VTScada Development Techniques for Sacramento DOU

Blair Sooley and Carl Willsof Trihedral Engineering

AgendaVTS – Getting startedSacramento application architectureConfiguration methodologies

The integration environmentTags development techniquesPage (display) development techniquesApplication navigationCustom template development techniques

Application distribution and version control

VTS – Getting started

InstallationOne installation file includes all product features

and optionsSingle installation key per computerKey ‘unlocks’ featuresSystem integrators package includes

Single seat development/runtime 4hr licenseTwo training seats

TrainingStandardized training courses

Operations and ConfigurationAdvanced Configuration

DownloadableOperations and Configuration (DIY) with

validation by Trihedral instructorOnline video tutorialsEmbedded product Help Files

Sacramento Application Architecture

Multi-location, centralized management(i.e. The Mothership)All tag values, display pages, alarms and scripts

are synchronized across all locationsDistributed Historian provides redundant data

access and backup. All data available from any networked computer.

Realm area filtering. Separation of an application into logical areas (e.g. Plant 1 = area 1, Plant 2 = area 2)

Mothership AdvantagesApplication configuration from any

location with a VTS Full Development license installed.

Centralized security policy. Each user account provides access to one or more logical areas. Users see only local data and alarms.

Reports and trends can be generated from any location.

Plant AutonomyEach location is independent of all others.Local I/O is handled by local I/O servers. Some

locations have redundant I/O connectivity.Local historical data is buffered locally during

WAN outages.

Application Configuration

Runtime vs. Development EnvironmentOnline change creationTry-it before you buy-it methodologyReal-time change deploymentNo limit to the number of concurrent developers

Tag ManagementSacramento database has 90,000 +

tags, expected to grow to 120,000 + tags.

Create/modify/delete individual tags via Tag Browser.

Import/export tool for bulk tag changesSuggest standardized tag naming. Use

prefix (e.g. FBT_ = Fairbairn tag. Underscore increases readability)

Suggest standardized Area parameter. Use prefix (e.g. Fairbairn = Fairbairn Area)

Areas are used by Realm Area Filtering.

Display Page ManagementDisplay pages located in library.Pre-defined displays for Alarms Management,

Historical Data trends, Reports GenerationDisplay sizing, placement, backgrounds,

naming via Properties.All required drag and drop development tools

available via configuration toolbox.Questionable data flag (‘?’)Add graphics and digital pictures to library as

necessary.Suggest standardized page naming

convention. Use prefix (e.g. FB_ = Fairbairn display.) Page names and tag names CAN NOT be the same.

Application NavigationDisplay page menu.Quick link ‘alarm bell’ to Alarms

ManagementPage hot-boxes and hot-buttons.Forward, reverse buttons (last 10

selected displays.)Task bar page links (user specific.)

Custom Template Library DevelopmentUser Drawing Methods (UDM)

Create common graphics to represent combinations of graphics, tags, text, etc.

Create an instance of the UDM with unique parameters.

Changing UDM changes all instances of UDM throughout application.

Can be copied/pasted to speed up development.

Parameterized Display PagesSimilar to UDM but for Display

Pages.

Change Management Tools

Simplified Offline Development (Changesets)Configure app from any offline computer with

VTS Full Development or SI license.Create compressed .changeset file (analagous

to .zip file) of entire application, excluding alarms and historical data

Send/carry file to customer siteSimple import of .changeset file on runtime or

development production server.Application restart NOT required for imports of

tags and display pages.

Application Version ControlSecure version repository.Workstation log notes last known application

version running on each networked workstation.Each version details incremental changes. Changes can be merged from multiple

developers.Switch to version, reverse changes as necessary.

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© Trihedral Engineering Limited 2011

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