Vaisala Veriteq viewLinc 4.0 Administrator's Manual
ADMINISTRATOR GUIDE
viewLinc 4.0
Vaisala Veriteq viewLinc Software
M211441EN-A
Copyright
Copyright 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc All rights reserved.
No copying, distribution, publication, modification, or incorporation of this docu-
ment, 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, and Vaisala Veriteq
viewLinc 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 18.
Email: veriteqsupport@vaisala.com
Document part number: M211441EN-A
Release date: Jan 2012
viewLinc 4.0 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Chapter 1: Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Administrator’s Road Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Installing viewLinc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Connecting Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Installing vLog Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Installing viewLinc Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Logging in to viewLinc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
First Steps in viewLinc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
What’s New in viewLinc 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 2: Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
About Views Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Creating a New View in Views Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
About Dashboard Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Creating a New Dashboard in Dashboard Manager. . . . . . 24
Deleting a Dashboard Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Erasing the Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
About Device Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
About Locations Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Where are My Locations?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Organizing Locations into Zones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Creating Zones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Renaming Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Table of Contents
Contents
ii © 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
Searching for Zones and Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Ordering Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Linking and Unlinking Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Deleting Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Editing Location Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Hiding and Showing Location Columns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Creating and Editing Location Thresholds. . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 3: System Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Discovering Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Adding Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Swapping Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Removing Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Editing Device Properties and Aliases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Editing Channel Properties and Aliases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Adding Hosts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Configuring Email Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Editing Alarm Email Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Working with Users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
About Contact Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Editing Users and Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Deactivating Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Reactivating Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
About Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Choosing Device and Channel Description Lengths (Aliases) 56
Choosing Temperature Measurement Unit Preferences . . 56
Setting Session Expiry Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Creating Preconfigured Comments for Email Messages. . 58
Chapter 4: Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
About Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
What is a Location? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Understanding the Locations Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Understanding the Options Dropdown Menu in Locations . . 65
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide iii
Understanding The Tabs in Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Building a Trend with the Trend Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Understanding the Dropdown Menus and Buttons
in the Locations Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Opening Large Popup Trend Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Real-Time Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Reading Graphs in Popup Trend View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Viewing Graph Detail in Large Popup Trend View . . . . . . . 75
Acknowledging Alarms from Large Popup Trend View . . . 75
Chapter 5: Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
About Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
What Happens When an Alarm is Triggered? . . . . . . . . . . 79
Creating Alarm Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Setting Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Editing Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Disabling Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Deactivating and Reactivating Threshold Alarms . . . . . . . 89
Communication Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Setting Communication Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Editing Communication Alarms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Disabling Communication Alarms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Device Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Setting Device Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Editing Device Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Disabling Device Alarms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Acknowledging Alarms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Pausing Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Chapter 6: Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
About Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Creating New Groups, Users and ACL’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Creating a New Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Contents
iv © 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
Deactivating/Reactivating a Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Creating a New User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Adding an ACL to a Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Chapter 7: Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Viewing Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Adding Comments to Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Adding Custom Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Printing Event Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Exporting Event Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Chapter 8: Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
About Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Generating Historical Data Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Generating Alarm History Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Generating Locations History Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Creating New Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Deleting Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Chapter 9: Transfers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
About Transfers and Transfer Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Creating Transfer Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Performing an Immediate Data Transfer. . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Editing Transfer Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Deactivating a Transfer Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Temporarily Disabling Transfer Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Chapter 10: Mobile UI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
About the Mobile UI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Working with the Mobile UI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Acknowledging Alarms with the Mobile UI . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Appendix: FAQs & Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
About this Manual
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide v
About this Manual
The viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide includes the
information you need to install, configure and operate the
viewLinc system.
You can also view the Quick Start Guide fo r 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 device
readings across a network. This manual covers several
topics, including how administrators set threshold alarms,
configure email alarm notification, organize locations, define
reports, and set device data transfer schedules.
How this Manual is Organized
The viewLinc 4.0 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: Management. Includes informa tion about how to
configure and work with Locations Manage r , Views Manag er,
Dashboard Manager, and Device Manager.
Chapter 3: System Settings. Includes information
specifically for administrators, including how to create user
accounts, configure email server settings for alarms, choose
temperature units to display, and change how and which
devices are shown in Locations.
Chapter 4: Locations. Covers what a Location is, creating
Locations, opening large popup trend views, and organizing
Locations into zones. This chapter covers topics of interest to
both a general viewLinc user and the administrator.
Chapter 5: Alarms. Contains information on creating,
editing, deactivating, and pausing alarms informing those
About this Manual
vi
© 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
monitoring the system of threshold-exceeding conditions or if
data communication between the device and the system is
down. Includes how to acknowledge alarms.
Chapter 6: Permissions. Includes information about User
Permissions, User Rights and Access control lists. Shows
how to create users, assign them to groups and zones, add
permissions and control rights.
Chapter 7: Events. Includes filtering and printing event logs,
including details on transfers, alarms, and
acknowledgements.
Chapter 8: Reports. Includes a definition of historical data,
what you can do with it, how to generate reports.
Chapter 9: Transfers. Includes information about how to
transfer Vaisala Veriteq device data to a PC for analysis
using vLog.
Chapter 10: Mobile UI. Includes information about
viewLinc’s Mobile application and its interface.
Appendix: FAQs & Troubleshooting. Answers common
troubleshooting questions, including how to stop and st art the
viewLinc service, what is installed with viewLinc, and how to
resolve common issues.
Conventions Used in this Document
This document uses the following conv en tio ns :
• A sequence of actions is indicated by a list sep arate d by a
vertical line. For example:
“In viewLinc, choose
Options | System Configuration |
Locations Manager
”
• Menu selections, items you select, and the names of
buttons are shown in bold.
• Keys on the keyboard are shown in
[square brackets].
Related Documentation and Software Products
For help with viewLinc, consult the viewLinc Quick Start
Guide.
About this Manual
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide vii
Use vLog software and its associated Quick Start Guide for
setting up Vaisala Veriteq devices an d viewing and printing
device 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 604273-6850). You can also email veriteqsupport@vaisala.com,
or visit www.vaisala.com/lifescience-hitech.
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 18.
About this Manual
viii
© 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide 1
Chapter 1: Getting Started
This section includes:
• Overview of the Vaisala Veriteq Continuous Monitor ing
System (CMS)
• Administrator’s Road Map
• What’s New in viewLinc 4.0
• System Requirements, Hardware and Software
• Installing viewLinc
• Logging in to viewLinc from an Internet Browser to Monitor
Conditions
• First Steps in viewLinc
• What’s New in viewLinc 4.0
• Getting Help
Chapter 1: Getting Started
2
© 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
Overview
Welcome to viewLinc 4.0, a key element in the Vaisala
Veriteq Continuous Monitoring System (CMS). Using
viewLinc you can easily monitor device readings locally on a
PC or across a network using a supported ve rsio n of
Microsoft
® Internet Explorer® or Mozilla® Firefox® Internet
browser, or from mobile devices like the iPhone
®, Google
Android
®, or Blackberry®.
With viewLinc 4.0, you can:
• Monitor remote conditions from multiple devices from a
local or remote PC desktop
• View real-time data in a customizable graphical format
• Generate historical data and alarm reports
• Receive visual or email alarms when conditions you are
monitoring are out of compliance or if ther e is a net wor k
communication problem
• Analyze automatically documented device event s, such as
when alarms are triggered, acknowledged or there are
device communication problems
• Schedule transfers of Vaisala Veriteq device data (also
referred to as ‘historical data’) to be viewed and graphed
with the vLog software
• Easily identify devices and the zones in which they
operate
• Swap a device 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 hard wa re
components (including devices, a PC with a suppor te d
Internet browser, and, depending on how you connect the
devices to your PC, various cables, Vaisala Veriteq vNet or
Digi networking devices).
How you connect your devices to yo ur PC is a very imp ortant
administrative decision. There are four methods and each
requires certain hardware connections. Th e most convenient
Overview
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide 3
methods of attaching devices to PCs are using vNet or Digi
devices. These options are described in Table 1.
Method How Connected Detail
vNet devices Ethernet • Allows devices to be con-
nected to the PC across an
Ethernet network, allowing
the PC and devices to be
separated by large distances within a facility
• Requires installation of
vNet drivers (provided)
• Requires use of vNet device
Digi device Ethernet • Allows devices to be con-
nected to the PC across an
Ethernet network, allowing
the PC and devices 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 devices to connect
directly or over an Ethernet
network (when device 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 devices to PCs
Chapter 1: Getting Started
4
© 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
It is also possible to use a mix of these methods if your
system requires it.
The outlined Administrator’s Road Map applies to all
installation options.
Administrator’s Road Map
Once your viewLinc system is installed, you may find the
following roadmap a useful overview of the setup and
configuration activities required to implement viewLinc.
1 Edit Vaisala Veriteq device properties using vLog. (such
as sample timing and device channels - see vLog user
guide for details)
2 If you plan to set day and time schedules during which
specific users will be notified of alarms, set Contact
Schedules (see “About Contact Schedules” on page 53)
3 Create User Accounts (see “Editing Users and
Passwords” on page 54)
4 Choose temperature measurement unit preferences (see
“Choosing Temperature Measurement Unit Preferences”
on page 56)
5 Configure Email settings (see “Configuring Email
Settings” on page 49)
6 Create Zones, assign Locations to Zones and edit
Location properties (see “Organizing Locations into
Zones” on page 28)
Serial port Vaisala Veriteq
serial port cable
• Allows devices to connect
directly or over an Ethernet
network (when device 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 devices to PCs
System Requirements
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide 5
7
Edit Alarm email templates (see “Editing Alarm Email
Templates” on page 50)
8 Create Alarm and Threshold Templates (see “Creating
Alarm Templates” on page 80)
9 Add Devices (see “Adding Devices” on page 40)
10 Set and configure Alarm Thresholds (see “Threshold
Alarms” on page 86)
11 Configure Alarms (see the sections on setting threshold,
communication and device alarms in Chapter 5: Alarms)
Once these set up activities are complete, you are ready to
start monitoring device readings, viewing e vent s an d printing
reports. You can also set up transfer schedules to view and
analyze V aisala V eriteq device dat a in the vLog software ( see
“About Transfers and Transfer Schedules” on page 126)
System Requirements
To install viewLinc, you need:
• V aisala Veriteq loggers or Vaisala 300 Series Transmitters
(both are referred to as ‘devices’ 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 devices to Digi devices and attaching devices to
USB or Serial ports on a viewLinc Server)
• (optional) vNet devices, for connecting devices to a
viewLinc Server using an Ethernet connection
• (optional) Digi devices, for connecting devices to viewLinc
Server using an Ethernet connection
Chapter 1: Getting Started
6
© 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
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 Server 2003 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® 3.6 or later are recommended).
• The Historical database requires 200KB per location per
day. The default location for the application is in the
'program files' folder. The historical database and
configuration files are located 'public documents' folder.
The default locations of the database are as follows:
Windows 2008/Windows Vista x64
Program files: C:\Program Files(x86)\Vaisala\Vaisala Veriteq
viewLinc
Data files: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Vaisala\Vaisala
Veriteq viewLinc
Windows 2003/Windows Vista x32
Program files: C:\Program Files\Vaisala\Vaisala Veriteq
viewLinc
Data files: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Vaisala\Vaisala
Veriteq viewLinc
Windows XP x64
Program files: C:\Program Files (x86)\Vaisala\V aisala Veriteq
viewLinc
Data files: C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\Vaisala\Vaisala Veriteq viewLinc
System Requirements
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide 7
Windows XP/2003 x32
Program files: C:\Program Files\Vaisala\Vaisala Veriteq
viewLinc
Data files: C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Documents\Vaisala\Vaisala Veriteq viewLinc
Note: It is strongly recommended to use the default
installation folders for data files as other folders
may have special security restrictions placed on
them. For example, Windows 7/2008 does not
allow files in the ‘Program Files’ folders to be
deleted by non-admin users.
Depending on the number of channels you are using, the
viewLinc Server machine should also meet the following
requirements:
Large size installation (400-5000 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 (20-400 channels)
• machine may be shared with other applications
• 1.6 GHz Dual Core
•4 GB RAM
• sufficient HD space to support 200KB/channel/day
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 (4x200 x3 65 ) per ye ar.
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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 fou r m eth o ds by
which devices can be connected to the system. The four
methods are:
• using a vNet device to connect devices to the network
• using a Digi device to connect devices to the network
• using USB port to connect devices to viewLinc Server or
Remote Host
• using Serial port to connect devices to viewLinc Server or
Remote Host
If you are connecting 300 Series Transmitter devices, they
are connected either wirelessly or using a Digi de vice. 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 tho se using
USB/Serial ports. For copies of Quick Start Guides, see
www.vaisala.com/lifescience-hitech or speak to your sales
representative.
Connecting Devices
Choose from the following methods to connect your devices
to the network or appropriate PCs.
Installing viewLinc
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide 9
Method 1: Using vNet Devices
The following procedure shows how to use vNet devices to
connect your devices to the network.
Attaching Main Hardware
1 Remove protective label on the bottom of the device.
2 Connect the device 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
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 devices to the network using an
Ethernet connection. Repeat all of these steps for each vNet
device you want to use.
Figure 1: Overview of viewLinc system using vNet devices
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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 rese rv e IP addr esses
using DHCP, see www.vaisala.com/lifescience-hitech 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 4.0 Administrator Guide 11
Method 2: Using Digi Devices
The following procedure shows how to use Digi devices to
connect your Vaisala Veriteq devices to the netwo r k.
Attaching Main Hardware
1 Connect your Vaisala Veriteq device 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/lifescience-hitech.
Installing Digi Drivers
This section covers installing the drivers for Digi devices to
connect Vaisala Veriteq devices 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/lifescience-hitech for
instructions.
Figure 2: Overview of viewLinc system using Digi devices
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© 2012 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 Vaisala Veriteq devices d i re ct ly t o PC s
using a USB Port, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Overview of viewLinc system using USB port to connect devices
Installing viewLinc
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide 13
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 devices to.
Connecting Hardware
1 Connect the device to a Vaisala Veri teq USB cable.
2 Connect the USB cable to your viewLinc Server or
Device Host (ensure the viewLinc Ser v e r comp ut er is
attached to your network).
3 Install a USB cable driver. You only need to install a
driver once on each machine to which devic es are
connected.
Method 4: Using Serial Port
Y ou can also connect devices 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 device to a Vaisala Veriteq Serial port
cable.
2 Connect the Serial port cable to your viewLinc Server or
Host (ensure this computer is attached to your network).
Repeat these steps for all devices.
Installing vLog Software
Once your devices are installed, you are ready to inst all vLog
software.
Note: If you use 300 SeriesTransmitters, you are not
required to install vLog Software.
Installing vLog allows you to:
• set sample intervals
• enable or disable channels
• specify device and channel descriptions
• store historical data for backup purposes
It is recommended you install vLog on all PCs with Vaisala
Veriteq devices connected to them.
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© 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
Refer to the vLog User Guide for installation instructions.
Installing viewLinc Software
Now you are ready to install viewLinc which will be used to
make device 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 devices 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 using the dropdown.
Click OK.
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, then click
Next.
6 Select Enterprise Server from the Select Components
screen and click
Next.
Enter the installation key purchased from Vaisala.
Select Non-secure, Secure server (SSL) or Both.
7 Review the install options and click Install.
8
Click Finish once the application is finished installing.
You can set up additional computers as remote hosts using a
USB or Serial cable.
To install viewLinc on an offsite host PC:
1
Insert viewLinc CD and run setup.exe.
2 Select the installation language using the dropdown.
Click OK.
3 Start the Setup Wizard by clicking Next.
4
Review and accept the License Agreement, then click
Next.
Logging in to viewLinc
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide 15
5
Choose a destination location for th e view Lin c pr og ra m
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 st ay 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 devices 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 device
data transfers, log in to viewLinc from a supported Internet
browser. Supported Internet browsers include .
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 54).
To log in to viewLinc:
1 Double-click the desktop icon .
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 or https://
computername:portnumber if secure. (if no port number
is specified, 443 is used by default). Save this address
to your favorites or set as your homepage to easily
access viewLinc from your browser.
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© 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
3 In the login screen, enter your username and password.
Click
Login.
Note: The default administrator user name and pass-
word are both “admin”.
4 The main viewLinc screen appears, showing “Getting
St arted” screen. To start using viewLinc, click the Options
button and choose Locations.
5 Here you will find a tree view with your location and
device data. Expand the tree with the plus icon. If you
don’t see any Location data, click a Location from the
tree view, and select
Options | Refresh. The selected
Location’s data should appear.
First Steps in viewLinc
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide 17
If no Locations display, you may not have any locations
assigned to you, the administrator ma y need to configure
the system, or there could be a problem with viewLinc
itself. If you use Vaisala Veriteq devices, try discovering
devices - see “Discovering Devices” on page 40.
Note: The administrator may have set up the system to
prompt for password periodically to ensure system security. When prompted, re-enter your
password.To change or set the session expiry,
see“Setting Session Expiry Time” on page 57
For more on locations, see Chapter 4: Locations.
First Steps in viewLinc
When you first log in to viewLinc, load the Locations function
by clicking the
Options button and selecting Locations.
If you don’t see anything listed in the tree on the left side of
this window, you will need to start by adding and configuring
new zones. This is done by clicking
Options | System
Configuration | Locations Manager.
From the left panel, right
click on the System folder and click
Add Zone. The
‘manage locations’ right must be added by the administrator
to perform this function.
Zones can also be created by dragging a device/devices
across to the System folder in the tree and accepting the
option to create zones based on the device names. The
devices must not currently be attached to any other location
for this functionality to work.
Once a zone is created, you can then add a location to it by
right clicking and selecting
Add Location. If no devices are
displayed in the device browser, your device may not be
connected properly. If you use Vaisala Veriteq devices, try
discovering devices - see “Discovering De vice s” on page 40.
What’s New in viewLinc 4.0
Locations: A Location is a ‘data point’ which can be linked to
any channel and is located in a hierarchical tree of zones.
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© 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
The Locations feature replaces the previous channe ls/my
channels functionality , providing improved customization an d
flexibility with more information available from the tree view.
Views: A View is a customized combination of locations
selected from all available zones by the user. They offer the
flexibility of navigating a tree view similar to the locations
view with a customized hierarchical zone organization. They
can be customized so a user can create a view of all location
readings regardless of zone. These V iews remain saved and
allow each user to have the software set up in a way that
better suits their role or job function.
Trends: Trends are custom graphs which can be built with
user friendly drag and drop functionality. The trend view
allows you to combine, contrast and comp are location history
in visual graphs using real-time data.
Dashboards: Dashboards provide the ability to upload a
custom image for any zone or view and place locations on
this image (for example a map or floor plan). They provide a
customized display of the current readings at several
locations at a glance.
Mobile Support: viewLinc 4.0 provides access from mobile
devices, allowing you to perform key tasks from your
smartphone or tablet. Apple iPhone iOS
® 3+, Android®
2.1+, and BlackBerry
® 6+ devices are supported.
Users and Groups: viewLinc 4.0 provides several new
security options and introduces the concepts of groups,
users and zones for better access control. Groups allow the
administrator to better control permissions on a group level
while maintaining user-based permissions. These features
provide quicker methods of configuring permissions for
multiple users and subsequently ad din g individ u al us er
permissions as needed. viewLinc 4.0 also provides the ability
to add an access control list (ACL) to a particular zone and
give a group permissions specific to that zo ne .
Getting Help
If you need help, technical support is available:
Getting Help
viewLinc 4.0 Administrator Guide 19
North America
Contact V aisala Canada Inc, 8a m-4pm PST Monday - Friday,
at 1-866-861-3388 (or 604-273-6850) or email
veriteqsupport@vaisala.com. See also www.vaisala.com/
lifescience-hitech.
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
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
Chapter 1: Getting Started
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© 2012 Vaisala Canada Inc
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