3 Before You Begin
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1. 3 4 2 System Macros 3 4 3 Named Macros 3 32 Before You Begin System based Key Macros provide access to any of the PC 30 software system displays and submenus with a single keystroke For example the Shift F2 key could be defined with a named macro to display the History Replay submenu select the file to replay and then start the replay Refer to Chapter 4 The Strat egy Builder for more information Named Macros are a series of Operator Interface commands that are linked together to perform a single operation There is no limit to the number of commands that can be used to per form a single operation Named Macros must be configured in an external ASCII text source file and compiled with other strat egy based Key Macros assignments by the Key Macro Com piler KEYMAC Compiled Named Macros and any other key assignments within that Key Macro source file must be attached to the desired strategy so that they can be assigned to any key key combination or Pick Field to perform the defined opera tion s A KEYMAC compiled Key Macro library file containing the Named Macros and other Display and System based Key Mac ros can be attached to a strategy A Named Macro can also be configured to execute automatically by means of a strategy DISP block Based on a digital event a Named Macro that exists in that strategy s Key Macro library can be executed auto matically Refer to Chapter 4 The Strategy Builder for more information2. o a When connecting device blocks keep the following rules in mind The following device types do require I O Algorithm Blocks to interface into a strategy Programmable Logic Controllers m Plug in I O boards The following device types do not require standard I O Algo rithm Blocks to interface into a strategy These devices can be interfaced directly to function algorithm blocks such as F x LLAG PID etc m Loop Controllers m Intelligent I O Devices PC 30 User s Manual 3 29 Key Macros Before You Begin 3 4 Key Macros 3 30 A macro is a set of instructions that can be invoked by a single keystroke With Key Macros a single key can be defined to bring up a unique display copy files to a disk initiate a History Replay or perform any other operation that previously required a sequence of keystrokes When Key Macros are combined with the Touch Screen option and Pick Fields you can touch the display screen to execute the desired operation PC 30 has four types of Key Macros that can be implemented into the system e Display e System e Named e Operator Interface Each of these Key Macro types can function individually or with other types during the PC 30 Runtime System to perform the desired operation When configuring a Key Macro within the Display Builder the submenu shown in Figure 3 8 shows that the first entries are DISPLAY for operator display based operations SYSTEM for the PC 30 software system
3. the driver documentation included with the driver 3 3 2 PLC Device PLC devices may not be fully compatible with all algorithm Driver blocks To determine compatibility Compatibility D iy on o o 4 o a 1 Check the device driver documentation 2 With the device driver installed review the Signal Type Field as follows Set up the device block according to the instructions in Chapter 5 In the Group Configuration Window se lect the Signal Type Field and successively click the left mouse key while pointing to this field This se quences you through all of the algorithm blocks that are compatible with the particular device PC 30 User s Manual 3 27 I O Considerations 3 3 3 Alarms 3 28 Before You Begin Individual alarms can be set up for different conditions associ ated with most algorithm blocks You should be aware of the following when preparing to use alarms The block scan rate determines how often a particular block is polled for alarms However the I O Scanner determines how often PC 30 uploads downloads data to from the device There fore for alarming purposes the period for the block scan should be less than or equal to the scan rate for system I O scanner Select an alarm scan rate that is sufficient to alert you in time Be aware that the I O scanner also has two operating modes ON all alarms and other I O data functions are polled peri odically based on the
4. 3 33 Key Macros 3 34 Before You Begin Note All functions in Runtime are key macros defined in STANDARD KML If you create your own key macros you should use the strategy name in place of STAND ARD STANDARD KEY MACROS CR STRATEGY KEY MACROS DOWNLD_p 2 SCREEN H HOME DISPLAY KEY MACROS OVENL ie PIT 27 Ale Figure 3 9 Structure of Key Macro levels PC 30 provides a standard Key Macro library STANDARD KML that contains the default assignments for all of the keyboard and mouse functions for Runtime operation The standard Key Macro library is always used as defining the lowest level of Key Macro operations Unless they are overrid den by either a Strategy based or Display based Key Macro or both the Standard Key Macro assignments are always in effect PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Key Macros Refer to Chapter 4 The Strategy Builder for the STANDARD KML key assignments When you create your own Key Macro library using the Key Macro Compiler utility KEYMAC and attach the library to a specific strategy the key assignments and Named Macros de fined replace only those key assignments in STAND ARD KML These strategy based Key Macros are in effect upon the strategy s start up in the Runtime environment The key assignments in STANDARD KML that are not replaced by ass
5. USED 10 X CACHE USED Figure 3 6 Checking available memory in the Runtime system Runtime Memory Status 3 2 PLC Serial Communications There are several fixed factors that affect the communications speed baud rate speed of the computer etc However there are more efficient ways to get I O information into PC 30 e Packed I O e Contiguous memory locations in the PLC e Using All 16 points in every group when possible e Ondemand scanning Packed I O Advantages The advantage of using packed I O instead of standard I O is that it is significantly faster than individual I O blocks When a point in a packed block goes into alarm the Alarm Event summary reports the tag name of the packed block in alarm the block input in alarm AI1 AI8 or DII DI16 and the unique description of this input if entered during block con figuration 3 20 PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin PLC Serial Communications Note Individual point descriptions in packed blocks increase the block size As entered each description will increase the block size by 31 bytes The size will increase ac cording to the last description entered even if some de scriptions are skipped e g if only third input is given a description the size increases by 3 31 93 bytes Refer to Chapter 6 Algorithms for more information on configuring packed blocks If a strategy uses packed I O PAIN PDIN etc wi
6. When the display is removed from the main window the F10 key returns to the simulation toggle operation The standard F10 key operation of toggling the current block s Remote Local mode is not used within this strategy If the strategy Key Macro library is not attached to this strategy when the display is removed from the main window during Run time the F10 key toggles the current strategy block between Remote and Local mode Refer to Chapter 7 The Display Builder for more information PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Configurator Optimization 3 5 Configurator Optimization Note PC 30 User s Manual 3 37 To achieve optimum performance and speed of the PC 30 Con figurator you can set up a RAM drive where temporary files are stored To do this you need to define a RAM drive in your CONFIGSSYS file Then you need to use the DOS SET command to assign the logical drive in your AUTOEXEC BAT file For example you might add this statement to your AUTOEXEC BAT file SET PC30TMP D D is the logical device you defined as the RAM drive where the temporary files are stored Performance of PC 30 is increased only when a TEMP file is set up in a RAM drive To see if a RAM drive exists at the DOS prompt change to the RAM drive and type DIR The volume label should state MS RAM DRIVE Refer to your DOS manual for this procedure D iy on o o 4 o a Sha
7. gives you a complete set of memory statistics D iy on o o 4 o a See the Edit Function section in Chapter 4 The Strategy Builder for more information on the EDIT mode PC 30 User s Manual 3 17 Strategy Considerations Before You Begin 3 18 Henory Status Heny Database Information Database Size but Blocks Peripheral Database byt Peripheral Blocks Connections Link Buffer Left 34000 byt Memory Status Available DOS Memory 640 kb Conventional Memory 121 kb Conventional Used Conventional Biggest 121 kb Upper Memory 10 kb Upper Used Upper Biggest 8 kb High Menory kb High Used kb High Biggest kb CANCEL ESC Figure 3 4 Checking available memory in the Strategy Builder In The Display Builder With the Edit submenu displayed click on the Display Informa tion icon The Display Information submenu shown in Fig ure 3 5 gives you the amount of Display Memory used as the percent of Maximum buffer size allotted in METACONF Note that this does not directly affect conventional memory re quirements unless there is not enough conventional memory available in which case there will be a consequent increase in the display buffer size PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin PC 30 User s Manual Strategy Considerations Display memory used as a function of allotted buffer size Display Information Percent of Maximum
8. planned strategy Details on estimating strategy size can be found in Appendix E Estimating Database Size I O compatibility is also discussed in the section I O Considerations A rule of thumb is that you can run a strategy containing 1000 algorithm blocks with 550 K of available conventional memory If your strategy and the system you are going to run it on meet this requirement you can bypass the next two sections You can check available conventional memory by typing CHKDSK at the DOS prompt The DOS CHKDSK utility gives you information on the disk drive currently active as well as a reading of conventional memory available Figure 3 1 PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Strategy Considerations COCHKDSK Volume LHS1 created 06 14 1990 6 06p Volume Serial Number is 234D 19 C 72214528 bytes total disk space 73728 bytes in 3 hidden files 196608 bytes in 71 directories 62390272 bytes in 2396 user files 212992 bytes in bad sectors 9340928 bytes available on disk 640 KB total conventional 2048 bytes in each allocation unit memory 35261 total allocation units on disk 4561 available allocation units on disk 551 KB available 655360 total bytes memory conventional 564224 bytes free memory D iy on o o 4 o a Figure 3 1 DOS CHKDSK shows available conventional memory Remember that conventional memory available is 640K minus the memory used by any sy
9. screen op erations MACRO for Named Macro execution and lastly the Operator Interface Commands appearing in alphabetical order PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin 3 4 1 Macro Functions DISPLAY SYSTEM MACRO ALMACK A M ASSIGN_TAG ATTACHED AUTO BACKSPACE CHECKPT CLEAR DETAIL DIR DISABLE DOWNLD_SCRN DOWNLD_PT Macro Functions ENTER EXIT FILE NETCMDR GLOBAL_ACK NET_FXR GOTO HALT HIST_BLK HIST_REP HOST LIST_FILE MAIN MANUAL NEXT_RIELD Key Macros Macro Functions NEXT_ENTRY Macro Functions NEXT_PAGE OFF ON PICK PRINT PREV_FIELD PREV_ENTRY PREV_PAGE PREV_SCRN RAMP RAMP RECIPE REMOTE_MAC R L SORT SPC SUB SWAP TOGGLE TRACE FWD TRACE_BCK TRACE_ALT TREND USER_TRIGGER WAIT TOP UP DN D iy on o o 4 o a BOT EXIT Figure 3 8 Key Macro Functions submenus Display Key Display based Key Macros allow you to bring up a specific op erator graphic display generated by the Display Builder onto the Macros Runtime screen with a single keystroke For example the F10 key could be defined to show a specific operator graphic display using the Display Operator Interface command Refer to Chapter 4 The Strategy Builder and Chapter 7 The Display Builder for more information PC 30 User s Manual 3 31 Key Macros
10. 120 in increments of 8 Warning If you change the number of I O devices from its default setting the strategies you create cannot be loaded into versions prior to Version 3 1 of the PC 30 Configurator Strategy Builder without also changing the Extended Metaconf parameters of the Configurator loading the strategy However the strategies are still compatible with previous versions of PC 30 Runtime Link Buffer Size Display Size These two parameters although not functionally related are allocated to the same memory area The memory used for either will therefore be the larger of either numbers In order to effectively reduce memory usage for one you must also reduce the other if it is not already smaller For exam ple if a 64 K display buffer can be reduced to 34 K you must also set the Link Buffer Size to 34 K if it is not so already for this value to effectively reduce memory usage Miscellaneous The following parameters can be adjusted to save some mem ory The amount of memory saved is small but could be signifi cant on a limited system Number Blocks e Approximately 35 bytes block Number of Connections e Approximately 15 bytes connection 3 8 PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin PC 30 User s Manual 3 9 Strategy Considerations Number of I O Blocks e Approximately 22 bytes I O block Database Caching PC 30 provides a database caching feature that dynamically caches
11. 3 Before You Begin Before you begin using PC 30 you should be familiar with its operation The PC 30 software operates on any IBM compat ible PC with 640K of conventional memory An AT class ma chine 80286 or better is recommended The Strategy Builder and the Display Builder modules operate under DOS Version 3 0 or higher required while a completed strategy operates under PC 30 Runtime which is invoked from DOS Although you can build very large strategies there are con straints to strategy size mainly due to memory limitations in dif ferent computers This chapter focuses on guidelines for devel oping application strategies in light of possible constraints D iy on o o 4 o a 3 1 Strategy Considerations Before building a strategy you should determine whether your strategy will run on the target system Keep in mind the target system is the system you run the strategy on not necessarily the system you build the strategy on The two most important strategy design considerations are size and I O compatibility PC 30 User s Manual 3 1 Strategy Considerations Before You Begin 3 2 3 1 1 How Much Memory Do Have Strategy size limits are determined by the amount of total Sys tem Memory available System Memory includes conventional memory Expanded Memory LIM 4 0 EMS and eXtended Memory XMS After you determine how much conventional memory is available estimate the size of the
12. AX XMS configured by page swapping routines INTEL 286 type Above Boards etc do NOT work Strategy Parameters Strategy Database Caching is not effective if strategy I O scanning is set to ON Scanning is set in SYS CNFG un der the SEL Function I O Scanner in Chapter 4 Caching is effective with the I O Scanner set either to OFF or to ON DEMAND Caching parameters can be adjusted in the Strategy Builder SYS CNFG submenu See SYS CNFG section in Chapter 4 and their status can be viewed in Runtime on the sec ond page of the System Parameter subwindow refer to the section System Parameters in Chapter 8 Two Types Of Database Caching Caching can be enabled separately for I O blocks and Distrib uted I O Separate caching increases flexibility and efficiency by optimizing the use of the cache buffer I O blocks that are cached are AIN AOUT DIN DOUT PAIN PAOT PAIO PDIN PDOT and PDIO Distributed Intelligent I O refers to the type of device described in the section Intelligent I O De vice Configuration in Chapter 5 3 10 PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Strategy Considerations Caching Considerations When you first enable database caching the Cache Size and Cache Block Size are set at default values of Cache Size 64K Cache Block Size 16 bytes You can adjust these values to optimize performance Adjust ments are made in the Strategy Builder SYS CNFG menu when creatin
13. Appendix E6 Since it may be difficult to estimate particular I O points that are actually in the cache buffer at any time you may be able to use an empirical worst case method as follows 1 Develop the full application strategy Be sure caching is enabled 2 Invoke the strategy in Runtime 3 12 PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Note Strategy Considerations 3 Using the Runtime System Parameters subwindows Chap ter 8 look at the LOW conventional memory left Ob serve this value as the strategy executes Note the SMALL EST value The least amount of unused memory 4 Determine the size of the largest display used by this strat egy size of the largest GRP file used with the strategy You can check this in DOS with the DIR GRP command 5 Subtract the size of the largest strategy display from the ob served lowest value of LOW conventional memory left This is theoretically the amount of memory you could allocate to the to the cache buffer D iy on o o 4 o a You should allow a modest margin of error noting that too small a buffer does not allow you to access dynamic data Us ing too large a buffer does not allow the strategy to start opera tion Therefore it is better to err on the side of making the cache buffer too large In the case of networked strategies all nodes containing I O points must be active to correctly emulate the
14. Begin Shared File Support IEJ PC 30 allows the user to specify the directories that history files and alarm files are logged to when creating your strategy in the Strategy Builder see the System Configuration section in Chap ter 4 The Strategy Builder This feature enables Runtime to log alarm and history files to file servers that support file shar ing An example PC 30 network configuration is shown in Fig ure 3 10 Master PC 30 node running a strategy SHARE EXE must be installed fo S U 7p _ HE S i VA EA I File Server i SHARE EXE II must be installed E mE f E Em E IN ILL ILL BR Ea Ea PC 30 node DOS node viewing DOS node viewing viewing a shared file a shared file a shared file Via List File or History Replay Via text editor Via text editor Figure 3 10 Example network configuration for accessing shared files PC 30 User s Manual 3 39 Calling Technical Support Before You Begin 3 7 Calling Technical Support If you need to call for technical support make sure you have the following information available The version number for the PC 30 software you are running Drivers Options etc The serial number on the copy protection ke
15. I O Scanner rate ON DEMAND The block is scanned when it meets one or more of the following criteria e Linked to a current display a display which is on the screen e On System Trend e Actively being logged by a Historian block e Being used by the Network or Report and Recipes options You can however override this condition on a block by block basis If you want to have an alarm polled at all times even with the scanner is set to ON DEMAND set FULL SCAN Y in the respective block s configuration menu PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Note 3 3 4 Strategy Interfacing I O Considerations If the PC 30 database caching feature is used in conjunction with ON DEMAND scanning cached I O points associated with a device block can be polled for alarms provided the Alarm Cache option is enabled in the Strategy Builder when cre ating the strategy This option allows the user to specify device blocks which will have their I O points periodically cached in for the purpose of processing alarms Refer to the Enabling PC 30 Options section in Chapter 4 The Strategy Builder for more information regarding the Alarm Cache option The scan rate at which the cached I O points are polled for alarms is independent of the I O Scanner rate or the block scan rate The scan rate is specified on a block by block basis when configuring the Alarm Cache option D on o Pee o
16. I O points from conventional memory to extended mem ory This feature reduces the conventional memory overhead re quirement in applications where the I O point counts are high but where all of the points are not required to be scanned or alarmed all the time When caching is enabled in a strategy all of the specified type of I O points are moved into Extended Memory see explana tion of type under the Cache Size heading on the following page During Runtime only the points needed are moved back to the cache created in conventional memory The caching fea ture is transparent to the user in Runtime The Alarm Cache option provided with PC 30 scans cached I O points connected to device blocks for alarms only These I O points are periodically cached in to allow alarms to be proc essed The user may specify which device block s I O points are polled and the rate at which each block is scanned The scan rate is set independent of the I O Scanner and block scan rate Refer to the Enabling PC 30 Options section in Chapter 4 The Strategy Builder for more information on configuring the Alarm Cache option D iy on o o 4 o a Strategy Considerations Before You Begin Caching Requirements To use the caching feature your hardware and your strategy must meet the following requirements Hardware Database caching requires an 80386 type of PC with XMS configured via an XMS configurator such as QEMM 386 or 386M
17. Memory often included in 80286 and 80386 systems but not otherwise easily accessible There are a number of ways to get XMS memory on 80386 systems The most recent release of Quarterdeck s QEMM program QEMM 386 directly sets up XMS and EMS memory A similar product that also works is 3836MAX from Qualitas You can also use the Microsoft HIMEM SYS driver to implement XMS on both 80286 and 80386 machines HI 64K memory only PC 30 automatically detects and utilizes EMS and XMS mem ory when present XMS memory is used by all PC 30 modules while EMS memory is used by the Runtime system Memory managers must be installed to use EMS and or XMS memory If XMS memory is detected PC 30 uses this memory for load ing various items first PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Strategy Considerations Conventional memory is used only after all available XMS memory is filled thus freeing up a considerable amount of con ventional memory If EMS memory is present PC 30 Runtime loads high puts into EMS a portion of certain drivers and options thus freeing up conventional memory In this way you can run larger strategies or operate a given strategy more efficiently Refer to Appendix F XMS and EMS Memory Support for more detailed information Checking Memory Usage In The Strategy Builder With the Edit submenu displayed click on the Memory Status icon The Memory Status submenu shown in Figure 3 4
18. Percent of Maximum Display Security None Report Mode Verbose OK ENTER 2 4 3 7 Display Objects Used 36 Display Size Bytes 1264 Default Default Display Update Per Tab to PPT s Figure 3 5 Checking available memory in the Display Builder During Runtime As you build a strategy you can check memory usage by creat ing a Null Strategy A Null Strategy is created by saving an empty strategy To get a good memory usage estimate a null strategy must have all the options you want to use enabled all device drivers you plan to use installed and all the communica tion ports you need installed with scan times entered The I O scanner should not be ON Also you must build a NULL DIS PLAY Make a NULL DISPLAY by saving a blank screen D iy on o o 4 o a During the development of your strategy periodically exit the Configurator and run the null strategy with the null display on the target system Check the available memory by pressing Alt A PgDn The display shown in Figure 3 6 appears LOW memory refers to conventional memory HIGH memory refers to all memory above the LOW memory 3 19 PLC Serial Communications Before You Begin SYSTEM PARAMETERS page 2 Version 5 00 DATABASE CACHING I 0 BLOCK 1 DISTRIBUTED TIME HR 9 MIN 38 SECONDS 9 DB CACHE SIZE 64K CACHE BLOCK SIZE DATE DA AR 9 CACHE TOTAL 4096 LARGEST HOLE 4 4 ll HK MEMORY LEFT LOW 64272 HIGH 91231 CACHE
19. a Note The database caching feature requires you to have an understanding of memory management KES You can monitor the actual status of cache buffer activity in Runtime using the System Parameters subwindow Page 2 Cache Used and Largest Hole see Chapter 8 If it becomes necessary to tailor this Cache Block Size you can change it by reconfiguring the Cache Block Size parameter in the Configura tor See Database Caching Chapter 4 for instructions Note If you get a CACHE FULL error message you must in crease the size of the cache buffer PC 30 User s Manual 3 15 Strategy Considerations Before You Begin 3 1 3 Adding EMS And Or XMS Memory If you cannot run a strategy with the existing amount of conven tional memory on your target system because the display is too big or you are out of memory you can add EMS and or XMS memory EMS memory is a paged memory system defined by the LIM standard XMS refers to the memory that resides above the conventional memory 640 KB To add EMS memory first add the additional memory chips you need Then configure it to conform to the LIM 4 0 EMM specification by using a memory manager such as QEMM from Quarterdeck The memory manager program is installed on the hard disk and is invoked when the system is powered up Then when the computer is turned on it automatically initial izes the expanded memory XMS is a specification from Microsoft Corp for utilizing the Upper
20. an Times Drivers perform communication transfer differently Most PLC communications attempt to transfer data one group at a time It takes a fixed amount of time per driver to scan one group of a device block However this does not mean that all data is trans ferred in one request or that data can be transferred in a fixed amount of time As a rule of thumb the scan frequency of the algorithm block should be set at a rate that is half the communications scan fre quency This ensures that the block obtains data from every communications scan Experiment with various scan frequen cies to obtain optimum communication efficiency D on o ha o o a Figure 3 7 shows the relationship between the communication port scan time and the algorithm block scan time Data from all the comm port scans is read by block 1 Block 1 scan frequency 1 sec COM port scan iregueney 2 sec L 2 S60 4 sec i 6 sec 8 sec Block 2 scan frequency 3 sec Data from the comm port scan at 4 seconds is never read by block 2 Figure 3 7 Relationship between algorithm block scan time and the communication port scan time PC 30 User s Manual 3 25 I O Considerations Before You Begin 3 3 I O Considerations 3 3 1 Device Drivers The PC 30 software directly supports numerous I O devices 3 26 including e Plug in I O boards e Programmable logic controllers e Single loop controllers e Intelli
21. g the strategy Cache Size The total size of the cache buffer This memory is taken from usable Runtime memory therefore if you make this too large you may not be able to run big strategies For most strategies you can safely allocate 64K There is no penalty as long as a strategy runs If it becomes necessary to tailor this parameter you can change it see Database Caching in Chapter 4 for instructions D iy on o o 4 o a To decide how large to make the cache buffer estimate the number of I O points you expect to be in cache at any time For caching purposes I O points are divided into two groups I O points and Distributed These groups are subdi vided into two types Static and Dynamic Static I O points are usually ALWAYS IN MEMORY Therefore these points are ALWAYS CACHED WHEN CACHING IS ENABLED PC 30 User s Manual 3 11 Strategy Considerations Before You Begin Static I O points can be identified as e ANY I O point with FULL SCAN SET TO ON e Points required for System Trend e Points involved In connections Source or Destination Dynamic I O points are e Points in main or subwindow displays e Points added and removed from the System Trend e Points logged in History blocks e Points needed for external use e g networking Once you determine the maximum number of blocks that will be in the cache at one time add up the byte count refer to Block and Variable Byte Counts
22. gent I O devices For any particular device you must use the matching device driver When you purchase PC 30 you get 1 driver of your choice You can also order any number of additional drivers from our extensive selection of device drivers It is likely that the interface hardware you are using or plan to use is supported by a standard PC 30 Device Driver In the event that your I O device is not supported by a stock driver the PC 30 Device Driver Tool Kit allows you to create you own custom drivers Before you begin building a strategy be sure you have the cor rect device driver or drivers you need to interface to your con trol system hardware Also be sure you have the documentation that accompanies each device driver You must have the User s Guide for the device driver you are using for specific informa tion on that driver This manual contains only general informa tion on device drivers PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin I O Considerations With the proper device driver software installed on your system you can configure the device by stepping through a series of menus including the specific device configuration menu which prompts you for all necessary device interface parameters Note Itis recommended that you try to establish communica tions with the device in a small test strategy before you develop a large strategy I O device configuration is described in detail in Chapter 5 and
23. ignments in your attached strategy Key Macro library remain in effect during Runtime or until they are overridden by a Dis play Key Macro The creation and implementation of strategy Key Macros are described in Chapter 4 The Strategy Builder to iv on o pe 2 4 o a Display Key Macros are in effect only while the display in which they were created is on the Runtime screen Display based Key Macros are created in operator displays using the Display Builder Existing Display Key Macros override any matching strategy Key Macros as well as any standard Key Macros only while that particular display is on the screen when the display changes the strategy s Key Macro library assign ment if there is one as well as any standard assignments that were not overwritten are restored For example the F10 key is defined in an operator display to download a data entry value In that strategy s Key Macro li brary the F10 key is defined to place the strategy in simula tion mode by toggling the I O scanner input variable to that strategy s SYS block The standard Key Macros define the F10 key to toggle the current block between Remote and Lo cal modes The F10 key combination performs the data entry download only when the operator display is on the screen Dis play based Key Macros are created in operator displays using PC 30 User s Manual 3 35 Key Macros 3 36 Before You Begin the Display Builder
24. ogic You can save 61 bytes of data space per logic block by us ing small logic blocks instead of the standard logic block counterparts Small logic blocks have several limitations which you must consider before using them see the sec tion Small Logic Algorithms Alarm Pages Reduce the number of alarm pages to the minimum needed This parameter is set in the Event Configuration submenu refer to Chapter 4 for more information on Alarm Event configuration The Number Alarm Pages field defaults to 3 You can reduce this number to 1 if one page accommodates the number of alarms you intend to use Each alarm page uses 1640 bytes of conventional memory D iy on o o 4 o a WARNING If you change the values of the following parameters in Extended Metaconf the resulting strategies may not be compatible with previous versions of PC 30 In general reducing values does not affect compatibility while increasing values results in loss of downward compatibility Number of I O Devices You can specify the maximum number of system I O de vices in Extended Metaconf see the Extended Metaconf section in Chapter 2 This parameter is normally set to 42 compatible but can be reset to accommodate more de vices If you increase this number do not set it larger than PC 30 User s Manual 3 7 Strategy Considerations Before You Begin you require Possible settings for this parameter are 42 compatible 48 56
25. om registers 1 128 Group 2 PAIN Starting at element 129 Number of points 2 Using both connections get data from registers 129 145 PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin PLC Serial Communications LESS EFFICIENT Group 1 PAIN Starting element 1 Number of points 9 Using all 9 connections gets data from registers 1 72 Group 2 PAIN Starting element 73 Number of points 1 Using 1 connection gets data from registers 73 80 PLC Integer File The following information provides two examples of efficient and less efficient ways to get data from the device into PC 30 D iy on o o 4 o a EFFICIENT Group 1 PAIN Starting element 1 Number of points 16 Using 16 connections gets data from registers 1 128 Group 2 PAIN Starting element 129 Number of points 9 Using 9 connections gets data from registers 129 200 PC 30 User s Manual 3 23 PLC Serial Communications Before You Begin 3 24 LESS EFFICIENT Group 1 PAIN Starting element 1 Number of points 1 Using 1 connection gets data into registers 1 8 Group 2 PAIN Starting element 9 Number of points 1 Using 1 connection gets data into registers 9 16 Group 3 PAIN Starting element 17 Number of points 10 Using 1 connection gets data into registers 17 97 PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin PLC Serial Communications Communications Sc
26. on Named Macros PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin 3 4 4 Operator Interface Key Macros 3 4 5 Key Macro Hierarchy Key Macros Operator Interface Key Macros provide over 50 different com mands that can be used individually or linked together by named macros to perform a Runtime operation By either defin ing a single Operator Interface command or assigning a series of commands named macros to the desired key key combina tion or Pick Field any Runtime operation can be performed that previously required an entire sequence of time consuming keystrokes The Operator Interface commands are described in Chapter 4 The Strategy Builder Key Macros have a specific hierarchy that govern how they are implemented There are three different levels for Runtime operations These three levels are D iy on o o 4 o a e Standard system default e Strategy e Display Figure 3 9 shows how each of the Key Macro levels overrides the other levels As shown the Standard Key Macros are the lowest level Strategy based Key Macros if a strategy Key Macro library is declared override only the matching Standard assignments and finally the Display based Key Macros the highest Key Macro level override both the Strategy and Stand ard Key Macro assignments If Strategy Key Macros do not exist Display Key Macros override the matching Standard Key Macros PC 30 User s Manual
27. red File Support Before You Begin 3 6 Shared File Support 3 38 Important Files created during Runtime history files alarm logs etc can be viewed on a remote node while Runtime still has the file s open This function is used in conjunction with the DOS SHARE EXE utility which allows files on a DOS node to be shared i e viewed by a remote application such as a text edi tor while the file is already opened in another application Run time The Runtime files logged to the shared node can be viewed by the PC 30 List and History Replay functions as well as text edi tors that support shared file access e g LIST and EDIT If Runtime continues to write to the file the remote application viewing the shared file will not see the updates until it closes and then reopens the file Altering the shared file in the remote application e g text edi tor is not permissible Any attempt to alter the file will result in an error message from the text editor Any attempt to open a shared file in an editor that does not support shared file access will also result in an error message The DOS file sharing utility SHARE EXE must be installed on the PC executing PC 30 Runtime If the file sharing utility is not installed Runtime will abort execution during initialization Refer to the DOS Technical Manual for information regarding the installation of SHARE EXE PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You
28. rivers you are using support the packed algorithms PC 30 User s Manual 3 5 Strategy Considerations 3 6 Note Before You Begin The following example gives an estimate first using standard and then using Packed I O There are 40 analog inputs 22 analog outputs 70 digital inputs and 30 digital outputs For this application data is logged on all analog inputs analog out puts and 50 calculated process points Standard I O Packed I O 40 analog inputs 40 AIN 6120 5 PAIN 2720 22 analog outputs 22 AOUT 2442 3 PAOT 1320 70 digital inputs 70 DIN 9030 5PDIN 650 30 digital outputs 30 DOUT 3510 2 PDOT 460 1 device dvr block 1 DEV 120 1 DEV 120 6 history blocks 6 HIST 10692 6 HIST 10692 20 F x blocks 20 F x 8400 20 F x 8400 80 misc digital 80 Slogic 5400 80 Slogic 5400 blocks Total 46182 Total 30230 The use of Packed I O blocks instead of regular I O blocks results in a savings of over 15K of memory As entered descriptions for each point in a packed algo rithm block increases the block size by 31 bytes The size increases according to the last description entered even if some descriptions are skipped e g if only the 3rd point is given a description the size increases by 3 31 93 bytes Descriptions are entered when configur ing the algorithm block See Chapter 6 Algorithms PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Strategy Considerations Using Small Logic Instead of Standard L
29. s PC 30 i RUNTIME A 60 KB 425 KB AVAILABLE 155 KB 640 KB Figure 3 2 Typical PC 30 Runtime system memory allocation 3 4 PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Strategy Considerations As mentioned a rule of thumb is that you can run a strategy containing 1000 algorithm blocks with 550K of available con ventional memory If you plan to build larger strategies you should make some kind of estimate first and make any neces sary adjustments at this time If your strategy does not fit into the conventional memory avail able you can 1 Reduce the conventional memory requirement by tailoring your strategy 2 Add EMS system memory 3 Add XMS system memory D iy on o o 4 o a 4 Add both EMS and XMS system memory Detailed information on adding memory and memory usage is found in Appendix F XMS and EMS Memory Reducing Conventional Memory Requirement in The Strategy There are many ways to reduce a strategy s conventional memory requirement One is to substitute Packed I O for standard I O Using Packed I O A significant reduction in strategy size can be realized if you use Packed I O algorithm blocks instead of standard I O blocks Packed I O algorithms are similar to regular I O algorithms but they process multiple signals simultane ously Refer to the PLC Driver Compatibility section be fore you use Packed I O and in particular be sure the I O d
30. stem utilities System utilities in clude DOS itself DOS buffers and certain hardware and soft ware utilities which may be allocated to conventional memory in the CONFIG SYS file A utility which sets up a Disk Cache for example might use at least 64K and possibly more conven tional memory Even if you have no other special devices that use conventional memory as a minimum your CONFIG SYS file sets up 15 buffers required for PC 30 refer to Chapter 2 for additional information TSR Terminate and Stay Resident pro grams also takes up conventional memory even when not exe cuting Be sure you are not loading this type of software PC 30 User s Manual 3 3 Strategy Considerations Before You Begin Note If necessary you can reduce the number of buffers to get more conventional memory Reducing the number of buffers may degrade the operating speed of the soft ware In no case should you reduce the buffers less than 10 If you have EMS memory installed in your PC you can load some of these utilities into EMS memory and thus not use up valuable conventional memory Find details on how to do this in the documentation for your particular Expanded Memory Manager program Note If you are going to run large strategies avoid using DOS 4 0 or higher which uses more conventional memory than DOS 2 X or 3 X 3 1 2 How Much Figure 3 2 shows the allocation of conventional memory during Memory Do a PC 30 Runtime session Need a
31. th 16 con nections in it to 16 packed blocks each group brings in 128 reg isters words PAIN or 256 bits PDIN If the group uses I O Ain Din etc and has 16 connections in it the group brings in 16 words AIN or 16 bits If each group takes a fixed amount of time and packed brings in 128 or 256 and I O brings in 16 AIN or DIN it is obvious that packed is more efficient D iy on o o 4 o a The following information provides three examples of the cor rect way to get data from the device block into PC 30 Group 1 PAIN Starting element 1 Number of points 16 Using all 16 connections gets data from registers 1 128 Group 2 PAIN Starting element 129 Number of points 16 Using all 16 connections gets data from registers 129 256 PC 30 User s Manual 3 21 PLC Serial Communications 3 22 Note Before You Begin Group 3 PAIN Starting element 257 Number of points 16 Using all 16 connections gets data from registers 257 384 The key is to minimize the number of groups and maxi mize the number of connections per group You should consider moving the I O in the PLC if possible into con tiguous memory locations to save communications time The following information provides two examples of efficient and less efficient ways to get data from the device into PC 30 EFFICIENT Group 1 PAIN Starting at element 1 Number of points 16 Using all 16 connections get data fr
32. worst case condition Cache Block Size The default value is 16 bytes Cache block size is the smallest contiguous chunk of memory that the buffer uses Cache buffer ing is allocated in units of 1 block so small size blocks may cause excessive fragmenting of the cache Figures 3 3 A and B PC 30 User s Manual 3 13 Strategy Considerations Before You Begin While the block size can be increased up to 550 bytes the tradeoff is that memory is not used efficiently For example if cache block size is set to the maximum of 550 bytes a single PAIN algorithm block 544 bytes fits well but all smaller blocks such as an AOUT at 111 bytes waste the balance of the space in the cache block leave holes Therefore small sized blocks are preferred since there is little penalty for buffer frag menting and smaller blocks make the buffer allocation more effi cient No difference is noticed from changing block size until the buffer is nearly full 90 or more CACHE BUFFER VO POINTS SMALL CACHE Unused spaces little wasted memory Figure 3 3A Effect of cache block sizing PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005 Before You Begin Strategy Considerations MEMORY MAY BE WASTED IF CACHE BLOCKS ARE TOO LARGE CACHE BUFFER LARGE I O POINTS CACHE DO Unused spaces much wasted memory Figure 3 3B Effect of cache block sizing D on o ha o o
33. y The type of PC you are using with as much system information as you can provide total amount of memory use CHKDSK F conventional memory available XMS or EMS memory processor speed Type s of I O hardware used or going to be used The device driver s you are using or plan to use include the version number Once you have this information together you can call your local authorized PC 30 service representative 3 40 PC 30 User s Manual 4 23 93 RG GA3 030 005
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