Each process database you create references an alarm area database in order to determine the available alarm areas. As a result, before a SCADA server can load its process database, it must locate the associated alarm area database. This means that an alarm area database must exist before you can create your process database.
By default, iFIX supplies the alarm area database ALARMAREAS.AAD. The file resides in the Alarm Areas path and defines alarm areas A through P. You can modify these alarm areas or add new ones, depending on your needs. By naming all the alarm areas that each SCADA server requires, you create an alarm area database. To learn more about creating alarm areas, refer to the section Defining Alarm Areas.
iFIX also creates a backup copy of the alarm area database. Whenever a SCADA server starts up, iFIX copies the alarm area database to the Local path. The SCADA server uses the backup alarm area database if the original alarm area database is unavailable.
Sharing Alarm Area Databases
You can create one alarm area database for each SCADA server, or you can share the AAD file among multiple computers by copying the file to each SCADA server that requires it. Sharing a file in this way is useful when two or more SCADA servers need the same set of alarm areas.
Changing AAD Files
As you add more iFIX nodes to your network, you may find maintaining multiple local copies of the alarm area database time-consuming. To simplify your configuration, you can create one master alarm area database and move it to a file server. Sharing the alarm area database in this manner provides:
- A fast and easy way to change alarm area names system-wide.
- A global set of alarm areas at your site.
Once you do this, you must change your process databases to reference the master AAD file.
To change your process databases
to reference the master AAD file:
- Export each process database.
- Change the Alarm Areas path on each SCADA node to reference the network path to AAD file on your file server.
- Import the local process database.
Alarm Area Database Mismatch
Each Process Database (PDB) file in iFIX has an associated Alarm Area Database (AAD) file. Whenever a PDB file is being loaded, whether at iFiX startup or at runtime, the PDB will attempt to locate its associated AAD file. If the AlarmAreas.AAD file is not the matching AAD, the following message appears:
Alarm Area Database Mismatch. If you continue, block alarm area assignments may not be valid. This database cannot be saved. Locate the AlarmAreas.AAD file for this PDB and install it into the AADPATH.
If you continue by clicking OK, all alarm areas in all blocks will be changed to "ALL". Also, you will not be able to save the database because any custom areas will be lost.
To avoid this problem, do either of the following:
- Locate the correct AAD file and copy it to AlarmAreas.AAD.
- Export the PDB to a CSV file, change the alarm areas in the exported CSV file, and import the new CSV file into an empty database.
