Problems with FactoryTalk SE Local 9.0 upgrade

GlenGineer

Member
Join Date
Jan 2014
Location
Manchester, NH
Posts
123
Hey all.
Recently my company decided to upgrade some HMIs from FactoryTalk SE Local 6.00 to FactoryTalk SE Local 9.0 on new HMIs running 64 bit Windows 7.

The existing HMIs run on windows XP machines. They freeze sometimes and whenever the client file is reloaded a message box that requires user input stops displaying. However most of the time this message box works normally.

These HMI each communicate with its own Siemens S7-300 PLC through Kepsever 5.3.

So right now the new HMIs are being tested while attached to a test bed. Everything works on the new system as it did on the old except this message display that I mentioned earlier.

The message display is triggered through expressions in a macro in the events section of "Logic and Control." These expressions include tags from the Kepserver. This macro works when it utilizes HMI tags. However it does not recognize the KepServer tags. The KepServer tags do work when they drive screen objects in other displays.

I've looked at the FactoryTalk (OPC Display Client?) to see if the data is making it through. It looks OK to me.

Has anybody seen anything similar?

Thanks,

Glen
 
I figured it out. I thought I would post what is involved for any of you FactoryTalk SE Local Station users that use the event handler and KepServer. Start by typing DCOMCNFG in command line. Drill into Computers - MyComper - Dcom Config. Scroll down until you find a file that read Kepserver Enterprise x.x (mine says 5.3). Select properties.

On the General tab (the tab it opens in) change the Authentication Level to None. It starts out as default. Go to The security tab. The tech connect below mentions adding two users: Anonymous Logon, and Everyone. These are added to the Launch and Activation Permissons. I gave both of these groups Local Launch and Local Activation permissions. Although the Tech Connect does not mention anything else I created the same accounts in Access Permissions and gave them local access.

Next I looked at the Configuration Permissions. I did not see a use for the new accounts to be there. However I looked at it anyway. The User account only had Read access but not write access. To add write access choose Edit and then Advanced. Select Write owner.

All of these changes to these permissions might not be necessary however at some point one HMI was not displaying messages that were driven by the Kepserver and making one or more of these changes helped.

Tech Connect 54281 set me down this path.
🍻
 
Thanks for the tip!

Like you , I am needing to upgrade a WinXP running FTView Station v5.10 to a 64 bit Win7 machine FTView V?? . Any advice on how best to proceed?

Thanks!
 
I am far from an expert on FactoryTalk. In the past I programmed PLCs and the HMI was a neat after thought. The HMI worked or if not then worked within a couple of hours. Now I am in the FactoryTalk world where you have to be an IT expert to keep it running and you have to comb the tech connects to fix those small problems. Probably I am just rebelling against the wave of the future which is SE. ME does seem more stable and more programmer and maintenance friendly. After I fixed this application using the steps I described other engineers said "Yeah I fixed an SE application using those steps." Why they didn't think of this when I asked for help?????? But that is SE not ME.

If this is a standalone HMI...that is it is not trying to be a SCADA system I would suggest you look to automation direct. I think their premium panel is called an easypanel. It has many features that factorytalk does not have.

If you are asking whether to use Factorytalk SE v8.0 or v9.0 they are both nice. In my quest to upgrade from FT SE LS 6.0 to FT SE LS 9.0 I had it suggested maybe I should consider trying 6.1 or 8.0. Both worked. Now I had to spend about 10 hours on each to get it to work right. With 8.0 I started with a machine that was loaded with 9.0 and when I downgraded I had a ton of errors. I ended up deleting stuff (after I found 8.0 would not work) that I think came from 9.0 and then reloading the application.

Once the 9.0 stuff was gone 8.0 seemed to work fine. I had to spend about 80 hour getting 9.0 to work. My Rockwell rep claims 9.0 is the version you need to have. You have to ask yourself do you have the knowledge base to get the application running? I asked several extremely knowledgeable people and worked with senior Automation and controls engineers. I asked our on Site Rockwell Rep and he disappeared. It was the Rockwell help line with a tech connect that didn't seem to apply that solved my problem.

My 10 cents is upgrade to 8.0 in a few years upgrade to 9.xx.

Glen
 
I figured it out. I thought I would post what is involved for any of you FactoryTalk SE Local Station users that use the event handler and KepServer. Start by typing DCOMCNFG in command line. Drill into Computers - MyComper - Dcom Config. Scroll down until you find a file that read Kepserver Enterprise x.x (mine says 5.3). Select properties.

On the General tab (the tab it opens in) change the Authentication Level to None. It starts out as default. Go to The security tab. The tech connect below mentions adding two users: Anonymous Logon, and Everyone. These are added to the Launch and Activation Permissons. I gave both of these groups Local Launch and Local Activation permissions. Although the Tech Connect does not mention anything else I created the same accounts in Access Permissions and gave them local access.

Next I looked at the Configuration Permissions. I did not see a use for the new accounts to be there. However I looked at it anyway. The User account only had Read access but not write access. To add write access choose Edit and then Advanced. Select Write owner.

All of these changes to these permissions might not be necessary however at some point one HMI was not displaying messages that were driven by the Kepserver and making one or more of these changes helped.

Tech Connect 54281 set me down this path.
🍻

It worked perfectly. Thank you!!!
 
Thanks for the tip!

Like you , I am needing to upgrade a WinXP running FTView Station v5.10 to a 64 bit Win7 machine FTView V?? . Any advice on how best to proceed?

Thanks!

I did get my upgrade done. We have a tech connect number, called them up and they offered to update the archive from v5 to v6.1 no charge. I took the updated file and opened in Studio v8.1 and took right off for me!

Biggest hurdle was the email file size limitations of our company IT ;)
 

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