FieldServer FS-8700-115 User Manual

Driver Version:

1.03

Document Revision:

1

.

Driver Manual

(Supplement to the FieldServer Instruction Manual)

FS-8700-115 ASCII Driver (General Purpose)

APPLICABILITY & EFFECTIVITY

Effective for all systems manufactured after January 2013

A Sierra Monitor Company

FS-8705-06 GPA (General Purpose ASCII) Manual Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GPA (General Purpose ASCII) Driver Description ............................................................................................ 3 1

1.1 Driver Limitations .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Driver Scope of Supply ................................................................................................................................... 3 2

2.1 Supplied by FieldServer Technologies for this driver ..................................................................................... 3

Hardware Connections ................................................................................................................................... 4 3

Data Array Parameters ................................................................................................................................... 5 4

Configuring the FieldServer as an GPA Driver Client ....................................................................................... 5

5

5.1 Client Side Connection Parameters ............................................................................................................... 6

5.2 Client Side Node Parameters ......................................................................................................................... 7

5.3 Client Side Map Descriptor Parameters ......................................................................................................... 7

5.3.1 FieldServer Related Map Descriptor Parameters ................................................................................... 7

5.3.2 Driver Specific Map Descriptor Parameters ........................................................................................... 7

5.4 Map Descriptor Example 1 – Data Recording ................................................................................................ 9

5.5 Map Descriptor Example 2 – Polling ............................................................................................................ 10

Configuring the FieldServer as a GPA Driver Server ...................................................................................... 11 6

Appendix A. Useful Features ................................................................................................................................ 12

Appendix A.1. Separating Data Streams .................................................................................................................. 12

Appendix A.1.1. Customizing Data Stream Separation using Connection Parameters. ....................................... 12

Appendix A.1.2. Changing the default end of stream character using the registry. ............................................ 12

Appendix A.2. Interaction with the WebServer Driver ............................................................................................ 12

Appendix B. Troubleshooting ............................................................................................................................... 13

Appendix B.1. Driver Specific Stats .......................................................................................................................... 13

Appendix B.2. Driver Error Messages ...................................................................................................................... 13

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FS-8700-115 ASCII Driver (General Purpose) Page 3 of 13

FieldServer Mode

Nodes

Comments

Client

1

Only 1 node per port.

Server

The driver cannot serve data

FieldServer Technologies PART #

Description

FS-8915-10

UTP cable (7 foot) for Ethernet connection

FS-8915-10

UTP cable (7 foot) for RS-232 use

FS-8917-02

RJ45 to DB9F connector adapter

FS-8917-01

RJ45 to DB25M connection adapter

GPA (GENERAL PURPOSE ASCII) DRIVER DESCRIPTION

1

The serial GPA (General Purpose ASCII) Driver allows the FieldServer to accept data from remote devices which
produce an ASCII byte stream. A typical example of such a device is an electronic scale producing an output similar
to the one below.

:weight 0.57 Kg Tare 44.3 Kg 1 2 3 4 -5 -6.7

The driver waits passively for messages. When a message is received the driver converts each space delimited
string of characters/numbers into a number. The numbers so formed are stored in consecutive elements of a Data
Array. Referring to the example above, the driver will store the value .57 in the 1st element of the Data Array (DA),
the value 44.3 in the next element, the value 1 in the next, the value 2 in the next etc.

The driver is also capable of sending custom poll message to a remote device. Some devices may require a
character or stream of characters sent to it before it will output its data on a serial port.

The driver can process negative numbers.

1.1 Driver L i m i t a t io ns

Only one data stream per connection - if two different streams of string data are sent to the same port, the

data from the one will overwrite data from the other.

The driver can only process numbers that are presented in a simple numeric form. Hexadecimal, Exponent-

mantissa and other complex forms cannot be processed.

The driver will overwrite the existing values with the new values. Values will be appended only if the new

message has more values than the previous message, e.g. if a message with 5 values follows a message
with 3 values, the first 3 values will be overwritten and the last two values will be appended.

Max Nodes Supported

DRIVER SCOPE OF SU P P LY 2

2.1 Sup plied by FieldServer Technologies for thi s d ri v e r

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FS-8700-115 ASCII Driver (General Purpose) Page 4 of 13

RJ45 CAT 5 Cable

FieldServer

P1

18

FS-8917-02

ASCII Data Source

Eg. Scale

N1

18

FieldServer Part #

8915-10

UTP cable

Connect to an Ethernet Port on

the FieldServer

Hub/Router

FS Function

RJ45 Pin#

DB9F Pin#

Color

RX 1 3

White

GND

4 5 Green

TX 8 2

Blue

HARDWARE CONNECTIO N S

3

The FieldServer is connected to the vendor device as shown in connection drawing.

Configure the ASCII Passive Client according to manufacturer’s instructions

FS-8917-02 Pinouts

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Section Title

Data_Arrays

Column Title

Function

Legal Values

Data_Array_Name

Provide name for Data Array

Up to 15
alphanumeric
characters

Data_Array_Format

Provide data format. Each Data Array can only take on one
format.

FLOAT, BIT, UInt16,
SInt16, Byte.

Data_Array_Length

Number of Data Objects. Must be larger than the data storage
area required by the Map Descriptors for the data being placed in
this array.

1-10, 000
// Data Arrays

Data_Arrays

Data_Array_Name

, Data_Array_Format

, Data_Array_Length

DA_AI_01

, UInt16

, 200

DA_AO_01

, UInt16

, 200

DA_DI_01

, Bit

, 200

DA_DO_01

, Bit

, 200

DATA ARRAY PARAMETER S

4

Data Arrays are “protocol neutral” data buffers for storage of data to be passed between protocols. It is necessary

to declare the data format of each of the Data Arrays to facilitate correct storage of the relevant data.

Example

CONFIGURING THE FIELDSERVER AS A N GPA DRIVE R C L I EN T 5

For a detailed discussion on FieldServer configuration, please refer to the FieldServer Configuration Manual. The
information that follows describes how to expand upon the factory defaults provided in the configuration files
included with the FieldServer (See “.csv” sample files provided with the FieldServer).

This section documents and describes the parameters necessary for configuring the FieldServer to communicate
with a GPA (General Purpose ASCII) Driver Server.

The configuration file tells the FieldServer about its interfaces, and the routing of data required. In order to enable
the FieldServer for GPA (General Purpose ASCII) Driver communications, the driver independent FieldServer

buffers need to be declared in the “Data Arrays” section, the destination device addresses need to be declared in
the “Client Side Nodes” section, and the data required from the servers needs to be mapped in the “Client Side

Map Descriptors” section. Details on how to do this can be found below.

Note that in the tables, * indicates an optional parameter, with the bold legal value being the default.

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Section Title

Connections

Column Title

Function

Legal Values

Port

Specify which port the device is connected to the FieldServer

P1-P8, R1-R21

Protocol

Specify protocol used

ASCII

Baud*

Specify baud rate

110 – 115200,
standard baud
rates only, 9600

Parity*

Specify parity

Even, Odd,
None, Mark,
Space

Data_Bits*

Specify data bits

7, 8

Stop_Bits*

Specify stop bits

1

Start_Char*

Specify the decimal value of the character with which message will start.
The driver will wait for the specified character to detect a valid start of
an incoming message. Refer to Appendix A.1.1

0-255, -

EndPart_String*

Specify the last part of string with which the incoming message will end.
This parameter can also be used in conjunction with Termination_Char.
. Refer to Appendix A.1.1

Any case in­sensitive string
up to 99
characters.
e.g. The End, -

Termination_Char*

Specify the decimal value of the character with which the message will
end. The driver will wait for specified character to detect a valid end of
an incoming message. If used in conjunction with EndPart_String, the
Driver will wait for the Termination_Char only if it has received EndPart.
Refer to Appendix A.1.1

0-255,

Default is 13
(CR – Carriage
Return)

IC_Timeout*

If this parameter is set, the driver will consider a message complete
when it receives the Termination_Char message or the IC_Timeout
period has elapsed. If data is received after the IC_Timeout period has
elapsed, but before the next Start_Char message, the driver will report
an IC_Timeout error, and all characters will be ignored until the next
Start_Char message. Refer to Appendix A.1.1

0 to 65.5s, 0.5s

// Client Side Connections

Port

, Protocol

, Baud

, Parity

P1

, ASCII

, 9600

, None

1

5.1 Cli e n t S i de Connection Par a m e t e r s

Example

Not all ports shown are necessarily supported by the hardware. Consult the appropriate Instruction manual for details of the ports available

on specific hardware.

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Section Title

Nodes

Column Title

Function

Legal Values

Node_Name

Provide name for node

Up to 32 alphanumeric
characters

Node_ID

This parameter has no special meaning for this driver.
Incoming messages could come from any Node. A Node_ID
may be allocated.

Any value may be used
Protocol

Specify protocol used

ASCII.

Connection

Specify which port the device is connected to the FieldServer

P1-P8, R1-R22

// Client Side Nodes

Nodes

Node_Name

, Node_ID

, Protocol

, Connection

PLC 1

, 1

, ASCII

, P1

Column Title

Function

Legal Values

Map_Descriptor_Name

Name of this Map Descriptor

Up to 32 alphanumeric
characters

Data_Array_Name

Name of Data Array where data is to be stored in the
FieldServer

One of the Data Array
names from Section 4.

Data_Array_Offset

Starting location in Data Array

0 to (Data_Array_Length-

1) as specified in Section

4.

Function

Function of Client Map Descriptor. Refer to the
FieldServer configuration manual for more information.
Note that in the case of a Passive Client Map Descriptor
the Map Descriptor owns the Data Array elements and no
active Map Descriptor can address the same data.

Passive, Rdbc

Column Title

Function

Legal Values

Node_Name

Name of Node to fetch data from

One of the Node
Names specified in
Section 5.2

Data_Type

This parameter determines how data is stored. Digital data is stored as
1’s or Zero’s. Non-Float types truncate the values, thus 0.6 is stored as
zero. ASCII stores the actual received ASCII characters

Float_Reg, Int, Bit,
ASCII

Length

Length of Map Descriptor. This parameter specifies the maximum
number of string items that can be converted to numbers and stored.

1, 2, 3…

5.2 Cli e n t S i de Node P a ram e t e r s

Example

5.3 Cli e n t S i de M a p D e s cri ptor P a r a m e t e r s

5.3.1 F ieldServer Related Map Descriptor Parameters

5.3.2 D r i v e r S pecific Map Descriptor Parameters

2

Not all ports shown are necessarily supported by the hardware. Consult the appropriate Instruction manual for details of the ports available

on specific hardware.

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Other than ‘using up’ point count, there is no danger in setting the

length to a larger number than required.

Poll_Msgs

This parameter allows the user to set the number of times a polling
message should be sent. E.g. If this parameter is set to 3, 3 polls are
issued at a frequency determined by the scan interval. No further polls
are sent even if the Data Array changes.

0 to 2147483647.
Scan_Interval

The amount of time between successive poll requests.

0-32000s, 2s

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Map_Descriptors

Map_Descriptor_Name

, Data_Array_Name

, Data_Array_Offset

, Function

, Node_Name

, Data_Type

, Length

Store_Weights

, DA_Scale

, 0

, Passive

, Node_A

, Float_Reg

, 10

Map Descriptor
Names do not need
to be unique but
unique names may
facilitate trouble
shooting.

The name of the
Data Array where
the incoming data
should be stored.

The 1st element of
converted data will be
stored at this location in
the DA. Subsequent data
is stored in consecutive
locations.

Driver waits passively for
incoming data. There is
no polling.

Connects this Map
Descriptor to a Node
Descriptor which in turn
points to a connection
descriptor.

When the driver processes the stream it
should (in this case) treat the data as
floating point data. Ensure that the
format of the Data is suitable to store a
floating point value

A maximum of
10 value items
will be stored.

5.4 Map D es c r iptor E x am pl e 1 – D a t a R e c o r ding

In this example, we provide a Map Descriptor to capture data from a scale and store it in a Data Array called ‘DA_Scale’. The 1st element converted from the
ASCII steam will be store at offset zero in the Data Array. The driver will convert and store floating point numbers because the Data_Type is a floating point
type. A maximum of 10 number fields can be processed and stored. The driver only converts and stores the data when the ASCII stream ends. Refer to
Appendix A.1 for information on how the driver knows when a stream has ended and it should process and store data.

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Map_Descriptors

Map_Descriptor_Name

, Data_Array_Name

, Data_Array_Offset

, Function

, Node_Name

, Scan_Interval

, Length

Poll_Msgs

MD_Poll

, DA_Poll

, 0

, Rdbc

, Node_A

, 5s

, 10

, 3

Map Descriptor
names do not need
to be unique but
unique names may
facilitate trouble
shooting.

The name of the
Data Array from
where the polling
data is extracted.

The 1st character of
polling data will be
extracted from this
position in the
Data_Array. Subsequent
data will be extracted
from consecutive
locations.

The Driver will send this
poll continuously at time
intervals specified by the
scan interval.

Specifies the time
interval at which
the driver should
issue the poll.

A maximum of
10 characters will
be sent to the
remote device. .

The Driver will
send the poll
message three
times.

5.5 Map D es c r iptor Example 2 – P o l l i ng

In this example, we provide a Map Descriptor to send a poll to a remote device. The Map_Descriptor will send ten characters from the Data_Array DA_Poll.
This Data Array could be preloaded in the configuration file or its contents could be changed by other protocols. This Map Descriptor is used to send data only,
no data is stored by this Map Descriptor.

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CONFIGURING THE FIELDSERVER AS A GPA DRIVE R S E R VER 6

Driver cannot be used to serve data. Contact the Sales group at FST if you are interested in this functionality.

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FS-8700-115 ASCII Driver (General Purpose) Page 12 of 13

// Client Side Connections

Connections

Port

, Protocol

, Baud

, Parity

, EndPart_String

, Termination_Char

, IC_Timeout

P1

, ASCII

, 9600

, None

, The End

, 13

, 2s

Appendix A. USEFUL FEATURES

Appendix A.1. Separating Data Streams

The driver processes the ASCII stream and stores the converted data when the stream ends. By default the driver
closes the stream when it receives the CR character (Hex code = 0x0d Decimal code = 13), or when the default
IC_Timeout period (5s) elapses.

The default end of stream character can be changed using the registry or connection parameter.

Appendix A.1.1. Customizing Data Stream Separation using Connection Parameters.

If the connection parameter Termination_Char is specified, the user can define the character used to indicate the
end of the data stream. If the connection parameter EndPart_String is specified, a string can be used to specify the
end of the data stream. The Termination_Char and EndPart_String parameters can be used in conjunction. The
IC_Timeout period can also be configured by the user.

Example

Appendix A.1.2. Changing the default end of stream character using the registry.

The example below is an extract from registry.ini. The Registry group is for port P1. Similar groups can exist for
other ports and a group may have more settings than those shown below. If you wished to change the end of
stream character to a NEW LINE character (Hex=0x0a Decimal=10) then change the 13’s to 10’s in the example
below. The default_ value is used by the registry when it receives a ‘restore defaults’ command.

[FieldServer_P1]
Termination_Char = 13
default_Termination_Char = 13

Appendix A.2. Interaction with the WebServer Driver

This driver is specially configured to watch for registry changes that are initiated from the WebServer driverCreate
web pages to change the registry settings.

Browse to the web page.
Change a setting.
When the WebServer sees that the settings have been updated it sets a signal for the ASCII driver to use

the new settings.

The html fragment below can be inserted in a Web Page. It will allow a user via a browser to change the
connection settings for P1 using a browser. The FieldServer configuration file will not have to be changed. Ensure
that registry.ini is installed on the FieldServer.

<FST_COMBO Reg_name= "FieldServer_P1:Baud"
List_Items="300;600;1200;2400;4800;9600;19200;38400;115200;">
<FST_TEXT Reg_name = "FieldServer_P1:Data_Bits" >
<FST_TEXT Reg_name = "FieldServer_P1:Stop_Bits" >
<FST_TEXT Reg_name = "FieldServer_P1:Parity" >

Similar fields may be added for any parameter in the registry file but note that not all registry settings are used by
this driver.

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FS-8700-115 ASCII Driver (General Purpose) Page 13 of 13

Message

Description

IC Timeout

If the Driver is waiting for EndPart_String to arrive and the inter-character timeout (default 0.5s)
elapses before the end of stream character has been received the driver stats it as IC_Timeout,
clears the incoming buffer and waits for the beginning of the next stream.

Timeout

If driver is configured to send a poll and is unable to transmit the entire poll message within the
Timeout period (default 2s), the Driver will stat this as Timeout.

Error

Description and Corrective Action

ASCII:#1 FYI. Port \"%s\"
Connection Parameters Can
Be Changed Remotely

You can safely ignore this message. It is designed to make you aware of the
capability of the driver. Refer to Appendix A.2

ASCII:#2 FYI. Port \"%s\"
Setting Changed Remotely.
New Setting: %s

You can safely ignore this message if the setting reported match your expectations.
The driver is reporting that connection settings have been changed. The change
resulted from a change to the FieldServer registry settings and this driver has been
notified to start working with the new settings.

ASCII:#3 FYI. Port \"%s\"
Initial Setting:%s
Start Char 0x%2X End
Char 0x%02X Termination
Time %fs

The driver is reporting initial settings for the port. The message is for your
information only and no corrective action is required if it confirms you expectations.
If it doesn’t review and correct the configuration file or registry.ini file.

ASCII:#4 Extracted max %d
values, ignoring others.

The message will get printed out when the driver has extracted the maximum
number of supported values from the ASCII message. The driver won't process the
message further.
If more values are required, contact sales at FieldServer Technologies.

ASCII : Retiring MD<%s>
from polling, All poll
messages have been sent

The driver is reporting that all configured polling message have been sent. No
further polling message will be sent using the Map Descriptor.
The message is for your information only and no corrective action is required if it
confirms your expectations. If it doesn’t review and correct the configuration file.

Appendix B. TROUBLESHOOTING

Appendix B.1. Driver Specific Stats

Appendix B.2. Driver Error Messages

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