ole for process control rtd interface

Uniformance

OLE for Process Control Real-Time Data Interface

Installation Guide

Copyright, Notices, and Trademarks

ii • Uniformance PHD OLE for Process Control Real-Time Data Interface Installation Guide

Copyright, Notices, and Trademarks © Honeywell International Inc. 1998-2004. All Rights Reserved.

While this information is presented in good faith and believed to be accurate, Honeywell disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose and makes no express warranties except as may be stated in its written agreement with and for its customers.

In no event is Honeywell liable to anyone for any indirect, special or consequential damages. The information and specifications in this document are subject to change without notice.

Honeywell, Experion PKS, PlantScape, TotalPlant, Uniformance PHD, and Business.FLEX are U.S. registered trademarks of Honeywell International Inc.

Other brand or product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

Release Information Uniformance PHD Revision 4 Revision Date: June 8, 2004 Document Number: RDI-320.4

Honeywell Process Solutions

WWW.ACS.HONEYWELL.COM

HONEYWELL 2500 W. Union Hills Dr.

Phoenix, Arizona 85027

©Honeywell International Inc.

Contents

Uniformance PHD OLE for Process Control Real-Time Data Interface Installation Guide • iii

Contents Introducing the OPC RDI 5

RDI Description 5

Tag Capacity Limitations 5

Concurrent Interface Limitations 6

Data Throughput and Constraints 6

Required Support Files 6

Real-Time System Description 8

Installing the OPC RDI 9

Installation Prerequisites 9

Installation Checklist 9

Preparing the System Environment 10

Defining Source System Tag Attributes and Data Types 11

Completing the RDI Parameter Configuration Form 11

Completing the RDI Specification Form 14

Verifying RDI Type (RDI_intrf_params.Dat) 18

Increasing Maximum Tags (PHDParams.Dat) 18

Running RDI_Services 19

Modifying parameters after running RDI_Services - Interfaces_CustomConfig.Dat 21

Interpreting GO File Options 22

Defining and Starting RDI on a Running PHD System 23

Modifying Registry Settings 24

Setting the Polled Mode Stamping Option 24

Setting the Exception Condition Option 24

Contents

iv • Uniformance PHD OLE for Process Control Real-Time Data Interface Installation Guide

Setting the RDI Startup Option 25

Configuring PHD Tags 27

Tag Field Usage 27

PHD Tag Settings Required to Collect OPC Data Types 29

Troubleshooting 33

Common problems 33

PHD Confidence and OPC Quality 33

RDI Status 34

Problem Diagnosis 34

Glossary 35

Index 37

Uniformance PHD OLE for Process Control Real-Time Data Interface Installation Guide • 5

Introducing the OPC RDI

RDI Description You can run the OPC (OLE for Process Control) RDI (Real-time Data Interface) in polled or exception mode. The OPC RDI supports the following:

• Poll mode and Exception mode for reading single values,

• Exception mode for reading element values of an array, and

• Puts (downloads) for single values (puts are NOT supported for elements of an array).

The OPC RDI returns most data types from an OPC Server. The client application tells the OPC server the data type that the client wishes to receive. The OPC server allows items to be a single value or an array of values. If the item contains an array of values, the OPC RDI collects each element of the array into one PHD tag. The OPC RDI supports only one-dimensional arrays.

The OPC RDI supports the following OPC standards:

• DA1.0a

• DA2.04

• DA3.0

• HDA 1.1 (for history recovery)

The OPC RDI defaults to DA3.0. If the OPC Server is not DA3.0 capable, then the RDI attempts to use DA2.04 calls to the OPC Server.

If DA1.0a is needed, you must specify the /F option in the RDI configuration to force the RDI to use DA1.0a access.

If DA2.04 is needed, you can specify the /X2 option in the RDI configuration to force the RDI to use DA2.04 access.

Tag Capacity Limitations

The OPC Server defines these limitations.


6 • Uniformance PHD OLE for Process Control Real-Time Data Interface Installation Guide

Concurrent Interface Limitations

There is nothing in the OPC RDI client software that prevents multiple interfaces to a single OPC Server. If the OPC Server supports more than one connection, you can set multiple interfaces to a single OPC.

Data Throughput and Constraints

The data throughput and constraints vary significantly. Refer to the OPC Server documentation on the throughput of the OPC Server.

Required Support Files

The following items are delivered as part of the interface:

• RDIOPC.dll

• RemoteOPC.exe

• RDIUtils.dll

The following diagram illustrates the RDI components used in the Local and Remote implementations. Use the RDI Specification form in TPI to configure the RDI, run the program RDI_Services run to establish the new RDI files. For a remote RDI, copy and install the Remote EXE on the remote node.



Figure 1 – Local and Remote Implementations – OPC



Real-Time System Description OPC is a standard developed to communicate with numerous data sources related to the process control industry. This standard allows a client application to be written for communication with OPC servers from many different vendors. OPC is based on the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) technology developed by Microsoft.

The OPC RDI supports the DA 1, 2.04, 3.0 and HDA 1.1 OPC standards.

The architecture of process control systems varies between vendors. Data communication is typically specific to the features and capabilities supported by those platforms. Since OPC is an open technology standard, it provides a common communication path to these different architectures. Because of this open technology, some of the configuration for the PHD OPC RDI depends on the OPC server to which it communicates.

The OPC specification reports values on an exception or polled basis:

• Polled mode (OPC Read Synchronous) – Uses Device Reads

• Exception mode (OPC Read Asynchronous) – Uses OnDataChange method

OPC refers to tags as items. The item name is a string of Unicode characters. Each OPC server vendor can implement which string sequence makes an item.

REFERENCE: More information on OPC can be found in the publicly available OPC specification. The OPC web address is: http://www.opcfoundation.org.

http://www.opcfoundation.org/


Installing the OPC RDI

Installation Prerequisites Verify that the following prerequisites have been completed before continuing to the RDI installation procedures:

• Compatible version of the OPC Server is installed and operative.

• The network hardware is in place and operative that connects the OPC Server node and the PHD Server.

• The appropriate PHD Server release is installed, configured, and running. The PHD patch has been installed, if applicable.

• The OPC Server node is reachable by TCP/IP communication from the PHD Server.

• The TotalPlant Information (TPI) application is installed on the machine you plan to use to enter Oracle data and configure tags for the new RDI

Installation Checklist Task Go to !!!! Notes

1. Prepare the System Environment

Install the client connection software, if necessary.

This guide – section Preparing the System Environment

2. Enter Oracle Data

In TPI, modify the Tag Source Configuration form, if necessary.

This guide – section Defining Source System Tag Attributes and Data Types

If parameters to be historized by PHD are not specified in the standard list (such as parameters with larger fields), then you must add them to this form.

In TPI, complete the RDI Parameter Configuration form, if necessary

This guide – section Completing the RDI Parameter Configuration Form

Add parameters to the form, if necessary.

In TPI, complete the RDI Specification form.

This guide – section Completing the RDI Specification Form

Add the Update Frequency parameter to the OPC source system.



Task Go to !!!! Notes

3. Verify System Configuration

Verify that the RDI type is present in the file RDI_intrf_params.Dat.

This guide – section Verifying RDI Type (RDI_intrf_params.Dat)

The OPC RDI type should be present in the file, along with its default RDI parameter values. No action should be required.

Modify the PHDParams.Dat file, if necessary, to ensure that tags to be built against the new RDI will not exceed the specified maximum.

This guide – section Increasing Maximum Tags (PHDParams.Dat)

MAX_TAGS and MAX_TAGNO

4. Create RDI

At a command prompt, execute RDI_SERVICES.

This guide – section Running RDI_Services

RDI_SERVICES <Oracle user/password@database instance> <DB provider>

In a running PHD system, use PHDMAN to define and start the RDI.

This guide – section

Defining and Starting RDI on a Running PHD System

PHDMAN EXECUTE Interfaces.Dat

Interfaces_CustomConfig.Dat (if needed)

PHDMAN STA INT

5. Modify Registry Settings

If appropriate, add the NewPolledModeStamping parameter to the registry for the new RDI.

This guide – section Setting the Polled Mode Stamping Option

Enable this option if you want the RDI to defer its next scan if it falls behind, instead of starting it immediately after the current scan.

If appropriate, add the RunConditionMode parameter to the registry for the new RDI.

• This guide – section

• Setting the Exception Condition Option

• Exception Condition Interface User Guide

Enable this option if you want the RDIServer to generate exception data for a group of real-time tags associated with this RDI, by polling them only when data is required.

If appropriate, add the RDIDependency parameter to the registry for the new RDI.

This guide – section Setting the RDI Startup Option

Enable this option if you want to startup RDIs in dependency order.

6. Configure PHD Tags

In TPI, configure PHD tags. This guide - section Configuring PHD Tags

TPI>Process History>Tag Configuration form

Preparing the System Environment The OPC Server and/or Client software must be installed before using the OPC RDI.

Prior to configuring any OPC RDI, a client connection to the OPC Server may have to be installed on the node on which the OPC RDI will execute. The OPC Server vendor provides the client connection software.



The RDI is designed to take advantage of the OPC Foundation's OPCENUM service in order to connect to a remote OPC Server without having to install the OPC Server vendor’s client. If the OPC Server is a DA 1.0a, then it will probably NOT have the OPCENUM service installed. In this case, the OPC Vendor’s client must be installed or the OPCENUM service can be installed on the OPC Server.

Defining Source System Tag Attributes and Data Types The Tag Source Configuration form defines the data mapping between a source system and PHD. Perform the following steps to add attributes for the source system type to the TPI Tag Source Configuration form.

The following procedure is needed only when parameters to be historized are not already specified in the RDBMS, such as parameters with larger fields.

Step Action

1 Open the TPI application.

2 Under Process History, open the form Tag Source Configuration.

3 Select Enter Query and select OPC as the system type.

4 In an empty record at the bottom of the form, add the information for additional parameter(s), as necessary.

REFERENCE: For definitions of the PHD data types, refer to PHD System Manual, section Understanding the Tag Source Definitions.

Completing the RDI Parameter Configuration Form Honeywell does not put all of the available RDI command line parameters in the Oracle database. Perform the following steps to add parameters, as needed.

Step Action

1 In the TPI application, under Process History, open the form RDI Parameter Configuration.

2 Select Enter Query and select OPC as the Source System.

RESULT: The form displays default parameters for an OPC RDI (see Figure 2).

3 See Table 1 for the description of each field.

If additional parameters are needed in order to implement command line options that are not currently available in form, add parameter Names and descriptions of your choice to the bottom of the form. The parameters will then be available on the RDI Specification form.

See Table 2 – Additional Command Line Options – OPC for descriptions of additional parameters.

4 Close the form.



Table 1 – RDI Parameter Configuration Form - OPC

Field Description

Source System OPC

Name Name of the parameter

XCOND_NOSYNCH (This parameter can be added if needed.)

OPC SERVER Note: Later, you will use the RDI Specification form to MACHINE NAME change the parameter values for a specific OPC RDI. SCANTIME Refer to Table 3 for parameter definitions. POLL NOINITTAG MAXITEMS DEBUGLEVEL LOOKUPFILE FORCEDA1 IGNORECLOCKDELTA OPCSERVERHDA LICENSEKEY DEVICEREAD ALWAYSVALIDATE GROUPSCANRATE SLOWINT DELETEPUTGROUP <nameofyourchoice> Refer to Table 2 – Additional Command Line Options – OPC.

Description Description of the parameter.

Required? Designates whether parameter is required.

Default Value Default value to be transferred to the RDI Specification form.

Validation Text The validation to apply when a value is entered in the RDI Specification form.

You may choose to add any of the following options to the RDI Parameter Configuration form, and then they will be available on the RDI Specification form.

Table 2 – Additional Command Line Options – OPC

Name Description

<nameofyourchoice> /XC enables RDI to convert Boolean values: 0 = 0 on read/write Not zero = 1 on read Not zero = -1 on write

<nameofyourchoice> /XI enables RDI to ignore OPC Server status.

<nameofyourchoice> /XL enables RDI to use licensed connection only.

<nameofyourchoice> /XN enables putting of NAN (not a number) values through the RDI. The RDI is forced to write NAN value for Puts to ‘F’ and 'D' type tags when confidence is < 0.

<nameofyourchoice> /X2 forces the RDI to use DA 2 access.



Figure 2 – RDI Parameter Configuration Form – OPC



Completing the RDI Specification Form The parameters in the RDI Specification form define the behavior for a specific OPC RDI. Perform the following steps to configure a specific RDI.

Step Action

1 In the TPI application, under Process History, open the form RDI Specification.

2 For a local RDI, select OPC as the Source System.

For a remote RDI, select GATEWAY as the Source System.

Note:

For a local RDI:

The parameter Names appearing in the RDI Parameter Configuration form for an OPC source system will populate the RDI Specification form after you select OPC as the source system. You will use the RDI Specification form to configure the new OPC RDI.

For a remote RDI:

You will use the RDI Specification form for a GATEWAY source system to configure the new remote RDI. The required OPC RDI parameters (such as GROUPSCANRATE) are represented in the RDI Specification form for a GATEWAY source system as RDIPARAMETER1-RDIPARAMETER6. You will use RDIPARAMETER1-RDIPARAMETER6 to enter the appropriate values for the parameters for a remote OPC RDI.

3 Enter data in the fields as required for the new RDI.

Note:

• After the master record is entered (top part of form), the parameters specific to this type of RDI are displayed with their default values.

• The asterisks (*) in the table indicate mandatory fields.

For descriptions of the fields, refer to Table 3.

4 After entering the required data, close the form.

Table 3 – RDI Specification Form – OPC

Field Description

*RDI Name Enter the PHD Real-time Data Interface name (interface instance name).

The RDI Name and Hostname combination must be a unique identifier that will be used to identify data parameters to be collected from the interface.

*Host Name Enter the name of the host on which the interface executes. When you execute RDI_Services, the program only processes the interfaces defined in the Oracle database for the host on which RDI_Services is executing.

For PHD systems with buffered PHD Servers, the same interface name can be defined on two different hosts.

*Description Enter the description of the RDI.



Field Description

Enabled Select whether the interface is enabled. If this flag is not set, the RDI_Services program does not process this interface.

Source System If local RDI, select OPC.

If remote or remote peer RDI, select GATEWAY.

This specifies the program name and the parameters required for the interface.

Remote Interface? Not used on R200 PHD.

Remote Connect String Not used on R200 PHD.

Required? This field shows a value is required for the parameter. The value in this field is a read-only attribute of the Name field.

Name Value Description

For a Remote and Remote Peer RDIs:

• The Gateway RDI Installation Guide describes the Gateway parameters.

• You will need to specify the values for the following parameters (such as OPC SERVER) through the names RDIPARAMETER1 - RDIPARAMETERn.

For a Remote Peer RDI, additional parameters are described in the Remote Peer RDI Installation Guide.

*OPC SERVER OPC HDA server name (PROGID) of the OPC Server. For more information, refer to section "OPC Server Name."

*MACHINE NAME Hostname or IP address of the machine running the OPC Server. Defaults to local hostname. If the OPC Server is on the same machine as the OPC RDI, you may leave this value blank (null string).

SCANTIME /S /S Causes the RDI to retrieve the timestamp from the OPC Server; otherwise, the RDI generates a timestamp after collecting the value.

POLL /P /P causes the RDI to run in poll mode (OPC Read Synchronous); otherwise, it runs in exception mode (OPC Read Asynchronous).

DEVICEREAD /RC

/RD

/RC forces use of Cache reads.

/RD forces use of Device reads (Polled mode reads) instead of Cache reads. This is the default mode.

NOINITTAG /I /I disables the insertion of a 0 value with a -1 confidence when the RDI is started, shutdown, or every 24 hours when the RDI resynchronizes its time with the OPC Server. Default is disabled.

MAXITEMS /M /M<number> limits the number of items in an OPC group, where <number> is the maximum number of items. (Make sure there are no spaces between the /M and the number). Some OPC servers have a maximum number of items per group.

Default is 250.

/M0 = Unlimited group size



Field Description

DEBUGLEVEL /D /D<number> turns on the debug information to the level specified by <number>. Leave at default value of 0 (blank). Other values are for support purposes only. Range 0-9

LOOKUPFILE /L /L<filename> specifies the filename of the lookup file used when the Source Tag Specification (src_tagname) field of the Tag Configuration form is blank or contains _RDI_GET_ITEM. Used when the OPC item names are >40 characters.

When creating the lookup file, refer to the section, "Tag Field Usage," Source tagname.

FORCEDA1 /F /F specifies that the RDI should use DA 1.0a calls to the OPC Server. Default is to use DA 3.0

IGNORECLOCKDELTA /C /C specifies that the RDI should ignore the clock delta difference in time stamps received from the OPC Server.

OPCSERVERHDA /H /H<OPC HDA server name> specifies the PROGID of the OPC HDA Server to be used for history recovery. This is assumed to be on the same machine as the OPC DA Server and use the same item names.

LICENSEKEY /K /K<keyvalue> specifies a license key to use when connecting to an OPC Server that requires a license key.

ALWAYSVALIDATE /V /V forces use of ValidateItems calls before AddItems calls for Polled mode.

GROUPSCANRATE /G# /G# changes the requested update frequency for a group sent to the OPC Server to # milliseconds. Default is 1000 milliseconds.

By default, the OPC RDI creates an “active” OPC group with an update frequency of 1000 msec. This causes the OPC Server to request data from the source system once per second, regardless of the scan frequency configured on the PHD tag.

SLOWINT /XS /XS specifies that items are added to groups one at a time instead of in blocks.

DELETEPUTGROUP /XR /XR specifies that a group should be created and deleted on each Put request, instead of reusing the group for each Put request

(The following options may be available on this form, if they were added to the RDI Parameter Configuration form.)

XCOND_NOSYNCH Optional. For an Exception Condition interface, you can add this parameter (as the first RDI parameter) to indicate that polling does not synchronize with clock offsets.

REFERENCE: Later in the RDI installation, the Exception Condition feature is then set also (see the section "Setting the Exception Condition Option").



Field Description

If XCOND_NOSYNCH is not specified, you may configure parameters OFFSET and/or REMSYNCH (through the RDI_services program) to control timing of polling (see the section "Running RDI_Services").

<nameofyourchoice> /XC /XC enables RDI to convert Boolean values: 0 = 0 on read/write Not zero = 1 on read Not zero = -1 on write

<nameofyourchoice> /XI /XI enables RDI to ignore OPC Server status.

<nameofyourchoice> /XL /XL enables RDI to use licensed connection only.

<nameofyourchoice> /XN /XN enables putting of NAN (not a number) values through the RDI. The RDI is forced to write NAN value for Puts to ‘F’ and 'D' type tags when confidence is < 0.

Only applies to DA1 and DA2 connections.

For DA3, the value is written as is, but the quality is changed to BAD. The DA3 behaviour occurs regardless of the value specified for this option.

<nameofyourchoice> /X2 /X2 forces the RDI to use DA2 access. Default is to use DA 3.0

OPC Server Name

The OPC Server Name is the Program ID (PROGID) that defines the OPC Server to be used. The OPC Server name will allow the OPC RDI to retrieve the Class ID (CLSID) for the OPC RDI. In place of the PROGID, the CLSID may be specified. If specifying the CLSID, ensure the enclosing brackets [“{“, “}”] are used.

If the RDI is executed with no OPC DA Server Name then it will list all the registered PROGID’s listed on this machine. If the OPC Server is on another machine, then you will need to find the PROGID of the OPC Server from that machine.

Honeywell TPS App Node Example:

The registry values are as follows: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Hci.TPNServer

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Hci.TPNServer\CLSID = {ADF6AEBB-B0F1-11d0-8A01-00C04FC97D9D}

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Hci.TPNServer\OPC

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Hci.TPNServer\OPC\Vendor="Honeywell IAC Inc."

If the PROGID will be used, the OPC Server name to be used is “Hci.TPNServer”.

If the CLSID will be used, the OPC Server name to be used is “{ADF6AEBB-B0F1-11d0-8A01-00C04FC97D9D}”.



Verifying RDI Type (RDI_intrf_params.Dat) The OPC RDI type should appear in the RDI_intrf_params.Dat file, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 3 – RDI_intrf_params.Dat File

The format of each line in the file is shown below:

RDI Type, Exception Interface, History Recovery, Path, File name

The following table defines the fields of each line in the file.

Table 4 – Entries for RDI Type - RDI_intrf_params.Dat

Field Description

RDI Type RDI type

Exception Interface 0 = Polled Mode RDI

1 = Exception Based RDI

History Recovery 0 = No History Recovery

1 = Use History Recovery

Path Location of the DLL. Always leave this value PHD_EXEC.

Filename Name of the file on the PHD Server

Increasing Maximum Tags (PHDParams.Dat) Perform the following steps to view or modify the maximum number of tags configured for the PHD System, to ensure that tags built against the new RDI do not exceed the specified maximum.



Step Action

1 Open the file <install directory>PHDServer\NTSite\PHDParams.Dat.

2 If necessary, increase the values of the following parameters:

• MAX_TAGS - Maximum number of defined tags.

• MAX_TAGNO - Maximum possible tag numbers.

3 Save the file.

4 If you modified the above parameters, then you need to Stop and Cold Start the PHD Server in order to resize its global memory sections.

To restart the PHD Server, execute the following commands at a command prompt:

PHDCTL STOP PHDCTL START COLD

Running RDI_Services Perform the following steps to run the RDI_Services interface configuration program, which creates the files for a particular RDI.

Attention: Make sure you did NOT delete "127.0.0.1 localhost" from the Hosts file on the PHD Server (Windows\system32\drivers\etc). The RDI_Services program uses this entry (which was created when Windows was installed). If deleted, RDI_Services and the RUNRDI utility will not function properly. Note: The following steps must be performed on the PHD Server machine. You must be logged on to the operating system as a user that is member of PHD_MANAGER and Administrators groups.

Step Action

1 Make a backup copy of the following files located at <install directory> \PHDServer\NTSite\:

Interfaces.dat and Start_Interfaces.dat.

2 Open the backup copy of the Interfaces.dat file and keep it available on the screen to reference.

3 If necessary, evaluate the offsetting scheme (OFFSET parameters) of the existing RDI's in the Interfaces.dat file.

4 If new RDI's have been previously created in error, for each RDI execute the following at a Command prompt:

PHDMAN SHUT INT <RDI Name>

ATTENTION:

RDI_Services attempts to copy new dlls for every RDI configured for this node. If you choose to leave existing RDIs running on this node, then when RDI_Services attempts to copy the dll for a running RDI, the copy fails and an error message is output.



Step Action

5 At a command prompt on the PHD Server where the interface is to run, execute the following command from the <install directory>:

RDI_SERVICES <Oracle user/password@database instance> <DB provider>

• Substitute your system's user name, password and database name. You may use PHD_READONLY user/password as it exists by default in the database and has access that is sufficient for rdi_services.

• Specify either OraOLEDB.Oracle or MSDAORA as the DB provider.

Refer to the PHDParams.Dat file to see which DBProvider is used on your system. OraOLEDB.Oracle is the Oracle provider. MSDAORA is the Microsoft provider.

Example: RDI_SERVICES PHD_READONLY/PHD_READONLY @TOTALPLANT MSDAORA

6 For definitions of the interface parameters for which RDI_SERVICES prompts, refer to Table 5 – Parameters Prompted by RDI_Services.

Respond to the questions regarding each RDI. Use the open copy of the Interfaces.dat file as a reference for the existing RDIs, as well as the result of your evaluation of the OFFSET parameters done at step 3.

RESULT: After you respond to the final prompt, the appropriate files are created and updated.

7 Verify that RDI_Services accomplished the following for the new RDI:

• Created a GO_<rdiname>.CMD file.

• Created a KILL_<rdiname>.CMD file.

• Rewrote the Interfaces.Dat file to add commands that define the new RDI.

• Rewrote the Start_Interfaces.Dat file to add commands for starting the new RDI.

• Copied DLL for interface type as RDI<rdiname>.DLL to the RDI directory.

8 Verify that the Interfaces.Dat and the Interfaces_CustomConfig.Dat files contain the appropriate parameters.

REFERENCE: For examples of the Interfaces.Dat, Interfaces_CustomConfig.Dat, and Start_Interfaces.Dat files, refer to the Basic RDI Installation Guide.

9 Verify that the GO file reflects the correct RDI parameters entered through the RDI Specification form. Refer to section "Interpreting GO File Options."



Table 5 – Parameters Prompted by RDI_Services

This parameter… Sets this…

MIN_HISTRECMN (D) - Minimum duration (minutes) of system outage for invocation of history recovery from real-time system. No history recovery is performed if this value and the MAX_HISTRECMN are set to 0.

MAX_HISTRECMN (D) - Maximum recoverable history duration (minutes)

XSCANSECS (D) - Exception interface scan wait interval (scan interval in exception mode). The real-time system will be queried for values at this interval (seconds).

REMCLOCK (D) - Use remote real-time system clock for timestamps.

REMSYNCH (D) - Synchronize the remote clock.

OFFSET (D) - Offset in seconds for scan cycle.

Typically, you change the OFFSET parameter if the purpose of the new RDI is to achieve better load leveling.

Note: To minimize overlap, offset the scan cycles relative to each other by setting the OFFSET parameters to different prime numbers.

Note: The above parameters are dynamic and therefore can be changed while the PHD Server is running; however, you may have to restart the RDI for the changes to affect the RDI. So, if you changed the parameters for an existing, running RDI, you may have to restart it to implement the change.

Modifying parameters after running RDI_Services - Interfaces_CustomConfig.Dat

To modify the value of any of the prompted parameters after running RDI_Services, you may add Set commands to the file Interfaces_CustomConfig.Dat, instead of re-running RDI_Services:

SET <rdiname>:<parametername> <value>

The file is executed automatically upon system startup, after automatic execution of Interfaces.Dat. You may execute the file manually through PHDMAN.

Note: The above parameters are dynamic and therefore can be changed while the PHD Server is running; however, if you change parameters for a running RDI, you may have to restart the RDI for the changes to affect the RDI.

REFERENCE: For additional information on setting RDI parameters, refer to the section "Set Interface Parameters." in the PHDMAN User Guide.



Interpreting GO File Options

The GO_<rdiname>.cmd and KILL_<rdiname>.cmd procedures are created automatically after you initialize the RDI Specification form for this interface and execute the RDI_Services program.

The GO procedure passes parameters to the interface program as defined below:

-oRUNRDI [ –p<port number>] "-oRDI<rdiname>.OUT" RDI<rdiname> <rdiname> [optional params]

The following table describes the parameters that the GO procedure passes to the interface program.

REFERERENCE-For definitions of the GO file options that are applicable to a remote (Gateway) RDI, refer to the Gateway RDI Installation Guide.

Table 6 – Go File Options – OPC RDI

Parameter Description

–P<port number> (Optional) RDI_Services does not define this parameter. If this parameter is needed, it must be entered manually into the GO file. If the PHD Server has more than one RDIServer, then this parameter represents the port number of the RDIServer to which this RDI is associated.

-oRDI<rdiname>.OUT Specifies the file in the LOG FILES directory where the RDI outputs information. Where <rdiname>is the interface instance name as specified in the RDI Specification form.

RDI<dllname> Present, but not actually used in PHD R2xx.

<rdiname> The interface instance name as specified in the RDI Name field of the RDI Specification form.

(Optional) The following parameters must follow the first two required parameters, but may be in any order. XCOND_NOSYNCH Refer to Table 3 – RDI Specification Form – OPC /C /F /G# /H<OPC server name>

/i /K<keyvalue> /L<filename> /M<#> /P /RC /RD /S /V /XC Refer to Table 2 – Additional Command Line Options – OPC /XI /XL



Parameter Description

/XN /XR /XS /X2

Defining and Starting RDI on a Running PHD System To complete the definition of an interface in a running PHD System, perform the following steps to manually execute the following files through the PHDMAN utility:

• Interfaces.Dat,

• Interfaces_CustomConfig.Dat (if needed), and

• Start_Interfaces.Dat.

Note: Performing a system startup of a PHD System causes the above files to be executed automatically.

Step Action

1 On the PHD Server, open a command prompt and change directories to the <install directory>phdserver\ntsite, and then enter the following command:

PHDMAN EXECUTE Interfaces.Dat

Note: Alternatively, you can use the PHDMAN shortcut on the desktop, which defaults to the path of the ntsite directory.

2 Verify that the new RDI is now available:

PHDMAN SHO INT

3 Enter the following command to set any RDI modifications you entered into the Interfaces_CustomConfig.Dat file, if any:

PHDMAN EXECUTE Interfaces_CustomConfig.Dat

4 Enter one of the following commands to start the new RDI:

To start all non-running RDI's - PHDMAN EXECUTE Start_Interfaces.dat OR To start a single RDI - PHDMAN STA INT <RDI Name>

5 Verify the RDI status:

PHDMAN MON INT *



Modifying Registry Settings

Setting the Polled Mode Stamping Option

A registry entry (NewPolledModeStamping) can be used to enable an alternate polling mode for an RDI:

• Disabled (0) - Default. If the RDI detects that the current scan has fallen behind, it still schedules the next scan immediately after the current scan is complete (PHD R150 behavior).

• Enabled (1) - If the RDI detects that the current scan has fallen behind, it defers polling until the next scheduled scan cycle. An overloaded source system may experience reduced loading with this setting, but will also experience skipped scans.

If needed, perform the following steps to add/enable the parameter in the registry: Step Action

1 At the Run command, open the registry editor: regedit

2 Go to the following registry location: HKLM \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ <RDIServer> \ Parameters \ RDIList \ <rdiname>

3 Add a new DWORD parameter:

a) Right-click>New>DWORD Value.

b) Enter NewPolledModeStamping as the name.

4 Enter the parameter value:

a) Right-click NewPolledModeStamping>Modify.

b) Set the value to 1 to enable the new polled mode.

5 Close the registry editor.

Setting the Exception Condition Option

A registry entry (RunConditionMode) can be used to enable the Exception Condition feature for any RDI running as a polled mode interface.

When enabled, the exception condition feature generates exception data for a group of real-time tags by polling them when data is required, as defined through Condition tags and Virtual Calculation tags.

If needed, perform the steps to add/enable the parameter in the registry.

REFERENCE: For instructions on how to implement the Exception Condition feature, refer to the Exception Condition Interface User Guide.



Setting the RDI Startup Option

A registry entry (RDIDependency) can be added to enable the option that starts RDI's in dependency order. When a request is made to start all RDIs (Start Int *), the startup of any RDI can be delayed until other RDIs, upon which it is dependent, are started.

For each RDI, you can specify one or more RDIs on which it is dependent.

Tag Routing is an example of an RDI function for which RDI startup dependency may be a concern.

If needed, perform the following steps to add/configure the parameter in the registry: Step Action

1 At the Run command, open the registry editor: regedt32

2 Go to the following registry location: HKLM \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ <RDIServer> \ Parameters \ RDIList\<rdiname>

3 Use one of the following procedures, depending on the operating system, to add a new multiple string value:

Windows 2003:

a) Right-click>New> Multi-String Value.

b) Enter RDIDependency as the Value Name.

c) Right-click RDIDependency> Modify.

d) On separate lines, enter the name of each RDI upon which this RDI is dependent.



Step Action

e) Click OK.

Windows 2000:

a) Edit > Add Value

b) Data Type> REG_MULTI_SZ

c) Enter RDIDependency as the Value Name.

d) Click OK.

e) On separate lines, enter the name of each RDI upon which this RDI is dependent.

f) Click OK.

4 Close the registry editor.


Configuring PHD Tags

Note: If tags are already built, but are not yet associated with the RDI, enter the RDI assignment for the tags, and then enter the following command to cause PHD to re-query Oracle for the tags: PHDMAN UPDATE TAG FULL

ATTENTION: Executing UPDATE TAG FULL may result in a gap in data collection.

After the interface is defined and started, perform the following steps to configure PHD tags for the RDI through TPI.

Step Action

1 In the TPI application, under Process History, open the form Tag Configuration.

2 Configure PHD tags against new RDI.

Refer to following sections for details.

3 Verify that the new RDI collects tag values by entering the following command at a command prompt or through the PHDMAN shortcut on the desktop.

PHDMAN MON QUE <Tag name>

Tag Field Usage

The OPC interface uses PHD tag fields as described in the following table.

Field Description

System type OPC

Source tagname Normally, this field contains the OPC server item name, but if the name is longer than 40 characters, leave the field blank or specify _RDI_GET_ITEM_.

If you specify _RDI_GET_ITEM_ or leave the field blank, then the RDI will look for the tag number in a lookup file and use the associated longer item name. The filename of the lookup file is specified in the RDI Specification form.

The format for the data in the lookup file is:

<PHD tag number>,<OPC item name to be associated to the PHD tag>

The OPC item names in the file can be of any length.

Examples of data in the lookup file:

• 23,/northplant/area1/unit45/element92/longtagname.pv

• 45,shorttag.pv



Field Description

Source tagtype OPC Data type (See the section "OPC Source Tag Types")

Source attribute This field must be equal to VALUE, VALUExx, ARRAY or ARRAYxx Where xx is the number of characters in the ASCII string to be collected.

VALUE or VALUExx causes the RDI to convert the value associated to the OPC item into the appropriate PHD tag value.

ARRAY or ARRAYxx causes the RDI to convert an element of the array associated to the OPC item into the appropriate PHD tag value.

− Source Indexb will specify the element to be saved.

− OPC item names with a src_indexb of –1 represent the array dimension. Other PHD tags with ARRAY or ARRAYxx and the same OPC item name will be associated to the dimension tag.

− For all PHD tags associated to the same OPC item that is an array of values, the Scan Seconds tag field must be the same value.

Source indexb This field is only used when the Source Attribute is ARRAY or ARRAYxx. The integer value identifies the OPC item value’s array element to be associated with the PHD tag. The index values start with 0 and go through the size of the array – 1. Negative values in this field indicate the following:

• -1 PHD Tag value is the Array Dimension. (tagtype must be I4)

• -2 PHD Tag value is the Array Size (tagtype must be I4)

• -3 PHD Tag Value is the Array Lower Bounds (tagtype must be I4)

If src_indexb is greater than or equal to 0, then the tag value returned is the value in the array at src_indexb.

Otherwise, the tag value is set to the dimension of the array, the size of the array, or the lower bounds of the array, depending on the value in the indexb field.

Currently, only one-dimensional arrays are supported, so if the dimension is greater than one, an error will be returned for this tag and all associated tags.



PHD Tag Settings Required to Collect OPC Data Types

The PHD source tagtype field indicates the OPC data type requested and how this tag stores the requested value in PHD. The following table shows the PHD tag settings required to collect the OPC data types that can be translated to OPC RDI data types.

Note: Other OPC data types can be collected, but they will be converted into one of the OPC data types listed in the table below.

Source tagtype

Source attribute

PHD tag datatype

OPC data type Input from OPC

Server

Output to

OPC Server

F4 VALUE F VT_R4 ! !

D8 VALUE D VT_R8 ! !

I4 VALUE I VT_I4 ! !

L8 VALUE L VT_CY ! !

AS VALUE C VT_BSTR ! !

AS VALUE80 C VT_BSTR ! !

US VALUE U VT_BSTR ! !

US VALUE80 U VT_BSTR ! !

BO VALUE I VT_BOOL ! !

TI VALUE I VT_DATE ! !

TD VALUE I, L, F, or D VT_DATE ! !

TL VALUE L VT_DATE ! !

F4 ARRAY F VT_R4 | VT_ARRAY !

D8 ARRAY D VT_R8 | VT_ARRAY !

I4 ARRAY I VT_I4 | VT_ARRAY !

L8 ARRAY L VT_CY | VT_ARRAY !

AS ARRAY C VT_BSTR | VT_ARRAY !

AS ARRAY80 C VT_BSTR | VT_ARRAY !

US ARRAY U VT_BSTR | VT_ARRAY !

US ARRAY80 U VT_BSTR | VT_ARRAY !

BO ARRAY I VT_BOOL | VT_ARRAY !

TI ARRAY I VT_DATE | VT_ARRAY !

TD ARRAY D VT_DATE | VT_ARRAY !

TL ARRAY L VT_DATE | VT_ARRAY !



OPC Source Tag Types

Following are the OPC Source tag types:

• F4 - four byte float

• D8 - Eight byte float (double)

• I4 - four byte integer

• L8 – eight byte integer

• AS – ASCII

• US - Unicode

• BO - Boolean (Logical)

Note: Boolean types are stored as an integer value, with 'not zero' being true and zero (0) being false.

• TI - Time Note: Time data type is stored as an integer value as the number of seconds since midnight of January 1, 1970, with the time based on UTC.

• TD – Date

Note: Date data type is stored as a double value as the number of days since midnight of January 1, 1900, similar to date formats used in Excel.

Tag type Format

I Sees dates since January 1, 1970

L Windows FILETIME format (64-bit value representing number of 100-nanosecond intervals since January 1, 1601 (UTC))

D Date, similar to Microsoft Excel



Mapping OPC data type to PHD Tag Type

OPC data types are defined by the structure VARIANT. This structure contains a union of different data types, with the first word describing the data type contained in the union. PHD does not support VARIANTs or all of the data types supported by VARIANTs.

The following table shows VARIANT data types and the mapping to the Source Tag Type and the PHD Tag Type.

VARIANT data type Source tag type PHD tag data type

VT_R4 F4 F

VT_R8 D8 D

VT_I1 I4 I

VT_I2 I4 I

VT_I4 I4 I

VT_I8 L8 L

VT_UI1 I4 I

VT_UI2 I4 I

VT_UI4 I4 I

VT_UI8 L8 L

VT_CY L8 L

VT_INT I4 I

VT_DATE I4 I

VT_DATE D8 D

VT_UINT I4 I

VT_BSTR AS C

VT_BSTR US U

VT_BOOL BO I

If the OPC Data canonical (native) data type does not translate into one of the Source Tag Types directly, the OPC RDI will use standard operating system conversion routines to convert the OPC value into one of the VARIANT data types that can be translated into a Source Tag Type. For example: A variant of VT_R8 will be converted to a VT_I4 if the Source Tag Type requested is I4.

VARIANTS return any of its known data types as an array of values. The OPC RDI stores the individual elements of the array. The translation of the element values is the same as the table described above. The OPC RDI collects the dimension, size and lower bounds of the array. When collecting these values, the Source Tag Type must be I4. The dimension of the array must be collected to collect any other value associated with the array.


Troubleshooting

Common problems The following problems may occur:

• The startup parameters from PHD are incorrectly defined.

• The interface has not been defined to PHD (or incorrectly defined).

• The name of the OPC server is incorrect.

• RDI stuck in INIT/INACTIVE state.

− Attempting to start an RDI when the RDI Server is not running will result in the RDI being stuck in the Init/Inactive state.

− If this occurs, it is necessary to restart the RDI Server, and then Kill the RDI before issuing the Start command again.

REFERENCE: For further problem diagnosis, refer to the Uniformance PHD - Process History Database System Manual or refer to the OPC Server documentation.

PHD Confidence and OPC Quality Read tag value:

OPC RDI If OPC Quality is… Then PHD Confidence is…

DA or HDA interfaces

BAD

UNCERTAIN

GOOD

–1

0

100

Write tag value:

OPC RDI If the PHD Confidence is…

And OPC Quality is…

Then the RDI downloads this value…

DA3.0 –1

<100

100

BAD

UNCERTAIN

GOOD

<value>

<value>

<value>

DA1.x and DA2.x

DA1 and DA2 do not support writing an OPC quality. The tag value is written, and the confidence/OPC quality is ignored, with the following exception.

–1 BAD (See NOTE)

Troubleshooting


Write tag value:

NOTE: If the /XN option is set (through the RDI Specification form in TPI), then the RDI is forced to write NAN (not a number) value for Puts to ‘F’ and 'D' type tags when confidence is < 0. This option does not apply to DA3 connections.

RDI Status Retrieval Tag RDI Status

Good retrieval Status is zero (0)

OPC item failed Status is equal to the OPC failure code

Problem Diagnosis In many cases, looking at the RDI log file can be very useful. The log file gives information about the following:

• Initialization of tags, poll groups, and errors during these actions

• Outgoing and incoming data packages

The RDI log file can be found in <install directory>\PHDServer\Log Files.

For further problem diagnosis, refer to the PHD system log files.


Glossary

OPC OLE for Process Control (OPC) is a standard developed to communicate with numerous data sources related to the process control industry.

RDI PHD Real-time Data Interface. One RDI is used for each type of DCS, PLC, SCADA, and other real-time sources of data that are included in PHD.

Source System The source system is the system that provides the real-time data to the PHD systems. This can be another PHD system, or a DCS system.

Tag

A distinct value residing in the source system and collected by an RDI.

Glossary

36 • Glossary Uniformance PHD - OLE for Process Control RDI Installaation Guide


Index

A

architecture understanding 8

AS. See ASCII data type. ASCII data type 30 attribute mapping

understanding 29

B

BO. See Boolean (logical) data type.. See Boolean (logical) data type.

Boolean (logical) data type 30

C

configuration forms Tag Source Configuration 11

D

data types AS or ASCII 30 BO or Boolean (logical) 30 F4 or four byte float 30 I4 or four byte integer 30 requesting specific types 29 TI or time 30 US or Unicode 30

E

exception values reporting 8

F

F4. See four byte float.. See four byte float.

four byte float data type 30 four byte integer data type 30

I

I4. See four byte integer. implementing OPC RDI 5 installing the interface 9–34

included files list 6 troubleshooting 33

Integer 30 interface installation

included files list 6 interface, installing 9–34 introducing

OLE for Process Control RDI 5–8 items, using instead of tags 8

O

OLE for Process Control RDI architecture 8 implementing 5 installing the interface 9–34 introducing 5–8 providing common communications 8 using DCOM technology 8

OPC. See OLE for Process Control. open technology in OLE for Process Control RDI

8

P

PHD tag definitions tag source type/attribute mapping 29

polled values, reporting 8 process control systems

the architecture 8

T

Tag Source Configuration configuration forms 11

tag source type/attribute mapping: 29

Index

38 • Uniformance PHD - OLE for Process Control Real-Time Data Interface Functional Specification

tags defining as items 8

TI. See time data type. time data type 30

U

Unicode data type 30 US. See Unicode data type.

V

values reporting 8

ole for process control rtd interface

Documents