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waterboy

View Machine Edition and RSLinx Enterprise

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I installed Factory Talk View Machine edition and didnt install RSLinx enterprise edition because I already run RSLinx Professional . Can I use Professional instead of Enterprise edition? FTVME complains at startup that Enterprise isnt installed, but arent Enterprise and Professional 2 different versions of the same product and wont they interfere with each other if I install Enteprise? I need Professional to work with everything else.

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They will interfere only in one case. When Enterprise is running, the first thing it attempts to do is to steal your serial ports. Any time you have a config loaded that involves serial ports, it swipes them, and won't give them back. You have to go into the services menu and forcibly kill Enterprise to get it to leave the serial port alone once it attaches. This is completely unlike any version of RSLinx Classic which allows you to go in and selectively turn drivers on and off at will without such drastic measures. If you put all your equipment on Ethernet and never bother with the serial port except under dire emergency or use flash cards to interact with your equipment, then the serial port hassle with Enterprise is a non-issue. Otherwise, be prepared to deal with this. In all other respects, they can coexist without issue. As far as I know, Linx Enterprise uses OPC almost exclusively, and multiple OPC drivers can coexist. Linx classic uses the "C" interface, OPC, DDE, and "FactoryTalk" as software interfaces. The only other problem with running with Linx and Linx Enterprise that I know of is that both will attempt to chat with your PLC's and this will increase the load (number of connections) on the PLC communication stack.

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Thanks, I will remember that Serial port bit. But the last statement you make is indeed a problem, I have enough machines chatting away with the PLCs so as to cause minor problems, I dont want any more than I have. So to that end, as far as FTVME is concerned, do you believe that it can use Professional so I dont have to install Enterprise? I am just gettign my feet wet with FTVME and it keeps complaining that enterprise is not loaded. The help files say I can use whatever OPC server I want. If thats true, and I have Professional configured, why wont it stop complaining about Enterprise?

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It wants Enterprise because that's how you configure FTVME even for offline mode. So yes, you have to have Enterprise loaded. I don't believe there's a way to stop it from running. If you are using the "FTVME" Station (the version that runs on Windows directly), you can use any OPC driver that you want. If you are using the version that you load onto Panelview Plus boxes, then I believe that you have to use either Linx Enterprise or the unbranded version of Kepserver they give you. It MIGHT be possible to go into the Windows CE console on the Panelview Plus and load a totally different OPC driver but I have never done this and I have no idea how to break out of Station to get to the Windows CE desktop to do this. Since any operator that figures it out could give you a lot of grief, I'm sure they made it very difficult to do so, if it is possible at all. As to loading up PLC's, the worst thing you can do is to give users copies of RS-Linx, Enterprise, etc., and let them make Excel spreadsheets with DDE polling in them. If that mistake has been made, then best to nip it in the bud. You don't have to totally put a stop to it. Just put in one copy of RS-Linx Gateway and have everyone point to that. Any standard PC can handle lots of traffic, and then you have just a single connection (and polling) going on with each PC that is using the gateway. You can even add security if you buy a copy of AssetCentre that has a copy of Gateway embedded in it. Alternatively, switch to using FTVSE or any other distributed HMI such as FactoryPMI, Cimplicity PE, Wonderware System Platform, or FactoryTalk View SE. Then you have just one or two servers that do all the PLC polling and everything else redirects through them. At a certain point as you grow, this becomes the only decent way to do things. I'm basically "limited out" where I'm at now so I am placing the first copy of a distributed HMI in the plant where I'm at now over the next 3 months. Once it's up and running, we can migrate everything else onto it. The load from Linx Enterprise isn't all that bad. It's just something that you have to be aware of and watch out for. Probably the most vulnerable machines are Micrologix since they don't have that many available connections in the first place. Edited by paulengr

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Oh Boy , believe me I am aware how RSLinx acts up when too many SCADA are hammering away at the PLC's. Just went through that and pared down from 7 SCADA to 3 SCADA. Still not happy with the errors but Rockwell has given up answering the support replies. Till this project enters the "tuning phase" I'll let that lie. Now I want to point this new PanelView Plus to one of the 2 RSLinx Gateway servers so it doesn't hammer the PLC's either. Guess I'll have to call up rockwell anyway... Thanks for the help.

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