Pulse 4.1 Getting Started Guide
Pulse 4.1 Getting Started Guide
Pulse 4.1 Getting Started Guide
1
SCADA/HMI
January 2017
Copyright
The information in this document is subject to change without prior notice and does
not represent a commitment on the part of AFCON Control and Automation Ltd.,
AFCON Software and Electronics Division.
The software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the
agreement. It is against the law to copy this software on any other medium for any
purpose other than the purchaser's personal use.
Copyright 2017 AFCON Control and Automation Ltd., AFCON Software and
Electronics Division.
Pulse logos are registered trademarks of AFCON Control and Automation Ltd.,
AFCON Software and Electronics Division.
Set up a project
Hardware Requirements
Pulse Standalone Configuration
3 GHz Core i7 or faster
NOTE The RAM size has to be increased as the database size increases, to ensure
optimal performance.
NOTE The size of the free hard disk space has to be increased as the size of the
database increases, to ensure optimal performance.
USB
SEK (supplied with Pulse package); without the SEK, Pulse runs in Demo
mode.
Pulse Server
2.4 GHz Xeon Quad Core processor 2.4 or faster
NOTE The RAM size has to be increased as the database size increases, to ensure
optimal performance.
NOTE The size of the free SAS hard disk space has to be increased as the size of
the database increases, to ensure optimal performance.
SEK (supplied with Pulse package); without the SEK, Pulse runs in Demo
mode.
Pulse Components
Operating Systems
Pulse Pulse
Standalone
Server Client
NOTE For IIS and MSMQ installation instructions, see “Appendix A - Installing IIS
and MSMQ Service” on page 53.
NOTE If you are using ESET NOD 32 Antivirus™, use version 3 or higher.
The SQL Server database Standard edition or a higher version must be installed
and used when working with either the Redundancy Central SQL Database
connectivity mode or SQL Server Merge Replication mode.
Pulse Database
CAUTION DO NOT exceed using 90% of your disk space on your Pulse
database. Database Administrators should plan the volume of storage
data in advance according to the database storage capacity. Too
much Report and Log files may cause the Pulse database to overload.
When a significant amount in the volume of data processed by the
Pulse System increases, the DBA may have to reconfigure the
database.
NOTE Pulse 4.1 supports upgrade and full installation. Pulse 4.1 does not support
upgrade installation only from Pulse 1.52 or lower versions.
==================================================
2 Insert the AFCON DVD to the DVD drive. The installation process starts
automatically and you can proceed to the next step. If the installation does not
automatically start, go to your DVD drive and double-click the Setup.exe file.
Alternatively, if you’re installing Pulse from a network location, select Run from
the Start menu and then browse to locate and run the Setup.exe file.
German
Spanish
4 Click OK.
8 Select the program features you prefer to install. To install any of the
additional features, click on the feature name to select and install it.
The installation script only installs two features, Program Files and Demo
Project. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express, Supreme Report and Samples
components are not installed by default.
NOTE If the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express feature is not installed, the Pulse
Server will utilize the MDB database by default.
9 Click Next.
In the Pulse Server Settings window, the server’s external (public) and
internal (private) IP addresses, TCP port and the virtual directory name are
defined (the virtual directory holds the Pulse client’s files). Use the default
settings or define other addresses or names.
The Ready to Install the Program window is displayed and the wizard is ready
to begin installation.
Pulse drivers
In Pulse 4.1, the Pulse Driver Setup Wizard simplifies the process of installing
drivers.
Drivers can be installed either from your AFCON Pulse DVD or downloaded from the
AFCON Web site (www.afcon-inc.com). Click the Products link, and then click
Drivers 32 bit to locate and download the relevant driver zip file to your computer.
Additionally, the Install Driver option in the Communications Setup dialog box
enables assigning an installed driver to a Pulse project. From all of these entry
points, the Driver Setup Wizard will execute the installation.
2 Insert the AFCON DVD into the DVD drive on your computer. Wait for it to
display its contents on your screen.
5 Click Next. Select a project or install the driver into multiple projects using the
standard Windows selection key combinations (<SHIFT>+click,
<CTRL>+click, <CTRL>+A [for all]).
7 Click Install.
The Install Progress page shows you the progress and status of the driver
installation. When the Current Task and Setup Status bars display “100%”, the
installation is done.
8 Click Next. If successful, the wizard notifies that the driver was successfully
installed. If you want to install another driver, click Install Another Driver to
start the process again. Otherwise, click Finish to close the wizard.
Communication Setup
Communication settings for the driver are defined in the Pulse Communication
dialog box, which is accessed through the Pulse Setup group.
Each driver has different configuration settings - therefore, the Pulse
Communication dialog box varies for each driver.
For detailed information about a specific driver’s setup, refer to the driver’s User
Guide.
Port Name This is a virtual port. A virtual port number can be any
number between 1 and 255 and can be used only once.
Driver Name Select the driver. This list holds the names of all the
drivers installed in the current project. A driver can be
used any number of times.
Bit numbering Define the read bit access used. For example, if Octal is
system used the digits 8, 9 are not available. Our recommendation
is to leave the default setting (10 decimal).
Lowest bit Select 1 to define that the bit numbering for this driver is
number 1-16 (if 0 is selected, it defines that the bit numbering for
this driver is 0-15).
Emulation Mode Select this option to allow the driver to run in emulation
mode. In emulation mode, the driver does not
communicate with field devices, but reads/writes
internally. This mode is generally used during
development.
Launch Open the Pulse web portal, from where users can
Workstation access a workstation.
Server Use this module to manage both local and remote Pulse
Manager servers, manage users accounts, project configuration
and more.
Shutdown This module stops Pulse and its running services.
HASP Install A utility used to install the HASP protection key driver.
Security Use this program to set and manage the Pulse security
Manager policy.
Development
Report Editor Use this program to create and edit templates of plain
text (TXT) reports and dBASE (DBF) files.
Pulse Setup
Runtime
Audit Trail This utility displays changes that were made to various
Viewer modules, as well as actions done by Pulse users.
DRC Settings The Pulse DRC configuration wizard is used for Disaster
Wizard Recovery Control (DRC). The wizard helps you
configure the DRC of Pulse servers.
FTP Utility Use this utility to transfer files between the Pulse web
client to Pulse web server.
History Viewer This module displays history files in list format. The
History Viewer can also convert history files into CSV
format. These files can be opened and modified in
Microsoft Excel.
Log Window Use this utility to view the Pulse log files.
Monitor Workstation - In Monitor mode, users can only view project data, but
cannot write input data or change the value or status of any object.
1 Open an Internet browser and type in the Pulse server’s host name or IP
address and the virtual directory name you provided in the installation
process. For example, http://pulseserver/pulseclient. The Pulse Web Portal
opens.
NOTE To open a client workstation on the same computer as the Pulse Server,
open the Windows Desktop’s Start menu, point to the Programs > AFCON
Pulse menu and click Launch Workstation.
If this is the first time you are opening Pulse on your computer, or you have
removed a previous version of the Pulse Client, you are prompted whether to
download the program.
The login dialog box appears when the download finishes, prompting you for a
user name and password.
4 Type the user name and password and click Login to open the Pulse
workstation that you selected in step 2.
Creating Displays
Much of the development work takes place in displays. A display is a work area that
functions as an interactive model of a factory’s or organizations’s facilities (such as
a production floor, warehouse, or building lobby). In the Developer Workstation,
you can create a collection of dynamic and/or static objects that represent devices
or other equipment. The objects have defined properties, which affect how the
objects appear and behave according to the data received from the various data
sources.
Pulse provides many versatile tools for representing objects in the display:
In this Getting Started Guide, we will demonstrate the definition of graphic objects
and instruments. For additional information, please refer to the Pulse User Guide.
To Insert graphic objects (such as rectangles, ellipses, polyline and spline, text
objects and more) into a display, cell or a template, you can use any of the
following methods:
Select the object from the Graphic Objects area of the Insert ribbon.
Select the object from the Toolbox docking panel, if open in the workstation.
After inserting the graphic objects, you may reshape, reposition, resize and rotate
them. Additionally, you can define physical properties (fill and line) for the objects
and text content.
You also need to define each graphic object’s animation properties, which include
the communication address (Item) from which it receives data, and other
parameters which affect the objects’ appearances and behavior.
After you have created and edited the object, you can group several objects
together and assign them with identical animation properties, order the objects,
duplicate them, assign a theme and style, associate objects to layers, and more.
1 Select the object from either the Graphic Objects area in the Insert ribbon,
the Insert button in the Home ribbon, or from the Toolbox docking panel by
clicking on the object you wish to insert, for example, a rectangle.
2 In the display, notice that the mouse pointer changes to indicate that the
object is selected. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the pointer until
you release it. The object is inserted over the area you dragged.
3 Continue to insert as many objects as you need. When finished, either hit the
ESC (Escape) key or, click on the mouse pointer icon.
Resizing an object
To resize an object
Resizing rectangle
2 To resize the object, position the mouse pointer on any of the object's resizing
rectangles and hold down the left mouse button. Drag to change the object’s
size. Release the mouse button when finished.
Group and
ungroup
objects
Aligning Objects
You align objects relatively to other objects in the display. You do so by first
selecting the object you wish to align and than select the aligning object. Once the
two objects are selected, you can select the aligning options you wish to apply to
the object. Of course, you may select more than two objects to apply the alignment
options to them.
To align objects
2 Hold down the CTRL key and select the other object(s) to align with the first
object.
NOTE Although it is possible to resize and reposition the two objects, the objects
are not grouped. When grouping objects, the objects' properties are
removed and assigned with common properties, whereas in this case, each
object retains it own properties.
When breaking a group of objects, the group's properties are removed and each
object can be attributed with individual properties.
Creating a group
1 Hold down the CTRL key and select the object(s).
2 In the Edit ribbon’s Format area, click the Grouping button and
then click Create Group.
Grouped objects are marked by a single line the way single objects are marked.
Breaking a group
1 Click on the group.
2 In the Edit ribbon’s Format area, click the Grouping button and
then click Break Group.
The objects return to single mode and can now be selected individually but not
as a group.
The graphics properties panel is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) tool.
This means that the same graphics properties assigned to an object during the
development stage of the project, are the ones you will see in the Operator
Workstation.
From the Developer Workstation Personalize ribbon, select the Graphics icon.
If not already open, the graphics properties panel appears on the right side of
the work space.
From the Developer Workstation Edit ribbon’s Graphics area, select a graphics
property.
1 Select a graphic object from the display and from the Graphics Properties
panel or the Graphics area in the Edit ribbon, select the Object Fill
button.
The object’s properties are linked to the device’s item, which may represent a block
name, communication address, or expression. In the Operator Workstation, the
object is displayed according to the assigned properties and to the device’s status.
For example, an object can have properties that cause it to change color when a
specified event occurs.
To define the animation properties, you double-click the graphic object, open the
relevant animation properties, and enable features and set values as required.
Appearance Position
Size Text
Visibility Slider
Orientation Context Menu
Fluid Fill Action Button
Fluid Flow
In this exercise, create an object that displays any number from 0 to 10.
1 From the Insert ribbon’s Graphic Objects group, select the Text icon and
then click and drag in the display to create a new object displaying the string,
“PointText”.
2 In the Edit ribbon’s Animations area, click on the Text icon to open the Text
Animation properties.
3 In the Item box, enter the name of the item which controls this property’s
values. In this exercise, we will use the a:1 dummy variable to represent the
text data.
-or-
Click to open the Item Manager. In the Links tree on the left, expand Hosts
> Masterhost > P-CIM Kernel > Local Node > Dummy. From the Items
Names list, double-click A:1.
For example, trend graphs can display real-time or historical data from numerous
advised items, an embedded Alarm Explorer can display alarm information, a data
sheet instrument can display data from various data sources (such as XML files,
OLEDB databases, text and INI files), as well as numerous other functions. Other
examples of Pulse instruments are buttons, sliders, gauges and meters to control
production floor equipment, or to display information coming from the field.
To Insert instruments into a display or a template, you can use any of the following
methods:
Select the instrument from the Instruments area of the Insert ribbon
Select the instrument from the Toolbox docking panel, if open in the
workstation.
After inserting the instruments, you may manipulate their size and position, and
define their settings.
1 Select the object from either the Instruments area in the Insert ribbon, the
Insert button in the Home ribbon, or from the Toolbox docking panel by
clicking on the instrument you wish to insert.
2 In the display, notice that the mouse pointer changes to indicate that the
instrument is selected. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the pointer
until you release it. The instrument is inserted over the area you dragged.
3 Continue to insert as many instruments as you need. When finished, either hit
the ESC (Escape) key or, click on the mouse pointer icon.
Resizing
rectangle
2 To resize the instrument, position the mouse pointer on any of the instrument’s
resizing rectangles and hold down the left mouse button. Drag to change the
instrument’s size. Release the mouse button when finished.
1 From the Insert ribbon’s Instruments area, click the Pulse Button object.
3 Right-click the object and select Settings from the pop-up menu.
4 In the Text line, type On/Off. If you want to write a Tool tip, type a string in
the ToolTip box.
6 For one of the mouse actions, click the ••• button to type an action command
or to browse for an existing workflow.
Mouse Down Type Inv |!D:1 so that pressing the object switches its
state between ON and OFF.
7 Click OK.
1 From the Insert ribbon’s Graphic Objects area, click the Ellipse icon.
4 Enter a Name for the object, or keep the default name already provided.
6 In the table at the bottom of the Fill tab, define Visibility mode and Color for
the 0 (off) and 1 (on) states.
Operators can interact by pressing on objects with the mouse pointer, or by typing
on the keyboard. Real-time data can be displayed in text objects and counters,
while historical trends can also be shown in graphs.
NOTE In the Developer Workstation, you can use the Preview option to get an
idea of how the objects will work in an actual operation mode.
The Window ribbon’s Windows area displays all the currently open windows on
your works space, including the Data Scope window. Hovering the mouse over a
window icon in the Windows area automatically pops up that window and brings it
to the front of other open windows. Note that each window is displayed with its title
in order to differentiate between them. To select a window from the Windows area,
click its icon.
To access the Database Explorer, click the Database tab in the Project Navigator
or in the Home ribbon, click the Navigate icon and choose Database.
Database
Navigator
Manage
blocks and Database
alarms Tree
Manage
database
blocks and
alarms
Generates alarms
Collects history
Analog Value This block is used for analog variables. Analog values are
constantly scanned. Alarms can be generated and
history collected.
Analog Pointer This block is used for analog variables, mainly for data
conversion. An analog pointer type of block is scanned
upon request.
Digital Value This block is used for digital variables. Digital values are
constantly scanned. Alarms can be generated and
history collected.
Digital Pointer This block is used for digital variables and is scanned
only upon request.
Calculation This block can perform calculations on analog and digital
block values. These blocks are constantly scanned.
Alarms can be generated and history collected.
Boolean This block is used for boolean algebraic calculations,
which are constantly scanned. Alarms can be generated
and history collected.
String Pointer This block receives up to twenty 16 bit word values from
registers in a PLC or other devices and converts them
into a text string of up to 40 characters.
In this exercise, we will create a block which will display an alarm entry in the Alarm
Explorer whenever the stop light created in a previous exercise changes its color,
see “Creating an On/Off Button and Stop Light Object” on page 39.
1 In the Database tree, right-click anywhere in the DigitalValue branch and then
click New Block. A form opens in the workstation’s window.
2 In the Block Name box, type a unique name for the block (the name should
relate to a function or a location that its advised item is associated with). Block
names may be up to 34 characters long. The first character must be a letter (A
to Z). The following characters may be letters (A to Z), numbers (0-9), or
hyphens (-). Lower case letters are automatically converted to upper case.
For this exercise, type the name SL1 (label for Stop Light 1).
General
Timings
Scan Time (sec) The interval between successive processing of the block,
in the range of 1-255 seconds. The default is 1 second.
Phase Time (sec) The initial time delay from the loading of the database to
the first processing of the block, in the range 1-255
seconds. The default time unit is one second.
PLC Time Stamp Select this checkbox option to read the date and time of
the alarm from the PLC.
History
Target
Target Block Choose a database block which receives the data values
initiated from this block.
Target Logic Choose the alarm component (such as Output, Alarm
Enable, and so on) whose value is written to the target
block whenever this alarm is initiated.
Output
4 Go to the block’s Alarms tab and check the Enable Alarms checkbox option
to allow Pulse to trigger alarms and generate the listing of alarm data. The
following are the Alarms tab’s sub-tabs:
General
Tree Settings
Actions
Condition
Alarm Type Choose the state of the block value which triggers this
alarm: ON, OFF, COS (value changes in either direction).
For this exercise, choose OFF.
Alarm Wait The amount of time (seconds) before Pulse generates
the alarm. 0 indicates an immediate generation.
6 Go to the Tree Settings tab to place the block in an organized context, such
as by function, by location, or by category.
NOTE For details about parameters not defined in this exercise, refer to the Pulse
Online Help or the Pulse User Guide.
8 Click Save to save the block in the project database. In the File ribbon, click
the Activate button to reload the database and update the Alarm Publisher.
9 In the Operator Workstation, open the display that contains the on/off button
and stop light created in a previous exercise.
NOTE In the Operator Workstation’s Window ribbon, the Windows area contains
icons for all open displays and the Alarm Explorer. To switch among the
open displays and windows, click their respective icons.
11 Return to the Operator Workstation display and press the on/off button so that
the stop light turns red.
12 In the Alarm Explorer, notice the entry for the Stop Light alarm.
13 In the Operator Workstation, press the on/off button so that the stop light
turns green.
The Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) service is required for Pulse to route
alarms and messages from the Pulse kernel to their destination users.
NOTE IIS and MSMQ are not included with the Pulse installation DVD, and
therefore, must be installed separately.
NOTE You must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer
to install IIS and MSMQ.
2 In the Control Panel, click Programs and then click Turn Windows features
on or off.
3 In the Windows Features dialog box, select all the features and then click
OK.
2 Click Programs, and then under Programs and Features, click Turn
Windows features on or off.
4 Click OK. If you are prompted to restart the computer, click OK to complete
the installation.
If your computer does not have an internet connection then do the following:
Run the following command (‘E:’ the Windows installation media drive
letter):
Dism.exe/online/enable-feature/featurenameNetFX3/All/
Source:E:\sources\sxs/LimitAccess\.
3 Click OK.
3 In the left pane of Server Manager, select the node that represents the server
that you are currently working on.
4 In the right pane, expand the Roles Summary section and then click Add
Roles.
5 Click Next.
6 Select the Web Server (IIS) checkbox and then click Next.
The next wizard step that appears is information that guides you in the
installation.
7 Click Next.
The wizard moves to the Role Services step. A list of available role services
appears. If you click the name of a role, a short description of the role is
displayed.
8 Select all of the role services and their options and click Next and verify the
role service selections.
11 Open the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager. From the Start menu,
click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Run. In the Open box,
type inetmgr and then click OK.
12 In the left pane, expand the Local Computer tree to the Web Service
Extensions folder.
3 Expand MSMQ, expand MSMQ Services, and then select all the check boxes
for the Message Queuing features.
4 Click Next, and then click Install. If you are prompted to restart the
computer, click OK to complete the installation.
1 Change the following registry key in the Windows Server 2012 when the P-CIM
Server service is running under a user account.
Set [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\System] EnableLUA = 0
NOTE In the Windows Server 2012 User Account Control Settings dialog box,
set the notification settings to Never notify to partly disable the UAC. It
is not required to restart Windows after setting the UAC.
3 Enable the .NET Framework 3.5 feature in the Control Panel > Programs
> Turn Windows features on or off.
If your computer does not have an internet connection then do the following:
Run the following command (‘E:’ the Windows installation media drive
letter):
Dism.exe/online/enable-feature/featurenameNetFX3/All/
Source:E:\sources\sxs/LimitAccess\.
1 Enable the Roles Summary > Add Roles > Web Server (IIS) feature and
click Next.
4 For the Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ), enable Features Summary >
Add Features > Message Queuing in the Control Panel > Programs and
Features > Turn Windows on or off.
5 In the Add Roles and Features Wizard window, select the Role-based
feature-based installation option.
7 In the Add features that are required for Web Server (IIS) prompt, click
to activate the Include Management tools (if applicable) option and click
the Add Features button.
9 Check to select the checkboxes as shown below and click Add Features to
continue.