Upgrading AAM from a Previous Release

If you used the Auto Alarm Manager (AAM) in a previous iFIX or FIX 32 release, you still need to follow the steps in the General Setup Steps for Auto Alarm Manager or Setup Steps for AAM, a Dedicated RAS Server, & 2 Modems section to setup the Auto Alarm Manager.

Additionally, after you set up the Auto Alarm Manager, you should check the following:

  • SCADA Network Settings – Make any other networking changes required by your company business rules. When TCP/IP networking is enabled, iFIX Networking rules apply. You may need to make adjustments if any previous rules defined do not apply or require updating.
  • FIX.INI File – Review the [AUTO ALARM] section of the FIX.INI file. If the queue parameter is included with the AAM.EXE command in this section, you should also include it with the AAMTCP.EXE call in the [AUTO ALARM TCPIP] section.
  • Network Adapter Numbering – The FIX32 networking modules can only use the first adapter card that is configured in the operating system. If you are using iFIX with FIX32 nodes, you may have to reconfigure the network adapter numbering on FIX32 nodes using lanacfg, if the Sending node has two or more IP addresses. For steps on upgrading FIX32 nodes to work with the Auto Alarm Manager and TCP/IP, refer to the PDF document posted with the update on the FIX32 Software Download page of the GlobalCare web site, https://digitalsupport.ge.com.

Items Not Changed During the Upgrade

The configuration screens for the Auto Alarm Manager do not change with the upgrade, nor does the Mission Control dialog box. So, if you used the Auto Alarm Manager before the upgrade, you do not have to go back to the Auto Alarm Manager Configuration dialog box in the SCU for updates.

To re-evaluate your SCADA network settings:

  1. If your AAM Receiving SCADA currently uses the NETWORK.INI file, then add the Sender node to the list in the NETWORK.INI on your Receiving node. To do this:
    1. Open the NETWORK.INI on your SCADA server using a text editor. If available, this file resides in the iFIX Local path (C:\Program Files (x86)\Proficy\iFIX\Local, by default).
    2. Add the Sender node to the list of nodes.
    3. Check that the settings are acceptable for your business rules. If not, change them. For instance:
      • By default, iFIX nodes accept connections from any remote node over TCP/IP. You may want to restrict access from unknown or unauthorized nodes using the accept_unknown_host parameter in the NETWORK.INI file. For more information, refer to the "Disabling Connections from Unauthorized Nodes" topic in the Setting up the Environment e-book.
      • You can also restrict database write access on a node-by-node basis using the accept_unauthorized_writes parameter in the NETWORK.INI file. When you use this parameter with security areas, database writes are first restricted by security area and then by node. For more information, refer to the "Disabling Database Write Access for Unauthorized Nodes" topic in the Setting up the Environment e-book.
    4. Save the file.
  2. Review the Networking sections in the iFIX Setting up the Environment e-book and other iFIX documentation to see if there are other networking changes you'd like to make.
  3. If required, add the remote iFIX node names to the Windows HOSTS file, so that iFIX can correctly resolve the remote node name to an IP address. The HOSTS file provides mapping between node names and IP addresses. This text file is stored locally on each node. The contents of the HOSTS file should be identical on each node in your TCP/IP network. The syntax is as follows:

addressHOSTNAME

where address defines the IP address of the node, and HOSTNAME defines the iFIX node name, as specified in the SCU. The node name must be in uppercase and is limited to eight characters. An example of an entry in the HOSTS file is as follows:

198.212.170.4      SCADA01

You can also provide an alias name for the host name as an optional third parameter. For more information, refer to the "Before You Begin With TCP/IP" topic in the iFIX electronic books.

NOTE: A common mistake made when creating the HOSTS files is leaving an extension at the end on the file name. For example: HOSTS.txt or HOSTS.doc. Do not include a file extension. The name of the file used by the operating system is: HOSTS.

To update your FIX.ini settings:

  1. In Notepad or another text editor, open the FIX.ini file, located in your iFIX LOCAL folder. By default this location is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Proficy\iFIX\LOCAL.
  2. Scroll to find the [AUTO ALARM] section of the FIX.INI file, and take note of any \q command line parameters that appear after the RUN=%AAM.EXE command.

TIP: Be aware that the AAMTCP.exe does not use the /s and /c parameters, which can be enabled with the AAM.EXE file. If you see these parameters next to the AAM.EXE call in the [AUTO ALARM] section, you do not have to add them to the AAMTCP.EXE call in the [AUTO ALARM TCPIP] section.

  1. Locate the [AUTO ALARM TCPIP] section of the FIX.ini, and add the required command line parameters. For example:

[AUTO ALARM TCPIP]

RUN=%WUSERQ1.EXE

RUN=%AAMTCP.EXE

NOTE: For more information on command line parameters, refer to the Point-to-LAN Configuration section.

 

How Do I...