Maxstorian User's Guide: 278622 Rev. A

maxSTORIAN Users Guide
278622 Rev. A
Refer to this publication for complete and accurate information that helps you better operate and service Metso Automation equipment. Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Metso Automation 1180 Church Road Lansdale, PA 19446 Attention: Manager, Technical Publications
Copyright 2004 by Metso Automation MAX Controls, Inc. Printed in the United States of America All rights reserved
Metso Automation 278622
Contents
PREFACE ............................................................................................................................III
How This Book Is Organized ..............................................................................................................................iii Other History and Reporting Capabilities ...........................................................................................................iii
CHAPTER 1 ...................................................................................................................... 1-1

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................1-1 Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................1-1 Backup Stations .................................................................................................................................................1-1 Setting up maxSTORIAN..................................................................................................................................1-1 Using maxSTORIAN Online.............................................................................................................................1-2 maxSTORIAN Components..................................................................................................................................1-2 maxSTORIAN ...................................................................................................................................................1-2 MxsReplica........................................................................................................................................................1-2 Configuration Editor..........................................................................................................................................1-2 Wave Generator.................................................................................................................................................1-2 MxsStorageRoom ..............................................................................................................................................1-3 SRCheck ............................................................................................................................................................1-3 Supported Statistics ...............................................................................................................................................1-3 Selecting maxSTORIAN As Your Trend Data Source .........................................................................................1-4 Selecting maxSTORIAN As Data Source by Exception .......................................................................................1-5 History Configuration Examples .......................................................................................................................1-5
CHAPTER 2 ...................................................................................................................... 2-1

maxSTORIAN Installation and Setup.......................................................................................................................2-1 Getting Started...........................................................................................................................................................2-1 Startup Configuration Tool................................................................................................................................2-2 Using maxSTORIAN Configuration Editor ..........................................................................................................2-2 One Configuration per maxSTORIAN Instance................................................................................................2-3 Overriding the Last Configuration.....................................................................................................................2-3 Creating a Point Database Using the Configuration Editor ...............................................................................2-3 Defining Template Parameters ..........................................................................................................................2-4 Configuration Editor Error Reporting ...............................................................................................................2-5 Configuration Basics--Getting Started ..................................................................................................................2-5 Validating Point Name Assignments.................................................................................................................2-7 Importing a maxTOOLS Trend Database..........................................................................................................2-8 Quick Import from maxDPUTOOLS ................................................................................................................2-9 Selective Import from maxDPUTOOLS .........................................................................................................2-10 Repairing the Database ....................................................................................................................................2-12 Using Data Compression .................................................................................................................................2-12 Printing Point Database ...................................................................................................................................2-13

Configuration Editor Grid Editing Features ....................................................................................................... 2-13 Using Tab Key................................................................................................................................................ 2-13 Configuring Point.Attributes Using a Reference Database ............................................................................ 2-14 Changing Grid Column Width........................................................................................................................ 2-14 Using Grid Navigation Toolbar ...................................................................................................................... 2-15 Using Grid View Paging Buttons ................................................................................................................... 2-15 Adding a Record to a Grid View .................................................................................................................... 2-15 Canceling an Edit............................................................................................................................................ 2-16 Saving an Edit................................................................................................................................................. 2-16 Deleting the Active Record............................................................................................................................. 2-16 Finding Records in a Grid View ..................................................................................................................... 2-16 The CD-ROM Drive Must Be Shared for Mount Playback................................................................................ 2-18 Notes about the use of Sparse Files................................................................................................................. 2-18 The maxSTORIAN Status Displays ................................................................................................................... 2-20
CHAPTER 3 ...................................................................................................................... 3-1

maxSTORIAN Performance Considerations........................................................................................................... 3-1 Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 3-1 maxSTORIAN Self-Monitoring and Load Shedding ........................................................................................... 3-1 maxSTORIAN Self-Monitoring Behavior........................................................................................................ 3-1 What maxSTORIAN Does During Load Shedding.......................................................................................... 3-2 maxSTORIAN Related Alarms ........................................................................................................................ 3-2 maxSTORIAN Tuning.......................................................................................................................................... 3-3 Configuring Point Deltas .................................................................................................................................. 3-3 Configuring the Configuration Upload Speed .................................................................................................. 3-3
CHAPTER 4 ...................................................................................................................... 4-1

maxSTORIAN Online Operation.............................................................................................................................. 4-1 Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 4-1 Using maxSTORIAN Status Display................................................................................................................ 4-1 Putting maxSTORIAN in Scanning or Idle State (Resume Button) ..................................................................... 4-2 Yielding to the Remote Member of a Backup Pair............................................................................................... 4-2 Interpreting maxSTORIAN Window Statistics .................................................................................................... 4-2 Using maxSTORIAN Control Panel..................................................................................................................... 4-4 Selecting Radio Buttons.................................................................................................................................... 4-5 Selecting Checkboxes ....................................................................................................................................... 4-5 Adding Points to a Configuration ......................................................................................................................... 4-6 Finding a Point on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel Point List .......................................................................... 4-6 Deleting a Point on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel Point List......................................................................... 4-7 Stopping the Collection of a Point........................................................................................................................ 4-7 Resuming the Collection of a Point ...................................................................................................................... 4-8 Trimming and Archiving Points ........................................................................................................................... 4-8 Understanding Automatic Trim Function ......................................................................................................... 4-9 Exporting Point Storage...................................................................................................................................... 4-10 Importing Point Storage...................................................................................................................................... 4-12 Storage room cleanup ......................................................................................................................................... 4-12 Viewing Point Information ................................................................................................................................. 4-13 Viewing Data Collected for a Selected Point (Browse Button).......................................................................... 4-15 Using Browse Dialog Paging Buttons ............................................................................................................ 4-16 Browse Core ................................................................................................................................................... 4-17 Using the Browse Search Time Feature.......................................................................................................... 4-17
Contents
Editing Data for a Selected Point.........................................................................................................................4-17 Using Edit Dialog Control Buttons..................................................................................................................4-19 Using the Edit Search Time Feature ................................................................................................................4-20 Inserting a New Sample...................................................................................................................................4-20 Editing a Sample Value ...................................................................................................................................4-22 Editing a Sample Time ....................................................................................................................................4-22 Retrieving Data Using MxsViewMount..............................................................................................................4-24 Adding Trending Points Online...........................................................................................................................4-25 Adding Points to a Template ...........................................................................................................................4-25
APPENDIX A ....................................................................................................................A-1
Registered Services and Command Line Parameters ............................................................................................A-1 Overview of _MXS members...........................................................................................................................A-1 Template and Point Members ...........................................................................................................................A-3
APPENDIX B ....................................................................................................................B-1
Using SRCheck to Correct Storage Room Errors ................................................................................................... B-1 Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. B-1 The SRCheck Window and its Options .................................................................................................................... B-2 Running SRCheck to repair and compress ............................................................................................................ B-3
APPENDIX C ....................................................................................................................C-1
Wave Generator..........................................................................................................................................................C-1
Preface
The maxSTORIAN historic trending package is designed to collect and store trend data for extended historic periods. The product may be used with DBM-based and maxDPU4E-based maxDNA systems. In systems that use DBMs, maxSTORIAN can replace the DBM-based historic trending features, and is capable of collecting longer-term storage using a delta-save style storage and compression algorithm. Additionally, the maxSTORIAN package allows third-party vendors to easily create an interface with the maxDNA system, allowing the system to feed information into another historian package.
How This Book Is Organized

This publication consists of four chapters and three appendices. Chapter 1 provides a brief overview of the product. Chapter 2 describes the steps required to install and set up maxSTORIAN and how to tailor it to your specific system requirements. Chapter 3 explains how maxSTORIAN maintains and, when necessary, adjusts its performance. The chapter also explains how to tune maxSTORIAN performance and adjust default settings to take advantage of the latest PC technology. Chapter 4 explains the maxSTORIAN online operation, and its graphical interfaces for viewing status and performing control. Appendix A provides a list of registered services used with maxSTORIAN. Appendix B explains how to use the SRCheck program. SRCheck is used to perform integrity checks on a maxSTORIAN Storage Room.
Other History and Reporting Capabilities

maxSTORIAN is one of a family of history and reporting capabilities incorporated into a maxDNA system. These include: DBM Trend History Use maxTOOLS to configure points to be collected and retained in the DBM for the period specified. These data can be displayed on maxVUE displays using the Trend Control, displayed, printed, and saved in a transferable format using Quicklogs, or scheduled for inclusion within a report formatted from the Reports package.

Events System events are saved in daily files, named according to the date on which they were recorded. If desired, these files can be copied onto CDs for archive purposes. Reports Use the Reports Package to retrieve data from the system over scheduled intervals and place this information on either a predefined formatted report or a custom formatted report. Once created, the data used to create a report is saved in an mdb format allowing data to be extracted for use by Microsoft Access or custom programs. Reports with Events Use the Report Package to also include associated events to appear on each report if desired. This would allow you to also see the events as they occurred over a specified sampling period. Reports Archiving Use the Report Package to archive the data saved in the mdb format for any generated report.
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Chapter 1
Introduction
Overview
The maxSTORIAN historic trending package is designed to collect and store trend data for extended historic periods. The product may be used with DBM-based and maxDPU4E/4F based maxDNA systems. In systems that use DBMs, maxSTORIAN complements the DBM-based historic trending features. For either DBM or maxDPU4E-based systems, maxSTORIAN can collect higher quantities of points using a delta-save style storage and compression algorithm. Using this approach, much more data may be retained and accessible online since not all values are saved. Instead a delta from the last time the value changed is saved.
Backup Stations
Any maxSTORIAN instance can be executed on a single, standalone maxSTATION, or on two maxSTATIONs designated as a backup pair. One station is set up as primary, and the other as secondary. When maxSTORIAN is started, it must be configured for operation as one of these three possibilities.
Setting up maxSTORIAN
To make maxSTORIAN operational: Using the Workstation Startup Configuration Tool, enable maxSTORIAN to run as a service and select its role as stand-alone, primary or secondary. For a backup pair, the associated backup station must also be declared by name. A maxSTORIAN password must also be defined to enable access to views and maintenance features from other maxSTATIONs. The same password must be defined on all maxSTATIONs that you wish to allow this access. Create and install configuration files consisting of templates and associated points. See Using the Configuration Editor in a subsequent chapter. Configure the maxVUE maxSTORIAN Status display to set the service name. See the maxSTORIAN Status Displays. Refer to chapter 2 for further details.

Using maxSTORIAN Online
maxSTORIAN online operation consists of three maxVUE graphical displays:
maxSTORIAN Status Display Points Panel Popup Display Use to view operational status information. refer to Chapters 2 and 4. Use to add and delete points online, search for point names, display point information, and browse data for a selected point, import and export points, edit selected point data, etc. Refer to Chapter 4, Using maxSTORIAN Control Panel. View archive data from removable media. Refer to Chapter 4 for further details.
Mounts Panel Popup Display
maxSTORIAN Components
maxSTORIAN consists of the following components:
maxSTORIAN
maxSTORIAN, the main executable for the maxSTORIAN Package, is located in the folder c:\mcs\history. maxSTORIAN performs history collection and provides for history retrieval for clients such as trend displays and history reports. Note that as of release 4, maxSTORIAN is typically configured to run continuously as a service, started when the operating system boots in a separate EngineerService user account with appropriate privileges granted.
MxsReplica
MxsReplica, the executable for backup maxSTORIAN operation, is located in c:\mcs\history\. MxsReplica transfers collected history data from the active member of a backup pair to the inactive member of a backup pair. Replica can also be used to transfer history data to tertiary storage and to export data. Replica is automatically started by the active maxSTORIAN of a backup pair. See Defining Backup Transfer and Using Replica Window. NOTE that, as of the Release 3 version of maxSTORIAN, the computer used for tertiary storage must be running Windows, just as the maxSTATION does.
Configuration Editor
The Configuration Editor is used to interactively configure the point and attribute identification of data to be collected by the maxSTORIAN instance. See Using Configuration Editor.
Wave Generator
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Introduction
Wave Generator, also known as Pointsim or Point Simulator, is a utility tool used to create local status variables that will oscillate over a selected wave pattern. See Starting up the Wave Generator.
MxsStorageRoom
The MxsStorageRoom, consisting of saved delta storage data files, is located directly under the c: root directory, but can also be located on another logical drive, such as D:\. MxsStorageRoom is created automatically when the maxSTORIAN package is installed. Specifically, it is created when the MxsSimpleStorage2K.dll or MxsSimpleStorage.dll is registered, so if for some reason your MxsStorageRoom folders become deleted, register the dll to recreate it again (the 2K one should always be used with Release 3 or later). Additionally, a subfolder, named Configurations, maxSTORIAN is installed. This folder contains the file is created automatically by maxSTORIAN to contain configuration, including any modifications made online. then use this configuration on subsequent restarts. is created when LastConfig.csv that the latest installed maxSTORIAN will
Beginning with Release 3.0, the Storage Room uses the Sparse Files feature available only in Windows 2000 and later.
SRCheck
SRCheck (Storage Room Check) performs three operations on the MxsStorageRoom: 1) Detects and corrects any errors in the files that make up the Storage Room; 2) packs files so that they can be copied and so that they occupy less space; 3) Converts a Storage Room from maxSTATION Release 2 compatibility to Release 3 and later compatibility.
Supported Statistics
The following statistics may be retrieved from maxSTORIAN: SAMPLE AVERAGE MINIMUM ( MIN ) The value at the end of the interval. The average of the samples during the interval. The minimum value sampled during the interval
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MAXIMUM ( MAX ) SUMOFSQ The maximum value sampled during the interval. The sum of squares of the samples during the interval. The quality How long the input was on during the interval. How long the input was off during the interval. Counts the OFF ON transitions during the interval. Counts the ON OFF transitions during the interval. Counts all the transitions during the interval.
QUALITY ONTIME OFFTIME ONCOUNT
OFFCOUNT
TOTCOUNT
maxSTORIAN also supports two special members: LAST VALUE Reports the last value written to the core file. Reports the most-recent value received in an update message.
Selecting maxSTORIAN As Your Trend Data Source

The MCS Registry entry called Default Trend Source, lets you specify where applications obtain their trend data. By default, this registry entry is set to empty, which indicates the use of DBM history data as the main source for trend data to be supplied to such applications as Trend Control displays, Reports, Quicklogs, etc. Setting this registry entry to _mxs_trend will set up all applications to use the maxSTORIAN as their default source for trend data retrieval. The data would be supplied by any maxSTORIAN whose service name for clients is _mxs_trend, running in the system. To access the data from a maxSTORIAN whose service name is not _mxs_trend, the default trend source registry entry would be, for example, _mxsU1_trend if the name of that maxSTORIAN instance were _MXSU1. To change the registry entry to use maxSTORIAN: 1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, maxDNA, Utilities, and then click Registry Edit.
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Introduction
2. Click the Machine Settings tab, expand the folder in the left directory window and click the following file: Default Trend Source 3. When you click on this file name, a field appears on the right containing the current setting, which is empty. To change the setting, type _mxs_trend (or the name of your maxSTORIAN instance) over the current entry and click Apply and OK. In the case where the majority of your applications need to use DBM history data for their source of trend data, leave the Registry entry Default Trend Source set to empty.
Selecting maxSTORIAN As Data Source by Exception

Now by exception, you may create certain Trend displays that circumvent the registry default, and use maxSTORIAN as their source. To direct a request to maxSTORIAN, in maxVUE use the Trend Wrapper Pens property page to prepend _mxs_trend to the beginning of the point.attribute.statistic request. To configure maxSTORIAN as the trend source by exception: 1. From the Trend Wrapper Control in maxVUE, right-click on the control to bring up the pop-up Edit menu. 2. Select Control Properties from the menu to access the Trend Wrapper Properties Sheet display. 3. Select the Pens tab, if it is not already selected. 4. Click the Enable box to highlight one of the Data Identifier for Pens fields. 5. From the Data Identifier for Pens field, specify a point.attribute.statistic. Available statistics are Sample, Average, Maximum, Minimum, Start, Ontime, Offtime, Oncnt, Offcnt, Totcnt and Quality. 6. To direct your data request to the maxSTORIAN, prepend _mxs_trend to the beginning of the point.attribute.statistic request, such as _mxs_trend.wavegen.0.average. See examples in the next section. Remember to use the name of your maxSTORIAN instance, such as _mxsU1_trend 7. Click Apply and Ok to activate the request.
History Configuration Examples
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The following figure shows example entries in the pens tab for a Trend Control Display. The first five parameters for wavegen.0, wavgen.1, wavegen.2, wavegen.3, and wavegen.4 are all being directed to the maxSTORIAN for their source of data regardless of what the registry entry, Default Trend Source may indicate. The remaining three parameters for wavegen.5, wavegen.6, and wavegen.7 will all use the registry entry of Default Trend Source to determine whether to use DBM or maxSTORIAN data as their source.
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Chapter 2
maxSTORIAN Installation and Setup
Getting Started
To set up and run maxSTORIAN, perform the following steps in the order listed here: Use the Workstation Startup Configuration Tool to enable maxSTORIAN and select it backup role options. Optionally define the backup transfer options. Optionally relocate the StorageRoom to a drive other than C:. Reboot the maxSTATION to start the maxSTORIAN running as a service under the ownership of the EngineerService account. Use the Configuration Editor (mxsConfig) for creating a configuration and downloading it to maxSTORIAN. See Using the Configuration Editor. Bring up the maxSTORIAN Control Panel to add, delete, search, browse, and access information about online point databases. See Chapter 4. maxSTORIAN Online Operation.
Startup Configuration Tool

Login as the administrator users account and run the Workstation Startup Configuration Tool. Note that this tool is automatically run once as part of the system installation procedure. Afterward it can be re-launched via selection from the max Administrative Tools menu from the Windows Start menu hierarchy. As shown in the upper part of the Tool dialog below a feature row exists to enable maxSTORIAN and select it role options:
Check the boxes for Enable and Run As Service. Next select its role as standalone, primary or secondary in the adjacent combo box. Next enter the service name to be assigned to the maxSTORIAN within the SBP name space (_MXS for example as shown). For a backup pair, the associated other station must also be declared by name (myother as shown). Next enter the upload startup speed in pts/sec (see subsequent section on maxSTORIAN tuning for details). Note that one line down a password is to be defined. This password entry is required on the maxSTATION(s) running maxSTORIAN. It is optional on any other maxSTATIONs to enable access to views and maintenance features via the maxSTORIAN Control Panel view. This entry is needed on both the stations running maxSTORIAN as well as on the other stations involved, and all entries must match! Also note that to make any changes effective the maxSTATION must be rebooted as the station must cycle through startup to use the changes!
Using maxSTORIAN Configuration Editor

Use the maxSTORIAN Configuration Editor to define templates and point.attributes to be collected and saved in maxSTORIAN. This configuration tool lets you create, edit, validate, and delete uniquely named template objects. When you define templates, use the configuration editor to create and assign point.attributes to a template object, edit, validate, reassign point objects to different template objects, and delete points.
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Use the configuration editor to create a new configuration or to update an existing configuration. After creating a finished configuration, use the editor to install the configuration in maxSTORIAN.
One Configuration per maxSTORIAN Instance

The Configuration Editor permits you to create one configuration per maxSTORIAN instance. When a new configuration is downloaded, any previous templates and points are deleted. When you edit an existing configuration, any template and points removed from the configuration which were previously installed are deleted when the configuration is downloaded to a maxSTORIAN instance. To preserve templates and points from any previous configuration or incorporate points added online, use the Configuration Editor upload feature. See "Configuration Basics--Getting Started," configuration Step 4.
Overriding the Last Configuration

Once downloaded with a configuration, maxSTORIAN will always restart using the saved configuration in the LastConfig.csv file located in the MxsStorageRoom\Configurations directory. The only way to restart with a different configuration is to either delete the file or name it so the maxSTORIAN cannot find the file. Perform either of these steps and then enter a new configuration.
Creating a Point Database Using the Configuration Editor

The Configuration Editor provides interactive entry as well as bulk import from maxTOOLS and/or maxDPUTOOLS configurations. Use the editor to: Define templates and associated points Import from maxTOOLS and maxDPUTOOLS Upload any online changes to an existing database Validate accuracy of Point.Attribute entries referencing existing databases Install the updated configuration, making it available to the maxSTORIAN
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Defining Templates and Points Templates make it easier and faster to configure point.attributes saved in the maxSTORIAN. Use templates to define the characteristics common to a set of point.attributes to be configured. See Defining Template Parameters. Then as each Point.Attribute is defined, simply refer to the template which matches the desired characteristics.
Defining Template Parameters

Use the Template grid to define the following parameters:
Actual Points Max Points Min Time Total number of points actually configured; this is a read-only field. Specify the maximum number of points to be used with this template. Specify the minimum time that must elapse before a change is considered for storage. This is directly used in the software backplane interface to retrieve the data. You should minimize the number of points being collected with a Min Time of 1 second because of communications loading. Specify the maximum time that must elapse before the point value times out and is labeled "not available." Specify the amount by which the point value must change before it is retrieved in maxSTORIAN. Specify the delta to be used with the data compression, the amount by which the point value must change before it is stored in maxSTORIAN storage. This is normally set equal to the value of Delta. Specify the security level to be used with this point (template). This parameter defines the minimum level that the logged-in user must be to add or delete points to the specified template. Specify which algorithm to use for compression. Currently Vcompression is the only type available. Specify storage type. SimpleStorage2K is now the default version for Release 3 compatible data storage, and should always be used, going forward. SimpleStorage would be used ONLY for Release 2.x Storage Rooms. Specify whether this template will contain points to be actively scanned. If disabled is selected, then points will be scanned. If enabled is selected, then maxSTORIAN will assume that all the points in this template are to be entered manually via Import or Edit. Specify whether this template will permit temporary insertion of new point.attribute names. If enabled, all points in this template are temporary, and the operator can add new points to it online; if disabled, the operator cannot add points to it online. See Chapter 4, Adding Trending Points Online. Specify the priority of all points in this template. If set to 0, these points must always be scanned, regardless of maxSTORIAN activity. The higher the number (up to 7), the lower the priority. See Chapter 3, maxSTORIAN Self
Max Time Delta CDelta
Sec Level
Compression Storage
Manual
Temporary
Priority
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Monitoring and Load Shedding.
Configuration Editor Error Reporting

When the Configuration Editor detects erroneous entries in the template view, the cell or cells containing the error is highlighted in red. An error state is reported when the editor detects logical errors, such as a minimum time value greater than the maximum time value, or an actual point value greater than the maximum point value.
Configuration Basics--Getting Started

To define a new configuration or to open an existing configuration: 1. Invoke the maxSTORIAN Configuration Editor to access the Welcome dialog display and click radio buttons to create a new configuration or to open an existing configuration from a list of path names. When you select either option, the configuration grid appears.
2. The configuration grid display consists of two tabs, Templates and Points. Click the Templates tab to define templates and their characteristics. See Defining Template Parameters. Once you define your templates, click the Points tab to create point names, attributes, and assign them to a desired template.
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If you are creating a new configuration, the, configuration editor produces a blank point grid. If you are opening an existing configuration, grid views appear containing the last entered values. 3. To import a maxTOOLS trend database, select Import from the File menu. See Importing a maxTOOLS Trend Database. To import tag names from maxDPUTOOLS, select Quick Import from the File menu. See Importing Tag Names from maxDPUTOOLS. to 4. After loading an existing point database, click the Upload button incorporate any points added from the most current online version of the configuration. Because multiple instances of maxSTORIAN may be running, when you click the Upload button, a dialog box prompts you for the service name of the maxSTORIAN instance you wish to target. Enter the name and click Upload. Note: if the name is already registered in this station (with_lss.default_STORIAN), the dialog box is already preloaded with the name; you dont have to reenter the name in this case. Only enter a name if you wish to change it. 5. Select Validate from the File menu to check the validity of point names and associated attributes, referencing one or more configurations. See Validate Point Name Assignments.
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6. When template and point configurations is finished, click the Install button on the button bar or select Install from the File menu to install the configuration in maxSTORIAN. Because multiple instances of maxSTORIAN may be running, when you click the Install button, a dialog box prompts you for the service name of the maxSTORIAN instance you wish to target. Enter the name and click Install. Note: if the name is already registered in this station (with_lss.default_STORIAN), the dialog box is already preloaded with the name; you dont have to reenter the name in this case. Only enter a name if you wish to change it.
Validating Point Name Assignments

The Configuration Editor uses a validation feature designed to minimize data entry typographical errors. When this feature is activated, point names and attributes are compared to one or more reference configurations. When the validation feature detects a point name or attribute mismatch after comparing entries against the reference configuration, suspected errors are flagged and listed in a printable trace log. To activate the validation feature: 1. Select Validate from the File menu to open the Validate Point Assignment dialog.
2. Click the Select button to select one or more configurations to reference from a Windows style file directory dialog box. 3. When you make your selections, click Start from the Validate Point Assignments dialog.
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4. When the Validation utility starts, any detected errors are listed in the bottom window of the Validate Point Assignments dialog as a trace log. To obtain a hard copy version of the log, click the Print button appearing on the dialog.
Importing a maxTOOLS Trend Database

maxTOOLS history data consists of point attribute values collected at fixed sampling rates over a user-specified time span of hours or days. Each DBM in the maxDNA System can collect, store, and display trend history of any selected attribute for up to 4,000 analog or discrete points. The DBM periodically collects the data for each trend point from the Distributed Processing Units (DPUs) on the DPU Bus. On the History Storage display in maxTOOLS, a sampling rate is configured in seconds, a statistical rate in minutes or hours, and a span (a sampling duration in hours or days). maxTOOLS can sample each trend point at any one of the following three rates: 1, 5, 30 seconds Collect and store each statistical point at any one of the following three rates: 1, 10 minutes 1 hour The maxSTORIAN Configuration Editor allows you to import trend data collected in maxTOOLS and sort the data by sampling rate. Select a trend database to import and create three templates, one for each possible sampling rate. To import a maxTOOLS trend database: 1. Select Import from the File menu to open the maxTOOLS to maxSTORIAN History Assignment Import display.
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2. 2. Click the Select a Configuration button to select a configuration from a Windows directory and click Open. 3. Assign database trend points to one of three template types, organized by 1 second, 5 second, and 30 second sampling rates. Note: when the import utility determines that no trend points sampled at 1, 5, or 30 seconds are found, the respective template assignment windows are not available.
Quick Import from maxDPUTOOLS

Use the Quick Import feature to quickly import point.attributes associated with the Atag and Dtag atoms configured using maxDPUTOOLS. The Quick Import utility collects a list of point names and associated Out attributes. Before running this utility, create templates for Atag and Dtag atoms.
To import Atag and Dtag related point names and Out attributes: 1. Select Quick Import from the File menu to open the DPU4E to maxSTORIAN Quick Assignment Import dialog.
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2. Click the Select a Configuration button to select any configuration file from a Windows file directory and click Open. The selected file should now appear in the Select a Configuration window. 3. Click the drop down arrow next to the window labeled Select a Template for the Atag.Out Assignments to select a preconfigured template for Atags. 4. Click the drop down arrow next to the window labeled Select a Template for the Dtag.Out Assignments to select a preconfigured template for Dtags. 5. Click the Perform the Import button to start the import. When the import is completed, a list of point names and associated Out attributes should appear in the point grid view. With the Reference Configuration feature set up click the drop-down arrow in any attribute cell to view a list of other possible output attributes associated with the point, such as AnyAlarm and outPct. See Configuring Point.Attributes Using a Reference Database.
Selective Import from maxDPUTOOLS

Use the Selective Import feature to import point.attributes from any point types that can have a tagname and are used in a maxDPUTOOLS configuration. The Selective Import utility searches a configuration for any point types which can have a tagname (not just ATAG and DTAG, the only types available in Quick Import), then presents a list of all of the types found in the configuration.
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To perform a Selective Import, do the following: 1. Select Selective Import from the File menu to open the maxDPUTOOLS to maxSTORIAN Selective Import dialog. If no Reference Configuration has been previously selected, you will be prompted for one. After you have made your selection, the Select Attributes by Function window will show all of the types of blocks, presented as a tree list, which can support a tagname. 2. Next, expand each of the block types. You will be shown a list of attributes that each block type supports. You may select among Output and/or Status Category attributes, or you may select All attributes. You can select each of the attributes that you want to include by clicking on an attribute name and then pushing the keyboard spacebar to turn on the checkbox next to each name. If you check Selected Only, you will see only those attributes that you have selected for import. If you push Clear Selections, then all of the attributes will be deselected. 3. Select a Template into which the resulting point.attribute names will be loaded. A pulldown allows you to select any template that has been defined in your maxSTORIAN configuration.
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4. Click the Import button to start the import. After the import is completed, the Import List Confirmation Preview popup will appear. This is a list of all of the tagname, attribute name, point description, and function that will be imported into the selected Template. From this popup, you can deselect any point.attribute that you do not wish to import.
Pressing the Import button will complete the operation. Note that, if you have points with the same point type, but with different tagnames or attributes, that you wish to import into a different template, you can perform the import again with a different template name. When the Import List Confirmation Preview comes up, you can deselect the points that you just imported into the original Template, and import the rest into the newly selected Template.
Repairing the Database

Use the Repair command to recover a configuration after a power outage or network failure. Should you experience an outage or network failure as you are building a configuration using the Configuration Editor, when you recover your system, restart the editor, and select Repair from the File menu. When you select Repair, the Configuration Editor goes back to the last successful transaction before the interruption occurred. Your most recent edits may be lost.
Using Data Compression
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Use data compression to reduce the size of a maxSTORIAN database and improve retrieval performance. To implement data compression: 1. Open the Configuration Editor and load a configuration. 2. Select Compact Database from the File menu. 3. When you select Compact Database, the editor begins to compact the selected configuration. When the editor finishes, a prompt informs you that compacting is completed. Click OK.
Printing Point Database

Click the Print button on the grid view button bar to produce a preformatted hard copy report consisting of all the points associated with a configuration. The report consists of point names, associated attributes, and the assigned template name. Additionally, the report lists configured template parameters for each assigned template. Reports may also be saved to a file. The following figure shows a typical printed report layout.
maxSTORIAN Configuration Name Attribute Template ANCD001 ANCD002 ANCD003 ANCD004 ANCD005 ANCD006 AnyAlarm Out Out Out Out Out T1 T1 T1 T1 T1 T1 Min Time 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 Max Time 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 Delta 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 9/12/00 Cdelta 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00
Configuration Editor Grid Editing Features

maxSTORIAN Configuration Editor grid views use several common navigation and editing features you should be aware of as you create and edit a point database. Notice that the first column on the left of a grid view contains a Record Select Box for each record in the grid. When a record is selected in the grid, appears in the Record Select box. When you edit a record, the an arrow arrow in the Record Select box changes to a pencil.
Using Tab Key
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When the cursor is in a cell, use the <Tab> key to move the cursor from one cell to the next. When the last cell is reached, the <Tab> key moves the cursor to the first cell in the record. When you leave the mouse pointer over the cell for several seconds each cell will display a fly-over indication to show the complete contents of the cell even if the column width is too narrow to make the entire cell visible.
Configuring Point.Attributes Using a Reference Database

To further automate the configuration process, you may select point.attributes from one or more reference databases. When this feature is activated, as you move the mouse cursor through the point grid view, dropdown arrows appear in each grid cell, indicating that you may select point names and associated attributes from a drop-down list box. NOTE: if your maxTOOLS configuration used one or more Prefix characters before every tagname, the Prefix character(s) will not be imported. You will have to add the prefix character(s) to each imported tagname. To set up a reference database: 1. Start the Configuration Editor and click the Reference Configuration button from the grid view dialog to open a Windows directory dialog display. 2. Select a MDB database from a directory location and click Open. Now as you navigate through the point grid view, drop-down arrows should appear in cells where reference information from the selected database (or databases) is available.
Changing Grid Column Width

In either template or point grid views, you may change grid column widths and the order of columns in the grid. To change a column width: 1. Rest the mouse cursor over the vertical border between two columns until the pointer changes to a vertical bar with a horizontal arrow in each direction. 2. Click and drag the mouse to move a column border left or right. This feature always adjusts the width of the column to the left of the pointer. To change the order of any column in the window: 1. Click and drag the column heading to the left or right.
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2. Release the mouse button after you move the column to its new, desired location. Note: in the following figure, the double bar to the right of the left-most column indicates that the column is fixed if the view is moved with the horizontal scroll bar. This is true for all grid views. For example, the Name column in the point grid view would still be visible if the window was resized and the view was scrolled to the right. It would also be visible if the width of the other columns was increased and the view was scrolled to the right.
Using Grid Navigation Toolbar

The template and point grid views contain a navigation toolbar, allowing you to easily navigate between records in the grid, perform record searches, edit and save records, cancel edits, and delete records. The Grid Navigation Toolbar, shown in the following figure, appears at the bottom of a grid view.
Using Grid View Paging Buttons

All grid views contain navigation buttons on the Grid Navigation Toolbar that allow you to page to the first record in a list, and the last record in a list. Two other buttons let you move to the next and previous records. First Record Click this button to make the active record the first record in the list. Previous Record Click this button to move the active record up to the previous record. Note: hold the button down to continue to page backwards. Next Record Click this button to move the active record down to the next record. Note: hold the button down to continue to page forward. Last Record Click this button to make the active record the last record in the list.
Adding a Record to a Grid View

To add a record to the bottom of a grid view:
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Click the Add button on the Grid Navigation Toolbar. Press the <Tab> key to move the cursor to the first field.
Canceling an Edit
To cancel an edit for the active record: on the Grid Navigation Toolbar, or press the Click the Cancel button <Esc> key on the maxSTATION keyboard. Note: The first column on the left of a grid view contains a Record Select Box for each record in the grid. For the record you wish to cancel, an arrow should appear in its Record Select box, indicating it is the active record.
Saving an Edit
The first column on the left of a grid view contains a Record Select Box for each record in the grid. When a record is selected in the grid for edit, an appears in the Record Select box, indicating it is the active record. arrow To save an edit for the active record: Click the Update + <S>. button on the Grid Navigation Toolbar, or press <Ctrl>
Note: The first column on the left of a grid view contains a Record Select Box for each record in the grid. For the record you wish to save, an arrow should appear in its Record Select box, indicating it is the active record.
Deleting the Active Record

To delete the active record: Click the Delete button on the Grid Navigation Toolbar.
Note: The first column on the left of a grid view contains a Record Select Box for each record in the grid. For the record you wish to delete, an arrow should appear in its Record Select box, indicating it is the active record.
Finding Records in a Grid View

Find Click this button to open the Find dialog box shown in the following figure. Use the Find dialog to search for a point or template name. The dialog box features seven search criteria including the Partial Match selection, which supports the * and ? wild card. Refer to the descriptions of the match fields appearing after the figure. To perform a search:
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1. Enter a search string in the Find field. Click the down arrow to view a list of recent searches. 2. Select a search criterion to refine your search. 3. Select a search direction, Up or Down. Down is selected by default. If this is a point search, under Column to Search, click Name to highlight it. Note: you must click Name to activate the search. If this is a template name search, click Template. Currently, maxSTORIAN only allows you to search by the point name or template columns.
Find Dialog Box

Less than Less than or equal to Equal to Greater than or equal Greater than Partial Match Match only if the text entered in the Find dialog is less than the value in the database. Examples of this are 1 < 2 and APPLE < BEAR. Match only if the text entered in the Find dialog is less than or equal the value in the database. Examples of this are 2 <= 2 and APPLE <= BEAR. Match only if the text entered in the Find dialog equals the value in the database. Examples of this are 5 = 5 and DOG = DOG. Match only if the text entered in the Find dialog equals or exceeds the value in the database. Examples of this are 7 >= 2 and DOT >= DOS. Match only if the text entered in the Find dialog exceeds the value in the database. Examples of this are 10 > 9 and TREE > BARK. Match only if a portion of the string specified in the Find dialog matches a portion in the database. An example of this is specifying Eng in the Find dialog and returning Engine and England. This works for strings only. Match only if the string sounds like one in the database. An example of this is specifying Skool and returning School. This works for strings only.
Soundex
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Note: Press the ESC key during an extensive search to exit.
The CD-ROM Drive Must Be Shared for Mount Playback

If you intend to archive data to CD-R for later playback, you must share the CD-ROM (or CD-R) drive. As user Administrator, using Explorer, rightclick on the CD-ROM drive, then select Sharing. The drive will be shown with a name something like Z$. Click on New Share. In the New Share dialog box, enter a name, such as CDR, and then click OK, and then OK in the Sharing dialog box.
Notes about the use of Sparse Files

A new feature in the Windows 2000 and later operating system is support for what are called sparse files. This feature is utilized by maxSTORIAN in order to permit the Trim operation, in which oldest data are trimmed from the Storage Room, to complete more rapidly than it used to in Release 2.x. Here is a description of the feature, so that you will understand the implications for its use with maxSTORIAN. In Release 2.x, when it was time to Trim a file, maxSTORIAN would find the blocks representing the oldest data for that point, and then shift the data to be retained down on top of the oldest data; this is a time-consuming task when the file is large. Now in Release 3, maxSTORIAN just empties the blocks that are no longer needed, and then tells Windows which blocks those are. This operation utilizes the sparse files feature. When the sparse file feature is invoked, a special attribute is associated with the file, and it is stored in a different way from regular files. The actual data in the files is stored on the disk, and NTFS keeps track of where in the file each chunk of data belongs. The rest of the file's bytes--the zeroes--are not stored on disk. NTFS seamlessly manages sparse files so that they appear to be regular files. There are some implications of the use of sparse files of which you need to be aware. First and foremost is that the identification of which blocks of a given file contain real data and which are blanked is valid ONLY in the logical drive in which the files are stored. If you copy a file from one logical drive to another, the destination drive will not map the file properly, and you will potentially lose data. If you wish to copy the files contained in MxsStorageRoom, you must first run SRCheck, because SRCheck will remove the blank blocks. After the files have been run through SRCheck, they can be copied to whatever location you want to.
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Second, Windows Explorers properties of MxsStorageRoom will, after one or more Trims has occurred, show that the file or folder size is much larger than size on disk; in fact, the folder size may appear to be larger than the logical drive. After SRCheck has been run, the size will be equal to size on disk, and it is OK to copy.
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The maxSTORIAN Status Displays

There are three maxVUE displays associated with maxSTORIAN status: MaxStorianStatus.mn - Shows the status of a named maxSTORIAN instance. MaxStorianPanel.mn - Brings up the maxSTORIAN Control Panel MaxStorianChangeMount.mn -Brings up the View Mount Control
To configure and use these displays: Copy the status displays and associated bitmaps (Yieldclickbutton.bmp, blankclickbutton.bmp, ResumePriClickButton.bmp, ResumeSecClickButton.bmp, and clickbutton.bmp) to c:\Custom\Displays\Operating\SystemStatus. You may need to create this folder if you have not modified any other standard displays located in the SystemStatus folder. You must edit the Status display first before it can be used in your system. Open maxStorianStatus.mn in the maxVUE Editor. Now right-click anywhere in the main display area, to get the popup containing the option for Group. Expand the Group menu, and select the option to Edit Group Parameters. In the first block labeled Param1, enter the exact name of your maxSTORIAN instance (example: _mxsU1). In the second block, Param2, enter the name of the maxSTATION that is running the primary or standalone maxSTORIAN (example: U1HIST1). In the third block, enter the name of the maxSTATION that is running the secondary maxSTORIAN (example: U1HIST2). After you save this display, it is ready for use by maxVUE Runtime. There is a button on the System Menu display that will allow you to swap to this display or you can add a button in your existing display hierarchy that will call up this display (SystemStatus\MaxStorianStatus.mn). While this display is active in Runtime, there are three options that you can edit, but they can be edited only when you are logged in at security level 9. You can edit the Trim Percentage, the Warning Percentage, and the Clean Percentage. Another feature that is available if you are logged in at security level 9 is the ability to failover from the currently scanning maxSTORIAN to the hot stand-by maxSTORIAN. You may click the Yield to Remote button to request the failover. You may then command the pair member that is stopped to resume by clicking the Resume Primary or Resume Secondary button as appropriate.
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From the maxSTORIAN Status display, you can call up the maxSTORIAN Control Panel, to view more status, view stored data, etc. (see Chapter 4). You can also call up the View Mount Control in order to mount a data source to view history stored on CD (for example).
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Chapter 3
maxSTORIAN Performance Considerations
Overview
maxSTORIAN includes built in performance monitoring capabilities and also includes tuning parameters that allow you to enhance performance or tailor maxSTORIAN to take better advantage of the performance capabilities of the specific hardware platform on which the application is running. Refer to this chapter for discussions of maxSTORIAN self monitoring and tuning capabilities.
maxSTORIAN Self-Monitoring and Load Shedding

maxSTORIAN uses a self-monitoring capability to determine whether it can maintain collection at the configured settings. Should it determine it cannot maintain collection rates, it will automatically begin a process called load shedding. As conditions permit, maxSTORIAN will automatically return to the configured settings. Additionally, maxSTORIAN reports alarms when it cannot access one or more points it was asked to collect, or when it cannot maintain collection rates as configured.
maxSTORIAN Self-Monitoring Behavior

Every 60 seconds, a maxSTORIAN observation period, maxSTORIAN maintains internal statistics about the progress of data collection. Data updates are evaluated to see whether a write of any new history values to disk would be required, and the values are written. Within each observation period, maxSTORIAN notes whether it lost any subscriptions (due to device failure or communication problems), and whether all subscriptions, which sent back a data update, were fully processed. As long as all updates were fully processed, there will be no alarms, and no load shedding will be required. However, if maxSTORIAN is spending more than 2 consecutive seconds attempting to process all updates, an overrun condition occurs. If three or more overrun conditions occur in one 60 second observation period, maxSTORIAN begins the load shedding process.

What maxSTORIAN Does During Load Shedding
Remember, when you create a maxSTORIAN Configuration database, you specify a priority for each template, and thus a priority for each point within a template. Defined priorities are used for load shedding as described here. maxSTORIAN maintains per-point update statistics, and an average update rate for the entire observation period. In order to load shed, maxSTORIAN searches for any points which, during the last observation period, had an update rate which was greater than the average of all points. Up to 10 percent of all points that have a higher-than-average update rate will now have a lower priority applied to them. When a points priority is lowered, it is lowered by 1. Each point begins with 0, and is allowed, during each subsequent observation period, to be lowered by 1 again until the level assigned by the maxSTORIAN Configuration Editor is reached, at which time the priority will not be lowered further. When a points priority is lowered, its Mintime and Maxtime are doubled. So if a point originally had a Mintime of 1 second, and a Maxtime of 10 seconds, if it was lowered by 1, its new Mintime will be 2 seconds, and its Maxtime will be 20 seconds. So long as more than two overruns occur in an observation period, the above algorithm for priority will be applied to each point which continues to exceed the average update rate for the period. Eventually, however, the overruns will stop, because the overall updates have slowed to a manageable level. When an observation period finishes without overruns, maxSTORIAN begins to raise the priority of all points up to 10 percent. To accomplish this, it reverses the order in which it applied the reductions in priority, until, after a number of observation periods, the priorities have all been raised back to their normal level (0). At this time, the bad_points alarm is removed, the cycle is complete, and maxSTORIAN again collects all data normally.
maxSTORIAN Related Alarms

When maxSTORIAN encounters either one of the following two conditions, it reports an alarm. Alarms and their corresponding conditions are:
(maxSTORIAN name)_UNCONN
This alarm is posted when maxSTORIAN cannot access one or more points it was asked to collect. This may be a result of a device failure or a communications problem. The alarm will remain on the Alarm Summary and Alarm List until all points can be collected. The presence of this alarm is not an indicator for load shedding, only that one or more points cannot be accessed.
(maxSTORIAN name)_BADPOINTS
This alarm is posted when maxSTORIAN has found that it cannot keep up with the updates being fed to it for all of the points to which it is subscribed.
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maxSTORIAN Performance Considerations

maxSTORIAN will load shed, and the alarm will remain on the Alarm Summary and Alarm List until the problem is resolved, and load shedding is no longer needed.
maxSTORIAN Tuning
Under certain conditions, you may need to tune key maxSTORIAN parameters described here to improve performance. These consists of configured point delta, upload speed, and configured Replica bandwidth. Tuning may be called for especially when maxSTORIAN has to deal with a large configuration. It is difficult to establish an ironclad rule to find correct values for them, because they depend on the hardware used as well as the software configuration. It is important, therefore, to understand the meaning of the tuning parameters and the effect of changing their values.
Configuring Point Deltas

Each template has a DELTA parameter and a CDELTA parameter; in standard configurations they should be loaded with the same value. maxSTORIAN records a value when the new value for a point has a difference of DELTA from the previous value. If the DELTA configuration is too small, the result can be using up more disk space than you would like. Deltas should be chosen to reflect the degree of importance that a change in the value represents; for instance, it is likely that for most temperature measurements, changes of 1 degree are not important for plant operation and maintenance. Do not hesitate to declare as many templates are needed; there is no practical limit on the number of templates and their number does not influence the performance of maxSTORIAN.
Configuring the Configuration Upload Speed

When maxSTORIAN starts up, it reads the configuration from the LastConfig.csv file, which contains the configuration that was in use when maxSTORIAN was last stopped. To avoid a massive use of the disk and CPU, in each second during startup, only a certain number of points are brought online. The configuration file must be scanned twice; this means that for a configuration with 100 points, 20 seconds are required for maxSTORIAN to be online. This time also has to be added to the failover time when maxSTORIAN is used in a primary/secondary configuration. The default is 10; this is very conservative number, suitable for slower Pentium-based machines. This parameter is configurable via the Startup Configuration Tool (for details see previous chapter).
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Chapter 4
maxSTORIAN Online Operation
Overview
This chapter describes how to operate maxSTORIAN online. maxSTORIAN online operation consists of graphical interface displays:
maxSTORIAN status display Points display Panel Used to view configuration statistics, perform tuning and yield backup operation. Used to add and delete points online, search for point names, display point information, and browse data for a selected point, import and export points, edit selected point data, etc.
Using maxSTORIAN Status Display

Use the maxSTORIAN status display to view configuration statistics, and to stop and resume operation. This display is accessible from the standard System Status display and should be viewed with security level 9 enabled to allow state change actions.
Putting maxSTORIAN in Scanning or Idle State (Resume Button)

Click the Resume button to command maxSTORIAN to move from the stop state to either the idle or scanning state, depending on the status of the other (remote) device of the backup pair. Use Resume after clicking the Yield to Remote button that stops this member of a maxSTORIAN backup pair. If the other member of the backup pair is currently scanning, and this instance should be idle, this instance will remain so unless the other instance yields. The Yield to Remote button is not available when its use is not appropriate (for example, because this maxSTORIAN instance is standalone).
Yielding to the Remote Member of a Backup Pair

Click Yield to Remote to command this maxSTORIAN member of a backup pair to stop. This causes the other member to move from the idle state to the scanning state after the other member determines that this member has stopped. This member will remain in the stopped state until you click the Resume button, regardless of the state of the other member of the backup pair. The button is not available when its use is not appropriate (for example, this maxSTORIAN instance is standalone, or that this station is still warming).
Interpreting maxSTORIAN Window Statistics

The maxSTORIAN Window presents you with statistics about the loaded configurations. The statistics describe the percent of disk usage, point totals and update data and the role of the maxSTORIAN instance you are viewing. If the configuration is not yet created or downloaded, statistics for total configured points, updates per second and deltas per second are blank. See Chapter 2, Using maxSTORIAN Configuration Editor and Configuration BasicsGetting Started, to create configurations. The following are statistics appearing in the maxSTORIAN Window, along with their meanings.
Logging session started at: Using: The time and date maxSTORIAN is started. The amount of storage used to date in the MxsStorageRoom
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Aisle folders. The percent equivalent of this number is shown underneath the progress bar just below this entry. Assigned: The amount of storage available for the Aisle folders in MxsStorageRoom (this is set by the MCS Registry Entry Max History MB). Total number of points configured and downloaded. This count includes the number of templates configured. Number of updates maxSTORIAN is currently receiving and processing per second.
Configured Points: Updates/Second:
Deltas/Second: Local Status or Remote Status:
The number of deltas (changes) maxSTORIAN is currently receiving and processing into storage per second. The current status of this maxSTORIAN instance and its backup partner. The possible states that this instance could be in are usually divided into these parts, unless maxSTORIAN is not yet started. The possible states are: maxSTORIAN was started, but has not received the command stating what its role is (standalone, primary, or secondary). This information comes from the appropriate text file. See Chapter 2, Creating Text Files Using Mini Configurator. maxSTORIAN now knows what role it has been assigned.
NOT_CONFIGURED
STAND_ALONE or PRIMARY or SECONDARY
SCANNING or IDLE or STOP WARMING
This maxSTORIAN is now collecting and storing data. This maxSTORIAN is now idle it is inactive, but ready to take over if there is a failure of its backup pair member. This maxSTORIAN was issued a stop command it can be reactivated only with a start command. This maxSTORIAN is now transferring history to the inactive device of the backup pair, but has not yet made a complete transfer of all data. If a failover occurred, the newly active device would not have complete history. This maxSTORIAN has now transferred all of its history to the inactive device. If a failover occurred, the newly active device would have complete history (except for the short outage from the time that the active device failed until the newly active device started) and collected all first samples of all points again. In Release 3, getting from WARMING to HOT will happen much faster, in general, because the backup storage room is updated only as necessary. The other maxSTORIAN of the backup pair is not answering the local devices request for status. The other maxSTATION may be on the network and its MxsStorageRoom folder may be accessible, but
or HOT
UNKNOWN
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maxSTORIAN may not be running at the other station. WAITING This state indicates that the maxSTORIAN is unsure whether to take over, because the previous state of the pair was not HOT, and the other maxSTORIAN instance of the pair is not responding. The resume button located on the maxSTORIAN Status display will command this maxSTORIAN to proceed to the SCANNING state.
Using maxSTORIAN Control Panel

Use the Control Panel to add and delete points online, search for point names, display point information, and browse data for a selected point, import and export points, edit selected point data, etc. Once a configuration is created and downloaded, the control panel displays a list of configured points along with their current status in a view window. The following shows the maxSTORIAN Control Panel once a configuration has been created and downloaded. Sbp OK, appearing in the second column of the view, means that the point is currently being scanned and there are no errors reported on it; otherwise, an error condition is shown. Templates status is shown as Template. The control panel is available as a separate application, MxsDial.exe, located in C:\Mcs\History, or as an ActiveX control that can be embedded in a maxVUE display. Note: changes to the configuration done with the panel, although they will remain if the station is powered down, are not reflected in the maxSTORIAN Configuration Tool database; to synchronize it, perform a manual upload. See Chapter 2, Configuration BasicsGetting Started. Note: to use some functions, a template or point may need to be selected. Other functions are optional or work regardless of whether a selection is made. The buttons are enabled according to the current selection.
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The Control Panel contains large function buttons to the left of the list and radio buttons and checkboxes beneath the list. The following sections explain their use.
Selecting Radio Buttons

Click the following radio buttons in the View section of the dialog to choose what is displayed in the list control. Templates: Points: Both: In the view window, show only templates. In the view window, show only points. In the view window, show both templates and points.
Selecting Checkboxes
Click the Status not SBP_OK checkbox to limit the view to only those points which are not currently being collected due to a Software Backplane error.
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Click the Lowered Priority checkbox to limit the view to only those points that are being collected, but at lowered priority (that is, for which the minimum collection time has been temporarily increased).
Adding Points to a Configuration
Click the Add button on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel to download additional configured points. First, pick a template to which you wish to add a point. When you click this button, the following dialog appears. Enter a point.attribute and click OK:
A point name and attribute must be entered. The point will be collected with the parameters assigned to the selected template. This function requires that the current login security level is greater than or equal to the security level assigned to the selected template.
Finding a Point on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel Point List
The maxSTORIAN Control Panel includes a point search capability. To locate a point from the list in the right pane of the window: 1. Click the Find button on the control panel to access a dialog box.
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2. Enter a point.attribute and click OK or Cancel. The search feature then highlights the point on the list. A point name and attribute must be entered. The dialog remembers the last points searched for.
Deleting a Point on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel Point List
Use the Delete button to delete the selected point from the currently configured and collected points within the maxSTORIAN. Note: this button is not available until a point is selected. To delete a point: 1. Select a point appearing on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel List and click the Delete button. 2. A prompt asks you if you are sure you wish to delete the selected point. Click OK or cancel. This function requires that the current login security level is greater than or equal to the security level assigned to the template of which this point is a member.
Stopping the Collection of a Point
Use the Stop button on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel to stop the collection of a selected point. Note: this button is not available until a point is selected. To stop point collection: Select a point appearing on the control panel list and click the Stop button. Any point that is paused will remain so until it is resumed with the Go button. See Resuming the Collection of a Point.
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This function requires that the current login security level is greater than or equal to the security level assigned to the template of which this point is a member.
Resuming the Collection of a Point
Use the Go button on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel to resume collection of the currently selected point previously paused or stopped. Note: this button is not available until a point is selected. Use this button in conjunction with the Stop button. See Stopping the Collection of a Point. This function requires that the current login security level is greater than or equal to the security level assigned to the template of which this point is a member.
Trimming and Archiving Points
This feature allows you to remove, by date, a portion of maxSTORIAN history to free up more space for newer data just coming into maxSTORIAN. Use this feature in conjunction with the Control Panel Export feature. First Export the oldest data to archive it offline on CD or other such media. Click the Trim button to free the space of the data just exported. When you click the Trim button, the following dialog box appears:
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The date and time that you enter tell maxSTORIAN the date and time of the oldest data to be retained. Any data older than the entered date and time will be deleted. If points have been added whose oldest-stored date and time are newer than the selected date and time, the storage for those points will be unaffected. If a point was selected when the trim button was clicked, checking the Trim only selected point box causes ONLY the selected points data to be trimmed. This is useful if you know that a handful of points account for a large portion of the total storage being consumed.
Understanding Automatic Trim Function

The Trim function includes an automated trimming capability (removing oldest data) if the StorageRoom size is about to exceed the amount of storage permitted for use by maxSTORIAN. The maxSTORIAN trim function works in conjunction with the maxSTATION disk monitor utility to track disk usage. The utility references Metso Automation Registry settings to monitor storage. In the Metso registry, use the registry entry called Max History Megabytes to specify the amount of storage to be consumed by maxSTORIAN. In the MCS Registry, the default value is 400MB; many customers are setting it to 4000MB. While maxSTORIAN is running, it continuously compares the amount of disk space that it is currently using with two different thresholds based on the Max History Megabytes value. The first threshold is at 80% of Max History Megabytes registry setting. If that threshold is exceeded, an alarm with the tagname maxSTORIAN_WARNING is posted, and the following alarm message appears on maxSTATION alarm displays:
warning disk usage level reached
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This message remains until you perform trimming to lower the amount used. To change the percentage use the role text file that maxSTORIAN is using to write to _MXS.WARNING_PERCENTAGE. Dont forget to use the correct maxSTORIAN name. See Chapter 2, Creating Text Files Using Mini Configurator. The second threshold is at 90% of Max History Megabytes. If that threshold is exceeded, an alarm with the tagname (maxSTORIAN name)_TRIM is posted and the following alarm message appears on maxSTATION alarm displays:
clean disk usage level reached
This message remains until maxSTORIAN trims history to below 90%. To change the percentage use the role text file that maxSTORIAN is using to write to _MXS.CLEAN_PERCENTAGE (dont forget to use the correct maxSTORIAN name.) See Chapter 2, Creating Text Files Using Mini Configurator. When the second threshold (the trim threshold) is reached, maxSTORIAN records the date and time of the oldest sample in the StorageRoom, then calculates the total time span between then and the present. From this, the trim function multiplies the total span by a percentage, the _MXS.TRIM.PERCENTAGE, to determine the oldest date and time for data to be retained. Then maxSTORIAN searches each points data, and discards any storage blocks with dates and times older than the oldest date and time to be retained. For example, suppose that 50 days worth of data was stored, and the maxSTORIAN_TRIM alarm is posted. All data older than 45 days will be discarded. If any points have been stored for fewer than 45 days, then those points will not be trimmed automatically. As mentioned previously under the trim function, if some points are responsible for most of the storage used, those points can be trimmed manually. The default trim percent for the automatic trim is 10 percent but can be changed by writing to the ULONG variable _MXS.TRIM_PERCENTAGE using the correct maxSTORIAN name.
Exporting Point Storage
Use this feature to select maxSTORIAN data (spanning a time period) to be copied out of maxSTORIAN to another folder, either local to this station or
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to another station through Windows Explorer Network Neighborhood. This copy can then be saved offline to backup elsewhere. Click the Change Mount button to choose the destination folder that can be either local or shared over the network. Only one export instance is allowed at one time. To export selected data: 1. Click Export to access the following dialog.
2. Under Start Time, click the date and time for the start of the data to be exported. 3. Under End Time click the date and time for the end of the data to be exported. 4. Optionally, a filter file (an ASCII text file) can be used. Check the Use filter files checkbox to export only the point names which appear in the filter file.
5. Under Export speed, select the disk bandwidth assigned to that transfer. If your maxSTORIAN station is a fast machine, you can select normal or fast to speed up the transfer process. 6. Click Change Mount to select the destination folder of the export. In the designated folder, a new folder, MxsStorageRoom, will be created. That folder will have the aisle folders created within it which contain the actual data. If a points data were contained only in the MxsCore file in
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the maxSTORIANs MxsStorageRoom, when the export is performed, the destination MxsStorageRoom will contain an aisle file for that point, because when an export is done, no MxsCore file is created. 7. Click Start Export to begin the export operation. Click Cancel to cancel the export operation. The destination folders will remain, but not all of the aisle files will have been created.
Importing Point Storage
Use this feature to import point data into maxSTORIAN. Click the Import button to access the following dialog.
Click the Start Restore button to restore previously exported data to the current online storage room. Click Change source to choose the source folder that can be either local or shared over the network. The imported storage must be in the folder MxsStorageRoom, with standard aisle_nnnnn\ folders, which is contained within the designated source folder (in the example, the source folder is C:\MCS\History).
Storage room cleanup
Use the cleanup feature to delete unused files (those of points that have been deleted) contained in the storage room. Deleting a point from the configuration doesnt automatically delete all of the points data from the storage room. maxSTORIAN saves, in the aisle file, the most-recent data that was in the core file, before the point is removed
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from the current configuration. This allows you to add the point again to the configuration without losing possible valuable data. If a point is deleted and then added again to a configuration, no point history will be available for the period in which the point wasnt in the configuration, but all the previous collected data will be again available. When you are sure that everything you need is in the current configuration, the storage room can be freed of all the unused files. Click the Cleanup Button. The following dialog box appears:
Click on the Proceed button to start the clean up process; maxSTORIAN will examine the storage room, deleting all the files belonging to points which are not in the current configuration. Checking the prompt box will cause maxSTORIAN to present a confirmation dialog every time a file should be deleted allowing you to do a partial clean up.
Viewing Point Information
Use the Info feature to display information about a selected configured point. To view information for a selected point: Select a point on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel list and click the Info Button. The following dialog box appears:
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The dialog contains the following information:

Window Title Mapped on file: Min Time: Max Time: Delta: Compander Delta: Actual File Size: Core Index: Template: Tagname.attribute selected from the configured points in maxSTORIAN. Location and name of file which contains data for this particular point. The configured minimum time, in microseconds, to elapse before the Software Backplane checks for a value change on this point. The configured maximum time, in microseconds, to elapse before taking a sample of this point despite the fact that its value did not change. The configured delta value. Amount by which this point must be changed before it is recognized and registered as a value change. The configured compander delta value. Amount by which this point must be changed before it is recognized by the compander and saved in the historian. Current file size used to store point values. A block is 1K bytes. An entry for debug purposes. Indicates where the points data are located within the MxsCore file. Template to which this point belongs. Note that this display is now editable. If you wish to move a point from one template to another, you choose a Template to which you wish to move this point, then push Apply. The point, with all of its history intact, will then be moved. If this is a template, this entry shows how many points are allocated for this template. If this is a template, this entry shows how many points are actually assigned to this template. If this is a template, this entry shows whether the template is in the Manual state (that is, no points in this template will be scanned via the Software Backplane). If this is a template, this entry shows if the template is Temporary, which means that an operator can add points to it online without the use of the maxSTORIAN Control Panel.
Max Dependencies: Actual Dependencies: Manual:
Temporary:
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Viewing Data Collected for a Selected Point (Browse Button)
Use the maxSTORIAN Control Panel browse feature to view data collected for a selected point. Data consist of a point value, the date and time it was stored, associated quality, and other useful information. To view data for a selected point: Select one of the points on the maxSTORIAN Control Panel and click the Browse button to open the maxSTORIAN Browse Dialog Box. The dialog presents point data in a scrollable report format. The dialog includes paging buttons, (see Using Browse Dialog Paging Buttons), and a point search feature (see Using the Browse Search Time Feature.)
The following information is shown in this dialog:

Point: Block #: Time: Name of the point and attribute being displayed. Current block being displayed. The date and time that a value was stored in the historian for this point.
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Value: Quality: Type: Data on Disk: Offset Begin: Offset End: Value stored at a given time in the historian for this point. Quality associated with the value stored at a given time in the historian for this point. Data type of the value stored in the historian for a given point. The actual hex dump value stored in the historian for a given point. This is used mainly for debug purposes. The actual starting offset for this particular value stored in the historian for a given point. This is used mainly for debug purposes. The actual ending offset for this particular value stored in the historian for a given point. This is used mainly for debug purposes.
Using Browse Dialog Paging Buttons

The Browse Dialog Box, accessible from the maxSTORIAN Control Panel, contains the following paging buttons. First Block Click the First Block button to display the first block of data stored in the historian for a given point. This shows the earliest time period recorded. Next Block Click the Next Block button to display the next block beginning from the point from which you are currently viewing. This will show a block of data slightly more recent that what is currently displayed. Last Block Click the Last Block button to display the last block of data stored in the historian for a given point. This would show the most recent time period recorded in the aisle files. Previous Block Click the Previous Block button to display the data beginning from the point from which you are currently viewing. This will show a block of data slightly earlier that what is currently displayed. Go to Block Click the Go to Block button to display the following dialog, allowing you to enter a particular block number you wish to go to directly.
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Browse Core
This engineering feature permits the experienced user to browse the core data. Click Browse Core to view core data, the block # displays. Click Back to File to return to normal viewing of this point.
Using the Browse Search Time Feature

Click the Search Time button to display the following dialog, allowing you to enter a particular time for which to search.
Editing Data for a Selected Point
Use the Edit function to view and edit data collected for a selected point. You may edit a point's value, data type, or time/date, or add samples to a point's history data. To edit a point, select a desired point from the maxSTORIAN Statistics display, and click the Edit button on the control panel to access the following dialog:
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The dialog presents you with statistical values for the selected point in addition to other data. When you select Edit, you are shown the most recent data. Fields showing the name of the selected point being displayed and the current block number appear in the upper part of the dialog. Command buttons also appear in this area allowing you to navigate through the list, perform searches, insert new lines and commit to any changes. See Using Edit Dialog Control Buttons for a detailed description of button functions. The list consists of the following fields:
Time: Value: Quality: Type: Data on Disk: Offset Begin: The date and time that a value was stored in the historian for this point The value that was stored at a given time in the historian for this point. The quality associated with the value stored at a given time in the historian for this point. The data type of the value stored in the historian for a given point. The actual hex dump value stored in the historian for a given point. This is used mainly for debug purposes. The actual starting offset for this particular value stored in the historian for a given point. This is used mainly for debug
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purposes. Offset End : The actual ending offset for this particular value stored in the historian for a given point. This is used mainly for debug purposes.
Using Edit Dialog Control Buttons

First Block Click the First Block button to display the first block of data stored in the historian for a given point. This shows the earliest time period recorded. Next Block Click the Next Block button to display the next block beginning from the point from which you are currently viewing. This will show a block of data slightly more recent that what is currently displayed. Last Block Click the Last Block button to display the last block of data stored in the historian for a given point. This would show the most recent time period recorded in the aisle files. Previous Block Click the Previous Block button to display the data beginning from the point from which you are currently viewing. This will show a block of data slightly earlier that what is currently displayed. Go to Block Click the Go to Block button to display the following dialog, allowing you to enter a particular block number you wish to go to directly.
Reload file Click the Reload File button to reload the file for editing. You will receive a warning that ALL the uncommitted changes (your edits) will be lost. Insert line Click the Insert Line button to add a line after the selected line.
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Commit changes Click the Commit Changes button to commit the changes to the online storage. During the commit phase all the buttons are disabled, the list is removed, and in its place is a message telling you that the operation for committing the changes is in progress.
Using the Edit Search Time Feature

Click the Search Time button to display the following dialog, allowing you to enter a particular time for which to search.
Inserting a New Sample

To insert a new sample, select the desired line and click the Insert button. A new line is inserted below the selected line. The Time field for the new line is copied from the line below, the Value field is initialized as NO_DATA, the Quality field is initialized at SUBS (SUBSTITUTE), the Type field is initialized to VAR_EMPTY. At this stage, the Data on disk, Offset Begin and Offset End entries will show question mark characters (???) because they will be computed only when the changes have been committed. The very last line in the file shows the string, DUMMY, on every field. Select this line to add a sample to the file.
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Editing a Sample Value
To edit a sample value, select the line and double click on the value field you want to change. Input the new value and press <Enter>.
Editing a Sample Time

To edit a sample time, select the line and double click on the time. Input the new value, and press <Enter>. The new time must be later than or equal to the time of the previous sample and also must be earlier than or equal to the time of the next sample. When adding a new sample, the time must be earlier than or equal to the actual time. No samples can be added with a time stamp in the future.
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When a point time or value is modified its associated Quality field is set to SUBS (substitute). The edit control doesn't allow you change the quality to a value different from SUBS. The fields "Data On Disk, "Offset Begin, "Offset End" are read only. These are the allowed data types that you may enter:
VAR_EMPTY VAR_BYTE VAR_UBYTE VAR_SHORT VAR_USHORT VAR_LONG VAR_ULONG VAR_FLOAT VAR_DOUBLE
Depending on the data type, the program performs checks on the input value range. The value NO_DATA can be assigned to any type. The type VAR_EMPTY MUST have NO_DATA as value.
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Retrieving Data Using MxsViewMount

Using the Export button of the control panel, part of (or virtually all of) the storage room can be copied to a different location. This could be a different physical or logical drive located on the same machine or in another machine on the network. In addition, another instance of the MxsReplica program can run to copy data to a tertiary storage device for archive and/or backup purposes. These data can be copied to a removable media like a CD or ZIP disk, but it is worth noting that only Exported data can be directly copied at any time, since Export automatically compresses data files, just the way that SRCheck does to the entire Storage Room. If you wish to copy an entire Storage Room to CD, you must first run SRCheck on it to do the compression, unless you are certain that the size of the Storage Room is equal to the size on disk, before you copy to another drive or to CD. To retrieve data from any of these sources, maxSTORIAN defines an alternate mount point. A mount point is a service something like _MXS_TREND, but associated with another location in the file system. To manage the mount points, MxsViewMount, an ActiveX control, is provided, which is accessible from the maxVUE maxSTATION Status display by selecting the button labeled as Mounts Panel. See the following figure.
When the control starts, it shows the main mount point and the alternate one if specified. For both mount locations, there is a column with the retrieval service associated with it. To add a new mount service: 1. Click New mount point to open the following dialog:
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2. Specify the mount point and the name of the associated service. The mount point must be a named share that is associated with a particular named computer on the network. The mount point must be the parent of the MxsStorageRoom that is to be mounted. In the example, the computer validat3 has its Z: drive (the CD-ROM drive) shared, with the share name CDR. The CD that is in that drive has a folder called validat3, which has a subfolder, the MxsStorageRoom folder. The service name in the example was chosen so as not to conflict with any other Software Backplane exported name. The mount point may be the CD of the computer where maxSTORIAN is running as long as the drive is shared are referred to as in the example above. When a mount is selected, click the Edit or Delete buttons to edit or delete it, respectively.
Adding Trending Points Online

An operator may add a point online to be trended by maxSTORIAN using temporary templates. As you create a point database using the Configuration Editor, you may create what are called temporary templates. Such templates are used to accept operator-entered tagnames of points which maxSTORIAN is not currently trending. When a template is designated temporary, the assumption is that it will not include any points when it is created in the maxSTORIAN Configuration Editor; any points that the template would contain would be added by an operator. If an upload of the configuration is performed, then the points currently in the template will be captured and downloaded again if an install is performed. There can be more than one temporary template in a configuration. Both temporary and non-temporary templates have a fixed number of points that can be configured. If the maximum number of points is reached in a nontemporary template, you will not be able to add any more points to the template. If the maximum number of points is reached in a temporary template, the first-entered point (the one that has been in the template for the longest time) is discarded, and all of its accumulated history is lost.
Adding Points to a Template
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To add a point to a template: Access the Trend Wrapper standard display object in maxVUE Runtime and click the Edit Trend Properties button Wrapper Properties dialog boxes. to access maxVUE Trend
Click the Pens tab to open the following Properties dialog:
Use the Data Identifier for Pen field to add or change a pen. Normally, the syntax is:
Tagname.attribute.statistic
example: fic101.pv.sample When a point is to be added, the complete syntax is: (name of maxSTORIAN)_TREND.<temporary template name.extension>:tagname.attribute.statistic example:
where
_MXSU1_TREND.TEMPLATE.8:fic101.pv.sample
_MXSU1 is the name of the maxSTORIAN TEMPLATE.8 is the name of a temporary template Fic101.pv.sample is as above
Since the template name is optional, the example can be shortened to:
_MXSU1_TREND.:fic101.pv.sample
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provided that template.8 was the first temporary template defined in the configuration. And if the default trend source is already _MXSU1_TREND, the example becomes :fic101.pv.sample. If the point that the operator wants to add is already being trended, the new point will not be added; this avoids duplication of data.
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Appendix A
Registered Services and Command Line Parameters
maxSTORIAN runs an instance of MxsReplica with the default parameter _MXS_REPLICA. The Control Panel runs an instance of MxsReplica using _MXS_EXPORT for the service parameter; these two names must not be used for other purposes. The LSS provides two members of the _LSS service to help these programs in locating the correct historian, DEFAULT_TREND and DEFAULT_STORIAN.
Overview of _MXS members

The _MXS service has many members. Some of them are needed for point configuration, while some others provide configuration or runtime information. Some members are write only, some read only. The following table lists important members, relevant data type, and member descriptions.
MEMBER ADD_POINT TYPE PCHAR R W Description X A unique point name in the form <service>.<attribute> which will be added to the collected data. X A name for a new template in the form <template>.<extension>. X How many points have been temporarily downgraded to a lower priority. X The role of a maxSTORIAN instance. It can be: PRIMARY SECONDARY ALONE X The percent of the online data storage which, if exceeded, will cause a maximum disk usage alarm. Defaults to 90%. X The number of points added to the configuration each second when reading the LastConfig file during startup. X X The security level needed to configure maxSTORIAN (DEFAULT=0).
ADD_TEMPLATE BAD_POINTS_CNT BEHAVIOUR
PCHAR ULONG PCHAR
CLEAN_PERCENTAGE
USHORT
CONFIG_POINTS_AT_TIME
ULONG
CONFIG_SEC_LEVEL
ULONG

DELETE_POINT PCHAR X A unique point name in the form <service>.<attribute> which will not be collected anymore; all the historical data for that point are lost. X A template name in the form <template>.<extension>. The specified template and all the points assigned to it will not be collected anymore, and all the historical data for these points are lost. The number of SBP update messages that caused a delta save in the last minute. The number of MB allocated for the Storage Room. The percentage of the allocated Storage Room space that is currently be used. The total amount in MB currently being used by the Storage Room. X A command which will halt the current export which is underway. The current status information presented as text. Must subscribe to it, not read. X The interval, in seconds, within which core data are flushed to the disk after a change. The network name of the box hosting maxSTORIAN. Gets the position of the next point based on a specified filter. X The highest allocated block in the core file. Is normally SVCCNT 1. X A local or network path name of a Storage Room to merge with the current one. X The time interval over which performance statistics are calculated and point priority reconsidered. The timestamp of the oldest data archived in the Storage Room. The kind of operation (initiated from the Control Panel) in progress (if any) and the percent of completion. X The network name of the companion if the configuration is redundant. The current count of overrun errors which occurred in the last observation interval. The allowed limit of overrun errors which can occur in an observation interval before the lowering of point priorities starts taking place. X One of the states in which a maxSTORIAN instance can be. The actual status of the main state machine. Used for debug purposes. X One of the states in which a maxSTORIAN instance can be. The current total count of templates plus points. X The logical drive where the storage room is when it is not C: X All the collected data with a timestamp newer than the specified time is deleted.
DELETE_TEMPLATE
PCHAR
DELTA_SAVES DISK_ASSIGNED_SPACE DISK_USAGE_PERCENTAGE DISK_USED_SPACE EXPORT_STOP EXTENDED_STATUS FLUSH_INTERVAL HOSTNAME ITEM_POSITION MAX_INDEX MERGE_STORAGE_ROOM OBSERVATION_TIME OLDEST_TIME OPERATION
ULONG FLOAT ULONG FLOAT ULONG PCHAR ULONG PCHAR PVARIA NT ULONG PCHAR ULONG TIME PCHAR
X X X X
X X X
X X
OTHER_MACHINE OVERRUN_CNT OVERRUN_LIMIT
PCHAR ULONG ULONG X X
START STATUS STOP SVCCNT STORAGE_ROOM_LOCATIO N TRIM_ALL
ULONG ULONG ULONG ULONG PCHAR TIME X X
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Using Mini Configurator to Create Configuration Text File

TRIM_PERCENTAGE ULONG X X The percent of the online data which are deleted when maxSTORIAN is running out of assigned disk space. Defaults to 10%. How many points have a subscription status that is not SBP_OK. The number of SBP update messages received in the last minute. X The percent of the online data storage which, if exceeded, will cause a WARNING alarm. Defaults to 80%.
UNCONNECTED_PTS UPDATES WARNING_PERCENTAGE
ULONG ULONG USHORT
X X X
Template and Point Members

Some members are write only, some read only. The following table lists all members, relevant data type, and member descriptions.
MEMBER ACTUAL_POINTS CAN_ADD_POINT CDELTA COMPANDER CPCTDELTA CRANGE CZERO DELTA ID INDEX IS_A_TEMPLATE MANUAL R W Description X The actual number of dependencies of a template. X >0 if the template can accept another point. X The delta value used by the compression module in Eng Units. PCHAR X The desired compression module. FLOAT The delta value used by the compression module in percent. FLOAT X Eng Unit value at instrument end of scale. FLOAT X Eng Unit value at instrument beginning of scale. FLOAT X X The delta value used by the software backplane subscription to the point; in Eng. Units. PCHAR X The point name. Used to convert ordinals into point names. ULONG X The ordinal for a given point name. ULONG X >0 if the point is a template. LONG X A 1 written to this member puts a template in manual mode. In this mode, the dependent points do not start an sbp subscription to get data; they act just like placeholders for manually entered data and external data which come through the merge function. ULONG X X The maximum number of dependencies of a template. ULONG X X The subscription maximum time. If not specified, is 10 times the minimum time. PCHAR X A local or network pathname to a data file to merge with the selected point. ULONG X X The subscription minimum time. PCHAR X Returns the name of the parent template of a given point. PVARIANT X Groups, in a variant array, some information needed for the control panel to reduce the Sbp traffic in the communication between the panel and maxSTORIAN. ULONG X A 1 written to this member stops the data acquisition of the point. Writing to a template stops all the dependent points. ULONG X The number of SBP update messages that caused a delta save in the last minute for a given point. TYPE ULONG ULONG FLOAT
MAX_POINTS MAX_TIME MERGE_POINT MIN_TIME MY_TEMPLATE PANEL_INFO
PAUSE
POINT_DELTAS_CNT
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POINT_WRITES_CNT PRIORITY ULONG LONG X X X The number of SBP update messages that caused a disk operation in the last minute for a given point. The minimum priority level for the point. The point will not be placed at a priority level lower than the specified one. 0 Maximum 7 Minimum A 1 written to this member restarts the data acquisition of the point. Writing to a template restarts all the dependent points. The result of the last SBP primitive called. The point or template security level. The desired storage module. A 1 written to this member puts a template in temporary mode. In this mode, when a new dependent is added, if the maximum number of dependencies is reached, the oldest one is silently deleted instead of generating an error. The point data time stamped prior to this time will be deleted.
RESTART
ULONG
SBP_STATUS SEC_LEVEL STORAGE TEMPORARY
ULONG ULONG PCHAR LONG
X X
X X X
TRIM
TIME
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Appendix B
Using SRCheck to Correct Storage Room Errors
Overview
The main function of this program is to check and correct maxSTORIAN aisle files for empty blocks, out of time order blocks, and, on request, it will check individual blocks for date or data corruption. It examines each of the aisle files, as well as the MxsCore file, in a maxSTORIAN storage room for a) blocks which have no useful data in them; b) blocks which are not in time order; and c) blocks which are corrupted. Its input is the location of the storage room to be examined. Its outputs are a copy of the storage room, with all aisle files repaired; and a log file listing each of the aisle files showing whether each file was OK, and if it was not, the numbers of the blocks which were removed, or the block number of any block which was out of time order. A second function of this program is to compress the aisle files after there have been Trim operations. As explained in Chapter 2, after Trims have occurred, there are blank blocks in the Storage Room which have been released to the operating system, but these blocks are still remembered by the operating system. When SRCheck is executed with the update all option, all of the aisle files will have their blank blocks removed, and the Explorer size of each file will again be equal to size on disk, making it possible to copy aisle files to other disk locations or to other disks. A third function of this program is to perform a one-time conversion of a Release 2.x Storage Room to Release 3 compatibility. This need be done only once, after a maxSTORIAN has been upgraded to Release 3 but before the maxSTORIAN is started up. A fourth function, available in Release 3.1 and newer, is the ability to Trim older history data. You can select whether the original Storage Room will be modified by this program. You can designate that you merely want to determine if there are errors; you can overwrite the existing Storage Room data; or you can build a new Storage Room elsewhere.
The SRCheck Window and its Options
The following items are displayed in the SRCheck window:

Source Storage Room Calendar Repair blocks Shows the location of the Storage Room. Use the ellipsis button to navigate to the MxsStorageRoom location. Allows the setting of a date for Trim. Data older than the entered date will be trimmed if the checkbox is checked. When checked, will repair any blocks that have been found to have data corruption. Normally checked, because you will want corrupted blocks to be repaired. If checked, will Trim history data older than the date specified via the Calendar. When checked, will update LastConfig.csv from the use of SimpleStorage.dll to SimpleStorage2K.dll. This MUST be done when the Storage Room is converted from Release 2 to Release 3. After it is performed once, it doesnt have to be done again.
Strip events older than the specified date Update last config
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Using Mini Configurator to Create Configuration Text File
Destination Storage Room Do not write to destination Update on error Rebuild all
Show the location of the parent of the destination Storage Room. In the example shown above, the user is repairing the Source Storage Room. This is the check only option. There will be no writing to the Destination Storage Room. The SRCheck.log file will still be generated, however (located in c:\custom\history). This option means that only if SRCheck finds an error in a file will it be written back to the Destination. Do not select this option if you want to compress the Storage Room. This option causes SRCheck to overwrite every Destination file with a corrected, compressed new file. Should be performed during an upgrade from Release 2 to Release 3, as well as before you attempt to move Storage Room files from one location to another. This is a counter that shows the progress of the checking process. It counts up to the number of points in the Storage Room. Initiates the checking process. Stops the checking process. If this button is pushed while checking is underway, then only some of the aisle files will have been checked and updated.
Examined files: Check Exit
The selections which you see in the example above are those that should be selected if the Storage Room were located on drive C:\, and the conversion from Release 2 compatibility to Release 3 compatibility had already been performed.
Running SRCheck to repair and compress

The basis of this procedure is that you run SRCheck to both repair and compress the Storage Room. The procedure is written assuming that you have a backup pair of maxSTORIANs. If you do not, the job is much simpler. Any step in the procedure which is preceded by an asterisk * need be done only if you have a backup pair. The purpose of providing explicit instructions for a backup pair is to permit operator trend displays and other history clients to continue to get data from the active Secondary while the Primarys Storage Room is being repaired. Ultimately, the data loss will be limited to the downtime of the Primary, plus the takeover time from Primary to Secondary and from Secondary back to Primary. 1. * At the Secondary, use Windows Explorer to rename the file C:\Mcs\History\MxsReplica.exe to NotMxsReplica.exe. Doing this step prevents the Secondary from attempting to update the Primarys Storage Room while the Secondary is active and the Primary is running SRCheck.
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Make certain the pair is HOT before taking this action, so that you know that the Secondary has been fully updated. 2. Log off Engineer and log on as Administrator at the Primary (or standalone maxSTORIAN). Run the program ServicesStop.exe located in the C:/MCS/SBP folder and click the Stop button. This step will stop the local maxSTORIAN and thus cause the Secondarys maxSTORIAN to assume control, and to go to the scanning warming state. 3. At the Primary, Start up SRCheck.exe. You will be shown a dialog box in which you will designate the source and destination folders for the storage room check. For the source, click on the ellipsis, and navigate to the MxsStorageRoom folder. For the destination, click on the ellipsis, and navigate to the parent of the same folder. Leave the Repair blocks checkbox checked. Click on the Rebuild all radio button. Push the Check... button. 4. SRCheck.exe will take several minutes to analyze the aisle files from the folder, and to write back the files. The amount of time that it takes depends on the size of the Storage Room, primarily. It can take from just a few minutes to more than 2 hours (if the Storage Room is 4GB). 5. When SRCheck is finished, it opens Notepad with a log file. The log file, located at c:\custom\history\srcheck.log, lists each of the aisle files, showing whether there were any errors, and which blocks were removed. In addition, it will indicate if any blocks were out of sequence. The easiest way to find out if there were errors is to use Notepads Search function to look for the string error. 6. At the Primary, Restart the station and then log on again as Engineer to start up the primary maxSTORIAN, using the corrected storage room. 7. * The Primarys maxSTORIAN will be in the idle state, since it will see that the Secondary is currently active. At the Secondary, press the Yield button in the maxSTORIAN window. This will cause the Primary maxSTORIAN to switch to the scanning state. After the Primary is fully active, it will start to write the new Storage Room back to the secondary. The data that the Secondary collected while the Primary was inactive will be lost. 8. * After the Primary is in the scanning warming state, you can push the Resume button in the Secondary maxSTORIANs window. The Secondary will then enter the idle state. After this occurs, at the Secondary you can rename the file C:\Mcs\History\NotMxsReplica.exe back to MxsReplica.exe. Because SRCheck updated the entire Storage Room in the Primary, a complete rewrite of the Secondary Storage Room will take place.
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Appendix C
Wave Generator
Wave Generator, also known as Pointsim or Point Simulator, is a utility used to create local status variables that will oscillate over a selected wave pattern.
To created simulated points: 1. Click the Start button on the Windows Task Bar, point to Programs, maxDNA, maxSTORIAN Utilities, and then click Point Simulator to open the Wave Generator Dialog. Alternatively, start the program Pointsim.exe located in c:\mcs\sbp. 2. Under Saw Tooth click on one of the pattern types to select it. 3. Double-click to select one of the types: Int, Long, Float, or Double. You can also select whether you want the Quality to be returned with the value, and whether the Int or Long will be returned as an unsigned value.

4. In the Function Parameters area, enter a range of the value you wish to see. Example: Entering a value of 1 to 100 will generate a wave in the form selected, where the value will have a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 100. Enter the Period in seconds. This is the period over which the point will go from its minimum value to its maximum value. You can also select the number of Pulses, the Width of each pulse, and the repeat rate of the string of pulses using Every. 5. In the Quality area, select the Quality that you wish to be returned with each value. Click the radio buttons next to Good, Unknown, Doubtful, Substitute, Bad, or No value. 6. Click the Start button to set the Wave Generator in motion. 7. The Value field displays the current value as it is changing. The Software Backplane section indicates the current number of subscriptions and number of members. Click the Stop button to stop the Wave Generator. To restart the Wave Generator, click the Start button again. The Force Error on Update button will cause the Wave Generator to deliberately generate errors when it is issuing an update for a subscription. This is for testing purposes.
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maxSTORIAN Users Guide

Metso Automation 278622

CHAPTER 1 ...................................................................................................................... 1-1

CHAPTER 2 ...................................................................................................................... 2-1

Metso Automation 278622