servers.

Tip
An example hardware definition file (which you can modify and use) is shipped with Experion. The file name is
redun.hdw and is located in <data folder>\Honeywell\Experion PKS\Server\User\, where <data folder>
is the location where Experion data is stored. For default installations, <data folder> is C:\ProgramData.
Prerequisites
• You must stop the Experion server before using the hdwbld utility.
To define the arbitration method
1 In any text editor open or create your hardware definition file.
2 Add the following entry to the hardware definition file:
DEL PSW00
ADD PSW00 NETWORK_PSW RECOVER=recover_option IDLE=10 READ=15
Where recover_option is ABORT or REBOOT. ABORT means that when a failover occurs, Experion server service
is stopped and restarted on the failed server. REBOOT (the recommended option) means that when a failover
occurs, Experion server service is stopped and the database unloaded on the failed server. The Experion
server service is then restarted.
3 Save the file and copy to the primary and backup servers.
4 On the primary server, choose Start > All Programs > Honeywell Experion PKS > Server >
Diagnostic
Tools > Experion Command Prompt to open the Experion PKS Command Prompt window.
Attention
To run Experion commands, you must be a member of the Product Administrator group.
You must run Experion commands from the Experion PKS command prompt and not the Windows command
prompt, otherwise you will not see the output from the command and the command will fail.
5 Type the following:
hdwbld filename.hdw
where filename is the path and filename of the file you created in the text editor.
6 Repeat the above step on the backup server.
Example
The following hardware definition file entries are for a redundant server system with software arbitration.
When a failover to the backup server occurs, Experion is stopped and restarted on the primary server.
DEL PSW00
ADD PSW00 NETWORK_PSW RECOVER=ABORT IDLE=10 READ=15
Related topics
“What is redundant arbitration?” on page 578
CONFIGURING AND MONITORING A REDUNDANT SERVER SYSTEM
589

Defining the data links between redundant servers

When the primary and backup servers are running in redundant mode, all database changes on the primary
server are sent to the backup server via one or more data links. (A data link is a network path between the
primary server and the backup server.)
A hardware definition file must be created defining the data links. This file must be built individually on both
servers (using the hdwbld utility).
Tip
The example hardware definition file <data folder>\Honeywell\Experion PKS\server\user\redun.hdw also
includes data link definition examples.
Where <data folder> is the location where Experion data is stored. For default installations, <data folder> is
C:\ProgramData.
To build the data link for a single network or for FTE
1 Open a text editor such as Notepad.
2 Add the following entry to the file:
DEL LNK00
ADD LNK00 NETWORK_LINK
3 Save the file with a .hdw extension.
4 On the primary server, choose Start > All Programs > Honeywell Experion PKS > Server >
Diagnostic
Tools > Experion Command Prompt to open the Experion Command Prompt window.
Attention
To run Experion commands, you must be a member of the Product Administrators group. If you want to do
engineering tasks, you must be a member of the Local Engineers group.
You must run Experion commands from the Experion command prompt and not the standard Windows command
prompt, otherwise you will not see the output from the command and the command will fail.
5 Type the following:
hdwbld filename.hdw
where filename is the path and filename of the file you created in the text editor.
To build the data link for dual networks
1 Open a text editor such as Notepad.
2 Add the following entry to the file:
DEL LNK00
ADD LNK00 NETWORK_LINK
DEL LNK01
ADD LNK01 NETWORK_LINK
3 Save the file with a .hdw extension.
4 On the primary server, choose Start > All Programs > Honeywell Experion PKS > Server >
Diagnostic
Tools > Experion Command Prompt to open the Experion Command Prompt window.
Attention
To run Experion commands, you must be a member of the Product Administrators group. If you want to do
engineering tasks, you must be a member of the Local Engineers group.
You must run Experion commands from the Experion command prompt and not the standard Windows command
prompt, otherwise you will not see the output from the command and the command will fail.
5 Open a Command Prompt window.
CONFIGURING AND MONITORING A REDUNDANT SERVER SYSTEM
590 www.honeywell.com
6 Type the following:
hdwbld filename.hdw
where filename is the path and filename of the file you created in the text editor.
Changing the default transfer period
The transfer period specifies how frequently files that are defined in the flbkup.def file are checked for changes
and subsequently transferred to the backup server. You can change the default transfer period, by adding an
option to the link add line in the redundancy hardware definition file. The redundancy hardware definition file is
located in <data folder>\Honeywell\Experion PKS\server\user\redun.hdw, where <data folder> is the
location where Experion data is stored. For default installations, <data folder> is C:\ProgramData.
The following example changes the transfer period to 30 minutes for a dual network.
Example
DEL LNK00
ADD LNK00 NETWORK_LINK DAEMON_VALUE2=30
DEL LNK01
ADD LNK01 NETWORK_LINK DAEMON_VALUE2=30
CONFIGURING AND MONITORING A REDUNDANT SERVER SYSTEM
591

Configuring Station connections for server redundancy

Stations need to connect to whichever server is running as the primary server. However, special Station
configuration is required for local and network-connected Stations to locate and connect to the server running as
primary.
Attention
If the servers are not synchronized, Station displays (including tabbed displays) and operator log-ins are not restored
after a server failover. They are restored to their startup defaults.
If the servers are synchronized, displays and log-ins are only restored to their pre-failover state on static Stations
(either single- or multi-window). On rotary Stations, the system startup page is displayed after a failover, and the prefailover
login is only restored on systems that use Signon Manager or single signon.
Faceplates are only restored on multi-window Station, and popups are never restored after a failover.
To configure Station connections:
• Configure a Station connection to the primary server and specify the auxiliary Station connection file.
• Configure the auxiliary Station connection file which contains connection details to the secondary server.
Related topics
“Example Station connections for Single network and FTE configuration” on page 592
“Example Station connections for Dual network configuration” on page 592
“Accessing displays” on page 593
“Editing the hosts file” on page 583
“Station network redundancy” on page 582
“Example Station connections for Single network and FTE configuration” on page 592