Wonderware Upgrade

BigAl

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Join Date
Nov 2002
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Syracuse
Posts
38
It has been quite a while since I have used Wonderware, so maybe you guys can help me. I recently went to a customer site, to look at a machine that the customer wanted to upgrade. This machine was built quite a while ago, and it had an HMI created using Wonderware 4.0. I remember at one company I worked at we stayed pretty busy upgrading old HMI's to the newer verision, at that time, version 5.6. If I remember correctly all you had to do was try and open the older application, and you were asked if you would like to convert it to the newer version.
I currently have Wonderware 7.0, which I have not used in quite a while. I know that this will only convert a program as old as 5.6. As soon as I got home from the customer site, I pulled out my old laptop and tried to convert the Wonderware version 4.0 application to version 5.6. Much to my dismay I could not find the development dongle that was required for this old version of Wonderware. You can run it in demo mode, but you are limited to 32 tags. Immediately I called my Wonderware distributor, and asked him how I should proceed. He stated that the development dongle was no longer available for version 5.6. He suggested that I send the application to him, so he could convert it, and charge me an outrageous price. When I questioned him on the price, he told me that it would take him about a day? I am not sure because I have not done this in a while, but I never remember this taking a day.
So if I am wrong please tell me. There has to be someone out there who runs into this very same thing. My customer is aware that he has to upgrade his runtime license. Any input would be greatly appreciated. The reason I no longer use Wonderware so much, is because so many cutomers ask for RS View.

Big Al.
 
The conversion is not absolutely straightforward. I think what he is planning is something along the lines of:

Install 5.6, convert app to 5.6, uninstall 5.6
Install 7.0, convert app to 7.0, uninstall 7.0
Install 8.0, convert app to 8.0, uninstall 8.0
. . .

I don't remember where all of the break points are in conversion, but I am sure that this will be a multi-step process. This will certainly take some time.

In 8.0, the alarm handing changed significantly, and perhaps he is also anticipating having to re-write a bunch of the app as a result.

I think they have recently changed the data logging feature to require SQL server (could be wrong here - I'm still running an older release!) rather than the proprietary format that used to always be used. Again - perhaps he is anticipating re-writing a bunch of the app.



So - I think his estimate might be padded a bit, but it could well be justified depending on the specifics of the application itself.

Marc
 
The application will need to be converted as follows - 5.1b >> 7.0 >> 9.0

InTouch is up to version 9.0, 9.5 should be comming out in a few months.

Data logging is done with SQL server or you can use the free database engine MSDE from Microsoft.

I haven't converted an application that old, but going from 7.0 to 9.0 is a breeze. But, like Marc said, if the distributor doesn't have different versions of InTouch loaded on seperate computers, he is going to have to install version X, convert the application, uninstall version X, then rinse and repeat.

To be honest I think a days worth of labor is pretty close. You might want to send him/her the application and have them give you a more accurate estimate.
 

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