Strategies for Setting Up the Initial SCADAPack x70 Configuration

With SCADAPack x70 R3.0.3 onward, you can create a configuration that includes a SCADAPack x70 logic application that uses logic variables for which the corresponding objects might not exist in every device.

This enables you to create a common configuration that can be shared by multiple devices, with each device typically containing a subset of the objects in the common shared configuration. The common shared configuration is a 'superset' of the configuration of all of the devices.

You must specifically write the SCADAPack x70 logic application to detect and take into account which objects exist in each device. When deciding whether to use this feature, you should consider this additional complexity and compare it to the savings that might be made from sharing a configuration between multiple devices.

You can only enable this feature in RemoteConnect and once enabled, it cannot be disabled. See the Allow T_SPx70_* Logic Variables without Corresponding Objects setting (see Configure the Device Options) in RemoteConnect when editing a project’s settings.

This feature works well in conjunction with Geo SCADA Expert's Group Templates and Group Instances feature. You can use Geo SCADA Expert to manage the device's configurations, including downloading both the configuration settings and the common SCADAPack x70 logic application.

The following examples demonstrate how the configuration is shared in different scenarios:

To create a shared configuration and common SCADAPack x70 logic application, perform the following:

1. Use RemoteConnect to create a new project.
2. Edit the project settings to enable the Allow T_SPx70_* Logic Variables without Corresponding Objects setting. Once enabled this setting cannot be modified.
3. Create and configure all of the objects that are to be included in the SCADAPack x70 logic application. This will be the superset of the I/O for all the devices that will share the configuration and logic application.
4. Use the SCADAPack x70 logic editor to create the logic application and give the project a name. You must write the application to detect and adapt to the objects that will not be present in some of the devices. This is required to enable the SCADAPack x70 logic application to handle each different subset of the configuration.
5. Save the project on disk, ensuring that you specify an appropriate filename. This will be the master copy of the project so must be retained to allow future changes.
6. Export the configuration from RemoteConnect (to an .RTZ file) (see Export Configuration from RemoteConnect Ready for Importing into Geo SCADA Expert).

Determine whether to use the Group Templates and Group Instances feature in Geo SCADA Expert to set up and then maintain the configuration. A key factor to consider is whether the SCADAPack x70 Device Configuration item is in a Group Template and whether the SCADAPack x70 logic application is being shared with the instances of that template.

If the SCADAPack x70 logic application will be shared across all instances of a Group Template, then:

1. In Geo SCADA Expert, create a new Group Template.
2. Add the SCADAPack 70 Device Configuration item and ensure that the DocumentContent property is not overridden.
3. Add any other SCADAPack x70 configuration items that will be common to all Group Instances of the Group Template.
4. Use the Import from RemoteConnect pick action with Update Only (Merge) mode to import the .RTZ file that you created earlier into the SCADAPack x70 device. The mode helps to ensure that no additional configuration items are created in the Group Template.
5. Create a Group Instance of the Group Template for the first site.
6. Add the additional SCADAPack x70 configuration items for this site. These might be Group Instances of other Group Templates, or local objects just for this site and so on.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each additional site.

If the SCADAPack x70 logic application is not to be shared across all instances of a Group Template:

1. In Geo SCADA Expert, create a new Group Template.
2. Add the SCADAPack x70 Device Configuration item and ensure that the DocumentContent property is overridden.
3. Add any other SCADAPack x70 Configuration items that will be common to all Group Instances of the Group Template.
4. Create a Group Instance of the Group Template for the first site.
5. Add the additional SCADAPack x70 Configuration items for this site. These might be Group Instances of other Group Templates, or local objects just for this site, and so on.
6. Use the Import from RemoteConnect pick action with the Update Only (Merge) mode to import the .RTZ file that you created earlier into the SCADAPack x70 device. The mode helps to ensure that no additional configuration items are created in the Group Template.
7. Repeat steps 4 and 6 for each additional site.

If the SCADAPack x70 Device Configuration item is not in a Group Template at all, then:

1. In Geo SCADA Expert, create the SCADAPack x70 Device Configuration item for the first site.
2. Add all of the SCADAPack x70 Configuration items for the site. These might be Group Instances of Group Templates, or local objects just for this site, and so on.
3. Use the Import from RemoteConnect pick action with the Update Only (Merge) mode to import the .RTZ file that you created earlier into the SCADAPack x70 device. The mode helps to ensure that no additional configuration items are created in the site.
4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for each additional site.

With this strategy, you perform the minimum configuration in RemoteConnect, the majority of the configuration in Geo SCADA Expert, and then download that configuration from Geo SCADA Expert into the SCADAPack x70 device.

This strategy is likely to be the most suitable if you are using Geo SCADA Expert's Group Templates and Group Instances feature, and want to use Group Templates to set up the common configuration for multiple SCADAPack x70 devices.

Perform the following:

1. Set up the required database items in Geo SCADA Expert, including the required SCADAPack x70 Configuration items to represent the data that you want Geo SCADA Expert to monitor or control in the SCADAPack x70 device (see Configure SCADAPack x70 Devices in Geo SCADA Expert).

   Ensure that you specify the required Logic Variable Type on each of the SCADAPack x70 Analog, Digital, and Counter Configuration items (see Specify any SCADAPack x70 Logic Requirements). (SCADAPack x70 String Configuration items do not support SCADAPack x70 logic.)

   Also ensure that you set up the required SCADAPack x70 Configuration items to represent other local objects in the SCADAPack x70 device (such as DNP3 Peer communication, or Modbus communication status objects).

   If your system uses, or is being set up to use, Geo SCADA Expert's Group Templates and Group Instances feature, remember to take this into consideration when determining the location at which you should add the required database items.

2. Use the Export to RemoteConnect pick action to export the above configuration to RemoteConnect. The export process stores the configuration in a SCADAPack import configuration file (.rtz file).

3. Start the RemoteConnect application and create a project with the same device type as the SCADAPack x70 device itself and as per the SCADAPack x70 Device Configuration item that you created in Geo SCADA Expert.

4. On the RemoteConnect offline Logic page, use the Advanced section Import button to import the .rtz file into RemoteConnect.

5. Use RemoteConnect to modify the configuration accordingly, in particular adding the required SCADAPack x70 logic (if required) for the SCADAPack x70 device. For more information, see the documentation provided with the SCADAPack RemoteConnect software.

   If the SCADAPack x70 device is not to use any SCADAPack x70 logic, RemoteConnect will automatically include an 'empty' SCADAPack x70 logic application for the device as part of the export process in step 6.

6. In RemoteConnect, export the modified configuration (including any SCADAPack x70 logic), ready for importing into Geo SCADA Expert (see Export Configuration from RemoteConnect Ready for Importing into Geo SCADA Expert). The export process stores the configuration and SCADAPack x70 logic in an .rtz file, ready for importing into Geo SCADA Expert.

7. In Geo SCADA Expert, use the Import from RemoteConnect pick action to import .rtz file that contains the modified configuration and SCADAPack x70 logic application into the database.

8. In Geo SCADA Expert, complete the configuration of the database items for which you have just imported configuration.

   The amount of configuration changes that are required (if any) will vary, depending on the amount of configuration performed in step 1. For example, if the full configuration for the SCADAPack x70 device (other than any SCADAPack x70 logic) was set up in step 1, then there might not be any further configuration changes required. This might well be the scenario if you are using Group Templates to set up the common configuration for multiple SCADAPack x70 devices.

   If, however, only partial or minimal configuration was set up in step 1, after importing further configuration into Geo SCADA Expert in step 6, you now need to complete that configuration in the Geo SCADA Expert database.

9. Repeat steps 1 to 8 as needed to complete setting up the required SCADAPack x70 object configuration and SCADAPack x70 logic.

10. In Geo SCADA Expert, create and configure any required corresponding protocol-specific database items (see Configure SCADAPack x70 Devices in Geo SCADA Expert). Together with the SCADAPack x70 Configuration items, these database items make up an 'object-pair' in Geo SCADA Expert to represent the SCADAPack x70 device and its inputs and outputs (see Understand the SCADAPack x70 Driver).

    Remember that you can use the Create Protocol Point or Create Protocol Points pick action to create the protocol-specific points that define how Geo SCADA Expert is to retrieve data from the device, and process that data to raise alarms, generate events, and so on.

11. If you are configuring a new SCADAPack x70 device that is still using its factory settings, use RemoteConnect to set up the SCADAPack x70 device and provide that device with its configuration. This requires a USB connection out to the SCADAPack x70 device from the machine on which RemoteConnect is installed. This initial setup of the new SCADAPack x70 device comprises writing the configuration from step 5 to the SCADAPack x70 device.

    If the SCADAPack x70 device already has configuration, you can ignore this step.

12. If no configuration changes were made in any iterations of step 8, you can ignore this step.

    If changes to the configuration were made in any interactions of step 8, use the Download Configuration pick action to download the device's full configuration from Geo SCADA Expert to the SCADAPack x70 device.

You can use this strategy if you have not got any configuration set up in Geo SCADA Expert and you want to set up Geo SCADA Expert to manage the configuration of either:

• A new SCADAPack x70 device that is still using its factory settings

• An existing fully-operating SCADAPack x70 device in the field.

With this strategy, you use RemoteConnect to perform the majority of the configuration locally in the SCADAPack x70 device and then upload that configuration into Geo SCADA Expert.

Perform the following:

1. If you are configuring a new SCADAPack x70 device that is still using its factory settings, use RemoteConnect to configure the required settings locally in the SCADAPack x70 device. This should include writing the initial complete configuration and any required SCADAPack x70 logic to that device from RemoteConnect. (If you do not configure a SCADAPack x70 logic application for the device, RemoteConnect will create an empty logic application for that SCADAPack x70 device when it writes the configuration to that device.) You will have to connect RemoteConnect locally to the SCADAPack x70 device using a USB connection.

   Ignore this step if you have an existing fully-operating SCADAPack x70 device in the field and you want to set up Geo SCADA Expert to manage the configuration of that device.

2. In Geo SCADA Expert, set up the database items that are initially required. You only need to create the required Channel, Outstation Set, Outstation, and SCADAPack x70 Device Configuration items. You should fully configure the first three database items. However, you only need to create, rather than configure, the SCADAPack x70 Device Configuration item.

3. Use the Upload Configuration pick action to upload the configuration and SCADAPack x70 logic application from the SCADAPack x70 device into the Geo SCADA Expert database.

   The upload process will automatically create any database items that are required for storing the configuration of the SCADAPack x70 device and its inputs and outputs. This includes the creation of the SCADAPack x70 Configuration items that represent the inputs and outputs on the SCADAPack x70 device.

4. Complete the configuration in Geo SCADA Expert. Create and configure any corresponding protocol-specific database items that are required (see Configure SCADAPack x70 Devices in Geo SCADA Expert). Together with the SCADAPack x70 Configuration items, these database items make up an 'object-pair' in Geo SCADA Expert to represent the SCADAPack x70 device and its inputs and outputs (see Understand the SCADAPack x70 Driver).

   Remember that you can use the Create Protocol Point or Create Protocol Points pick action to create the protocol-specific points that define how Geo SCADA Expert is to retrieve data from the device, and process that data to raise alarms, generate events, and so on.