I am using Mark-VI Control System and have four incoming communication cables to my HMI station. However, the LAN configuration reveals 06 connections (03 for PDH, 03 for UDH) as follows:

PDH --- BASP Virtual Adapter# 2
PDH Backup ----- Intel PRO/1000 GT Desktop Adapter #2
PDH Primary ----- Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet
UDH ----- BASP Virtual Adapter
UDH Backup ----- Intel PRO/1000 GT Desktop Adapter #3
UDH Primary ----- Intel PRO/1000 GT Desktop Adapter

My questions are:
Why are there 06 LAN connections in LAN Configuration?
Why have 03 Intel cards been used and 01 Broadcom?

 

srh,

GE Speedtronic HMIs are not the most intuitive nor user-friendly of operator interfaces. Along with that distinction comes the one of being about the least-documented of operator interfaces.

A 'BASP Virtual Adapter' is not a physical connection. Use your preferred Internet search engine and look up "BASP Virtual Adapter" (with the double quotation marks) and you will get more information about teaming and virtual adapters. (Note the date for some of the search results; many are several years old and don't reflect the newest versions of MS-Windows, but that doesn't mean the information isn't relevant.)

Basically, what's happening is that multiple NICs (Network Interface Cards) are being used to provide redundant Ethernet links for the two PDH and UDH networks. There is a primary link and a backup link for each network (UDH and PDH); both redundant links are not "active" at the same time. And there is a means for monitoring the health of each network link, as well as which one is active, or disabled, etc.

In other words, of the two PDH (or UDH) cables plugged into the Ethernet ports in the back of the HMI CPU (Central Processing Unit; the "PC"), only one of them is actually transmitting data. The two Ethernet ports are "teamed" together into a "virtual adapter", and as long as one of the links/cables/Ethernet ports of the "team" is working and transmitting data the "virtual port" is working.

One of the NICs of the HMI CPU is usually an on-board (motherboard, that is) Ethernet port. The others are sometimes NICs with single Ethernet ports; sometimes they are NICs with dual Ethernet ports. On some older GE Speedtronic HMIs, the two redundant ports of a single NIC were both used for the PDH (or the UDH). Newer GE Speedtronic HMIs use one redundant port of a two-port NIC for the PDH and the other redundant port of a two-port NIC for the UDH (so if the entire NIC fails the entire PDH (or UDH) is not lost). Also, have a look at the ML 4108 Drawing, the 'Network Topology' drawing to see the physical cards/ports and cables and how they are interconnected to switches and converters and Mark VI UCVx cards.

Each used Ethernet port is identified as a "connection" by MS-Windows. I think the names of the connections are actually configured/configurable--<b>BUT</b> I've heard of people changing the connection names to something that seems (to them) to be more descriptive, and in the process inadvertently causing problems that were (wrongly) attributed to GE and took long times to find and resolve. So, think <b>very long and VERY hard</b> about changing the names of the connections before doing so, and understand you own any and all consequences of doing so.

Is it confusing? Yes. Does that make it right, or wrong? No. Is it working? Leave it be. Is it not working? Describe the problem you believe you are having and someone here may be able to help you understand it.

Hope this helps!

 

Thanks for the very comrephensive details.

Yes, i did search BASP Virtual adapter details online and found the info on it.

Actually, i am not facing any problem right now; but rather starting my base work to start working for building a HMI station. I have referred to some old discussions that took place on this forum and some other places as well.

Currently, trying to gather the same hardware as my old (current) configuration & at the same time trying to gather as much info on the subject as possible. GE has been very careful in neither developing any procedure/ nor a guideline for such a scenario and the quoted amount for a spare HMI station is so huge that it will put a BIG BIG dent in my Budegt plans.

So, hoping for the best and will keep posting any issues/ solutions that i come across in my attempt.

 

srh,

Don't give GE too much credit for not publishing information in an effort to keep everything secret. They just don't believe that documenting systems and configurations are important. Worse, their Customers allow them to continue this practice by not requiring (demanding) that proper documentation be provided with the equipment.

It sounds like you are doing the right thing in assembling hardware (and software--primarily the OS) that matches your current configuration to the extent possible in preparation for the day when something fails and needs replacing. In this case, the best thing you can do is to have a proper image (using Acronis TrueImage or something similar) that is always up-to-date after any changes (such as LVDT calibration after maintenance outages; Control Constant changes; etc.).

You would do well to install the image on the standby hardware and even try to use the standby HMI (during a maintenance outage, for example) to be sure you can communicate with (send commands to; receive alarms and data from) the Mark VI panel. That way, in the worst case, you have a standby HMI at the ready.

It's NOT always necessary to have the latest and greatest microprocessor or the most recent version of an OS or application (CIMPLICITY; TCI). As you are planning for, having the ability to run a known, working configuration is a fine back-up plan.

GE just doesn't understand--nor does it try to understand--this need for their Customers to be able to quickly and easily recover from some issue with HMI hardware by having people and components and processes and procedures at the ready to support Customers in maintaining a known, working system. They only want to "support" today's HMI (OS; applications; hardware) even if that configuration is obsolete tomorrow. And, because of the lack of processes and procedures they don't even do a very good job of supporting today's HMIs.

Good luck with your project! You are planning well, and we wish you the best in your endeavour! Keep us informed of the progress, and if you run across some difficulty in finding components or find a source of some difficult-to-find components post a note here; many people could benefit from your efforts!

 

I believe GE used a hardware license (dongle) on these HMIs. The dongle is necessary to build a working HMI. So, "rolling your own" HMI is not as easy as buying a CIMPLICITY license and installing the GE Energy interface software. You cannot connect to the data and alarms without the dongle.

 

some_guy,

> I believe GE used a hardware license (dongle) on these HMIs.

The newest GE Mark VIe HMIs use two (2) dongles: one for PROFICY (CIMPLICITY) and one for WorkstationST/ToolboxST.

Yes, you need a dongle (or dongles, as the case may be) to create a turbine control application or to interface a GE HMI with a Mark VI (or Mark VIe). But, to create a hard drive image and that copy image to another PC it shouldn't be necessary to have a (or two) dongle(s). To use the new image on the other CPU it would be necessary to transfer the dongle(s) to the new CPU.

 

CSA

> To use the new image on the other CPU it would be necessary to transfer the dongle(s) to the new CPU.

Correct on all counts, CSA. Yes, CIMPLICITY is licensed by a dongle, but that dongle is readily available on the open market. I don't know if GE Energy will even sell its dongle separately.

BTW, on the current Mark VIe HMIs, the CIMPLICITY dongle is inside the CPU case. They put it there for theft prevention.