8/19/2019 AIM*AT™ Suite AIM*OPC Server User’s Guide

I/A Series® System
AIM*AT™ Suite
AIM*OPC Server
User’s Guide

B0400DG

Rev C
August 30, 2012

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Invensys, Foxboro, AIM*API, AIM*AT, AIM*Historian, AIM-Supervisor, I/A Series. and the Invensys logo are
trademarks of Invensys plc, its subsidiaries, and affiliates.
 All other brand names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Copyright 2001-2012 Invensys Systems, Inc.

 All rights reserved

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 softwarepermitted
specifically issued by to
Invensys Systems,
make, are Inc. in
protected and copies of the
accordance withsoftware
Federal that you are
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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Contents 
Figures.................................................................................................................................... ix 

Tables..................................................................................................................................... xi

Preface................................................................................................................................. xiii
Purpose .................................................................................................................................. xiii
 Audience ................................................................................................................................ xiii
Revision Information ............................................................................................................. xiii
Reference Documents ............................................................................................................ xiv 
Request For Comments .......................................................................................................... xiv 

1. Overview ........................................................................................................................... 1
 AIM*AT OPC Server ................................................................................................................ 1
The OPC Standard ................................................................................................................... 2
OPC Data Access ................................................................................................................. 2
OPC Historical Data Access ................................................................................................. 3

2. System Requirements ........................................................................................................ 5

3. AIM*AT OPC Server Installation ..................................................................................... 7

Overview ................................................................................................................................... 7
Installing the AIM*AT OPC Server Software ............................................................................ 7
Configurators ............................................................................................................................ 7
 AIM OPC Configurator ....................................................................................................... 7
Matrikon Configurator ......................................................................................................... 8
Software Components Description ............................................................................................ 8
 AIM*OPC Server ................................................................................................................. 8
 AIM OPC Configurator ....................................................................................................... 8
Standard OPC Server Browser .............................................................................................. 8
OPC Automation Components ............................................................................................ 9
OPC DA Automation DLL ............................................................................................. 9
OPC HDA Automation DLL .......................................................................................... 9
Standard OPC Proxy Stubs (OPC Marshalling Libraries) ................................................ 9
 AIM*AT OPC Server Licensing ................................................................................................ 9
Obtaining an Authorization Code ...................................................................................... 10
Configuring the AIM Server ............................................................................................... 10

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4. AIM*AT API Server Component Installation ................................................................. 13

5. OPC Server Startup and Shutdown................................................................................. 15

Starting the OPC Server .......................................................................................................... 15
OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program ................................................................. 15
OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service ........................................................................ 15
OPC Server Control Panel ...................................................................................................... 16
Shutting Down the OPC Server .............................................................................................. 17
OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the AIM Configurator) ................... 17
OPC Server Installed as an Executable Program (with the Matrikon Configurator) ............ 17
OPC Server Installed as a Windows Service ........................................................................ 17

6. AIM*OPC Configurator ................................................................................................. 19

 AIM*OPC Configuration Utility ............................................................................................ 19
Starting the AIM*OPC Configurator ...................................................................................... 19

OPC Configuration
Toolbar Menu Bar ........................................................................................... 22
.............................................................................................................................. 21
Status Bar ........................................................................................................................... 22
Using the AIM*OPC Configurator to Configure the OPC Server .......................................... 22
Creating/Updating an OPC Server Configuration File with Tags and Item Aliases ................. 23
Delta Configuration Page ........................................................................................................ 23
Browsing for Tags .............................................................................................................. 25
Selecting/Deleting Tags ...................................................................................................... 27
Changing Delta Values of Selected Tags ............................................................................. 29
Changing Delta Values of Imported Tags ........................................................................... 31
 Alias Configuration Page ......................................................................................................... 33
Browsing for Tags In Order To Assign Aliases .................................................................... 35
Selecting/Deleting Tags ...................................................................................................... 35
Creating An Alias ............................................................................................................... 35
Creating A New Alias ......................................................................................................... 36
Editing A Selected Alias ...................................................................................................... 38
Saving To the Configuration File ............................................................................................ 41
Exit Without Saving Changes to the Configuration File ..................................................... 41
Saving Information To A New Configuration File ............................................................. 42
Saving to the Default Configuration File ............................................................................ 43

Saving to a New Default Configuration File ....................................................................... 43

OPC Server Parameters ........................................................................................................... 45
The OPC Server Parameters provide the following options: ............................................... 45
Server Parameters (General) Settings .................................................................................. 46
Server Parameters (Advanced) Settings ............................................................................... 47
Options for Server Configuration ............................................................................................ 49
Server Options ................................................................................................................... 50
General Option Settings ..................................................................................................... 50
General Logging Settings .................................................................................................... 52

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Interface Logging Settings .................................................................................................. 53

 Advanced Option Settings .................................................................................................. 54

 Appendix A. OPC Item Syntax............................................................................................ 55

 Appendix B. DCOM Configuration.................................................................................... 57

 About Distributed COM ........................................................................................................ 57
Setting Default Properties ....................................................................................................... 57
OPC Server General and Security Settings .............................................................................. 58
Customizing Permissions .................................................................................................... 61
Specifying Server Identity ........................................................................................................ 63
Specifying Default Protocols ................................................................................................... 64
Specifying a Remote Program ID ............................................................................................ 65

 Appendix C. Using the Matrikon Configurator................................................................... 67

 Activating the Matrikon Configurator Utility ......................................................................... 67
Using the Matrikon Configurator Utility ................................................................................ 68
Configuration Utility Window ........................................................................................... 68
Menu Bar ...................................................................................................................... 69
Toolbar ......................................................................................................................... 70
Statistics ........................................................................................................................ 70
Status Bar ...................................................................................................................... 70
Creating an OPC Server Configuration .............................................................................. 70
General Configuration Options ..................................................................................... 71
 Advanced Configuration Options .................................................................................. 73
Creating OPC Item Aliases ............................................................................................ 76
Configuring DCOM Settings ............................................................................................. 79
Viewing Server Statistics ..................................................................................................... 80
Configuring Server Options ............................................................................................... 80
General Option Settings ................................................................................................ 82
General Logging Settings ............................................................................................... 83
Interface Logging Settings ............................................................................................. 85
 Advanced Option Settings ............................................................................................. 86

 Appendix D. Using the Matrikon OPC Explorer Client...................................................... 87

Starting OPCBar
Menu Explorer ............................................................................................................ 87
...................................................................................................................... 88
Toolbar ......................................................................................................................... 90
Using OPC Explorer ............................................................................................................... 91
Viewing Available OPC Servers .......................................................................................... 91
Connecting to an OPC Server ............................................................................................ 92
 Adding OPC Groups ......................................................................................................... 93
 Adding OPC Items ............................................................................................................ 96
Item ID ......................................................................................................................... 97

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 Access Path .................................................................................................................... 97

Browsing the Server Address Space ................................................................................ 97
Requested Data Type .................................................................................................... 98
 Active State .................................................................................................................... 98
Validating OPC Items ................................................................................................... 98
Reading Real-Time Values ................................................................................................. 98
Data Display ................................................................................................................. 99
 Advise Log ................................................................................................................... 100
 Writing Control Values .................................................................................................... 100
Setting OPC Explorer Options ......................................................................................... 102
Data Transfer Options ................................................................................................ 103
Data Display Options .................................................................................................. 104
COM Options ............................................................................................................ 105

 Appendix E. OPC Compliance.......................................................................................... 107

Supported Server Object Interfaces ....................................................................................... 107
Supported Group Object Interfaces ....................................................................................... 108
Supported DA Methods ................................................................................................... 108
Supported HDA Interfaces .................................................................................................... 111
Supported HDA Methods ................................................................................................ 111
 AIM*AT OPC Server Registry Entries .................................................................................. 114

 Appendix F. Quality Flags ................................................................................................. 115

Standard Quality Flags .......................................................................................................... 115
HDA Quality Flags ............................................................................................................... 116

 Appendix G. Variant Data Types ...................................................................................... 117

 Appendix H. Bit Mapping I/A Series Status Codes to OPC Status Codes ......................... 119

 Appendix I. Timestamp to OPC ....................................................................................... 123

 Appendix J. How to Configure Secured Read/Write Connections..................................... 125

 Appendix K. OPC I/O Methods ....................................................................................... 127

Synchronous Versus Asynchronous I/O ................................................................................ 127

Device Versus Cache Reads ................................................................................................... 127
OPC DA 2.05a Versus 1.0a Asynchronous I/O .................................................................... 128

 Appendix L. Alias Configuration ....................................................................................... 129

Scaling Expressions ............................................................................................................... 129
 Alias Configuration CSV File Format ................................................................................... 130

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Index .................................................................................................................................. 133

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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
C-11. Options Dialog Box: Interface Logging ....................................................................... 85

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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
H-2. Flow Diagram for Quality of Returned Historical Data ............................................ 121

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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
L-2. Alias Configuration CSV File Syntax ........................................................................ 131

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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
appendices wereofrenamed.
the document (B0400DG-C),
In addition, the document
the following has made:
changes were been restructured. Some
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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OPC Client

Network

AIM*AT
OPC Server
OPC Data Access/ 
Historical Data Access
Interfaces

OPC Client OPC Server OPC Client

Inner Layer

AIM*AT
AIM*API Library

Network

I/A Series AIM*AT Server

Workstation

Data Servers

I/A Series AIM*Historian

DCS Real-Time and
Real-Time Data Historical Data

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.

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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

components files
and are that getlisted
therefore installed
morewith
thaneach component. Some files are common to several
once.

AIM*OPC Server
The aim\opc directory contains:
File Description
 AIMOPCSVR.exe AIM*OPC Server executable
 AIMOPChelp.chm Help file
PSTCFGAIM.ocx Configuration utility ActiveX component

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

The aim\opc directory contains:
 AIMOPCConfig.exe
OEM_Matrikon_OPC.dll
pstcfgps.dll

Standard
In complianceOPC Server
with OPC Browser
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

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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

The aim\opc directory contains:
OPCAuto.dll
OPCDA20auto.doc
OEM_Matrikon_OPC.dll

PSTcfgps.dll
The WINDOWS\SYSTEM32  directory contains:
ExprEval.dll
OPCEnum.exe

OPC HDA Automation DLL

The aim\opc directory contains:
OPCHDAAuto.dll
OPCHDA10auto.doc

OEM_Matrikon_OPC.dll
PSTcfgps.dll
The WINDOWS\SYSTEM32  directory contains:
ExprEval.dll
OPCEnum.exe

Standard OPC Proxy Stubs (OPC Marshalling Libraries) 

The WINDOWS\SYSTEM32  directory contains:
OPCProxy.dll

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

AIM*AT OPC Server Licensing

The AIM*AT OPC Server must connect to one or more AIM*AT API servers in order to:

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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

To configure the AIM Server, proceed as follows:

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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
configured services.

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

Action Start AIM AT OPC Server

3. log
Select
box.  menu >  to select the  in the Services dia-

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.

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

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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 End Task.

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.

No Pre-Existing Configuration File

I/A Servers

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

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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
(Table 6-1).Configurator menu bar provides easy access to configuration utility functions
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
Help About AimOpcConfig... Displays the version and licensing information.

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

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.

Displays program information, version number and copyright.

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 

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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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Existing Delta Configuration File

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

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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 Load configuration on startup 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.
To browse for desired tags,

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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.

I/A Server

List of Stations

Station Letterbugs
Historian Instance

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.

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Station Letterbug

Compound
 Block
Parameters

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.

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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 Clear All.
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 Delete Selected  Tags.

 Right mouse button click within the Change Delta Tags window to activate the
context menu and click Delete Selected Tags.
To erase all the tags in the Changed Delta tags window,
 Click Clear All.

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Context Menu

Button

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 Set Deltas of Selected Tags.
 Right mouse button click within the Changed Delta Tags window to activate the
context menu and click Set Deltas of Selected Tags.

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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 Get Tag 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
setting the delta from
value.the I/A Server is to provide the user with a guideline for
 If the Get Tag 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
Get Tag Info. from I/A Server 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.
5. Restart the OPC Server.

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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 Set Deltas of Imported Tags.
 Right mouse button click within the Change Delta Tags window to activate the
context menu and click Set Deltas of Imported Tags.
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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Imported Tags

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:
 Click Delete Selected  Alias.
 Right mouse button click within the Change Delta Tags window to activate the
context menu and click Delete Selected Alias.
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
e. -- Poll when inactive

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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

To create a new alias, proceed as follows:

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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.
 Click Insert 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:

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

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Configured Aliases

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 
-- Poll when inactive

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

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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
open. 

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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:

 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.

Figure 6-18. General Server Parameters Page

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The General Server Parameters include:

NetAPI Server Timeout

Specifies the time-out setting of the connected AIM*API Server in min-
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.
2. Enter the desired values in the fields and if desired, mark the check box.

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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,
 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.

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.

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General Logging Settings

Figure 6-21. Options Dialog - General Logging Page

Enable Activity Logging

 When the box is checked, logging is enabled and the level of details is defined by the drop-down
list: low, medium, or high, with high indicating the most detail level.

Commit All Log File Writes

 When the box is checked, the log file is closed after each write and reopened again when another
 write is issued. This option should be used only for debugging purpose as it causes severe perfor-
mance degradation.

Display activity on screen

 When the box is checked, all log statements are shown on a separate command prompt screen.

Overwrite old log information

 When the box is checked, the log file is overwritten from the beginning when it reaches a certain
size. The path name of the log file is defined in the edit box below the check box.

Filter string and Filter filename

 All log statements that contain strings matching the filter string are written to another log file
defined in the filename edit box.

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Interface Logging Settings

 

Figure 6-22. Options Dialog - Interface Logging Page

Enable Activity Logging

 When the box is checked, activities related to COM interface function calls are logged into files
 with the extension.tmp in the same directory where AIMOPCSVR.exe resides. The logging level
is defined by the drop-down list to its right: low, medium, high.

Commit All Log File Writes

 When the box is checked, the log file is closed after each write and reopened when another write
is issued. This option is only used for debugging purpose as it causes severe performance degrada-
tion.

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Advanced Option Settings

Figure 6-23. Options Dialog - Advanced Page

OPC Group Update Rate

The OPC Group Update Rate is the minimum update rate for a group inside the server.

Time Granularity
Time Granularity is used to calculate the requested buffer time (in milliseconds), which tells the
server how often to send event notifications.

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Appendix A. OPC Item Syntax 

This appendix defines the proper syntax to use when adding OPC items to the AIM*AT OPC
Server application.
The last step before reading and writing data is to add items to your group by providing an access
path and item ID pair. The AIM*AT OPC Server uses this information to find the data in which
you are interested.
If your client supports server browsing, you may not need to provide an Item ID, as the browser
enables you to point and click to specify an access path and item ID.
The AIM*AT OPC Server software does not use access paths. If your client prompts you to
provide an access path, supply a blank.
The AIM OPC Server accepts the following item ID formats:

<Server Name>\<Tag Name>\<Instance>

Specifies the tag name as well as the historian instance in which it resides.
This format is valid for both DA and HDA services.

<Server Name>\<Tag Name>\

Specifies the tag name without the historian instance. The instance is
auto-detected by the OPC server. This format is valid for both DA and
HDA services.

<Server Name>\<Tag Name>

Used for real-time objects in I/A Series systems and AIM-Supervisor
systems. This format is valid for DA services only.
In all three formats, the Tag Name may have the format <Tag>.b<n>, in which case the Item ID
refers to bit “n” in the tag’s value.

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Appendix B. DCOM Configuration 

This appendix provides general guidelines for configuring Distributed COM for AIM*AT
OPC Server application.

About Distributed COM

Distributed COM (DCOM) is an object protocol that enables COM components such as OPC
clients and servers to communicate directly with each other across a network. A certain amount of
configuration is required on the system where the OPC server is installed to allow remote clients
to connect to the server.
The following guidelines are suggestions only. Ask your Windows System Administrator for more
information about the settings that you should use for your network configuration,
especially between different domains.

Setting Default Properties

 You must define the workstation default properties as described in the following paragraphs.

NOTE
These affect all DCOM communications on the local station.

1. For a Windows 7/Server 2008 workstation, open the Component Services window by
navigating to:
 Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Component Services.
2. Expand and navigate to Component Services > Computers > My Computer in the
left-hand pane of the Component Services window.
3. Right-click on My Computer and select Properties from the context menu to dis-
play the My Computer Properties dialog box.
4. Go to the Default Properties page and set the following settings for Default Proper-
ties:
 Enable Distributed COM on this computer – checked 
 Default Authentication Level – Connect 
 Default Impersonation Level – Identify 
5. Click Ok to apply the settings and exit the dialog.
In general, the other settings do not need to be changed.
The Authentication Level specifies when COM should authenticate the identity of calling clients
(for example, each call, each packet). Normally, it should be set to Connect, indicating that COM
should authenticate clients when they first connect to a server. If this level is set to None, then
COM performs no authentication and ignores any access permission settings.
The Impersonation Level specifies whether servers can ascertain the identity of calling clients and
 whether they can then perform operations on the client’s behalf (as if the server is the client). Nor-

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mally, the Impersonation Level should be set to Identify.With this Impersonation Level, the server
identifies the client and determines if the client is allowed access to a certain resource, but does
not actually access any of these resources as the client.

OPC Server General and Security Settings

 You musttab),
(General define
andOPC server
access general settings
permissions, launchand security settings,
permissions, including authentication
and configuration level
permissions (Secu-
rity tab) for the OPC server as described in the following paragraphs.
1. Open the Component Services window. Navigate to Control Panel > Adminis-
trative Tools > Component Services.
2. Expand and navigate to Component Services > Computers > My Computer >
DCOM Config.

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

3. Select the AIM*AT OPC Server name from the list of DCOM applications, and
right-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.

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4.  When the Properties dialog box appears (shown in Figure B-2), click the General tab
and set the Authentication Level to None, as shown below.

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

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5. Next, click the Security tab and set the three properties -- Access, Launch, and Con-
figuration Permissions -- as required.

Figure B-3. AIM*AT OPC Server Properties Dialog Box, Security Page
 You have a choice of using the default for all COM servers or creating a custom set of permissions.
 When you select the custom option, the adjacent Edit button becomes active. The button opens a
dialog box for entering a list of users that have specific permissions. The three security properties
are described as follows:
 Launch Permissions control list are users who are allowed to start up a server
process or service.
 Include the names of users or user groups from trusted domains that you are
allowing to use the OPC server on this machine.

Include the Everyone group to allow access to all users on a particular domain.
 Access Permissions are those principals that are allowed to interact with objects
supplied by a server.
 Configuration Permissions include users permitted to modify the server config-
uration, that is, allowed to alter the Windows Registry entries for the server and access
the Registry to install new servers. It is usually simpler to install and configure servers
as a user with local administrative rights.
To confirm that all clients can communicate with the OPC Server, it is strongly recommended
that initially all AIM*AT OPC Server security permissions are set to allow access to everyone.

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Once communications are confirmed, then security permissions can be set as desired. See “Cus-
tomizing Permissions” on page 61 to add “everyone” as a user for each of the three security prop-
erties.

Customizing Permissions
For each property, you must add “everyone” to the users and groups list to confirm communica-

tions to and from the Server and Clients.

To add everyone and set launch permissions, access permissions, and configuration permissions,
perform the following steps:
1. Select the Customize option and click the Edit button. A dialog box similar to
Figure B-4 appears. (Launch Permission dialog box shown below; Access and Config-
uration Permission dialog boxes are not shown.)

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

2. Click the Add button. A dialog box similar to Figure B-5 appears.

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Figure B-5. Configuring Permissions

3. In the Select
cursor shouldUsers
be inor Groups
that dialog
edit box box, See
already. typeFigure
“ everyone ” in the
B-5. Click large
OK at editdialog
each box. The
to
return back to the Security properties dialog.
4. Repeat these steps for each of the three properties (access permissions, default launch
permissions, and default configuration permissions).
 After “everyone” has been added, click the OK button and make sure the property settings are as
follows:
Settings:
1. Access Permissions – Everyone – Allow Access 
2. Default Launch Permissions – Everyone – Allow Launch 
3. Default Configuration Permissions – Everyone – Full Control 

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Specifying Server Identity

The Identity tab in the AIM*AT OPC Server Properties dialog box (Figure B-6) specifies the user
account that should be used when COM starts up the server process.

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

The available settings for a server that runs as a local executable differ from those available for a
server that runs as a Windows Service.
It is strongly recommended that the AIM*AT OPC Server be installed to run as a Windows Ser-
vice if it is going to be accessed by remote clients via DCOM. Install the server as a service to:
 Ensure that the server can always be accessed even if no one is presently logged onto
the machine
 Ensure that only one server process starts up
  Add a greater degree of security.
OPC Servers that run as local executables have the option of running as the launching user (the
calling client; this is the default), the interactive user (the one currently logged onto the machine),
or a specified user (this user). It is usually best to use the interactive user. Otherwise, remote cli-
ents might start up multiple separate server processes that are not accessible to others. Alterna-
tively, the server can be set to run as a specified user.
 When the server runs as a Windows Service, it should generally run under the local system
account.

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NOTE
If the OPC server has been installed as a service, the Interactive User selection
is disabled. The This user and The system account selections are enabled, and
one of them will be selected already. If this is the case, leave the setting as is.

Specifying Default Protocols

The Default Protocols tab specifies the communication protocols available to DCOM. The order
that protocols appear in the list indicates the priority in which they are used with first having the
highest priority.
The more protocols that appear in the list, the better the chances of connecting to an OPC server
on an unknown remote machine (such as at an OPC Interoperability Workshop). However, it
may also take longer for DCOM to time out if a server machine is not present, since it has to try
each protocol in turn.
For most situations it is best to remove all unused protocols from the list and only include those
that are necessary forTCP/IP
connection-oriented your network. ForContact
protocol. example, on aITTCP/IP
your network
personnel youinformation
for more should include the
about
your network’s configuration and requirements.
Evidence indicates that there are problems with the datagram-oriented protocols that cause
memory leaks in DCOM. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that these protocols not be
used in the list of default protocols. Datagram-oriented protocols are not supported under the
 Windows 2000 operating system (although the DCOM configuration utility allows you to
configure them).

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Specifying a Remote Program ID

Before the OPC Server Browser became available, OPC client applications were required to search
the Windows Registry to generate a list of available OPC servers. Therefore, some older OPC cli-
ents require a program ID in the local Registry to connect to a particular OPC server.

NOTE
The following method may not work for every OPC client. Please check the user
documentation supplied with the client application for more information.

The simplest way to ensure backward compatibility with older client applications is to install the
OPC Server software on the client machine even if it is not used. Alternatively, use the following
steps to copy a program ID to the client machine:
1. On the server machine, run REGEDIT as a user that has access rights to the local
Registry.
2. Expand the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key.
AIM.OPC
3. Select , the program ID for the AIM*AT OPC Server.
4. Right click on AIM.OPC and select Export from the context menu. The Export Regis-
try File dialog box opens.
5. Enter a file name and click Save.
The dialog box supplies the extension .REG.
6. Copy the exported file to the client machine.
7. Merge the .REG file into the Registry of the client machine by doing one of the
following:
 Double-click on the file from the desktop of the client machine

 Run
fromREGEDIT
the Registryon the client machine and choose Import Registry File 
menu.
8. Use REGEDIT to verify that the program ID has been copied.
9. Delete the .REG files as they are no longer needed.

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Appendix C. Using the Matrikon

Configurator 
This appendix describes how to configure the OPC Server application using the Matrikon
Configurator utility.
To function properly, the OPC server requires some configuration following installation. You
configure the server using the server configuration utility supplied with the software.

Activating the Matrikon Configurator Utility

How you access and run the configuration utility depends on whether you installed the server to
run as a local executable or as a Windows Service. The OPC server must be running in order to
access configuration parameters of the server.
To run the configuration utility when the OPC server runs as a local executable:
1. Click the Start button and select All Programs > AIM OPC Server to start the
server.
2. Right-click the server’s red X icon in the Windows task bar to display the shortcut
menu shown in Figure C-1.

Figure C-1. OPC Server Shortcut Menu

3. Choose Configure.
The configuration utility window appears as shown in Figure C-2.
To run the configuration utility when the server operates as a Windows Service:
1. Open a DOS Prompt window.
2. Enter the following command at the command line:
PSTCFG.EXE PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1 AIM.OPC
The configuration utility window appears as shown in Figure C-2.

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Using the Matrikon Configurator Utility

This section describes the configuration utility and includes:
 The configuration utility window 
 Creating an OPC server configuration
 Configuring DCOM options
 Displaying OPC server statistics
 Configuring advanced server options.

Configuration Utility Window

The configuration utility window displays a tree view of objects configured in the server. When
you select an object in the tree view, the object’s configuration details are displayed in the pane on
the right side of the window. Figure C-2 identifies the principal features of the configuration util-
ity window.

Menu
Bar
Toolbar

Tree View of
Configured
Objects

Option
Setting
Fields

Server
Statistics
Panel

Status
Bar
Figure C-2. Configuration Utility Window Features

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Menu Bar 
The configuration utility window menu bar provides easy access to configuration utility functions
(Table C-1).

Table C-1. Configuration Utility Menu Bar Options

Menu Option Description

File New Opens a new configuration file having the default server
configuration settings.
Open Opens an existing 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 the specified file name and path.
Export Aliases Saves the OPC item aliases you have created to a
comma-separated variable (.CSV) file.
Import Aliases Loads an existing alias configuration .CSV file.
Shutdown Server Shuts down the OPC server and the configuration utility.
Close Exits the configuration utility.
Edit Delete Deletes the currently loaded configuration file.
View Statistics Shows/hides the server statistics.
Properties (Not used.)
Reset Statistics Resets the counters displayed in the server statistics.
Defaults (Not used.)
Refresh Refreshes the configuration utility window display.
Options Opens a dialog box to configure server options such as
logging, and so on.
Tools DCOM Configurator Opens the DCOM configurator tool.
Help Contents Displays the contents of the on-line Help file.
Index Displays the index of the on-line Help file.
 About Displays the version and licensing information.

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Toolbar 
The configuration utility toolbar provides easy access to nine configuration utility functions
(Table C-2).
Table C-2. Configuration Utility Toolbar Options

Button Function

Shuts down the OPC server.

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.

Saves the currently loaded server configuration file to disk using the specified
file name and path.

Loads an existing alias configuration .CSV file.

Saves the OPC item aliases you have created to a .CSV file.

(Reserved for future use.)

Refreshes the configuration utility window display.

Statistics 
 A pane immediately below the tree view provides current statistics on operation of the server.
See “Viewing Server Statistics” on page 80.

Status Bar 
The status bar at the bottom of the window presents the number of OPC clients currently
connected to the OPC server and the server’s current time.

Creating an OPC Server Configuration

To create a configuration for the OPC server:
1. Start the configuration utility as described on page 67.
The configuration utility window appears as shown in Figure C-3.
2. Click the General tab and complete the general configuration options.
The general configuration options are described starting on page 71.
3. Click Apply to apply the general configuration options to the running server.

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4. Click the Advanced tab and complete the general configuration options.

The advanced configuration options are described starting on page 73.
5. Click Apply to apply the advanced configuration changes to the server configuration
files.
The server must be configured to load the configuration file at startup for any of these
changes to take effect (see “Advanced Configuration Options” on page 73).
6. Select Alias Configuration in the tree view, and create aliases that can be used in
place of regular OPC items.
Configuring aliases is described in “Creating OPC Item Aliases” on page 76.
7. Choose File > Save to save the OPC server configuration file to disk.

General Configuration Options 

To configure the OPC server general options:
 Click the General tab on the server configuration window (Figure C-3).

Figure C-3. General Configuration Options

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The general configuration options include:

NetAPI Server Timeout

Specifies the server time-out setting in minutes. Valid values are integers
from 2 to 60. The default setting is 2 minutes.

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 the con-
nections 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.

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Advanced Configuration Options 

To configure the advanced options:
 Click the Advanced tab on the server configuration window (Figure C-4).

Figure C-4. Advanced Configuration Options

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,

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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.

NOTE
Changes to properties in the General tab take effect immediately. Properties in the
 Advanced tab requires that a server be restarted before it will take effect.

If you made changes to the configuration using options on the Advanced tab, you must stop and
restart the server for those changes to take effect. Changes made with the options on the General
tab are implemented when you click Apply.
To implement advanced configuration changes:
1. Choose File > Save to save the server configuration setting to a file.
2. Choose View > Options to open the Options dialog box (Figure C-5).

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Figure C-5. Options Dialog Box

3. On the General tabbed page, check Load configuration on startup and enter

the configuration file in the Filename field.
 Click the browse button [ ...] to the right of the field to display available config-
uration files.
4. Make other server option changes as appropriate.
5. Shut down the server by clicking the Shutdown icon on the left end of the toolbar.
6. Restart the server using one of the procedures described in Chapter 5 “OPC Server
Startup and Shutdown”.

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Creating OPC Item Aliases 

The OPC servers provide the ability to create aliases that can be used in place of regular OPC
items. This is particularly useful when the item path for a given server is long and difficult to
remember (for example, DEV0.98.76.5.4321). Servers can also be configured so that client appli-
cations have access to configured aliases only, rather than every item.

Alias Configuration Procedure

To configure an alias for an OPC server item:
1. Select Alias Configuration in the tree view.
2. Choose Edit > Insert Alias Group.
3. Enter a name for the alias group.
It is recommended to create aliases in these groups rather than directly under the root.
4. Select the newly created group and choose Edit > Insert New Alias.
The utility opens the Insert New Alias dialog box (Figure C-6).

Figure C-6. Insert New Alias Dialog Box

5. Enter the alias in the Name field and specify the item ID in the Item Path field.
 Click the browse button [ ...] to view available item IDs on the server.
6. Use any of the following options as required for the application:
a. Specify a canonical data type for the alias from the Data Type pull-down list.
The OPC item value is changed to this data type prior to being sent to the client.
b. Mark the Read only check box to prevent client applications from writing to the
OPC item.

c. Enter a value in seconds in the Update Rate field, and mark the Poll when
inactive check box to ensure that data for the OPC item is always received at a
particular rate even if it is not being read by a client.
d. Click Scaling to apply standard scaling formulas to the alias.
See “Applying Scaling Formulas to an Alias” on page 77 for a complete discussion.
7. Click Save to save the alias, or click Save Create New to save the configuration
and create another alias.

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 Mark the Default to new check box to make Save & Create New (rather than
Save) the default control when you press the Enter key.

Applying Scaling Formulas to an Alias

 You can apply standard scaling formulas to an alias. For each type of scaling, a different algorithm
is applied to the incoming value before it is passed to the client. A reverse algorithm is applied to
any values written to the alias before they are passed to the OPC item. The four available types are
described Table C-3.

Table C-3. Alias Scaling Options

Option Formula  
Linear Algorithm   Scaled  Hi gh  – 
 x  –  Ra w Lo w   ------------------------------
  Scaled  Lo w
---
------------------------------ + Scaled  Lo w
 Ra w Hi gh  – 
  Ra w Lo w 

Reverse Algorithm   Ra w Hi gh  – 

 x  –  Sc al ed  Lo w   -----------------------------
  Ra w Lo w
---- +  Ra w Lo w
------------------------------
Scaled  Hi gh  – 
  Scaled  Lo w 

Square Root Algorithm Scaled  Hi gh  – 

  Scaled  Lo w
 x  –  Ra w  --------------------------------------------------------------- +  Scaled 
 Lo w
  Ra w Hi gh  –   Ra w Lo w   Lo w

Reverse Algorithm   Ra w Hi gh  –    Ra w Lo w

 x  –  Sc al ed  Lo w  2  ------------------------------ ---- +  Ra w Lo w
-----------------------------

Scaled  Hi gh  – 
  Scaled  Lo w

Gain/Offset Algorithm
G ai n x + O ff se t 

Reverse Algorithm x------------------------ 

 –  Offset  
Gain 
Expression Algorithm SQRT(INPUT) + 5 (for example)
Reverse Algorithm (OUTPUT - 5) * (OUTPUT - 5) (for example)

To apply a scaling formula to an alias:

1. Click Scaling on the Insert New Alias window.
The dialog box is expanded to include scaling controls (Figure C-7).

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Figure C-7. Edit Alias Dialog Box

2. Click the tab corresponding to the desired type of scaling and enter the parameter
values as required.
For Linear and Square Root scaling:
a. Enter the high and low range for the expected raw values and their corresponding
high and low scaled values.
b. Optionally, select the corresponding check boxes to clamp the value to its high or

low limit to prevent it from going out of range.

For Gain/Offset:
 Enter the gain and, optionally, the offset.
Incoming values must be numeric for these scaling types to work.
For Expression scaling:
a. Click one of the browse buttons [...] to bring up an expression wizard to assist
 with the creation of a formula.
b. Enter the equation to be applied to incoming values in the Input field and enter
the equation to be applied to outgoing values in the Output field.

See Appendix
syntax. L “Alias Configuration” for further information about expression
3. Click No Scaling to hide the scaling portion of the window.
 When the scaling information is not visible, no scaling is applied to the alias.
4. Click Save to save the alias, or click Save Create New to configure another alias.

Viewing Configured Aliases

To view the aliases configured for an alias group:

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 Select the alias group in the tree view.

The pane to the right of the tree view displays the name, item path, data type, access
rights, and update rate for each alias, as shown in Figure C-8.

Figure C-8. Listing Aliases Configured for a Group

Exporting and Importing Alias Configurations

The alias database can be exported to and imported from comma-delimited text files (CSV). See
 Appendix L “Alias Configuration” for a description of the alias CSV file format.
 Choose File > Export Aliases to export the current alias configuration to the
specified CSV file.
 Choose File > Import Aliases to import aliases into the current configuration.

Configuring
The menu selectionDCOM Settings
Tools > DCOM launches a standard Microsoft utility for editing DCOM set-
tings, as described in Appendix B “DCOM Configuration”.

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Viewing Server Statistics

To view statistics for an OPC server configuration:
1. Select an object under Server Configuration in the tree view.
2. Choose View > Statistics to display the statistics panel.
The statistics panel below the tree view displays any communication statistics that are supported

for the selected object. Different objects display different statistics as appropriate.
The possible communication statistics displayed for an object are:

Sent The number of messages (requests) sent to the device.

Received The number of messages (responses) received from the device.

Timed Out The number of time-out periods that have elapsed waiting for a response.

Retried The number of messages re-sent to the device.

Failed The number of failed transactions (due to time-outs or communication

errors).
Overrun The number of times that the program failed to get a response from the
device before it needed to send out the next request.
Statistics can be useful for troubleshooting communication problems. If the OPC server stops
supplying data for items under a particular device, check the statistics for that device for problems
such as time-outs, overruns, and failures. Many device configurations support tuning parameters
for communication, such as time-out intervals and maximum number of retries. Changing some
of these tuning parameter settings may help to overcome communication problems.
To reset the counters in the Statistics panel:

 Click Reset .Statistics at the bottom of the panel or choose View > Reset
Statistics
The statistics for the selected object are set to 0. The displayed statistics are updated
roughly once every second.

Configuring Server Options

The AIM*AT OPC Server software stores option values in the Windows Registry and loads them
at startup. Because the options are stored in the Registry, you can change options without restart-
ing the server.
To change the server options:
1. Choose View > Options to open the Options dialog box (Figure C-9).

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Figure C-9. Options Dialog Box

2. Click the General tab and configure the general option settings as required.
The general options are described in the next section.
3. Click the General Logging tab and configure the logging option settings as
required.
The general logging options are described in “General Logging Settings” on page 83.
4. Click the Interface Logging tab and configure the logging option settings as
required.
The interface logging options are described in “Interface Logging Settings” on
page 85.
5. Click the Advanced tab and configure the advanced option settings as required.
The advanced options are described in “Advanced Option Settings” on page 86.
6. Click Defaults to restore the original settings for the server.
7. Click OK to save your configuration changes.
8. Restart the server to implement the new configuration.

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General Option Settings 

The Options dialog box General tab (Figure C-9) contains the following settings related to the
configuration of the OPC server:

Save current configuration on shutdown

Mark this check box to have the server automatically save any changes to

the configuration when it shuts down.

Load configuration on startup
Mark this check box and enter a filename in the Filename edit box below
it to have the server automatically use the specified configuration file when
it is launched.
 Click the browse button [...] next to the edit box to browse for
the file to be loaded.

Launch configuration program on startup

Mark this check box to cause the server to spawn the configuration utility
automatically when it starts up as a local executable. Otherwise, the con-
figuration utility must be started manually from the Start menu. The con-
figuration utility must always be started manually when the server runs as
a Windows Service.

Restrict items to pre-configured aliases only

Mark this check box to restrict client applications to connecting only to
configured aliases in the server. When this box is marked, client applica-
tions are not able to access any raw OPC items. Enabling this option may
be useful for security reasons. See “Creating OPC Item Aliases” on
page 76 for details about OPC item aliases.

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General Logging Settings 

The OPC server produces log files that record errors and debugging information. If difficulties
occur with a server, the log files can be extremely valuable for troubleshooting. By default, the
servers log very little information. The General Logging tab of the Options dialog box
(Figure C-10) contains settings to control server general activity logging.

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

General activity logging records information about the internal workings of the OPC server. It is
useful for troubleshooting problems with configuration and device communication.

Enable activity logging

Mark this
menu checkgeneral
to enable box andactivity
chooselogging.
the desired log level
Available logfrom
levelsthe pull-down
include High,
Medium, Low, and None.

NOTE
The higher the log level, the more information is recorded. However, server perfor-
mance may decrease at higher log levels. The recommended operating level is Low.

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Commit all log file writes

Mark this check box to ensure that the log file buffer is flushed each time a
message is logged. This can be useful when a fatal error that causes the
OPC server to crash is occurring regularly. However, it is not recom-
mended for normal operation as it greatly decreases the performance of
the server.

Overwrite old log information

Mark this check box to overwrite the general activity log file each time the
OPC server starts up. Otherwise, the existing file is renamed to start with
an underscore.

Filename Enter a general activity log filename in the edit box or click the browse
button [...] to browse for a file. The default log file is
PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1.LOG in the AIM\OPC\ directory.

Filter String Enter a string on which to filter log data. Only data containing the speci-
fied string is written to the specified filtered log.

Filename Enter a filtered general activity log filename in the edit box or click the
browse button [...] to browse for a file.

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Interface Logging Settings 

Interface activity logging records information about the client/server OPC communication. It can
be useful for troubleshooting OPC compliance issues. The Interface Logging tab of the Options
dialog box (Figure C-11) contains settings to control interface activity logging.

Figure C-11. Options Dialog Box: Interface Logging

Enable logging Check this check box to enable interface activity logging and choose the
desired log level: High, Medium, Low, or None.

Commit all log file writes

Mark this check box to ensure that the log file buffer is flushed each time a
message is logged. This can be useful when a fatal error that causes the
OPC server to crash is occurring regularly. However, it is not recom-
mended for normal operation as it greatly decreases the performance of
the server.

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Advanced Option Settings 

The Advanced tab (Figure C-12) contains timing parameters:

OPC Group Update Rate (minimum)

Enter the minimum update rate that the server allows for any OPC group.
This option prevents client applications from requesting update rates that

are impossible
is 100 msec. to achieve or that cause heavy CPU loads. The default value

Time granularity Specify the time granularity in ms for OPC group update rates.

Figure C-12. Options Dialog Box: Advanced Tab

To set the advanced options for the OPC server:

1. Click the Advanced tab.
2. Enter 500 in the OPC Group Update Rate field.
3. Enter 100 in the Time granularity field.

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Appendix D. Using the Matrikon

OPC Explorer Client 
This appendix describes the use of Matrikon OPC Explorer to test AIM*AT OPC Server
applications.
Matrikon OPC Explorer is a general purpose OPC client included with the AIM*AT OPC Server
software to provide tools to test your AIM*AT OPC Server applications.

Starting OPC Explorer

To start OPC Explorer:
 Choose Start > Programs > AIM > Matrikon OPC Explorer.

The OPC Explorer main window appears as shown in Figure D-1.

Figure D-1. OPC Explorer Main Window

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The window consists of a pull-down menu to select a server, a tree view of groups for the selected
server on the left, and a detailed listing of items in the selected group on the right. You can also
display an Information panel in the lower portion of the screen.

Menu Bar 
The window menu bar provides easy access to the functions listed in Table D-2.

Table D-1. Matrikon OPC Explorer Menu Bar Options

Menu Option Description

File New Session Starts a new session.
Open Displays an Open Session dialog box to select and restart a
previously saved session.
Save Saves the current session. Opens a Save Session dialog box
if the session has not yet been saved to a file.
Save As Opens a Save Session dialog box for saving the session to a

file.
[previous sessions] Lists file names of the most recently saved session. Click on
the file name to re-open the session.
Exit Exits the Matrikon OPC Explorer window. Prompts you
to save current sessions that have unsaved changes.
Server Connect/Disconnect Connects or disconnects the selected OPC server. Discon-
nect opens a dialog box that prompts you to save the cur-
rent session.
Perform! Opens the Matrikon OPC Explorer Perform window.
 Add Group Opens the Add Group dialog box for setting up a new
group on the selected server.
Properties Displays a dialog box containing information on current
server status, supported interfaces, and Registry settings.
Group Deactivate/Activate Toggles the group status from active to inactive.
Use Async I/O Switches the data retrieval method for the group between
synchronous and asynchronous.
 Add Items Starts Tag Studio to add items to the selected group.
Delete Deletes the select group after you confirm the action by
clicking Yes in a dialog box.
Properties Opens the Properties dialog box for configuring group
options.
Item Writes Values Opens a Write values dialog box for writing values to the
selected OPC server.
Deactivate Deactivates the selected items.
Delete Deletes the selected items.
Properties Opens the Properties dialog box for the selected item.

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Table D-1. Matrikon OPC Explorer Menu Bar Options (Continued)

Menu Option Description

View Info Panel When checked, opens a panel in the lower half of the win-
dow that displays information about the connected server
and the selected group.
 Advise Panel When checked, opens a separate window that displays
callback transactions from the OPC server.
Error Log Opens the Error Log window that displays messages con-
cerning the operation of Matrikon OPC Explorer.
Update Speed Displays a submenu for selection of an update rate: High,
Normal, Low, and Paused.
Refresh Updates the Matrikon OPC Explorer window with the
current values on the OPC server.
Options Opens the Options dialog box.
Help Matrikon on the Web Uses the default Web browser to access a Matrikon Web

 About page withthe

Provides help.
Matrikon OPC Explorer license and version
information.

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Toolbar 
The toolbar provides easy access to the functions listed in Table D-2.

Table D-2. Matrikon OPC Explorer Toolbar Options

Button Function

Disconnects Matrikon OPC Explorer from the current OPC server.

Connects Matrikon OPC Explorer to the selected OPC server.

Opens the Properties dialog box for the selected server.

Refreshes the server display.

Opens the Add Group dialog box for setting up a new group on the selected server.

Opens the Properties dialog box for configuring group options.

Deletes the select group after you confirm the action by clicking Yes in a dialog box.

Deactivates the selected group after you select Yes in a confirm action dialog box.

Stop using Asynchronous I/O with the selected group.

Makes the selected group public.

Refreshes the display of all items in the selected group.

Starts Tag Studio to add items to the selected group.

Opens the Properties dialog box for the selected item.

Deletes the selected items.

Toggles the selected items between active and inactive.

Opens a Writes values dialog box for writing values to the selected OPC server.

Refreshes the display of selected items.

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Using OPC Explorer

To test the AIM*AT OPC Server application using OPC Explorer, follow the general procedure
below:
1. View the list of OPC Servers to which you can connect from OPC Explorer.
Refer to “Viewing Available OPC Servers” on page 91.
2. Connect to the OPC server.
Refer to “Connecting to an OPC Server” on page 92.
3.  Add a group on the OPC server.
Refer to “Adding OPC Groups” on page 93.
4.  Add OPC items to the group.
Refer to “Adding OPC Items” on page 96.
5. Read real-time data values for the OPC items you have added to the OPC server.
Refer to “Reading Real-Time Values” on page 98.
6. Optionally, write control values for the OPC items you have added.
Refer to “Writing Control Values” on page 100.
7. Optionally, Set options defining OPC Explorer’s default configuration.
Refer to “Setting OPC Explorer Options” on page 102.
8. Choose File > Save to save the OPC Explorer session to a specified file.
The saved OPC Explorer session includes all established server connections, added
OPC groups, and added OPC items.
Choose File > Open to later re-open the saved OPC Explorer session.

Viewing Available OPC Servers

Matrikon OPC Explorer is an OPC client application that connects to OPC Server applications
and displays real-time values as they are received. When OPC Explorer starts, it searches the
 Windows Registry on the local computer and generates a list of program IDs of available OPC
Servers. The list is available from a pull-down list at the top left corner of the window
(Figure D-2).

Pull-down list
to view available
OPC Servers

Figure D-2. Available OPC Server List

Every OPC Server has a unique program ID, a human-readable text string that is converted to a
globally unique identification number that COM uses to identify the server. Each server may have
a version-specific program ID (with a number appended to the end of the string), a

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version-independent program ID (no number), or both. AIM*AT OPC Server applications have
both types, but only version-independent program IDs are included in the list.
If an error occurs during the communication session between OPC Explorer and an OPC Server,
a message box appears explaining the error.
To troubleshoot the error:
1. Click Details in the message dialog box to get a more descriptive explanation of the
error.
2. Choose View > Error Log to display a log of past errors.
3. Right-click on the window.
4. Choose Clear Log to clear the log.

Connecting to an OPC Server

To connect to an OPC Server:
1. Select a program ID from the server pull-down list.
The program ID for AIM*AT OPC Server software is AIM.OPC.
2. Choose Server > Connect, and select either Local or Remote.
The Local option connects to a server running on the same machine as OPC Explorer,
 while the Remote option connects to an OPC Server running on another machine.
3. If you select Remote, use the Connect Remotely dialog box to specify the remote
machine with one of the following:
 UNC (for example, “\\SYSDEV1”)
 DNS (for example, “www.foxboro.com”)
 IP address (for example, “198.162.0.1”).
See Appendix B “DCOM Configuration” for instructions on how to configure OPC
servers to receive remote connections.
COM attempts to launch the OPC server if the server is not currently running. If the server runs
as a local executable, COM runs it. If the server operates as a Windows Service, COM starts the
service.
Similarly, when the last client application disconnects from an OPC server, the server shuts down.
The OPC server waits one minute before shutting down to avoid unnecessary processing when
client applications connect and disconnect frequently.

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Adding OPC Groups

 An OPC group serves as a logical collection of data items.
To add an OPC group to the connected OPC server:
1. Choose Server > Add Group.
2. Enter a name for the group.

If the edit box is left blank, the OPC server assigns a unique name for the group.
3. Change the other settings as desired, and click OK to create the group.
Matrikon OPC Explorer adds Group to the menu bar, if it is not already displayed.
To change the group settings at a later time:
1. Choose Group > Properties to open the Group Properties dialog box
(Figure D-3).

Figure D-3. Group Properties Dialog Box: General

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2. Check the Active option box to activate the group.

The OPC server only updates values for active items in active groups. When an indi-
vidual item is set inactive, the server stops sending updates for the item. Likewise,
 when a group is set inactive, the server stops sending values for any items in that
group. Client applications, such as human-machine interface applications, can help to
reduce the processing load on an OPC server by deactivating groups and items that

are not currently needed. To change the state of items:

a. Choose Group > Activate/Deactivate to change the active state of an OPC
group.
b. Choose Item > Activate/Deactivate to change the active state of individual
OPC items.
3. Specify the Update Rate in milliseconds.
The OPC server tries to keep OPC Explorer informed with values at the requested
update rate for the OPC group. If the requested update rate is too fast for the server to
handle, it returns a revised update rate that it uses instead. Internally, the server
updates data from data servers at either the configured fast or slow scan rates, but
sends
server values to thewhich
determines client update
at the update rate or
rate is used slower
based on to
theavoid overwhelming
requested OPC group it. The
update rate.
If the OPC group update rate is equal to or an even multiple of the slow scan rate,
items contained in that group are updated internally at the slow scan rate. All other
items are updated internally at the configured fast update rate except for string data
types. All string data requests are handled as one-shot reads or writes. String data is
read or written to data servers only at the configured scan interval for strings.
Some OPC client applications may use the OPC Server time bias setting as a storage
area for time zone information. This information might be used to display server time
stamps in a time zone other than UTC or the local time zone. OPC Explorer does not
use this information, but allows you to write the information to the server as a test.
4. Specify the % Deadband.
Some OPC servers support deadband for updates from analog data sources. The dead-
band value is a percentage of full-scale deflection, so the high and low limits for the
item must be known ahead of time. Deadband only affects updates between an OPC
client and a server. It has no effect on communication between an OPC Server and its
respective devices.

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5. Use the pull-down menu to select an I/O method.

OPC Explorer allows you to specify the method of communication to use with a
group. Synchronous I/O is generally reserved for testing and special operations. OPC
Explorer also allows you to choose between the 1.0a or 2.05a style of asynchronous
I/O. The normal recommended setting is Asynchronous I/O, which attempts to use
2.05a first, and 1.0a if that fails.

See Appendix K “OPC I/O Methods” for more information about OPC I/O

methods.

Figure D-4. Group Properties Dialog Box: Interfaces

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Adding OPC Items

To add OPC items to a group:
1. Choose Group > Add Items to open the Tag Studio main window.
Tag Studio is a utility for creating, validating, and adding OPC items (Figure D-5).

Figure D-5. Tag Studio Main Window

2. Enter an Item ID in the edit box, and click the right arrow.
The item appears in the list box on the right side of the window.
3. Double-click on an item to edit its settings.
The appearance of the arrow changes.
4. Choose File > Update and Return to Explorer to add the created items to the
OPC group and return to the Matrikon OPC Explorer main window.
In addition to an item ID, you can also specify an access path, a requested data type, and an active
state for each OPC item you add, as described in the following sections.

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Item ID 
 All OPC items must be identified by an item ID, a server specific string of characters that
uniquely identifies a source of data to OPC server. You can add the same item ID to multiple
groups.
1. Enter the item ID in the Item ID edit box.
2. Click the button next to this edit box to bring up the Tag Generator, a utility for
creating large numbers of tags that follow a known pattern.
The item ID format for AIM*AT OPC items is “ServerName\TagName\[Instance].”
Some examples of valid item IDs are:
 01AW01\BOILER_1:FIC101.RO01\hist01
 02AW01\COLUMN_A:FT100.PNT\
 03AW01\COMP:BLOCK.PARAM.
Refer to Appendix A “OPC Item Syntax” for additional information about the syntax for
item IDs.

Access Path 
Some OPC Servers allow clients to specify an access path in addition to an item ID, which sug-
gests to the server how it should access the data for a particular item. For example, it might specify
the method of communication to use for accessing the data (that is, radio, satellite, or modem).
Servers are under no obligation to use the access path, although they return errors if the access
path is invalid. The AIM*AT OPC Server software does not support access paths. Leave the access
path field blank.

Browsing the Server Address Space 

The AIM*AT OPC Server software supports browsing as a means of isolating users from the exact
syntax of its item IDs. The OPC standard enables clients to view the contents of a server to find a
particular data item and resolve it into a valid item ID. The server browsing capability is not pri-
marily intended for auto-generating OPC items.
 When you browse the OPC server, a tree view and list view appear in Tag Studio. The tree view
displays connected data servers and historian instances on each server, while the list view displays
the actual items that are available under the selected server or configured real-time points (RTPs)
under the historian instance.
The global branch enables you to access real-time points which may not be contained in an
historical instance.
The last branch of the tree in either the historical or global branches is known as the alpha browse
branch. Items are divided into alpha browse branches depending on the Max. items per Browse
Folder configuration parameter of the server. Items are divided alphabetically into these folders to
limit the number of items displayed. The name of the alpha browse folder is assigned dynamically
and indicates the names of the items contained in the folder.
 While browsing, you may apply a number of filter criteria to search for a particular type of item.
The syntax of the filter is vendor specific, but the algorithm recommended by the OPC Founda-
tion follows the same pattern as the Visual Basic “Like” function with respect to item names. For
example, “A*” filters out any item names that do not begin with the letter “A.” This filter can also
apply to branches.

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Items can be filtered by data type and access rights. Choosing a type other than Empty/Default
causes the browser to display only those items with the same canonical data type as that selected.
 Access rights are non exclusive. For example, selecting write access and deselecting read access dis-
plays only items that can be written to, regardless of their read accessibility. Selecting both should
filter nothing out.
1. Double-click on an item.

Tag Studio places the fully qualified item ID for that item in the edit box.
2. Right-click on the item.
3. Choose Add to Tag List to add the item using the previous item’s settings.
4. Choose Add All Items to Tag List to add every item under the branch.

Requested Data Type 

 All OPC items have a native, or canonical data type, a default format to the data that the server
supplies for an item. When creating OPC items, client applications can specify a requested data
type for each item. The OPC server attempts to convert any data from the item to this format if
possible. If the requested and canonical data types are incompatible, the server fails to validate the
item when it is added and displays a message to indicate the specific error.

Active State 
Like groups, OPC items can be active or inactive. See “Reading Real-Time Values” on page 98 for
more information about this setting.

Validating OPC Items 

To check the validity of the items you have created:
 Choose File > Validate Tags.
Tag Studio queries the server to determine whether the items are valid, and presents
the results as follows:
  A small red X next to an item indicates that it did not validate properly.
  A green checkmark indicates that the item is valid.
  A blue question mark indicates that the item has not yet been validated.

Reading Real-Time Values

Once items are added to an OPC group, Matrikon OPC Explorer continually updates the display
for that group with real-time data, as shown in Figure D-6. The data values appear in the list view
on the right side of the window. Each item is listed along with its item ID, access path, active

state, value, quality, and time stamp.

 When there are a number of groups created on an OPC Server, use:
 Group list view to navigate between different groups and to view the items in those
groups.
 Pull-down menu to navigate between the groups on different server connections.

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Data Display 
 Although the OPC server supplies data changes to Matrikon OPC Explorer at the update rate of
the group, a global setting specifies the refresh rate for the display in OPC Explorer (Figure D-6).
To set the refresh rate:
1. Choose View > Update Speed.
2. Select one of the four available options:
 High
 Normal
 Low
 Paused.
If the update speed is Paused, you can refresh the display by pressing the F5 on the
keyboard.

Figure D-6. OPC Item Data Display

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The item display has the following fields:

Item ID Displays the OPC Item ID.

 Access Path Not used in AIM*AT OPC Server software.

Status Indicates whether an item is active or inactive

Value Shows the current value for the item.

Time stamp Indicates the time that it was received from the data source to indicate
how fresh the data is.

Quality Indicates whether or not this value is valid, and why (See Appendix F
“Quality Flags” for a list of valid quality values).
The information panel at the bottom of the window presents status information about the
selected server and group.
To toggle the window between showing and hiding the status information:

 Choose View > Info Panel.

Advise Log 
To display a log of ongoing I/O transactions:
1. Choose View > Advise Log.
Right-click on the window.
2. Choose Clear Log to clear the displayed log.
3. Use the Option settings to keep the window above all other windows in the desktop,
and to keep the most recent entry visible at all times.

Writing Control Values

OPC Explorer allows you to write control values to items in an OPC group.
To write control values:
1. Select the desired OPC items in the list view.
The Item menu is added to the menu bar if it is not already included.
2. Choose Item > Write Values.
The Write Values dialog box appears, as shown in Figure D-7.

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Figure D-7. Write Values Dialog Box

3. Enter the control values to be written in the New Value column.

4. Specify the data types for the control values in the Data Type column.
5. Uncheck individual check boxes as required to avoid writing to individual items.
6. Click OK or Apply to perform the write.

NOTE
Control values can be written to items whether they or their group are active or
inactive. If the items and the group containing the items are both active, the written
control value should appear when the next update occurs. Also, the server may
contain read-only items. Values written to these items are discarded.

OPC Explorer also provides a Signal Generator to write ramping control values to OPC items.
To write ramping control values:
1. Click the Signal Generator tab in the Write Values dialog box.
2. Enter the high and low limits and the increment factor for the ramp wave.
3. Enter the time period in milliseconds, and press Start.
4. Press Stop or close the dialog box to finish writing the ramp wave.

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Setting OPC Explorer Options

To display the Options dialog box.
1. Choose View > Options to open the Options dialog box (Figure D-8).

Figure D-8. Options Dialog Box: General

The dialog box opens to the General tabbed page, which contains two options used by
 AIM*AT OPC Server applications:
 Errors specifies that the error dialog box should be displayed when COM or
OPC errors occur, or when errors occur for individual items.
 Sanity check ensures that the server keeps track of lists of groups and items
properly.
Session files are only stored as text files.
2. Click the check boxes of the OPC Explorer options you want to set.
3. Click Defaults to restore the options default settings.

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Data Transfer Options 

To set data transfer options:
1. Click the Data Transfer tab to switch to the Data Transfer page (Figure D-9).

Figure D-9. Options Dialog Box: Data Transfer

This option specifies the data source that OPC Explorer should use when requesting
values from the OPC server.
2. Select the Data Source as follows:
 Select Cache for normal operation.
 Use Device for special testing operations.
Device reads yield a serious performance penalty and can prevent servers from
functioning properly if they are used too often.
3. Select the Request time stamps with notification option for 1.0a asynchro-
nous I/O, to receive time stamps from the OPC Server.
Otherwise, OPC Explorer assumes the current time when it receives new values.

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4. Select Request asynchronous refreshes to use asynchronous refresh transactions

 when updating the display.
  When the option is grayed, OPC Explorer uses synchronous reads for 2.05a I/O
or asynchronous reads from CACHE for 1.0a I/O when updating the display.
  When the option is not selected, OPC Explorer simply receives values passively
from the server.
5. Select Respect access rights when writing values to avoid including read-
only items in the Write Values dialog box.
Otherwise, OPC Explorer allows you to write values to any items.

Data Display Options 

To set the OPC Explorer Data Display options:
1. Click the Data Display tab to switch to the Data Display page (Figure D-10).

Figure D-10. Options Dialog Box: Data Display

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2. Select Display value qualities as text to show a text description of the item
quality in the Quality field rather than a numeric value.
Deselect this option if the quality value contains vendor-specific information in the
upper byte.
3. Deselect Display time stamps using local time zone to display the time
stamps in UTC rather than local time.

COM Options 
The COM tabbed page (Figure D-11) is used to specify the class context flags to be used when
OPC Explorer attempts to connect to an OPC server. Do not deselect any of these flags unless
absolutely necessary.

Figure D-11. Options Dialog Box: COM

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Appendix E. OPC Compliance 

This appendix provides a list of OPC features supported by the AIM*AT OPC Server.

The AIM*AT
Standard. OPC
It also Serversome
supports complies
of thefully with the
optional OPC Data
capabilities, Access 2.05a
including Custom
backward Interface for
compatibility
the old style of asynchronous communication found in the 1.0a specification.
The information in this appendix is arranged as follows:
 Supported server object interfaces
 Supported group object interfaces
 Supported HDA interfaces
  AIM*AT OPC Server Registry entries.

NOTE
In the tables that follow, optional interfaces appear in square brackets.

Supported Server Object Interfaces

Table E-1 lists the server object interfaces supported by AIM*AT OPC Server.

Table E-1. Supported Server Object Interfaces

Supported Interface Notes

 Yes IUnknown
 Yes IOPCCommon Locales Supported: English
(United States).
 Yes IOPCServer
No [IOPCServerPublicGroups] Public groups not supported.
 Yes [IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace] Hierarchical, no access paths.
No [IPersistFile] (Not required.)
 Yes IConnectionPointContainer
 Yes IConnectionPoint (IOPCShutdown) Multiple connections allowed.
 Yes IOPCItemProperties All servers support the six OPC-specific
properties. Some may also support other
standard or custom properties.

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Supported Group Object Interfaces

Table E-2 lists the group object interfaces supported by AIM*AT OPC Server software.

Table E-2. Supported Group Object Interfaces

Supported Interface Notes

 Yes IUnknown
 Yes IOPCItemMgt
 Yes IOPCGroupStateMgt
No [IOPCPublicGroupStateMgt] Public groups not supported.
 Yes IOPCSyncIO
 Yes IOPCAsyncIO2
 Yes IConnectionPointContainer
 Yes IConnectionPoint (IOPCDataCallback) Multiple connections allowed.
 Yes [IOPCAsyncIO] (1.0a) Data streams support simple data
types, strings, and one-dimensional
arrays of simple data types and
strings.
 Yes [IDataObject] (1.0a) Multiple connections allowed for all
three formats.

Supported DA Methods
Table E-3 lists the methods for each OPC DA interface and indicates whether the method is sup-
ported by AIM*AT OPC Server software. Some of the interfaces defined by the specification are
optional interfaces and are not required for OPC servers.

Table E-3. Supported Data Access Methods by Interface

OPC
Interface Requirement Supported 
Server Interfaces
IOPCCommon Required Yes
 SetLocaleID Required Yes
 GetLocaleID Required Yes

QueryAvailableLocaleIDs Required Yes
 GetErrorString Required Yes
 SetClientName Required Yes
IOPCServer Required Yes
  AddGroups Required Yes
 GetErrorString Required Yes
 GetGroupByName Required Yes
 GetStatus Required Yes

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Table E-3. Supported Data Access Methods by Interface (Continued)

OPC
Interface Requirement Supported 
 RemoveGroups Required Yes
 CreateGroupEnumerator Required Yes

IConnectionPointContainer Required Yes

 EnumConnectionPoints Required Yes
 FindConnectionPoint Required Yes
IOPCItemProperties Required Yes
 QueryAvailableProperties Required Yes
 GetItemProperties Required Yes
 LookupItemIDs Required Yes
IOPCBrowseServerAddressSpace Optional Yes
 QueryOrganization Optional Yes

 ChangeBrowsePosition Optional Yes

 BrowseOPCItemIDs Optional Yes
 GetItemID Optional Yes
 BrowseAccessPaths Optional Yes
IOPCServerPublicGroups Optional No
 GetPublicGroupByName Optional No
 RemovePublicGroups Optional No
IPersistFile Optional No
 IsDirty Optional No

 Load Optional No
 Save Optional No
 SaveCompleted Optional No
 GetCurFileByName Optional No
IUnknown (all methods) Required Yes
Group Interfaces
IOPCGroupStateMgt Required Yes
 GetState Required Yes
 SetState Required Yes
 SetName Required Yes
 CloneGroup Required Yes
IOPCSyncIO Required Yes
 Read Required Yes
  Write Required Yes
IOPCAsyncIO Obsolete Yes
 Read Obsolete Yes

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Table E-3. Supported Data Access Methods by Interface (Continued)

OPC
Interface Requirement Supported 
  Write Obsolete Yes
 Cancel Obsolete Yes

 Refresh Obsolete Yes

IOPCASyncIO2 Required Yes
 Read Required Yes
  Write Required Yes
 Cancel2 Required Yes
 Refresh2 Required Yes
 SetEnable Required Yes
 GetEnable Required Yes
IOPCItemMgt Required Yes

  AddItems Required Yes

 ValidateItems Required Yes
 RemoveItems Required Yes
 SetActiveState Required Yes
 SetClientHandles Required Yes
 SetDataTypes Required Yes
 CreateEnumerator Required Yes
IConnectionPointContainer Required Yes
 EnumConnectionPoints Required Yes

 FindConnectionPoint Required Yes

IDataObject Obsolete Yes
 DAdvise Obsolete Yes
 DUnadvise Obsolete Yes
IOPCPublicGroupStateMgt Optional No
 GetState Optional No
 MoveToPublic Optional No
EnumOPCItemAttributes
IEnumOPCItemAttributes Required Yes
 Next Required Yes
 Skip Required Yes
 Reset Required Yes
 Clone Required Yes

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Supported HDA Interfaces

Table E-4 lists historical data access (HDA) interfaces supported by AIM*AT OPC Server
software.

Table E-4. Supported HDA Interfaces

Supported Interface Notes

 Yes IUnknown
 Yes IOPCCommon
 Yes IOPCHDA_Server
 Yes IOPCHDA_Browser
 Yes IOPCHDA_SyncRead Up to 1023 data points per call.
 Yes IOPCHDA_SyncUpdate Insert only.
No IOPCHDA_SyncAnnotations Not supported.
 Yes IOPCHDA_AsyncRead Up to 1023 data points per call.
 Yes IOPCHDA_AsyncUpdate Insert only.
No IOPCHDA_AsyncAnnotations Not supported.
 Yes IOPCHDA_Playback 
 Yes IConnectionPointContainer
 Yes IOPCHDA_DataCallback 

Supported HDA Methods

Table E-5 lists the methods for each HDA interface and indicates whether the method is sup-
ported by AIM*AT OPC Server. Some of the interfaces defined by the specification are optional

interfaces andserver
cates that the are not required
returns the for OPC and
message servers.
thatE_NOTIMPL in the
the method is not yetSupported column
implemented indi-
in AIM*AT
OPC Server software.
 
Table E-5. Supported HDA Methods by Interface

OPC
Interface Name Requirement Supported 
Synchronous Interfaces
IOPCCommon Required Yes

 SetLocaleID Required Yes

 GetLocaleID Required Yes
 QueryAvailableLocaleIDs Required Yes
 GetErrorString Required Yes
 SetClientName Required Yes
IOPCHDA_Server Required Yes
 GetItemAttributes Required Yes
 GetAggregates Required Yes

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Table E-5. Supported HDA Methods by Interface (Continued)

OPC
Interface Name Requirement Supported 
 GetHistorianStatus Required Yes
 GetItemHandles Required Yes

 ReleaseItemHandles Required Yes

 ValidateItemIDs Required Yes
 CreateBrowse Required Yes
IOPCHDA_Browser Required Yes
 GetEnum Required Yes
 ChangeBrowsePosition Required Yes
 GetItemID Required Yes
 GetBranchPosition Required Yes
IOPCHDA_SyncRead Required Yes

 ReadRaw Required Yes

 ReadProcessed Required Yes
 ReadAtTime Required Yes
 ReadModified Required E_NOTIMPL
 ReadAttribute Required E_NOTIMPL
IOPCHDA_SyncUpdate Optional Yes
 QueryCapabilities Optional Yes
 Insert Optional Yes
 Replace Optional E_NOTIMPL

 InsertReplace Optional E_NOTIMPL

 DeleteRaw Optional E_NOTIMPL
 DeleteAtTime Optional E_NOTIMPL
IOPCHDA_SyncAnnotations Optional No
 QueryCapabilities Optional No
 Read Optional No
 Insert Optional No
 Asynchronous Interfaces
IOPCHDA_AsyncRead Optional Yes
 ReadRaw Optional Yes
  AdviseRaw Optional Yes
 ReadProcessed Optional Yes
  AdviseProcessed Optional Yes
 ReadAtTime Optional Yes
 ReadModified Optional E_NOTIMPL
 ReadAttribute Optional Yes

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Table E-5. Supported HDA Methods by Interface (Continued)

OPC
Interface Name Requirement Supported 
 Cancel Optional Yes
IOPCHDA_AsyncUpdate Optional Yes

 QueryCapabilities Optional Yes

 Insert Optional Yes
 Replace Optional E_NOTIMPL
 InsertReplace Optional E_NOTIMPL
 DeleteRaw Optional E_NOTIMPL
 DeleteAtTime Optional E_NOTIMPL
 Cancel Optional Yes
IOPCHDA_AsyncAnnotations Optional No
 QueryCapabilities Optional No

 Read Optional No
 Insert Optional No
 Cancel Optional No
IOPCHDA_Playback Optional Yes
 ReadRawWithUpdate Optional Yes
 ReadProcessedWithUpdate Optional Yes
 Cancel Optional Yes
IConnectionPointContainer Required for  Yes
 Asyc
 EnumConnectionPoints Required for  Yes
 Asyc
 FindConnectionPoint Required for  Yes
 Asyc
IUnknown (all methods) Required Yes

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AIM*AT OPC Server Registry Entries

In compliance with the OPC and COM specifications, the AIM*AT OPC Server setup program
makes the Registry entries listed in Table E-6 under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT when registered
on a target system. These entries are removed when the server is unregistered.

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

Registry Key Value

 AIM.OPC AIM*AT OPC Server
 AIM.OPC \CLSID {CLSID1} AD853BF1-1E22-11D5-9038-
0050DA 19 DDDA 
 AIM.OPC \CurVer AIM.OPC.1
 AIM.OPC \OPC\Vendor Invensys Process Systems
 AIM.OPC.1 AIM*AT OPC Server
 AIM.OPC \CLSID {CLSID1}

CLSID\{CLSID1} AIM*AT OPC Server

CLSID\{CLSID1}\APPID {APPID} = CLSID1
CLSID\{CLSID1}\DefaultConfig (initially empty)
CLSID\{CLSID1}\ProgID AIM.OPC.1
CLSID\{CLSID1}\VersionIndependentProgID AIM.OPC
CLSID\Implemented Categories 1 options (configurator setting)
CLSID\{CLSID1}\LocalServer32 (path to server executable)
PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1 Foxboro AIM OPC Server
PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1\CLSID {CLSID2} AD853BF1-1E22-11D5-9038-

0050DA 19 DDDA 
PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1\ShellPath (path to PSTCFG.EXE)
PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1\HelpFile (path to .HLP file, if it exists)
CLSID\{CLSID2} AIM*AT OPC Server
CLSID\{CLSID2}\APPID {APPID}
CLSID\{CLSID2}\ProgID PSTCFGAIM.OPC.1
CLSID\{CLSID2}\LocalServer32 (path to server executable)
 APPID\{APPID} AIM*AT OPC Server

The AIM*AT OPC Server also registers itself with the Microsoft Standard Component Category
Manager. After ensuring that the OPC 1.0 and 2.05a categories exist, the server registers in both
of these categories. The OPC Server browser searches for servers that implement these categories.

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Appendix F. Quality Flags 

This appendix provides a list of standard and HDA quality flags used by the AIM*AT OPC
Server software.
The OPC quality flags represent the quality of an item’s data value. The lower byte is a bit field
used to convey standard quality values. The high byte is available for vendor-specific use
complementary to the standard values.

Standard Quality Flags

Table F-1 lists the range of valid quality values (ignoring the vendor-specific bits). Please refer to
the OPC DA 2.05a specification for further information.

Table F-1. Standard Quality Flags

Binary Decimal Definition Description

00000000 0 Bad, Non-specific The value is bad (no specific reason).
00000100 4 Bad, Configuration Error There is a server-specific problem with
the configuration.
00001000 8 Bad, Not Connected The input should be logically
connected to something but is not.
00001100 12 Bad, Device Failure A device failure has been detected.
00010000 16171819 Bad, Sensor Failure +  A sensor failure has been detected. The
00010001 Low Limit + High Limit value may be pegged as indicated by
00010010 + Constant the limit field.
00010011
00010100 20 Bad, Last Known Value Communications have failed. The item
value represents the last known value.
00011000 24 Bad, Comm Failure Communications have failed. There is
no last known value.
00011100 28 Bad, Out of Service The block is off-scan or otherwise
locked, or the group or item is inactive.
01000000 64 Uncertain, Non-specific The value is uncertain (no specific
reason).
01000100 68 Uncertain, Last Usable  Whatever was writing this value has
Value stopped doing so. The value is stale.
01010000 808182 Uncertain, Sensor Not The value may be pegged at one of its
01010001  Accurate + Low Limit + limits or it is detected as being out of
01010010 High Limit calibration.

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Table F-1. Standard Quality Flags (Continued)

Binary Decimal Definition Description

01010100 84858687 Uncertain, EU Exceeded The returned value is outside the
01010101 + Low Limit + High engineering unit limits defined for this
01010110 Limit + Constant parameter.
01010111
01011000 88 Uncertain, Subnormal The value is derived from multiple
sources, an insufficient number of
them are good.
11000000 192 Good, Nonspecific The value is good (no specific reason).
11011000 216 Good, Local Override The value has been overridden and
forced to a manually entered setting.

HDA Quality Flags

The OPC HDA Quality flags are returned as a 32-bit number. Bits 15-0 are the DA 2.05a OPC
Quality flags while bits 31-16 are defined in Table F-2.

Table F-2. HDA Quality Flags

Binary Decimal Definition Description

00000001 1 OPCHDA_EXTRADATA More than one piece of data that
may be hidden resides at the same
time stamp.
00000010 2 OPCHDA_INTERPOLATIVE Interpolated data value.
00000100 4 OPCHDA_RAW Raw data value.
00001000 8 OPCHDA_CALCULATED Calculated data value.
00010000 16 OPCHDA_NOBOUND No data found to provide upper or
lower bound value.
00100000 32 OPCHDA_NODATA No data collected. Archiving not
active (for item or all items).
01000000 64 OPCHDA_DATALOST Collection started/stopped/lost.
10000000 128 OPCHDA_CONVERSION Scaling/conversion error.

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Appendix G. Variant Data Types 

This appendix lists the constant numeric values used for VARIANT data types and describes
how AIM*AT data types are mapped to VARIANT data types.
Table G-1 lists the constant numeric values for VARIANT data types.

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

 Value Data Type Description

0 VT_EMPTY Default/Empty (Nothing)
2 VT_I2 2 byte signed integer
3 VT_I4 4 byte signed integer
4 VT_R4 4 byte real
5 VT_R8 8 byte real
6 VT_CY currency  
7 VT_DATE date
8 VT_BSTR text
10 VT_ERROR error code
11 VT_BOOL Boolean (TRUE = 1, FALSE = 0)
17 VT_I1 1 byte signed character
18 VT_UI1 1 byte unsigned character
19 VT_UI2 2 byte unsigned integer
20 VT_UI4 4 byte unsigned integer
+8192 VT_ARRAY Array of values (that is, 8200 = array of text values)

Table G-2 shows how AIM*AT data types are mapped to VARIANT data types.

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

 AIM*AT Data Type VARIANT Data Type

FH_CHAR VT_I4
FH_INTEGER VT_I4
FH_FLOAT VT_R4
FH_BOOLEAN VT_BOOL
FH_LONG VT_I4
FH_SHORT VT_I4

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Table G-2. AIM*AT to VARIANT Data Type Mappings (Continued)

 AIM*AT Data Type VARIANT Data Type

FH_INT_PACKED VT_UI4 or VT_BOOL, depending on whether the item ID has the
suffix .bn
FH_LONG_PACKED VT_UI4 or VT_BOOL, depending on whether the item ID has the
suffix .bn
FH_FLOAT_ARRAY VT_ARRAY | VT_R4
FH_STRING VT_BSTR  

The mapped VARIANT types are the canonical types of the OPC server. For example, if an OPC
client adds an OPC item that refers to a field that is an FH_SHORT in data server, the canonical
data type for that item is VT_I4. If a data type other than VT_EMPTY is specified by the client
 when adding the item, that data type is always converted to VT_I4 first.

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Appendix H. Bit Mapping I/A Series

Status Codes to OPC Status Codes 
This appendix defines the status bit mapping of real-time status codes to OPC status codes.
Status bit mapping is based on the following table:

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

31 (msb) 3 to 0
to 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 to 5 4 (lsb)
   d
  s
  u
  t
  t   a
  t
  n
   I   s
  w
  o    h
  g
   i    d
 .    k   t
  c
  e   e
   L    H   n   c    O   n   p
   d   o
  c   e
  s    /
  s   n   y
  e    d
  e    d   w   n   n    i   o   e    T
  v
  r   r   t   e
  t   o   u    D    C
    g   e
  e   o    i    i    d    S    /    U
   /    /   n
  a   u
  s
  e   r
  r   m   m   a    O    k
  c   c    d
  a    M    h    l
  a
   I    i    h   e
   R    E    L    L    S    O    A    S    B    O    C    V

 AIM*AT qualities are converted to standard OPC qualities. The mapping of AIM*AT real-time
status codes to OPC status codes is shown below:

 AIM*AT Real-time Status Word OPC Status Code

Bit#8 Bad - non specific
Bit#11 Bad - Out of Service
Bit#15 Bad – uncertain

The following flow diagram shows how the mapping is done for real-time data:

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boo1bQual, bOOS, bError

Set bQual to true if bit 8 is on
Set bOOS to true if bit 11 is on

true false
bQual or bOOS

wStatus = Q BAD true

bError

wStatus = Q UNCERTAIN
false
false
bOOS
wStatus = Q_GOOD

return
wStatus = Q_BAD S_BAD_OUTOFSERV
wStatus

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

The constants are defined as follows:

#define Q_BAD 0x0000
#define Q_UNCERTAIN 0x0040
#define Q_GOOD 0x00C0
#define S_BAD_OUTOFSERV 0x001C
#define S_BAD_NOTCONN 0x0008
#define S_BAD_LASTKNOWN 0x0014

Other cases:
If a tag cannot be added, the status is set to Q_BAD | S_BAD_NOTCONN.
If a tag stops being updated, the status is set to Q_BAD | S_BAD_LASTKNOWN.

Qualities returned from historical queries indicate both the DA quality tag and the Historical data
access quality. Bits 15-0 or the quality word indicate the DA quality information, and Bits 31-16
indicate the Historical Data access quality. The following flow diagram shows how the quality is
determined:

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bool bUnavail, bOOR, bPartial

Set bUnavail to true if bit 7 is on
Set bOOR to true if bit 8 is on (out of collected range)
Set bPartial to true if bit 9 is on

true
bUnavail

false true

wStatus = Q BAD bOOR or bPartial

false wStatus = Q UNCERTAIN

wStatus = Q_GOOD

return
wStatus

Figure H-2. Flow Diagram for Quality of Returned Historical Data

The historical data access qualities that are “and’d” into the DA quality word are shown below.

Associated DA
Quality Values Description Value Quality
OPCHDA_EXTRADATA More than one piece of data that may be 0x00010000 Good, Bad, Quest.
hidden exists at same timestamp.
OPCHDA_INTERPOLATED Interpolated data value. 0x00020000 Good, Bad, Quest.
OPCHDA_RAW Raw data value. 0x00040000 Good, Bad, Quest.
OPCHDA_CALCULATED Calculated data value, as would be 0x00080000 Good, Bad, Quest.
returned from a ReadProcessed call.
OPCHDA_NOBOUND No data found to provide upper or lower 0x00100000 Bad
bound value.
OPCHDA_NODATA No data collected. Archiving not active (for 0x00200000 Bad

item or all items).

OPCHDA_DATALOST Collection started/stopped/lost 0x00400000 Bad
OPCHDA_CONVERSION Scaling/conversion error 0x00800000 Bad, Quest.

 When a historical value is returned to an OPC client, the quality is set with the corresponding bit
set for the particular operation. For instance, the quality for returning raw historical data is done
this way:
m_dwQuality = (PSTHDA_RAW << 16) | AIMQualityToPXPQuality(iSta-
tus[0]);

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 where:
m_dwQuality 32-bit integer
PSTHDA_RAW Bit position for raw historical data 
AIMQualityTOPXPQual- Function depicted by the first flow diagram in Figure H-1
ity

IStatus[0] Status of the value returned via a call to GetFoxHistRtpValues

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Appendix I. Timestamp to OPC 

This appendix describes the timestamp used by OPC.

For
Thereal-time data, theCoFileTimeNow
Win32 function current time is used when
is used tothe
get I/A
thedata server
current reports
time. Thisthe newtime
is the value of a tag.
format
accepted by OPC. For historical data, the time value from the I/A server is converted to
FILETIME as is, regardless whether it is UTC or I/A time. The definition of CoFileTimeNow is
as follows:
CoFileTimeNow 
Returns the current time as a FILETIME structure.
HRESULT CoFileTimeNow(
  FILETIME * lpFileTime   //Pointer to return the structure
);
Parameter
LpFileTime
[out] Pointer to return the FILETIME structure.
Return Values
S_OK 

The FILETIME structure:

FILETIME

The FILETIME data structure is a 64-bit value representing the number of 100-nanosecond

intervals since January 1, 1601. It is the means by which Win32 determines the date and time. It
is defined as follows:
typedef struct STRUCT tagFILETIME
{
  DWORD dwLowDateTime;
  DWORD dwHighDateTime;
} FILETIME;
 
Members
dwLowDateTime 
The low 32 bits of the Win32 date/time value.
dwHighDateTime 
The upper 32 bits of the Win32 date/time value.

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Appendix J. How to Configure

Secured Read/Write Connections 
This appendix describes the procedures to configure secured read/write connections.
The AIM*OPC Server has the ability to establish secured read/write connections to I/A Series
Compound Block Parameters. It is recommended that secured connections be established if you
plan to issue more than 2 writes per second total. Secured connections do not use the broadcast
mechanism to issue the write command.
To create secured connections:
 Create a secured points file in ASCII text format:
 The file contains item_ids of those points to which the secured connections will
be established.
 Each item_id should be on a separate line in the file.
 An example is shown below:
  AW7001\MYCOMPOUND:CALC1.RI01
  AW7001\MYCOMPOUND:CALC2.RI01
 Only points to which the client writes values should be included in the file.
For example, if you have an advanced control application using OPC and intend
to read 10 process values, calculate a setpoint and write the setpoint back to the
I/A Series system. Only the C:B.P of the setpoint needs to be added into the
secured writes file.

 The name and location of the file are not important.

To configure the OPC server to use the secured writes file:
1. Open the AIM*OPC Server Configurator.
2. Select the Advanced tab. In the entry field AIM*secured writes point file,
enter the full path name of the secured writes file.
Either manually type in the file name or use the browse button to locate the secured
 writes file.
3. To save the configuration to the hard drive, from the menu bar, select File > 
SaveAs. 
To configure the server to read the configuration file on start-up:
1. Select View > Options from the menu bar.
2. Under the General tab, check the Load configuration file on startup option.
3. Enter the configuration file name in the entry field.
The AIM*OPC server must be restarted in order for the changes to take effect.
By using the secured writes file, the OPC Server establishes secured connections for writes to
those points listed in the file. The server still makes unsecured writes to points not contained in
the secured writes file.

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To disable writes to unsecured points,

 Uncheck the Allow secured writes option in the Advanced tab of the configura-
tor. This option disables writes to all points except those listed in the secured writes
file.

NOTE
If this Allow secured writes option is changed, the configuration must be saved
to a config file and then loaded at server startup (similar to the secured writes file
option) in order for the changes to take effect.

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Appendix K. OPC I/O Methods 

This appendix describes the data I/O methods available from OPC servers.

NOTE
Please refer to the OPC DA 2.05a specification for further information.

Synchronous Versus Asynchronous I/O

 All OPC compliant servers must provide two distinct methods for real-time data access. OPC
clients can choose between synchronous and asynchronous I/O for their operations. All OPC
servers must support both synchronous I/O and at least one form of asynchronous I/O, 2.05a or
1.0a. These terms only refer to communication between the client and the server, not between the
server and its data source.
Synchronous operations are blocking calls made to an OPC server to either read or write a group
of OPC items. When an OPC client makes a synchronous call, it passes control to the OPC
server and does not continue processing until the call is complete. Synchronous operations are
only used for testing, special operations (generally involving DEVICE reads), or in extremely
simple OPC clients.
 Asynchronous operations are non-blocking. OPC client applications establish call-back objects to
 which the OPC server can interface to deliver item updates. Once this call-back is established, the
OPC server continually informs the client of changes in value to OPC items as they occur, being
careful not to exceed the OPC group update rate and potentially overwhelm the client.

OPC clients include

transactions may alsoreading
create asynchronous
from DEVICE, transactions
refreshing to
of perform
all activenon-passive
items in an operations. These
active group, and
 writing control values. Once the client creates a transaction, it can carry on processing until the
OPC server informs it that the transaction is complete through the client’s call-back object. The
server also returns an ID number when a transaction is created so that the client can try to cancel
it if it is taking too long.
 Asynchronous I/O is the normal preferred method for continuous real-time data access. However,
synchronous I/O can be useful for scenarios involving infrequent or one-shot data access
operations.

Device Versus Cache Reads

 When an OPC client creates a group and adds items to it, the OPC server attempts to retrieve val-
ues for active items from its source of data. Internally, it maintains a data cache, which it attempts
to update at least as fast as indicated by the update rate of the group. The server optimizes regular
communication with its source of data for best performance while keeping the cache fresh.
If you need to retrieve real-time values directly from the data source (by-passing the regular opti-
mization routines of the cache and the time delays they might impose), OPC provides the means
to do this using device reads through either synchronous or asynchronous I/O.

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Device reads may be performed at any time on specific items in a group. They ignore the update
rate and active state of the group or items involved. Due to the fact that they by-pass normal
optimization routines, however, device reads should be used sparingly as they can incur severe
performance penalties in the server.
 A scenario where a synchronous read from a device might be useful is in the case of a utility for
altering a series of set points in the device. The client application might create an inactive group

 with theasdesired
current items
possible. Theand perform
utility a device
can then read.
display theWhen theallow
values, call completes,
the user to the
alteritem values
them, andare
syn-as
chronously write them out to the device. This can be followed by a second device read to ensure
that the values were written.
Had a device read not been used, it could take some time before the server receives the first values
for the group after it is activated. Additionally, there is no guarantee that the values would all
arrive in the same update. A device read ensures that the values all arrive at the same time.
Technically, write operations are always device writes. However, there is no point in writing to the
cache, so this terminology is redundant.

OPC DA 2.05a Versus 1.0a Asynchronous I/O

 With the release of the OPC Data Access Version 2.05a Custom Interface Standard, the OPC
Foundation included a new method for asynchronous I/O intended to replace the Version 1.0a
standard. While some OPC servers may continue to support the old method of asynchronous
I/O, they are under no obligation to do so. The new method is simpler, easier to implement, and
avoids errors that occurred with slow client applications using the old method.
Older OPC clients that require 1.0a interfaces are not able to communicate properly with new
OPC servers that support only the 2.05a interfaces. Similarly, newer OPC clients that require
2.05a interfaces are not able to communicate with old OPC servers that only support the 1.0a
interfaces. Vendors of software that require or support 1.0a interfaces are encouraged to update to
the 2.05a standard, which is intended to replace the 1.0a standard.
 AIM*AT OPC Server software supports both DA 2.05a and 1.0a asynchronous I/O, and is thus
able to communicate with OPC clients that depend on either method with an OPC server. OPC
clients that support both methods generally attempt to use the 2.05a method first and then resort
to 1.0a if that fails.

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Appendix L. Alias Configuration 

This appendix provides additional information about the configuration of aliases for OPC
items in an AIM*AT OPC Server application.

Scaling Expressions
Table L-1 lists and describes the syntax for scaling expressions used in AIM*AT OPC Server
aliases.

Table L-1. Alias Scaling Expressions

Expression Description Examples

‘text’ Text value (enclosed in ‘hello’ Joe’s Alias’
single quotation marks).
+  * / Addition (or Append), (3 * 7 + 1) / 8  2
Subtraction, Multiplica- ‘hi ’ + ‘there’
tion, and Division.
= < > <> <= >= Equal To, Less Than, 3<4
Greater Than, Unequal
To, Less or Equal To,
Greater or Equal To.
Not And Or Logical Not, Logical And, (7  3) And (1 <> 0)(12 And 5) = 4
Logical Or may also be
used for binary math.
TIME Current time as text. ‘The time is ’ + TIME
DATE Current date as text. ‘Today is ’ + DATE
INT(x) Returns the integer part INT(3.14) = 3
of x.
FRAC(x) Returns the fractional part FRAC(3.14) = 0.14
of x.
SQRT(x) Returns the square root SQRT(16) = 4
of x.
DIV(x, y) Divides x by y. DIV(42, 7) = 6
IF(expression, x, y) Returns x if expression IF(6  12, ‘OK’, ‘Bad’) = ‘OK’
evaluates to TRUE,
otherwise returns y 
TRUE FALSE Constant Boolean true (5 > 6) = FALSE
and false

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Table L-1. Alias Scaling Expressions (Continued)

Expression Description Examples

TYPEOF(x) Returns the data type of x TYPEOF(‘hello’) = ‘STRING’
as a text description
(‘STRING’, ‘INTEGER’,
‘FLOAT’, ‘BOOLEAN’,
‘ERROR’).
STR(x) Converts the numeric STR(3.14) = ‘3.14’
value x to text.
UPPER(x)LOWER  Converts the text value x UPPER(‘hello’) = ‘HELLO’
(x)PRETTY(x) to all uppercase or LOWER(‘HI THERE’) =
lowercase letters, or the ‘hi there’ PRETTY(‘ALARM’) =
first letter uppercase and ‘Alarm’
the rest lowercase.
COPY(x, start, length) Returns a substring of the COPY(‘FIDDLE’, 2, 4) = ‘IDDL
x, copying length charac-
ters starting at start.
FORMATNUMERIC(mask, x) Converts the numeric FORMATNUMERIC('####.#',
value x to text using the 123.4567) = ‘123.5’
format mask.
INPUT The incoming value read INPUT * 3.1415
from OPC item.
OUTPUT The outgoing value OUTPUT / 3.1415
 written to OPC item.

Alias Configuration
 AIM*AT OPC Server imports andCSV
exports File Formatdata in .CSV format files (see
alias configuration
Table L-2).
Comma-delimited text files (CSV) contain records on each line. Commas separate the individual
fields in a record. If the data within a field contains commas or spaces in itself, then the data is
enclosed in double quotation marks (““). If the data contains a double quotation mark within
itself, then two double quotation marks are used in place. Lines beginning with a hash mark (-)
are ignored as comments.
Each record in an alias configuration CSV file has the following general format:
“Alias Group”, “Alias Name”, “Item Path”, <data type>, <read-only>,
<poll always>, <update rate>, <scaling> [, <scaling parameters>...]
For example:
“North.FIC101”,”CV”,”Com1.Plc1.4:0001F”,5,1,0,0,0
describes the syntax used in an alias configuration CSV file.

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Appendix L. Alias Configuration B0400DG – Rev C

Table L-2. Alias Configuration CSV File Syntax

Field Description
“Alias Group” The name of the alias group folder to which the alias
item is added. Periods in this name indicate subfolders
below the root (that is, North.FIC101 = folder North
under the root and subfolder “FIC101” under that).
“Alias Nam” The alias item name. To access a particular item from
an OPC client, the full pathname is delimited with
periods (that is, North.FIC101.CV).
“Item Path” The fully qualified item ID for the OPC item to which
this alias refers.
<data type> A number indicating the data type to convert the value
to before it is returned to the OPC client. This also
appears as the canonical data type for the alias when
browsing. Use as zero in this field for the default data
type of the referenced OPC item.
<read-only> The number one in this field indicates that the alias
cannot be written to. The number zero indicates that it
can.
<poll always>,<update rate> These values are used in conjunction to ensure that an
OPC item is always being scanned whether the client is
presently using it or not. Set the “poll always” value to a
one for the item to be scanned continuously, and spec-
ify the update rate in milliseconds. Otherwise, set both
values to zero.

<scaling> Indicates which type of scaling is applied to the alias

item. The parameters that follow this value depend on
the type used. Possible scaling types are; 0 (none),
1 (linear), 2 (square root), (gain/offset), and
4 (expression).
<high raw>,<low raw>,<high scaled>, Linear or square-root scaling parameters include the
<low scaled>,<clamp> raw high and low values, scaled high and low values,
and a clamping option. Possible clamp types are:
0 (none), 1 (clamp low value), 2 (clamp high value),
and 3 (clamp both high and low values).
<gain>,<offset> Gain/offset scaling parameters include a scaling factor
and an offset.
“Input Expression, Output Expression” Expression scaling parameters include input and out-
put expressions. The input expression is applied to the
value from the OPC item when reading. The output
expression is applied to values going to the OPC item
 when writing. These equations should be reciprocals of
each other.

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Index 

.CSV format files 130

A
 About this document xiii
 Access Path 97
 Active State 98
 Activity logging, enabling 83
 Adding OPC groups 93
 Adding OPC items 96
 Advanced OPC server options 54
OPC group update rate 54
time granularity 54
 Advanced performance option settings 86
 Advanced server configuration options 73
 Advanced server parameter
 AIM*AT server list 49
fast scan interval 49
max items per browse folder 49
max items per netAPI object 49
scan interval for string 49
slow scan interval 49
 Aggregate Validity Threshold 47, 72
 AIM*AT API Server Component
installing 13
 AIM*AT ApiAdmin 13
 AIM*AT OPC Server
configuring 67, 70
configuring DCOM for 57
configuring the AIM server 10
illustration of 2
installing 7
item ID 55
licensing 9
obtaining authorization code 10
OPC compliance 107
overview of 1
system requirements 5
 AIM*AT Server List 49, 74
 AIM*OPC Configurator 7, 19
 AIM*OPC configurator
alias configuration page 33
starting 19
 Alias

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browsing for 35
creating new alias in OPC client 36
deleting 35
selecting 35
 Alias configuration 129
 Alias configuration CSV file format 130
 Alias Configuration Page 33
 Alias, creating 35
 Alias, editing 38
 Aliases, creating 76
 Aliases. viewing configured 78
 API*AT Server Timeout 72
 Audience, document xiii
 Authorization code 10

B 
Backup For Saved Configuration 50
Blue question mark 98
Browsing for tags 25
Browsing for Tags In Order To Assign Aliases 35
Browsing the Server Address Space 97
Buttons
alias configuration page 34
Delta configuration page 25
insert 34
Buttons, delete selected aliases 35
Buttons, edit selected alias 34
Buttons, insert new alias 34

C 
Canonical data type 118
Check boxes
Delta configuration page 25
Clear All 25
Buttons
clear all 35
COM options 105
Commit all log file writes 84
Configuration file
creating tags, updating tags, creating alias 23
defining OPC server parameters 22
defining settings 22
Configuration file, saving to 41
Configuration utility, main window 68
Configuration utility, server 67
Configurator
OPC server 19
Control values, writing to OPC items 100
Create Items when they are browsed 47, 72

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Creating A New Alias 36

Creating an alias 35

D 
Data display 99
DCOM Configuration 79
Dead-band support
Delete Selected 94 35
Aliases
Delete Selected Tags 25
Deleting alias tags 35
Deleting tags 27
Delta configuration page
clear all tags 25
delete selected tags 25
set deltas of imported tags 25
set deltas of selected tags 25
Delta values
changing 29
Delta Values, changing 31
Device versus cache reads 127
Display time stamps using local time zone 105
Display value qualities as text 105

E 
Edit Selected Alias 34
Editing A Selected Alias 38
Export Aliases 79
Expressions, scaling 129

F 
Fast Scan Interval 49, 73

G 
General logging settings 52, 83
General options 50
backup for saved configuration 50
load configuration on startup 51
restrict items to preconfigured aliases 51
General servervalidity
aggregate parameters
threshold 47
create items when they are browsed 47
NetAPI Server Timeout 47
Server Connection Ping 47
server discovery ping 47
Global Customer Support Center xiv 
Green checkmark 98

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H 
HDA interfaces 111
HDA quality flags 116

I 
Import Aliases 79
Imported
Insert Aliastags 31 76
Group
Insert New Alias 34, 76
Insert or Insert new alias 34
Installation
 AIM*AT API server 13
Installing 
 AIM*AT OPC Server 7
Interface Logging Settings 53
Interface logging, enabling 85
Item ID 55, 97

L
Launch configuration program on startup 82
Licensing 
 AIM*AT OPC Server 9
Linear scaling 77
Load Configuration On Startup 51
Load configuration on startup 82

M 
Matrikon automation component 1
Matrikon configurator 8
Matrikon OPC Explorer
connecting to an OPC server 92
data display 99
setting options 102
signal generator 101
starting 87
viewing available OPC servers 91
Matrikon OPC explorer 1
Max Items per AIM*AT Object 49, 74
Max Items per Browse Folder 49, 74
Microsoft standard component category manager 114

N 
NetAPI Server Timeout 47

O 
OLE for Process Control (OPC) 2
OPC

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 Index B0400DG – Rev C

DA 2
group object interfaces 108
HDA interfaces 111
I/O methods 95, 127
server object interfaces 107
standards xiv, 2
OPC DA 2.0 versus 1.0a asynchronous I/O 128
OPC Explorer, starting and using 87
OPC Group Update Rate 54
OPC groups, adding 93
OPC HDA 3
OPC items, adding 96
OPC items, validating added 98
OPC Server
shutdown 15, 17
startup 15
OPC server
configurator 19
OPC server parameters
OPC server control panel
4516
Options
advanced options settings 54
general 50
general logging settings 52
interface logging settings 53
Overrun 80
Overwrite old log information 84

P 
Parameters
general settings 46, 50
OPC server 45
PSTCFG.EXE 67

Q 
Quality flags 115

R 
Real-time values, reading 98
Reference documents xiv 
Registry entries, server 114
Request asynchronous refreshes 104
Request time stamps with notification 103
Requested Data Type 98
Reset Statistics 80
Respect access rights when writing values 104
Restrict Items To Preconfigured Aliases Only 51
Restrict items to pre-configured aliases only 82

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Revision information, document xiii

S 
Sanity check option 102
Save current configuration on shutdown 82
Saving the configuration file 41
Scaling
Scaling expressions 129 to an alias 77
formulas, applying
Scan Interval for String 49, 74
Selecting alias tags 35
Selecting tags 27
Server Connection Ping 47, 72
Server Discovery Ping 47, 72
Server object interfaces 107
Server parameters
general 46, 50
Set Deltas of Imported Tags 25
Set Deltas of Selected Tags 25
Shortcut menu, OPC server 67
Signal generator 101
Slow Scan Interval 49, 74
Software components 8
 AIM OPC configurator 8
 AIM*OPC Server 8
OPC automation components 8
standard OPC server browser 8
Standard quality flags 115
Statistics, viewing server 80
Synchronous versus asynchronous I/O 127

System requirements 5

T 
Tag Studio main window 96
Tags
browsing for 25
changing delta values 29, 31
creating an alias 35
deleting 27
deleting alias 35
imported 31
selecting 27
selecting alias 35
Tags, browsing 35
Telephone numbers for the Global Customer Support Center xiv 
Time bias setting 94
Time Granularity 54
Time granularity 86

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U 
Update rate, specifying 94

V 
Validate Tags 98
Validating the OPC Items 98
VARIANT data types 117

W 
 Writing control values 100

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