You can modify several settings of each alarm service to customize your configuration. Each alarm service contains its own configuration dialog box with specific options that you can modify. You can also access the Alarm Areas dialog box from this configuration dialog box.
Refer to the Implementing Alarms and Messages manual for more detail on how the dialog boxes work for each service.
Configuring Alarm Areas
The Configure Alarm Areas dialog box controls which alarms and application messages the alarm service can receive. You can access this dialog by clicking the Areas button on the configuration dialog box for the task you have selected.
NOTE: You can also perform advanced alarm area configuration functions. Refer to the Advanced Alarm Configuration section for more details.
Refer to the Implementing Alarms and Messages manual for more information on routing alarm areas.
The following section briefly describes how to use the Configure Alarm Areas dialog box when configuring alarm areas.
How to use the Configure Alarm Areas Dialog Box
The SCU allows you to access the Configure Alarm Areas dialog box from several locations in the interface, including the following:
Alarm Services. Double-click on an alarm service in the Alarm Configuration dialog box and then click Areas. A Configure Alarm Areas dialog box appears specific to the service you enabled.
Common Alarm Areas. Click Advanced on the Alarm Configuration dialog box and then click Common Areas. A Configured Alarm Areas dialog box appears for common areas. Note that the Use Areas Common to All Services option button is not available because you have already chosen to route to common areas.
Application Messages. Click Advanced on the Alarm Configuration dialog box and then click either Operator Messages or Recipe Messages for the messages you want to route to specified alarm areas. You can configure up to fifteen alarm areas.
There are several areas of the dialog box that help you configure your alarm areas. The following simple example illustrates how to configure alarm areas D and E to receive operator messages.
To configure alarm areas D and E
to receive operator messages:
- Select alarm areas. The alarm area selection option buttons let you choose which alarm areas you want to configure.
- Click the Select from Alarm Area Database option to display all areas from the alarm area database in the Available Areas list box. You can also click the Browse button to search alternate directories.
- Click the Use "ALL" Alarm areas option to add all the alarm areas in the database to the list of configured alarm areas.
- Click the Use areas common to all services option to add all the alarm areas common to all services to list of configured alarm areas.
- Add alarm areas to the Configured Areas list box. Highlight areas D and E in the Available Areas list box and click the right arrow button. This adds the selected areas to the Configured Areas list box. If you need to remove an area, highlight the area to be removed and click the X button. (If you selected Use "ALL" Alarm Areas in Step 1, the alarm area ALL is added to the Configured Areas list box. This alarm area indicates the configured alarm services receives alarms from every available alarm area.)
- When you are finished, click OK to save your configuration, and exit the Configure Alarm Areas dialog box.
Formatting Messages
You can define the length, number of characters, and the column order for alarm or event messages. To do this, click Format on the configuration dialog box for the task you have selected, and enter the appropriate formatting options in the Message Format Configuration dialog box. This dialog box shows the column content and layout fields for block information.
To use areas common to all alarms and messages across the network, click Use Common, and configure the common messages using the Advanced Alarm Configuration dialog box. Refer to the Advanced Alarm Configuration section for more information.
Selecting a Port
For each printer service, you can connect the printer to serial ports (COM) 1 or 2, to parallel ports (LPT) 1 or 2, or to a USB port.
Naming a Printer
The Printer Description area displays the printer that corresponds to the port selection. Rather than use a generic title, such as Alarm Printer 1, you can change the name of the printer task as it appears in the Printer Name text box.
Deleting Alarms
You can automatically or manually delete alarms using the Alarm Summary service. Select either the Automatic or Manual option buttons in the Alarm Deletion area to choose the method of alarm deletion.
Enabling the Startup Queue Configuration
Using the Startup Queue Configuration dialog box, you can configure the SCADA server to send all the alarms that have occurred prior to starting iFIX on the View client. The SCADA server sends these alarms to the iClient when the client starts. To enable the Startup Queue Configuration, double-click the Alarm Startup Queue service. The Startup Queue Configuration dialog box appears.
NOTE: You must be configured as a SCADA server and have the Network Alarm Service enabled in order to enable the Startup Queue Service.
By default, the Summary Alarms Only check box is selected so that the Alarm Startup Queue service delivers only the current alarms. If you want to receive additional alarms and messages, click the check box to disable this function.
NOTE: By disabling the Summary Alarms Only option, you may receive duplicate alarms at some alarm destinations. You also increase network traffic if iClients are configured to receive alarms from the local SCADA server.
You can also filter alarms according to a set time. To do this, select the Enable Time Filter check box and enter the hour and minute in the appropriate Filter Alarms Older Than fields.
Enabling the Alarm ODBC Service
Another valuable service you can enable in the SCU is Alarm ODBC. This service sends alarms and messages to an ODBC relational database. Once the relational database receives and stores the data, you can easily retrieve any information you want by querying the database.
For more information on the Alarm ODBC Service, refer to the Configuring the Alarm ODBC Service section in the Implementing Alarms and Messages manual.
