xflow : release note

Xflow version 4.0.1.0 release note

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Xflow : Release note

Xflow V 4.0.1.0

Patrice Laporte

June 13, 2013


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1. Document version 6

2. References 6

3. Goal 6

4. General information about this version 6

4.1. Tables dimension 6

4.2. Videotex 7

4.3. IE6 break 7

4.4. Omron, unitelway and yokogawa protocols 7

4.5. RVL in the "400" series 7

4.6. RAD files 8

4.7. IP routing 8

5. New Schneider devices and detection feature 8

5.1.1. Schneider devices 8

5.1.2. Detection feature 9

6. Modems and wireless communication 9

6.1. 3G modem available for iRio offer 10

6.2. 3G modem and frequency band: warning 11

6.3. Full view of a RAS connection on a 3G modem 12

6.4. Introduction of a "RAS connection" timeout of 1 minute (not configurable) 12

6.5. Introduction of a "RAS session timeout" 12

6.6. APN parameters from the connection web page 13

6.7. Retrieve RAS traffic from a formula 13

6.8. IMEI 13

6.9. PIN code 13

6.10. Registration to Base Transceiver Station timeout 13

6.11. Dynamic DNS management 15

6.12. New alarm: IP has changed on RAS interface 15

6.13. Country code for PSTN modem: iRio only 16


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6.14. Modem list 16

6.14.1. A list of various modem supported by Xflow 16

6.14.2. What happens if Xflow doesn't recognise a modem? 17

6.15. Modem initialization and configuration: summary 17

7. Web interface 18

7.1. Compatibility with browsers 18

7.2. Cookies 18

7.3. Languages 19

7.4. Charts 19

7.4.1. Pie chart limitation 20

7.5. Synoptic configuration improvement 21

7.5.1. Various features 21

7.5.2. Editing an element 22

7.5.3. New elements you can add on a synoptic 22

7.6. Select a synoptic on home page, per user 24

8. Dashboards 24

8.1. They can count, value available through formula 24

8.2. Display of a dashboard 25

8.2.1. Without the sum feature 25

8.2.2. With the sum feature 25

8.2.3. Display as a pie 26

8.3. Select a dashboard on home page, per user 26

9. Variables 26

9.1. Complex unit /_zero/_un/_two/… 26

9.2. Overflow value parameter for differential operation 28

9.3. Variable: error status and selection 29

9.4. Add a group of variables 30

10. Files 31


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10.1. New recording period: end of month 31

10.1.1. Configuration: If you don't set the "next record" parameter : 31

10.1.2. Configuration : if you set the "next record" parameter 31

10.2. New operations: multiply and divide 32

10.3. New parameter: cumulative value 32

10.4. Store the recorded value, and the current computation 33

11. Alarm recipient, report 34

11.1. Report feature: do not send the alarm, only the report 34

11.2. Recipient failure 34

11.2.1. Call delayed in case of error 34

11.2.2. Blacklisted recipient 34

11.2.3. Legal wait to re-call 34

11.2.4. Unwanted side effect of those parameters 35

12. SNTP : iRIO only 35

12.1. Dedicated web page to configure the SNTP client 35

13. Operation 35

13.1. Xflow configuration management 35

13.1.1. Download configuration 35

13.1.2. Upload configuration 36

13.1.3. Remove current configuration 36

13.2. Debug file 36

13.3. Date formatting 36

13.4. Trace file 36

14. HTTP traffic and cache management 36

14.1. Reduce the number of HTTP requests from the browser 37

14.1.1. HTTP header: "Last-modified" 37

14.1.2. HTTP header: "Expired" 37

14.2. Size of resources 37


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14.2.1. CR LF TAB 38

14.2.2. HTTP_DEFLATE 38

14.2.3. Minimisation and compression of some resources 38

14.3. Effect of all that improvement 39

14.3.1. Requesting the "config" page of Xflow 39

14.3.2. Displaying a charts with 71 records for 8 variables 40

14.4. Empty the cache after an upgrade 41

15. ADEME compatibility for the report feature 41

16. Straton 41

17. Xflow on a PC, XLRIO and iRIO : the user directory 42

17.1. Xflow on a PC 42

17.1.1. Definition 42

17.1.2. Restriction for the installation of Xflow on a PC 42

17.1.3. Windows version 42

17.1.4. About the Xflow PC installer 42

17.1.5. Separation of program and data 43

17.1.6. Xflow is installed in a "program" system directory 43

17.1.7. Xflow data are now somewhere under "All users" application data directory 43

17.2. Xflow on a XLRIO 45

17.3. Xflow on iRIO 45


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1. Document version

Date Révision Auteur Commentaire(s)

April 23, 2010 00 Patrice Laporte Creation of the document

2. References Telecontrol bug tracking system : Mantis. Bugs in this system are referenced as “BT-XXXX”.

Other bug tracking system: Fits BT. Bugs in this system are referenced as “ALXF-XXXX ”.

3. Goal This document is a release note: we talk about what’s new and what’s corrected in the version 4.0.1 of Xflow, regarding to the previous 2.4.3.0

4. General information about this version

4.1. Tables dimension

Some of them have changed.


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� iRio : 200 files [was 50], 4000 records [was 2000], 200 graphics [was 50], 1000 variables per graphics.

� PC : 1000 files, 20000 records, 200 graphics [was 100], 1000 variables per graphics.

4.2. Videotex

No more videotext (minitel interface) server available, and no more support of the feature.

4.3. IE6 break

No more effort to be compatible with IE6.

For the PC installer, IE7 mini is required on the targeted computer.

4.4. Omron, unitelway and yokogawa protocols

Those devices are no longer supported. For unitelway it was already the case since version 2 of Xflow.

For yokogawa, the support actually exist, but the protocol is no longer available in our offer : it's maintained only for customer’s application.

4.5. RVL in the "400" series

It's no longer possible to use this protocol in so far the PARMB is no longer available either for a longer time (2010). RVL 400 protocol is still in the EA and EB Xflow applications only to keep working on existing field in case of upgrade.


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400 = 469, 470, 471 and 472.

4.6. RAD files

They are now compressed on disk, mostly to optimize space on iRio flash memory. This means end user will not be available to download them and modify them.

Compressed rad files are managed by Xflow from the version 4: do not mix compressed rad file with Xflow version lower than 4.0.1.0.

4.7. IP routing

The routing option between modem connection and the LAN is no longer a Xflow software option in a separate DLL.

It's now an option in the SYSTEM table: IP_ROUTE_OPTION

Set it to YES or NO respecting the upper case. If there is no IP_ROUTE_OPTION line or if the value is not YES, then the routing option is disabled. This is the default behaviour.

You need at least Configurator rights in order to be able to perform this change

5. New Schneider devices and detection feature

5.1.1. Schneider devices

Here is the complete list of compatible devices:

� In blue devices integrated since the version 3, that is the Pervasive version.

� In green new devices with the version 4.0.1.0

Power meters

� PM : 200, 1200, 325x, 5350, 9C, 500, 710, 800

� IEM : 315x, 325x

Circuit breaker

� Masterpact : P, H, E, A

� Compact NS : A, E

Control and monitoring, Acti9 range

� Acti9 smartlink

Protection relay

� Sepam 10 & 40 : BEWARE of the ACE interface : invert the 485 with UPS2

Power factor controller


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� Varlogic NRC12

Inverters

� Conext TL 15000 E et 20000 E (15 and 20 kW)

5.1.2. Detection feature

From the connection web page, device detection feature has been improved : you can now select between "RIO devices" or "other modbus devices".

If you choose "other modbus devices", the interface becomes the following :

Obviously you need to set parameters according to what you expect to find.

On a serial connection: Xflow will not try all the speeds, with all parities etc, it will lead to too many cases, it will take too many times with a poor result. Because most of the time the user knows what material he has wired and how they are configured, it's faster to pre-set parameters here.

On a TCP connection : You need to set the IP of the gateway. For the same reason as above, Xflow will not try all the possible IPs on the network. It's also a security reason: not being considered as an IP scanner is a good thing.

On a TCP connection : You MUST set the timeout to a value consistent with the timeout configured on the TCP gateway, otherwise it can prevent Xflow from detecting devices.

In all cases : You MUST lock all devices on a connection before getting access to this feature.

What do we detect? All the Schneider devices listed previously BUT the inverters.

The detection feature is not available on the following connection types: UDP, modem, RAS and OPC.

6. Modems and wireless communication By wireless we mean the use of a GSM/GPRS/3G modem.

All features related to RAS connection are availabl e ONLY ON THE IRIO !


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All improvements available from version 2.3 and 2.4 are still available: Have a look at previous release notes for more information.

6.1. 3G modem available for iRio offer

This modem MUST BE POWERED in 5V : so be aware of the jumper S1.

DO NOT POWER IT WITH 3V: it can lead to hardware fa ilure

Be aware to use the correct U-FL connector as you can see on the following picture :


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6.2. 3G modem and frequency band: warning

Since version 2.4.3, you set "allowed frequency band" to the modem. It's still possible with the 3G modem, but this model doesn't provide a way to retrieve the current band it's using? Instead the modem repeats the "allowed frequency band" you set.

It's good to know.


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6.3. Full view of a RAS connection on a 3G modem

6.4. Introduction of a "RAS connection" timeout of 1 minute (not configurable)

When Xflow will try to register itself on the mobile network of the provider, it will wait for 1 minute for it to succeed. If this timeout expired Xflow will then reset the modem and restart completely the initialisation process.

This timeout is not configurable . At least not yet, but there is no real interest to configure it yet.

6.5. Introduction of a "RAS session timeout"

This timeout can be set from 15 minutes to 1440 minutes, from the "system parameter" web page. If set to 0 it's ignored.

Once connected on the network and if the parameter is not 0, then Xflow monitor incoming traffic (an incoming only) : if there is no traffic during this amount of time, then Xflow will disconnect from the network then reset the modem and restart completely the initialisation process.

This parameter is not accessible from the connectio n web page because it's not an element of the connection, it's a global parameter you can see in the SYSTEM table with Kervisu.


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6.6. APN parameters from the connection web page

APN, user name and password are configurable from the connection web page. They were previously accessible form the "system " web page, so they have been removed from this web page. During migration process to a version 4, Xflow will automatically perform the configuration update.

The full modem AT string "AT+CGDCONT=……" is now automatically set and not editable to prevent error.

6.7. Retrieve RAS traffic from a formula

"mobile" traffic can be retrieve with two formulas :

� Ras_in([param]) : this will give the number of incoming bytes in the RAS connection. Param can be omitted. If param is 0, the counter is set back to 0. Other value for param is ignored.

� Ras_in([param]) : this will give the number of outcoming bytes in the RAS connection. Param can be omitted. If param is 0, the counter is set back to 0. Other value for param is ignored.

6.8. IMEI

The modem IMEI code is visible from the connection web page.

6.9. PIN code

With some providers, the maximum number of attempts to send the PIN code can be more than 3 (for instance we met a value of 10 with a provider in India).

From now Xflow is retrieving the real number from the SIM card instead of using a hard coded limit of 3. This is the value you can view on the connection web page.

6.10. Registration to Base Transceiver Station time out

The first critical step before using a wireless modem, is to make sure it's connected to the Base Transceiver Station (BTS). Before Xflow tries to complete the modem initialisation it will first make sure the modem is connected to the base. After this time, if the modem is not connected then Xflow will stop the initialisation and set the connection with an error status.

The default timeout is 20s and can be configurable from the "system parameter" web page. There is no upper limit to this parameter.


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What about a cultural improvement?

GSM relay antenna, part of a BTS

And the BTS


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All together on a roof

6.11. Dynamic DNS management

From the "system parameter" web page you now have access to a dedicated web page to configure access to services such as DynDNs or No-ip.

6.12. New alarm: IP has changed on RAS interface

A new system alarm is introduced: it's thrown when the "RAS IP" (that is the IP on the virtual network interface mounted when Xflow is connected to the mobile network) has changed.

AND ONLY FOR THE RAS CONNECTION.

This alarm can be sent to Kerwin, but kerwin will ignore it.

You can use the tag &I to format an alarm to transfer in a report in an email or in FTP. Other use is meaningless. The tag &I will be replace by :

New_ip_address(old_ip_address)

If it's the first time Xflow is assigned an IP, then old_ip_address can be empty.

Here is an example with a report sent to a FTP server :


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6.13. Country code for PSTN modem: iRio only

On iRio, if you configure a PSTN connection, then you can set the country code. The default value for the country code is "standard" and in 99.9% of the use cases you didn't have to change this to anything else. So don't change it, never.

But in case you really need it, you can set it to :

This will tell the modem to adapt its line interface to the country standard.

This command will be ignored if the connected modem is not a MTSMSC-E or MTSMC-E1.

6.14. Modem list

6.14.1. A list of various modem supported by Xflow

iRio

� GSM/GPRS : MTSMC-E1 (Cinterion MC75i) / MTSMC-E (Siemens MC75)

� PSTN : Multitech MT9234SMI / Multitech MT5334SMI

� 3G : GenPlug35e (Cinterion PH8)

� Telesincro / conexant CX86501 (a very old PSTN socket modem)

XLRIO/PC (or on the DB9 of the iRio)

� Siemens TC35i

� Wavecom Fastrack (Wavecom 900e 1800)

� Ercogener GenPro20e (Wavecom 900e 1800)

� Westermo GDW-11 (Wavecom 900e 1800)

� Westermo TDW-33


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6.14.2. What happens if Xflow doesn't recognise a modem?

One of the first thing Xflow is trying to do when initialising a modem, is to identify it according to the previous list.

In the case it failed to do so, Xflow will use a default AT commands set to configure the modem. In that condition it's possible that not all the features will work, especially with GSM/GPRS/3G modem.

Instead of stopping the initialisation of the modem, Xflow will continue if one of the following command failed:

� Fax

� SMS

� Hardware flow control

� Caller ID

� User custom init string

You will find information in the debug.log file.

6.15. Modem initialization and configuration: summa ry

The initialization of the modem (PSTN/GSM/GPRS/3G or RAS connection) has been improved in various ways.

First of all, the modem is detected and identified. Detection means Xflow tries to find a modem on the serial link, whatever the speed configured by the user. If found, Xflow configures the modem at the desired speed, then it continues the initialization at this speed.

If no modem is found, initialization is stopped.

If an unknown modem is found (that can happen, mostly with Xflow on a PC), Xflow will use a default set of AT command to control the modem: in that case some features may not be available such as :

� Hardware flow control

� Sending SMS

� Receiving SMS

� Sending faxes

Three new parameters are introduced to control initialization timing, especially when an error occurred.

� Maximum number of attempts : default is 10

� Delay between two initialization attempts : default is 1 minute

� Delay between two initialization cycles : default is 60 minutes

As mentioned earlier, it works this way: when Xflow failed to initialized the modem, it resets the modem (on iRIO only, no hardware reset outside iRIO, and o nly for the COM2 modem ) and it will


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wait for 1 minute (by default) before trying again an initialization phase. It will do so up to 10 times (by default). If the initialization phase fails after those 10 attempts, it will wait for 60 minutes (by default) before starting again the whole cycle. These 3 parameters are configurable.

For a GSM/GPRS/3G modem, Xflow will wait for the modem to be registered on the BTS before going any further : there is nothing to do if the modem is not "radio-connected" to a BTS. Xflow will wait for 20 seconds for this connection (by default) and this can be configured on the system web page :

In the case of a RAS connection, the same process is used once the modem is initialized by Xflow: if the GPRS/3G network connection fails, Xflow will try again up to 10 times (by default) with 1 minute (by default) between two attempts. If it failed 10 times, Xflow resets the modem and initializes it again before re-launching the whole process to connect to GPRS/3G network.

NOTE: the 3 parameters (number of attempts, 1st and 2nd delay) are common between modem initialization and RAS connection.

In case of an error during the initialization phase of the modem, a specific message is indicated on the "Connection" web page, and the delay before the next retry is indicated in the web page:

In the case of a RAS connection, when the connection to GPRS/3G network failed, the delay before the next retry is also indicated in the web page.

A new link on the page is provided to ask Xflow to retry initialization right now, without waiting for the retry delay to expire.

7. Web interface

7.1. Compatibility with browsers

Compatibility with Internet Explorer 6 is no longer maintained.

For charts, SVG and GIF are no longer available, and no longer supported.

The new interface has been implemented and tested with Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 4.

And without any warranty :

� The new interface should be compatible with Chrome and Opera but we didn't test it

� The new interface should be compatible with most of the tablets/smartphones web browsers, but we didn't test it

7.2. Cookies

You must accept cookies.


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Xflow creates only one cookie, to keep the language selected on the login page.

7.3. Languages

Available translation are:

• French

• English

• Spanish

• Italian

Language must be selected on the login page. Once you're connected you can't change it.

7.4. Charts

When you create a chart, you must select a measure file, and only one . That is:

� Only measures files can be used to draw a chart: no alarm file, no event file etc.

� Variables to draw can come only from this selected file

When creating a chart, 3 kinds of graphical representation are available :

� Simple curve

� Bar graph

� Pie-chart

You need then to set the period to draw or the number of records to draw.

You can also set the min and max limit for drawing (by default Xflow calculates automatically these limits regarding the values to display): values outside those limits are not drawn when displaying the chart.

Then you select the variables you want to draw, from the measure file. You're not obliged to select all the variables of the file.

Some examples:


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7.4.1. Pie chart limitation

A pie chart can't be drawn in the following conditions:

� A value is negative

� A value is a string

� A value is a date


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In this case, the display will be like this:

7.5. Synoptic configuration improvement

7.5.1. Various features

You can position elements by setting X and Y coordinates. X and Y are relative to the upper left corner of the background picture.

To find an element, you can click on the magnifying glass: it will then blink the element briefly.

New pictures can be uploaded via the editing web page of a synoptic and pictures can also be removed from this web page. The upper limit for the size of an image to upload is 300 000 bytes.

When uploading an image, please wait for Xflow to reload the page by itself: it can be up to 30s/40s to upload a big picture, so don't hit F5.

The remaining space on disk is reminded on the web page.

All of this is visible here:


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7.5.2. Editing an element

To edit an element you can single-click on it, or click on the "edit" button.

For element represented as text, you can set :

� The size of the police, from 6 to 72 px

� The colour of the police

Example:

7.5.3. New elements you can add on a synoptic

Add a chart

It can be:


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� A link to the chart

� A picture that is a link to the chart

� The chart itself

Add a dashboard

It can be:

� A link to the dashboard

� A picture that is a link to the dashboard

� The dashboard itself: in that case the current value of its variables are used to display a pie. If the pie can' be displayed, an "error pie" is displayed instead.

Add a device or a synoptic

It was already possible to add them. The new thing is that you can now select a picture to display instead of the name of the element. The picture becomes a link to the element.

Add text

This is called a label. You can set its font size and color.

Add a URL

It's a text that is a link to "something else". By default "something else" means "some resource inside the web site of Xflow". That is if you want to go outside of the current Xflow, for example to link to another iRio, you must add http:// in the link parameter.

Example in editing mode:


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And the corresponding result when viewing the synoptic:

(the tooltip appears when you move the mouse over the text, like any other URL)

Why not to forget to put http:// ??

In the previous edit box, if you don't set the full URL with http://, the browser will consider it's a link "inside" the current domain, so in our example it will request this:

And of course it will lead you to an error page.

7.6. Select a synoptic on home page, per user

� User can do it for himself only

� Administrator can do that for anybody else

8. Dashboards

8.1. They can count, value available through formul a

When configuring a dashboard, you can ask Xflow to automatically compute the sum of all the variables in the dashboard.

During the calculation of the sum, some variables are ignored : Boolean, string and date.

The result can be retrieved and use in any formula just by using the name of the dashboard.


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If the feature is not set for a dashboard, the result is 0.

Xflow does not make any assumption regarding the variables and their dimension and/or their unit : it's up to the user to activate this feature on a dashboard with consistent variables.

Examples:

� If you add a power, a volume, a temperature and a pressure in a dashboard and you activate the sum, the sum will be computed even if it has no physical meaning.

� if you add a power in W and a power in kW, and you activate the sum, the sum will be computed even if the result is wrong.

In other words: the user is responsible of configur ing something with a meaning.

By default this feature is disabled when you create a new dashboard. And when upgrading to version 4 the option for existing dashboard are set to "no".

8.2. Display of a dashboard

8.2.1. Without the sum feature

8.2.2. With the sum feature

From this view, you can create a new variable to retrieve the result of the sum: it just creates a virtual variable with the name of the dashboard as a formula, it's a shortcut to help user.


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8.2.3. Display as a pie

From the previous page, you can display the dashboard as a pie: this is a one shot view that can be useful.

8.3. Select a dashboard on home page, per user

� User can do it for himself only

� Administrator can do that for anybody else

9. Variables

9.1. Complex unit /_zero/_un/_two/…

For an integer variable which is assigned a unit in the form /zero/un/two/other, the raw value is displayed in () on the variable page, in list box, dashboards and on synoptic.

If the value of the variable is outside the maximum value of the unit, the last choice is displayed and the raw value enables to know the real value.

Here are some examples with a variable and the following big unit:


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/[1]__one__/[2]__two__/[3]__three__/greater_than_three

If this variable is not in the scope defined by the unit:

On a dashboard:

On a synoptic:


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9.2. Overflow value parameter for differential oper ation

The definition of this parameter is: The highest value the variable can get before going back to 0. This parameter will be used with differential operation (on variable and in files)

This parameter of a variable enables to take care of value that is a counter (for instance) that can goes back to 0 at one time. The problem with that kind of variables is that if you use it with a differential operation or if you record it in a file with a differential operation : if the value has increased and goes back to zero during the differential computation you can have very huge and wrong result.

Here a graphical explanation:

The goal of this parameter of the variable is to compute the differential value in the case the value has reached Cr then goes back to zero and continues to increase.

The overflow parameter is Cr on the picture and is displayed like this when you configure a variable:


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With all that in mind, now imagine: the variable is an energy consumption of a building, that is something that is supposed to increase permanently. What you generally configure, is recording this counter in a file with a period "end of month" + differential operation.Then you get the energy consumption per month.

But of course the power meter will possibly reach a physical limit and the counter will go back to 0 before increasing again: if the differential is done with values before and after the reset, then you will have a very false big consumption in the measure file.

If you know the maximum value for this type of counter, you can set it as a parameter of the variable in Xflow.

A value of 0 means "ignore this parameter", it's the default value at variable creation and when upgrading to version 4.

9.3. Variable: error status and selection

The following is mostly useful with some OPC servers (most of the time you don't need it).

In some cases, with some protocols, you can have some drivers in Xflow that set a variable with a status "bad configuration". In that case the variable is no longer selected for I/O operation.

If you know that this can happen but it's temporary, you can set a timeout on the variable: if the variable is set on error "bad configuration" then it's not selected until this timeout is reached. Then the variable is put back in the selection run.


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If you want all the variables of a device to have the same parameter, you can set it directly on the device: it will be copied to all variables.

The default value for this parameter is 0 at the creation of a variable and when upgrading to version 4. 0 means "ignore this parameter".

9.4. Add a group of variables

To improve configuration duration you can now add more than one variable at a time on a device, given that device has a predefined list of variables in Xflow (rad file).

Click on [add a group of variables], you will have a new page with a table like the one below:

You can now set a name for each variable you need then click on create: each name will be checked and variable created if possible, with default parameters from the rad file.


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10. Files

10.1. New recording period: end of month

A new recording period enables to record data the last day of the month, whatever the number of days in the current month: this period manages if the last day if the 28, 29, 30 or 31.

The record is done the last day of the month at the exact time you set during configuration or at the time of the configuration if you don't set anything.

10.1.1. Configuration: If you don't set the "next record" parameter :

In that case, the next record will be "the last day of the current month at the time of the configuration"

10.1.2. Configuration : if you set the "next record" parameter

In that case, the next record will be one of:

� "the last day of the current month at the time I set if the month I set is the same or is before the current month"

� " the last day of the month I set at the time I set if the month I set is in the future regarding the current month"

e.g. say we are in may :


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Another example:

This enables you to control the time of the record, and the month from which the recording will start.You don't have to worry about what is the last day of the month.

It sounds complicated but it's not, try it and you will agree.

10.2. New operations: multiply and divide

Two new operations are introduced. You can now record

� The value of a variable divided by the value of another variable

� The value of a variable multiplied by the value of another variable

Each time, you have to select the 2nd variable, as you can see here:

10.3. New parameter: cumulative value

This parameter enables to instruct the measure file module that the value to record is a cumulative value, that is something such as a counter, and what you want to record is not the value but the differential between two records.


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But why this, while we already have the differential operation? Because that way you can select another operation that will be applied to the differential value.

Example : you can configure a record with "cumulative value" + "divide operation". The value that will be recorded is "differential / value of the second variable".

If we keep the example of the energy counter, with an "end of month period", you can record the differential of the energy divided by the surface of the building. That is you will record the energy consumption of the past month per square meter.

This new parameter is useful with multiply and divide operations, and meaningless with the other operations. If you set both "cumulative value" and "differential operation", the difference is well managed.

10.4. Store the recorded value, and the current com putation

Whatever the operation you chose for a record, you can:

� At the moment the record is done (when the record period is reached): save the recorded value in another variable

� Each time the operation is computed: save the resulting value in another variable

Example:

Here, when the next record will be written in the file, the differential value that will be recorded will also be assigned to the value of the variable "nrj_pm ". During all the period of the file, each time the differential is computed, the result will be assigned to the value of the variable "nrj_computed ".

With this new feature you don't need anymore complicated formula to retrieve information from a measure file and it will always work even if you add or remove files from the configuration : no more hard link to the database.


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11. Alarm recipient, report

11.1. Report feature: do not send the alarm, only t he report

For recipient that can transmit a report (email and FTP for now), you can set if you want to transmit only the report but not the alarm. The following parameter will be displayed:

"No" is the default choice and it means "no, I want to transmit report and alarm". This is also the default value when upgrading to version 4.

For a FTP recipient, only the report will be put on the server. For an email recipient only the report will be attached to the mail.

11.2. Recipient failure

11.2.1. Call delayed in case of error

By default, when a recipient used to send an alarm is on error 4 times consecutively, then the next attempt is delayed for an hour.

The one hour delay is not configurable, but you can set this value of 4 attempts to any value you need.

This parameter is not new, but it was not accessible easily from the recipient web page. Its name in the CALLDIR table is MAX_CALLKO .

If you don't want to delay at all, then set a value of 0.

11.2.2. Blacklisted recipient

When a recipient is in the "protocol failure" state 4 times consecutively, then the recipient is defiantly blacklisted and no more call will be attempted until the user re-validates the recipient.

This value of 4 attempts can be set to any value you need.

This parameter is not new, but it was not accessible easily from the recipient web page. Its name in the CALLDIR table is MAX_GRILL .

If you don't want to blacklist a recipient, set thi s value to 0.

11.2.3. Legal wait to re-call

After a successful call, the recipient is suspended for a certain amount of time:


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� Before the version 4 this value was 120 s

� Since version 4 the default value is 30 s

You can now set this value to anything you want. If you set it to 0 the recipient is available immediately.

This parameter is not new, but it was not accessible easily from the recipient web page. Its name in the CALLDIR table is CALL_TOUT .

11.2.4. Unwanted side effect of those parameters

Setting both "call delayed" and "blacklisted" parameters to 0 can lead to multiple calls with nothing to prevent them. In the case of a recipient using a PSTN or GSM subscription, this can lead to over billing.

This is why you see red dancing exclamation marks , to warn you that you should consider this configuration with respect to your wallet.

12. SNTP : iRIO only

12.1. Dedicated web page to configure the SNTP clie nt

This page is accessible from the "system parameters" web page.

13. Operation

13.1. Xflow configuration management

From the "system parameters" web page you can :

13.1.1. Download configuration

Download the xflow.wst configuration file. That was the case before version 4.


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13.1.2. Upload configuration

Upload a new xflow.wst configuration file: it will be written to disk with the name xflow.cst. Xflow will then remove all its files (current configuration, alarms etc) then stop and ask for a reset. Xflow will be started again and the new configuration will be loaded.

Before all of that, a warning message is displayed to warn the user and ask for a confirmation.

13.1.3. Remove current configuration

Xflow will remove all its files (current configuration, alarms etc) then stop and ask for a reset. If Startx is running Xflow will be started again without configuration.

Before all of that, a warning message is displayed to warn the user and ask for a confirmation.

13.2. Debug file

From the "system parameters" web page you can download the file debug.log.

13.3. Date formatting

From the "system parameters" web page, the format parameter for Xflow to display date and time is now a fixed list: you can’t set anymore any buggy format.

This predefined list can cover most of the situations.

13.4. Trace file

From the connection web page you can now activate or deactivate the trace feature for a connection. You can also download it from this web page.

14. HTTP traffic and cache management To improve HTP traffic and performance, some enhancement has been made on the server side.


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14.1. Reduce the number of HTTP requests from the b rowser

14.1.1. HTTP header: "Last-modified"

Xflow add this information only for static resources:

� Css

� Javascript

� Pictures

� Dictionaries

This indicates to the browser when the resource has been modified for the last time. In our case it corresponds to the date of the installation (or upgrade) of the Xflow.

Once the browser got a resource with that information, he can add it to its cache. In the case you navigate again on the same Xflow or if you hit F5 to reload a page, then the browser will ask for the resource again but it adds this time in its HTTP header "If-Modified-Since" and puts the date he found for "Last-Modified".

If the resource is not younger than this date, then Xflow will answer a small "HTTP 304 – NOT MODIFIED" instead of transmitting the whole resource, and the browser knows he can use its cache version of the resource.

14.1.2. HTTP header: "Expired"

Xflow adds this information only for static resources:

� Css

� Javascript

� Pictures

� Dictionaries

This indicates to the browser the expiration date of the resource, that is until when he can keep it in its cache without requesting it again.

Xflow set this parameter to "now + 1 year".

Once a browser got a resource that way, it puts it in its cache and even if you hit F5 he will not request the resource anymore (until the expiration date has been reached).

That way we can force the browser to use its cache for all static resources.

14.2. Size of resources

By resource we mean "everything the HTTP server is giving to the HTTP client".


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14.2.1. CR LF TAB

For all dynamic resource Xflow will serve, that is all on the fly generated content. Xflow will remove useless blank characters, that is Carriage Return, Line Feed and Tabulation.

14.2.2. HTTP_DEFLATE

This parameter in the SYSTEM table asks Xflow HTTP server to compress dynamic content before to serve it. This parameter must be set to a value from 0 to 9 with:

� 0 means "no compression". Same effect as no HTTP_DEFLATE parameter

� 1-9: compression ratio, 9 is the best one.

14.2.3. Minimisation and compression of some resources

All css and javascript files are "minified" on disk, that is all comments and useless blank characters are removed. Those files are also compressed.

Those operations are done during the build process of a version, before to send it to factory: this is not a dynamic operation, it's the current state of files on disk.


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14.3. Effect of all that improvement

Here are some illustrations done with Firebug plugin.

14.3.1. Requesting the "config" page of Xflow

Starting with an empty cache for the browser.

The First request for "config.xml"

Then Hit F5 :


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Eventually click again on the "configuration" link (that is do not hit F5)

14.3.2. Displaying a charts with 71 records for 8 variables

Without HTTP_DEFLATE


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With HTTP_DEFLATE = 9

14.4. Empty the cache after an upgrade

It should be obvious that from now, each time you'll upgrade an Xflow you MUST empty the cache of the browser to make sure it will request for resources that could have been updated.

If you don’t do this, you could have unexpected behaviour of some web pages because of a wrong javascript file, or problem of translation because of a wrong dictionary.

15. ADEME compatibility for the report feature Report feature is now compatible with ADEME specification: end users who benefit subsidies from government for their solar installation, must justify the efficiency of their installations by a "written proof" in the form of a daily report pushed on a FTP server.

Xflow is now compliant with that requirement.

A dedicated application note, a power point document, is available for the configuration of this feature in Xflow.

The document is in French in so far this is a feature for the French market only.

16. Straton Embedded virtual machine has been migrated to version 8.2.

A dedicated web page is now available to configure the straton application to run and the link with the straton workbench.

From this page you will be able to:

� Select the straton application to run

� Start and stop an application

� Upload a new application

� Remove an application


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This page is available from the "configuration" web page: the link is called "IEC 61131-3 workbench".

� This link is not visible with BA application

� Straton VM is not available with AA application

17. Xflow on a PC, XLRIO and iRIO : the user direct ory

17.1. Xflow on a PC

17.1.1. Definition

When we say Xflow PC, we talk about Xflow running on a regular PC. That is a desktop or a laptop running Windows XP to 7.

17.1.2. Restriction for the installation of Xflow on a PC

On a PC, Xflow MUST BE installed by the way of our Xflow installer.

All other way such as copy/paste from one PC to another is not supported and not recommended .

17.1.3. Windows version

Xflow for a PC has been validated under Windows XP and 7.

Xflow for a PC has not been validated under Windows 8 ad Windows Vista.

17.1.4. About the Xflow PC installer

This is an InstallShield installscript provided on a CD or a DVD.


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This installer will detect any previous 2.3.2 and 2.4.3 Xflow version, remove them and install Xflow 4.0.1.0.

If a Xflow 2.3.2 or 2.4.3 is installed, the installer will not backup its configuration : it's up to the user to do it by himself and then restore it for the new Xflow 4.

This installer also installs Sentinel key driver (for the licence) and OPC core component 2.0 (same version as Kerwin)

17.1.5. Separation of program and data

To meet security requirement, Xflow program and data are installed separately. Xflow generates its data somewhere in the "All users" directory.

17.1.6. Xflow is installed in a "program" system directory

By default Xflow will be installed in a system directory dedicated to program files. This location on the Windows system (the full path to the directory is subject to change across Windows version).

It's not recommended to change the default location proposed by the installer, but you can do it if you need it.

By Xflow program we mean:

� Xflow.exe

� All the others dlls that are part of Xflow

� The grammar.xml file

� All the "rad" files

� All the files that are part of the web interface

All those files are considered to be the program and therefore they are installed in a system directory for which a standard user account doesn’t have access rights.

A standard user doesn't have to edit and change any of those text files, or remove or add any other dll. The right way to use the computer where Xflow is installed on is to be connected with a non-admin session.

Any modification of this part of Xflow (the program ), is not supported and not recommended.

17.1.7. Xflow data are now somewhere under "All users" application data directory

With previous version of Xflow, Xflow was using a directory called "temp" to create and store all its data (configuration, measures files and so on). This "temp" directory was located where the xflow.exe files weres installed.

Since version 4 the "temp" directory NO LONGER EXIS TS and it's FORBIDDEN to create one.

If a "temp" directory is created, Xflow behaviour i s no tested, not validated and unpredictable.


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Since version 4, the installer will create 5 directories under a directory "Schneider Electric\Telecontrol\Xflow".

"Schneider Electric\Telecontrol\Xflow" will be under the dedicated application files directory for "All users" and this place depends on the Windows OS version you are running.

The installshield installscript will detect this location at run time and won't ask anything.

Here is an example using a PC running Windows XP:

To help user find this location, a shortcut to it is also created in the "start" menu:

5 subfolders are created to hold data:

� Config files

� Wst, kwconf.xml, fax template, .cod (straton), teletel , .xflowrc

� Temporary files for alarms and reports (FTP/mail)

� Temporary files for some specific OPC client drivers

� Data files

� All files: measures, alarms, connections, outgoing calls , events etc.

� Debug files

� debug.log and trace.log

� Rescue config files

� The xflow.cst file

� Synoptic files

� Users's pictures for synoptics

� They have priority to the default installed pictures in the "program files" directory: if the picture exist in both default and user's directory then the user's picture is used.


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17.2. Xflow on a XLRIO

Xflow for an XLRIO is not concerned by all of this restriction and still behave the old way with the "temp" directory.

Xflow on iRIO is not installed by the user via the installshield installscript.

How to install Xflow on XLRIO is out of the scope of this document.

17.3. Xflow on iRIO

On iRIO, Xflow is not concerned with those restrictions and behaviour and nothing has changed for this platform.

� Comprehensive Xflow application is still in /flashdisk/xflow

� its data is under /sramdisk

xflow : release note

Documents