we are upgrading OIS43 series consoles to 800xA servers on infi90 DCS. we had three production plants on same infiloop with 06 ois43 consoles. now we are upgrading to 800xA and we have installed two separate sets of redundant servers at two different plants on same infiloop and at third plant we still have 03 ois43 consoles on the same infiloop. we are now facing a problem that we have three different times now both server sets have different times and consoles also. Now how do i synchronize them? we do not have satellite time synch device. What i know is that when MFPxx transmits any event on loop it timestamps it then can any one tell me how do i know that time and how can i synchronize it 800xA servers or is there any other way that i can keep the same time of loop and servers.

 

You'll probably have to ignore ABB's advice about always synching from a Controller and instead use windows time synch from the domain controller.

Basically, set up the Domain controllers to receive their time from a suitable time server. How you do this depends on what holes you can make in your firewall between the DCS and the rest of the world.

Next set up one of the Aspect or Connectivity servers in each 800xA system to use windows time synch by enabling the windows time service and synch it to the domain controllers. This server then becomes the master time keeper for the 800xA system. All other servers and clients should still have windows time service turned off. Only your chosen clock master should be allowed to set the 800xA time. Configure the Controllers to receive time from the 800xA system.

The penalty is that your windows time stamps are not as accurate as a GPS and the windows time service can drift around slightly depending on the quality and latency of your intranet. But generally speaking you will still be within a second or two so it isn't really a problem.

If you really want to be accurate you will need a GPS clock master at each site.

Rob
www[.]lymac.co.nz

 

I'm going to rearrange your questions by pulling the following one up front since it is pretty fundamental to the rest of the discussion:

>What i know is that when MFPxx transmits
>any event on loop it timestamps it

That is not true based on my understanding. Controllers (MFC, MFP, BRC) do NOT exception report the time stamp along with values. Time stamps are applied at the computer, whether a console (MCS, OIS, ConductorNT, PPB, PPA, etc.) or something like a SemAPI node. It is true that the controllers have a clock, but due most likely to bandwidth issues the time stamp is not part of the transmitted exception reported data packets.

If you have an Infi90 based SOE system, time stamping is done at the digital input card level if I recall. However, when these digital inputs are exception reported through the controller, they are no different than a non-SOE based digital input. In order to receive an SOE report with SOE time stamped data, a query must be run from a console to retrieve that report.

So with that fundamental out of the way, let's continue.

>upgrading to 800xA and we have installed
>two separate sets of redundant servers
>at two different plants on same infiloop
>and at third plant we still have 03
>ois43 consoles on the same infiloop.

The bottom line here is only one Infinet. We can work with that.

>we do not have satellite time synch device.

Note that a satellite time synch device could come into play in two ways, first via the TKM module associated with the Infi90 based SOE system, second being used to drive the clock of console that is compliant with the satellite protocols (don't think this applies to the OIS series but does for Windows/PC based consoles).

>can any one tell me how do i know that
>time and how can i synchronize it 800xA
>servers or is there any other way that i
>can keep the same time of loop and
>servers.

Sounds like you don't have "that time" but rather you have several times. Multiple devices running with their own clocks, ignorant of others. But to answer your question, you can easily see the clocks on the various consoles. To see the clock on a controller, look at the executive block (function code 90) via Composer/Wintools. With this you should be able to figure out which console is running the show for the controllers.

Since you have invested in an 800xA Process Portal A with Harmony Connectivity, you should have at least a year of access to the ABB SolutionsBank web site. You need to get your hands on these manuals (or the equivalent for the system version that you have installed).
3BSE034463R5021
3BUA000157R5021

In fact, the manuals should already be on your system. On any node, go to start - programs - ABB... - System - User Documentation - 800xA for Harmony

Even though the manuals have all of the details that you need, I'll provide an overview.

In the Harmony environment, each device with a clock is assigned a "priority". Controllers are if I recall in the 3 to 6 range. Consoles are 9 to 11. Satellites are 12.

Basically lower priority devices "yield" to higher priority ones and let them be the time master. When there are several devices at the same top priority (such as multiple OIS's) the first one on wins. If it drops off the network, another one takes over. If all of the top most priority devices fall off, the next highest priority device takes over. For example, if you lose a NIS/NPM pair that has three controllers, either the NPM or one of the controllers (whichever has the highest priority) would take over the clock for the other modules and continue until they are back on the loop, at which point some higher priority device would (re)set the clocks, if you get my drift (pun absolutely intended)

So for your particular application, with one Infinet and no satellite, I would recommend designating an 800xA server, such as the primary domain controller, as the time master. Then configure all other servers, including the Harmony Connectivity servers, to sync to the domain controller. Then set the Harmony Connectivity servers as the highest priority Harmony clock devices, perhaps as a 12. You will need to check the manuals to find out what the OIS's are so you can be assured of entering a number higher than the OIS's. There might also be some settings (jumpers/switches) on the communications cards of the OIS's that allow their clocks to be set from the Infinet.

With that configuration, the time starts at the domain controller, down to the Harmony Connectivity server, then out in the Infinet to the MFPs and the OIS's.

Don't forget that ABB also provides field service engineering that can do this for you if needed.

One more thing - if you change with DST there are some issues with OIS trends when the time goes back more than ~10 minutes in one shot. There is a technical alert that tells you what trend file(s) to delete should that occur.

John