Vaisala Veriteq viewLinc 3.6 Administrator's Manual
ADMINISTRATOR GUIDE
viewLinc 3.6
Vaisala Veriteq viewLinc Software
M211342EN-A
Copyright
Copyright 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc. All rights reserved.
No copying, distribution, publication, modification, or incorporation of this document, in whole or part, is permitted for commercial purposes without the express
written permission of Vaisala Canada Inc.
Vaisala Canada Inc
13775 Commerce Parkway
Richmond, BC V6V 2V4
Canada
Trademarks
Vaisala Canada Inc, Vaisala Veriteq, Vaisala Veriteq vLog, Vaisala Veriteq viewLinc, and Vaisala Veriteq Spectrum are trademarks of Vaisala Canada Inc.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
All other trademarks referred to are the property of their respective owners.
Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
Vaisala Canada Inc and its subsidiaries assume no responsibility for any damage
or loss resulting from the use of this manual.
Vaisala Canada Inc and its subsidiaries assume no responsibility for any loss or
claims by third parties which may arise through the use of this software. Vaisala
Canada Inc. and its subsidiaries assume no responsibility for any damage or loss
caused by deletion of data as a result of hardware malfunction. Be sure to make
backup copies of all important data to protect against data loss.
Vaisala Canada Inc makes no warranties, either expressed or implied, regarding
Vaisala Veriteq data loggers, Vaisala 300 Series Transmitters, or software, its merchantability, or its fitness for any particular purpose. The exclusion of implied warranties is not permitted by some states. As such, the exclusion may not apply to
you.
Vaisala Veriteq viewLinc has been tested using a variety of network systems. However, the large number of possible hardware and network configurations makes
testing under every circumstance impossible. If you have trouble using Vaisala
Veriteq viewLinc software, contact Vaisala Canada Inc.
Technical Support
For technical support in North America, please call 1-866-861-3388, or for customers outside North America, see “Getting Help” on page 16.
Email: veriteqsupport@vaisala.com
Document part number: M211342EN-A
Release date: March 2011
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide i
About this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Who this Manual is for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
How this Manual is Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Conventions Used in this Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vi
Related Documentation and Software Products . . . . . . . . . .vi
Support Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Chapter 1: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Installing viewLinc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Connecting Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Installing Spectrum or vLog Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Installing viewLinc Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Logging In to viewLinc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Administrator’s Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 2: Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
About Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
What is a Channel? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Where are my Channels? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Understanding the Channels Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Opening Large Channel Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Real-Time Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Reading Graphs in Large Channel View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Viewing Graph Detail in Large Channel View . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Acknowledging Alarms from Large Channel View . . . . . . . 26
Organizing Channels into Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Creating Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Editing Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Assigning Channels to Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Deactivating Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Contents
Contents
ii © 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
Ordering Channel Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Hiding and Showing Channel Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Chapter 3: Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
About Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
What Happens When an Alarm is Triggered? . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Creating Alarm Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Setting Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Editing Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Disabling Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Deactivating and Reactivating Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . . 44
Communication Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Setting Communication Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Editing Communication Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Disabling Communication Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Logger Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Setting Logger Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Editing Logger Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Disabling Logger Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Acknowledging Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Pausing Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Chapter 4: System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Discovering Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Adding Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Swapping Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Removing Loggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Editing Logger Properties and Aliases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Editing Channel Properties and Aliases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Configuring Email Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Editing Alarm Email Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Working with Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide iii
Creating Contact Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Creating User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Editing Users and Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Deactivating Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Reactivating Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Choosing Logger and Channel Description Lengths . . . . . 69
Choosing Temperature Measurement Unit Preferences . . 70
Setting Session Expiry Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Creating Preconfigured Comments for Email Messages . . 71
Chapter 5: Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Viewing Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Adding Comments to Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Printing Event Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Exporting Event Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Chapter 6: Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
About Historical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Generating Historical Data Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Generating Alarm History Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Generating Channel History Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Creating New Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Deleting Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Chapter 7: Transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Transfers and Transfer Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Creating Transfer Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Performing an Immediate Data Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Editing Transfer Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Deactivating a Transfer Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Temporarily Disabling Transfer Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Appendix: FAQs & Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Contents
iv © 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
About this Manual
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide v
About this Manual
The viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide includes the
information you need to install, configure and operate the
viewLinc system.
You can also view the Quick Start Guide for a graphical
overview of installing viewLinc. If you are not an
Administrator, refer to the User Guide for information on the
standard tasks performed using viewLinc.
Who this Manual is for
This manual is for administrators who will install and
configure viewLinc Server software and its associated
components to allow end users to view and monitor data
logger readings across a network. This manual covers
several topics, including how administrators set threshold
alarms, configure email alarm notification, organize
channels, define reports, and set logger data transfer
schedules.
How this Manual is Organized
The viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide is organized into
chapters as follows:
Chapter 1: Getting Started. Contains viewLinc overview,
hardware and software requirements, essential installation
instructions, how to log in.
Chapter 2: Channels. Covers what a channel is, using “My
Channels”, opening large channel views, and organizing
channels into zones. This chapter covers topics of interest to
both a general viewLinc user and the administrator.
Chapter 3: Alarms. Contains information on creating,
editing, deactivating, and pausing alarms informing those
monitoring the system of threshold-exceeding conditions or if
data communication between the logger and the system is
down. Includes how to acknowledge alarms.
Chapter 4: System Settings. Includes information
specifically for administrators, including creating user
accounts, configuring email server settings for alarms,
About this Manual
vi
© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
choosing temperature units to display, and changing how and
which loggers are shown in My Channels.
Chapter 5: Events. Includes filtering and printing event logs,
including details on transfers, alarms, and
acknowledgements.
Chapter 6: Reports. Includes a definition of historical data,
what you can do with it, how to generate reports.
Chapter 7: Transfers. Includes information about how to
transfer Vaisala Veriteq logger data to a PC for analysis using
vLog or Spectrum.
Appendix: FAQs & Troubleshooting. Answers common
troubleshooting questions, including how to stop and start the
viewLinc service, what is installed with viewLinc, and how to
troubleshoot common issues.
Conventions Used in this Document
This document uses the following conventions:
• A sequence of actions is indicated by a list separated by a
vertical line. For example:
“In viewLinc, choose System | Loggers”
• Menu selections, items you select, and the names of
buttons are shown in bold.
Related Documentation and Software Products
For help with viewLinc, consult the viewLinc Quick Start
Guide.
Use Vaisala Veriteq Spectrum or vLog software and their
associated Quick Start Guides for setting up Vaisala Veriteq
data loggers and viewing and printing logger historical data
as graphs or text files.
Use your specific Vaisala product User Guide for information
about installing 300 Series Transmitters.
Support Information
In North America, technical support is available between
8am-4pm PST Monday - Friday, 1-866-861-3388 (or 604-
About this Manual
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide vii
273-6850). You can also email veriteqsupport@vaisala.com,
or visit www.vaisala.com/veriteq.
For sales, pricing, quotations, or general information, please
call 1-800-683-8374 (in North America), or 604-273-6850.
For assistance outside North America, see “Getting Help” on
page 16.
About this Manual
viii
© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 1
Chapter 1: Getting Started
This section includes:
• overview of the Vaisala Veriteq Continuous Monitoring
System (CMS)
• hardware and software requirements
• installing viewLinc
• logging in to viewLinc from an Internet browser to monitor
conditions
• Administrator’s Road Map
Chapter 1: Getting Started
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© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
Overview
Welcome to viewLinc 3.6, a key element in the Vaisala
Veriteq Continuous Monitoring System (CMS). Using
viewLinc you can easily monitor data logger readings locally
on a PC or across a network using a supported version of
Microsoft
® Internet Explorer® or Mozilla® Firefox® Internet
browser.
With viewLinc 3.6, you can:
• monitor remote conditions from multiple data loggers from
a local or remote PC desktop
• view real-time data in a graphical format
• generate historical data and alarm reports
• receive visual or email alarms when conditions you are
monitoring are out of compliance or if there is a network
communication problem
• analyze automatically documented logger events, such as
when alarms are triggered, acknowledged or there are
logger communication problems
• schedule transfers of Vaisala Veriteq logger data (also
referred to as ‘historical data’) to be viewed and graphed
with Vaisala Veriteq Spectrum or vLog software
• easily identify loggers and the zones in which they operate
• swap a logger for calibration or replacement purposes
without breaking the data audit trail
• create preconfigured comments for alarm notifications
• create reusable alarm templates
When installed, the Vaisala Veriteq CMS is comprised of
software components (including viewLinc), and hardware
components (including data loggers, a PC with a supported
Internet browser, and, depending on how you connect the
loggers to your PC, various cables, Vaisala Veriteq vNet or
Digi networking devices).
How you connect your loggers to your PC is a very important
administrative decision. There are four methods and each
requires certain hardware connections. The most convenient
Overview
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 3
methods of attaching loggers to PCs are using vNet or Digi
devices. These options are described in Table 1.
Method
How
Connected
Detail
vNet devices Ethernet • Allows data loggers to be
connected to the PC across
an Ethernet network, allowing the PC and loggers to
be separated by large distances within a facility
• Requires installation of
vNet drivers (provided)
• Requires use of vNet device
Digi device Ethernet • Allows data loggers to be
connected to the PC across
an Ethernet network, allowing the PC and loggers to
be separated by large distances within a facility
• Requires installation of Digi
drivers (provided)
• Requires use of Digi device
USB port Vaisala Veriteq
USB cable
• Allows data loggers to connect directly or over an
Ethernet network (when
logger host is installed) to
the viewLinc server
• Requires installation of USB
drivers (provided) and uses
a USB connection on a PC
• Requires a USB to Logger
cable
Table 1: Methods of attaching loggers to PCs
Chapter 1: Getting Started
4
© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
It is also possible to use a mix of these methods if your
system requires it.
The outlined System Requirements apply to all installation
options.
System Requirements
To install viewLinc, you need:
• Vaisala Veriteq data loggers or Vaisala 300 Series
Transmitters (both are referred to as ‘loggers’ in this guide
and in viewLinc)
• PC (will be referred to in the rest of this document as the
viewLinc Server)
• Vaisala Veriteq cables (there are specific cables for
attaching loggers to Digi devices and attaching loggers to
USB or Serial ports on a viewLinc Server)
• (optional) vNet devices, for connecting loggers to a
viewLinc Server using an Ethernet connection
• (optional) Digi devices, for connecting loggers to viewLinc
Server using an Ethernet connection
Serial port Vaisala Veriteq
serial port cable
• Allows data loggers to connect directly or over an
Ethernet network (when
logger host is installed) to
the viewLinc server
• Requires a Serial port on a
PC
• Requires a Serial to Logger
cable
Method
How
Connected
Detail
Table 1: Methods of attaching loggers to PCs
System Requirements
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 5
viewLinc Server Requirements
The viewLinc Server machine must meet the following
requirements:
• Be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Have 350 MB free application disc space.
• Use one of the following operating systems:
•Microsoft
® Windows XP
•Microsoft
® Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 (32 or
64 bit versions)
• Other operating systems can be used depending on the
size of the installation
• If you plan to use viewLinc from the viewLinc Server
machine, you must have a supported Internet browser
installed (Microsoft
® Internet Explorer® 6.0 or later;
Mozilla
® Firefox® 3.5 or later are recommended).
• The Historical database requires 200KB/channel/day. The
default location of the database is the application folder,
and the location of the application folder can be specified
during installation.
Depending on the number of channels you are using, the
viewLinc Server machine should also meet the following
requirements:
Large size installation (300-1000 channels)
• a dedicated machine
• 3.2 GHz, Quad Core
•4 GB RAM
• sufficient HD space to support 200KB/channel/day
For example, if you have 400 channels, you will need
approximately 30GB (400x200x365) per year.
Medium size installation (20-299 channels)
• machine may be shared with other applications
• 1.6 GHz Dual Core
•4 GB RAM
• sufficient HD space to support 200KB/channel/day
Chapter 1: Getting Started
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© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
For example, if you have 40 channels, you will need
approximately 3GB (40x200x365) per year.
Small installation (<20 channels)
• 1.6 GHz
•2 GB RAM
• sufficient HD space to support 200KB/channel/day
For example, if you have 4 channels, you will need
approximately 300MB (4x200x365) per year.
End User PC Requirements
A machine on the network used to administer viewLinc must
have:
• 2.4 GHz
•2 GB RAM
• a supported Internet browser installed (Microsoft Internet
Explorer 6.0 or later; Mozilla Firefox 3.5 or later
recommended).
Installing viewLinc
This section outlines how to install viewLinc on a server or a
remote host, including a description of the four methods by
which loggers can be connected to the system. The four
methods are:
• using a vNet device to connect loggers to the network
• using a Digi device to connect loggers to the network
• using USB port to connect loggers to viewLinc Server or
Remote Host
• using Serial port to connect loggers to viewLinc Server or
Remote Host
If you are connecting 300 Series Transmitter loggers, they
are connected either wirelessly or using a Digi device. Refer
to your Vaisala product User Guide for more information.
For further graphical representation of installing viewLinc,
see the relevant Vaisala Quick Start Guides. There are
versions for those using vNet or Digi devices and those using
Installing viewLinc
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 7
USB/Serial ports. For copies of Quick Start Guides, see
www.vaisala.com/veriteq or speak to your sales
representative.
Connecting Loggers
Choose from the following methods to connect your loggers
to the network or appropriate PCs.
Method 1: Using vNet Devices
The following procedure shows how to use vNet devices to
connect your data loggers to the network.
Attaching Main Hardware
1 Remove protective label on the bottom of the data
logger.
2 Connect the data logger to the vNet device.
3 Connect the vNet device to the Ethernet outlet and (if not
using PoE) power supply. When power is supplied to the
vNet device, the red power LED light will blink for 7-8
seconds, then stay solid. When a network connection is
made, the red LNK LED should light up and stay solid,
and the green ACT LED should blink occasionally.
Note: To ensure a secure connection, insert the power
supply barrel-end connector into the device and
turn 1/4 to the right. If your network supports
Figure 1: Overview of viewLinc system using vNet devices
Chapter 1: Getting Started
8
© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
Power Over Ethernet, you do not need to connect to a power supply.
For more information about installing vNet devices, refer to
the vNet User Guide.
Installing Vaisala Veriteq Drivers
This section covers installing the drivers for vNet devices to
connect Vaisala Veriteq loggers to the network using an
Ethernet connection. Repeat all of these steps for each vNet
device you want to use.
Discovering the vNet Device
1 Obtain a reserved (recommended) or static IP address
for your vNet device from your IT department. If your
networking policy requires you to reserve IP addresses
using DHCP, see www.vaisala.com/veriteq for
instructions.
2 Insert the vNet Device driver CD into the viewLinc
Server.
3 The Device Setup Wizard launches automatically. Click
Next.
4 Select the device that matches the MAC address from
the side of your vNet device, then click
Next.
Note: If your device is on a different subnet from the
server, you will need to know the IP address
of the vNet device and launch the RealPortSetup.exe installer from the RealPort folder on
the vNet Device Drivers CD.
Configuring RealPort and Installing Drivers
1 In the Configure Network Settings screen, enter an IP
address (provided by your IT department). Click
Next two
times.
2 In the Configure RealPort Settings screen, select Install
RealPort on this computer, then click
Next.
3
Click Next again. The settings are saved.
4 Click Finish.
Repeat Installing Vaisala Veriteq Drivers for each vNet
device.
Installing viewLinc
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 9
Method 2: Using Digi Devices
The following procedure shows how to use Digi devices to
connect your data loggers to the network.
Attaching Main Hardware
1 Connect your data logger to a Digi device using a Vaisala
Veriteq cable.
2 Connect your Digi device to power supply and Ethernet
outlet.
Note: These instructions focus on the Digi One SP. For
other Digi models, see www.vaisala.com/veriteq.
Installing Digi Drivers
This section covers installing the drivers for Digi devices to
connect Vaisala Veriteq loggers or Vaisala 300 Series
Transmitters to the network using an Ethernet connection.
Repeat all of these steps for each Digi device you’ll use.
Discovering the Digi Device
1 Obtain a reserved (recommended) or static IP address
for your Digi device from your IT department. If your
networking policy requires you to reserve IP addresses
using DHCP, see www.vaisala.com/veriteq for
instructions.
Figure 2: Overview of viewLinc system using Digi devices
Chapter 1: Getting Started
10
© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
2 Insert the Digi driver CD into viewLinc Server.
3 The Digi Device Setup Wizard launches automatically.
Click
Next.
4 Select the device that matches the MAC address from
the bottom of your Digi device. Click
Next.
Note: If your device is on a different subnet from the
server, you will need to know the IP address of
the Digi device and launch the RealPort installer
on the Digi Driver CD.
Configuring RealPort and Installing Drivers
1 In the Configure Network Settings screen, enter an IP
address (provided by your IT department). Click
Next two
times.
2 In the Configure RealPort Settings screen, select “Install
Digi RealPort on this computer”. Click
Next.
3
Click Next again. The settings are saved.
4 Click Finish.
Repeat Installing Digi Drivers for each Digi device.
Method 3: Using USB Port
You can also connect data loggers directly to PCs using a
USB Port, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Overview of viewLinc system using USB port to connect
loggers
Installing viewLinc
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 11
Installing USB Drivers
Using the supplied Vaisala Veriteq USB cable driver CD
and Quick Start guide, install USB drivers on every PC
you plan to attach loggers to.
Connecting Hardware
1 Connect the data logger to a Vaisala Veriteq USB cable.
2 Connect the USB cable to your viewLinc Server or
Logger Host (ensure the viewLinc Server computer is
attached to your network).
3 Install a USB cable driver. You only need to install a
driver once on each machine to which loggers are
connected.
Method 4: Using Serial Port
You can also connect data loggers to PCs using a Serial
Port. The configuration using a Serial port is very similar to
using USB; refer to Figure 3.
Connecting Hardware
1 Connect your data logger to a Vaisala Veriteq Serial port
cable.
2 Connect the Serial port cable to your viewLinc Server or
Logger Host (ensure this computer is attached to your
network).
Repeat these steps for all data loggers.
Installing Spectrum or vLog Software
Once your data loggers are installed, you are ready to install
either Spectrum or vLog software.
Note: If you use 300 SeriesTransmitters, you are not
required to install Spectrum or vLog Software.
Installing Spectrum (for non-validatable environments), or
vLog (for validatable environments) allows you to:
• set sample intervals
• enable or disable channels
• specify logger and channel descriptions
• store historical data for backup purposes
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It is recommended you install Spectrum or vLog on all PCs
with Vaisala Veriteq loggers connected to them.
Refer to the Spectrum or vLog User Guides for installation
instructions.
Installing viewLinc Software
Now you are ready to install viewLinc which will be used to
make data logger monitoring, alarming and reporting
available across your network. There are two options
available to you:
• Install viewLinc software on a network server (must be
installed once).
• Install viewLinc software on a PC as an offsite host to
make Loggers connected to it available to the viewLinc
server.
To install viewLinc on the viewLinc Server:
1
On your viewLinc Server, insert the viewLinc CD and run
setup.exe.
2 Select the installation language.
3 Start the Setup Wizard by clicking Next.
4 Review and accept the License Agreement, and click
Next.
5 Choose a destination location for the viewLinc program
files and database, then click
Next.
6 Select Enterprise Server, and click Next.
7 If you are upgrading from an earlier version of viewLinc
and you want to retain the settings used in your older
version of viewLinc, select
Import Settings.
8 viewLinc Server requires an open TCP port for
communication. The installer defaults to port 80; if
port 80 is taken, the installer offers a new port number.
Make a note of this port number - you’ll need it when
logging in to viewLinc. Click
Next.
9 Click Install.
10 Click Finish.
You can set up additional computers as remote hosts using a
USB or Serial cable.
Logging In to viewLinc
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 13
To install viewLinc on an offsite host PC:
1
Insert viewLinc CD and run setup.exe.
2 Select the installation language.
3 Start the Setup Wizard by clicking Next.
4
Review and accept the License Agreement, then click
Next.
5 Choose a destination location for the viewLinc program
files, then click
Next.
6 Select Logger Host, then click Next.
7 Click Install.
8 Click Finish.
You have installed all necessary viewLinc components.You
can now move to any machine on the network - or stay where
you are - and log in to viewLinc to monitor channels using
any supported Internet browser on the network.
Logging In to viewLinc
viewLinc allows you to:
• watch conditions (such as temperature and relative
humidity) being recorded by loggers and in the viewLinc
historical database
• receive alarms if conditions are outside limits you set or if
there is a communications problem
• receive other system-related alarms
When you are ready to start using viewLinc, such as setting
alarms, configuring email settings, and scheduling logger
data transfers, log in to viewLinc from a supported Internet
browser. Supported Internet browsers include Microsoft
Internet Explorer 6.0 or later, or Mozilla Firefox 3.5 or later.
By default, one administrator account is created when
viewLinc is installed. The username and password are both
“admin”. It is important you change the admin password as
soon as possible to prevent unauthorized access (see
“Editing Users and Passwords” on page 68).
To log in to viewLinc:
1
Double-click the desktop icon .
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2 Or, in the address box of a supported Internet browser,
enter the name or address of the machine where
viewLinc is installed, and the port number. For example,
http://computername:portnumber (if no port number is
specified, 80 is used by default).
3 In the login screen, enter your username and password.
Click
Login.
Note: The default administrator username and pass-
word are both “admin”.
4 The main viewLinc screen appears, showing available
channels or (the first time you log in) an empty “My
Channels” screen.
If you don’t see any channel data, go to the Channels
tab. In the Zones area, select a channel from the list, and
click Refresh. The selected channel’s data will
appear.
If no channels display, your data logger may not be connected properly, you may not have Channels assigned to
you, or there could be a problem with viewLinc itself. If
you use Vaisala Veriteq data loggers, try discovering loggers - see “Discovering Loggers” on page 54.
Note: The administrator may have set up the system to
prompt you for your password periodically to
Administrator’s Road Map
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 15
ensure system security. When prompted, reenter
your password. To change or set the session
expiry, see “Setting Session Expiry Time” on
page 71.
For more on channels, see Chapter 2: Channels.
Administrator’s Road Map
Once your viewLinc system is installed, you may find the
following roadmap a useful overview of the set up and
configuration activities required to implement viewLinc.
1 Edit Vaisala Veriteq logger properties using vLog or
Spectrum (such as sample timing and data logger
channels).
2 If you plan to set day and time schedules during which
specific users will be notified of alarms, set Contact
Schedules (see “Creating Contact Schedules” on
page 65).
3 Create User Accounts (see “Creating User Accounts” on
page 67.)
4 Choose temperature measurement unit preferences (see
“Choosing Temperature Measurement Unit Preferences”
on page 70.)
5 Configure email settings (see“Configuring Email
Settings” on page 61).
6 Edit alarm email templates (see “Editing Alarm Email
Templates” on page 63).
7 Create alarm and threshold templates (see “Creating
Alarm Templates” on page 36).
8 Add loggers (see “Adding Loggers” on page 54).
9 Set and configure alarm thresholds (see “Threshold
Alarms” on page 42).
10 Configure alarms (see the sections on setting threshold,
communication and logger alarms in Chapter 3:
Alarms).
11 Create zones, assign channels to zones and edit channel
properties (see “Organizing Channels into Zones” on
page 27).
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© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
Once these set up activities are complete, you are ready to
start monitoring logger readings, viewing events and printing
reports. You can also set up transfer schedules to view and
analyze Vaisala Veriteq logger data in vLog or Spectrum
software (see “Transfers and Transfer Schedules” on
page 88).
Getting Help
If you need help, technical support is available:
North America
Contact Vaisala Canada Inc, 8am-4pm PST Monday - Friday,
at 1-866-861-3388 (or 604-273-6850) or email
veriteqsupport@vaisala.com. See also www.vaisala.com/
veriteq.
For sales, pricing, quotations, or general information, please
call 1-800-683-8374 (or 604-273-6850).
Outside of North America:
helpdesk@vaisala.com
Vaisala Headquarters (Finland)
Vanha Nurmijärventie 21
01670 Vantaa
FINLAND
Industrial Instruments
Phone: +358 9 8949 2658
Fax: +358 9 8949 2295
Japan Service Center
42 Kagurazaka 6-Chome
Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo 162-0825
JAPAN
Getting Help
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 17
Phone: +81 3 3266 9611
Fax: +81 3 3266 9610
China Service Center
Floor 2, EAS Building
No. 21, Xiao Yun Road, Dongsanhuan Beilu
Chaoyang District
Beijing 100027
CHINA
Phone: +86 10 5827 4100
Fax: +86 10 8526 1155
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© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
viewLinc 3.6 Administrator Guide 19
Chapter 2: Channels
This section is for administrators and general users.
In this section, you’ll learn about:
• channels and zones
• selecting channels and zones to display in My Channels
• opening large channel views
• viewing and working with real-time graphs in a large
channel view
• creating zones
• organizing channels into zones
• editing zones
• deactivating zones
• displaying or hiding channel information
Let’s get started learning what a channel is in viewLinc.
Chapter 2: Channels
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© 2011 Vaisala Canada Inc
About Channels
What is a Channel?
Depending on the type of Vaisala data loggers you have
installed, a logger may have up to five channels available to
measure temperature, relative humidity, voltage and/or
current (one channel is used for each type of measurement).
Note: 300 Series Transmitters Output Quantities are
displayed as Channels.
Each channel displays the type of data being measured.
Using viewLinc, you can monitor any data logger channel
that is connected to the network.
When you first log in to viewLinc, the Channels window
displays. This window includes:
• zones available for monitoring
• data logger channels available for the selected zone
• active monitoring channels and actual channel data
• threshold indicators
• context-sensitive Help
Where are my Channels?
If you don’t see any channels in the My Channels area, it
could be that:
• There are no zones or channels selected. In the Zones
area, ensure at least one channel or zone has the check
box next to it selected, then click
Refresh in the My
Channels area.
• Your logger may not be connected properly.
• If you use Vaisala Veriteq loggers, try discovering loggers see “Discovering Loggers” on page 54.
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