Equipment overview

Equipment in PcVue comprises multiple data acquisition drivers of different types such as TCP/IP, serial, and manufacturer-specific drivers. PcVue supports a wide range of drivers as in the illustration below. Click on a driver to learn more.

Equipment communication drivers can be accessed and configured using the Application Explorer and the Application Architect. The following are all relevant concepts to equipment drivers in PcVue.

Network

In PcVue, a network is the base element to configure. A network defines both the protocol for data exchange and connection properties common to all the devices attached to it. The connection can be via:

• A serial port

• A standard Network Interface Card (equipped with an Ethernet port for example)

• A vendor-specific communication card or NIC adapter

Refer to Configuring a network to learn more.

Device

In PcVue, devices you configure correspond to the actual field devices. Devices host the data to be accessed and activating them establishes the connection with the PcVue data acquisition server. Device configuration specifies the type of equipment and communication properties specific to a given field device.
Refer to Adding a device to a network to learn more.

Frame

In PcVue, a frame represents a memory area with contiguous addresses where data are stored in a particular device. Frame configuration specifies the access mode (read, write or both), the frequency at which the memory area is to be polled, the starting address and the number of data items.
Refer to the topic Adding a frame to a device to learn more.

Variable mapping

Mapping is the process of linking variables to the source of their values, an address in a frame in the case of Equipment drivers. In PcVue, equipment variables can be linked to existing variables in the project or can be added as new variables. This mapping can be carried out from the Source tab when configuring a variable or from the mapping dialog opened from a network configuration.
Refer to the topic How to map variables to frames to learn more.

Communication Status

• The network status provides information about the connection to the data acquisition network (state of a network interface, serial port etc.). With most drivers, diagnosis at the network level is of little help and so, the status mainly indicates configuration correctness and if the network is started or stopped.
• The device status provides information about communication with a specific device on the network. Most drivers do not directly support device-level diagnostic messages and so, the status mainly indicates configuration correctness and if the device is started or stopped. However, if there is an error with a frame associated with a device, this will be reported in the device status.
• The frame status provides more information about the communication status as most of the information is related to the success or failure of frame requests. In the event of abnormal operation, the frame status is also reported in the Event Viewer (F7).

Refer to the topics General communication status and Message exchange mechanisms in PcVue to learn more.

SCADA Basic scripting

You can control communication with equipment drivers in SCADA Basic scripts with the CIMWAY instruction.
Some drivers support additional scripting capabilities such as online reconfiguration and over-the-wire protocol-specific commands.

Redundancy

When high availability is required, PcVue supports field device redundancy for certain equipment drivers. Redundant devices can prove useful as a backup for when an error occurs with the primary device with which the communication was initialized.

According to the connection’s status, the driver automatically switches from one device to another sequentially. There is only one connection open at a time, per device. You can also view and force the active connection.

Redundancy is available for the following drivers:

• Modbus Ip

• Siemens S7 Ip Industrial Ethernet

• Siemens S7 Ip Fetch /Write

Rules and behavior of cut, copy and paste

The following table describes the rules and behavior, and in particular any restrictions, when using cut or copy and paste on configuration objects in the Equipment folder.

Equipment object	Behavior
Network	The pasted Network is given a unique name. Any subordinate Devices and Frames are duplicated using the original name. The mapping of any variables is not duplicated.
Device	The pasted Device is given a unique name. Any subordinate Frames are duplicated using the original name.
Frame	The pasted Frame is given a unique name and it is defined to cover the next available address range.

Licensing

When you purchase a license to run PcVue, the license specifies the number of protocols that may be used.

The default number of protocols is one. You can configure more protocols than the license permits, but at run time only the licensed number will run.

Legacy and deprecated drivers

The following data acquisition drivers were inherited from earlier versions of PcVue and are now legacy or fully deprecated.

• The binary files required to use them may no longer be delivered as part of the product.
• Their use may depend on the availability of a manufacturer-specific library that may no longer be supported.
• They may not have been validated for use with the current PcVue version but may still be in use on legacy systems.

Legacy		Deprecated
Applicom Access	Matrix Controls Pup	Applicom Cerloop	Omron Sysmac-Way
Cegelec LN3	Matsushita Mewtocol-Com serial	Alstom ESP serial	Perax
Cegelec NBUS RTU	Simulation v1	Eliop Elinet	Rockwell Automation RSLinx
Cegelec NBUS Ascii	Sofrel Sofbus-PC	Idec FA2J-FA3S	Schneider Electric Ethway
Johnson Control Optomux	Jumo Ascii	Idec Micro3	Schneider Electric Modbus Plus
Jumo Ness		Klockner Moeller K	Siemens 3964R
		Klockner Moeller SucomA	Mitsubishi FX
		Mitsubishi Melsec serial