REpower Event List Plug-In for the OPC DA...

REpower Event List Plug-In for the OPC DA Interface

Version 2.4.0.x

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REpower Event List Plug-In for the OPC DA InterfaceCopyright: © 2010-2011 OSIsoft, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of OSIsoft, LLC.

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Published: 12/2011

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Table of Contents

Terminology......................................................................................................................v

Chapter 1. Introduction...................................................................................................1Reference Manuals............................................................................................2Supported Features...........................................................................................3Diagram of Hardware Connection......................................................................6

Chapter 2. Principles of Operation................................................................................7Mapping Event Properties to PI Points...............................................................7Separating Operating State and Status Condition Events..................................7Exception Reporting...........................................................................................9Simultaneous Events.........................................................................................9Representation of REpower Event Lists in OPC..............................................10REpower Event List Plug-in Processing...........................................................11

Adding or Editing Points.........................................................................11Deleting or Editing Points.......................................................................12Processing OPC Input...........................................................................12Returning PI Point Updates...................................................................17

Chapter 3. Installation Checklist..................................................................................19Data Collection Steps.......................................................................................19

Chapter 4. Interface and Plug-in Installation..............................................................23Naming Conventions and Requirements..........................................................23Interface Directories.........................................................................................24

PIHOME Directory Tree.........................................................................24Interface Installation Directory...............................................................24Plug-Ins Directory..................................................................................24

Interface Installation Procedure.......................................................................25Installing the Plug-In Separately......................................................................25Upgrading the Plug-In......................................................................................25Uninstalling the Plug-In....................................................................................25

Chapter 5. Digital States...............................................................................................27

Chapter 6. PI Point Configuration................................................................................29Point Attributes.................................................................................................29

Tag........................................................................................................29PointSource...........................................................................................30PointType...............................................................................................30Location1...............................................................................................30Location2...............................................................................................30

REpower Event List Plug-In for the OPC DA Interface iii

Location3...............................................................................................30Location4...............................................................................................31Location5...............................................................................................32InstrumentTag........................................................................................32ExDesc..................................................................................................34Step.......................................................................................................36ExcDev, ExcDevPercent, ExcMin, and ExcMax....................................37Compressing, CompDev, CompDevPercent, CompMin, and CompMax37TotalCode, SquareRoot, and Convers...................................................39UserInt1.................................................................................................39Scan......................................................................................................39Shutdown...............................................................................................39

Output Points...................................................................................................40

Chapter 7. Startup Command File...............................................................................41Configuring the Interface with PI ICU...............................................................41

OPCInt Interface Page...........................................................................42Command-line Parameters..............................................................................45

Chapter 8. Interface Node Clock..................................................................................49

Chapter 9. Starting / Stopping the Interface...............................................................51Starting Interface as a Service.........................................................................51Stopping Interface Running as a Service.........................................................51

Appendix A. Error and Informational Messages......................................................53Message Logs..................................................................................................53System Errors and PI Errors............................................................................54OPCInt Messages............................................................................................54

Informational..........................................................................................54Errors.....................................................................................................55

REpower Event List Plug-in Messages............................................................55Informational..........................................................................................56Errors.....................................................................................................58Tracing Messages.................................................................................61

Appendix B. Technical Support and Resources......................................................75Before You Call or Write for Help...........................................................75Help Desk and Telephone Support........................................................75Search Support......................................................................................76Email-based Technical Support.............................................................76Online Technical Support.......................................................................76Remote Access......................................................................................77On-site Service......................................................................................77Knowledge Center.................................................................................77Upgrades...............................................................................................77OSIsoft Virtual Campus (vCampus).......................................................77

Appendix C. Revision History....................................................................................79

REpower Event List Plug-In for the OPC DA Interface iv

Terminology

To understand this interface manual, you should be familiar with the terminology used in this document.

BufferingBuffering refers to an Interface Node’s ability to store temporarily the data that interfaces collect and to forward these data to the appropriate PI Servers.

N-Way BufferingIf you have PI Servers that are part of a PI Collective, PIBufss supports n-way buffering. N-way buffering refers to the ability of a buffering application to send the same data to each of the PI Servers in a PI Collective. (Bufserv also supports n-way buffering to multiple PI Servers, however it does not guarantee identical archive records since point compression attributes could be different between PI Servers. With this in mind, OSIsoft recommends that you run PIBufss instead.)

ICUICU refers to the PI Interface Configuration Utility. The ICU is the primary application that you use to configure PI interface programs. You must install the ICU on the same computer on which an interface runs. A single copy of the ICU manages all of the interfaces on a particular computer.

You can configure an interface by editing a startup command file. However, OSIsoft discourages this approach. Instead, OSIsoft strongly recommends that you use the ICU for interface management tasks.

ICU ControlAn ICU Control is a plug-in to the ICU. Whereas the ICU handles functionality common to all interfaces, an ICU Control implements interface-specific behavior. Most PI interfaces have an associated ICU Control.

Interface NodeAn Interface Node is a computer on which

the PI API and/or PI SDK are installed, and

PI Server programs are not installed.

PI APIThe PI API is a library of functions that allow applications to communicate and exchange data with the PI Server. All PI interfaces use the PI API.

REpower Event List Plug-In for the OPC DA Interface v

Terminology

PI CollectiveA PI Collective is two or more replicated PI Servers that collect data concurrently. Collectives are part of the High Availability environment. When the primary PI Server in a collective becomes unavailable, a secondary collective member node seamlessly continues to collect and provide data access to your PI clients.

PIHOMEPIHOME refers to the directory that is the common location for PI 32-bit client applications.

A typical PIHOME on a 32-bit operating system is C:\Program Files\PIPC.

A typical PIHOME on a 64-bit operating system is C:\Program Files (x86)\PIPC.

PI 32-bit interfaces reside in a subdirectory of the Interfaces directory under PIHOME.

For example, files for the 32-bit Modbus Ethernet Interface are in

[PIHOME]\PIPC\Interfaces\ModbusE.

This document uses [PIHOME] as an abbreviation for the complete PIHOME or PIHOME64 directory path. For example, ICU files in [PIHOME]\ICU.

PIHOME64PIHOME64 is found only on a 64-bit operating system and refers to the directory that is the common location for PI 64-bit client applications.

A typical PIHOME64 is C:\Program Files\PIPC.

PI 64-bit interfaces reside in a subdirectory of the Interfaces directory under PIHOME64.

For example, files for a 64-bit Modbus Ethernet Interface would be found in

C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\ModbusE.

This document uses [PIHOME] as an abbreviation for the complete PIHOME or PIHOME64 directory path. For example, ICU files in [PIHOME]\ICU.

PI Message LogThe PI message Log is the file to which OSIsoft interfaces based on UniInt 4.5.0.x and later writes informational, debug and error message. When a PI interface runs, it writes to the local PI message log. This message file can only be viewed using the PIGetMsg utility. See the UniInt Interface Message Logging.docx file for more information on how to access these messages.

PI SDKThe PI SDK is a library of functions that allow applications to communicate and exchange data with the PI Server. Some PI interfaces, in addition to using the PI API, require the use of the PI SDK.

PI Server NodeA PI Server Node is a computer on which PI Server programs are installed. The PI Server runs on the PI Server Node.

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PI SMTPI SMT refers to PI System Management Tools. PI SMT is the program that you use for configuring PI Servers. A single copy of PI SMT manages multiple PI Servers. PI SMT runs on either a PI Server Node or a PI Interface Node.

Pipc.logThe pipc.log file is the file to which OSIsoft applications write informational and error messages. When a PI interface runs, it writes to the pipc.log file. The ICU allows easy access to the pipc.log.

PointThe PI point is the basic building block for controlling data flow to and from the PI Server. For a given timestamp, a PI point holds a single value.

A PI point does not necessarily correspond to a “point” on the data source. For example, a single “point” on the data source can consist of a set point, a process value, an alarm limit, and a discrete value. These four pieces of information require four separate PI points.

ServiceA Service is a Windows program that runs without user interaction. A Service continues to run after you have logged off from Windows. It has the ability to start up when the computer itself starts up.

The ICU allows you to configure a PI interface to run as a Service.

Tag (Input Tag and Output Tag)The tag attribute of a PI point is the name of the PI point. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the name of a point and the point itself. Because of this relationship, PI System documentation uses the terms “tag” and “point” interchangeably.

Interfaces read values from a device (data source) and write these values to an Input Tag. Interfaces use an Output Tag to write a value to the device.

REpower Event List Plug-In for the OPC DA Interface vii

Chapter 1. Introduction

The REpower Event List Plug-in for the OPC DA Interface (OPCInt) provides specialized processing for the event list in the control system for each REpower wind turbine, transfer station, or weather station in a wind farm. The event list in a REpower control system is a fixed-length array of event structures. Each event structure contains a timestamp and several event properties. The event list requires special processing for two primary reasons:

Due to limitations on data types in the OPC Data Access (DA) Standard, the value of an OPC Item cannot represent the event list from a REpower control system in its native data type, which is an array of event structures. Therefore, an OPC DA Server that supports REpower event lists must map an event list to one or more OPC Items, which have valid OPC data types. The mapping of a complex type, like a REpower event list, to one or more OPC Items is not standardized. Each OPC Server that supports REpower event lists can have a different set of items that provide access to a REpower event list. For each OPC Server, special processing is required to reconstruct the event list from the server-specific mapped items. The REpower Event List Plug-in can reconstruct the event list from the mapped items in the following OPC Servers:

o REpower REguard Interface B OPC DA Server

o SISCO AX-S4 61850 OPC DA Server (as a gateway to the integrated REguard Interface B IEC 61400-25 servers in REpower control systems)

A REpower control system manages the event list array like a first-in, first-out queue. Events stay in the list until shifted out by the occurrence of new events. Significantly, reading the event list does not remove events from the list. Each time the Interface reads the event list, special processing is required to identify the new events, send only the new events to the PI Server in the same order as in the event list, and ignore the old events.

For a complete discussion of event lists, see section 3.1.4 in the REguard Interface B OPC DA Manual or section 7.7 in the REguard Interface B IEC 61400-25 Reference Manual.

This document uses the following convention to distinguish concepts or features that are independent of OPC Server from details that are specific to one of the supported OPC Servers.

“REpower” indicates a general concept or feature that applies to all supported OPC Servers. For example, “REpower event list” refers to the event list in the control system for a REpower wind farm component. A REpower event list is independent of the OPC Server that provides access to it.

“REguard” indicates something specific to the REguard OPC Server (that is, not applicable to other supported OPC Servers).

“AX-S4” indicates something specific to the AX-S4 OPC Server.

REpower Event List Plug-In for the OPC DA Interface 1

Note: The REpower Event List Plug-in is not a stand-alone product. The plug-in must be used with the OPC DA Interface, version 2.3.11.0 or later.

This document is a supplement to the OPC DA Interface user manual and assumes that you understand the operation of the OPC DA Interface as discussed in the OPC DA Interface user manual.

Note: The value of [PIHOME] variable for the 32-bit interface depends on whether the interface is installed on a 32-bit operating system (C:\Program Files\PIPC) or a 64-bit operating system (C:\Program Files (x86)\PIPC).

The value of [PIHOME64] variable for a 64-bit interface defaults to C:\Program Files\PIPC on the 64-bit operating system.

In this documentation [PIHOME] is used to represent the value for either [PIHOME] or [PIHOME64]. The value of [PIHOME] is the directory which is the common location for PI client applications.

Reference Manuals

OSIsoft OPC DA Interface

PI Server manuals

PI API Installation manual

UniInt Interface User Manual

REpower Systems AG REguard Interface B OPC DA Manual (Document No. G-1.1-SL.KM.02-A-E-EN)

REguard Interface B IEC 61400-25 Reference Manual (Document No. G-1.1-SL.KM.05-A-A-EN)

Systems Integration Specialists Company, Inc. (SISCO) AX-S4 61850 User's Guide

AX-S4 61850 Release Notes

AX-S4 61850 Installation Guide

SISCO Log Viewer User's Guide


Supported Features

Feature Support

Part Number PI-IN-OS-OPC-NTI

* Platforms 32-bit Interface 64-bit Interface

Windows XP

32-bit OS Yes No

64-bit OS Yes (Emulation Mode) No

Windows 2003 Server

32-bit OS Yes No


Windows Vista

32-bit OS Yes No


Windows 2008

32-bit OS Yes No

Windows 2008 R2


Windows 7

32-bit OS Yes No


* Auto Creates PI Points APS Connector - see note below* Point Builder Utility No

ICU Control Yes

PI Point Types Same as OPCInt: int16, int32, digital, float16, float32, float64, string

Sub-second Timestamps Yes

Sub-second Scan Classes See OPC DA Interface

Automatically Incorporates PI Point Attribute Changes

Yes

Exception Reporting Unconditional. See ExcDev, ExcDevPercent, ExcMin, and ExcMax.

Outputs from PI No

Inputs to PI Same as OPCInt: Scan-based, Advised, Event Tags

Supports Questionable Bit No

Supports Multi-character PointSource See OPC DA Interface

Maximum Point Count Unlimited

* Uses PI SDK No

PINet String Support N/A

* Source of Timestamps Event list timestamps

* History Recovery No


Introduction

Feature Support

UniInt-based* Disconnected Startup* SetDeviceStatus

YesSee OPC DA InterfaceSee OPC DA Interface

Failover See OPC DA Interface

* Vendor Software Required on Data Source

Yes

Vendor Hardware Required No

Additional PI Software Included with Interface

See OPC DA Interface

* Device Point Types Event lists

Serial-Based Interface No

* See paragraphs below for further explanation.

PlatformsThe REpower Event List Plug-in is designed to run on the above-mentioned Microsoft Windows operating systems and their associated service packs.

APS ConnectorThe APS Connector for the OPC DA Interface does not support plug-in specific points. That is, the APS Connector cannot create or edit PI points for the REpower Event List Plug-in.

Note: If PI APS is used with an instance of the OPC DA Interface that uses the REpower Event List Plug-in, change the master synchronization setting to off (disabled) for all PI points that are configured for the REpower Event List Plug-in.

Point Builder Utility

A specific utility to build PI points for the REpower Event List Plug-in is not included with the plug-in. The Excel spreadsheet OPCREpowerPlugIn_ExamplePoints.xlsx is installed with the plug-in. This spreadsheet contains example point definitions in PI Tag Configurator format that can be edited and used to build PI points for the REpower Event List Plug-in.

Uses PI SDKThe PI SDK and the PI API are bundled together and must be installed on each PI Interface node. The REpower Event List Plug-in does not specifically make PI SDK calls.

Source of TimestampsThe control system in each REpower wind turbine, transfer station, and weather station maintains an event list for the corresponding wind farm component. The event list is an array of event structures. Each element in the array contains information about one event, including the timestamp when the event occurred. (See the REpower documentation for a complete discussion of the contents of an event element in a REpower event list.) The REpower Event List Plug-in reconstructs the array of event structures from the mapped items in the OPC Server and uses the timestamps from the event structures.

Note: To prevent the OPC DA Interface from changing the event timestamps, do not use the /US option.

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History RecoveryThe event list in each wind farm component is a first-in, first-out list of recent events (see the REpower documentation for the number of entries in the event list). Because events stay in the event list until new events occur, the event list provides a limited amount of history recovery. While the Interface is stopped, the control system continues to shift events into the event list. When the Interface restarts, the plug-in sends all events in the first received event list to the PI point. If the number of events while the Interface was stopped is less than the length of the event list, all new events are in the event list when the Interface restarts. Conversely, if the number of events while the Interface was stopped is greater than the length of the event list, some of the new events are shifted out of the event list before the Interface restarts and those events are lost. Therefore, the plug-in recovers some or all of the events that occurred while the Interface was stopped.

UniInt-basedUniInt stands for Universal Interface. UniInt is not a separate product or file; it is an OSIsoft-developed template used by developers and is integrated into many interfaces, including the OPC DA Interface. The purpose of UniInt is to keep a consistent feature set and behavior across as many of OSIsoft’s interfaces as possible. It also allows for the very rapid development of new interfaces. In any UniInt-based interface, the interface uses some of the UniInt-supplied configuration parameters and some interface-specific parameters. UniInt is constantly being upgraded with new options and features.

The UniInt Interface User Manual is a supplement to this manual.

Vendor Software Required on Data SourceThe REpower Event List Plug-in can collect event data from either:

REpower REguard Interface B OPC Server, Revision E or later (which obviously requires the REguard OPC Server)

SISCO AX-S4 61850 OPC Server, which requires a REguard Interface B IEC 61400-25 Server in the control system for every wind farm component

See the Diagram of Hardware Connection figure. In a typical application of the REpower Event List Plug-in, only one of these OPC Servers is used.

Device Point TypesThe REpower Event List Plug-in processes only REpower event lists. If a PI point is configured for the plug-in to process input from a REpower event list and the Event List ID in the point attributes does not correspond to OPC Items that are mapped to an event list, a digital state is written to the PI point to indicate that the plug-in cannot obtain event data. The plug-in also writes a message to the log file.


Introduction

Diagram of Hardware Connection

PI Server

PI OPC DA Interface

REguard OPC DA Server

REpower Event List Plug-in

Normal Item Data Event List Data

AX-S4 OPC DA Server

REguard IEC 61400-25 Server

or

The OPC DA Interface can load one plug-in to provide specialized processing for designated PI points. When a plug-in is used, the OPC DA Interface routes input values from OPC Items either through the normal interface data paths or through the plug-in for special processing. The configuration of each PI point for the Interface determines whether the OPC input value for a PI point is processed by the normal data path or by the plug-in.

In the preceding figure, the PI Server, OPC DA Interface, and OPC DA Server (REpower REguard OPC Server or SISCO AX-S4 OPC Server) are shown on separate computers. The OPC DA Interface can run on the same computer as the PI Server or AX-S4 OPC Server. For performance reasons, however, OSIsoft discourages installation of interfaces on a PI Server Node.

REpower REguard OPC DA Servers and REguard IEC 61400-25 Servers run on embedded systems, which are not general-purpose Windows systems. Therefore, clients like the OPC DA Interface cannot be installed on the same computer with the REguard OPC DA Server or REguard IEC 61400-25 Server.

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Chapter 2. Principles of Operation

The OPC DA Server (either REpower REguard OPC Server or SISCO AX-S4 OPC Server) receives both process variable values and an event list from the REpower control system in each wind turbine, transfer station, and weather station. The OPC DA Interface collects data from process variable items without special handling. This plug-in provides special processing only for the unusual aspects of REpower event lists.

The REpower event list in the control system for a wind farm component is a fixed-length array and each array element is a data structure that contains information about one event. The REpower control systems manage the event list array like a first-in, first-out queue. That is, events stay in the list until shifted out by the occurrence of new events. Events are added to the event list:

When the operating state changes

When the state of a status condition changes

Operating state changes and status condition changes are intermingled in a REpower event list. For a complete discussion of event lists and event structures, see section 3.1.4 in the REguard Interface B OPC DA Manual or section 7.7 in the REguard Interface B IEC 61400-25 Reference Manual.

Mapping Event Properties to PI Points

Each REpower event structure contains a timestamp and three event properties: Status code, ComeGo, and Index, using the terminology from the REpower documentation. However, the history for a PI point is a list of (timestamp, value) pairs, which can historize only one of Status code, ComeGo, or Index. Consequently, three PI points are needed to capture all three event properties. When a PI point is configured for this plug-in, the PI point configuration designates which of the three event properties is recorded in the PI point.

Separating Operating State and Status Condition Events

As mentioned earlier, new events are added to the event list in two situations: operating state changes and status condition changes. The Index event property indicates whether the event is an operating state change or a status condition change. The REpower Event List Plug-in provides three filtering options:

No filtering

Operating state filtering

Status condition filtering


If a PI point for this plug-in is configured with no filtering, the designated event property from all events is sent to the PI point.

The other two filtering options allow you to configure a PI point to receive the designated property from only operating state change events or only status condition change events. That is, the events for operating state changes can be recorded in one PI point and the events for status condition changes can be recorded in a separate set of PI points.

Each wind farm component is in one operating state at any specific time. So, separating the operating state change events into an “operating state” point allows the operating state to be trended or processed without any extra effort to exclude the status condition change events.

Status conditions are effectively boolean variables and multiple status conditions can be active simultaneously. In status condition change events, the ComeGo event property contains the new state for the status condition in the Status code event property. For example, the six events in the following table indicate state changes for three status conditions:

Timestamp Status code ComeGo Index

t1 100 1 0

t2 200 1 0

t3 300 1 0

t4 100 0 0

t5 300 0 0

t6 200 0 0

Table 1. Example status condition events

Assuming that the three status conditions were in state 0 before time t1, the following figure shows the changes in state over time:

Figure 1. Status Condition Time Lines

Observe that more than one status condition is active at times t2 through t5. This is unlike operating state events where a new operating state supersedes the previous operating state.

Because a REpower control system has several hundred status conditions, creating individual PI points for each status condition from each wind farm component probably is impractical. The alternative, which is the expected application of the REpower Event List Plug-in, is to define three PI points for each wind farm component to record the Status code, ComeGo, and Index properties from the status condition change events for the corresponding wind farm component. If the events in Table 1 are recorded in PI points named “Status code”, “ComeGo”, and “Index”, PI DataLink retrieval of history for these points produces a spreadsheet that resembles the table. However, the graphs of the Status code and ComeGo values do not resemble Figure 1.

Note: PI ProcessBook will not show trends that resemble Figure 1.


The following figure shows time lines for the Status code and ComeGo points:

Figure 2. PI Point Time Lines

Exception Reporting

Because of the first-in, first-out management of the event list by a REpower control system, an event list input normally contains many events that were also in the previous input from the same event list. To avoid burdening the PI Server with duplicate events, the REpower Event List Plug-in retains a copy of the events that satisfy filtering conditions from the last event list for each PI point. When the plug-in receives an event list input, on a point-by-point basis, the event list is filtered and compared with the in-memory copy of the previous event list to determine which, if any, events are actually new for each PI point. Only the new events are returned to the OPC DA Interface, which writes them to the associated PI point. In effect, the REpower Event List Plug-in only reports changes (that is, “exceptions” in PI Server terminology).

Note: Since the plug-in provides specialized exception reporting, the exception reporting attributes should be off for a PI point that is configured to use this plug-in.

Simultaneous Events

When a disruption from steady-state occurs in a wind farm component, operating state and one or more status conditions can change state simultaneously. That is, the event list can contain several events with identical timestamps. However, the data flow from the REpower Event List Plug-in through the OPC DA Interface sends new input values to the PI point Snapshot, and the PI Server only stores one value in history when multiple snapshot updates occur with the same timestamp. To ensure that the PI Server stores the data from every event in the PI Archive, the REpower Event List Plug-in must return PI point updates with unique timestamps to the OPC DA Interface. To satisfy this requirement, the REpower Event List Plug-in compares the timestamp of each event with the timestamp in the previous event. If the timestamp in an event is less than or equal to the timestamp in the previous event, the plug-in changes the timestamp in the event to the timestamp in the previous event incremented by PI subsecond time precision (2-16 seconds). This timestamp adjustment guarantees that data from events are returned to the Interface and sent to the PI point Snapshot with unique and increasing timestamps. (This discussion does not mention a second issue that relates to uniqueness of timestamps, which is explained later in this chapter.)


Principles of Operation

Representation of REpower Event Lists in OPC

The native representation of the event list as an array of event structures is not supported by the OPC DA Standard. The OPC DA Standard allows an item to have a scalar or one-dimensional array value where the scalar or array element values are limited to simple integer, floating-point, or string values. Therefore, the OPC Server must map the event list to one or more OPC Items with valid OPC data types. The mapping of a complex type, like a REpower event list, to one or more OPC Items is not standardized. The REpower REguard OPC Server and SISCO AX-S4 OPC Server implement different mappings.

REguard OPC Server Event List MappingREpower control systems serialize the event list into an array of bytes for transmission to the REguard OPC DA Server, where the byte array becomes the value for one OPC Item. For an item that contains a serialized event list, the REpower Event List Plug-in deserializes the data in the byte array to reconstruct the event list.

SISCO AX-S4 OPC Server Event List MappingThe AX-S4 OPC Server reads the event list using IEC 61850 and IEC 61400 protocols. The AX-S4 OPC Server maps the event list to a branch in the OPC Item hierarchy. The following figure shows the OPC Item hierarchy for an event list.

Figure 3. AX-S4 OPC Item Hierarchy

The data models in IEC 61850 and IEC 61400 subdivide a control system into “logical nodes” that are abstractions for classes of information in an actual physical system. The “WALM1” logical node contains alarm and event information. Under the WALM1 logical node, the “actSt” branch is the parent branch of the event list. The “actSt” branch has a subbranch for each element in the event list array (only the first three are shown). Under the

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subbranch for each element, the “stVal”, “comego”, and “idx” leaves contain the Status code, ComeGo, and Index event properties. (The “q” and “t” leaves are not used by the plug-in.) The AX-S4 OPC Server sets the OPC timestamp for each leaf item in a subbranch to the timestamp from the corresponding event structure element in the event list, not the time when the AX-S4 OPC Server received the event list from the REpower control system. The REpower Event List Plug-in reconstructs the event list from the leaf item values and timestamps under all of the subbranches. For a fifty-element event list, the REpower Event List Plug-in needs the values from fifty “stVal” items, fifty “comego” items, and fifty “idx” items (a total of 150 items) to reconstruct the event list.

REpower Event List Plug-in Processing

When the OPC DA Interface parameters specify a plug-in (/dll= parameter), the Interface calls functions in the plug-in from significant locations in the interface code. For example, the Interface calls a plug-in function when a PI point is added or edited, which allows the plug-in to examine PI point attributes and identify points for which the plug-in provides special processing. Although a plug-in implements only the functions that are necessary to perform the required processing, all plug-ins implement the function that is called when a point is added or edited.

The REpower Event List Plug-in implements functions that the interface calls when:

Adding or editing a PI point

Deleting or editing a PI point

Input values are received for an OPC group (two related functions)

Adding or Editing Points

The REpower Event List Plug-in creates an internal event list object for each event list that the plug-in needs to reconstruct from mapped OPC Items. When the REpower Event List Plug-in loads or edits a PI point that contains an Event List ID in the InstrumentTag attribute, the plug-in first compares the Event List ID with the IDs of event list objects that the plug-in has already created for previously loaded points.

If the plug-in does not have an event list object for the Event List ID, the plug-in creates a new event list object and constructs the ItemIDs for all mapped items for the event list (see Representation of REpower Event Lists in OPC earlier in this chapter). The plug-in returns the ItemIDs for the mapped items to the Interface, which adds the mapped items to the OPC group for the scan class of the PI point.

If the Event List ID in the PI point matches an existing event list object, the plug-in associates the PI point with the existing event list object. That is, the PI points that are configured for a specific Event List ID share the event list object and, therefore, the mapped OPC Items for the event list are added to an OPC group only once. Sharing the internal event list object and the underlying mapped OPC Items is an optimization that reduces the load on the OPC Server, particularly when the OPC Server maps an event list to a large number of OPC Items.

Note: This optimization requires that all PI points which share a specific event list must be in the same scan class.



Deleting or Editing Points

Internally, the Interface edits a PI point by first deleting the point and then adding the point. In effect, the Interface removes internal structures or objects associated with the original point definition, and then the Interface creates internal structures or objects for the new point definition.

The REpower Event List Plug-in has an internal event list object for each event list that the plug-in needs to reconstruct from mapped OPC Items. When the last PI point for a specific REpower event list is removed, the REpower Event List Plug-in does not need the internal event list object or data from the OPC Items mapped from the event list. The plug-in deletes the event list object and marks the data structure for the ItemID of each mapped item so that the Interface removes the OPC Item from the OPC group.

Processing OPC Input

When the OPC DA Interface receives input from the OPC DA Server and the interface parameters specify a plug-in (/dll= parameter), the Interface calls an input-processing function in the plug-in. The parameter to this function is an array of item structures that contain data received from the OPC Server for one OPC group. Each item structure contains the ItemID, value, OPC timestamp, OPC quality, and other information for one OPC Item. The Interface expects the input-processing function to examine each item structure in the array and either:

Return the item structure, with or without changes to the quality or value, for the Interface to process as a normal OPC input for the associated PI point; or

Use the data from the item structure to compute updates for PI points, which are stored in a list in the plug-in until the Interface calls another plug-in function that returns PI point updates from the list. In this case, the plug-in sets a flag in the item structure that tells the Interface to ignore the structure during normal input processing.

Note: The OPC timestamp in an item structure is as received from the OPC Server. Specifically, the interface /ts parameter has no effect on the OPC timestamps in the item structures passed to the plug-in.

The REpower Event List Plug-in input-processing function has two main steps. In the first step, the plug-in reconstructs REpower event lists from the OPC input data. In the second step, the plug-in determines the updates (if any) for the PI points that are associated with each event list.

When the plug-in returns from the input-processing function, the Interface loops on a call to the plug-in function that returns PI point updates. If the input-processing function stored PI point updates in the plug-in list of updates, the plug-in removes the next PI point update from the list and returns the PI point ID, value, and timestamp to the Interface. The Interface (not the plug-in) sends the value and timestamp to the snapshot for the PI point. The Interface continues to call the plug-in function that returns PI point updates until all updates are processed.

After the Interface processes the PI point updates from the plug-in, the Interface performs normal input processing on the array of item structures. If the plug-in set the “ignore” flag in an item structure, the Interface skips the item structure.

12

Reconstruct Event ListsWhen the Interface calls the REpower Event List Plug-in input-processing function, the parameter is an array of item structures. The input-processing function iterates through the array of item structures.

If an item structure is associated with a PI point that is not configured for processing by the REpower Event List Plug-in, the function proceeds to the next item structure in the array. When the input-processing function returns, the Interface processes the item structure as a normal OPC input for the associated PI point.

If an item structure is associated with an event list that is configured for processing by the plug-in, the item structure is linked to an object in the plug-in that represents the event list. The “ignore” flag is set in the item structure to prevent the Interface from processing the item structure.

Following the loop through the array of item structures, the plug-in executes another loop that iterates through the event list objects in the plug-in. For each event list object, the plug-in executes the following steps:

1. Reconstruct the event list from the OPC Items that are mapped from the event list by the OPC Server. Since the mapping is not standardized, reconstruction of the event list is specific to the OPC Server.

REguard OPC Server Event List ReconstructionThe REguard OPC Server maps an event list to one item that has a byte array value containing the serialized event list.

If the OPC quality of the item is non-good, the plug-in determines a digital state for the event list that describes the non-good quality. The timestamp for the digital state is the OPC timestamp for the item. Any PI points that collect data from this event list receive an update of this digital state.

If the OPC quality of the item is good, the item type must be an array of unsigned bytes and the length of the array must match the expected length for a serialized event list. If the item type is incorrect, the event list digital state is set to Wrong Type. If the array length is incorrect, the event list digital state is set to Bad Input.

If all validation checks succeed, the plug-in sets the event list digital state to Good and deserializes the item data to reconstruct the event list.

AX-S4 OPC Server Event List ReconstructionIn the AX-S4 OPC Server, the event list is mapped to five items for every element in the event list. For a fifty-element event list, the REpower Event List Plug-in needs the values from fifty “stVal” items, fifty “comego” items, and fifty “idx” items (a total of 150 items) to reconstruct the event list. The “t” and “q” items are ignored. See the “SISCO AX - S4 OPC Server Event List Mapping ” section for information on the mapping of an event list to OPC Items.

For a specific event list, the plug-in expects an item structure in the input-processing function parameter for every OPC Item that is mapped from the event list. Therefore, the mapped OPC Items for an event list must be in the same OPC group. If the OPC group is an “advise” group (meaning that the Interface configured the group for the OPC Server to asynchronously send new values when items change), the OPC Server



must return values for all or none of the mapped items for a specific event list every time the OPC Server asynchronously sends new data for the items in the group. The only exception is that the tail of the event list can be omitted. That is, if all three required leaf items for event[i] are not in the input-processing function parameter, then no leaf items for events i+1 through the end of the list can be in the input-processing function parameter. If required leaf items for the event list are missing (other than the tail of the list), the event list digital state is set to Bad Input.

The mapped items for an event list must also satisfy two additional conditions:

o All mapped items for a specific event list must have the same OPC quality.

o The three required leaf items in an event structure subbranch must have the same timestamp.

If the OPC quality of all mapped items is the same non-good quality, the plug-in determines a digital state for the event list that describes the non-good quality. Items that are mapped from an event list have the timestamp from the event list, not the time that the AX-S4 OPC Server received the value. For the digital state, a timestamp for the overall set of inputs is needed. Since the AX-S4 OPC Server does not provide a timestamp that can be used for this purpose, the plug-in uses current local system time (like the interface does with the /ts=N parameter). Any PI points that collect data from this event list receive an update of this digital state and timestamp.

If the quality of all mapped items is inconsistent, the timestamps for the leaf items in an event subbranch are inconsistent with each other, or a mapped item cannot be converted to an unsigned 16-bit integer, the event list digital state is set to Bad Input.

If all validation checks succeed, the plug-in sets the event list digital state to Good and reconstructs the event list from the values and timestamps of the mapped items.

2. If the input-processing function parameter contains no item structures for the event list, skip this event list. Continue at step 1 for the next event list.

3. Verify that the event list is actually in descending timestamp order. If necessary, sort the event list.

4. For each PI point that is configured to collect data from the event list, determine updates for the PI point and store the updates in a list in the plug-in. The following section explains the algorithm for determining PI point updates. When the input-processing function returns, the Interface calls another plug-in function that returns the PI point updates which this step stored in the list in the plug-in.

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Determine PI Point UpdatesThe REpower Event List Plug-in input-processing function executes the following steps for each PI point that is associated with an event list that is configured for processing by the plug-in.

1. If the current event list digital state is not Good, determine whether the event list digital state is different from the last digital state sent to the PI point. (If this is the first event list input for the PI point, the plug-in assumes that the last digital state was different.) This step implements exception reporting for digital states and tracks the timestamps of digital states that pass the exception tests.

If the last digital state was Good or not equal to the current event list digital state:The digital state passes the exception test. Adjust the timestamp for the digital state so that the fractional part is an integer multiple of PI subsecond time precision and the timestamp is greater than the last update sent to the PI point. Add the digital state and timestamp to the end of the list of PI point updates to return when the Interface calls for PI point updates. The timestamp and digital state are also added to a point-specific list that is used in a later step to ensure that a REpower event timestamp does not duplicate a digital state timestamp.

Else the last digital state is equal to the current event list digital state:The unchanged digital state does not pass the exception test. No update is sent to the PI point.

Repeat this step for the next PI point that collects data from this event list.

2. The current event list digital state is Good. In the following steps, the input-processing function may or may not add one or more updates for the PI point to the end of the list of updates in the plug-in.

3. The REpower events are in descending time order. The plug-in finds the first event with a timestamp less than the last event timestamp returned to the Interface. This event and the successive events in the event list were returned to the Interface by earlier calls to the plug-in. Only the REpower events with timestamps greater than or equal to the last event timestamp returned to the Interface are processed in the following steps.

4. The keyword in the ExDesc attribute for the associated PI point designates the event property (Status code, ComeGo, or Index) that provides the value for the PI point and an optional filter condition. The filter condition is applied to the events in the current event list with timestamp greater than or equal to the last event timestamp returned to the Interface. Events that do not satisfy the condition are ignored.

5. The events that remain after filtering are compared with the filtered event list that the plug-in saved for this PI point from the previous event list input. This step implements exception reporting specifically for the REpower Event List Plug-in.

Events that are in both the current and previous event lists are ignored because they were returned to the Interface by earlier calls to the plug-in.

Events that are only in the current filtered event list are actual new events. The input-processing function adds a (timestamp, value) pair for each new event to the end of the list of updates in the plug-in.



The value of each pair is determined by the keyword in the ExDesc attribute for the associated PI point: either the Status code, ComeGo, or Index property of the event.

The timestamp is initialized to the timestamp from the event and adjusted so that the fractional part is an integer multiple of PI subsecond time precision. Notice that the timestamp is taken from the event structure. The default time zone for REpower control system clocks is UTC, so the timestamp in an event structure is normally a UTC time. Internally, PI uses UTC times, so no time zone adjustment is made to the timestamp unless REpower control system clocks are offset from UTC. See the discussion of the /dllto= parameter in the Command-line Parameters section.

If the timestamp is less than or equal to the timestamp in the (timestamp, value) pair for the previous REpower event for the PI point, the timestamp is set to the next unique timestamp greater than the previous timestamp.

If the list of digital states sent to the PI point is not empty, the timestamp for this REpower event may be the same as a digital state timestamp. Compare the timestamp for this REpower event with the list of digital states sent to the PI point. If the timestamp is equal to a timestamp in the digital state list, adjust the timestamp to the next greater unique PI timestamp. Remove any digital states in the list with timestamp less than or equal to the REpower event timestamp.

6. The current filtered event list replaces the saved previous filtered event list for the PI point.

7. If a wind farm component is operating in a stable state, an indeterminate length of time can elapse before a new event is added to the event list. If two consecutive event list inputs have Good digital state, assume that latency is less than an hour between the occurrence of an event in a REpower control system and this plug-in receiving an event list update that contains the event. Therefore, remove any entries in the list of digital states with timestamps that are earlier than current time (in UTC) minus one hour.

8. If the last digital state for the PI point was not Good, the digital state is changing from non-Good to Good. In this case for a normal OPC Item (that is, an item that is not processed by a plug-in), the last update sent to the PI point was a digital state. Since the new item value has good quality, the exception logic in the OPC DA Interface considers the new value to be a reportable change and sends the new value to the PI point. The PI point change from a digital state to a value also passes the PI Server compression tests, so the previous digital state and new value are recorded in the PI Archive. Because the new value following the digital state for a non-good quality implicitly indicates when good quality was restored, the Interface does not explicitly send a Good digital state.

However, the case for a PI point that collects data from an event list is different because the timestamps in the event list are unrelated to the time when the event list digital state changed from non-Good to Good. Even if one or more REpower events pass the exception tests in earlier steps and added a PI point update to the list of updates (which is not guaranteed), the timestamps for these REpower events do not indicate when the event list digital state reverted to Good. Also, if a wind farm component is operating in a stable state, no events may be added to the event list for an indeterminate length of time. Therefore, the time when the event list digital state reverts to Good cannot be determined from REpower event data. For the PI point

16

history to contain an indication of the time when the event list digital state reverted to Good, the input-processing function must explicitly store a (timestamp, value) pair in the list of updates in the plug-in. The value in this pair is digital state Good and the timestamp is the time when the interface received event list items from the OPC Server. The timestamp and digital state are also added to the point-specific list that is used in step 5 to ensure that a REpower event timestamp does not duplicate a digital state timestamp.

After performing these steps for every PI point that collects data from an event list, the input-processing function continues with the next event list.

After processing every event list, the input-processing function returns.

Returning PI Point Updates

When the input-processing function returns, the Interface calls the plug-in function that returns PI point updates that the input-processing function added to the list of updates in the plug-in. The plug-in removes the PI point update at the head of the list and returns the PI point ID, value or digital state, and timestamp to the Interface. As a consequence, the plug-in returns the PI point updates in the order that the updates were created by the input-processing function. Observe that the plug-in returns update information to the Interface and the Interface actually updates the PI point Snapshot. That is, the plug-in does not directly update the PI point. Depending on Interface parameters, the Interface can change the event information returned by the plug-in before updating the PI point. Specifically, the /us parameter can cause the interface to change the timestamp in a way that makes the event data meaningless.

Caution: Do not use the /us parameter on an instance of the Interface with the REpower Event List Plug-in. The /us parameter can cause the interface to destructively change event timestamps.

After the Interface processes all updates from the plug-in, the Interface performs normal OPC input processing on the item structures (possibly modified by the input-processing function). The Interface skips any item structure that has the “ignore” flag set.

The Interface waits until OPC input data arrives from the OPC Server for an OPC group, and the entire process repeats.


Chapter 3. Installation Checklist

If you are familiar with running PI data collection interface programs, this checklist helps you get the OPC DA Interface running with the REpower Event List Plug-in. If you are not familiar with PI interfaces, return to this section after reading both the OPC DA Interface user manual and the rest of the manual in detail.

This checklist is taken from the OPC DA Interface user manual and extended with details specific to the REpower Event List Plug-in. The detailed explanations of most steps in the following lists are not duplicated in this document. Refer to the OPC DA Interface user manual for the detailed explanations.

This checklist summarizes the steps for installing the OPC DA Interface and the REpower Event List Plug-in. You need not perform a given task if you have already done so as part of the installation of another interface. For example, you only have to configure one instance of Buffering for every Interface Node regardless of how many interfaces run on that node.

The Data Collection Steps below are required. Refer to the “Interface Diagnostics” and “Advanced Interface Features” sections in the OPC DA Interface user manual for information on configuring optional diagnostics and advanced features of the OPC DA Interface.

Data Collection Steps

1. Confirm that you can use PI SMT to configure the PI Server. You need not run PI SMT on the same computer on which you run this Interface.

2. If you are running the Interface on an Interface Node, edit the PI Server’s Trust Table to allow the Interface to write data.

3. Run the installation kit for the PI Interface Configuration Utility (ICU) on the Interface Node if the ICU will be used to configure the Interface. This kit runs the PI SDK installation kit, which installs both the PI API and the PI SDK.

4. Run the installation kit for this Interface. This kit also runs the PI SDK installation kit which installs both the PI API and the PI SDK if necessary.

5. If you are running the Interface on an Interface Node, check the computer’s time zone properties. An improper time zone configuration can cause the PI Server to reject the data that this Interface writes.


6. Run the ICU and configure a new instance of this Interface. Essential startup parameters for this Interface are:

Point Source (/PS=x)Interface ID (/ID=#)PI Server (/Host=host:port) Scan Class(/F=##:##:##,offset)OPC Server (/SERVER=node:name)Post-processing DLL (/DLL=UNC_Path)

7. Configure DCOM permissions. If the OPC DA Interface and the OPC Server are on different nodes, configure DCOM settings for both nodes. Otherwise, check default DCOM permissions and make the OPC Server node use the defaults.

8. Use the OPCClient Tool to confirm connection between the Interface Node and the OPC Server.

9. If you will use digital points, define the appropriate digital state sets. For example, the PI points for the ComeGo event property can be digital points with a digital state set that contains Go as state 0 and Come as state 1.

10. Build input tags for the REpower Event List Plug-in. Important point attributes and their purposes are:

Location1 specifies the Interface instance ID.Location2 must be set to 8 for REpower Event List Plug-in points.Location3 specifies tag type (Polled/Advised/Output).Location4 specifies the scan class. All PI points with the same Event List ID must be in the same scan class.Location5 must be set to 0 for REpower Event List Plug-in points.InstrumentTag specifies the Event List ID (OPC Server-specific) for REpower Event List Plug-in points. All PI points with the same Event List ID must be in the same scan class.ExDesc contains a REpower Event List Plug-in keyword that designates the event property to send to the PI point and optionally configures filtering by event type; may also contain event trigger tag or long Event List ID.ExcDev, ExcDevPercent, ExcMin, ExcMax configure exception reporting, should be off for REpower Event List Plug-in points.CompDev, CompDevPercent, CompMin, CompMax, Compressing configure data compression, should be off for REpower Event List Plug-in points.Step recommend on (1) for REpower Event List Plug-in points.UserInt1 must be set to 0 for REpower Event List Plug-in points.TotalCode, SquareRoot, Convers must be set to 0 for REpower Event List Plug-in points.

11. Start the Interface interactively and confirm its successful connection to the PI Server without buffering.

12. Confirm that the Interface collects data successfully.

13. Stop the Interface and configure a buffering application (either Bufserv or PIBufss). When configuring buffering use the ICU menu item Tools Buffering… Buffering Settings to make a change to the default value (32678) for the Primary


and Secondary Memory Buffer Size (Bytes) to 2000000. This will optimize the throughput for buffering and is recommended by OSIsoft.

14. Start the buffering application and the Interface. Confirm that the Interface works together with the buffering application by either physically removing the connection between the Interface Node and the PI Server Node or by stopping the PI Server.

15. Configure the Interface to run as a Service. For COM/DCOM security, the service may not be able to run as LocalSystem. Confirm that the Interface runs properly as a Service.

16. Restart the Interface Node and confirm that the Interface and the buffering application restart.


Chapter 4. Interface and Plug-in Installation

OSIsoft recommends that interfaces be installed on PI Interface Nodes instead of directly on the PI Server node. A PI Interface Node is any node other than the PI Server node where the PI Application Programming Interface (PI API) is installed (see the PI API manual). With this approach, the PI Server need not compete with interfaces for the machine’s resources. The primary function of the PI Server is to archive data and to service clients that request data.

After the interface has been installed and tested, Buffering should be enabled on the PI Interface Node. Buffering refers to either PI API Buffer Server (Bufserv) or the PI Buffer Subsystem (PIBufss). For more information about Buffering see the “Buffering” chapter in the OPC DA Interface user manual.

In most cases, interfaces on PI Interface Nodes should be installed as automatic services. Services keep running after the user logs off. Automatic services automatically restart when the computer is restarted, which is useful in the event of a power failure.

The guidelines are different if an interface is installed on the PI Server node. In this case, the typical procedure is to install the PI Server as an automatic service and install the Interface as an automatic service that depends on the PI Update Manager and PI Network Manager services. This typical scenario assumes that Buffering is not enabled on the PI Server node. Bufserv can be enabled on the PI Server node so that interfaces on the PI Server node do not need to be started and stopped in conjunction with PI, but it is not standard practice to enable buffering on the PI Server node. The PI Buffer Subsystem can also be installed on the PI Server. See the UniInt Interface User Manual for special procedural information.

Naming Conventions and Requirements

In the installation procedure below, it is assumed that the name of the interface executable is OPCInt.exe and that the startup command file is called OPCInt.bat.

When Configuring the Interface ManuallyIt is customary for the user to rename the executable and the startup command file when multiple copies of the interface are run. For example, OPCInt1.exe and OPCInt1.bat would typically be used for interface number 1, OPCInt2.exe and OPCInt2.bat for interface number 2, and so on. When an interface is run as a service, the executable and the command file must have the same root name because the service looks for its command-line parameters in a file that has the same root name.


Interface Directories

PIHOME Directory Tree

32-bit InterfacesThe [PIHOME] directory tree is defined by the PIHOME entry in the pipc.ini configuration file. This pipc.ini file is an ASCII text file, which is located in the %windir% directory.

For 32-bit operating systems, a typical pipc.ini file contains the following lines:[PIPC]PIHOME=C:\Program Files\PIPC

For 64-bit operating systems, a typical pipc.ini file contains the following lines:[PIPC]PIHOME=C:\Program Files (X86)\PIPC

The above lines define the root of the PIHOME directory on the C: drive. The PIHOME directory does not need to be on the C: drive. OSIsoft recommends using the paths shown above as the root PIHOME directory name.

Interface Installation Directory

The interface install kit will automatically install the interface to:PIHOME\Interfaces\OPCInt\

PIHOME is defined in the pipc.ini file.

Plug-Ins Directory

Several plug-in DLLs are included with the OPC DA Interface. Plug-in DLLs perform post-processing for input tags or pre-processing for output tags for specific applications or OPC Servers.

The interface installation kit installs plug-in DLLs in:[PIHOME]\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins

The documentation for plug-in DLLs is installed in:[PIHOME]\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins\Documentation


Interface Installation Procedure

The OPC DA Interface setup program uses the services of the Microsoft Windows Installer. Windows Installer is a standard part of Windows 2000 and later operating systems. To install, run the appropriate installation kit.

OPCInt_#.#.#.#_.exe

Installing the Plug-In Separately

The REpower Event List Plug-in and its documentation can be downloaded separately from the OPC DA Interface. The standalone installation file is a self-extracting zip file that creates the plug-in files directly on the target Interface Node. Unlike most OSIsoft installation kits, the self-extracting zip file for this plug-in does not contain a Windows Installer file.

To install the REpower Event List Plug-in from the standalone installation file:

1. Download the standalone installation file to the [PIHOME]\Interfaces\OPCInt folder on the Interface Node.

2. Run the installation file, which opens the WinZip Self-Extractor – OPCREpowerEventPlugIn dialog box.

3. Click Unzip.

4. Click OK on the dialog box that opens.

5. Click Close.

6. The plug-in DLL and example point configuration spreadsheet are extracted to [PIHOME]\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins (the folder for plug-ins installed by the OPC DA Interface installation kit). The release notes and a copy of this manual are extracted to [PIHOME]\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins\Documentation.

Upgrading the Plug-In

If the plug-in is upgraded independent of the OPC DA Interface, install the plug-in in the appropriate directory. To determine the path that the interface uses to load the plug-in, run PI ICU, select the interface instance, select the OPCInt ICU Control, select Plug-Ins, and find the path in the Post Processing DLL box. Alternatively, open the batch file and find the path in the /DLL= command-line parameter. Then, stop and restart the OPC DA Interface according to the instructions in the Starting / Stopping the Interface chapter.

Uninstalling the Plug-In

To run the interface without the plug-in, run the PI ICU and remove the entry in the Post Processing DLL text box. Alternatively, edit the batch file and delete the /DLL= command-line parameter. Then, stop and restart the OPC DA Interface according to the instructions in the Starting / Stopping the Interface chapter.


Interface and Plug-in Installation

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Chapter 5. Digital States

For more information regarding Digital States, refer to the PI Server documentation.

Digital State SetsPI digital states are discrete values represented by strings. These strings are organized in PI as digital state sets. Each digital state set is a user-defined list of strings, enumerated from 0 to n to represent different values of discrete data. For more information about PI digital tags and editing digital state sets, see the PI Server manuals.

An interface point that contains discrete data can be stored in PI as a digital point. A digital point associates discrete data with a digital state set, as specified by the user.

System Digital State SetSimilar to digital state sets is the system digital state set. This set is used for all points, regardless of type, to indicate the state of a point at a particular time. For example, if the Interface receives bad data from the data source, it writes the system digital state Bad Input to PI instead of a value. The system digital state set has many unused states that can be used by the Interface and other PI clients. Digital States 193-320 are reserved for OSIsoft applications.

If a PI point is configured for the REpower Event List Plug-in to process the OPC input values, system digital states can be sent to the PI point in the following situations.

If the OPC Items for an event list do not have good quality, the REpower Event List Plug-in determines an appropriate digital state for the non-good quality and returns the digital state for the Interface to send to the PI points that collect data from the event list. The REpower Event List Plug-in uses the same transformation of OPC quality to digital state as the OPC DA Interface. If alternate states are specified for the Interface by the /as command-line parameter, the REpower Event List Plug-in also uses the same alternate states. See the “Quality Information” section in the OPC DA Interface user manual for more information on the specific system digital states used by the Interface.

To record the time when an event list digital state changes from non-Good to Good, the REpower Event List Plug-in explicitly returns system digital state Good (state number 305) for the Interface to send to the PI points that collect data from the event list. As explained in the Principles of Operation chapter, the Interface does not implicitly send anything to the PI point in this situation. Therefore, the exception reporting logic in the plug-in must handle this case.


The REpower Event List Plug-in can return system digital states for the Interface to send to a PI point if the plug-in encounters error conditions while processing the OPC Items for an event list.

The following table shows the system digital states that the REpower Event List Plug-in can return to the Interface. Except for digital state Good, the plug-in writes a message to the log file before returning a digital state. The log message contains more specific information about the error that causes the plug-in to return the digital state.

Digital State (State Number) Reason

Good (305) Event list digital state changes from non-Good to Good.

Bad Input (255) REguard OPC Server: The OPC Item value is an array with an invalid number of elements for a serialized event list.AX-S4 OPC Server:1) Mapped items for the event list are missing.2) Quality of mapped items is inconsistent.3) Timestamps for the mapped items in an event subbranch are inconsistent.4) A mapped item cannot be converted to an unsigned 16-bit integer.

Wrong Type (309) REguard OPC Server:The OPC Item value does not have the correct data type for a serialized event list. AX-S4 OPC Server: not used.

Failed (241) An error occurred while reconstructing an event list or determining new events (updates) for a PI point from an event list.

Error (242) A serious internal error occurred (for example, an access violation or unhandled exception).


Chapter 6. PI Point Configuration

The PI point is the basic building block for controlling data flow to and from the PI Server. A single point is configured for each measurement value that needs to be archived.

Point Attributes

Use the point attributes below to define the PI point configuration for the Interface, including specifically what data to transfer.

Tag

The Tag attribute (or tagname) is the name for a point. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the name of a point and the point itself. Because of this relationship, PI documentation uses the terms “tag” and “point” interchangeably.

Follow these rules for naming PI points:

The name must be unique on the PI Server.

The first character must be alphanumeric, the underscore (_), or the percent sign (%).

Control characters such as linefeeds or tabs are illegal.

The following characters also are illegal: * ’ ? ; { } [ ] | \ ` ' "

LengthDepending on the version of the PI API and the PI Server, this Interface supports tags whose length is at most 255 or 1023 characters. The following table indicates the maximum length of this attribute for all the different combinations of PI API and PI Server versions.

PI API PI Server Maximum Length

1.6.0.2 or higher 3.4.370.x or higher 1023

1.6.0.2 or higher Below 3.4.370.x 255

Below 1.6.0.2 3.4.370.x or higher 255

Below 1.6.0.2 Below 3.4.370.x 255

If the PI Server version is earlier than 3.4.370.x or the PI API version is earlier than 1.6.0.2, and you want to use a maximum tag length of 1023, you need to enable the PI SDK. See the OPC DA Interface manual.


PointSource

The PointSource attribute contains a unique, single or multi-character string that is used to identify the PI point as a point that belongs to a particular interface. For additional information, see the /ps command-line parameter and the “PointSource” section in the OPCDA Interface manual.

PointType

Typically, device point types do not need to correspond to PI point types. For example, integer values from a device can be sent to floating point or digital PI tags. Similarly, a floating-point value from the device can be sent to integer or digital PI tags, although the values will be truncated.

Float16, float32, float 64, int16, int32, and digital point types are supported for PI points that are configured for the REpower Event List Plug-in. All parameters in a REpower event list are unsigned, 16-bit integers. For more information on the individual PointTypes, see PI Server manuals.

Location1

Location1 indicates to which copy of the Interface the point belongs. The value of this attribute must match the /id command-line parameter.

Location2

The OPC DA Interface uses Location2 to indicate several forms of special handling. For PI points that are configured for the REpower Event List Plug-in, Location2 must be set to 8, which causes the Interface to request the canonical data type when reading the OPC Items that are mapped from a REpower event list. Mapped event list items must be read using the canonical data type for the plug-in to reconstruct an exact copy of the event list in the REpower control system.

Location3

Location3 indicates the method that the Interface should use to read the OPC item. For REpower Event List Plug-in points, Location3 can be 0 (Polled or Event triggered) or 1 (Advised).


Location4

Location4 defines the scan class for the PI point.

The updates from the OPC Server come in groups: at start-up, the OPC DA Interface creates a group on the OPC Server for each scan class and adds all points assigned to the scan class to the group.

Note: The REpower Event List Plug-in requires that all PI points with the same Event List ID (see InstrumentTag) must be in the same scan class.

Up to 200 groups, and thus 200 scan classes, can be defined. The OPC Server is queried for all points within a group at the same time; therefore some consideration should be given to the number of OPC Items in each scan class. Having more than one scan class with the same scan period is allowed, and using different offsets on those scan classes may help performance. However, the OPC Server is in control of when to read the data source to update its data cache, and specifying offsets may have no effect on when the data is actually read by the OPC Server.

Note: The first scan class (Location4 = 1) is reserved for Advise points. Any points which are not advised (Location3 ≠ 1) and use the first scan class will not be polled.

While it is possible to have Advise points and polled points in the same scan class, the performance of the interface under those conditions is not guaranteed.

Note: OSIsoft emphatically discourages mixing Advise points and Polled points in the same scan class.

Scan-based (Polled) InputsLocation4 specifies the scan class for the PI point. The /f interface parameter corresponding to the scan class determines the frequency at which input points are scanned for new values. For more information, see the description of the /f parameter in the “Startup Command File” chapter of the OPC DA Interface manual.

Advise PointsLocation4 specifies the scan class for the PI point. The /f interface parameter corresponding to the scan class specifies the Requested Update Rate for the group: the OPC Server agrees to check for new values at least this often, which allows the use of a larger value for points which don’t change often to lighten the load on the OPC Server. For more information, see the description of the /f parameter in the “Startup Command File” chapter of the OPC DA Interface manual.

Trigger-based Inputs, Unsolicited Inputs, and Output PointsLocation 4 should be set to zero for these points. REpower control systems have no other input value that is useful as a trigger for reading the event list and the event list is read-only. Therefore, Location4 should be non-zero for REpower Event List Plug-in points.


PI Point Configuration

Location5

Location5 is used for Advise tags to define a Deadband value which is passed to the OPC Server. Deadband processing only applies to analog values in the OPC Server. Since the data in REpower event lists is not analog, Deadband processing is not used with PI points that are associated with the REpower Event List Plug-in. Therefore, set Location5 to 0 for REpower Event List Plug-in points.

InstrumentTag

For normal OPCInt points (not processed by this plug-in), this attribute contains the OPC ItemID for the point. For REpower Event List Plug-in points, the InstrumentTag attribute contains the Event List ID, which is OPC Server-specific. The InstrumentTag attribute must exactly match the ItemID or Event List ID defined on the OPC Server (punctuation, spaces, uppercase and lowercase, and so forth).

Observe that two or more PI points usually collect data from an individual event list. Therefore, the Event List ID for a specific event list usually appears in the InstrumentTag attribute for two or more PI points, but the keyword in the ExDesc attribute of these points is different.

Note: The REpower Event List Plug-in requires that all PI points with the same Event List ID must be assigned to the same scan class (Location4).

REguard OPC Server Event List IDThe REguard OPC Server maps an event list to a single OPC Item. For the REguard OPC Server, the Event List ID is the ItemID of the mapped item. Refer to section 3 in the REguardInterface B OPC DA Manual for complete information on the ItemIDs. Briefly, an ItemID in the REpower OPC DA Server has the following syntax:ComponentName.TaskName.VariableName

The dots (periods) that separate the three parts of the ItemID are literal. The ComponentName of each wind farm component is assigned when the component is commissioned. The TaskName is fixed for each component type. The VariableName for event list items is “.IECEvents_GArDs”. Observe that the leading dot is literally part of the variable name. Therefore, set the InstrumentTag attribute for a PI point that receives data from a REpower event list to one of:MeteoStationName.MSBA10..IECEvents_GArDs

GridStationName.PMBA10..IECEvents_GArDs

WindTurbineName.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs

Note: Two dots follow the task name. The first dot is the separator between task name and variable name. The second dot is literally the first character of the event list variable name.

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AX-S4 OPC Server Event List IDThe AX-S4 OPC Server maps an event list to five OPC Items for every element in the event list. The ItemIDs for the required mapped items for one element have the following syntax, where the index inside the square brackets is the 0-based index of an element in the event list:IEC61850server:logicalDevice/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt[index]$stVal

IEC61850server:logicalDevice/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt[index]$comego

IEC61850server:logicalDevice/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt[index]$idx

Each wind farm component contains an IEC 61400/61850 server and is assigned a name when AX-S4 is configured to communicate with the component. The IEC61850server part of the ItemID is theAX-S4 name assigned to the wind farm component.

Each IEC 61400/61850 server can contain one or more logical devices. REpower wind farm components contain one logical device. The logicalDevice part of the ItemID is the name of the logical device that contains the event list. Logical device names are configurable in the IEC 61850 server.

The Event List ID that configures a PI point for an event list in the AX-S4 OPC Server is the substring of the ItemIDs for mapped event properties up to, but not including, the left square bracket of the element index. For example, if the IEC 61850 server for a wind turbine is named “Turbine21” in AX-S4 and the logical device in the IEC 61850 server is named “E1Q1SB1WEC”, the Event List ID is:Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt

Use an OPC browsing tool to determine the IEC 61850 server names and logical device names in the AX-S4 OPC Server. OPC browsing tools are included with the OPC DA Interface and AX-S4. The branches in the root of the AX-S4 namespace are IEC 61850 servers. Under each IEC 61850 server, the “Domains” branch contains a subbranch for each logical device. For an example, see the partial item hierarchy in the AX - S4 OPC Item Hierarchy figure.

LengthDepending on the version of the PI API and the PI Server, this Interface supports an InstrumentTag attribute whose length is at most 32 or 1023 characters. The following table indicates the maximum length of this attribute for all the different combinations of PI API and PI Server versions.

PI API PI Server Maximum Length

1.6.0.2 or higher 3.4.370.x or higher 1023

1.6.0.2 or higher Below 3.4.370.x 32

Below 1.6.0.2 3.4.370.x or higher 32

Below 1.6.0.2 Below 3.4.370.x 32

If the PI Server version is earlier than 3.4.370.x or the PI API version is earlier than 1.6.0.2, and an ItemID or Event List ID is longer than 32 characters, you have two options. One option is to specify the ItemID in the ExDesc attribute. The second option is to enable the PI SDK, which extends maximum InstrumentTag length to 1023 characters, regardless of PI Server or PI API version. See the OPC DA Interface manual for information on both options.



ExDesc

The ExDesc attribute is used for multiple purposes. Keywords in the ExDesc attribute identify the PI points that require the REpower Event List Plug-in to extract an event property from a REpower event list. The ExDesc attribute also can contain keywords for the OPC DA Interface or UniInt. Additional information of your choice can coexist with configuration keywords because the REpower Event List Plug-in, OPC DA Interface, and UniInt ignore text that is not recognized as a keyword.

As discussed in the Principles of Operation chapter, the event structures in an event list contain a timestamp and three event properties: Status code, ComeGo, and Index. However, a PI point can only store a single value. Therefore, the keyword in the ExDesc attribute designates the event property that the REpower Event List Plug-in sends to a PI point which is associated with a REpower event list.

Operating state changes and status condition changes are intermingled in a REpower event list. The REpower Event List Plug-in provides filtering options, which are also configured by the keyword in the ExDesc attribute. The filtering options allow operating state changes and status condition state changes to be segregated into separate PI points.

The following table shows the keywords for the combinations of event property and filtering. The square brackets must literally enclose the keywords in the ExDesc attribute. The keyword inside the square brackets is case insensitive. No white space or other special characters can be inside the square brackets.

Status code ComeGo Index

Unfiltered (all events) [AllCodesAndStates] [AllComeGo] [AllIndex]

Operating state (events with Index=2)

[OperatingState]

Status condition changes (events with Index≠2)

[StatusCodes] [StatusComeGo] [StatusIndex]

The two empty cells in the preceding table are intentional. Since an Index of 2 identifies an operating state change event, designating the Index event property to send to a PI point with operating state filtering would result in a PI point that received only the constant 2. According to the REpower documentation, the ComeGo event property is meaningless for operating state change events, so there is no reason to store it in a PI point.

The REpower Event List Plug-in recognizes one additional keyword that is not in the preceding table: [StatusCode=n]. PI points with this keyword are updated from the ComeGo event property in events for changes to status code n. That is, the PI point is only updated from events where Index is not 2 (a status condition change) and Status code is equal to n (a specific status condition code). Since the REpower control systems have hundreds of status condition codes, creating individual PI points for each status condition from each wind farm component probably is impractical. However, using this keyword to create individual PI points for critical status conditions may be appropriate. A PI ProcessBook trend of a point configured with this keyword shows the binary state of the status condition over time. The trend resembles one of the timelines in Figure 1 in the Principles of Operation chapter.

Note: The event property keyword should not be changed on a PI point with history because that results in different event properties combined in the history.

Instead of changing the event property keyword, a better alternative is to rename the point and create a new PI point with the original name and the new event property keyword.

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If you change the event property and filtering keyword, the plug-in returns only REpower events that both satisfy the new keyword and have timestamps greater than or equal to the last event timestamp returned for the old keyword. That is, the plug-in does not reprocess REpower events with timestamps less than the last event timestamp that the plug-in returned to the Interface for the PI point (see step 3 in the Determine PI Point Updates section).

In normal operation, the REpower Event List Plug-in only writes log messages when abnormal or unexpected conditions occur. A keyword in the ExDesc attribute can enable additional log messages to trace the internal operation of the plug-in for individual PI points. Since understanding of the source code is necessary to interpret the tracing messages, the tracing messages generally are not useful and, therefore, should be enabled only at the request of OSIsoft technical support personnel. The Tracing Messages section in the Error and Informational Messages appendix discusses the ExDesc keyword that enables tracing messages.

LengthDepending on the version of the PI API and the PI Server, this Interface supports an ExDesc attribute whose length is at most 80 or 1023 characters. The following table indicates the maximum length of this attribute for all the different combinations of PI API and PI Server versions.

PI API PI Server Maximum Length1.6.0.2 or higher 3.4.370.x or higher 1023

1.6.0.2 or higher Below 3.4.370.x 80

Below 1.6.0.2 3.4.370.x or higher 80

Below 1.6.0.2 Below 3.4.370.x 80

If the PI Server version is earlier than 3.4.370.x or the PI API version is earlier than 1.6.0.2, and you want to use a maximum ExDesc length of 1023, you need to enable the PI SDK. See the OPC DA Interface manual for information.

Performance Points For UniInt-based interfaces, the extended descriptor is checked for the string “PERFORMANCE_POINT”. If this character string is found, UniInt treats this point as a performance point. See the “Scan Class Performance Points” section in the OPC DA Interface manual.

Trigger-based Inputs For trigger-based input points, a separate trigger point must be configured. Configuring trigger-based input for PI points that collect data from a REpower event list is not expected because there is no obvious trigger point.

An input point is associated with a trigger point by entering a case-insensitive string in the extended descriptor (ExDesc) PI point attribute of the input point of the form:keyword=trigger_tag_name

where keyword is replaced by “event” or “trig” and trigger_tag_name is replaced by the name of the trigger point. There should be no spaces in the string. UniInt automatically assumes that an input point is trigger-based instead of scan-based when the keyword=trigger_tag_name string is found in the extended descriptor attribute.



An input is triggered when a new value is sent to the Snapshot of the trigger point. The new value does not need to be different than the previous Snapshot value to trigger an input, but the timestamp of the new value must be greater than (more recent than) or equal to the timestamp of the previous value. This is different than the trigger mechanism for output points. For output points, the timestamp of the trigger value must be greater than (not greater than or equal to) the timestamp of the previous value.

Conditions can be placed on trigger events. Event conditions are specified in the extended descriptor as follows:Event='trigger_tag_name' event_condition

The trigger tag name must be in single quotes. For example,Event='Sinusoid' Anychange

will trigger on any event to the PI Tag sinusoid as long as the next event is different than the last event. The initial event is read from the snapshot.

The keywords in the following table can be used to specify trigger conditions.

Event Condition

Description

Anychange Trigger on any change as long as the value of the current event is different than the value of the previous event. System digital states also trigger events. For example, an event will be triggered on a value change from 0 to “Bad Input,” and an event will be triggered on a value change from “Bad Input” to 0.

Increment Trigger on any increase in value. System digital states do not trigger events. For example, an event will be triggered on a value change from 0 to 1, but an event will not be triggered on a value change from “Pt Created” to 0. Likewise, an event will not be triggered on a value change from 0 to “Bad Input.”

Decrement Trigger on any decrease in value. System digital states do not trigger events. For example, an event will be triggered on a value change from 1 to 0, but an event will not be triggered on a value change from “Pt Created” to 0. Likewise, an event will not be triggered on a value change from 0 to “Bad Input.”

Nonzero Trigger on any non-zero value. Events are not triggered when a system digital state is written to the trigger tag. For example, an event is triggered on a value change from “Pt Created” to 1, but an event is not triggered on a value change from 1 to “Bad Input.”

Step

When archived data at a specific time is retrieved from a PI point, the Step attribute selects the method that the PI Server uses to determine the value to return. If the Step attribute is 0 (off), the PI point is treated as a continuous variable and the PI Server interpolates data values for times between archived values. If the Step attribute is1 (on), the PI Server returns the value from the last archive value before the specified time.

The event properties from REpower events are discrete values. That is, the properties of an event are logically constant until a new event indicates a step change in the property. Using operating state events as an example, an operating state event at 08:38 with Status code 180 indicates that a wind farm component entered operating state 180 at 08:38. If the next operating state event occurs at 08:44 with Status code 190, the operating state was 180 from 08:38 to 08:44, when the operating state stepped from 180 to 190. The following figure shows the effect of the Step attribute on data retrieval from a PI point that contains the example operating state events.

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Step=0

Step=1

08:38 08:44

180

180

190

190

Step=1 provides the appropriate data retrieval for REpower event properties.

ExcDev, ExcDevPercent, ExcMin, and ExcMax

The REpower Event List Plug-in unconditionally applies exception reporting to PI points that collect data from a REpower event list. That is, the plug-in only returns new events or changes in quality state to the Interface. See the Principles of Operation chapter for details.

Since the plug-in implements specific exception reporting for REpower event lists, the exception reporting in the Interface is redundant and can make data difficult to use (similar to the issues with compression in the next section). To avoid any possibility of interference between the exception reporting logic in the plug-in and Interface, exception reporting in the Interface should be turned off by setting ExcMin, ExcMax, ExcDev, and ExcDevPercent to 0.

Compressing, CompDev, CompDevPercent, CompMin, and CompMax

Compression should not be used for a PI point that collects data from a REpower event list. The remainder of this section explains the adverse consequences of enabling the PI Server compression algorithm, which can make the historical event data very difficult to use.

The exception reporting logic in the REpower Event List Plug-in has the effect of compressing the sequence of events and quality state changes. After the plug-in applies exception reporting, no consecutive events in the sequence are identical. That is, consecutive events are different by at least one event property. Therefore, no additional compression is possible without losing significant data.

Status condition events indicate a change in state for a status condition. Interpretation of a status condition event requires the Status code property (to identify the specific status condition that is changing) and the ComeGo property (to indicate the new state).

Since one PI point cannot store all of the event properties, a PI point is required for each of the three event properties from the same REpower event list item. When an event passes exception reporting conditions, the plug-in returns a (timestamp, value) pair for each of the three related points, all with the same timestamp. In the following figure, PI DataLink shows properties for six events as stored in three PI points with no compression. The three PI points have the same number of values at the same set of timestamps, so each row contains the three properties for one event.



Although the sequence of events is compressed by exception reporting, the individual PI points are compressible because the PI Server is unaware of the relationship between the three points. In the preceding figure, the shaded (timestamp, value) pairs contain the same value as the previous pair for the same PI point. Technically, the shaded (timestamp, value) pairs are not needed to reconstruct a timeline for the corresponding PI point. Therefore, the PI Server compression algorithm can delete the shaded (timestamp, value) pairs.

If compression is disabled, the one-to-one correspondence between the (timestamp, value) pairs for the related PI points is preserved in the PI Archive (as shown in the previous figure). Conversely, enabling compression for the related PI points breaks the one-to-one correspondence between the (timestamp, value) pairs in the PI Archive. In the following figure, PI DataLink shows properties for the same six events as stored in three PI points with compression enabled.

Observe that the compression algorithm removed (timestamp, value) pairs from each of the PI points. As a result, all of the event properties for a single event are not guaranteed to appear on the same row. Reconstructing the sequence of status condition events from the data in this spreadsheet is difficult.

Analysis of status condition events requires Status code plus ComeGo and/or Index properties at the time of each event. As the two preceding figures show, historical data that was stored without compression has this characteristic, but compressed data does not. Unless you are willing to reconstruct the original sequence of REpower events from compressed data, the emphatic recommendation is to disable compression.

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TotalCode, SquareRoot, and Convers

The OPC DA Interface provides several options for scaling or transforming OPC input data before it is sent to a PI point. The TotalCode, SquareRoot, and Convers attributes configure transformation and scaling (see the “Transformations and Scaling” section in the OPC DA Interface manual). None of the transformations or scaling options are appropriate for REpower event data. Therefore, the TotalCode, SquareRoot, and Convers attributes must be set to 0 for PI points that collect data from a REpower event list.

UserInt1

The UserInt1 attribute must be set to 0 for PI points that are associated with a REpower event list.

Scan

By default, the Scan attribute has a value of 1, indicating that the Interface should collect data for the point. Setting the scan attribute to 0 turns data collection off. If the scan attribute is 0 when the Interface starts, the Interface will not load the point (Scan Off will not be written) and the point will not get any data updates. If the Scan attribute changes from 1 to 0 while the Interface is running, the Interface writes Scan Off only when it detects that change. This might take up to 2 minutes.

There is one other situation, which is independent of the Scan attribute, where UniInt will write Scan Off to a PI point. If a point that is currently loaded by the Interface is edited so that the point is no longer valid for the Interface, the Interface writes Scan Off to the point and removes the point. For example, if the PointSource of a PI point that is currently loaded by the Interface is changed, the Interface writes Scan Off to the point and removes the point.

Shutdown

The Shutdown attribute is 1 (true) by default. The default behavior of the PI Shutdown subsystem is to write the Shutdown digital state to all PI points when PI is started. The timestamp that is used for the Shutdown events is retrieved from a file that is updated by the Snapshot Subsystem. The timestamp is usually updated every 15 minutes, which means that the timestamp for the Shutdown events will be accurate to within 15 minutes in the event of a power failure. For additional information on shutdown events, refer to PI Server manuals.

Note: The Shutdown events that are written by the PI Shutdown subsystem are independent of the Shutdown events that are written by the Interface when the /stopstat=Shutdown command-line parameter is specified.

Shutdown events can be disabled from being written to PI when PI is restarted by setting the Shutdown attribute to 0 for each point. Alternatively, the default behavior of the PI Shutdown Subsystem can be changed to write Shutdown events only for PI points that have their Shutdown attribute set to 0. To change the default behavior, edit the \PI\dat\Shutdown.dat file, as discussed in PI Server manuals.



Bufserv and PIBufssIt is undesirable to write shutdown events when buffering is being used. Bufserv and PIBufss are utility programs that provide the capability to store and forward events to a PI Server, allowing continuous data collection when the Server is down for maintenance, upgrades, backups, and unexpected failures. That is, when PI is shutdown, Bufserv or PIBufss will continue to collect data for the Interface, making it undesirable to write SHUTDOWN events to the PI points for this Interface. Disabling Shutdown is recommended when sending data to a Highly Available PI Server Collective. Refer to the Bufserv or PIBufss manuals for additional information.

Output Points

REpower event lists are read-only. Therefore, the REpower Event List Plug-in does not support output to REpower event lists. Do not set Location3 to 3 (which indicates an output point for the OPC DA Interface) for PI points that are configured for this plug-in.

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Chapter 7. Startup Command File

Command-line parameters can begin with a / or with a -. For example, the /ps=M and -ps=M command-line parameters are equivalent.

For Windows, command file names have a .bat extension. The Windows continuation character (^) allows for the use of multiple lines for the startup command. The maximum length of each line is 1024 characters (1 kilobyte). The number of parameters is unlimited, and the maximum length of each parameter is 1024 characters.

The PI Interface Configuration Utility (PI ICU) provides a tool for configuring the Interface startup command file.

Configuring the Interface with PI ICU

Note: PI ICU requires PI 3.3 or greater.

The PI Interface Configuration Utility provides a graphical user interface for configuring PI interfaces. If the Interface is configured by the PI ICU, the batch file of the Interface (OPCIntn.bat) will be maintained by the PI ICU and all configuration changes will be kept in that file and the module database. See the OPC DA Interface user manual for instructions on creating an instance of the OPC DA Interface and general interface configuration. The procedure in this section describes the additional steps for using PI ICU to configure the OPCDA Interface to load the REpower Event List Plug-in.

In the Interface box, select an instance of the OPC DA Interface to collect data from REpower event lists. The Type box should display OPCInt to confirm that an OPC DA Interface is selected.

Select OPCInt in the navigation pane on the left. The PI ICU Control for OPC DA Interface, which has its own navigation pane, displays on the right. Use the OPCInt page to enter values for the startup parameters that are particular to the OPC DA Interface instance. After making changes, click Apply to save these changes to the Interface’s startup file and in the module database.

Note: If the Interface instance is running, changes made to the startup file do not take effect until the Interface instance is restarted.


OPCInt Interface Page

Since the startup file of the OPC DA Interface instance is maintained automatically by the PI ICU, use the OPCInt page to configure interface-specific startup parameters and do not make changes in the file manually. The PI ICU Control for OPC DA Interface has twelve sub-pages and its own navigation pane to select a sub-page to display.

This document discusses only the interface configuration parameters that are relevant to the REpower Event List Plug-in. See the OPC DA Interface user manual for information on other parameters. The following description of the PI ICU Control identifies the command-line parameter that corresponds to each element of the control.

A yellow text box indicates that an invalid value has been entered or that a required value has not been entered.

OPC ServerConfirm that the OPC Server Node Name and OPC Server Name boxes designate an OPC DA Server that this plug-in supports.

Data HandlingConfirm that the Update Snapshot check box is cleared.

Caution: Do not use the /us parameter on an instance of the Interface with the REpower Event List Plug-in because the /us parameter can cause the interface to destructively change event timestamps returned by the plug-in.

In general, the /us parameter should not be required for any data collected from a REpower wind farm. If the /us parameter is necessary for REpower process data (that is, non-event data), two instances of the Interface must be created. The instance that uses the REpower Event List Plug-in to collect event data cannot have the /us parameter. The other instance of the Interface has the /us parameter and PI points that require this parameter are configured for this instance.


Plug-Ins

Enter the path to the REpower Event List Plug-in DLL in the Post Processing DLL box (/dll=path command-line parameter). The REpower Event List Plug-in file name is OPCREpowerEventPlugIn.dll. The path to this file can be entered into this box from the

file browser dialog box that opens by clicking the button. The file browser dialog box opens in the default folder for plug-in DLLs: [PIHOME]\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins. If the REpower Event List Plug-in DLL is installed in some other folder, browse to the folder that contains the DLL. Select OPCREpowerEventPlugIn.dll. Click Open to insert the path to the DLL into the Post Processing DLL box and close the dialog box.

Also, the path can be typed or pasted into the Post Processing DLL box.


Startup Command File

Additional Parameters

The REpower Event List Plug-in accepts parameters that are not explicitly supported by the OPC DA Interface ICU Control. These parameters can be entered in the Additional Parameters box. The explanations of the REpower Event List Plug-in parameters are in the Command-line Parameters section later in this chapter.

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Command-line Parameters

The following command-line parameters are specifically for the REpower Event List Plug-in. See the OPC DA Interface user manual for general interface parameters.

Parameter Description

/dll=pathRequired

This is a general interface parameter that specifies the path to a plug-in. Set path to the path to OPCREpowerEventPlugIn.dll.

/dlldb=#Optional Default = 0

This parameter enables the REpower Event List Plug-in to write additional messages that trace internal operation to the log file. The tracing messages enabled by this parameter apply to all PI points that use the plug-in. Therefore, this parameter can enable an overwhelming volume of messages.

Note: OSIsoft advises using the per-point tracing option described in the Tracing Messages section instead of this parameter.

If the OPC DA Interface is running in an interactive command window, the tracing messages also are written to the command window. Each bit in the value for this parameter enables tracing messages for a main operation of the REpower Event List Plug-in. The parameter value is the logical OR of the following tracing flags (in hexadecimal notation):

0x01 Initialization and parameter parsing.

0x02 Point loading (point add or edit).

0x04 Add mapped OPC Items to OPC groups.

0x08 Point removal (point delete or edit).

0x10 Process OPC input.

0x20 Process REpower event lists.

0x40 Return results to the Interface.

The parameter value can be represented as a decimal, octal, or hexadecimal integer. Leading “0x” indicates hexadecimal notation (for example, 0x30 to enable tracing while processing OPC input and REpower event lists). Leading “0” indicates octal notation (for example, 060 also enables tracing while processing OPC input and REpower event lists). Otherwise, the parameter value is interpreted as a decimal integer.

/dlldf=tagnameOptional

The snapshot value of the PI point in this parameter determines the tracing messages that are enabled. The PI point must be an integer point and the bits in the snapshot value have the same meaning as the bits in the /dlldb parameter value.The snapshot value is read when the plug-in initializes and when tagname is edited. Note that simply changing the snapshot value is not sufficient to update the internal trace message bits in the plug-in. That is, tagname attributes must be edited to notify the REpower Event List Plug-in to read the snapshot value for tagname and store the snapshot value in the internal tracing flags variable.




/dllto=#OptionalDefault = 0 minutes

Timestamps in a REpower event list are obtained from the system clock in the REpower control system. UTC is the default time zone for REpower control system clocks. REpower Systems AG recommends that the control system clocks operate on a UTC time base. However, REpower control systems provide an option to offset the control system clocks from UTC by a fixed number of minutes. The option has the effect of shifting the REpower control system clocks to standard local time with no daylight savings time adjustments. The REpower Event List Plug-in assumes that the timestamps in event lists are based on UTC clocks unless the /dllto parameter specifies a non-zero number. The /dllto parameter value is the number of minutes that REpower control system clocks are offset from UTC. The parameter value can be positive or negative. The value of this parameter must match the offset that REpower Systems AG configured in the wind farm control systems. The REpower Event List Plug-in subtracts the /dllto parameter value from timestamps in event lists to convert the event times to UTC.The parameter value can be represented as a decimal, octal, or hexadecimal integer. See the/dlldb parameter for information on the syntax of integer representations.

/dll_axs4_eldim=#OptionalDefault = 50

This parameter specifies the number of elements in a REpower event list in the AX-S4 OPC Server. The plug-in uses the number of elements to construct the list of mapped OPC Items for the event list. When this version of the plug-in was developed, an event list in the REguard IEC 61400-25 Server contains 50 elements, which is the default value for this parameter. Unless the number of elements changes in a future release of the REguard IEC 61400-25 Server, this parameter is not needed on the Interface command line.

/dll_axs4_elid= eventlistIDOptionalDefault = WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt

This parameter changes the string that ends an Event List ID for the AX-S4 OPC Server. The plug-in uses this parameter to determine if an Event List ID is for the AX-S4 OPC Server. For the AX-S4 OPC Server, an Event List ID is the substring of the ItemIDs for mapped event properties up to, but not including, the left square bracket of the element index. The syntax of an AX-S4 OPC Event List ID is:Component:logicalDev/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actStComponent is the name in AX-S4 that identifies the wind farm component and logicalDev is the name of the logical device in the Repower IEC 61400-25 Server. The ending substring “WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt”, which is the default value for this parameter, is the AX-S4 OPC Server syntax for the path to the event list in the REguard IEC 61400-25 Server. Unless the AX-S4 OPC Server path syntax or the path to the event list in the REguard IEC 61400-25 Server changes in a future release, this parameter is not needed on the Interface command line.

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/dll_axs4_comego= comegoleafOptionalDefault = $comego

This parameter changes the delimiter and leaf name for AX-S4 items that are mapped from ComeGo event properties. The plug-in uses this parameter to construct the ItemIDs for mapped ComeGo event properties. ItemIDs are constructed by concatenating the Event List ID, element index enclosed in square brackets, and this parameter:EventListID[i]comegoleafWhen this version of the plug-in was developed, the delimiter and leaf name for ComeGo event properties are “$comego”, which is the default for this parameter. Unless the delimiter changes in a future release of the AX-S4 OPC Server or the leaf name changes in the REguard IEC 61400-25 Server, this parameter is not needed on the Interface command line.

/dll_axs4_index= indexleafOptionalDefault = $idx

This parameter changes the delimiter and leaf name for AX-S4 items that are mapped from Index event properties. The plug-in uses this parameter to construct the ItemIDs for mapped Index event properties. ItemIDs are constructed by concatenating the Event List ID, element index enclosed in square brackets, and this parameter:EventListID[i]indexleafWhen this version of the plug-in was developed, the delimiter and leaf name for Index event properties are “$idx”, which is the default for this parameter. Unless the delimiter changes in a future release of the AX-S4 OPC Server or the leaf name changes in the REguard IEC 61400-25 Server, this parameter is not needed on the Interface command line.

/dll_axs4_scode= statuscodeleafOptionalDefault = $stVal

This parameter changes the delimiter and leaf name for AX-S4 items that are mapped from Status code event properties. The plug-in uses this parameter to construct the ItemIDs for mapped Status code event properties. ItemIDs are constructed by concatenating the Event List ID, element index enclosed in square brackets, and this parameter:EventListID[i]statuscodeleafWhen this version of the plug-in was developed, the delimiter and leaf name for Status code event properties are “$stVal”, which is the default for this parameter. Unless the delimiter changes in a future release of the AX-S4 OPC Server or the leaf name changes in the REguard IEC 61400-25 Server, this parameter is not needed on the Interface command line.

/dll_rgrd_eldim=#OptionalDefault = 50

This parameter specifies the number of elements in a REpower event list in the REguard OPC Server. The plug-in uses the number of elements to calculate the number of bytes in a serialized event list. When this version of the plug-in was developed, a serialized event list in the REguard OPC Server contains 50 elements, which is the default value for this parameter. Unless the number of elements changes in a future release of the REguard OPC Server, this parameter is not needed on the Interface command line.




/dll_rgrd_elid= eventlistIDOptionalDefault = .IECEvents_GArDs

This parameter changes the string that ends an Event List ID for the REguard OPC Server. The plug-in uses this parameter to determine if an Event List ID is for the REguard OPC Server. For the REguard OPC Server, an Event List ID is the OPC ItemID for an item that contains a serialized event list. The syntax of a REguard OPC ItemID is:ComponentName.TaskName.VariableNameThe ComponentName and TaskName identify the wind farm component. The VariableName for a REguard OPC Item that contains a serialized event list is “.IECEvents_GArDs”, which is the default value for this parameter. Unless the variable name changes in a future release of the REguard OPC Server, this parameter is not needed on the Interface command line.

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Chapter 8. Interface Node Clock

Make sure that the time and time zone settings on the computer are correct. To confirm, run the Date/Time applet located in the Windows Control Panel. If the locale where the Interface Node resides observes Daylight Saving Time, check the Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes box. For example,

In addition, make sure that the TZ environment variable is not defined. All of the currently defined environment variables can be viewed by opening a Command Prompt window and typing set. That is,C:> set

Confirm that TZ is not in the resulting list. If it is, run the System applet of the Control Panel, click the Environment Variables button under the Advanced tab, and remove TZ from the list of environment variables.


Chapter 9. Starting / Stopping the Interface

This section describes starting and stopping the Interface once it has been installed as a service. See the UniInt Interface User Manual to run the Interface interactively.

Starting Interface as a Service

If the Interface was installed as service, it can be started from PI ICU, the Services control panel or with the command:OPCInt.exe -start

To start the interface service with PI ICU, use the button on the PI ICU toolbar.

A message will inform the user of the status of the interface service. Even if the message indicates that the service has started successfully, double check through the Services control panel applet. Services may terminate immediately after startup for a variety of reasons, and one typical reason is that the service is not able to find the command-line parameters in the associated .bat file. Verify that the root name of the .bat file and the .exe file are the same, and that the .bat file and the .exe file are in the same directory. Further troubleshooting of services might require consulting the pipc.log file, Windows Event Viewer, or other sources of log messages. See the “Error and Informational Messages” appendix in the OPC DA Interface user manual for additional information.

Stopping Interface Running as a Service

If the Interface was installed as service, it can be stopped at any time from PI ICU, the Services control panel or with the command:OPCInt.exe -stop

The service can be removed by:OPCInt.exe -remove

To stop the interface service with PI ICU, use the button on the PI ICU toolbar.


Appendix A.Error and Informational Messages

The OPC DA Interface and REpower Event List Plug-in write messages while running. Since the Interface and plug-in normally run as a Windows Service that is not allowed to interact with the Windows desktop, the Interface and plug-in always write messages to a log file. If the Interface and plug-in are running in an interactive session, messages also appear in the command window where the Interface is running.

Message Logs

The OPC DA Interface writes messages at the following times. The location of the message log depends upon the platform on which the Interface is running and the UniInt version. See the UniInt Interface User Manual for more information.

When the Interface starts many informational messages are written to the log. These include the version of the interface, the version of UniInt, the command-line parameters used, and the number of points.

As the Interface loads points, messages are sent to the log if there are any problems with the configuration of the points.

If the /dbUniInt or /db parameter is on the command-line, then various informational messages are written to the log file.

The REpower Event List Plug-in writes messages to [PIHOME]\dat\pipc.log in the same situations as the Interface.

When the Interface starts and calls the plug-in to initialize itself, the plug-in writes informational messages to the log. These messages include the version of the plug-in and the command-line parameters used.

As the plug-in loads points, the plug-in writes messages that describe any problems with the configuration of the points.

As the plug-in processes OPC input, the plug-in writes messages if errors occur.

If the /dlldb parameter is used on the command-line or tracing is enabled for specific PI points, the plug-in writes messages that trace the progress through the plug-in code.


System Errors and PI Errors

System errors are associated with positive error numbers. Errors related to PI are associated with negative error numbers.

Error Descriptions on WindowsOn Windows, descriptions of system and PI errors can be obtained with the pidiag utility:

Windows: \PI\adm\pidiag -e error_number

OPCInt Messages

The OPC DA Interface writes messages to the log file when a plug-in is loaded.

Informational

Message OPCpi> 2> AddStruct DLL found in C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins\OPCREpowerEventPlugIn.dll

Meaning The OPC DA Interface loaded the plug-in DLL and obtained the entry point for the function that retrieves “pseudo-tags” for OPC Items to add to OPC groups for data collection.

Message OPCpi> 2> Input DLL found in C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins\OPCREpowerEventPlugIn.dll

Meaning The OPC DA Interface loaded the plug-in DLL and obtained the entry point for the plug-in function that processes OPC input values.

Message OPCpi> 2> Results option found in C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins\OPCREpowerEventPlugIn.dll

Meaning The OPC DA Interface found the entry point for the function that retrieves PI point updates from the plug-in.


Errors

Message OPCpi> 2> Unable to access dll C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins\OPCREpowerEventPlugIn.dll

Cause The OPC DA Interface failed to load the plug-in DLL. Likely causes:1. The path in the /DLL= parameter is incorrect.2. Prerequisite DLLs (that is, dependencies) are not installed on the system.

Resolution 1. Confirm that the path in the /DLL= parameter is correct.2. If the plug-in is newer than the OPC DA Interface, a newer version of the OSIsoft prerequisites may be required. To diagnose a dependency problem, the Dependency Walker tool from Microsoft may be needed.

The OPC DA Interface calls the Windows LoadLibrary function to load a plug-in DLL. The regsvr32 utility also calls the LoadLibrary function and can be used as an independent test for missing dependencies. Open a command prompt window and change the working directory to [PIHOME]\Interfaces\OPCInt\Plug-Ins, and enter:regsvr32 OPCREpowerEventPlugIn.dllIf all dependencies for the REpower Event List Plug-in are present, the LoadLibrary call succeeds and the regsvr32 utility displays the following message:

The REpower Event List Plug-in DLL does not contain a DllRegisterServer entry point (the plug-in DLL does not implement a COM server). Therefore, the registration is not expected to succeed. If regsvr32 displays a message that begins “LoadLibrary(“OPCREpowerEventPlugIn.dll”) failed”, ignore the remainder of the message. The most likely reason for LoadLibrary to fail for the plug-in DLL is missing dependencies (not for the reasons in the regsvr32 message). The Dependency Walker tool from Microsoft can assist in identifying the missing dependencies (see article ID 256872 at support.microsoft.com).

REpower Event List Plug-in Messages

Each messages from the REpower Event List Plug-in is identified by the prefix “REpowerEvent>”. As the plug-in parses command-line parameters, the plug-in adds the first point source and the interface ID to the prefix, for example:

REpowerEvent OPC 2>In this example, the Interface /ps= command-line parameter specifies “OPC” as the PointSource attribute for Interface points and the Interface /id= command-line parameter specifies “2” as the interface ID.

The REpower Event List Plug-in writes informational messages to the log file during initialization and when PI points are added, deleted, or edited after initialization. In normal operation, the REpower Event List Plug-in only writes error messages to the log file when abnormal or unexpected conditions occur.


Error and Informational Messages

Informational

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Version 2.4.0.0REpowerEvent OPC 2> DebugFlags 0 (/dlldb)REpowerEvent OPC 2> DebugFlagTag 0 (/dlldf)REpowerEvent OPC 2> Event timestamp UTC offset 0.0 seconds (/dllto)REpowerEvent OPC 2> Increment for duplicate timestamps 0.000015 secondsREpowerEvent OPC 2> REguard OPC event list dimension 50 (/dll_rgrd_eldim)REpowerEvent OPC 2> REguard OPC event list ItemID ".IECEvents_GArDs" (/dll_rgrd_elid)REpowerEvent OPC 2> AX-S4 OPC event list dimension 50 (/dll_axs4_eldim)REpowerEvent OPC 2> AX-S4 OPC event list Branch "WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt" (/dll_axs4_elid)REpowerEvent OPC 2> AX-S4 OPC event list Status code item "$stVal" (/dll_axs4_scode)REpowerEvent OPC 2> AX-S4 OPC event list ComeGo item "$comego" (/dll_axs4_comego)REpowerEvent OPC 2> AX-S4 OPC event list Index item "$idx" (/dll_axs4_index)

Meaning The REpower Event List Plug-in logs these messages when the Interface starts. The messages supplement the parameter summary produced by the Interface. The messages include the plug-in version and the values for each plug-in parameter. For parameters that are not explicitly on the command line, the default value appears in the message. (The DebugFlagTag is the PointID of the PI point that sets the DebugFlags.)

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Alternate digital state 1: -231 "Auto"REpowerEvent OPC 2> Alternate digital state 2: -232 "Casc/Ratio"REpowerEvent OPC 2> Alternate digital state 3: -233 "DCS failed"

REpowerEvent OPC 2> Alternate digital state 18: -248 "No Data"

Meaning If the /as=state parameter is on the command line, these messages indicate the alternate digital states that the plug-in is using instead of the default digital states. See the “Storing Quality Information Directly” section in the OPC DA Interface user manual for an explanation of alternate digital states.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Debug flags tag "REpower.TraceFlags" found

Meaning If the /dlldf=tag parameter is on the command line, this message indicates that the PointID for tag was found in the PI Server.

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Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> New debug flags 0xff from point ID 6348

Meaning If the /dlldf=tag parameter is on the command line, this message is logged during initialization and when tag is edited. The message shows the PI point snapshot value (in hexadecimal notation) that is assigned to the internal tracing flags value in the plug-in. The message also shows the PointID.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Loaded [AllCodesAndStates] point "REpower.QualityTest" (EventListID= Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs)

Meaning Existing PI points configured for the plug-in are not logged when PI points are initially loaded during interface startup. After the Interface begins collecting data, PI points that are added (or edited) are logged. The message includes the ExDesc keyword that configures the filtering and event property collected for the PI point, the tag name, and the ID of the event list that supplies data for the PI point.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Deleting (or editing) point "REpower.QualityTest"

Meaning Deleting a PI point causes this message. The Interface handles a PI point edit by deleting the PI point and immediately reloading the PI point. Therefore, editing a PI point causes this message immediately followed by a message announcing that the same PI point is reloaded.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Unsorted event list after pass 0 for EventListID=Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt

Meaning REpower AG specifies that event lists are in order by timestamp. When the plug-in reconstructs an event list, the plug-in verifies that the elements in the event list are in order. If the event list is not in order, this message indicates that the plug-in is sorting the event list. Note that this message is informational and the plug-in sends events in the correct sequence.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Dropping digital state -307 event for point "REpower.QualityTest "

Meaning When an event list quality changes to non-good, the REpower Event List Plug-in translates non-good OPC quality to a digital state and attempts to track digital states sent to the PI point until good quality is restored. To constrain memory usage, the plug-in tracks up to 50 non-good digital states. If the limit of 50 non-good digital states is exceeded, the plug-in produces this message instead of expanding the size of the list of tracked digital states.



Errors

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Invalid value in command-line parameter "/dlldb=xffff"

Cause The value following the equal sign is not a valid representation for an integer.

Resolution Change the parameter value to an integer in decimal, hexadecimal, or octal notation. See the Command-line Parameters section for more information.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Invalid value in command-line parameter "/dllto=xxx"



Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Unable to find debug flags tag "xxx", no debug flags tag set

Cause The command line contains a /dlldf=tag parameter and no PI point exists with the specified tag name. This message also can occur if connection to the PI Server cannot be established when the Interface starts.

Resolution Correct the tag name in the parameter or remove the parameter.If a connection cannot be established to the PI Server, the Interface must be restarted after the problem is corrected for the /dlldf parameter to take effect.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Error getting debug flags tag value

Cause The command line contains a /dlldf=tag parameter and the pisn_getsnapshot call to get the current snapshot value failed. The most likely cause is lost connection to the PI Server.

Resolution Restore the connection to the PI Server. The plug-in continues to use the last known value for tracing flags.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Invalid parameter /as=xxxx: digital state not found

Cause The command line contains a /as=state parameter and the pipt_digcode call to get the code for the digital state name failed.

Resolution Change the parameter to specify an existing system digital state name.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Invalid value in command-line parameter "/dll_rgrd_eldim=xxx"



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Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Invalid value in command-line parameter "/dll_axs4_eldim=xxx"



Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Questionable keyword "[OperatingState" for point "REpower.OperatingState", ExDesc=[OperatingState

Cause A substring in the ExDesc attribute for the PI point is an incomplete REpower Event ListPlug-in keyword.

Resolution If the PI point is intended to collect data from a REpower event list, correct the keyword in the ExDesc attribute. See the ExDesc section for keyword syntax. The most likely problem is missing “]” keyword terminator.If the PI point is intended to collect non-event data, edit the ExDesc text in some way to make it different from plug-in keywords.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> No status code in [StatusCode=] for point "REpower.Status3265", ExDesc=[statuscode=x]

Cause The specific status code in the [StatusCode=n] keyword is missing or not a valid representation for an integer.

Resolution Correct the keyword in the ExDesc attribute.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Point "REpower.RawComeGo" refused because scan class 3 is different from scan class 2 for EventListID=Turbine1/REBA10/.IECEvents_GArDs

Cause All PI points for an event list must be in the same scan class. The PI point in the message has a Location4 that disagrees with the scan class that contains the OPC Items mapped from the event list.

Resolution Either the PI point is configured for the wrong scan class or event list. If the EventListID in the ExDesc attribute is the appropriate event list, change the Location4 attribute to the same scan class as the event list. Otherwise, change the ExDesc attribute to the required event list and the Location4 attribute to the scan class for the event list.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Unsupported event list ItemID(Turbine1.REBA10..av1swindspeedGRe) for tag "Turbine1.WindSpeed"



Cause The PI point contains a keyword in the ExDesc attribute that indicates data collection from a REpower event list, but the Event List ID in the Instrument Tag is not valid for any of the supported OPC Servers.

Resolution If the PI point is intended to collect non-event data, remove the plug-in keyword from the ExDesc attribute. Otherwise, correct the Event List ID in the InstrumentTag attribute:REguard OPC Server: The Event List ID must be the ItemID for a serialized event list. Change the variable name part of the REpower OPC ItemID to the correct variable name (see the /dll_rgrd_elid command-line parameter in the Command-line Parameters section). AX-S4 OPC Server: The Event List ID is the substring of the ItemIDs for mapped event properties up to, but not including, the left square bracket of the element index. Change the tail of the Event List ID to the path (in AX-S4 OPC Server syntax) to the event list in the REguard IEC 61400-25 Server (see the /dll_axs4_elid command line parameter in the Command-line Parameters section).

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> VARTYPE 0x5 is not VT_ARRAY|VT_UI1 for EventListID=Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs

Cause The PI point contains a keyword in the ExDesc attribute that activates the REpower Event List Plug-in and the InstrumentTag attribute contains an Event List ID that is recognized as a REguard OPC Server ItemID for a serialized event list. The value received from the REguard OPC ItemID does not have the correct data type (VT_ARRAY|VT_UI1, an array of unsigned bytes) for a serialized event list. The Windows VARTYPE code for the item value is shown in the message. The Windows definition for VT_ARRAY is 0x2000 and for VT_UI1 is 0x11, so 0x2011 is the correct VARTYPE code for a serialized event list value.

Resolution Change the PI point configuration as needed. To make the PI point receive REpower event data, change the Event List ID in the PI point configuration (usually in the InstrumentTag attribute) to the ItemID for a REpower event list item. See the REguard OPC Server Event List ID section for a summary of the REpower OPC ItemID naming convention.To make the PI point receive non-event data, remove the REpower Event List Plug-in keyword from the ExDesc attribute.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> 899 elements in array is not 50(events) * 18(size of event) for EventListID=Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs

Cause The PI point contains a keyword in the ExDesc attribute that activates the REpower Event List Plug-in and the InstrumentTag attribute contains an Event List ID that is recognized as a REguard OPC Server ItemID for a serialized event list. The value received from the REguard OPC ItemID is an array of unsigned bytes (the correct type) but does not have the correct number of array elements for a serialized event list.

Resolution Confirm that the PI point configuration is for a REpower event list. If this message appears for a REguard OPC ItemID that is believed to contain a serialized event list, use an OPC DA Browsing tool to independently confirm the number of elements in the array returned by the REguard OPC Server. Unless REpower Systems AG changes the specifications of the serialized event list, an event list contains 50 events and one serialized event structure uses 18 elements. So, the array is expected to contain 900 elements. If the array does not contain the expected number of elements, the specifications of the serialized event list may have changed, causing the plug-in to write this message and not attempt to deserialize the event list. The plug-in can be reconfigured for a different number of events in the event list (see the /dll_rgrd_eldim parameter in the Command-line Parameters section). If the specifications of a serialized event structure change, the plug-in code must be revised.

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Tracing Messages

Additional log messages that trace the internal operation of the plug-in can be enabled by the /dlldb= command-line parameter, the /dlldf= command-line parameter, or by an extension of the ExDesc keyword for individual PI points. Since access to and understanding of the source code is necessary to interpret the tracing messages, enabling the tracing messages should be done only at the request of OSIsoft personnel.

Each tracing message in the plug-in is associated with a bit (in some cases, multiple bits) in an integer tracing flags value. The plug-in maintains a global tracing flags value that applies to all points and is set by the /dlldb= command-line parameter or from the snapshot value of the PI point in the /dlldf= command-line parameter. The plug-in also maintains a tracing flags value for each PI point that is configured for the plug-in. The same bit assignments are used in both the global and point-specific tracing flag values.

Note: Avoid the global tracing flags because of the huge volume of messages that are generated. The point-specific tracing option is preferable in most cases.

Another advantage of the point-specific tracing flags is that the flags can be changed by editing the PI point while the interface runs. That is, the tracing flags can be changed without stopping the interface or interrupting data collection. For example, point-specific tracing can be enabled for several minutes to trace processing and then disabled to minimize the number of messages in the log.

The plug-in uses seven bits that correspond to the main operations of the plug-in. The discussion of the /dlldb= command-line parameter in the Command-line Parameters section shows the specific bits that are assigned to the main operations. In the following descriptions of the tracing messages, the bit (or bits) that enables the message is identified by these operation names: Initialization, Loading, Add Mapped Item, Removal, OPC Input, Event Input, and Results.

Note: If initialization messages are enabled, the point source or interface ID does not appear in the message prefix until the /ps= or /id= command-line parameters are parsed.

A tracing message may be enabled by a bit in the global tracing flags, by a bit in the tracing flags for a specific PI point, or both. In the following descriptions of the tracing messages, the terms “General” and “Point-specific” indicate the tracing flags value that is checked for the specific message.

The tracing flags value for a specific PI point is set by an extension of the keyword in the ExDesc attribute. The extended syntax for a REpower Event List Plug-in keyword is:[keyword,trace=#]

The keyword is any of the keywords in the ExDesc section.

The trace= option is followed by the integer tracing flags value for the PI point. The trace option accepts the same notations for decimal, octal, or hexadecimal integers as the /dlldb= command-line parameter (see the Command-line Parameters section).



Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter "2" is not a switch

Trace Flag General Initialization.

Meaning The interface convention for command-line parameters is to interpret a parameter that begins with “/” or “-” as a switch or configuration value. All plug-in parameters must begin with one of these characters. This message is written for each command-line parameter that does not begin with “/” or “-”. The plug-in ignores the parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter "/ER=00:00:01" is not a DLL switch


Meaning Plug-in parameters begin with “/dll” or “-dll”. This message is written for each command-line parameter that does not begin with one of these prefixes and the plug-in ignores the parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Ignoring unknown parameter "/DLLxxx=yyy"


Meaning Plug-in parameters begin with “/dll” or “-dll”. This message is written for each command-line parameter that begins with one of these prefixes and is not a parameter name that the plug-in supports. The plug-in ignores the parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /dlldb=0xff set debug flags to 0xff


Meaning This message indicates that the global tracing flags value was set from a /dlldb= parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /ps=OPC set point source for log messages to OPC


Meaning This message indicates that the PointSource in the message prefix was set from the /ps= parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Multiple PointSource: parameter /ps=OPCHEALTH ignored


Meaning This message indicates that the command-line parameters contain multiple /ps= parameters. The plug-in uses the PointSource from the first /ps= parameter in the prefix for messages and ignores additional /ps= parameters.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /id=2 set interface ID for log messages to 2


Meaning This message indicates that the Interface ID in the message prefix was set from the /id= parameter.

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Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /as=Manual set alternate digital states starting after 230


Meaning This message indicates that the default digital state translations for non-good OPC quality are changed to alternate (custom) digital states by the /as= parameter. The digital state code for the marker digital state in the parameter is shown in the message. In this example, the digital state code for marker digital state “Manual” is 230. The digital states following the marker state are the alternate digital states.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /dllto=60 set time offset to 3600.000000 seconds


Meaning This message indicates that the time offset from UTC for REpower event timestamps was set from the /dllto= parameter. The parameter value is in minutes. The plug-in converts the time offset to seconds to match the units of PI timestamps.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /dll_rgrd_elid=eventlistID set REguard OPC event list Item name to "eventlistID"


Meaning This message indicates that the name for serialized event list Items in the REguard OPC Server was changed from the default name by the /dll_rgrd_elid= parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /dll_rgrd_eldim=10 set REguard OPC event list dimension to 10


Meaning This message indicates that the number of elements for serialized event list Items in the REguard OPC Server was changed from the default number by the /dll_rgrd_eldim= parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /dll_axs4_elid=eventlistID set AX-S4 OPC event list Branch to "eventlistID"


Meaning This message indicates that the path to the parent branch for event list Items in the AX-S4 OPC Server was changed from the default name by the /dll_axs4_elid= parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /dll_axs4_eldim=10 set AX-S4 OPC event list dimension to 10


Meaning This message indicates that the number of elements in an event list in the AX-S4 OPC Server was changed from the default number by the /dll_axs4_eldim= parameter. This parameter indicates the number of subbranches under the parent branch for an event list in the AX-S4 OPC Server.



Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /dll_axs4_scode=statuscode set AX-S4 OPC event list Status code leaf name to "statuscode"


Meaning This message indicates that the leaf name for AX-S4 OPC Server items that are mapped from a Status code event parameter was changed from the default name by the /dll_axs4_scode= parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /dll_axs4_comego=comego set AX-S4 OPC event list ComeGo leaf name to "comego"


Meaning This message indicates that the leaf name for AX-S4 OPC Server items that are mapped from a ComeGo event parameter was changed from the default name by the /dll_axs4_comego= parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Parameter /dll_axs4_index=index set AX-S4 OPC event list Index leaf name to "index"


Meaning This message indicates that the leaf name for AX-S4 OPC Server items that are mapped from an Index event parameter was changed from the default name by the /dll_axs4_index= parameter.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> LoadStruct called for tag "REpower.QualityTest", ExDesc=[AllCodesAndStates]

Trace Flag General Loading.

Meaning This message is written when the plug-in is called to load a new PI point or reload an edited PI point. The message shows the contents of the ExDesc attribute. Depending on the contents of ExDesc, the next log message is an error message or another tracing message.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Ignoring point "OPCtestpoint"

Trace Flag General Loading.

Meaning This message is written when the plug-in is called to load a PI point and the ExDesc attribute does not contain a keyword that activates REpower Event List Plug-in processing for the PI point. The plug-in ignores the PI point and the Interface treats it like a normal Interface point.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Reusing saved dll_data for edited point "REpower.Status3255"

Trace Flag General or point-specific Loading.

Meaning When a PI point is edited, the Interface first removes the PI point from its internal data structures and then reloads the PI point. The plug-in also maintains internal data structures. When the plug-in is called to delete the PI point, the plug-in does not immediately destroy the plug-in data structure for the PI point. This message is written when the Interface calls the plug-in to reload an edited PI point and the plug-in data structure for the PI point is still in memory.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Constructed REguard event list object for EventListID=Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs

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Meaning The InstrumentTag attribute for an added or edited PI point contains an Event List ID that is a REguard OPC ItemID for a serialized event list. No other PI point for the plug-in is configured for this Event List ID. The plug-in constructs a data structure to hold data for the REpower event list.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Created dev_struct for pseudo-tag "{Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs}" for EventListID=Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs


Meaning The plug-in created a data structure for an OPC Item mapped from a REpower event list. The data structure is the same data structure that the Interface creates for actual PI points that are loaded. When the plug-in returns this data structure to the Interface, the Interface considers it a “pseudo-tag” because it does not represent an actual PI point. The Interface adds the ItemID in the structure to the OPC group for the scan class to collect data from the OPC Item.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Configured REguard event list object for EventListID= Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs


Meaning The data structure for a REguard OPC event list is successfully configured.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Constructed AX-S4 event list object for EventListID= Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt


Meaning The InstrumentTag attribute for an added or edited PI point contains an Event List ID that is an AX-S4 path to the parent branch of an event list. No other PI point for the plug-in is configured for this Event List ID. The plug-in constructs a data structure to hold data for the REpower event list.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Configured AX-S4 event list object for EventListID=Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt


Meaning The data structure for an AX-S4 OPC event list is successfully configured. In particular, the ItemIDs for all of the items mapped from the REpower event list are created.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> m_EventListMap.insert(Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs) succeeded for tag "REpower.RawIndex"


Meaning The plug-in maintains an index of the Event List IDs that it is presently processing. After an event list object is successfully configured, the Event List ID is inserted in the index.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> EventList(Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs) already exists in CreateEventList(REpower.RawComeGo)




Meaning An event list object exists in the plug-in for the Event List ID in the InstrumentTag attribute for an added or edited PI point. That is, previously added or edited points are already collecting data from this REpower event list. This PI point will share the existing event list object.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> SubscribeToEventList(REpower.RawIndex,Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs)


Meaning The PI point is linked to the event list object from which the point collects data.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Loaded [AllCodesAndStates] point "REpower.QualityTest" (EventListID= Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs)


Meaning If the tracing flag is set, existing PI points configured for the plug-in are logged when PI points are initially loaded during interface startup. Without the tracing flag, log messages are not written for PI points that are loaded during interface startup. The message includes the ExDesc keyword that configures the filtering and event property collected for the PI point, the tag name, and the ID of the event list that supplies data for the PI point.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> HasItemsToAdd=S_OK for EventListID=Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs

Trace Flag General or point-specific Add Mapped Item.

Meaning The plug-in checked if an event list object contains ItemIDs for OPC items mapped from the REpower event list that the interface needs to add to an OPC group for polling or receiving advise updates. S_OK indicates that the event list object has mapped OPC Items to add. S_FALSE indicates that all mapped OPC Items were returned to the Interface and added to a group.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> GetItemToAdd(Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt[0]$stVal)=S_OK for EventListID= Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt

Trace Flag General or point-specific Add Mapped Item.

Meaning The plug-in requested the next ItemID for an OPC item mapped from the REpower event list for an event list object. The ItemID is shown in the message. The ItemID is returned to the Interface, which adds the ItemID to an OPC group for data collection.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> RemoveStruct ignoring call for point "OPCtestpoint"

Trace Flag General Removal

Meaning This message is written when the plug-in is called to remove a PI point and the ExDesc attribute does not contain a keyword that activates REpower Event List Plug-in processing for the PI point.

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Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> UnsubscribeFromEventList(REpower.RawIndex,Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs)

Trace Flag General or point-specific Removal.

Meaning In preparation to edit or delete a PI point, the point is unlinked from the event list object from which the point collects data.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> m_EventListMap.erase(iec61850server:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt) for tag "REpower.RawComeGoAXS4"


Meaning When all PI points for a REpower event list are removed, the event list object is not needed. This message reports that the plug-in is removing the EventListID from an internal index of event list objects.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Destructing REguard event list object for EventListID=Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs


Meaning When all PI points for a REpower event list are removed, the event list object is not needed. This message reports that the plug-in is removing the event list object for a REguard OPC Server.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Destructing AX-S4 event list object for EventListID= Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt


Meaning When all PI points for a REpower event list are removed, the event list object is not needed. This message reports that the plug-in is removing the event list object for an AX-S4 OPC Server.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Marked pseudo-tag "{Turbine1/REBA10/.IECEvents_GArDs}" for removal, EventListID=Turbine1/REBA10/.IECEvents_GArDs


Meaning When all PI points for a REpower event list are removed, the plug-in does not need data from the OPC Items mapped from the REpower event list. This message reports that the plug-in marked the data structure for a pseudo-tag so that the Interface removes the OPC Item from the OPC group.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Deleted event list(iec61850server:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt) for tag "REpower.RawComeGoAXS4"


Meaning This message reports that the plug-in removed the event list object indicated in the message.



Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Input called with 1 values

Trace Flag General OPC Input.

Meaning The plug-in writes this message when the Interface calls and passes new input values from the OPC Server. The message indicates the number of OPC Items with new values.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> ClearMappedValues() for REguard EventListID=Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs

Trace Flag Point-specific OPC Input.

Meaning An event list object is cleared in preparation to receive new input from the REguard OPC Server.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> ClearMappedValues() for AX-S4 EventListID=Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt

Trace Flag Point-specific OPC Input.

Meaning An event list object is cleared in preparation to receive new input from the AX-S4 OPC Server.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Skipping QValues for non-plug-in point "OPCtestpoint"

Trace Flag General OPC Input.

Meaning The Interface passes all input values from the OPC Server to the plug-in, including input values for PI points that are not processed by the plug-in. The plug-in writes this message for input values that it ignores.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Input from Item Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt[0]$stVal: 0 (VT_I4), UTC 2010-08-11 13:43:28.266483, quality=0xc0

Trace Flag General or point-specific OPC Input.

Meaning The plug-in writes this message for each OPC Item value that has good OPC quality and is associated with an event list that the plug-in is processing. The message shows the item value, type, timestamp, and quality. The plug-in processes the input value.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Input from Item Turbine1.REBA10..IECEvents_GArDs: ... (VT_ARRAY | VT_UI1), UTC 2010-08-11 13:45:28.056000, quality=0xc0


Meaning The plug-in writes this message for each OPC Item value that has good OPC quality and is associated with an event list that the plug-in is processing. The message shows the item type, timestamp, and quality. When the type is an array, the “…” in the message indicates that the array elements are not included. The plug-in processes the input value.

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Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Input from Item Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt[0]$stVal: quality=0x8, UTC 2010-08-09 18:00:00.306019


Meaning The plug-in writes this message for each OPC input value that does not have good OPC quality and is associated with an event list that the plug-in is processing. The message shows the item timestamp and quality. The quality is not good, so the value is unusable. When the plug-in reconstructs the event list that depends on this mapped item, the non-good quality causes the plug-in to assign a non-good digital state to the event list. All PI points that collect data from the event list receive the digital state.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> No input for AX-S4 EventListID=Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt

Trace Flag Point-specific OPC Input

Meaning None of the mapped OPC Items for this REpower event list are in the array of item values parameter to the plug-in input-processing function. No updates are sent to PI points that collect data from this event list.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Event list unchanged for EventListID=Turbine1/REBA10/.IECEvents_GArDs


Meaning The event list in the mapped OPC Items for the current scan is the same as the previous scan.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Event list changed for EventListID=Turbine1/REBA10/.IECEvents_GArDs


Meaning The event list in the mapped OPC Items for the current scan is different from the previous scan.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Event[0] (0,1,1,1291382411.961075=UTC 2010-12-03 13:20:11.961067)


Meaning This message is logged for each deserialized event from a traced event list from a REguard OPC Server. The message contains (Status code, ComeGo, Index, timestamp) from the event structure. The timestamp is as-received (no adjustments have been made).

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Event[0] timestamp 1291382411.961067 (fraction bits 0xf6087c) -> PI timestamp 1291382411.961075


Meaning A REpower event timestamp is not an integer multiple of PI subsecond precision. The plug-in called the PI API to adjust the timestamp to the next greater timestamp that the PI Archive can store exactly. If the /dllto= parameter is used, the timestamps in this message include the time offset adjustment.



Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Input Items for AX-S4 EventListID=Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actStREpowerEvent OPC 2> Status codes: GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGREpowerEvent OPC 2> ComeGo : GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGREpowerEvent OPC 2> Index : GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG


Meaning The first message contains the Event List ID for an event list mapped by an AX-S4 OPC Server. The following three messages summarize the values received for the items mapped from the Status code, ComeGo, and Index event properties, respectively. Each letter corresponds to one mapped item. This example shows the normal case where a value with good quality (indicated by the letter ‘G’) is received for every mapped item and all mapped items have the same quality. The letter codes that can appear in these messages are:G good quality and consistent with reference qualityB bad quality and consistent with reference qualityN null (no value received for the mapped item)Q quality inconsistent with reference qualityT timestamp inconsistent with Status code for the same eventV value does not convert to an unsigned, 16-bit integerThe reference quality is the quality of the first Status code mapped item.For the reconstructed event list to have a good state, the letter code strings in the three messages must be identical and contain one or more ‘G’ followed by zero or more ‘N’ for a total letter count that equals the number of events in an event list. Otherwise, a non-good digital state is assigned to the reconstructed event list. See the AX-S4 OPC Server Event List Reconstruction section for details.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Event[32] timestamp 1291301875.040138 < 1291301875.980534 event[33] for EventListID=Turbine1/REBA10/.IECEvents_GArDs

Trace Flag General or point-specific Event Input.

Meaning REpower event lists are normally in order by timestamp. When the plug-in reconstructs an event list, the plug-in verifies that the elements in the event list are in order. This message reports an out-of-sequence event. The plug-in sorts the event list.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Unsorted event list after pass 0 for EventListID=Turbine21:E1Q1SB1WEC/WALM1$ST$ActEvl$actSt

Trace Flag General of point-specific Event Input.

Meaning REpower event lists are normally in order by timestamp. When the plug-in reconstructs an event list, the plug-in verifies that the elements in the event list are in order. If the event list is not in order, this message occurs one or more times as the plug-in sorts the event list. This message is not expected to occur.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> InsertDigitalState digital state=-307, 1281534208.050003=UTC 2010-08-11 13:43:28.050003 for point "REpower.RawStatuscode"

Trace Flag Point-specific Event Input.

Meaning The plug-in writes this message when it inserts a PI point update with a digital state into the list of point updates in the plug-in. The message also indicates that the plug-in is tracking the digital state and timestamp for detecting and preventing duplicate timestamps.

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Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Dropping digital state -307 update for point "REpower.QualityTest "


Meaning When an event list quality changes to non-good, the REpower Event List Plug-in attempts to track digital states sent to the PI point until good quality is restored. To constrain memory usage, the plug-in tracks up to 50 non-good digital states. If the limit of 50 non-good digital states is exceeded, the plug-in writes this message instead of expanding the internal list of tracked digital states. The plug-in always writes this message for the first occurrence of a specific digital state. If tracing is enabled, the plug-in writes the message again when the event list is reconstructed with the same non-good state from new input for mapped OPC Items.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> 2 possible new events for point "REpower.QualityTest"

Trace Flag General or point-specific Event Input

Meaning The reconstructed event list has good quality. Any events with timestamps older than the timestamp of the last REpower event sent to the PI point are identified. The message indicates the number of potential new events in the current event list.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Possible new event (3265,1,0,1281534155.842773=UTC 2010-08-11 13:42:35.842773) for point "REpower.QualityTest"

Trace Flag Point-specific Event Input

Meaning This message is logged for each potential new event for the associated PI point. The message contains (Status code, ComeGo, Index, timestamp) from the event structure.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> New event passed filtering for point "REpower.QualityTest"


Meaning A potential new event passed the filtering conditions for the keyword configured in the associated PI point. The potential new event has not yet been compared with events that have already been sent to this PI point. Depending on the outcome of duplicate event detection, the next log message is one of the following two messages.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Adding new event for point "REpower.QualTest"


Meaning The potential new event is not a duplicate event. The new event is inserted in the list of updates for the PI point.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Duplicate event skipped for point "REpower.QualityTest"


Meaning The potential new event is a duplicate event. Therefore, the event is not inserted in the list of updates for the PI point.



Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Duplicate timestamp 1272522871.517578 -> 1272522871.517593 for point "REpower.QualityTest"


Meaning Multiple REpower events can occur at the same time. The plug-in detected a REpower event with the same timestamp as an update that has already been sent to the PI point or is in the list of updates for the PI point. The plug-in calls the PI API to construct the next greater timestamp that the PI Server will treat as a distinct timestamp.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Dismissing digital state -307 at 1281534208.050003=UTC 2010-08-11 13:43:28.050003 for point "REpower.RawStatuscode"


Meaning The plug-in tracks digital states sent to the PI point. When an event list digital state reverts to Good, events in the event list can have the same timestamp as a digital state update that was sent to the PI point. Before the plug-in inserts a new REpower event in the list of updates for a PI point, the plug-in compares the event timestamp with the timestamps in the list of tracked digital states. If the event timestamp is greater than or equal to the timestamp for a tracked digital state, all following events must have greater timestamps. Therefore, no following event can have the same timestamp as the tracked digital state and the tracked digital state is removed from the list. If the event timestamp is equal to the timestamp for a tracked digital state, the plug-in writes the following message to indicate that the plug-in advances the event timestamp to a unique time.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Digital state already sent with REpower event timestamp 1272522871.517578 -> 1272522871.517593 for point "REpower.QualityTest"


Meaning The plug-in tracks digital states sent to the PI point. When an event list returns to good state, events in the event list can have the same timestamp as a digital state update that was sent to the PI point. Before the plug-in inserts a new REpower event in the list of updates for a PI point, the plug-in compares the event timestamp with the timestamps in the list of tracked digital states. If the event timestamp is equal to the timestamp for a tracked digital state, the plug-in calls the PI API to construct the next greater timestamp that the PI Server will treat as a distinct timestamp.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> Check for digital states before *-3600.00 seconds, 1281530788.000000=UTC 2010-08-11 12:46:28.000000 for point "REpower.RawIndex"


Meaning The plug-in tracks digital states sent to the PI point. As new events are found in the event list with timestamps greater than or equal to timestamps of tracked digital states, the tracked digital states are deleted from the list. However, if a wind farm component is operating in a stable state, an indeterminate length of time can elapse before a new event is added to the event list. If two consecutive event list reconstructions have good state, assume that latency is less than an hour between the occurrence of an event in a REpower control system and this plug-in receiving an event list that contains the event. This message indicates that the plug-in is checking the tracked digital states for timestamps that are 3600 seconds (an hour) or more in the past. If the plug-in finds any old tracked digital states, additional messages follow as the plug-in removes each old tracked digital state.

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Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> DLL_RESULTS returning events for point "REpower.QualityTest"

Trace Flag General Results.

Meaning The Interface called the plug-in to return updates for the PI point. If the point-specific Results trace bit is set, the next log message is one of the following two messages.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> DLL_RESULTS returning QValues(digitalstate=-305,0xc0,1272645653.079010=local 30-Apr-10 16:40:53.079010) for point "REpower.QualityTest"

Trace Flag Point-specific Results.

Meaning The plug-in is returning a digital state for the Interface to send to the PI point. The message includes the digital state code, OPC quality, and timestamp.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> DLL_RESULTS returning QValues(3255,0xc0,1272508457.517578=local 29-Apr-10 02:34:17.517578) for point "REpower.QualityTest"

Trace Flag Point-specific Results.

Meaning The plug-in is returning event data for the Interface to send to the PI point. The message includes an event property, OPC quality, and timestamp. The keyword in the ExDesc attribute for the PI point designates either the Status code, ComeGo, or Index event property.

Message REpowerEvent OPC 2> DLL_RESULTS called but no updates are pending.

Trace Flag General Results.

Meaning The Interface called the plug-in to return updates and the lists of updates for all PI points are empty. This message indicates the end of processing for inputs from an OPC group.


Appendix B.Technical Support and Resources

You can read complete information about technical support options, and access all of the following resources at the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site:

http://techsupport.osisoft.com (http://techsupport.osisoft.com)

Before You Call or Write for Help

When you contact OSIsoft Technical Support, please provide:

Product name, version, and/or build numbers

Computer platform (CPU type, operating system, and version number)

The time that the difficulty started

The log file(s) at that time

Help Desk and Telephone Support

You can contact OSIsoft Technical Support 24 hours a day. Use the numbers in the table below to find the most appropriate number for your area. Dialing any of these numbers will route your call into our global support queue to be answered by engineers stationed around the world.

Office Location Access Number Local Language OptionsSan Leandro, CA, USA 1 510 297 5828 English

Philadelphia, PA, USA 1 215 606 0705 English

Johnson City, TN, USA 1 423 610 3800 English

Montreal, QC, Canada 1 514 493 0663 English, French

Sao Paulo, Brazil 55 11 3053 5040 English, Portuguese

Frankfurt, Germany 49 6047 989 333 English, German

Manama, Bahrain 973 1758 4429 English, Arabic

Singapore 65 6391 181186 021 2327 8686

English, MandarinMandarin

Perth, WA, Australia 61 8 9282 9220 English


http://techsupport.osisoft.com/

Support may be provided in languages other than English in certain centers (listed above) based on availability of attendants. If you select a local language option, we will make best efforts to connect you with an available Technical Support Engineer (TSE) with that language skill. If no local language TSE is available to assist you, you will be routed to the first available attendant.

If all available TSEs are busy assisting other customers when you call, you will be prompted to remain on the line to wait for the next available TSE or else leave a voicemail message. If you choose to leave a message, you will not lose your place in the queue. Your voicemail will be treated as a regular phone call and will be directed to the first TSE who becomes available.

If you are calling about an ongoing case, be sure to reference your case number when you call so we can connect you to the engineer currently assigned to your case. If that engineer is not available, another engineer will attempt to assist you.

Search Support

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Search Support.

Quickly and easily search the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site’s Support Solutions, Documentation, and Support Bulletins using the advanced MS SharePoint search engine.

Email-based Technical Support

[email protected]

When contacting OSIsoft Technical Support by email, it is helpful to send the following information:

Description of issue: Short description of issue, symptoms, informational or error messages, history of issue

Log files: See the product documentation for information on obtaining logs pertinent to the situation.

Online Technical Support

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Contact us > My Support > My Calls.

Using OSIsoft’s Online Technical Support, you can:

Enter a new call directly into OSIsoft’s database (monitored 24 hours a day)

View or edit existing OSIsoft calls that you entered

View any of the calls entered by your organization or site, if enabled

See your licensed software and dates of your Service Reliance Program agreements


mailto:[email protected]

Remote Access

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Contact Us > Remote Support Options.

OSIsoft Support Engineers may remotely access your server in order to provide hands-on troubleshooting and assistance. See the Remote Access page for details on the various methods you can use.

On-site Service

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Contact Us > On-site Field Service Visit.

OSIsoft provides on-site service for a fee. Visit our On-site Field Service Visit page for more information.

Knowledge Center

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Knowledge Center.

The Knowledge Center provides a searchable library of documentation and technical data, as well as a special collection of resources for system managers. For these options, click Knowledge Center on the Technical Support Web site.

The Search feature allows you to search Support Solutions, Bulletins, Support Pages, Known Issues, Enhancements, and Documentation (including user manuals, release notes, and white papers).

System Manager Resources include tools and instructions that help you manage: Archive sizing, backup scripts, daily health checks, daylight savings time configuration, PI Server security, PI System sizing and configuration, PI trusts for Interface Nodes, and more.

Upgrades

From the OSIsoft Technical Support Web site, click Contact Us > Obtaining Upgrades.

You are eligible to download or order any available version of a product for which you have an active Service Reliance Program (SRP), formerly known as Tech Support Agreement (TSA). To verify or change your SRP status, contact your Sales Representative or Technical Support (http://techsupport.osisoft.com / ) for assistance.

OSIsoft Virtual Campus (vCampus)

The OSIsoft Virtual Campus (vCampus) Web site offers a community-oriented program that focuses on PI System development and integration. The Web site's annual online subscriptions provide customers with software downloads, resources that include a personal development PI System, online library, technical webinars, online training, and community-oriented features such as blogs and discussion forums.


http://techsupport.osisoft.com/

Technical Support and Resources

OSIsoft vCampus is intended to facilitate and encourage communication around PI programming and integration between OSIsoft partners, customers and employees. See the OSIsoft vCampus Web site, http://vCampus.osisoft.com (http://vCampus.osisoft.com) or contact the OSIsoft vCampus team at [email protected] for more information.

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http://vCampus.osisoft.com/

Appendix C.Revision History

Date Author Comments

10-May-2010 LDaley Version 2.3.11.4 is the first release of OPCREpowerEventPlugIn. The first version of this manual was derived from interface user manual skeleton version 3.0.27.

25-May-2010 LDaley Version 2.3.11.4, Revision A. Added instructions for installing from standalone self-extracting zip file.

02-Jul-2010 LDaley Version 2.3.11.4, Revision B. Incorporated changes suggested by REpower Systems AG.

03-Nov-2010 LDaley Version 2.4.0.x. Revised for plug-in enhancements to support AX-S4 OPC gateway to REpower IEC 61850 servers. Imported content into interface user manual skeleton version 3.0.28.

26-Apr-2011 LDaley Version 2.4.0.x. Manually updated changes from interface user manual skeleton version 3.0.32.


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