Kepserverex Manual PDF
Kepserverex Manual PDF
Kepserverex Manual PDF
2 KEPServerEX V6
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 2
13
KEPServerEX V6 13
Introduction 13
System Requirements 14
Components 14
Process Modes 15
OPC DA 16
OPC AE 17
OPC UA 18
OPC .NET 19
DDE 19
FastDDE/SuiteLink 20
Settings 23
Settings - Administration 23
Settings - Configuration 24
Project Properties 38
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Server Options 59
Options - General 59
Basic Components 61
What is a Channel? 61
Channel Properties 62
Channel Properties - General 62
Channel Properties - Advanced 63
Channel Properties - Ethernet Communications 63
Channel Properties - Serial Communications 64
Channel Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation 66
Channel Properties - Communication Serialization 67
Channel Properties - Network Interface 68
Channel Properties - Write Optimizations 69
Device Discovery Procedure 70
What is a Device? 71
Device Properties 72
Device Properties - Identification 72
Device Properties - Operating Mode 73
Device Properties - Scan Mode 74
Device Properties - Auto-Demotion 75
Device Properties - Communication Parameters 75
Device Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation 76
Device Properties - Tag Generation 77
Device Properties - Time Synchronization 78
Device Properties - Timing 79
Device Properties - Redundancy 80
What is a Tag? 80
Tag Properties - General 81
Multiple Tag Generation 84
Tag Properties - Scaling 87
Dynamic Tags 89
Static Tags (User-Defined) 90
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Tag Management 95
Phonebook 124
Auto-Dial 125
How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag Group 153
How To... Resolve Comm Issues When the DNS/DHCP Device Connected to the Server is 153
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Power Cycled
How To... Use an Alias to Optimize a Project 155
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OPC ProgID has been removed from the ProgID Redirect list. | ProgID = '<ID>'. 211
The invalid ProgID entry has been deleted from the ProgID Redirect list. | ProgID = '<ID>'. 211
Password for administrator was reset by the current user. | Administrator name = '<name>',
Current user = '<name>'. 211
User moved from user group. | User = '<name>', Old group = '<name>', New group '<name>'. 211
User group has been created. | Group = '<name>'. 211
User added to user group. | User = '<name>', Group = '<name>'. 211
User information replaced by import. | File imported = '<absolute file path>'. 211
User group has been renamed. | Old name = '<name>', New name = '<name>'. 211
Permissions definition has changed on user group. | Group = '<name>'. 211
User has been renamed. | Old name = '<name>', New name = '<name>'. 212
User has been disabled. | User = '<name>'. 212
User group has been disabled. | Group = '<name>'. 212
User has been enabled. | User = '<name>'. 212
User group has been enabled. | Group = '<name>'. 212
Failed to reset password for administrator. | Administrator name = '<name>'. 212
Password reset for administrator failed. Current user is not a Windows administrator. |
Administrator name = '<name>', Current user = '<name>'. 212
Password for user has been changed. | User = '<name>'. 212
General failure during CSV tag import. 212
Connection attempt to runtime failed. | Runtime host address = '<host address>', User =
'<name>', Reason = '<reason>'. 212
Invalid or missing user information. 212
Insufficient user permissions to replace the runtime project. 213
Runtime project update failed. 213
Failed to retrieve runtime project. 213
Unable to replace devices on channel because it has an active reference count. | Channel =
'<name>'. 213
Failed to replace existing auto-generated devices on channel, deletion failed. | Channel =
'<name>'. 213
Channel is no longer valid. It may have been removed externally while awaiting user input. |
Channel = '<name>'. 213
No device driver DLLs were loaded. 213
Device driver was not found or could not be loaded. | Driver = '<name>'. 213
Error importing CSV data. \n\nField buffer overflow reading identification record. 213
Error importing CSV data. \n\nUnrecognized field name. | Field = '<name>'. 213
Error importing CSV data. \n\nDuplicate field name. | Field = '<name>'. 214
Error importing CSV data. \n\nMissing field identification record. 214
Error importing CSV record. \n\nField buffer overflow. | Record index = '<number>'. 214
Error importing CSV record. \n\nInsertion failed. | Record index = '<number>', Record name = 214
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'<name>'.
Unable to launch application. | Application = '<path>', OS error = '<code>'. 214
Error importing CSV record. \n\n'Mapped To' tag address is not valid for this project. | Record
index = '<number>', Tag address = '<address>'. 214
Error importing CSV record. \n\nAlias name is invalid. Names cannot contain double quotations
or start with an underscore. | Record index = '<number>'. 214
Invalid XML document: 214
Rename failed. There is already an object with that name. | Proposed name = '<name>'. 214
Failed to start channel diagnostics 214
Rename failed. Names can not contain periods, double quotations or start with an underscore. |
Proposed name = '<name>'. 215
Synchronization with remote runtime failed. 215
Error importing CSV record. Tag name is invalid. | Record index = '<number>', Tag name =
'<name>'. 215
Error importing CSV record. Tag or group name exceeds maximum name length. | Record index
= '<number>', Max. name length (characters) = '<number>'. 215
Error importing CSV record. Missing address. | Record index = '<number>'. 215
Error importing CSV record. Tag group name is invalid. | Record index = '<index>', Group name
= '<name>'. 215
Close request ignored due to active connection(s). | Active connections = '<count>'. 215
Failed to save embedded dependency file. | File = '<path>'. 215
The configuration utility cannot run at the same time as third-party configuration applications.
Close both programs and open only the one you want to use. | Product = '<name>'. 215
Opening project. | Project = '<name>'. 216
Closing project. | Project = '<name>'. 216
Virtual Network Mode changed. This affects all channels and virtual networks. See help for more
details regarding the Virtual Network Mode. | New mode = '<mode>'. 216
Beginning device discovery on channel. | Channel = '<name>'. 216
Device discovery complete on channel. | Channel = '<name>', Devices found = '<count>'. 216
Device discovery canceled on channel. | Channel = '<name>'. 216
Device discovery canceled on channel. | Channel = '<name>', Devices found = '<count>'. 216
Unable to begin device discovery on channel. | Channel = '<name>'. 216
Shutting down for the purpose of performing an installation. 216
Runtime project has been reset. 216
Runtime project replaced. | New project = '<path>'. 217
Not connected to the event logger service. 217
Feature '<name>' is not licensed and cannot be used. 217
Failed to load the license interface, possibly due to a missing third-party dependency. Run in
demo mode only. 217
The demonstration time period has expired. 217
Maximum device count exceeded for the lite version '<number>' license. Edit project and restart 218
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the server.
Maximum runtime tag count exceeded for the lite version '<number>' license. Edit client project
and restart the server. 218
Type <numeric type ID> limit of <maximum count> exceeded on feature '<name>'. 219
<Object type name> limit of <maximum count> exceeded on feature '<name>'. 219
The FlexNet Licensing Service must be enabled to process licenses. Failure to enable the service
results in demo mode. 219
The <name> feature license has been removed. The server will enter demo mode unless the
license is restored before the grace period expires. 220
License for feature <name> cannot be accessed [error=<code>] and must be reactivated. 220
Started time limited usage on feature %s because it is not licensed. 220
Started time limited usage on feature %s because it has a time limited license. 221
Started time limited usage on feature %s because an object count limit has been exceeded. 221
Started time limited usage on feature %s because a feature count limit has been exceeded. 221
Time limited usage period on feature %s has expired. 221
Cannot add item. Requested count of <number> would exceed license limit of <maximum
count>. 221
The version of component <name> (<version>) is required to match that of component <name>
(<version>). 221
Maximum channel count exceeded for the lite version '<name>' driver license. Edit project and
restart the server. 222
%s is now licensed. 222
Attempt to add item '<name>' failed. 222
No device driver DLLs were loaded. 222
Addition of object to '<name>' failed: <reason>. 222
Move object '<name>' failed: <reason>. 222
Update of object '<name>' failed: <reason>. 222
Delete object '<name>' failed: <reason>. 223
Unable to load startup project '<name>': <reason>. 223
Failed to update startup project '<name>': <reason>. 223
Runtime project replaced with startup project defined. Runtime project will be restored from
'<name>' at next restart. 223
Ignoring user-defined startup project because a configuration session is active. 223
Write request rejected on read-only item reference '<name>'. 223
Unable to write to item '<name>'. 223
Write request failed on item '<name>'. The write data type '<type>' cannot be converted to the
tag data type '<type>'. 223
Write request failed on item '<name>'. Error scaling the write data. 223
Write request rejected on item reference '<name>' since the device it belongs to is disabled. 223
<Name> successfully configured to run as a system service. 224
<Name> successfully removed from the service control manager database. 224
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Index 241
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KEPServerEX V6
CONTENTS
Introduction
Interfaces and Connectivity
Accessing the Administration Menu
Navigating the Configuration
Basic Server Components
Tag Management
Communications Management
Built-In Diagnostics
Designing a Project
How Do I... ?
Event Log Messages
For information regarding product licensing, refer to the License Utility help file. To access the help file through the server Configuration menu, click
Help | Server Help | License Utility. To access the help file through the server Administration menu, right-click on the KEPServerEX icon in the
System Tray and select Help | License Utility.
Introduction
Version 1.448
This software based server is designed for accurate communications, quick setup, and unmatched
interoperability between client applications, industrial devices, and systems. The server provides a wide
range of plug-ins and device drivers and components that suit most communication needs. The plug-in
design and single user interface provides consistent access from standards-based applications and non-
standards-based applications with native interfaces.
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System Requirements
The server has minimum system requirements for both software and hardware. These requirements must
be met for the application to operate as designed.
1. When installed on a 64-bit operating system, the application runs in a subsystem of Windows called
WOW64 (Windows-on-Windows 64 bit). WOW64 is included on all 64-bit versions of Windows and is
designed to make differences between the operating systems transparent to the user.
WOW64 requires the following minimums:
l 1 GHz Processor
l Ethernet Card
2. Verify the latest security updates are installed for the operating system.
Contact a staff system engineer for guidance on requirements and recommendations for more complex
systems.
Components
The server implements client/server architecture. The components include Configuration, Runtime,
Administration, and Event Log.
Configuration
The Configuration is the client-user interface that is used to modify the runtime project. The Configuration
can be launched by multiple users and support remote Runtime configuration.
Runtime
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The Runtime is the server component that starts as a service by default. Clients can connect to the runtime
remotely or locally.
Administration
The Administration is used to view and/or modify settings and launch applications that pertain to user
management and the server. By default, the Administration is started and sent to the System Tray when a
user account logs onto the operating system.
Project
The Project file contains the channel, device, and tag definitions as well as preferences and other saved
settings.
For more information, refer to Designing a Project.
Event Log
The Event Log service collects information, warning, error, and security events. These events are sent to the
Configuration's Event Log window for viewing.
For more information, refer to What is the Event Log?
Process Modes
The Runtime process mode can be changed while the server is running; however, doing so while a client is
connected interrupts the connection for a short period. The modes of operation are System Service and
Interactive.
System Service
By default, the server is installed and runs as a service. When System Service is selected, the Runtime does
not require user intervention and starts when the operating system opens. This provides user independent
access to the server by the clients.
Interactive
When Interactive is selected, the Runtime remains stopped until a client attempts to connect to it. Once
started, it runs until all clients have disconnected and then shuts down. The Runtime also shuts down if the
user account logs off the operation system.
Note: The Runtime process mode may be changed to meet client applications' needs through the
Administration settings dialogs.
l When a communication interface (such as DDE) must exchange information with the user desktop
and the server is installed on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or later operating systems.
See Also:
Settings - Runtime Process
How To... Allow Desktop Interactions
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OPC DA
OPC AE
OPC UA
OPC .NET
DDE
FastDDE/SuiteLink
iFIX Native Interfaces
Thin-Client Terminal Server
ThingWorx Native Interface
OPC DA
Supported Versions
1.0a
2.05a
3.0
Overview
"OPC" stands for Open Productivity and Connectivity in industrial automation and the enterprise systems
that support industry. It is a client/server technology where one application acts as the server (providing
data) and another acts as a client (using data).
OPC is composed of a series of standards specifications: OPC Data Access (DA) is the most prolific standard.
OPC DA is a widely accepted industrial communication standard that enables data exchange between multi-
vendor devices and control applications without proprietary restrictions. An OPC server can communicate
data continuously among PLCs on the shop floor, RTUs in the field, HMI stations, and software applications
on desktop PCs. OPC compliance makes continuous real-time communication possible (even when the
hardware and software are from different vendors).
OPC Data Access 1.0a was the original specification developed by the OPC Foundation in 1996. Although it
continues to be supported by many of the OPC client applications in use today, OPC Data Access 2.0
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Enhanced OPC better utilizes the underlying Microsoft COM technology. OPC Data Access 3.0 is the latest
version of the OPC DA interface.
OPC AE
Supported Versions
1.0
1.10
Overview
OPC Alarms & Events (AE) is a specification developed by the OPC Foundation to standardize the way that
alarm and event information is shared among systems. Using the standard, AE clients can receive alarms
and event notices for equipment safety limits, system errors, and other abnormal situations.
Simple Events
Simple Events include the server events displayed in the Event Log (such as information, warning, error, and
security events). The server supports the following filtering options for Simple Events for AE clients:
l Runtime Error Events: Simple events that are shown as errors in the Event Log.
l Runtime Warning Events: Simple events that are shown as warnings in the Event Log.
l Runtime Information Events: Simple events that are shown as informational in the Event
Log.
Condition Events
Condition Events are created by server conditions, which are currently only configurable through the use of
the Alarms & Events plug-in. The server supports the following filtering options for Condition Events for AE
clients:
1. Event: Condition.
2. Category: Filter by server-defined categories. Each event is assigned to one category. Descriptions of
the categories are as follows:
l LevelAlarms: Events that are generated by process level conditions. For example, tank
level > 10.
l Deviation Alarms: Events that are generated by deviation conditions. For example, tank
level 10.
l Rate of Change Alarms: Events that are generated by rate of change conditions.
3. Severity: Filter by severity level. Levels range from 0 to 1000; 1000 is the most severe. Each event is
assigned a severity.
4. Area: Filter by a process area to get alarms and events from only that area. An area is used to
organize alarm and event information.
5. Source: Filter by source to get events from only that source. A source is an Alarms & Events area that
was created by a source (such as a server tag) that belongs to an area.
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Note: The Alarms & Events Plug-In allows conditions to be configured through server tags. For example,
a Temperature tag can be configured through the Alarms &Events Plug-In to generate an event when the
maximum value is reached. For more information on the Alarms &Events Plug-In, contact an OPCvendor.
Optional Interfaces
The AE server interface does not support the following optional interfaces:
OPC UA
Supported Version
1.01 optimized binary TCP
Overview
OPC Unified Architecture (UA) is an open standard created by the OPC Foundation with help from dozens of
member organizations. It provides an additional way to share factory floor data to business systems (from
shop-floor to top-floor). UA also offers a secure method for remote client-to-server connectivity without
depending on Microsoft DCOM. It has the ability to connect securely through firewalls and over VPN
connections. This implementation of the UA server supports optimized binary TCP and the DA data model.
Note: Currently, neither UA via HTTP/SOAP web services nor for complex data is supported. For more
information, refer to the OPC UA Configuration Manager help file.
OPC UA Profiles
OPC UA is a multi-part specification that defines a number of services and information models referred to as
features. Features are grouped into profiles, which are then used to describe the functionality supported by
a UA server or client. For a full list and a description of each OPC UA profile, refer to
http://www.opcfoundation.org/profilereporting/index.htm.
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l SecurityPolicy - None
l UA-TCP UA-SC UA Binary
Note: This profile does not support the Security Administrator XML Schema.
OPC .NET
Supported Version
1.20.2
Overview
OPC .NET is a family of APIs provided by the OPC Foundation that leverage Microsoft's .NET technology and
allow .NET clients to connect to the server. This server supports OPC .NET 3.0 WCF, formally known as OPC
Xi. Unlike other OPC .NET APIs, OPC .NET 3.0 uses Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) for
connectivity, avoiding DCOM issues and providing the following benefits:
l Secure communication via multiple communications bindings (such as Named Pipe, TCP, Basic HTTP,
and Ws HTTP).
l Consolidation of OPCClassic Interfaces.
l Simple development, configuration, and deployment of Windows environment.
The server adds OPC .NET 3.0 support using a customized version of the OPC .NET 3.0 WCF Wrapper
supplied by the OPC Foundation. The wrapper runs as a system service called "xi_server_runtime.exe". It
wraps the existing server's OPC AE and DA interfaces, providing WCF clients access to the server's tag and
alarm data. It does not support Historical Data Access (HDA).
Note: The OPC .NET service is only started when the server starts and the interface is enabled. Unlike
OPC DA, clients cannot launch the server. For more information on configuration, refer to Project
Properties OPC .NET.
Requirements
To install and use OPC .NET 3.0, Microsoft .NET 3.5 must be present on the machine before server
installation.
DDE
Supported Formats
CF_Text
XL_Table
Advanced DDE
Overview
Although this server is first and foremost an OPC server, there are still a number of applications that require
Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) to share data. As such, the server provides access to DDE applications that
support one of the following DDE formats: CF_Text, XL_Table, and Advanced DDE. CF_Text and XL_Table are
standard DDE formats developed by Microsoft for use with all DDE aware applications. Advanced DDE is a
high performance format supported by a number of client applications specific to the industrial market.
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Advanced DDE
Advanced DDE is the DDE format defined by Rockwell Automation. Today, all Rockwell client applications are
Advanced DDE aware. Advanced DDE is a variation on the normal CF_Text format, which allows larger
amounts of data to transfer between applications at higher rates of speed (and with better error handling).
Requirements
For the DDE interface to connect with the server, the Runtime must be allowed to interact with the desktop.
For more information, refer to How To... Allow Desktop Interactions.
FastDDE/SuiteLink
Overview
FastDDE is a DDE format defined by Wonderware Corporation. It allows larger amounts of data to transfer
between applications at higher speed (and with better error handling) than generic DDE. SuiteLink is a
client/server communication method that has succeeded FastDDE. It is TCP/IP based and has improved
bandwidth and speed. Both FastDDE and SuiteLink are supported by all Wonderware client applications.
Note: The Wonderware connectivity toolkit is used to simultaneously provide OPC and FastDDE/SuiteLink
connectivity while allowing for quick access to device data without the use of intermediary bridging software.
For security reasons, it is recommended that users utilize the most recent Wonderware DAServer
Runtime Components. For more information and available downloads, refer to the Invensys Global Technical
Support WDN website.
Requirements
For the FastDDE interface to connect with the server, the Runtime must be allowed to interact with the
desktop. For more information, refer to How To... Allow Desktop Interactions.
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Start Runtime Service: This option starts the server Runtime process and loads the default Runtime
project.
Stop Runtime Service: This option disconnects all clients and saves the default Runtime project before
stopping the server Runtime process.
Reinitialize: This option disconnects all clients and resets the Runtime server. It automatically saves and
reloads the default Runtime project without stopping the server Runtime process.
Reset Event Log: This option resets the Event Log. The date, time, and source of the reset are added to the
Event Log in the configuration window.
Settings...: This option launches the Settings group. For more information, refer to Settings.
OPC UA Configuration: This option launches the OPC UA Configuration Manager, if available.
OPC .NET Configuration: This option launches the OPC.NET Configuration Manager.
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Support Information: This option launches a dialog that contains basic summary information on both the
server and the drivers currently installed for its use. For more information, refer to Server Summary
Information.
Exit: This option closes the Administration and removes it from the System Tray. To view it again, select it
from the Windows Start menu.
Settings
To access the Settings groups, right-click on the Administration icon located in the System Tray. Select
Settings. For more information, select a link from the list below.
Settings - Administration
Settings - Configuration
Settings - Runtime Process
Settings - Runtime Options
Settings - Event Log
Settings - ProgID Redirect
Settings - User Manager
Settings - Configuration API Service
Security Policies - A plug-in is available for user permissions and access control. Consult the product help
system.
Local Historian - A plug-in is available for data storage and access. Consult the product help system.
IoT Gateway - A plug-in is available for Industrial Internet of Things integration. Consult the product help
system.
Settings - Administration
The Administration group is used to configure the Runtime Administration's actions.
Automatically start Administration: When enabled, this property enables the Administration to start
automatically. The Administration is a System Tray application that allows quick links to various server tools
including the Settings Console, Configuration, Licensing Utility, User Manager Console and controls for
stopping and starting the Runtime service.
Product Language Selection: Select English, German, or Japanese for the user interface language.
Tip: The language settings defaults to the language of the install, which defaults to the language setting in
the operating system, if possible.
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Settings - Configuration
The Configuration group is used to configure how the Configuration both connects to and interacts with the
Runtime.
Connection
Communicate using port: This property is the TCP/IP port to be used to communicate between the
Configuration and the Runtime. To obtain the default setting, click Default.
Allow runtime to accept remote connections: When enabled, the runtime accepts remote connections.
The default setting is disabled.
Session Management
Max Concurrent Configuration Connections: Specify the number of Configuration connections that can
be made to the Runtime at one time. The range is 1 to 64. The default is 10.
Idle Session Timeout: Set the length of time the console connection can be inactive before it is shut down.
The range is 10 to 3600 seconds. The default is 60 seconds.
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Selected Mode: This property is used to specify whether the server is running as System Service or
Interactive. By default, the server installs and runs as System Service. Changing this setting causes all
clients, both Configuration and process, to be disconnected and the server to be stopped and restarted. It
also restores user-configured DCOM settings to default.
High Priority: This property is used set the server process priority to high. The default setting is normal.
When enabled, this setting allows the server to have priority access to resources.
Note: Microsoft recommends against setting applications to a high priority as it can adversely affect
other applications running on the same system.
Processor Affinity: This property is used to specify on which CPUs the server can be executed when it is run
on PCs containing more than one.
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Use DCOM configuration settings: Enable to use authentication and security from the DCOM
Configuration.
Configure... Click to launch the DCOM Configuration Utility to specify the level of security and restrict access
for certain users and/or applications.
When this setting is disabled, the server overrides the DCOM settings set for the application and does not
perform any authentication on the calls received from client applications. It impersonates the security of the
client when performing any actions on behalf of the client application. Disabling this setting provides the
lowest level of security and is not recommended. If this setting is chosen, ensure that the client and server
applications are running in a secure environment so that the application is not compromised.
Backup the Runtime project prior to replacement: This property enables the Runtime project to be
backed up before it is overwritten. The backup location is displayed in the Event Log. This option is enabled
by default.
Note:The Runtime project is overwritten if either New or Open is selected while connected to the
Runtime. In addition, connecting to the Runtime while working offline with a project may result in Runtime
project replacement.
Keep the most recent: This property limits the number of backup files to be saved to disk. The range is 1 to
1000. The default is 10.
Clean up now...: This property invokes a confirmation dialog that allows users to delete all the Runtime
project backups. Doing so does not affect the current running project.
Tip:It is a best practice to save a copy of the project file on a regular basis for disaster recovery purposes.
The default directories for these backups are:
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C:\ProgramData(x86)\Kepware\KEPServerEX\V6\Project Backups
Tip:If the file has been saved to an alternate location, search for *.opf to locate available project files.
The settings for each individual log type are independent of the settings for the other log types.
Connection
Port: Specify the TCP/IP port to be used to communicate between the Log and the Runtime. The valid range
is 49152 to 65535. To restore the default port setting, enter a blank value.
Log Settings
Persistence Mode: This property specifies the log's persistence mode. Options include Memory, Single File,
and Extended Datastore. The default setting for the Event Log Setting is Single File. The default setting for
both OPCDiagnostics Log Settings and Communications Diagnostics Log Settings is Memory (no
persistence). Descriptions of the options are as follows:
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l Memory (no persistence): When selected, this mode records all events in memory and does not
generate a disk log. A specified number of records are retained before the oldest records start
being deleted. The contents are removed each time the server is started.
l Single File: When selected, this mode generates a single disk-based log file. A specified number of
records are retained before the oldest records start being deleted. The contents are restored from
this file on disk when the server is started.
l Extended Data Store: When selected, this mode persists a potentially large number of records to
disk in a data store distributed across many files. The records are retained for a specified number
of days before being removed from the disk. The contents are restored from the distributed file
store on disk when the server is started.
Max. records: Specify the number of records that the log system retains before the oldest records start
being deleted. It is only available when the Persistence Mode is set to Memory or Single File. The valid range
is 100 to 100,000 records. The default setting is 25,000 records.
Note:The log is truncated if this property is set to a value less than the current size of the log.
Log file path: Specify where the disk log is stored. It is only available when the Persistence Mode is set to
Single File or Extended Datastore.
Note:Attempts to persist diagnostics data using a mapped path may fail because the Event Log service
is running in the context of the SYSTEM account and does not have access to a mapped drive on the local
host. Users that utilize a mapped path do so at their own discretion. It is recommended that the Uniform
Naming Convention (UNC)path be used instead.
Max. single file size: Specify the size that a single datastore file must attain before a new datastore file can
be started. It is only available when the Persistence Mode is set to Extended Datastore. The valid range is
100 to 10000 KB. The default setting is 1000 KB.
Min. days to preserve: Specify that individual datastore files are deleted from disk when the most recent
record stored in the file is at least this number of days old. It is only available when the Persistence Mode is
set to Extended Datastore. The valid range is 1 to 90 days. The default setting is 30 days.
See Also:Built-In Diagnostics
When saving to file, monitor the Windows Event Viewer for errors relating to the persistence of data to
disk.
Note: When Single File persistence is selected, the server loads all persisted records from disk
before making any records available to clients.
2. The log file path is set to a directory that contains valid persisted log data.
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Note: Loading large record stores may cause the log server to be less responsive than usual. It regains
full responsiveness once the loading and processing completes. Resource usage is higher than usual during
loading and settles on completion.
The Event Log system would be useless if there was no mechanism to protect its contents. If operators
could change these properties or reset the log, the purpose would be lost. Utilize the User Manager to limit
what functions an operator can access.
The ProgIDRedirect feature allows users to enter the legacy server's ProgID. The server creates the
necessary Windows Registry entries to allow a client application to connect to the server using the legacy
server's ProgID.
Add: This button is used to add a ProgID to the redirection list. When clicked, it invokes the "Add New
ProgID" dialog. For more information, refer to "Adding a New ProgID" below.
Remove: This button is used to remove a selected ProgID from the redirection list.
Note: A redirected ProgID cannot be browsed by OPC client applications that use the OpcEnum service
to locate OPC servers. In most cases, users can enter the redirected ProgID into the client application
manually.
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The client application should not be running while the legacy server's ProgID is being added to the
redirection list. Failure to observe this warning may result in the client application not respecting the newly
redirected ProgID.
The User Manager has three built-in groups that each contain a built-in user. The default groups are
Administrators, Server Users, and Anonymous Clients. The default users are Administrator, Default User,
and Data Client. Users cannot rename or change the description fields. Neither the default groups nor the
default users can be disabled.
Note: Although the Administrator's settings cannot be changed, additional administrative users can be
added.
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l New Group: When clicked, this button adds a new user group. For more information, refer to User
Group Properties.
l New User:When clicked, this button adds a new user to the selected user group. This function is
disabled for anonymous clients. For more information, refer to User Properties.
l Edit PropertiesWhen clicked, this button allows users to edit the properties of the selected user or
user group.
l Disable Selected User / Group: When clicked, this button disables the selected user or user group.
This function is only available to custom users and user groups. Disabling a user group disables all
users within it.
Note:Disabling a user or user group invokes the Show disabled: option. If enabled, this option
makes any disabled users and user groups visible in the user group and user list.
l Restore Selected User / group: When clicked, this button restores the selected user or user group.
Restoring a user group returns the users within it to the state they were in prior to disabling. This icon
is only available once a user or user group has been disabled.
Note:If all disabled users and user groups are restored, the Show disabled option is not
displayed.
l Import User Information: When clicked, this button imports user information from an XML file. For
the import to succeed, the file that is selected must have been exported from the server's
Administration utility. This function is only enabled when the built-in Administrator is logged in.
l Export User Information:When clicked, this button exports user information to an XML file. This is
useful for users that need to move the project from one machine to another. Administrators also
have the option to password protect the XML file: if utilized, the correct password must be entered for
the import to succeed on the new machine. The XML file cannot be edited and re-imported. This
function is enabled at all times.
The Import/Export User Information features were released in server version 5.12. Any user
passwords that were set while using previous server versions must be changed in 5.12 before an
export is attempted; otherwise, the export fails.
Note: Although custom users and user groups cannot be deleted once they have been created, the
Import User Information option replaces existing users and user groups with those being imported (except
for the Administrator built-in user).
For the sake of project preservation, it is recommended that users export a copy of the user information
once it is complete. A project cannot load without correct user information.
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l Move User To: This option moves the user to a different user group. The status of the group does not
matter: both disabled and enabled groups appear in the list. An active user moved to a disabled
group becomes disabled as well. A disabled user moved to an enabled group persists in status until
changed.
To quickly allow or deny all options in a category, right-click on the category and select Allow All or Deny
All. A setting that displays bold text indicates that its value has been changed. Once the change is saved, the
text displays as normal.
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l Name This property specifies the name of the new user group. The maximum number of characters
allowed is 31. Duplicate names are not allowed.
l Description: This optional property provides a brief description of the user group. This can be
particularly helpful for operators creating new user accounts. The maximum number of characters
allowed is 128.
l Permissions assigned to this user group: This field assigns permissions for the selected user
group. Permissions are organized into the following categories: Project Modification, Server
Permissions, I/O Tag Access, System Tag Access, Internal Tag Access, and Browse Project
Namespace. More information on the categories is as follows:
l Project Modification: This category specifies permissions that control default project
modifications.
l Server Permissions: This category specifies permissions that control access to server
functionality. These permissions are not supported by the anonymous client.
l I/O Tag Access: This category specifies permissions that control access to device-level I/O
tag data. These tags require device communications, and are described as Static tags in the
server.
l System Tag Access: This category specifies permissions that control access to System tags.
These tags begin with an underscore and exist in a server-defined location. For more
information, refer to System Tags.
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l Internal Tag Access: This category specifies permissions that control access to internal
tags. These tags are either driver-managed (controlling some aspect of the driver's
operation) or user-specified (at a plug-in level).
l Browse Project Namespace: This category specifies permissions that control browse
access to the project namespace in clients that support browsing. This is only supported by a
few client types at this time.
Note:Users upgrading to the newest server version find that the Dynamic Addressing permissions are
assigned the default value Allow. Users with new installations are allowed to select the default value during
installation.
User Properties
The user properties may be accessed by double-clicking on the user or right-clicking on the user and
selecting Properties....
Old Password: This field holds the password that has been active for this user.
Password: Enter a new or updated password this user must enter to log into the system. It is case-sensitive
with a maximum of 127 characters allowed.
Confirm Password: Re-enter the same password. It must be entered exactly the same in both the New
Password and Confirm Password fields.
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Menu Bar
File Includes the project-level commands; such as Save, Open, Import, and Export.
Edit Includes action commands; such as Copy, Paste, and New Channel.
Includes the display commands; such as which elements of the user interface are visible or
View
hidden and the type of tree organization to display.
Includes the configuration commands; such as general options, connection settings, and Event
Tools
Log Filters.
Runtime Includes server connectivity commands; such as Connect..., Disconnect, and Reinitialize.
Help Includes commands to access the product documentation, by server, driver, or plug-in.
Button Bar
The standard buttons are described below. Plug-ins and drivers add, remove, enable, and disable buttons
based on available functionality for the active items and view.
New Project: Initiates creation of a new project file to replace the active project. The project file
defines the devices connected, their settings, and how they are grouped.
Open Project: Allows the user to browse for an existing project file to load, replacing the active
project.
Save Project: Implements any recent changes and writes the active project file to disk.
Save As: Writes the active project with changes, such as to a new location or file name.
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Project - where global settings for the active project are stored or updated.
Connectivity - where channels and devices are organized, right-click actions are available, and properties
can be access for display in the Detail pane.
Aliases - where mappings to system resources, legacy paths, and complex routings can be given shorter,
more user-friendly, or SCADAcompatible names and shortcuts.
Advanced Tags - where operations or analysis can be built into tag processing and stored. This is a
separate product Plug-in.
Alarms &Events - where system monitoring can be defined and managed. This is a separate product Plug-
in.
DataLogger - where data can be organized and stored in an ODBC-compliant database. This is a separate
product Plug-in.
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EFMExporter - where flow and trend data can be captured and coordinated. This is a separate product
Plug-in.
IDF for Splunk - where data feeds into data management and data mining can be configured. This is a
separate product Plug-in.
IoT Gateway - where connections to enterprise systems, monitoring, and analytics are managed. This is a
separate product Plug-in.
Local Historian - where data collection, logging, storage, and retention is defined. This is a separate
product Plug-in.
Scheduler - where data collection, publication, and bandwidth management can be coordinated. This is a
separate product Plug-in.
SNMP Agent - where communication bridges into Information technology and SNMPprotocols can be
created. This is a separate product Plug-in.
In very large projects or if some features are used more than others, the tree can be customized through
filtering. Hide or show tree nodes under the View menu.
The Project Tree provides a variety of appropriate options through a right-click menu. For example, devices
and channels can be copied and pasted to start a new configuration based on existing choices and settings.
The name is duplicated and a numbered added (that increments if many are pasted) to keep names unique.
For drivers that support additional features, those are available on the right-click menu as well. Device
Discovery, for example, searches the reachable network for compatible devices and adds them
automatically.
Detail View
This view displays one of several configuration selection options for the active project. Its information is
related to the current Project Tree View.
Note: When selecting a Project Tree View, the Detail View columns persist until a channel or device is
chosen. At that time, the columns revert to displaying the device or tag information.
Event Log
This view, in the bottom pane, displays four types of recorded messages: General Information, Security
Alerts, Warnings, and Errors from the server, drivers, or plug-ins. By default, log entries include the date,
time, source, and event description. For more information, see Event Log Options.
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Project Properties
To access the Project Properties groups from the configuration, click File | Project Properties. For more
information, select a link from the list below.
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Settings
Enable OPC 1.0 data access interfaces: Enable to allow the server to accept OPC client connections from
OPC clients that support the 1.0 specification. The default setting is enabled.
Enable OPC 2.0 data access interfaces: Enable to allow the server to accept OPC client connections from
OPC clients that support the 2.0 specification. The default setting is enabled.
Enable OPC 3.0 data access interfaces: Enable to allow the server to accept OPC client connections from
OPC clients that support the 3.0 specification. The default setting is enabled.
Include hints when a client browses the server: Enable to allow OPC client applications to browse the
address formatting Hints available for each communications driver. The Hints provide a quick reference on
how a particular device's data can be addressed. This can be useful when entering dynamic tags from the
OPC client. The hint items are not valid OPC tags. Some OPC client applications may try to add the Hint tags
to their tag database. When this occurs, the client receives an error from the server. This is not a problem
for most clients, although it can cause others to stop adding tags automatically or report errors. Prevent this
by disabling Hints. The default setting is disabled.
Include tag properties when a client browses the server: Enable to allow OPC client applications to
browse the tag properties available for each tag in the address space. The default setting is disabled.
Enable diagnostics capture: Enable to allow OPC diagnostics data to be logged to the Event Log service for
storage (typically used for troubleshooting). The default setting is disabled.
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Timing
Shutdown Wait Period: This property specifies how long the server waits for an OPC client to return from
the server shutdown event. If the client application does not return within the timeout period, the server
completes shutdown and exit. The valid range is 10 to 60 seconds. The default setting is 15 seconds.
Synchronous Request Timeout: This property specifies how long the server waits for a synchronous read
operation to complete. If a synchronous operation is in progress and the timeout is exceeded, the server
forces the operation to complete with a failure to the client. This prevents clients from locking up when using
synchronous operations. The valid range is 5 to 60 seconds. The default setting is 15 seconds.
Note: Synchronous writes do not use this property setting; only reads / requests utilize this property.
Restore Defaults: When pressed, this button restores the settings described above to the default values.
For more information on the OPC Data Access 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 Custom Specifications, refer to the OPC
Foundation website www.opcfoundation.org.
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Comply with OPC-DA 3.0 specification: This option acts as the master switch for the options present in
the list box. When enabled, the server sets all options to conform to OPC-DA 3.0 compliance. The default
setting is disabled.
Reject unsupported Language IDs: When enabled, this option only allows Language IDs that are
natively supported by the server. If the OPC client application attempts to add an OPC group to the
server and receives a general failure, it is possible the client has given the server a Language ID that is
not natively supported. If this occurs, the server rejects the group addition. To resolve this particular
issue, disable the compliant feature to force the server to accept any Language ID.
Ignore deadband when returning data for cache reads: When enabled, this option allows the server
to ignore the deadband setting on OPC groups added to the server. For some OPC clients, passing the
correct value for deadband causes problems that may result in the OPC client (such as, having good data
even though it does not appear to be updating frequently or at all). This condition is rare. As such, the
selection should normally be left in its default disabled state.
Return all browse items regardless of read-write filter: When enabled, this option causes the server
to return all tags to an OPC client application when a browse request is made, regardless of the access
filter applied to the OPC clients tag browser.
Data type support for 2.05a: When enabled, this option causes the server to adhere to the data type
requirements and expected behaviors for data type coercion that were added to the 2.05a specification.
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Return synchronous device read failure if one or more items would result in bad quality: When
enabled, this option causes the server to return a failure if one or more items for a synchronous device
read results in a bad quality read. Compliance requires the server to return success, indicating that the
server could complete the request even though the data for one or more items may include a bad and/or
uncertain quality.
Return initial updates for items in a single callback: When enabled, this option causes the server to
return all outstanding initial item updates in a single callback. When not selected, the server returns
initial updates as they are available (which can result in multiple callbacks).
Enabling this may result in loss of buffered data when using drivers that support data buffering (Event
Playback) for unsolicited device protocols. The compliance setting should be disabled if loss of buffered
data is a concern.
Respect Language ID set by client when performing data type conversions: When enabled, this
option determines whether the server uses the Locale ID of the running Windows Operating System or
the Locale ID set by the OPC client when performing data type conversions. For example, a string
representing a floating point number such as 1,200 would be converted to One Thousand - Twelve
Hundred if converted using English metrics, but would be One and Two-Tenths if converted using
German metrics. If German software is running on an English OS, users need to determine how the
comma is handled. This setting allows for such flexibility. By default, and due to historical
implementation, the server respects the Locale ID of the operating system.
Data change callback is passed item-level error=S_FALSE for items with bad quality: When
enabled, this option causes the server to return S_FALSE in the item error array for items without good
quality. This setting defaults to True for existing projects that are set to full compliance and False for
those that are not. When set to False, the legacy behavior of returning E_FAIL (0x80004005) occurs.
Ignore group update rate, return data as soon as it becomes available: When enabled, this option
controls how all groups update their client. When enabled, an active item that experiences a change in
value or quality triggers a client update. The group update rate specified by the client is used to set the
client requested scan rate for the items added to that group. The default setting is disabled.
Restore Defaults: When pressed, this button restores the settings described above to the default values.
For the DDE interface to connect with the server, the Runtime must be allowed to interact with the desktop.
For more information, refer to How To... Allow Desktop Interactions.
To access the DDE server settings through the Configuration, click File | Project Properties and locate the
DDE properties. Its properties can be used to tailor the DDE operation to fit the application's needs.
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General
Enable DDE Connections to the Server: This property determines whether the DDE server portion of the
server is enabled or disabled. If DDE operation is disabled, the server does not respond to any request for
DDE data. If intending to use the server only as an OPC server, users may want to disable DDE operation.
Doing so can increase the data security and improve overall server performance. DDE is disabled by default.
See Also: How To... Use DDE with the Server
Service Name: This property allows users to change how the server appears as an application name to DDE
clients. This name is initially set to allow compatibility with the previous versions of the server. If users need
to replace an existing DDE server however, the server's service name can be changed to match the DDE
server being replaced. The service name allows a string of 1 to 32 characters to be entered.
Formats
This property allows users to configure the DDE format to provide to client applications. Options include
Advanced DDE, XLTable, and CF_Text. All three formats are enabled by default. This is particularly useful
when users experience problems connecting a DDE client application to the server: each of the DDE formats
can be disabled to isolate a specific format for testing purposes.
Note:Every DDE-aware application must support CF_Text at a minimum.
Timing
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Client Update Interval: This interval setting is used to batch up DDE data so that it can be transferred to
client applications. When using a DDE format performance gains only come when large blocks of server
data can be sent in a single DDE response. To improve the ability of the server to gather a large block of
data, the update timer can be set to allow a pool of new data to accumulate before a being sent to a client
application. The valid range of the update timer is 20 to 60000 milliseconds. The default setting is 100
milliseconds.
DDE Request Timeout: This property is used to configure a timeout for the completion of DDE request. If a
DDE client request (either a read or write operation) on the server cannot be completed within the specified
timeout, an error is returned to the DDE client. The valid range is 1 to 30 seconds. The default setting is 15
seconds.
Note: The server Runtime may need to be reinitialized for changes to take effect.
Restore Defaults: When pressed, this button restores the settings described above to the default values.
For the FastDDE interface to connect with the server, the Runtime must be allowed to interact with the
desktop. For more information, refer to How To... Allow Desktop Interactions.
Note: For proper FastDDE / SuiteLink operation (and for this tab to be available in Project Properties), the
Wonderware FS2000 Common Components or the InTouch Runtime Component version 8.0 or higher must
be installed on the PC.
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Enable FastDDE/SuiteLink connections to the server: This property enables or disables support of the
client/server protocols. When a Wonderware product is installed on the PC, this setting is enabled by default.
If the FastDDE/SuiteLink operation is disabled, the server does not respond to any request for FastDDE or
SuiteLink data. For better performance and security, it is recommended that this setting be disabled if the
server is only used for OPC connectivity.
Application Name: This property specifies the application's name. The default setting is "server_runtime".
Note: This name may be customized to suit specific end-user needs. For example, users that select
"Remove and Redirect" during the installation must change this setting to "servermain" for certain
FactorySuite applications to work without modification.
Client Update Interval (ms): This property specifies how often new data is sent to FastDDE/SuiteLink client
applications. The range is 20 to 32000 milliseconds. The default setting is 100 milliseconds. The timer allows
FastDDE/SuiteLink data to be batched up for transfer to client applications. When using a client/server
protocol like FastDDE or SuiteLink, performance gains only come when large blocks of server data can be
sent in a single response. To improve the ability of the server to gather a large block of data, the update
timer can be set to allow a pool of new data to accumulate before being sent to a client application.
Note: The update rate applies to how often data is sent to the client application, not how often data is
read from the device. The scan rate can be used to adjust how fast or slow the server acquires data from an
attached device. For more information, refer to Tag Properties - General.
Restore Defaults: When pressed, this button restores the settings described above to their default values.
Note: The server Runtime may have to be reinitialized for changes to take effect.
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Note: The iFIX PDB Settings dialog is only displayed in Project Properties if iFIX is installed on the
computer.
In some cases, the Process Mode must be set to System Service for the iFIX PDB interface to work with the
Runtime. For more information, refer to Process Modes.
Note:It is recommended that users keep the default values for each field. Users should also ensure that
the settings meet the application's requirements.
Enable Connectivity to iFIX PDB: Enable or disable support of the client/server protocols. If the iFIX PDB
operation is disabled, the server does not respond to any request for iFIX PDB data. For better performance
and security when the server is only being used for OPC connectivity, disable this property.
General
Enable Latched Data: Normally, the iFIX application's data links display a series of question marks (such as
"????") if a communication failure has occurred. Users may want to have a value displayed at all times,
however. By enabling latched data, the last value successfully read is preserved on the screen. The default
setting is enabled.
Note: Data latching is not supported for AR and DR blocks.
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Enable Update per Poll: When enabled, the server delivers the current value, quality, and timestamp to
iFIX every time that the driver polls the device. When disabled, the server only delivers an update to iFIX
when it determines the value or the quality has changed. The default setting is disabled.
Note: This setting is dynamic, meaning that the server immediately begins to deliver updates to the iFIX
client at the device scan rate after the option is applied.
Use iFIX Startup Configuration File: Enable to create this file through iFIX to contains all items accessed
by the iFIX client. It automatically starts scanning items before iFIX requests item data. The default setting is
enabled.
See Also: Project Startup for iFIXApplications
Use Unconfirmed Updates Controls how the server updates local cache for iFIX following writes via the
NIO interface. With the default setting (disabled), the server does not update local cache until the value has
been confirmed via a read. For the majority of applications, the default setting provides the best user
experience from the standpoint of data integrity. For applications leveraging iFIX Easy Database Access
(EDA), users may wish to enable unconfirmed updates to update the local cache for iFIX immediately with
the attempted write value.
Note: From a data integrity perspective, use of unconfirmed updates can result in a false indication of
write success and inaccurate data displayed in iFIX. Another consequence of using unconfirmed updates is
that the data displayed in iFIX can flicker due to the temporary unconfirmed update (write value attempted)
followed by a confirmed update (actual value read for the item).
Timing
PDB-to Server Request Timeout(s): This property specifies the amount of time that the iFIX PDB waits for a
response from an add, remove, read, or write request before timing out. Once timed out, the request is
discarded on behalf of the server. A timeout can occur if the server is busy processing other requests or if
the server has lost communications with iFIX PDB. In the case of lost communications, the iFIX PDB
automatically re-establishes communications with the server so that successive timeouts do not occur. The
valid range is 5 to 60 seconds. The default setting is 5 seconds.
Deactivate Tags on PDB Read Inactivity: This property allows the server to automatically deactivate tags
that have not been read by iFIX for the time period specified. This reduces unnecessary polling of the
process hardware. When iFIX PDB Read Inactivity feature is enabled, the server reads its list of tags every 15
seconds and deactivates any that are idle. If iFIX has not performed a read request of a tag for the time
period specified, the tag is considered idle. Since the server checks for idle tags on a 15 second cycle, a tag
may not get set inactive at precisely this time from its last read; it could be up to 15 seconds longer
depending on when the last read occurred in the check cycle. If iFIX requests data from a tag that has been
previously deactivated, the server reactivates the tag and resumes polling the hardware. The default setting
is disabled. Once this feature is enabled, however, it becomes applied to all projects. Users may specify an
idle time of up to 6:23:59:59 (1 week). The time period can also be specified in seconds. For example, if 62 is
entered, the page shows 0:00:01:02 when accessed next.
This feature is meant to be used with Register tags only and can cause non-register tags to go off scan.
To avoid this situation when using this feature, set the inactivity timer greater than the longest scan time
configured in the iFIX database.
Examples
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Time Format
20 seconds 0:00:00:20 or 20
1 minute 0:00:01:00 or 60
1 hour and 30 minutes 0:01:30:00 or 5400
2 days 2:00:00:00
Restore Defaults
When pressed, this button restores the settings described above to their default values.
While most of the native interfaces function in a client server configuration, the ThingWorx Native
Interface acts more like a client, as it creates an outbound connection to the ThingWorx platform. This allows
the KEPServerEX ThingWorx Native Interface to connect to a remote ThingWorx Platform using standard
ports and protocols without the need to create unusual firewall or routing rules. As long as the ThingWorx
Composer is reachable in a browser from the machine hosting KEPServerEX, then KEPServerEX should be
able to pass data to that platform through the Native interface.
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Server Interface
Enabled: Select Yes for the ThingWorx Native interface to attempt connection with the information provided.
Connection Settings
Port: Specify the number of the TCP port used by the ThingWorx server.
Application key: Enter or paste in the authentication string for connecting to the ThingWorx server.
Trust self-signed certificates: Select No for maximum security. Select Yes to accept self-signed certificates
during development.
Caution: Do NOT set this to Yes in a production environment as it would compromise security.
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Trust all certificates: Select No for maximum security. Select Yes and the TLS library does not validate the
server certificate.
Caution: Do NOT set this to Yes in a production environment as it would compromise security.
Platform
Thing name: Enter the name of the entity (remote thing) on the ThingWorx server that represents this data
source. Use the KEPServerEX template to create the remote thing.
Server description: Enter a string to be used as an identifier for this KEPServerEX instance.
Data Rates
Scan rate: Specify the default frequency, in milliseconds, at which items are scanned. Zero sets the scan
rate for all tags to the tag-specified rate in KEPServerEX unless a specific rate is passed with the AddItems
service from the ThingWorx Platform.
Send every scan: Select Yes to update ThingWorx on every scan, rather than only when data changes.
Properties in ThingWorx must be set to a Push Type of Always Pushed, which is the default, for this setting
to be effective.
Publish floor: Specify the minimum rate at which updates are sent to the platform. Zero sends updates as
often as possible.
Logging
Enable: Select Yes to activate advanced logging of the ThingWorx native interface. This logging is sent to the
KEPServerEX Event Log. This logging may cause the event log to fill up quickly, it is recommended that the
logging remain disabled when not troubleshooting.
Level: Select the severity of logging to be sent to the Event Log. Trace includes all messages from the native
ThingWorx interface.
Operation
Once the interface is configured with valid information and enabled, KEPServerEX establishes the connection
with the ThingWorx platform. A new "Thing" must be created on the ThingWorx platform that is identical to
the Thing Name used in the project properties. The RemoteKEPServerEXThing Thing extension must be
imported into the ThingWorx platform and used to create the new thing being integrated. Once created on
the platform, the below services may be called via the platform.
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Note: The RemoteKEPServerEXThing Extension may be found in the ThingWorx marketplace online or in
the following folder:
BrowseGroups: Returns a list of channels devices and tag groups. It can accept an input of a filter and a
path. Filters are the same as OPC filters including char lists. Paths are channel and device lists such as
Channel1.Device1.
BrowseItems: Returns a list of tags under a specific path. It can accept a filter and a path. Filters are the
same as OPC filters, including char lists. Paths are channel and device lists, such as Channel1.Device1.
AddItems: Allows a tag to be subscribed to and added as a property under the Thing. An infotable is
required to call this service. The infotable must contain the following information. ReadOnly: Boolean,
ScanRateMS (optional): integer, Description (optional): String, BaseType: ThingWorx Data type, SourceType:
KEPServer data type, Persistent: Boolean, Logged: Boolean, Source: Tag address (channel.device.tag),
Name: Local name of the tag.
Note: Per ThingWorx restrictions; spaces, special characters, and leading numbers are not allowed in the
name field. It is acceptable to include hyphens, underscores, and numbers within or at the end of the name.
RemoveItems: Removes the subscription from a tag. An infotable is required to call this service. The
infotable must contain the following information. Name: Local name of the tag. Optionally, enable
ForceRemove Boolean to unbind the tag from a property without deleting the property.
GetConfiguration: Returns an infotable containing the scan rate in milliseconds, the server description, and
the publish floor in milliseconds.
SetConfiguration: Sets the scan rate in milliseconds, the server description, and the publish floor in
milliseconds. Any values left blank retain their current setting.
Notes:
1. When using the date data type, values coming from KEPServerEX are interpreted as UTC. Allow for
the proper time zone offset.
2. Adding items to the server is synchronous and is completed quickly. Autobinding properties in the
platform can take some time and happens in the background after the items have been added. An
event is fired when the autobinding process is complete with the results of the binding processes.
3. Calling RemoveItem only removes the binding from that property. Once RemoveItem is called, re-bind
a different tag to that property, programmatically or through the Composer, or delete that property
in the Composer. These properties appear in the Composer with a blank "Remote Property Name"
until they are re-bound or deleted.
4. When adding multiple items at once. if two or more items are configured to use the same ThingWorx
name, the entire addItem call will fail. Please make sure all properties have unique names.
5. The commands in the Example may be performed via cURL or other POST/PUT/GET utility. These are
examples only; refer to the ThingWorx documentation for interacting with all of the services
available.
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ThingWorx Example
Any text between <- -> must be replaced with the appropriate information.
Headers:
Accept=application/json-compressed
Content-Type=application/json
appKey=<-AppKey->
POST or PUT commands:
AddItem
URL:
https://<-URL or IP->/Thingworx/Things/<-ThingName->/Services/AddItems
Body:
{"items":{"description":"","name":"Infotable","dataShape":
{"fieldDefinitions":{"ReadOnly":{"name":"ReadOnly","aspects":
{},"description":"ReadOnly","baseType":"BOOLEAN","ordinal":0},"ScanRateMS":
{"name":"ScanRateMS","aspects":
{},"description":"ScanRateMS","baseType":"INTEGER","ordinal":0},"Description":
{"name":"Description","aspects":
{},"description":"Description","baseType":"STRING","ordinal":0},"BaseType":
{"name":"BaseType","aspects":
{},"description":"BaseType","baseType":"STRING","ordinal":0},"SourceType":
{"name":"SourceType","aspects":
{},"description":"SourceType","baseType":"STRING","ordinal":0},"Persistent":
{"name":"Persistent","aspects":
{},"description":"Persistent","baseType":"BOOLEAN","ordinal":0},"Logged":
{"name":"Logged","aspects":
{},"description":"Logged","baseType":"BOOLEAN","ordinal":0},"Source":
{"name":"Source","aspects":
{},"description":"Source","baseType":"STRING","ordinal":0},"Name":
{"name":"Name","aspects":
{},"description":"Name","baseType":"STRING","ordinal":0}},"name":"KEPAddItems","descr-
iption":""},"rows":
[{"ReadOnly":<-true or false->,"ScanRateMS":<-Rate in Milliseconds-
>,"Description":"<-Optional Description->","BaseType":"<-ThingWorx DataType-
>","SourceType":"<-KEPServerEX DataType->","Persistent":<-true or false->,"Logged":<-
true or false->,"Source":"<-path to tag on KEPServerEX->","Name":"<-name in
ThingWorx->"}]}}
RemoveItem
URL:
https://<-URL or IP->/Thingworx/Things/<-ThingName->/Services/RemoveItems
Body:
{"items":{"description":"","name":"Infotable","dataShape":
{"fieldDefinitions":{"Name":{"name":"Name","aspects":
{},"description":"Name","baseType":"STRING","ordinal":0}},"name":"KEPItemNames","desc-
ription":""},"rows":
[{"Name":"<-name in ThingWorx->"}]},"forceRemove":<-true or false->}
BrowseGroup
URL:
https://<-URL or IP->/Thingworx/Things/<-ThingName->/Services/BrowseGroups
Body:
{"path":"<-Path->","filter":"<-Optional Filter->"}
BrowseItems
URL:
https://<-URL or IP->/Thingworx/Things/<-ThingName->/Services/BrowseItems
Body:
{"filter":"<-Optional Filter->","path":"<-Path->"}
GetConfiguration
URL:
https://<-URL or IP->/Thingworx/Things/<-ThingName->/Services/GetConfiguration
Body:
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53 KEPServerEX V6
{}
SetConfiguration
URL:
https://<-URL or IP->/Thingworx/Things/<-ThingName->/Services/SetConfiguration
Body:
{"ScanRateMS":<-Rate in Milliseconds->,"ServerDescription":"<-Server Description-
>","PublishFloorMS":<-Rate in Milliseconds->}
PUT Command
Set Value:
URL:
https://<-URL or IP->/Thingworx/Things/<-ThingName->/Properties/*
Body:
{"<-ThingWorx Name->":<-Value->}
GET commands
Get value:
https://<-URL or IP->/Thingworx/Things/<-ThingName->/Properties/<-ThingWorx Name->
Get all property values:
https://<-URL or IP->/Thingworx/Things/<-ThingName->/Properties/
Note: To change a setting, click in the specific property's second column. This invokes a drop-down menu
that displays the options available.
Server Interface
Descriptions of the properties are as follows:
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l Enable: When enabled, the UA server interface is initialized and accepts client connections. When
disabled, the remaining properties on this page are disabled.
l Log Diagnostics: When enabled, OPC UA stack diagnostics are logged to the Event Log. This should
only be enabled for troubleshooting purposes.
Client Sessions
Descriptions of the properties are as follows:
l Allow Anonymous Login: When disabled, this property specifies that user name and password
information are required to establish a connection. The default setting is enabled.
Note: If this setting is disabled, users cannot login as the default user in the User Manager. Users
can login as the Administrator provided that a password is set in the User Manager and is used to
login.
l Max. Connections: This property specifies the maximum number of supported connections. The
valid range is 1 to 128. The default setting is 128.
l Session Timeouts: This property specifies the UA client's timeout limit for establishing a session.
Values may be changed depending on the needs of the application. The default values are 15 to 60
seconds.
l Minimum: This property specifies the UA client's minimum timeout limit. The default setting
is 15 seconds.
l Maximum: This property specifies the UA client's maximum timeout limit. The default
setting is 60 seconds.
l Tag cache timeout: This property specifies the tag cache timeout. The valid range is 0 to 60
seconds. The default setting is 5 seconds.
Note: This timeout controls how long a tag is cached after a UA client is done using it. In cases
where UA clients read/write to unregistered tags at a set interval, users can improve performance by
increasing the timeout. For example, if a client is reading an unregistered tag every 5 seconds, the
tag cache timeout should be set to 6 seconds. Since the tag does not have to be recreated during
each client request, performance improves.
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Browsing
Descriptions of the properties are as follows:
l Return Tag Properties: When enabled, this property allows UA client applications to browse the tag
properties available for each tag in the address space. This setting is disabled by default.
l Return Address Hints: When enabled, this property allows UA client applications to browse the
address formatting hints available for each item. Although the hints are not valid UA tags, certain UA
client applications may try to add them to the tag database. When this occurs, the client receives an
error from the server. This may cause the client to report errors or stop adding the tags
automatically. To prevent this from occurring, make sure that this property is disabled. This setting is
disabled by default.
Monitored Items
Description of the property is as follows:
l Max. Data Queue Size: This property specifies the maximum number of data notifications to be
queued for an item. The valid range is 1 to 100. The default setting is 2.
Note: The data queue is used when the monitored item's update rate is faster than the
subscription's publish rate. For example, if the monitored item update rate is 1 second, and a
subscription publishes every 10 seconds, then 10 data notifications are published for the item every
10 seconds. Because queuing data consumes memory, this value should be limited when memory is
a concern.
Subscriptions
Descriptions of the properties are as follows:
l Max. Retransmit Queue Size: This property specifies the maximum number of publishes to be
queued per subscription. The valid range is 1 to 100. A value of zero disables retransmits. The default
setting is 0.
Note: Subscription publish events are queued and retransmitted at the client's request. Because
queuing consumes memory, this value should be limited when memory is a concern.
l Max. Notifications Per Publish: This property specifies the maximum number of notifications per
publish. The valid range is 1 to 65536. The default setting is 65536.
Note: This value may affect the connection's performance by limiting the size of the packets sent
from the server to the client. In general, large values should be used for high-bandwidth connections
and small values should be used for low-bandwidth connections.
For more information on OPCUA, refer to the OPCUA Configuration Manager help file.
Restore Defaults: When pressed, this button restores the settings described above to the default values.
The OPC AE group is used to specify a number of project-level AE settings. Changes made to these settings
take effect after all A&E clients disconnect from the server.
The Alarms & Events plug-in allows Alarms & Events (A&E) clients to receive A&E data from the OPC server.
It is used to convert OPC server events into A&E format and to create custom alarms using OPC server tags.
For more information, contact the OPC vendor.
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General
Enable AE Connections to the Server: This property turns the OPC AE server on and off.
Enable Simple Events: When enabled, simple events are made available to clients. When disabled, the
events are sent. The default setting is enabled.
Subscriptions
Max. Subscription Buffer Size: Specify the maximum number of events sent to a client in one send call.
The range is 0 to 65534. The default setting is 100. 0 means there is no limit.
Min. Subscription Buffer Time: Specify the minimum time between send calls to a client. The supported
range is 1000 to 60000 milliseconds. The default setting is 1000 milliseconds.
Min. Keep-Alive Time: Specify the minimum amount of time between keep-alive messages sent from the
server to the client. The default setting is 1000 milliseconds.
Restore Defaults: When pressed, this button restores the settings described above to the default values.
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57 KEPServerEX V6
Enable HDAconnections to the server: When enabled, HDA clients can connect to the HDA server that is
exposed by this server. When disabled, client HDA connections are disabled. These settings may be applied
without restarting the Runtime; however, although the server does not drop connected clients, it does not
accept new client connections either. The default setting is enabled.
Enable Diagnostics: When enabled, this option allows OPC HDA data to be captured and logged to the
Event Log service for storage. The default setting is disabled.
Note: Enabling diagnostics has negative effect on the server runtime performance. For more
information on event logging, refer to OPC Diagnostics Viewer.
Restore Defaults: When pressed, this button restores the settings described above to the default values.
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l Enable: When enabled, the OPC .NET Wrapper is initialized and accept client connections.
l Restore Defaults: When pressed, this button restores the setting described above to its default
value.
Tips:
1. The OPC .NET Wrapper runs as a System Service called "xi_server_runtime.exe". It is only started
when the server starts and the option described above is enabled. Unlike OPC DA, clients cannot
launch the server.
2. To use and install OPC .NET, Microsoft .NET 3.5 must be present on the machine prior to server
installation.
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Server Options
To access the Server Options groups from the configuration, click Tools | Options. These settings are
configured on an individual basis. For more information, select a link from the list below.
Options - General
Options - Runtime Connection
Options - General
This dialog is used to specify general server options (such as when to establish a connection with the
Runtime, when to back up saved Configuration project files, and what conditions invoke warning pop-ups).
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l CSV Import: The Delimiter setting specifies the Comma Separated Variable (CSV) that the server
uses to import and export tag data in a CSV file. Options include comma and semicolon. The default
setting is comma. For more information, refer to Tag Management.
l Confirmations: This property specifies the conditions that force the Configuration to present
warning pop-ups to an operator. Descriptions of the options are as follows:
l Deleting an object: When enabled, all Configuration delete operations invoke a warning
popup that requires confirmation before the delete operation can be completed.
l Disconnect: When enabled, all Configuration operations that would cause client applications
to be disconnected from the server invoke a warning popup. This popup requires
confirmation before the disconnect sequence can be initiated.
l Prompt to save: When enabled, the Configuration invokes a popup if the server is being
shut down while the project has outstanding changes.
l Confirm Runtime project replacement: When enabled, this option warns that the project
can be opened and edited offline while the Configuration is connected to the Runtime.
l Show user login dialog: When enabled, a valid user name and password are required before the
Configuration can be connected to the Runtime for project editing. The default setting is disabled.
Note: User names and permissions are assigned by the administrator. For more information,
refer to Settings - User Manager.
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Basic Components
For more information on a specific server component, select a link from the list below.
What is a Channel?
What is a Device?
What is a Tag?
What is a Tag Group?
What is the Alias Map?
What is the Event Log?
What is a Channel?
A channel represents a communication medium from the PC to one or more external devices. A channel can
be used to represent a serial port, a card installed in the PC or an Ethernet socket.
Before adding devices to a project, users must define the channel to be used when communicating with
devices. A channel and a device driver are closely tied. After creating a channel, only devices that the
selected driver supports can be added to this channel.
Adding a Channel
Channels are added using the channel wizard, which guide users through the channel definition process. To
start, users are prompted for a logical name to assign the channel. This name must be unique among all
channels and devices defined in the project. For information on reserved characters, refer to How To...
Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag Group.
Users are prompted for the device driver to be used. A list box is presented that displays all of the device
drivers currently installed in the system. All serial drivers can be used with multiple channels in the same
project.
Note:For hardware card drivers, refer to the driver's help documentation to determine the ability to use
with multiple channels in a single project. For information on how to determine the number of supported
channels, refer to Server Summary Information.
Users are prompted for the specific communication parameters to be used. Multiple channels cannot share
identical communication parameters; for example, two serial drivers cannot use COM1. For the correct
communication parameters of a particular device, refer to both the manufacturer's and the driver's help
documentation.
Note:Flow Control settings for serial drivers are primarily used when connecting RS422/485 network
devices to the RS232 serial port via a converter. Most RS232 to RS422/485 converters require either no flow
control (None) or that the RTS line be on when the PC is transmitting and off when listening (RTS).
Removing a Channel
To remove a channel from the project, select the desired channel and press the Delete key. Alternatively,
select Edit | Delete from the Edit menu or toolbar.
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Channel Properties
This server supports the use of simultaneous multiple communications drivers. Each protocol or driver used
in a server project is called a channel. A server project may consist of many channels with the same
communications driver or with unique communications drivers. A channel acts as the basic building block of
an OPC link.
The properties associated with a channel are broken in to logical groupings. While some groups are specific
to a given driver or protocol, the following are the common groups:
General
Ethernet or Serial Communications
Write Optimization
Advanced
Identification
Name:User-defined identity of this channel. In each server project, each channel name must be unique.
Although names can be up to 256 characters, some client applications have a limited display window when
browsing the OPCserver's tag space. The channel name is part of the OPC browser information.
For information on reserved characters, refer to "How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag
Group" in the server help.
Driver:Selected protocol / driver for this channel. This property specifies the device driver that was selected
during channel creation. It is a disabled setting in the channel properties.
Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. This
includes changing the channel name to prevent clients from registering data with the server. If a client has
already acquired an item from the server before the channel name is changed, the items are unaffected. If,
after the channel name has been changed, the client application releases the item and attempts to re-
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63 KEPServerEX V6
acquire using the old channel name, the item is not accepted. With this in mind, changes to the properties
should not be made once a large client application has been developed. Utilize the User Manager to prevent
operators from changing properties and restrict access rights to server features.
Diagnostics
Diagnostics Capture: When enabled, this option makes the channel's diagnostic information available to
OPC applications. Because the server's diagnostic features require a minimal amount of overhead
processing, it is recommended that they be utilized when needed and disabled when not. The default is
disabled.
For more information, refer to "Communication Diagnostics" in the server help.
Note: Not all drivers support diagnostics. To determine whether diagnostics are available for a particular
driver, open the driver information and locate the "Supports device level diagnostics" statement.
Non-Normalized Float Handling: Non-normalized float handling allows users to specify how a driver
handles non-normalized IEEE-754 floating point data. A non-normalized value is defined as Infinity, Not-a-
Number (NaN), or as a Denormalized Number. The default is Replace with Zero. Drivers that have native
float handling may default to Unmodified. Descriptions of the options are as follows:
l Replace with Zero:This option allows a driver to replace non-normalized IEEE-754 floating point
values with zero before being transferred to clients.
l Unmodified:This option allows a driver to transfer IEEE-754 denormalized, normalized, non-
number, and infinity values to clients without any conversion or changes.
Note:This property is disabled if the driver does not support floating point values or if it only supports the
option that is displayed. According to the channel's float normalization setting, only real-time driver tags
(such as values and arrays) are subject to float normalization. For example, EFM data is not affected by this
setting.lin
For more information on the floating point values, refer to "How To ... Work with Non-Normalized Floating
Point Values" in the server help.
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Ethernet Settings
Network Adapter:Specify the network adapter to bind. When Default is selected, the operating system
selects the default adapter.
Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. Utilize
the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features, as changes made to these properties can
temporarily disrupt communications.
Connection Type
Physical Medium: Choose the type of hardware device for data communications. Options include
COMPort, None, Modem, and Ethernet Encapsulation. The default is COMPort.
l None: Select None to indicate there is no physical connection, which displays the Operation with no
Communications section.
l COM Port: Select Com Port to display and configure the Serial Port Settings section.
l Modem: Select Modem if phone lines are used for communications, which are configured in the
Modem Settings section.
l Ethernet Encap.: Select if Ethernet Encapsulation is used for communications, which displays the
Ethernet Settings section.
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l Shared: Verify the connection is correctly identified as sharing the current configuration with another
channel. This is a read-only property.
COM ID: Specify the Communications ID to be used when communicating with devices assigned to the
channel. The valid range is 1 to 9991 to 16. The default is 1.
Baud Rate: Specify the baud rate to be used to configure the selected communications port.
Data Bits: Specify the number of data bits per data word. Options include 5, 6, 7, or 8.
Parity: Specify the type of parity for the data. Options include Odd, Even, or None.
Stop Bits: Specify the number of stop bits per data word. Options include 1 or 2.
Flow Control: Select how the RTS and DTR control lines are utilized. Flow control is required to communicate
with some serial devices. Options are:
Tip: When using two-wire RS-485, "echoes" may occur on the communication lines. Since this
communication does not support echo suppression, it is recommended that echoes be disabled or a RS-485
converter be used.
Operational Behavior
l Report Comm. Errors:Enable or disable reporting of low-level communications errors. When
enabled, low-level errors are posted to the Event Log as they occur. When disabled, these same
errors are not posted even though normal request failures are. The default is Enable.
l Close Idle Connection:Choose to close the connection when there are no longer any tags being
referenced by a client on the channel. The default is Enable.
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l Idle Time to Close:Specify the amount of time that the server waits once all tags have been
removed before closing the COM port. The default is 15 seconds.
Ethernet Settings
Ethernet Encapsulation provides communication with serial devices connected to terminal servers on the
Ethernet network. A terminal server is essentially a virtual serial port that converts TCP/IP messages on the
Ethernet network to serial data. Once the message has been converted, users can connect standard devices
that support serial communications to the terminal server. The terminal server's serial port must be
properly configured to match the requirements of the serial device to which it is attached. For more
information, refer to "How To... Use Ethernet Encapsulation" in the server help.
l Network Adapter: Indicate a network adapter to bind for Ethernet devices in this channel. Choose a
network adapter to bind to or allow the OS to select the default.
Specific drivers may display additional Ethernet Encapsulation properties. For more information, refer
to Channel Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation.
Modem Settings
l Modem:Specify the installed modem to be used for communications.
l Connect Timeout:Specify the amount of time to wait for connections to be established before
failing a read or write. The default is 60 seconds.
l Modem Properties:Configure the modem hardware. When clicked, it opens vendor-specific modem
properties.
l Auto-Dial:Enables the automatic dialing of entries in the Phonebook. The default is Disable. For
more information, refer to "Modem Auto-Dial" in the server help.
l Report Comm. Errors:Enable or disable reporting of low-level communications errors. When
enabled, low-level errors are posted to the Event Log as they occur. When disabled, these same
errors are not posted even though normal request failures are. The default is Enable.
l Close Idle Connection:Choose to close the modem connection when there are no longer any tags
being referenced by a client on the channel. The default is Enable.
l Idle Time to Close:Specify the amount of time that the server waits once all tags have been
removed before closing the modem connection. The default is 15 seconds.
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Note:These properties are only available to serial drivers. The properties that are displayed depend on
the selected communications driver.
Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. Utilize the
User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing the
properties.
The term "virtual network" describes a collection of channels and associated devices that use the same
pipeline for communications. For example, the pipeline of an Ethernet radio is the master radio. All channels
using the same master radio associate with the same virtual network. Channels are allowed to communicate
each in turn, in a round-robin manner. By default, a channel can process one transaction before handing
communications off to another channel. A transaction can include one or more tags. If the controlling
channel contains a device that is not responding to a request, the channel cannot release control until the
transaction times out. This results in data update delays for the other channels in the virtual network.
Channel-Level Settings
Virtual Network This property specifies the channel's mode of communication serialization. Options
include None and Network 1 - Network 50. The default is None. Descriptions of the options are as follows:
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Transactions per Cycle This property specifies the number of single blocked/non-blocked read/write
transactions that can occur on the channel. When a channel is given the opportunity to communicate, this
number of transactions attempted. The valid range is 1 to 99. The default is 1.
Global Settings
l Network Mode:This property is used to control how channel communication is delegated. In Load
Balanced mode, each channel is given the opportunity to communicate in turn, one at a time. In
Priority mode, channels are given the opportunity to communicate according to the following rules
(highest to lowest priority):
l Channels with pending writes have the highest priority.
l Channels with pending explicit reads (through internal plug-ins or external client interfaces)
are prioritized based on the reads priority.
l Scanned reads and other periodic events (driver specific).
The default is Load Balanced and affects all virtual networks and channels.
Devices that rely on unsolicited responses should not be placed in a virtual network. In situations where
communications must be serialized, it is recommended that Auto-Demotion be enabled.
Due to differences in the way that drivers read and write data (such as in single, blocked, or non-blocked
transactions); the application's Transactions per cycle property may need to be adjusted. When doing so,
consider the following factors:
This configuration works well for typical network configurations and loading. Problems may arise if data
needs to be received from an Ethernet device at a regular interval, however. If the plant floor network is
mixed with the IT network, a large batch file transfer could completely disrupt the interval of the plant floor
data. The most common way to deal with this issue is to install a second NIC in the PC. One NIC can be used
for accessing the IT network while the other NIC accesses the plant floor data. Although this may sound
reasonable, problems may occur when trying to separate the networks. When using multiple NICs, users
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must determine the bind order. The bind order determines what NIC is used to access different portions of
the Ethernet network. In many cases, bind settings can be managed using the operating system's tools.
When there is a clear separation between the types of protocols and services that are used on each NIC
card, the bind order can be created by the operating system. If there isn't a clear way to select a specific
bind order, users may find that the Ethernet device connection is being routed to the wrong network. In this
case, the network interface shown below can be used to select a specific NIC card to use with the Ethernet
driver. The network interface selection can be used to select a specific NIC card based on either the NIC
name or its currently assigned IP address. This list of available NICs includes either unique NIC cards or NICs
that have multiple IP assigned to them. The selection displays any WAN connections are active (such as a
dial up connection).
By selecting a specific NIC interface, users can force the driver to send all Ethernet communication through
the specified NIC. When a NIC is selected, the normal operating system bind order is bypassed completely.
This ensures that users have control over how the network operates and eliminates any guesswork.
The selections displayed in the Network Adapter drop-down menu depend on the network configuration
settings, the number of unique NICs installed in the PC, and the number of unique IPs assigned to the NICs.
To force the operating system to create the bind order selection, select Default as the network adapter. This
allows the driver to use the operating system's normal bind order to set the NIC.
Important: When unsure of which NIC to use, select the default condition. Furthermore, when an
Ethernet-based device is being used and this feature is exposed through a product upgrade, select the
default condition.
Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. Utilize the
User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing the
properties. Keep in mind that changes made to this property can temporarily disrupt communications.
Write Optimizations
OptimizationMethod: controls how write data is passed to the underlying communications driver. The
options are:
l Write All Values for All Tags:This option forces the server to attempt to write every value to the
controller. In this mode, the server continues to gather write requests and add them to the server's
internal write queue. The server processes the write queue and attempts to empty it by writing data
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to the device as quickly as possible. This mode ensures that everything written from the client
applications is sent to the target device. This mode should be selected if the write operation order or
the write item's content must uniquely be seen at the target device.
l Write Only Latest Value for Non-Boolean Tags: Many consecutive writes to the same value can
accumulate in the write queue due to the time required to actually send the data to the device. If the
server updates a write value that has already been placed in the write queue, far fewer writes are
needed to reach the same final output value. In this way, no extra writes accumulate in the server's
queue. When the user stops moving the slide switch, the value in the device is at the correct value at
virtually the same time. As the mode states, any value that is not a Boolean value is updated in the
server's internal write queue and sent to the device at the next possible opportunity. This can greatly
improve the application performance.
Note: This option does not attempt to optimize writes to Boolean values. It allows users to
optimize the operation of HMI data without causing problems with Boolean operations, such as a
momentary push button.
l Write Only Latest Value for All Tags:This option takes the theory behind the second optimization
mode and applies it to all tags. It is especially useful if the application only needs to send the latest
value to the device. This mode optimizes all writes by updating the tags currently in the write queue
before they are sent. This is the default mode.
Duty Cycle: is used to control the ratio of write to read operations. The ratio is always based on one read for
every one to ten writes. The duty cycle is set to ten by default, meaning that ten writes occur for each read
operation. Although the application is performing a large number of continuous writes, it must be ensured
that read data is still given time to process. A setting of one results in one read operation for every write
operation. If there are no write operations to perform, reads are processed continuously. This allows
optimization for applications with continuous writes versus a more balanced back and forth data flow.
Note: It is recommended that the application be characterized for compatibility with the write
optimization enhancements before being used in a production environment.
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4. Specify the discovery properties, which are driver-specific, such as address range, timeout, discovery
scope.
5. Click OK.
6. Devices discovered populate the dialog with the following information / headings Name, ID,
Description.
7. If any discovered device is of interest, select that device and click Add selected device....
8. Click Close.
What is a Device?
Devices represent the PLCs or other hardware with which the server communicates. The device driver that
the channel is using restricts device selection.
Adding a Device
Devices can be added using the New Device Wizard both at the initial setup and afterward. To do so, click
Edit | New Device. Users are prompted to enter the device name, which is user-defined and should be
logical for the device. This is the browser branch name used in OPC links to access the device's assigned
tags. For information on reserved characters, refer to How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag,
and Tag Group.
Users will also be prompted to enter a Network ID, which is a number or string that uniquely identifies the
device on the device's network. Networked, multi-dropped devices must have a unique identifier so that the
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server's data requests are routed correctly. Devices that are not multi-dropped do not need an ID; this
setting is not available.
Removing a Device
To remove a device from the project, select the desired device press Delete. Alternatively, click Edit |
Delete.
Device Properties
Device properties are organized into the following groups. Click on a link below for details about the
properties in that group.
Identification
Operating Mode
Scan Mode
Communication Timeouts
Auto-Demotion
Redundancy
Name:This property specifies the name of the device. It is a logical user-defined name that can be up to
256 characters long, and may be used on multiple channels.
Note: Although descriptive names are generally a good idea, some OPC client applications may have a
limited display window when browsing the OPC server's tag space. The device name and channel name
become part of the browse tree information as well. Within an OPC client, the combination of channel name
and device name would appear as "ChannelName.DeviceName".
For more information, refer to "How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag Group" in server
help.
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Channel Assignment:User-defined name of the channel to which this device currently belongs.
Model:This property specifies the specific type of device that is associated with this ID. The contents of the
drop-down menu depends on the type of communications driver being used. Models that are not supported
by a driver are disabled. If the communications driver supports multiple device models, the model selection
can only be changed when there are no client applications connected to the device.
Note:If the communication driver supports multiple models, users should try to match the model
selection to the physical device. If the device is not represented in the drop-down menu, select a model that
conforms closest to the target device. Some drivers support a model selection called "Open," which allows
users to communicate without knowing the specific details of the target device. For more information, refer
to the driver help documentation.
ID:This property specifies the device's driver-specific station or node. The type of ID entered depends on
the communications driver being used. For many communication drivers, the ID is a numeric value. Drivers
that support a Numeric ID provide users with the option to enter a numeric value whose format can be
changed to suit the needs of the application or the characteristics of the selected communications driver.
The format is set by the driver by default. Options include Decimal, Octal, and Hexadecimal.
Note: If the driver is Ethernet-based or supports an unconventional station or node name, the device's
TCP/IP address may be used as the device ID. TCP/IP addresses consist of four values that are separated by
periods, with each value in the range of 0 to 255. Some device IDs are string based. There may be additional
properties to configure within the ID field, depending on the driver. For more information, refer to the
driver's help documentation.
Data Collection:This property controls the device's active state. Although device communications are
enabled by default, this property can be used to disable a physical device. Communications are not
attempted when a device is disabled. From a client standpoint, the data is marked as invalid and write
operations are not accepted. This property can be changed at any time through this property or the device
system tags.
Simulated:This option places the device into Simulation Mode. In this mode, the driver does not attempt to
communicate with the physical device, but the server continues to return valid OPC data. Simulated stops
physical communications with the device, but allows OPC data to be returned to the OPC client as valid data.
While in Simulation Mode, the server treats all device data as reflective: whatever is written to the simulated
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device is read back and each OPC item is treated individually. The item's memory map is based on the group
Update Rate. The data is not saved if the server removes the item (such as when the server is reinitialized).
The default is No.
Notes:
1. This System tag (_Simulated) is read only and cannot be written to for runtime protection. The System
tag allows this property to be monitored from the client.
2. In Simulation mode, the item's memory map is based on client update rate(s) (Group Update Rate for
OPC clients or Scan Rate for native and DDE interfaces). This means that two clients that reference
the same item with different update rates return different data.
Simulation Mode is for test and simulation purposes only. It should never be used in a production
environment.
Scan Mode: specifies how tags in the device are scanned for updates sent to subscribed clients.
Descriptions of the options are:
l Respect Client-Specified Scan Rate:This mode uses the scan rate requested by the client.
l Request Data No Faster than Scan Rate:This mode specifies the maximum scan rate to be used.
The valid range is 10 to 99999990 milliseconds. The default is 1000 milliseconds.
Note:When the server has an active client and items for the device and the scan rate value is
increased, the changes take effect immediately. When the scan rate value is decreased, the changes
do not take effect until all client applications have been disconnected.
l Request All Data at Scan Rate:This mode forces tags to be scanned at the specified rate for
subscribed clients. The valid range is 10 to 99999990 milliseconds. The default is 1000 milliseconds.
l Do Not Scan, Demand Poll Only:This mode does not periodically poll tags that belong to the
device nor perform a read to get an item's initial value once it becomes active. It is the client's
responsibility to poll for updates, either by writing to the _DemandPoll tag or by issuing explicit device
reads for individual items. For more information, refer to "Device Demand Poll" in server help.
l Respect Tag-Specified Scan Rate:This mode forces static tags to be scanned at the rate specified
in their static configuration tag properties. Dynamic tags are scanned at the client-specified scan
rate.
Initial Updates from Cache: When enabled, this option allows the server to provide the first updates for
newly activated tag references from stored (cached) data. Cache updates can only be provided when the
new item reference shares the same address, scan rate, data type, client access, and scaling properties. A
device read is used for the initial update for the first client reference only. The default is disabled; any time a
client activates a tag reference the server attempts to read the initial value from the device.
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Demote on Failure: When enabled, the device is automatically taken off-scan until it is responding again.
Tip: Determine when a device is off-scan by monitoring its demoted state using the _AutoDemoted
system tag.
Timeouts to Demote: Specify how many successive cycles of request timeouts and retries occur before the
device is placed off-scan. The valid range is 1 to 30 successive failures. The default is 3.
Demotion Period: Indicate how long the device should be placed off-scan when the timeouts value is
reached. During this period, no read requests are sent to the device and all data associated with the read
requests are set to bad quality. When this period expires, the driver places the device on-scan and allows for
another attempt at communications. The valid range is 100 to 3600000 milliseconds. The default is 10000
milliseconds.
Discard Requests when Demoted: Select whether or not write requests should be attempted during the
off-scan period. Disable to always send write requests regardless of the demotion period. Enable to discard
writes; the server automatically fails any write request received from a client and does not post a message
to the Event Log.
For more information, refer to "How to... Use Ethernet Encapsulation" in the server help.
Note: Because Ethernet Encapsulation mode is completely transparent to the actual serial
communications driver, users should configure the remaining device properties as if they were connecting
to the device directly on the local PC serial port.
IP Address: This property is used to enter the four-field IP address of the terminal server to which the device
is attached. IPs are specified as YYY.YYY.YYY.YYY. The YYY designates the IP address: each YYY byte should
be in the range of 0 to 255. Each serial device may have its own IP address; however, devices may have the
same IP address if there are multiple devices multi-dropped from a single terminal server.
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Port: This property is used to configure the Ethernet port to be used when connecting to a remote terminal
server.
Protocol: This property is used to select either TCP/IP or UDP communications. The selection depends on
the nature of the terminal server being used. The default protocol selection is TCP/IP. For more information
on available protocols, refer to the terminal server's help documentation.
Notes:
1. With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. Utilize the
User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing the
properties.
2. The valid IP Address range is greater than (>) 0.0.0.0 to less than (<) 255.255.255.255.
IP Address:This property is used to enter the four-field IP address of the terminal server to which the
device is attached. IPs are specified as YYY.YYY.YYY.YYY. The YYY designates the IP address: each YYY byte
should be in the range of 0 to 255. Each serial device may have its own IP address; however, devices may
have the same IP address if there are multiple devices multi-dropped from a single terminal server.
Port:This property is used to configure the Ethernet port to be used when connecting to a remote terminal
server.
Protocol:This property is used to select either TCP/IP or UDP communications. The selection depends on
the nature of the terminal server being used. The default protocol selection is TCP/IP. For more information
on available protocols, refer to the terminal server's help documentation.
Notes
1. With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. Utilize the
User Manager to restrict access rights to server features and prevent operators from changing the
properties.
2. The valid IP Address range is greater than (>) 0.0.0.0 to less than (<) 255.255.255.255.
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If the target device supports its own local tag database, the driver reads the device's tag information and
uses the data to generate tags within the server. If the device does not natively support named tags, the
driver creates a list of tags based on driver-specific information. An example of these two conditions is as
follows:
1. If a data acquisition system supports its own local tag database, the communications driver uses the
tag names found in the device to build the server's tags.
2. If an Ethernet I/O system supports detection of its own available I/O module types, the
communications driver automatically generates tags in the server that are based on the types of I/O
modules plugged into the Ethernet I/O rack.
Note: Automatic tag database generation's mode of operation is completely configurable. For more
information, refer to the property descriptions below.
On Device Startup
This property specifies when OPC tags are automatically generated. Descriptions of the options are as
follows:
l Do Not Generate on Startup:This option prevents the driver from adding any OPC tags to the tag
space of the server. This is the default setting.
l Always Generate on Startup:This option causes the driver to evaluate the device for tag
information. It also adds tags to the tag space of the server every time the server is launched.
l Generate on First Startup:This option causes the driver to evaluate the target device for tag
information the first time the project is run. It also adds any OPC tags to the server tag space as
needed.
Note: When the option to automatically generate OPC tags is selected, any tags that are added to the
server's tag space must be saved with the project. Users can configure the project to automatically save
from the Tools | Options menu.
On Duplicate Tag
When automatic tag database generation is enabled, the server needs to know what to do with the tags that
it may have previously added or with tags that have been added or modified after the communications
driver since their original creation. This setting controls how the server handles OPC tags that were
automatically generated and currently exist in the project. It also prevents automatically generated tags
from accumulating in the server.
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For example, if a user changes the I/O modules in the rack with the server configured to Always Generate
on Startup, new tags would be added to the server every time the communications driver detected a new
I/O module. If the old tags were not removed, many unused tags could accumulate in the server's tag space.
The options are:
l Delete on Create:This option deletes any tags that were previously added to the tag space before
any new tags are added. This is the default setting.
l Overwrite as Necessary:This option instructs the server to only remove the tags that the
communications driver is replacing with new tags. Any tags that are not being overwritten remain in
the server's tag space.
l Do not Overwrite:This option prevents the server from removing any tags that were previously
generated or already existed in the server. The communications driver can only add tags that are
completely new.
l Do not Overwrite, Log Error:This option has the same effect as the prior option, and also posts an
error message to the server's Event Log when a tag overwrite would have occurred.
Note: Removing OPC tags affects tags that have been automatically generated by the
communications driver as well as any tags that have been added using names that match generated
tags. Users should avoid adding tags to the server using names that may match tags that are
automatically generated by the driver.
Parent Group:This property keeps automatically generated tags from mixing with tags that have been
entered manually by specifying a group to be used for automatically generated tags. The name of the group
can be up to 256 characters. This parent group provides a root branch to which all automatically generated
tags are added.
Allow Automatically Generated Subgroups:This property controls whether the server automatically
creates subgroups for the automatically generated tags. This is the default setting. If disabled, the server
generates the device's tags in a flat list without any grouping. In the server project, the resulting tags are
named with the address value. For example, the tag names are not retained during the generation process.
Note: If, as the server is generating tags, a tag is assigned the same name as an existing tag, the system
automatically increments to the next highest number so that the tag name is not duplicated. For example, if
the generation process creates a tag named "AI22" that already exists, it creates the tag as "AI23" instead.
Create: Initiates the creation of automatically generated OPC tags. If the device's configuration has been
modified, Create tags forces the driver to reevaluate the device for possible tag changes. Its ability to be
accessed from the System tags allows a client application to initiate tag database creation.
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Time Zone:This property specifies the device's time zone. To ignore the time zone, select one of the first
four options in the list (which do not have an offset). The default is the time zone of the local system.
Note:The driver uses this property both when synching the device time and when converting EFM
timestamps from the device to UTC time.
Respect Daylight Saving Time: Select Yes to follow Daylight Saving Time offset when synching the device
time. Select No to ignore Daylight Saving Time. The default is disabled / No.
Method:This property specifies the method of synchronization. Options include Disabled, Absolute, and
Interval. The default is Disabled. Descriptions of the options are as follows:
l Disabled: No synchronization.
l Absolute: Synchronizes to an absolute time of day specified through the Time property (appears only
when Absolute is selected).
l Interval: Synchronizes on startup and every number of minutes specified through the Sync Interval
property (appears only when Interval is selected). The default is 60 minutes.
Communications Timeouts
Connect Timeout:This property (which is used primarily by Ethernet based drivers) controls the amount of
time required to establish a socket connection to a remote device. The device's connection time often takes
longer than normal communications requests to that same device. The valid range is 1 to 30 seconds. The
default is typically 3 seconds, but can vary depending on the driver's specific nature. If this setting is not
supported by the driver, it is disabled.
Note: Due to the nature of UDP connections, the connection timeout setting is not applicable when
communicating via UDP.
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Request Timeout:This property specifies an interval used by all drivers to determine how long the driver
waits for a response from the target device to complete. The valid range is 50 to 9,999,999 milliseconds
(167.6667 minutes). The default is usually 1000 milliseconds, but can vary depending on the driver. The
default timeout for most serial drivers is based on a baud rate of 9600 baud or better. When using a driver
at lower baud rates, increase the timeout to compensate for the increased time required to acquire data.
Retry Attempts:This property specifies how many times the driver retries a communications request
before considering the request to have failed and the device to be in error. The valid range is 1 to 10. The
default is typically 3, but can vary depending on the driver's specific nature. The number of retries
configured for an application depends largely on the communications environment.
Timing
Inter-Request Delay:This property specifies how long the driver waits before sending the next request to
the target device. It overrides the normal polling frequency of tags associated with the device, as well as
one-time reads and writes. This delay can be useful when dealing with devices with slow turnaround times
and in cases where network load is a concern. Configuring a delay for a device affects communications with
all other devices on the channel. It is recommended that users separate any device that requires an inter-
request delay to a separate channel if possible. Other communications properties (such as communication
serialization) can extend this delay. The valid range is 0 to 300,000 milliseconds; however, some drivers may
limit the maximum value due to a function of their particular design. The default is 0, which indicates no
delay between requests with the target device.
Note: Not all drivers support Inter-Request Delay. This setting does not appear if it is not supported by the
driver.
Consult the website, a sales representative, or the user manual for more information.
What is a Tag?
A tag represents addresses within the PLC or other hardware device with which the server communicates.
The server allows both Dynamic tags and user-defined Static tags. Dynamic tags are entered directly in the
OPC client and specify device data. User-defined Static tags are created in the server and support tag
scaling. They can be browsed from OPC clients that support tag browsing.
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Name: Enter a string to represent the data available from the tag. The tag name can be up to 256
characters in length. While using long descriptive names is generally a good idea, some OPC client
applications may have a limited display window when browsing the tag space of an OPC server. The tag
name is part of the OPC browse data tag names must be unique within a given device branch or tag group
branch. For information on reserved characters, refer to How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag,
and Tag Group.
Tip: If the application is best suited for using blocks of tags with the same names, use tag groups to
segregate the tags. For more information, refer to Tag Group Properties.
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Description: Enter the string to represent the data available from the tag. The tag name can be up to 256
characters in length. While using long descriptive names is generally a good idea, some OPC client
applications may have a limited display window when browsing the tag space of an OPC server. The tag name
is part of the OPC browse data tag names must be unique within a given device branch or tag group branch.
For information on reserved characters, refer to How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag
Group.
Tip: If the application is best suited for using blocks of tags with the same names, use tag groups to
segregate the tags. For more information, refer to Tag Group Properties.
Address: Enter the target tag's driver address. The address's format is based on the driver protocol. The
address can be up to 128 characters.
Tip: For hints about how an address should be entered, click the browse (...) button. If the driver accepts
the address as entered, no messages are displayed. A popup informs of any errors. Some errors are related
to the data type selection and not the address string.
Description: Apply a comment to the tag. A string of up to 255 characters can be entered for the
description. When using an OPC client that supports Data Access 2.0 tag properties, the description property
is accessible from the tag's item Description properties.
Data Type: Specify the format of this tag's data as it is found in the physical device. In most cases, this is
also the format of the data as it returned to the client. The data type setting is an important part of how a
communication driver reads and writes data to a device. For many drivers, the data type of a particular piece
of data is rigidly fixed and the driver knows what format needs to be used when reading the device's data. In
some cases, however, the interpretation of device data is largely in the user's hands. An example would be a
device that uses 16-bit data registers. Normally this would indicate that the data is either a Short or Word.
Many register-based devices also support values that span two registers. In these cases the double register
values could be a Long, DWord or Float. When the driver being used supports this level of flexibility, users
must tell it how to read data for this tag. By selecting the appropriate data type, the driver is being told to
read one, two, four, eight, or sixteen registers or possibly a Boolean value. The driver governs the data
format being chosen.
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Client Access: Specify whether the tag is Read Only or Read/Write. By selecting Read Only, users can
prevent client applications from changing the data contained in this tag. By selecting Read/Write, users
allow client applications to change this tag's value as needed. The Client Access selection also affects how
the tag appears in the browse space of an OPC client. Many OPC client applications allow filtering tags based
on attributes. Changing the access method of this tag may change how and when the tag appears in the
browse space of the OPC client.
Scan Rate: Specify the update interval for this tag when used with a non-OPC client. OPC clients can control
the rate at which data is scanned by using the update rate that is part of all OPC groups. Normally non-OPC
clients don't have that luxury. The server is used to specify an update rate on a tag per tag basis for non-OPC
clients. Using the scan rate, users can tailor the bandwidth requirements of the server to suit the needs of
the application. If, for example, data that changes very slowly needs to be read, there is no reason to read
the value very often. Using the scan rate this tag can be forced to read at a slower rate reducing the demand
on the communications channel. The valid range is 10 to 99999990 milliseconds (ms), with a 10 ms
increment. The default is 100 milliseconds.
With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. Changes made
to tag properties take effect immediately; however, OPC clients that have already connected to this tag are
not affected until they release and attempt to reacquire it. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights
to server features and prevent operators from changing the properties.
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For information on a specific dialog, select a link from the list below:
Address Template
Address: Verify the tag address, generated through options defined in the Address Builder section.
Data Properties
Data Type: Select data type to apply to all generated tags. Depending on the native interface supported by
the driver, the data type may override the default increment of the Add Numeric Range property for the last
element. The default setting is Default.
Client Access: Select the tag's permission settings from Read Only or Read/Write. The default setting is
Read Only.
Scan Rate: Specify the frequency at which tags are scanned. The valid range is 10 to 99999990 milliseconds.
The default setting is 100 milliseconds.
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Address Builder
Add Static Text...: Click to launch the Add Static Text dialog where a single line of text can be entered.
Add Numeric Range...: Click to launch the Add Numeric Range dialog.
l Base System: Select the format of the base system: Decimal, Octal, or Hexadecimal. The default
setting is Decimal.
l Range: Enter the starting and ending values for the numeric range in the From and To fields.
l Increment By: When not using Default (which increments by one), users can specify a custom
increment value. The range increments according to the selected Base System.
Add Text Sequence...: Click to launch the Add Text Sequence dialog where multiple strings can be created.
Each string is inserted independently of the other strings specified in the list.
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Tips:
1. To enable the Edit icons to the right, highlight a section of the tag address syntax element.
Generate: Click to send all valid tags to the server for insertion.
Cancel: Click to reject any changes made to the tags and return to the prior dialog.
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Add as Group: Enable to add the tags into a single organizing group. The default setting is disabled.
Renumber valid tags consecutively before adding to project: Enable to renumber the tags
consecutively before adding to the project. The default setting is enabled.
Note: Tags shown with a green checkmark are valid. Tags shown with a red exclamation mark (!) are
invalid.
Note: Users who change the naming scheme in the Generation dialog before returning to the Tag
Duplication dialog to make changes to the addressing syntax can choose to save the naming scheme for the
next time the tag list is generated.
Name Prefix: Enter a custom name prefix (letters to pre-pend to the tag name).
Start Value: Specify the numeric first value to increment for each tag.
Default naming scheme: When enabled, the default naming scheme is used. The default setting is
disabled.
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Type:Select the method of scaling raw values. Select Linear, Square Root, or None to disable. The
formulas for scaling types are shown below.
Raw Low: Specify the lower end of the range of data from the device. The valid range depends on the raw
tag data type. For example, if the raw value is Short, the valid range of the raw value would be from -32768
to 32767.
Raw High:Specify the upper end of the range of data from the device. The Raw High value must be greater
than the Raw Low value. The valid range depends on the raw tag data type.
Scaled Data Type:Select the data type for the tag being scaled. The data type can be set to any valid OPC
data type, including a raw data type, such as Short, to an engineering value with a data type of Long. The
default scaled data type is Double.
Scaled Low: Specify the lower end of the range of valid resulting scaled data values. The valid range
depends on the tag data type.
Scaled High:Specify the upper end of the range of valid resulting scaled data values. The valid range
depends on the tag data type.
Clamp Low: Select Yes to prevent resulting data from exceeding the lower end of the range specified.
Select No to allow data to fall outside of the established range.
Clamp High: Select Yes to prevent resulting data from exceeding the upper end of the range specified.
Select No to allow data to fall outside of the established range.
Negate Value: Select Yes to force the resulting value to be negated before being passed to the client. Select
No to pass the value to the client unmodified.
The server supports the OPC tag properties available in the 2.0 Data Access specifications. If the OPC
client being used supports these properties, it can automatically configure the range of objects (such as user
input objects or displays) by using the Scaling settings. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to
server features to prevent any unauthorized operator from changing these properties.
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Dynamic Tags
Dynamic tag addressing is a second method of defining tags that allows users to define tags only in the
client application. As such, instead of creating a tag item in the client that addresses another tag item
created in the server, users only need to create tag items in the client that directly accesses the device
driver's addresses. On client connect, the server creates a virtual tag for that location and starts scanning
for data automatically.
To specify an optional data type, append one of the following strings after the '@' symbol:
l BCD
l Boolean
l Byte
l Char
l Double
l DWord
l Float
l LBCD
l LLong
l Long
l QWord
l Short
l String
l Word
If the data type is omitted, the driver chooses a default data type based on the device and address being
referenced. The default data types for all locations are documented in each individual driver's help
documentation. If the data type specified is not valid for the device location, the server rejects the tag and an
error posts in the Event Log.
2. Using the Simulator Driver, create a channel and name it "Channel1." Then, make a device and name
it "Device1."
4. The client project automatically starts receiving data. The default data type for address R0001 in the
Simulator device is Word. To override this, the @Short has been appended to select a data type of
Short.
Note:When utilizing Dynamic tags in an OPC client application, the use of the @[Data Type] modifier is
not normally required. OPC clients can specify the desired data type as part of the request when registering
a link for a specific data item. The data type specified by the OPC client is used if it is supported by the
communications driver. The @[Data Type] modifier can be useful when ensuring that a communications
driver interprets a piece of data exactly as needed.
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Tips:
1. The server creates a special Boolean tag for every device in a project that can be used by a client to
determine whether a device is functioning properly. To use this tag, specify the item in the link as
"Error." If the device is communicating properly, the tag's value is zero; otherwise, it is one.
2. If the device address is used as the item of a link such that the address matches the name of a user-
defined tag in the server, the link references the address pointed to by the user-defined tag.
See Also:
Static Tags (User-Defined)
Designing a Project: Adding User-Defined Tags
To add a new tag group to the project, right-click on either an existing device or tag group branch and select
New Tag Group from the context menu. Alternatively, click on either an existing device or tag group branch
and click the New Tag Group icon on the toolbar.
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Tag groups can be added at any level from the device-level down, and multiple tag groups can be nested
together to fit the application's needs. As seen in the OPC Quick Client dialog above, the fully qualified OPC
item path is "Channel1.Device1.Machine1.Cell1.Tag1". For this OPC item, "Machine1" and "Cell1" segments
are nested tag groups.
Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. Any
changes made to the tag groups take effect immediately. If the name is changed, OPC clients that have
already used that tag group as part of an OPC item request are not affected until they release the item and
attempt to reacquire it. New tag groups added to the project immediately allows browsing from an OPC
client. Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features to prevent operators from
changing the properties.
Alias map elements can be exported and imported by right-clicking on the target alias in the tree view pane.
Alias map elements can be added, edited, and deleted by right-clicking on the target alias in the detail pane.
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Note:When enabled, the Show auto-generated aliases displays those alias maps created by the server
automatically.
Alias Properties
The Alias Map allows a way to assign alias names to complex tag references that can be used in client
applications. An alias is constructed by entering an alias name and clicking on the desired device name or
group name.
Name: Specify the alias name, which can be up to 256 characters long. It must be unique in the alias map.
For information on reserved characters, refer to How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and
Tag Group.
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Description: Enter a description of this alias to clarify data sources and reports (optional).
Mapped to: Specify or browse to the location of the alias. Because the alias map does not allow tag items to
be browsed from the alias table, create a short nickname that replaces the address that leads up to the tag.
This makes it easier to address items in a client application that does not support tag browsing.
Scan Rate Override: Specify an update rate to be applied to all non-OPC tags accessed using this alias map
entry. The valid range is 0 to 99999990 milliseconds. The default is 0 milliseconds.
Tip: This setting is equivalent to the topic update rate found in many DDE-only servers.
Note: When set to 0 milliseconds, the server observes the scan rate set at the individual tag level.
Event Log
Users can specify the type of events displayed in the Event Log. There are currently four types of events that
can be recorded: Error Events, Warning Events, Information Events, and Security Events. Descriptions of the
events are as follows:
Information: Messages that provide status and data requiring no interaction or correction, such as
successful connection or data collection.
Security: Messages that call attention to conditions that are not best practices from a security
perspective, such as running the software as the default user versus a logged-in user with valid
credentials.
Warning:Messages that indicate an issue that does not require interaction, but may result in
unexpected results, such as a device not responding.
Error: Messages that alert the user to failures or problems that, generally, should be researched and
corrected for best results.
Note: To access the event types in the Configuration client, click Tools | Event Log. Alternatively, right-
click anywhere in the Event Log display.
Tools menu
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Right Click
Note: The Event Log system would be useless if there was no mechanism to protect its contents. If
operators could change these properties or reset the log, the purpose would be lost. Utilize the User
Manager to limit the functions an operator can access and prevent these actions from occurring.
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Tag Management
The server's user-defined tag management features can create a tag database structure to fit each
application's specific nature. Users can define multiple tag groups to segregate tag data on a device-by-
device basis, and can also easily add large numbers of tags through drag and drop editing. CSV import and
export also allow tag editing in any application. Like all other server features, new tags can be added to the
application at any time.
System Tags
System tags provide general error feedback to client applications, allow the operation control over when a
device is actively collecting data, and also permit a channel or device's standard properties to be changed
from an OPC client application. The number of System tags available at the channel or device level depends
on the nature of the driver being used.
Note:System tags can be grouped according to their purpose as both status and control or property
manipulation.
Property Tags
Property tags are additional tags that can be accessed by any Data Access client by appending the property
name to any fully qualified tag address. When using an OPC client that supports item browsing, users can
browse tag properties by turning on Include tag properties when a client browses the server under
OPC DA settings. For more information, refer to Project Properties - OPC DA Settings.
Statistics Tags
Statistics tags provide feedback to client applications regarding the operation of the channel
communications in the server. When diagnostics are enabled, seven built-in Statistics tags are available. For
more information, refer to OPC Diagnostic Viewer.
Modem Tags
Modem tags configure modem properties and monitor modem status. They are only available when the
Connection Type in Channel Properties is set to Modem. For more information, refer to Channel
Properties - Serial Communications.
Note: For information on which character to specify as the variable, refer to Options - General.
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Creating a Template
The easiest way to create and import CSV file is to create a template. For more information, refer to the
instructions below.
1. To start, click File | Export CSV. Define the channels and devices for the project.
4. Use this template in a spreadsheet application that supports CSV files and modify the file as desired.
Note: The resulting CSV file can be saved to disk and re-imported into the server under the same
(or new) device or tag group.
Note: Each tag record contains the data for each field.
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Microsoft Excel is an excellent tool for editing large groups of tags outside the server. Once a template CSV
file has been exported, it can be loaded directly into Excel for editing. A CSV file load in Excel would appear
as shown in the image below.
l Save the project in XML. Then, perform mass configuration on the XML file instead of using CSV.
l Perform a search-and-replace on the delimiter in the CSV file and replace the delimiter with a comma
or semicolon. The delimiter being used by the OPC server (either comma or semicolon) must be set
to the replacement character.
If the target device supports its own local tag database, the driver reads the device's tag information and
uses the data to generate OPC tags within the server. If the device does not natively support its own named
tags, the driver creates a list of tags based on driver-specific information. An example of these two
conditions is as follows:
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1. If a data acquisition system supports its own local tag database, the communications driver uses the
tag names found in the device to build the server's OPC tags.
2. If an Ethernet I/O system supports detection of its own available I/O module types, the
communications driver automatically generates OPC tags in the server that are based on the types of
I/O modules plugged into the Ethernet I/O rack.
Note: Automatic tag database generation's mode of operation is completely configurable. For more
information, refer to the property descriptions below.
Important: When running in System Service Mode, the file from which tags are created must be located
in a folder accessible to System Service for it to be loaded by the Runtime. For example, a file residing in a
network drive that requires authentication causes the loading to fail. For more information on System
Service Mode, refer to Process Modes.
l Do Not Generate on Startup: This option prevents the driver from adding any OPC tags to the tag
space of the server. This is the default setting.
l Always Generate on Startup: This option causes the driver to evaluate the device for tag
information. It also adds OPC tags to the tag space of the server every time the server is launched.
l Generate on First Startup: This option causes the driver to evaluate the target device for tag
information the first time the project is run. It also adds any OPC tags to the server tag space as
needed.
Note: When the option to automatically generate OPC tags is selected, any tags that are added to the
server's tag space must be saved with the project. Users can configure the project to automatically save
from the Tools | Options menu.
For example, refer to the second Ethernet I/O example discussed above. If users continued to change the I/O
modules in the rack with the server configured to Always generate new OPC tags on startup, new tags
would be added to the server every time the communications driver detected a new I/O module. If the old
tags were not removed, many unused tags could accumulate in the server's tag space. The Perform the
following action setting tailors the server's operation to best fit a specific application's needs. Descriptions
of the options are as follows:
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1. Delete on create: This option deletes any tags that were previously added to the tag space before
any new tags are added. This is the default setting.
2. Overwrite as necessary: This option instructs the server to only remove the tags that the
communications driver is replacing with new tags. Any tags that are not being overwritten remain in
the server's tag space.
3. Do not overwrite: This option prevents the server from removing any tags that were previously
generated or already existed in the server. The communications driver can only add tags that are
completely new.
4. Do not overwrite, log error: This option has the same effect as the third option, and also posts an
error message to the server's Event Log when a tag overwrite would have occurred.
Note:Removing OPC tags affects tags that have been automatically generated by the communications
driver as well as any tags that have been added using names that match generated tags. Users should avoid
adding tags to the server using names that may match tags that are automatically generated by the driver.
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Enabled The server automatically generates the device's tags and organizes them into subgroups. In
the server project, the resulting tags retain their tag names.
Note:This is the default setting.
Disabled The server automatically generates the device's tags in a list without any subgrouping. In the
server project, the resulting tags are named with the address value. For example, the tag
names are not retained during the generation process. The image below shows how the tag
names were created using the tag's address.
Note: If, as the server is generating tags, a tag is assigned the same name as an existing
tag, the system automatically increments to the next highest number so that the tag name is
not duplicated. For example, if the generation process creates a tag named "AI22" that
already exists, it creates the tag as "AI23" instead.
Auto Create
This button manually initiates the creation of automatically generated OPC tags. If the device's configuration
has been modified, clicking Auto Create forces the communications driver to reevaluate the device for
possible tag changes. Its ability to be accessed from the System tags allows OPC client application to initiate
tag database creation.
Note: The Auto-Create button is disabled when the Configuration edits a project offline.
Important: With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time.
Utilize the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features to prevent operators from changing the
properties.
System Tags
System tags provide general error feedback to client applications, allow operational control when a device is
actively collecting data, and allow a channel or device's standard properties to be changed by an OPC client
application when needed.
The number of system tags available at both the channel level and device level depends on the nature of the
driver being used. In addition, application-level system tags allow client applications to monitor the server's
status. System tags can also be grouped according to their purpose as both status and control or property
manipulation. Descriptions are as follows:
l Status Tags:Status tags are read-only tags that provide data on server operation.
l Parameter Control Tags: Parameter control tags can be used to modify the server application's
operational characteristics. This provides a great deal of flexibility in the OPC applications. By using
the property control tags, users can implement redundancy by switching communications links or
changing the device ID of a target device. Users can also provide access to the tags through special
supervisory screens that allow a plant engineer to make changes to the communication parameters
of the server if needed.
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Note: This count does not represent the number of tags configured in
the project.
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When using an OPC client, the System tags are found under the _System branch of the server browse space
for a given device. The following image taken from the supplied OPC Quick Client shows how the System
tags appear to an OPC client.
The _System branch found under the DeviceName branch is always available. If referencing a system tag
from a DDE application given the above example and the DDE defaults, the link would appear as "<DDE
service name>|_ddedata!Channel1.Device1._System._Error".
The _Enabled tag provides a very flexible means of controlling the OPC applications. In some cases,
specifically in modem applications, it can be convenient to disable all devices except the device currently
connected to the modem. Additionally, using the _Enable tag to allow the application to turn a particular
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device off while the physical device is being serviced can eliminate harmless but unwanted communications
errors in the server's Event Log.
See Also:
Property Tags
Modem Tags
Statistics Tags
Property Tags
Property tags are used to provide read-only access to tag properties for client applications. To access a tag
property, append the property name to the fully qualified tag address that has been defined in the server's
tag database. For more information, refer to Tag Properties - General.
If the fully qualified tag address is "Channel1.Device1.Tag1," its description can be accessed by appending
the description property as "Channel1.Device1.Tag1._Description".
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See Also:
Statistics Tags
Modem Tags
System Tags
Statistics Tags
Statistics tags are used to provide feedback to client applications regarding the operation of the channel
communications in the server. Statistics tags are only available when diagnostics are enabled. For more
information, refer to Channel Diagnostics and OPC Diagnostics Viewer.
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Statistics tags are only available when diagnostics are enabled. To access from an OPC client, the diagnostic
tags can be browsed from the _Statistics branch of the server browse space for a given channel. The
following image is taken from the OPC Quick Client, and shows how a Diagnostics tag appears to an OPC
client.
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The _Statistics branch (located beneath the channel branch) only appears when diagnostics are enabled for
the channel. To reference a Diagnostics tag from a DDE application, given the above example and the DDE
defaults, the link would appear as: "<DDE service name>|_ddedata!Channel1._Statistics._SuccessfulReads".
The Diagnostics tag's value can also be viewed in the server by using the Communication Diagnostics
Viewer. If Diagnostics Capture is enabled under Channel Properties, right-click on that channel and select
Diagnostics.
See Also:
System Tags
Property Tags
Modem Tags
The following tags are created automatically for the channel when modem use is selected.
Writing a 1 to the Mode tag sets the line for outgoing calls only, no
incoming calls are answered when in this mode. Writing a 2 to the Mode
tag sets the line for incoming calls only, requests to dial out (writes to the
Dial tag) are ignored. The default setting is 0, which allows for both
outgoing and incoming calls.
This value can only be changed when the Status is <= 3 (Idle).
_PhoneNumber This is the current phone number to be dialed. Users can write to this Read/Write
value at any time, but the change is only effective if Status is <= 3 (Idle). If
users write to the phone number while the status is greater than 3, the
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If the number is not in canonical form, dialing preferences are not applied.
The number is dialed exactly as it is entered. Users can also enter a
Phonebook tag name instead of a phone number. In this case, the current
value of the Phonebook tag is used.
_Status This is the current status of the modem assigned to a channel. For a list of Read Only
status values and meanings, refer to Status Values.
_ This contains a textual representation of the LastEvent tag value. For a list Read Only
StringLastEvent of event numbers and meanings, refer to Last Event String Values.
_StringStatus This contains a textual representation of the Status tag value. For a list of Read Only
event numbers and meanings, refer to Status String Values.
Status Values
The five lowest bits of the 32-bit status variable are currently being used.
Bit Meaning
0 Initialized with TAPI
1 Line open
2 Connected
3 Calling
4 Answering
When read as an integer, the value of the Status tag is always one of the following:
Value Meaning
0 Un-initialized, the channel is not usable
1 Initialized, no line open
3 Line open and the state is idle
7 Connected
11 Calling
19 Answering
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Tag Description
_NetworkOwner The _NetworkOwner tag indicates if the channel currently owns
control of communications on the network. The frequency of
Class: Status Tag change reflects how often the channel is granted control.
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Tag Description
written to). This tag is formatted as a 32-bit floating point and
may eventually rollover.
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Communications Management
Auto-Demotion
The Auto-Demotion properties allow a driver to temporarily place a device off-scan in the event that a device
is not responding. By placing a non-responsive device offline, the driver can continue to optimize its
communications with other devices on the same channel by stopping communications with the non-
responsive device for a specific time period. After the specific time period has been reached, the driver re-
attempts to communicate with the non-responsive device. If the device is responsive, the device is placed
on-scan; otherwise, it restarts its off-scan time period.
For more information, refer to Device Properties - Auto-Demotion.
Ethernet Encapsulation
The Ethernet Encapsulation mode has been designed to provide communications with serial devices
connected to terminal servers on the Ethernet network. A terminal server is essentially a virtual serial port:
the terminal server converts TCP/IP messages on the Ethernet network to serial data. Once the message
has been converted to a serial form, users can connect standard devices that support serial
communications to the terminal server. Using a terminal server device allows users to place RS-232 and RS-
485 devices throughout the plant operations while still allowing a single localized PC to access the remotely
mounted devices. Furthermore, the Ethernet Encapsulation mode allows an individual network IP address to
be assigned to each device as needed. By using multiple terminal servers, users can access hundreds of
serial devices from a single PC via the Ethernet network.
For more information, refer to How Do I... and Device Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation.
Modem Support
This server supports the use of modems to connect to remote devices, which is established through the use
of special modem tags that become available at the channel-level when a dial-up network connection has
been created. These channel-level modem tags can be used to dial a remote device, monitor the modem
status while connected and terminate the call when completed.
Note:Not all serial drivers support the use of modems. To determine modem support, refer to the specific
driver's help documentation.
When accessing the modem systems tags, the channel name can be used as either a base group or topic
name. To be available, modems must be configured with the operating system through the Control Panel
settings.
Once the modem has been properly installed, it can be enabled by selecting Modem as the Physical Medium
in the channel properties.
For specific setup information, refer to the Windows and modem documentation.
Important: Many new commercial modems are designed to dial-up network server connections and
negotiate the fastest and clearest signal. When communicating to a serial automation device, the modem
needs to connect at a specific Baud (Bits per Second) and Parity. For this reason, an external modem (which
can be configured to dial using specific Baud Rate and Parity settings) is strongly recommended. To
determine the best modem for a specific application, refer to Technical Support. For examples on how to use
a modem in a project, refer to Using a Modem in the Server Project.
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Start Bits + Data Bits + Parity + Stop Bits = Total Bit Count
For example, the Modbus RTU Driver is configured to use 8 Data Bits, Even Parity, 1 Stop Bit, and 1 Start Bit.
When plugged into the formula, it would be 1 + 8 + 1 + 1, which equals 11 bits. A normal modem could not
transmit data to this Modbus device. If Parity is changed to None, it would be 1 + 8 + 0 + 1, which equals 10
Bits. A normal modem could transmit data to this Modbus device.
Some drivers cannot be configured to use a 10-bit or less data format, and so cannot use standard modems.
Instead, they require modems that can handle transmitting 11 data bits. For drivers that fall into this
category, consult the device's manufacturer for recommendations on an appropriate modem vendor.
Modem operation is available for all serial drivers, regardless of driver support for modem operation.
Once the modem has been properly installed, users can begin using it in a server project. The receiving end,
or the device modem, must be properly configured before it can be used. Users must confirm that the
receiving modem matches the profile provided by the driver.
Cables
Before the project can be used, the cable connection must be configured between the receiving modem and
the device. Three cables are required: the existing device communication cable for direct connection, a
NULL modem adapter, and a NULL modem cable. A NULL modem cable is connected to the modem, and all
pins are connected to the same pins on both ends of the cable. The device communication cable is used to
connect to the target device, and usually has pins 2 and 3 reversed. Because the cable being used to talk to
the device for the direct connection is working by this point, it can be used on the receiving modem by
attaching a NULL modem adapter. Similarly, a PC modem cable runs from the PC to the initiating modem.
With the cables in place, a modem can now be used in the application.
1. To start, load the direct connect project and double-click on the channel name. In Channel
Properties, open the Serial Communications group.
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Note: Users are not able to select Modem from the Physical Medium drop-down menu if there
are none available on the computer. If this occurs, exit the server and attempt to reinstall the modem
using the Modem Configuration tools supplied by the operating system.
4. To configure the initiating modem's characteristics, use the properties in Modem Settings. For more
information, refer to Channel Properties - Serial Communications.
5. Once finished, click Apply. Then, click OK to save and exit the Channel Properties.
Phonebook
A Phonebook is a collection of Phonebook tags (Phone Numbers) that can be used in place of specifying a
telephone number written to the _PhoneNumber tag in the Modem system tags. The Phonebook is
automatically created for any channel that has the Physical Medium set to Modem. The data associated
with a Phonebook tag is a phone number to be dialed by the server. The act of a client writing to a
Phonebook tag causes the server to dial the phone number associated with that tag.
Phonebook tags are created by creating new entries in the Phonebook. To add a new Phonebook entry click
on the Phonebook node in the project tree and then click New Phone Number icon.
Name: Specify the name of the phone number entry. It will be part of the OPC browse data in the _
Phonebook system tag group. It can be up to 256 characters in length. While using descriptive names is
generally a good idea, some OPC client applications may have a limited display window when browsing the
tag space of an OPC server. The Name of a phone number must be unique within a Phonebook.
Number: Specify the phone number to be dialed when the associated Phonebook tag is invoked from an
OPC client application. A string of up to 64 digits can be entered.
Description: Enter text to attach a comment to the phone number entry. It can be up to 255 characters in
length.
Note: With the servers online full-time operation, these parameters can be changed at any time.
Changes made to properties take effect immediately; however, OPC clients that have already connected to
this tag are not affected until they release and reacquire the tag.
Auto-Dial Priority
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When Auto-Dial has been enabled for the channel, the initial connection request begins by attempting to dial
the first entry encountered in the Phonebook. If that attempt is unsuccessful, the next number in the
phonebook is attempted and so on. This sequence continues until a modem connection is established or the
client releases all references to data that can be supplied by the channel. The order priority that Auto-Dial
uses to dial is user defined and can be changed by selecting a Phonebook entry and clicking one of the
Priority Change icons as shown below. They can also be changed by opening the context menu for the
selected entry.
Example
Auto-Dial
Auto-Dial automates the actions required of a client application when modem use is specified within the
server project. Without Auto-Dial , these actions (which include connecting, disconnecting, and assigning
phone numbers) would be performed by an external client application through the use of channel-level
Modem tags. For example, to begin the process of establishing a connection, the client would write a dial
string to "<Channel Name>._Modem._PhoneNumber" and write a value to "<Channel Name>._Modem._Dial".
When data from the remote device is no longer needed, the client would end the call by writing to "<Channel
Name>._Modem._Hangup".
Auto-Dial relieves the client of these responsibilities by automatically dialing phone numbers defined in the
Phonebook when attempting to establish a connection. The connection is automatically dropped when there
are no client references to tags that rely on the modem connection. To access the Auto-Dial property, click
Channel Properties | Serial Communications.
For more information, refer to Channel Properties - Serial Communications.
Timing
Timing settings (such as how long to wait for a connection before proceeding to the next phone number) are
determined by the TAPI modem configuration and not by any specific Modem Auto-Dial setting.
Note: Some drivers do not allow the serial port to close once it has opened. Connections established
using these drivers do not experience disconnection until all client references have been released (unless
the TAPI settings are configured to disconnect after a period of idle time).
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Client Access
Modem tags may be used to exert client-level control over the modem. If Modem Auto-Dialing is enabled,
however, write access to the Modem tags is restricted so that only one form of access is possible. The
Modem tags' values are updated just as they would if the client were in control of the modem.
l If Auto-Dial is enabled after the client has already dialed the modem and established a connection,
the change is ignored until the modem is disconnected. If the client is still requesting data from the
channel at the time of disconnection, the initial connection sequence begins.
l If Auto-Dial is enabled while no modem connection exists and data is being requested from the
channel by the client, the initial connection sequence begins.
l If Auto-Dial is disabled while an existing auto-dial connection exists, no action is taken and the
connection is dropped.
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Designing a Project
The following examples use the Simulator Driver supplied with the server to demonstrate the process of
creating, configuring, and running a project. The Simulator Driver is a memory-based driver that provides
both static and changing data for demonstration purposes. Because it does not support the range of
configuration options found in other communication drivers, some examples may use images from other
drivers to demonstrate specific product features. For more information on a specific topic, select a link from
the list below.
Initially, users must manually invoke the server. To do so, either double-click the desktop icon or select
Configuration from the Administration menu located in the System Tray. The interface's appearance
depends on the changes made by the user.
For more information on the server elements, refer to Basic Server Components. For more information on
the user interface, refer to Navigating the Configuration.
Some configuration options are global and applied to all projects. These global options are configured in the
Tools | Options dialog, which includes both General Options and Runtime Connection Options.These
settings are stored in a Windows INI file called "settings.ini," which is stored in the Application Data directory
selected during installation. Although global options are usually stored in the Windows registry, the INI file
supports the copying of these global settings from one machine to another.
The software opens initially with a default project open. That file can be edited, saved, and closed like any
other file.
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3. Choose File | Save As and choose the location in which to store the file.
4. Click Save.
2. In the channel wizard, leave the channel name at its default setting "Channel1". Then, click Next.
3. In Device Driver, select the communications driver to be applied to the channel. Then, click Next. In
this example, the Simulator Driver is used.
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4. For the Simulator Driver, the next page is Channel Summary. Other devices may have additional
channel wizard pages that allow the configuration of other properties (such as communications port,
baud rate, and parity). For more information, refer to Channel Properties - Serial Communication.
See Also: How to... Optimize the Server Project , Server Summary Information
1. In the tree view, right-click on the Connectivity node and select New Channel (or choose Edit |
Connectivity | New Channel).
2. Select type of channel to be created from the drop-down list of available drivers.
3. Click Next.
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4. Enter a name for the channel to help identify it (used in tag paths, event log messages, and aliasing).
5. Click Next.
7. Review the summary for the new channel and choose Back to make changes or Finish to close.
Note: In this example, the Simulator Driver is used. The options in device wizard depend on the driver.
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3. In the device wizard, leave the name at its default setting "Device1" and click Next.
4. In Model, select either an 8 or 16-bit register size for the device being simulated and click Next.
Note: Other device drivers may require users to select a device model instead. For this example,
the 16-bit register size is chosen.
5. InID, select the device ID (which is the unique identifier required by the actual communications
protocol). Then, click Next.
Note: The device ID format and style depend on the communications driver being used. For the
Simulator Driver, the device ID is a numeric value.
6. In Scan Mode, specify the device's scan rate. Then, click Next.
7. For the Simulator Driver, the next page is the Device Summary. Other drivers may have additional
device wizard pages that allow the configuration of other properties (such as Timing). For more
information, refer to Device Properties.
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Note:With the server's online full-time mode of operation, the server can start providing OPC data
immediately. At this point, however, the configuration can potentially be lost because the project hasn't been
saved. Before saving, users can add tags to the server. For more information, refer to Adding User-
Defined Tags.
1. In the tree view, locate and select the channel to which device(s) are being added.
2. Right-click and select New Device or choose Edit | Connectivity | New Device).
3. Enter a name for the device to help identify it (used in tag paths, event log messages, and aliasing).
4. Click Next.
6. Review the summary for the new device and choose Back to make changes or Finish to close.
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User-defined tags support scaling. For more information, refer to Adding Tag Scaling. Some situations
support browsing for and selecting multiple tags. For more information, refer to Browsing for Tags.
1. To start, select a device name from the Connectivity tree node. In this example, the selected device is
"Device1".
2. Click Edit | Connectivity | New Tag. Alternatively, right-click on the device and select New Tag.
l Address: R000
l Scan Rate: 100 milliseconds. This property does not apply to OPC tags.
4. If necessary, use Hints to determine the driver's correct settings. To invoke Hints, click on the
question mark icon in Tag Properties.
Note: The Address, Data Type, and Client Access fields depend on the communications driver. For
example, in the Simulator Driver, "R000" is a valid address that supports a data type of Word and has
read/write access.
5. For additional information, click Help. This invokes the "Address Descriptions" topic in the driver's
help documentation.
6. Commit the tag to the server by pressing Apply. The tag should now be visible in the server.
7. In this example, a second tag must be added for use in Tag Properties - Scaling. To do so, click the
New icon in Tag Properties - General. This returns the properties to their default setting.
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l Address: K000
9. Next, commit the new tag to the server by pressing Apply. The tag should now be visible in the
server.
Error Messages
When entering tag information, users may be presented with an occasional error message from the server
or driver. The server generates error messages when users attempt to add a tag using the same name as
an existing tag. The communications driver generates errors for three possible reasons:
1. If there are any errors entered in the address's format or content (including in the range of a
particular device-specific data item).
2. When the selected data type is not available for the address.
3. If the selected client access level is not available for the address.
Tips:
1. The server creates a special Boolean tag for every device in a project that can be used by a client to
determine whether that device is functioning properly. To use this tag, specify the item in the link as
"Error". This tag is zero if the device is communicating properly, or one if the device is not.
2. If the data type is omitted, the driver chooses a default data type based on the device and address
being referenced. The default data types for all locations are documented in the driver's help
documentation. If the data type specified is not valid for the device location, the server rejects the tag
and an error posts in the Event Log.
3. If a device address is used as the item of a link (such that the address matches the name of a user-
defined tag in the server), the link references the address pointed to by the user-defined tag. With the
server's online full-time operation, users can start using this project in an OPC client at this time.
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2. If the Include system / internal tag groups is available, enable to enable making these groups
available for selection.
3. If the Branch level tag selection is available, enable to enable selection of branch nodes in the tree
view on the left (which selects all the associated tags in the right).
4. Navigate the tree in the left pane to locate the branch containing the tag(s) to add.
5. Unless Branch level tag selection is enabled, select the tag(s) in the right pane. Where adding
multiple tags is supported, standard keyboard functions (Shift, Ctrl) work to select multiple tags.
6. Click Apply.
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1. To start, select a device and click Edit | Connectivity | New Tag. Alternatively, right-click on a
device and select New Tag.
2. In Tag Properties, select the Multiple Tag Generation icon (located to the bottom-right of the
Identification properties).
3. In Multiple Tag Generation, define the tag name, then configure the Data Properties properties as
desired.
4. Click Add Static Text. In this group, enter the text as desired. Once finished, press OK.
5. Click Add Numeric Range. In this group, enter the base system, range, and increment. Once
finished, press OK.
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6. Click Add Text Sequence. In this group, enter the text as desired. Separate each entry with a new
line. Once finished, press OK.
7. Click Preview.
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Note: Valid tags are displayed with a green checkmark. Invalid tags are displayed with a red x.
9. To change a tag's name or starting value, select Tag Name.Once finished, click OK.
10. To generate the tags, click Generate. If the generation is successful, users return to the Multiple Tag
Generation dialog.
11. Click Close. Then, click OK. The generated tags should be visible in the tag display window.
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4. Specify the expected data range from the device with the high and low values and clamps. The scaled
data type also allows users to specify how the resulting scaled value is presented to the OPC client
application.
5. In Units, specify a string to the OPC client that describes the format or unit for the resulting
engineering value. To use the Units field, an OPC client that can access the Data Access 2.0 tag
properties data is required. If the client does not support these features, there is no need to
configure this field.
6. Once the data has been entered as shown above, click OK.
When editing a Runtime project, the server's online full-time operation allows immediate access to tags from
an OPC client once it has been saved to disk. Because the changes are made to the actual project, users can
save by clicking File | Save. Users can overwrite the existing project or save the edits as a new project, and
are also given the option of loading the new project as the default Runtime project. Open a saved project by
choosing File | Open to locate and select the project file.
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When editing an offline project, users have the option to save to the same project or to save as a new
project. Once completed, click Runtime | Connect and load the new project as the default Runtime project.
Note: An OPC client application can automatically invoke an OPC server when the client needs data. The
OPC server, however, needs to know what project to run when it is called on in this fashion. The server loads
the most recent project that has been loaded or configured. To determine what project the server will load,
look to the Most Recently Used file list found in File. The loaded project is the first project file listed.
For 32-bit OS versions, project files are saved (by default) in the directory:
C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Kepware\KEPServerEX\V6
The server automatically saves copies of the project in the following directory:
For 64-bit OS versions, project files are saved (by default) in the directory:
C:\ProgramData\Kepware\KEPServerEX\V6
For 32-bit OS versions, project files are saved (by default) in the directory:
C:\ProgramData(x86)\Kepware\KEPServerEX\V6
Tip:If the file has been saved to an alternate location, search for *.opf to locate available project files.
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1. To start, locate the OPC Quick Client program in the same program group as the server. Then, run
the OPC Quick Client.
3. In Server Properties, make connections with an OPC server either locally or remotely via DCOM. By
default, this dialog is pre-configured with the server's Prog ID (which is used by OPC clients to
reference a specific OPC server).
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Note:Once a connection is made, two things may happen. If the server is running, the OPC Quick
Client makes a connection to the server. If the server is not running, it starts automatically.
4. Add a group to the connection. To do so, select the server connection and click Edit | New Group.
Note:Groups act as a container for any tags accessed from the server and provide control over
how tags are updated. All OPC clients use groups to access OPC server data. A number of properties
are attached to a group that allow the OPC client to determine how often the data should be read
from the tags, whether the tags are active or inactive, whether a dead band applies, and so forth.
These properties let the OPC client control how the OPC server operates. For more information on
group properties, refer to the OPC Quick Client help documentation.
5. For the purpose of this example, edit the group properties to match the following image.
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Note: The Update Rate, Percent Dead Band, and Active State properties control when and if data
is returned for the group's tags. Descriptions of the properties are as follows:
l Name: This property is used for reference from the client and can actually be left blank.
l Update Rate: This property specifies how often data is scanned from the actual device and
how often data is returned to the OPC client as a result of that scan.
l Percent Dead Band: This property eliminates or reduces noise content in the data by only
detecting changes when they exceed the percentage change that has been requested. The
percent change is a factor of the data type of a given tag.
l Active State: This property turns all of the tags in this group either on or off.
Accessing Tags
OPC server tags must be added to the group before they can be accessed. OPC data access specifications
define a tag browsing interface as one that allows an OPC client to directly access and display the available
tags in an OPC server. By allowing the OPC client application to browse the tag space of the OPC server, click
on the desired tags to automatically add them to a group.
1. To start, select the group in which tags will be placed. Click Edit | New Item.
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Note:The Add Items dialog also provides a tree view of the Browsing section and can be used to
browse into an OPC server to find tags configured at the server. When using the "Example1" project,
users can access the tags previously defined by expanding the branches of the view.
2. Once the tree hierarchy is at the point shown in the image above, users can begin adding tags to the
OPC group by double-clicking on the tag name. As tags are added to the group, the Item Count
shown at the bottom of the Add Items dialog increases to indicate the number of items being added.
If both "MyFirstTag" and "MySecondTag" were added, the item count should be 2.
Note: Users should now be able to access data from the server using the two tags that were
defined.
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Note: The first tag, "MyFirstTag," should contain a changing value. The second tag should be zero
at this point. If users only needed to test the reading of an OPC item, they are now finished. If,
however, users desired to change an OPC item, they can use one of the write methods to send new
data to the OPC item.
1. To start, first select the item. Then, right-click and select Synchronous or Asynchronous Writes. For
the purpose of this example, right-click on "MyFirstTag" and select Asynchronous Write.
Note: Although the Asynchronous 2.0 Write dialog is displayed, the value continues to update.
2. To enter a new value for this item, click Write Value and enter a different value.
3. Click Apply to write the data. This allows users to continue writing new values, whereas clicking OK
writes the new value and closes the dialog.
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4. Click OK.
Note: If no new data has been entered, clicking OK does not send data to the server.
Conclusion
At this point, all of the basic steps involved in building and testing an OPC project have been discussed.
Users are encouraged to continue testing various features of the server and the OPC Quick Client for
greater understanding and comprehension. For more information on the OPC Quick Client, refer to its help
documentation.
Users can now begin developing the OPC application. If using Visual Basic, refer to the supplied example
projects. These two projects provide both a simple and complex example of how OPC technology can be
used directly in Visual Basic applications.
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How Do I...
For more information, select a link from the list below.
Note: These service settings only apply when the server is running in Service Mode.
1. To start, launch the Services snap-in (which is part of the Microsoft Management Console). To do
so, click Start | Run.
2. Type "services.msc" and click OK. Then, locate the server by its name in the list of services. Open its
context menu and select Properties.
3. Open the Log On group and enable Allow service to interact with desktop.
4. Click Apply.
5. Click OK to exit.
6. Locate the Administration icon. Open its context menu and select Stop Runtime Service.
7. Then, re-open the context menu and select Start Runtime Service.
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See Also:
Accessing the Administration Menu
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For example, to create a DDE link to an application for the "ToolDepth" tag, the DDE link must be entered as
"<DDE service name>|_ddedata!Channel1.Device1.Machine1.Cell2.ToolDepth".
Although the DDE link's <application>|<topic>!<item> format still exists, the content becomes more complex
when optional tag groups and the channel name are required as part of the topic. The alias map allows a
shorter version of the reference to be used in DDE client applications.
For more information, refer to What is the Alias Map.
1. In the tree view, select the alias to edit and double-click to open the alias node.
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2. In the detail view, right-click and select New Alias (OR choose Edit | Aliases | New Alias).
4. Enter an alias name to represent the complex tag reference. This alias name can now be used in the
client application to address the tag found in the server. For information on reserved characters, refer
to How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag Group.
5. The complex topic and item name "_ddedata! Channel1.Device1.Machine1.Cell2" can be replaced by
using the alias "Mac1Cell2". When applied to the example above, the DDE link in the application can
be entered as "<DDE service name>|Mac1Cell2!ToolDepth".
Note: Although possible, it is not recommended that users create an alias that shares a name with a
channel. The client's item fails if it references a dynamic address using the shared name. For example, if an
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alias is named "Channel1" and is mapped to "Channel1.Device1," an item in the client that references
"Channel1.Device1.<address>" is invalid. The alias must be removed or renamed so that the client's
reference can succeed.
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This server refers to communications protocols as a channel. Each channel defined in the application
represents a separate path of execution in the server. Once a channel has been defined, a series of devices
must be defined under that channel. Each of these devices represents a single device from which data is
collected. While this approach to defining the application provides a high level of performance, it won't take
full advantage of the driver or the network. An example of how the application may appear when configured
using a single channel is shown below.
Each device appears under a single channel. In this configuration, the driver
must move from one device to the next as quickly as possible to gather
information at an effective rate. As more devices are added or more
information is requested from a single device, the overall update rate begins
to suffer.
If the driver could only define one single channel, the example shown above would be the only option
available. Using multiple channels distributes, however, the data collection workload by simultaneously
issuing multiple requests to the network. An example of how the same application may appear when
configured using multiple channels to improve performance is shown below.
Each device has now been defined under its own channel. In this new
configuration, a single path of execution is dedicated to the task of gathering
data from each device. If the application has fewer devices, it can be optimized
exactly how it is shown here.
The performance improves even if the application has more devices than
channels. While 1 device per channel is ideal, the application benefits from
additional channels. Although by spreading the device load across all channels
causes the server to move from device to device again, it does so with far
fewer devices to process on a single channel.
This same process can be used to make multiple connections to one Ethernet device. Although the OPC
server may allow 100 channels for most drivers, the device ultimately determines the number of allowed
connections. This constraint comes from the fact that most devices limit the number of supported
connections. The more connections that are made to a device, the less time it has to process request on
each connect. This means that there can be an inverse tradeoff in performance as connections are added.
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For client applications using Advanced DDE, the number of elements in the array is specified in the
SPACKDDE_DATAHDR_TAG structure. Only single dimensional arrays are supported by this protocol. This
structure should be used when poking array data to the server.
For clients using CF_TEXT, one or two-dimensional arrays are supported. Data in each row is separated by a
TAB (0x09) character and each row is terminated with a CR (0x0d) and a LF (0x0a) character. When a client
wants to poke an array of data values, the text string written should have this delimiter format.
When poking to an Array tag in either format, the entire array does not need to be written, but the starting
location is fixed. If attempting to poke data in an array format to a tag that was not declared as an array, only
the first value in the array is written. If attempting to poke more data than the tag's array size, only as much
data as the tag's array size is written. If attempting to poke data while leaving some data values blank, the
server uses the last known value for that array element when writing back to the device. If the value in that
register has been changed but has not been updated in the server, it is overwritten with the old value. For
this reason, it is best to be cautious when writing data to arrays.
How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag Group
When naming a channel, device, tag, or tag group, the following characters are reserved or restricted:
l Periods
l Double quotation marks
l Leading underscores
l Leading or trailing spaces
Note: Some of the restricted characters can be used in specific situations. For more information, refer to
the list below.
1. Periods are used in aliases to separate the original channel name and the device name. For example,
a valid name is "Channel1.Device1".
2. Underscores can be used after the first character. For example, a valid name is "Tag_1".
3. Spaces may be used within the name. For example, a valid name is "Tag 1".
How To... Resolve Comm Issues When the DNS/DHCP Device Connected to the
Server is Power Cycled
Certain drivers support DNS/DHCP resolution for connectivity, which allows users to assign unique domain /
network names for identification purposes. When starting and connecting to the network, the devices
request an IP address from the network DNS server. This process of resolving a domain name to an IP
address for connectivity takes time. For greater speed, the operating system caches all of the resolved IP /
domain names and re-uses them. The resolved names are held in cache for two hours by default.
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The server fails to reconnect to a device when the name of the IP address associated with the device's
domain / network changes. If this change is a result of the device being power cycled, it acquires a new IP.
This change may also be a result of the IP being manually changed on the device. In both cases, the IP
address that was being used no longer exists.
Because the server automatically flushes the cache every 30 seconds, the IP is forced to resolve. If this does
not correct the issue, users can manually flush the cache by typing the command string "ipconfig / flushdns"
in the PC's command prompt.
For more information, refer to the following Microsoft Support article Disabling and Modifying Client Side
DNS Caching.
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1. To start, create a new channel for each device. Place the device under the new channel and delete
the original channel.
2. Under Alias in the tree view, create a New Alias for each device in the Alias Map. The alias name is
the original channel and device name separated by a period. For example, "Channel1.Device1".
For information on reserved characters, refer to How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag
Group.
Note: The server validates any request for items against the alias map before responding back to the
client application with an error that the item does not exist.
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Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) is a Microsoft communications protocol that provides a method for
exchanging data between applications running on a Windows operating system. The DDE client program
opens a channel to the DDE server application and requests item data using a hierarchy of the application
(service) name, topic name, and item name.
For DDE clients to connect to the server interface, the runtime must be allowed to interact with the
desktop.
For more information, refer to How to Allow Desktop Interactions.
*This is the default topic for all DDE data that does not use an alias map entry.
Note: An example of the syntax is "MyDDE|ModPLC1!40001" . For additional possible syntax, refer to the
DDE client's specific help documentation.
See Also:
Project Properties - DDE
Project Properties - FastDDE & SuiteLink
What is the Alias Map?
l The correct syntax must be used for the data address. For more information on the specific driver's
syntax, refer to its help documentation.
l If users do not specify the requested item's data type, it is set to the default setting by the application.
For more information on the specific driver's supported data types, refer to its help documentation.
Note: In the examples below, the Simulator Driver is used with a channel name of 'Channel1' and a
device name of 'Device1'.
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To get data from register 'K0001' in the simulated device, use an item ID of "Channel1.Device1.K001." The
default data type for this register is Short. Since non-OPC clients do not provide an update rate to the server,
the Dynamic tag's default update rate is 100 ms. Both data type and update rate can be overridden after the
dynamic request is sent.
To override the tag defaults, use the commercial AT sign ('@') at the end of the item. If intending to add the
register as a DWord (unsigned 32-bit) data type, use an item ID of "Channel1.Device1.K0001@DWord." To
change the default update rate to 1000 ms, use "Channel1.Device1.K0001@1000." To change both defaults,
use "Channel1.Device1.K0001@DWord,1000."
Note: The client application must be able to accept special characters like the '@' in its address space.
Note: The client application must be able to accept special characters like the '@' in its address space.
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Note: For unsolicited drivers that support Ethernet Encapsulation, users must configure the port and the
protocol settings at the channel level. This allows the driver to bind to the specified port and process
incoming requests from multiple devices. An IP address is not entered at the channel because the channel
accepts incoming requests from all devices.
Ethernet Encapsulation can be used over wireless network connections (such as 802.11b and CDPD packet
networks) and has been developed to support a wide range of serial devices. By using a terminal server
device, users can place RS-232 and RS-485 devices throughout the plant operations while still allowing a
single localized PC to access the remotely mounted devices. Furthermore, Ethernet Encapsulation mode
allows an individual network IP address to be assigned to each device as needed. While using multiple
terminal servers, users can access hundreds of serial devices from a single PC.
Note: Only the drivers that support Ethernet Encapsulation allows the option to be selected.
Note: The server's multiple channel support allows up to 16 channels on each driver protocol. This
allows users to specify one channel to use the local PC serial port and another channel to use Ethernet
Encapsulation mode.
When Ethernet Encapsulation mode is selected, the serial port settings (such as baud rate, data bits, and
parity) are unavailable. After the channel has been configured for Ethernet Encapsulation mode, users must
configure the device for Ethernet operation. When a new device is added to the channel, the Ethernet
Encapsulation settings can be used to select an Ethernet IP address, an Ethernet Port number, and the
Ethernet protocol.
Note: The terminal server being used must have its serial port configured to match the requirements of
the serial device to be attached to the terminal server.
Term Definition
Non-Normalized An IEEE-754 floating point number that is one of the following:
Floating Point
l Negative Infinity to Quiet Negative NaN.
Value
l Positive Infinity to Quiet Positive NaN.
l Negative Denormalized Values.
l Positive Denormalized Values.
NaN A number that exists outside of the range that may be represented as floating points.
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Term Definition
There are two types of NaN representations: Quiet and Signaling.*
Denormalized A non-zero floating point number whose magnitude is less than the magnitude of the
Number smallest IEEE 754-2008 value that may be represented for a Float or a Double.
*A floating point value that falls within the Signaling NaN range is converted to a Quiet NaN before being
transferred to a client for Float and Double data types. To avoid this conversion, use a single element
floating-point array.
Note: For information on which values are replaced with zero before being transferred to clients, refer to
the tables below.
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Many client-side SCADA systems either do not have configurable scan rates or have scan rates whose
minimum value is too long for the data updates that are required by SCADA operators. To bypass this
limitation, the SCADA system can perform writes to the Device Demand Poll tags available in the server. In
this scenario, each device in the server exposes a _DemandPoll tag that polls all referenced tags on the
device when written to by a client. During the poll, the _DemandPoll tag becomes True (1). It returns to False
(0) when the final active tag signals that the read requests have completed. Subsequent writes to the _
DemandPoll tag fails until the tag value returns to False. The demand poll respects the read/write duty cycle
for the channel. Client-side SCADA scripts (such as a Refresh button script) can be developed to write to the
_DemandPoll tag and cause a poll to occur. The poll results are passed on to the client application. For more
information, refer to System Tags.
Note: The procedure described above is not OPC-compliant behavior. If this is a problem, it is
recommended that communications be separated onto two devices. One device can use the classic OPC
update interval, and the other device can set the Scan Mode to "Do not scan, demand poll only" and only poll
when the _DemandPoll tag is written to.
Regardless of whether Device Demand Poll is being utilized, clients that are limited by tag scan rates may
also encounter operator wait time due to the server complying with the OPC client's group update rate. To
circumvent this OPC-compliant behavior, users can configure the "Ignore group update rate, return data as
soon as it is available" setting. This returns the poll results immediately and disregards the update interval.
For more information, refer to Project Properties - OPCDACompliance.
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Note: This document assumes familiarity with HTTP communication and REST concepts.
Initialization - The Configuration API is installed as a Windows service and starts automatically with the
system.
Operation - The Configuration API supports connections and commands between the server and REST
clients.
Shutdown - If the Configuration API must be stopped, use the Windows Service Control Manager to
terminate the Configuration API service.
Security
REST clients to the Configuration API must use HTTP Basic Authentication. The user credentials are defined
in the server User Manager.
Documentation
Please consult additional information on properties, data ranges, endpoint mapping scheme, and acceptable
actions for each endpoint is available at the Configuration API Landing Page at http://localhost:57412/config/
(for default configurations).
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If the Administrative icon is not in the system tray, re-launch it by selecting Start | All Programs |
Kepware | KEPServerEX 6 | KEPServerEX 6 Administration | Settings.
Enable: Choose Yes to enable the Configuration API Server. If disabled (No); the service runs, but does not
bind to the HTTP and HTTPS ports and clients cannot access the server.
Enable HTTP: Select No to limit data transfer to only secure / encrypted protocols and endpoints. Select Yes
to allow unencrypted data transfer.
Tips:
1. HTTP is only recommended for internal networks because user authentication is transmitted as plain
text.
2. To prevent external access over unsecure HTTP, this port should be blocked by the Windows firewall.
HTTP Port: Specify the TCP/IP port for the REST client to communicate over unencrypted HTTP. The valid
range is 1 to 65535. HTTP and HTTPS ports must not match. The default port number of 57412.
HTTPS Port: Specify the TCP/IP port for the REST client to communicate over secure HTTP. The valid range is
1 to 65535. HTTP and HTTPS ports must not match. The default port number of 57512.
CORS Allowed Origins: Specify an approved white-list of comma-separated domain specifications that
may access the Configuration API Server for Cross Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) requests.
Restore Defaults: click to blue link to the right to restore the default HTTP and HTTPS port values.
View in Browser: click the blue address link to the right to open the Configuration API documentation
landing page in a browser.
View in Browser (SSL): click the blue address link to the right to open the Configuration API documentation
landing page in a browser via the secure URL.
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Transaction Logging
Persistence Mode: Select the record retention method for the system log. The default setting is Memory
(no persistence). The options are:
l Memory (no persistence): records all events in memory and does not generate a log that is saved
to disk. A specified number of records are retained before the oldest records start being deleted. The
contents are available only while the server is running.
l Single File: generates a recorded log file saved to disk. A specified number of records are retained
before the oldest records start being deleted. The contents are restored from this file when the
server is started.
l Extended Datastore: saves a potentially large number of records to disk distributed across multiple
files. The records are retained for a specified number of days before being removed from the disk.
The contents are restored from the distributed files on the disk when the server is started.
Max. Records: Specify the number of transactions the log retains before the oldest record is deleted.
Available when the Persistence Mode is set to Memory or Single File. The valid range is 100 to 30000
records. The default setting is 1000 records.
Note: The log is truncated if this parameter is set to a value less than the current size of the log.
Log File Path: Indicate where the log is stored on disk. Available when the Persistence Mode is set to Single
File or Extended Datastore.
Attempts to persist diagnostics data using a mapped path may fail because the Transaction Log service is
running in the context of the SYSTEM account and does not have access to a mapped drive on the local host.
Use a mapped drive path with caution. A Uniform Naming Convention (UNC) path is recommended.
Max. Single File Size: Indicate the size limit, in KB, of a single datastore file at which a new datastore file is
started. Available when the Persistence Mode is set to Extended Datastore. The valid range is 100 to 10000
KB. The default setting is 1000 KB.
Min. Days to Preserve: Specify the number of days individual datastore files kept before being deleted
from disk. Available when the Persistence Mode is set to Extended Datastore. The valid range is 1 to 90
days. The default setting is 30 days.
Verbose: Select Yes to record a detailed level of data is recorded in the log. Verbose logging includes HTTP
request and response bodies in addition to the parameters included with non-verbose logging. See Verbose
Logging for more information. Select No to record much less data and keep log files smaller.
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Certificate Management
Note: An X.509 certificate is used to establish SSL communication between the client and the REST
server. A default self-signed certificate is generated when the REST server is installed, but accessing the
server from outside a secure network requires a trusted certificate.
View Certificate: Click to blue link to the right to open the current certificate to review.
Export Certificate: Click to blue link to the right to save the current certificate in .PEM format (such as for
importing into third-party REST clients).
Reissue Certificate: Click to blue link to the right to create a new certificate, replacing the current
certificate.
Import Certificate: Click to blue link to the right to import a certificate in .PEM format.
Note: A certificate is created on installation without additional configuration. When reissuing or importing
a certificate, the new certificate in not applied until the Configuration API is stopped and restarted via the
Windows Service Control Manager or the system restarts.
The best practice is to issue a GET request, save the current Project ID, and use that ID for the following PUT
request. If only one client is used, the client may put the property FORCE_UPDATE: true in the PUT request
body to force the Configuration API Server to ignore the Project ID.
{
"action": "GET",
"endpoint": "/config/v1/drivers/channels/channel1",
"response": 404,
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"source": "127.0.0.1",
"timestamp": "2016-02-04T20:28:41.178",
"user": "Administrator"
}
where:
l Action = The HTTP request method that was sent to the Configuration API
l Endpoint = The URL where the request was sent (excluding the IP address and port number)
l Response = The HTTP response code returned to the user
l Source = The IP address of the sender
l Timestamp = The time (UTC) that the response was sent from the Configuration API
l User = The user who sent the request
Filtering: The Configuration API Transaction Log allows log items to be sorted or limited using filter
parameters specified in the URI. The filters, which can be combined or used individually, allow the results of
the log query to be restricted to a specific time period (e.g. events which occurred since a given date, events
which occurred before a given date, or events that occurred between two dates). Example filtered log query:
http://<hostname>:<port>/config/v1/log?limit=10&start=2016-01-
01T00:00:00.000&end=2016-01-02T20:00:00.000
where:
l Limit = Maximum number of log entries to return. The default setting is 100 entries.
l Start = Earliest time to be returned in YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.sss (UTC) format.
l End = Latest time to be returned in YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss.sss (UTC) format.
Note: The Limit filter overrides the result of the specified time period. If there are more log entries in the
time period than the Limit filter allows, the newest records that match the filter criteria are displayed.
Verbose Logging: records the request and response JSON bodies, which can be useful for troubleshooting.
Turning on verbose logging can add two properties (requestbody and responsebody) to each log entry,
depending on the request type. To turn on verbose logging, open Settings | Configuration API Service |
Transaction Logging and change Verbose to Yes.
Warning: Verbose logging causes the transaction log to grow rapidly. Do not activate for normal use.
Note: Log queries are not logged in a verbose manner; the entries display the shorter format.
Logging Permissions: allows additional permission settings to prevent unauthorized users from accessing
the log. The default is Deny for all non-administrator users.
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See Also: Refer to server help for more information on changing permissions in User Manager.
Please consult additional information on properties, data ranges, endpoint mapping scheme, and acceptable
actions for each endpoint is available at the Configuration API Landing Page at http://localhost:57412/config/
(for default configurations).
Object names containing spaces, or other characters disallowed in URL formatting, must be percent-
encoded to be correctly interpreted by the Configuration API. Percent encoding involves replacing disallowed
characters with their hexidecimal representation. For example, an object named 'default object' is percent-
encoded as default%20object. The following characters are not permitted in a URL and must be encoded:
Percent encoding does not guarantee that a name is valid. To determine the valid name values, refer to the
documentation for the specific object that you are creating.
Create an Object
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An object can be created by sending an HTTP POST request to the Configuration API. When creating a new
object, the JSON must include required properties for the object (ex. each object must have a name), but
doesnt require all properties. All properties not included in the JSON are set to the default value on creation.
Example POST JSON body:
{
"<Property1_Name>": <Value>,
"<Property2_Name>": <Value>,
"<Property3_Name>": <Value>
}
Read an Object
An object can be read by sending an HTTP GET request to the Configuration API. All object properties are
returned on every GET request and each object includes a Project_ID. The Project_ID property is used to
track changes in the configuration and is updated on any change from the Configuration API or KEPServerEX
Configuration Client. This property should be saved and used in all PUT requests to prevent stale data
manipulations. Example response body:
{
"<Property1_Name>": <Value>,
"<Property2_Name>": <Value>,
"PROJECT_ID": 12345678,
}
Edit an Object
An object can be edited by sending an HTTP PUT request to the Configuration API. PUT requests require the
Project_ID or Force_Update property in the JSON body. Setting Force_Update to True ignores Project_ID
validation. Example PUT body:
{
"<Property1_Name>": <Value>,
"<Property2_Name>": <Value>,
"PROJECT_ID": 12345678,
"FORCE_UPDATE": true
}
Delete an Object
An object can be deleted by sending an HTTP DELETE request to the Configuration API. The Configuration
API does not allow deleting multiple items on the same level with a single request (such as deleting all of the
devices in a channel), but can delete an entire tree (such as deleting a device deletes all its child tags).
Errors
All Configuration API Service error requests return in JSON format. Example:
{
"code": 400,
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3BCD
4BCD
8AL
8BN
12AL
12BN
13AL
13BN
14AL
14BN
15AL
15BN
20P
TNON
Note: Linear and logarithmic scaling is available through the server for Static tags only. For more
information, refer to Tag Properties - Scaling and Static Tags (User-Defined).
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1. To start, export the PDB database from the iFIX Database Manager.
2. Re-import the exported file so that each item in the database is re-validated with the server.
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Note: A new configuration file is created in the same folder as the default server project file,
containing the name "default_FIX.ini".
4. Depending on how long it takes to read an initial value for all the items in the project, it may be
necessary to delay the start of SAC processing. Doing so allows the server enough time to retrieve all
initial updates before the iFIX client requests data from the server. For more information on the
specific iFIX version, refer to the iFIX documentation.
5. Restart both the iFIX application and the server to put the changes into effect.
Note: For new projects (or when adding additional items to an existing iFIX database) users do not need
to perform the steps described above. The item is validated by the server upon its addition to the database.
If valid, the server adds the item to the configuration file.
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Built-In Diagnostics
When communications problems occur, users can utilize both OPC and channel diagnostics to help
determine the cause of the issue. These views provide diagnostics on both the server-level and driver-level.
Since they may affect performance, users should only utilize diagnostics when debugging or trouble-
shooting. For more information, select a link from the list below.
Note:Although the viewer can be accessed when capture is disabled, there are no diagnostics until it is
enabled.
For information on enabling OPC diagnostics, refer to Project Properties - OPCDA Settings, Project
Properties - OPC UA Settings.
For information on the log settings properties, refer to Settings - Event Log.
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View | Pause or select the Pause icon. Although data continues to be captured, the display does not
update.
To save an OPCDiagnostics file, click File | Save As and select OPC Diagnostic Files (*.opcdiag).
View Menu
l Live Data: When enabled, this option displays any persisted OPC Diagnostics data that is currently
available from the Event Log. The default setting is enabled.For more information, refer to Live Data
Mode.
l File Data: When enabled, this option displays data from a saved OPCDiagnostics file. The default
setting is disabled. For more information, refer to File Data Mode.
l Always on Top: When enabled, this option forces the OPC Diagnostics window to remain on the top
of all other application windows. The default setting is enabled.
l Autoscroll: When enabled, this option scrolls the display as new events are received to ensure that
the most recent event is visible. It turns off when users manually select an event (or when a selection
is made by Find/Find Next).
l Toolbar: When enabled, this option displays a toolbar of icons for quick access to the options
available through the File, Edit, and View menus. The default setting is enabled.
l Information Bar:When enabled, this option displays a bar of information above the OPCDiagnostics
data. The default setting is enabled.
Find
This dialog searches the Diagnostics View for key information transferred between the client and server. For
example, this search functionality can be used to find all actions on a particular item ID or group name.
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Note: When an event or detail with the specified text is found, the line containing the text is highlighted.
To perform a Find Next operation (and look for the next occurrence of the specified text), press "F3". When
the last occurrence is found, a message box indicates this condition. Users can change the search criteria at
any time by pressing "Ctrl+F".
Filter
This dialog specifies which events is visible in the OPCDiagnostics Viewer. For example, most clients make
continuous GetStatus calls into the server to determine whether the server is still available. By filtering this
event, users can just examine the diagnostics data. The filtering applied is to the view, not to the capture. All
event types are captured regardless of the filter settings. Furthermore, because filters can be applied while
the dialog is open, settings can be changed and applied independently. Changes may be made without
closing and reopening the dialog.
Note: Each method (such as "IOPCCommon" or "GetErrorString") of every OPC Data Access 1.0, 2.0, and
3.0 interface that is supported by the server is available as a filter.
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l Check Selected: When clicked, this button enables all events under the selected item for viewing. All
methods for all interfaces are selected by default.
For more information, refer to OPC DA Events and OPC UA Services.
l Uncheck Selected When clicked, this button enables all event types and methods under the selected
item.
l Import: When clicked, this button allows users to select an INI file for import to the Filter.
l Export: When clicked, this button allows users to export the Filter as an INI file.
Notes:
1. Because the Filter settings are persisted when the OPCDiagnostics Viewer is closed, users can
reopen and view the OPCdiagnostic files at a later time. Files opened in File Data Mode may be
filtered. When a file is saved from the OPCDiagnostics Viewer, only the events that are displayed as a
result of the applied filter is saved. If an unfiltered data file is required, users must turn off filtering
before saving the file.
OPC DA Events
For more information on a specific OPC Diagnostic Event, select a link from the list below.
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IClassFactory
Server
IOPCCommon
IOPCServer
IConnectionPointContainer (Server)
IConnectionPoint (Server)
IOPCBrowse
IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace
IOPCItemProperties
IOPCItemIO
Group
IOPCGroupStateMgt
IOPCGroupStateMgt2
IOPCItemMgt
IOPCItemDeadbandMgt
IOPCItemSamplingMgt
IOPCSyncIO
IOPCSyncIO2
IOPCAsyncIO
IDataObject
IAdviseSink
IAsyncIO2
IAsyncIO3
IConnectionPointContainer (Group)
IConnectionPoint (Group)
IOPCDataCallback
IEnumOPCItemAttributes
IClassFactory
The IClassFactory interface contains several methods intended to deal with an entire class of objects. It is
implemented on the class object for a specific class of objects and is identified by a CLSID.
l QueryInterface: The client can ask the object whether it supports any outgoing interfaces by calling
QueryInterface for IConnectionPointContainer. If the object answers "yes" by handing back a valid
pointer, the client knows it can attempt to establish a connection.
l AddRef: Increments the reference count for an interface on an object. It should be called for every
new copy of a pointer to an interface on a given object.
l Release: Decreases the reference count of the interface by 1.
l CreateInstance: Creates an uninitialized object.
l LockServer: Allows instances to be created quickly when called by the client of a class object to keep
a server open in memory.
Server
The client calls CoCreateInstance to create the server object and the initial interface.
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l QueryInterface: The client can ask the object whether it supports any outgoing interfaces by calling
QueryInterface for IConnectionPointContainer. If the object answers "yes" by handing back a valid
pointer, the client knows it can attempt to establish a connection.
l AddRef: Increments the reference count for an interface on an object. It should be called for every
new copy of a pointer to an interface on a given object.
l Release: Decreases the reference count of the interface by 1.
IOPCCommon
This interface is used by all OPC server types (DataAccess, Alarm&Event, Historical Data, and so forth). It
provides the ability to set and query a Locale ID which would be in effect for the particular client/server
session. The actions of one client do not affect other clients.
l GetErrorString: Returns the error string for a server specific error code. The expected behavior is
that this includes handling of Win32 errors as well (such as RPC errors).
l GetLocaleID: Returns the default Locale ID for this server/client session.
l QueryAvailableLocaleIDs: Returns the available Locale IDs for this server/client session.
l SetClientName: Allows the client to optionally register a client name with the server. This is included
primarily for debugging purposes. The recommended behavior is that users set the Node name and
EXE name here.
l SetLocaleID: Sets the default Locale ID for this server/client session. This Locale ID is used by the
GetErrorString method on this interface. The default value for the server should be LOCALE_SYSTEM_
DEFAULT.
IOPCServer
This is an OPC server's main interface. The OPC server is registered with the operating system as specified
in the Installation and Registration Chapter of this specification.
l AddGroup: Adds a group to a server. A group is a logical container for a client to organize and
manipulate data items.
l CreateGroupEnumerator: Creates various enumerators for the groups provided by the server.
l GetErrorString: Returns the error string for a server specific error code.
l GetGroupByName: Returns an additional interface pointer when given the name of a private group
(created earlier by the same client). Use GetPublicGroupByName to attach to public groups. This
function can be used to reconnect to a private group for which all interface pointers have been
released.
l GetStatus: Returns current status information for the server.
l RemoveGroup: Deletes the group. A group is not deleted when all the client interfaces are released,
since the server itself maintains a reference to the group. The client may still call GetGroupByName
after all the interfaces have been released. RemoveGroup() causes the server to release its 'last'
reference to the group, which results in the group being deleted.
IConnectionPointContainer (Server)
This interface provides the access to the connection point for IOPCShutdown.
l EnumConnectionPoints: Creates an enumerator for the connection points supported between the
OPC group and the client. OPCServers must return an enumerator that includes IOPCShutdown.
Additional vendor specific callbacks are allowed.
l FindConnectionPoint: Finds a particular connection point between the OPC server and the client.
OPCServers must support IID_IOPCShutdown. Additional vendor specific callbacks are allowed.
IConnectionPoint (Server)
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l Advise: Establishes an advisory connection between the connection point and the caller's sink object.
l EnumConnections: Creates an enumerator object for iteration through the connections that exist to
this connection point.
l GetConnectionInterface: Returns the IID of the outgoing interface managed by this connection
point.
l GetConnectionPointContainer: Retrieves the IConnectionPointContainer interface pointer to the
connectable object that conceptually owns the connection point.
l Unadvise: Terminates an advisory connection previously established through the Advise method.
l ShutdownRequest: Allows the server to request that all clients disconnect from the server.
IOPCBrowse
IOPCBrowse interface provides improved methods for browsing the server address space and for obtaining
the item properties.
IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace
This interface provides a way for clients to browse the available data items in the server, giving the user a
list of the valid definitions for an item ID. It allows for either flat or hierarchical address spaces and is
designed to work well over a network. It also insulates the client from the syntax of a server vendor specific
item ID.
l BrowseAccessPaths: Provides a way to browse the available AccessPaths for an item ID.
l BrowseOPCItemIDs: Returns an IENUMString for a list of item IDs as determined by the passed
properties. The position from which the browse is made can be set in ChangeBrowsePosition.
l ChangeBrowserPosition: Provides a way to move up, down or to in a hierarchical space.
l GetItemID: Provides a way to assemble a fully qualified item ID in a hierarchical space. This is
required since the browsing functions return only the components or tokens that make up an item ID
and do not return the delimiters used to separate those tokens. Also, at each point one is browsing
just the names below the current node (e.g. the units in a cell).
l QueryOrganization: Provides a way to determine if the underlying system is inherently flat or
hierarchical and how the server may represent the information of the address space to the client.
Flat and hierarchical spaces behave somewhat different. If the result is flat, the client knows that
there is no need to pass the Branch or Leaf flags to BrowseOPCItem IDs or to call
ChangeBrowsePosition.
IOPCItemProperties
This interface can be used to browse the available properties associated with an item ID as well as to read
the properties' current values.
l GetItemProperties: Returns a list of the current data values for the passed ID codes.
l LookUpItemIDs: Returns a list of item IDs for each of the passed ID codes if any are available. These
indicate the item ID which could be added to an OPC group and used for more efficient access to the
data corresponding to the item properties.
l QueryAvailableProperties: Returns a list of ID codes and descriptions for the available properties
for this item ID. This list may differ for different item IDs. This list is expected to be relatively stable
for a particular item ID, although it could be affected from time to time by changes to the underlying
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system's configuration. The item ID is passed to this function because servers are allowed to return
different sets of properties for different item IDs.
IOPCItemIO
The purpose of this interface is to provide an easy way for basic applications to obtain OPC data.
l Read: Reads one or more values, qualities, and timestamps for the items specified. This is
functionally similar to the IOPCSyncIO::Read method.
l WriteVQT: Writes one or more values, qualities, and timestamps for the items specified. This is
functionally similar to the IOPCSyncIO2::WriteVQT except that there is no associated group. If a client
attempts to write VQ, VT, or VQT it should expect that the server will write them all or none at all.
Group
The client calls CoCreateInstance to create the server object and the initial interface.
l QueryInterface: The client can ask the object whether it supports any outgoing interfaces by calling
QueryInterface for IConnectionPointContainer. If the object answers "yes" by handing back a valid
pointer, the client knows it can attempt to establish a connection.
l AddRef: Increments the reference count for an interface on an object. It should be called for every
new copy of a pointer to an interface on a given object.
l Release: Decreases the reference count of the interface by 1.
IOPCGroupStateMgt
IOPCGroupStateMgt allows the client to manage the overall state of the group. Primarily, this accounts for
changes made to the group's update rate and active state.
IOPCGroupStateMgt2
This interface was added to enhance the existing IOPCGroupStateMgt interface.
l SetKeepAlive: Causes the server to provide client callbacks on the subscription when there are no
new events to report. Clients can be assured of the health of the server and subscription without
resorting to pinging the server with calls to GetStatus().
l GetKeepAlive: Returns the currently active keep-alive time for the subscription.
IOPCItemMgt
This interface allows a client to add, remove and control the behavior of items is a group.
l AddItems: Adds one or more items to a group. It is acceptable to add the same item to the group
more than once, generating a second item with a unique ServerHandle.
l CreateEnumerator: Creates an enumerator for the items in the group.
l RemoveItems: Removes items from a group. Removing items from a group does not affect the
address space of the server or physical device. It indicates whether or not the client is interested in
those particular items.
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l SetActiveState: Sets one or more items in a group to active or inactive. This controls whether or not
valid data can be obtained from read cache for those items and whether or not they are included in
the IAdvise subscription to the group. Deactivating items does not result in a callback, since by
definition callbacks do not occur for inactive items. Activating items generally results in an IAdvise
callback at the next UpdateRate period.
l SetClientHandles: Changes the client handle for one or more items in a group. In general, it is
expected that clients set the client handle when the item is added and not change it later.
l SetDataTypes: Changes the requested data type for one or more items in a group. In general, it is
expected that clients set the requested data type when the item is added and not change it later.
l ValidateItems: Determines if an item is valid and could be added without error. It also returns
information about the item such as canonical datatype. It does not affect the group in any way.
IOPCItemDeadbandMgt
Force a callback to IOPCDataCallback::OnDataChange for all active items in the group, whether they have
changed or not. Inactive items are not included in the callback. The MaxAge value determines where the
data is obtained. There is only one MaxAge value, which determines the MaxAge for all active items in the
group. This means some of the values may be obtained from cache while others could be obtained from the
device, depending on the "freshness" of the data in the cache.
l SetItemDeadband: Overrides the deadband specified for the group for each item.
l GetItemDeadband: Gets the deadband values for each of the requested items.
l ClearItemDeadband: Clears the individual item PercentDeadband, effectively reverting them back
to the deadband value set in the group.
IOPCItemSamplingMgt
This optional interface allows the client to manipulate the rate at which individual items within a group are
obtained from the underlying device. It does not affect the group update rate of the callbacks for
OnDataChange.
l SetItemSamplingRate: Sets the sampling rate on individual items. This overrides the update rate of
the group as far as collection from the underlying device is concerned. The update rate associated
with individual items does not affect the callback period.
l GetItemSamplingRate: Gets the sampling rate on individual items, which was previously set with
SetItemSamplingRate.
l ClearItemSamplngRate: Clears the sampling rate on individual items, which was previously set with
SetItemSamplingRate. The item reverts to the update rate of the group.
l SetItemBufferEnable: Requests that the server turns on or off, depending on the value of the Enable
property, the buffering of data for the identified items, which are collected for items that have an
update rate faster than the group update rate.
l GetItemBufferEnable: Queries the current state of the servers buffering for requested items.
IOPCSyncIO
IOPCSyncIO allows a client to perform synchronous read and write operations to a server. The operations
run to completion.
l Read: Reads the value, quality and timestamp information for one or more items in a group. The
function runs to completion before returning. The data can be read from cache in which case it
should be accurate to within the UpdateRate and percent deadband of the group. The data can be
read from the device, in which case an actual read of the physical device must be performed. The
exact implementation of cache and device reads are not defined by the specification.
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l Write: Writes values to one or more items in a group. The function runs to completion. The values
are written to the device, meaning that the function should not return until it verifies that the device
has actually accepted or rejected the data. Writes are not affected by the active state of the group or
item.
IOPCSyncIO2
This interface was added to enhance the existing IOPCSyncIO interface.
l ReadMaxAge: Reads one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. This is
functionally similar to the OPCSyncIO::Read method except no source is specified (device or cache).
The server determines whether the information is obtained from the device or cache. This decision is
based on the MaxAge property. If the information in the cache is within the MaxAge, the data is
obtained from the cache; otherwise, the server must access the device for the requested
information.
l WriteVQT: Writes one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. This is
functionally similar to the IOPCSyncIO::Write except that Quality and Timestamp may be written. If a
client attempts to write VQ, VT or VQT it should expect that the server will write to all or none.
IOPCAsyncIO
IOPCAsyncIO allows a client to perform asynchronous read and write operations to a server. The operations
are queued and the function returns immediately so that the client can continue to run. Each operation is
treated as a transaction and is associated with a Transaction ID. As the operations are completed, a callback
is made to the IAdvise Sink in the client (if one is established). The information in the callback indicates the
Transaction ID and the error results. By convention, 0 is an invalid Transaction ID.
IDataObject
IDataObject is implemented on the OPCGroup rather than on the individual items. This allows the creation of
an Advise connection between the client and the group using the OPC Data Stream Formats for the efficient
data transfer.
l DAdvise: Creates a connection for a particular stream format between the OPC group and the client.
l DUnadvise: Terminates a connection between the OPC group and the client.
IAdviseSink
The client only has to provide a full implementation of OnDataChange.
l OnDataChange: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC group for
exception based data changes, Async reads and Refreshes and Async Write Complete.
IAsyncIO2
This interface is similar to IOPCAsync(OPC 1.0) and is intended to replace IOPCAsyncIO. It was added in OPC
2.05.
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IAsyncIO3
This interface was added to enhance the existing IOPCAsyncIO2 interface.
l ReadMaxAge: Reads one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. This is
functionally similar to the OPCSyncIO::Read method except it is asynchronous and no source is
specified (device or cache). The server determines whether the information is obtained from the
device or cache. This decision is based on the MaxAge property. If the information in the cache is
within the MaxAge, the data is obtained from the cache; otherwise, the server must access the device
for the requested information.
l WriteVQT: Writes one or more values, qualities and timestamps for the items specified. The results
are returned via the client's IOPCDataCallback connection established through the server's
IConnectionPointContainer. This is functionally similar to the IOPCAsyncIO2::Write except that Quality
and Timestamp may be written. If a client attempts to write VQ, VT or VQT it should expect that the
server will write them all or none at all.
l RefreshMaxAge: Forces a callback to IOPCDataCallback::OnDataChange for all active items in the
group, whether or not they have changed. Inactive items are not included in the callback. The
MaxAge value determines where the data is obtained. There is only one MaxAge value, which
determines the MaxAge for all active items in the group. This means some of the values may be
obtained from cache while others can be obtained from the device, depending on the type of the data
in the cache.
IConnectionPointContainer (Group)
This interface provides functionality similar to the IDataObject but is easier to implement and to understand.
It also provides the functionality missing from the IDataObject interface. The client must use the new
IOPCAsyncIO2 interface to communicate via connections established with this interface. The old IOPCAsnyc
continues to communicate via IDataObject connections as in the past.
l EnumConnectionPoints: Creates an enumerator for the connection points supported between the
OPC group and the client.
l FindConnectionPoint: Finds a particular connection point between the OPC group and the client.
IConnectionPoint (Group)
This interface establishes a call back to the client.
l Advise: Establishes an advisory connection between the connection point and the caller's sink object.
l EnumConnections: Creates an enumerator object for iteration through the connections that exist to
this connection point.
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l GetConnectionInterface: Returns the IID of the outgoing interface managed by this connection
point.
l GetConnectionPointContainer: Retrieves the IConnectionPointContainer interface pointer to the
connectable object that conceptually owns the connection point.
l Unadvise: Terminates an advisory connection previously established through the Advise method.
IOPCDataCallback
To use connection points, the client must create an object that supports both the IUnknown and
IOPCDataCallback interface.
l OnDataChange: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC group for
exception based data changes and Refreshes.
l OnReadComplete: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC group
on completion of Async reads.
l OnWriteComplete: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC group
on completion of AsyncIO2 Writes.
l OnCancelComplete: This method is provided by the client to handle notifications from the OPC
group on completion of Async cancel.
IEnumOPCItemAttributes
IEnumOPCItemAttributes allows clients to find out the contents of a group and the attributes of those items.
Most of the returned information is either supplied by or returned to the client at the time it called AddItem.
l Clone: Creates a second copy of the enumerator. The new enumerator is initially in the same state
as the current enumerator.
l Next: Fetches the next 'celt' items from the group.
l Reset: Resets the enumerator back to the first item.
l Skip: Skips over the next 'celt' attributes.
For more information on the general principles of connection points, refer to Microsoft documentation.
OPC UA Services
For more information on a specific OPC Diagnostic Event, select a link from the list below.
AttributeServiceSet
DiscoveryServiceSet
MonitoredItemServiceSet
OtherServices
SecureChannelServiceSet
SessionServiceSet
SubscriptionServiceSet
ViewServiceSet
AttributeServiceSet
This service set provides services to access attributes that are part of nodes.
l Read: This service is used to read one or more attributes of one or more nodes. For constructed
attribute values whose elements are indexed, such as an array, this service allows clients to read the
entire set of indexed values as a composite, to read individual elements or to read ranges of
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DiscoveryServiceSet
This service set defines services used to discover the endpoints implemented by a server and to read the
security configuration for those endpoints.
l FindServers: This service returns the servers known to a server or discovery server.
l GetEndpoints: This service returns the endpoints supported by a server and all of the configuration
information required to establish a secure channel and session.
MonitoredItemServiceSet
This service set allows clients to define monitored items to subscribe to data and events. Each monitored
item identifies the item to be monitored and the subscription to use to send notifications. The item to be
monitored may be any node attribute.
l CreateMonitoredItems: This service is used to create and add one or more MonitoredItems to a
Subscription. A MonitoredItem is deleted automatically by the server when the Subscription is
deleted.
l DeleteMonitoredItems: This service is used to remove one or more MonitoredItems of a
Subscription. When a MonitoredItem is deleted, its triggered item links are also deleted.
l ModifyMonitoredItems: This service is used to modify MonitoredItems of a Subscription. Changes
to the MonitoredItem settings are immediately applied by the server.
l SetMonitoringMode: This service is used to set the monitoring mode for one or more
MonitoredItems of a Subscription. Setting the mode to disabled causes all queued notifications to be
deleted.
l SetTriggering: This service is used to create and delete triggering links for a triggering item.
Triggered items and their links cause a monitored item to report samples when their monitoring
mode doesnt allow for that by default.
OtherServices
OtherServices represents miscellaneous services and notifications.
SecureChannelServiceSet
This service set defines services used to open a communication channel that ensures the confidentiality and
integrity of all messages exchanged with the server.
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SessionServiceSet
This service set defines services for an application layer connection establishment in the context of a
session.
l ActivateSession: This service is used by the client to specify the identity of the user associated with
the session.
l Cancel: This service is used to cancel any outstanding service requests. Successfully cancelled
service requests shall respond with Bad_RequestCancelledByClient ServiceFaults.
l CloseSession: This service is used to terminate a session.
l CreateSession: This service is used by the client to create a Session and the server returns two
values which uniquely identify the Session. The first value is the sessionId which is used to identify the
Session in the Servers AddressSpace. The second is the authenticationToken which is used to
associate an incoming request with a Session.
SubscriptionServiceSet
Subscriptions are used to report notifications from MonitoredItems to a client.
ViewServiceSet
Clients use the browse services of this service set to navigate through the AddressSpace.
l Browse: This service is used to discover the References of a specified Node. The browse service also
supports a primitive filtering capability.
l BrowseNext: This service is used to request the next set of Browse or BrowseNext response
information that is too large to be sent in a single response. Too large in this context means that the
server is not able to return a larger response or that the number of results to return exceeds the
maximum number of results to return that was specified by the client in the original browse request.
l RegisterNodes: This service can be used by clients to register the Nodes that they know they will
access repeatedly (e.g. Write, Read). It allows Servers to set up anything needed so that the access
operations will be more efficient.
l TranslateBrowsePathsToNodeIds: This service is used to request that the server translates one or
more browse paths to NodeIds. Each browse path is constructed of a starting Node and a
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RelativePath. The specified starting Node identifies the Node from which the RelativePath is based.
The RelativePath contains a sequence of ReferenceTypes and BrowseNames.
l UnregisterNodes: This service is used to unregister NodeIds that have been obtained via the
RegisterNodes service.
For more information on the general principles of connection points, refer to Microsoft documentation.
Communication Diagnostics
The server's diagnostic features provide real-time information on the communication driver's performance.
All read and write operations can be viewed in the Diagnostics Viewer or tracked directly in the OPC client
application with built-in Diagnostics tags. The Diagnostic Viewer also provides a real-time protocol view,
which is useful when making changes to key communication parameter settings (such as baud rate, parity,
or device IDs). The changes' effects are displayed in real-time. Once the correct communication and device
settings are set, the data exchange with the device is visible.
Note: Although the Communication Diagnostics Viewer can be opened when capture is disabled, there
are no diagnostics until it is enabled. When enabled, the viewer displays "Capturing". When disabled, the
viewer displays "Diagnostics capture disabled".
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Reset Statistics
Clicking Reset Statistics sets the counts for TX, RX, Good Reads, Failed Reads, Good Writes, and Failed Writes
to zero. Total Events are not set to zero because it specifies the actual number of events in the viewer.
If a communications problem persists, right-click in the Diagnostic Window to invoke the context menu. Then,
use the available selections to tailor the Diagnostic Window's operation.
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l Hex: When enabled, the TX/RX details are formatted using hexadecimal notation.
l ASCII: When enabled, the TX/RX details are formatted using ASCII notation.
l Find: This option invokes a dialog for entering a search string to be applied to the event details. For
more information, refer to Find.
l Copy: This option formats the protocol capture buffer's contents as text for easy "cut and paste" into
an email or fax message. This information helps Technical Support analyze and diagnose many
communications issues.
l Save as Text File: This option saves all the events in the view to a specified file name (as text).
l Autoscroll: This option scrolls the display as new events are received to ensure that the most recent
one is visible. It is turned off when users manually select an event (or when a selection is made by
Find/Find Next).
l Always on Top: This option forces the Diagnostics Window to remain on the top of all other
application windows. This is the default setting.
l Delete All Events: This option clears the log being maintained by the Event Log and results in the
deletion of data.
Find
This dialog searches the Diagnostics View for key information transferred between the client and server.
Note: When an event or detail with the specified text is found, the line containing the text is highlighted.
To perform a Find Next operation (and look for the next occurrence of the specified text), press "F3". When
the last occurrence is found, a message box is displayed indicating this condition. Users can change the
search criteria at any time by pressing "Ctrl+F".
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Driver Information
The Driver Information window provides a summary of the driver's default settings. For example, each driver
displays its maximum number of supported channels.
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l Summary provides the driver name and type, the maximum number of supported channels, and the
number of models in the driver.
l COMM Defaults displays the driver's default settings, which may or may not match the settings of
the device being configured.
l Driver flag definitions displays the driver library functions and indicates whether they have been
enabled in the driver.
l Model Information displays device-specific addressing and features. It lists the name for each
supported model in addition to its addressing values and other features.
The <name> device driver was not found or could not be loaded.
Error Type:
Error
Possible Cause:
1. If the project has been moved from one PC to another, the required drivers may have not been
installed yet.
2. The specified driver may have been removed from the installed server.
3. The specified driver may be the wrong version for the installed server version.
Possible Solution:
1. Re-run the server install and add the required drivers.
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3. Ensure that a driver has not been placed in the installed server directory (which is out of sync with the
server version).
Unable to load the '<name>' driver because more than one copy exists
('<name>' and '<name>'). Remove the conflicting driver and restart the
application.
Error Type:
Error
Possible Cause:
Multiple versions of the driver DLL exist in the driver's folder in the server.
Possible Solution:
1. Re-run the server install and re-install the specified drivers.
2. Contact Technical support and verify the correct version. Remove the driver that is invalid and restart
the server and load the project.
Possible Cause:
TAPI attempted to open the modem line for the server and encountered an error.
Possible Solution:
Correct the condition for the specified error. Then re-attempt to open the modem line.
Possible Cause:
Attempt failed due to issues in the driver.
Possible Solution:
Refer to the additional messages about the driver error and correct related issues.
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Possible Cause:
Attempt failed due to issues in the driver.
Possible Solution:
Refer to the additional messages about the driver error and correct related issues.
Version mismatch.
Error Type:
Error
Possible Cause:
The server is unable to parse the specified XML file.
Possible Solution:
If the server project was edited using a third-party XML editor, verify that the format is correct via the
schemas for the server and drivers.
Possible Cause:
The project was created in a server version that is not compatible with the version trying to load it.
Possible Solution:
Typically this happens when a project was created in a newer version of the server and it is being opened in
an older version.
Note:
Every attempt is made to ensure backwards compatibility in the server so that projects created in older
versions may be loaded in newer versions. However, since new versions of the server and driver may have
properties and configurations that do not exist in older versions, it may not be possible to open or load a
older project in a newer version.
Unable to backup project file to '<path>' [<reason>]. The save operation has
been aborted. Verify the destination file is not locked and has read/write
access. To continue to save this project without a backup, deselect the
backup option under Tools | Options | General and re-save the project.
Error Type:
Error
Possible Cause:
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2. The destination file or the folder where it is located does not allow read/write access.
Possible Solution:
1. Ensure that the destination file is not locked by another application, unlock the file, or close the
application.
2. Ensure that the destination file and with the folder where it is located allow read and write access.
Possible Cause:
The feature is not installed or is not in the expected location.
Possible Solution:
Re-run the server install and select the specified feature for installation.
The current language does not support loading XML projects. To load XML
projects, change the product language selection to English in Server
Administration.
Error Type:
Error
Possible Cause:
Loading XML projects file allowed only in English environment.
Possible Solution:
Change the product language selection to English in Server Administration and try again.
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Possible Cause:
Although the server is regenerating tags for the tag database, it has been set not to overwrite tags that
already exist.
Possible Solution:
If this is not the desired action, change the setting of the "On Duplicate Tag" property for the device.
Unable to generate a tag database for device '<device>'. The device is not
responding.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
1. The device did not respond to the communications request.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify that the device is powered on and that the PC is on (so that the server can connect to it).
Possible Cause:
The specified device is not on, not connected, or in error.
Possible Solution:
Correct the device failure and retry the tag generation.
Possible Cause:
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1. To keep from filling the error log, the server has stopped posting error messages on tags that cannot
be overwritten during automatic tag generation.
2. Reduce the scope of the automatic tag generation or eliminate problematic tags.
Failed to add tag '<tag>' because the address is too long. The maximum
address length is <number>.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
The target modem line is already open, likely because it is in use by another application.
Possible Solution:
Find the application holding the modem open and close or release it.
Possible Cause:
A hardware error was returned after a request was made for a tag in a device connected to the modem.
Possible Solution:
Disable data collection on the device. Enable it after the modem connects to the destination modem.
Note:
The error occurs on first scan and is not repeated.
Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to connect to the modem line with no specified COMM handle.
Possible Solution:
Verify the modem is installed and initialized correctly.
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Possible Cause:
The modem is not in a state that allows dialing.
Possible Solution:
To dial a number, the line must be idle. Monitor the _Mode Modem tag and dial when it indicates an idle
state.
Possible Cause:
The network adapter specified in the project does not exist on this PC. The server uses the default network
adapter.
Possible Solution:
Select the network adapter to use for the PC and save the project.
See Also:
Channel Properties - Network Interface
Possible Cause:
The telephony service is not required to be running for the Runtime to start. When the service is disabled
and a serial driver is added to the project, this error message is reported.
Possible Solution:
1. If modem communication is not used, no action is required.
2. If modem communications are required, the telephony service must be started on the PC.
Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to set invalid parameters on the specified tag.
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Possible Cause:
The specified driver could not be loaded when the project started.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the version of the installed driver. Check the website to see if the driver version is correct for
the server version installed.
Note:
This problem is usually due to corrupted driver DLLs or drivers that are not compatible with the server
version.
Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to set invalid scaling parameters on the specified tag.
See Also:
Tag Properties - Scaling
Possible Cause:
TAPI Manager was unable to apply configuration changes to the server.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the cabling to the modem.
Possible Cause:
Communications with the specified device failed. The device has been demoted from the poll cycle.
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Possible Solution:
1. If the device fails to reconnect, investigate the reason behind the communications loss and correct it.
See Also:
Auto-Demotion
Possible Cause:
The IP address specified for a device on an Ethernet encapsulated channel is not a valid IP address.
Possible Solution:
Correct the IP in the XML file and re-load the project.
Note:
This error can occur when loading XML formatted projects that were created or edited with third-party XML
software.
The '<product>' driver does not currently support XML persistence. Save using
the default file format.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
The specified driver does not support XML formatting.
Possible Solution:
Save the project in .opf format.
Possible Cause:
The specified plug-in could not be loaded when the project started.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the version of the plug-in installed. Check the website to see if the plug-in version is compatible
with the server installed. If not, correct the server or re-run the server install.
2. If the plug-in is corrupt, delete it and then re-run the server install.
Note:
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This problem is usually due to corrupted plug-in DLLs or plug-ins that are not compatible with the server
version.
The time zone set for '<device>' is '<zone>'. This is not a valid time zone for the
system. Defaulting the time zone to '<zone>'.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
The specified plug-in could not be loaded when the project started.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the version of the plug-in installed. Check the website to see if the plug-in version is compatible
with the server installed. If not, correct the server or re-run the server install.
2. If the plug-in is corrupt, delete it and then re-run the server install.
Possible Cause:
The specified plug-in could not be loaded when the project started.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the version of the plug-in installed. Check the website to see if the plug-in version is compatible
with the server installed. If not, correct the server or re-run the server install.
2. If the plug-in is corrupt, delete it and then re-run the server install.
Possible Cause:
The auto-dial property automatically changed from Enable to Disable because the last phone number was
removed from the phone book.
Possible Solution:
If auto-dialing is desired, then add a phone number to the phonebook and re-enable auto-dialing. If auto-
dialing is no longer desired, then no further action is required.
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Possible Cause:
A newly created channel shares a modem with one or more existing channels and requires a phone number
for auto-dialing.
Possible Solution:
Add a phone number to the phonebook of the reported channel.
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Possible Cause:
A client application connected to the server has enabled or disabled Auto Demotion on the specified device.
Possible Solution:
To restrict the client application from doing this, disable its ability to write to system-level tags through the
User Manager.
See Also:
User Manager
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The project file was created with a more recent version of this software.
Error Type:
Informational
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OPC ProgID has been added to the ProgID Redirect list. | ProgID = '<ID>'.
Error Type:
Informational
OPC ProgID has been removed from the ProgID Redirect list. | ProgID = '<ID>'.
Error Type:
Informational
The invalid ProgID entry has been deleted from the ProgID Redirect list. |
ProgID = '<ID>'.
Error Type:
Informational
User moved from user group. | User = '<name>', Old group = '<name>', New
group '<name>'.
Error Type:
Security
User group has been renamed. | Old name = '<name>', New name =
'<name>'.
Error Type:
Security
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User has been renamed. | Old name = '<name>', New name = '<name>'.
Error Type:
Security
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Device driver was not found or could not be loaded. | Driver = '<name>'.
Error Type:
Error
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Error importing CSV record. \n\n'Mapped To' tag address is not valid for this
project. | Record index = '<number>', Tag address = '<address>'.
Error Type:
Error
Error importing CSV record. \n\nAlias name is invalid. Names cannot contain
double quotations or start with an underscore. | Record index = '<number>'.
Error Type:
Error
Rename failed. There is already an object with that name. | Proposed name =
'<name>'.
Error Type:
Error
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Rename failed. Names can not contain periods, double quotations or start
with an underscore. | Proposed name = '<name>'.
Error Type:
Error
Error importing CSV record. Tag name is invalid. | Record index = '<number>',
Tag name = '<name>'.
Error Type:
Warning
Error importing CSV record. Tag or group name exceeds maximum name
length. | Record index = '<number>', Max. name length (characters) =
'<number>'.
Error Type:
Warning
Error importing CSV record. Tag group name is invalid. | Record index =
'<index>', Group name = '<name>'.
Error Type:
Warning
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Virtual Network Mode changed. This affects all channels and virtual networks.
See help for more details regarding the Virtual Network Mode. | New mode =
'<mode>'.
Error Type:
Informational
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Possible Cause:
1. The named feature of the product has not been purchased and licensed.
2. The product license has been removed or trusted storage has become corrupted.
Possible Solution:
1. Download or install the software feature and purchase license.
2. Consult the Licensing User Manual for instructions on activating emergency licenses.
See Also:
License Utility Help
Possible Cause:
One or more required OEM licensing component is missing the system.
Possible Solution:
Contact a sales or support representative for assistance.
See Also:
License Utility Help
Possible Cause:
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1. The product has not been purchased and licensed during the temporary demonstration or trial
duration.
2. The server started in demo mode with the specified time remaining in the demo period.
Possible Solution:
1. If evaluating the server, no action needs to be taken.
2. If this is a production machine, activate the product licenses for the installed components before the
demo time period expires.
3. Purchase a license for all features of the product that will be used.
See Also:
License Utility Help
Maximum device count exceeded for the lite version '<number>' license. Edit
project and restart the server.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
The specified driver was activated with a lite license, which limits the number of devices that can be
configured.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the number of devices authorized by the license and correct the project design to reduce the
device count.
2. If more devices are needed or the lite activation is incorrect, contact a sales representative about
upgrading the license to support more devices.
See Also:
License Utility Help
Maximum runtime tag count exceeded for the lite version '<number>' license.
Edit client project and restart the server.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
The specified driver was activated with a lite license, which limits the number of tags that can be configured.
Possible Solution:
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1. Verify the number of tags authorized by the license and correct the project design to reduce the tag
count.
2. If more tags are needed or if the lite activation is incorrect, contact a sales representative about
upgrading the license to support more tags.
See Also:
License Utility Help
Possible Cause:
The installed feature license limits the number of items of the specified type that can be configured.
Possible Solution:
1. Contact customer solutions to determine what object type count should be reduced to remain within
the limits of the license.
2. If more items are needed, contact a sales representative about upgrading the license.
See Also:
License Utility Help
Possible Cause:
The installed feature license limits the number of items of the specified type that can be configured.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the number authorized by the license and correct the project design to use only that number of
items.
2. If more items are needed, contact a sales representative about upgrading the license.
See Also:
License Utility Help
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Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to verify the license, but the FlexNet Licensing Service is disabled.
Possible Solution:
Use the Windows Service Control Manager to enable the FlexNet Licensing Service, which requires a
runtime restart.
See Also:
License Utility Help
The <name> feature license has been removed. The server will enter demo
mode unless the license is restored before the grace period expires.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
The feature license has been deleted, moved to another machine, the hardware key has been removed, or
trusted storage has been corrupted.
Possible Solution:
1. Consult the Licensing User Manual for instructions on activating an emergency licenses.
See Also:
License Utility Help
Possible Cause:
Trusted storage has been corrupted, possibly due to a system update.
Possible Solution:
1. Consult the Licensing User Manual for instructions on activating an emergency licenses.
See Also:
License Utility Help
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Started time limited usage on feature %s because it has a time limited license.
Error Type:
Warning
Started time limited usage on feature %s because an object count limit has
been exceeded.
Error Type:
Warning
Started time limited usage on feature %s because a feature count limit has
been exceeded.
Error Type:
Warning
Cannot add item. Requested count of <number> would exceed license limit
of <maximum count>.
Error Type:
Informational
Possible Cause:
The product license limits the number of items that can be configured.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the number authorized by the license and correct the project to use only that number of items.
2. If more items are needed, contact a sales representative about upgrading the license.
See Also:
License Utility Help
Possible Cause:
Two installed components have an interdependency that requires the versions to match.
Possible Solution:
Verify component versions and download or install the matching version(s) of the components.
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See Also:
License Utility Help
Maximum channel count exceeded for the lite version '<name>' driver
license. Edit project and restart the server.
Error Type:
Informational
Possible Cause:
The specified driver was activated with a lite license, which limits the number of channels that can be
configured.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the number of channels authorized by the license. Correct the project to use only that number
of channels.
2. If more channels are needed or the lite activation is incorrect, contact a sales representative about
upgrading the license to support more channels.
See Also:
1. Event Log (in server help)
%s is now licensed.
Error Type:
Informational
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Warning
Runtime project replaced with startup project defined. Runtime project will be
restored from '<name>' at next restart.
Error Type:
Warning
Write request failed on item '<name>'. The write data type '<type>' cannot be
converted to the tag data type '<type>'.
Error Type:
Warning
Write request failed on item '<name>'. Error scaling the write data.
Error Type:
Warning
Write request rejected on item reference '<name>' since the device it belongs
to is disabled.
Error Type:
Warning
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Missing server instance certificate '<cert location>'. Please use the OPC UA
Configuration Manager to reissue the certificate.
Error Type:
Error
Failed to import server instance cert: '<cert location>'. Please use the OPC UA
Configuration Manager to reissue the certificate.
Error Type:
Error
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The UA Server failed to register with the discovery server. | Endpoint URL:
'<endpoint url>'.
Error Type:
Error
The UA Server failed to unregister from the discovery server. | Endpoint URL:
'<endpoint url>'.
Error Type:
Warning
The UA Server successfully registered with the discovery server. | Endpoint URL:
'<endpoint url>'.
Error Type:
Informational
Failed to enable iFIX PDB support for this server. | OS Error = '<error>'.
Error Type:
Informational
DDE client attempt to add topic failed. Refer to the alias map under the Edit
menu for valid topics. | Topic = '<topic>'.
Error Type:
Error
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ThingWorx Messages
The following messages may be generated and displayed in the Event Log.
ThingWorx request to remove item <TagName> failed. The item doesn't exist.
Error Type:
Warning
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
The tag was already removed from the Thing or no such tag exists.
Possible Solution:
If the Tag still shows under the properties of the Thing, Delete that property in the ThingWorx Composer.
ThingWorx request to add item <TagName> failed. The item was already
added.
Error Type:
Warning
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
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Possible Solution:
1. Check the property to see if data is current.
2. If data is not current, delete the property under the Thing and run the addItem service once again.
Error Type:
Warning
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
A property with this name already exists under this Thing.
Possible Solution:
1. Check the property to see if data is current.
2. If data is not current, delete the property under the Thing and run the addItem service once again.
Error Type:
Informational
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
A connection was made to the ThingWorx platform.
Possible Solution:
N/A
Error Type:
Warning
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
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Possible Cause:
The connection was closed. The service was stopped or the interface is no longer able to reach the platform.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify that the native interface is enabled in the project properties.
2. Verify that the host machine can reach the composer on the ThingWorx platform.
Error Type:
Error
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
The connection to the ThingWorx platform could not be established.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify that the host, port, resource, and application key are all valid and correct.
2. Verify that the host machine can reach the composer on the ThingWorx platform.
3. Verify that the proper certificate settings are enabled if using a self-signed certificate or no
encryption.
Error Type:
Error
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
The connection to the ThingWorx platform failed.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify that the host, port, resource, and application key are all valid and correct.
2. Verify that the host machine can reach the composer on the ThingWorx platform.
3. Verify that the proper certificate settings are enabled if using a self-signed certificate or no
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encryption.
4. Contact technical support with the error code and an application report.
Error Type:
Error
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
The connection to the ThingWorx platform could not be established.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify that the host, port, resource, and application key are all valid and correct.
2. Verify that the host machine can reach the composer on the ThingWorx platform.
3. Verify that the proper certificate settings are enabled if using a self-signed certificate or no
encryption.
Error Type:
Error
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
Data is being dropped because the ThingWorx platform is not available or too much data is being collected
by the instance.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify that some data is updating on the ThingWorx Platform and that the platform is reachable.
2. Slow down the tag scan rate or increase the publish rate to move more data into the ThingWorx
Platform.
Error Type:
Warning
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Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
A server shutdown or initialization was called while auto-binding was in process from an AddItems service
call.
Possible Solution:
Any Items not auto bound will need to be manually created and bound in the ThingWorx Composer.
Error Type:
Informational
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
When the AddItem service is complete, a restart service is called on the Thing. This allows the Composer to
visualize the changes. Data changes are sent to the platform even when this error has been presented.
Possible Solution:
Relaunch the composer to restart the Thing.
Error Type:
Informational
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
When using the SetConfiguration service, this message informs an operator viewing the KEPServerEX event
log that a change was made.
Possible Solution:
N/A
ThingWorx request to remove item <TagName> failed. The item is bound and
the force flag is false.
Error Type:
Error
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Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
The RemoveItems service could not remove the item because it is bound to a property and the Force Flag is
not set to True.
Possible Solution:
Re-run the service, explicitly calling the ForceRemove flag as True.
The push type of one or more (count = <#>) properties are set to never push
an update to the platform.
Error Type:
Informational
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
The push type in the ThingWorx platform is set to Never for some items, which prevents any data changes
from being automatically updated on the platform.
Possible Solution:
If this is not the desired behavior, change the push type in the ThingWorx platform.
The server is configured to send an update for every scan, but the push type
of one or more (count = <#>) properties are set to push on value change only.
Error Type:
Informational
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
The push type in the ThingWorx platform is set to Change Only for some items. This push type only updates
data on the platform when the data value changes.
Possible Solution:
To use the Send Every Scan option, set this value to Always.
Error Type:
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Error
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
The item <TagName> could not be added to the server for scanning.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify that the tag exists on a valid channel and device.
2. Verify that the tag may be read using another client, such as the QuickClient.
Error Type:
Warning
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
Unable to write to a tag due to a conversion issue.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify that the data type of the tag in KEPServerEX, as well as in the ThingWorx Platform, is correct
and consistent.
2. Verify that the value to be written is within the appropriate range for the data type.
Error Type:
Informational
Source:
ThingWorx Native Interface
Possible Cause:
Part of the AddItems service is the autobind action. This action may take more time than the actual adding of
the item. This message alerts the operator to how many items have been autobound.
Possible Solution:
N/A
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Possible Cause:
The serial port assigned to a device is being used by another application.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify that the correct port has been assigned to the channel.
Possible Cause:
The serial parameters for the specified COM port are not valid.
Possible Solution:
Verify the serial parameters and make any necessary changes.
Possible Cause:
The server process has no resources available to create new threads.
Possible Solution:
Each tag group consumes a thread. The typical limit for a single process is about 2000 threads. Reduce the
number of tag groups in the project.
Possible Cause:
The specified COM port is not present on the target computer.
Possible Solution:
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235 KEPServerEX V6
Possible Cause:
The specified COM port could not be opened due an internal hardware or software problem on the target
computer.
Possible Solution:
Verify that the COM port is functional and may be accessed by other applications.
Possible Cause:
Since the specified network adapter cannot be located in the system device list, it cannot be bound to for
communications. This can occur when a project is moved from one PC to another (and when the project
specifies a network adapter rather than using the default). The server reverts to the default adapter.
Possible Solution:
Change the Network Adapter property to Default (or select a new adapter), save the project, and retry.
Possible Solution:
1. The underlying network subsystem is not ready for network communication. Wait a few seconds and
restart the driver.
2. The limit on the number of tasks supported by the Windows Sockets implementation has been
reached. Close one or more applications that may be using Winsock and restart the driver.
Possible Cause:
The version number of the Winsock DLL found on the system is older than 1.1.
Possible Solution:
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Possible Cause:
1. The connection between the device and the host PC is broken.
3. The named device may have been assigned an incorrect device ID.
4. The response from the device took longer to receive than allowed by the Request Timeout device
setting.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the cabling between the PC and the PLC device.
2. Verify that the specified communications parameters match those of the device.
3. Verify that the device ID for the named device matches that of the actual device.
4. Increase the Request Timeout setting to allow the entire response to be handled.
Possible Cause:
1. The network connection between the device and the host PC is broken.
2. The communication parameters configured for the device and driver do not match.
3. The response from the device took longer to receive than allowed by the Request Timeout device
setting.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the cabling between the PC and the PLC device.
2. Verify that the specified communications parameters match those of the device.
3. Increase the Request Timeout setting to allow the entire response to be handled.
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237 KEPServerEX V6
Possible Cause:
1. The serial connection between the device and the host PC is broken.
Possible Solution:
1. Investigate the error mask code and the related information.
3. Verify that the specified communication parameters match those of the device.
See Also:
Error Mask Codes
Possible Cause:
1. The connection between the device and the host PC is broken.
3. The named device may have been assigned an incorrect device ID.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the cabling between the PC and the PLC device.
2. Verify that the specified communication parameters match those of the device.
3. Verify that the device ID given to the named device matches that of the actual device.
Items on this page may not be changed while the driver is processing tags.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
An attempt was made to change a channel or device configuration while data clients were connected to the
server and receiving data from the channel/device.
Possible Solution:
Disconnect all data clients from the server before making changes.
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Possible Cause:
A tag address has been assigned an invalid address.
Possible Solution:
Modify the requested address in the client application.
This property may not be changed while the driver is processing tags.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
1. The connection between the device and the host PC is broken.
3. The named device may have been assigned an incorrect device ID.
Possible Solution:
1. Verify the cabling between the PC and the PLC device.
2. Verify that the specified communication parameters match those of the device.
3. Verify that the device ID given to the named device matches that of the actual device.
Possible Cause:
Communication with the device failed during the specified socket operation.
Possible Solution:
Follow the guidance in the error and details, which explain why the error occurred and suggest a remedy
when appropriate.
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239 KEPServerEX V6
Possible Cause:
Communication with the device failed during the specified socket operation.
Possible Solution:
Follow the guidance in the error and details, which explain why the error occurred and suggest a remedy
when appropriate.
Error Type:
Warning
Possible Cause:
Communication with the device failed during the specified socket operation.
Possible Solution:
Follow the guidance in the error and details, which explain why the error occurred and suggest a remedy
when appropriate.
Possible Cause:
Communication with the device failed during the specified socket operation.
Possible Solution:
Follow the guidance in the error and details, which explain why the error occurred and suggest a remedy
when appropriate.
Possible Cause:
Communication with the device failed during the specified socket operation.
Possible Solution:
Follow the guidance in the error and details, which explain why the error occurred and suggest a remedy
when appropriate.
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%s |
Error Type:
Informational
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241 KEPServerEX V6
Index
%s | 240
%s is now licensed. 222
<
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Cannot add item. Requested count of <number> would exceed license limit of <maximum count>. 221
Changing runtime operating mode. 210
Channel Assignment 73
Channel Creation Wizard 129
Channel is no longer valid. It may have been removed externally while awaiting user input. | Channel =
'<name>'. 213
Channel Properties 62
Channel Properties - Ethernet Communications 63
Channel Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation 66
Channel Properties - General 62
Channel Properties - Write Optimizations 69
Channel requires at least one number in its phonebook to use a shared modem connection. | Channel =
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'<channel>'. 207
Clamp 88
Close Idle Connection 65-66
Close request ignored due to active connection(s). | Active connections = '<count>'. 215
Closing project. | Project = '<name>'. 216
COM ID 65
Com port does not exist. | Port = '<port>'. 234
Com port is in use by another application. | Port = '<port>'. 234
Comma-Separated Variable 95
Communication Diagnostics 192
Communication Parameters 75
Communication Serialization 67
Communication Serialization Tags 120
Communications Management 122
Communications Timeouts 79-80
Completed automatic tag generation for device '<device>'. 209
Components 14
Config API Architecture 162
Configuration API Concurrent Clients 165
Configuration API Logging 165
Configuration API Service 162
Configuration API Service Configuration 162
Configuration API Service Data 167
Configuration session assigned to <name> demoted to read only. 225
Configuration session assigned to <name> has ended. 225
Configuration session assigned to <name> promoted to write access. 225
Configuration session started by <name> (<name>). 225
Connect Timeout 79
Connection 27
Connection attempt to runtime failed. | Runtime host address = '<host address>', User = '<name>',
Reason = '<reason>'. 212
Connection failed. Unable to bind to adapter. | Adapter = '<name>'. 235
Connection Type 64
CORS 163
Create 78
Created backup of project '<name>' to '<path>'. 209
CSV 95
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Data Bits 65
Data Collection 73
Data collection is disabled on device '<device>'. 209
Data collection is enabled on device '<device>'. 209
Daylight Saving Time 79
DDE 19
DDE client attempt to add topic failed. Refer to the alias map under the Edit menu for valid topics. | Topic
= '<topic>'. 226
Delete 78
Delete object '<name>' failed
<reason>. 223
Demote on Failure 75
Demotion Period 75
Description 72
Designing a Project 127
Detail View 37
Device '<device>' has been auto-promoted to determine if communications can be re-established. 210
Device '<device>' has been automatically demoted. 204
Device Creation Wizard 132
Device Demand Poll 160
Device Discovery 70
Device discovery canceled on channel. | Channel = '<name>', Devices found = '<count>'. 216
Device discovery canceled on channel. | Channel = '<name>'. 216
Device discovery complete on channel. | Channel = '<name>', Devices found = '<count>'. 216
Device discovery has exceeded <count> maximum allowed devices. Limit the discovery range and try
again. 200
Device driver was not found or could not be loaded. | Driver = '<name>'. 213
Device is not responding. 236
Device is not responding. | ID = '<device>'. 236
Device Properties 72
Device Properties - Auto-Demotion 75
Device Properties - Ethernet Encapsulation 76
Device Properties - Identification 72
Device Properties - Tag Generation 77
Diagnostics 63
Dialing '<number>' on line '<modem>'. 207
Dialing aborted on '<modem>'. 208
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Error importing CSV data. \n\nDuplicate field name. | Field = '<name>'. 214
Error importing CSV data. \n\nField buffer overflow reading identification record. 213
Error importing CSV data. \n\nMissing field identification record. 214
Error importing CSV data. \n\nUnrecognized field name. | Field = '<name>'. 213
Error importing CSV record. \n\n'Mapped To' tag address is not valid for this project. | Record index =
'<number>', Tag address = '<address>'. 214
Error importing CSV record. \n\nAlias name is invalid. Names cannot contain double quotations or start
with an underscore. | Record index = '<number>'. 214
Error importing CSV record. \n\nField buffer overflow. | Record index = '<number>'. 214
Error importing CSV record. \n\nInsertion failed. | Record index = '<number>', Record name =
'<name>'. 214
Error importing CSV record. Missing address. | Record index = '<number>'. 215
Error importing CSV record. Tag group name is invalid. | Record index = '<index>', Group name =
'<name>'. 215
Error importing CSV record. Tag name is invalid. | Record index = '<number>', Tag name =
'<name>'. 215
Error importing CSV record. Tag or group name exceeds maximum name length. | Record index =
'<number>', Max. name length (characters) = '<number>'. 215
Error opening com port. | Port = '<port>', OS error = <error>. 235
Event 37
Event Log Display 93
Event Log Messages 196
Export 95
Extended Datastore 28
Failed to add tag '<tag>' because the address is too long. The maximum address length is
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<number>. 202
Failed to enable iFIX PDB support for this server. | OS Error = '<error>'. 226
Failed to import server instance cert
'<cert location>'. Please use the OPC UA Configuration Manager to reissue the certificate. 225
Failed to load library
<name>. 210
Failed to load the license interface, possibly due to a missing third-party dependency. Run in demo mode
only. 217
Failed to open modem line '<line>' [TAPI error = <code>]. 198
Failed to read build manifest resource
<name>. 210
Failed to replace existing auto-generated devices on channel, deletion failed. | Channel = '<name>'. 213
Failed to reset password for administrator. | Administrator name = '<name>'. 212
Failed to retrieve runtime project. 213
Failed to save embedded dependency file. | File = '<path>'. 215
Failed to start channel diagnostics 214
Failed to update startup project '<name>'
<reason>. 223
FastDDE/SuiteLink 20
Feature '<name>' is not licensed and cannot be used. 217
Flow Control 65
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ID 73
Idle Time to Close 66
IEEE-754 floating point 63
iFIX Native Interfaces 20
iFIX Signal Conditioning Options 170
Ignoring user-defined startup project because a configuration session is active. 223
Import 95
Incoming call detected on line '<modem>'. 208
Initial Updates from Cache 74
Initiating disconnect on modem line '<modem>'. 209
Insufficient user permissions to replace the runtime project. 213
Inter-Request Delay 80
Interfaces and Connectivity 16
Interval 79
Introduction 13
Invalid or missing user information. 212
Invalid project file. 198
Invalid XML document 199, 214
IP Address 75-76
Items on this page may not be changed while the driver is processing tags. 237
License for feature <name> cannot be accessed [error=<code>] and must be reactivated. 220
Line '<line>' is already in use. 202
Line '<modem>' connected at <rate> baud. 207
Line '<modem>' connected. 208
Line '<modem>' disconnected. 207
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Mapped to 93
Maximum channel count exceeded for the lite version '<name>' driver license. Edit project and restart
the server. 222
Maximum device count exceeded for the lite version '<number>' license. Edit project and restart the
server. 218
Maximum runtime tag count exceeded for the lite version '<number>' license. Edit client project and
restart the server. 218
Memory 28
Menu Bar 35
Method 79
Missing application data directory. 225
Missing server instance certificate '<cert location>'. Please use the OPC UA Configuration Manager to
reissue the certificate. 225
Model 73
Modem 66
Modem line closed
'<modem>'. 208
Modem line opened
'<modem>'. 208
Modem Tags 117
MonitoredItemServiceSet 190
Move object '<name>' failed
<reason>. 222
Multiple Tag Generation 84
Name 72
Navigating the User Interface 35
Negate 88
Network Adapter 64, 66
Network Interface 68
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Network Mode 68
No comm handle provided on connect for line '<line>'. 202
No device driver DLLs were loaded. 213, 222
No dial tone on '<modem>'. 208
no persistence 28
Non-Normalized Float Handling 63
Not connected to the event logger service. 217
On Device Startup 77
On Duplicate Tag 77
OPC .NET 19
OPC AE 17
OPC DA 16
OPC DA Services 189
OPC Diagnostic Events 181
OPC Diagnostics Viewer 178
OPC ProgID has been added to the ProgID Redirect list. | ProgID = '<ID>'. 211
OPC ProgID has been removed from the ProgID Redirect list. | ProgID = '<ID>'. 211
OPC UA 18
Opening project. | Project = '<name>'. 216
Operating Mode 73
Operational Behavior 65
Optimization Method 69
Options - General 59
Options - Runtime Connection 60
OtherServices 190
Overwrite 78
Parent Group 78
Parity 65
Password for administrator was reset by the current user. | Administrator name = '<name>', Current
user = '<name>'. 211
Password for user has been changed. | User = '<name>'. 212
Password reset for administrator failed. Current user is not a Windows administrator. | Admininstrator
name = '<name>', Current user = '<name>'. 212
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Raw 88
Read Processing 66
Redundancy 80
Rejecting attempt to change model type on a referenced device '<channel device>'. 203
Remote line is busy on '<modem>'. 208
Remote line is not answering on '<modem>'. 208
Rename failed. Names can not contain periods, double quotations or start with an underscore. |
Proposed name = '<name>'. 215
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Rename failed. There is already an object with that name. | Proposed name = '<name>'. 214
Report Comm. Errors 65-66
Request All Data at Scan Rate 74
Request Data No Faster than Scan Rate 74
Request Timeout 80
Respect Client-Specified Scan Rate 74
Respect Tag-Specified Scan Rate 74
Retry Attempts 80
Running the Server 127
Runtime operating mode change completed. 210
Runtime performing exit processing. 224
Runtime process started. 224
Runtime project has been reset. 216
Runtime project replaced from '<name>'. 224
Runtime project replaced with startup project defined. Runtime project will be restored from '<name>' at
next restart. 223
Runtime project replaced. | New project = '<path>'. 217
Runtime project update failed. 213
Runtime re-initialization completed. 224
Runtime re-initialization started. 224
Runtime service started. 224
Runtime shutdown complete. 224
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Tag Generation 77
Tag Group Properties 90
Tag Management 95
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What is a Channel? 61
What is a Device? 71
What is a Tag Group? 90
What is a Tag? 80
What is the Alias Map? 91
What is the Event Log? 93
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