Inductive Automation

Displaying Alarm Activity Status

2008-05-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Bobby and I am a part of the tech support team at Inductive Automation. I'm going to be using this blog to post some ideas and tricks for FactoryPMI and FactorySQL that you may not have thought of. If it gets the wheels spinning and you want some more info, feel free to jump into our forums (www.inductiveautomation.com/forum) or email me (rmckenzie AT inductiveautomation DOT com).

Displaying alarm activity status:

I have dealt with this problem a few time times. It's important to understand the way alerts work in FactoryPMI and FactorySQL if you want to do anything other than the basic alarm screen. It's also important to note that the Inductive Automation Demo project already contains components using this, so you can always check that out to see the finished product.

Your database will contain two tables that hold all the information about the alarms. Do not modify either of these unless you REALLY know what you are doing, but feel free to look at them to set up your select queries. These tables are usually named something like alarm_status and alarm_log, but they could be renamed to anything (to check the names, go to the FactorySQL Frontend -> Settings -> Alert Settings in the menu options). For this trick, we will just be looking at the status table, and the important column here is current_state_id. This is the column that tells you what state each alarm is in, and we want to know if there is one or more alarms that are currently active.

To write an SQL query to get this info, you use something like:
SELECT COUNT(*)
FROM alarm_status
WHERE current_state_id != 0
This will count the number of rows that contain active alarms (if current_stats_id is zero, then the alarm is not active). Just put this into a dynamic property on your text label and bind the visibility to true if this property is greater than zero.

There is a lot more you can do here, with different colors indicating more alarms or more severe alarms, display the number of active alarms, or filter out specific groups of alarms, to name a few. You can even do these on a per-project or per-area basis using the point_path or group_name and group_folder columns. Don't forget to give your label a mouseClicked event to switch to your alarm screen!

Robert McKenzie
Inductive Automation

Success Story: Bronco Wine Company

2008-04-17T04:22:00.000-07:00

"Efficiencies have improved upwards of 30%, productivity targets are hit every day." - Paul Franzia

Bronco Wine Company, Ceres, CA (the producer of "Two-buck Chuck") uses FactoryPMI for enterprise-wide process monitoring, control, and troubleshooting. It was a business decision to use this technology, and is paying off handsomely for the Franzia family-owned business.

Click here to read the entire success story

Inductive Automation Introduces Online Video Library

2008-04-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

Inductive Automation is pleased to announce the introduction of a new online video library, available starting April 10, 2008. The library features sets of training videos geared to a specific part of Inductive Automation's software. Access to the library is free and available at http://www.inductiveautomation.com/support/videos/.

Inductive Automation attends 2008 North American Interop Conference; Receives 'Self-Tested' certification

2008-04-17T04:11:00.000-07:00

Inductive Automation is pleased to announce that for the third year in a row FactorySQL was successfully tested at the OPC Foundation's North American Interoperability Conference. FactorySQL was successfully tested with a large range of industry leading OPC servers, and once again received the OPC Foundation's "Self-Tested" certification.

This year's server field included over 40 products from MatrikonOPC, Kepware, Cogent Realtime Systems, Siemens, Software Toolbox, Wonderware and more. Each server was tested for compatibility with the OPC specification, and operation with FactorySQL. Additionally, FactorySQL once again passed the OPC "Self-Tested" certification test, which is conducted by OPC officials and tests for compliance with the specification and best-practice guidelines.

FactorySQL is a full featured, bi-directional OPC to SQL databridge, providing historical logging, realtime status and control, and more. The OPC foundation is a collective of over 300 top-name companies dedicated to ensuring interoperability in automation by creating and maintaining open specifications for communication. Since the first specification was published in 1996, OPC has become the de-facto standard in the field. Through OPC, FactorySQL is able to effortlessly link nearly all industrial devices with any standard database system.

FactoryPMI and FactorySQL Benchmark Whitepaper Summary

2008-03-09T17:43:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered how many clients you could really run with FactoryPMI's unlimited client licensing? How about the maximum tag throughput of SQLTags on a MySQL database? Inductive Automation has published a whitepaper detailing the results of rigorous performance tests on its products, FactoryPMI^TM and FactorySQL^TM. These benchmarks will answer these questions and more.

You can download the benchmarks here http://www.inductiveautomation.com/products/whitepapers/IABenchmarkWhitepaper2008.pdf.

For those of you who do not have the time to wade through 14 pages of technical benchmark methodology and results, here is the executive summary. The benchmarks are divided up into two major tests. The first test monitored the FactoryPMI Gateway under high concurrent load count to determine how many clients FactoryPMI can support at a time. The test was run on large and small servers, and with large and small projects. With a small server, you can expect to run between 70-100 clients at a time, depending on the size of your project. With a large server, those clients counts go up to 150+. Within these ranges, you can expect tags to update at their proper rates, and expect sub-second write-to-readback round-trip times. Note that these projects were using pure-SQLTags for data display.

The second test involved the SQLTags throughput between FactorySQL and various databases. We found that MySQL with the MyISAM data engine and Microsoft SQL Server gave the best performance. We frequently hear the question: "How many tags can I have". It turns out, the real question should be: "How many tags can I have changing per second". This is because a tag's presence in the system doesn't dramatically affect performance unless it is changing. So, systems with upwards of 250,000 tags are feasible, as long as only a small percentage of them are actively changing every second. This benchmark found that the tag throughput for a low-end server or high-end desktop computer, ranges between 2,500, and 13,000 tag changes per second. The factors that contribute to this are wide spread are explained in detail in the whitepaper.

Inductive Automation
Inductive Automation pioneered the first full-featured web-launched HMI/SCADA system in the world. Its standards based, database-centric architecture receives accolades from plant managers, IT managers, and system integrators worldwide. With a commitment to software quality and technical support second to none, Inductive Automation is at the forefront of industrial software.

MatrikonOPC Tunneller Now Bundled with FactorySQL

2008-03-09T17:40:00.001-07:00

Inductive Automation is pleased to announce that MatrikonOPC's popular OPC Tunneller is now included as an optional installation in their unified installer system. The OPC Tunneller is the perfect companion to FactorySQL, and allows users to easily overcome DCOM headaches to create efficient, seamlessly networked OPC solutions.

Security and configuration problems associated with DCOM have long made even the simplest remote OPC configurations a hassle. MatrikonOPC Tunneller provides the perfect answer, translating local COM based OPC calls into standard network traffic. Furthermore, it provides a range of additional features such data encryption, compression, and aggregation making it the perfect choice for someone looking to collect data from one or more remote sources. Configuration is minimal, allowing users to get up and running extremely quickly.

FactorySQL is an industry leading OPC to SQL databridge. It provides bi-directional synchronization, historical logging, e-mail alert notifications, and much more. When paired with the MatrikonOPC Tunneler, within minutes users could have data being retrieved from any number of remote sources and available in their corporate database. There truly isn't a more cost effective, powerful way to retrieve and monitor remote data.

For more information on FactorySQL or the MatrikonOPC Tunneller, contact Inductive Automation at (800) 266-7798.

End-User Highlight: Metaldyne

2008-03-09T17:38:00.000-07:00

This month we interviewed Michael Young, the Lead Process Engineering Technician for Metaldyne, a leading global designer and supplier of powertrain and chassis products for the automotive industry.

IA: What do you use Inductive Automation software for in your company or facility?

Michael: We are monitoring our process for machine status, alarm history, downtime and OEE calculations. We can now view this anytime and in real time from unlimited clients through intranet or VPN.

IA: Why did you choose Inductive Automation software?

Michael: It is the most versatile I have seen yet, and if you are imaginative, the Inductive Automation technical support staff can help you figure out how to turn those dreams into reality.

IA: What features have you found most useful to your specific process?

Michael: I have found out, while learning to use them, that all of the tools such as SQL syntax, scripting, Jython and expression language give you tremendous options and flexibility.

IA: How has the introduction of SQL affected your development and implementation?

Michael: I am still learning it, but without it some things just are not possible without a lot of extra work.

IA: What have you found to be the main benefits of the software?

Michael: The flexibility of it and after getting better at it, the freedom of it.

IA: How do you plan on using IA software in the future?

Michael: All that I can, because there is no limit to the type of information that I can save and store in the database. This makes it a great tool for all of us involved in the project.

IA: Is there anything else you can say regarding your experience with Inductive Automation?

Michael: They are in California, but we won?t hold it against them.

Screenshots:

Integrator Highlight: eGenietech Software Services

2008-03-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

This month we interviewed Vipul Shah, MES Division Head, of eGenietech Software Services about his experience with Inductive Automation software.

IA: Tell us a bit about your company - do you have a focus on any particular industry?

Vipul: eGenietech is a software solutions provider in the area of IT for manufacturing. Since we have a good domain experience in the Process Automation Domain, our focus area has been providing solutions in the area of MES and Plant to Enterprise Integration.

IA: Why did you choose Inductive Automation software?

Vipul: For quite a long time we have been using custom software development for providing solutions to our client. But as the scope and complexity of the projects started increasing we started thinking of a product based approach to reduce the implementation time and maintenance cost. We evaluated a number of products for process data logging and finally chose FactorySQL because of its flexibility, configuration capabilities and its cost advantage due to support for unlimited tags. Another factor was we got very fast response during product evaluation which increased our confidence in Inductive Automation.

IA: What system features do your customers need that you can provide using FactorySQL and FactoryPMI?

Vipul: Most of the customers and our projects demand flexibility in configuration, openness to third party integration and extensibility. I feel both FactorySQL and FactoryPMI meet these requirements.

IA: What have you and your customers found to be the main benefits of the software?

Vipul: Our project involved providing a solution for metals industry, where we needed to seamlessly integrate an Oracle Based Production Management and Scheduling System and RSView Scada and provide a bidirectional transfer of process data among these two systems. Additionally the customer needed extensive data reporting and analysis.
The most important benefit we found was that we could deploy the project in a relatively short time with all the IT friendly features of FactorySQL and also could easily incorporate new requirements given by the customer during actual implementation at the customer site.

IA: How do you plan on using IA software in the future?

Vipul: Though we were initially a bit wary of using third party products in our projects, and of a vendor who is separated from us by a 12 hour time zone, based on our initial success of using IA products we have decided to aggressively propose solutions to our clients around their products.

IA: Is there anything else you can say regarding your experience with Inductive Automation?

Vipul: The best experience was the fast turn around time both from the sales and support side. The most important thing was we didn't actually require much support during actual implementation and that is very credible. Other good thing is the continuous information on new ways to exploit the products that we get through the newsletters. In view of all this we foresee a long term relationship with IA and wish them luck to create new innovations in their products.

How To: Use Click to Graph with FactoryPMI Easy Chart

2008-03-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

This article demonstrates how to install and use Click to Graph, a powerful way to add and remove pens from FactoryPMI's Easy Chart Component in runtime. Click to Graph allows you to add a right click menu to components, such as led displays, labels, numeric labels, etc, to add or remove that item from an Easy Chart graph dynamically. You can even save graphs and come back to them at later times. This way you choose what you want to see in a graph. Please read the instructions carefully and perform them in order.

Installing Click to Graph

Step 1: Download Click to Graph File

1) Click on the following link to download the zip file:

Click to Graph Goodie

2) Extract the contents of the ctg.zip to a folder. This file contains 5 files:

ctg.sql - a MySQL backup file containing all the necessary tables
ctg.py - a python script that contains all the necessary functions
ctg.fpal - a custom palette that contains a few sample components
ctg.fwin - a file that contains all the necessary FactoryPMI windows
ctg_shutdown_script.txt - a file that contains the shutdown script needed

Step 2: Import MySQL Dump File

1) Open up Command Prompt by going to Start->Program Files->Accessories->Command Prompt
2) Change directory to MySQL bin by entering in (afterwards press enter):

cd "C:\Program Files\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.0\bin"

3) Now import ctg.sql by entering in (afterwards press enter):

mysql -u root -p YourDBName < "C:\Location to\ctg.sql"

4) Enter in your MySQL root password (afterwards press enter)
5) Done. The Click to Graph tables are now successfully imported.

Step 3: Import FactoryPMI Script Module

1) Open up the FactoryPMI Gateway Configuration page from: Start->Program Files->Inductive Automation->FactoryPMI->Configuration Page
2) Open up the FactoryPMI Designer by clicking on the Launch Designer link. Login with your username and password (default is admin and password). Select the project you want to use Click to Graph in.
3) Once open, go to Project->Script Modules from the menu bar.
4) Click on the Import a package or script button.

5) Select the ctg.py file.

6) Name the module ctg.

7) Done, you now have some global functions that we are going to use later. Press Ok to close.

Step 4: Import FactoryPMI Palette

1) With the designer still open, right click on the Component Palette and select Import Palette(s).

2) Select the ctg.fpal file.

7) Done, you now have some pre-configured components for Click to Graph that we can use.

Step 5: Import FactoryPMI Windows

1) With the designer still open, right click inside the Project Browser and select Import Window(s).

2) Select the ctg.fwin file.

7) Done, you now have some pre-configured windows for Click to Graph that we can use.

8) Lastly, you need to add the global shutdown script. Go to Project->Global Event Scripts. Next select the Shutdown tab and enter in the contents of the ctg_shutdown_script.txt. The script clears out the current graph when the user logs out or closes the client.

All done! Now let's go over how Click to Graph works.

How Click to Graph Works

The first part to understand is that Click to Graph stores pen configurations in the database. During the runtime each user picks and chooses from these pens. Picking and choosing these pens manipulates the ctg_active_client table. This table then drives the Easy Chart's pens/axes datasets dynamically. The ctg_active_client table is based on a unique Client ID created by FactoryPMI when you login to a client. This ID uniquely identifies one client from another. This way each client can have its own set of pens the user can configure. If that ID is somehow lost (possible via redirection), the user must log in again to access the graph.
Let's take a look at the databases tables needed for Click to Graph to work (there are 4 of them):

ctg_pens - table stores all possible pens for the graph.
ctg_axes - table stores all the available axes for the pens.
ctg_saved_pens - table stores the saved graphs.
ctg_active_client - table stores all the pens the clients have selected.

The ctg_pens table can be manipulated using the CTG_Pen_Edit window that we imported into our FactoryPMI project earlier. Here you can add/edit/remove pens. These pens correspond to tag or item that FactorySQL (or another historian) is already trending. Attached to a pen is a Point ID, which uniquely identifies one pen from another. Every FactoryPMI component that we want to use as a Click to Graph item must also contain the Point ID, so that it knows how to add or remove that specific pen. Let's go over a small example to get started.
Next, the actual Easy Chart, located on the CTG_Graph window, has two expert properties called pens and axes which are both bound to a SQL query. The pens dataset is bound to a join of the ctg_active_client table and the ctg_pens table. The axes dataset is bound to the ctg_axes table.
Let's go over a small example to understand how everything relates.
Example 1: Using a Click to Graph Component

1) Open up the FactoryPMI Designer.
2) Open up or create a window.
3) From the Component Palette under CTG Palette, drag and drop the Multi-State Indicator pre-configured component into the window.

4) You will notice there is a Dynamic Property called PointID attached to the component with a value of HOA. This Point ID must match the Point ID of a pen in the ctg_pens table.

5) Now, let's take a look at the Mouse Pressed and Released actions on this component. This is where the right click menu is called. So, right click on the component and select Configure Actions...

6) You will notice the script is the same for the mousePressed and mouseReleased. They both call a global script function that we imported earlier into the Script Modules. We pass the event object into the showPopup function and it knows how to retrieve the Point ID from the component. The function also takes care of creating the popup menu.

7) Now, cancel out of the action configuration and go into Preview mode in the designer by selecting Project->Preview mode from the menu. Now we can interact with the components. Right click on the indicator and you will get the following menu:

8) That's it! You can click (+) Add to Graph to add that pen to the current working graph. If the pen does not exist in the ctg_pens table the script will create one automatically with the default settings. After that, you can remove the pen and event clear out the current graph.
9) To see the current graph open up the CTG_Graph window.

How to add Click to Graph to already existing components

So, if you would like to add Click to Graph to already existing components do the following:
1) Right click on the component and select Component Customizers->Dynamic Properties and add a new property named PointID of type String.
2) Lastly, add the following script in the mousePressed and mouseReleased actions by right clicking on the component and selecting Configure Actions..:

if event.button != event.BUTTON1:
app.ctg.showPopup(event)

Have fun with this goodie and as always if you have any questions please call us at 800.266.7798.

FactoryPMI Adds Linux Support

2008-03-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

Inductive Automation is proud to announce that as of version 3.1.5, FactoryPMI^TM supports running on Linux/Unix operating systems. This groundbreaking change will be welcomed by many of our customers, especially international customers, who are running Linux on the plant floor. In an industry so dominated by Microsoft-dependent technologies, Inductive Automation's move towards platform-independence is a breath of fresh air.

FactoryPMI is an innovative, full-featured industrial data visualization and control product. It can be coupled with FactorySQL or other database-aware industrial tools to create robust SCADA systems. Additionally, its flat-fee server based licensing model, including unlimited tags, screens, and runtime clients, makes it the most cost-effective solution on the market.

FactoryPMI is written in Java, which is renowned for its ability to run on multiple platforms. While our FactoryPMI HMI/SCADA clients have always supported running on multiple platforms, including Linux and MacOSX, the ability to run the FactoryPMI Gateway on Linux is new. Those who know our software architecture will ask, "What about FactorySQL?" As you might have suspected, FactorySQL is tied to Microsoft Windows because of the OPC standard's reliance on DCOM, a Windows technology. However, many of our customers are using FactoryPMI by itself and have their own data-bridge that brings in their industrial data to their database. For now, these customers are the main benefactors of FactoryPMI's platform independence. In the future, Inductive Automation is committed to providing more platform independent solutions.

To download FactoryPMI for Linux, visit our downloads page at http://www.inductiveautomation.com/downloads. There you'll find the tarball for Linux. Inside is a README document that describes how to get the FactoryPMI Gateway up and running.

Inductive Automation
Inductive Automation pioneered the first full-featured web-launched HMI/SCADA system in the world. Its standards based, database-centric architecture receives accolades from plant managers, IT managers, and system integrators worldwide. With a commitment to software quality and technical support second to none, Inductive Automation is at the forefront of industrial software.

End-User Highlight: Hancock Lumber

2008-03-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

This month we interviewed Kevin Murphy of Hancock Lumber about his experience with Inductive Automation software.

IA: What do you use Inductive Automation software for in your company or facility?

Kevin: We use all three components (Factory SQL, Factory PMI and the Reporting Plug-In) to centrally monitor multiple PLCs at three sawmills located throughout the state of Maine. The collected data is presented in a dashboard-like environment for use by sawmill managers to improve their processes by evaluating correlations between downtime events and process outputs.
The flexibility of the software has allowed us to customize both data collection points and interfaces so that we can gather exactly the data that is relevant to our processes.
At the beginning of January, 2008, we added a second FactorySQL/PMI data collection server in our Bethel, Maine facility for use in controlling our upgraded wood-fired boiler. Factory PMI with SQL tags made it exceptionally easy for us to custom develop a control panel to meet the needs of our environment in a cost- and time-efficient manner.

IA: Why did you choose Inductive Automation software?

Kevin: Our primary reason for selecting Inductive Automation was its lower cost compared to competing products. In addition, the ability to install the software and run it in a meaningful way before purchasing it was key to our decision-making process. During our evaluation process, Inductive Automation's engineering staff made themselves available to us to answer many technical questions, long before we bought the software. Having a working model of what FactoryPMI could do for us with our data in it made it very easy for us to get Management approval to purchase the software.

IA: What features have you found most useful to your specific process?

Kevin: The ability of the software to speak to any database, as well as to any OPC server, has been a big plus to us. In addition, the ability to publish any FactoryPMI solution on any desktop, without the need for additional licensing has made it very easy for us to roll out the solutions in our environment.

IA: How has the introduction of SQLTags affected your development and implementation?

Kevin: SQLTags made it possible for us to produce the screens for our recent boiler project in a fraction of the time it would have taken in past versions. Since this project was on a very tight timeline, the ability to produce the necessary controls quickly was a huge advantage to us.

IA: What have you found to be the main benefits of the software?

Kevin: The initial benefit to us was in the ease of deploying our solutions. When a user requests access to the dashboard, all we have to do is send them a link with logon information, and they have all the access they need.

As we have gotten deeper into the software, we are finding many more ways to utilize the controls features that the FactoryPMI interface offers. We have been able to accomplish several small controls projects quickly and inexpensively simply by building the interfaces through FactoryPMI.

IA: How do you plan on using IA software in the future?

Kevin: We look forward to establishing additional servers for data collection at several other points of control throughout our network. We are exploring the possibility of using Inductive Automation tools to update and automate one of our oldest mill facilities.

IA: Is there anything else you can say regarding your experience with Inductive Automation?

Kevin: Our experience with support from Inductive Automation has been very, very good. When we called with issues printing from the Reporting plugin, the IA staff worked to replicate the issues we were having so they could help us resolve the issue. We are also tracking other issues within our environment for which IA technical staff have been invaluable resources. In short, Inductive Automation has provided us with excellent service throughout our entire experience with their software.

Redundancy On The Cheap: How to use two servers, FactoryPMI, FactorySQL, and MySQL to make a mission critical HMI/SCADA application.

2008-01-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO, CA - Introduction
FactoryPMI and FactorySQL have long supported clustering and redundancy, respectively. But their database-centric architecture always left the question: What about the database? A true clustered database solution, like Microsoft SQL Server Clustering or Oracle 11g RAC works great, but can take 4+ extra servers and tens of thousands of dollars worth of software. This whitepaper describes how to set up redundancy on the cheap, using 2 servers and MySQL.

First disclaimer: The solution provided here works well, but you do give up some of the reliability that you'd get with a true clustering solution. If you can afford it, go with a true clustered database. They are great and are built for exactly what you're doing. That said; we understand that budgets aren't infinite, and sometimes you have to do more with less. In that case, read on.

Second disclaimer: The solution here isn't rocket science, but it does demand that the user has a solid grasp on our products, databases, and networking. After all, rocket science probably isn't that difficult if you're a rocket scientist. If you start thinking this might be beyond your technical capability, skip to the bottom where we provide a much simpler solution that very well might be "good enough" for many users.

The Basics
This guide is going to be using some advanced features of FactorySQL, FactoryPMI, and MySQL that you may not be familiar with. Let's go over some of these features first.

FactorySQL Redundancy. FactorySQL Redundancy is a feature that lets two or more FactorySQL services running on different physical machines cooperate, so that if the primary instance goes down due to a machine crash or software fault, one of the secondary instances will take over. FactorySQL uses a common database connection to share project configuration data, as well as monitor who is the currently running master instance.

FactoryPMI Clustering. FactoryPMI Clustering is a feature that lets two or more FactoryPMI Gateway instances running on different physical machines share configuration data and split client load evenly across all running instances, with dynamic client failover. FactoryPMI Clustering uses UDP communication over the local subnet for all clustering communication.

Aggregate Connections / Failover Connections. In FactorySQL, you can create an aggregate connection to a database. This special connection type uses two other database connections to create a single one. If the primary connection goes down, the secondary connection will be used instead. In FactoryPMI, you can specify a failover connection for any datasource connection. In a similar fashion, if that datasource connection fails, the failover connection will be used instead. These two features are very important to the technique presented in this guide, because they let FactorySQL and FactoryPMI use two separate databases as one, which is how we simulate a clustered database.

MySQL Replication. MySQL Replication is a feature of MySQL that lets you specify one database as a master and one as a slave. All changes that are made to the master will be replicated over the network to the slave. Setting up MySQL replication is out of the scope of this guide, but was covered in an earlier article, available here.

The Architecture
The basic idea is to set up MySQL replication for realtime data (status and control), and FactorySQL datacaching for historical data. When both servers are up, history will be logged to the master database, and realtime status and control will go through the master database. In the event that the master server goes down, history will be cached by the secondary server's FactorySQL, and realtime status and control will be routed through the secondary database. When the master server is brought back up, the secondary FactorySQL will put all cached history into the master database. So, during the failure, history will be unavailable, but status and control will work.

Figure 1: Redundant Architecture Overview (click to zoom)

Figure 1 is a diagram of the architecture this guide is describing. You'll see a "master" and "slave" server. Each server has the full "stack" of software on it, that is: an OPC Server, FactorySQL, a database (MySQL), and FactoryPMI. Don't let the picture frighten you, it's not as bad as it looks. Notice that there is a lot of symmetry here: Both instances of FactorySQL actually have the exact same connections, and the same goes for both of the FactoryPMI Gateways. Let's go over the configuration for each piece of the software stack.

First, we have the OPC server. Both OPC servers will be connected to your devices (PLCs, RTUs, etc). They don't need to be specifically set up for "redundancy", but they do need to be configured in the same manner, so that they have access to the same tags, etc.

Before we go over FactorySQL, let's look at the database. Notice that there are two separate schemas: one for historical data, and one for realtime data. Separating the data into two schemas lets us use different connections for each schema. The master database has both schemas, but the slave server only has the realtime schema. You need to set up MySQL replication to replicate the realtime schema from the master to the slave. Again, see this article for detailed instructions on setting up MySQL replication .

The FactorySQL configuration will be identical on both the master and the slave. The crux of the configuration here is in the Data Connection Settings. You'll need the following connections:

HistoryConnection: Connection to the master's historical schema. Native or DSN connection. Ensure that Data Caching is enabled in the Service Settings.

MasterRealtime: Connection to the master's realtime schema. Native or DSN connection.

SlaveRealtime: Connection to the slave's realtime schema. Native or DSN connection.

RealtimeConnection: Aggregate connection with MasterRealtime as the primary connection, and SlaveRealtime
as the secondary connection. Failover mode should be set to "Use secondary until primary is available"

Ensure that SQLTags is enabled and using the RealtimeConnection (unless you aren't using SQLTags). Enable redundancy, and set it to use the RealtimeConnection. Note that FactorySQL redundancy makes your project configuration shared implicitly across your master and slave, but the settings themselves need to be configured individually.

FactoryPMI configuration is fairly simple. You'll want to configure your master, and when it is all configured, you'll join your slave into the master's cluster. The configuration, again, mostly has to do with the datasource connections. You'll need the following connections:

HistoryConnection: A connection to the master's historical schema.

SlaveRealtime: A connection to the slave's realtime schema.

MasterRealtime: A connection to the master's realtime schema, with the SlaveRealtime set as the "Failover Datasource".

In your project, make sure to use the HistoryConnection for all historical queries (e.g. charts, tables, reports etc. Use the MasterRealtime for all realtime information (e.g. SQLTags). To cluster your two FactoryPMI Gateways together, first set the Cluster Name of the master server to something intelligible, such as "FPMICluster". Then set the slave's Cluster Name to the same name. Ensure that you don't have any software firewalls such as Windows Firewall enabled, and that multicast UDP traffic on a single port can pass between the two Gateways.

How It Works
Now that you have your master and slave configured, let's take a look at how it will work in the event of a failure. First, look at Figure 2, which shows the path data takes when both servers are running. Notice that realtime and historical data go through the master database, and the FactoryPMI Gateways share the client load. Data flow is shown in the thick green lines. All other connections are not being used.

Figure 2: Normal Data Flow (click to zoom)

Now let's look at the data flow in the event that the master server has crashed in Figure 3. Again, the active data paths are shown in thick green. Notice that the realtime data is going through the slave's realtime schema, FactorySQL is caching the historical data, and the FactoryPMI clients have all switched to the FactoryPMI Gateway instance running on the slave.

Figure 3: Master Crashed Data Flow (click to zoom)

Conclusion and a Simpler Alternative
There you have it, with some clever partitioning of connections and some MySQL replication, you can create a mission critical HMI/SCADA system that logs seamless history, and never loses control of your application. Of course, there are details to work out, such as backup schemes for your history in case the master server crash cannot be recovered from, but such things can be put in place fairly easily. If you are going to put a system like this in place, we recommend two additional things: purchase the commercial version of MySQL (it is fairly inexpensive) so that you can receive support from them, and practice. Disaster recovery plans and redundant software can be quite complex. If you're serious about a highly available SCADA system, make sure that you regularly practice simulated outages to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Last but not least, we have promised a simpler alternative, in case this all seems too complex. The alternative is: Have a cold-standby server ready and waiting. Purchase a USB licensing dongle from us (so that you can simply swap the FactoryPMI and FactorySQL license in a physical form), and in the event of a failure, turn on the secondary server and give it the IP address that your master server used to have. Yes, you'll probably be down for 5 to 10 minutes, and you will lose the history during that period, but you'll be able to explain how it works in one sentence. The only tricky part to this is to make sure that your secondary server's project files stay up to date. This can be achieved reliably through well-known procedural guidelines, or through automatic ghosting.

As always, if you'd like to speak to one of our engineers to discuss any of these architectures, or have some new ideas that we haven't thought of, please give us a call at 1-800-266-7798.

Inductive Automation
Inductive Automation pioneered the first full-featured web-launched HMI/SCADA system in the world. Its standards based, database-centric architecture receives accolades from plant managers, IT managers, and system integrators worldwide. With a commitment to software quality and technical support second to none, Inductive Automation is at the forefront of industrial software.

Feature Highlight: FactoryPMI Retargeting Creates Seamless SCADA Across Multiple Plants

2008-01-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO, CA - The ability to web-launch unlimited, free HMI/SCADA clients anywhere on a corporate network is almost universally everyone's favorite feature of FactoryPMI^TM. As an added bonus, these days it is commonplace to have a corporate network that spans multiple physical plants, whether they are across town or across the country. With corporate networks like this, a manager at the Austin, TX plant could open up the HMI system for the Atlanta, GA facility to monitor line performance, or check inventory levels. Scenarios like this is where retargeting comes in.

FactoryPMI's retargeting feature lets you take advantage of existing corporate networks to create a completely seamless HMI/SCADA system across physical locations, while retaining local functionality at each location in the event that any inter-facility WAN connection were to go down. This feature is so simple that using it takes a single line of script. Suppose you had a FactoryPMI project called "Line A" located in Austin, TX, and another FactoryPMI project in Atlanta, CA called "Line B". If you wanted to add a button to your Line A project to retarget to the Line B project, all you?d have to do was write the following line of script:

fpmi.system.retarget("Line B", "10.0.28.224")

That's it! All you need is the name of the project, and the IP Address of the remote FactoryPMI Gateway. This feature is almost too simple ? most of our users overlook it. Those who have discovered it have used it to create some of the most advanced seamless global SCADA systems in the world. Note that your current authentication credentials will be passed onto the new server when you retarget, which should make for a seamless user experience if you're using Microsoft Active Directory^TM authentication. If not, you'll be asked to log into the new project with a valid username. That's all there is to this feature. As additional inspiration, here is a screen capture from a project that uses retargeting to create an interactive facility map:

Inductive Automation

Inductive Automation pioneered the first full-featured web-launched HMI/SCADA system in the world. Its standards based, database-centric architecture receives accolades from plant managers, IT managers, and system integrators worldwide. With a commitment to software quality and technical support second to none, Inductive Automation is at the forefront of industrial software.

Inductive Automation Releases FactoryPMITM 3.1 and FactorySQLTM 4.1

2008-01-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO, CA DECEMBER 11, 2007 - Inductive Automation is proud to release FactoryPMI^TM Version 3.1 and FactorySQL^TM Version 4.1. The main features of this release are SSL support for enhanced security over public networks, Java 6 support for easier deployment, and a new Historical Group in FactorySQL for easier data logging.

FactoryPMI^TM 3.1
SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer, is the industry standard encryption protocol for HTTP communication. This is the same technology that protects your sensitive financial information as you interact with your bank or purchase merchandise with a credit card online. FactoryPMI 3.1 natively supports SSL encryption for both its web-based server configuration and its web-launched HMI/SCADA clients. This technology is a natural fit with FactoryPMI, as its deployment and communication are completely web-centric. While most of our customers deploy their HMI/SCADA applications on their private intranet, we are getting more and more interest in deploying FactoryPMI's web-launched clients over the public internet. Interest in this technology ranges from simple internet-based deployment of a global SCADA system, to new hosted SCADA business models that only FactoryPMI's innovative web-launched clients can support. We are proud to be able to support applications that need the utmost level of security with SSL encryption in FactoryPMI 3.1.

FactoryPMI 3.1 has a host of other features as well. It is now compatible with the Java^TM Platform version 6, and still backwards compatible with Java version 5. Our popular SQLTags technology now supports the Oracle^TM database, as well as the PostgreSQL database. We now support licensing through hardware USB-dongles as an alternative to our software CD-Key based licensing. This is useful for customers who want a cold-standby server, because they know they can transfer their license by simply moving a USB-dongle. Last but certainly not least is the new Standalone Mode option for the FactoryPMI Gateway. This option lets FactoryPMI launch clients on multi-homed servers (computers that are on two or more networks), or over port-forward situations with no extra network setup, as long as the Gateway is not part of a load balancing cluster. Combine all of these features with a host of smaller improvements and bug fixes, and you have an upgrade that you don't want to miss. The full changelog can be found under the Support section of our website.

FactorySQL^TM 4.1
For years, the workhorse of FactorySQL has been its standard "Group". This unit of configuration can morph from a historical logger, real-time status and control synchronizer, downtime tracker, recipe manager, etc. With the introduction of SQLTags much of this can now be accomplished easily and quickly inside of FactoryPMI, leaving only the need to configure history in FactorySQL. Therefore, in this version we have added a new easy to configure historical group. By stripping the options of the standard Group down to only what is used in historical logging, the Historical Group couldn't be simpler to use. Our famous install-to-SQL-logging time of under 5 minutes is now even shorter, with an even flatter learning curve.

Additionally, version 4.1 boasts improved support for OPC properties such as Quality, Timestamp and item path in all group types, making it extremely quick and simple to log these properties for each tag.

FactorySQL 4.1 also provides support 64-bit Windows^TM, USB-dongle licensing, and Oracle^TM and PostgreSQL^TM databases in SQLTags.

About Inductive Automation
Inductive Automation pioneered the first full-featured web-launched HMI/SCADA system in the world. Its standards based, database-centric architecture receives accolades from plant managers, IT managers, and system integrators worldwide. With a commitment to software quality and technical support second to none, Inductive Automation is at the forefront of industrial software.

Contact
Jim Meisler
(800) 266-7798 x227
jmeisler@inductiveautomation.com

How To: Use SQLTags Scan Classes

2008-01-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO, CA DECEMBER 11, 2007 - Whenever we release a large set of new features, it’s always interesting to watch how those features are received and utilized by our users. Most users prefer to “click and discover” vs. “read the manual”, and apparently the scan class button is too inconspicuous. This article aims to shed some light on scan classes and offer some tips about their advanced features.

What is a Scan Class?
A scan class defines how frequently FactorySQL will receive updates from the OPC server. The default scan class for SQLTags (appropriately named "Default") is set up for 5 seconds. This means that any tags in this scan class will update at most every 5 seconds. We say “at most”, because if the tag didn’t change in the PLC, then the SQLTag won’t update, of course. This is pretty slow, and we invite users to feel free to modify the default scan class. Without further ado, let’s see how to modify scan class settings.

First, select the SQLTags provider you wish to work with. Then, press the “Edit Scan Classes… button to bring up the Scan Class Editor window.

Here you can see all of the options for a scan class. When you change any of these options, all tags assigned to that scan class will immediately be running with the new settings. Scan classes provide a very convenient way to centrally manage the polling options for groups of tags.

Scan Class Modes
There are three modes that a scan class can run in. The most common mode is Direct mode. In this mode, the scan class always runs at a constant Rate (the Low Rate), which is the amount of time in milliseconds between updates. All modes of scan classes also have a Stale Timeout, which is the amount of time (in milliseconds) that can elapse after a scheduled update before the tags in that scan class are considered Stale. (If you aren’t already familiar with them, see the user manual’s discussion of SQLTags quality codes here)

Most users will only ever use Direct scan classes. It will often make sense to have more than one scan class. For example, suppose you have some control points that you want very quick updates on, perhaps to show feedback of a momentary button or some similar control device. Maybe you have other data that doesn’t need such quick updates. You could have a scan class named “Fast” that was set to update every 500 or 250 milliseconds, and another scan class named “Normal” that was updating every 1250 milliseconds. This way, the system knows to expend more resources updating those crucial tags quickly, but isn’t bothered by the bulk of the tags that don’t need such a fast update rate.

There are two other scan class modes besides Direct mode. They are Driven and Leased modes. A Driven scan class will toggle between a High Rate and a Low Rate, based upon the value of some other tag. This can be useful for tags that need very fast updates only when some condition is true. For instance, the values of an oven may need very fast update rates, but only when the oven is on. To set up a driven scan class, set up a tag that will represent the condition that drives the rate of your driven scan class. The only “gotcha” here is that the tag that drives your scan class cannot be in that driven scan class. Other than that, setting up a driven scan class is quite easy

The last kind of scan class mode is the Leased mode. A leased scan class also toggles between a High Rate and a Low Rate. Whenever there is any active subscription for a tag in a leased scan class, the scan class will run at its high rate. If nothing has a tag from the scan class subscribed, it will run at the low rate. This is like an on-demand system. When a FactoryPMI window is opened that has bindings for tags in a leased scan class, the scan class will start running at its high rate. When all windows that deal with that scan class are closed, it will run at its low rate. If the low rate is zero, that scan class is essentially disabled or turned off. This mode is useful when bandwidth is expensive, such as a satellite connection, or any time when you don’t want the PLC to be polled unless there is a need.

Conclusion
As you can see, scan classes offer the designer a great deal of flexibility when creating HMI/SCADA applications with FactorySQL and FactoryPMI. While the Direct scan class will suffice for the majority of users, we’ve seen some motivating examples of advanced situations where Driven and Leased scan classes can be useful. If after reading this article, you realize that you’d like to fine tune your scan class settings, but you’ve already created a few tens of thousands of tags, don’t worry! It is easy to bulk-modify tags to modify which scan class they are assigned to. Simply select multiple tags and only edit their scan class property. Even better, use the Tag Search button to quickly find and sort through your tags so that re-assigning their scan classes is a snap.

About Inductive Automation
Inductive Automation pioneered the first full-featured web-launched HMI/SCADA system in the world. Its standards based, database-centric architecture receives accolades from plant managers, IT managers, and system integrators worldwide. With a commitment to software quality and technical support second to none, Inductive Automation is at the forefront of industrial software.

Contact
Jim Meisler
(800) 266-7798 x227
jmeisler@inductiveautomation.com

Integrator Highlight: MCS Integrations

2008-01-18T19:49:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO, CA DECEMBER 11, 2007 - This month we interviewed Pat Callaghan of MCS Integrations about his experience with Inductive Automation software in the field of water/wastewater.

IA: Tell us a bit about your company - do you have a focus on any particular industry?

Pat: MCS Integrations is a systems integrator working primary in the Water/Wastewater Treatment industry. We create control systems used in the treatment and distribution of drinking water and the processing of wastewater.

IA: Why did you choose Inductive Automation software?

Pat: We were looking for a web based SCADA application. Some of our customers require access to their SCADA application through the Internet. This has been possible in the past but we were looking for a product that better accomplishes this. The more we started working with IA’s software the more pleased we were with it.

To start FactoryPMI is a web launched application running in a Java environment. This gives us two benefits: 1) we do not have to install software on every client that needs to access the application this is handled automatically by FactoryPMI and 2) since the visualization part is processed on the client’s hardware this allows for the server to be smaller saving on overall system cost. Note that it is possible to run IA’s software as a standalone application, a central server is not required, but most of our customers have multiple clients accessing the system in which case a central server makes the most sense.

IA software has superior database support. We don’t have to create some crypt procedure in order to have the SCADA application access a database, all we need to do is write a simple SQL statement. IA’s software was created with database access in mind, not as some add-on.

Licensing, what could be easier? Whether you want 100 tags or 50,000 tags, whether you have 1 client or 100 clients, it’s all the same cost. In the past we would have to determine how many tags the system would need and how many clients would need to access the system in order to determine the cost of licensing; now it’s just one simple price. Plus there’s no separate cost for runtime licenses and development licenses, they are both part of the licensing.

IA: What have you and your customers found to be the main benefits of the software?

Pat: As an integrator the main benefit that IA’s software offers is freedom. We are able to create the application as we see fit. We can create the database (data storage) as we see fit, this allows us to optimize the application based on each customer’s needs. The development can be as simple as drag-and-drop to complex scripting, this allows us to create an applications look and feel to exact customer requirements. The inclusion of Python in FactoryPMI gives us access to a real programming language which allows us to create some complex applications; we no longer have to say ‘We can’t do that with this software’.

IA: How do you plan on using IA software in the future?

Pat: One of our customers is so pleased with the visualization part of the system that we are getting ready to incorporate record keeping into the system. Operators will enter data such as daily tests and chemical usage into the system. Once the data is in the system operators will be able to pull up charts and trends showing this data instead of having to fumble through paper and excel spreadsheets.

IA: Is there anything else you can say regarding your experience with Inductive Automation?

Pat: Great tech support. I can’t say enough about the tech support team you guys have, they are top notch. IA is a company that listens to customers recommendations for improvements to the software and actually implements them.

Here is a screenshot from one of his FactoryPMI projects:

Inductive Automation Revolutionizes SCADA Application Development with SQLTags™ Technology

2008-01-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO, CA OCTOBER 12, 2007 - SQLTags™ Technology

Powered by OPC, SQLTags technology turns any SQL database into a high-performance industrial tag database. Modern databases, like Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and MySQL, have storage and performance characteristics that make them ideal for use in industrial applications, and are easy for IT departments to support.

The database-centric architecture of FactoryPMI and FactorySQL has long let designers create data-rich SCADA and MES systems with features like downtime and efficiency tracking, recipe and batch management, trending, and PDF reporting. Now with SQLTags, HMI functions like realtime status and control are accomplished with drag and drop ease, letting users benefit from the power of a database-centric architecture without the complexity.

"SQLTags is a significant breakthrough in distributed SCADA technology," said Steve Hechtman, Inductive Automation's president. "In my 22 years experience as a systems integrator, I’ve never encountered a platform that so naturally crosses over between industrial controls and enterprise management."

FactoryPMI™ 3.0 and FactorySQL™ 4.0
FactoryPMI is a full-featured, database-powered HMI/SCADA system with unlimited clients and data points. Its innovative web-launched rich clients make deployment and management a breeze. IT departments enthusiastically endorse its standards-based approach including Java clients, open SQL database connectivity, web based management, and integrated Microsoft Active Directory authentication. Its highly modular architecture enables systems ranging from redundant enterprise-wide SCADA systems to plant-floor touch-panel machine control.

FactorySQL is the easiest, most effective way to bridge the gap between PLCs and standard database systems. It is an OPC powered industrial data bridge that leverages existing IT infrastructures. Drag and drop configuration for both data logging and bi-directional control delivers easy connectivity with industrial devices. Advanced features like alerting, triggers, and stored procedure support make FactorySQL the data bridge of choice in a variety of industries worldwide.

FactoryPMI 3.0 and FactorySQL 4.0 are completely backwards compatible. A free evaluation is available for download at: http://www.inductiveautomation.com/downloads.

Get a feel for FactoryPMI’s web-launched rich clients by running our public demo, available at: http://www.inductiveautomation.com/demo.

For a 10 - 15 minute live web demonstration sign up at http://www.inductiveautomation.com/webdemo or call us at (800) 266-7798,

About Inductive Automation

Inductive Automation pioneered the first full-featured web-launched HMI/SCADA system in the world. Its standards based, database-centric architecture receives accolades from plant managers, IT managers, and system integrators worldwide. With a commitment to software quality and technical support second to none, Inductive Automation is at the forefront of industrial software.

Contact
Jim Meisler
(800) 266-7798 x227
jmeisler@inductiveautomation.com

ISA Expo 2007 a Great Success

2008-01-18T19:45:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO, CA OCTOBER 12, 2007 - For the second year in a row, Inductive Automation attended the ISA Expo, an international showcase of the latest in automation and industrial technologies. We are pleased to announce that this year's show was a great success, and would like to thank everyone who came by our booth.

The highlight of this year's show was the release of FactorySQL 4.0 and FactoryPMI 3.0, introducing SQLTags technology. The release was formally announced with a press release on Wednesday morning, and demoed throughout the week at Inductive Automation's booth. Visitors were surprised by the ease-of-use of SQLTags, and the overall simplicity and power of Inductive Automation's software.

The “Turn the Corner” theme of this year's booth was also a great success, and the message of being frustrated by tag, screen, and client licensing restrictions resonated well with visitors. The backdrop scene, depicting two industrial users standing on a street corner with “will work for tags” and “will work for clients” signs, elicited many knowing chuckles and expressions of agreement. The scene provided a good entry way into a conversation as to how Inductive Automation could help users “Turn the Corner” to the future of HMI/SCADA software.

As part of ISA's “Cruising for Solutions” contest, Inductive Automation was able to interact with thousands of attendees throughout the week. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk to so many representatives from a wide array of companies and industries, and to demonstrate our software.

Many visitors to our booth were surprised to learn what Inductive Automation had to offer them. The following are a few “Frequently Asked Questions” that we received.

ISA 2007 Top 5 Most Frequently Asked Question:

5) What do you do?
Simply put, we make a revolutionary web-launched HMI/SCADA system. “Web-launched” meaning that it's launched off of any web browser, but runs as a fully interactive application. All data goes through standard SQL databases, which means it's open, accessible, and IT friendly. Our OPC to SQL bi-directional data bridge does the rest of the work to the device.

4) Why does the world need another HMI?

The fact is, there's a huge market of customers who simply aren't happy with what they have and what they currently see in the market. We had many people approach with this question, and almost all of them left convinced that there is a better way to do SCADA- the Inductive Automation way.

3) It's really a fixed price?
It is! We don't charge extra for more tags, screens or clients. Our solution is about getting things done- if you need another client, simply go launch one. Want some more information on a screen? Fire up the designer and add it. You simply don't have to pay extra to do more. Oh, and one more thing: our prices are fully visible for all to see. We're not afraid to show what it costs.

2) Can it connect to ??? (device/database)
Simple answer- YES. We connect to any database that supports ODBC, and have native connectors for every major system. All device communications are performed through OPC, which means we can communicate with any device that has an OPC server- essentially every device made.

1) Will you stamp my card?
It's true, many people came by simply looking for stamps in the “Cruising for Solutions” game. However, we were genuinely surprised as to how many people stayed around to talk to us about their experiences with SCADA software, and to learn about what we have to offer.

About Inductive Automation
Inductive Automation pioneered the first full-featured web-launched HMI/SCADA system in the world. Its standards based, database-centric architecture receives accolades from plant managers, IT managers, and system integrators worldwide. With a commitment to software quality and technical support second to none, Inductive Automation is at the forefront of industrial software.

Contact
Jim Meisler
(800) 266-7798 x227
jmeisler@inductiveautomation.com

How to use Indirect Tag Binding for Rapid Development

2008-01-18T19:43:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO, CA OCTOBER 12, 2007 - Indirect tag binding is a type of data binding available in FactoryPMI 3.0. It allows the designer to bind a component’s property to any number of tags using one or more layers of indirection. This lets one create templated components and parameterized windows. A templated component is a component or group of components whose data bindings are relative to some properties of the component. A parameterized window is similar, the difference being that the entire window’s contents are relative to a parameter that is passed into the window when it is opened. Indirect tag binding makes creating these components and windows a snap. All you need to do is bind to a tag, and then choose the part of the tag path that changes, replacing it with a value from a property in the window.

To demonstrate indirect tag binding, suppose we had a tank farm with four tanks. Each tank has some properties, like level and temperature. Each tank also has an outlet pump, that can be controlled from the screen and has amperage associated with it. Here is how the tag structure would look in the SQLTags browser:

Our goal with indirection is to bind to tag paths like:

[]TankX/PumpAmps

... where the "X" is replaced with 1-4. Let’s say we wanted all 4 tanks on the same screen. In this case we’ll set up a templated component, or rather, group of components. Put all the components you want to represent 1 tank in a container, like so:

These components were created simply by dragging the tags represented into the container. The pump is an image whose tint color is bound to the pump mode tag. To turn this container into a templated component, simply add an integer dynamic property to the container called "TankNum", and set its value to 1. Now modify each of the data bindings on the components’ properties from a direct tag binding like this:

... to an indirect tag binding like this:

To create this indirect tag binding, first browse for the tag: "Tank1/Level." Then, remove the "1" in "Tank1", and browse for your "TankNum" dynamic property. That’s it – your binding is now indirect, and will point to whichever tank is indicated by the value of "TankNum". Now all you need to do is copy and paste this container 4 times and change the value of TankNum appropriately, to create a screen like this:

Creating a parameterized window is just as easy. The only trick is that the dynamic property "TankNum" that controls the indirection for the bindings needs to be placed on the popup window’s Root Container. This lets you create a popup window like this:

Whenever you open this window, simply send it a value of 1 through 4 by passing the "TankNum" parameter in the navigation action. In this way, one popup window can be used for a number of devices.

About Inductive Automation

Inductive Automation pioneered the first full-featured web-launched HMI/SCADA system in the world. Its standards based, database-centric architecture receives accolades from plant managers, IT managers, and system integrators worldwide. With a commitment to software quality and technical support second to none, Inductive Automation is at the forefront of industrial software.

Contact
Jim Meisler
(800) 266-7798 x227
jmeisler@inductiveautomation.com

SQLTags Guide for existing FactorySQL and FactoryPMI Users

2008-01-18T19:37:00.000-08:00

SACRAMENTO, CA SEPTEMBER 25, 2007 - SQLTags™: A Guide for Existing FactorySQL™ and FactoryPMI™ Users

SQLTags represents a significant change in architecture for FactorySQL and FactoryPMI. While our core architecture of web-launched clients and database-centric data storage hasn’t changed, the techniques used for configuring status and control screens have changed greatly. This guide is meant as a primer for existing users of FactorySQL and FactoryPMI. It will explain the design rationale of SQLTags, introduce the new features, and to provide some motivation for why it might be in your best interest to upgrade your existing system.

The Basics

SQLTags is an underlying technology in FactoryPMI 3.0 and FactorySQL 4.0. These versions are completely backwards compatible. SQLTags works by creating a high-performance tag database inside your existing database. It does this by creating new tables that both FactorySQL and FactoryPMI will use. Because both FactorySQL and FactoryPMI “understand” how these tables work, you (the designer) no longer need to be concerned about writing SQL queries to interface with your data. Rather, you simply deal with “tags”. In essence, we’ve more tightly coupled communication between FactoryPMI and FactorySQL, but all data is still in the database so that we don’t lose any of the much-loved flexibility, scalability, and simplicity of our database-centric architecture.

It is important to note, however, that SQLTags currently only deals with real-time status and control data. All history, downtime tracking, etc is accomplished in the same manner as before. There are future plans for a historical addition to SQLTags.

Design Rationale

Ease-of-Use. We wanted to decrease the learning curve for using our software for basic HMI-type screens. Specifically, we wanted a new designer to be able to set up a status and control screen without leaving the FactoryPMI Designer, and without writing a single SQL query.

Status Feedback. Our existing status and control architecture was highly de-coupled. It was so de-coupled, in fact, that status information was typically lost without expending extra design effort to capture it. For instance, if a write failed to OPC, the operator wouldn’t know about it. If the PLC was unplugged, the operator wouldn’t know that the numbers s/he was looking at shouldn’t be trusted. SQLTags completely fixes this.

Scalability. Our existing architecture involved polling simple SQL queries to retrieve real-time status information. This didn’t scale very well, because each concurrent client was running its own queries. This put a large strain on the database as more clients were launched. While there was a nice technique to mitigate this problem, it wasn’t immediately obvious. SQLTags improves scalability dramatically.

How You Use Tags

OPC Tags. These tags are stored in the database, and driven by FactorySQL from an OPC server.

DB Tags. These tags are also stored in the database, but aren’t attached to OPC. They can simply be values accessible by all clients, can be calculated via an expression, or be the results of a SQL query.

Client Tags. These tags are stored in your FactoryPMI project itself. Each client will have its own copy of these tags.

System Tags. These tags are available to each client and provide client-specific system information, such as the currently logged-in username, system time, etc.

Tags are addressed by their path, which looks like this:
[MyDB]EastSection/TankFarm/Tank15.value
The first part, in square brackets [MyDB], is called the source. Typically this will be the name of your datasource connection, or simply blank to use the project’s default datasource. The next part is the path to the tag with forward slashes as folder delimiters. Lastly, one of the tags properties is referenced (in this case, “Value”). If no property is present, Value is assumed. Tags have lots of properties, such as Value, Quality, Documentation, EngUnits, etc. See the documentation for a full list.

Tags are used in your FactoryPMI projects via the familiar property-binding paradigm. Just like you are used to binding properties to expressions or SQL queries, you can now bind properties to tag values. You can bind to most properties of a tag. You can also use tags in expressions and SQL query bindings.

Even better, you can simply drag a tag and drop it onto a component. Depending on the component and the type of the tag, appropriate property bindings will be added. Or, if you drop a tag onto a container, it will prompt you to create an appropriate component to display that tag. Lastly, you can drag a tag onto a property, which will add a binding to that property.

The Overlay System
Each tag has a quality. There are many different qualities defined (see the documentation), but some common ones are:

OPC_BAD_DATA: OPC is reporting that the data is bad, probably due to communication issues with the PLC

GOOD_DATA: The tag is working well

STALE: The value is stale. Either FactoryPMI isn’t fetching the value because you’ve turned the datasource communication off, or FactorySQL isn’t running.

CONFIG_ERROR: Something is wrong with the configuration of the tag.

New with SQLTags is a status overlay system. Each component in FactoryPMI will calculate its quality based on the worst quality of any tag bindings configured on it. If the quality is anything but GOOD_DATA, you’ll get a noticeable visual overlay on top of the component. This is a crucial part of SQLTags – with no extra effort, you get reliable status indication on every component on your screen.

OPC Browsing
With SQLTags, you can create a new tag manually by pressing the “New Tag” button on the SQLTags Browser Panel’s toolbar. Even better, though, you can now browse your OPC servers from the Designer! Simply open the OPC browsing panel and your FactorySQL instance will be listed. From there you can browse the OPC servers that are available. Drag OPC items into the SQLTags tree to create OPC tags based on those items.

Writing to Tags / New Control Buttons

Writing to tags is very simple – simply check the “bidirectional” checkbox on your tag binding. This is applicable for bindings on properties that change as the user interacts with a component, such as a numeric input field. There are also 3 new control buttons in this release that are made specifically to work with SQLTags:

One-Shot Button. This button writes a value to a tag, and then waits for the value to be reset by the PLC.

Two-State Toggle: This button is great for tags that toggle between two values (such as 0 and 1). It will display differently based on the current state, and is configurable with the Styles feature.

Multi-State Button: This button is really a series of buttons. Each button represents a value of a multi-state tag. For instance, 1=Hand, 0=Off, 2=Auto. The states and how they are displayed are configurable via the button’s Customizer.

All 3 of these buttons can be configured simply by dropping the appropriate tag onto them.

Scalability
As mentioned before, SQLTags is a highly scalable system. The load to the database, which has until now been variable with the number of clients, is now fixed. The Gateway handles all SQLTags polling activities irrespective of how many clients are running. Clients then poll the Gateway, which is highly optimized to handle a large number of concurrent clients.

As of this writing, we hadn’t performed formal benchmarks yet, but preliminary benchmarks look promising. A quick in-office test with FactorySQL, FactoryPMI, and an un-tuned MySQL database running on a desktop machine served 93 clients running a load test application that handled over 35 tag changes per second with under 50% CPU utilization.

Touchscreen Components
All input components are touchscreen-enabled by default now. No more need to handle touchscreen events with mouse scripts anymore. Don’t worry, this was done in a backwards-compatible manner – your old scripts won’t step on the toes of the new automatic system.

Conclusion
SQLTags completely obsoletes the “old way” of implementing status and control. Using SQLTags, one can implement a more scalable, more reliable status and control screen in much less time compared to FactoryPMI 2.0. The good news for existing users is that it is backwards compatible, but also easy to convert. If you want to convert your existing status and control screens, all you need to do is drag your OPC items into the SQLTags tree, and drop the appropriate tags on top of your existing status and control components. Want to see more? Call us for a personalized web-demo.