Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
© 2018 PTC Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Table of Contents
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Table of Contents
Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Overview
Setup
Channel Properties — General 6
Channel Properties — Serial Communications 6
Channel Properties — Write Optimizations 9
Channel Properties — Advanced 10
Device Properties — General 11
Device Properties — Scan Mode 12
Device Properties — Timing 13
Device Properties — Auto-Demotion 14
Device Properties — Tag Generation 15
Device Properties — Device Configuration 17
Device Properties — Redundancy 18
Data Types Description
1
2
4
4
5
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Address Descriptions
DX102 Addressing
DX104 Addressing
DX106 Addressing
DX112 Addressing
DX204 Addressing
DX208 Addressing
DX210 Addressing
DX220 Addressing
DX230 Addressing
MV100 Addressing
MV200 Addressing
Error Descriptions
Address '<address>' is out of range for the specified device or register 49
Data Type '<type>' is not valid for device address '<address>' 49
Device address '<address>' contains a syntax error 49
20
20
22
25
28
30
33
35
38
40
43
45
49
Device address '<address>' is Read Only 50
Missing address 50
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Communications error on '<channel name>' [<error mask>] 50
COMn does not exist 51
COMn is in use by another application 51
Error opening COMn 51
Unable to set comm parameters on COMn 51
Device '<device name>' is not responding 52
Unable to write to '<address>' on device '<device name>' 52
Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Index
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Help version 1.020
CONTENTS
Overview
What is the Yokogawa DX Serial Driver?
Device Setup
How do I configure a device for use with this driver?
Data Types Description
What data types does this driver support?
Address Descriptions
How do I address a data location on a Yokogawa DX serial device?
Automatic Tag Database Generation
How can I easily configure tags for the Yokogawa DX Serial Driver?
Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Error Descriptions
What error messages does the Yokogawa DX Serial Driver produce?
Overview
The Yokogawa DX Serial Driver provides a reliable way to connect Yokogawa DX Serial devices to OPC client
applications; including HMI, SCADA, Historian, MES, ERP, and countless custom applications. It is intended
for use with Yokogawa Data Acquisition and Data Recorder devices that support RS232 or RS422
communications.
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Setup
Supported Yokogawa Devices
DX102
DX104
DX106
DX112
DX204
DX208
DX210
DX220
DX230
MV100
MV200
Supported Communication Parameters
Baud Rate: 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 9600, 19200, or 38400.
Parity: None, Even, or Odd.
Data Bits: 8
Stop Bits: 1 or 2.
Flow Control: None, RTS, or DTR.
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Notes:
1. Software handshaking is not available.
2. This driver makes use of binary data formatting when reading information from Yokogawa devices.
This requires that a data bit setting of 8 be used.
RS-232 and RS-422/485 Operation
Yokogawa DX Serial devices can support either RS-232 or RS-422/485 operation. The mode that is used
depends on the configuration of the OPC Server project.
If intending to connect to a DX device using RS-232, select a Device ID of zero (0). This tells the driver to use
the RS-232 mode for communications. If intending to use either RS-422 or RS-485 communications, select a
Device ID for each station that is between 1 and 16 for RS-422, and between 1 and 31 for RS-485. When
using RS-232, only configure one device on the channel.
Request Timeout
This parameter specifies the amount of time that the driver will wait for a response from the device before
giving up and going on to the next request. Long timeouts will only affect performance if a device is not
responding. The valid range is 100 to 30000 milliseconds. The default setting is 1000 milliseconds.
Retry Attempts
This parameter specifies the number of times that the driver will retry a message before giving up and going
on to the next message. The valid range is 1 to 10. The default setting is 3.
For more information, refer to the server help documentation.
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Channel Properties — General
This server supports the use of simultaneous multiple communications drivers. Each protocol or driver used
in a server project is called a channel. A server project may consist of many channels with the same
communications driver or with unique communications drivers. A channel acts as the basic building block of
an OPC link. This group is used to specify general channel properties, such as the identification attributes
and operating mode.
Identification
Name:User-defined identity of this channel. In each server project, each channel name must be unique.
Although names can be up to 256 characters, some client applications have a limited display window when
browsing the OPCserver's tag space. The channel name is part of the OPC browser information.
For information on reserved characters, refer to "How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag
Group" in the server help.
Description: User-defined information about this channel.
Many of these properties, including Description, have an associated system tag.
Driver:Selected protocol / driver for this channel. This property specifies the device driver that was selected
during channel creation. It is a disabled setting in the channel properties.
Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. This
includes changing the channel name to prevent clients from registering data with the server. If a client has
already acquired an item from the server before the channel name is changed, the items are unaffected. If,
after the channel name has been changed, the client application releases the item and attempts to reacquire using the old channel name, the item is not accepted. With this in mind, changes to the properties
should not be made once a large client application has been developed. Utilize the User Manager to prevent
operators from changing properties and restrict access rights to server features.
Diagnostics
Diagnostics Capture: When enabled, this option makes the channel's diagnostic information available to
OPC applications. Because the server's diagnostic features require a minimal amount of overhead
processing, it is recommended that they be utilized when needed and disabled when not. The default is
disabled.
Note:This property is not available if the driver does not support diagnostics.
For more information, refer to "Communication Diagnostics" in the server help.
Channel Properties — Serial Communications
Serial communication properties are available to serial drivers and vary depending on the driver, connection
type, and options selected. Below is a superset of the possible properties.
Click to jump to one of the sections: Connection Type, Serial Port Settings or Ethernet Settings, and
Operational Behavior.
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Note: With the server's online full-time operation, these properties can be changed at any time. Utilize
the User Manager to restrict access rights to server features, as changes made to these properties can
temporarily disrupt communications.
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Connection Type
Physical Medium: Choose the type of hardware device for data communications. Options include COM
Port, None, Modem, and Ethernet Encapsulation. The default is COMPort.
l None: Select None to indicate there is no physical connection, which displays the Operation with no
Communications section.
l COM Port: Select Com Port to display and configure the Serial Port Settings section.
l Modem: Select Modem if phone lines are used for communications, which are configured in the
Modem Settings section.
l Ethernet Encap.: Select if Ethernet Encapsulation is used for communications, which displays the
Ethernet Settings section.
l Shared: Verify the connection is correctly identified as sharing the current configuration with another
channel. This is a read-only property.
Serial Port Settings
COM ID: Specify the Communications ID to be used when communicating with devices assigned to the
channel. The valid range is 1 to 9991 to 16. The default is 1.
Baud Rate: Specify the baud rate to be used to configure the selected communications port.
Data Bits: Specify the number of data bits per data word. Options include 5, 6, 7, or 8.
Parity: Specify the type of parity for the data. Options include Odd, Even, or None.
Stop Bits: Specify the number of stop bits per data word. Options include 1 or 2.
Flow Control: Select how the RTS and DTR control lines are utilized. Flow control is required to communicate
with some serial devices. Options are:
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l None:This option does not toggle or assert control lines.
l DTR:This option asserts the DTR line when the communications port is opened and remains on.
l RTS:This option specifies that the RTS line is high if bytes are available for transmission. After all
Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
buffered bytes have been sent, the RTS line is low. This is normally used with RS232/RS485 converter
hardware.
l RTS, DTR:This option is a combination of DTR and RTS.
l RTS Always:This option asserts the RTS line when the communication port is opened and remains
on.
l RTS Manual:This option asserts the RTS line based on the timing properties entered for RTS Line
Control. It is only available when the driver supports manual RTS line control (or when the properties
are shared and at least one of the channels belongs to a driver that provides this support).
RTSManual adds an RTS Line Control property with options as follows:
l Raise: This property specifies the amount of time that the RTS line is raised prior to data
transmission. The valid range is 0 to 9999 milliseconds. The default is 10 milliseconds.
l Drop: This property specifies the amount of time that the RTS line remains high after data
transmission. The valid range is 0 to 9999 milliseconds. The default is 10 milliseconds.
l Poll Delay: This property specifies the amount of time that polling for communications is
delayed. The valid range is 0 to 9999. The default is 10 milliseconds.
Tip: When using two-wire RS-485, "echoes" may occur on the communication lines. Since this
communication does not support echo suppression, it is recommended that echoes be disabled or a RS-485
converter be used.
Operational Behavior
l Report Comm. Errors:Enable or disable reporting of low-level communications errors. When
enabled, low-level errors are posted to the Event Log as they occur. When disabled, these same
errors are not posted even though normal request failures are. The default is Enable.
l Close Idle Connection:Choose to close the connection when there are no longer any tags being
referenced by a client on the channel. The default is Enable.
l Idle Time to Close:Specify the amount of time that the server waits once all tags have been
removed before closing the COM port. The default is 15 seconds.
Ethernet Settings
Note: Not all serial drivers support Ethernet Encapsulation. If this group does not appear, the functionality
is not supported.
Ethernet Encapsulation provides communication with serial devices connected to terminal servers on the
Ethernet network. A terminal server is essentially a virtual serial port that converts TCP/IP messages on the
Ethernet network to serial data. Once the message has been converted, users can connect standard devices
that support serial communications to the terminal server. The terminal server's serial port must be
properly configured to match the requirements of the serial device to which it is attached. For more
information, refer to "How To... Use Ethernet Encapsulation" in the server help.
l Network Adapter: Indicate a network adapter to bind for Ethernet devices in this channel. Choose a
network adapter to bind to or allow the OS to select the default.
Specific drivers may display additional Ethernet Encapsulation properties. For more information, refer
to Channel Properties — Ethernet Encapsulation.
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Modem Settings
l Modem:Specify the installed modem to be used for communications.
l Connect Timeout:Specify the amount of time to wait for connections to be established before
failing a read or write. The default is 60 seconds.
l Modem Properties:Configure the modem hardware. When clicked, it opens vendor-specific modem
properties.
l Auto-Dial:Enables the automatic dialing of entries in the Phonebook. The default is Disable. For
more information, refer to "Modem Auto-Dial" in the server help.
l Report Comm. Errors:Enable or disable reporting of low-level communications errors. When
enabled, low-level errors are posted to the Event Log as they occur. When disabled, these same
errors are not posted even though normal request failures are. The default is Enable.
l Close Idle Connection:Choose to close the modem connection when there are no longer any tags
being referenced by a client on the channel. The default is Enable.
l Idle Time to Close:Specify the amount of time that the server waits once all tags have been
removed before closing the modem connection. The default is 15 seconds.
Operation with no Communications
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l Read Processing:Select the action to be taken when an explicit device read is requested. Options
include Ignore and Fail. Ignore does nothing; Fail provides the client with an update that indicates
failure. The default setting is Ignore.
Channel Properties — Write Optimizations
As with any server, writing data to the device may be the application's most important aspect. The server
intends to ensure that the data written from the client application gets to the device on time. Given this goal,
the server provides optimization properties that can be used to meet specific needs or improve application
responsiveness.
Write Optimizations
OptimizationMethod: controls how write data is passed to the underlying communications driver. The
options are:
l WriteAll Values for All Tags:This option forces the server to attempt to write every value to the
controller. In this mode, the server continues to gather write requests and add them to the server's
internal write queue. The server processes the write queue and attempts to empty it by writing data
to the device as quickly as possible. This mode ensures that everything written from the client
applications is sent to the target device. This mode should be selected if the write operation order or
the write item's content must uniquely be seen at the target device.
l WriteOnlyLatest Value forNon-BooleanTags: Many consecutive writes to the same value can
accumulate in the write queue due to the time required to actually send the data to the device. If the
server updates a write value that has already been placed in the write queue, far fewer writes are
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
needed to reach the same final output value. In this way, no extra writes accumulate in the server's
queue. When the user stops moving the slide switch, the value in the device is at the correct value at
virtually the same time. As the mode states, any value that is not a Boolean value is updated in the
server's internal write queue and sent to the device at the next possible opportunity. This can greatly
improve the application performance.
Note: This option does not attempt to optimize writes to Boolean values. It allows users to
optimize the operation of HMI data without causing problems with Boolean operations, such as a
momentary push button.
l WriteOnlyLatestValueforAllTags:This option takes the theory behind the second optimization
mode and applies it to all tags. It is especially useful if the application only needs to send the latest
value to the device. This mode optimizes all writes by updating the tags currently in the write queue
before they are sent. This is the default mode.
Duty Cycle: is used to control the ratio of write to read operations. The ratio is always based on one read for
every one to ten writes. The duty cycle is set to ten by default, meaning that ten writes occur for each read
operation. Although the application is performing a large number of continuous writes, it must be ensured
that read data is still given time to process. A setting of one results in one read operation for every write
operation. If there are no write operations to perform, reads are processed continuously. This allows
optimization for applications with continuous writes versus a more balanced back and forth data flow.
Note: It is recommended that the application be characterized for compatibility with the write
optimization enhancements before being used in a production environment.
Channel Properties — Advanced
This group is used to specify advanced channel properties. Not all drivers support all properties; so the
Advanced group does not appear for those devices.
Non-Normalized FloatHandling: A non-normalized value is defined as Infinity, Not-a-Number (NaN), or as
a Denormalized Number. The default is Replace with Zero. Drivers that have native float handling may
default to Unmodified. Non-normalized float handling allows users to specify how a driver handles nonnormalized IEEE-754 floating point data. Descriptions of the options are as follows:
l Replace with Zero:This option allows a driver to replace non-normalized IEEE-754 floating point
values with zero before being transferred to clients.
l Unmodified:This option allows a driver to transfer IEEE-754 denormalized, normalized, non-
number, and infinity values to clients without any conversion or changes.
Note:This property is not available if the driver does not support floating point values or if it only supports
the option that is displayed. According to the channel's float normalization setting, only real-time driver tags
(such as values and arrays) are subject to float normalization. For example, EFM data is not affected by this
setting.
For more information on the floating point values, refer to "How To ... Work with Non-Normalized Floating
Point Values" in the server help.
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Inter-Device Delay: Specify the amount of time the communications channel waits to send new requests to
the next device after data is received from the current device on the same channel. Zero (0) disables the
delay.
Note:This property is not available for all drivers, models, and dependent settings.
Device Properties — General
A device represents a single target on a communications channel. If the driver supports multiple controllers,
users must enter a device ID for each controller.
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Identification
Name:This property specifies the name of the device. It is a logical user-defined name that can be up to
256 characters long, and may be used on multiple channels.
Note: Although descriptive names are generally a good idea, some OPC client applications may have a
limited display window when browsing the OPC server's tag space. The device name and channel name
become part of the browse tree information as well. Within an OPC client, the combination of channel name
and device name would appear as "ChannelName.DeviceName".
For more information, refer to "How To... Properly Name a Channel, Device, Tag, and Tag Group" in server
help.
Description: User-defined information about this device.
Many of these properties, including Description, have an associated system tag.
Channel Assignment:User-defined name of the channel to which this device currently belongs.
Driver:Selected protocol driver for this device. This property specifies the driver selected during channel
creation. It is disabled in the channel properties.
Model:This property specifies the specific type of device that is associated with this ID. The contents of the
drop-down menu depends on the type of communications driver being used. Models that are not supported
by a driver are disabled. If the communications driver supports multiple device models, the model selection
can only be changed when there are no client applications connected to the device.
Note:If the communication driver supports multiple models, users should try to match the model
selection to the physical device. If the device is not represented in the drop-down menu, select a model that
conforms closest to the target device. Some drivers support a model selection called "Open," which allows
users to communicate without knowing the specific details of the target device. For more information, refer
to the driver help documentation.
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ID:This property specifies the device's station / node / identity / address. The type of ID entered depends on
the communications driver being used. For many drivers, the ID is a numeric value. Drivers that support a
Numeric ID provide users with the option to enter a numeric value whose format can be changed to suit the
needs of the application or the characteristics of the selected communications driver. The ID format can be
Decimal, Octal, and Hexadecimal. If the driver is Ethernet-based or supports an unconventional station or
node name, the device's TCP/IP address may be used as the device ID. TCP/IP addresses consist of four
values that are separated by periods, with each value in the range of 0 to 255. Some device IDs are string
based. There may be additional properties to configure within the ID field, depending on the driver.
Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Operating Mode
Data Collection:This property controls the device's active state. Although device communications are
enabled by default, this property can be used to disable a physical device. Communications are not
attempted when a device is disabled. From a client standpoint, the data is marked as invalid and write
operations are not accepted. This property can be changed at any time through this property or the device
system tags.
Simulated:This option places the device into Simulation Mode. In this mode, the driver does not attempt to
communicate with the physical device, but the server continues to return valid OPC data. Simulated stops
physical communications with the device, but allows OPC data to be returned to the OPC client as valid data.
While in Simulation Mode, the server treats all device data as reflective: whatever is written to the simulated
device is read back and each OPC item is treated individually. The item's memory map is based on the group
Update Rate. The data is not saved if the server removes the item (such as when the server is reinitialized).
The default is No.
Notes:
1. This System tag (_Simulated) is read only and cannot be written to for runtime protection. The System
tag allows this property to be monitored from the client.
2. In Simulation mode, the item's memory map is based on client update rate(s) (Group Update Rate for
OPC clients or Scan Rate for native and DDE interfaces). This means that two clients that reference
the same item with different update rates return different data.
Simulation Mode is for test and simulation purposes only. It should never be used in a production
environment.
Device Properties — Scan Mode
The Scan Mode specifies the subscribed-client requested scan rate for tags that require device
communications. Synchronous and asynchronous device reads and writes are processed as soon as
possible; unaffected by the Scan Mode properties.
Scan Mode: specifies how tags in the device are scanned for updates sent to subscribing clients.
Descriptions of the options are:
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
l Respect Client-Specified Scan Rate:This mode uses the scan rate requested by the client.
l Request Data No Faster than Scan Rate:This mode specifies the maximum scan rate to be used.
The valid range is 10 to 99999990 milliseconds. The default is 1000 milliseconds.
Note:When the server has an active client and items for the device and the scan rate value is
increased, the changes take effect immediately. When the scan rate value is decreased, the changes
do not take effect until all client applications have been disconnected.
l Request All Data at Scan Rate:This mode forces tags to be scanned at the specified rate for
subscribed clients. The valid range is 10 to 99999990 milliseconds. The default is 1000 milliseconds.
l Do Not Scan, Demand Poll Only:This mode does not periodically poll tags that belong to the
device nor perform a read to get an item's initial value once it becomes active. It is the client's
responsibility to poll for updates, either by writing to the _DemandPoll tag or by issuing explicit device
reads for individual items. For more information, refer to "Device Demand Poll" in server help.
l Respect Tag-Specified Scan Rate:This mode forces static tags to be scanned at the rate specified
in their static configuration tag properties. Dynamic tags are scanned at the client-specified scan
rate.
Initial Updates from Cache: When enabled, this option allows the server to provide the first updates for
newly activated tag references from stored (cached) data. Cache updates can only be provided when the
new item reference shares the same address, scan rate, data type, client access, and scaling properties. A
device read is used for the initial update for the first client reference only. The default is disabled; any time a
client activates a tag reference the server attempts to read the initial value from the device.
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Device Properties — Timing
The device Timing properties allow the driver's response to error conditions to be tailored to fit the
application's needs. In many cases, the environment requires changes to these properties for optimum
performance. Factors such as electrically generated noise, modem delays, and poor physical connections
can influence how many errors or timeouts a communications driver encounters. Timing properties are
specific to each configured device.
Communications Timeouts
Connect Timeout:This property (which is used primarily by Ethernet based drivers) controls the amount of
time required to establish a socket connection to a remote device. The device's connection time often takes
longer than normal communications requests to that same device. The valid range is 1 to 30 seconds. The
default is typically 3 seconds, but can vary depending on the driver's specific nature. If this setting is not
supported by the driver, it is disabled.
Note: Due to the nature of UDP connections, the connection timeout setting is not applicable when
communicating via UDP.
Request Timeout:This property specifies an interval used by all drivers to determine how long the driver
waits for a response from the target device to complete. The valid range is 50 to 9,999,999 milliseconds
(167.6667 minutes). The default is usually 1000 milliseconds, but can vary depending on the driver. The
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default timeout for most serial drivers is based on a baud rate of 9600 baud or better. When using a driver
at lower baud rates, increase the timeout to compensate for the increased time required to acquire data.
Attempts Before Timeout:This property specifies how many times the driver issues a communications
request before considering the request to have failed and the device to be in error. The valid range is 1 to
10. The default is typically 3, but can vary depending on the driver's specific nature. The number of attempts
configured for an application depends largely on the communications environment. This property applies to
both connection attempts and request attempts.
Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Timing
Inter-Request Delay:This property specifies how long the driver waits before sending the next request to
the target device. It overrides the normal polling frequency of tags associated with the device, as well as
one-time reads and writes. This delay can be useful when dealing with devices with slow turnaround times
and in cases where network load is a concern. Configuring a delay for a device affects communications with
all other devices on the channel. It is recommended that users separate any device that requires an interrequest delay to a separate channel if possible. Other communications properties (such as communication
serialization) can extend this delay. The valid range is 0 to 300,000 milliseconds; however, some drivers may
limit the maximum value due to a function of their particular design. The default is 0, which indicates no
delay between requests with the target device.
Note: Not all drivers support Inter-Request Delay. This setting does not appear if it is not available.
Device Properties — Auto-Demotion
The Auto-Demotion properties can temporarily place a device off-scan in the event that a device is not
responding. By placing a non-responsive device offline for a specific time period, the driver can continue to
optimize its communications with other devices on the same channel. After the time period has been
reached, the driver re-attempts to communicate with the non-responsive device. If the device is responsive,
the device is placed on-scan; otherwise, it restarts its off-scan time period.
Demote on Failure: When enabled, the device is automatically taken off-scan until it is responding again.
Tip: Determine when a device is off-scan by monitoring its demoted state using the _AutoDemoted
system tag.
Timeouts to Demote: Specify how many successive cycles of request timeouts and retries occur before the
device is placed off-scan. The valid range is 1 to 30 successive failures. The default is 3.
Demotion Period: Indicate how long the device should be placed off-scan when the timeouts value is
reached. During this period, no read requests are sent to the device and all data associated with the read
requests are set to bad quality. When this period expires, the driver places the device on-scan and allows for
another attempt at communications. The valid range is 100 to 3600000 milliseconds. The default is 10000
milliseconds.
Discard Requests when Demoted: Select whether or not write requests should be attempted during the
off-scan period. Disable to always send write requests regardless of the demotion period. Enable to discard
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
writes; the server automatically fails any write request received from a client and does not post a message
to the Event Log.
Device Properties — Tag Generation
The automatic tag database generation features make setting up an application a plug-and-play operation.
Select communications drivers can be configured to automatically build a list of tags that correspond to
device-specific data. These automatically generated tags (which depend on the nature of the supporting
driver) can be browsed from the clients.
Not all devices and drivers support full automatic tag database generation and not all support the same data
types. Consult the data types descriptions or the supported data type lists for each driver for specifics.
If the target device supports its own local tag database, the driver reads the device's tag information and
uses the data to generate tags within the server. If the device does not natively support named tags, the
driver creates a list of tags based on driver-specific information. An example of these two conditions is as
follows:
1. If a data acquisition system supports its own local tag database, the communications driver uses the
tag names found in the device to build the server's tags.
2. If an Ethernet I/O system supports detection of its own available I/O module types, the
communications driver automatically generates tags in the server that are based on the types of I/O
modules plugged into the Ethernet I/O rack.
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Note: Automatic tag database generation's mode of operation is completely configurable. For more
information, refer to the property descriptions below.
On Property Change: If the device supports automatic tag generation when certain properties change, the
On Property Change option is shown. It is set to Yes by default, but it can be set to No to control over when
tag generation is performed. In this case, the Create tags action must be manually invoked to perform tag
generation.
On Device Startup: This property specifies when OPC tags are automatically generated. Descriptions of the
options are as follows:
l Do Not Generate on Startup:This option prevents the driver from adding any OPC tags to the tag
space of the server. This is the default setting.
l Always Generate on Startup:This option causes the driver to evaluate the device for tag
information. It also adds tags to the tag space of the server every time the server is launched.
l Generate on First Startup:This option causes the driver to evaluate the target device for tag
information the first time the project is run. It also adds any OPC tags to the server tag space as
needed.
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Note: When the option to automatically generate OPC tags is selected, any tags that are added to the
server's tag space must be saved with the project. Users can configure the project to automatically save
from the Tools | Options menu.
On Duplicate Tag: When automatic tag database generation is enabled, the server needs to know what to
do with the tags that it may have previously added or with tags that have been added or modified after the
communications driver since their original creation. This setting controls how the server handles OPC tags
that were automatically generated and currently exist in the project. It also prevents automatically
generated tags from accumulating in the server.
For example, if a user changes the I/O modules in the rack with the server configured to Always Generate
on Startup, new tags would be added to the server every time the communications driver detected a new
I/O module. If the old tags were not removed, many unused tags could accumulate in the server's tag space.
The options are:
l Delete on Create:This option deletes any tags that were previously added to the tag space before
any new tags are added. This is the default setting.
l Overwrite as Necessary:This option instructs the server to only remove the tags that the
communications driver is replacing with new tags. Any tags that are not being overwritten remain in
the server's tag space.
l Do not Overwrite:This option prevents the server from removing any tags that were previously
generated or already existed in the server. The communications driver can only add tags that are
completely new.
l Do not Overwrite, Log Error:This option has the same effect as the prior option, and also posts an
error message to the server's Event Log when a tag overwrite would have occurred.
Note: Removing OPC tags affects tags that have been automatically generated by the
communications driver as well as any tags that have been added using names that match generated
tags. Users should avoid adding tags to the server using names that may match tags that are
automatically generated by the driver.
Parent Group:This property keeps automatically generated tags from mixing with tags that have been
entered manually by specifying a group to be used for automatically generated tags. The name of the group
can be up to 256 characters. This parent group provides a root branch to which all automatically generated
tags are added.
Allow Automatically Generated Subgroups:This property controls whether the server automatically
creates subgroups for the automatically generated tags. This is the default setting. If disabled, the server
generates the device's tags in a flat list without any grouping. In the server project, the resulting tags are
named with the address value. For example, the tag names are not retained during the generation process.
Note: If, as the server is generating tags, a tag is assigned the same name as an existing tag, the system
automatically increments to the next highest number so that the tag name is not duplicated. For example, if
the generation process creates a tag named "AI22" that already exists, it creates the tag as "AI23" instead.
Create: Initiates the creation of automatically generated OPC tags. If the device's configuration has been
modified, Create tags forces the driver to reevaluate the device for possible tag changes. Its ability to be
accessed from the System tags allows a client application to initiate tag database creation.
Note: Create tags is disabled if the Configuration edits a project offline.
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Yokogawa DX Serial Driver
Device Properties — Device Configuration
General
l Special Data Handling: Specify how the driver forwards special ASCII strings to clients whenever
special data is received from the device. Options include None, +INF, and -INF. The default setting is
None.
l None: When selected, special data values will be returned with the actual data value
received from the device. For example, the data value of a measuring channel Over Range
would be returned as 32,767 and the data value of a math channel Over Range would be
returned as 2,147,450,879.
l +INF: When selected, special data values will be returned as a numerical representation of
positive infinity (#INF). The exception is an Under Range condition that is always returned as
negative infinity.
l -INF: When selected, special data values will be returned as a numerical representation of
negative infinity (-#INF). The exception is an Over Range condition that is always returned as
positive infinity.
l Start Math on Start: When checked, this option will inform the driver to send a command to the
device at communication startup that will start the math computation. The default setting is
unchecked.
17
Time Settings
l Date andTime: This property specifies the origin of the data value of the Date and Time data types
(which represent the date and time of the latest data). Options include Device Time and System Time.
The default setting is Device Time. Descriptions of the options are as follows:
l Device Time: When selected, the Date and Time tags will return the date and time read
from the device. This date and time represents the date and time that the latest data was
measured or computed based on the internal device clock.
l System Time: When selected, the Date and Time tags will return the date and time that the
requested data was returned from the device based on the PC system clock.
l Date Format: This property specifies the format of the return string for the Date data type. Options
include MM/DD/YY (month/day/year), YY/MM/DD (year/month/day), or DD/MM/YY
(day/month/year). The default setting is MM/DD/YY.
l Set Clock on Start: When checked, this option informs the driver to send a command to the device
at communication startup that will set the device clock to the date and time settings of the system
clock. The default setting is unchecked.
Tagnames
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