PCo 2.1.5.1 with Matrikon OPC Simulator

[former_member1170711]

Since I am having trouble getting my Phoenix Contact OPC server working, I am now trying to use the Matrikon OPS Simulator to veryify that my PCo 2.1.5.1 installation is sound.

In PCo, I created a Source System using OPC DA and picked the Matrikon simulator (after using Refresh on the Server tab).

I then create an Agent Instace using that Source System and start it. That much seems to work ok.

I am using "Legacy" and port 9001 on the Query tab.

My Data Server on the MII side is a UDC tag connector configured with the IP of the PCo box and port 9001.

In the query editor in the Workbench the tags show up as expected. When I try to test the query it does not work as expected. I get an error like this:

Retrieve for Tag Bucket Brigade.Int1 [Bucket Brigade.Int1] failed due to Quality Error, Expecting: Good, Received:Bad, Waiting for initial data, Not limited.

Am I doing something wrong here?

Thank you,

Mike

[former_member1170711]

I have made some progress on this.

In the Query Template, this does NOT work:

1) pick the tag group in the Available Groups section

2) pick the tag in the Available Tags section

3) select the tag

4) use right arrow to put tag in Selected Tags section

5) click test icon

However, this does work:

1) Type in the entire path to the tag in the box under the Selected Tags section

2) click Add

3) click test icon

From looking at the PCo log (Verbose setting) it appears that with the first technique the query just sends the tag name and does not include the group in the specification. This is suprising to me since I am explicitly selecting the group. I cannot see a way to control this from the query template.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mike

[former_member265186]

Hi Michael,

are you sure that the Matrikon Simulator provides good data? You should have quality good - this means the sensor i ok and offers good values.

Best regards,

Florin

[jcgood25]

You may need to use force flat namespace with this OPC DA server: http://help.sap.com/saphelp_pco21/helpdata/en/f9/6927b8cc2447bd8416fe600f93a497/frameset.htm

[former_member1170711]

In response to Florin's post, I have no reason to believe that the Matricon Similation server is not providing good data. In PCo I have the Acceptable Data Quality set to Good.

My understanding is that this Matrikon simulator is very widely used. It has no trouble talking to it's own OPC Explorer client. I am not seeing I know for sure that the problem is on the PCo side because I don't. It just seems most likely.

In response to Jeremy, I had already tried setting Force Flat Namespace to True (and I just tried it again) and unfortunately that does not work. No matter which group I select in the QT it seems to ignore the one I selected and it uses the very first group in the list.

Thanks for trying to help! Given the number of folks that have read my PCo related posts I am surprised at the lack of responses. I would have thought this would have been a pretty common thing to do with PCo (and my other post about the Phoenix Contact OPC server--which is what I would really like to get working).

Thanks,

Mike

[Former Member]

Hi Michael,

This is just a shot in the dark, but have you activated the tags inside of the Matrikon Simulator? The quality, at least in mine, shows as "bad" until the tags are activated.

Also, you may want to try creating an alias file inside of Matrikon for testing purposes.

Kind Regards,

Diana Hoppe

[former_member1170711]

Hi Diana,

I believe I have the tags activated.

Since you are familiar the Matrikon simulator, let me give you some more details.

In my query template, under Available Groups I have selected Randon under Simulation. Under Available Tags I select Int1 and then used the greater than sign to move it into the Selected Tags area.

I then click on the test icon in the Workbench. Instead of getting the value for Simulation Items/Random/Int1, I get this error:

Retrieve for Tag Bucket Brigade.Int1 [Bucket Brigade.Int1] failed due to Quality Error, Expecting: Good, Received:Bad, Waiting for initial data, Not limited.

Based on the error, it seems to be ignoring my selection of "Random" and just using the first group under Simulation Items that it finds (which is Bucket Brigade).

Any ideas?

Thanks for trying to help!

-Mike

[Former Member]

Hi Michael,

I don't know why it only uses Bucket Brigade, but I guess maybe because it's just a simulator. The message you are getting when testing the query template I believe is the same message you see inside of the MatrikonOPC Explorer when the tags have not been activated.

This is how I make sure the tags are activated. When I first started using the Matrikon Explorer, I had the same problem with the quality message.

1. Open the MatrikonOPC Explorer, choose Matrikon.OPC.Simulation.1 in the tree.

2. Click the connect button.

3. Click the Add Tags button.

4. Expand the Simulation Items folder in the Available Items box.

5. Select a tag, such as Random.Int1, right-click on it, and select "Add to Tag List".

6. After selecting and adding tags, click, in the top left corner, the green checkmark plus sign to activate the tag(s).

7. A new screen opens up - wait a couple of seconds, you should see the entries in the Quality column go from "Bad" to "Good".

You could also, for experimental purposes, create an alias file inside of the MatrikonOPC Sever for Simulation, and then just select from the Configured Aliases inside of the query template.

Hope this helps, may the force be with you

Cheers,

Diana

[former_member1170711]

Hi Diana,

I followed your instructions and, unfortunately, got the result.

I can only get it to work if I put the entire path to the tag in the query template manually. At the bottom of the Selected Tags area, if I manually type in:

Simulation Items/Random/Int1

then hit the Add button and then the test button then I get the value to read correctly.

Are you using the same operation system and PCo version that I am? Windows Server 2008 R2 with PCo 2.1.5.1?

Thanks again for trying.

-Mike

[Former Member]

Hi Michael,

I am using Windows 7. I don't even see any groups, only the folders, which show no tags (unless I make an alias file inside of Matrikon). If I don't have an alias file, I only see the Bucket Brigade tags. Whether or not I choose the Bucket Brigade tags or a tag alias, I still get values returned without error, although Bucket Brigade has a tag or two that comes up as Bad quality.

Sorry I couldn't help - best of luck

Kind Regards,

Diana