Factory Talk SE & Kepware

Using Kepware v6 and FTSE v10

We can read the Kepware tags in RSL Enterprise, so can display them on a screen.

However, the strange behaviour is, if we try and use a derived tag from a Kepware tag or a HMI Tag from a Kepware tag, it doesn't work.

The derived tag will report the expression contains an error, when it clearly doesn't.

I've tried Floats, Words & Bool, but nothing.

I spent an hour on the phone to tech support yesterday and still no joy.

Anyone else experienced this and found a solution?

Is the Kepware server installed on the FTView PC?
Do you have the Kepware server installed in the FTView tree? With the correct OPC Server Name?

rdrast said:

Is the Kepware server installed on the FTView PC?
Do you have the Kepware server installed in the FTView tree? With the correct OPC Server Name?

Click to expand...

Yes and yes.

I can read all the tags from Kepware, FTSE just won't write them to either a HMI Tag or a Derived tag.

Are the tags in Kepware set to Read Only?

They are not, but I'm only reading from Kepware, FTSE is doing the writing to itself and the CLX.

It's had me head scratching for 2 days now!

<quote>FTSE is doing the writing to itself and the CLX.</quote>
That isn't making sense to me.

FTVSE has to READ the tag from the Kepware server.
If you haven't, also try re initializing the Kepware server.

Show me an actual IO Tag as you have it defined in the Tag Database.

Apologies, I missed your reply, but it cropped up when I googled my problem again.

Here is the tag displaying on the screen:



Live View:



Derived Details:



I've started, stopped the derived tags, the HMI server, the Project, the PC - you name it!

Interestingly, the HMI tags reads nothing also if I create one and point it to the Kepware tag.

Always this error, no matter what data type. Never had this problem before v10

Try creating a tag in the tag database, but in your device path, precede it with ::
I haven't used Kepware with FTView, but generally for ANY tag that has a colon in the tag's device path, you need to precede it with :: (colon colon).
Give that a shot.

Thanks for the suggestion, sadly it didn't work.

I deleted the Kepware Area from the project and re-added but as a OPC UA Server instead of a DA and it works perfectly.

No rhyme or reason as DA has worked fine historically.

janner_10 said:

Thanks for the suggestion, sadly it didn't work.

I deleted the Kepware Area from the project and re-added but as a OPC UA Server instead of a DA and it works perfectly.

No rhyme or reason as DA has worked fine historically.

Click to expand...

DOH!!!!
I didn't see you mention you were using DA! DA (and, for that matter, AE, HDA and the like) should be considered depricated and avoided if at all possible today. They rely on DCOM, and are seriously OS dependent. With DCOM being frowned upon security wise, you need to very explicitly open up DCOM channels deep inside the component services bowels of Windows.

UA can effectively talk to all prior classes, DA, HDA, AE, etc, but internally is completely platform independent, and doesn't use DCOM anywhere. UA typically uses either TCP/IP, or in some cases HTTPS to link to the client software (HMI/SCADA) through a nice, simple, standard interface.

Save some frustration next time around, only use UA and it's future derivatives going forward!

73's