Offline Engineering with Project Configuration Server (PCS)

[Product_Support]

Issue

A method of offline database engineering is needed for SmartStruxure. 

Product Line

EcoStruxure Building Operation

Environment

• StruxureWare Building Operation
• Project Configuration Server (PCS)

Cause

System integrator wants to engineering expansions and new automation to the site offline.

What is the procedure if the client already has the ES and AS devices onsite, but wants to engineer offsite?

If not can we only add one AS per project then restore / deploy just the AS and how is point referencing managed on bindings to the original site server?

Resolution

Beginning with the release 1.5 version of Project Configuration Server(PCS) is a 'deploy once' version, meaning that it allows you to make the first configuration offline. It is a full deployment meaning it may only be the ES or AS or the ES with AS connected. There are no partial deployments with bindings intact with existing servers. For deployment to include bindings between the ES and AS or other devices, they must be added to the initial deployment, which will overwrite existing configuration.

Note: the 64 AS limit is a performance issue. 64 fully loaded AS in a project takes a long time to open.

Once a server in the PCS project is deployed on site, you cannot deploy it again without manually erasing the database in the online server using the Device Administrator or uninstall and re-install the Enterprise server.

Consider the following scenario where an office wishes to use the PCS on a project with staged installation and an ES with 15 AS:

1. Create the ES and all 15 AS in my project. You may not have the project’s communication information because none of the final IP addresses are available. So put them in with 192.168.1.x
2. Configure all of what is needed in 5 of the AS (AS1 – AS5).
3. Configure all of the IO and other objects in another 5 AS (AS6 – AS10)
4. Do nothing with the last 5 AS (AS11-AS15).
5. Create some read references in some of my programs in AS1-AS5 that are referencing objects from AS6 – AS15.
6. Create extended trends and alarms categories at the ES.
7. Create alarms in AS1 - AS5 that use the alarm categories.
8. Go to the site and deploy AS 1 to AS5 (after modifying the communication parameters for those 5 so that you can bring them on line.)
   1. The alarm categories will be deployed to the AS in spite of the fact that the PCS would have had them configured as lead and shadows from the ES, which was not deployed. However, there would likely be an offline alarm generated because there was no ES and there might also be a lead/shadow alarm. The alarms will be correctly configured, however, and operational.
   2. The references to the objects from AS6 – AS15 will appear as unresolved in the AS1-AS5 reference managers.
9. Go back to the office and finish everything needed in AS6 – AS10
10. Create graphics at the ES referencing objects from all 15 AS.
11. Create trend charts showing log data from all AS.
12. Create users, domains, workspaces, etc.
13. Go back to the site and adjust the communication parameters for all the remaining 10 AS and for the ES
14. Deploy AS6 - AS10 and the ES.
    1. Initially, the AS1-AS5 have empty/wrong communication settings to the ES. It requires a manual “Repair Com-settings” from the user logged on to ES (at the site). When the Com-settings are ok, then the bindings from AS1- AS5 to AS6-AS10 will be resolved after a few minutes.
    2. When the Communication settings in AS1-AS5 for the ES are correct, the synchronization for lead/shadow relationships starts updating the alarm categories that we discussed in step 8a.
    3. The graphics in the ES will have resolved bindings for objects from AS1 – AS10, but unresolved bindings from AS11-AS15. In fact, they will be resolved to AS1-AS5 even if you haven't corrected the Com-settings in AS1-AS5. The ES knows all the AS.
15. Go back to the office and finish up my work on AS11-AS15. Part of this process is the creation of programs that reference objects in AS1 – AS10.
16. Go to the site and deploy AS11 – AS15.
    1. All of the read references to objects from AS1 – AS10 will automatically fix up once the Com-settings for the ES in AS11-AS15 are correct. It might, however,  take a few minutes.
    2. All of the references in the ES graphics for AS will be operational.

Further information can be found on Building Operation WebHelp.