Black Box GEH-6510 User Manual
POWER LEADER
TM
PMCS Network and Device
Configurator
DDE Server User’s Guide
GEH-6510
GE Power Management Control System 6.11a
DDE Server User’s Guide •••• i
Notice
The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. GE makes no warranty of any
kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and
fitness for a particular purpose. GE shall not be liable for errors contained herein or incidental consequential
damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
This document contains proprietary information, which is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No
part of this document may be photocopied or otherwise reproduced without consent of GE.
Copyright ©2001-2002 by GE
Published in a limited copyright sense and all rights, including trade secrets, are reserved.
Document Edition - First 4/96
Second 4/97
Third 1/98
Fourth 5/98
Fifth 4/99
Sixth 7/99
Seventh 3/00
Eighth 10/00
Ninth 02/01
Tenth 06/01
Eleventh 07/01
Twelfth 01/02
Thirteenth 03/02
The following are products of General Electric Company:
POWER LEADERTM Meter Power Quality Meter (PQM) GE Fanuc Series 90/30 PLC
POWER LEADER Modbus Monitor 239 Motor Protection Relay GE Fanuc Series 90/70 PLC
POWER LEADER Electronic Power
Meter
Spectra MicroVersaTrip SR469 Motor Management Relay EPM 3710 Electronic Power Meter
Enhanced MicroVersaTrip-C SR489 Generator Management Relay EPM 3720 Electronic Power Meter
Enhanced MicroVersaTrip-D 565 Feeder Management Relay EPM 7300 Electronic Power Meter
MDP Overcurrent Relay 735 Feeder Relay EPM 7700 Electronic Power Meter
Spectra Electronic Control Module SR750 Feeder Management Relay EPM9450Q/EPM9650Q(Nexus1250)
Universal Relay devices SR760 Feeder Management Relay EPM7330 Electronic Power Meter
369 Motor Management Relay Motor Manager II (MMII)
GE-Zenith MX200 (Microprocessor
Controller)
EPM5350P(DMMS350) EPM5000P(DMWH300)
EPM7430D/EPM7450D(Futura)
269 Plus Motor Management Relay GE Fanuc MicroPLC
SR745 Transformer Management Relay EPM5300P (DMMS300)/EPM5200P
(DMMS425)
GE-Zenith Generator PLC (Series 90-70)
Multilin 269+ Motor Management Relay® is a registered trademark of Multilin Inc., and Multilin SR489
Generator Management Relay™ and Multilin SR745 Transformer Management Relay™ are trademarks of
Multilin Inc. Microsoft, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint are registered trademarks, and Windows
2000 SP2 is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
US Pat Nos 5,768,148; 5,764,155; 5,862,391
ii •••• DDE Server User’s Guide
Back to Main Menu
Contents
Chapter One - Introduction 1
Welcome....................................................................................................................................1
About DDE ................................................................................................................................ 2
About NetDDE ..........................................................................................................................2
About the PMCS DDE Server ...................................................................................................3
Installation .................................................................................................................................3
Running PMCS DDE Server as an NT Service ...........................................................5
Chapter Two - Overview 7
About PMCS.............................................................................................................................. 7
Devices ......................................................................................................................................9
Networks.................................................................................................................................. 10
PMCS DDE Server .................................................................................................................. 10
Client Applications .................................................................................................................. 10
What’s Next.............................................................................................................................10
Chapter Three - Getting Started 11
Introduction..............................................................................................................................11
First-Time Configuration ......................................................................................................... 11
Communication Ports ................................................................................................11
Device Configuration.................................................................................................11
Launching the Program............................................................................................................12
What’s on the DDE Server Screen?......................................................................................... 12
Menu Bar ................................................................................................................................. 13
Menu Conventions.....................................................................................................13
Configuring Communication ports...........................................................................................14
Configuring the Devices ..........................................................................................................19
Starting the Server ...................................................................................................................21
Displaying I/O Traffic..............................................................................................................22
NetDDE Setup ......................................................................................................................... 24
Automatic NetDDE Setup: VNDDE.EXE.................................................................25
Manual NetDDE Setup..............................................................................................27
Chapter Four - Menus and Toolbars 33
DDE Server User’s Guide •••• iii
System Menu............................................................................................................................33
Server Menu.............................................................................................................................34
Run ............................................................................................................................34
Stop............................................................................................................................34
Suspend Protocol/Resume Protocol...........................................................................35
Print I/O Traffic.........................................................................................................35
Exit ............................................................................................................................35
View Menu...............................................................................................................................35
I/O Traffic Display ....................................................................................................36
Clear Display .............................................................................................................38
Save Display To File .................................................................................................39
Port Statistics ............................................................................................................. 39
Configuration.............................................................................................................39
Configure Menu.......................................................................................................................39
Configure...................................................................................................................40
Generic Comm Interface............................................................................................ 50
Reports Menu...........................................................................................................................52
Configuration.............................................................................................................52
Active Links...............................................................................................................52
Help Menu ...............................................................................................................................53
Toolbar.....................................................................................................................................53
Chapter Five - Troubleshooting 54
Trouble-Shooting the PMCS DDE Server ............................................................................... 54
WWLogger................................................................................................................54
Communications – Client to Server .........................................................................................55
Communications – Server to Device........................................................................................56
NetDDE Trouble-Shooting ...................................................................................................... 57
Trouble-Shooting Flowchart ....................................................................................................58
Trouble-Shooting Chart ...........................................................................................................59
Error Messages ........................................................................................................................59
Chapter Six - Advanced Options 66
Warning ...................................................................................................................................66
Device Type Information – Adding Generic Devices..............................................................66
Add Default Type ......................................................................................................67
Delete.........................................................................................................................67
Function Codes..........................................................................................................68
Register Map..............................................................................................................69
Mnemonics ................................................................................................................74
Optimizing Server Performance............................................................................................... 76
Server Operational Parameters ..................................................................................76
PMCS DDE Server .ini File.......................................................................................77
Appendix A – Register Addressing Conventions 80
Data-Addressing Conventions..................................................................................................80
Standard Data Organization.......................................................................................81
Special Naming Conventions.....................................................................................82
Register Array Format ...............................................................................................84
Glossary of Terms 87
Terms You Should Know.........................................................................................................87
Index 89
iv •••• DDE Server User’s Guide
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DDE Server User’s Guide •••• v
Chapter One - Introduction
Welcome
The PMCS Network and Device Configurator with DDE Server is the heart of a
POWER LEADER
you increase productivity, reduce downtime, and improve power quality by
automatically collecting the wealth of data available from devices in your power
network. You select data to monitor and configure the PMCS DDE Server to
communicate with the selected devices in your system. The PMCS DDE Server
collects the requested data and supplies it to your choice of software applications for
analysis and trending.
The information gathered by the PMCS DDE Server, when analyzed by the
appropriate client software, provides you with the following benefits:
• Improved power quality — Identify sources of “dirty” power,
• Faster corrective maintenance — Quickly pinpoint the root causes of
• Higher productivity — Free up maintenance and repair personnel to
• Less downtime — Identify and correct problems before they lead to
• Increased safety — Provide a central source of information, reducing
TM
Power Management Control System (PMCS), a tool that helps
otherwise invisible, and take corrective action to save wear, tear, and
possible damage to critical equipment.
problems using time-stamped alarms and event-sequence logs.
perform other duties.
loss of power and/or costly damage to loads such as production
equipment and computers.
the need for physical contact with equipment and shop-floor presence.
The PMCS DDE Server collects and communicates metering, status, event, and
alarm data from metering, control, and protection devices on the network to other
PMCS software tools, such as third-party HMI development tools, Event Logger, or
Waveform Capture. The data can easily be imported into spreadsheets, such as
Microsoft Excel, for analysis and presentation.
The PMCS DDE Server allows you to collect data from any PMCS-compatible
device; you can also custom-configure your own device types to accommodate
additional third-party devices.
1 The PMCS DDE Server can be configured to collect data from any device that supports Modbus RTU register-based communications.
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter One - Introduction •••• 1
1
About DDE
DDE is the acronym for Dynamic Data Exchange, a communications protocol that
allows independently developed Microsoft Windows 2000 SP2 programs to share
data and instructions with each other.
DDE implements a client-server relationship between two concurrently running
programs. The server application provides data and accepts requests from any other
applications interested in its data. The applications requesting the data are called
clients.
Requests for data can be of two types: one-time requests or permanent data links.
With one-time requests, the client program requests a “snapshot” of the desired data
from the server application. An example of a one-time request is a program such as
Excel running a report-generating macro. The macro opens a temporary link to
another application, requests specific data, closes the link, and uses the data to
generate the report.
Permanent data links are called hot links. When a client application sets up a hot link
to another application, it requests the server application to advise the client whenever
a specific item’s data value changes. Hot links remain active until either the client or
server program terminates the link. Hot links are an efficient means of exchanging
data because, once the link has been established, no communication occurs until the
specified data value changes.
The DDE protocol specification includes standardized formats for messages to be
exchanged between DDE-compliant applications (such as Microsoft Excel).
About NetDDE
NetDDE for Windows 2000 SP2 is an extension to DDE. With NetDDE, client
applications do not have to be running on the same PC as the DDE Server; a client
application on one PC may request data from a DDE Server operating on another PC.
Its capabilities include communication over local-area networks and through serial
ports.
Two or more networked IBM-compatible PCs running Windows 2000 SP2 are
required to run NetDDE. The version of NetDDE which is supplied with Windows
2000 SP2 is the recommended version; other versions of NetDDE are not
recommended for use with PMCS.
2 •••• Chapter One - Introduction DDE Server User’s Guide
About the PMCS DDE Server
The PMCS Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) Server is a Windows 2000 SP2
application that allows other Windows 2000 SP2 applications to access data from GE
devices and third-party devices.
It communicates directly with other PMCS applications, such as third-party HMI
tools, Event Logger, or Waveform Capture Module, to form a powerful and flexible
power-management system. The PMCS DDE Server acts as the bridge between
Modbus RTU or Ethernet power-management networks and DDE-compliant software
applications for display, analysis, and control.
The PMCS DDE Server application program is named GE32MODB (RS-485
Modbus RTU version), GE32MTCP (TCP/IP Modbus version) and GE32EIND (RS485 EI Protocol version).
The PMCS DDE Server is easy to use. It provides a Windows graphical user
interface with a toolbar and pull-down menus for quick and easy device definition,
configuration, I/O display, and report generation.
The DDE Server supports both DDE for sharing data with applications on the same
computer and NetDDE for sharing data with other computers in a local-area network
(LAN).
EI User’s only
EI is the acronym for Electro Industries, a communications serial protocol that
allows the user to talk to the EI Devices.
Installation
The PMCS EI Server application program is named GE32EIND (Serial EI Protocol).
Special Note: This server supports only two devices for time being they are
EPM7430D and EPM7450D.
Server with OPC Interfaces
DDEServer supports OPC interfaces. PMCS clients such as WFServer/ EventServer
are not OPC compliant. These servers can be used with third party software clients
which are OPC compliant.
To install the PMCS DDE Server, refer to GEH-6514 Read This Book First for
InTouch and DEH-211 Read This Book First for Cimplicity, which contains
installation procedures for all POWER LEADER
packages. This guide accompanied the PMCS software package, and is also
contained (as a PDF file) on the PMCS software installation CD-ROM.
Installing the PMCS Network and Device Configurator software creates the
following directory in the root directory of the specified drive:
\ge_pmcs\server\ (for Modbus version of the DDE Server)
\ge_pmcs\ge32mtcp\ (for Modbus TCP/IP version of the DDE Server)
\ge_pmcs\ge32eind\ (for Electro Industries Server)
TM
system and application software
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter One - Introduction •••• 3
Although you do not need to know the directory structure to use the PMCS DDE
Server, you should know where the files are located on your hard drives so that you
do not accidentally move or erase them.
4 •••• Chapter One - Introduction DDE Server User’s Guide
Running PMCS DDE Server as an NT Service
The DDE Server (as well as other PMCS Servers such as Event Server and
Waveform Server) can be set to run as an NT Service, rather than as an application.
Running the DDE Server as an NT Service requires more skill as a Windows 2000
SP2 system administrator, but does provide two advantages:
1. Logging off the machine does not hinder the DDE Server's ability to collect from
devices or distribute data to client applications, since NT Services continue to
run even when the machine is logged off.
2. A measure of enhanced security is provided, since the ability to stop and start
applications is restricted to users with Administrator-level privileges.
When installed as NT Services, PMCS Servers can only be started or stopped using
Windows 2000 SP2's Services control panel. Typically, the applications launch when
the system is powered up, and continue to run "behind the scenes" until stopped by
an Administrator or the machine is shut down. All the usual ways (such as the Close
button in the upper right corner of the window and the File: Exit command) to exit
the programs are disabled when run as a Service.
If you wish to run the PMCS DDE Server as an NT Service, this option must be
selected during the PMCS installation. See GEH-6514 Read This Book First for
InTouch and DEH-211 Read This Book First for Cimplicity. It should be noted,
however, that not all HMI software is fully compatible with NetDDE when running
as an NT Service; please check the PMCS software Release Notes for details.
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter One - Introduction •••• 5
Chapter Two - Overview
About PMCS
GE’s Power Management Control System consists of four basic parts: the powermanagement devices, the network connecting the devices to the host, the PMCS DDE
Server software, and the client applications. This section provides an overview of the
parts and their functions.
Three versions of the PMCS DDE Server are available; one version runs on an RS485 Modbus RTU-based host PC, other versions run on Ethernet TCP/IP-based host
PCs. The power-management devices supported by PMCS are Modbus based (or
commnet devices integrated with Modbus via the POWER LEADER
Concentrator). ). Subsequently, the two PMCS DDE Servers are Modbus-based and
one is EI protocol based.
The two versions permit PMCS communications to Modbus-based devices using 1)
RS-485, or an Ethernet EPM 7700 Xpress card or XPLEX 1620 Max Server and 2)
Modbus TCP/IP and one version on EI protocol based devices using RS-485.
TM
Modbus
An illustration of the three versions is shown in the following figures.
Figure 1. PMCS DDE Server: Modbus RS485 and TCP/IP configurations.
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter Two - Overview •••• 7
Figure 2. PMCS DDE Server: EI Protocol RS-485 configurations.
The differences between the three versions of the Server are minor and, except where
noted the software is functionally identical. The Modbus-host version of the PMCS
DDE Server is the focus in this document; differences in the TCP/IP versions are
noted when present. The Modbus version of the server may be used to service local
RS-485 ports directly from the host PC, as well as remote serial ports accessed via
the Ethernet Gateway over TCP/IP communications. Another variant of the DDE
server works in the same way as the Modbus RS-485 DDE server on EI Protocol.
In the interest of brevity, we’ll refer to the PMCS Network and Device Configurator
with DDE Server as “the PMCS DDE Server” or simply “the Server” – be aware that
this document describes only the PMCS DDE Server. The information herein is not
intended to apply to other DDE servers.
8 •••• Chapter Two - Overview DDE Server User’s Guide
Devices
Power-management devices are primarily measurement devices – they measure a
wide variety of power-related data or control data describing what is happening at a
device. This data can be read remotely (over a network) by power-management
software, such as the PMCS DDE Server.
The data read by these devices is stored in registers, which are special, defined spots
in the device’s memory. A list of these registers and their contents is called a register
map. Figure 3 is an illustration of a register map. A client sends a request to the
Server for data from a particular device. The Server knows the register map of the
device and requests the register block containing the requested data.
POWER LEADER EPM
Register Map
.
.
1010
.
.
.
.
DDE client application
Current Phase A: ___
Voltage Phase A: ___
DDE client application
Ground Fault Trips Count: ___
Number of Operations: ___
PMCS
DDE Ser ver
1076
.
.
Enhanced MicroVersaTrip
Register Map
.
.
.
.
1056
.
.
1061
.
.
Figure 3. Sample register map.
The register maps for each device are programmed into the PMCS DDE Server. The
Server is then able to transform a client application’s request for “kilowatt hours at
North_Meter” into a request sent to that specific device for the contents of a specific
register; the client doesn’t need to know which register contains what information,
merely what information is needed from which device. The PMCS DDE Server takes
care of the details, and after a request for data has been placed, the Server continues
to monitor that data from the particular device, updating the client application with
any changes to the data.
The register maps of the POWER LEADER
TM
family of devices and a variety of
other devices are pre-configured in the Server. If you wish to use a device whose
register map is not pre-configured, you need to supply the appropriate register
information to the Server so it will know where in the device’s memory to get the
information you are requesting. We’ll refer to these as generic devices since we don’t
know what they might be. Defining new device types is detailed in Chapter 6,
Advanced Options.
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter Two - Overview •••• 9
Networks
The network consists of an interface at the host PC and the cables connecting the
various devices to the host. There are physical requirements and limitations to the
networks, which are explained in GEH-6502, POWER LEADER Network
Architecture Guide.
PMCS DDE Server
The PMCS DDE Server has two basic functions: it collects data from attached
devices and it provides data to client applications (both on the host PC and on
networked PCs).
The PMCS DDE Server keeps track of the devices attached to the PMCS networks,
listens for requests for data from client applications, and, at specified intervals, polls
the requested data from the appropriate devices and reports it back to the clients. The
Server does not continuously poll all data from each device unless it is told to do so;
to do this would require enormous network bandwidth and result in degraded
performance. Instead, the PMCS DDE Server retrieves only the specific data that
client applications have requested.
Client Applications
Client applications request specific data from the PMCS DDE Server and then
provide calculations, trending, and display of the data on screen and/or printer.
What’s Next
Various client applications are available to serve different needs. Event Logger,
Waveform Capture, and Cost Allocation are just a few of the applications that are
fully optimized for PMCS.
Any DDE-compliant application can request data from the PMCS DDE Server by
initiating a “conversation” with the server and providing the correct information
phrased in DDE format – i.e., what data from which device.
A common example of a DDE-compliant application used to analyze data from the
PMCS DDE Server is Microsoft Excel, which provides data manipulation and
analysis tools. However, any DDE-compliant application may retrieve from the
PMCS DDE Server. For instance, a presentation on the power consumption at an
industrial facility might be created using Microsoft PowerPoint, charting power
consumption data requested from the PMCS DDE Server.
You’ve now learned about the four major parts of PMCS – next you’ll learn how to
configure your PMCS DDE Server.
10 •••• Chapter Two - Overview DDE Server User’s Guide
Chapter Three - Getting Started
Introduction
In this chapter, we’ll explain how to configure the PMCS DDE Server for use:
starting the software, understanding what’s on the screen, setting it up for
communications, and telling it what devices are connected and how to communicate
with them.
This chapter is a functional tutorial rather than a comprehensive reference. Chapter 4,
Menus and Toolbars, provides in-depth descriptions of the menus and each function
available.
This manual also assumes that the hardware side of the PMCS network has been set
up and wired correctly, and that the host PC that PMCS will run on has been properly
connected to the network.
First-Time Configuration
As we mentioned in Chapter 2, the PMCS DDE Server collects data from devices
connected across a network. We’ll have to set up our Server to communicate
correctly with the network and recognize the devices we’ve attached.
First-time configuration involves two basic procedures: setting up communication
ports and then configuring devices. We’ll provide examples of each procedure.
Communication Ports
You must identify the communication settings for each of the Server’s
communication ports: baud rates, parity, stop bits, etc. This permits the Server to
communicate correctly with the attached networks. (Note for Ethernet users:
configuration of Ethernet communications is slightly different and will be covered
later in the document.)
Device Configuration
Here you’ll be telling the PMCS DDE Server the specific devices that are connected
to the network by defining topics for the Server to look at. A topic consists of a
device name, the number of the communication port the device is connected to, the
Modbus address of the device, the device type, and related scan-interval information.
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter Three - Getting Started •••• 11
After this information is entered into the Server, the Server knows which data you
want, how often you want it, and where to get it.
Launching the Program
First, let’s launch the program. To start the PMCS DDE Server, open the GE PMCS
program group in Windows. The PMCS DDE Server program icon (Modbus version)
is shown below. The icon for other versions of the PMCS DDE Server software is
identical with the exception of the application name, which may be GE32MTCP or
GE32EIND, depending on your particular network configuration. Double-click on
the icon to start the PMCS DDE Server program.
GE32MODB
If your PMCS components are configured as NT services, they can only be started
and stopped by the Windows Service Control Manager, and the program files will not
appear in the Windows Start menu.. By default they will be configured to launch
automatically, and in the correct sequence when the computer is turned on. PMCS
components must be setup to start in the following sequence: DDE server(s),
followed by Waveform servers (if installed), and finally, the EventServer (if
installed). The PMCS installation program configures dependencies among the
PMCS applications to ensure the correct startup sequence, and configures the
components to automatically start.
What’s on the DDE Server Screen?
Now that the software is up and running, you should find yourself looking at the
PMCS DDE Server main window:
This main window is your initial view of the program. It offers two sets of
navigational and operational controls, the menu bar and the tool bar:
• Menu bar — Located directly beneath the window’s title bar. You can
access these pull-down items with the mouse or by mnemonic
keystrokes.
12 •••• Chapter Three - Getting Started DDE Server User’s Guide
Menu Bar
• Toolbar — Located beneath the menu bar. These control buttons
provide point-and-click access to commonly used controls.
These controls are discussed in more detail in the following sections.
Where applicable, Help icons appear below the cursor and in the status line (box at
the bottom of the main window). These prompt an action or describe an object when
the cursor “lingers” over an object.
The PMCS DDE Server main window contains five pull-down menus: Server, View,
Configure, Reports, and Help, as well as the standard Windows system menu.
Complete explanations of the menus and their options are provided in Chapter 4.
Menu Conventions
Several standard buttons such as OK and Cancel are used in many dialog boxes
throughout the software. You should be familiar with the general use and function of
such buttons from experience with Windows software. Rather than repeat their
definitions in each place where they occur, the following definitions apply globally.
In general, only buttons having unique or important functions in a particular dialog
box are described in the text.
Click this button to confirm any changes made in a particular
dialog box or to confirm a selection from a list. The button may
be dimmed if no changes have been made or nothing has been
selected.
Clicking this button cancels a selection, closes the dialog box,
and returns to the previous dialog box or level.
Click this button to access the Help topic for the current dialog
box.
Similar to OK. Click on this button to finish selection and close
the dialog box.
Creates a new selection, perhaps a new topic (device), and
usually opens a dialog box with various parameters that need to
be defined.
Usually opens a dialog box regarding the current selection,
showing various parameters which may be modified.
Deletes the current selection.
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter Three - Getting Started •••• 13
Configuring Communication ports
NOTE: If your host is running on an Ethernet (TCP/IP) platform, see the Ethernet
Users Only note at the end of this section.
The software (Modbus version) supports up to 256 RS-485 ports. The number
actually supported by your hardware depends on your RS-485 interface – see GEH6502, POWER LEADER Network Architecture Guide, for details. We refer to these
communication ports as “comm ports” in the documentation.
NOTE: The 256 ports supported by the Modbus version of the PMCS DDE Server
are automatically assigned to logical ports 1 through 256. Other configurations, such
as 3 through 8 are not allowed. It is therefore necessary to disable COM1 and COM2
in the host PC’s CMOS setup (typically assigned to RS-232 ports) in order to assign
COM1 and COM2 to RS-485 ports. Do not disable COM1 and COM2 if using an
external RS-232/RS-485 converter box (such as the Multilin interface converter).
For this example, we’ll assume that the RS-485 interface is an eight-port RS-485
card. If your situation is different, follow the example and adjust your procedures
accordingly.
Step 1. Click on the Configure pull-down menu and select Configure.
Now you should be looking at the Configuration dialog box, with several options.
14 •••• Chapter Three - Getting Started DDE Server User’s Guide
We want to configure communication ports, so click on the Ports button.
This brings up the Communication Port Configuration dialog box:
Step 2. Select the communication port to configure from the Com Port pull-down
list at the top of the dialog box.
Step 3. Select the appropriate radio button for each of the communication settings:
Parity, Stop Bits and Baud Rate. The default settings are shown. Typically, only the
baud rate need be changed to match the baud rate of the devices connected to the
comm port. The rest of the communication settings are fairly standard. Refer to the
user manuals of the individual devices to be sure the communication settings match.
Step 4. Click on OK – we’re back at the Configure dialog box.
That’s it; you now know how to configure a communication port. Go ahead and
configure any other communication ports that will be used, following the procedure
above.
Hint: You don’t need to leave the Communication Port Configuration dialog box to
configure multiple ports. Select a port from the pull-down list, make your changes,
then you can select another port from the pull-down list and configure it as well.
Configure as many ports as you need to, then click OK to save your changes and
return to the Configure dialog box.
Ethernet Users Only:
EPM 7700 Xpress Card or XPLEX 1620 Max Server Users
If your host software is running on an Ethernet-based PC, you may be using a special
hardware gateway to communicate to your RS-485 ports This extra layer of hardware
entails some minor differences in the configuration software, specifically in the Ports
dialog boxes. These differences are explained below.
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter Three - Getting Started •••• 15
Clicking on the Ports button in the Ethernet version of the software displays a
slightly different Port Configuration dialog box:
Because the ports are not part of the host PC hardware, they are considered virtual
ports. A virtual port refers to a single RS-485 port on a particular hardware gateway.
The Configured Virtual Ports box lists all the virtual ports available to be configured
with proper Ethernet addressing information and port number. The virtual ports are
named NetCOM1 through NetCOM256; these names cannot be altered.
To change the characteristics of a previously configured port, select it and click
Modify. Select an existing port and click Delete to delete the configuration
information for a virtual port.
Clicking on Add displays the Add Virtual Port dialog box, shown below. (Clicking
on Modify brings up the same dialog box with the selected port’s characteristics
displayed for your review and/or modification. Also, the Virtual Port selection pulldown list is disabled in the Modify command.)
16 •••• Chapter Three - Getting Started DDE Server User’s Guide
Type a valid IP address into the IP Address field. This is the address of the hardware
gateway servicing your serial devices. Enter an appropriate port number in the TCP
Port field. This is specific to the hardware gateway configuration and determines
which gateway serial port that Modbus messages will be routed to. In the example
graphic, 7802 indicates the COM2 serial port on an EPM 7700 Xpress Card.
Click OK to accept the settings and return to the main server configuration dialog.
Modbus TCP/IP Server Users
If your host software is running on an Ethernet-based PC, you may use the PMCS
Modbus TCP/IP DDE Server software application to communicate directly to
devices that are compatible with the Modicon Modbus TCP/IP standard. This version
of DDE server also supports 256 TCP ports. This communication server entails some
special configuration specifically in the Ports dialog boxes. These differences are
explained below.
Clicking on the Ports button in the GE32MTCP version of the software displays a
Port Configuration dialog box:
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter Three - Getting Started •••• 17
The Configured Virtual Ports box lists all the ports available to be configured with
proper Ethernet addressing information. Each port represents a physical device on the
Ethernet network. The ports are named NetCOM1 through NetCOM256; these names
cannot be altered.
To change the characteristics of a previously configured port, select it and click
Modify. Select an existing port and click Delete to delete the configuration
information for a virtual port.
Clicking on Add displays the Add Virtual Port dialog box, shown below. (Clicking
on Modify brings up the same dialog box with the selected port’s characteristics
displayed for your review and/or modification. Also, the Virtual Port selection pulldown list is disabled in the Modify command.)
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Type a valid IP address into the IP Address field. This is the network address of the
device to which you are assigning a port.
Click OK to accept the settings and return to the main server configuration dialog.
With the exception of the Ports dialog boxes and some information in the Trouble-
Shooting section, this GE32MTCP version of the PMCS DDE Server software is
functionally identical to the Modbus version. Follow the remaining instructions
without regard to which version of the software you are using.
Configuring the Devices
Our PMCS DDE Server now knows which networks are available and the
communication settings it should use for each one. To communicate with the devices
on these networks, the PMCS DDE Server also needs to know what kind of device
they are and where to find them.
A good analogy might be getting phone service. Once the line (network) is installed
(configured), we’re capable of communications, but until we know what number
(network address) to dial, we don’t know how to reach anyone. Likewise, if we don’t
know who (what kind of device) to expect on the other end, it doesn’t do us much
good to place a call even if we know the number (address). We might want to reach
our GE sales rep but call home instead.
We’ll have to let the PMCS DDE Server know the addresses of each device in the
network.
From the Configuration dialog box, click on the Device Info button.
This will bring us to the Device Configuration dialog box.
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter Three - Getting Started •••• 19
Because this is our first foray into device setup, there will be no devices listed in the
Configured Devices box (the example above shows a few devices already
configured – they won’t appear in your dialog box.) Let’s configure our first device.
Step 1. Click on the Add button. This will display the Add Device Configuration
dialog box:
Complete the fields as described below:
Device Name
(Topic)
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Fill in a device name here – not the product name, but the name by
which you know the device. This can be as descriptive or imaginative
as you’d like: Freds_Brkr, Trip_Unit_1, or Panel3_Brker1_TripA are
all acceptable. The name should be as clear, concise, and descriptive
as possible.
This will be the topic name referenced from client applications. (If
you are not familiar with what a topic is, see the Device Info section
of Chapter 4, Menus and Toolbars, for an explanation.) This name
must be unique, must begin with an alphabetic character, be no more
than 20 characters long (8 characters if used with a third-party HMI
client). Only alphanumeric characters and underscores are permitted;
the topic name cannot include spaces or special characters, such as: +
* / /, ? () “ ‘.
Com Port
Device Type
Slave Add
Scan Interval
(in msec)
This pull-down menu lists the configured communication ports.
Select the comm port to which this device is attached. If you don’t
see the correct port listed, it was not configured properly in the
previous section. Double-check your port configuration and try again.
Select the type of device from this pull-down menu, such as POWER
LEADER EPM (PLEPM). This tells the DDE Server what kind of
register map to expect for this device. (Details of PMCS device
register maps can be found in GEH-6509, the PMCS DDE Server
Interface Reference.)
Enter the device’s Modbus address. This tells the PMCS DDE Server
what number to call to get data from the device. This address will be
in the range 1 – 247, depending on the device type. See GEH-6502,
POWER LEADER Network Architecture Guide, for details on
Modbus RTU device addressing and Modbus-equivalent addresses
for commnet devices.
This is the frequency at which the DDE Server will try to scan the
device for data once a DDE request has been made by a client
application. The default is 1000 milliseconds. Leave this alone for the
time being – we’ll discuss it more in Chapter 6, Advanced Options.
Step 2. Now that you’ve set up the device specifics, click OK to return to the Device
Configuration screen. You should see the device you just added in the list of
Configured Devices.
Repeat these steps for each device on your networks until you’ve configured all the
devices.
At the bottom right of the Device Configuration dialog box, you’ll notice a check
box labeled Activate. This box provides a one-step way to turn a device on or off at
the Server. Make sure this box is checked for each device; devices which are not
Activated will not communicate with the Server.
When you’ve configured all the devices and clicked OK to exit the Device
Configuration dialog box, you’ll return to the Configuration dialog box. There is
only one button offered here rather than the four configuration options: Close and
Restart Server. Clicking this button exits Configuration and puts the Server online.
Starting the Server
Clicking the Close and Restart Server button in the Configuration dialog box
automatically puts the PMCS DDE Server on-line. If you click on Cancel instead,
any configuration changes you may have made will be discarded.
The Server will now wait for a DDE conversation to be initiated by a client
application. When it receives a request for data, it interprets the request, fetches the
data from the appropriate device, and passes it on to the client application. The
PMCS DDE Server continues to monitor the requested data at the assigned scan
interval and updates the client if the data changes.
Activate a client application and initiate a DDE request for data (see the client
application documentation for instructions ) to ensure that the Server is running
correctly.
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter Three - Getting Started •••• 21
When the Server is in Run mode, the Suspend Protocol menu item is available.
Suspend Protocol permits you to pause the operation of the Server without breaking
the DDE links established by client applications. You might wish to do this to scroll
back up the communication log display for trouble-shooting purposes. Suspend
Protocol does not allow you to enter Configure mode or make any changes to the
operational parameters of the Server, whereas the Stop command breaks the DDE
links and allows configuration of the Server.
To take the Server off-line for additional configuration or diagnostics, click the Stop
button on the Toolbar, or select Stop from the Server menu.
NOTE: Selecting the Stop command will attempt to stop the DDE Server, but if
there are active DDE links with client applications, the Server displays a message
that these links are present, and the Server cannot be stopped until you have closed
any active links from client applications. Switch to any active client applications,
close active links, then return to the Server and select Stop again.
Displaying I/O Traffic
When the Server is busy collecting data and passing it to the client applications, the
I/O Traffic Display feature can be used to take a look at what’s happening over our
network.
Pull down the View menu and select I/O Traffic Display. (The Server must be in
Run mode to display traffic.)
The I/O Traffic Display dialog box pops up:
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If you don’t see the device you’re interested in, press the Add Device button. If the
desired device is listed in the Devices for Display list box, select it by highlighting
the name and clicking OK or by double-clicking on the name. If the device name
does not appear, there are no client application requests for data from that device.
With the device selected in the Devices for Display list box, select the particular
register groups for display from the list box. Related registers, such as Set Points or
Voltage are organized into register groups for easy reference and viewing. If you
don’t know exactly which registers you want to watch, select all register groups for
display.
Click the Display Enabled radio button and then click Close. The I/O traffic to and
from the specified device should now be displayed on the screen.
The Register Groups selection list (the right-hand list box from the I/O Traffic
Display dialog box) shows all the available register groups for the device highlighted
DDE Server User’s Guide Chapter Three - Getting Started •••• 23
in the Devices for Display list at the left. Simply click on a register group to select it
for display. Clicking on a selected group deselects it.
NetDDE Setup
You’ve completed configuring the PMCS DDE Server, started its operations, and are
viewing some data on the screen. You should now be conversant with the Server’s
major menu items. You can minimize the application and let it run in the background;
the DDE Server should require no interaction once it is properly configured.
For more advanced use, study Chapter 4, Menus and Toolbars, which goes into detail
on each menu and all available options.
PMCS requires NetDDE to be able to share information with other PC’s. NetDDE
extends the DDE data-sharing capabilities to allow a client application on one
machine to request data from a server on another machine across a local-area
network. These remote client machines are also referred to as “View Nodes,” and
must also be equipped with Windows 2000 SP2 and NetDDE. If you will not be
accessing the PMCS DDE Server across the network, you do not need to read this
section.
Whenever data is being shared over a local-area network, it is a good idea to have
some security method to control access to the data. Windows 2000 SP2 controls
unauthorized access to information with a system of “shares” and “trusts”, which
define access to particular applications and topics. A “share” defines an application
and its topics to be available for DDE access over the network. “Trusting” the share
authorizes networked users to access the share; for example, User A trusts (allows
access to) Share X, which permits User B’s and User C’s clients on other machines to
access data from Application Z, Topics 1–10. A share must be created for each
application that may be accessed over the network, and the user of the host PC must
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