Alarm Gateway Object

for Wonderware
Application Server

User Guide
Ver 1.x Rev 1.12
PR 00185

WONDERWARE FINLAND
P.O. Box 38
FIN-00371 Helsinki Finland
tel. int. + 358 9 5404940
fax int. + 358 9 5413541
www.wonderware.fi
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Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
Installing the Alarm Gateway Object .............................................................................. 3
Hardware requirements .............................................................................................. 3
Software requirements................................................................................................ 3
Content of delivery package ....................................................................................... 3
Installing standalone object ........................................................................................ 4
Object import .............................................................................................................. 4
Object configuration .................................................................................................... 5
Licensing requirements............................................................................................... 10
Demo License installation ....................................................................................... 10
Software Key installation ......................................................................................... 11
Configuration .................................................................................................................. 12
General Configuration................................................................................................. 12
Consumer:............................................................................................................... 12
Provider: .................................................................................................................. 13
Run-Time Object Attributes ........................................................................................ 14
Custom Alarm/Event attributes ................................................................................... 15
Wonderware alarm system custom attributes ......................................................... 16
Troubleshooting Wonderware alarm system custom attributes ............................... 23
Exposed Alarm Fields ................................................................................................. 30
Configuration attributes ........................................................................................... 34
Exposed attributes .................................................................................................. 36
Custom Acked Alarm comment field ........................................................................... 38
Overview ................................................................................................................. 38
Configuration ........................................................................................................... 40
UReason gateway .......................................................................................................... 45
Alarm Gateway UReason Mimic functionality ............................................................. 46
Mimic functionality without UReason alarming system ................................................... 48
Multiple distributed Alarm Gateway configuration setup sample .................................... 50
Object configuration .................................................................................................... 50
Alarm client configuration ........................................................................................... 57
Redundant Alarm Gateway configuration setup sample................................................. 58
Troubleshooting ............................................................................................................. 60
Advanced Troubleshooting............................................................................................. 64
Log Flags for SMC Log Viewer ................................................................................... 64
Logging to Custom log file .......................................................................................... 67
Collecting log files for technical support ......................................................................... 68
Object upgrade procedure .............................................................................................. 69
Object clean uninstall procedure .................................................................................... 70

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Alarm Gateway Object for Wonderware

Application Server
Introduction
The Alarm Gateway Object (Alarm Gateway) is a basic component of Wonderware
Finland Alarm Extension Pack and provides the functionality to create separate
configurable Alarm Provider for alarms coming from Wonderware Application Server
(WAS) and/or other Alarm Providers compatible with Wonderware Alarm System:

Alarm Gateway supports advanced alarm filtering, mimic and shelved alarms, possibilities
to use and modify the user defined fields and event priority fields. Avoids alarm loss and
duplicated alarms in high loaded systems. Supports functionality to send/receive alarms
to/from Wonderware alarming system from/to UReason Alarm Management system. The
Alarm Gateway Object is developed by using Wonderware Distributed Alarm Toolkit.

The Alarm Gateway can be used to solve, for example, the following tasks:

Avoid alarm loss in high loaded systems:

WAS Historical alarms and events are stored in a circular buffer, where the oldest entries
are discarded to make room for new ones, so in case there generated a lot of events then
important alarms can be lost.

By using the Alarm Gateway, it is possible to store all important alarms in separate Alarm
Gateway buffer - that can be done by querying alarms/events only with priorities from 1 to
998:

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Note: Alarm Gateway alarm buffer can contain about 6000-7000 alarms. The total number
of stored alarms depends on size of alarms.

Change the event priority:

WAS alarming system does not provide possibility to configure event priority - all events
have built-in priority 999.

By using Alarm Gateway, it is possible to change the event priority by using the
setPriority custom attribute .For more information see the “Custom attributes” section
“setPriority” later in this User Guide.

Connect to UReason alarming system:

Alarm Gateway can send alarms/events from Wonderware alarming system to UReason
alarming system. For more information see “UReason gateway” section later in this User
Guide.

Wonderware alarm
providers (WAS,
InTouch) Alarm Gateway UReason
alarming system

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Installing the Alarm Gateway Object

Hardware requirements
The Alarm Gateway Object has the same hardware requirements as Wonderware
Application Server. It is strongly recommended to have computer at least with 2 GHz or
faster processor, 64-bit. A multi-core processor is also strongly recommended. The Intel
Itanium 2 processor is not supported.

Software requirements
The Wonderware Application Server 3.1 version or later is supported.

Content of delivery package

The Alarm Gateway Object can be delivered: 1) included in Wonderware Finland Alarm
Extension Pack or 2) as a separate package. The following are Alarm Gateway Object
files:

 AlarmGatewayxx.aaPDF - Alarm Gateway Object standard description file

containing the implementation code for a base template, where xx is the current
version of Alarm Gateway Object

 AlarmGateway.aaDEF - Alarm Gateway Object definition file

 P185m112.pdf – Alarm Gateway Object User Manual (this document)

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Installing standalone object

Object import
1) Copy Alarm Gateway Object files to some folder, e.g. to C:/Install.

2) Start ArchestrA IDE and import the AlarmGatewayxx.aaPDF file (xx is the current
version of Alarm Gateway Object) to a new/existing galaxy (in the further explanation we
will assume the new galaxy grTest1 is used):

Note: If you are using existing galaxy and there is already deployed older Alarm Gateway
object version, then please follow the upgrade instructions from Object upgrade
procedure section at the end of this manual.

3) After importing, the $AlarmGateway template is added to Template Toolbox:

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Object configuration
1) Create the WinPlatform object (if not already created) with “alarm provider” feature
enabled:

2) Create the AppEngine and assign it to Platform object (Deployment View):

It is recommended to set the Engine scan period at least to 1 second and even
more (2-3 seconds) in case the Alarm Gateway Object is planned to be used in
highly loaded alarm systems (more than 50 often changing active alarms) and with
additional features enabled, like Custom Alarm/Event attributes and UReason
alarm system.

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Note: It is highly recommended to deploy Alarm Gateway Object to separate

engine where are no production objects deployed, to distribute the possible CPU
load among multiple CPU cores:

3) Create the Area object and assign it to AppEngine object:

4) Create the Alarm Gateway instance and assign it to Area object.

5) Open Alarm Gateway Object editor and configure the following parameters:

a) In Consumer tab:
 Set Alarm Query: \Galaxy!Area_001
 Set To Priority: 1
 Set From Priority: 998
 Enable Filter Alarm Types: set the Comm filter

The Area_001 is Area name what is the host of Alarm Gateway object, or other
Area can be specified that host objects with alarming enabled:

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b) In Provider tab:

Change the Alarm Provider name in case that is needed by Alarm Clients:

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c) In UReason tab:

If necessary, enable the connection with UReason alarming system:

d) In Diagnostic logs tab:

If necessary, enable the diagnostic logging (for more details refer to Advanced
Troubleshooting section later in this manual):

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6) In Area_001, create or import some objects with alarming enabled.

7) Deploy all created objects:

8) Enable the Alarm Gateway Object licensing - see Licensing requirements section
for details.

9) Create or import InTouch application to test the AlarmGateway alarms. Configure

the Alarm Client - Alarm Query should be like:

\\WWNode\AlarmGatewayProvider!Area_001

or

\\192.168.75.209\AlarmGatewayProvider!Area_001

Note: The Alarm Query without Node name like

AlarmGatewayProvider!Area_001 or
/AlarmGatewayProvider!Area_001 will not work on Windows 2008 Server:

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10) Run the InTouch application and check alarms:

Licensing requirements
Alarm Gateway Object supports two types of licenses:

 The Demo License is for free and provides an unlimited functionality, but it is valid
only for a limited time period (usually one month).
 The Software Key enables the Alarm Gateway Object unlimited full time running
without any restrictions.

Demo License installation

The Demo License is for free and provides an unlimited functionality, but it is valid only
for a limited time period. After Demo License expiration, the Alarm Gateway will stop to
provide the alarms. The Demo License can be obtained by sending inquiry to
[email protected].

To activate the received Demo License, you need to copy it to Alarm Gateway Object
License.DemoKey attribute:

If Demo License is valid (correct Demo Key string is installed), the License.IsLicensed
attribute is True and expiration date/time is logged to Wonderware SMC Log Viewer.

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Software Key installation

The Software Key enables the Alarm Gateway Object unlimited full time running without
any restrictions.

To get and enable the Software Key:

- get “Product ID” from object License.ProductID attribute (e.g. PR00185 100);
- get “Customer ID” from object License.CustomerID attribute;
- copy/paste it to e-mail (or text file or similar) and provide this “Customer ID” string when
ordering the Alarm Gateway Object;
- when product is purchased, copy the received “Software Key” to Alarm Gateway Object
License.SoftwareKey attribute:

If license key is valid (correct Software Key string is installed), the License.IsLicensed
attribute is set to True and product is ready for use:

There are following licensing run-time attributes:

Attribute Description Run-Time Access

License.CustomerID Unique generated Read-Only
customer ID
License.DemoExpirationDate Demo License expiration Read-Only
date
License.DemoKey Demo License key User
License.IsLicensed If True then product is Read-Only
licensed
License.ProductID Product ID Read-Only
License.SoftwareKey Product Software Key User

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Configuration
For general information about Wonderware Automation Objects (including
relationships, deployment and alarm distribution) - see the Wonderware Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) documentation.

For information on configuration options for object information, scripts, user-defined

attributes (UDAs), or attribute extensions, click Extensions Help in the Help file header.

General Configuration
Use the Consumer tab to configure and adjust the behavior of Alarm Gateway
Object Alarm Consumer:

Consumer:
Editor Option Associated Attribute(s) Description
Alarm Query Consumer.AlarmQuery Consumer Alarm Query
From Priority Consumer.FromPriority Enter the starting value of the
alarm priority range
To Priority Consumer.ToPriority Enter the ending value of the
alarm priority range
Query Type Consumer.QueryType Alarm query type

Alarm Type Enable/disable: Provider advanced

filter Consumer.FilterAlarmTypesEnabled functionality to filter alarms by
Consumer.FilterAlarmTypes type, e.g. can filter out all
Comm alarms

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Use the Provider tab to configure and tune the behavior of Alarm Gateway Object Alarm
Provider:

Provider:
Editor Associated Attribute Description
Option
Name Provider.Name Alarm provider name
Alarm Provider.AlarmBufSize Alarm buffer size
Historical
Buffer Size
Alarm Provider.AlarmHierarch Path to WAS generated Alarm (Area) hierarchy
Group yFile file
Hierarchy Default value: c:\Program
XML Files\ArchestrA\Framework\Bin\GlobalDataCache
\AreaHierarchy.xml
Alarm Provider.AlarmBackup Location of Alarm Backup XML files
Backup Location
XML
Location
Exposed ExposedAlarmFields.Ar Exposed Alarm Fields array size (for more details
Alarm raysSize see then Exposed Alarm Fields section)
Fields
arrays size
Custom Enable/disable: For more details see the Custom Acked Alarm
Acked EnableCustomAckField comment field section
Alarm Field
CustomAckAlarmField

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Run-Time Object Attributes

All Alarm Gateway object attributes are grouped into following groups, by attribute prefix:

AlarmGateway - defines attributes for Alarm Gateway general configuration and status;
Provider - defines attributes for Alarm Provider configuration;
Consumer - defines attributes for Alarm Consumer configuration;
License - defines attributes for licensing;
Set - defines custom attributes, for more information see the “Custom attributes” section

The following table lists the run-time only attributes for the Alarm Gateway Object.

Note: Configurable run-time attributes are described in the configuration sections. For
more information, see Configuration section above.

Attribute Description Run-Time

Access
AlarmGateway.AlarmGroups Displays all created alarm groups Read Only
(alarm Areas)
AlarmGateway.LastErrorMessage Last Error Message Read Only
AlarmGateway.LastErrorCode Last Error Code (No errors = 0) Read Only
AlarmGateway.Restart Trigger – if set to True then User
restarts Alarm Gateway
AlarmGateway.Started If true Alarm Gateway is Started Read Only
and running
Consumer.Status Current status of Alarm Gateway Read Only
License.isLicensed Displays Alarm Gateway license Read Only
status; True = Alarm Gateway is
licensed
Provider.TotalAlarmsCreated Total number of Wonderware Read Only
Alarms created
Provider.TotalEventsCreated Total number of Wonderware Read Only
Events created
UReason.Connected Displays connection status with Read Only
UReason alarm system; True =
connected
UReason.TotalAlarmsAcked Total number of Wonderware Read Only
alarms acknowledged in
UReason alarm system
UReason.TotalWWAlarmsCreated Total number of Wonderware Read Only
Alarms created in UReason
alarm system
UReason.TotalWWEventsCreated Total number of Wonderware Read Only
Events created in UReason
alarm system
Version.Runtime Alarm Gateway runtime version Read Only
information

Note: It is highly recommended to run any Alarm Gateway Object in separate Engine
since Alarm Gateway uses scan interval for reading the alarms. Recommended Engine
scan interval for Alarm Gateway is at least 1000 ms.

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Custom Alarm/Event attributes

By using custom attributes, it is possible to change following alarm data fields in

Wonderware alarm system or in UReason alarm system:

For Wonderware alarm custom attributes, the prefix setWW_ is used; for Ureason -
attribute prefix setUR_ is used:

Custom Attribute Alarming system Description

SetWW_User1 Wonderware User-defined field number 1.
SetWW_User2 Wonderware User-defined field number 2.
SetWW_User3 Wonderware User-defined field, string.
SetWW_Priority Wonderware Alarm/Event Priority.
SetUR_Source UReason Alarm Source
SetUR_Class UReason Alarm Class

Custom attributes can be set from WAS scripts with following command:

Syntax: objectName.CustomAttribute = “Alarm/Event name = value”

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Wonderware alarm system custom attributes

SetWW_Priority

Used to set Wonderware alarm system alarm and event Priority (valid range from 1
to 999).

Sample:
Following command sets Wonderware alarming system alarm priority to 10 for alarm
Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setWWPriority = Me.Tagname + ".Analog_001.Lo=10";

Note: value needs to be set before alarm is active.

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SetWW_User1

Used to set Wonderware alarm system User-defined (User1) float field.

Sample:
Following command sets Wonderware alarming system alarm User 1 field to 10.2 for
alarm Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setWW_User1 = Me.Tagname + ".Analog_001.Lo=10.2";

Note: value needs to be set before alarm is active.

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SetWW_User2

Used to set Wonderware alarm system User-defined (User2) float field.

Sample:
Following command sets Wonderware alarming system alarm User 2 field to 23.3 for
alarm Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setWW_User2 = Me.Tagname + ".Analog_001.Lo=23.3";

Note: value needs to be set before alarm is active.

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SetWW_User3

Used to set Wonderware alarm system User-defined (User3) string field.

Sample:
Following command sets Wonderware alarming system alarm User 3 field to ‘Test 1’
for alarm Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setWW_User3 = Me.Tagname + ".Analog_001.Lo=Test 1";

Setting value from Object Viewer:

Note: value needs to be set before alarm is active.

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SetWW_Operator

Used to set Wonderware alarm system User-defined (Operator) string field.

Sample:
Following command sets Wonderware alarming system alarm Operator field to ‘Test 1’
for alarm Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setWW_Operator = Me.Tagname + ".Analog_001.Lo=Test 1";

Note: value needs to be set before alarm is active.

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SetWW_OperatorFullName

Used to set Wonderware alarm system User-defined (OperatorFullName) string field.

Sample:
Following command sets Wonderware alarming system alarm OperatorFullName field
to ‘Test 1’ for alarm Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setWW_OperatorFullName = Me.Tagname +
".Analog_001.Lo=Test 1";

Note: value needs to be set before alarm is active.

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SetWW_OperatorDomain
Used to set Wonderware alarm system User-defined (OperatorDomain) string field.

Sample:
Following command sets Wonderware alarming system alarm Operator Domain
field to ‘Test 1’ for alarm Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setWW_ OperatorDomain = Me.Tagname +

".Analog_001.Lo=Test 1";

Note: value needs to be set before alarm is active.

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Troubleshooting Wonderware alarm system custom attributes

In case custom attribute is not set for alarm following steps can be performed to
troubleshoot the issue.
Enable general alarm flag:

Set custom attribute e.g. from WAS script:

After script is executed, check if appropriate message (Al379) is logged in logger that
indicates that custom attribute is set:

Rise alarm and check if Alarm name is the same as alarm name defined in set command:

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Alarm Name mentioned in messages Al379 and NewAE54 must match for function to
work properly.

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UReason alarm system custom attributes

setUR_Source

Used to set UReason alarm system alarm Source property.

Sample:
Following command sets UReason alarm parameter Source to ‘SP200’ for alarm
Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setURSource = Me.Tagname + ".Analog_001.Lo=SP200";

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setUR_Class

Used to set UReason alarm system alarm Type property.

Note: Class is a critical parameter for UReason alarm system, all alarms/events
that are intended for use in UReason alarm system must have the defined valid class.

Sample:
Following command sets UReason alarm Class (Type) property to ‘THP Decrease’
for alarm Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setURClass = Me.Tagname + ".Analog_001.Lo=THP Decrease";

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setUR_Priority

Used to set UReason alarm system alarm Severity property.

Sample:
Following command sets UReason alarm Severity property to 5 (Warning) for alarm
Generator_001.Discrete_001:

AlarmGateway_001.setUR_Priority = Me.Tagname + ".Discrete_001=5";

Note: UReason alarm system has following alarm/event priorities:

1 - Critical
2 – High Severity
3 – Medium Severity
4 - Low Severity
5 - Warning
6 – Information

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setUR_Source

Used to set UReason alarm system alarm Source property.

Sample:
Following command sets UReason alarm Source property to Me.Tagname
(Generator_001) value for alarm Generator_001.Analog_001.Lo:

AlarmGateway_001.setUR_Source = Me.Tagname + ".Analog_001.Lo=" + Me.Tagname;

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setUR_MimicWindow

Used to set UReason alarm system alarm MimicWindow property.

For details see Alarm Gateway UReason Mimic functionality section.

Sample:
Following command sets UReason alarm MimicWindow property:

AlarmGateway_001.setUR_MimicWindow = Me.Tagname + ".Analog_001.Lo=SP200";

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Exposed Alarm Fields

Exposed Alarm Field arrays are used to expose specific Alarm information (fields)
as object attributes that can be used in WAS scripting.

Following configuration is needed to setup the Exposed Alarm Fields:

1) In object editor, open the Provider tab

a) Enable Exposed Alarm Fields feature;
b) Set Exposed Alarm Fields arrays length:

c) Deploy Alarm Gateway object.

d) Define exposed alarm configuration XML:

XML structure:
Root: <AlarmConfiguration>
Element:
Name: Alarm

Attributes:
 Name – Alarm name – alarm names are case sensitive.
Note: Also wildcards are supported, following samples are correct:

1) GenAlarm*
Adds to exposed list all Alarms that name starts with GenAlarm:

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2) *HiHi - Adds to exposed list all Alarms that name ends with HiHi – all
HiHi priority alarms.

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3) *Value1.Lo*

 ID – used defined ID - is used to delete entries from arrays by setting value

to AlarmDeleteAlarmStringID attribute.

<AlarmConfiguration>
<Alarm Name="Alarm_300.Value1.Lolo" ID=”10”/>
<Alarm Name="Alarm1*" ID=”11”/>
</AlarmConfiguration>

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Note: For testing proposes, in WAS following sample alarms are defined Analog_001
(LoLo,Lo,Hi,HiHi), Discreate_001, Discreate_002

e) set it to Alarm Gateway Big String XML.AlarmListConfiguration attribute.

f) When defined alarm raises:

g) Exposed Alarm Field arrays are filled with defined Alarm Fields that are
defined in XML.AlarmListConfiguration attribute:

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Configuration attributes

XML.AlarmListConfiguration

Stores Alarm XML configuration

XML sample:

<AlarmConfiguration>
<Alarm Name="*.HiHi" ID ="10"/>
</AlarmConfiguration>

Sample WAS script:

AlarmGateway_001.XML.AlarmListConfiguration =
"<AlarmConfiguration>" +
"<Alarm Name=""*.HiHi"" ID =""10""/>"+
"</AlarmConfiguration>";

AlarmIDList

dataType: int array

Array size: is defined in editor ExposedAlarmFields.ArraysSize attribute.

Description:
Array of Alarm Gateway generated exposed alarm unique ID that can be used to
identify each exposed alarm.

AlarmDeleteAlarmStringID

dataType: int

Description:
Deletes entry from Exposed Alarm Fields that matches specified alarm ID in
AlarmIDList array.

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Alarm.UserID

dataType: int array

Description:
Displays User defined ID from Alarm list configuration
(XML.AlarmListConfiguration attribute) file Alarm node attribute ID

<AlarmConfiguration>
<Alarm Name="*.HiHi" ID ="10"/>
</AlarmConfiguration>

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Exposed attributes

Alarm.Name

dataType: string array

Description: Exposed alarm name

Alarm.User1
dataType: string array
Array size: is defined in editor ExposedAlarmFields.ArraysSize attribute.

Description: Exposes Alarm field User1

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Alarm.User2

dataType: float array

Array size: is defined in editor ExposedAlarmFields.ArraysSize attribute.

Description: Exposes Alarm field User2

Alarm.User3

dataType: float array

Array size: is defined in editor attribute ExposedAlarmFields.ArraysSize attribute.

Description: Exposes Alarm field User3

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Custom Acked Alarm comment field

Overview

By using Alarm Gateway, it is possible to configure custom Acked alarm comment field
for Acked alarms - this is useful if alarm descriptions are used:

Alarm description is stored in AlarmComment field:

If alarm is Acked, by default AlarmComment value is overwritten by alarm comment value:

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With Alarm Gateway it is possible to configure different Alarm field to store Ack comment
and preserve Alarm description.

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Configuration

Editor

Custom alarm Ack comment field feature can be configured in Provider tab
Custom Acked Alarm Field section:

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Runtime

Custom alarm Acked comment field is possible to configure in runtime

without Alarm gateway restart:

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Attributes
EnableCustomAckField

Datatype: Boolean
Description: enables/disables Custom alarm Ack comment field feature.

If True - Custom alarm Ack comment field feature is enabled and Acked
alarm comment is written in configured field in CustomAckAlramField attribute

If False - Custom alarm Ack comment field feature is disabled and default
Alarm system functionality is used - Ack comment overwrites AlarmComment field

CustomAckAlramField

Datatype: Enum
Description: Defines custom Alarm Ack field.

Following custom Alarm Ack Comment fields are possible to configure:

 AckOprNode

Alarm Ack comment will be displayed in connected Alarm Gateway clients and
Alarm Gateway alarm source Provider (Consumer configured in Consumer tab). In
AckOprNode field:

 User3

Alarm Ack comment will be displayed in connected Alarm Gateway clients only, in
User3 field:

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Note: WAS alarm Provider will only Ack alarm without changing the
AlarmComment.

 AckOprDomain

Alarm Ack comment will be displayed in connected Alarm Gateway clients only, in
OperatorDomain field:

Note: WAS alarm provider will only Ack alarm without changing AlarmComment.

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 AckOprName

Alarm Ack comment will be displayed in connected Alarm Gateway clients only, in
OperatorName field:

Note: WAS alarm provider will only Ack alarm without changing AlarmComment.

 AckOprFullName

Alarm Ack comment will be displayed in connected Alarm Gateway clients only, in
OperatorFullName field:

Note: WAS alarm provider will only Ack alarm without changing AlarmComment.

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UReason gateway
Alarm Gateway Object provides functionality to send/receive alarms to/from
Wonderware alarming system from/to UReason alarming system. The following
functionality is supported:

1. Send new and acknowledged alarms to UReason alarm system.

2. UReason functionality to show Mimic InTouch windows.
3. UReason Shelved alarms functionality.
4. Acknowledge Wonderware alarms from UReason alarm system.

The following configuration is required for UReason gateway functionality:

Please, refer to UReason documentation for more information about UReason alarming
system.

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Alarm Gateway UReason Mimic functionality

Alarm gateway supports UReason Mimic functionality.

Following object attributes are used for Console1 and Console2:

 AlarmGateway_001.UReason.Mimic.Path.Console1
If user selects “Show Mimic On Console1” from UReason alarm menu, this attribute is
changed to UReason Source value (for Alarm Analog_001.Lo it is SP200, see picture
below).

 AlarmGateway_001.UReason.Mimic.Path.Console2

If user selects “Show Mimic On Console2” from UReason alarm menu, this attribute is
changed to UReason Source value (for Alarm Analog_001.Lo it is SP200 see picture
below).

Mimic functionality can be used for opening specific InTouch windows that are tied to
UReason alarm by the Source value.

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Sample InTouch script:

IF Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.UReason.Mimic.Path.Console1 <> "" THEN

Show Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.UReason.Mimic.Path.Console1;

Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.UReason.Mimic.Path.Console1="";

Console="Console 1";
ENDIF;

IF Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.UReason.Mimic.Path.Console2 <> "" THEN

Show Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.UReason.Mimic.Path.Console2;

Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.UReason.Mimic.Path.Console2="";

Console="Console 2";
ENDIF;

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Mimic functionality without UReason alarming

system
For Alarm Gateway UReason Mimic functionality only for Wonderware alarm
system (without UReason), the following string attributes are needed:

 AlarmGateway_001.Mimic.Alarmname – input AlarmName from Provider alarms

list (max length is 32 characters)
Sample: SP200.Intake_Pressure_Decrease

 AlarmGateway_001.Mimic.InTouchWindow - returns default (WAS object name)

or user-defined (set in setSource attribute) value, e.g. SP200

Sample script:

InTouch data change script Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.Mimic.InTouchWindow

IF Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.Mimic.InTouchWindow <> "" THEN

LogMessage ("Show Mimic Intouch window" +

Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.Mimic.InTouchWindow);

Show Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.Mimic.InTouchWindow;

Galaxy:AlarmGateway_001.Mimic.InTouchWindow="";
Console="Console 2";
ENDIF;

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Multiple distributed Alarm Gateway

configuration setup sample
In highly loaded WAS applications where total number of alarms exceeds several
hundreds or thousands and additional high CPU load features like Wonderware alarm
system custom attributes are used, it is highly recommended to use several Alarm
Gateway Object instances to avoid the object overload.

The following sample is for two Alarm Gateway instances.

Object configuration
1) Define the template/instance sets for each Alarm Gateway instance, let’s assume
we are planning to use two Alarm Gateway instances (AlarmGateway_001 and
AlarmGateway_002):

a) For AlarmGateway_001
Define templates: $Machine_AA and $Machine_BB

b) For AlarmGateway_002
Define templates: $Motor_AA and $ Motor_BB

2) Edit template ($Machine_AA and $Machine_BB) scripts to point to assigned

object AlarmGateway_001

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3) Edit template ($Motor_AA and $Motor_BB) scripts to point to assigned object

AlarmGateway_002

4) Create Area object F1 area that will be used to all first set objects ($Machine_AA
and $Machine_BB)

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5) Create Area object F2 area that will be used to all second set objects ($Motor_AA
and $ Motor_BB

6) Create instances and deploy for both sets. Sample:

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7) Create separate engines and Areas for each Alarm Gateway Object instance:

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Note: Separate engine for each Alarm Gateway is “must have” requirement since
each engine creates a separate process and that allows to distribute the load between
multiple CPU cores.

8) Set both engines Scan period to 7000 ms.

9) Configure both Instances of Alarm Gateway:

a. AlarmGateway_001
Alarm Query: \Galaxy!F1
Provider name: AlarmGatewayProvider1

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a. AlarmGateway_002
Alarm Query: \Galaxy!F2
Provider name: AlarmGatewayProvider2

10) Deploy both instances of Alarm Gateway

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Note: if Area hierarchy is changed (new Area is added or existing is moved), it is

required to redeploy AlarmGateway instance to update the Alarm Group Hierarchy File
information.

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Alarm client configuration

To access both AlarmGateway instances, set the following Alarm query in
AlarmClient:

\\Hostname\AlarmGatewayProvider1!F1 \\Hostname\AlarmGatewayProvider2!F2

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Redundant Alarm Gateway configuration setup

sample
Alarm Gateway Object supports WAS redundancy (for additional information
please refer to WAS documentation).

1) Set up redundant AppEngines:

a. Primary – Redu_eAlarmGateway
b. Secondary (backup) – place on redundant partner Server.

2) Configure Alarm Gateway – there is no need to configure additional settings for

redundant Alarm Gateway setup:

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3) Configure alarm query for alarm clients to point to Alarm Gateway on both
redundant servers:

\\PrimaryServerIPAddress\AlarmGatewayProvider!AlarmExtensionPack
\\SecondaryServerIPAddress\AlarmGatewayProvider!AlarmExtensionPack

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Troubleshooting
Below are explained common issues that may occur while using Alarm Gateway Object
and its features.

1) No alarms from Alarm Provider (WinPlatform) for Alarm Gateway.

a) check if valid Demo or full license is installed for Alarm Gateway – check if
License.IsLicensed = true in Object Viewer:

See Licensing requirements section for Alarm Gateway licensing details.

b) check if WinPlatform object has enabled the alarming - the Enable

InTouch alarm provider option is checked:

c) if alarms are checked and alarms are displayed in any Wonderware alarm
display from Platform directly, check Alarm Gateway consumer settings in Object Viewer,

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if correct alarm query, FromPriority, ToPriority is set (must be the same as in

Wonderware alarm controls):

2) Alarms are coming to Alarm Gateway, but no alarms are displayed in alarm
controls that are connected to Alarm Gateway.

a) check if Wonderware alarm controls are configured properly for use with
Alarm Gateway:
Is the Alarm provider name configured properly (“1 red” in picture below) in
Alarm control (AlarmGatewayProvider)
Are Alarm Areas configured properly in Alarm control - must be the same as
in property Consumer.AlarmQuery F1 (“2 blue” in picture below).

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3) Alarms are displayed in Wonderware alarm controls, but no alarms in UReason

alarms system.

a) check if UReason alarm system is configured properly in Alarm Gateway –

check the following:
 UReason.IPAddress attribute – is the correct UReason server ID
address entered.
 UReason.Local.Port attribute – is the correct port for UReason
server entered.
 UReason.User attribute – is the correct UReason user entered.
 UReason.password attribute – is the correct UReason password
entered.
Note: if UReason seeting are changed, it is needed to restart the Alarm Gateway
by setting AlarmGateway.Restart attribute to True.

b) Check if alarms are created for UReason at Alarm Gateway side

(UReason.Connected = true) and UReason.TotalAlarmsCreated > 0,
and there are still no alarms in UReason alarming system.

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In this case it is necessary to restart the connection between Wonderware alarm system
and UReason alarm system - in UReason console, go to Data handling -> External Data
Sources and uncheck the Enable checkbox, then wait for ~3 seconds and check again.

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Advanced Troubleshooting

Alarm Gateway logs the diagnostic information to two diagnostic systems:

1) Wonderware SMC Log Viewer

2) Alarm Gateway custom text files (formats of log files: txt, csv, xml)

Log Flags for SMC Log Viewer

For advanced troubleshooting, it is possible to set Alarm Gateway Log Flags – the
following log flags are available:

1. General – (LogFlag.General attribute) logs general diagnostic messages to SMC

Log Viewer.

2. WW Alarms – (LogFlag.WWAlarms attribute) logs related with Wonderware alarms

diagnostic messages to SMC Log Viewer.

3. WW Events – (LogFlag.WWEvents attribute) logs related with Wonderware events

diagnostic messages to SMC Log Viewer.

4. UReason - (LogFlag.UReason attribute) logs related with UReason diagnostic

messages to SMC Log Viewer.

5. License - (LogFlag.License attribute) logs related with licensing diagnostic

messages to SMC Log Viewer.

It is possible to configure Log Flags in Object Editor:

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It is possible also to configure Log Flags at runtime by changing the following

attributes:

The logging example:

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Logging to Custom log file

1. Check the Diagnostic Log To Files Enabled.

2. In Diagnostic Log File Path set the folder where to store the log files.

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Collecting log files for technical support

1) Enable the logging (details about parameters - see above in Advanced
Troubleshooting section).

2) Replicate the issue.

3) Export SMC log file and archive it:

4) Locate custom log files and archive the log directory:

5) Send both log files to technical support.

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Object upgrade procedure

1) Open ArchestrA IDE and undeploy all Application Engine(s) that are hosting Alarm
Gateway object(s).

2) Import the new version of Alarm Gateway Object.

3) Close and reopen ArchestrA IDE to update the object editor.

4) Deploy Alarm Gateway object host platform to install the software update.

5) Deploy all Application Engine(s) that are hosting Alarm Gateway object(s) to load
the latest Alarm Gateway runtime libraries.

6) The Alarm Gateway Object current version installed can be find out in Log Viewer
in the message starting with “RV001”:

As well, the Alarm Gateway Object current version installed can be find out in
Object Viewer by examining the content of Alarm Gateway attribute
Version.Runtime:

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Object clean uninstall procedure

This procedure can be used to fully uninstall the Alarm Gateway object.
Can be used to downgrade to previous object version or to fix Alarm Gateway object
upgrade issues.

Note: this procedure must be performed on all WAS nodes where Alarm
Gateway object was used/installed (IDE node, object nodes).

1) Undeploy all WinPlatforms that host Alarm Gateway object.

2) Delete all Alarm Gateway instances and templates from Galaxy.
3) Close ArchestrA IDE.
4) Uninstall manually the Alarm Gateway object assembles in case they still are
installed:

a. Browse to C:\Windows\assembly folder, select all Assemblies named

AlarmGatewayXX, were XX is the Alarm Gateway object version number,
e.g. 24.

b. Open the context menu by clicking right mouse button and select the
Uninstall option:

5) Delete MSI installers (.msi files) generated by WAS, containing links to

deleted/invalid files from: C:\Program Files
(x86)\ArchestrA\Framework\FileRepository\<Your Galaxy Name>\Vendors
folder. The <Your Galaxy Name> is your galaxy name e.g. grTest1, and .msi files
are named like <User name>.msi, where <User name> is the currently logged
user name – user that was used to install object, for example, WIN08.msi:

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6) Delete the temporasry files from C:\Windows\Temp folder.

7) Delete all entries that contain AlarmGateway from Windows registry:

8) Restart the computer.

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WONDERWARE FINLAND
Alarm Gateway Object
Revision History

Jun 2011 Rev 1.0 First Release

Jun 2011 Rev 1.1 Alarm Group Hierarchy XML “Associated Attribute” and
“Description” changed
Sep 2011 Rev 1.2 “Custom attributes” and “UReason gateway” added.
Sep 2011 Rev 1.3 “Custom attributes” for “UReason gateway” added. Mimic
windows functionality added.
Oct 2011 Rev 1.4 “Installing the Alarm Gateway Object” section modified.
“Troubleshooting” and “Object upgrade procedure” sections
added.
Mar 2012 Rev 1.5 Exposed Alarm field feature added.
Jul 2012 Rev 1.6 Updated Exposed attributes section.
Aug 2012 Rev. 1.7 added section Custom Acked alarm comment field.
Oct 2012 Rev. 1.9 Object version 17 updates.
Dec 2012 Rev. 1.10 Added object clean uninstall procedure.
Dec 2013 Rev. 1.11 Corrections in manual Table of Contents, headings and
contents of all chapters.
Jun 2014 Rev. 1.12 “Object upgrade procedure” and “Object clean uninstall
procedure” sections modified. Corrections in manual text.
.

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