Professional Documents
Culture Documents
21
Version: 2006.5
October 2007
Copyright (c) 1999-2007 by Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.
InfoPlus.21, Aspen Process Explorer, Setcim, GCS, Scan.21, the aspen leaf logo and Plantelligence & Enterprise
Optimization are trademarks or registered trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc., Cambridge, MA.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
This manual is intended as a guide to using AspenTech's software. This documentation contains AspenTech
proprietary and confidential information and may not be disclosed, used, or copied without the prior consent of
AspenTech or as set forth in the applicable license agreement. Users are solely responsible for the proper use of
the software and the application of the results obtained.
Although AspenTech has tested the software and reviewed the documentation, the sole warranty for the software
may be found in the applicable license agreement between AspenTech and the user. ASPENTECH MAKES NO
WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THIS
DOCUMENTATION, ITS QUALITY, PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.
Aspen Technology, Inc.
200 Wheeler Road
Burlington, MA 01803-5501
USA
Phone: +(781) 221-4300
Toll Free: (1) (888) 996-7100
http://www.aspentech.com
Contents
1 Introduction .........................................................................................................1
The Manual ................................................................................................... 1
Organization........................................................................................ 1
Related Documentation ................................................................................... 2
Technical Support .......................................................................................... 2
2 Overview ..............................................................................................................3
InfoPlus.21 Setup Considerations ..................................................................... 3
Using the InfoPlus.21 Administrator to Manage InfoPlus.21 .................................. 4
Starting and Stopping InfoPlus.21 .................................................................... 4
InfoPlus.21 Classes ........................................................................................ 4
The Role of the System Administrator ............................................................... 5
Working with AspenTech Customer Support ....................................................... 5
Working with the AspenTech Engineering Services Group..................................... 6
Design Expertise .................................................................................. 6
Relational Database Development........................................................... 7
User Interface Design ........................................................................... 7
Configuration Services .......................................................................... 7
Connectivity ........................................................................................ 7
Installation and Upgrades ...................................................................... 7
Project Management ............................................................................. 7
3 The Standard InfoPlus.21 Tag Set ........................................................................9
Defining Custom Tag Types ............................................................................. 9
InfoPlus.21 Tag Types Overview....................................................................... 9
InfoPlus.21 Tag Fields Overview ......................................................................10
Basic Tag Fields ............................................................................................21
NAME ................................................................................................21
IP_DESCRIPTION ................................................................................21
IP_PLANT_AREA..................................................................................21
IP_VALUE_FORMAT .............................................................................21
Valid Input Limits ................................................................................22
Alarm Limits .......................................................................................22
Display Setup Tag Fields ................................................................................22
IP_GRAPH_ MAXIMUM and IP_GRAPH_MINIMUM .....................................22
IP_TREND_VIEW_TIME ........................................................................22
IP_ENG_UNITS ...................................................................................22
IP_STEPPED .......................................................................................23
Collected Data Display Fields ..........................................................................23
IP_VALUE, IP_VALUE_QUALITY, and IP_VALUE_TIME ...............................23
IP_ALARM_STATE................................................................................23
IP_ACKNOWLEDGE-MENT .....................................................................24
Contents
iii
iv
Contents
1 Introduction
The Manual
Organization
This manual contains the following:
Chapter 1 Introduction provides a brief overview of the manual and a list
of related documentation.
Chapter 2 Overview presents a broad overview of the different aspects of
working with the InfoPlus.21 database.
Chapter 3 The Standard InfoPlus.21 Tag Set describes the standard
InfoPlus.21 tag set, which provides 5 pre-defined tag definition records for
setting up an InfoPlus.21 database.
Chapter 4 InfoPlus.21 History Repository provides background
information on how the InfoPlus.21 History Repository is organized and how
data is stored and retrieved.
Glossary provides a brief explanation of terms used throughout this
manual.
1 Introduction
Related Documentation
In addition to this manual, a number of other manuals are provided to help
users learn and use InfoPlus.21. The documentation set consists of the
following manuals:
InfoPlus.21 Installation Manual
InfoPlus.21 Database API Manual
InfoPlus.21 Database Developer's Manual
InfoPlus.21 Administration Help
InfoPlus.21 Administrator Help
InfoPlus.21 Definition Editor Help
DBC.21 Users Manual
Technical Support
AspenTech customers with a valid license and software maintenance
agreement can register to access the online AspenTech Support Center at:
http://support.aspentech.com
This Web support site allows you to:
Search for tech tips, solutions and frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Send suggestions
Technical advisories
Customer support is also available by phone, fax, and email. The most up-todate contact information is available at the AspenTech Support Center at
http://support.aspentech.com.
1 Introduction
2 Overview
InfoPlus.21 Setup
Considerations
The InfoPlus.21 Installation Manual provides step-by-step information on
installing and configuring InfoPlus.21. It describes how to install the
InfoPlus.21 software and covers important information on configuring
Windows NT or 2000 to run InfoPlus.21 efficiently.
Note: For more information on how to install, configure, and use your
system, see the InfoPlus.21 Installation Manual and the InfoPlus.21
Administration Help file.
2 Overview
Set security
Note: For more information on using the InfoPlus.21 Administrator, see the
InfoPlus.21 Administration Help file and the InfoPlus.21 Administrator Help
file.
InfoPlus.21 Classes
AspenTech offers a wide variety of training on the InfoPlus.21 product family.
We provide system administrator, application developer, or end-user/operator
training either in one of our training facilities worldwide, or at your site.
Please check out our training offering at http://www.aspentech.com/ on the
Training web page.
2 Overview
2 Overview
Make sure that you have available a high-speed modem and internet
access in case you need to send files to Customer Support or a Customer
Support engineer needs to log onto your system.
Design Expertise
The Engineering Services Group has a great deal of experience in
requirements definition, functional design specification, detailed design
specification, and detailed interface specification. They are comfortable with
standard design methodologies, such as structured analysis, object-oriented
analysis, and RDBMS data modeling. Typical applications could be based on
Visual Basic, Delphi, C or C++.
In addition, they are capable of developing detailed FAT (Factory Acceptance
Test) and SAT (Site Acceptance Test) procedures that will ensure design
criteria are met.
2 Overview
Configuration Services
The Engineering Services Group can provide configuration services such as
the creation of process graphics, trend pages, tag definition and generation,
and the establishment of SQC/SPC monitoring.
Connectivity
The Engineering Services Group can assist you in passing information to or
receiving information from other computers within your organization including
site-wide Intranet reporting applications. They can also assist in the
generation of web-based report applications as well. The Engineering Services
Group is skilled in using tools to construct low-cost interfaces to other
computer systems and in providing complete network and system consulting.
Project Management
The Engineering Services Group can provide complete project management
services to ensure the delivery of a well controlled and on-schedule system.
2 Overview
2 Overview
The standard InfoPlus.21 tag set provides 5 pre-defined tag definition records
for setting up an InfoPlus.21 database for process information management
and analysis. These are used with the Cim-IO interfaces.
Every data point that you want InfoPlus.21 to collect from the process
equipment.
Every value that you want InfoPlus.21 to send to the process equipment.
Thus, you must set up a tag for each pressure, temperature, lab test, and
flow in the process before it can be collected, trended, controlled, or
analyzed.
Description
Definition Record
SET
IP_SETDef
SQLA
IP_SQLADef
ANALOG
Analog values
IP_AnalogDef
DISCRETE
Discrete values
IP_DiscreteDef
TEXT
Text values
IP_TextDef
Tag Definition Records in the Standard InfoPlus.21 Tag Set
Description
Tag Types
IP_#_OF_TREND_VALUES
10
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
SQLA
IP_COLUMN_NAME is
optional. It may be up to 16
characters long and must
match the case of the
column name in the
relational database it
references.
For more information, see
SQLA Tag Fields.
11
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_COLUMN_STATUS
SQLA
IP_COLUMN_STATUS is
optional. It may be up to 16
characters long and must
match the case of the
column name in the
relational database it
references.
For more information, see
SQLA Tag Fields.
IP_COLUMN_TIME
SQLA
IP_COLUMN_TIME may be
up to 16 characters long
and must match the case of
the column name in the
relational database it
references.
For more information, see
SQLA Tag Fields.
IP_COLUMN_VALUE
SQLA
IP_COLUMN_VALUE may be
up to 16 characters long
and must match the case of
the column name in the
relational database it
references.
For more information, see
SQLA Tag Fields.
IP_DBNAME
SQLA
IP_DBNAME may be up to
30 characters long and
must match the case of the
name for the relational
database it references.
For more information, see
SQLA Tag Fields.
IP_DC_MAX_TIME_INT
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE
IP_ENG_UNITS is formatted
by a selector record called
ENG-UNITS.
For more information, see
Display Setup Tag Fields.
13
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_GRAPH_MAXIMUM
IP_GRAPH_MAXIMUM
should be the normal high
value for the tag.
For more information, see
Display Setup Tag Fields.
IP_GRAPH_MINIMUM
IP_GRAPH_MINIMUM should
be the normal low value for
the tag.
For more information, see
Display Setup Tag Fields.
IP_HIGH_ENTRY_LIMIT
SET
IP_HIGH_HIGH_LIMIT is
used to set the HIGH HIGH
alarm limit.
IP_HIGH_LIMIT is used to
set the HIGH alarm limit.
For more information, see
Data State Tag Fields.
14
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_HISTORY_STATUS
If IP_ARCHIVING is set to
ON, this field displays OK
when values can be written
to the InfoPlus.21 history
archive. It displays an error
message when values
cannot be written to the
InfoPlus.21 history archive.
If IP_ARCHIVING is set to
OFF, this field is blank.
This field does not require a
value at the time that the
tag is defined. It is filled in
and updates automatically
as the tag is used to gather
data.
For more information, see
History Repository Tag
Fields.
IP_INPUT_QUALITY
15
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_INPUT_VALUE
SET
16
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_MESSAGE_SWITCH
Setting
IP_MESSAGE_SWITCH to
ON causes all
IP_ALARM_STATE and
IP_ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
changes to be logged to the
log records specified in
IP_AlarmLogCntrl and
IP_AlarmAckCntrl. By
default both of these
records point to the log
record IP_LOG_RECORD.
For more information, see
Data State Tag Fields.
IP_PLANT_AREA
17
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_TREND_QLEVEL
18
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_TREND_TIME
19
Tag Field
Description
Tag Types
IP_VALUE_FORMAT
20
The rest of this chapter further describes each of the tag fields and how they
are related to other tag fields.
NAME
NAME is the primary key to the tags data. Every tag must have a tag name.
Tag names may be up to 24 characters long and each must be unique within
each InfoPlus.21 database. Whenever you specify a tag name, you may type
the characters in upper or lower case. Tag names are not case sensitive.
IP_DESCRIPTION
The tag field IP_DESCRIPTION can be up to 32 uppercase or lowercase
characters. IP_DESCRIPTION is an informational field for tag displays and
should be set up for every tag in the InfoPlus.21 database.
IP_PLANT_AREA
The tag field IP_PLANT_AREA is intended to be used to classify tags by the
plant area or unit of operation where they are located. You are not required to
use IP_PLANT_AREA in this way, however. You may use it to group tags in
any way you choose.
IP_PLANT_AREA can be left undefined. It is not required. The choices for
IP_PLANT_AREA are set up in the selector record PLANT-AREAS.
IP_VALUE_FORMAT
The tag field IP_VALUE_FORMAT specifies the numeric display format to use
for the tag's numeric fields. For analog tags, the value format must be of the
form Fnnn.xxx where nnn is one plus the total number of digits in the display
and xxx is the maximum number of digits to the right of the decimal place in
the display.
For records defined by DiscreteDef types, you can set the value format to use
any of the integer format or selector records you choose. For example, setting
the value format to I6 will cause all values to be displayed in six-digit integer
format. Alternatively, setting the value format to OFF/ON will cause a value of
0 to be represented as OFF, and all values of 1 to be represented as ON.
21
Alarm Limits
Whenever a tag exceeds either the IP_HIGH_HIGH_LIMIT or the
IP_LOW_LOW_LIMIT, by definition, it enters the HIGHHIGH or LOWLOW
alarm state. When this happens, InfoPlus.21 indicates the alarm in the tags
IP_ALARM_STATE field and, if IP_MESSAGE_SWITCH is set to ON, it writes a
record of it to the alarm log.
You may set up the IP_HIGH_HIGH_LIMIT and IP_LOW_LOW_LIMIT values
for the all the tag types except SQLA and TEXT tags.
IP_GRAPH_
MAXIMUM and IP_GRAPH_MINIMUM
InfoPlus.21 uses IP_GRAPH_MAXIMUM and IP_GRAPH_ MINIMUM to
define the default scaling values for plotting tag data on GCS trend displays.
IP_TREND_VIEW_TIME
The tag field IP_TREND_VIEW_TIME allows you to set up a default time span
for tags on GCS trend displays. For example, for a tag with
IP_TREND_VIEW_TIME set to 0002:00:00, the initial span of time for the tag
on a GCS display would be two hours worth of data.
IP_ENG_UNITS
IP_ENG_UNITS specifies the label to use in displays and reports to define the
units for the tag, e.g., kg/sec. IP_ENG_UNITS is used by all tag types except
TEXT tags. It is for display purposes only. It is not used for calculations in the
InfoPlus.21 database.
The choices for IP_ENG_UNITS are set up in the selector record ENG-UNITS.
22
IP_STEPPED
IP_Stepped specifies the type of compression used to record incoming values.
By default, IP_STEPPED is set to Interpolated. When set to Stepped, the
stepped compression logic is enabled.
For more information, see How Data Compression Works, in the InfoPlus.21
History Repository chapter.
The tag field IP_VALUE displays the last value recorded for the tag in the
InfoPlus.21 history repository. IP_VALUE_TIME displays the timestamp for
the value and IP_VALUE_QUALITY displays its status. For a tag value to be
reported to the InfoPlus.21 history repository:
It must either exceed the compression limits set for it by
IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE.
OR
The time that has elapsed since the last value was stored in the
InfoPlus.21 history repository must be more than the number of seconds
specified by IP_DC_MAX_TIME_INT.
The IP_VALUE, IP_VALUE_QUALITY, and IP_VALUE_TIME fields do not
require a value at the time that the tag is defined. They will be filled in
and updated automatically as the tag is used to gather data.
IP_ALARM_STATE
IP_ALARM_STATE displays the alarm state message when a tag goes into the
high, low, or mid state. The next table shows the possible values for
IP_ALARM_STATE for the tags in the standard InfoPlus.21 tag set. The
choices for IP_ALARM_STATE are defined by the selector record specified by
the field IP_ALARM_FORMAT.
Displayed
Value
Internal
Value
Description
HIGH HIGH
+2
HIGH
+1
OK
LOW
0
-1
23
Displayed
Value
Internal
Value
Description
LOW LOW
-2
VALUE below IP_LOW_LOW_LIMIT
Possible values for IP_ALARM_STATE
IP_ACKNOWLEDGE-MENT
IP_ACKNOWLEDGEMENT allows an operator to acknowledge that a tag is in
an alarm state. It does not require a value at the time that the tag is defined.
IP_INPUT_VALUE, IP_INPUT_QUALITY,
and IP_INPUT_TIME
The tag field IP_INPUT_VALUE displays the last value reported by the
scanner system to the InfoPlus.21 database. IP_INPUT_TIME displays the
timestamp for the value and IP_INPUT_QUALITY displays its status.
The IP_INPUT_VALUE, IP_INPUT_QUALITY, and IP_INPUT_ TIME fields do not
require a value at the time that the tag is defined. They will be filled in and
update automatically as the tag is used to gather data.
IP_ARCHIVING
IP_ARCHIVING turns on and off the recording of tag data in the InfoPlus.21
history repository. You must set up IP_ARCHIVING for all tag types except
SQLA tags.
If IP_ARCHIVING is set to OFF, the InfoPlus.21 database does not pass the
data to the history repository and does not read data from the history
repository.
If IP_ARCHIVING is set to ON, the InfoPlus.21 database passes the data to
the history repository.
If IP_ARCHIVING is set to PAUSE, the InfoPlus.21 database does not pass the
data to the history repository but does read previously stored data from the
history repository.
IP_HISTORY_STATUS
IP_HISTORY_STATUS displays the history storage status for the tag.
24
IP_REPOSITORY
IP_REPOSITORY specifies the InfoPlus.21 history repository in which to store
the tag data. You may set up multiple history repositories. For more
information, see the InfoPlus.21 Administration Help file.
IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE
IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE specifies how much change to tolerate in the incoming
values. When an incoming value for a tag changes by more than
IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE from the last value saved, it is stored in the
InfoPlus.21 history repository.
IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE may be set up for all tag types except TEXT and SQLA.
IP_DC_MAX_TIME_INT
The tag field IP_DC_MAX_TIME_INT specifies a maximum time interval
parameter that is considered by the data compression processing.
25
Alarm State
High state
mid state
Low state
When a tag enters the HIGH or LOW alarm state, InfoPlus.21 indicates the
alarm state in the tags IP_ALARM_STATE field and, if IP_MESSAGE_SWITCH
is set to ON, it writes a record of it to the alarm log.
InfoPlus.21 will change the state of an acknowledged alarm to UNACK when
the tag enters a more severe alarm state. When the transition from ACK to
UNACK occurs, the InfoPlus.21 database writes a summary line record to the
record specified by the IP_PIMSAckLine. The default record for
IP_PIMSAckLine is IP_UnackAlarmSummary.
IP_ALARM_FORMAT
IP_ALARM_FORMAT specifies the selector record to use for the alarm state
messages. All of the tags in the standard InfoPlus.21 tag set use the selector
record IP-ALARM_MESGS for the alarm state messages.
If you want to create different alarm states, you must do so by setting up a
custom selector record and a custom tag definition record to use it as
described in the InfoPlus.21 Database Developers Manual.
IP_LIMIT_DEADBAND
IP_LIMIT_DEADBAND specifies the minimum amount that data for a tag in an
alarm state must vary before creating another alarm. This field is useful for
eliminating nuisance alarms when a tags value is staying close to its upper or
lower alarm level.
26
IP_MESSAGE_SWITCH
IP_MESSAGE_SWITCH turns on or off logging alarm state and
acknowledgment messages for a tag. The record IP_AlarmLogCntrl specifies
the log file to write to for alarm state records. The record IP_AlarmAckCntrl
specifies the log file to write to for acknowledgment records. The default
record for both IP_AlarmAckCntrl and IP_AlarmLogCntrl is IP_LOG_RECORD.
27
SQLA tag records are defined by IP_SQLADef. An SQLA tag record contains
the following fields:
Field Name
Field Description
NAME
IP_DESCRIPTION
IP_PLANT_AREA
IP_ENG_UNITS
IP_VALUE_FORMAT
IP_GRAPH_MAXIMUM
IP_GRAPH_MINIMUM
IP_STEPPED
IP_COLUMN_NAME
IP_COLUMN_STATUS
IP_COLUMN_TIME
IP_COLUMN_VALUE
IP_COLUMN_LEVEL
IP_TABLE
IP_SQLA_CONNECTION
IP_TAG_TYPE,
IP_DBNAME,
IP_LOW_LOW_LIMIT,
IP_HIGH_HIGH_LIMIT,
IP_TYPE_NUMBER,
28
Field Name
Field Description
IP_COLUMN_VALID
LabName
LabTime
LabValue
Labdata01
8/13/2004 11:00:00am
63.0
Labdata02
8/13/2004 11:00:00am
75.4
Labdata01
8/13/2004 12:00:00am
47.8
Labdata02
8/13/2004 12:00:00am
Table for Labdata01 and Labdata02
40.35
LabTime
Labdata01Value
Labdata02Value
8/13/2004
11:00:00am
63.0
75.4
8/13/2004
47.8
40.35
12:00:00am
Table for Labdata01 and Labdata02
29
Finally, the third approach is illustrated by creating a table for each SQLA tag.
LabTime
LabValue
8/13/2004 11:00:00am
63.0
8/13/2004 12:00:00am
Table for Labdata01
47.8
LabTime
LabValue
8/13/2004 11:00:00am
75.4
8/13/2004 12:00:00am
Table for Labdata02
40.35
Field Description
NAME
IP_CONNECTION_STRING
IP_UTC_TIMESTAMP?
IP_SCAN_FIRST,
IP_SCAN_LAST,
IP_SCAN_FACTOR
30
Field Name
Field Description
much data (8 hours worth) will be retrieved
prior to T1 during the second query. Each
subsequent query will retrieve double the
amount as the previous query until either the
required pre-T1 value is returned or the number
of hours specified by the last parameter has
been searched without successfully finding the
required pre-T1 value. As distributed, the
Default SQLA Connection record has an
IP_SCAN_FIRST of 2, an IP_SCAN_FACTOR of 2,
and an IP_SCAN_LAST of 65.
Then, click the right mouse button to invoke the context menu. Selecting Edit
connection string from the context menu causes Data Link Properties
dialog box to appear as show below in Figure 3 or Figure 4.
31
32
33
34
35
36
IP_#_OF_TREND_VALUES
The tag field IP_#_OF_TREND_VALUES specifies the number of occurrences
of history that should be kept in the memory-resident history repeat area.
If you want to save values to history, it must be set to at least 1.
If you want to save values to history and you are using COMPRESSION, this
field must be set to at least 2.
The repeat area list of values remains blank if you do not specify a number
for IP_#_OF_TREND_VALUES.
The fields in the repeat area do not require a value at the time that the tag is
defined. They will be filled in and update automatically as the tag is used to
gather data.
IP_TREND_VALUE, IP_TREND_QLEVEL,
IP_TREND_SEQ_#, IP_TREND_TIME, and
IP_TREND_QSTATUS
The repeat area contains multiple occurrences of IP_TREND_VALUE,
IP_TREND_QSTATUS, IP_TREND_QLEVEL, and IP_TREND_TIME.
When you click on a specific value in the repeat area, the field
IP_TREND_SEQ_# displays the history sequence number assigned to it by the
InfoPlus.21 history repository. The field IP_TREND_QSTATUS corresponds to
the field IP_VALUE_QUALITY. It displays the status for the value. The field
IP_TREND_QLEVEL is derived from IP_VALUE_ QUALITY.
The table InfoPlus.21 quality statuses, quality level, and quality code, in the
InfoPlus.21 History Repository chapter of this manual, lists the possible
values for IP_TREND_QLEVEL and IP_TREND_QSTATUS.
37
38
4 InfoPlus.21 History
Repository
This chapter provides background information on the way that the InfoPlus.21
history repository is organized and how data is stored and retrieved. Its
purpose is to provide you with a conceptual framework to assist you in
determining how to set up the repositories and file sets for InfoPlus.21.
key file
data file
The key file, which is called arc.key, is an index to the data records keyed by
the system-assigned tag ID numbers and the time.
The data file, which is called arc.dat, is a file of history records. Each history
record contains multiple history samples saved for the same tag. Each history
sample contains a timestamp having microsecond resolution, a key level, and
the other fields defined for the historical occurrence.
39
The long-record data file, which is called arc.byte, is a file that contains the
records for any data samples that are larger than 2048 bytes. For example, if
you have a text tag data sample that is 2056 bytes long, it will be written to
the arc.byte file.
Stepped compression
Text compression
40
IP21 obtains the last recorded time from the first occurrence of
IP_TREND_TIME.
IP21 obtains the previous input value, previous input quality status, and
previous input time from IP_INPUT_VALUE. IP_INPUT_QUALITY, and
IP_INPUT_TIME.
IP21 obtains the new input value, new input quality status, and new input
time from IP_INPUT_VALUE, IP_INPUT_QUALITY, and IP_INPUT_TIME
41
time. Then IP21 historizes the new input value, input quality status, and
input time.
Stepped Compression
Stepped compression is enabled by changing the IP_STEPPED field value from
Interpolated to Stepped. When this type of compression is used, whenever
a new incoming value exceeds the deviation limit or it exceeds the maximum
time interval, the system records the new value with the new timestamp.
That is, instead of creating a slope between points, Stepped compression
creates a stair step pattern between values.
Text Compression
With Text compression, the system will not record new incoming text data if
the current value is the same as the incoming data. If, however, the new
incoming text data is the same as the current value, but the time span
42
Data coming from the InfoPlus.21 history repository might have been
compressed for storage and may vary from the original scanned data by
the compression limit set up for the tag in the InfoPlus.21 database.
The information that follows describes in more detail how these slight
differences could occur.
Information Collection
During operation, sensors gather data generated by the process equipment.
Depending on the nature of the sensor, this data may be available as
continuous information or individual samples.
The next figure shows, for a single tag, a comparison of the data the process
device generates and the data samples sent to the InfoPlus.21 database.
43
for the tag in the database. Thus, over a period of time, although the
scanners may have collected a number of samples for a tag, only the samples
that exceed the compression deviation limits are stored in the InfoPlus.21
history repository.
The next figure shows a comparison of the data samples collected and the
data stored in the InfoPlus.21 history repository after data compression.
You control the limits the data compression software sets by the value you
specify for IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE for each tag. For the tags that you need to
track closely, you can minimize or turn off compression to ensure that even
the slightest changes are saved. For other tags, you can use different
compression limits to save storage space without loss of information.
44
Understanding InfoPlus.21
History Repository File Sets
The InfoPlus.21 history repository is not a relational database. It is made up
of a number of file sets in separate directories. Each file set has a data file, a
long-record data file, and a companion key file. The files in a set always have
the names arc.dat, arc.byte, and arc.key.
Each file set holds all the data for a continuous period of time for all tags, for
example, from 10 December 97 11:27:45 to 15 Jan 98 05:34:32. There are
typically 10 to 20 file sets in an InfoPlus.21 repository with several days or
weeks of data in each set.
The next figure shows an example of the organization of an InfoPlus.21
history repository. In the example, there are seven file sets. File sets 1 and 2
are dismounted (D) and available for use. The history storage program will
shift to file set 1 when it completes storage to file set 7, which is currently the
active (MA) file set. File sets 3 through 7 are mounted (M) and have already
been used to store data. File set 3 has very old data and is mounted as
Reserved (I) so that it will not be overwritten.
By definition, the file set in use for storing data is called the active file set. It
receives all the current data samples (although other file sets can also be
updated by edits or backdated events, for example, from delayed lab
samples). As data samples are stored, the active file set grows until it reaches
its size limit. The system then shifts into the next available file set. The
previously active file set becomes permanently bounded by the start and end
times of its active period. Normally there are no time gaps between file sets
except where old sets have been restored from an archive tape.
The arc.dat file contains variable length data records up to 64K bytes. Each
record contains multiple history samples saved for the same tag. Each history
45
Understanding InfoPlus.21
Quality Status Codes and
Quality Levels
Every data point that is collected by a Cim-IO interface has an associated
InfoPlus.21 quality status.
46
When the data points are stored in the InfoPlus.21 history repository, they
are also assigned an InfoPlus.21 quality level based on their quality status.
For the standard InfoPlus.21 tag types, each entry consists of the tags name,
value, quality status, and quality level.
The next table lists the InfoPlus.21 quality statuses and their associated
quality level and quality code. It also lists the typical interface source using
the status code.
The InfoPlus.21 quality code descriptors are text strings that are provided to
make the numeric quality statuses easier to understand. These codes are set
up by the selector record QUALITY-STATUSES.
InfoPlu
s.21
Quality
Level
InfoPlus.21
Quality
Status
InfoPlus.21
Quality Status
Descriptor
Description
Interface
Source
Bad
-72
Inter
Batch interrupt
SCAN.21
Bad
-71
Bad High
SCAN.21
Bad
-70
Arc Off
Archiving is off
SCAN.21
Bad
-69
Bad Calc
Bad calculation
SCAN.21
Bad
-68
Bad Data
Process equipment
indicates that the tag
is bad
SCAN.21
Bad
-67
Bad Low
SCAN.21
Bad
-66
No Data
Process equipment is
not available
SCAN.21
Good
-65
Low
SCAN.21
Good
-64
High
SCAN.21
Suspect
-63
?-Low
Front end
questionable Low
SCAN.21
Suspect
-62
?-High
Front end
questionable high
SCAN.21
Good
-61
Man
Manual entry
SCAN.21
Good
-60
Man-Low
SCAN.21
Good
-59
Man-High
SCAN.21
Suspect
-58
NFP
Cim-IO
Bad
-57
PTFP
Cim-IO
Good
-56
CLPP
Cim-IO
Good
-55
CLPM
Clamped, windup
minus
Cim-IO
Suspect
-54
CND
Conditional
Cim-IO
Bad
-53
NRDY
Cim-IO
Bad
-52
Inval DT
Cim-IO
Bad
-51
DT not Sup
Cim-IO
47
InfoPlu
s.21
Quality
Level
InfoPlus.21
Quality
Status
InfoPlus.21
Quality Status
Descriptor
Description
Interface
Source
supported
Bad
48
-50
Inavail
Data unavailable
Cim-IO
Suspect
-49
Questiona
Data questionable
Cim-IO
Suspect
-48
CAL/IOPM
Calibration, lower
limit input open
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Suspect
-47
CAL/NEFV
Calibration, no
effective value
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-46
CAL/NEFV/B
Calibration, No
effective value, data
bad
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-45
CA/NE/IO/B
Calibration, no
effective data, lower
limit, input open, data
bad
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-44
CAL/IOPM/B
Calibration, lower
limit input open, data
bad
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Good
-43
Recovered
Recovered from
history
Cim-IO
Suspect
-42
Cannot Val
Cim-IO
Suspect
-41
NCOM/QST
Communications
error, data
questionable
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-40
NCOM/BAD
Communications
error, data bad
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Good
-39
CAL
Calibration
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Suspect
-38
NEFV/QST
No effective data,
data questionable
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Suspect
-37
CAL/QST
Calibration, data
questionable
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Suspect
-36
NEFV/CAL/Q
No effective data,
calibration, data
questionable
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Suspect
-35
ServOff/Q
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-34
ServOff/B
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Suspect
-33
MAIN/QST
Maintenance, data
Cim-IO
InfoPlu
s.21
Quality
Level
InfoPlus.21
Quality
Status
InfoPlus.21
Quality Status
Descriptor
Description
Interface
Source
questionable
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-32
MAINT/B
Maintenance, data
bad
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-31
IOP
Input open
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Suspect
-30
IOPP
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Suspect
-29
IOPM
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-28
IOPP/BAD
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-27
IOPM/BAD
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Suspect
-26
OOP
Output open
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-25
OOP/BAD
Cim-IO
Yokogawa
Interface
Bad
-24
Undef Qual
Unknown quality
returned
Cim-IO
Suspect
-23
Clamped
Cim-IO
Bad
-22
V.F. Undef
Cim-IO
Bad
-21
Field Acc
Cim-IO
Bad
-20
Tag Mism
Cim-IO
Bad
-19
Setcim Err
InfoPlus.21 database
error
Cim-IO
Suspect
-18
WFAR
Wait for
asynchronous reply
Cim-IO
Bad
-17
Declare E
Declare error
Cim-IO
Bad
-16
Cancel E
Cancel error
Cim-IO
Bad
-15
Undef Val
Undefined value
Cim-IO
Bad
-14
Off
SCAN/21
Bad
-13
Bad Tag
Bad tag
Cim-IO
Bad
-12
Req Failed
Request failed
Cim-IO
Bad
-11
E.U. Conv E
Cim-IO
Bad
-10
Deadband E
Cim-IO
49
InfoPlu
s.21
Quality
Level
InfoPlus.21
Quality
Status
InfoPlus.21
Quality Status
Descriptor
Description
Interface
Source
Bad
-9
Out Range
Cim-IO
Bad
-8
No Permiss
No permission
Cim-IO
Bad
-7
Async Off
Asynchronous reply
off
Cim-IO
Bad
-6
Bad
Value is bad
Cim-IO
Suspect
-5
Clamped Low
Value is clamped
against its low limit
Cim-IO
Suspect
-4
Clamped High
Value is clamped
against its high limit
Cim-IO
Suspect
-3
Suspect
Front end
questionable
SCAN/21
Good
-2
No Status
There is no status
associated with the
value
Cim-IO
Good
-1
OK
Good data
SCAN.21 or
Cim-IO
Good
Initial
Never input
SCAN/21 or
Cim-IO
50
5 Glossary
Arc.byte
The arc.byte files are the long-record files for the InfoPlus.21 history
repository.
Arc.dat
The arc.dat files are the data files of history records for the InfoPlus.21
history repository.
Arc.key
The arc.key files are the key files for the InfoPlus.21 history repository.
Batch.21
Batch.21 is the InfoPlus.21 batch tracking option. It keeps track of
manufacturing process information on a batch-by-batch basis. It records
batch events, batch characteristics, and trend data. Batch.21 data is stored in
a Microsoft SQL Server relational database.
Case
When referring to character strings, case is the distinction between uppercase
letters (A-Z), or lower case letters (a-z). Matching the case means typing a
string in upper and lowercase exactly as it was originally typed. Case folding
means that the computer converts the string entered to either all upper case
or all lower case.
5 Glossary
51
Cim-IO
Cim-IO is one of the two InfoPlus.21 scan systems. It updates the InfoPlus.21
database with process data obtained from local or remote Cim-IO interfaces.
A Cim-IO client task can request the information periodically or when some
special database event occurs. Cim-IO can also accept unsolicited data
received from some interfaces; that is, when the device has new data to be
sent.
Cim-IO Interface
Cim-IO interfaces are available for various kinds of distributed control
systems (DCS) and programmable logic controllers (PCL). A Cim-IO interface
collects process data from a DCS or PLC and sends it to a local or remote
InfoPlus.21 database.
Client application
A program that sends requests to another program and awaits a response.
Compression Software
The compression software reduces the amount of data stored in the
InfoPlus.21 history repository. Only those values that are required to
accurately recreate the data as it originally occurred are sent to the
InfoPlus.21 history repository. The tolerance of the compression algorithm
can be configured on a tag-by-tag basis as part of each tag's definition in the
InfoPlus.21 database.
Environment variable
An environment variable can be any of a number of variables that describes
the way an operating system is going to run. The MS-DOS command to see
environment variable settings is set.
GCS
GCS is an InfoPlus.21 database client program that allows process graphics to
be created for subsequent viewing by a plant operator. GCS displays include
process graphics, current database values, trend plots, X-Y plots, and bar
charts. GCS communicates with a GCS database interface running on the local
or a remote InfoPlus.21 host.
InfoPlus.21 Database
The InfoPlus.21 database is a memory-resident database that consists of
records. Each record consists of named fields. Fields can be defined to hold
52
5 Glossary
InfoPlus.21 Manager
The InfoPlus.21 Manager administers the InfoPlus.21 database and its
associated tasks.
InfoPlus-X
InfoPlus-X provides an alternative set of predefined tags that can be used
instead of the standard INFOPLUS.21 tag set. The GCS-based InfoPlus-X
display console is the primary operator interface. The InfoPlus-X tags can also
be configured from the InfoPlus-X display console.
IP_ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The tag field IP_ACKNOWLEDGMENT records whether or not an alarm state is
acknowledged or unacknowledged.
IP_ALARM_FORMAT
The tag field IP_ALARM_FORMAT specifies the record containing the alarm
state messages to be used by IP_ALARM_ STATE.
IP_ALARM_STATE
The tag field IP_ALARM_STATE displays the state message that is associated
with the value most recently received from the process equipment.
This field does not require a value at the time that the tag is defined. It is
filled in and updates automatically as the tag is used to gather data.
5 Glossary
53
The choices for IP_ALARM_STATE are defined by the selector record specified
by the field IP_ALARM_FORMAT.
IP_ARCHIVING
The tag field IP_ARCHIVING turns on/off recording tag data in the InfoPlus.21
history repository.
IP_COLUMN_NAME
The tag field IP_COLUMN_NAME specifies the database column where the
SQLA tag names reside.
IP_COLUMN_STATUS
The tag field IP_COLUMN_STATUS specifies the database column where the
status of SQLA tags resides.
IP_COLUMN_TIME
The tag field IP_COLUMN_TIME specifies the database column where the
SQLA tag timestamps reside.
IP_COLUMN_VALUE
The tag field IP_COLUMN_VALUE specifies the database column where SQLA
tag values reside.
IP_DBNAME
The tag field IP_DBNAME specifies the database name where an SQLA tag's
data resides.
IP_DC_MAX_TIME_INT
The tag field IP_DC_MAX_TIME_INT specifies a maximum time interval
parameter that is considered by the data compression processing.
IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE
The tag field IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE specifies the minimum amount that data
for the tag must change in order for the change to pass the compression
software and be recorded in the InfoPlus.21 history repository.
For analog tag values, IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE is a 4-byte real number that is
displayed using an F12.7 format.
For discrete tag values, IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE is a 32-bit signed integer that
is displayed using an I6 format.
IP_DC_STATUS
The tag field IP_DC_STATUS indicates the current state of the
boxcar/backward slope compression calculation.
54
5 Glossary
IP_DCS_NAME
The tag field I_DCS_NAME specifies the name of the tag on the Distributed
Control System (DCS). IP_DCS_NAME may be up to 64 characters long.
IP_DESCRIPTION
The tag field IP_DESCRIPTION specifies the description for the tag.
IP_ENG_UNITS
The tag field units specifies the label to use in displays to define the units for
the tag (for example, kg/sec).
IP_ENG_UNITS is a selector record defined by the record ENG-UNITS.
IP_GRAPH_MAXIMUM
The tag field IP_GRAPH_MAXIMUM specifies the upper limit for the normal
value range for the tag. IP_GRAPH_MAXIMUM is used for GCS trend display
default scaling.
IP_GRAPH_MINIMUM
The tag field IP_GRAPH_MINIMUM specifies the lower limit for the normal
value range for the tag. IP_GRAPH_MINIMUM is used for GCS trend display
default scaling.
IP_HIGH_HIGH_LIMIT
The tag field IP_HIGH_HIGH_LIMIT for Cim-IO and all other interfaces sets
the tag state boundary between the HIGH and HIGH limits.
IP_HIGH_LIMIT
The tag field IP_HIGH_LIMIT specifies the boundary between the mid state
and high state for event state monitoring.
To eliminate the mid state for a tag, set IP_HIGH_LIMIT and IP_LOW_LIMIT
to the same value.
IP_HISTORY_STATUS
Displays the history storage status for the tag. If IP_ARCHIVING is set to ON,
this field displays OK when values can be written to the InfoPlus.21 history
archive. It displays an error message when values cannot be written to the
InfoPlus.21 history archive. If IP_ARCHIVING is set to OFF, this field is blank.
IP_INPUT_QUALITY
The tag field IP_INPUT_QUALITY displays the status for the most recent value
received from the process equipment.
5 Glossary
55
IP_INPUT_TIME
The tag field IP_INPUT_TIME displays the timestamp for the most recent
value received from the process equipment.
IP_INPUT_VALUE
The tag field IP_INPUT_VALUE displays the most recent value received from
the process equipment.
IP_LIMIT_DEADBAND
The tag field IP_LIMIT_DEADBAND specifies the minimum amount that data
for the tag must vary before creating another alarm. This attribute eliminates
nuisance alarms when a tag's value is staying close to its upper or lower
alarm level.
IP_LOW_LIMIT
The tag field IP_LOW_LIMIT specifies the boundary between the mid state
and low state for event state monitoring.
To eliminate a mid state for a tag, set IP_HIGH_LIMIT and IP_LOW_LIMIT to
the same value.
IP_LOW_LOW_LIMIT
The tag attribute IP_LOW_LOW_LIMIT for Cim-IO and all other interfaces sets
the tag state boundary between the LOW and LOW_LOW limits.
IP_MESSAGE_SWITCH
The tag field IP_MESSAGE_SWITCH turns on/off writing the alarm state and
alarm state acknowledgment messages to the log file.
Setting IP_MESSAGE_SWITCH to ON causes all IP_ALARM_STATE and
IP_ACKNOWLEDGEMENT changes to be logged to the log records specified in
IP_AlarmLogCntrl and IP_AlarmAckCntrl. By default both of these records
point to the log record IP_LOG_RECORD.
IP_PLANT_AREA
The tag attribute area identifies the plant area or unit of operation where the
tag is located. It is used in Event.21 for filtering event data by area and
assigning key values to events.
IP_REPOSITORY
The tag field IP_REPOSITORY identifies the specific InfoPlus.21 history
repository to use for storing the tag's data.
The choices for IP_REPOSITORY are limited to the repository or repositories
that you set up for storing InfoPlus.21 data.
56
5 Glossary
NAME
The tag field NAME defines the tag name. NAME can be a string of up to 24
alphanumeric characters. You can use the period (.), pound sign (#),
underscore (_), and hyphen (-) characters within the NAME. The characters in
NAME are not case sensitive.
Q
Q is the InfoPlus.21 quality control option. It allows statistical alarms to be
generated for process data as it is collected. Q provides control charts,
histograms, and pareto charts.
Relational database
A relational database is an industry standard database structure in which
information is held in tables of rows and columns. Relationships can be
defined between the information in different tables. Relational databases are
extremely flexible in the way they store and retrieve information. They permit
complicated queries of the information they contain using SQL, Structured
Query Language.
Sample
A sample is a single data point. It may refer to an interpolated value or to a
historized point.
SET
The tag type SET is used to record values that are either manually set or set
by the output from a client application.
SQLA tag
The tag type SQLA is used to view data in a relational database through a tag.
5 Glossary
57
SQLplus
SQLplus is the InfoPlus.21 SQL command language option. It provides a tool
set for searching and manipulating the InfoPlus.21 database.
Status
Every data point that is collected by a Cim-IO interface has an associated
InfoPlus.21 quality status.
When the data points are stored in the InfoPlus.21 history repository, they
are also assigned an InfoPlus.21 quality level based on their quality status.
For the standard InfoPlus.21 tag types, each entry consists of the tags name,
value, quality status, and quality level.
The InfoPlus.21 quality codes are text strings that are provided to make the
numeric quality statuses easier to understand. Those codes are set up by the
selector record QUALITY-STATUSES
The table InfoPlus.21 quality statuses, quality level, and quality code, in the
InfoPlus.21 History Repository chapter of this manual, lists the InfoPlus.21
quality statuses and their associated quality level and quality code.
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym applied to word processors that stands for "what you
see is what you get."
58
5 Glossary
Index
Acknowledgement
of alarms 0-24
Alarm states 0-23
Alarms
logging messages 0-27
tag field 0-26
ANALOG tags
fields for 0-10
Area 0-21
AspenTech
customer Support 0-5
engineering services 0-6
AspenTech support 0-2
AspenTech Support Center 0-2
Defaults
timespan 0-22
Description 0-21
DISCRETE tags
fields for 0-10
Documentation, related 0-2
B
Backslope 0-40
Backup
files that need backups 0-6
Boxcar 0-40
C
Changing
status codes 0-47
CIM-IO
tag types for 0-10
Classes 0-4
Compression
how data is stored 0-40
how data is uncompressed 0-43
tag field 0-25
Custom tag types 0-9
customer support 0-2
Index
E
e-bulletins 0-2
Engineering Services Group 0-6
Engineering units 0-22
F
Fields
required by tag type 0-9
H
Help
customer support 0-5
engineering services 0-6
help desk 0-2
History file sets
overview of 0-45
History repositories
how compression works 0-40
HISTORY/21
tag fields 0-24
I
InfoPlus.21
Setup considerations 0-3
InfoPlus.21 tag set
fields for 0-10
59
Tag state
messages 0-26
tag fields 0-26
Tags
determining range for good
versus invalid status 0-26
display setup 0-22
fields for InfoPlus.21 tags 0-10
name 0-21
60
Index
Index
61
62
Index