g

GEI-100278C

GE Industrial Systems

Data Historian
These instructions do not purport to cover all details or variations in equipment, nor
to provide for every possible contingency to be met during installation, operation,
and maintenance. The information is supplied for informational purposes only, and
GE makes no warranty as to the accuracy of the information included herein.
Changes, modifications and/or improvements to equipment and specifications are
made periodically and these changes may or may not be reflected herein. It is understood that GE may make changes, modifications, or improvements to the equipment
referenced herein or to the document itself at any time. This document is intended for
trained personnel familiar with the GE products referenced herein.
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to any of these patents. All license inquiries should be directed to the address below.
If further information is desired, or if particular problems arise that are not covered
sufficiently for the purchasers purpose, the matter should be referred to:
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Salem, VA 24153-6492 USA
Phone:
+ 1 888 GE4 SERV (888 434 7378, United States)
+ 1 540 378 3280 (International)
Fax:
+ 1 540 387 8606 (All)
(+ indicates the international access code required when calling from outside
the USA)
This document contains proprietary information of General Electric Company, USA
and is furnished to its customer solely to assist that customer in the installation, testing, operation, and/or maintenance of the equipment described. This document shall
not be reproduced in whole or in part nor shall its contents be disclosed to any third
party without the written approval of GE Industrial Systems.
GE PROVIDES THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENT AND THE INFORMATION
INCLUDED THEREIN AS IS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED
STATUTORY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Issue date: 2003-07-17
2003 by General Electric Company, USA.
All rights reserved.

ARCNET is a registered trademark of Datapoint Corporation.

CIMPLICITY is a registered trademark of GE Fanuc Automation North America,Inc.
Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation.

Innovation Series is a trademark of General Electric Company, USA.

Series is a trademark of General Electric Company, USA.
Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Section

Page

Functional Description ................................................................................................2

Working with Files and Menu Commands ..................................................................3
Menu Commands .................................................................................................3
Data Historian Concepts ..............................................................................................4
Configuration...............................................................................................................5
Creating the Data Historian Configuration...........................................................5
Collections............................................................................................................7
Signals ................................................................................................................16
Dead Bands.........................................................................................................17
Troubleshooting..................................................................................................18
Live Data Server........................................................................................................19

Functional Description
This document provides instructions for configuring the Data Historian using the GE
Control System toolbox. The Data Historian records control signals from Innovation
Series drives and controllers and local area networks (LANs) connected to a personal computer. Data is saved in a Data Collection and Analysis (.dca) file format.
The program runs in the background as a service on the computer that is running the
Windows NT or Windows 2000 operating system.
The Data Historian records the following values:

Signals on a drive LAN (DLAN+) to which an Innovation Series controller is

connected.

Ethernet Global Data (EGD) signals on any Unit Data Highway (UDH) Ethernet
connected to the pc on which the program is running.

Control Signal Freeway (CSF) signals if the Data Historian pc has an

ARCNET board for CSF.

DLAN+ signals if the Data Historian computer has an ARCNET board for
DLAN+.

Service Request Transfer Protocol (SRTP) signals if the Data Historian has the
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Interface.

Innovation Series controller capture buffers through EGD or DLAN+.

Innovation Series drives capture buffers through EGD.

Once collected in the .dca format, data can be accessed by the Trend Recorder or by
other GE data analysis applications.
The Data Historian product also provides a Live Data Server service, which will provide data from these networks directly to the Trend Recorder in real-time. The Live
Data Server can sample any global signals on any network (DLAN+, EGD, CSF or
TCnet), which is connected to the Data Historian PC.

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Working with Files and Menu Commands

The Data Historian is configured using one of two types of configuration files:

Data Historian binary (.reb) file is the binary form of the configuration created
through the File \ Save command. The configuration can also be exported to a
project file.

Project (.prj) file is a text file that holds configuration information.

The configuration files generate the following output files, which can be downloaded
to the Data Historian service:

Data Historian build (.rcd) file contains all of the configuration information
and is created by the Device \ Build command.

DATAHISTORIAN.CFG is a copy of the .rcd file placed in the Data Historian's ouput directory during a download. Data Historian reads this file when it is
started or when a message is received that the configuration has been
downloaded.

Menu Commands
Data Historian menus, such as File, Edit, and View, are managed just as other toolbox and Windows menu commands.

Device Menu
The Device menu contains the following commands:

Auto Configure is only available on the Trip Log.

Auto Configure creates the signal list for the live collection of the Trip Log. The
signals are resolved from the open controller file. If the controller file is not open in
the toolbox, then the signals are resolved from the controller directly. If both methods fail, the signal list will not be updated.
Put In Database posts the Data Historian device to the database. This command is
necessary only if you want to use the Live Data Server of the Data Historian. Before
you post the device to the database, you must define which networks the Data Historian device is connected to by modifying the Data Historian configuration.
Get From Database retrieves signal information from the database. Use this
command after all signals have been added.

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Data Historian 3

Validate checks the configuration for errors. The results are posted in the Log
View. Before you can validate a configuration, you must:

Specify addressing paramaters in the Addressing Parameters dialog box (host

computer and host IP address).

Specify collection information in the Insert Collection dialog box.

Add all signals and then perform a Get From Database.

Build creates the Data Historian build (.rcd) output file. The .rcd file is a binary file
that contains all of the configuration information.
Download sends the configuration file to the specified Data Historian. This command attempts to open a connection to the Data Historian service and send a copy of
the .rcd file to it. The Data Historian service creates the file
DATAHISTORIAN.CFG on the computer where it resides.

Data Historian Concepts

The Data Historian is configured in the toolbox as follows:

Any errors encountered while

issuing commands are posted in
the Log View.

1.

Create a Data Historian configuration. Select a Data Historian host. (Since

there may be different Data Historian services running on different NT Host systems, specify the service by naming the Host NT box and, optionally, its IP address.) Also define which network(s) are connected to the Data Historian
computer by marking the appropriate check boxes.

2.

Add Collections. A collection is associated with only one network and/or controller with access to the signals on that network.

3.

Attach signals to the collection (found on the same network). Signals can be
chosen individually from the Signal Selector dialog box or from the Signal Database (SDB) browser.

4.

From the Device menu, select the commands (or associated buttons) Auto
Configure
Build

4 Data Historian

(Trip Log only), Get from Database

, and Download

, Validate

5.

From the Device menu, select the Put In Database command to post the
Data Historian device to the database. This step is optional, and should be performed only if you intend to trend live data from this Data Historian.

6.

The configuration (.reb file) can be exported, which produces a .prj file.

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Configuration
This section defines the four major areas of interest when configuring the Data Historian as follows:

Create configuration

Collections

Signals

Dead bands

Creating the Data Historian Configuration

To create a configuration
Or click

From the File menu, select New. The New dialog box displays.

Click the System

Configuration tab.

Select Data Historian

Configuration and
click OK.

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Modifying the Device Name

The Outline View on the left side of the window displays the following:
The Data Historian is given the
default name, dh1. You can modify
this device name and then enter the
Host Name and Host IP Address.

To modify a Data Historian device name

Or double-click the device

name.
In most cases, the Host Name
and Host IP Address are the
same name.

From the Outline View, click the device name to highlight it.

From the Edit menu, select Modify. The Data Historian Addressing Parameters dialog box displays.

Enter the desired device name and the correct Host Name and Host IP Address. Click OK.

Host Addressing Parameters

The Data Historian Device
Name defaults to dh1. Enter the
new name here.
Enter the name of the computer
in the Windows domain that runs
the Data Historian service.
Enter the name of the PC in the
TCP/IP domain. This can be a
text string associated with a
server name or four numbers
separated by dots, such as
255.255.255.255.
Check all the networks
connected to this Data Historian
device.
When you are finished entering information,
. click OK, and
add a collection (refer to the section, Collections)

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Collections
The Data Historian is configured by adding collections. A collection is a group of
signals found on the same network. Collections have a data management feature that
automatically deletes old files and also limits the amount of disk space the files can
use. The following type of collections can be added:

Controller Live Data

Controller Capture Buffer

PC Live Data

Drive Capture Buffer

Trip Log

Mark VI I/O Capture Buffer

GE Power Conversion Capture Buffer

GE Power Conversion Live Data

Insert Collection
To insert a collection

Or click the right mouse button

and select Insert First.

1.

From the Outline View, click Collections.

2.

From the Edit menu, select Insert First. The Insert Collection dialog box
displays.

Select one of the

following collection
types.
Note For descriptions
of the collection types,
refer to the paragraphs
that follow.
Click OK.

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Controller Live Data

An extra load is placed on the
controller for each collection.

Controller Live Data collects data directly from the controller. The controller
must be on a DLAN+ and running the DLAN+ software. The Data Historian computer does not have to be on the DLAN+. Controller Live Data collection starts a
process on the controller.
Enter the maximum
size (in MB) for the
directory holding the
collected data.

Enter the maximum time

(in hours) that the data will
remain on the disk before
being automatically
deleted.

Enter the name of the

colection (also the
name of the Data
Historian subdirectory
for the data collected).
Enter the rate (ms)
that the data is
collected from the
data source.
Enter up to 50
characters describing
the collection.
Select the controller
name from which the
data is collected.

Select the name of the DLAN+ from

which the signals are collected.

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Controller Capture Buffer

Controller Capture Buffer uploads a capture buffer when the status changes from
capturing to capture complete. The only signals in this collection are the status
signals from the capture buffers. Each capture buffer upload is written to a separate
file in the same collection directory. The status signal can be either on the DLAN+
or EGD network.

Enter the name of the collection

(also is the name of the Data
Historian subdirectory for the
data that the Data Historian
collects).

Enter the maximum size (in MB) for the

directory holding the collected data.

Enter the maximum time (in hours) that the data will
remain on the disk before being automatically deleted.

Enter the rate (ms) that

the data is collected from
the data source.
Enter up to 50 characters
describing the collection (this
description will be the title for
the CSV file).
Select the controller name from
where the data is being
collected.
Select the name of the
network from where the signals
are collected.
When finished, click OK.

Select this option to write data to a

.csv file in addition to the .dca file.

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Select this option to print the .csv file to the

default printer. This option is only available
when "Create CSV File" option is selected.

Data Historian 9

PC Live Data
PC Live Data collects data from DLAN+, CSF, SRTP, or EGD networks. This collection takes the data from network memory maps located on the Data Historian
computer. This collection requires that the following hardware, software, and configuration have been installed and are running on the Data Historian computer:

The network interface must be

created and configured by using the toolbox on the Data
Historian computer.

DLAN+ collection requires an ARCNET card and driver.

CSF collection requires an ARCNET card and CSF driver (available from GEToshiba Automation Systems).

SRTP collection requires the PLC interface software, which uses the Host
Communication Toolkit from GE Fanuc. To use this feature, you must have a
GE Fanuc License (available from GE-Toshiba Automation Systems).

EGD collection requirements differ depending on whether or not the Data Historian is running on the CIMPLICITY Server computer.

If the Data Historian is running on the CIMPLICTY Server computer, then

this requires that the signals are imported into the CIMPLICITY project and
the EGD Devcom and service are installed.

If the Data Historian is running on a standard computer, then this requires

that a network interface is created and configured and the EGD initialization file (ICNSDB.INI) exports for this computer. The standard computer
must be on the UDH Ethernet. The EGD Service must also be installed and
running.

Note Any changes to the exchanges received by this computer require re-exporting
the EGD initialization file (ICNSDB.INI) file and restarting the EGD Service.

Enter the name of the

collection (also is the
name of the Data Historian
subdirectory for the data
that the Data Historian
collects).

Enter the maximum size (in MB)

for the directory holding the
collected data.

Enter the maximum time (in hours)

that the data will remain on the disk
before being automatically deleted.

Enter the rate (ms) that the

data is collected from the
data source.
Enter up to 50 characters
describing the collection.
Select the name of the
network from where the
signals are collected.
Select the source of the
timestamp used in the
data files.
When finished, click OK.

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Device Capture Buffer

Device Capture Buffer uploads a capture buffer when the signal changes. The
collection's only signal, Capture Complete, must be on the EGD network.
Enter the maximum size (in
MB) for the directory holding
the collected data.

Enter the maximum time (in hours)

that the data will remain on the disk
before being automatically deleted.

Enter the name of the

collection (also is the
name of the Data Historian
subdirectory for the data
that the Data Historian
collects).
Enter the rate (ms) that the
data is collected from the
data source.
Enter up to 50 characters
describing the collection.
Select the drive name from
where the data is
being collected.
When finished, clickOK.

Select this option to have the Data Historian send the command to
re-arm the capture buffer after the buffer has been successfully uploaded.

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Select the name of the EGD network

from where the signals are collected.

Data Historian 11

Trip Log
This collection also contains
alarms and events generated
through the Turbine Control
Interface (TCI) system. A menu
button is provided to automatically generate the signal list for
the live data. The live data consists of the signals defined in
the capture buffers.

Trip Log is a combination of live data collected at a rate of one second and multiple
capture buffers collected at a high-speed rate. The signals defined by the user for the
collection are the status signals from the capture buffers. The signals are resolved
from the controller file, if it is open in the toolbox, or from the controller directly.
Both the capture buffer status signals and the collected signals must be on the EGD
network.
The Trip Log creates two collections: one PC Live collection and one Trip collection. When a trip occurs (the capture buffer status transitions to capture complete),
this collection reads from the PC Live Collection 24 hours of previously collected
data, alarms and events prior to the capture buffer and writes it to the trip file. Then
data from the capture buffers is written to the same file creating a single comprehensive file for the trip. The last 30 trips are saved.
Enter the name of the site.

Enter the name of the unit.

The Collection Name will be
the <Unit Name>_TRIPLOG.
(The Collection Name is
also the name of the Data
Historian subdirectory for
the data that the Data
Historian collects).
Enter up to 50 characters
describing the collection.

Select the controller name

that contains the capture
buffer.
Enter name of TCI computer
(default is the Data Historian
PC name). This PC creates
the alarms and events.
When finished, click OK.

Select the name of the EGD

network from where the
signals are collected.

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Trip Log Data Table - 24 Hour Data Breakdown

Time

Sample Rate

19 Hours

10 minutes

4 Hours

1 minute

40 minutes

10 seconds

19 minutes

1 second

45 seconds

200 milliseconds

15 seconds

40 milliseconds

5 seconds after trigger

40 milliseconds

Note The Data Historian assumes the capture buffer is setup with a 40 ms sample
rate with 1625 samples and 1500 pre-samples. Capture buffers with different settings
will yield unpredictable amounts of data collection.

Mark VI I/O Capture Buffer

Enter the maximum size (in
MB) for the directory holding
the collected data.

Enter the maximum time (in hours)

that the data will remain on the disk
before being automatically deleted.

Enter the name of the

collection (also is the
name of the Data Historian
subdirectory for the data
that the Data Historian
collects).
Enter the rate (ms) that the
data is collected from the
data source.
Enter up to 50 characters
describing the collection.

Select the controller name

that is connected to the I/O card
Select the name of the
EGD network where
the signals are collected.
Select the controller channel
where the I/O card resides
(Q,R,S,T). Select Q for the
designated controller.

Rack number the I/O card is located in.

Card slot in the rack the I/O card is located in.

Note Not all Mark VI I/O boards currently support this function.

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Data Historian 13

GE Power Conversion Capture Buffer

Enter the maximum size (in
MB) for the directory holding
the collected data.

Enter the maximum time (in hours)

that the data will remain on the disk
before being automatically deleted.

Enter the name of the

collection (also is the
name of the Data Historian
subdirectory for the data
that the Data Historian
collects).
Enter the rate (ms) that the
data is collected from the
data source.
Enter up to 50 characters
describing the collection.
Select the GE Power
Conversion that contains the
capture buffer.
Select the name of the
EGD network where
the signals are collected.

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GE Power Conversion Live Data

Enter the name of the

collection (also is the
name of the Data Historian
subdirectory for the data
that the Data Historian
collects).
Enter the rate (ms) that the
data is collected from the
data source.

Enter the maximum size (in

MB) for the directory holding
the collected data.

Enter the maximum time (in hours)

that the data will remain on the disk
before being automatically deleted.

Enter up to 50 characters
describing the collection.

Select the name of the

EGD network from where
the signals are collected.
Select the GE Power
Conversion device that
contains the event history for
this collection.
Select the Collection type.
Continuous - Always collecting
Triggered - Event Based
Signal used for the
trigger (must be on EGD).
Threshold value for trigger

Pre-trigger samples taken (in

Seconds).
Post-trigger samples taken (in
Seconds).

Trigger Condition

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Signals
Once the collection is created, signals can be added. Select the desired signals from
the collections network signals.
To add signals to the collection

To add the next signal, click the

signal you just inserted and
select Insert Next.

1.

From the Outline View, click the collection name.

2.

From the Edit menu, select Insert First.

3.

Or, click the right mouse button and select Insert First. The Signal Selector
dialog box displays.

Note The signal must be on the network chosen for collection or the get command
from the database will fail.

Signal Selector

Locate the
desired signal
from the
Regions list.
Click on the
signal to add it
to the Signal
Name list.
Click OK and
the signal
displays under
the collection
name in the
Outline View.

Tip The SDB Browser can be used to add multiple signals. The query used for the
find should include the network chosen in each Insert Collection dialog box. Using
the list of signals returned from the query, you can perform a multiple select, and
then drag-and-drop from the Browser to the collection.
A completed device configuration displays in the Outline View as follows:

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Dead Bands
Every signal has a parameter called a dead band. The dead band establishes a range
that the signal can vary before a new signal value is recorded. This function prevents
quantities of insignificant data from being collected. For example, a variable can
vary between 0 - 12 V, but sit at or drift near zero.
Also, if only changes of 0.1 V or more is desired, a dead band range of 0.1 can be set
to prevent a file of meaningless drift values from being created. A dead band of zero
indicates that all value changes, no matter how small, are recorded.

Set Dead Band

To set the dead band for a signal
From the Outline View, double-click the signal name. The Modify Signal dialog box displays.

Change the
signal name or
click Browse to
locate and select
the name.

Enter the
required dead
band and
click OK.

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Troubleshooting
When troubleshooting or reporting errors, refer to the Error Number in the error
message. This number relates specific information regarding the nature of the encountered problem.
Problem
The Data Historian is not receiving data or data is
all zeros while running a PC Live collection on the
DLAN or CSF network.

The Data Historian is not receiving any data or data

is invalid while running a PC Live collection on the
EGD network.

A Capture Buffer Collection running from the controller or the drive is not receiving any data when
the capture buffer triggers.

Solution
The pc needs an ARCNET card installed.

The ARCNET card requires an ARCNET driver

(DLAN+) or CSF driver loaded and configured.

Verify that drivers are working properly and are receiving data.

Verify the signal is on the target EGD.

Verify the exchange is being sent to the Data Historian

pc.

Verify the Data Historian pc is on the UDH Ethernet.

The EGD does not route exchanges.

Verify the installation, configuration, and running status

of the EGD service.

Verify healthy exchange received by the Data Historian

pc. (Use Program Files\GE Control System Solutions\ICN_Service\EGDStatus.exe to verify the status
of the EGD exchanges on the computer.)

Verify the status signal from the controller capture

buffer is on EGD or DLAN+.

Verify compatible firmware for the drive capture buffer

uploads. Only the Innovation Series drives have the
capture buffer upload feature.
Verify that the Data Historian is seeing the status transition by creating a PC Live collection of status signals.

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Live Data Server

The Live Data Server is a separate Windows NT Service, which is installed with the
Data Historian product. The Live Data Server is not required for the Data Historian
to collect data or produce DCA files. The only purpose of Live Data Server is to provide real-time data to the Trend Recorder.
The Live Data Server has access to the same set of signals as the Data Historian, but
it need not be pre-configured with a set of signals to trend. If you have a connection
to the SDB, you can trend any signal, not just signals defined in a Data Historian collection. You can also drag signals from a Data Historian collection and drop them
onto the Trend window to see them in real-time.
To use the Live Data Server

GEI-100278C

1.

The LiveDataServer service must be running on the Data Historian computer.

Use the Windows NT Service Control Manager to verify that the service is running.

2.

You must define a Data Historian device in the toolbox and post this device to
the SDB as defined in the previous section.

3.

From the Trend Recorder, you define a new Real-Time trend. When you add
signals to this trend, make sure to select the Data Historian device as the source
of signals.

4.

Start recording the trend so that you should see the selected signals being
trended in real-time.

Data Historian 19

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20 Data Historian

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GEI-100278C Toolbox