SPM7 System Design Guide

StruxureWare™ Power Monitoring 7.0
System Design Guide
7EN02-0315-00
05/2012
Contents
Safety information
5
Safety precautions
7
System Design Guide introduction
9
Supported operating system and SQL Server editions
11
StruxureWare Power Monitoring recommended server specifications
Communication networks
12
13
Ethernet network design
LAN topologies
Other LAN considerations
Physical planning and layout
Serial network design
RS-232 communications
RS-485 communications
General bus wiring considerations
Other network considerations
Additional considerations for high-performance systems
StruxureWare Power Monitoring architecture
14
14
17
17
18
18
19
20
21
21
23
Server types
Primary Server
Database Server
Secondary Server
Client types
Engineering Clients
Web Clients
Architecture types
Standalone Server architectures
Distributed Server architectures
System components
24
24
24
25
26
26
26
27
27
27
29
StruxureWare Power Monitoring services
ION site server
ION Log Inserter service
Virtual ION Processor
ION Real Time Data Service
Translators
StruxureWare Power Monitoring Diagnostics Viewer
Starting Diagnostics Viewer
Service Diagnostics
Communications Diagnostics
Additional Commands
Using StruxureWare Power Monitoring as an OPC Server/Client
Advanced configuration parameters
30
32
34
34
35
36
37
37
37
38
40
40
42
Registry settings
Appendix A: Tested Reference Systems
43
45
Appendix B: Determining when a Secondary server is required
47
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Page 4 of 58
Examples
Appendix C: Serial Comms test results
47
48
Appendix D: Data Redundancy
49
SQL Server clustering
FAQs
49
50
Glossary
52
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Safety information
Important information
Read these instructions carefully and look at the equipment to become familiar
with the device before trying to install, operate, service or maintain it. The
following special messages may appear throughout this bulletin or on the
equipment to warn of potential hazards or to call attention to information that
clarifies or simplifies a procedure.
The addition of either symbol to a "Danger" or "Warning" safety label
indicates that an electrical hazard exists which will result in personal
injury if the instructions are not followed.
This is the safety alert symbol. It is used to alert you to potential
personal injury hazards. Obey all safety messages that follow this
symbol to avoid possible injury or death.
DANGER
DANGER indicates an imminently hazardous situation which, if not avoided, will
result in death or serious injury.
WARNING
WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, can
result in death or serious injury.
CAUTION
CAUTION indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if not avoided, can result
in minor or moderate injury.
NOTICE
NOTICE is used to address practices not related to physical injury. The safety alert
symbol shall not be used with this signal word.
Please note
Electrical equipment should be installed, operated, serviced and maintained only by
qualified personnel. No responsibility is assumed by Schneider Electric for any
consequences arising out of the use of this material.
A qualified person is one who has skills and knowledge related to the construction,
installation, and operation of electrical equipment and has received safety training to
recognize and avoid the hazards involved.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 5 of 58
Page 6 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Safety precautions
Installation, wiring, testing and service must be performed in accordance with all local and national
electrical codes.
DANGER
HAZARD OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, EXPLOSION, OR ARC FLASH
• Apply appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow safe electrical work practices.
See NFPA 70E in the USA or applicable local standards.
• Any equipment or device associated with this product must only be installed and serviced by
qualified electrical personnel.
• Turn off any power supplying any device associated with this product and the equipment in
which it is installed before working on the device or equipment.
• Always use a properly rated voltage sensing device to confirm that all power is off.
• Connect protective ground (earth) before turning on any power supplying any device associated
with this product.
Failure to follow these instructions will result in death or serious injury.
WARNING
UNINTENDED EQUIPMENT OPERATION
Do not use StruxureWare Power Monitoring for critical control or protection applications where
human or equipment safety relies on the operation of the control action.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in death or serious injury.
Note
Do not base your maintenance or service actions solely on messages and information displayed
by the software.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 7 of 58
Safety precautions
Page 8 of 58
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
System Design Guide introduction
The System Design Guide provides an overview of the elements involved in StruxureWare Power
Monitoring system design.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 9 of 58
System Design Guide introduction
Page 10 of 58
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Supported operating system and SQL Server
editions
The following table summarizes the supported 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows
operating systems and SQL Server editions.
32-bit Windows Operating Systems
Windows 7 Professional/Enterprise Editions, SP1
Windows Server 2008 Standard/Enterprise
Editions, SP2
Windows Server 2008 Standard/Enterprise
Editions, SP2
64-bit Windows Operating Systems
Windows 7 Professional/Enterprise Editions, SP1
Windows Server 2008 Standard/Enterprise
Editions, SP2
Windows Server 2008 Standard/Enterprise
Editions, SP2
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard/Enterprise
Editions, SP1
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard/Enterprise
Editions, SP1
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
32-bit Microsoft SQL Server
Editions
SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard
Edition, SP1
SQL Server 2008
Standard/Enterprise Editions, SP2
SQL Server 2008 R2
Standard/Enterprise Editions, SP1
64-bit Microsoft SQL Server
Editions
SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard
Edition, SP1
SQL Server 2008
Standard/Enterprise Editions, SP2
SQL Server 2008 R2
Standard/Enterprise Editions, SP1
SQL Server 2008
Standard/Enterprise Editions, SP2
SQL Server 2008 R2
Standard/Enterprise Editions, SP1
Standalone
Server
Distributed
Database
Server
ü
-
ü
ü
ü
ü
Standalone
Server
Distributed
Database
Server
ü
-
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
ü
Page 11 of 58
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
StruxureWare Power Monitoring recommended server specifications
StruxureWare Power Monitoring recommended server
specifications
The following table provides the recommended server specifications for a StruxureWare Power
Monitoring system based on the number of devices in the system and number of concurrent Web
Client users. See "Appendix A: Tested Reference Systems" on page 45 for example tested
references systems based on these specifications.
No. of
Devices
1-99
1-99
100-250
250-600
600-1000
1000-2500
No. of
Users
Power Monitoring
software version
Windows
Operating
System
Database
Engine
SQL 2008
R2
Standard
Edition
< 15
StruxureWare Power
Monitoring v7.0
Windows 7
(64-bit)
Professional
Ultimate
Enterprise
< 20
StruxureWare Power
Monitoring v7.0
SQL 2008
Server 2008
R2
R2 Standard
Standard
Enterprise
Edition
< 20
StruxureWare Power
Monitoring v7.0
SQL 2008
Server 2008
R2
R2 Standard
Standard
Enterprise
Edition
< 35
StruxureWare Power
Monitoring v7.0
SQL 2008
Server 2008
R2
R2 Standard
Standard
Enterprise
Edition
< 50
StruxureWare Power
Monitoring v7.0
SQL 2008
Server 2008
R2
R2 Standard
Standard
Enterprise
Edition
StruxureWare Power
Monitoring v7.0
SQL 2008
Server 2008
R2
R2 Standard
Standard
Enterprise
Edition
< 50
Server 2008
SECONDARY SERVER R2 Standard n/a
Enterprise
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Primary Server details
CPU: Quad Core, 8M Cache, 2.8GHz, 4.8
GT/s
RAM: 12GB, 1333MHz, DDR3 SDRAM,
ECC (3 DIMMS)
HD: x2 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
CPU: 6 Core, 2M Cache, 3.2GHz, 4.8 GT/s
RAM: 24GB, 1333MHz, DDR3 SDRAM,
ECC (6 DIMMS)
HD: x1 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s; x2 1TB
SATA 3.0Gb/s
CPU: Quad Core, 12M Cache, 2.4Ghz,
5.86 GT/s
RAM: 24GB, 1333MHz UDIMMS (3
DIMMS)
HD: x6 300GB 15K RPM SA SCSI 6Gb/s
3.5in Hotplug Hard Drives
CPU: x2 Quad Core, 12M Cache, 2.4Ghz,
5.86 GT/s
RAM: 24GB, 1333MHz UDIMMS, (6
DIMMS)
HD: x6 300GB 15K RPM SA SCSI 6Gb/s
3.5in Hotplug Hard Drives
CPU: x2 6 Core, Cache 12M, 2.66Ghz, 6.4
GT/s
RAM: 24GB 1333MHz Dual Ranked LV
RDIMMs (6 DIMMS)
HD: x6 300GB 15K RPM SA SCSI 6Gb/s
3.5in Hotplug Hard Drives
CPU: x2 6 Core, 12M Cache, 2.66Ghz, 6.4
GT/s
RAM: 24GB 1333MHz Dual Ranked LV
RDIMMs (6 DIMMS)
HD: x6 300GB 15K RPM SA SCSI 6Gb/s
3.5in Hotplug Hard Drives
CPU: x2 Quad Core, 12M Cache, 2.4Ghz,
5.86 GT/s
RAM: 24GB, 1333MHz UDIMMS, (6
DIMMS)
HD: x6 300GB 15K RPM SA SCSI 6Gb/s
3.5in Hotplug Hard Drives
Page 12 of 58
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Communication networks
A well designed network is one of the keys to the performance of StruxureWare Power Monitoring.
The ability to move data from networked devices to a database or primary server has an impact on
system performance. For this reason, choosing the appropriate network type and setup are important
steps to an efficient energy management system.
In this section:
Ethernet network design
14
LAN topologies
14
Other LAN considerations
17
Physical planning and layout
17
Serial network design
18
RS-232 communications
18
RS-485 communications
19
General bus wiring considerations
20
Other network considerations
21
Additional considerations for high-performance systems
21
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 13 of 58
Communication networks
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Ethernet network design
LAN topologies
Understanding basic network structure
The physical layout or topology of a network consists of cables, components, and devices. These
can be structured in any of the following topologies:
• Star topology
• Ring topology
• Dual ring topology
• Mesh topology
Each topology has its advantages and disadvantages, which are summarized in the following
topology descriptions. In addition to choosing the ideal topology, there are other LAN considerations
to take into account when planning a robust application network.
Star topology
In a star topology, all the devices are connected though a central device. A star topology is a common
network layout for office environments and also for newer metering environments. In a star topology,
devices can use dedicated sections of the network for various services. In an Ethernet star, the
intermediate device may be a hub or a switch. For industrial Ethernet applications, the use of a full
duplex switch as the central device, rather than a hub, is strongly recommended.
Advantages
Network throughput is much higher than on a shared-media bus
topology.
Disadvantages
Star topologies are more costly because a
dedicated cable must be run to each device. To
offset this disadvantage, network infrastructure
components (switches, hubs, etc.) are used in
cabinets on the factory floor so that a group of
local devices can be connected together. A
single long cable can be run back to a central
point to support the group, rather than using
separate cables for each device.
Network reconfiguration is much easier.
Centralizing network components makes administration easier;
centralized management and monitoring of network traffic enhances
network performance.
Diagnostics are simple; if a network segment becomes inoperable, it
affects only the devices directly connected to that segment.
Infrastructure components use monitoring software and device-based
Page 14 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Ethernet network design
Advantages
LEDs to help indicate failures; most single points of failures can be
diagnosed and repaired quickly.
Disadvantages
Resilience; a cable failure should only take that device out of service.
You can have more devices on a single network than on a bus topology.
Ring topology
In a ring topology, all devices or network infrastructure components are connected in a loop with no
beginning or end. Packets travel in a single direction on the ring as they are passed from one device to
the next. Each device checks a packet for its destination and passes it on to the next device until it
reaches its destination.
Ring topologies provide redundancy. The loss of a single link is handled by routing traffic in the
opposite direction. A ring may be based on token rotation or random/shared access. Alternatively, it
may be a switched network where all the devices access the network at the same time at different
speeds.
Advantages
Redundancy; the loss of a single link or infrastructure
component does not affect the entire network.
A ring topology uses software to monitor the network
links.
Disadvantages
High cost; more cabling is needed to complete the ring.
Network infrastructure components need intelligence to
respond to device failures; they are more costly than simple bus
or star components.
Ethernet rings usually form the backbone for high-availability applications. Two paths are available to
reach the same device. If ring topology is required, switches that support either a proprietary ring
topology or spanning tree protocol (either spanning tree or rapid spanning tree) need to be used.
Spanning tree protocol (STP; IEEE 802.1D) or rapid spanning tree protocol (RSTP; IEEE 802.1w) are
protocols that avoid communication loops and find a new communication path when the initial path is
no longer available. The recovery time (time to find a new path) is approximately 30 s with STP. With
RSTP and proper network design, recovery time could be as low as 100 ms.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 15 of 58
Communication networks
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Dual ring topology
When used in critical applications, dual ring topology may be deployed to avoid network outages. A
dual ring has all the features of a single ring with more fault tolerance. It is comprised of infrastructure
components connected together with multiple rings. Each device is connected to two infrastructure
components. Each infrastructure component is connected to a separate ring. When a single link or
infrastructure device fails, all other devices can still communicate.
Dual ring topologies have additional features not always found in typical data communications
environments. For example, hot standby links are used between rings. When a link fails, the standby
becomes active and prevents any interruption in network communications. Watchdog packets are
sent out to inactive connections and create logs if the connection remains inactive. The watchdog
packets create log entries that are monitored by the network administrator.
Advantages
Redundancy; the failure of multiple devices or cables
should not cause the network to fail.
Separate power supplies can be used for each ring.
Disadvantages
Cost, compared to a single ring, since the amount of equipment
is doubled
The need to regularly monitor unused links so that they are
known to be healthy in the event that they are needed.
Multiple interfaces within a device can connect the device
to different rings so that the flooding of one ring with
collisions or broadcast traffic should not cause the system
to fail.
Ethernet rings usually form the backbone for high-availability applications. Two paths are available to
reach the same device. If ring topology is required, switches that support either a proprietary ring
topology or spanning tree protocol (either spanning tree or rapid spanning tree) must be used.
Spanning tree protocol (STP; IEEE 802.1D) or rapid spanning tree protocol (RSTP; IEEE 802.1w) are
protocols that avoid communication loops and find a new communication path when the initial path is
no longer available. The recovery time (time to find a new path) is approximately 30 s with STP. With
RSTP and proper network design, recovery time could be as low as 100 ms.
Mesh topology
A mesh topology is used in very large networks or network backbones where every end device or
infrastructure device has a connection to one or more components of the network. Ideally, each
device is directly connected to every other device in the mesh.
Page 16 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Ethernet network design
Another mesh implementation is as a network backbone that connects separate star structures. This
combined topology provides fault tolerance to the backbone without the high cost of a mesh topology
throughout the entire network.
Mesh topologies are used less frequently because of cost and complexity.
Advantages
Fault tolerance; if a break occurs anywhere in the
network cable segment, traffic can be rerouted.
Disadvantages
Complexity; difficult to manage and administer.
High cost; more cabling and interfaces are needed to support
the redundant connections.
An Ethernet mesh network offers more redundancy than an Ethernet ring architecture. In a ring, two
paths are typically available to the same device. In a mesh network, more than two paths are typically
available.
To develop an Ethernet mesh topology, switches that support spanning tree or rapid spanning tree
protocol are required.
Other LAN considerations
Switch and hub configurations work in conjunction with network architecture to help ensure
performance. Recommendations for network layout are described below.
Full-Duplex vs. Half-Duplex
Schneider Electric recommends the use of full-duplex switches wherever possible. Full-duplex
switches:
• give greater bandwidth (100 MB in both directions on certain networks).
• allow a device to send responses while receiving additional requests or other traffic.
• result in fewer delays and errors with a device.
Switches
Switches should always be used in the design of your network. They offer more intelligence than
hubs at an equal or lesser cost.
The industrial switches available today work reliably under extreme conditions such as
electromagnetic interference, high operating temperatures, and heavy mechanical loads. Protect
industrial switches by using field-attachable connectors up to IP67 and redundant ring cabling.
Physical planning and layout
Factors that affect system performance
Each of these items can affect system performance:
• inherent limitations of each communications protocol
• robustness of the network (for example, number of retries, timeouts, lost packets)
• response times of the devices in the system
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 17 of 58
Communication networks
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
• type of connection for each device (serially or direct to Ethernet)
• number of masters requesting information (PowerLogic SCADA, StruxureWare Power Monitoring,
PLCs, third party)
• routing path for each packet (for example, hubs, switches, and gateways)
Recommended devices for Ethernet
Generally, use switches as much as possible to minimize collisions, increase performance, and
simplify network design. Avoid using hubs whenever possible.
Installation measure to reduce EMI in Ethernet networks
Protecting the Ethernet network from electromagnetic interference (EMI) is an issue that involves the
entire installation. Although it is important to be concerned about EMI immunity throughout your entire
system, this section describes only methods that apply to your Ethernet network. By equipotentially
bonding, grounding (earthing), proper wiring, and shielding your site and equipment, you can
significantly reduce a large percentage of EMI issues.
The following list describes key measures you need to consider in your installation in order to reduce
EMI in an industrial Ethernet network:
• grounding (earthing) and equipotential bonding
• EMC-compatible wiring and cable runs
• balancing circuits
• cable selection
• shielding
• filtering
• placement of devices
• placement of wires
• electrical isolation
Serial network design
Devices such as power meters may provide serial communications ports which allow data to be
extracted by a computer for remote display or analysis. The method used to extract this information is
called a communications protocol. While communications protocols vary from device to device, the
basic process is similar for all devices.
RS-232 communications
RS-232 is one of the simplest communications network, allowing you to connect to one device using
a maximum cable length of 15 m (50 ft). To connect to more than one device, you need to convert this
standard to RS-485.
Page 18 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Serial network design
RS-485 communications
A typical installation consists of a computer workstation (PC) and a number of devices (also referred
to as intelligent electronic devices or IEDs) on an RS-485 communications bus. Shielded twisted-pair
cable is used to link the communication ports of all the devices. Since the same pair of wires is
shared by all devices, only one device can transmit at a time. If two or more devices attempt to
transmit simultaneously, collisions occur and messages are corrupted. Some method must be used
to control access to the bus and prevent collisions.
Schneider Electric devices use a master-slave process to control access to the RS-485 bus. Each
RS-485 communications bus has one bus master device which can be hardware or software. This
device initiates all communications transactions. All other devices are slaves, which only respond to
a request from the master. A slave never transmits a message without first receiving one from the
master. In an StruxureWare Power Monitoring energy management system, usually the PC is the
master and the networked devices are slaves. In some cases (for example, a Modbus network), one
device can act as master to other devices in the loop.
Each device has a unique unit ID: a numeric address that identifies each device on the bus. This
allows the master to specify which slave responds to the request. The Unit ID for most meters is a
four-digit number. For a PC, the unit ID is generally greater than 10,000, making it nearly impossible
for the PC unit ID to be the same as a meter unit ID.
The PC (master) must transmit a request to a device (slave) in order to initiate communications. The
device then responds by transmitting a response to the master. The following sequence of events
must occur in order for communications to be successful:
1. The PC (master) must create and output a valid request packet addressed to a specific meter
(slave) existing on that communications channel.
2. The packet must arrive at the intended device intact.
3. The device must respond to the message by building and sending a valid response packet. This
packet must be addressed to the master to ensure that another slave does not attempt to interpret
the message.
4. The response packet must arrive at the master intact.
No communication can occur unless initiated by the master. After sending a request as in Step 1, the
master waits a limited time for the slave to respond. If a valid response is not received within this
timeout period (for example, the slave has timed out), the master either retransmits the request or
moves on to the next slave. From the master's perspective, most communication errors are caused
by timeouts.
Performance measurement
There are a number of parameters that can be measured to indicate the health of the communications
system. These include:
• Error rates: ratio of good packets to bad packets.
• Throughput: rate of useful data transferred in a given amount of time.
• Response time: how quickly a slave responds to a request.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 19 of 58
Communication networks
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Straight-Line topology
The straight-line wiring method is illustrated below. Note that connections are shown for one RS-485
port only. Each end point of the straight-line bus must be terminated with a ¼ watt resistor (RT).
These termination resistors reduce signal reflections that may corrupt data on the bus.
Termination resistors are connected between the (+) and (-) terminals of the device at each end of the
bus. The value of the resistor should match the line impedance of the cable. For an AWG 22 shielded
twisted pair cable, values between 150 and 300 ohms are typical. Consult the cable manufacturer’s
documentation for the exact impedance of your cable.
General bus wiring considerations
DANGER
HAZARD OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, EXPLOSION, OR ARC FLASH
• Apply appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow safe electrical work practices.
See NFPA 70E in the USA or applicable local standards.
• Any equipment or device associated with this product must only be installed and serviced by
qualified electrical personnel.
• Turn off all power supplying all devices associated with this product and the equipment in which
it is installed before working on the device or equipment.
• Always use a properly rated voltage sensing device to confirm that all power is off.
• Connect protective ground (earth) before turning on any power supplying this device.
• Replace all devices, doors and covers before turning on power to this equipment.
Failure to follow these instructions will result in death or serious injury.
Devices connected on the bus, including meters, converters and other instrumentation, must be
wired as follows:
• Connect the shield of each segment of the cable to ground at one end only.
• Isolate cables as much as possible from sources of electrical noise.
Page 20 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Serial network design
• Use an intermediate terminal strip to connect each device to the bus. This allows for easy removal
of a device for servicing if necessary.
• Install a ¼ Watt termination resistor (RT) between the (+) and (-) terminals of the device at each
end point of a straight-line bus. The resistor should match the nominal impedance of the RS-485
cable (typically 120 ohms – consult the manufacturer’s documentation for the cable’s impedance
value).
For additional information regarding the wiring of Schneider Electric devices, refer to the appropriate
installation document for each device.
Other network considerations
The network bandwidth necessary for the communication to the devices is dynamic. There are three
types of transactions to the devices that consumes network bandwidth:
• Periodic polling and uploading of new data log records as well as waveform captures (if available
on the device)
• Real-time data request through StruxureWare Power Monitoring tools (for example, OPC-DA
Server, Vista, Designer etc.)
• Power quality events if available
During steady-state operation, StruxureWare Power Monitoring requires a certain amount of
bandwidth. This is due to the periodic polling by the Log Inserter to check if there are any new records
to upload and then uploading data records.
In addition, use of StruxureWare Power Monitoring tools contributes to network consumption. For
example, every time a Vista diagram is updated, or Designer connects to a device, there is more
network traffic on top of steady-state operation as relevant services interact with the requested
devices. This need is linearly related to number of objects being polled on the screen or OPC tags
being broadcast. Furthermore, use of VIP and software based logging generates more network traffic.
It is important to note that high end power quality meters generate waveforms. These waveforms can
be much larger in size compared to the regular data logs. Because the frequency of events and
associated waveforms is high, there is a considerable amount of extra communication compared to
steady-state operation. It is important to consider this need when using high end power quality
devices where power quality events are expected or frequent.
Additional considerations for high-performance systems
There are a number of items to pay attention to when maintaing a high performance system:
• Keep serial loops as short as possible.
• Have a minimum baud rate of 19.2k.
• Keep the number of devices in a serial loop under ten when using ION protocol, and six when using
Modbus.
• Disable devices that are not presently commissioned or functional (for example defective or
physically not connected devices etc.).
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 21 of 58
Communication networks
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
• Device logging is preferable to software-based logging. If on-board logging is not available, use of a
data logger (for example, EGX 300), especially on a serial loop can increase the system
performance.
• If possible, connect high-end PQ meters which can generate events and waveforms directly to the
Ethernet. If this is not possible, try to isolate them to a smaller serial loop (one or two devices, for
example).
• Do not log measurements that are not needed.
• When using StruxureWare Power Monitoring as an OPC server, disable tags that are not needed.
• For devices/sites that are not used for real-time data, use Connection Schedules.
• If you require high-speed performance from your devices, connect them directly to Ethernet.
• For custom built 3rd party Modbus devices, adjust Maximum number of registers for a single
request as well as Requested update period available in Modbus Device Importer accordingly
for optimum performance. See "Chapter 7: Modbus Device Importer" of the StruxureWare Power
Monitoring User Guide for additional information.
• Investigate the network and work on getting communications as error-free as possible.
Page 22 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
StruxureWare Power Monitoring architecture
This section discusses the different server, client, and architecture types that can be used when
setting up StruxureWare Power Monitoring on your network.
In this section:
Server types
24
Primary Server
24
Database Server
24
Secondary Server
25
Client types
26
Engineering Clients
26
Web Clients
26
Architecture types
27
Standalone Server architectures
27
Distributed Server architectures
27
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 23 of 58
StruxureWare Power Monitoring architecture
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Server types
A StruxureWare Power Monitoring system may include multiple machines, each playing different
roles. There are various types of hardware configurations which include Distributed Systems and
Primary Standalone Systems.
The roles of computers in a StruxureWare Power Monitoring system include:
• Primary Server
• Database Server
• Secondary Server
• Engineering Clients
• Web Clients
Primary Server
The Primary Server hosts a collection of services and configurations vital for the functioning of the
system. Every StruxureWare Power Monitoring system, no matter how simple or complex, has only
one Primary Server.
The Primary Server uses Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) to make information available
to StruxureWare Power Monitoring Web Clients and IIS components (optional components of
Windows operating systems). The Web Reporter component is based on Microsoft SQL Server
Reporting Services (optional components of SQL Server) and can be installed either on the Primary
Server or the Database Server (but not both).
The Primary Server can also host the Microsoft SQL Server database engine with the StruxureWare
Power Monitoring and Reporting Services databases. When the SQL Server database engine is
installed on the Primary Server, it is called a Standalone server. However, an independent server can
be used to host SQL engine which is called a Database Server. This type of installation is used in
conjunction with the Primary Server and is referred to as a Distributed Database Server installation.
Database Server
StruxureWare Power Monitoring relies on Microsoft SQL Server as a data repository and reporting is
handled through SQL Server Reporting Services.
The Primary Server can host the Database Server, however, it is possible to use the Distributed
Database Server architecture for larger systems as SQL Server is very memory and disk intensive
software. Based on the frequency of the SQL transactions, consumed computer resources can be
very drastic. Separating the Database Server would mean off-loading this system load from the
Primary Server, providing more system resources for core StruxureWare Power Monitoring
applications.
It is recommended that a 64-bit SQL Server along with a 64-bit operating system be used as it greatly
improves SQL Server performance.
Page 24 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Server types
Beyond performance, there may be additonal considerations where a distributed database server may
be necessary.
• Reporting Services can only be pointed to a single database, so it is important to be able to hold a
large active ION_Data database if generating reports for a long time span is important.
• If there is a dedicated database server that is required by the IT department, policy may dictate
server separation.
• If redundancy is a requirement, it can be met by using third party tools.
• Determine if there are specific IT rules that are mandatory for databases (for example, SQL jobs,
back-ups, security).
Database size considerations
Database growth size is dependent on what is stored in the database. As the number of records and
measurements that users want to log vary, so can the database size. Additionally, recording PQ
events and waveform captures (where available) are event driven, so it is impossible to predict the
frequency of these records. Each log holds 75 bytes of hard drive space (This number is only valid for
interval data, not for waveforms). From these values it is possible to calculate database daily growth
based on number of records logged at every interval. Furthermore, there is a stored procedure called
“sp_spaceused” which returns number of rows and their total size. This stored procedure can also be
used for tracking the database growth.
With this information, we can determine the database daily growth rates when the factory default
framework is used with no PQ events:
Device Type
ION 86xx
ION 76xx
ION 73xx
PM 8xx
CM 3000
CM 4000
Daily Growth Rate
600KB per day per meter
600KB per day per meter
410KB per day per meter
400KB per day per meter
763KB per day per meter
800KB per day per meter
Note
These numbers may change with the framework enhancements and should only be used as an
estimated baseline. For optimum performance, have 30% free disk space for regular SQL
operations.
Secondary Server
StruxureWare Power Monitoring system architecture supports the ability to distribute additional
communication servers when needed. These servers are known as Secondary Servers. Secondary
Servers are used to reduce the ION SiteServer load on the Primary Server (The table in "Appendix B:
Determining when a Secondary server is required" on page 47 can assist in determining if a
Secondary Server is required). Secondary Servers can also be added when multiple instances of
VIPs are used. Note that there is only ever one ION RealTime Data service which runs on the
Primary Server.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 25 of 58
StruxureWare Power Monitoring architecture
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
StruxureWare Power Monitoring’s VIP function may be heavily utilized. As explained in the VIP
section (see "Virtual ION Processor" on page 34), there are some guidelines around how to use VIP
and when to create multiple instances of it. It is possible to use a Secondary Server when no system
resources are left for more VIP instances.
A Database Server
B Primary Server
C Secondary Server
D
Devices
Client types
Engineering Clients
Client installations are workstation access points for power users who need the graphical user
interfaces (Management Console, Vista and Designer) to do a variety of tasks including running other
utilities, adding new devices to the system, configuring devices, viewing and acknowledging system
alarms, building power monitoring HMI screens in Vista and more. These client access points require
a Client License and they can only be installed after the Primary Server is installed.
Web Clients
StruxureWare Power Monitoring Web Clients provide convenient access to the Web Applications via
a web browser. Any computer running a supported web browser that has network connectivity to the
StruxureWare Power Monitoring Primary Server may function as a Web Client. IIS components and
SQL Server Reporting Services components must be installed and properly configured at the
StruxureWare Power Monitoring server for full Web Client functionality. Microsoft SilverLight must
also be installed on the client machines to be able to use Web Applications. StruxureWare Power
Monitoring will prompt you to install Silverlight if it is not present on your system.
Page 26 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Architecture types
Architecture types
Standalone Server architectures
A Standalone Server has all the StruxureWare Power Monitoring software installed on one computer.
There is an option to use Engineering and Web Client computers with Primary Standalone systems.
In some situations, it is possible and even advantageous to distribute these components to a
separate system.
Distributed Server architectures
A Distributed system is one that has components of StruxureWare Power Monitoring installed on
multiple machines. Here are three examples of distributed system configurations:
Primary Server, Database Server, Engineeering Clients (optional) and/or Web Clients (optional).
A Database Server
B Primary Server
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
C Engineering Client (Optional)
D Web Client (Optional)
E Devices
Page 27 of 58
StruxureWare Power Monitoring architecture
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Primary Server, Database Server, Secondary Server, Engineering Clients (optional) and/or Web
Clients (optional).
A
Database
Server
B
Primary
Server
C
Secondary
Server
D
Engineering Client
(Optional)
E
Web Client
(Optional)
F Devices
Primary and Database on same server, Secondary Server, Engineering Clients (optional) and/or Web
Clients (optional)
A
Page 28 of 58
Database/Primary
Server
B
Secondary
Server
C
Engineering Client
(Optional)
D
Web Client
(Optional)
E Devices
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
System components
This section describes the different parts of the StruxureWare Power Monitoring system, including
Services and Web Applications.
In this section:
StruxureWare Power Monitoring services
30
ION site server
32
ION Log Inserter service
34
Virtual ION Processor
34
ION Real Time Data Service
35
Translators
36
StruxureWare Power Monitoring Diagnostics Viewer
37
Starting Diagnostics Viewer
37
Service Diagnostics
37
Communications Diagnostics
38
Additional Commands
40
Using StruxureWare Power Monitoring as an OPC Server/Client
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
40
Page 29 of 58
System components
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
StruxureWare Power Monitoring services
Many of StruxureWare Power Monitoring’s core components run as Windows Services. This allows
StruxureWare Power Monitoring to continue monitoring your power management system when no
users are logged on. As these components play a critical role in the operation of StruxureWare Power
Monitoring, it is important to understand what they do.
The table below outlines the StruxureWare Power Monitoring Services:
Note
ION Network Router Service has many dependent StruxureWare Power Monitoring services. For
example, the Virtual Processor, ION Log Inserter Service, and ION Site Service cannot start and
operate without ION Network Router Service running.
Service Name
ION Alert Monitor
ION Component Identifier Service
ION Connection Management Service
ION Event Watcher Service
ION Log Inserter Service
ION Network Router Service
ION OPC Data Access Server
ION Power Quality Aggregation
Service
ION PQDIF Exporter Service
ION Query Service
ION Real Time Data Service
ION Report Subscription Service
ION Site Service
ION Virtual Processor Service
ION XML Subscription Service
Page 30 of 58
Description
Checks the computer’s communications ports continuously for high priority events
occurring at remote modem sites. When this happens, Alert Monitor initiates a
communications connection to the remote modem site.
Locates local and remote StruxureWare Power Monitoring components.
Determines the connection status of sites and devices in the system, and handles
allocation of resources such as modems. This service manages the state of site
and device connectivity for the system. In order to establish the most appropriate
state for the system, each connection and disconnection request is evaluated
against the overall state of the system and availability of communications
channels.
Monitors system events for conditions specified in Event Watcher Manager.
Provides historical data collection and storage for your power-monitoring system.
Routes all information between components, such as client workstations and the
Log Inserter. The service dynamically detects changes to the network
configuration, including the addition of new servers; it can also recognize new
software nodes, such as Vista, that are added to an existing server.
Manages and is responsible for supplying OPC data to client applications.
Periodically processes and aggregates new Power Quality event data.
Translates data from databases to PQDIF file format and manages scheduled
PQDIF exports.
Provides historical data retrieval for your power-monitoring system.
Manages and provides access to real time data from the power management
system.
This service manages Web Reporter report subscriptions.
Manages communication links to and from StruxureWare Power Monitoring. ION
Site Service is responsible for handling packet communications to system devices
and controlling direct device communications. The service reacts to changes in
network configuration: for example, often changes to certain channels, gates,
ports, or device parameters can interrupt a connection.
Provides coordinated data collection, data processing, and control functions for
groups of meters.
Manages subscriptions to XML data for Vista user diagrams. This service is used
only by Diagrams. When you open a Vista user diagram in a web browser, the
ION XML Subscription Service creates a subscription and delivers the real-time
data in XML format.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Service Name
ION XML Subscription Store Service
Schneider Electric Service Host
(CoreServicesHost)
Schneider Electric Service Host
(DataServicesHost)
Schneider Electric Service Host
(ProviderEngineHost)
StruxureWare Power Monitoring services
Description
Stores XML data subscriptions for the power monitoring devices on the network.
This service is used only by Diagrams.
Hosts the Windows Communication Foundation web services for the Web
Application Framework core. The core web services include configuration, web
service inventory, diagnostic, and metadata services.
Hosts the Windows Communication Foundation web services for the Application
Framework Data Source Driver. This web service interacts with the underlying
data contained in the ION_Network and ION_Data databases on behalf of the
Web Application Framework.
Hosts the Windows Communication Foundation web services for the Application
Framework Provider Engine, and runs the work ticketing service that controls
requests for data aggregation, device lists, and other data requests from the Web
Application Framework UI.
ION Network Router, LogInserter, RealTime Data and SiteServer services particularly play an
important role in data flow and system performance. The following diagram shows how these
services interact with each other and the metering devices:
Figure 1 ION Services
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 31 of 58
System components
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
ION site server
ION LogInserter service, ION RealTime Data service, Vista and VIP all communicate with the ION
SiteServer service via the ION Network Router Service. The ION Network Router Services passes
messages (ION programs) back and forth.
Vista and VIP directly communicate only with ION SiteServer service for non-real-time values, such
as setup register changes. Therefore, not many requests come directly to the ION SiteServer service
from Vista and VIPs.
ION LogInserter service sends requests to the ION SiteServer service asking it to retrieve data from
the devices. ION SiteServer requests position counts, which let ION LogInserter know if there are
new logs on a device that need to be collected. It also sends a request for the aggregate setup count
which tells it if setup changes have occurred. Finally ION SiteServer sends requests for data records.
Polling and aggregate counter requests are sent in the same packets, so there is minimal additional
overhead.
ION RealTime Data service sends requests for real-time data that its clients (Vista, VIP, OCP Client)
have requested of it.
The ION SiteServer service has a pool of threads that it manages. It uses these threads to service
requests. ION SiteServer also has a queue of requests for each site. ION SiteServer allocates a
thread to a site and sends a request from that site’s queue to the translator. It waits for a response,
failure or timeout. It sends responses to the appropriate requestor via the ION Network Router
Page 32 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
StruxureWare Power Monitoring services
service. ION SiteServer waits the amount of time specified by the configurable parameter “Receive
Timeout” (Under Advanced properties for the device or site in Management Console) for a response
from a device before tracking the attempt and then moving on to a new request for that site. The
thread is deallocated and put back in the thread pool. The thread then gets reallocated to a new site
and a new request from the site’s ION SiteServer queue.
ION SiteServer retries sending requests to a device that does not respond the number of times
specified by the configurable parameter “Attempt Increment” (Under Advanced properties for the
device or site in Management Console) before it reports a communication failure. The communication
failure is logged in the System Log. ION SiteServer also tracks the number of times there is a
communication failure with a device. After the number of communication failures specified by the
configurable parameter called “Maximum Attempt Multiple” (Under Advanced properties for the device
in Management Console) have occurred ION SiteServer considers the device Offline. For example,
the “Attempt Increment” parameter is set to three and the “Maximum Attempt Multiple” parameter is
set to two. After three attempts to send a request to a device without receiving a response before the
specified time out, the ION SiteServer service logs a communications failure. After doing this a
second time and getting another communications failure, the device is marked offline.
No new attempts to connect to a device in the Offline state are made until the time specified by the
configurable parameter “Offline Timeout Period” (Under Advanced properties for the device in
Management Console) has elapsed.
The number of threads available for use by ION SiteServer is a configurable parameter called
“ConnectedThreadPoolSize”. See "Advanced configuration parameters" on page 42 for additional
information regarding this registry setting.
The queues managed by ION SiteServer for each site configured in Management Console use the
following priorities:
Control – sources of these requests are:
• VIP Distributed Control Module
• Control functions executed through Vista
One Shots – sources of these requests are:
• ION LogInserter data requests
• Designer updates, for ION meters only
• Rebuild of trees on restart of StruxureWare Power Monitoring
Polling Programs – sources of these requests are:
• ION RealTime Data service requests
• ION LogInserter log position counter requests
• ION LogInserter aggregate setup counter requests
The ION RealTime Data Service and ION LogInserter both use hybrid programs for polling requests,
so they are not true one shot requests. Essentially these hybrid programs are one shots that are
processed in the High, Medium, or Low Polling Program queues so they run at lower priority than true
one shots. By default, all Polling Program clients are set to a low frequency.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 33 of 58
System components
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
ION Log Inserter service
The Log Inserter is responsible for data storage. Log Inserter interacts with the other ION services as
indicated above to upload and store historical events and data captured by power meter devices and
VIPs.
Log Inserter continuously polls the devices where logging is enabled to check if there is a new record
to retrieve. At communication bottle-necks, such as serial loops or slow communicating meters/sites,
if the services cannot interact with the devices in a timely manner, system performance can be
affected. This is why a well designed network is important in StruxureWare Power Monitoring
systems and network design suggestions should be taken into consideration. See "Additional
considerations for high-performance systems" on page 21 for more information.
In addition, Log Inserter has a System Log Controller that could be used to partially control what is
being retrieved and stored in the database. The Cutoff setup register available in the System Log
Controller module filters out events that are below a certain priority. This parameter can be tuned
based on what events are considered as low priority and should not be logged.
Virtual ION Processor
The Virtual Processor (VIP) is a service that operates on the StruxureWare Power Monitoring server,
providing coordinated data collection, data processing, and control functions for groups of devices.
The Virtual Processor is like a virtual device, capable of collecting and processing data from several
power monitoring devices, analyzing the information and performing control functions. The VIP runs
in the PC, not as a remote device and contains a wide selection of ION modules, which it uses to
process information.
A VIP acts as both a client and a server. As a client, it collects data from meters via the ION
RealTime Data service. This data can be monitored or used in calculations to produce new data that
can, in turn, be logged. As a server, a VIP interacts with other parts of the software in a similar
manner to a device. Real-time data can be viewed in Vista or requested via OPC and historical data
can be uploaded and stored by the IONLogInserter service. Typically, a VIP requests data from the
ION RealTime Data service. In this case, the VIP is the client.
There can be multiple instances of VIP service running on a server. It is recommended to split up
VIPs as opposed to having one very loaded VIP instance for performance considerations. The limiting
factor is based on the size of the VIP files (for example, vip.cfg and vip.bak files) rather than hard
number limits on modules. The vip.cfg and .bak files should be at a maximum of approximately 2 MBs
in size (This is approximately 350 fully loaded Arithmetic Modules).
Page 34 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
StruxureWare Power Monitoring services
There is no set number of VIP instances that can be run on a single server. However, CPU
consumption on the VIP server is a limiting factor. VIP uses system resources and a more powerful
server can accommodate more VIP instances. Since it is not possible to know how much room each
server can have, it is a manual process to assess how many VIP instances can be run without
impacting performance. During this process, be prepared for unforeseen situations and leave some
buffer in terms of system resources available.
ION Real Time Data Service
The ION RealTime Data service acts as a request aggregator, caching and proxy layer for all realtime
clients in the StruxureWare Power Monitoring system. It receives requests for real-time registers,
aggregates other requests for the same device together, and periodically requests an update from the
device via the host ION SiteServer instance. It also periodically responds to the requesting clients
with the current values from its cache. Clients of this service are Vista, Diagrams, any OPC clients,
and any VIP instances. The ION RealTime Data service cache contains the value of all the real-time
data registers that the clients actively need.
The clients use a subscription mechanism to read real-time data from the ION RealTime Data
service. The rate at which a Vista diagrams or Diagrams requests updates is set in each Vista
diagram. When a diagram is open, it requests updates to the real-time values at the rate set in the
diagram. By default, this rate is five seconds. The VIP setup contains a parameter called Client
polling period. This is the rate at which VIPs request updates for each real-time value in the VIP. By
default this rate is five seconds.
The ION RealTime Data service responds to each client request with whatever value is in its cache.
The ION RealTime Data service sends one shot programs which contain a request to update multiple
real-time values for the ION SiteServer service, so that it can update its cache. It generates these
requests as frequently as the client with the lowest polling period for the real-time registers requests.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 35 of 58
System components
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
The ION SiteServer service attempts to service these requests as quickly as they are received, but
there is no guarantee that it will. It is possible for the cache to be updated less frequently than the
client requests.
Note that the technology used for communication between ION RealTime Data service and its clients
is .NET Remoting.
Translators
StruxureWare Power Monitoring constructs communication packages based on ION architecture,
which ultimately extends to ION modules and their operation. However, with the help of device
drivers, any device which supports Modbus protocol can be integrated into StruxureWare Power
Monitoring.
Each device type used in StruxureWare Power Monitoring has a translator, regardless of whether it is
an ION or a non-ION product. The ION SiteServer service passes requests for devices to the
translator. The translator breaks the request up into one or more requests for packets from the device.
If any of the packets fail, the translator informs ION SiteServer that the request failed. The clients are
informed by ION SiteServer, via the ION Network Router Service. The clients must resubmit the
request.
Interaction with devices regardless of type or communication protocol, follows the same process.
However, when using ION devices, translators do very minimal work compared to non-ION devices.
The reason behind this is that the non-ION devices do not have ION modules and architecture.
Hence, when a request is made to translator for a non-ION device, StruxureWare Power Monitoring
software builds a map on the computer memory which converts this device to ION modularity and
architecture. As a result, there is a constant memory allocation for non-ION devices and this
allocation linearly grows with the number of the devices in the network. Furthermore, every time a
communication request is initiated, translators break the packages and reconstruct based on Modbus
protocol which is a CPU intensive process. When a response is received, the same process repeats
itself in reverse.
In addition, StruxureWare Power Monitoring provides software-based logging for the devices that do
not have onboard logging. Communication to these devices still follows the process above with the
addition of some data recorders created on the hard drive.
Page 36 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
StruxureWare Power Monitoring Diagnostics Viewer
Translators play a crucial role in the integration of a diverse network. However, it is very important to
understand their operation as the need for system resources is higher when an excessive amount of
translated devices are used. Consider this when determining the server requirements.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring Diagnostics Viewer
Diagnostics Viewer is the StruxureWare Power Monitoring tool for troubleshooting network
communications problems and related network errors. It can also be used for measuring system
performance and health.
Starting Diagnostics Viewer
1. Start Management Console and log in.
2. Click Tools > System > Diagnostics Viewer.
Tip
For instructions on using filtering, sorting, column selection and pin/unpin to customize the
Diagnostics Viewer display, see the "Customizing and Navigating Interface Displays" section of the
StruxureWare Power Monitoring User Guide.
Navigation Pane
Diagnostics information is grouped as follows:
• Service Diagnostics: Contains diagnostics information for certain StruxureWare Power
Monitoring services (ION Network Router Service, ION Site Service and ION Log Inserter
Service).
• Communication Diagnostics: Contains diagnostics information for the StruxureWare Power
Monitoring sites, hardware devices and software nodes.
Select an item in the navigation pane to display its diagnostics information.
If you add a new device in Management Console while Diagnostics Viewer is open, you can refresh
the tree view to display the new device by collapsing then expanding the root node of the tree.
Diagnostics Information Pane
The diagnostics information pane displays detailed data about the state of your power monitoring
system and devices.
Service Diagnostics
Service Diagnostics records communication problems and similar events occurring with
StruxureWare Power Monitoring software components.
Communication Server Diagnostics
Information about the communications server is arranged in these tabs:
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 37 of 58
System components
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
• Console Messages lists all ION Network Router Service and ION Site Service console
messages for the current session.
Tip
The blank area below the Description column header is a dynamic filter field. Type the wildcard
character (*) in front of the text you want to search (for example, *warning). The diagnostics
information pane automatically displays only those records that match the text you typed in the
box.
• Connection Status displays the current status of StruxureWare Power Monitoring software
components connected to Network Router.
• Tree States displays the ION tree status of all nodes (hardware devices and software nodes).
Log Inserter Diagnostics
The Log Inserter diagnostics information pane is split into two sections. The top section (Select
Nodes pane) contains the available nodes, while the bottom section contains the node details.
Select Nodes to Display
In the Select Nodes pane, select the check box beside a node to display its diagnostics information.
Clear the check box to hide that node’s diagnostics information.
Tip
If there are many nodes and you want to display only a few of them, right-click the Select Nodes
area then select Clear All. Select only the nodes you want to display. To display all the nodes
again, right-click the Select Nodes area and select Select All.
Node Details
The node details are organized in these tabs:
• Node Information displays Log Inserter statistics for the selected node(s).
• Node Performance displays aggregate log performance statistics for the selected node(s).
• Log Performance displays log performance statistics for each log in the selectednode(s).
Communications Diagnostics
Communications Diagnostics provides diagnostics information for sites and devices connected to
the workstation.
Site Overview
Diagnostics information for the sites are contained in these tabs:
• Site Summary displays communications statistics for each site.
• NetUser Status displays the number of ION programs currently in the ION Network Router
Service queue (awaiting processing) and the total number of ION programs already processed.
Page 38 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
StruxureWare Power Monitoring Diagnostics Viewer
Note
Requests and responses transmitted between the ION StruxureWare Power Monitoring
components are referred to as “ION programs”.
Site/Device Diagnostics
Diagnostics information for sites and devices are summarized in these tabs:
• Communication Status displays communication error rates and connection statistics for the
selected site or device. The following information is available from the Communications Status
tab:
Column
Node
Requests
Responses
Total Errors
Total Error Rate
Sliding Error Rate
Average Response Time
Last Response Time
Timeouts
Bad Checksums
Broken Connection Errors
Incomplete Frames
Bad Frames
Hardware Errors
Misc Errors
Description
The device (or software node) name.
The number of communications requests transmitted to the meter.
The number of successful responses received.
The total number of communication errors.
The ratio of Total Errors to Requests.
The error rate in the last 64 requests. This can indicate a trend in communications
performance.
Average time in seconds for the meter to respond.
The last response time, in seconds.
The number of timeouts. A timeout occurs when no data is received in response to a
request.
The number of bad packets received, i.e., those that did not pass the error detection
checksum.
Number of times the connection was lost to the meters on a site.
The number of incomplete packets received, i.e., those that did not have all the expected
bytes.
The number of received packets that had an internal error.
Number of errors reported by the computer’s communication hardware.
Number of other errors that do not fit any of the above descriptions.
• Site Status displays site statistics such as connection status and totals.
• Polling Status displays the number of programs currently in the ION Site Service queue (awaiting
processing) and the total number of programs already processed.
Communication Status vs. Site Status
This section explains the difference between the statistics provided on the Communication Status
tab and those on the Site Status tab.
“Total Errors” in the Communication Status tab is an ION Site Service derived statistic, while “Bad
Responses” in the Site Status tab is a client derived statistic.
To explain this difference, consider a situation where a direct site is experiencing timeouts.
Communications with the device is attempted according to two parameters: Connect Attempts (an
advanced site property in the Management Console) and Maximum Attempts Multiple (an
advanced device property in the Management Console). Multiplying the values of these two
properties determines the number of attempts made to re-establish communications with the device.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 39 of 58
System components
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
For instance, if Connect Attempts is set to 1 and Maximum Attempts Multiple is set to 3, the
device will go offline after 3 attempts (i.e., 1 x 3).
The “Total Errors” statistic increases by one every time ION Site Service detects a timeout.
However, the “Bad Responses” statistic only reports a problem if the device goes offline (for
example., when Connect Attempts and Maximum Attempts Multiple are exceeded).
Using the previous example, consider the case where four timeouts occurred and the device went
offline. In this case, “Total Errors” increases by four, while “Bad Responses” only increases by one. If
only two timeouts occurred, “Total Errors” would increase by two, while “Bad Responses” would not
change.
Additional Commands
The following sections describe additional display options and shortcut menus available in
Diagnostics Viewer.
Diagnostic Details
In the tabs on the diagnostics information pane, double-click a row to display its Diagnostic Details
screen. This displays the diagnostic information for the selected item only.
Use the Previous and Next buttons to view the details of other rows in that tab of the diagnostics
information pane.
To copy information to the clipboard, select the rows you want to copy, then press CTRL+C.
Diagnostics Information Pane Shortcut Menu Options
Right-click in the diagnostics information pane to display a shortcut menu. The following table lists all
the commands available (though not all displays provide all the commands listed):
Right-click Option
Update
Reset
Copy
Auto Scroll
Options
Description
Refreshes the information in the diagnostic table.
Resets the information in the diagnostic table (not available in the Communications Server
Diagnostics display).
Copies all selected information to the clipboard.
Enabled by default, this option is only available in the Console Messages tab of the
Communications Server Diagnostics display. This option automatically scrolls and selects the
latest console message. Clear this option to disable scrolling (i.e., select and view an older
console message without jumping to the latest one when Diagnostics Viewer refreshes).
Displays the Options dialog box where you can change the diagnostics refresh rate. Note that
changing the refresh rate frequency can affect StruxureWare Power Monitoring performance.
Using StruxureWare Power Monitoring as an OPC
Server/Client
OPC is a set of open standards for connectivity and interoperability between industrial automation
and the enterprise system. OPC is not a native protocol for Schneider Electric devices; however,
StruxureWare Power Monitoring can act as a translator and host metering data as an OPC server as
Page 40 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Using StruxureWare Power Monitoring as an OPC Server/Client
well as an OPC client.
When acting as an OPC server/client, StruxureWare Power Monitoring translates ION data into OPC
data, for exporting and viewing in other third-party OPC client systems. The OPC server/client, on the
other hand, takes OPC standardized measurements from third-party systems and translates them
into a data format that StruxureWare Power Monitoring can use. This process follows the same steps
show in "Translators" on page 36. Because this process can consume a large amount of CPU
resources, it is recommended to use a powerful CPU in the Primary Server.
When StruxureWare Power Monitoring is used as an OPC server, Designer can be used to configure
which measurements are going to be broadcast as OPC tags. It is very important to enable only
necessary measurements for OPC to optimize the performance. This prevents StruxureWare Power
Monitoring requesting unnecessary measurements and translating them into OPC format and in
return can save a considerable amount of system resources.
For additional information regarding the configuration and operation of the OPC server component of
StruxureWare Power Monitoring, please see StruxureWare Power Monitoring OPC Server Assistant.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 41 of 58
Advanced configuration parameters
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Advanced configuration parameters
StruxureWare Power Monitoring is installed with a number of factory default settings that should be
acceptable for most installations. However, the needs of individual systems can be different from one
another and there are several parameters that can be used to fine tune StruxureWare Power
Monitoring. These parameters are registry entries that are used to overwrite the default configuration.
This procedure requires an in-depth analysis of the system and should be only be done under
supervision of an factory trained engineer. These parameters should be applied once all other
methods have been tried.
It is recommended to stop ION services during this procedure. If it is not possible, create the variable
with a temporary name (for example, tempConnectionFailureCount) and correct the name once the
variable is assigned to a desired value.
Registry settings
Page 42 of 58
43
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Using StruxureWare Power Monitoring as an OPC Server/Client
Registry settings
Below are the registry keys that can be used to make adjustments to StruxureWare Power
Monitoring’s performance. These keys should be located under HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Schneider Electric\StruxureWare Power Monitor in the registry. If the
impact of the change is not well understood, then consider an alternate fix or consult Technical
Support for guidance.
NOTICE
IRREVERSIBLE OPERATING SYSTEM DAMAGE OR DATA CORRUPTION
• These procedures must only be performed by qualified personnel with a full understanding of the
system and the results of any modifications.
• Backup your system registry in a network folder or other remote location before making any
changes.
• Monitor your system for at least one week after making changes to help ensure detection of
adverse effects.
• Obtain assistance from knowledgeable and qualified personnel.
Failure to follow these instructions can result in irreparable damage to your computer's
operating system and all existing data.
ConnectionFailureCount (Default=60) – The number of times ION SiteServer service tries to
connect to a device in the pool in the Connection Schedule before it gives up. If there are many
modems in the connection pool, this should be set to 20.
ConnectedThreadPoolSize (Default=32) – The number of sites ION SiteServer service sends
requests to simultaneously. This value optimally equals the number of sites for most systems, as
long as the server CPU can handle the load. For large systems (more than 100 sites) it may decrease
performance or make the system unstable if this number is too large. It depends on the hardware
(CPUs, memory, speed of subsystems, etc.). Experimentation may be required for more than 100
sites, but precautions should be taken for any number over 200.
LI_PollingPeriod_s (Default=10 seconds) – The ION LogInserter polls a device every 5 seconds
by default, but the default value can be modified using this registry setting, if the following conditions
are met:
• there are no pending record upload requests for the device
• there is no pending tree request for the device
• there are fewer than 2 pending tree requests for that site
This is controlled by LI_MaxTreeRequestsPerSite and impacts how much of ION LogInserter's
resources are used for configuration changes or building of trees on startup.
• there are fewer than 6 pending tree requests in total
This is controlled by LI_MaxTreeRequest and impacts how much of ION LogInserter's resources
are used for configuration changes or building of trees on startup.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 43 of 58
Advanced configuration parameters
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
If a device does not contain data recorders, the Log Inserter polls every 5 minutes (this is not
configurable). The Log Inserter polls devices without on-board logs to keep track of device information
in case the VIP is configured to log data from the device.
StaleDataInterval (Default=300 seconds) – If no new data is received for the time specified in
StaleDataInterval seconds, Diagrams displays N/A. This is similar to how Vista uses a yellow outline
when the time between updates exceeds a user-defined threshold. If updates are infrequent, this
value can be increased to prevent N/A from being displayed.
Page 44 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Using StruxureWare Power Monitoring as an OPC Server/Client
Appendix A: Tested Reference Systems
This section describes a generic series of systems tested based on the recommended server
specifications (see "Supported operating system and SQL Server editions" on page 11). The intent is
to provide points of reference to system designers in order to choose the appropriate server size for a
given system specification.
SERVER MODEL
1
Dell T3500
WINDOWS OS
Windows 7
SQL 2008
R2 Std
Single
Processor
Intel Xeon
W3530
Quad Core
8M Cache,
2.8GHz 4.8
GT/s
12GB 1333MHz
DDR3
SDRAM
ECC (3
DIMMS)
SQL SERVER
SERVER DETAILS
CPU
RAM
2
Dell T3500
Single Processor
Single Processor
Dual Processor
Dual Processor
Intel Xeon W3670
6 Core
12M Cache,
3.2GHz 4.8 GT/s
Intel Xeon E5620
Quad Core
12M Cache,
2.4Ghz5.86 GT/s
x2 Intel Xeon
E5620
Quad Core
12M Cache,
2.4Ghz
5.86 GT/s
x2 Intel Xeon
X5650
6 Core
12M Cache,
2.66Ghz
6.4 GT/s
24GB - 1333MHz
DDR3 SDRAM
ECC (6 DIMMS)
24GB - 1333MHz
UDIMMS
(3 DIMMS)
24GB 1333MHz
UDIMMS
(3 DIMMS)
24GB 1333MHz
Dual Ranked LV
RDIMMs
(6 DIMMS)
x6 300GB 15K
RPM SA SCSI
6Gbps 3.5in
Hotplug Hard
Drive
3 x RAID 1
Volumes
x6 300GB 15K
RPM SA SCSI
6Gbps 3.5in
Hotplug Hard
Drive
3 x RAID 1
Volumes
x6 300GB 10K
RPM SA SCSI
6Gbps 3.5in
Hotplug Hard
Drive
3 x RAID 1
Volumes
OS , TempDB
OS TempDB
OS , TempDB
MDF
OS1, TempDB
OS1, TempDB
OS1, TempDB
MDF
3
MDF
3
LDF
4
LDF
4
200
40
40
120
2000
400
20
150
MDF
3
MDF
3
LDF
4
LDF
4
400
80
160
160
25600
800
35
150
MDF
3
MDF
3
LDF
4
LDF
4
800
160
160
480
36800
1600
50
250
No RAID
No RAID
1
4
LDF
Total Number of Devices
Number of CM4s
Number of PM8s
Number of PM9Cs
Total Number of OPC Tags
Total Number of Alarms
5
Total N of Web Users
ConnectedThreadPoolSize
6
75
15
15
45
375
150
15
32
Windows
Server 2008 R2
SQL 2008 R2
Std
SQL 2008 R2 Std
Hard Drive Configuration
Drive 3
Drive 4
Drive 5
Drive 6
Windows Server
2008 R2
SQL 2008 R2
Std
SQL 2008 R2 Std
Hard Drives
Drive 2
5
Dell T610
Windows Server
2008 R2
x1 500GB SATA
3.0Gb/s
x2 1TB SATA
3.0Gb/s
OS ,
1
TempDB
2
MDF
3
LDF
4
Dell R410
Windows Server
2008 R2
x2 500GB
SATA
3.0Gb/s
Drive 1
3
Dell R410
75
15
15
45
375
150
15
32
2
3
4
1
2
2
1
2
2
OS , TempDB
1
2
2
1. Includes the Operating System, Pagefile, SPM Application and any other applications
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 45 of 58
Appendix A: Tested Reference Systems
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
2. SQL Server temporary system database
3. SQL Server database
4. SQL Server transaction log file
5. As the recommended vip.cfg size limit is < 2MB, the alarms were distributed across multiple VIPs as follows:
a. Systems 1 & 2 = 1 VIP
b. Systems 2 & 3 = 2 VIP
c. System 4 = 4 VIP
d. System 5 = 8 VIP
6. The registry key, ConnectedThreadPoolSize, was increased beyond the default in the larger systems. See "Registry
settings" on page 43 for information on changing this setting.
Page 46 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Using StruxureWare Power Monitoring as an OPC Server/Client
Appendix B: Determining when a Secondary
server is required
As devices are added to a StruxureWare Power Monitoring system, the ION SiteServer process will
approach the maximum virtual memory limitation of a 32-bit Windows application. When this occurs,
a Secondary server is required to support additional devices. Note, this is not related to server size or
load. This is a software limitation.
It can be determined when a Secondary server is required by multiplying the device type weights
provided in the table below with the number of devices present in the system.
Device Type
ION 7650/8650
(with a moderate amount of PQ events)
ION 73xx
CM3/4
(with a moderate amount of PQ events)
BCPM 500
PM800 1500
BCM42, PM9C, etc.
(L2 Modbus device types with PC-based logging through device driver)
ION 6200
PM200, PM700, etc.
(L2 Modbus device types with no PC-based logging through device driver)
PM5350
Device Type Weight
0.001
0.0007
0.0017
0.002
0.0007
0.0004
0.0004
0.0002
0.001
Examples
Example 1 - Total Weight < 1, therefore no Secondary server required
Device Type Quantity Weight
ION 7650
PM 8XX
PM 7XX
Total
1
6
24
31
0.001
0.004
0.005
0.010
Example 2 - Total Weight > 1, therefore Secondary server required
Device Type Quantity Weight
ION 7650
PM 8XX
PM 7XX
Total
110
660
2640
3410
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
0.110
0.440
0.528
1.078
Page 47 of 58
Appendix C: Serial Comms test results
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Appendix C: Serial Comms test results
Device
No.
Devices
in Serial
Loop
Baud
Rate
Tx Delay
Polling Profile
1
Micrologic A
Micrologic A
Micrologic H
Micrologic H
1
1
1
1
19.2k
19.2k
19.2k
19.2k
50 ms
50 ms
50 ms
50 ms
Micrologic
11
19.2k
50 ms
Micrologic
11
19.2k
50 ms
Micrologic
11
19.2k
50 ms
Micrologic
11
19.2k
0
Micrologic H
1
19.2k
50 ms
PM 710
30
19.2k
50 ms
PM 710
30
19.2k
50 ms
PM 710
30
19.2k
0
PM 710
1
19.2k
50 ms
PM 710
1
19.2k
50 ms
1
19.2k
50 ms
Default Vista Diagram
1
19.2k
50 ms
1
1
19.2k
19.2k
50 ms
50 ms
Micrologic H
with 6k ft 4
wire
PM710 with
6k ft 2 wire
PM 5350
PM 5350
Default Vista Diagram
Duration
(s)
No.
Responses
Avg
Response
time (s)
%Utilization
2
1716
195
1716
613
1716
195
1716
613
0.157
0.0619
0.184
0.19
15%
1%
18%
6%
8457
8457
0.199
99%
5565
5564
0.162
51%
12982
12982
0.202
100%
8788
8788
0.195
99%
1004
1003
0.135
8%
1500
1500
0.141
11%
10073
10073
0.176
100%
10398
10398
0.173
99%
872
872
0.0325
1%
768
768
0.0968
4%
2056
1919
1918
0.187
17%
Default Vista Diagram
2056
423
423
0.115
2%
Default Vista Diagram
9360
16769
1866
13265
1866
13264
0.118
0.106
2%
8%
Default Vista Diagram
1825
1771
1791
1919
No. Requests
Default Vista Diagram of
1707
1st, 6th and 11th devices
1764
All Default Vista
2635
Diagram
All Default Vista
1723
Diagram
2 registers Polling CL1
Univ Time (ModAddr:
1738
400679) Reset Count
(ModAddr:400555)
Default Vista Diagrams
of 1st, 15th and 30th
1871
devices
All Default Vista
1780
Diagrams
All Default Vista
1809
Diagrams
1 register Vln a
4247
(ModAddr:404033)
2 registers kW tot
(ModAddr: 404006) DI1
1755
Status
(ModAddr:404115)
1 Log Inserter is running and polling all devices. Polling rate for Vista is set to 5s for all configurations. Default Vista Diagrams
are opened from generated network diagrams
2 Utilization is defined as the ratio of throughput to capacity. As the utilization of a serial loop approaches 100%, requests will
begin to queue resulting in a slower perceived system performance. See "FAQs" on page 50 for help on determining the
utilization of an existing serial loop.
Page 48 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
SQL Server clustering
Appendix D: Data Redundancy
The following table provides recommended Primary Server configuration options for data redundancy.
The first option is sufficient for most applications.
Options
Full data redundancy and
drive contention not
considered
1
Drive 1
Drive 2
OS
2
tempDB
3
MDF
4
LDF
X
X
Mirror
Mirror
OS
2
tempDB
3
MDF
4
LDF
X
OS
2
tempDB
3
MDF
4
LDF
X
Drive 3
Drive 4
X
Mirror
Drive 5
Drive 6
X
Mirror
5
Reduced drive contention
with data redundancy on
OS and MDF
Drive 8
X
Mirror
Mirror
X
X
Mirror
X
5
Full data redundancy and
minimized drive contention
Drive 7
Mirror
X
Mirror
5
X
Mirror
1 This configuration was used in Tested Reference Systems 3, 4 and 5.
2 Includes the Operating System, Pagefile, SPM Application and any other applications.
3 SQL Server temporary system database
4 SQL Server database
5 SQL Server transaction log file
SQL Server clustering
Clustering allows one physical server to automatically take over the tasks and responsibilities of
another physical server that is no longer in operation. More specifically, clustering refers to a group of
two or more servers (generally called nodes) that work together and represent themselves as a single
virtual server to a network. When a client connects to clustered SQL Servers, it appears there is only
a single SQL Server. Using clustering helps ensure that applications running have little or no
downtime when a failure occurs.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring software can function in a clustered environment. Note that it is only
the Database Server component that is deployed in the clustered environment. The Primary Server
must reside in a non-clustered environment. See RESL 207774 "Installing StruxureWare Power
Montioring 7.0 on a SQL 2008 R2 Cluster" for additional information.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 49 of 58
FAQs
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
FAQs
Should I use 32-bit or 64-bit OS? Windows 7 or Server 2008?
For large systems, we recommend using Microsoft Windows Server 2008 64-bit. There are three
important reasons for this:
• Windows Server 2008 - 64 bit has the ability to utilize server-class hardware, which means being
able to run more CPUs and add more RAM as needed. The number of physical processors is
limited to two in Windows 7.
• For web hosting, Windows Server offers better performance which plays an important role in
StruxureWare Power Monitoring’s web applications such as Reports and Diagrams.
• A 64 bit operating system allows the use of SQL Server 64-bit, which can perform much faster
compared to the 32-bit version.
Please note that StruxureWare Power Monitoring is a 32-bit software package. However, 64-bit
systems support 32-bit software. The gain in using 64-bit comes from the better performance for
what complements StruxureWare Power Monitoring.
Which is more important: CPU or RAM?
They are both important for different reasons. The CPU plays a critical role for executing
StruxureWare Power Monitoring operations. It is especially important when using a large amount
of translated devices. On the other hand, RAM is very important for SQL Server. SQL Server is a
memory intensive program and will need more RAM for running reports, logging large number of
measurements, and other database intensive operations.
How can I improve performance if it is necessary to have more than ten devices on a serial
loop?
Due to network architectural limitations, it may not be possible to reduce the number of the devices
on a serial loop. In cases like these, there are things that could help improve performance:
• Replace software logging with a data logger (such as an EGX300) to reduce communications
traffic on the serial loop.
• If Vista is used to access some of the real time data on this loop, consider using custom diagrams
that consolidate the required tags into one diagram instead of using the default diagrams. For
example, displaying only Energy and Demand registers from all of the devices on one Vista
diagram instead of opening all default diagrams at the same time.
• In Vista, the Update Period (Properties > Updates) can be increased to throttle the
communication. The default Update Period in StruxureWare Power Monitoring is five seconds
which can be increased to an amount better suited for the operation.
• The ConnectedThreadPoolSize and LI_PollingPeriod_s registers can be added and set
accordingly to improve the connection performance. See "Advanced configuration parameters" on
page 42 for additional information.
Page 50 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
SQL Server clustering
StruxureWare Power Monitoring as an OPC Server hosting data from translated (non-ION)
devices
It is important to keep in mind that there are two cycles of translation when hosting data from
translated devices in OPC format. First, StruxureWare Power Monitoring retrieves data from
translated devices (see "System components" on page 29 for additional information). Then this
data gets translated again into OPC format for broadcasting. Therefore, an already heavy
translating process gets used twice to make data available. In a healthy operating network, this is
not a concern. However, if there are too many translated devices that are broadcasted in OPC
format, it is important to enable only the measurements that are needed. This saves StruxureWare
Power Monitoring a considerable amount of system resources and unnecessary network traffic.
How can I measure the bandwidth saturation/utilization of a serial loop?
a. In Management Console, ensure all devices on the loop to be tested are enabled.
b. Apply the desired test load to the devices on the serial loop (for example VIP, Vista, OPC,
Diagrams, Tables, or Log Inserter).
c. In the Diagnostics Viewer, drill down into the Communications Diagnostics and select the site of
the associated loop.
d. Select the Communication Status tab.
e. Make note of the time, right-click in the Communication Status panel, and select Reset.
f. Let the system gather metrics. For real-time data loads, a few minutes is usually enough. For
logging, it is better to leave it for an hour, depending on logging intervals.
g. Make note of the time again, and from the Diagnostics Viewer, obtain the number of Requests,
Responses, and Average Response Time.
h. Multiply the Requests by the Average Response Time, and divide that by the difference of the
two times noted.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 51 of 58
Glossary
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Glossary
A
Aggregation
Combining data from multiple sites to determine total energy usage, demand, and load
profiles.
B
Bandwidth
The amount of occupied frequency space, determined by the difference between the high
and low frequencies of a transmission band. Bandwidth is used to measure network
capacity, and is expressed in Hz.
Bridge
A device that passes data packets between two network segments. Bridges can support a
full Ethernet segment port, so each port gets 10 Mbps of bandwidth, allowing a LAN to grow
significantly larger. Bridges also filter network traffic to only those packets needed on each
segment, increasing data throughput.
D
Dual ring topology
A network topology in which two rings connect each node on a network instead of one
network ring that is used in a ring topology. Typically, the secondary ring in a dual-ring
topology is used as a backup in case the primary ring fails. In these configurations, data
moves in opposite directions around the rings. Each ring is independent of the other until the
primary ring fails and the two rings are connected to continue the flow of data traffic.
E
EMI
EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) is interference by electromagnetic signals on
transmission lines. EMI causes data errors.
Equipotential bonding
Equipotential bonding involves joining together metalwork that is or may be grounded so that
it is at the same potential ( voltage) everywhere.
Ethernet
A LAN (Local Area Network) specification. The Ethernet specification describes the
implementation of the physical and data link layers of the OSI Reference Model. An
extension to Ethernet is Fast Ethernet operating at 100 Mbps. Physical variations of
Ethernet include 10BaseF and 10BaseT.
Page 52 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
SQL Server clustering
F
Filter
An electronic device that attenuates certain frequencies while allowing others to pass
through. A high-pass filter lets all signals above a given frequency pass. A low-pass filter
lets only frequencies below a given frequency pass. A bandpass filter lets a given band of
frequencies pass while attenuating all others.
Full-duplex
Simultaneous data transmission between a sending station and a receiving station. For
example, in voice transmissions between two people, they can talk at the same time and
still be heard.
H
Half-duplex
Data transmission in only one direction at a time between a sending station and a receiving
station. For example, in voice transmissions between two people, only one person can talk
at a time and be heard.
Hub
A common connection point for network segments required for star topologies. A hub takes
an incoming data packet and copies it to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can
see the packets. Hubs allow LANs to extend beyond normal distance limitations, but all
ports have to share a single network bandwidth. A passive hub simply passes data going
from one network segment to another. A switching hub reads the destination address of
each packet and then forwards the packet to the correct port.
I
IED
IED (Intelligent Electronic Device), an instrument that can perform local data processing and
storage functions. ION meters are often referred to as IEDs.
IEEE
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), an international organization that
produces standards and guidelines covering most aspects of electricity use.
IIS
IIS (Internet Information Services) is a web server application created by Microsoft
Corporation and used with Microsoft Windows operating systems.
Impedance
The opposition to the flow of AC current at a given frequency. Impedance consists of
resistance, inductive reactance, and capacitive reactance. It is measured in ohms.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 53 of 58
Glossary
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
IP code
IP (Ingress Protection) Rating used to specify the environment protection of enclosures
around electrical equipment.
M
Mesh topology
A network topology in which each component in the network is connected to every other
component in the network. This topology has the advantange of continued operation even if
a node fails, but can be expensive and difficult to implement.
MTBF
MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure), a statistical estimate of the time a component,
subassembly, or operating unit operates before failure occurs.
N
Noise
Unwanted electrical signals that distort power signals. Noise consists of high frequency
signals (lower than 200 kHz) that are superimposed on voltage or current waveforms and are
present on a more or less continuous basis. Noise can be triggered by electronic devices,
control circuits, arcing equipment, loads with solid-state rectifiers, and switching power
supplies. Noise causes undesirable effects in electronic equipment including PCs and
programmable controllers. The problems can be mitigated with filters, improved grounding,
isolation transformers, and line conditioners.
P
Packet
A unit of information sent over a network. It can contain a header and footer (for
synchronization and control) as well as user data.
PLC
PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is a computerized controller that stores instructions
for device operation and sequencing.
R
Rapid spanning tree protocol
A variation of the spanning tree protocol that provides significantly faster response to a
topology change. Standard IEEE 8021.D-2004 now incorporates RSTP and obsoletes the
original STP standard.
Ring topology
A network topology in which all devices in a network are connected in a loop. Packets travel
in a single direction on the ring as they are passed from one device to the next. Each device
checks a packet for its destination and passes it on to the next device.
Page 54 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
SQL Server clustering
S
Sag
A short duration decrease in RMS voltage or current of between 10% and 90% of the
nominal. The duration ranges from ½ a cycle to 1 minute. Sags are triggered by fault
clearing, startup of heavy loads, or lightning. Sags deprive computers of power, causing
unexpected system crashes that lead to lost or corrupted data. Sags can also damage or
shut down equipment, particularly motors, and reduce their efficiency or life spans.
SCADA
SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Aquisition) System, a traditional SCADA system
consists of a master station, transducers, and RTUs (Remote Terminal Units). The master
station provides the primary operator interface and manages overall system functions,
collecting and analyzing data from RTUs as well as initiating control actions. Transducers
measure general equipment parameters such as temperatures and pressures. The RTU
detects, timestamps and logs setpoint and digital I/O events.
Shielded twisted pair
A two-pair wire medium used in a variety of networks. Shielded twisted pair cabling has a
layer of shielded insulation to reduce EMI (electromagnetic interference) causing data errors.
Shielding
A metal barrier, enclosure, or wrapping (around instrumentation and power cables) designed
to protect sensitive circuitry and cabling from noise sources (equipment that may generate
electrostatic or electromagnetic fields). Shielding reduces coupling between conductors.
Spanning tree protocol
A network protocol that ensures a loop-free topology for any bridged Ethernet local area
network. Spanning tree allows a network design to include redundant links to provide backup
paths if an active link fails.
Star topology
A network topology in which each device in the network is connected to a central device,
such as a switch or hub. All packets sent through the network must pass through the central
device to get to its destination. The star topology is one of the most common network
topologies
Striping
The technique of dividing logically sequential data into blocks and distributing those blocks
to different physical storage devices. Used in RAID configurations.
Swell
A short duration increase in RMS voltage or current of 10% to 80% above the nominal. The
duration ranges from ½ a cycle to 1 minute. Swells are not as common as sags. They are
usually associated with system faults, but are also caused by switching off large loads and
energizing large capacitor banks. One way that a swell can occur is from the temporary
voltage rise on the unfaulted phases during a single line-to-ground (SLG) fault.
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
Page 55 of 58
Glossary
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0 System Design Guide
Switch (in computer networks)
An extension of a bridge, linking four or more full networks. There are two types of switches:
cut-through and store-and-forward. A cut-through switch examines the packet destination
address before forwarding it to its destination. A store-and-forward switch examines the
entire packet to catch packet errors. Both types of switches separate an Ethernet network
into segments, with each segment having 10 Mbps of bandwidth shared by fewer users,
resulting in higher performance.
Switch (in electrical circuits)
A device that controls if an electrical circuit is open or closed. A general-use switch,
intended for general distribution and branch circuits, is rated in amperes and is capable of
interrupting its rated voltage. A transfer switch moves one or more load conductor
connections from one power source to another. An isolating switch cuts off an electrical
circuit from the source of power. It is intended to operate only after the circuit is opened by
some other means.
T
Throttling
A measure employed in communication networks to manage the amount of network traffic.
A typical example of this is by limiting the rate at which a server will accept or transmit data.
By limiting the rate at which a server accepts and transmits data, the risk of network
congestion or server crash is reduced.
U
Unshielded Twisted Pair
A four-pair wire medium used in a variety of networks. Unshielded twisted pair does not
require the fixed spacing between connections that is necessary with coaxial-type
connections.
Page 56 of 58
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved.
StruxureWare Power Monitoring 7.0
System Design Guide
Schneider Electric
ION, Modbus, PowerLogic, StruxureWare, and Schneider Electric are either trademarks or
2195 Keating Cross Road
registered trademarks of Schneider Electric in France, the USA and other countries. Other
Saanichton, BC V8M 2A5
trademarks used are the property of their respective owners.
For technical support:
Electrical equipment should be installed, operated, serviced and maintained only by qualified
Global-PMC-Tech-support@schneider-electric.com
personnel. No responsibility is assumed by Schneider Electric for any consequences arising out of
(00) + 1 250 544 3010
the use of this material.
Contact your local Schneider Electric sales representative for
7EN02-0315-00 05/2012
assistance or go to www.schneider-electric.com
© 2012 Schneider Electric. All Rights Reserved.

* Your assessment is very important for improving the work of artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project