Using RealVNC for operating the plant in the field.

Hi There.

I am contemplating using RealVNC for operating the plant remotely. With remotely I men from the plant via LAN, not from outside via WAN. I would just take a laptop or an embedded tablet PC out in the field, and then remotely operate the HMI PC by means of a RealVNC viewer.
This is not supposed to be very frequent, more as a service-function that is used every now and then.
If I setup a WiFi lan, I guess one could operate it without being tethered at all.

The HMI is WinCC Flex RT. Siemens has a software package called smartservice that does basically the same as RealVNC. For the occasional use I find the Siemens smartservice way too expensive.

Questions:

Anyone with experience with RealVNC ?
Are there any gothcas one should be aware of ? I know the basic FAQs about RealVNC. I am thinking about if there are any issues for an industrial use.

Thanks for any insight into this matter.

I have used in quite a few places and have no issues. Just make sure the correct ports are open on the router and addressed to VNC. I am using RealVNC in about 15 different loactions, and then on the rest I use LogMeIn.

I have not had any problems. I am using Smartservice most of the time however I have a few customers that use VNC by itself. I have also used this when the mini web server did not start on computer reboot. I just went in with VNC and started the web server then went back to smartservice. So I know you can have both on a computer and not have any problems.

Thanks Lionel and Charles.

CharlesM said:

I just went in with VNC and started the web server then went back to smartservice. So I know you can have both on a computer and not have any problems.

Click to expand...

If you read closely between the lines, you will see that I am a cheapskate, so I would definitely not run BOTh RealVNC AND Smartservice.

JesperMP said:

Hi There.

I am contemplating using RealVNC for operating the plant remotely. With remotely I men from the plant via LAN, not from outside via WAN. I would just take a laptop or an embedded tablet PC out in the field, and then remotely operate the HMI PC by means of a RealVNC viewer.
This is not supposed to be very frequent, more as a service-function that is used every now and then.
If I setup a WiFi lan, I guess one could operate it without being tethered at all.

The HMI is WinCC Flex RT. Siemens has a software package called smartservice that does basically the same as RealVNC. For the occasional use I find the Siemens smartservice way too expensive.

Questions:

Anyone with experience with RealVNC ?
Are there any gothcas one should be aware of ? I know the basic FAQs about RealVNC. I am thinking about if there are any issues for an industrial use.

Thanks for any insight into this matter.

Click to expand...

We use RealVNC for remote support, usually via dial-up, to view HMI applications running.

Main issue when you are not at the plant, you cannot hear the rumbling, grinding, screeching, or see smoke belching when you activate something that causes a problem.

I've used VNC very often as well. Just make sure to put a password on it! Last thing you want is someone playing around with an HMI when they aren't supposed to.

Oh, we do password protect everything.
And when we come back 6 month later, the administrator password is written with a permanent marker on the top of the operator panel

My 1st bastion of defence is to not tell the end customer of all the functionality that is actually there.

You can say that again!

I have tested VNC

My VNC testing brings up many concerns. I have one customer in asia who wants me to be able to remotely program his S7 PLC and Citect SCADA that I recently installed in a new factory. Another customer who has a much older factory and more competent staff is not interested in allowing remote access.
In India I have a customer with many factories spread across the country. He (the owner) would like to be able to access systems I have installed together with those supplied by others to monitor their operation. I know he would not be able to refrain from making setpoint and set-up changes.

I would be interested in others thoughts about the advantages and disadvantages of allowing remote access.

Some disadvantages that come to mind:
The remote viewer in conflict with the operator for use of the P.C.
You perhaps cannot see your mistakes.
You are not aware of other conditions upstream or downstream of the system.
I have already had experience of people "playing computer games" with a control system and then walking away in ignorance of the damage they have caused.
Legal liability is not so much an issue in Asia but is likely to be so in other places.
Possible access to the system by unauthorised persons.

JesperMP said:

The HMI is WinCC Flex RT. Siemens has a software package called smartservice that does basically the same as RealVNC.

Click to expand...

According to me, it's the same software behind the 2 programs. I bet the source code even have the same comments in them.

The only added extra's with Sm@rtservice is the panel layout it shows.

But in your case it shouldn't matter.
Activate the Smarservice on the RT PC and then use VNC to connect to it. It'll work.
De-activate the Smartservice and install a VNC server on the RT PC, then use SmartClient to connect. It'll work.

Been using VNC and Sm@rtservice mixed for about 3 years now and never had any issues......well no major ones at least.

OK, I have downloaded both RealVNC and UltraVNC, and will give them both a try next time a get the chance.

About smartservice - on sps-forum.de there are several persons that have managed to get RealVNC to work on a CE multi-panel, without smartservice.
If you look in the open source software used by WinCC Flex, there is this one amongst the others: TightVNC by AT&T Laboratories Cambridge.

RealVNC For Remote Support

Hi,

We are using Radmin in plant and it is really fast and safe.

RealVNC is also a nice and priceless solution for remote support, I have also tried it.

They are really efficient tools and improve your productivity especially if you are working in a big plant.

It can be considered secure if your computers in plant don't have access to the Internet.

However, I still feel uneasy while connecting through a computer for remote support especially if remote computer have capability for controlling some devices. I feel better talking to someone in front of the remote computer and checking around if it is OK and safe for some operations.

And for remote support outside the plant, I can offer Team Viewer, it permits up to 1 hour remote support without licence.

However, I am using Team Viewer with two computers.

The first computer is the one which is connected to Internet, I am connecting to this computer as a first step. Then I start VNC Viewer or Radmin Viewer for remote support of LAN computers.

Best Regards,

Moosty
http://indanotes.blogspot.com

To begin with, I intend to use it by myself and other onsite specialists. It is for operating the plant from outside the control room via local LAN.

After that, we may well decide to use VNC for general troubleshooting over the internet.
In that case it would require that a local operator first start the VNC server, and secondly the local operator and the remote specialist will together troubleshoot the problem at hand.
When finished the VNC server will be shutdown.
With this simple strategy I think that there will be no safety issues.

Just a note, UltraVNC does NOT use encryption by default. You need to download and use an encryption plug-in if you want your traffic encrypted. There are 3 plug-ins available from the website that you can use.

I am looking for a solution to access the plant from home or when traveling.

What other hardware and software are needed to make this a very secure solution in your experience?