J
My client still uses FactoryLink ECS 6.6 on a very critical production line, and it still runs on the original (pre-Y2K) NT4 Compaq server (redundant --- that's partly why they never upgraded!). So now, upgrading is inevitable and the year 2012 bug that inflicts FL ECS is an even better reason to do so, but the question is, upgrade to what, FL 8.0? Is FactoryLink still available? More than 10 years ago, I worked with FL 7.X and I remember that moving from from 6.X to 7.X was painful, especially if the app made heavy use of PowerVB, which is the case here. The other option, not less painful, is moving to Wonderware InTouch, which has been my client's choice for all new projects. Writing this post practically answers it, but the FL - Intouch will be expensive.
The cheaper and quicker option would be to move ECS to an NT4 virtual machine (which I do use for dev purposes, with Oracle Virtual Box amd it runs perfectly), but I'm reluctant to put that in production and it will require testing wrt Telemecanique serial PLC connection. I'm not sure about NT4 on VMware. ECS's year 2012 bug will still be there, unsupported by Siemens. For those who ignore it, it is a pain in that the smallest modification requires changing the server's date to 2011 and a 20 minute long re-compile of all config tables. Not fun for commissioning!
Any suggestions? Any other product other than FL or InTouch will be rejected by my client, for sure.
The cheaper and quicker option would be to move ECS to an NT4 virtual machine (which I do use for dev purposes, with Oracle Virtual Box amd it runs perfectly), but I'm reluctant to put that in production and it will require testing wrt Telemecanique serial PLC connection. I'm not sure about NT4 on VMware. ECS's year 2012 bug will still be there, unsupported by Siemens. For those who ignore it, it is a pain in that the smallest modification requires changing the server's date to 2011 and a 20 minute long re-compile of all config tables. Not fun for commissioning!
Any suggestions? Any other product other than FL or InTouch will be rejected by my client, for sure.