I cannot connect to a remote server

If you cannot see the remote server from Microsoft Explorer or by using the Ping program, you have a networking problem. You may need to speak to your network administrator.

If you were running the Power Tool and you changed the server location:

  1. Exit the Power Tool and restart it. If this is not the problem, proceed with the following steps.
  2. Physically go to the server and confirm that it started successfully.
  3. If the server does not start, refer to My driver doesn’t load.
  4. If the server does start, leave the server running and try to connect to it from another computer.

If the driver cannot connect to a remote OPC server:

  1. Confirm that you have entered the correct computer name or IP address for the remote server.
  2. Verify that the OPC server is installed on both the local node and the remote server. The local node needs information about the server that is written to the registry only when you install the server.
  3. Select Command Prompt from the Windows Start menu. At the command line, type ping ipaddress, where ipaddress is the IP address of the remote server. If ping fails, you have a network problem and you may need to contact your network administrator.

Alternatively, go to Network Neighborhood on your local node’s desktop. Look to see if the remote server appears in the list. If it does not, contact your system administrator.

  1. Verify that the security for using the server remotely has been set up. Use the following procedures to configure DCOM properly:

 To configure DCOM with security disabled for Windows 2000:

  1. Start the Power Tool and from the Options menu, choose Setup. The Setup dialog box appears.
  2. Click the Advanced tab and select None from the Authentication Level field. This setting disables DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model) security for the OPC Client. Refer to Making Advanced Settings for more information.
  3. Log onto Windows with an account that has administrative privileges on the remote server and choose Run from the Windows Start menu.
  4. Type DCOMCNFG in the dialog box that appears.
  5. Click the Default Properties tab, set the Default Authentication Level to None, and click Apply. This setting disables DCOM security for all COM servers on the remote server.
  6. Click the Applications tab and scroll down until you find the OPC server you want to connect to. Double-click the server and the Server Properties dialog box appears.
  7. Click the Security tab and select Use Custom Access Permissions.
  8. Click Edit, click Add, and from the Type of Access list, select Allow Access.
  9. From the Names list, double-click the following names:
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  1. Select Use Custom Launch Permissions, click Edit, click Add, and from the Type of Access list, select Allow Launch.
  2. From the Names list, double-click the following names:
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  1. Select Use Custom Configuration Permissions, click Edit, click Add, and from the Type of Access list, select Read.
  2. From the Names list, double-click the following names:
    • Administrators
    • Create Owner
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  1. Attempt to connect to the OPC server again. If it fails, contact the OPC server vendor for assistance.

 To configure DCOM with security enabled for Windows 2000:

  1. Refer to How do I set up security for using the I/O Server remotely? for general instructions. Follow the remaining steps below when configuring specific permissions for the OPC Client.
  2. When configuring Launch Permissions, double-click the following names from the Names field:
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  3. Select Use Custom Launch Permissions, click Edit, click Add, and then from the Type of Access list, select Allow Launch.
  4. From the Names list, double-click the following names:
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  5. Select Use Custom Configuration Permissions, click Edit, click Add, and Read from the Type of Access list.
  6. From the Names list, double-click the following names:
    • Administrators
    • Create Owner
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  1. Attempt to connect to the OPC server again. If it fails, contact the OPC server vendor for assistance.

 To configure DCOM with security disabled for earlier versions of Windows:

  1. Start the Power Tool and from the Options menu, choose Setup. The Setup dialog box appears.
  2. Click the Advanced tab and from the Authentication Level list, select None. This setting disables DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model) security for the OPC Client. Refer to Making Advanced Settings for more information.
  3. Log onto Windows with an account that has administrative privileges on the remote server and from the Windows Start menu, choose Run.
  4. Type DCOMCNFG in the Open box and click OK. The Component Services dialog box appears.
  5. From the system tree, double-click the folder Component Services, then double-click the folder Computers.
  6. From the system tree, right-click the folder My Computer and choose Properties. The My Computer Properties dialog window appears.
  7. Click the Default Properties tab, set the Default Authentication Level to None, and click OK. This setting enables DCOM security for all COM servers on the remote server at connection time.
  8. From the system tree, double-click the folder My Computer, then double-click the folder DCOM Config.
  9. Locate the driver application in the system tree and right-click it. The OPC Client application name is iFIX OPC Client.
  10. From the context menu, choose Properties. The driver’s Properties dialog box appears.
  11. Click the Security tab, select Customize from the Access Permissions area, and click the Edit button for access permissions. The Access Permissions dialog box appears.
  12. Click Add. The Select User, Computers, or Groups dialog box appears.
  13. Click Locations. You are prompted to log in.
  14. Click Cancel. The Locations dialog box appears.
  15. In the Locations field, select the local computer name and click OK to return to the Select User, Computers, or Groups dialog box.
  16. In the Enter the Objects Name to Select field, enter the following names and click OK to return to the Access Permissions dialog box:
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  1. Select Use Custom Launch Permissions and click the Edit button. Repeat steps 14 through 18 for launch permissions.
  2. Select Use Custom Configuration Permissions and click the Edit button. Repeat steps 14 through 18 for configuration permissions using the following names:
    • Administrators
    • Create Owner
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  1. Select each name you added and select the Allow check box.
  2. Attempt to connect to the OPC server again. If it fails, contact the OPC server vendor for assistance.

 To configure DCOM with security enabled for earlier versions of Windows:

  1. Refer to How do I set up security for using the I/O Server remotely? for general instructions. Follow the remaining steps below when configuring specific permissions for the OPC Client.
  2. When configuring Access Permissions and Launch Permission, enter the following names in the Enter the Objects Name to Select box:
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  3. When configuring Configuration Permissions enter the following names names in the Enter the Objects Name to Select box:
    • Administrators
    • Create Owner
    • Everyone
    • Interactive
    • System
  4. Select each name you added and click the Allow check box.

See Also