AIMAT™ Suite AIMOPC Server User’s Guide

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B0400DG Rev C

August 30, 2012

I/A Series

®

System

AIM*AT™ Suite

AIM*OPC Server

User’s Guide

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trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries, and affiliates.

SOFTWARE LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Before using the Invensys Systems, Inc. supplied software supported by this documentation, you should read and understand the following information concerning copyrighted software.

1. The license provisions in the software license for your system govern your obligations and usage rights to the software described in this documentation. If any portion of those license provisions is violated, Invensys Systems, Inc. will no longer provide you with support services and assumes no further responsibilities for your system or its operation.

2. All software issued by Invensys Systems, Inc. and copies of the software that you are specifically permitted to make, are protected in accordance with Federal copyright laws. It is illegal to make copies of any software media provided to you by

Invensys Systems, Inc. for any purpose other than those purposes mentioned in the software license.

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Figures

1-1. Data Transfer Between OPC Clients and Data Servers via the OPC Server ... 2

5-1. Services Dialog Box on a Windows XP Station ... 16

5-2. AIM*AT OPC Server Control Panel ... 16

5-3. Reduced Control Panel ... 17

6-1. Initial OPC Configuration Display - Delta Configuration Page ... 20

6-2. Delta Configuration Page - Existing Configuration File ... 24

6-3. Delta Configuration Page - Global and Historian Instances - Station Letterbugs ... 26

6-4. Delta Configuration Page - Station Name and Compound:Block.Parameters ... 27

6-5. Delta Configuration Page - Selected Tag Inserted in Change Delta Tags Window ... 28

6-6. Delta Configuration Page - Delete Selected Tags ... 29

6-7. Delta Configuration Page - Set Delta Values Of Selected Tags Dialog ... 30

6-8. Delta Configuration Page - Imported Tags Inserted By OPC Server ... 33

6-9. Alias Configuration Page ... 34

6-10. Alias Configuration Page - Insert Alias Name ... 36

6-11. Configured Aliases List in Matrikon OPC Explorer Client ... 38

6-12. Alias Configuration Page - Edit An Alias ... 39

6-13. Alias Configuration Page - Edit Alias Dialog ... 40

6-14. Exiting Configurator Without Saving Changes Dialog ... 42

6-15. Saving a New Configuration File ... 43

6-16. Saving Changes to a Configuration File -- Confirmation Dialog ... 44

6-17. Saving Configuration File as a Default Configuration -- Confirmation Dialog ... 45

6-18. General Server Parameters Page ... 46

6-19. Advanced Server Parameters Page ... 48

6-20. Options Dialog - General Page. ... 50

6-21. Options Dialog - General Logging Page ... 52

6-22. Options Dialog - Interface Logging Page ... 53

6-23. Options Dialog - Advanced Page ... 54

B-1. Navigating to DCOM Config from Component Services ... 58

B-2. AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, General Page ... 59

B-3. AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, Security Page ... 60

B-4. DPC Server Security Settings - Launch, Access, and Configuration Permissions ... 61

B-5. Configuring Permissions ... 62

B-6. AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, Identity Page ... 63

C-1. OPC Server Shortcut Menu ... 67

C-2. Configuration Utility Window Features ... 68

C-3. General Configuration Options ... 71

C-4. Advanced Configuration Options ... 73

C-5. Options Dialog Box ... 75

C-6. Insert New Alias Dialog Box ... 76

C-7. Edit Alias Dialog Box ... 78

C-8. Listing Aliases Configured for a Group ... 79

C-9. Options Dialog Box ... 81

C-10. Options Dialog Box: General Logging Tab ... 83

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C-12. Options Dialog Box: Advanced Tab ... 86

D-1. OPC Explorer Main Window ... 87

D-2. Available OPC Server List ... 91

D-3. Group Properties Dialog Box: General ... 93

D-4. Group Properties Dialog Box: Interfaces ... 95

D-5. Tag Studio Main Window ... 96

D-6. OPC Item Data Display ... 99

D-7. Write Values Dialog Box ... 101

D-8. Options Dialog Box: General ... 102

D-9. Options Dialog Box: Data Transfer ... 103

D-10. Options Dialog Box: Data Display ... 104

D-11. Options Dialog Box: COM ... 105

H-1. Flow Diagram for Quality of Returned Real-time Data ... 120

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Tables

6-1. AIM* OPC Configurator Menu Bar Options ... 21

6-2. Configuration Utility Toolbar Options ... 22

C-1. Configuration Utility Menu Bar Options ... 69

C-2. Configuration Utility Toolbar Options ... 70

C-3. Alias Scaling Options ... 77

D-1. Matrikon OPC Explorer Menu Bar Options ... 88

D-2. Matrikon OPC Explorer Toolbar Options ... 90

E-1. Supported Server Object Interfaces ... 107

E-2. Supported Group Object Interfaces ... 108

E-3. Supported Data Access Methods by Interface ... 108

E-4. Supported HDA Interfaces ... 111

E-5. Supported HDA Methods by Interface ... 111

E-6. AIM*AT OPC Server Registry Entries ... 114

F-1. Standard Quality Flags ... 115

F-2. HDA Quality Flags ... 116

G-1. Constant Numeric Values for VARIANT Data Types ... 117

G-2. AIM*AT to VARIANT Data Type Mappings ... 117

H-1. I/A Series Status Bit Map ... 119

L-1. Alias Scaling Expressions ... 129

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Preface

Purpose

This document describes the operation, and configuration of the AIM*AT Suite AIM OPC Server software.

Audience

This document is intended for use by process engineers, system administrators, and developers who wish to run and configure AIM OPC Server application.

Revision Information

For this release of the document (B0400DG-C), the document has been restructured. Some appendices were renamed. In addition, the following changes were made:

Global

 Removed support for the Solaris operating system.  Updated OPC Data Access to Version 2.05a. Chapter 1 “Overview”

 Removed the AIM-Supervisor system from “AIM*AT OPC Server” on page 1. Chapter 2 “System Requirements”

 Added support for the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems. Chapter 3 “AIM*AT OPC Server Installation”

 Updated “Installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software” on page 7 and “Standard OPC Server Browser” on page 8.

 Removed “AIM*AT API Server”, “AIM*AT ApiAdmin Utility”, “Matrikon OPC Explorer Client (General Purpose OPC Client)”, and “Matrikon Configurator”. Chapter 4 “AIM*AT API Server Component Installation”

 Removed “Installing the AIM*AT API Server Software on an AW70 Station”, “Install-ing the AIM*AT API Server Software on an AW51 Station”, and “Ethernet Card Setup for Solaris Stations”.

Chapter 5 “OPC Server Startup and Shutdown”

 Updated the menu selections for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 for all proce-dures in this chapter.

Appendix B “DCOM Configuration”

 Removed “Starting the DCOM Configuration Utility”.  Updated “Setting Default Properties” on page 57

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Reference Documents

In addition to the information presented herein, you should be familiar with the following I/A Series documents:

 AIM*AT Suite AIM API™ User’s Guide (B0193YN)

 AIM*AT Suite AIM Installation Guide (B0193YM)

 AIM*AT Suite NetAPI MFC Class User’s Guide (B0400BJ).

These are available on the I/A Series Electronic Documentation CD-ROM or DVD (K0173TQ or K0173WT) provided by the Foxboro business unit of Invensys. The latest revisions may also be available through the Global Customer Support at http://support.ips.invensys.com.

You should also reference the following OPC Foundation specifications:

 OPC Data Access Custom Interface Standard V 2.05a and V 1.0a

 OPC Historical Data Access Custom Interface Standard V 1.0

 OPC Data Access 2.05a Automation Interface Standard.

Request For Comments

Please direct your comments and suggestions concerning the AIM*AT OPC Server software, other AIM*AT Suite products, and this user documentation to:

Global Customer Support Center B52-AA

Telephone: 1-866-746-6477 within the U.S. or 1-508-549-2424 outside the U.S. For web assisted technical support, visit: http://support.ips.invensys.com.

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1. Overview

This chapter introduces AIM*OPC Server software and describes how the server enables OPC clients to communicate with data servers to access real-time and historical data.

**AIM*AT OPC Server**

AIM*AT OPC Server software (OPC server) enables the transfer of data between OPC clients and the following systems:

 I/A Series Application Workstations for real-time data  AIM*Historian for real-time data and process history In this document, these three sources are referred to as data servers.

Figure 1-1 illustrates how the OPC server functions as a gateway between OPC clients and data servers.

The OPC server communicates with data servers over TCP/IP using AIM*API software included with the product. The AIM*AT OPC Server software runs either on the same workstation as the data server or remotely on a Windows based workstation.

The AIM*AT OPC Server software features:

 Full compliance with OPC Data Access Specification 2.05a and 1.0a  Full compliance with OPC Historical Data Access Specification 1.0  Read and write access to items configured within a data server  Access to multiple local and remote data servers

 Automatic detection of available data servers  Automatic detection of available item IDs

 Minimal configuration required following installation  Easy-to-use graphical configuration utility

 Extensive error tracking and management

 Matrikon™ OPC Explorer, a general purpose OPC client for testing and configuring the OPC server

 Matrikon™ OPC Automation Component, a dynamically linked library enabling you to access OPC data from OPC client applications developed using automation tools such as Visual Basic™, VBA™, and VB Script™.

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Figure 1-1. Data Transfer Between OPC Clients and Data Servers via the OPC Server

The OPC Standard

The OPC standard is designed to connect Windows® based applications with process control hardware and software applications. This open standard permits a consistent method of accessing field data that remains constant regardless of data type or source.

OPC servers use the Component Object Model (COM) to communicate with clients. This Microsoft® OLE technology permits a standard for real-time information exchange between software applications and process hardware to be defined.

OPC Data Access

The OPC Data Access (DA) standard was the first specification released by the OPC Foundation. Its primary purpose is to enable the transfer of real-time data. The OPC server conforms to Ver-sions 2.05a and 1.0a of the OPC Data Access Specification. Refer to Appendix E “OPC Compli-ance” for a list of OPC DA interfaces supported by the OPC server.

OPC Client

OPC Client OPC Client

Network

AIM*AT AIM*API Library

Network

I/A Series AIM*AT Server

I/A Series DCS Real-Time Data

OPC Data Access/ Historical Data Access

Interfaces OPC Server Inner Layer AIM*AT OPC Server Workstation AIM*Historian Real-Time and Historical Data Data Servers

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OPC Historical Data Access

The OPC Foundation Historical Data Access (HDA) specification defines a consistent mechanism for communicating with process historians.

This specification is written for management information systems, expert systems, and other higher level applications that need to access historical data. A single client application designed to the HDA standard can connect to and retrieve data from any historian.

The OPC server conforms to Revision 1.0 of the OPC Historical Data Access Specification. Refer to Appendix E “OPC Compliance” for a list of OPC HDA interfaces supported by the OPC server.

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2. System Requirements

This chapter lists AIM*AT OPC Server installation prerequisites.

The workstation on which you install the AIM*AT OPC Server must meet the following requirements:

 _Pentium®_{class processor, recommend 500 MHz or higher}  _{128 MB of RAM}

 _{25 MB of available disk space.}

 _{One of the following operating systems:}  _{Windows Server® 2008 R2}

 _{Windows® 7}

 _{Windows Server 2003 R2}  _{Windows XP (Service Pack 3)}

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**3. AIM*AT OPC Server Installation**

This chapter provides procedures for installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software and describes important files installed during server installation.

Overview

The OPC Server Software V3.4 is a complete installation of the OPC Server software:  The AIM*OPC Server components can be installed on a Windows based workstation

or an I/A Series (Windows based) workstation.

 The AIM*AT API Server can be installed on any I/A Series workstation.

The software install program detects the OPC server currently installed on the target station allowing you to abort the installation should you need to un-installed an earlier version of the OPC Server software. The installation of the OPC server also allows you to install an AIM*AT API Server component to an I/A Series workstation, if one is required.

**Installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software**

To install the AIM*OPC Server Software, refer to the AIM*AT Suite Installation Guide (B0193YM, Rev. G or later).

Once the AIM*OPC Server software is installed then edit the DCOM settings, as described in Appendix B “DCOM Configuration”. This must be performed whether or not DCOM is being used. These edits set the proper permissions for the OPC server to be launched and accessed by client programs.

Configurators

The AIM*OPC Server is configured using one of two available configurators:  AIM OPC Configurator

 Matrikon Configurator.

Regardless of which configurator is installed, the delta values for all the client tags are defaulted to a value of .001.

NOTE

Only one configurator can be installed.

AIM OPC Configurator

The AIM OPC Configurator, installed by default, is the preferred configurator. This configurator provides the ability to change delta values for all the client tags and provides all of the same func-tionality as the Matrikon Configurator.

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Matrikon Configurator

The Matrikon Configurator was distributed on earlier versions of the AIM OPC Server and is still supported as the “legacy configurator”. The Matrikon configurator does not have the ability to configure change delta values.

If an earlier version of the OPC server was installed with the Matrikon Configurator and the OPC server parameters were saved to the Matrikon XML configuration file, this file can be re-applied to the new OPC Server installation.

NOTE

The saved Matrikon configuration file works with either the Matrikon or the AIM OPC Configurator.

Software Components Description

This section describes software components as they appear on the Selected Components screen and the associated files that get installed with each component. Some files are common to several components and are therefore listed more than once.

**AIM*OPC Server**

The aim\opc directory contains:

The version independent Program ID for the AIM*AT OPC Server is: AIM.OPC. The version specific Program ID for this version of the server is: AIM.OPC.1.

AIM OPC Configurator

AIMOPCConfig.exe OEM_Matrikon_OPC.dll pstcfgps.dll

Standard OPC Server Browser

In compliance with OPC Standards, the installation program installs and registers the official OPC Server Browser (OPCEnum.exe). This file contains version information which protects the browser from being overwritten by an older version of the file. The installation program also ensures that the ActiveX Interface Marshalling Library (ACTXPRXY.DLL) is already installed on the station so that the server browser functions properly.

The WINDOWS\system32 directory contains: OPCEnum.exe

The \aim\common directory contains: servutil.dll

File Description

AIMOPCSVR.exe AIM*OPC Server executable

AIMOPChelp.chm Help file

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OPC Automation Components

The OPC Automation Components consist of DLLs that provide a programmatic interface to the OPC Server. The OPC automation components enable you to develop client applications that can access OPC data. Client applications can be written in programming languages, such as Visual Basic, VBA and VB Script, that support automation. The Program ID is

Matrikon.OPC.Automation. Refer to the OPC Data Access 2.05a Automation Interface Standard for information about automation objects.

The OPC Automation Components consists of the following three subsections and associated files:

OPC DA Automation DLL

OPCAuto.dll OPCDA20auto.doc OEM_Matrikon_OPC.dll PSTcfgps.dll

The WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory contains:

ExprEval.dll OPCEnum.exe

OPC HDA Automation DLL

OPCHDAAuto.dll OPCHDA10auto.doc OEM_Matrikon_OPC.dll PSTcfgps.dll

ExprEval.dll OPCEnum.exe

Standard OPC Proxy Stubs (OPC Marshalling Libraries)

OPCProxy.dll OPCHDA_ps.dll OPC_aeps.dll opccomn_ps.dll OPCEnum.exe.

**AIM*AT OPC Server Licensing**

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 Get the process values that are requested by an OPC client  Browse the OPC client server to locate the desired client tags.

Before you can use the OPC server to communicate with AIM servers, each AIM Server must have an Invensys supplied license authorization code entered on the AIM Server. License codes are available to an unlimited number of AIM servers.

The package code determines the type of connection authorized for the OPC server. The two types of package codes are as follows:

 The OPCDAO package code enables the OPC server to establish a connection for real-time data transfer.

 The OPCHDA package code enables the OPC server to establish a connection for both real-time and historical data transfer.

In addition, the computer name of the station that is hosting the OPC server must be configured as a user name on the AIM server.

NOTE

If the station that hosts the OPC Server is an I/A Series station (AW70), then the computer name is the station letterbug name.

The AIM*AT ApiAdmin utility allows you to configure the authorization code, user name, and security read/write privileges to the AIM server(s). Refer to the AIM*AT Installation Guide (B0193YM) for information on installing and using the ApiAdmin utility. The guide also pro-vides instructions and the forms for obtaining the authorization codes from Invensys.

Instructions for obtaining the authorization code and configuring the AIM server using the Api-Admin utility are described in the following section.

Obtaining an Authorization Code

To obtain an authorization code, proceed as follows:

1. Perform one of the following:

a. Run the AIM ApiAdmin utility and connect to the AIM server station(s) to which the OPC Server is required to connect. After a connection is made, go to the Authorization page. The station HostID is automatically displayed on this page. b. Alternately, use the “hostname” utility available from a DOS command window

on the local station AW station.

2. Fill out the “Request for Authorization Codes” form that is included in the AIM*AT

Installation Guide (B0193YM).

a. Enter the required information and include the Server Host ID for the OPC Server.

b. Indicate which license you want: OPCDAO for real-time or OPCHDA for both real-time and historian data access.

c. FAX the request to the person and location indicated at the top of the form.

Configuring the AIM Server

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 Once you receive the authorization code(s), run the ApiAdmin utility to connect to the appropriate AIM server station and configure the following information: a. On the Authorization page, enter the authorization code for the appropriate

OPCDAO or OPCHDA Package Name.

b. On the User Names page, enter the name of the station hosting the OPC Server. This is the station name as it appears on the network; it is not the user logon name. If the station is an I/A Series AW station, then the user name is the station letterbug.

c. On the Packages page, expand the appropriate user name and mark the check box for the OPC package code that applies (OPCDAO or OPCHDA).

d. On the Security page, expand on the appropriate user name and check the security options that are to be granted to the OPC clients via the AIM*AT OPC Server application that resides on the (user name) station.

e. On the Read List page, optionally restrict the user name (the OPC clients) to a specific list of database object names and shared variables that the OPC clients are allowed to read.

f. On the Write List page, optionally restrict the user name (the OPC clients) to a specific list of database object names and shared variables to which the OPC cli-ents are allowed to write.

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**4. AIM*AT API Server Component**

Installation

This chapter explains how to install the AIM*AT API Server Component on an I/A Series station.

When the OPC Server is required to connect to an AIM*AT API Server that is on a networked I/A Series station, you must install the AIM*AT API Server component if no API Server software is already installed. The installation program on the AIM*AT CD allows you to separately install the API Server software on an AW70 station (Windows operating system) by selecting the AIM*Historian component and the Remote Collector subcomponent.

Optionally, install the AIM*AT ApiAdmin. The AIM ApiAdmin utility allows you to configure authorization codes, user privileges, and so forth for all the AIM server(s).

NOTE

Do not install the ApiAdmin utility to the local station if AIM server configuration is done exclusively by a system administrator from another station. Only one Api-Admin utility is needed to configure all the AIM servers on the same network.

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5. OPC Server Startup and

Shutdown

This chapter discusses starting and stopping the OPC Server.

Starting the OPC Server

The OPC server starts automatically when an OPC client requests a connection to the server. Alternatively, the server can be started manually. Manual startup of the OPC server is different depending on whether you installed the server to run as a local executable or as a Windows Ser-vice.

OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program

To start an OPC Server when installed as an executable program,

1. Select Start > Programs > AimAT OPC Server for DA

2. Depending on the configurator installed, the OPC server starts as follows:

a. If the AIM*OPC Configurator is installed, the server starts, but no server screen appears and no icon appears on the Windows task bar. Access the Windows Task Manager to verify that the AIMOPCSVR.EXE process is running.

b. If the Matrikon Configurator is installed, the OPC server starts, its splash screen appears briefly, and a small red X appears on the right side of the Windows task bar.

OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service

To start an OPC Server when installed as a Windows Service, proceed as follows:

1. Click the Start button and select Control Panel > Administrative Tools. 2. Click the Services icon. The Services dialog box lists the OPC Service among the

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Figure 5-1. Services Dialog Box on a Windows XP Station

3. Select Action menu > Start to select the AIM AT OPC Server in the Services dia-log box.

OPC Server Control Panel

NOTE

If the AIM Configurator is installed, the OPC Server control panel is NOT avail-able.

When you install the OPC Server as an executable program, the OPC Server Control Panel is accessible if the Matrikon Configurator is installed. The OPC server control panel (Figure 5-2) presents: server status, current time, and number of clients using the server.

The three menu items displayed along the bottom of the panel are:

 Configure which starts the server configuration utility.

 Shutdown which closes the control panel and shuts down the OPC server.

 About which opens a dialog box that shows the software version number and licensing

information.

The help button [?] in the title bar displays a description of the AIM*AT OPC Server software.

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To open the server control panel, do one of the following:  Double-click the red X icon in the task bar.

 Right-click the red X icon, and choose Show Control Panel from the shortcut menu. To reduce the control panel to its title bar,

 Double-click the button on the left end of the title bar. The title bar displays the num-ber of clients (Figure 5-3).

Figure 5-3. Reduced Control Panel

To restore the control panel to full view,  Double-click the title bar. To close the control panel,

 Click the X button in the top right corner of the window.

Shutting Down the OPC Server

OPC Server shutdown is dependent on the OPC Server installation.

OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the AIM

Configurator)

To shutdown an OPC Server when it has been installed with the AIM configurator, 1. Access the Windows Task Manager to find the AIMOPCSVR.EXE process. 2. Click EndTask.

OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the

Matrikon Configurator)

To shutdown an OPC Server when it has been installed with the Matrikon configurator, 1. Access the OPC Server control panel from the OPC server icon in the Windows task

bar as described in “OPC Server Control Panel” on page 16. 2. Click Shutdown.

NOTE

A warning appears if clients are currently connected to the OPC Server.

OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service

To shutdown an OPC Server when it has been installed as a Windows Service, proceed as follows: 1. Click the Start button and select Control Panel > Administrative Tools.

2. Click Services. The Services dialog box lists the OPC Service among the configured services.

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3. Select Action menu > Stop to select the AIM AT OPC Server in the Services dialog box.

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**6. AIM*OPC Configurator**

This chapter describes the features of the OPC Server Configurator as well as how to use the configurator.

The AIM*OPC Configurator is an interactive utility that allows you to configure the OPC Server to perform communication services; these services are required by its client applications and are related to the selected and imported tags needed by its clients in the configuration file.

The configurator has the following features:

 Configuration can be performed whether or not the OPC Server is running.

 All configuration changes are automatically applied to the OPC Server upon save of the configuration file. Therefore, there is no need to re-start the OPC Server to apply configuration changes.

 The browser, accessible from the Delta Configuration page, allows you to browse for database tags among I/A Series stations and AIM*Historian instances.

 Delta values of individual and selected groups of client tags are configurable.  All OPC Server parameters, such as server time-out values and API scan rates, are

configurable.

 Alias names can be configured in place of the regular OPC database tag names.

**AIM*OPC Configuration Utility**

The AIM*OPC Configurator allows you to configure:  Parameters for the AIM*OPC server

 Change Delta values for the client tags  Alias names for the client tags.

**Starting the AIM*OPC Configurator**

To start the AIM*OPC Configurator,

 Select Start > Programs > AimAT > AIM OPC Configurator

The initial AIM*OPC Configurator display appears as shown in Figure 6-1. The main window of the configurator consists of:

 Four tabbed pages:

 Delta Configuration Page  Server Parameters (General) Page  Server Parameters (Advanced) Page  Alias Configuration Page

 Main menu bar with the General Options available under the View Menu  Tool Bar

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 Status Bar indicating Ready

When started, the OPC Configurator utility attempts to connect to all available AIM*API Servers as configured by the AIM*ApiAdmin utility. The Delta Configuration page is displayed on top of the other three pages. The Browse Database Tags window automatically displays the names of all the connected server stations as shown in Figure 6-1.

Expanding the items in the Browse Database Tags window provides access to various tags. The desired tags are then selected/configured for inclusion in the configuration file for use by all the OPC client applications.

Initially, no configuration file exists until the configurator is used and information saved to a file. With no configuration file, the Changed Delta Tags window is empty.

Figure 6-1. Initial OPC Configuration Display - Delta Configuration Page

If the AIM*ApiAdmin utility has the broadcast feature enabled (check box is not checked), then the AIM*OPC Configurator attempts to connect to all AIM*API Servers that are available on the network. If the AIM*ApiAdmin broadcast feature is disabled (check box is checked), then the

No Pre-Existing Configuration File

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AIM*OPC Configurator attempts to connect to only the API servers that have been configured by AIM*ApiAdmin to the client initialization file (an_init.cfg). It is important to note that the AIM*OPC Configurator can connect to an AIM*API Server and browse only if that server has been authorized for the AIM*OPC Server. Refer to “AIM*AT OPC Server Licensing” on page 9.

OPC Configuration Menu Bar

The OPC Configurator menu bar provides easy access to configuration utility functions (Table 6-1).

Table 6-1. AIM*OPC Configurator Menu Bar Options

Menu Option Description

File New Opens a new OPC server configuration file.

Open Opens an existing OPC server configuration file.

Save Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk. Save As Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk

using a new name and path.

Print Prints the current configuration information

Print Preview Allows you to preview the current configuration informa-tion prior to printing.

Print Setup Allows you to select the printer and set printer options.

Recent File (Not used)

Exit Exits the OPC configuration utility.

Edit Undo (Not used)

Cut (Not used)

Copy (Not used)

Paste (Not used)

View Toolbar Displays the toolbar icons under the main menu bar. Status Bar Displays server status information at the bottom of the

screen.

Options Customize server options related to how the server: saves and loads its configuration, records error and debug infor-mation, and updates. See “Options for Server Configura-tion” on page 49 for additional information

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Toolbar

The configuration toolbar provides easy access to configuration utility functions (Table 6-2).

Status Bar

The status bar at the bottom of the window, when visible, indicates Ready.

**Using the AIM*OPC Configurator to Configure the**

OPC Server

NOTE

You do not have to use the OPC Configurator to configure the OPC Server prior to using the OPC Server. If not configured, the OPC Server runs with its default parameters.

To define the required OPC Server and configuration file settings,

1. Using the General and Advanced Server parameter pages on the initial window of the OPC Configuration Utility, define the operational server parameters.

 _{See “Server Parameters (General) Settings” on page 46.}  _{See “Server Parameters (Advanced) Settings” on page 47.}

2. Using the Options dialog, define the following settings:

a. Customize the way the server saves and loads its configuration files. See “General Option Settings” on page 50.

a. Restrict client access to preconfigured alias items. See “General Option Settings” on page 50.

b. Customize general activity logging. “General Logging Settings” on page 52 c. Customize error and debug logging. “Interface Logging Settings” on page 53 d. Set the timing attributes of the Server. “Advanced Option Settings” on page 54

Table 6-2. Configuration Utility Toolbar Options

Button Function

Opens a new configuration file having the default server configuration settings. Opens an existing server configuration file.

Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk. Prints the active file.

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3. After setting the OPC server and configurator options, perform either of the following tasks:

 Save these settings to the file as described in “Saving To the Configuration File” on page 41 and end the configuration session.

 Configure the tags as discussed in “Creating/Updating an OPC Server Configura-tion File with Tags and Item Aliases” on page 23 and then save both the OPC server settings and tag information to the configuration file.

Creating/Updating an OPC Server Configuration File

with Tags and Item Aliases

One OPC server configuration file contains all of the tags (Compound:Block.Parameters) needed to service all of the OPC server clients.

To create an OPC server configuration file with the desired tags and item aliases:

1. Start the configuration utility as described on “Starting the AIM*OPC Configurator” on page 19. The initial OPC Server configuration page appears as shown in

Figure 6-1.

2. Select the Delta Configuration tab, if not the initial page, and select the desired tags required by the clients. Change the delta values of the tags if required. See “Delta Configuration Page” on page 23

3. Select the Alias Configuration tab and create the desired item aliases required by the OPC client applications. Configuring aliases as described in “Creating OPC Item Aliases” on page 22.

4. Save the OPC server configuration file to disk as described in “Saving To the Config-uration File” on page 41.

Delta Configuration Page

The Delta Configuration page is used to locate tags and configure the associated delta values. The tags are located by browsing the I/A Series station control databases and AIM*Historian instances for the desired tag names. The tags and associated delta values can then be saved to the configura-tion file for the OPC Server.

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Figure 6-2. Delta Configuration Page - Existing Configuration File

NOTE

Configuring a larger delta value reduces the volume of data that is transferred over the network, therefore, enhancing the performance of the OPC Server. This action reduces the load on Control Processor (CP) modules in an I/A Series system. The Delta Configuration page contains the following components:

 Browse Database Tags window to browse among connected I/A Series stations and AIM*Historian instances to locate and select tag names.

 Tags Selection window showing a list of all the parameters of the selected block in the Browse Database Tags window.

 Changed Delta Tags window showing the list of selected tags: transferred from the Tags Selection window, automatically imported at startup, or loaded from the existing Existing Delta Configuration File

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configuration file. The associated tag information consists of: Tag Name, Data Type, Delta, High Scale and Low Scale.

When there is no configuration file, the AIM OPC Server Configurator display indicates Unti-tled* in the display title. No tags appear in the Change Delta Tags window. When a configuration file exists, the OPC Server Configurator display indicates the name of the configuration file and the Changed Delta Tags window is populated with tags from the configuration file; however, if no tags have been saved to the existing configuration file, no tags appear.

NOTE

The Loadconfigurationonstartup check box must be marked in the Options

dialog (see “Options for Server Configuration” on page 49) for the existing configura-tion file to appear.

Check Boxes

Import Client Tags On startup the OPC server imports client tags into the configuration win-dow. Client tags displayed in the Changed Delta Tag window appear with an asterisk (*) to distinguish them from non-client tags. Client tags are those tags designated by an application, such as the Matrikon OPC Explorer Client, to be collected by the OPC server. (Figure 6-8 shows Imported tags listed in the Change Delta Tags window.)

Get Tag Info from I/A Server

The OPC server collects the current settings available for the tag from the I/A Server (Control database).

Buttons

Delete Selected Tags

The selected tags (from the I/A Server, AIM* Historian instance, or client) in the Changed Delta Tags window are deleted.

Set Deltas of Selected Tags

The selected tags appear in the Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog in order to configure the delta values of an individual tag or a group of tags. Set Deltas of Imported Tags

The imported tags appear in the Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog in order to configure the delta values of individual tags or a group of tags. Clear All All the tags in the Changed Delta Tags window are cleared from the

screen.

Browsing for Tags

From the Delta Configuration page (or the Alias Configuration page), use the browser to locate and select the tags (compound:block.parameters) required in the configuration file.

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1. In the Browse window, highlight the desired host station and click on the + button to view:

a. Global folder to access all the station letterbugs associated with the selected I/A server as shown in Figure 6-3.

b. AIM*Historian instance folder to access compound:block.parameters.

NOTE

Historian instances are used to search for tag names that are known to exist in an historian instance; they are not used to establish an OPC Server connection to the historian.

Figure 6-3. Delta Configuration Page - Global and Historian Instances - Station Letterbugs

2. Continue to highlight the desired item and click on the associated + button to access the list of associated tags (compound:block.parameters). Select items as follows: a. I/A Server > Global > Station Letterbug > Compound > Block > Individual Block

Parameters OR

b. Host Station > Historian Instance > Individual Tag(s)

NOTE

When an Historian instance is selected, you can select the Tag folder (representing the entire list of tags) to populate the Tags Selection window with all of the tags. Alternately, you can click the Tag folder and expand the tree (click +) to access the list of tags and select individual tags.

Station Letterbugs I/A Server

List of Stations

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Figure 6-4. Delta Configuration Page - Station Name and Compound:Block.Parameters

3. The Tags Selection window contains the compound:block.parameters. The tags (Compound:Block.Parameters) listed in the Tags Selection window are arranged in alphabetical order.

Selecting/Deleting Tags

The Tags Selection window must contain the desired tags (Compound:Block.Parameters) in order for you to select and transfer the tags to the Changed Delta Tags window for inclusion in the con-figuration file.

To select tags in the Tag Selection window,

1. Mark the check box in front of each desired tag.

2. Click Insert to transfer the selected tags to the Changed Delta Tags window. The tags no longer appear as checked in the Tag Selection window. Duplicate tags do not appear in the Changed Delta Tags window. See Figure 6-5.

Block Compound Station Letterbug

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Figure 6-5. Delta Configuration Page - Selected Tag Inserted in Change Delta Tags Window

To clear all tag selections in the Tags Selection window,  Click ClearAll.

To delete any tags in the Changed Delta Tags window,

1. Select the tag(s) to be deleted. Use Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple tags. 2. Use one of two methods:

 Click DeleteSelectedTags.

 Right mouse button click within the Change Delta Tags window to activate the context menu and click DeleteSelectedTags.

To erase all the tags in the Changed Delta tags window,  Click Clear All.

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Figure 6-6. Delta Configuration Page - Delete Selected Tags

Changing Delta Values of Selected Tags

Initially, the delta value of a tag inserted into the Changed Delta Tags window is set at a default of 0.001, with both the High Scale and Low Scale set to zero as displayed.

To change the delta value of one or more tags,

1. Select the desired tags in the Changed Delta Tags window. For example, Figure 6-6 shows that all three tags are selected.

2. Access the Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog using one of two methods.

 Click SetDeltasofSelectedTags.

 Right mouse button click within the Changed Delta Tags window to activate the context menu and click SetDeltasofSelectedTags.

Context Menu Button

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Figure 6-7. Delta Configuration Page - Set Delta Values Of Selected Tags Dialog

3. The Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog (see Figure 6-7) appears with the selected tags in the dialog box. Notice that the dialog displays the Delta, High Scale and Low Scale parameter values for the Tag name.

 If the GetTag Info.from I/A Server box is checked (default), the values for the Delta, High Scale and Low Scale parameters are the actual values con-figured in the I/A Server for the block parameters. The purpose of getting the tag information from the I/A Server is to provide the user with a guideline for setting the delta value.

 If the GetTag Info.from I/A Server check box is not marked, the fol-lowing default values appear: Delta 0.001, High Scale 100.00, and Low Scale 0.00.

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NOTE

If you select a large number of tags located on a remote server and the check box for

GetTagInfo.fromI/AServer is checked, it may take considerable time for the

AIM Configurator to retrieve the Delta, High and Low Scale I/A database values for each tag. The estimated time is about four seconds for each tag located on a remote server. During this time, the AIM Configurator appears to be disabled; however, the OPC server operation is not affected.

4. Use one of two methods to change the delta field for the tag entries: To change the delta value for one tag,

a.Click the Delta field of the selected tag once.

b.Click the Delta field again and enter the desired delta value. To change all the tag entries to the same delta value,

a.Enter a value in the field to the left of the Set Group Delta button. b.Click Set Group Delta.

Range checking is done on any new value if access has been made to the I/A Server.

5. Click OK to set the new delta values.

NOTE

When the configuration file is saved, the tags in the Changed Delta Tags window are saved to the configuration file.

Changing Delta Values of Imported Tags

The AIM OPC Configurator provides the capability to configure the change delta value of tags that are being used by clients without having to browse the database for the tags. Once this feature is properly activated by the user, the client tags automatically appear in the Change Delta Tags window of the Delta Configuration page. By default this feature is not activated. These client tags are prefixed with an asterisk character [*] to identify them from the other tags. (See Figure 6-8.) Once this feature is activated, the OPC Server automatically writes the client tags (preceded by an *) to the OPC configuration file when new tags are added by an OPC client. When the OPC configurator is started and loads in the configuration file, these client tags automatically appear in the Changed Delta Tags window.

To activate the Import Client Tags feature,

1. On the Delta Configuration page, check the box labeled Import Client Tags [*] and then exit the configurator.

2. Select View > Options on the AIM OPC configurator main menu bar to display the Options dialog box.

3. On the General page, check the box labeled Load Configuration on Startup. 4. Select File > Exit to exit the configurator.

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6. Start the AIM OPC configurator. The client tag names that were not previously con-figured and saved to the configuration file now appear with an asterisk [*] in the Change Delta Tags window.

To change the delta values of imported tags,

1. Select the desired tags in the Changed Delta Tags window.

2. Access the Set Delta Values of Selected Tags dialog using one of two methods.

 Click SetDeltasofImportedTags.

 Right mouse button click within the Change Delta Tags window to activate the context menu and click SetDeltasofImportedTags.

3. The delta values for these new [*] client tags can now be changed as described in “Changing Delta Values of Selected Tags” on page 29, Step 4.

NOTE

When the configuration file is saved, the imported tags in the Changed Delta Tags window are saved to the configuration file. The next time the configurator is started, these tags will not appear with an asterisk [*].

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Figure 6-8. Delta Configuration Page - Imported Tags Inserted By OPC Server

Alias Configuration Page

Aliases allow the user to query data using user-defined names instead of the actual tag names. User-defined names are more easily recognized. From the Alias Configuration page you locate tags (compound:block.parameters) from the I/A Server or an AIM*Historian instance and define the alias for the tag name in the configuration file.

NOTE

Only one tag can be selected at a time for alias configuration. The Alias Configuration page contains the following components:

 Browse Database Tags window to browse among connected I/A Servers and AIM*Historian instances to easily locate and select tag names.

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 Tags Selection window showing a list of all the parameters of the selected block in the Browse Database Tags window.

 Changed Alias Settings window showing the definition of aliased tags. The associated alias information consists of: Name (Alias), Item Path, Data Type, R/W, Update Rate, Poll Always.

Figure 6-9. Alias Configuration Page

Buttons

Edit Selected Alias An existing selected alias can be changed.

Insert Provides access to the Insert New Alias dialog for the selected tag in the Tags Selection window. The following information related to the selected tag appears in the dialog: item path field and data type field. The user sup-plies the other information.

Insert New Alias Provides access to the Insert New Alias dialog to create a new alias without having to select a tag.

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Delete Selected Aliases

The selected tag aliases in the Changed Alias Settings window are deleted. Clear All All the tags in the Changed Alias Settings window are cleared from the

screen.

Browsing for Tags In Order To Assign Aliases

See “Browsing for Tags” on page 25.

Selecting/Deleting Tags

To select tags,

1. Mark the check box in front of each desired tag in the Tags Selection window. 2. Click Insert to transfer the selected tags to the Changed Alias Settings window.

Duplicate tags do not appear in the Changed Alias Settings window. See Figure 6-5. To delete tags in the Changed Alias Settings window,

1. Select the tag(s) to be deleted. Use Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple tags. 2. Use one of two methods:

 _ClickDeleteSelectedAlias.

 _{Right mouse button click within the Change Delta Tags window to activate the} context menu and click DeleteSelectedAlias.

To erase all the tags in the Changed Alias Settings window,  Click Clear All.

Creating An Alias

To create an alias for an existing tag,

1. After browsing for the tag, mark the check box in front of the tag name listed in the Tags Selection window.

2. Click Insert, located under the Tags Selection window.

3. When the Insert New Alias dialog appears, enter the desired alias settings: a. Alias name - user-defined

b. Item Path is already pre-filled with the location of selected tag. c. Data type is pre-filled (Default).

d. Update rate - Optionally, mark the check boxes: -- Read Only

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Figure 6-10. Alias Configuration Page - Insert Alias Name

4. Click OK.

The alias name is checked for uniqueness and the other inputs are validated. If all inputs are valid, the new alias is inserted into the Changed Alias Settings window.

NOTE

When the configuration file is saved, the tags in the Changed Alias Settings window are saved to the configuration file.

Creating A New Alias

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NOTE

Defined aliases appear under the Configured Aliases branch in an OPC client. See Figure 6-11.

1. Access the Insert New Alias dialog using one of two methods.

 _ClickInsert New Alias (without selecting a tag).

 _{Right mouse button click within the Changed Alias Settings window to activate} the context menu and click Insert New Alias.

2. When the Insert New Alias dialog appears, enter the desired alias settings: a. Alias name

b. Item path

c. Data type (if not Default) d. Update rate

e. Optionally, mark the check boxes: -- Read Only

-- Poll when inactive 3. Click OK.

4. The alias name is checked for uniqueness and the other inputs are validated. If all inputs are valid, the new alias is inserted into the Changed Alias Settings window.

NOTE

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Figure 6-11. Configured Aliases List in Matrikon OPC Explorer Client

Editing A Selected Alias

To edit the alias of an existing tag,

1. Ensure the desired tags are in the Changed ALias Settings window. See 2. Select the tag to be edited.

3. Access the Edit Alias dialog using one of three methods.

 Double click the tag to be edited.  Click Edit Selected Alias.

 Right mouse button click within the Changed Alias Settings window to activate the context menu and click Edit Selected Alias.

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Figure 6-12. Alias Configuration Page - Edit An Alias

4. When the Edit Alias dialog appears, enter the desired alias settings: a. Alias name

b. Item path

c. Data type (if not Default) d. Update rate

e. Optionally, mark the check boxes: -- Read Only

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Figure 6-13. Alias Configuration Page - Edit Alias Dialog

5. Click OK.

6. The alias name is checked for uniqueness and the other inputs are validated. If all inputs are valid, the new alias is inserted into the Changed Alias Settings window.

NOTE

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Saving To the Configuration File

Changes to any of the following four configuration pages requires that the information be saved to the OPC configuration file:

 Delta Configuration  Server Parameters - General  Server Parameters - Advanced  Alias Configuration

NOTE

If changes to the configuration file have not been saved and Exit under the File menu is selected, an AimOpcConfig dialog (Figure 6-14) appears warning the user that changes have been made that have not been saved.

Exit Without Saving Changes to the Configuration File

To exit the configurator without saving changes,

1. Click File > Exit.

2. In the AimOpcConfig dialog (Figure 6-14) that appears, click Yes or No or Cancel. a. Click Yes. The OPC Configurator utility closes. No changes are saved.

b. Click No. The dialog disappears and the OPC Configurator utility remains open. c. Click Cancel. The dialog disappears and the OPC Configurator utility remains

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Figure 6-14. Exiting Configurator Without Saving Changes Dialog

Saving Information To A New Configuration File

To save configuration information to a new file (Untitled* appears in the title bar indicating no pre-defined configuration file exists),

1. Select File > Save or select File > Save As.

2. In the resulting file dialog box (Figure 6-15), browse to the desired location and enter the filename for the .xml file.

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Figure 6-15. Saving a New Configuration File

3. Click Save.

Saving to the Default Configuration File

To save changes to a default configuration file,

 Click Save. The configurator automatically writes the changes to the default configu-ration file (xml).

Saving to a New Default Configuration File

To save information to a new default configuration file,

1. Click Save As.

2. In the subsequent confirmation dialog(Figure 6-16), click Yes or No.

a. Click Yes. The changes are saved to the existing default configuration file. b. Click No. In the subsequent, dialog,

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 Indicate the name of the new default configuration file  Click Save.

Figure 6-16. Saving Changes to a Configuration File -- Confirmation Dialog

3. In the subsequent dialog (Figure 6-17), click Yes or No or Cancel. a. Click Yes. The new file is saved as the default configuration file. b. Click No. The new file is saved as a non-default configuration file. c. Click Cancel to cancel the procedure.

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Figure 6-17. Saving Configuration File as a Default Configuration -- Confirmation Dialog

OPC Server Parameters

The OPC Server Parameters provide the following options:

 General Server Settings which relate to basic communication tasks required between the OPC server and data servers (I/A Servers, AIM*AT Historian instances, and client applications).

 Advanced Server Parameters which relate to communication settings between the OPC server and the various data servers.

NOTE

Changes to the General Server Parameter Settings take effect immediately. Changes to Advanced Server Parameters require that a server be restarted before the changes take effect.

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Server Parameters (General) Settings

To configure the OPC server parameters,

1. Click the General tab in the initial OPC configurator window. 2. Enter the desired values in the fields and mark the desired check boxes. To return all values back to the default values:

 _ClickDefaults.

To apply the inputs on the screen to the OPC Server during runtime:

 _ClickApply. If the OPC Server is running, the parameter values are immediately transmitted to the Server.

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The General Server Parameters include: NetAPI Server Timeout

Specifies the time-out setting of the connected AIM*API Server in utes. Valid values are integers from 2 to 60. The default setting is 2 min-utes.

Server Discovery Ping

Specifies in minutes how often the OPC server should check the network for data servers. 0 disables server discovery except on startup. The default setting is 1 minute.

Server Connection Ping

Specifies in minutes how often the OPC server should check that connec-tions to data servers are still good. If a connection is bad, the OPC Server attempts to reconnect. Valid values are from 1 to 60 and must be less than the time-out setting of the data severs. The default setting is 1 minute. Aggregate Validity Threshold

Specifies a percentage of values in the sample interval that are required to be good. This value is used for aggregate retrieval. Valid values are integers from 1 to 100. The default setting is 60%.

Create items when they are browsed

Automatically creates items in the OPC server when they are browsed from a client application. It is recommended that you do not enable this option.

Server Parameters (Advanced) Settings

To configure the advanced OPC server parameters:

1. Click the Advanced tab on the OPC configurator window.

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Figure 6-19. Advanced Server Parameters Page

To return all values back to the default values,  Click Defaults.

To apply the inputs on the screen to the OPC Server during runtime:

 Click Apply. If the OPC Server is running, the parameter values are immediately transmitted to the Server.

NOTE

Clicking the Apply button does not save the file to disk. If the user does not per-form Save before exiting the OPC Configurator, all changed values are lost when the OPC Server is restarted.

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The advanced configuration options include: Fast Scan Interval

Specifies the scan interval in seconds for the fast scan rate. Valid values are 0.5 or 1. The default setting is 1 second. Regardless of the OPC scan rate, points at the data server level are scanned at only two possible rates, a fast scan rate and a slow scan rate.

Slow Scan Interval

Specifies the scan interval in seconds for the slow scan rate. Valid values are from 1 to 10 in increments of 0.5 and must be greater than the fast scan interval. The default setting is 10 seconds.

Scan Interval for Strings

This setting specifies the scan interval in seconds for string values. Valid values are from 1 to 60 in increments of 0.5 and must be greater than the slow scan interval. The default setting is 20 seconds.

Max Items per NetAPI Object

Sets the maximum number of points which can be added to a single data server connection. Valid values are integers from 500 to 2000. The default setting is 2000 points.

Max Items per Browse Folder

Sets the maximum number of points which can be returned in a single folder while browsing the OPC server. Valid values are integers from 100 to 2000. The default setting is 100 points.

AIM*Servers

Specifies a list of data servers separated by commas, to which you can connect. If left blank, the OPC server auto-detects data servers and then opens connections to all detected servers. By default, this field is blank.

Options for Server Configuration

The Options dialog, as shown in Figure 6-20, allows you to set the following options:  Configuration file options related to automatic load, backup, client aliases.

 Logging options related to creating log files, the severity of errors logged, overwriting the log file, and filtering errors to specific file.

 Logging options related to COM interface function call activities and committing log writes after each entry for debugging purposes.

 Timing options related to OPC Group update rate.

The four tab pages of the dialog follow with an explanation of the controls on each page following each figure.

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Server Options

To configure the optional settings:

1. Select View > Options to access the Options dialog box.

2. In the dialog, click the desired tab and configure the desired options: a. General. See “General Option Settings” on page 50

b. General Logging. “General Logging Settings” on page 52 c. Interface Logging. “Interface Logging Settings” on page 53 d. Advanced. “Advanced Option Settings” on page 54

To return all values back to the default values,  _ClickDefaults.

To apply the inputs on the screen to the OPC Server during runtime,

 _ClickApply. If the OPC Server is running, the parameter values are immediately transmitted to the Server.

General Option Settings

Figure 6-20. Options Dialog - General Page.

Backup For Saved Configuration

If the value is non-zero, a backup copy of the configuration file is saved to another file before the current configuration is saved. Up to 100 backup copies are allowed. For instance, if the

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configuration file is called deltaconfig.xml, and 3 backup copies are allowed, then the following files could appear in the same directory of the configuration file:

 Backup (1) of deltaconfig.xml  Backup (2) of deltaconfig.xml  Backup (3) of deltaconfig.xml

Backup (3) of deltaconfig.xml is the oldest file. In this scenario, if a Save is executed, the following events occur:

1. Backup(2) is saved to Backup(3) 2. Backup(1) is saved to Backup(2)

3. Current configuration before change is saved to Backup(1) 4. New configuration is saved to deltaconfig.xml

As another example, if the user changes the value from 0 to 3 and does a Save, then only the file Backup(1) is produced. Subsequent Saves produce more backup files.

Load Configuration On Startup

When the box is checked, the configuration file is loaded when the Configurator is invoked. When the box is unmarked, the configuration file is not loaded when the Configurator is invoked, even if the default configuration file is defined in the registry. The title bar indicates Untitled and the edit box below the check box allows you to define the configuration file path-name.

Restrict Items To Preconfigured Aliases Only

When the box is checked, only items defined under preconfigured aliases can be used in data query.

AIM*AT™ Suite AIM*OPC Server User’s Guide

I/A Series

®

System

AIM*AT™ Suite

AIM*OPC Server

User’s Guide

Contents

Figures

Tables

Preface

Purpose

Audience

Revision Information

Reference Documents

Request For Comments

1. Overview

AIM*AT OPC Server

The OPC Standard

OPC Data Access

OPC Historical Data Access

2. System Requirements

3. AIM*AT OPC Server Installation

Overview

Installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software

Configurators

AIM OPC Configurator

Matrikon Configurator

Software Components Description

AIM*OPC Server

AIM OPC Configurator

Standard OPC Server Browser

OPC Automation Components

OPC DA Automation DLL

OPC HDA Automation DLL

Standard OPC Proxy Stubs (OPC Marshalling Libraries)

AIM*AT OPC Server Licensing

Obtaining an Authorization Code

Configuring the AIM Server

4. AIM*AT API Server Component

Installation

5. OPC Server Startup and

Shutdown

Starting the OPC Server

OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program

OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service

OPC Server Control Panel

Shutting Down the OPC Server

OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the AIM

Configurator)

OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the

Matrikon Configurator)

OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service

6. AIM*OPC Configurator

AIM*OPC Configuration Utility

Starting the AIM*OPC Configurator

OPC Configuration Menu Bar

Toolbar

Status Bar

Using the AIM*OPC Configurator to Configure the

OPC Server

Creating/Updating an OPC Server Configuration File

with Tags and Item Aliases

Delta Configuration Page

Browsing for Tags

Selecting/Deleting Tags

Changing Delta Values of Selected Tags

Changing Delta Values of Imported Tags

Alias Configuration Page

Browsing for Tags In Order To Assign Aliases

Selecting/Deleting Tags

Creating An Alias

Creating A New Alias

Editing A Selected Alias

Saving To the Configuration File

Exit Without Saving Changes to the Configuration File

Saving Information To A New Configuration File

Saving to the Default Configuration File

Saving to a New Default Configuration File

OPC Server Parameters

AIMAT™ Suite AIMOPC Server User’s Guide

**AIM*AT OPC Server**

**3. AIM*AT OPC Server Installation**

**Installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software**

**AIM*OPC Server**

**AIM*AT OPC Server Licensing**

**4. AIM*AT API Server Component**

**6. AIM*OPC Configurator**

**AIM*OPC Configuration Utility**

**Starting the AIM*OPC Configurator**

**Using the AIM*OPC Configurator to Configure the**