AIM*AT™ Suite AIM*OPC Server User’s Guide

I/A Series® System

AIM*AT™ Suite AIM*OPC Server User’s Guide

B0400DG Rev C August 30, 2012

Invensys, Foxboro, AIM*API, AIM*AT, AIM*Historian, AIM-Supervisor, I/A Series. and the Invensys logo are trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries, and affiliates. All other brand names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright 2001-2012 Invensys Systems, Inc. All rights reserved

SOFTWARE LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Before using the Invensys Systems, Inc. supplied software supported by this documentation, you should read and understand the following information concerning copyrighted software. 1. The license provisions in the software license for your system govern your obligations and usage rights to the software described in this documentation. If any portion of those license provisions is violated, Invensys Systems, Inc. will no longer provide you with support services and assumes no further responsibilities for your system or its operation. 2. All software issued by Invensys Systems, Inc. and copies of the software that you are specifically permitted to make, are protected in accordance with Federal copyright laws. It is illegal to make copies of any software media provided to you by Invensys Systems, Inc. for any purpose other than those purposes mentioned in the software license.

Contents Figures.................................................................................................................................... ix Tables..................................................................................................................................... xi Preface................................................................................................................................. xiii Purpose .................................................................................................................................. xiii Audience ................................................................................................................................ xiii Revision Information ............................................................................................................. xiii Reference Documents ............................................................................................................ xiv Request For Comments .......................................................................................................... xiv 1. Overview ........................................................................................................................... 1 AIM*AT OPC Server ................................................................................................................ 1 The OPC Standard ................................................................................................................... 2 OPC Data Access ................................................................................................................. 2 OPC Historical Data Access ................................................................................................. 3 2. System Requirements ........................................................................................................ 5 3. AIM*AT OPC Server Installation ..................................................................................... 7 Overview ................................................................................................................................... 7 Installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software ............................................................................ 7 Configurators ............................................................................................................................ 7 AIM OPC Configurator ....................................................................................................... 7 Matrikon Configurator ......................................................................................................... 8 Software Components Description ............................................................................................ AIM*OPC Server ................................................................................................................. AIM OPC Configurator ....................................................................................................... Standard OPC Server Browser .............................................................................................. OPC Automation Components ............................................................................................ OPC DA Automation DLL ............................................................................................. OPC HDA Automation DLL .......................................................................................... Standard OPC Proxy Stubs (OPC Marshalling Libraries) ................................................

8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9

AIM*AT OPC Server Licensing ................................................................................................ 9 Obtaining an Authorization Code ...................................................................................... 10 Configuring the AIM Server ............................................................................................... 10

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4. AIM*AT API Server Component Installation ................................................................. 13 5. OPC Server Startup and Shutdown................................................................................. 15 Starting the OPC Server .......................................................................................................... 15 OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program ................................................................. 15 OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service ........................................................................ 15 OPC Server Control Panel ...................................................................................................... 16 Shutting Down the OPC Server .............................................................................................. OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the AIM Configurator) ................... OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the Matrikon Configurator) ............ OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service ........................................................................

17 17 17 17

6. AIM*OPC Configurator ................................................................................................. 19 AIM*OPC Configuration Utility ............................................................................................ 19 Starting the AIM*OPC Configurator ...................................................................................... OPC Configuration Menu Bar ........................................................................................... Toolbar .............................................................................................................................. Status Bar ...........................................................................................................................

19 21 22 22

Using the AIM*OPC Configurator to Configure the OPC Server .......................................... 22 Creating/Updating an OPC Server Configuration File with Tags and Item Aliases ................. 23 Delta Configuration Page ........................................................................................................ Browsing for Tags .............................................................................................................. Selecting/Deleting Tags ...................................................................................................... Changing Delta Values of Selected Tags ............................................................................. Changing Delta Values of Imported Tags ...........................................................................

23 25 27 29 31

Alias Configuration Page ......................................................................................................... Browsing for Tags In Order To Assign Aliases .................................................................... Selecting/Deleting Tags ...................................................................................................... Creating An Alias ............................................................................................................... Creating A New Alias ......................................................................................................... Editing A Selected Alias ......................................................................................................

33 35 35 35 36 38

Saving To the Configuration File ............................................................................................ Exit Without Saving Changes to the Configuration File ..................................................... Saving Information To A New Configuration File ............................................................. Saving to the Default Configuration File ............................................................................ Saving to a New Default Configuration File .......................................................................

41 41 42 43 43

OPC Server Parameters ........................................................................................................... The OPC Server Parameters provide the following options: ............................................... Server Parameters (General) Settings .................................................................................. Server Parameters (Advanced) Settings ...............................................................................

45 45 46 47

Options for Server Configuration ............................................................................................ Server Options ................................................................................................................... General Option Settings ..................................................................................................... General Logging Settings ....................................................................................................

49 50 50 52

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Interface Logging Settings .................................................................................................. 53 Advanced Option Settings .................................................................................................. 54 Appendix A. OPC Item Syntax............................................................................................ 55 Appendix B. DCOM Configuration.................................................................................... 57 About Distributed COM ........................................................................................................ 57 Setting Default Properties ....................................................................................................... 57 OPC Server General and Security Settings .............................................................................. 58 Customizing Permissions .................................................................................................... 61 Specifying Server Identity ........................................................................................................ 63 Specifying Default Protocols ................................................................................................... 64 Specifying a Remote Program ID ............................................................................................ 65 Appendix C. Using the Matrikon Configurator................................................................... 67 Activating the Matrikon Configurator Utility ......................................................................... 67 Using the Matrikon Configurator Utility ................................................................................ Configuration Utility Window ........................................................................................... Menu Bar ...................................................................................................................... Toolbar ......................................................................................................................... Statistics ........................................................................................................................ Status Bar ...................................................................................................................... Creating an OPC Server Configuration .............................................................................. General Configuration Options ..................................................................................... Advanced Configuration Options .................................................................................. Creating OPC Item Aliases ............................................................................................ Configuring DCOM Settings ............................................................................................. Viewing Server Statistics ..................................................................................................... Configuring Server Options ............................................................................................... General Option Settings ................................................................................................ General Logging Settings ............................................................................................... Interface Logging Settings ............................................................................................. Advanced Option Settings .............................................................................................

68 68 69 70 70 70 70 71 73 76 79 80 80 82 83 85 86

Appendix D. Using the Matrikon OPC Explorer Client...................................................... 87 Starting OPC Explorer ............................................................................................................ 87 Menu Bar ...................................................................................................................... 88 Toolbar ......................................................................................................................... 90 Using OPC Explorer ............................................................................................................... Viewing Available OPC Servers .......................................................................................... Connecting to an OPC Server ............................................................................................ Adding OPC Groups ......................................................................................................... Adding OPC Items ............................................................................................................ Item ID .........................................................................................................................

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Access Path .................................................................................................................... 97 Browsing the Server Address Space ................................................................................ 97 Requested Data Type .................................................................................................... 98 Active State .................................................................................................................... 98 Validating OPC Items ................................................................................................... 98 Reading Real-Time Values ................................................................................................. 98 Data Display ................................................................................................................. 99 Advise Log ................................................................................................................... 100 Writing Control Values .................................................................................................... 100 Setting OPC Explorer Options ......................................................................................... 102 Data Transfer Options ................................................................................................ 103 Data Display Options .................................................................................................. 104 COM Options ............................................................................................................ 105 Appendix E. OPC Compliance.......................................................................................... 107 Supported Server Object Interfaces ....................................................................................... 107 Supported Group Object Interfaces ....................................................................................... 108 Supported DA Methods ................................................................................................... 108 Supported HDA Interfaces .................................................................................................... 111 Supported HDA Methods ................................................................................................ 111 AIM*AT OPC Server Registry Entries .................................................................................. 114 Appendix F. Quality Flags ................................................................................................. 115 Standard Quality Flags .......................................................................................................... 115 HDA Quality Flags ............................................................................................................... 116 Appendix G. Variant Data Types ...................................................................................... 117 Appendix H. Bit Mapping I/A Series Status Codes to OPC Status Codes ......................... 119 Appendix I. Timestamp to OPC ....................................................................................... 123 Appendix J. How to Configure Secured Read/Write Connections..................................... 125 Appendix K. OPC I/O Methods ....................................................................................... 127 Synchronous Versus Asynchronous I/O ................................................................................ 127 Device Versus Cache Reads ................................................................................................... 127 OPC DA 2.05a Versus 1.0a Asynchronous I/O .................................................................... 128 Appendix L. Alias Configuration ....................................................................................... 129 Scaling Expressions ............................................................................................................... 129 Alias Configuration CSV File Format ................................................................................... 130

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Index .................................................................................................................................. 133

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Figures 1-1. 5-1. 5-2. 5-3. 6-1. 6-2. 6-3. 6-4. 6-5. 6-6. 6-7. 6-8. 6-9. 6-10. 6-11. 6-12. 6-13. 6-14. 6-15. 6-16. 6-17. 6-18. 6-19. 6-20. 6-21. 6-22. 6-23. B-1. B-2. B-3. B-4. B-5. B-6. C-1. C-2. C-3. C-4. C-5. C-6. C-7. C-8. C-9. C-10. C-11.

Data Transfer Between OPC Clients and Data Servers via the OPC Server ................... 2 Services Dialog Box on a Windows XP Station ........................................................... 16 AIM*AT OPC Server Control Panel ........................................................................... 16 Reduced Control Panel ............................................................................................... 17 Initial OPC Configuration Display - Delta Configuration Page .................................. 20 Delta Configuration Page - Existing Configuration File .............................................. 24 Delta Configuration Page - Global and Historian Instances - Station Letterbugs ........ 26 Delta Configuration Page - Station Name and Compound:Block.Parameters ............. 27 Delta Configuration Page - Selected Tag Inserted in Change Delta Tags Window ...... 28 Delta Configuration Page - Delete Selected Tags ........................................................ 29 Delta Configuration Page - Set Delta Values Of Selected Tags Dialog ........................ 30 Delta Configuration Page - Imported Tags Inserted By OPC Server ........................... 33 Alias Configuration Page ............................................................................................. 34 Alias Configuration Page - Insert Alias Name .............................................................. 36 Configured Aliases List in Matrikon OPC Explorer Client .......................................... 38 Alias Configuration Page - Edit An Alias ..................................................................... 39 Alias Configuration Page - Edit Alias Dialog ............................................................... 40 Exiting Configurator Without Saving Changes Dialog ................................................ 42 Saving a New Configuration File ................................................................................ 43 Saving Changes to a Configuration File -- Confirmation Dialog ................................. 44 Saving Configuration File as a Default Configuration -- Confirmation Dialog ............ 45 General Server Parameters Page ................................................................................... 46 Advanced Server Parameters Page ................................................................................ 48 Options Dialog - General Page. ................................................................................... 50 Options Dialog - General Logging Page ...................................................................... 52 Options Dialog - Interface Logging Page ..................................................................... 53 Options Dialog - Advanced Page ................................................................................. 54 Navigating to DCOM Config from Component Services ........................................... 58 AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, General Page ........................................ 59 AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, Security Page ........................................ 60 DPC Server Security Settings - Launch, Access, and Configuration Permissions ......... 61 Configuring Permissions ............................................................................................. 62 AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, Identity Page ........................................ 63 OPC Server Shortcut Menu ........................................................................................ 67 Configuration Utility Window Features ...................................................................... 68 General Configuration Options .................................................................................. 71 Advanced Configuration Options ............................................................................... 73 Options Dialog Box .................................................................................................... 75 Insert New Alias Dialog Box ....................................................................................... 76 Edit Alias Dialog Box .................................................................................................. 78 Listing Aliases Configured for a Group ....................................................................... 79 Options Dialog Box .................................................................................................... 81 Options Dialog Box: General Logging Tab ................................................................. 83 Options Dialog Box: Interface Logging ....................................................................... 85 ix

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C-12. D-1. D-2. D-3. D-4. D-5. D-6. D-7. D-8. D-9. D-10. D-11. H-1. H-2.

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Figures

Options Dialog Box: Advanced Tab ............................................................................ 86 OPC Explorer Main Window ..................................................................................... 87 Available OPC Server List ........................................................................................... 91 Group Properties Dialog Box: General ........................................................................ 93 Group Properties Dialog Box: Interfaces ..................................................................... 95 Tag Studio Main Window .......................................................................................... 96 OPC Item Data Display .............................................................................................. 99 Write Values Dialog Box ........................................................................................... 101 Options Dialog Box: General .................................................................................... 102 Options Dialog Box: Data Transfer .......................................................................... 103 Options Dialog Box: Data Display ............................................................................ 104 Options Dialog Box: COM ...................................................................................... 105 Flow Diagram for Quality of Returned Real-time Data ............................................. 120 Flow Diagram for Quality of Returned Historical Data ............................................ 121

Tables 6-1. 6-2. C-1. C-2. C-3. D-1. D-2. E-1. E-2. E-3. E-4. E-5. E-6. F-1. F-2. G-1. G-2. H-1. L-1. L-2.

AIM* OPC Configurator Menu Bar Options ............................................................. 21 Configuration Utility Toolbar Options ....................................................................... 22 Configuration Utility Menu Bar Options .................................................................... 69 Configuration Utility Toolbar Options ....................................................................... 70 Alias Scaling Options .................................................................................................. 77 Matrikon OPC Explorer Menu Bar Options ............................................................... 88 Matrikon OPC Explorer Toolbar Options .................................................................. 90 Supported Server Object Interfaces ........................................................................... 107 Supported Group Object Interfaces ........................................................................... 108 Supported Data Access Methods by Interface ............................................................ 108 Supported HDA Interfaces ........................................................................................ 111 Supported HDA Methods by Interface ..................................................................... 111 AIM*AT OPC Server Registry Entries ...................................................................... 114 Standard Quality Flags .............................................................................................. 115 HDA Quality Flags ................................................................................................... 116 Constant Numeric Values for VARIANT Data Types .............................................. 117 AIM*AT to VARIANT Data Type Mappings ........................................................... 117 I/A Series Status Bit Map .......................................................................................... 119 Alias Scaling Expressions ........................................................................................... 129 Alias Configuration CSV File Syntax ........................................................................ 131

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Tables

Preface Purpose This document describes the operation, and configuration of the AIM*AT Suite AIM OPC Server software.

Audience This document is intended for use by process engineers, system administrators, and developers who wish to run and configure AIM OPC Server application.

Revision Information For this release of the document (B0400DG-C), the document has been restructured. Some appendices were renamed. In addition, the following changes were made: Global  Removed support for the Solaris operating system.  Updated OPC Data Access to Version 2.05a. Chapter 1 “Overview”  Removed the AIM-Supervisor system from “AIM*AT OPC Server” on page 1. Chapter 2 “System Requirements”  Added support for the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems. Chapter 3 “AIM*AT OPC Server Installation”  Updated “Installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software” on page 7 and “Standard OPC Server Browser” on page 8.  Removed “AIM*AT API Server”, “AIM*AT ApiAdmin Utility”, “Matrikon OPC Explorer Client (General Purpose OPC Client)”, and “Matrikon Configurator”. Chapter 4 “AIM*AT API Server Component Installation”  Removed “Installing the AIM*AT API Server Software on an AW70 Station”, “Installing the AIM*AT API Server Software on an AW51 Station”, and “Ethernet Card Setup for Solaris Stations”. Chapter 5 “OPC Server Startup and Shutdown”  Updated the menu selections for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 for all procedures in this chapter. Appendix B “DCOM Configuration” 

Removed “Starting the DCOM Configuration Utility”.  Updated “Setting Default Properties” on page 57

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Reference Documents In addition to the information presented herein, you should be familiar with the following I/A Series documents:  AIM*AT Suite AIM API™ User’s Guide (B0193YN)  AIM*AT Suite AIM Installation Guide (B0193YM)  AIM*AT Suite NetAPI MFC Class User’s Guide (B0400BJ). These are available on the I/A Series Electronic Documentation CD-ROM or DVD (K0173TQ or K0173WT) provided by the Foxboro business unit of Invensys. The latest revisions may also be available through the Global Customer Support at http://support.ips.invensys.com. You should also reference the following OPC Foundation specifications:  OPC Data Access Custom Interface Standard V 2.05a and V 1.0a  OPC Historical Data Access Custom Interface Standard V 1.0  OPC Data Access 2.05a Automation Interface Standard.

Request For Comments Please direct your comments and suggestions concerning the AIM*AT OPC Server software, other AIM*AT Suite products, and this user documentation to: Global Customer Support Center B52-AA Telephone: 1-866-746-6477 within the U.S. or 1-508-549-2424 outside the U.S. For web assisted technical support, visit: http://support.ips.invensys.com.

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1. Overview This chapter introduces AIM*OPC Server software and describes how the server enables OPC clients to communicate with data servers to access real-time and historical data.

AIM*AT OPC Server AIM*AT OPC Server software (OPC server) enables the transfer of data between OPC clients and the following systems:  I/A Series Application Workstations for real-time data  AIM*Historian for real-time data and process history In this document, these three sources are referred to as data servers. Figure 1-1 illustrates how the OPC server functions as a gateway between OPC clients and data servers. The OPC server communicates with data servers over TCP/IP using AIM*API software included with the product. The AIM*AT OPC Server software runs either on the same workstation as the data server or remotely on a Windows based workstation. The AIM*AT OPC Server software features:  Full compliance with OPC Data Access Specification 2.05a and 1.0a  Full compliance with OPC Historical Data Access Specification 1.0  Read and write access to items configured within a data server  Access to multiple local and remote data servers  Automatic detection of available data servers  Automatic detection of available item IDs  Minimal configuration required following installation  Easy-to-use graphical configuration utility  Extensive error tracking and management 

Matrikon™ OPC Explorer, a general purpose OPC client for testing and configuring the OPC server  Matrikon™ OPC Automation Component, a dynamically linked library enabling you to access OPC data from OPC client applications developed using automation tools such as Visual Basic™, VBA™, and VB Script™.

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OPC Client

Network AIM*AT OPC Server

OPC Client

OPC Data Access/ Historical Data Access Interfaces OPC Server Inner Layer

OPC Client

AIM*AT AIM*API Library Network

I/A Series Workstation

AIM*AT Server

I/A Series DCS Real-Time Data

AIM*Historian Real-Time and Historical Data

Data Servers

Figure 1-1. Data Transfer Between OPC Clients and Data Servers via the OPC Server

The OPC Standard The OPC standard is designed to connect Windows® based applications with process control hardware and software applications. This open standard permits a consistent method of accessing field data that remains constant regardless of data type or source. OPC servers use the Component Object Model (COM) to communicate with clients. This Microsoft® OLE technology permits a standard for real-time information exchange between software applications and process hardware to be defined.

OPC Data Access The OPC Data Access (DA) standard was the first specification released by the OPC Foundation. Its primary purpose is to enable the transfer of real-time data. The OPC server conforms to Versions 2.05a and 1.0a of the OPC Data Access Specification. Refer to Appendix E “OPC Compliance” for a list of OPC DA interfaces supported by the OPC server.

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OPC Historical Data Access The OPC Foundation Historical Data Access (HDA) specification defines a consistent mechanism for communicating with process historians. This specification is written for management information systems, expert systems, and other higher level applications that need to access historical data. A single client application designed to the HDA standard can connect to and retrieve data from any historian. The OPC server conforms to Revision 1.0 of the OPC Historical Data Access Specification. Refer to Appendix E “OPC Compliance” for a list of OPC HDA interfaces supported by the OPC server.

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1. Overview

2. System Requirements This chapter lists AIM*AT OPC Server installation prerequisites. The workstation on which you install the AIM*AT OPC Server must meet the following requirements:  Pentium® class processor, recommend 500 MHz or higher  128 MB of RAM  25 MB of available disk space.  One of the following operating systems:  Windows Server® 2008 R2  Windows® 7  Windows Server 2003 R2  Windows XP (Service Pack 3)

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3. AIM*AT OPC Server Installation This chapter provides procedures for installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software and describes important files installed during server installation.

Overview The OPC Server Software V3.4 is a complete installation of the OPC Server software:  The AIM*OPC Server components can be installed on a Windows based workstation or an I/A Series (Windows based) workstation.  The AIM*AT API Server can be installed on any I/A Series workstation. The software install program detects the OPC server currently installed on the target station allowing you to abort the installation should you need to un-installed an earlier version of the OPC Server software. The installation of the OPC server also allows you to install an AIM*AT API Server component to an I/A Series workstation, if one is required.

Installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software To install the AIM*OPC Server Software, refer to the AIM*AT Suite Installation Guide (B0193YM, Rev. G or later). Once the AIM*OPC Server software is installed then edit the DCOM settings, as described in Appendix B “DCOM Configuration”. This must be performed whether or not DCOM is being used. These edits set the proper permissions for the OPC server to be launched and accessed by client programs.

Configurators The AIM*OPC Server is configured using one of two available configurators:  AIM OPC Configurator  Matrikon Configurator. Regardless of which configurator is installed, the delta values for all the client tags are defaulted to a value of .001. NOTE

Only one configurator can be installed.

AIM OPC Configurator The AIM OPC Configurator, installed by default, is the preferred configurator. This configurator provides the ability to change delta values for all the client tags and provides all of the same functionality as the Matrikon Configurator.

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Matrikon Configurator The Matrikon Configurator was distributed on earlier versions of the AIM OPC Server and is still supported as the “legacy configurator”. The Matrikon configurator does not have the ability to configure change delta values. If an earlier version of the OPC server was installed with the Matrikon Configurator and the OPC server parameters were saved to the Matrikon XML configuration file, this file can be reapplied to the new OPC Server installation. NOTE

The saved Matrikon configuration file works with either the Matrikon or the AIM OPC Configurator.

Software Components Description This section describes software components as they appear on the Selected Components screen and the associated files that get installed with each component. Some files are common to several components and are therefore listed more than once.

AIM*OPC Server The aim\opc directory contains: File AIMOPCSVR.exe AIMOPChelp.chm PSTCFGAIM.ocx

Description AIM*OPC Server executable Help file Configuration utility ActiveX component

The version independent Program ID for the AIM*AT OPC Server is: AIM.OPC. The version specific Program ID for this version of the server is: AIM.OPC.1.

AIM OPC Configurator The aim\opc directory contains: AIMOPCConfig.exe OEM_Matrikon_OPC.dll pstcfgps.dll

Standard OPC Server Browser In compliance with OPC Standards, the installation program installs and registers the official OPC Server Browser (OPCEnum.exe). This file contains version information which protects the browser from being overwritten by an older version of the file. The installation program also ensures that the ActiveX Interface Marshalling Library (ACTXPRXY.DLL) is already installed on the station so that the server browser functions properly. The WINDOWS\system32 directory contains: OPCEnum.exe The \aim\common directory contains: servutil.dll

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OPC Automation Components The OPC Automation Components consist of DLLs that provide a programmatic interface to the OPC Server. The OPC automation components enable you to develop client applications that can access OPC data. Client applications can be written in programming languages, such as Visual Basic, VBA and VB Script, that support automation. The Program ID is Matrikon.OPC.Automation. Refer to the OPC Data Access 2.05a Automation Interface Standard for information about automation objects. The OPC Automation Components consists of the following three subsections and associated files:

OPC DA Automation DLL The aim\opc directory contains: OPCAuto.dll OPCDA20auto.doc OEM_Matrikon_OPC.dll PSTcfgps.dll The WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory contains: ExprEval.dll OPCEnum.exe

OPC HDA Automation DLL The aim\opc directory contains: OPCHDAAuto.dll OPCHDA10auto.doc OEM_Matrikon_OPC.dll PSTcfgps.dll The WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory contains: ExprEval.dll OPCEnum.exe

Standard OPC Proxy Stubs (OPC Marshalling Libraries) The WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory contains: OPCProxy.dll OPCHDA_ps.dll OPC_aeps.dll opccomn_ps.dll OPCEnum.exe.

AIM*AT OPC Server Licensing The AIM*AT OPC Server must connect to one or more AIM*AT API servers in order to: 9

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

Get the process values that are requested by an OPC client  Browse the OPC client server to locate the desired client tags. Before you can use the OPC server to communicate with AIM servers, each AIM Server must have an Invensys supplied license authorization code entered on the AIM Server. License codes are available to an unlimited number of AIM servers. The package code determines the type of connection authorized for the OPC server. The two types of package codes are as follows:  The OPCDAO package code enables the OPC server to establish a connection for real-time data transfer.  The OPCHDA package code enables the OPC server to establish a connection for both real-time and historical data transfer. In addition, the computer name of the station that is hosting the OPC server must be configured as a user name on the AIM server. NOTE

If the station that hosts the OPC Server is an I/A Series station (AW70), then the computer name is the station letterbug name. The AIM*AT ApiAdmin utility allows you to configure the authorization code, user name, and security read/write privileges to the AIM server(s). Refer to the AIM*AT Installation Guide (B0193YM) for information on installing and using the ApiAdmin utility. The guide also provides instructions and the forms for obtaining the authorization codes from Invensys. Instructions for obtaining the authorization code and configuring the AIM server using the ApiAdmin utility are described in the following section.

Obtaining an Authorization Code To obtain an authorization code, proceed as follows: 1. Perform one of the following: a. Run the AIM ApiAdmin utility and connect to the AIM server station(s) to which the OPC Server is required to connect. After a connection is made, go to the Authorization page. The station HostID is automatically displayed on this page. b. Alternately, use the “hostname” utility available from a DOS command window on the local station AW station. 2. Fill out the “Request for Authorization Codes” form that is included in the AIM*AT Installation Guide (B0193YM). a. Enter the required information and include the Server Host ID for the OPC Server. b. Indicate which license you want: OPCDAO for real-time or OPCHDA for both real-time and historian data access. c. FAX the request to the person and location indicated at the top of the form.

Configuring the AIM Server To configure the AIM Server, proceed as follows: 10

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Once you receive the authorization code(s), run the ApiAdmin utility to connect to the appropriate AIM server station and configure the following information: a. On the Authorization page, enter the authorization code for the appropriate OPCDAO or OPCHDA Package Name. b. On the User Names page, enter the name of the station hosting the OPC Server. This is the station name as it appears on the network; it is not the user logon name. If the station is an I/A Series AW station, then the user name is the station letterbug. c. On the Packages page, expand the appropriate user name and mark the check box for the OPC package code that applies (OPCDAO or OPCHDA). d. On the Security page, expand on the appropriate user name and check the security options that are to be granted to the OPC clients via the AIM*AT OPC Server application that resides on the (user name) station. e. On the Read List page, optionally restrict the user name (the OPC clients) to a specific list of database object names and shared variables that the OPC clients are allowed to read. f. On the Write List page, optionally restrict the user name (the OPC clients) to a specific list of database object names and shared variables to which the OPC clients are allowed to write.

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4. AIM*AT API Server Component Installation This chapter explains how to install the AIM*AT API Server Component on an I/A Series station. When the OPC Server is required to connect to an AIM*AT API Server that is on a networked I/A Series station, you must install the AIM*AT API Server component if no API Server software is already installed. The installation program on the AIM*AT CD allows you to separately install the API Server software on an AW70 station (Windows operating system) by selecting the AIM*Historian component and the Remote Collector subcomponent. Optionally, install the AIM*AT ApiAdmin. The AIM ApiAdmin utility allows you to configure authorization codes, user privileges, and so forth for all the AIM server(s). NOTE

Do not install the ApiAdmin utility to the local station if AIM server configuration is done exclusively by a system administrator from another station. Only one ApiAdmin utility is needed to configure all the AIM servers on the same network.

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5. OPC Server Startup and Shutdown This chapter discusses starting and stopping the OPC Server.

Starting the OPC Server The OPC server starts automatically when an OPC client requests a connection to the server. Alternatively, the server can be started manually. Manual startup of the OPC server is different depending on whether you installed the server to run as a local executable or as a Windows Service.

OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program To start an OPC Server when installed as an executable program, 1. Select Start > Programs > AimAT OPC Server for DA 2. Depending on the configurator installed, the OPC server starts as follows: a. If the AIM*OPC Configurator is installed, the server starts, but no server screen appears and no icon appears on the Windows task bar. Access the Windows Task Manager to verify that the AIMOPCSVR.EXE process is running. b. If the Matrikon Configurator is installed, the OPC server starts, its splash screen appears briefly, and a small red X appears on the right side of the Windows task bar.

OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service To start an OPC Server when installed as a Windows Service, proceed as follows: 1. Click the Start button and select Control Panel > Administrative Tools. 2. Click the Services icon. The Services dialog box lists the OPC Service among the configured services.

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Figure 5-1. Services Dialog Box on a Windows XP Station

3. Select Action menu > Start to select the AIM AT OPC Server in the Services dialog box.

OPC Server Control Panel NOTE

If the AIM Configurator is installed, the OPC Server control panel is NOT available. When you install the OPC Server as an executable program, the OPC Server Control Panel is accessible if the Matrikon Configurator is installed. The OPC server control panel (Figure 5-2) presents: server status, current time, and number of clients using the server. The three menu items displayed along the bottom of the panel are:  Configure which starts the server configuration utility.  Shutdown which closes the control panel and shuts down the OPC server.  About which opens a dialog box that shows the software version number and licensing information. The help button [?] in the title bar displays a description of the AIM*AT OPC Server software.

Figure 5-2. AIM*AT OPC Server Control Panel

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To open the server control panel, do one of the following:  Double-click the red X icon in the task bar.  Right-click the red X icon, and choose Show Control Panel from the shortcut menu. To reduce the control panel to its title bar,  Double-click the button on the left end of the title bar. The title bar displays the number of clients (Figure 5-3).

Figure 5-3. Reduced Control Panel

To restore the control panel to full view,  Double-click the title bar. To close the control panel,  Click the X button in the top right corner of the window.

Shutting Down the OPC Server OPC Server shutdown is dependent on the OPC Server installation.

OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the AIM Configurator) To shutdown an OPC Server when it has been installed with the AIM configurator, 1. Access the Windows Task Manager to find the AIMOPCSVR.EXE process. 2. Click End Task.

OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the Matrikon Configurator) To shutdown an OPC Server when it has been installed with the Matrikon configurator, 1. Access the OPC Server control panel from the OPC server icon in the Windows task bar as described in “OPC Server Control Panel” on page 16. 2. Click Shutdown. NOTE

A warning appears if clients are currently connected to the OPC Server.

OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service To shutdown an OPC Server when it has been installed as a Windows Service, proceed as follows: 1. Click the Start button and select Control Panel > Administrative Tools. 2. Click Services. The Services dialog box lists the OPC Service among the configured services.

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3. Select Action menu > Stop to select the AIM AT OPC Server in the Services dialog box.

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6. AIM*OPC Configurator This chapter describes the features of the OPC Server Configurator as well as how to use the configurator. The AIM*OPC Configurator is an interactive utility that allows you to configure the OPC Server to perform communication services; these services are required by its client applications and are related to the selected and imported tags needed by its clients in the configuration file. The configurator has the following features:  Configuration can be performed whether or not the OPC Server is running.  All configuration changes are automatically applied to the OPC Server upon save of the configuration file. Therefore, there is no need to re-start the OPC Server to apply configuration changes.  The browser, accessible from the Delta Configuration page, allows you to browse for database tags among I/A Series stations and AIM*Historian instances.  Delta values of individual and selected groups of client tags are configurable.  All OPC Server parameters, such as server time-out values and API scan rates, are configurable.  Alias names can be configured in place of the regular OPC database tag names.

AIM*OPC Configuration Utility The AIM*OPC Configurator allows you to configure:  Parameters for the AIM*OPC server  Change Delta values for the client tags  Alias names for the client tags.

Starting the AIM*OPC Configurator To start the AIM*OPC Configurator,  Select Start > Programs > AimAT > AIM OPC Configurator The initial AIM*OPC Configurator display appears as shown in Figure 6-1. The main window of the configurator consists of: 

Four tabbed pages:  Delta Configuration Page  Server Parameters (General) Page  Server Parameters (Advanced) Page  Alias Configuration Page  Main menu bar with the General Options available under the View Menu 

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

Status Bar indicating Ready When started, the OPC Configurator utility attempts to connect to all available AIM*API Servers as configured by the AIM*ApiAdmin utility. The Delta Configuration page is displayed on top of the other three pages. The Browse Database Tags window automatically displays the names of all the connected server stations as shown in Figure 6-1. Expanding the items in the Browse Database Tags window provides access to various tags. The desired tags are then selected/configured for inclusion in the configuration file for use by all the OPC client applications. Initially, no configuration file exists until the configurator is used and information saved to a file. With no configuration file, the Changed Delta Tags window is empty. No Pre-Existing Configuration File

I/A Servers

Figure 6-1. Initial OPC Configuration Display - Delta Configuration Page

If the AIM*ApiAdmin utility has the broadcast feature enabled (check box is not checked), then the AIM*OPC Configurator attempts to connect to all AIM*API Servers that are available on the network. If the AIM*ApiAdmin broadcast feature is disabled (check box is checked), then the 20

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AIM*OPC Configurator attempts to connect to only the API servers that have been configured by AIM*ApiAdmin to the client initialization file (an_init.cfg). It is important to note that the AIM*OPC Configurator can connect to an AIM*API Server and browse only if that server has been authorized for the AIM*OPC Server. Refer to “AIM*AT OPC Server Licensing” on page 9.

OPC Configuration Menu Bar The OPC Configurator menu bar provides easy access to configuration utility functions (Table 6-1). Table 6-1. AIM*OPC Configurator Menu Bar Options

Menu File

Option New Open Save Save As Print Print Preview

Edit

View

Print Setup Recent File Exit Undo Cut Copy Paste Toolbar Status Bar Options

Help

About AimOpcConfig...

Description Opens a new OPC server configuration file. Opens an existing OPC server configuration file. Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk. Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk using a new name and path. Prints the current configuration information Allows you to preview the current configuration information prior to printing. Allows you to select the printer and set printer options. (Not used) Exits the OPC configuration utility. (Not used) (Not used) (Not used) (Not used) Displays the toolbar icons under the main menu bar. Displays server status information at the bottom of the screen. Customize server options related to how the server: saves and loads its configuration, records error and debug information, and updates. See “Options for Server Configuration” on page 49 for additional information Displays the version and licensing information.

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Toolbar The configuration toolbar provides easy access to configuration utility functions (Table 6-2). Table 6-2. Configuration Utility Toolbar Options

Button

Function Opens a new configuration file having the default server configuration settings. Opens an existing server configuration file. Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk. Prints the active file. Displays program information, version number and copyright.

Status Bar The status bar at the bottom of the window, when visible, indicates Ready.

Using the AIM*OPC Configurator to Configure the OPC Server NOTE

You do not have to use the OPC Configurator to configure the OPC Server prior to using the OPC Server. If not configured, the OPC Server runs with its default parameters. To define the required OPC Server and configuration file settings, 1. Using the General and Advanced Server parameter pages on the initial window of the OPC Configuration Utility, define the operational server parameters.  See “Server Parameters (General) Settings” on page 46.  See “Server Parameters (Advanced) Settings” on page 47. 2. Using the Options dialog, define the following settings: a. Customize the way the server saves and loads its configuration files. See “General Option Settings” on page 50. a. Restrict client access to preconfigured alias items. See “General Option Settings” on page 50. b. Customize general activity logging. “General Logging Settings” on page 52 c. Customize error and debug logging. “Interface Logging Settings” on page 53 d. Set the timing attributes of the Server. “Advanced Option Settings” on page 54

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3. After setting the OPC server and configurator options, perform either of the following tasks:  Save these settings to the file as described in “Saving To the Configuration File” on page 41 and end the configuration session.  Configure the tags as discussed in “Creating/Updating an OPC Server Configuration File with Tags and Item Aliases” on page 23 and then save both the OPC server settings and tag information to the configuration file.

Creating/Updating an OPC Server Configuration File with Tags and Item Aliases One OPC server configuration file contains all of the tags (Compound:Block.Parameters) needed to service all of the OPC server clients. To create an OPC server configuration file with the desired tags and item aliases: 1. Start the configuration utility as described on “Starting the AIM*OPC Configurator” on page 19. The initial OPC Server configuration page appears as shown in Figure 6-1. 2. Select the Delta Configuration tab, if not the initial page, and select the desired tags required by the clients. Change the delta values of the tags if required. See “Delta Configuration Page” on page 23 3. Select the Alias Configuration tab and create the desired item aliases required by the OPC client applications. Configuring aliases as described in “Creating OPC Item Aliases” on page 22. 4. Save the OPC server configuration file to disk as described in “Saving To the Configuration File” on page 41.

Delta Configuration Page The Delta Configuration page is used to locate tags and configure the associated delta values. The tags are located by browsing the I/A Series station control databases and AIM*Historian instances for the desired tag names. The tags and associated delta values can then be saved to the configuration file for the OPC Server.

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Existing Delta Configuration File

Figure 6-2. Delta Configuration Page - Existing Configuration File

NOTE

Configuring a larger delta value reduces the volume of data that is transferred over the network, therefore, enhancing the performance of the OPC Server. This action reduces the load on Control Processor (CP) modules in an I/A Series system. The Delta Configuration page contains the following components:  Browse Database Tags window to browse among connected I/A Series stations and AIM*Historian instances to locate and select tag names. 

Tags Selection window showing a list of all the parameters of the selected block in the Browse Database Tags window.  Changed Delta Tags window showing the list of selected tags: transferred from the Tags Selection window, automatically imported at startup, or loaded from the existing 24

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configuration file. The associated tag information consists of: Tag Name, Data Type, Delta, High Scale and Low Scale. When there is no configuration file, the AIM OPC Server Configurator display indicates Untitled* in the display title. No tags appear in the Change Delta Tags window. When a configuration file exists, the OPC Server Configurator display indicates the name of the configuration file and the Changed Delta Tags window is populated with tags from the configuration file; however, if no tags have been saved to the existing configuration file, no tags appear. NOTE

The Load configuration on startup check box must be marked in the Options dialog (see “Options for Server Configuration” on page 49) for the existing configuration file to appear. Check Boxes

Import Client Tags

On startup the OPC server imports client tags into the configuration window. Client tags displayed in the Changed Delta Tag window appear with an asterisk (*) to distinguish them from non-client tags. Client tags are those tags designated by an application, such as the Matrikon OPC Explorer Client, to be collected by the OPC server. (Figure 6-8 shows Imported tags listed in the Change Delta Tags window.)

Get Tag Info from I/A Server The OPC server collects the current settings available for the tag from the I/A Server (Control database). Buttons

Delete Selected Tags The selected tags (from the I/A Server, AIM* Historian instance, or client) in the Changed Delta Tags window are deleted. Set Deltas of Selected Tags The selected tags appear in the Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog in order to configure the delta values of an individual tag or a group of tags. Set Deltas of Imported Tags The imported tags appear in the Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog in order to configure the delta values of individual tags or a group of tags. Clear All

All the tags in the Changed Delta Tags window are cleared from the screen.

Browsing for Tags From the Delta Configuration page (or the Alias Configuration page), use the browser to locate and select the tags (compound:block.parameters) required in the configuration file. To browse for desired tags, 25

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1. In the Browse window, highlight the desired host station and click on the + button to view: a. Global folder to access all the station letterbugs associated with the selected I/A server as shown in Figure 6-3. b. AIM*Historian instance folder to access compound:block.parameters. NOTE

Historian instances are used to search for tag names that are known to exist in an historian instance; they are not used to establish an OPC Server connection to the historian.

I/A Server

List of Stations Station Letterbugs Historian Instance

Figure 6-3. Delta Configuration Page - Global and Historian Instances - Station Letterbugs

2. Continue to highlight the desired item and click on the associated + button to access the list of associated tags (compound:block.parameters). Select items as follows: a. I/A Server > Global > Station Letterbug > Compound > Block > Individual Block Parameters OR b. Host Station > Historian Instance > Individual Tag(s) NOTE

When an Historian instance is selected, you can select the Tag folder (representing the entire list of tags) to populate the Tags Selection window with all of the tags. Alternately, you can click the Tag folder and expand the tree (click +) to access the list of tags and select individual tags.

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Station Letterbug Compound Block Parameters

Figure 6-4. Delta Configuration Page - Station Name and Compound:Block.Parameters

3. The Tags Selection window contains the compound:block.parameters. The tags (Compound:Block.Parameters) listed in the Tags Selection window are arranged in alphabetical order.

Selecting/Deleting Tags The Tags Selection window must contain the desired tags (Compound:Block.Parameters) in order for you to select and transfer the tags to the Changed Delta Tags window for inclusion in the configuration file. To select tags in the Tag Selection window, 1. Mark the check box in front of each desired tag. 2. Click Insert to transfer the selected tags to the Changed Delta Tags window. The tags no longer appear as checked in the Tag Selection window. Duplicate tags do not appear in the Changed Delta Tags window. See Figure 6-5.

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Figure 6-5. Delta Configuration Page - Selected Tag Inserted in Change Delta Tags Window

To clear all tag selections in the Tags Selection window,  Click Clear All. To delete any tags in the Changed Delta Tags window, 1. Select the tag(s) to be deleted. Use Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple tags. 2. Use one of two methods:  Click Delete Selected Tags.  Right mouse button click within the Change Delta Tags window to activate the context menu and click Delete Selected Tags. To erase all the tags in the Changed Delta tags window,  Click Clear All.

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Context Menu Button

Figure 6-6. Delta Configuration Page - Delete Selected Tags

Changing Delta Values of Selected Tags Initially, the delta value of a tag inserted into the Changed Delta Tags window is set at a default of 0.001, with both the High Scale and Low Scale set to zero as displayed. To change the delta value of one or more tags, 1. Select the desired tags in the Changed Delta Tags window. For example, Figure 6-6 shows that all three tags are selected. 2. Access the Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog using one of two methods.  Click Set Deltas of Selected Tags. 

Right mouse button click within the Changed Delta Tags window to activate the context menu and click Set Deltas of Selected Tags.

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Figure 6-7. Delta Configuration Page - Set Delta Values Of Selected Tags Dialog

3. The Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog (see Figure 6-7) appears with the selected tags in the dialog box. Notice that the dialog displays the Delta, High Scale and Low Scale parameter values for the Tag name.  If the Get Tag Info. from I/A Server box is checked (default), the values for the Delta, High Scale and Low Scale parameters are the actual values configured in the I/A Server for the block parameters. The purpose of getting the tag information from the I/A Server is to provide the user with a guideline for setting the delta value. 

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If the Get Tag Info. from I/A Server check box is not marked, the following default values appear: Delta 0.001, High Scale 100.00, and Low Scale 0.00.

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NOTE

If you select a large number of tags located on a remote server and the check box for Get Tag Info. from I/A Server is checked, it may take considerable time for the AIM Configurator to retrieve the Delta, High and Low Scale I/A database values for each tag. The estimated time is about four seconds for each tag located on a remote server. During this time, the AIM Configurator appears to be disabled; however, the OPC server operation is not affected. 4. Use one of two methods to change the delta field for the tag entries: To change the delta value for one tag, a.Click the Delta field of the selected tag once. b.Click the Delta field again and enter the desired delta value. To change all the tag entries to the same delta value, a.Enter a value in the field to the left of the Set Group Delta button. b.Click Set Group Delta. Range checking is done on any new value if access has been made to the I/A Server. 5. Click OK to set the new delta values. NOTE

When the configuration file is saved, the tags in the Changed Delta Tags window are saved to the configuration file.

Changing Delta Values of Imported Tags The AIM OPC Configurator provides the capability to configure the change delta value of tags that are being used by clients without having to browse the database for the tags. Once this feature is properly activated by the user, the client tags automatically appear in the Change Delta Tags window of the Delta Configuration page. By default this feature is not activated. These client tags are prefixed with an asterisk character [*] to identify them from the other tags. (See Figure 6-8.) Once this feature is activated, the OPC Server automatically writes the client tags (preceded by an *) to the OPC configuration file when new tags are added by an OPC client. When the OPC configurator is started and loads in the configuration file, these client tags automatically appear in the Changed Delta Tags window. To activate the Import Client Tags feature, 1. On the Delta Configuration page, check the box labeled Import Client Tags [*] and then exit the configurator. 2. Select View > Options on the AIM OPC configurator main menu bar to display the Options dialog box. 3. On the General page, check the box labeled Load Configuration on Startup. 4. Select File > Exit to exit the configurator. 5. Restart the OPC Server.

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6. Start the AIM OPC configurator. The client tag names that were not previously configured and saved to the configuration file now appear with an asterisk [*] in the Change Delta Tags window. To change the delta values of imported tags, 1. Select the desired tags in the Changed Delta Tags window. 2. Access the Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog using one of two methods.  Click Set Deltas of Imported Tags.  Right mouse button click within the Change Delta Tags window to activate the context menu and click Set Deltas of Imported Tags. 3. The delta values for these new [*] client tags can now be changed as described in “Changing Delta Values of Selected Tags” on page 29, Step 4. NOTE

When the configuration file is saved, the imported tags in the Changed Delta Tags window are saved to the configuration file. The next time the configurator is started, these tags will not appear with an asterisk [*].

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Imported Tags

Figure 6-8. Delta Configuration Page - Imported Tags Inserted By OPC Server

Alias Configuration Page Aliases allow the user to query data using user-defined names instead of the actual tag names. User-defined names are more easily recognized. From the Alias Configuration page you locate tags (compound:block.parameters) from the I/A Server or an AIM*Historian instance and define the alias for the tag name in the configuration file. NOTE

Only one tag can be selected at a time for alias configuration. The Alias Configuration page contains the following components:  Browse Database Tags window to browse among connected I/A Servers and AIM*Historian instances to easily locate and select tag names.

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

Tags Selection window showing a list of all the parameters of the selected block in the Browse Database Tags window.  Changed Alias Settings window showing the definition of aliased tags. The associated alias information consists of: Name (Alias), Item Path, Data Type, R/W, Update Rate, Poll Always.

Figure 6-9. Alias Configuration Page

Buttons

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Edit Selected Alias

An existing selected alias can be changed.

Insert

Provides access to the Insert New Alias dialog for the selected tag in the Tags Selection window. The following information related to the selected tag appears in the dialog: item path field and data type field. The user supplies the other information.

Insert New Alias

Provides access to the Insert New Alias dialog to create a new alias without having to select a tag.

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Delete Selected Aliases The selected tag aliases in the Changed Alias Settings window are deleted. Clear All

All the tags in the Changed Alias Settings window are cleared from the screen.

Browsing for Tags In Order To Assign Aliases See “Browsing for Tags” on page 25.

Selecting/Deleting Tags To select tags, 1. Mark the check box in front of each desired tag in the Tags Selection window. 2. Click Insert to transfer the selected tags to the Changed Alias Settings window. Duplicate tags do not appear in the Changed Alias Settings window. See Figure 6-5. To delete tags in the Changed Alias Settings window, 1. Select the tag(s) to be deleted. Use Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple tags. 2. Use one of two methods:  Click Delete Selected Alias.  Right mouse button click within the Change Delta Tags window to activate the context menu and click Delete Selected Alias. To erase all the tags in the Changed Alias Settings window,  Click Clear All.

Creating An Alias To create an alias for an existing tag, 1. After browsing for the tag, mark the check box in front of the tag name listed in the Tags Selection window. 2. Click Insert, located under the Tags Selection window. 3. When the Insert New Alias dialog appears, enter the desired alias settings: a. Alias name - user-defined b. Item Path is already pre-filled with the location of selected tag. c. Data type is pre-filled (Default). d. Update rate - Optionally, mark the check boxes: -- Read Only e. -- Poll when inactive

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Figure 6-10. Alias Configuration Page - Insert Alias Name

4. Click OK. The alias name is checked for uniqueness and the other inputs are validated. If all inputs are valid, the new alias is inserted into the Changed Alias Settings window. NOTE

When the configuration file is saved, the tags in the Changed Alias Settings window are saved to the configuration file.

Creating A New Alias To create a new alias, proceed as follows:

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NOTE

Defined aliases appear under the Configured Aliases branch in an OPC client. See Figure 6-11. 1. Access the Insert New Alias dialog using one of two methods.  Click Insert New Alias (without selecting a tag).  Right mouse button click within the Changed Alias Settings window to activate the context menu and click Insert New Alias. 2. When the Insert New Alias dialog appears, enter the desired alias settings: a. Alias name b. Item path c. Data type (if not Default) d. Update rate e. Optionally, mark the check boxes: -- Read Only -- Poll when inactive 3. Click OK. 4. The alias name is checked for uniqueness and the other inputs are validated. If all inputs are valid, the new alias is inserted into the Changed Alias Settings window. NOTE

When the configuration file is saved, the tags in the Changed Alias Settings window are saved to the configuration file.

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Configured Aliases

Figure 6-11. Configured Aliases List in Matrikon OPC Explorer Client

Editing A Selected Alias To edit the alias of an existing tag, 1. Ensure the desired tags are in the Changed ALias Settings window. See 2. Select the tag to be edited. 3. Access the Edit Alias dialog using one of three methods.  Double click the tag to be edited.  Click Edit Selected Alias.  Right mouse button click within the Changed Alias Settings window to activate the context menu and click Edit Selected Alias.

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Figure 6-12. Alias Configuration Page - Edit An Alias

4. When the Edit Alias dialog appears, enter the desired alias settings: a. Alias name b. Item path c. Data type (if not Default) d. Update rate e. Optionally, mark the check boxes: -- Read Only -- Poll when inactive

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Figure 6-13. Alias Configuration Page - Edit Alias Dialog

5. Click OK. 6. The alias name is checked for uniqueness and the other inputs are validated. If all inputs are valid, the new alias is inserted into the Changed Alias Settings window. NOTE

When the configuration file is saved, the tags in the Changed Alias Settings window are saved to the configuration file.

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Saving To the Configuration File Changes to any of the following four configuration pages requires that the information be saved to the OPC configuration file:  Delta Configuration  Server Parameters - General  Server Parameters - Advanced  Alias Configuration NOTE

If changes to the configuration file have not been saved and Exit under the File menu is selected, an AimOpcConfig dialog (Figure 6-14) appears warning the user that changes have been made that have not been saved.

Exit Without Saving Changes to the Configuration File To exit the configurator without saving changes, 1. Click File > Exit. 2. In the AimOpcConfig dialog (Figure 6-14) that appears, click Yes or No or Cancel. a. Click Yes. The OPC Configurator utility closes. No changes are saved. b. Click No. The dialog disappears and the OPC Configurator utility remains open. c. Click Cancel. The dialog disappears and the OPC Configurator utility remains open.

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Figure 6-14. Exiting Configurator Without Saving Changes Dialog

Saving Information To A New Configuration File To save configuration information to a new file (Untitled* appears in the title bar indicating no pre-defined configuration file exists), 1. Select File > Save or select File > Save As. 2. In the resulting file dialog box (Figure 6-15), browse to the desired location and enter the filename for the .xml file.

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Figure 6-15. Saving a New Configuration File

3. Click Save.

Saving to the Default Configuration File To save changes to a default configuration file,  Click Save. The configurator automatically writes the changes to the default configuration file (xml).

Saving to a New Default Configuration File To save information to a new default configuration file, 1. Click Save As. 2. In the subsequent confirmation dialog(Figure 6-16), click Yes or No. a. Click Yes. The changes are saved to the existing default configuration file. b. Click No. In the subsequent, dialog,

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

Indicate the name of the new default configuration file  Click Save.

Figure 6-16. Saving Changes to a Configuration File -- Confirmation Dialog

3. In the subsequent dialog (Figure 6-17), click Yes or No or Cancel. a. Click Yes. The new file is saved as the default configuration file. b. Click No. The new file is saved as a non-default configuration file. c. Click Cancel to cancel the procedure.

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Figure 6-17. Saving Configuration File as a Default Configuration -- Confirmation Dialog

OPC Server Parameters The OPC Server Parameters provide the following options:  General Server Settings which relate to basic communication tasks required between the OPC server and data servers (I/A Servers, AIM*AT Historian instances, and client applications).  Advanced Server Parameters which relate to communication settings between the OPC server and the various data servers. NOTE

Changes to the General Server Parameter Settings take effect immediately. Changes to Advanced Server Parameters require that a server be restarted before the changes take effect.

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Server Parameters (General) Settings To configure the OPC server parameters, 1. Click the General tab in the initial OPC configurator window. 2. Enter the desired values in the fields and mark the desired check boxes. To return all values back to the default values:  Click Defaults. To apply the inputs on the screen to the OPC Server during runtime:  Click Apply. If the OPC Server is running, the parameter values are immediately transmitted to the Server.

Figure 6-18. General Server Parameters Page

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The General Server Parameters include: NetAPI Server Timeout Specifies the time-out setting of the connected AIM*API Server in minutes. Valid values are integers from 2 to 60. The default setting is 2 minutes. Server Discovery Ping Specifies in minutes how often the OPC server should check the network for data servers. 0 disables server discovery except on startup. The default setting is 1 minute. Server Connection Ping Specifies in minutes how often the OPC server should check that connections to data servers are still good. If a connection is bad, the OPC Server attempts to reconnect. Valid values are from 1 to 60 and must be less than the time-out setting of the data severs. The default setting is 1 minute. Aggregate Validity Threshold Specifies a percentage of values in the sample interval that are required to be good. This value is used for aggregate retrieval. Valid values are integers from 1 to 100. The default setting is 60%. Create items when they are browsed Automatically creates items in the OPC server when they are browsed from a client application. It is recommended that you do not enable this option.

Server Parameters (Advanced) Settings To configure the advanced OPC server parameters: 1. Click the Advanced tab on the OPC configurator window. 2. Enter the desired values in the fields and if desired, mark the check box.

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Figure 6-19. Advanced Server Parameters Page

To return all values back to the default values,  Click Defaults. To apply the inputs on the screen to the OPC Server during runtime:  Click Apply. If the OPC Server is running, the parameter values are immediately transmitted to the Server. NOTE

Clicking the Apply button does not save the file to disk. If the user does not perform Save before exiting the OPC Configurator, all changed values are lost when the OPC Server is restarted.

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The advanced configuration options include: Fast Scan Interval Specifies the scan interval in seconds for the fast scan rate. Valid values are 0.5 or 1. The default setting is 1 second. Regardless of the OPC scan rate, points at the data server level are scanned at only two possible rates, a fast scan rate and a slow scan rate. Slow Scan Interval Specifies the scan interval in seconds for the slow scan rate. Valid values are from 1 to 10 in increments of 0.5 and must be greater than the fast scan interval. The default setting is 10 seconds. Scan Interval for Strings This setting specifies the scan interval in seconds for string values. Valid values are from 1 to 60 in increments of 0.5 and must be greater than the slow scan interval. The default setting is 20 seconds. Max Items per NetAPI Object Sets the maximum number of points which can be added to a single data server connection. Valid values are integers from 500 to 2000. The default setting is 2000 points. Max Items per Browse Folder Sets the maximum number of points which can be returned in a single folder while browsing the OPC server. Valid values are integers from 100 to 2000. The default setting is 100 points. AIM*Servers Specifies a list of data servers separated by commas, to which you can connect. If left blank, the OPC server auto-detects data servers and then opens connections to all detected servers. By default, this field is blank.

Options for Server Configuration The Options dialog, as shown in Figure 6-20, allows you to set the following options:  Configuration file options related to automatic load, backup, client aliases.  Logging options related to creating log files, the severity of errors logged, overwriting the log file, and filtering errors to specific file. 

Logging options related to COM interface function call activities and committing log writes after each entry for debugging purposes.



Timing options related to OPC Group update rate. The four tab pages of the dialog follow with an explanation of the controls on each page following each figure.

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Server Options To configure the optional settings: 1. Select View > Options to access the Options dialog box. 2. In the dialog, click the desired tab and configure the desired options: a. General. See “General Option Settings” on page 50 b. General Logging. “General Logging Settings” on page 52 c. Interface Logging. “Interface Logging Settings” on page 53 d. Advanced. “Advanced Option Settings” on page 54 To return all values back to the default values,  Click Defaults. To apply the inputs on the screen to the OPC Server during runtime,  Click Apply. If the OPC Server is running, the parameter values are immediately transmitted to the Server.

General Option Settings

Figure 6-20. Options Dialog - General Page.

Backup For Saved Configuration

If the value is non-zero, a backup copy of the configuration file is saved to another file before the current configuration is saved. Up to 100 backup copies are allowed. For instance, if the 50

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configuration file is called deltaconfig.xml, and 3 backup copies are allowed, then the following files could appear in the same directory of the configuration file:  Backup (1) of deltaconfig.xml  Backup (2) of deltaconfig.xml  Backup (3) of deltaconfig.xml Backup (3) of deltaconfig.xml is the oldest file. In this scenario, if a Save is executed, the following events occur: 1. Backup(2) is saved to Backup(3) 2. Backup(1) is saved to Backup(2) 3. Current configuration before change is saved to Backup(1) 4. New configuration is saved to deltaconfig.xml As another example, if the user changes the value from 0 to 3 and does a Save, then only the file Backup(1) is produced. Subsequent Saves produce more backup files. Load Configuration On Startup

When the box is checked, the configuration file is loaded when the Configurator is invoked. When the box is unmarked, the configuration file is not loaded when the Configurator is invoked, even if the default configuration file is defined in the registry. The title bar indicates Untitled and the edit box below the check box allows you to define the configuration file pathname. Restrict Items To Preconfigured Aliases Only

When the box is checked, only items defined under preconfigured aliases can be used in data query.

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General Logging Settings

Figure 6-21. Options Dialog - General Logging Page

Enable Activity Logging

When the box is checked, logging is enabled and the level of details is defined by the drop-down list: low, medium, or high, with high indicating the most detail level. Commit All Log File Writes

When the box is checked, the log file is closed after each write and reopened again when another write is issued. This option should be used only for debugging purpose as it causes severe performance degradation. Display activity on screen

When the box is checked, all log statements are shown on a separate command prompt screen. Overwrite old log information

When the box is checked, the log file is overwritten from the beginning when it reaches a certain size. The path name of the log file is defined in the edit box below the check box. Filter string and Filter filename

All log statements that contain strings matching the filter string are written to another log file defined in the filename edit box.

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Interface Logging Settings

Figure 6-22. Options Dialog - Interface Logging Page

Enable Activity Logging

When the box is checked, activities related to COM interface function calls are logged into files with the extension.tmp in the same directory where AIMOPCSVR.exe resides. The logging level is defined by the drop-down list to its right: low, medium, high. Commit All Log File Writes

When the box is checked, the log file is closed after each write and reopened when another write is issued. This option is only used for debugging purpose as it causes severe performance degradation.

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Advanced Option Settings

Figure 6-23. Options Dialog - Advanced Page

OPC Group Update Rate

The OPC Group Update Rate is the minimum update rate for a group inside the server. Time Granularity

Time Granularity is used to calculate the requested buffer time (in milliseconds), which tells the server how often to send event notifications.

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Appendix A. OPC Item Syntax This appendix defines the proper syntax to use when adding OPC items to the AIM*AT OPC Server application. The last step before reading and writing data is to add items to your group by providing an access path and item ID pair. The AIM*AT OPC Server uses this information to find the data in which you are interested. If your client supports server browsing, you may not need to provide an Item ID, as the browser enables you to point and click to specify an access path and item ID. The AIM*AT OPC Server software does not use access paths. If your client prompts you to provide an access path, supply a blank. The AIM OPC Server accepts the following item ID formats: \\ Specifies the tag name as well as the historian instance in which it resides. This format is valid for both DA and HDA services. \\ Specifies the tag name without the historian instance. The instance is auto-detected by the OPC server. This format is valid for both DA and HDA services. \ Used for real-time objects in I/A Series systems and AIM-Supervisor systems. This format is valid for DA services only. In all three formats, the Tag Name may have the format .b, in which case the Item ID refers to bit “n” in the tag’s value.

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Appendix B. DCOM Configuration This appendix provides general guidelines for configuring Distributed COM for AIM*AT OPC Server application.

About Distributed COM Distributed COM (DCOM) is an object protocol that enables COM components such as OPC clients and servers to communicate directly with each other across a network. A certain amount of configuration is required on the system where the OPC server is installed to allow remote clients to connect to the server. The following guidelines are suggestions only. Ask your Windows System Administrator for more information about the settings that you should use for your network configuration, especially between different domains.

Setting Default Properties You must define the workstation default properties as described in the following paragraphs. NOTE

These affect all DCOM communications on the local station. 1. For a Windows 7/Server 2008 workstation, open the Component Services window by navigating to: Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Component Services. 2. Expand and navigate to Component Services > Computers > My Computer in the left-hand pane of the Component Services window. 3. Right-click on My Computer and select Properties from the context menu to display the My Computer Properties dialog box. 4. Go to the Default Properties page and set the following settings for Default Properties:  Enable Distributed COM on this computer – checked  Default Authentication Level – Connect  Default Impersonation Level – Identify 5. Click Ok to apply the settings and exit the dialog. In general, the other settings do not need to be changed. The Authentication Level specifies when COM should authenticate the identity of calling clients (for example, each call, each packet). Normally, it should be set to Connect, indicating that COM should authenticate clients when they first connect to a server. If this level is set to None, then COM performs no authentication and ignores any access permission settings. The Impersonation Level specifies whether servers can ascertain the identity of calling clients and whether they can then perform operations on the client’s behalf (as if the server is the client). Nor57

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mally, the Impersonation Level should be set to Identify.With this Impersonation Level, the server identifies the client and determines if the client is allowed access to a certain resource, but does not actually access any of these resources as the client.

OPC Server General and Security Settings You must define OPC server general settings and security settings, including authentication level (General tab), and access permissions, launch permissions, and configuration permissions (Security tab) for the OPC server as described in the following paragraphs. 1. Open the Component Services window. Navigate to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Component Services. 2. Expand and navigate to Component Services > Computers > My Computer > DCOM Config.

Figure B-1. Navigating to DCOM Config from Component Services

3. Select the AIM*AT OPC Server name from the list of DCOM applications, and right-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.

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4. When the Properties dialog box appears (shown in Figure B-2), click the General tab and set the Authentication Level to None, as shown below.

Figure B-2. AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, General Page

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5. Next, click the Security tab and set the three properties -- Access, Launch, and Configuration Permissions -- as required.

Figure B-3. AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, Security Page

You have a choice of using the default for all COM servers or creating a custom set of permissions. When you select the custom option, the adjacent Edit button becomes active. The button opens a dialog box for entering a list of users that have specific permissions. The three security properties are described as follows:  Launch Permissions control list are users who are allowed to start up a server process or service.  Include the names of users or user groups from trusted domains that you are allowing to use the OPC server on this machine.  Include the Everyone group to allow access to all users on a particular domain.  Access Permissions are those principals that are allowed to interact with objects supplied by a server.  Configuration Permissions include users permitted to modify the server configuration, that is, allowed to alter the Windows Registry entries for the server and access the Registry to install new servers. It is usually simpler to install and configure servers as a user with local administrative rights. To confirm that all clients can communicate with the OPC Server, it is strongly recommended that initially all AIM*AT OPC Server security permissions are set to allow access to everyone. 60

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Once communications are confirmed, then security permissions can be set as desired. See “Customizing Permissions” on page 61 to add “everyone” as a user for each of the three security properties.

Customizing Permissions For each property, you must add “everyone” to the users and groups list to confirm communications to and from the Server and Clients. To add everyone and set launch permissions, access permissions, and configuration permissions, perform the following steps: 1. Select the Customize option and click the Edit button. A dialog box similar to Figure B-4 appears. (Launch Permission dialog box shown below; Access and Configuration Permission dialog boxes are not shown.)

Figure B-4. DPC Server Security Settings - Launch, Access, and Configuration Permissions

2. Click the Add button. A dialog box similar to Figure B-5 appears.

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Figure B-5. Configuring Permissions

3. In the Select Users or Groups dialog box, type “everyone” in the large edit box. The cursor should be in that edit box already. See Figure B-5. Click OK at each dialog to return back to the Security properties dialog. 4. Repeat these steps for each of the three properties (access permissions, default launch permissions, and default configuration permissions). After “everyone” has been added, click the OK button and make sure the property settings are as follows: Settings: 1. Access Permissions – Everyone – Allow Access 2. Default Launch Permissions – Everyone – Allow Launch 3. Default Configuration Permissions – Everyone – Full Control

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Specifying Server Identity The Identity tab in the AIM*AT OPC Server Properties dialog box (Figure B-6) specifies the user account that should be used when COM starts up the server process.

Figure B-6. AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, Identity Page

The available settings for a server that runs as a local executable differ from those available for a server that runs as a Windows Service. It is strongly recommended that the AIM*AT OPC Server be installed to run as a Windows Service if it is going to be accessed by remote clients via DCOM. Install the server as a service to:  Ensure that the server can always be accessed even if no one is presently logged onto the machine  Ensure that only one server process starts up 

Add a greater degree of security. OPC Servers that run as local executables have the option of running as the launching user (the calling client; this is the default), the interactive user (the one currently logged onto the machine), or a specified user (this user). It is usually best to use the interactive user. Otherwise, remote clients might start up multiple separate server processes that are not accessible to others. Alternatively, the server can be set to run as a specified user. When the server runs as a Windows Service, it should generally run under the local system account. 63

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NOTE

If the OPC server has been installed as a service, the Interactive User selection is disabled. The This user and The system account selections are enabled, and one of them will be selected already. If this is the case, leave the setting as is.

Specifying Default Protocols The Default Protocols tab specifies the communication protocols available to DCOM. The order that protocols appear in the list indicates the priority in which they are used with first having the highest priority. The more protocols that appear in the list, the better the chances of connecting to an OPC server on an unknown remote machine (such as at an OPC Interoperability Workshop). However, it may also take longer for DCOM to time out if a server machine is not present, since it has to try each protocol in turn. For most situations it is best to remove all unused protocols from the list and only include those that are necessary for your network. For example, on a TCP/IP network you should include the connection-oriented TCP/IP protocol. Contact your IT personnel for more information about your network’s configuration and requirements. Evidence indicates that there are problems with the datagram-oriented protocols that cause memory leaks in DCOM. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that these protocols not be used in the list of default protocols. Datagram-oriented protocols are not supported under the Windows 2000 operating system (although the DCOM configuration utility allows you to configure them).

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Specifying a Remote Program ID Before the OPC Server Browser became available, OPC client applications were required to search the Windows Registry to generate a list of available OPC servers. Therefore, some older OPC clients require a program ID in the local Registry to connect to a particular OPC server. NOTE

The following method may not work for every OPC client. Please check the user documentation supplied with the client application for more information. The simplest way to ensure backward compatibility with older client applications is to install the OPC Server software on the client machine even if it is not used. Alternatively, use the following steps to copy a program ID to the client machine: 1. On the server machine, run REGEDIT as a user that has access rights to the local Registry. 2. Expand the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key. 3. Select AIM.OPC, the program ID for the AIM*AT OPC Server. 4. Right click on AIM.OPC and select Export from the context menu. The Export Registry File dialog box opens. 5. Enter a file name and click Save. The dialog box supplies the extension .REG. 6. Copy the exported file to the client machine. 7. Merge the .REG file into the Registry of the client machine by doing one of the following: 

Double-click on the file from the desktop of the client machine  Run REGEDIT on the client machine and choose Import Registry File from the Registry menu. 8. Use REGEDIT to verify that the program ID has been copied. 9. Delete the .REG files as they are no longer needed.

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Appendix C. Using the Matrikon Configurator This appendix describes how to configure the OPC Server application using the Matrikon Configurator utility. To function properly, the OPC server requires some configuration following installation. You configure the server using the server configuration utility supplied with the software.

Activating the Matrikon Configurator Utility How you access and run the configuration utility depends on whether you installed the server to run as a local executable or as a Windows Service. The OPC server must be running in order to access configuration parameters of the server. To run the configuration utility when the OPC server runs as a local executable: 1. Click the Start button and select All Programs > AIM OPC Server to start the server. 2. Right-click the server’s red X icon in the Windows task bar to display the shortcut menu shown in Figure C-1.

Figure C-1. OPC Server Shortcut Menu

3. Choose Configure. The configuration utility window appears as shown in Figure C-2. To run the configuration utility when the server operates as a Windows Service: 1. Open a DOS Prompt window. 2. Enter the following command at the command line: PSTCFG.EXE PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1 AIM.OPC

The configuration utility window appears as shown in Figure C-2.

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Using the Matrikon Configurator Utility This section describes the configuration utility and includes:  The configuration utility window  Creating an OPC server configuration  Configuring DCOM options 

Displaying OPC server statistics  Configuring advanced server options.

Configuration Utility Window The configuration utility window displays a tree view of objects configured in the server. When you select an object in the tree view, the object’s configuration details are displayed in the pane on the right side of the window. Figure C-2 identifies the principal features of the configuration utility window. Menu Bar Toolbar

Tree View of Configured Objects Option Setting Fields

Server Statistics Panel

Status Bar Figure C-2. Configuration Utility Window Features

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Menu Bar The configuration utility window menu bar provides easy access to configuration utility functions (Table C-1). Table C-1. Configuration Utility Menu Bar Options

Menu File

Option New Open Save Save As Export Aliases

Edit View

Tools Help

Import Aliases Shutdown Server Close Delete Statistics Properties Reset Statistics Defaults Refresh Options DCOM Configurator Contents Index About

Description Opens a new configuration file having the default server configuration settings. Opens an existing server configuration file. Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk. Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk using the specified file name and path. Saves the OPC item aliases you have created to a comma-separated variable (.CSV) file. Loads an existing alias configuration .CSV file. Shuts down the OPC server and the configuration utility. Exits the configuration utility. Deletes the currently loaded configuration file. Shows/hides the server statistics. (Not used.) Resets the counters displayed in the server statistics. (Not used.) Refreshes the configuration utility window display. Opens a dialog box to configure server options such as logging, and so on. Opens the DCOM configurator tool. Displays the contents of the on-line Help file. Displays the index of the on-line Help file. Displays the version and licensing information.

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Toolbar The configuration utility toolbar provides easy access to nine configuration utility functions (Table C-2). Table C-2. Configuration Utility Toolbar Options

Button

Function Shuts down the OPC server. Opens a new configuration file having the default server configuration settings. Opens an existing server configuration file. Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk. Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk using the specified file name and path. Loads an existing alias configuration .CSV file. Saves the OPC item aliases you have created to a .CSV file. (Reserved for future use.) Refreshes the configuration utility window display.

Statistics A pane immediately below the tree view provides current statistics on operation of the server. See “Viewing Server Statistics” on page 80.

Status Bar The status bar at the bottom of the window presents the number of OPC clients currently connected to the OPC server and the server’s current time.

Creating an OPC Server Configuration To create a configuration for the OPC server: 1. Start the configuration utility as described on page 67. The configuration utility window appears as shown in Figure C-3. 2. Click the General tab and complete the general configuration options. The general configuration options are described starting on page 71. 3. Click Apply to apply the general configuration options to the running server.

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4. Click the Advanced tab and complete the general configuration options. The advanced configuration options are described starting on page 73. 5. Click Apply to apply the advanced configuration changes to the server configuration files. The server must be configured to load the configuration file at startup for any of these changes to take effect (see “Advanced Configuration Options” on page 73). 6. Select Alias Configuration in the tree view, and create aliases that can be used in place of regular OPC items. Configuring aliases is described in “Creating OPC Item Aliases” on page 76. 7. Choose File > Save to save the OPC server configuration file to disk.

General Configuration Options To configure the OPC server general options:  Click the General tab on the server configuration window (Figure C-3).

Figure C-3. General Configuration Options

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The general configuration options include: NetAPI Server Timeout Specifies the server time-out setting in minutes. Valid values are integers from 2 to 60. The default setting is 2 minutes. Server Discovery Ping Specifies in minutes how often the OPC server should check the network for data servers. 0 disables server discovery except on startup. The default setting is 1 minute. Server Connection Ping Specifies in minutes how often the OPC server should check that the connections to data servers are still good. If a connection is bad, the OPC Server attempts to reconnect. Valid values are from 1 to 60 and must be less than the time-out setting of the data severs. The default setting is 1 minute. Aggregate Validity Threshold Specifies a percentage of values in the sample interval that are required to be good. This value is used for aggregate retrieval. Valid values are integers from 1 to 100. The default setting is 60%. Create items when they are browsed Automatically creates items in the OPC server when they are browsed from a client application. It is recommended that you do not enable this option.

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Advanced Configuration Options To configure the advanced options:  Click the Advanced tab on the server configuration window (Figure C-4).

Figure C-4. Advanced Configuration Options

The advanced configuration options include: Fast Scan Interval Specifies the scan interval in seconds for the fast scan rate. Valid values are 0.5 or 1. The default setting is 1 second. Regardless of the OPC scan rate,

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points at the data server level are scanned at only two possible rates, a fast scan rate and a slow scan rate. Slow Scan Interval Specifies the scan interval in seconds for the slow scan rate. Valid values are from 1 to 10 in increments of 0.5 and must be greater than the fast scan interval. The default setting is 10 seconds. Scan Interval for Strings This setting specifies the scan interval in seconds for string values. Valid values are from 1 to 60 in increments of 0.5 and must be greater than the slow scan interval. The default setting is 20 seconds. Max Items per NetAPI Object Sets the maximum number of points which can be added to a single data server connection. Valid values are integers from 500 to 2000. The default setting is 2000 points. Max Items per Browse Folder Sets the maximum number of points which can be returned in a single folder while browsing the OPC server. Valid values are integers from 100 to 2000. The default setting is 100 points. AIM*Servers Specifies a list of data servers separated by commas, to which you can connect. If left blank, the OPC server auto-detects data servers and then opens connections to all detected servers. By default, this field is blank. NOTE

Changes to properties in the General tab take effect immediately. Properties in the Advanced tab requires that a server be restarted before it will take effect. If you made changes to the configuration using options on the Advanced tab, you must stop and restart the server for those changes to take effect. Changes made with the options on the General tab are implemented when you click Apply. To implement advanced configuration changes: 1. Choose File > Save to save the server configuration setting to a file. 2. Choose View > Options to open the Options dialog box (Figure C-5).

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Figure C-5. Options Dialog Box

3. On the General tabbed page, check Load configuration on startup and enter the configuration file in the Filename field.  Click the browse button [...] to the right of the field to display available configuration files. 4. Make other server option changes as appropriate. 5. Shut down the server by clicking the Shutdown icon on the left end of the toolbar. 6. Restart the server using one of the procedures described in Chapter 5 “OPC Server Startup and Shutdown”.

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Creating OPC Item Aliases The OPC servers provide the ability to create aliases that can be used in place of regular OPC items. This is particularly useful when the item path for a given server is long and difficult to remember (for example, DEV0.98.76.5.4321). Servers can also be configured so that client applications have access to configured aliases only, rather than every item. Alias Configuration Procedure

To configure an alias for an OPC server item: 1. Select Alias Configuration in the tree view. 2. Choose Edit > Insert Alias Group. 3. Enter a name for the alias group. It is recommended to create aliases in these groups rather than directly under the root. 4. Select the newly created group and choose Edit > Insert New Alias. The utility opens the Insert New Alias dialog box (Figure C-6).

Figure C-6. Insert New Alias Dialog Box

5. Enter the alias in the Name field and specify the item ID in the Item Path field.  Click the browse button [...] to view available item IDs on the server. 6. Use any of the following options as required for the application: a. Specify a canonical data type for the alias from the Data Type pull-down list. The OPC item value is changed to this data type prior to being sent to the client. b. Mark the Read only check box to prevent client applications from writing to the OPC item. c. Enter a value in seconds in the Update Rate field, and mark the Poll when inactive check box to ensure that data for the OPC item is always received at a particular rate even if it is not being read by a client. d. Click Scaling to apply standard scaling formulas to the alias. See “Applying Scaling Formulas to an Alias” on page 77 for a complete discussion. 7. Click Save to save the alias, or click Save & Create New to save the configuration and create another alias.

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Mark the Default to new check box to make Save & Create New (rather than Save) the default control when you press the Enter key.

Applying Scaling Formulas to an Alias

You can apply standard scaling formulas to an alias. For each type of scaling, a different algorithm is applied to the incoming value before it is passed to the client. A reverse algorithm is applied to any values written to the alias before they are passed to the OPC item. The four available types are described Table C-3. Table C-3. Alias Scaling Options

Option Linear

Square Root

Algorithm

Scaled High – Scaled Low  x – Raw Low   --------------------------------------------------------------- + ScaledLow  Raw High – Raw Low 

Reverse Algorithm

Raw High – Raw Low  x – Scaled Low   --------------------------------------------------------------- + Raw Low  Scaled High – ScaledLow

Algorithm Reverse Algorithm

Gain/Offset

Algorithm Reverse Algorithm

Expression

Formula

Algorithm Reverse Algorithm

 Scaled High – Scaled Low x – Raw Low  --------------------------------------------------------------- + ScaledLow Raw High – Raw Low   Raw High – Raw Low 2  x – Scaled Low   --------------------------------------------------------------- + Raw Low  Scaled High – ScaledLow Gain  x + Offset 

x----------------------– OffsetGain

SQRT(INPUT) + 5 (for example) (OUTPUT - 5) * (OUTPUT - 5) (for example)

To apply a scaling formula to an alias: 1. Click Scaling on the Insert New Alias window. The dialog box is expanded to include scaling controls (Figure C-7).

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Figure C-7. Edit Alias Dialog Box

2. Click the tab corresponding to the desired type of scaling and enter the parameter values as required. For Linear and Square Root scaling: a. Enter the high and low range for the expected raw values and their corresponding high and low scaled values. b. Optionally, select the corresponding check boxes to clamp the value to its high or low limit to prevent it from going out of range. For Gain/Offset:  Enter the gain and, optionally, the offset. Incoming values must be numeric for these scaling types to work. For Expression scaling: a. Click one of the browse buttons [...] to bring up an expression wizard to assist with the creation of a formula. b. Enter the equation to be applied to incoming values in the Input field and enter the equation to be applied to outgoing values in the Output field. See Appendix L “Alias Configuration” for further information about expression syntax. 3. Click No Scaling to hide the scaling portion of the window. When the scaling information is not visible, no scaling is applied to the alias. 4. Click Save to save the alias, or click Save & Create New to configure another alias. Viewing Configured Aliases

To view the aliases configured for an alias group:

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Select the alias group in the tree view. The pane to the right of the tree view displays the name, item path, data type, access rights, and update rate for each alias, as shown in Figure C-8.

Figure C-8. Listing Aliases Configured for a Group

Exporting and Importing Alias Configurations

The alias database can be exported to and imported from comma-delimited text files (CSV). See Appendix L “Alias Configuration” for a description of the alias CSV file format.  Choose File > Export Aliases to export the current alias configuration to the specified CSV file.  Choose File > Import Aliases to import aliases into the current configuration.

Configuring DCOM Settings The menu selection Tools > DCOM launches a standard Microsoft utility for editing DCOM settings, as described in Appendix B “DCOM Configuration”.

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Viewing Server Statistics To view statistics for an OPC server configuration: 1. Select an object under Server Configuration in the tree view. 2. Choose View > Statistics to display the statistics panel. The statistics panel below the tree view displays any communication statistics that are supported for the selected object. Different objects display different statistics as appropriate. The possible communication statistics displayed for an object are: Sent

The number of messages (requests) sent to the device.

Received

The number of messages (responses) received from the device.

Timed Out

The number of time-out periods that have elapsed waiting for a response.

Retried

The number of messages re-sent to the device.

Failed

The number of failed transactions (due to time-outs or communication errors).

Overrun

The number of times that the program failed to get a response from the device before it needed to send out the next request. Statistics can be useful for troubleshooting communication problems. If the OPC server stops supplying data for items under a particular device, check the statistics for that device for problems such as time-outs, overruns, and failures. Many device configurations support tuning parameters for communication, such as time-out intervals and maximum number of retries. Changing some of these tuning parameter settings may help to overcome communication problems. To reset the counters in the Statistics panel:  Click Reset Statistics at the bottom of the panel or choose View > Reset Statistics. The statistics for the selected object are set to 0. The displayed statistics are updated roughly once every second.

Configuring Server Options The AIM*AT OPC Server software stores option values in the Windows Registry and loads them at startup. Because the options are stored in the Registry, you can change options without restarting the server. To change the server options: 1. Choose View > Options to open the Options dialog box (Figure C-9).

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Figure C-9. Options Dialog Box

2. Click the General tab and configure the general option settings as required. The general options are described in the next section. 3. Click the General Logging tab and configure the logging option settings as required. The general logging options are described in “General Logging Settings” on page 83. 4. Click the Interface Logging tab and configure the logging option settings as required. The interface logging options are described in “Interface Logging Settings” on page 85. 5. Click the Advanced tab and configure the advanced option settings as required. The advanced options are described in “Advanced Option Settings” on page 86. 6. Click Defaults to restore the original settings for the server. 7. Click OK to save your configuration changes. 8. Restart the server to implement the new configuration.

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General Option Settings The Options dialog box General tab (Figure C-9) contains the following settings related to the configuration of the OPC server: Save current configuration on shutdown Mark this check box to have the server automatically save any changes to the configuration when it shuts down. Load configuration on startup Mark this check box and enter a filename in the Filename edit box below it to have the server automatically use the specified configuration file when it is launched.  Click the browse button [...] next to the edit box to browse for the file to be loaded. Launch configuration program on startup Mark this check box to cause the server to spawn the configuration utility automatically when it starts up as a local executable. Otherwise, the configuration utility must be started manually from the Start menu. The configuration utility must always be started manually when the server runs as a Windows Service. Restrict items to pre-configured aliases only Mark this check box to restrict client applications to connecting only to configured aliases in the server. When this box is marked, client applications are not able to access any raw OPC items. Enabling this option may be useful for security reasons. See “Creating OPC Item Aliases” on page 76 for details about OPC item aliases.

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General Logging Settings The OPC server produces log files that record errors and debugging information. If difficulties occur with a server, the log files can be extremely valuable for troubleshooting. By default, the servers log very little information. The General Logging tab of the Options dialog box (Figure C-10) contains settings to control server general activity logging.

Figure C-10. Options Dialog Box: General Logging Tab

General activity logging records information about the internal workings of the OPC server. It is useful for troubleshooting problems with configuration and device communication. Enable activity logging Mark this check box and choose the desired log level from the pull-down menu to enable general activity logging. Available log levels include High, Medium, Low, and None. NOTE

The higher the log level, the more information is recorded. However, server performance may decrease at higher log levels. The recommended operating level is Low.

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Commit all log file writes Mark this check box to ensure that the log file buffer is flushed each time a message is logged. This can be useful when a fatal error that causes the OPC server to crash is occurring regularly. However, it is not recommended for normal operation as it greatly decreases the performance of the server. Overwrite old log information Mark this check box to overwrite the general activity log file each time the OPC server starts up. Otherwise, the existing file is renamed to start with an underscore.

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Filename

Enter a general activity log filename in the edit box or click the browse button [...] to browse for a file. The default log file is PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1.LOG in the AIM\OPC\ directory.

Filter String

Enter a string on which to filter log data. Only data containing the specified string is written to the specified filtered log.

Filename

Enter a filtered general activity log filename in the edit box or click the browse button [...] to browse for a file.

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Interface Logging Settings Interface activity logging records information about the client/server OPC communication. It can be useful for troubleshooting OPC compliance issues. The Interface Logging tab of the Options dialog box (Figure C-11) contains settings to control interface activity logging.

Figure C-11. Options Dialog Box: Interface Logging

Enable logging

Check this check box to enable interface activity logging and choose the desired log level: High, Medium, Low, or None.

Commit all log file writes Mark this check box to ensure that the log file buffer is flushed each time a message is logged. This can be useful when a fatal error that causes the OPC server to crash is occurring regularly. However, it is not recommended for normal operation as it greatly decreases the performance of the server.

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Advanced Option Settings The Advanced tab (Figure C-12) contains timing parameters: OPC Group Update Rate (minimum) Enter the minimum update rate that the server allows for any OPC group. This option prevents client applications from requesting update rates that are impossible to achieve or that cause heavy CPU loads. The default value is 100 msec. Time granularity

Specify the time granularity in ms for OPC group update rates.

Figure C-12. Options Dialog Box: Advanced Tab

To set the advanced options for the OPC server: 1. Click the Advanced tab. 2. Enter 500 in the OPC Group Update Rate field. 3. Enter 100 in the Time granularity field.

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Appendix D. Using the Matrikon OPC Explorer Client This appendix describes the use of Matrikon OPC Explorer to test AIM*AT OPC Server applications. Matrikon OPC Explorer is a general purpose OPC client included with the AIM*AT OPC Server software to provide tools to test your AIM*AT OPC Server applications.

Starting OPC Explorer To start OPC Explorer:  Choose Start > Programs > AIM > Matrikon OPC Explorer. The OPC Explorer main window appears as shown in Figure D-1.

Figure D-1. OPC Explorer Main Window

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The window consists of a pull-down menu to select a server, a tree view of groups for the selected server on the left, and a detailed listing of items in the selected group on the right. You can also display an Information panel in the lower portion of the screen.

Menu Bar The window menu bar provides easy access to the functions listed in Table D-2. Table D-1. Matrikon OPC Explorer Menu Bar Options

Menu File

Option New Session Open Save Save As [previous sessions] Exit

Server

Connect/Disconnect

Perform! Add Group Properties Group

Deactivate/Activate Use Async I/O Add Items Delete Properties

Item

Writes Values Deactivate Delete Properties

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Description Starts a new session. Displays an Open Session dialog box to select and restart a previously saved session. Saves the current session. Opens a Save Session dialog box if the session has not yet been saved to a file. Opens a Save Session dialog box for saving the session to a file. Lists file names of the most recently saved session. Click on the file name to re-open the session. Exits the Matrikon OPC Explorer window. Prompts you to save current sessions that have unsaved changes. Connects or disconnects the selected OPC server. Disconnect opens a dialog box that prompts you to save the current session. Opens the Matrikon OPC Explorer Perform window. Opens the Add Group dialog box for setting up a new group on the selected server. Displays a dialog box containing information on current server status, supported interfaces, and Registry settings. Toggles the group status from active to inactive. Switches the data retrieval method for the group between synchronous and asynchronous. Starts Tag Studio to add items to the selected group. Deletes the select group after you confirm the action by clicking Yes in a dialog box. Opens the Properties dialog box for configuring group options. Opens a Write values dialog box for writing values to the selected OPC server. Deactivates the selected items. Deletes the selected items. Opens the Properties dialog box for the selected item.

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Table D-1. Matrikon OPC Explorer Menu Bar Options (Continued)

Menu View

Option Info Panel

Advise Panel Error Log Update Speed Refresh

Help

Options Matrikon on the Web About

Description When checked, opens a panel in the lower half of the window that displays information about the connected server and the selected group. When checked, opens a separate window that displays callback transactions from the OPC server. Opens the Error Log window that displays messages concerning the operation of Matrikon OPC Explorer. Displays a submenu for selection of an update rate: High, Normal, Low, and Paused. Updates the Matrikon OPC Explorer window with the current values on the OPC server. Opens the Options dialog box. Uses the default Web browser to access a Matrikon Web page with help. Provides the Matrikon OPC Explorer license and version information.

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Toolbar The toolbar provides easy access to the functions listed in Table D-2. Table D-2. Matrikon OPC Explorer Toolbar Options

Button

Function Disconnects Matrikon OPC Explorer from the current OPC server. Connects Matrikon OPC Explorer to the selected OPC server. Opens the Properties dialog box for the selected server. Refreshes the server display. Opens the Add Group dialog box for setting up a new group on the selected server. Opens the Properties dialog box for configuring group options. Deletes the select group after you confirm the action by clicking Yes in a dialog box. Deactivates the selected group after you select Yes in a confirm action dialog box. Stop using Asynchronous I/O with the selected group. Makes the selected group public. Refreshes the display of all items in the selected group. Starts Tag Studio to add items to the selected group. Opens the Properties dialog box for the selected item. Deletes the selected items. Toggles the selected items between active and inactive. Opens a Writes values dialog box for writing values to the selected OPC server. Refreshes the display of selected items.

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Using OPC Explorer To test the AIM*AT OPC Server application using OPC Explorer, follow the general procedure below: 1. View the list of OPC Servers to which you can connect from OPC Explorer. Refer to “Viewing Available OPC Servers” on page 91. 2. Connect to the OPC server. Refer to “Connecting to an OPC Server” on page 92. 3. Add a group on the OPC server. Refer to “Adding OPC Groups” on page 93. 4. Add OPC items to the group. Refer to “Adding OPC Items” on page 96. 5. Read real-time data values for the OPC items you have added to the OPC server. Refer to “Reading Real-Time Values” on page 98. 6. Optionally, write control values for the OPC items you have added. Refer to “Writing Control Values” on page 100. 7. Optionally, Set options defining OPC Explorer’s default configuration. Refer to “Setting OPC Explorer Options” on page 102. 8. Choose File > Save to save the OPC Explorer session to a specified file. The saved OPC Explorer session includes all established server connections, added OPC groups, and added OPC items. Choose File > Open to later re-open the saved OPC Explorer session.

Viewing Available OPC Servers Matrikon OPC Explorer is an OPC client application that connects to OPC Server applications and displays real-time values as they are received. When OPC Explorer starts, it searches the Windows Registry on the local computer and generates a list of program IDs of available OPC Servers. The list is available from a pull-down list at the top left corner of the window (Figure D-2).

Pull-down list to view available OPC Servers

Figure D-2. Available OPC Server List

Every OPC Server has a unique program ID, a human-readable text string that is converted to a globally unique identification number that COM uses to identify the server. Each server may have a version-specific program ID (with a number appended to the end of the string), a

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version-independent program ID (no number), or both. AIM*AT OPC Server applications have both types, but only version-independent program IDs are included in the list. If an error occurs during the communication session between OPC Explorer and an OPC Server, a message box appears explaining the error. To troubleshoot the error: 1. Click Details in the message dialog box to get a more descriptive explanation of the error. 2. Choose View > Error Log to display a log of past errors. 3. Right-click on the window. 4. Choose Clear Log to clear the log.

Connecting to an OPC Server To connect to an OPC Server: 1. Select a program ID from the server pull-down list. The program ID for AIM*AT OPC Server software is AIM.OPC. 2. Choose Server > Connect, and select either Local or Remote. The Local option connects to a server running on the same machine as OPC Explorer, while the Remote option connects to an OPC Server running on another machine. 3. If you select Remote, use the Connect Remotely dialog box to specify the remote machine with one of the following:  UNC (for example, “\\SYSDEV1”)  DNS (for example, “www.foxboro.com”)  IP address (for example, “198.162.0.1”). See Appendix B “DCOM Configuration” for instructions on how to configure OPC servers to receive remote connections. COM attempts to launch the OPC server if the server is not currently running. If the server runs as a local executable, COM runs it. If the server operates as a Windows Service, COM starts the service. Similarly, when the last client application disconnects from an OPC server, the server shuts down. The OPC server waits one minute before shutting down to avoid unnecessary processing when client applications connect and disconnect frequently.

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Adding OPC Groups An OPC group serves as a logical collection of data items. To add an OPC group to the connected OPC server: 1. Choose Server > Add Group. 2. Enter a name for the group. If the edit box is left blank, the OPC server assigns a unique name for the group. 3. Change the other settings as desired, and click OK to create the group. Matrikon OPC Explorer adds Group to the menu bar, if it is not already displayed. To change the group settings at a later time: 1. Choose Group > Properties to open the Group Properties dialog box (Figure D-3).

Figure D-3. Group Properties Dialog Box: General

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2. Check the Active option box to activate the group. The OPC server only updates values for active items in active groups. When an individual item is set inactive, the server stops sending updates for the item. Likewise, when a group is set inactive, the server stops sending values for any items in that group. Client applications, such as human-machine interface applications, can help to reduce the processing load on an OPC server by deactivating groups and items that are not currently needed. To change the state of items: a. Choose Group > Activate/Deactivate to change the active state of an OPC group. b. Choose Item > Activate/Deactivate to change the active state of individual OPC items. 3. Specify the Update Rate in milliseconds. The OPC server tries to keep OPC Explorer informed with values at the requested update rate for the OPC group. If the requested update rate is too fast for the server to handle, it returns a revised update rate that it uses instead. Internally, the server updates data from data servers at either the configured fast or slow scan rates, but sends values to the client at the update rate or slower to avoid overwhelming it. The server determines which update rate is used based on the requested OPC group update rate. If the OPC group update rate is equal to or an even multiple of the slow scan rate, items contained in that group are updated internally at the slow scan rate. All other items are updated internally at the configured fast update rate except for string data types. All string data requests are handled as one-shot reads or writes. String data is read or written to data servers only at the configured scan interval for strings. Some OPC client applications may use the OPC Server time bias setting as a storage area for time zone information. This information might be used to display server time stamps in a time zone other than UTC or the local time zone. OPC Explorer does not use this information, but allows you to write the information to the server as a test. 4. Specify the % Deadband. Some OPC servers support deadband for updates from analog data sources. The deadband value is a percentage of full-scale deflection, so the high and low limits for the item must be known ahead of time. Deadband only affects updates between an OPC client and a server. It has no effect on communication between an OPC Server and its respective devices.

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5. Use the pull-down menu to select an I/O method. OPC Explorer allows you to specify the method of communication to use with a group. Synchronous I/O is generally reserved for testing and special operations. OPC Explorer also allows you to choose between the 1.0a or 2.05a style of asynchronous I/O. The normal recommended setting is Asynchronous I/O, which attempts to use 2.05a first, and 1.0a if that fails. See Appendix K “OPC I/O Methods” for more information about OPC I/O methods.

Figure D-4. Group Properties Dialog Box: Interfaces

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Adding OPC Items To add OPC items to a group: 1. Choose Group > Add Items to open the Tag Studio main window. Tag Studio is a utility for creating, validating, and adding OPC items (Figure D-5).

Figure D-5. Tag Studio Main Window

2. Enter an Item ID in the edit box, and click the right arrow. The item appears in the list box on the right side of the window. 3. Double-click on an item to edit its settings. The appearance of the arrow changes. 4. Choose File > Update and Return to Explorer to add the created items to the OPC group and return to the Matrikon OPC Explorer main window. In addition to an item ID, you can also specify an access path, a requested data type, and an active state for each OPC item you add, as described in the following sections.

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Item ID All OPC items must be identified by an item ID, a server specific string of characters that uniquely identifies a source of data to OPC server. You can add the same item ID to multiple groups. 1. Enter the item ID in the Item ID edit box. 2. Click the button next to this edit box to bring up the Tag Generator, a utility for creating large numbers of tags that follow a known pattern. The item ID format for AIM*AT OPC items is “ServerName\TagName\[Instance].” Some examples of valid item IDs are:  01AW01\BOILER_1:FIC101.RO01\hist01  02AW01\COLUMN_A:FT100.PNT\  03AW01\COMP:BLOCK.PARAM. Refer to Appendix A “OPC Item Syntax” for additional information about the syntax for item IDs.

Access Path Some OPC Servers allow clients to specify an access path in addition to an item ID, which suggests to the server how it should access the data for a particular item. For example, it might specify the method of communication to use for accessing the data (that is, radio, satellite, or modem). Servers are under no obligation to use the access path, although they return errors if the access path is invalid. The AIM*AT OPC Server software does not support access paths. Leave the access path field blank.

Browsing the Server Address Space The AIM*AT OPC Server software supports browsing as a means of isolating users from the exact syntax of its item IDs. The OPC standard enables clients to view the contents of a server to find a particular data item and resolve it into a valid item ID. The server browsing capability is not primarily intended for auto-generating OPC items. When you browse the OPC server, a tree view and list view appear in Tag Studio. The tree view displays connected data servers and historian instances on each server, while the list view displays the actual items that are available under the selected server or configured real-time points (RTPs) under the historian instance. The global branch enables you to access real-time points which may not be contained in an historical instance. The last branch of the tree in either the historical or global branches is known as the alpha browse branch. Items are divided into alpha browse branches depending on the Max. items per Browse Folder configuration parameter of the server. Items are divided alphabetically into these folders to limit the number of items displayed. The name of the alpha browse folder is assigned dynamically and indicates the names of the items contained in the folder. While browsing, you may apply a number of filter criteria to search for a particular type of item. The syntax of the filter is vendor specific, but the algorithm recommended by the OPC Foundation follows the same pattern as the Visual Basic “Like” function with respect to item names. For example, “A*” filters out any item names that do not begin with the letter “A.” This filter can also apply to branches. 97

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Items can be filtered by data type and access rights. Choosing a type other than Empty/Default causes the browser to display only those items with the same canonical data type as that selected. Access rights are non exclusive. For example, selecting write access and deselecting read access displays only items that can be written to, regardless of their read accessibility. Selecting both should filter nothing out. 1. Double-click on an item. Tag Studio places the fully qualified item ID for that item in the edit box. 2. Right-click on the item. 3. Choose Add to Tag List to add the item using the previous item’s settings. 4. Choose Add All Items to Tag List to add every item under the branch.

Requested Data Type All OPC items have a native, or canonical data type, a default format to the data that the server supplies for an item. When creating OPC items, client applications can specify a requested data type for each item. The OPC server attempts to convert any data from the item to this format if possible. If the requested and canonical data types are incompatible, the server fails to validate the item when it is added and displays a message to indicate the specific error.

Active State Like groups, OPC items can be active or inactive. See “Reading Real-Time Values” on page 98 for more information about this setting.

Validating OPC Items To check the validity of the items you have created:  Choose File > Validate Tags. Tag Studio queries the server to determine whether the items are valid, and presents the results as follows:  A small red X next to an item indicates that it did not validate properly.  A green checkmark indicates that the item is valid.  A blue question mark indicates that the item has not yet been validated.

Reading Real-Time Values Once items are added to an OPC group, Matrikon OPC Explorer continually updates the display for that group with real-time data, as shown in Figure D-6. The data values appear in the list view on the right side of the window. Each item is listed along with its item ID, access path, active state, value, quality, and time stamp. When there are a number of groups created on an OPC Server, use:  Group list view to navigate between different groups and to view the items in those groups.  Pull-down menu to navigate between the groups on different server connections.

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Data Display Although the OPC server supplies data changes to Matrikon OPC Explorer at the update rate of the group, a global setting specifies the refresh rate for the display in OPC Explorer (Figure D-6). To set the refresh rate: 1. Choose View > Update Speed. 2. Select one of the four available options:   

High Normal Low



Paused.

If the update speed is Paused, you can refresh the display by pressing the F5 on the keyboard.

Figure D-6. OPC Item Data Display

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The item display has the following fields: Item ID

Displays the OPC Item ID.

Access Path

Not used in AIM*AT OPC Server software.

Status

Indicates whether an item is active or inactive

Value

Shows the current value for the item.

Time stamp

Indicates the time that it was received from the data source to indicate how fresh the data is.

Quality

Indicates whether or not this value is valid, and why (See Appendix F “Quality Flags” for a list of valid quality values). The information panel at the bottom of the window presents status information about the selected server and group. To toggle the window between showing and hiding the status information:  Choose View > Info Panel.

Advise Log To display a log of ongoing I/O transactions: 1. Choose View > Advise Log. Right-click on the window. 2. Choose Clear Log to clear the displayed log. 3. Use the Option settings to keep the window above all other windows in the desktop, and to keep the most recent entry visible at all times.

Writing Control Values OPC Explorer allows you to write control values to items in an OPC group. To write control values: 1. Select the desired OPC items in the list view. The Item menu is added to the menu bar if it is not already included. 2. Choose Item > Write Values. The Write Values dialog box appears, as shown in Figure D-7.

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Figure D-7. Write Values Dialog Box

3. 4. 5. 6.

Enter the control values to be written in the New Value column. Specify the data types for the control values in the Data Type column. Uncheck individual check boxes as required to avoid writing to individual items. Click OK or Apply to perform the write. NOTE

Control values can be written to items whether they or their group are active or inactive. If the items and the group containing the items are both active, the written control value should appear when the next update occurs. Also, the server may contain read-only items. Values written to these items are discarded. OPC Explorer also provides a Signal Generator to write ramping control values to OPC items. To write ramping control values: 1. Click the Signal Generator tab in the Write Values dialog box. 2. Enter the high and low limits and the increment factor for the ramp wave. 3. Enter the time period in milliseconds, and press Start. 4. Press Stop or close the dialog box to finish writing the ramp wave.

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Setting OPC Explorer Options To display the Options dialog box. 1. Choose View > Options to open the Options dialog box (Figure D-8).

Figure D-8. Options Dialog Box: General

The dialog box opens to the General tabbed page, which contains two options used by AIM*AT OPC Server applications:  Errors specifies that the error dialog box should be displayed when COM or OPC errors occur, or when errors occur for individual items.  Sanity check ensures that the server keeps track of lists of groups and items properly. Session files are only stored as text files. 2. Click the check boxes of the OPC Explorer options you want to set. 3. Click Defaults to restore the options default settings.

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Data Transfer Options To set data transfer options: 1. Click the Data Transfer tab to switch to the Data Transfer page (Figure D-9).

Figure D-9. Options Dialog Box: Data Transfer

This option specifies the data source that OPC Explorer should use when requesting values from the OPC server. 2. Select the Data Source as follows: 

Select Cache for normal operation.  Use Device for special testing operations. Device reads yield a serious performance penalty and can prevent servers from functioning properly if they are used too often. 3. Select the Request time stamps with notification option for 1.0a asynchronous I/O, to receive time stamps from the OPC Server. Otherwise, OPC Explorer assumes the current time when it receives new values.

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4. Select Request asynchronous refreshes to use asynchronous refresh transactions when updating the display.  When the option is grayed, OPC Explorer uses synchronous reads for 2.05a I/O or asynchronous reads from CACHE for 1.0a I/O when updating the display.  When the option is not selected, OPC Explorer simply receives values passively from the server. 5. Select Respect access rights when writing values to avoid including readonly items in the Write Values dialog box. Otherwise, OPC Explorer allows you to write values to any items.

Data Display Options To set the OPC Explorer Data Display options: 1. Click the Data Display tab to switch to the Data Display page (Figure D-10).

Figure D-10. Options Dialog Box: Data Display

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2. Select Display value qualities as text to show a text description of the item quality in the Quality field rather than a numeric value. Deselect this option if the quality value contains vendor-specific information in the upper byte. 3. Deselect Display time stamps using local time zone to display the time stamps in UTC rather than local time.

COM Options The COM tabbed page (Figure D-11) is used to specify the class context flags to be used when OPC Explorer attempts to connect to an OPC server. Do not deselect any of these flags unless absolutely necessary.

Figure D-11. Options Dialog Box: COM

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Appendix E. OPC Compliance This appendix provides a list of OPC features supported by the AIM*AT OPC Server. The AIM*AT OPC Server complies fully with the OPC Data Access 2.05a Custom Interface Standard. It also supports some of the optional capabilities, including backward compatibility for the old style of asynchronous communication found in the 1.0a specification. The information in this appendix is arranged as follows:  Supported server object interfaces  Supported group object interfaces  Supported HDA interfaces  AIM*AT OPC Server Registry entries. NOTE

In the tables that follow, optional interfaces appear in square brackets.

Supported Server Object Interfaces Table E-1 lists the server object interfaces supported by AIM*AT OPC Server. Table E-1. Supported Server Object Interfaces

Supported

Interface

Yes Yes

IUnknown IOPCCommon

Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes

IOPCServer [IOPCServerPublicGroups] [IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace] [IPersistFile] IConnectionPointContainer IConnectionPoint (IOPCShutdown) IOPCItemProperties

Notes Locales Supported: English (United States). Public groups not supported. Hierarchical, no access paths. (Not required.) Multiple connections allowed. All servers support the six OPC-specific properties. Some may also support other standard or custom properties.

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Supported Group Object Interfaces Table E-2 lists the group object interfaces supported by AIM*AT OPC Server software. Table E-2. Supported Group Object Interfaces

Supported

Interface

Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

IUnknown IOPCItemMgt IOPCGroupStateMgt [IOPCPublicGroupStateMgt] IOPCSyncIO IOPCAsyncIO2 IConnectionPointContainer IConnectionPoint (IOPCDataCallback) [IOPCAsyncIO] (1.0a)

Yes

[IDataObject] (1.0a)

Notes

Public groups not supported.

Multiple connections allowed. Data streams support simple data types, strings, and one-dimensional arrays of simple data types and strings. Multiple connections allowed for all three formats.

Supported DA Methods Table E-3 lists the methods for each OPC DA interface and indicates whether the method is supported by AIM*AT OPC Server software. Some of the interfaces defined by the specification are optional interfaces and are not required for OPC servers. Table E-3. Supported Data Access Methods by Interface

OPC Requirement

Interface

Supported

Server Interfaces IOPCCommon  SetLocaleID  GetLocaleID  QueryAvailableLocaleIDs  GetErrorString  SetClientName IOPCServer  AddGroups  GetErrorString  GetGroupByName  GetStatus 108

Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

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Table E-3. Supported Data Access Methods by Interface (Continued)

OPC Requirement

Interface 

RemoveGroups  CreateGroupEnumerator IConnectionPointContainer  EnumConnectionPoints  FindConnectionPoint IOPCItemProperties  QueryAvailableProperties  GetItemProperties  LookupItemIDs IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace  QueryOrganization  ChangeBrowsePosition  BrowseOPCItemIDs  GetItemID  BrowseAccessPaths IOPCServerPublicGroups  GetPublicGroupByName  RemovePublicGroups IPersistFile  IsDirty  Load  Save  SaveCompleted  GetCurFileByName IUnknown (all methods)

Supported

Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Required

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes

Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Obsolete Obsolete

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Group Interfaces IOPCGroupStateMgt  GetState  SetState  SetName  CloneGroup IOPCSyncIO  Read  Write IOPCAsyncIO  Read

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Table E-3. Supported Data Access Methods by Interface (Continued)

OPC Requirement

Interface 

Write  Cancel  Refresh IOPCASyncIO2  Read  Write  Cancel2  Refresh2  SetEnable  GetEnable IOPCItemMgt  AddItems  ValidateItems  RemoveItems  SetActiveState  SetClientHandles  SetDataTypes  CreateEnumerator IConnectionPointContainer  EnumConnectionPoints  FindConnectionPoint IDataObject  DAdvise  DUnadvise IOPCPublicGroupStateMgt  GetState  MoveToPublic

Obsolete Obsolete Obsolete Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Obsolete Obsolete Obsolete Optional Optional Optional

Supported Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No

EnumOPCItemAttributes IEnumOPCItemAttributes  Next  Skip  Reset  Clone

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Required Required Required Required Required

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Appendix E. OPC Compliance

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Supported HDA Interfaces Table E-4 lists historical data access (HDA) interfaces supported by AIM*AT OPC Server software. Table E-4. Supported HDA Interfaces

Supported Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes

Interface IUnknown IOPCCommon IOPCHDA_Server IOPCHDA_Browser IOPCHDA_SyncRead IOPCHDA_SyncUpdate IOPCHDA_SyncAnnotations IOPCHDA_AsyncRead IOPCHDA_AsyncUpdate IOPCHDA_AsyncAnnotations IOPCHDA_Playback IConnectionPointContainer IOPCHDA_DataCallback

Notes

Up to 1023 data points per call. Insert only. Not supported. Up to 1023 data points per call. Insert only. Not supported.

Supported HDA Methods Table E-5 lists the methods for each HDA interface and indicates whether the method is supported by AIM*AT OPC Server. Some of the interfaces defined by the specification are optional interfaces and are not required for OPC servers. E_NOTIMPL in the Supported column indicates that the server returns the message and that the method is not yet implemented in AIM*AT OPC Server software. Table E-5. Supported HDA Methods by Interface

Interface Name

OPC Requirement

Supported

Synchronous Interfaces IOPCCommon  SetLocaleID  GetLocaleID  QueryAvailableLocaleIDs  GetErrorString  SetClientName IOPCHDA_Server  GetItemAttributes  GetAggregates

Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required

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Table E-5. Supported HDA Methods by Interface (Continued)

OPC Requirement

Interface Name 

GetHistorianStatus  GetItemHandles  ReleaseItemHandles  ValidateItemIDs  CreateBrowse IOPCHDA_Browser  GetEnum  ChangeBrowsePosition  GetItemID  GetBranchPosition IOPCHDA_SyncRead  ReadRaw  ReadProcessed  ReadAtTime  ReadModified  ReadAttribute IOPCHDA_SyncUpdate  QueryCapabilities  Insert  Replace  InsertReplace  DeleteRaw  DeleteAtTime IOPCHDA_SyncAnnotations  QueryCapabilities  Read  Insert

Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Required Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional

Supported Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes E_NOTIMPL E_NOTIMPL Yes Yes Yes E_NOTIMPL E_NOTIMPL E_NOTIMPL E_NOTIMPL No No No No

Asynchronous Interfaces IOPCHDA_AsyncRead  ReadRaw  AdviseRaw  ReadProcessed  AdviseProcessed  ReadAtTime  ReadModified  ReadAttribute

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Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes E_NOTIMPL Yes

Appendix E. OPC Compliance

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Table E-5. Supported HDA Methods by Interface (Continued)

Interface Name 

Cancel IOPCHDA_AsyncUpdate  QueryCapabilities  Insert  Replace  InsertReplace  DeleteRaw  DeleteAtTime  Cancel IOPCHDA_AsyncAnnotations  QueryCapabilities  Read  Insert  Cancel IOPCHDA_Playback  ReadRawWithUpdate  ReadProcessedWithUpdate  Cancel IConnectionPointContainer 

EnumConnectionPoints



FindConnectionPoint

IUnknown (all methods)

OPC Requirement Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Optional Required for Asyc Required for Asyc Required for Asyc Required

Supported Yes Yes Yes Yes E_NOTIMPL E_NOTIMPL E_NOTIMPL E_NOTIMPL Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

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AIM*AT OPC Server Registry Entries In compliance with the OPC and COM specifications, the AIM*AT OPC Server setup program makes the Registry entries listed in Table E-6 under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT when registered on a target system. These entries are removed when the server is unregistered. Table E-6. AIM*AT OPC Server Registry Entries

Registry Key AIM.OPC AIM.OPC \CLSID AIM.OPC \CurVer AIM.OPC \OPC\Vendor AIM.OPC.1 AIM.OPC \CLSID CLSID\{CLSID1} CLSID\{CLSID1}\APPID CLSID\{CLSID1}\DefaultConfig CLSID\{CLSID1}\ProgID CLSID\{CLSID1}\VersionIndependentProgID CLSID\Implemented Categories CLSID\{CLSID1}\LocalServer32 PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1 PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1\CLSID PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1\ShellPath PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1\HelpFile CLSID\{CLSID2} CLSID\{CLSID2}\APPID CLSID\{CLSID2}\ProgID CLSID\{CLSID2}\LocalServer32 APPID\{APPID}

Value AIM*AT OPC Server {CLSID1} AD853BF1-1E22-11D5-90380050DA 19 DDDA AIM.OPC.1 Invensys Process Systems AIM*AT OPC Server {CLSID1} AIM*AT OPC Server {APPID} = CLSID1 (initially empty) AIM.OPC.1 AIM.OPC 1 options (configurator setting) (path to server executable) Foxboro AIM OPC Server {CLSID2} AD853BF1-1E22-11D5-90380050DA 19 DDDA (path to PSTCFG.EXE) (path to .HLP file, if it exists) AIM*AT OPC Server {APPID} PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1 (path to server executable) AIM*AT OPC Server

The AIM*AT OPC Server also registers itself with the Microsoft Standard Component Category Manager. After ensuring that the OPC 1.0 and 2.05a categories exist, the server registers in both of these categories. The OPC Server browser searches for servers that implement these categories.

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Appendix F. Quality Flags This appendix provides a list of standard and HDA quality flags used by the AIM*AT OPC Server software. The OPC quality flags represent the quality of an item’s data value. The lower byte is a bit field used to convey standard quality values. The high byte is available for vendor-specific use complementary to the standard values.

Standard Quality Flags Table F-1 lists the range of valid quality values (ignoring the vendor-specific bits). Please refer to the OPC DA 2.05a specification for further information. Table F-1. Standard Quality Flags

Binary

Decimal

Definition

00000000 00000100

0 4

00001000

8

00001100 00010000 00010001 00010010 00010011 00010100

12 16171819

20

Bad, Last Known Value

00011000

24

Bad, Comm Failure

00011100

28

Bad, Out of Service

01000000

64

Uncertain, Non-specific

01000100

68

01010000 01010001 01010010

808182

Uncertain, Last Usable Value Uncertain, Sensor Not Accurate + Low Limit + High Limit

Description

Bad, Non-specific The value is bad (no specific reason). Bad, Configuration Error There is a server-specific problem with the configuration. Bad, Not Connected The input should be logically connected to something but is not. Bad, Device Failure A device failure has been detected. Bad, Sensor Failure + A sensor failure has been detected. The Low Limit + High Limit value may be pegged as indicated by + Constant the limit field. Communications have failed. The item value represents the last known value. Communications have failed. There is no last known value. The block is off-scan or otherwise locked, or the group or item is inactive. The value is uncertain (no specific reason). Whatever was writing this value has stopped doing so. The value is stale. The value may be pegged at one of its limits or it is detected as being out of calibration.

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Appendix F. Quality Flags

Table F-1. Standard Quality Flags (Continued)

Binary

Decimal

Definition

Description

01010100 01010101 01010110 01010111 01011000

84858687

Uncertain, EU Exceeded + Low Limit + High Limit + Constant

The returned value is outside the engineering unit limits defined for this parameter.

88

Uncertain, Subnormal

192 216

Good, Nonspecific Good, Local Override

The value is derived from multiple sources, an insufficient number of them are good. The value is good (no specific reason). The value has been overridden and forced to a manually entered setting.

11000000 11011000

HDA Quality Flags The OPC HDA Quality flags are returned as a 32-bit number. Bits 15-0 are the DA 2.05a OPC Quality flags while bits 31-16 are defined in Table F-2. Table F-2. HDA Quality Flags

Binary

Decimal

Definition

00000001

1

OPCHDA_EXTRADATA

00000010 00000100 00001000 00010000

2 4 8 16

OPCHDA_INTERPOLATIVE OPCHDA_RAW OPCHDA_CALCULATED OPCHDA_NOBOUND

00100000

32

OPCHDA_NODATA

01000000 10000000

64 128

OPCHDA_DATALOST OPCHDA_CONVERSION

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Description More than one piece of data that may be hidden resides at the same time stamp. Interpolated data value. Raw data value. Calculated data value. No data found to provide upper or lower bound value. No data collected. Archiving not active (for item or all items). Collection started/stopped/lost. Scaling/conversion error.

Appendix G. Variant Data Types This appendix lists the constant numeric values used for VARIANT data types and describes how AIM*AT data types are mapped to VARIANT data types. Table G-1 lists the constant numeric values for VARIANT data types. Table G-1. Constant Numeric Values for VARIANT Data Types

Value 0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 17 18 19 20 +8192

Data Type VT_EMPTY VT_I2 VT_I4 VT_R4 VT_R8 VT_CY VT_DATE VT_BSTR VT_ERROR VT_BOOL VT_I1 VT_UI1 VT_UI2 VT_UI4 VT_ARRAY

Description Default/Empty (Nothing) 2 byte signed integer 4 byte signed integer 4 byte real 8 byte real currency date text error code Boolean (TRUE = 1, FALSE = 0) 1 byte signed character 1 byte unsigned character 2 byte unsigned integer 4 byte unsigned integer Array of values (that is, 8200 = array of text values)

Table G-2 shows how AIM*AT data types are mapped to VARIANT data types. Table G-2. AIM*AT to VARIANT Data Type Mappings

AIM*AT Data Type FH_CHAR FH_INTEGER FH_FLOAT FH_BOOLEAN FH_LONG FH_SHORT

VARIANT Data Type VT_I4 VT_I4 VT_R4 VT_BOOL VT_I4 VT_I4

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Appendix G. Variant Data Types

Table G-2. AIM*AT to VARIANT Data Type Mappings (Continued)

AIM*AT Data Type FH_INT_PACKED FH_LONG_PACKED FH_FLOAT_ARRAY FH_STRING

VARIANT Data Type VT_UI4 or VT_BOOL, depending on whether the item ID has the suffix .bn VT_UI4 or VT_BOOL, depending on whether the item ID has the suffix .bn VT_ARRAY | VT_R4 VT_BSTR

The mapped VARIANT types are the canonical types of the OPC server. For example, if an OPC client adds an OPC item that refers to a field that is an FH_SHORT in data server, the canonical data type for that item is VT_I4. If a data type other than VT_EMPTY is specified by the client when adding the item, that data type is always converted to VT_I4 first.

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Appendix H. Bit Mapping I/A Series Status Codes to OPC Status Codes This appendix defines the status bit mapping of real-time status codes to OPC status codes. Status bit mapping is based on the following table: Table H-1. I/A Series Status Bit Map

3 to 0 (lsb)

Value Type

4

Change

7 to 5 OM Connect statusd

8

Bad/Dis/Ok

9

Sec/Unsec

10

Ack/uncond. Int

11

OOS

12

Shadow

13

Limited High

14

LImited Low

15

Error

Reserved

31 (msb) to 16

AIM*AT qualities are converted to standard OPC qualities. The mapping of AIM*AT real-time status codes to OPC status codes is shown below: AIM*AT Real-time Status Word

OPC Status Code

Bit#8 Bit#11 Bit#15

Bad - non specific Bad - Out of Service Bad – uncertain

The following flow diagram shows how the mapping is done for real-time data:

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Appendix H. Bit Mapping I/A Series Status Codes to OPC

boo1bQual, bOOS, bError Set bQual to true if bit 8 is on Set bOOS to true if bit 11 is on

true

bQual or bOOS

false

true

wStatus = Q BAD

wStatus = Q UNCERTAIN bOOS

bError

false

false wStatus = Q_GOOD

wStatus = Q_BAD S_BAD_OUTOFSERV

return wStatus

Figure H-1. Flow Diagram for Quality of Returned Real-time Data

The constants are defined as follows: #define Q_BAD #define Q_UNCERTAIN #define Q_GOOD #define S_BAD_OUTOFSERV #define S_BAD_NOTCONN #define S_BAD_LASTKNOWN

0x0000 0x0040 0x00C0 0x001C 0x0008 0x0014

Other cases: If a tag cannot be added, the status is set to Q_BAD | S_BAD_NOTCONN. If a tag stops being updated, the status is set to Q_BAD | S_BAD_LASTKNOWN. Qualities returned from historical queries indicate both the DA quality tag and the Historical data access quality. Bits 15-0 or the quality word indicate the DA quality information, and Bits 31-16 indicate the Historical Data access quality. The following flow diagram shows how the quality is determined:

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Appendix H. Bit Mapping I/A Series Status Codes to OPC Status Codes

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bool bUnavail, bOOR, bPartial Set bUnavail to true if bit 7 is on Set bOOR to true if bit 8 is on (out of collected range) Set bPartial to true if bit 9 is on

true

bUnavail

false

wStatus = Q BAD

true

bOOR or bPartial false

wStatus = Q UNCERTAIN

wStatus = Q_GOOD

return wStatus

Figure H-2. Flow Diagram for Quality of Returned Historical Data

The historical data access qualities that are “and’d” into the DA quality word are shown below.

Quality Values

Description

Value

Associated DA Quality

OPCHDA_EXTRADATA

More than one piece of data that may be hidden exists at same timestamp.

0x00010000

Good, Bad, Quest.

OPCHDA_INTERPOLATED

Interpolated data value.

0x00020000

Good, Bad, Quest.

OPCHDA_RAW

Raw data value.

0x00040000

Good, Bad, Quest.

OPCHDA_CALCULATED

Calculated data value, as would be returned from a ReadProcessed call.

0x00080000

Good, Bad, Quest.

OPCHDA_NOBOUND

No data found to provide upper or lower bound value.

0x00100000

Bad

OPCHDA_NODATA

No data collected. Archiving not active (for item or all items).

0x00200000

Bad

OPCHDA_DATALOST

Collection started/stopped/lost

0x00400000

Bad

OPCHDA_CONVERSION

Scaling/conversion error

0x00800000

Bad, Quest.

When a historical value is returned to an OPC client, the quality is set with the corresponding bit set for the particular operation. For instance, the quality for returning raw historical data is done this way: m_dwQuality = (PSTHDA_RAW SaveAs.

To configure the server to read the configuration file on start-up: 1. Select View > Options from the menu bar. 2. Under the General tab, check the Load configuration file on startup option. 3. Enter the configuration file name in the entry field. The AIM*OPC server must be restarted in order for the changes to take effect. By using the secured writes file, the OPC Server establishes secured connections for writes to those points listed in the file. The server still makes unsecured writes to points not contained in the secured writes file. 125

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Appendix J. How to Configure Secured Read/Write

To disable writes to unsecured points,  Uncheck the Allow secured writes option in the Advanced tab of the configurator. This option disables writes to all points except those listed in the secured writes file. NOTE

If this Allow secured writes option is changed, the configuration must be saved to a config file and then loaded at server startup (similar to the secured writes file option) in order for the changes to take effect.

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Appendix K. OPC I/O Methods This appendix describes the data I/O methods available from OPC servers. NOTE

Please refer to the OPC DA 2.05a specification for further information.

Synchronous Versus Asynchronous I/O All OPC compliant servers must provide two distinct methods for real-time data access. OPC clients can choose between synchronous and asynchronous I/O for their operations. All OPC servers must support both synchronous I/O and at least one form of asynchronous I/O, 2.05a or 1.0a. These terms only refer to communication between the client and the server, not between the server and its data source. Synchronous operations are blocking calls made to an OPC server to either read or write a group of OPC items. When an OPC client makes a synchronous call, it passes control to the OPC server and does not continue processing until the call is complete. Synchronous operations are only used for testing, special operations (generally involving DEVICE reads), or in extremely simple OPC clients. Asynchronous operations are non-blocking. OPC client applications establish call-back objects to which the OPC server can interface to deliver item updates. Once this call-back is established, the OPC server continually informs the client of changes in value to OPC items as they occur, being careful not to exceed the OPC group update rate and potentially overwhelm the client. OPC clients may also create asynchronous transactions to perform non-passive operations. These transactions include reading from DEVICE, refreshing of all active items in an active group, and writing control values. Once the client creates a transaction, it can carry on processing until the OPC server informs it that the transaction is complete through the client’s call-back object. The server also returns an ID number when a transaction is created so that the client can try to cancel it if it is taking too long. Asynchronous I/O is the normal preferred method for continuous real-time data access. However, synchronous I/O can be useful for scenarios involving infrequent or one-shot data access operations.

Device Versus Cache Reads When an OPC client creates a group and adds items to it, the OPC server attempts to retrieve values for active items from its source of data. Internally, it maintains a data cache, which it attempts to update at least as fast as indicated by the update rate of the group. The server optimizes regular communication with its source of data for best performance while keeping the cache fresh. If you need to retrieve real-time values directly from the data source (by-passing the regular optimization routines of the cache and the time delays they might impose), OPC provides the means to do this using device reads through either synchronous or asynchronous I/O.

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Appendix K. OPC I/O Methods

Device reads may be performed at any time on specific items in a group. They ignore the update rate and active state of the group or items involved. Due to the fact that they by-pass normal optimization routines, however, device reads should be used sparingly as they can incur severe performance penalties in the server. A scenario where a synchronous read from a device might be useful is in the case of a utility for altering a series of set points in the device. The client application might create an inactive group with the desired items and perform a device read. When the call completes, the item values are as current as possible. The utility can then display the values, allow the user to alter them, and synchronously write them out to the device. This can be followed by a second device read to ensure that the values were written. Had a device read not been used, it could take some time before the server receives the first values for the group after it is activated. Additionally, there is no guarantee that the values would all arrive in the same update. A device read ensures that the values all arrive at the same time. Technically, write operations are always device writes. However, there is no point in writing to the cache, so this terminology is redundant.

OPC DA 2.05a Versus 1.0a Asynchronous I/O With the release of the OPC Data Access Version 2.05a Custom Interface Standard, the OPC Foundation included a new method for asynchronous I/O intended to replace the Version 1.0a standard. While some OPC servers may continue to support the old method of asynchronous I/O, they are under no obligation to do so. The new method is simpler, easier to implement, and avoids errors that occurred with slow client applications using the old method. Older OPC clients that require 1.0a interfaces are not able to communicate properly with new OPC servers that support only the 2.05a interfaces. Similarly, newer OPC clients that require 2.05a interfaces are not able to communicate with old OPC servers that only support the 1.0a interfaces. Vendors of software that require or support 1.0a interfaces are encouraged to update to the 2.05a standard, which is intended to replace the 1.0a standard. AIM*AT OPC Server software supports both DA 2.05a and 1.0a asynchronous I/O, and is thus able to communicate with OPC clients that depend on either method with an OPC server. OPC clients that support both methods generally attempt to use the 2.05a method first and then resort to 1.0a if that fails.

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Appendix L. Alias Configuration This appendix provides additional information about the configuration of aliases for OPC items in an AIM*AT OPC Server application.

Scaling Expressions Table L-1 lists and describes the syntax for scaling expressions used in AIM*AT OPC Server aliases. Table L-1. Alias Scaling Expressions

Expression ‘text’ +  * /

= < > =

Not And Or

TIME DATE INT(x) FRAC(x) SQRT(x) DIV(x, y) IF(expression, x, y)

TRUE FALSE

Description Text value (enclosed in single quotation marks). Addition (or Append), Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division. Equal To, Less Than, Greater Than, Unequal To, Less or Equal To, Greater or Equal To. Logical Not, Logical And, Logical Or may also be used for binary math. Current time as text. Current date as text. Returns the integer part of x. Returns the fractional part of x. Returns the square root of x. Divides x by y. Returns x if expression evaluates to TRUE, otherwise returns y Constant Boolean true and false

Examples ‘hello’ Joe’s Alias’ (3 * 7 + 1) / 8  2 ‘hi ’ + ‘there’ 3 6) = FALSE

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Appendix L. Alias Configuration

Table L-1. Alias Scaling Expressions (Continued)

Expression TYPEOF(x)

STR(x) UPPER(x)LOWER (x)PRETTY(x)

COPY(x, start, length)

FORMATNUMERIC(mask, x)

INPUT OUTPUT

Description Returns the data type of x as a text description (‘STRING’, ‘INTEGER’, ‘FLOAT’, ‘BOOLEAN’, ‘ERROR’). Converts the numeric value x to text. Converts the text value x to all uppercase or lowercase letters, or the first letter uppercase and the rest lowercase. Returns a substring of the x, copying length characters starting at start. Converts the numeric value x to text using the format mask. The incoming value read from OPC item. The outgoing value written to OPC item.

Examples TYPEOF(‘hello’) = ‘STRING’

STR(3.14) = ‘3.14’ UPPER(‘hello’) = ‘HELLO’ LOWER(‘HI THERE’) = ‘hi there’ PRETTY(‘ALARM’) = ‘Alarm’ COPY(‘FIDDLE’, 2, 4) = ‘IDDL

FORMATNUMERIC('####.#', 123.4567) = ‘123.5’ INPUT * 3.1415 OUTPUT / 3.1415

Alias Configuration CSV File Format AIM*AT OPC Server imports and exports alias configuration data in .CSV format files (see Table L-2). Comma-delimited text files (CSV) contain records on each line. Commas separate the individual fields in a record. If the data within a field contains commas or spaces in itself, then the data is enclosed in double quotation marks (““). If the data contains a double quotation mark within itself, then two double quotation marks are used in place. Lines beginning with a hash mark (-) are ignored as comments. Each record in an alias configuration CSV file has the following general format: “Alias Group”, “Alias Name”, “Item Path”, , , , , [, ...]

For example: “North.FIC101”,”CV”,”Com1.Plc1.4:0001F”,5,1,0,0,0

describes the syntax used in an alias configuration CSV file.

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Table L-2. Alias Configuration CSV File Syntax

Field “Alias Group”

“Alias Nam”

“Item Path”



,



,,, ,

, “Input Expression, Output Expression”

Description The name of the alias group folder to which the alias item is added. Periods in this name indicate subfolders below the root (that is, North.FIC101 = folder North under the root and subfolder “FIC101” under that). The alias item name. To access a particular item from an OPC client, the full pathname is delimited with periods (that is, North.FIC101.CV). The fully qualified item ID for the OPC item to which this alias refers. A number indicating the data type to convert the value to before it is returned to the OPC client. This also appears as the canonical data type for the alias when browsing. Use as zero in this field for the default data type of the referenced OPC item. The number one in this field indicates that the alias cannot be written to. The number zero indicates that it can. These values are used in conjunction to ensure that an OPC item is always being scanned whether the client is presently using it or not. Set the “poll always” value to a one for the item to be scanned continuously, and specify the update rate in milliseconds. Otherwise, set both values to zero. Indicates which type of scaling is applied to the alias item. The parameters that follow this value depend on the type used. Possible scaling types are; 0 (none), 1 (linear), 2 (square root), (gain/offset), and 4 (expression). Linear or square-root scaling parameters include the raw high and low values, scaled high and low values, and a clamping option. Possible clamp types are: 0 (none), 1 (clamp low value), 2 (clamp high value), and 3 (clamp both high and low values). Gain/offset scaling parameters include a scaling factor and an offset. Expression scaling parameters include input and output expressions. The input expression is applied to the value from the OPC item when reading. The output expression is applied to values going to the OPC item when writing. These equations should be reciprocals of each other.

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Appendix L. Alias Configuration

Index .CSV format files 130 A About this document xiii Access Path 97 Active State 98 Activity logging, enabling 83 Adding OPC groups 93 Adding OPC items 96 Advanced OPC server options 54 OPC group update rate 54 time granularity 54 Advanced performance option settings 86 Advanced server configuration options 73 Advanced server parameter AIM*AT server list 49 fast scan interval 49 max items per browse folder 49 max items per netAPI object 49 scan interval for string 49 slow scan interval 49 Aggregate Validity Threshold 47, 72 AIM*AT API Server Component installing 13 AIM*AT ApiAdmin 13 AIM*AT OPC Server configuring 67, 70 configuring DCOM for 57 configuring the AIM server 10 illustration of 2 installing 7 item ID 55 licensing 9 obtaining authorization code 10 OPC compliance 107 overview of 1 system requirements 5 AIM*AT Server List 49, 74 AIM*OPC Configurator 7, 19 AIM*OPC configurator alias configuration page 33 starting 19 Alias 133

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browsing for 35 creating new alias in OPC client 36 deleting 35 selecting 35 Alias configuration 129 Alias configuration CSV file format 130 Alias Configuration Page 33 Alias, creating 35 Alias, editing 38 Aliases, creating 76 Aliases. viewing configured 78 API*AT Server Timeout 72 Audience, document xiii Authorization code 10 B Backup For Saved Configuration 50 Blue question mark 98 Browsing for tags 25 Browsing for Tags In Order To Assign Aliases 35 Browsing the Server Address Space 97 Buttons alias configuration page 34 Delta configuration page 25 insert 34 Buttons, delete selected aliases 35 Buttons, edit selected alias 34 Buttons, insert new alias 34 C Canonical data type 118 Check boxes Delta configuration page 25 Clear All 25 Buttons clear all 35 COM options 105 Commit all log file writes 84 Configuration file creating tags, updating tags, creating alias 23 defining OPC server parameters 22 defining settings 22 Configuration file, saving to 41 Configuration utility, main window 68 Configuration utility, server 67 Configurator OPC server 19 Control values, writing to OPC items 100 Create Items when they are browsed 47, 72 134

Index

Index

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Creating A New Alias 36 Creating an alias 35 D Data display 99 DCOM Configuration 79 Dead-band support 94 Delete Selected Aliases 35 Delete Selected Tags 25 Deleting alias tags 35 Deleting tags 27 Delta configuration page clear all tags 25 delete selected tags 25 set deltas of imported tags 25 set deltas of selected tags 25 Delta values changing 29 Delta Values, changing 31 Device versus cache reads 127 Display time stamps using local time zone 105 Display value qualities as text 105 E Edit Selected Alias 34 Editing A Selected Alias 38 Export Aliases 79 Expressions, scaling 129 F Fast Scan Interval 49, 73 G General logging settings 52, 83 General options 50 backup for saved configuration 50 load configuration on startup 51 restrict items to preconfigured aliases 51 General server parameters aggregate validity threshold 47 create items when they are browsed 47 NetAPI Server Timeout 47 Server Connection Ping 47 server discovery ping 47 Global Customer Support Center xiv Green checkmark 98

135

B0400DG – Rev C

H HDA interfaces 111 HDA quality flags 116 I Import Aliases 79 Imported tags 31 Insert Alias Group 76 Insert New Alias 34, 76 Insert or Insert new alias 34 Installation AIM*AT API server 13 Installing AIM*AT OPC Server 7 Interface Logging Settings 53 Interface logging, enabling 85 Item ID 55, 97 L Launch configuration program on startup 82 Licensing AIM*AT OPC Server 9 Linear scaling 77 Load Configuration On Startup 51 Load configuration on startup 82 M Matrikon automation component 1 Matrikon configurator 8 Matrikon OPC Explorer connecting to an OPC server 92 data display 99 setting options 102 signal generator 101 starting 87 viewing available OPC servers 91 Matrikon OPC explorer 1 Max Items per AIM*AT Object 49, 74 Max Items per Browse Folder 49, 74 Microsoft standard component category manager 114 N NetAPI Server Timeout 47 O OLE for Process Control (OPC) 2 OPC 136

Index

Index

B0400DG – Rev C

DA 2 group object interfaces 108 HDA interfaces 111 I/O methods 95, 127 server object interfaces 107 standards xiv, 2 OPC DA 2.0 versus 1.0a asynchronous I/O 128 OPC Explorer, starting and using 87 OPC Group Update Rate 54 OPC groups, adding 93 OPC HDA 3 OPC items, adding 96 OPC items, validating added 98 OPC Server shutdown 15, 17 startup 15 OPC server configurator 19 OPC server control panel 16 OPC server parameters 45 Options advanced options settings 54 general 50 general logging settings 52 interface logging settings 53 Overrun 80 Overwrite old log information 84 P Parameters general settings 46, 50 OPC server 45 PSTCFG.EXE 67 Q Quality flags 115 R Real-time values, reading 98 Reference documents xiv Registry entries, server 114 Request asynchronous refreshes 104 Request time stamps with notification 103 Requested Data Type 98 Reset Statistics 80 Respect access rights when writing values 104 Restrict Items To Preconfigured Aliases Only 51 Restrict items to pre-configured aliases only 82 137

B0400DG – Rev C

Revision information, document xiii S Sanity check option 102 Save current configuration on shutdown 82 Saving the configuration file 41 Scaling expressions 129 Scaling formulas, applying to an alias 77 Scan Interval for String 49, 74 Selecting alias tags 35 Selecting tags 27 Server Connection Ping 47, 72 Server Discovery Ping 47, 72 Server object interfaces 107 Server parameters general 46, 50 Set Deltas of Imported Tags 25 Set Deltas of Selected Tags 25 Shortcut menu, OPC server 67 Signal generator 101 Slow Scan Interval 49, 74 Software components 8 AIM OPC configurator 8 AIM*OPC Server 8 OPC automation components 8 standard OPC server browser 8 Standard quality flags 115 Statistics, viewing server 80 Synchronous versus asynchronous I/O 127 System requirements 5 T Tag Studio main window 96 Tags browsing for 25 changing delta values 29, 31 creating an alias 35 deleting 27 deleting alias 35 imported 31 selecting 27 selecting alias 35 Tags, browsing 35 Telephone numbers for the Global Customer Support Center xiv Time bias setting 94 Time Granularity 54 Time granularity 86

138

Index

Index

B0400DG – Rev C

U Update rate, specifying 94 V Validate Tags 98 Validating the OPC Items 98 VARIANT data types 117 W Writing control values 100

139

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