CADFamily.com: Dynsim OPCEngine-Software Documentation

System Architecture Diagram

SIM4ME is a modular environment, which allows multiple engines and multiple Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) to work in a co-ordinated effort for the development and use of dynamic simulation applications such as Operator Training Simulators (OTS). The SIM4ME architecture is capable of being distributed and therefore supports splitting OTS tasks between multiple processors and/or multiple computers.

A SIM4ME engine handles interactions between a specific emulation package or modelling environment and the SIM4ME Simulation Executive, or other engines. The OPCEngine facilitates data transfer between any SIM4ME engine, such as a DynsimPower engine or one of several DCS emulation or interface engines, and a third party software or hardware package via standardized OPC communication protocol.

This document describes the OPCEngine implementation for SIM4ME and the functional requirements placed on an OPC server wishing to integrate with the SIM4ME architecture by using the OPCEngine.

The following are true of the OPCEngine and the OPC Server it interacts with:

· OPC Data Access (OPC DA) is used as the communications protocol.

· The engine is implemented as an OPC Client application.

· The engine supports both OPC DA 2.0x and 1.0a specifications, and always uses OPC DA 2.0x interfaces in preference to OPC 1.0a interfaces where available.

· The engine supports connection to both In-Process and Out-of-Process OPC servers on the local machine and Out-of-Process servers on a remote machine via use of DCOM.

· The OPC Server in general is not integral to the emulator / model, and hence additional internal communications between the OPC Server and physical DEVICE (emulation / model) are typically necessary.

· The OPC Server implements an internal CACHE for values obtained from the physical DEVICE.

A more detailed look at the OPCEngine architecture is depicted below.

Installation Guide

The SIM4ME OPCEngine package will be installed through a standard Windows installation package built with InstallShield.

This installer will ensure that all the relevant files are installed, registered where appropriate.

After installation via the install shield, the following steps must be completed before the OPCEngine can be used effectively.

All of these steps are outlined in the User Guide below.

User Guide

Starting the OPCSim Configurator

Before running the OPCEngine, the OPCSim Configurator is used to configure OPC data points and groups. The SIM4ME OPCSim Configurator will be started from a menu pick on the Windows Start Menu:

Figure 1 SIM4ME OPCEngine Start Menu Entries

Once started the main application window for the OPCSim Configurator will be displayed:

Figure 2 OPCEngine Configurator main window

The main application window consists of a number of different areas:

· Workspace

· Error Log

· OPC Item List

· Toolbar

· Status Bar

· Header Bar

The use and function of these different areas will be described as appropriate below.

OPC Server Configuration

Before configuration can begin the user must first select and make a connection to the target OPC Server.

This can be done through the ‘OPC Server…’ option on the Config menu of the OPCSim Configurator, or via the Toolbar button.

Selecting the ‘OPC Server…’ option will display the OPC Server Setup dialog box:

Figure 3 OPC Server Setup dialog box

This dialog box lists all OPC Servers (OPC DA 1.0 and DA 2.0) registered on the local PC, OPC Servers registered on remote PC’s (assuming both local and remote PC’s have OPCEnum installed and that DCOM on both machines is correctly configured). It also allows for the manual entry of an OPC Server via its ProgID if a server is not listed.

To continue a user must select an OPC server, or enter a server’s ProgID.

Clicking OK on this dialog will establish communications with the OPC Server, which will be indicated by the ‘Connection State’ displayed in the Status Bar.

Figure 4 OPC Server Connection Status

OPC Communications Setup

Once an OPC Server has been configured the next step is to configure the OPC communications settings, and the options for the OPCEngine operation. This is done through the ‘OPC Comms Setup…’ option on the Config menu, via the toolbar button.

Figure 5 OPCEngine Configuration Dialog

OPC Data Transfer Options

The Settings in this dialog for OPC Data Transfer allow the user to configure the following:

¨ Update Rate: The rate at which changes in values for outputs from the OPC Server will be advised to the SIM4ME OPCEngine

¨ % Deadband: The deadband value to be specified for all OPC groups used by the OPC. This value follows the deadband specification as described in the OPC DA specifications.

OPCEngine (Client) Configuration

The ‘Configuration Options’ settings allow the use to specify how the OPCEngine will operate.

The options are:

¨ Run Engine in Step Mode: The OPCEngine will require specification of an OPC Item / tag which will cause the OPC Server to execute one step of integration time, and another tag which will indicate that the step has been completed. If this option is not specified the OPCEngine will still operate in step fashion, however it will not trigger the OPC Server to execute any logic.

¨ Save State with Snapshots: When selected, the OPCEngine will maintain the current running state of the simulation through snapshots. The actual operation of saving and restoring snapshot data can be performed by either the OPCEngine itself, or by the OPC Server. When selected, a number of tags will need to be configured to enable the OPCEngine to perform snapshot functionality. When Snapshots are being used, the OPCEngine can optionally trigger the OPC Server to ‘Reset’. This option is provided so that certain OPC Servers can write restored values into operating registers after restoration of a snapshot. This option, if configured, will be performed synchronously after restoration of a snapshot and before the engine resumes stepped operation.

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