Wonderware 2014, DAserver, Workshop505 Comms

dowthebow

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Join Date
Aug 2014
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Kildare
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64
Hi,
I have a Legacy project that I have converted from Intouch 7.1 to intouch 11.1 now running on windows 10. I have also uprevved the DA Server to TI500.
In the existing project there was a "Comms" bit, set from the Access Name, that was 0 or 1 depending on the status of the connection with the PLC. This was setup using the access name for PLC comms, and "Status" in the Item, for the old project using a CTI server.
This does not work for the TI500 server, has anyone been able to read the status of the TI500 server comms??
 
I haven't with the TI500 server, but I have encountered this issue with upgrades of older versions of InTouch.

What you need to do is to create a new Access Name for the WindowViewer runtime program so that you can detect IO Server status with the newer DA Servers.

I named mine "ViewIOStatus".
Leave the Node Name blank to default to the local computer.
Enter "View" as the Application Name.
Enter "IOStatus" as the Topic Name.
Select "SuiteLink" as the protocol and select "Advise All Items".

Now that you have the new Access Name created, you may create an IO Discrete tag (or tags, if you want to monitor the status of multiple PLC Access Names) for monitoring PLC communication status.

Say you name the tag "PLC_Status". Attach the new tag to the "ViewIOStatus" Access Name and enter the PLC's Access Name as the Item Name. Now the "PLC_Status" tag will indicate the IO Server communication status. If you have additional PLCs you wish to monitor, you may create additional tags and select the other PLC Access Names as the Item Names for those tags.
 
Last edited:
Enter "View" as the Application Name.

Isn't the "Application Name" supposed to be an Application? When Windowviewer starts it tries to run the application from this point??
And if you just call the Application name 'View' how does the program know what application to look at?

Thanks for your reply.
 
Isn't the "Application Name" supposed to be an Application? When Windowviewer starts it tries to run the application from this point??
And if you just call the Application name 'View' how does the program know what application to look at?

Thanks for your reply.


View.exe is the name of the WindowViewer program. Rather than wondering whether it will work, why not simply try it and resolve your problem?
 
In the newer version of the DA Servers the tag was changed from Status to $Sys$Status. At least that is the way it is my IO servers when i upgraded.
 
I haven't with the TI500 server, but I have encountered this issue with upgrades of older versions of InTouch.

What you need to do is to create a new Access Name for the WindowViewer runtime program so that you can detect IO Server status with the newer DA Servers.

I named mine "ViewIOStatus".
Leave the Node Name blank to default to the local computer.
Enter "View" as the Application Name.
Enter "IOStatus" as the Topic Name.
Select "SuiteLink" as the protocol and select "Advise All Items".

Now that you have the new Access Name created, you may create an IO Discrete tag (or tags, if you want to monitor the status of multiple PLC Access Names) for monitoring PLC communication status.

Say you name the tag "PLC_Status". Attach the new tag to the "ViewIOStatus" Access Name and enter the PLC's Access Name as the Item Name. Now the "PLC_Status" tag will indicate the IO Server communication status. If you have additional PLCs you wish to monitor, you may create additional tags and select the other PLC Access Names as the Item Names for those tags.

Hi, I've tried this, this seems to monitor the status of the service, so if the service stops running or loses comms to the Wonderware project for whatever reason, this bit will change.
But I'm looking to monitor comms to the "topic" to stop communicating, say the PLC stops or the cable is disconnected, then the tag changes state.
Any ideas?
 
Hi, I've tried this, this seems to monitor the status of the service, so if the service stops running or loses comms to the Wonderware project for whatever reason, this bit will change.
But I'm looking to monitor comms to the "topic" to stop communicating, say the PLC stops or the cable is disconnected, then the tag changes state.
Any ideas?


In all honesty, my best recommendation would be to abandon these IO Server status monitors altogether and write a heartbeat routine instead to verify communications between the HMI and PLC.

There are numerous threads here regarding methods for establishing PLC heartbeat monitors. Different people have different preferences, such as whether to look for a change in an integer value in the PLC versus monitoring change of state of a discrete bit, but either of those methods can be employed successfully.
 
In all honesty, my best recommendation would be to abandon these IO Server status monitors altogether and write a heartbeat routine instead to verify communications between the HMI and PLC.

There are numerous threads here regarding methods for establishing PLC heartbeat monitors. Different people have different preferences, such as whether to look for a change in an integer value in the PLC versus monitoring change of state of a discrete bit, but either of those methods can be employed successfully.

I agree, this would be alot simpler. Unfortunately the PLC is under Change Control and doing anything with this opens another can of worms so If it can be avoided at all that's what we do...
 
I agree, this would be alot simpler. Unfortunately the PLC is under Change Control and doing anything with this opens another can of worms so If it can be avoided at all that's what we do...

I'm not familiar with this particular PLC, but if it has a status bit or word that changes states on a regular basis, such as internal clock references, or if it has a flasher timer programmed, then you could read that word or bit to develop a heartbeat routine with InTouch scripts.
 
I'm not familiar with this particular PLC, but if it has a status bit or word that changes states on a regular basis, such as internal clock references, or if it has a flasher timer programmed, then you could read that word or bit to develop a heartbeat routine with InTouch scripts.

Worth some consideration, Thanks...

Webhead said:
In the newer version of the DA Servers the tag was changed from Status to $Sys$Status. At least that is the way it is my IO servers when i upgraded.

However, this $Sys$Status works! Thanks!!
Incidentally the documentation for the Servers is very poor, couldn't find this anywhere.
 

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