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Industrial Application Server
What's New in Version 2.1?
The Wonderware® Industrial Application Server 2.1 is the next in a series of software enhancements that empower application developers, system integrators and IT professionals to build powerful HMI, supervisory control, SCADA and production and performance management solutions at the lowest total system lifecycle costs.
Version 2.1 includes the following new features:
- A new User-Defined Object for easier device configuration;
- Enhancements for simpler alarm configuration and maintenance;
- Internationalization support for worldwide markets; and
- Better integration with InTouch® and the Wonderware historian (formerly known as the IndustrialSQL™ Server historian) for improved usability.
New User-Defined Object for Easier Device Configuration
The new User-Defined Object is fully compatible with existing applications, but adds functionality that many adopters of the Wonderware® Industrial Application Server have requested. This new and improved User-Defined Object incorporates many object attributes that accomplish functions that previously would have been implemented as User-Defined Attributes (UDAs) or via scripting or object containment. The net result is less work and effort for Wonderware customers to implement equivalent functionality for reading, scaling and manipulation of analog and discrete devices in the ArchestrA® Integrated Development Environment (IDE). This new User-Defined Object supplements the engineering savings already provided by the Industrial Application Server’s underlying ArchestrA architecture, and improves the usability of the IDE as a development tool.
Enhancements for Simpler Alarm Configuration and Maintenance
The Industrial Application Server provides excellent capabilities to manage a group of HMI (InTouch) visualization nodes as a background service. For example, it can consolidate alarm definition and detection inside the ArchestrA IDE. These new enhancements simplify the development and maintenance of system-wide alarms and operator notification, and reduce the amount of configuration required to accomplish these tasks.
Internationalization Support for Worldwide Markets
IAS 2.1 is now supported on the following localized versions of Microsoft Operating Systems and Microsoft SQL Server databases:
- Japanese
- Chinese
- French
- German
Better Integration with InTouch and IndustrialSQL Server Software for Improved Usability
Industrial Application Server 2.1 and IndustrialSQL Server 9.0 Historian
A major feature added to the IndustrialSQL Server™ (InSQL™) historian 9.0 is the ability to browse the Industrial Application Server’s namespace (the Model View in the IDE) from the ActiveFactory™ Tag Picker. Users can now select attributes from ArchestrA Objects, using the same techniques they would use to pick InSQL tags, for use in trend displays or reports. This new capability facilitates more consistent usability between the Industrial Application Server and InSQL historian.
Industrial Application Server 2.1 and InTouch 9.0 HMI
In previous versions of the Industrial Application Server, alarms could only be queried through the Object Areas defined in the Model View section of the ArchestrA IDE. Therefore, users had to assign specific objects to an area for the sole purpose of alarming. Now, InTouch® 9.5 software provides more flexibility, as users can query a single or multiple object instances directly from the InTouch HMI and take advantage of the Area Definition in the IDE for other purposes. The result is additional flexibility in modeling applications that more accurately represent the plant or operational layout.
What Was New in 2.0?
- Flexible high availability for greater cost savings
- Network path redundancy for more robust device communications
- Fault tolerance for batch and pharmaceutical industries
- Performance improvements for slow and intermittent networks
- Smaller footprint for improved CPU and memory utilization
- Full support for InTouch SmartSymbols for graphics productivity
- Diagnostics and maintenance improvements for redundancy monitoring
- OPC Client support for open connectivity
- 1-million I/O support for unprecedented scalability
Flexibility and High Availability for Greater Cost Savings
Traditionally, supervisory system redundancy has required complicated scripting and programming. But Wonderware’s Industrial Application Server offers a truly flexible and cost-effective solution for supervisory and networked SCADA redundancy. A supervisory node can be backed up by another dedicated computer or two supervisory nodes can back each other up. This ability to mix and match redundancy configurations sets Wonderware apart from other products and is only possible because of the distributed nature of ArchestrA technology.
Network Path Redundancy for More Robust Device Communications
At the I/O data level, a Redundant Device Integration (DI) Object can be configured to have a pair of I/O network paths where one is Active and the other one is in Standby mode. If the Active network path fails, the Redundant DI Object uses the Standby network path to communicate with devices in the field.
Fault Tolerance for Batch and Pharmaceutical Industries
For customers who need very high system and computer availability, Wonderware has collaborated with Stratus Technologies and qualified our Industrial Application Server and IndustrialSQL Server historian on the Stratus ftServer family, ftServer 3300 Series fault-tolerant server. This combined solution has been field-proven at 99.9998% uptime.
Performance Improvements for Slow and Intermittent Networks
Version 2.0 included the addition of important enhancements to support networks with poor performance caused by low bandwidth and intermittent availability. The end result is that now entire systems built with the Industrial Application Server can execute messages more quickly and with greater accuracy then ever before.
Smaller Footprint for Improved CPU and Memory Utilization
Improvements in the script evaluation mechanism has contributed to the optimization of CPU and memory utilization. The smaller footprint optimizes resources and keeps the costs of computing hardware to a minimum. Combined with the engineering savings provided by the Industrial Application Server, Wonderware customers can attain the greatest lifecycle savings of any system on the market today.
Full Support for InTouch SmartSymbols for Graphics Productivity
As of version 2.0, the Industrial Application Server has incorporated seamless integration to InTouch SmartSymbols. As a result, users can browse the Template Toolbox from the WindowMaker™ graphical editing program to simplify linking attributes between both applications. New instances of an existing Template can be automatically created from the SmartSymbol, which prepares it for deployment in the IDE. This is great for creating common “control face plates” or “KPI templates” (for companies working toward Key Performance Initiatives) as part of a supervisory or production and performance management software solution.
Diagnostics and Maintenance Improvements for Redundancy Monitoring
Many new attributes associated with Redundant Application Engines and Redundant DI Objects are available to monitor system status and diagnose problems. Also, more comprehensive information for maintenance purposes is available as of version 2.0. The System Management Console (SMC) provides detailed information on operations such as Database Restore and Database Migration, including initializing and completion time.
OPC Client Support for Open Connectivity
At no extra charge to our customers, the Wonderware Industrial Application Server now leverages even more OPC technology. Version 2.0 provides support for the FactorySuite® Gateway, which enables Industrial Application Server Galaxies to become OPC Servers for OPC Clients that require access to Galaxy data. Additionally, the FactorySuite Gateway allows legacy I/O servers to provide data to the Galaxy. This new feature enables customers to expand their use of Industrial Application Server data by sharing it with applications not based on Wonderware software, providing improved enterprise integration and plant intelligence capabilities.
One-Million I/O Support for Unprecedented Scalability
The Industrial Application Server provides a foundation for applications based on Wonderware software to scale from 1 to more than 100 platforms and from 250 I/O points to greater than 1 million! Up to 400 active supervisory client stations can also be online at any one time. The result is the most distributed and scalable SCADA and industrial applications environment available on the market today.