Editor – Device Page
Use the Device page to view, select, and modify general device settings for a remote device. These settings are the minimum required for remote device functionality. The Device page of a remote device editor typically contains settings unique to its field device type(s) or to the EIE itself.
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Click the thumbnail to see an example |
For more information, see Remote Device Editors.
Device Properties
The following table lists and describes specialized Device page properties for this device. See Device Page for common properties.
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Device ID |
The unique identifier of an instance for this device. This free-form name must be unique in the DDS and the FAC. That is, it must be a name not used by any other communication device, import/export device, remote device, or facility. CygNet naming standards for device ID are as follows:
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Description |
Displays a user-defined description of the remote device. A free-form description of the device. 32 character maximum. |
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Device address |
The unique identifier of an instance of a device. See RTU Addressing below. |
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Address in Hex |
The hex equivalent of the address. Displays the user-specified decimal RTU address as a hexadecimal value, which is the format in which the value is communicated to the field device. |
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Use group address |
Check this box if you want to use a secondary identifier (for two-byte addressing). See RTU Addressing below. |
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Address in Hex |
The hex equivalent of the address. Displays the user-specified decimal RTU address as a hexadecimal value, which is the format in which the value is communicated to the field device. |
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Sleep mode enabled |
If sleep mode is enabled on the device, check this value to ensure that a "wake up" message is sent to the device before sending any other messages. Not doing so can cause a message to be missed when the device is in sleep mode. |
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Dynacards to retrieve |
Select the dynagraph card view to retrieve from the device. Options include:
Note: This field only appears for devices that support dynagraph cards, for example, WellPilot. |
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Modbus protocol |
Select the Modbus communication protocol (RTU, TCP, or ASCII) you want to use from this drop-down menu. Your choice depends on your communications hardware. |
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| Communications | |||||||
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Comm ID |
The name of the communication device this remote device uses. Click the Options button to select from the choices in the drop-down menu. See Communication Devices. |
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Options |
This button provides several communications-oriented options. Options are as follows:
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Msg timeout (ms) |
Msg timeout (ms) displays the time in milliseconds a remote device waits for a valid response from an associated field device before timing out. This setting is not the same as similar settings on the currently active communication device and device failover settings. But these settings work in conjunction with one another. |
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Poll attempts |
The number of times a remote device attempts to poll an associated field device until a valid response is received within the message timeout limit. If a poll is successful, no more poll attempts are made. If a poll is unsuccessful, the remote device continues to attempt polls until a valid response is received or until the Poll attempts setting is reached, whichever comes first. |
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Advanced |
Click to access advanced communication device failover settings. |
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Enable device |
Select whether to enable or disable the device. The default setting is disabled. If an invalid configuration is detected, the device will automatically be disabled. The device can be re-enabled after the invalid configuration is fixed. |
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| Device security | |||||||
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Application |
Defines the ACS security application name used to validate the users of this device. See Applications, Events, Permissions. |
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Event |
Defines the ACS security event used to validate users of this device. Click … to select the security event. See Applications, Events, Permissions. |
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Comm Data |
Enables you to open a modeless Communications Data Viewer dialog box. |
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Audit History |
Enables you to view the audit trail for the device. |
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RTU Addressing
The native protocol requires that all remote devices using the same CygNet communication device must be identified in only one of two ways:
- Using only the Device Address field
- Using both the Device Address and Group Address together
Using these two options in combination might cause significant communication problems. If the Device Address and Group Address fields are used inconsistently on the same CygNet communication device, the wrong remote device or flow computer might return data.
For example, there are two remote devices (Device A and Device B) using the same CygNet communication device. Both remote devices are configured with Device Address = 03, but Device B also uses Group Address = 05. A custody request message is sent on the CygNet communication device intended for Device B (address 03, group 05). However, since both field devices have address 03, both hear the request. Even though the message is intended for Device B, Device A responds because it ignores the second addressing byte. Additionally, when Device A returns data, it includes the group address 05 in its response because it echoes back the value it received for the spare addressing byte.
Another problem might occur if a Group Address is incorrectly read as the wrong kind of valid addressing byte. For example, if you configure remote devices with both a Device Address and a Group Address, a Group Address number from 1 to 7 could be evaluated as a flow computer by a remote device with a single-byte address. Instead of receiving data from a specific remote device within a group, you might receive data from a flow computer identified with a number 1-7.
