition dialog box will appear: Gateway Node Definition To modify or examine an existing Gateway Node Definition, select it s name from the drop down list box. Select the Add Node button to create a new Gateway Node Definition. The following dialog box will appear: Enter a name for the definition and select OK. The new name can now be selected from Gateway Node Name drop-down list box.

12 8 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server To delete a definition, select it s name from the Gateway Node Name drop down list box and select Delete Node. A dialog box will appear asking you to confirm the deletion. Note This option is not available in this version. Every definition requires a Gateway 1 IP Address. Enter an optional Gateway 2 IP Address. This option is required for hot standby. Select Not Used when a Secondary Gateway is not used. Enter the period between polls for both Gateway 1 and Gateway 2 status. Note This is not the Update Interval for the Gateways Topic. Enter the maximum number of messages pending (unacknowledged) between this server and the Primary Gateway for normal and high priority messages. Specify the number of protocol timer ticks that must occur before checking a topic s Update Interval to start a new poll transmission without delaying the server s response to received messages. Topics using this Gateway Node will decrease CPU usage if a number other than 1 (one) is entered. Note The server will check for RTU response to a topic s poll message for each protocol timer tick. The value entered only effects poll transmissions.

13 Configuring Gateway Node Definition 9 Select this option to have hot standby processed by the server. This setting will be disabled if a Gateway 2 IP Address is not defined. When selected, the server will automatically switch to the Gateway 2 IP Address if Gateway 1 fails. If not selected, switching over to the Gateway 2 IP Address must be controlled by the client using the Gateways Topic. Note See Special Item Names for Gateways Topic section later in this user s guide. Note For more information, see Hot Standby - Principles of Operations section later in this user s guide. Select to modify or view topics that use the Gateway Node Name. Select Done to complete Gateway Node Definition. Note Saving the Gateway Node Definition occurs only if the settings have changed.

14 10 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Configuring a Topic Definition Use the Topic Definition option from the Configure menu to create new, modify, or delete topic definitions. One or more topic definitions must exist for each RTU communicating with the server. Each topic definition must contain the site ID of the associated RTU. When this option is selected, the Topic Definition dialog box will appear: Topic Definition Note Once topics have been defined, their names will be listed in the Topics section of this dialog box. Click this button to close the dialog box and accept any new definitions, modifications or deletions made. To modify or view an existing topic definition, select its name in the list and click on this button. The Topic Configuration dialog box (described below) will appear displaying the selected topic definition. To delete an existing topic definition, select its name in the list and click on this button. A message box will appear prompting you to confirm the deletion. To add a new topic definition, click on this button. The Topic Configuration dialog box will appear:

15 Configuring a Topic Definition 11 MOSCAD Topic Definition Enter a unique name for the topic. Do not name the topic GATEWAYS unless the GATEWAYS option is selected. Note When communicating with InTouch, this exact name is used as the topic name in the Access Name definition. Select the GATEWAYS option to create a special topic containing only predefined items. See Special Item Names for Gateways Topic section later in this user s guide. Select the Gateway Node Definition associated with this topic.

16 12 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Select the RTU Site ID. The corresponding value must be present in the MOSCAD System Definition file. See MOSCAD System Definition Files section later in this user s guide The RTU Type Name displayed is the value from the RTU Types Definition file. See MOSCAD System Definition Files section later in this user s guide Enter the period (in configurable units) between polls for items. The valid range is: milliseconds or seconds or minutes or 0-24 hours (Zero means the topic is polled only once, however unsolicited messages are received.) The server converts all Update Intervals into milliseconds for internal use. This is the converted value. Enable this option to allow client modification of the Update Interval while the server is in operation. If enabled, a client can read and write the Update Interval on this topic using the item name UPDATEINTERVAL. If disabled, the client can only read the UPDATEINTERVAL configured for the topic. Note The actual UPDATEINTERVAL for the slowest item on this topic can be read using the item name MAXINTERVAL. This gives you an indication of the performance of your configuration during operation. Select the type of writes to be used for this topic. Note The WIN.INI file key, DoMaxPollCalc (default equals 0 or false), controls the calculation of MAXINTERVAL. If set to 1 (true), the calculation is performed and the item will change. If set to 0 (false), the calculation is not performed and the value will not change. The WIN.INI file key affects all topics in this server. Click OK to save changes and close the dialog box. Click Cancel to close the dialog box without changing current settings.

17 Configuring the I/O Server Settings Configuring the I/O Server Settings 13 Use the Server Settings option from the Configure menu to change the protocol timer, network using Wonderware NetDDE, change the default configuration file path, or to enable the server to start automatically as a Windows NT service. Note When configuring the server, the user must be logged on with system administrator privileges. This will ensure that updates to the system registry may be performed. When the Server Settings option is selected, the Server Settings dialog box will appear: Server Settings Enter the frequency (in milliseconds) that the server is to check for data to process. This should be approximately two to four times faster than the fastest rate desired to update data from the equipment. Note The default protocol timer tick value will vary between servers. Select this option if you are networking using Wonderware NetDDE. To create a new default configuration file, enter the complete path for the directory in which the file is to be saved in this field. This new path will automatically be written to the WIN.INI file and the server will use this path to load its configuration file the next time it is started.

18 14 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Enabling this option will cause the server to start as a Windows NT service. Windows NT offers the capability of running applications even when a user is not logged on to the system. This is valuable when systems must operate in an unattended mode. Enabling this option and rebooting the system will cause the server to run as a Windows NT service. However, to view configuration information or to reconfigure the server, the user must log on to the system. Any server related problems that may arise such as missing adapter cards, licensing failures or device drivers not loading will not be visible to the user until a log on is performed. Disabling this option and rebooting the system will cause the server to run as a Windows NT application program once again. Note It is highly recommended that the server is configured and communicating successfully prior to running it as a Windows NT service. Ensure that the MOSCAD.cfg, MSYSDEF.cfg, and RTUTYPES.cfg files are in the Configuration File Directory. Click Cancel to close the dialog box without saving changes. Click OK to close the dialog box. Note You must restart the server for the changes to take effect.

19 Configuring the Security Configuring the Security 15 Use the Security option from the configure menu to control server configuration changes. Security When the server is not active (no clients connected), all server configuration options are available for modification. The default setting for Allow configuration while topics are active is disabled. When disabled, all topics are viewable but locked against changes while the server is active (a client is connected). Enable Allow configuration while topics are active to allow write access to some parameters of the topic configuration while the server is active. This server supports write access to UPDATEINTERVAL and Enable Access to Update Interval. You cannot add, delete, rename or change other parameters of a topic configuration. Click OK to save changes and close the dialog box. Click Cancel to close the dialog box without saving changes.

20 16 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Configuring the Logger Use the Logger option from the configure menu to set the working logger mode of the server. The options controlled by this dialog box are NOT retained in the configuration file. Set Logger Mode Note Each time the server starts, the logger mode will default to Errors. Select Off to disable normal server logging. Select Errors for normal operation logging to the Wonderware Logger. Select Trace to log errors and all activation/deactivation activities. Select All to log all activities including single item value updates. Enable Show protocol to add PLC communication message data to the selected logger mode. Click OK to use changes and close the dialog box. Click Cancel to close the dialog box without changing current settings. Note When logging activity increases, the server s performance degrades.

21 Data Menu 17 Data Menu The Data menu contains two commands, Monitor and Dump Active Data, that are used for diagnostic purposes during runtime (when a client is attached). The remaining command, DB Dump, is used to write topic names to a file for import to InTouch. Data Monitor Use the Monitor option from the data menu to display information about a selected topic with active items or errors. The information is updated as it changes. This is a useful tool for tracking down errors, for determining performance and to validate item values. When the Monitor option is selected, the MOSCAD Data Monitor dialog box will appear.

22 18 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server MOSCAD Data Monitor This drop down list box allows you to select any of the active topics. A preceding * indicates that at least one item in this topic has an error while a preceding # indicates bad status. This field displays the current configured Update Interval of the topic. When poked, the value changes displaying the UPDATEINTERVAL item value. This field displays the current Update Interval of the slowest item of the topic. This value is measured for each poll cycle and each received cyclic service indication. If this value drastically differs from the desired Update Interval the communication media is not fast enough to satisfy the load. The displayed value is the MAXINTERVAL item value. Note The UPDATEINTERVAL and MAXINTERVAL are accessible via I/O. You can create a WindowView performance meter by displaying these values graphically for each topic. If I/O access is enable, you can even tune the bus performance conveniently from WindowView. Note The WIN.INI file key, DoMaxPollCalc (default equals 0 or false), controls the calculation of MAXINTERVAL. If set to 1 (true), the calculation is performed and the item will change. If set to 0 (false), the calculation is not performed and the value will not change. The WIN.INI file key effects all topics in this server. This field displays the number of active items and the number of items with errors (in parenthesis). If you check this box, only items with errors will be displayed in the item data list box.

23 Data Menu 19 The item list box adapts to the size of the dialog box. So you can resize it for your personal needs. The server will save the size and position. The item data list box displays information about each item. Click on an item line to open a dialog box displaying the item properties: Click OK to return to the MOSCAD Data Monitor dialog box. Click Dump to dump the contents of the monitor window into an ASCII text file. The resulting file can be loaded into Excel or any standard text editor. All columns are separated by tabs. After the dump is complete, a message box containing the newly created ASCII text file name is displayed. The server automatically generates the ASCII text file name and sets the files location using the following pattern: <current working directory>\datmonxx.txt Where XX is a two digit number between 00 and 99. MOSCAD increments the number each time a file is dumped. Note Existing files with the same name are erased. Click OK to return to the MOSCAD Data Monitor dialog box. Note Monitoring the items might affect the server performance.

24 20 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Dump Active Data to a File Use the Dump Active Data option from the data menu to dump information on topics with active items into an ASCII text file. The resulting file can be loaded into Excel or any standard text editor. All columns are separated by tabs. The server automatically generates the ASCII text file name and sets the files location using the following pattern: <current working directory>\datdmpxx.txt Where XX is a two digit number between 00 and 99. The server increments XX each time a file is dumped. When the Dump Active Data option is selected, the Dump Active Data dialog box will appear. Dump Active Data Enable Errors only option to dump topics with errors. Click OK to start the dump. Click Cancel to close dialog without creating dump file. After the dump is complete, a message box containing the newly created ASCII text file name is displayed. Note Existing files with the same name are erased.

25 Dump Topic Database to a File Dump Topic Database to a File 21 Use the DB Dump option from the data menu to dump the internal topic database into a CSV format file. Wonderware s DbLoad utility can use the resulting file to automatically generate InTouch access names. Create the file by selecting a directory and filename using the standard dialog shown below:

26 22 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Accessing I/O Server Help The Help menu contains two commands that are used to access help for the server. The following briefly describes the Help menu options. Contents This option is used to display the table of contents for the Help file. How to Use Help This option is used to access a list of basic instructions for using the Help file. About MOSCAD This option is used to access miscellaneous information regarding the server, such as the software version, the copyright information, license information, etc. Your FactorySuite system license information can be viewed through the license viewing utility that is launched from the About dialog box.! For more information on obtaining technical support, see your online FactorySuite System Administrator s Guide.

27 Guidelines on Server Performance Guidelines on Server Performance 23 Depending on the complexity of the MOSCAD environment where the server is used, the following guidelines should help the server achieve the upmost performance. Update Intervals The optimum usage of Update Intervals is very important. There are two Update Intervals which greatly affect the server s performance: Gateway Status Update Interval MOSCAD RTU Update Interval If the Gateway Status Update Interval is too short (one second or less or for very complex systems less than ten seconds) and also data from RTUs are requested very often (MOSCAD RTU Update Intervals also are in the seconds range), then it is very possible that there is not enough time to execute all poll requests. Thirty seconds would be a reasonable value for the Gateway Status Update Interval in a not too complex system. The optimum MOSCAD RTU Update Interval value depends on the total number of active RTUs where poll requests are sent and the total of active items for the corresponding Topic. Depending on the current environment, suggesting a default value is difficult. An Update Interval must give enough time to execute all poll requests, receive burst data, and not overload the system or the radio air time usage. Typically, RTU Update Intervals in radio-based systems are 10 to 30 minutes or 1 to 12 hours, depending on the system requirements. Unlike other SCADA systems, MOSCAD uses an unsolicited, spontaneous burst mechanism to update important data changes. Therefore, it is less critical to poll RTUs frequently. PendMsgQ This special read-only item is used for indicating the number of normal priority messages currently in the server s normal priory queue. When the server sends a message, the counter increments by one. When the message reply is received, it decreases by one. If the counter reaches the maximum value defined in the Gateway Node Definition dialog, the server stops sending normal priority messages until more replies are returned causing the counter to decrease. A constant full counter indicates the system is overloaded. Using this information will require creating a separate topic with a fast poll rate ( milliseconds) and advising only this item. Advising data items on the same topic will load down the server.

28 24 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server PendCmdQ This special read-only item is used for indicating the number of high-priority commands currently in the server s high-priory queue. When the server sends a command, this counter increments by one. When the reply to this command is received, it decreases by one. If this counter reaches the maximum value defined in the Gateway Node Definition dialog, the server stops sending high-priority commands until more replies are returned causing the counter to decrease. A constant full counter indicates the system is overloaded. Using this information will require creating a separate topic with a fast poll rate ( milliseconds) and advising only this item. Advising data items on the same topic will load down the server. Protocol Time Multiplier The protocol time multiplier is a parameter configured in the Gateway Node Definition dialog. It may be used to change the ratio outgoing command to incoming message processing. The parameter default value is one which means for every protocol time tick, the server processes the incoming data and sends another outgoing message. For example, if this parameter is set to five, the server still processes the incoming message for every protocol time tick but outgoing message is sent every fifth protocol time tick, which in effect multiplies the protocol time tick by a factor of five for outgoing message. UpdateInterval and MaxInterval These items may be used to optimize the server s performance. To use these items for performance tuning, the WIN.INI key, DoMaxPollCalc, must be set to one and the topic must be set to Enable Access to Update Interval (see Configuring a Topic Definition and Predefined Item/Point Names in this user s guide). While the client application is running, advise MaxInterval, then poke different values into UpdateInterval. Optimum performance is achieved when these values are approximately equal.

29 Redundancy and Hot Standby Configuration Examples 25 Redundancy and Hot Standby Configuration Examples The Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server supports redundancy at the MDLC Gateway or at the host computer as options to increase the reliability of the system. Redundancy in the MDLC Gateway is called Hot Standby. The following are redundancy and Hot Standby configuration examples: 1. There is only one MDLC Gateway which can communicate with a MOSCAD RTU and only one host computer communicates with the MDLC Gateway. 2. Two MDLC Gateways can communicate with a MOSCAD RTU and only one host computer communicates with the MDLC Gateways. 3. There is only one MDLC Gateway which can communicate with a MOSCAD RTU and two or more host computers communicate with the MDLC Gateway. Example 1 One Host Computer Communicating With One Gateway Primary MDLC Gateway (GW1) Host Computers Running Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Ethernet MOSCAD RTU MOSCAD RTU MOSCAD RTU In the first configuration, the MDLC Gateway and the host computer have no redundancy and are not using Hot Standby. The MDLC Gateway will be defined as Gateway 1 in the Gateway Node Definition. This definition is used by any topic communicating to any MOSCAD RTU connected to the MDLC Gateway.

30 26 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Example 2 One Host Computer Communicating With Hot Standby MDLC Gateways Primary MDLC Gateway (GW1) Ethernet MOSCAD RTU MOSCAD RTU MOSCAD RTU Computer Running Server Secondary MDLC Gateway (GW2) Or Primary MDLC Gateway (GW1) MOSCAD RTU MOSCAD RTU MOSCAD RTU Ethernet Computer Running Server Secondary MDLC Gateway (GW2) In the second configuration, the MDLC Gateways are redundant but the host computer is not. The MDLC Gateways are in Hot Standby. One of the MDLC Gateways will be defined as Gateway 1, the other as Gateway 2, in the Gateway Node Definition. This definition is used by any topic communicating to any MOSCAD RTU connected to the redundant MDLC Gateways. If the Primary Gateway fails, switch over to the Secondary Gateway can occur in a manual or automatic mode. Automatic Hot Standby must be selected in the Gateway Node Definition for server initiated (automatic) switchover of MDLC Gateways to occur. The Gateways may be switched manually whether or not Automatic Hot Standby is selected.

31 Redundancy and Hot Standby Configuration Examples 27 The specifics of Hot Standby using redundant MDLC Gateways is as follows: 1. After startup, status is requested for Gateway 1 and Gateway 2. The first MDLC Gateway to respond becomes the Primary Gateway. The second MDLC Gateway to respond becomes the Secondary Gateway. The data from all connected RTUs are accessed through the Primary Gateway. 2. If communication with the Primary Gateway fails, the following occurs: If Automatic Hot Standby is selected, the server proceeds as follows: " If communication with Secondary Gateway has not failed, it becomes the Primary Gateway. " If communication with Secondary Gateway has failed, both MDLC Gateways will be polled until one responds. The responding Gateway will become the Primary Gateway. " The MDLC Gateway that is not active becomes the Secondary Gateway. If Hot Standby is manual, the client must detect all failures and respond as follows: " The status of each MDLC Gateway can be monitored by the client using the special topic GATEWAYS and the items GW1_STAT_<nodename> and GW2_STAT_<nodename>. " If the Primary Gateway status fails and the Secondary Gateway status has not failed, then writing to items GW1_SMODE_<nodename> or GW2_SMODE_<nodename> will force a transition.. Note When <nodename> is the name of a Gateway Node Definition.

32 28 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Example 3 Multiple Host Computers Communicating With One MDLC Gateway Primary MDLC Gateway (GW1) Host Computers Running Wonderware Motorola MDLCGateway I/O Server Ethernet MOSC AD RTU MOSC AD RTU MOSC AD RTU Two or more host computers each running the server and sharing MDLC Gateway(s) must comply to the following requirement: For each shared Gateway, the total of all running servers Max. pending Messages (described in the Gateway Node Definition section earlier in this user s guide) can not be greater than the Pending Data Request configured for the Gateway using Motorola s Toolbox. Note For more information, see your Motorola Gateway (MCP-T) Toolbox User s Guide.

33 Item Names Item Names 29 The Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server item names are based on information contained in the RTU Types Definition file. Most item names may be described as: TzCxRy[TSn] [.b] where: z - table number x - column number (starting from 0) in the table y - row number (starting from 0) in the table TSn - used only if data type is Timestamp1 and Timestamp2 (n can be 1 or 2). For these items the corresponding element type in the RTU Types Definition file must be float..b - optionally used address of a bit if data type is Compressed Bits or analog. bit number range: 0..7 for compressed bits for analog Examples: T1C2R0 - Column 2 Row 0 in Table 1 T12C0R1.4 - bit 4 in Column 0 Row 1 in Table 12 T1C2R0TS1 - Column 2 Row 0 in Table 1, data type is Timestamp1 The following item types are supported. Item Type Value Range Type RTU Type Bit 0,1 Discrete Bit Bit in Compressed Bits 0,1 Discrete C-Bit Compressed Bits (represents a Row of up to 8-bits in a Table) Integer C-Bit Analog Integer Val Float Standard IEEE 32-bit floating value Real Float TS1 (Timestamp1) 13 bytes long string Message Float TS2 (Timestamp2) 9 bytes long string Message Float The server selects one of four optimization types (single value, row, column, or table) when creating poll messages. Any table with a TS1 or TS2 on advise is considered a time stamp table. Time stamp tables use only row and table optimization. Other tables can use the four optimizations. Note The Type is the item/point type used in the Wonderware InTouch. RTU Type is the type used in the site configuration table named RTUTYPES.cfg. The types TS1, TS2 and Bit in Compressed Bits and in Analog are Read Only. All other types are Read and Write. The TS1 items have the format yyyy/mm/dd/hh, where yyyy is year ( ), mm is month ( ), dd is day ( ), and hh is hour ( ). The TS2 items have the format MM:SS:MSC, where MM is minutes ( ), SS is seconds ( ), and MSC is milliseconds ( ). Note The RTU s year field will use a number that represents the number of years since However, the user of the server is abstracted from this. Note Advising or poking any column of a compressed bits row accesses the entire row.

34 30 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Predefined Item/Point Names All topics have predefined item/point names to monitor and control communication properties. UPDATEINTERVAL Item This item is used to access the currently set UPDATEINTERVAL. It is the same value displayed in the monitor window of the MOSCAD server. It indicates the currently requested Update Interval in milliseconds. If the corresponding topic is configured for "Enable I/O access to Update Interval", a client can poke new values into this item. In any case, the value can always be read. The range of valid values differs with respect to the topic settings. The value of zero indicates that no items on that topic are updated. TYPE: ACCESS: INTEGER READ, WRITE (if configured) RANGE: (topic inactive, no items are polled, however unsolicited messages are received) Note By poking a value of zero into the UPDATEINTERVAL item, a client can conveniently stop all update activities on the corresponding topic without having to deactivate the items. MAXINTERVAL Item The MAXINTERVAL item is used to access the measured maximum UPDATEINTERVAL in milliseconds to the corresponding topic for the last completed poll cycle. It is the same value displayed in the monitor window of the MOSCAD server under Longest Interval. This item is read only. The value of the slowest item is displayed. TYPE: ACCESS: INTEGER READ ONLY RANGE: Note The WIN.INI file key, DoMaxPollCalc (default equals 0 or false), controls the calculation of this READ only item. If set to 1 (true), the calculation is performed and the item will change. If set to 0 (false), the calculation is not performed and the value will not change. The WIN.INI file key effects all topics in this server. Note Use the UPDATEINTERVAL and MAXINTERVAL items to tune the communication performance.

35 STORESETTINGS Item Predefined Item/Point Names 31 The STORESETTINGS item is used to make the temporary UPDATEINTERVAL changes permanent. If the client pokes a value of 1 into the STORESETTINGS item, the currently set UPDATEINTERVAL is written to the servers configuration file. If the UPDATEINTERVAL has changed and STORESETTINGS is not poked to 1, the server will use the original UPDATEINTERVAL for that topic the next time it is started. Reading the item will always give 0. TYPE: ACCESS: RANGE: 0, 1 DISCRETE READ, WRITE Note Use this item to store your optimized configuration. ITEMCOUNT Item The ITEMCOUNT item is used to access the number of active items in the corresponding topic. It is the same value displayed in the monitor window of the MOSCAD server under "Items". This item is read only. TYPE: ACCESS: INTEGER READ ONLY RANGE: Note Use the ITEMCOUNT item to monitor the number of currently active items. ERRORCOUNT Item The ERRORCOUNT item is used to access the number of active items that have errors in the corresponding topic. It is the same value displayed in the monitor window of the MOSCAD server under "errors ( ) only". If the communication status of a topic is bad, all items have errors (item count equals error count). This item is read only. TYPE: ACCESS: INTEGER READ ONLY RANGE: Note Use the ERRORCOUNT item to monitor whether there are any badly configured items or invalid item values. This is the case if the topic status is 1 and ERRORCOUNT is not zero.

36 32 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server WRITECOMPLETE Item The WRITECOMPLETE item is used to access the state of pending write activities on the corresponding topic. If the topic is opened the value of the WRITECOMPLETE item is initially 1 indicating all write activities are complete - no pokes are pending. If values are poked into any items of the topic the value of the WRITECOMPLETE item changes to 0 indicating write activity is currently in progress. If the server has completed all write activities the value of the WRITECOMPLETE item changes to 1 if all pokes were successful or to -1 if at least one poke has failed. If the value of the WRITECOMPLETE item is not zero the client can poke 1 or -1 to it (poke a 1 to clear errors or a -1 to test a client reaction on write errors). TYPE: ACCESS: INTEGER RANGE: -1,0,1 READ/WRITE Note Use the WRITECOMPLETE item to serialize a sequence of poke values into a single item or to monitor success or failure of poking into one or more items. STATUS Item The STATUS item is used to access the state of communication between the server and RTU. The discrete item, STATUS, is set to 1 when communication is successful or is set to 0 when communication with the RTU or Gateway fails. TYPE: ACCESS: RANGE: 0,1 DISCRETE READ ONLY Note The STATUS Item is not guaranteed to be valid for topics whose Update Interval is equal to zero. SET_TIME Item The SET_TIME item is used to set the MOSCAD RTU time. TYPE: ACCESS: String WRITE ONLY RANGE: yy/mm/dd HH:MM:SS CURRENT CURRENT: RTU date/time is synchronized with the host computer date/time.

37 DATE_TIME Item Predefined Item/Point Names 33 The DATE_TIME item is used for reading the MOSCAD RTU time. TYPE: ACCESS: String READ ONLY RANGE: yy/mm/dd HH:MM:SS Note DATE_TIME and SET_TIME Items are essentially the same. DATE_TIME is intended to be used as a READ_ONLY Item to display the MOSCAD RTU time and the SET_TIME is intended to be used as a WRITE_ONLY item to synchronize the RTU date/time with the host computer's date/time. PendMsgQ Item The PendMsgQ item is used to monitor an internal counter that tracks the outstanding normal priority messages sent. Effective use of this information requires creating a separate topic with a fast poll rate advising only this item. Do not advise data items on the same topic as it will load down the server. TYPE: ACCESS: Integer READ ONLY PendCmdQ Item The PendCmdQ item is used to monitor an internal counter that tracks the outstanding high priority messages sent. Effective use of this information requires creating a separate topic with a fast poll rate advising only this item. Do not advise data items on the same topic as it will load down the server. TYPE: ACCESS: Integer READ ONLY

38 34 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Special Item Names for Gateways Topic The following items are specific to the Gateways Topic. Each item has a <nodename> that references a configured Gateway node. Each configured Gateway node has a Gateway 1. Redundant systems will have both a Gateway 1 (GW1) and a Gateway 2 (GW2). GW1_STAT_<nodename> Item Returns the mode, Primary or Secondary, for Gateway 1. TYPE: ACCESS: INTEGER READ ONLY RANGE: 0,1,5 0: invalid status 1: Primary Gateway 5: Secondary Gateway GW2_STAT_<nodename> Item Returns the mode, Primary or Secondary, for Gateway 2. TYPE: ACCESS: INTEGER READ ONLY RANGE: 0,1,5 0: invalid status 1: Primary Gateway 5: Secondary Gateway GW1_SMODE_<nodename> Item # Sets Gateway 1 to Primary mode if it is alive and sets Gateway 2 to Secondary mode. TYPE: ACCESS: RANGE: N/A WRITE ONLY N/A GW2_SMODE_<nodename> Item # Sets Gateway 2 to Primary mode if it is alive and sets Gateway 1 to Secondary mode. TYPE: ACCESS: RANGE: N/A WRITE ONLY N/A # Two of the item names listed above are valid when configuring two Gateways using the Gateway Node Definition dialog. The message Invalid item name is displayed in WWLogger when one Gateway is configured.

39 MOSCAD System Definition Files MOSCAD System Definition Files 35 The definition of the entire MOSCAD System (all RTUs for all Gateway Nodes) is stored in the two files: 1. RTU Types Definition file (default file name RTUTYPES.cfg). 2. MOSCAD System Definition file (default file name MSYSDEF.cfg). Note These files must reside in the same subdirectory in which the MOSCAD.cfg resides. RTU Types Definition In the RTU Types Definition file, the RTU TYPES in the MOSCAD System are defined. The default file name is RTUTYPES.cfg. Each RTU Type Definition includes: 1. Type Name and Number of Tables 2. For each Table: " Table Number (in the MOSCAD application) " Number of columns in the Table " Data Type of each column RTUTYPES.cfg example: ;File Type and Version FILE_TYPE RTU_TYPE VERSION 1.0 ; ; Number of RTU Types defined in this file Number_of_Types 3 ; ; Type_name No_of_tables Type Pump 3 ; ; Table Columns Col Col Col Col Col Col Col Col ; num used Table 0 5 Bit Bit Bit Bit Bit Table 2 8 C_Bit C_Bit C_Bit C_Bit C_Bit C_Bit C_Bit C_Bit Table 3 3 Float Val Bit ; ; Type_name No_of_tables

40 36 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Type Valve 1 ; ; Table Columns Col Col Col Col Col Col Col Col ; num used Table 10 3 Float Val Bit ; ; Type_name No_of_tables Type PoleTop 1 ; ; Table Columns Col Col Col Col Col Col Col Col ; num used Table 1 1 Bit MOSCAD System Definition In the MOSCAD System Definition file, the association of RTU - 'RTU Type' is defined. The default file name is MSYSDEF.cfg. Each RTU (defined by its Site id), is assigned a Type_name defined in the RTU Types Definition file. MSYSDEF.cfg example: ;MOSCAD System File and Version FILE_TYPE SYSTEM VERSION 1.0 ;Number of RTUs N_RTU 4 ; ; Site_id Type_name RTU 1 Pump RTU 2 Pump RTU 3 PoleTop RTU 4 Valve

41 Monitoring the Status of Communications with a PLC 37 Monitoring the Status of Communications with a PLC For each topic name (PLC), there is a built-in discrete item that can be used to monitor the status of communications with the PLC. The discrete item, Status, is set to 0 when communication with the PLC fails and is set to 1 when communication is successful. Using the Status Item in Excel The status of the PLC communications can be read into Excel by entering the following DDE reference formula in a cell on a spreadsheet: where: =MOSCAD Topic1!Status MOSCAD Topic1 Status Is the name of the server application. Is the exact topic name defined in the server for the PLC. Built-in discrete item used to monitor the status of communications with the PLC. Monitoring the Status of Communications with InTouch InTouch supports built-in topic names called DDEStatus and IOStatus that are used to monitor the status of communications between the server and InTouch. For more information on the built-in topic names DDEStatus and IOStatus, see your online InTouch User s Guide. Using DDEStatus and IOStatus in Excel The status of communication between the server and InTouch can be read into Excel by entering the following DDE reference formula in a cell on a spreadsheet: or =view DDEStatus!Topic1 =view IOStatus!Topic1 where: view [DDE][IO]Status Topic1 Is the name of the InTouch application. Built-in topic name used to monitor the status of communications between the server and InTouch. The exact topic name defined in the server for the PLC.

42 38 Wonderware Motorola MDLC Gateway I/O Server Reading Values from the I/O Server into Excel Values may be read directly into Excel spreadsheets from the server by entering a DDE formula into a cell using the following format: =applicationname topicname!itemname Example formula: where: =MOSCAD Topic1!T2C0R1 MOSCAD Topic1 T2C0R1 Is the name of the server application. Is the exact topic name defined in the server for the PLC. Is the actual location in the PLC that contains the data value. This is the item name In this example, each time the value of T2C0R1 changes in the PLC, the server will automatically send the new value to the cell containing the formula in Excel. Note Refer to the Microsoft Excel manual for complete details on entering Remote Reference formulas for cells.

43 Writing Values to the I/O Server from Excel 39 Writing Values to the I/O Server from Excel Values may be written to the server from Microsoft Excel by creating an Excel macro that uses the POKE command. The proper command is entered in Excel as follows: channel=initiate("applicationname","topicname") =POKE(channel,"itemname",Data_Reference) =TERMINATE(channel) =RETURN() The following describes each of the above POKE macro statements: channel=initiate("applicationname","topicname") Opens a channel to a specific topic name (defined in the server) in a particular application name (the executable name less the.exe) and assigns the number of that opened channel to channel. Note By using the channel=initiate statement the word channel must be used in the =POKE statement instead of the actual cell reference. The "applicationname" and "topicname" portions of the formula must be enclosed in quotation marks. =POKE(channel,"itemname",Data_Reference) POKEs the value contained in the Data_Reference to the specified item name (actual location in the PLC) via the channel number returned by the previously executed INITIATE function. Data_Reference is the row/column ID of the cell containing the data value. =TERMINATE(channel) Closes the channel at the end of the macro. Some applications have a limited number of channels therefore, they should be closed when finished. Channel is the channel number returned by the previously executed INITIATE function. =RETURN() Marks the end of the macro. Note Refer to the.xlm sample Excel poke macro provided on the server program disk. Also refer to the Microsoft Excel manual for complete details on entering Remote Reference formulas for cells.