I/A Series System The MESH Control Network System Planning and Sizing

B0700AX
REV G
I/A Series® System

The MESH Control Network
System Planning and Sizing
June 27, 2008
Invensys, Foxboro, FoxCAE, FoxPanels, FoxView, and I/A Series are trademarks of Invensys plc, its
subsidiaries, and affiliates.
All other brand names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Copyright 2004-2008 Invensys Systems, Inc.

All rights reserved
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and usage rights to the software described in this documentation. If any portion of
those license provisions is violated, Invensys Systems, Inc. will no longer provide you
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software license.
Contents
Figures..................................................................................................................................... v
Tables.................................................................................................................................... vii
Preface.................................................................................................................................... ix
Purpose .................................................................................................................................... ix
Who This Document Is For ..................................................................................................... ix
What You Should Know .......................................................................................................... ix
Revision Information ............................................................................................................... ix
Reference Documents .............................................................................................................. ix
Glossary ................................................................................................................................... xi
1. Overview ........................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1
Accessing Spreadsheets .............................................................................................................. 3
Accessing Spreadsheets from the Electronic Documentation CD-ROM ............................... 3
2. System Planning................................................................................................................ 5
Workstations ............................................................................................................................. 5
Virus Scanning ..................................................................................................................... 6
Virus Scan Software on Windows Platforms .................................................................... 6
Virus Scan Software on Solaris Platforms ......................................................................... 6
SMONS ............................................................................................................................... 6
OS Configurable Parameters ................................................................................................ 6
FoxView ............................................................................................................................... 9
Alarming ............................................................................................................................ 10
Historians ........................................................................................................................... 11
Printers ............................................................................................................................... 13
Application Object Services ................................................................................................ 13
Applications ....................................................................................................................... 13
Control ................................................................................................................................... 14
Alarming ............................................................................................................................ 15
Control Distribution .......................................................................................................... 15
Peer-to-Peer Relationships .................................................................................................. 16
OM Scan Load ................................................................................................................... 16
Control Processor Load Analysis ........................................................................................ 17
Block Processing Cycle ....................................................................................................... 17
Running with 100 ms and 50 ms Block Processing Cycle (BPC) ................................... 17
Phasing .......................................................................................................................... 18
iii
B0700AX – Rev G Contents
I/O Points ............................................................................................................................... 18

Network .................................................................................................................................. 18
System Planning Summary Tables .......................................................................................... 20
Data Access to I/A Objects ...................................................................................................... 21
3. System Sizing .................................................................................................................. 23

Workstations ........................................................................................................................... 23
Workstation Summary Worksheet ..................................................................................... 24
Control Processors .................................................................................................................. 28
Maximum Loading Table ................................................................................................... 28
Inter-Network Traffic ............................................................................................................. 30
Example – Gradual Migration ............................................................................................ 31
LI Traffic Rates ....................................................................................................................... 35
Index .................................................................................................................................... 37
iv
Figures
3-1. Original Nodebus Traffic Rates ................................................................................... 32
3-2. Adding an ATS in Extender Mode .............................................................................. 33
3-3. Migrate Nodebus 1 ..................................................................................................... 33
3-4. Migrate Nodebus 4 and Nodebus 5 ............................................................................ 34
3-5. Final Migration ........................................................................................................... 34
v
B0700AX – Rev G Figures
vi
Tables
2-1. Windows Workstation System Planning Summary ..................................................... 20
2-2. Solaris Workstation System Planning Summary .......................................................... 20
2-3. Data Access to CIO Objects on CP270 ....................................................................... 21
3-1. Windows Workstation Specification ........................................................................... 23
3-2. Solaris Workstation Specification ................................................................................ 23
3-3. Workstation Summary Worksheet .............................................................................. 24
3-4. Alarm Manager Worksheet ......................................................................................... 25
3-5. Default AST Table for Number Alarm Managers on a Windows-Based Workstation
(Local and Remote) ..................................................................................................... 26
3-6. Default AST Table for Number Alarm Managers on a Solaris-Based Workstation
(Local and Remote) ..................................................................................................... 26
3-7. FoxView Worksheet .................................................................................................... 27
3-8. AIM*Historian Worksheet .......................................................................................... 27
3-9. Loading Summary (% of BPC) ................................................................................... 29
3-10. Station Free Memory (Bytes) ...................................................................................... 29
3-11. Peer-to-Peer Data ........................................................................................................ 29
3-12. Resource Table ............................................................................................................ 30
vii
B0700AX – Rev G Tables
viii
Preface
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide system planning and sizing guidelines for I/A Series
Mesh control network systems for both I/A Series Windows V8.4.1 and I/A Series Solaris V8.3
platforms. V8.3 I/A Series software for the Solaris operating system provides support for Solaris
workstations residing on The Mesh control network. Additional performance and sizing guide-
lines for the Windows Server 2003 platform can be found in the following documents:
♦ Model P91 System Administration Guide (Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition with
Service Pack 1) (B0700BX)
♦ Model P91 Workstation Server for Windows Server 2003 (PSS 21H-4U6 B4)
♦ Workstation Server for Windows 2003 Software Overview Microsoft Windows Server
2003 Operating System (PSS 21S-1B10 B3).
Who This Document Is For

This document is intended to be used by engineering, applications, plant management, and other
qualified and authorized personnel involved in the planning and sizing of their I/A Series Mesh
control network system. It is also suitable for Invensys personnel.
What You Should Know

Prior to using this document, you should be familiar with I/A Series process control principles
and strategies. Detailed information relating to the various I/A Series software and hardware ele-
ments is found in the reference documents listed below.
You should also be familiar with Microsoft® Excel™ operating principles and procedures prior to
using spreadsheets.
Revision Information
For this revision of the document (B0700AX-G), the following changes were made:
♦ Updated document for V8.4.1 control station performance.
Reference Documents
The following documents provide additional and related information.
♦ Address Translation Station User’s Guide (B0700BP)
♦ Application Object Services User’s Guide (B0400BZ)
♦ Alarm and Display Manager Configurator (ADMC) (B0700AM)
♦ Control Processor 270 (CP270) Integrated Control Software Concepts (B0700AG)
♦ Control Processor 270 (CP270) On-Line Image Update (B0700BY)
ix
B0700AX – Rev G Preface
♦ DIN Rail Mounted FBM Subsystem User's Guide (B0400FA)

♦ Enclosures and Mounting Structures Site Planning and Installation User's Guide
(B0700AS)
♦ Field Control Processor 270 (FCP270) Sizing Guidelines and Excel Workbook
(B0700AV)
♦ Field Control Processor 270 (FCP270) User’s Guide (B0700AR)
♦ Field Device System Integrator (FBM230/231/232/233) User’s Guide (B0700AH)
♦ FOUNDATION™ fieldbus User’s Guide for the Redundant FBM228 Interface (B0700BA)
♦ FoxAPI User’s Guide (B0193UD)
♦ FoxPanels Configurator (B0700BB)
♦ FoxView™ Software (B0700BD)
♦ Hardware and Software Specific Instructions for Model P92*F Workstation (PW380)
(B0700CB)
♦ Hardware Installation Procedures for Model P79 Workstation (Solaris 8 and 10 Operat-
ing Systems) (B0400SR)
ing Systems) (B0400SS)
ing Systems) (B0400SU)
♦ Hardware Installation Procedures for Model P82*B Workstation (Solaris 10 Operating
System) (B0700CS)
♦ I/A Series Information Suite AIM*Historian User’s Guide (B0193YL)
♦ Implementing FOUNDATION Fieldbus on the I/A Series System (B0700BA)
♦ Integrated Control Block Descriptions (B0193AX)
♦ Integrated Control Configurator (B0193AV)
♦ Model P91 System Administration Guide (Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition with
Service Pack 1) (B0700BX)
♦ Model P91 Workstation Server for Windows Server 2003 (PSS 21H-4U6 B4)
♦ Object Manager Calls (B0193BC)
♦ Power, Earthing (Grounding, EMC and CE Compliance (B0700AU)
♦ Process Operations and Displays (B0700BN)
♦ Software Utilities (B0193JB)
♦ System Administration Guide (Solaris 10 Operating System) (B0700CT)
♦ System Administration Guide (Windows® XP Operating System) (B0400HE)
♦ System Definition V2.9 Release Notes (B0193XW)
♦ System Management Displays (B0193JC)
♦ Transient Data Recorder and Analyzer User’s Guide (B0700AL)
♦ The MESH Control Network Architecture Guide (B0700AZ)
♦ Ultra 25 Model P82*B Workstation (Solaris 10 Operating System) (PSS 21H-4U8 B4)
x
Preface B0700AX – Rev G
♦ V8.4.1 Release Notes and Installation Procedures for the Windows Operating System
(B0700RT)
♦ V8.x System Error Messages (B0700AF)
♦ Workstation Alarm Management (B0700AT)
♦ Workstation Components (PSS 21H-4D1 B3)
♦ Workstation Server for Windows 2003 Software Overview Microsoft Windows Server
2003 Operating System (PSS 21S-1B10 B3)
♦ Z-Module Control Processor 270 (ZCP270) User’s Guide (B0700AN)
♦ Z-Module Control Processor 270 (ZCP270) Sizing Guidelines and Excel Workbook
(B0700AW).
Glossary
Expression Meaning
AMS Alarm Management System
AIM*API AIM* Product Line Application Programming Interface
AIM*Historian AIM*API application that collects I/A Objects.
AO API The Application Object API that is part of the OM and is used by AOS to
access (e.g., create, locate) AO objects.
AO Objects The hierarchically named objects created and managed by either the Applica-
tion Object Services (AOS) or by the AO API on an OM station. They are
similar to CIO compounds, blocks, and parameters but provide increased
flexibility. You define the data parameters, attributes, and so forth. AO
objects take the form application:object.attribute.
API Application Programming Interface
AST Alarm Server Task
ATS Address Translation Station
CBL Carrierband LAN
CIO Control & Input/Output
CIO Objects The hierarchically named process control and input/output objects created
through the control configurator and managed by the control software. CIO
objects take the form compound:block.parm or compound.parm.
CP Control Processor. The control processor performs any mix of integrated
first-level automation functions such as continuous, sequential, or discreet
logic functions.
FCP270 Field Control Processor 270
FDSI Field Device System Integrator
I/A Objects The set of AO, CIO, and OM objects on I/A Series systems for which the
OM provides applications with OM Services.
I/A Series Intelligent Automation Series
I/O Input/Output
xi
Expression Meaning
IPC Inter-Process Communications: a proprietary, Foxboro communications
layer for applications.
IPC Connec- When two applications in different stations require a permanent connection
tion between them, an IPC connection is formed. The number of IPC connec-
tions is fixed based on station type except on workstations where it is an OS
configurable parameter. For change-driven data access via OM open lists, the
OM uses one IPC connection on each station (sink and source) regardless of
how many applications open lists on the sink station.
LI LAN Interface
Nucleus Plus An embedded real-time operating system that is used on the FCP270 and
ZCP270 control stations
OM Object Manager: a proprietary, Foxboro OS extension that supports data
access to I/A objects.
OM API The Object Manager API that provides OM Services.
OM List An OM list is a set of points for which an application wants to receive
change-driven data access. These data points can consist of CIO objects, AO
objects, and OM objects that can reside locally or in remote stations. OM
lists can be opened by user applications using FoxAPI or by Foxboro applica-
tions using OM API. When an operator on a workstation brings up a new
display, the connected data points on this display are requested from the sta-
tion containing these points via an OM list. When the AIM*Historian asks
for data collection points, it also uses an OM list. When a CP block has peer-
to-peer block connections, it uses an OM list. While an OM list is open, it
exists in the station that has requested the data (sink side) and a subset of the
list exists in the station that contains remote data (source side).
OM Objects The flat named shared objects created and managed by OM Services, includ-
ing shared objects of the following types: variable, alias, process, device, let-
terbug, and socket.
OM Scanner An OM process that monitors the database of a station and sends data on an
exception basis (change-driven basis) to other stations that have requested the
data. Examples of stations that request change-driven data are CPs (for peer-
to-peer connections) and Workstations (for displays, historians and other
applications). Note that the OM scanner task always sends the change-driven
data to the OM server task of the station that requested the data via an OM
list.
OM Server An OM process that services all OM message requests. This includes change-
driven data updates, get/set requests, object location requests, etc.
OM Services The object manager services used by applications for creating and deleting
the OM objects and locating and accessing the OM objects, the AO objects,
and the CIO objects.
xii
Preface B0700AX – Rev G
Expression Meaning
Peer-to-Peer The control block mechanism that uses OM lists to refresh its block inputs
Connection with data from a remote station. That data can be from CIO, OM or AO
objects. For most control strategies peer-to peer connections will be between
CIO objects. The block that requests data is referred to as the sink of the
block connection and the block that has the requested remote data is referred
to as the source of the block connection. A block connection is normally
local to another block that exists in the same CP. However, the full path
name defined for a block parameter may be to a CIO object that is in another
CP. This remote type of connection is referred to as a peer-to-peer block con-
nection.
SMDH System Management Display Handler (Graphical User Interface for Systems
Management)
Workstations Stations that connect to bulk storage devices and optimally to information
networks to allow bi-directional information flow. These processors perform
computation intensive functions as well as process file requests from tasks
within themselves or from other stations. They also interface to a CRT and
the input devices associated with it. These may be alphanumeric keyboards,
mice, trackballs, touchscreens, or up to two modular keyboards. Each proces-
sor manages the information on its CRT and exchanges data with other pro-
cessor modules.
ZCP270 Z-Format Control Processor 270
xiii
xiv
1. Overview
This chapter provides an introduction to the document and the subject of sizing and the sizing
spreadsheets and worksheets.
Introduction
This document is the top level user’s guide for planning and sizing an I/A Series Mesh control
network for I/A Series V8.4.1 and later software for the Windows operating system and I/A Series
V8.3 software for the Solaris operating system. Lower level documents are referenced to provide
detailed specific descriptions, suggestions, and procedures for major areas such as Control, The
Mesh control network, and I/O. System planning is described with respect to the overall perfor-
mance and sizing of your I/A Series system, and does not take into consideration factors such as
cost, environment, installation, and configuration. These factors are described in sales guidelines,
sales tools, and other user documents.
Spreadsheets and worksheets are provided to make a variety of sizing calculations for I/A Series
workstations and control stations. I/A Series sizing spreadsheets are Microsoft Excel® application
software packages that execute on a Windows PC and provide automated calculations based on
user input. Worksheets are provided for manual calculations if spreadsheets are not available.
The spreadsheets and worksheets should be used before final system configuration to expedite the
configuration process and eliminate the need for reconfiguration. They can also be used to assist
in developing a process control strategy that allows for maximum usage of all stations while pro-
viding for expedient throughput for process control blocks.
Planning and sizing The Mesh control network for performance requires you to determine the
distribution of equipment and software to guarantee that the system responds well to user actions,
controls the process in real time, and meets published performance and sizing specifications for
control, alarming, AIM*Historian data collection, and so forth.
Additional planning and sizing is needed if The Mesh network is connected via an Address Trans-
lation Station (ATS) to a Nodebus network. Chapter 3 “System Sizing” describes the sizing calcu-
lations for inter-network traffic between The Mesh network and the Nodebus network. Refer to
the “Standard I/A Series Migration Strategies” section in V8.3 Software for the Solaris Operating
System Release Notes and Installation Procedures (B0700RR) for planning recommendations regard-
ing the ATS usage.
This document coupled with the lower level reference documents and the sizing spreadsheets and
worksheets will help you successfully plan and size your system by providing information and data
calculations that answer questions regarding control stations loading, workstations loading, and
network traffic:
Control Stations:
♦ How many control stations do I need to support the number and type of I/O points
in my system?
♦ How do I distribute my control process load between control stations?
♦ How many peer-to-peer connections can my system support?
♦ What is the estimated Field Bus Scan Load % for each control station?
1
B0700AX – Rev G 1. Overview
♦ What is the estimated Control Block Load % for each control station?
♦ What is the estimated Sequence Block Load % for each control station?
♦ What is the estimated Total Control Cycle Load % for each control station?
♦ What is the estimated OM Scan Load % for each control station?
♦ What is the estimated CPU Load % for each control station to support my AIM*His-
torian application?
♦ What is the estimated CPU Load % for each control station to support my FoxView
displays?
♦ What is the estimated CPU Load % for each control station to support my worksta-
tion applications?
♦ What is the estimated CPU Load % for each control station if I choose to use the
default Aprint services for alarm notification?
♦ What is the estimated Idle Time % for each control station to support sustained alarm
rates, alarm bursts, and alarm destinations?
♦ What is the estimated memory consumption for each control station?
♦ Do the sizing estimates for each control station exceed the recommended control sta-
tion CPU loading guidelines?
Workstations:
♦ Do the default OS configurable parameter settings for each workstation satisfy the
number of connections I need between the workstation and control stations?
♦ What is the estimated CPU Load % for each workstation to support my AIM*Histo-
rian application?
♦ What is the estimated CPU Load % for each workstation to support my FoxView
displays?
♦ What is the estimated CPU Load % for each workstation if I choose to use the default
Aprint services for alarm notification?
♦ Do the sizing estimates for each workstation exceed the recommended workstation
CPU Load % loading guidelines?
Network Traffic:
♦ What is my estimated Mesh network traffic flow and can my network configuration
handle the estimated sustained and peak traffic rates?
♦ If connecting to a Nodebus system via ATSs, do I need to do a total replacement of
LAN Interfaces (LIs) or can I do a gradual migration using an ATS running in
Extender mode?
NOTE
All references to workstations apply to both Windows and Solaris workstations,
unless explicitly referred to as either a Windows workstation or a Solaris
workstation.
2
1. Overview B0700AX – Rev G
Accessing Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets can be accessed on the I/A Series Electronic Documentation CD-ROM or from the
Global Customer Support Center (Global CSC) web site (http://support@ips.invensys.com).
These spreadsheets can be run on any personal computer that has Microsoft Excel software. You
should use the Microsoft Office 97 or later version of Excel.
For personal computer hardware and software requirements, refer to documentation for the Excel
spreadsheet. Also, refer to the Excel documentation for general principles of operation.
Accessing Spreadsheets from the Electronic Documentation

CD-ROM
To access the spreadsheets on the I/A Series Electronic Documentation CD:
1. Insert the CD in the CD-ROM drive.
2. Install the software.
3. Access the file for the spreadsheet desired.
3
B0700AX – Rev G 1. Overview
4
2. System Planning
This section contains system recommendations and guidelines that you should follow to ensure
your I/A Series system does not exceed published I/A Series performance and sizing
specifications.
The system planning phase will result in an I/A Series system that provides fast response to user
actions, provides real-time control with no overruns, handles sustained alarm rates and alarm
bursts, and supports customer applications and data access.
You should be familiar with the various sizing guidelines related to the configuration of a system
prior to system definition/configuration. The Mesh control network no longer requires that you
extensively plan Mesh network traffic rates, because the bandwidth usage will typically be less
than 2% on an I/A Series system. If connecting The Mesh network to a Nodebus network using
an ATS in Extender mode, you will need to size traffic rates for the LI associated with the ATS in
Extender mode. Refer to the “Standard I/A Series Migration Strategies” section in V8.3 Software
for the Solaris Operating System Release Notes and Installation Procedures (B0700RR) for planning
inter-network communications between Mesh and Nodebus networks. System planning also
requires that you determine the following:
♦ Workstation Loading
♦ Control Station Loading
♦ Distribution of I/O
♦ OS Configurable Parameters.
Workstations
The general workstation CPU loading guideline is that you should keep the sustained workstation
idle time to at least the recommended value of Reserved CPU Load (Windows=40%, Solaris=
40%). Reserved CPU Load % ensures that the workstation has a reserve performance capacity to
support temporary peak loads for virus scanning, alarm bursts, alarm recovery, historian data
reduction, historian archiving, large application startups, end of shift reports, file printing, file
copies, network backup/restore, and so forth.
Workstation planning requires you to consider the following:
♦ Virus Scanning
♦ System Monitor configuration
♦ OS Configurable Parameters
♦ FoxView displays
♦ Alarming
♦ AIM*Historian
♦ Application Object Services
♦ Customer applications.
5
B0700AX – Rev G 2. System Planning
Virus Scanning
Virus scan protection is recommended regardless if you have any external network connections,
because the system must still protect against file transfers done from local devices.
Virus Scan Software on Windows Platforms

McAfee® Virus Protection Software V8.0i has been qualified and is recommended for use on
V8.2 or later Windows workstations on The Mesh control network. V8.0i is not supported on
I/A Series system Windows workstations running previous versions of I/A Series software. Addi-
tionally, V8.2 and later Windows workstations do not support versions of McAfee Virus Scan
software prior to V8.0i.
McAfee full virus protection software typically consumes a sustained CPU Load of <1% and a
peak CPU Load of 10% (configured during McAfee installation). McAfee virus protection soft-
ware, however, contains a file exclusion protection option that allows you to eliminate virus
checking for selected files. Enabling the file exclusion protection feature can considerably reduce
peak load usage and is recommended for all workstations.
Because the sustained CPU Load % for virus protection is extremely low and the workstation has
a Reserved CPU Load of 40% that can handle temporary peak loads, the workstation summary
sizing worksheet does not require a separate line entry for virus scanning; virus scan loading is
absorbed in the line entry for Reserved CPU Load %.
Virus Scan Software on Solaris Platforms

Currently there is no virus scan software available for workstations running I/A Series V8.3 soft-
ware for the Solaris operating system.
SMONS
System Monitor (SMON) is used to monitor the status of stations and devices on The Mesh con-
trol network. The SMON limits enforced by System Definition software are:
♦ 30 SMONS maximum per system
♦ 64 stations (includes switches) maximum per SMON.
OS Configurable Parameters
Workstations support OS configurable parameters that enable you to fine tune OS extension
resources for a particular application. These OS configurable parameters consist mainly of Object
Manager shared memory resources. They include:
♦ Number of OM lists for change-driven data access
♦ Number of I/A objects that can be imported to minimize system multicast messages
♦ Number of OM objects which also supports the number of Application Objects.
Default values have been set for a typical workstation that supports the recommended guidelines
for workstation applications such as FoxView, Alarm Manager, AIM*Historian, and so forth. In
general, you do not need to modify the default settings. The OS configurable parameter usage can
be viewed using the /usr/local/show_params utility. Refer to Application Object Services User’s
Guide (B0400BZ) for information on setting OS configurable parameters.
Below is the table of OS configurable parameters with default and maximum values followed by a
brief description of each parameter and typical I/A Series Mesh usage:
6
2. System Planning B0700AX – Rev G
Default Value Max Value

OS Parameter Name Windows Solaris Windows Solaris
CMX_NUM_CONNECTIONS 200 200 255 255
URFS_NUM_CONNECTIONS (Solaris Only) N/A 200 N/A 255
OM_NUM_OBJECTS 4000 4000 6000 6000
OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS 200 200 255 255
OM_NUM_IMPORT_VARS 1000 1000 10000 10000
OM_NUM_LOCAL_OPEN_LISTS 100 100 300 300
OM_NUM_REMOTE_OPEN_LISTS 100 100 100 100
IPC_NUM_CONN_PROCS 200 200 255 255
IPC_NUM_CONNLESS_PROCS 250 250 255 250
CMX_NUM_CONNECTIONS
♦ Maximum number of concurrent connections allowed by the workstation.
♦ CMX_NUM_CONNECTIONS ≥ OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS.
URFS_NUM_CONNECTIONS (Solaris Only)
♦ Number of connections used by uRFS.
OM_NUM_OBJECTS
♦ Total number of OM objects that can be created by applications. The number of OM
objects is also used to support the number of Application Objects because they share
OM memory space.
♦ You can use the /usr/local/show_params utility to view the usage of OM objects.
♦ You can use the /opt/fox/bin/tools/som utility (“list” command) to view the names of
OM objects created.
♦ Each FoxView creates ~65 OM objects.
♦ Each Alarm Manager Subsystem creates ~10 OM objects.
OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS
♦ Total number of station connections used by OM Server for local OM change-driven
lists. The number of connections determines how many stations can source data for
workstation displays, AIM*Historian, and user applications.
♦
You can use the /usr/local/show_params utility to view the usage of station
connections.
OM_NUM_IMPORT_VARS
♦ Total number of entries used to save station addresses for I/A objects to minimize
message multicasts.
♦ You can use the /usr/local/show_params utility to view the usage of I/A objects
imported.
♦ You can use the /opt/fox/bin/tools/som utility (“imp” command) to view the names
of imported I/A objects (for example, compounds).
7
OM_NUM_LOCAL_OPEN_LISTS
♦ Total number of workstation OM lists that can be opened for change-driven data
access.
♦ Each FoxView opens one list per 1-75 display points.
♦ Each AIM*Historian opens (via FoxAPI) one list per 1-255 points sampled.
♦ Each user application opens (via FoxAPI) one list per 1-255 points requested for
change-driven access.
♦ You can use the /usr/local/show_params utility to view the usage of local OM lists.
♦ You can use the /opt/fox/bin/tools/som utility (“opdb” command) to view local OM
lists.
OM_NUM_REMOTE_OPEN_LISTS
♦ Total number of remote OM lists that source data (for example, remote shared vari-
ables) for corresponding local OM lists (for example, FoxView displays) opened on
other workstations.
♦ You can use the /usr/local/show_params utility to view the usage of remote OM lists.
♦ You can use the /opt/fox/bin/tools/som utility (“opdb” command) to view remote
OM lists on workstations.
♦ You can use the /opt/fox/bin/tools/rsom utility (“opdb” command) to view remote
OM lists on control stations.
IPC_NUM_CONN_PROCS
♦ Maximum number of workstation software processes that register for IPC connected
services.
♦ I/A Series baseline software running on a Windows workstation consumes approxi-
mately 35 I/A Series processes registered for IPC connected services.
♦ I/A Series baseline software running on a Solaris workstation consumes approximately
35 I/A Series processes registered for IPC connected services.
♦ You can use the /usr/local/show_params utility to view the usage of IPC connected
services.
♦ You can use the /opt/fox/bin/tools/sipc utility (“list dt” command) to view the names
of the processes registered for IPC connected services.
IPC_NUM_CONNLESS_PROCS
♦ Maximum number of workstation software processes that register for IPC connec-
tionless services.
♦ I/A Series baseline software running on a Windows workstation consumes approxi-
mately 65 I/A Series processes registered for IPC connectionless services.
♦ I/A Series baseline software running on a Solaris workstation consumes approximately
70 I/A Series processes registered for IPC connectionless services.
♦ You can use the /usr/local/show_params utility to view the usage of IPC connection-
less services.
♦ You can use the /opt/fox/bin/tools/sipc utility (“list cdt” command) to view the
names of the processes registered for IPC connectionless services.
8
FoxView
In general, FoxView displays affect I/A Series control network systems as follows:
♦ Each FoxView display consumes a workstation CPU Load % for updating display val-
ues, bar graphs, trend lines, and so forth.
♦ Each FoxView display consumes one workstation OM Server connection per remote
station that sources display points.
♦ Each FoxView instance and its display consumes the following workstation OS con-
figurable parameters:
♦ OM_NUM_OBJECTS
♦ OM_NUM_LOCAL_OPEN_LISTS
♦ OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS.
♦ Each FoxView display causes a control station OM Scan Load % based on the num-
ber of display points the control station scans each second.
♦ Each FoxView display causes each control station that sources display points to con-
sume one OM Scanner connection.
FoxView display updates are based on the display scan rate and the fast scan option configured
when building a display using FoxDraw. The display configurable scan rate (which has a default
of 1 s) applies to all stations sourcing display points. It determines how often the source stations
scan the display points and send updated values to the workstation. The fast scan option applies
only to control stations with a BPC of 100 ms or faster that are configured by SysDef to allow the
OM fast scan option. A display configured with the fast scan option, coupled with a control sta-
tion configured for OM fast scan, will cause a control station sourcing display points to scan the
points every 100 ms and send updated values to the workstation.
The default display scan rate of 1 second coupled with the default NO fast scan option guarantees
the following:
♦ Display call-up with initial data values within 1 to 2 seconds.
♦ Display updates of data sourced by I/A Series stations within 1 second.
NOTE
The fast scan option will increase the OM Scan load on each control station that
sources display data approximately ten times the normal rate for the display points.
It is recommended that you use the FoxView display fast scan option only if you
have control stations running at 100 ms BPC or faster and require an initial display
call-up time less than 1 second or if your data source is external to I/A and the dis-
play update time needs to be faster.
A workstation can support multiple FoxViews (Windows 1-16, Solaris 1-16) and each worksta-
tion worksheet calculates a CPU Load % based on a 200-point display with all the display points
changing value every scan cycle. When building FoxView displays, you should consider the fol-
lowing system impacts:
♦ Displays consume workstation OM Server connections equal to the number of sta-
tions that source the display points. If the number of stations sourcing display points
exceeds the number of OM Server connections, the display will not connect to all
source stations and update all the points. The number of OM Server connections is an
9
OS configurable parameter (OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS) and can be increased to

correct this condition. The OM multiplexes station connections for all OM lists on a
single workstation. The default value (Windows=200, Solaris=200) should not require
you to make any modifications.
♦ Displays use one local OM list on the workstation for each of 1 to 75 unique display
points. The number of OM local lists is an OS configurable parameter
(OM_NUM_LOCAL_OPEN_LISTS). The default value (Windows=100, Solaris=
100) should not require you to make any modifications.
♦ Displays should contain 200 points maximum to ensure an initial call-up time of less
than 2 seconds.
♦ A 200-point display with the default scan rate of 1 second consumes a workstation
CPU Load of 2.0% for Windows workstations and 5.2% for Solaris workstations.
♦ A 200-point display configured to use the fast scan option consumes a workstation
CPU Load of 4.0% for Windows workstations and 10% for Solaris workstations.
♦ Displays configured to use the fast scan option increase the workstation CPU Load %
because they cause FoxView software to update the display values at a faster rate and
the workstation to process ten times the number of OM Scanner update messages sent
by source control stations every 100 ms.
♦ Displays cause a control station that sources display points to have an OM Scan Load
of 1.6% per 1,000 points/second changing every scan cycle.
♦ Displays cause a control station OM Scan Load of 0.03% for each scanner update
message it sends for updating display points it sources. The maximum number of
points per scanner update message is 100.
♦ A 200-point display with the default scan rate of 1 second that has all the display
points sourced by a single control station increases the control station’s OM Scan
Load by <1%: ((200/1000)*1.6) + (3*0.03) = 0.41%.
♦ A 200-point display with the display fast scan option that has all display points
sourced by a single OM fast scan control station causes a control station OM Scan
Load of 4.1%: ((2000/1000)*1.6) + (30*0.03) = 4.1%.
♦ Displays configured to use the fast scan option increase (by ten times) the OM Scan
Load % on each 100 ms control station that sources display points and is configured
for the fast scan option. Each source control station scans display points every 100 ms
rather than every 1 second.
♦ If you are configuring displays with the fast scan option, you must consider the num-
ber of FoxView displays that can simultaneously access data from the same control
station. This factor is covered in the OM Scan Loading section of the Control Station
spreadsheets.
Alarming
The Mesh control network requires that you configure alarm destinations for control station
alarms. APRINT services on each control station sends control process alarm messages to the
Alarm Management Subsystem (AMS) for configured alarm destinations such as workstations,
printers, and AIM*Historian workstations. It sends multiple alarm messages (1 per destination)
for each process alarm occurrence.
When planning alarm handling for your system, you should consider the following:
10
♦ What is the expected sustained alarm rate (alarms/second) for each controller?
Sustained alarm rate = 5% of the control loops, where the number of control loops =
(blocks per second)/5.
Example: 5000 blocks per second = 1000 control loops.
Sustained alarm rate = 1000 * 5% = 50 alarms per second.
♦ How many alarm destinations do I need for each controller?
♦ How many alarm messages per second do I require for each controller? Alarm mes-
sages per second = sustained alarm rate * alarm destinations
♦ How heavily loaded are my controllers; how much Idle Time is needed to support the
number of alarm messages?
♦ Aprint increases the control station alarming load significantly for each alarm destina-
tion configured. The alarming CPU Load % doubles for 2 destinations, triples for 3,
and so on.
♦ Aprint services on a control station consumes 0.1% Idle Time for each alarm message
generated. For example, the Idle Time needed for 100 alarm messages per second =
100 *0.1% = 10%.
♦ The Alarm Management Services (AMS) on a Windows workstation consumes 2.5%
CPU Load % for every 100 alarm messages per second processed.
♦ The Alarm Management Services (AMS) on a Solaris workstation consumes 5% CPU
Load % for every 100 alarm messages per second processed plus an additional 5%
base load.
♦ The AMS base load on a workstation also depends on the number of Alarm Managers
and the refresh rate of each Alarm Manager.
Historians
In general, AIM*Historian affects The Mesh control network as follows:
♦ AIM*Historian consumes workstation CPU Load % based on data collection rates,
data reduction, and data archiving.
♦ AIM*Historian consumes workstation Disk Load Time % and physical disk space
based on Real-Time Point (RTP) file sizes.
♦ AIM*Historian increases control station CPU Load % for OM scanning of data col-
lection points sourced by the control station.
♦ AIM*Historian consumes the following workstation OS configurable parameters:
♦ OM_NUM_LOCAL_OPEN_LISTS
♦ OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS
♦ AIM*Historian consumes one workstation OM Server connection for every station
that sources collection points.
♦ AIM*Historian causes a control station to consume one OM Scanner connection for
collection points it sources.
The data collection rate determines how much data will be collected in a particular time frame
and is controlled by the following:
11
♦ Delta – specifies the minimum change of a data collection point relative to the previ-
ous collected value. A delta is assigned to each data collection point and should be the
controlling variable for the data collection rate.
♦ Collection Frequency – specifies how often the data collection points are scanned for
changes on the stations (for example, control stations) that source the data. AIM*His-
torian supports a slow and fast frequency option. By default, the fast frequency is in
effect, and in most implementations there is little need to switch to the slow fre-
quency. In many cases, making the collection frequency the controlling variable can
be used as a convenient alternative to fine-tuning the individual deltas of data collec-
tion points.
♦ Max Time Between Samples – guarantees that a value is placed in the database at least
at the specified interval regardless if the value has changed more than the delta since
the last collection. This parameter can be considered to have the opposite functional-
ity as the Collection Frequency.
Data collection points are combined and collected into RTP files. A new RTP file is started when-
ever the active one becomes “full” or when the specified Real-Time Retention Time parameter
(RTTIME) has expired. The finished files are eventually repacked, which shrinks their sizes to
about one-third without compression, and by an additional 40% to 60% when compression is
on. Data retrieval is less efficient from a large number of small files when compared to a small
number of large files; however, if the RTP files are too large, performance problems can occur
because RTP files may not comfortably fit into physical memory. Disk activity increases and sys-
tem performance may degrade.
A workstation can support multiple AIM*Historian instances, each capable of collecting in excess
of 20,000 points. When using AIM*Historian software, you should consider the following system
impacts:
♦ AIM*Historian software consumes an average workstation CPU Load (Windows=
2%, Solaris=3%) for data collections that change at a rate of 1,000 points/second.
♦ AIM*Historian software consumes a workstation CPU Load (Windows=1%, Solaris=
1.5%) for every 1,000 data collection points reduced at a rate ≥ 15 minutes.
♦ AIM*Historian software consumes a workstation CPU Load (Windows=5%, Solaris=
4%) for every 5,000 data collection points archived at the default rate.
♦ AIM*Historian software consumes workstation OM Server connections based on the
number of stations that source the data collection points. If the number of stations
sourcing the data collection points exceeds the number of OM Server connections,
not all the data will be collected. The number of OM Server connections is an OS
configurable parameter (OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS) and can be increased to
correct this condition. The default value should not require you to make any modifi-
cations. The OM multiplexes station connections for all OM lists on a single
workstation.
♦ AIM*Historian software uses 1 local OM list for each of 1 to 255 data collection
points. The number of OM local lists is an OS configurable parameter
(OM_NUM_LOCAL_OPEN_LISTS) and can be increased if necessary.
♦ AIM*Historian software causes a control station OM Scan Loading of 1.9% per
1,000 collection points/second changing every scan cycle.
12
♦ AIM*Historian software causes a control station OM Scanner connection to be used

by each control station that sources data collection points
♦ The ARCHSIZE parameter controls the size of the RTP files and experience shows
that a good compromise is to configure ARCHSIZE to a value that results in about
one RTP file per day, or very few RTP files per day.
♦ The largest recommended RTP size is estimated to be 1/8 of the physical memory
size. For example, if your Windows computer has 512 MB of RAM, ARCHSIZE
should not be configured greater than 64 MB; if your Solaris computer has 1.0 GB of
RAM, ARCHSIZE should not be configured greater than 128 MB.
♦ A good value for RTTIME is usually 86,400 seconds (1 day).
Refer to I/A Series Information Suite AIM*Historian User’s Guide (B0193YL) for information
regarding the AIM*Historian configuration parameters that you may need to configure based on
your system requirements and constraints. The AIM*Historian Excel spreadsheet HistSize.xls can
be used to estimate the Historian Configuration Parameters.
Printers
The workstation sizing spreadsheet entry Reserved CPU Load % has been set to include handling
printer operations such as system messages and alarm messages. When deciding which worksta-
tions should host local printers, consider the following:
♦ Local printers consume approximately 10% CPU Load for printing alarms.
♦ All alarm printers should be operated in the HSD (High Speed Draft) mode. This
allows the best system performance when printing alarms and documents.
♦ Printing reports has about the same CPU Load % effect as printing alarms when the
alarm rate is 30 alarms/minute or 10% load.
Application Object Services

Application Object Services (AOS) provides hierarchical application objects that are similar to
control objects but are under the control of the user application. When using AOS, consider the
following:
♦ AOS is not a small application. Its size is approximately 25 MB.
♦ AOS uses Object Manager shared memory. Run calcAppSize to determine the correct
size of the OS configurable parameter OM_NUM_OBJECTS.
♦ The workstation CPU Load % is low and optimized, buffered AOA accesses using the
AO API are greater than 10,000 per second on a workstation.
Refer to Application Object Services User’s Guide (B0400BZ) for detailed information regarding
AOS.
Applications
It is the responsibility of the user to determine the system impact of customer application pack-
ages or third-party applications installed on The Mesh control network. Consider the following
when installing application packages on the workstation:
♦ The general workstation CPU Loading guideline is that you should keep the Reserved
Overhead % (Windows=40%, Solaris=40%) to ensure enough reserve capacity to sup-
13
port peak loads for process upsets, large application startups, end of shift reports,
printing, file copies, network backup/restore, and so forth.
♦ Customer applications that access I/A Series data need to estimate the workstation
CPU Load % based on FoxAPI performance guidelines.
♦ Third-party applications’ specifications for minimal system requirements (for exam-
ple, RAM size) may affect I/A Series applications like AIM*Historian.
♦ The number of application software packages.
♦ The size of user-developed applications and programs.
♦ The frequency of application executions.
♦ Simultaneous application executions.
♦ Minimizing system broadcasts and multicasts.
For Windows platforms, you can determine the effect an application has on the workstation by
using the Windows Performance Meter (Programs > Administrator Tools > Performance). The
Windows Performance Meter provides metrics for the system, processor, processes, memory,
physical disk, and so forth.
For Solaris platforms, you can determine the effect an application has on the workstation using
the ps command and the perfmeter utility (click Launch > Applications > Utilities >
Performance Meter).
Depending on the number and types of applications being run at the same time, increasing the
workstation memory may improve system performance. Increased memory usually reduces the
amount of paging and swapping to the physical hard disk.
Control
This section presents an overview of the system planning and sizing guidelines required for you to
adequately plan your control strategy on The Mesh control network. Refer to Field Control Proces-
sor 270 (FCP270) User’s Guide (B0700AR) and Z-Module Control Processor 270 (ZCP270) User’s
Guide (B0700AN) for detailed specifications regarding the FCP270 and ZCP270 control stations
respectively.
In general, you must determine the number of control locations desired and properly size each
control station. The key performance measures associated with sizing a control station are:
♦ Making sure the control station has enough execution time to read and write the I/O.
♦ Making sure the control station has enough execution time to execute the installed
function blocks.
♦ Making sure the control station has enough memory to hold the control database and
sequence code.
♦ Making sure the control station has enough Idle Time to send alarm messages to all
configured alarm destinations.
♦ Making sure the control station has enough execution time to scan all data points it
sources for FoxView displays, AIM*Historian, Peer-to-Peer connections, and worksta-
tion application packages.
14
♦ Making sure the control station has enough OM Scanner connections for data it
sources for FoxView displays, AIM*Historian, Peer-to-Peer connections, and worksta-
tion application packages.
♦ Making sure the control station can support the number of scanner update messages it
sends based on the number of OM Scanner connections and the OM scan rate. Each
scanner update message takes an OM Scan Load of 0.03%. The OM scanner update
messages are per list with a maximum of 100 scan points per message. An application
that opens a list of 225 points can require 3 update messages per scan cycle if the list
points change every scan cycle. A control station scanning at the fast scan option rate
of 100 ms sends ten times the number of scanner update messages it would send if it
scanned at 1 second.
♦ Making sure the control station has enough OM Server connections for peer-to-peer
sink data.
Refer to FCP270 Sizing Guidelines and Excel Workbook (B0700AV) and ZCP270 Sizing Guide-
lines and Excel Workbook (B0700AW) for detailed operations on sizing the FCP270 and ZCP270
control stations respectively.
Alarming
Alarms and status messages are generated by an Alarm block or by alarm options in selected
blocks. Consider the following:
♦ Number of points with alarm indication
♦ Priority of alarms
♦ Criticality of alarms within each compound
♦ Devices and applications to be notified of process alarms
♦ Use of the compound alarm inhibit parameter
♦ Frequency of alarms.
The frequency of spontaneous alarms impacts the devices configured to be notified of alarms,
communication traffic on the network, and operator responsiveness. Alarming strategies include:
♦ Providing a significant delta to eliminate nuisance alarming caused by the process
drifting in and out of alarm when it is near a high or low limit
♦ Using the compound alarm inhibit function to eliminate alarms on a priority level
basis.
Control Distribution
Distribution of the various control schemes among the process control hardware, control proces-
sors and Fieldbus Modules, require you to consider the following:
♦ CP storage memory required
♦ CP compound or block throughput
♦ Interprocess communication (IPC) connections
♦ Peer-to-peer relationships
♦ FBMs supported per CP.
15
Peer-to-Peer Relationships
Peer-to-peer connections between stations are established when a compound:block.parameter in a
source (supplier of data) station is connected to a compound:block.parameter in a sink (receiver
of data) station. An IPC connection is formed in each station. Multiple peer-to-peer connections
between two stations result in only one IPC connection for each station.
Peer-to-peer supports the following:
♦ 7500 sink points
♦ 100 OM Scanner connections for source points
♦ 30 OM Server connections for sink points.
OM Scan Load
The OM Scan Load % is based on the following:
♦ The number of data points scanned/second: 1.6% per 1000 points scanned/second.
♦ The number of scanner update messages sent each second for OM list updates: 0.03%
per message/second.
NOTE
The examples below assume all points are sourced by a single control station and
change every scan cycle by more than the specified delta, and thus require scan update
messages. The maximum scan list update points per message is 100.
Example #1 (Application lists – 25 lists, each 200 points at 1-second scan rate)
OM Scan Load = 5,000 points/second (8.0%) + 50 messages/second (1.5%) = 9.5%
NOTE
In FoxView Examples 2 through 7 below, a 200-point FoxView display is 3 lists
(75, 75, 50) = 3 update messages.
Example #2 (FoxView Displays – 1 200-point display at default 1-second scan rate)

OM Scan Load = 200 points/second (0.32%) + 3 messages/second (0.09%) = 0.41 <1%
Example #3 (FoxView Displays – 10 200-point displays at default 1-second scan rate)

Example #4 (FoxView Displays – 1 200-point display at fast scan rate)

Example #5 (FoxView Displays – 6 200-point displays at fast scan rate)

Example #6 (FoxView Displays – 100 10-point displays at default 1-second scan rate)
16
Example #7 (FoxView Displays – 100 10-point displays at fast scan rate)

OM Scan Load = 10,000 points/second (16.0%) + 1,000 messages/second (30.0%) = 46.0%
Example #8 (Peer-to-Peer – 20 150-point lists at 0.5 seconds)

Note: 2 update messages per list every 0.5 second.
OM Scan Load = 6,000 points/ second (9.6%) + 80 messages/second (2.4%) = 12.0%
NOTE
In the AIM*Historian Example 9 below, the AIM*Historian opens all its OM lists
at a default scan rate of 0.5 seconds. Collecting 500 points from a single control sta-
tion will cause the control station to scan the 500 points every 0.5 seconds, which is
equivalent to 1,000 points/second. Users can override the default list scan rate of
0.5 seconds by editing the file opt/aim/bin/aimapi.cfg and entering a value for
“fastest_rsr”. Refer to I/A Series Information Suite AIM*Historian™ User’s Guide
(B0193YL).
Example #9 (AIM* Historian – 5 255-point lists at 0.5 seconds)

Note: 3 update messages per list every 0.5 second.
Control Processor Load Analysis

The estimated number of CPs required is based on:
♦ Number of FBMs required (both remote and local)
♦ Number and type of control loops consisting of compounds of related blocks which
perform a single control scheme
♦ Scan rate per block and compound
♦ CP storage memory capacity
♦ CP throughput based on scan rates and block value point counts
♦ Need for fault-tolerant CPs for critical processes
♦ IPC connections available per CP (supporting various application requests for values)
♦ Peer-to-peer connections (affecting CP storage memory and IPC connections).
Block Processing Cycle

Running with 100 ms and 50 ms Block Processing Cycle (BPC)
It is important to consider the number of blocks to be scanned within a compound and the num-
ber of compounds to be scanned per control station. Control station processing throughput per
second is dependent upon control station type; however, some control blocks count as more than
one block and FBM equipment control blocks (ECBs) must be factored in as well. An ECB is a
software block created for FBM data storage and is scanned at the fastest scan rate assigned to any
control block connected to any point on the FBM.
Careful planning is necessary to prevent control blocks or compounds from being unable to pro-
cess within a single scan cycle.
17
Phasing
! CAUTION
Be careful when phasing! Putting blocks at different phases in the same control loop
introduces deadtime into that loop that can severely degrade control.
Phasing of blocks, which is the staggering of scan periods, should be used to prevent block proces-
sor overload. Refer to Control Processor 270 (CP270) Integrated Control Software Concepts
(B0700AG) before attempting to phase a station.
I/O Points
The control station user guides and control station spreadsheets provide recommendations and
sizing guidelines for the following I/O:
♦ Legacy (100 Series) FBMs
♦ DIN Rail Mounted (200 Series) FBMs
♦ FOUNDATION fieldbus (FF)
♦ Profibus
♦ HART
♦ Modbus
♦ FDSI.
Network
Normally, understanding the details of the network traffic flow is an important part of planning
and implementing a mesh network. A reasonable qualitative analysis of traffic profiles can be
obtained without performing a rigorous quantitative analysis. To achieve this, a reasonable esti-
mate must be made. Normally, the designer needs to know:
♦ What the traffic characteristics are (traffic volume and rates)?
♦ Device throughput
♦ What devices are talking to each other (the traffic flows across the network)?
♦ The physical and logical location of all these devices
♦ What the traffic volumes are by device type and/or technology?
♦ peak and average sustained load
♦ packet/frame size
♦ What is the network percent capacity used?
♦ How much of the bandwidth is being used?
♦ Is there any evidence of network congestion?
♦ number of packet discards
♦ error rates
♦ traffic overhead.
18
If you do not adequately understand these traffic flows, you can end up with a slow or non-work-
ing network. Answering these basic questions and performing some planning allows for a nice
load balanced redundant system.
The following I/A Series functionality contributes to the network traffic rate:
♦ FoxView – display updates
♦ AIM*Historian – data collection
♦ Alarming – messages to Alarm Managers, Printers, and Historians
♦ Peer-to-Peer
♦ Application Packages – change-driven data access and get/set operations.
However, the network traffic rates for The Mesh control network is not a gating issue because
typical traffic rate calculations for the above I/A Series functionality typically yield a network
bandwidth utilization of <2%. Mesh network traffic rates need to be considered only in the case
of third-party applications or user applications that generate high packet rates.
Workstation to workstation operations on The Mesh network, such as copying extremely large
files, can result in a temporary high bandwidth usage up to 50% of the network. These types of
operations also need to be considered.
The following baseline data is assumed for The Mesh bandwidth usage (<2%):
♦ Average I/A Series packet size is 150 bytes.
♦ Average I/A Series sustained packet rate will not normally exceed 1500 packets/second
(based on <2% bandwidth and 150-byte packets).
The following table contains packet size and packet rate data for the 100 Mb Mesh network:
Packet Size (bytes) Max Packets/Second
64 148,810
150 73,529 (2% = 1470)
1518 8,127
NOTE
When measuring bandwidth on The Mesh, a given measurement applies only to a
given link and the conversations on that link.
Refer to The MESH Control Network Architecture Guide (B0700AZ) for configuring The Mesh.
V8.1 introduced connecting The Mesh network to a Nodebus network using ATSs. If using an
ATS in Extender mode, you will need to calculate inter-network traffic rates through the ATS in
Extender mode to ensure that its corresponding Nodebus LI traffic rate does not exceed the max-
imum recommended sustained rate of 220 packets/second. All stations that migrate to The Mesh
network and continue to communicate to stations on the Nodebus must maintain their original
Nodebus communication limits.
Copying a large data stream from a Nodebus through an ATS to The Mesh network is not recom-
mended. Refer to the “Standard I/A Series Migration Strategies” section in V8.3 Software for the
Solaris Operating System Release Notes and Installation Procedures (B0700RR) for specific details
regarding data transfers between the Nodebus and The Mesh network.
19
System Planning Summary Tables

Table 2-1. Windows Workstation System Planning Summary
Workstation Control Station Control

Windows Workstation OM Server OM OM Control Station OM Scanner Station
Application CPU Load % Connections Local Lists Objects OM Scan Load %1 Connections Idle Time %
FoxView: 2% 1 per station 3 lists; 65 per <1% 1 for each station N/A
200 point display at sourcing data 1 list for each FoxView sourcing data
default scan rate of 1 1-75 points
second
FoxView: 4% 1 per station 3 lists; 65 per 4.1% 1 for each station N/A
fast scan rate 0.1 1-75 points
seconds
Alarm Manager: 2.5% Refer to AMS Refer to AMS 10 per N/A Refer to AMS Decreases
100 message per User’s Guide User’s Guide Alarm User’s Guide 0.1% per
second (B0700AT) (B0700AT) Manager (B0700AT) alarm mes-
sage gener-
ated
AIM*Historian: 2% 1 per station 4 lists; N/A 1.9% 1 for each station N/A
Data collection sourcing data 1 list for each sourcing data
change rate of 1000 1-255 points
points per second
AIM*Historian: 1% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Data Reduction of
1000 points reduced
>= 15 minutes
Data Archiving 5000
points at default rate
1.
Control station OM scan load % is 2% for 1000 points changing every second and 0.03% for every scan-
ner update message.
Table 2-2. Solaris Workstation System Planning Summary

FoxView: 5.2% 1 per station 3 lists; 65 per <1% 1 for each station N/A
default scan rate of 1 1-75 points
second
FoxView: 10% 1 per station 3 lists; 65 per 4.1% 1 for each station N/A
fast scan rate 0.1 1-75 points
seconds
Alarm Manager: 5% plus base Refer to AMS Refer to AMS 10 per N/A Refer to AMS Decreases
100 message per load 5% User’s Guide User’s Guide Alarm User’s Guide 0.1% per
second (B0700AT) (B0700AT) Manager (B0700AT) alarm mes-
sage
generated
AIM*Historian: 3% 1 per station 4 lists; N/A 1.9% 1 for each station N/A
Data collection sourcing data 1 list for each sourcing data
change rate of 1000 1-255 points
points/second
20
Table 2-2. Solaris Workstation System Planning Summary (Continued)

AIM*Historian: 1.5% N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Data Reduction of
1000 points reduced
>= 15 minutes
Data Archiving 5000
points at default rate
1. Control station OM scan load % is 2% for 1000 points changing every second and 0.03% for every scanner
update message.
Data Access to I/A Objects

Applications can use the Object Manager (OM) API to access I/A objects that can be either OM
Objects, Application Objects (AO), or Control and I/O (CIO) Objects. OM API library func-
tions for getting and setting I/A objects are best suited for situations in which you want a single
transfer of data. These functions use IPC connectionless services and will perform a message mul-
ticast operation if the I/A object’s address is not provided by the application (for example,
om_getval) or if the I/A object’s address had not been imported by the OM during a previous
data access (for example, getval with import option). I/A Series multicasts are limited by the ATS
to 40/sec to Nodebus stations. Nodebus systems that have CP10s should not exceed system mul-
ticast rates of 10/second. Mesh-only systems should never exceed 50 multicast messages per sec-
ond but can also be limited by control station CPU load.
If an I/A object’s address is known, the OM API will perform direct connectionless send messages
to the station that sources the data. The maximum data access rates for CIO objects are governed
by the access method (multicast versus direct send) and the control station load. Below is a table
of maximum data access rates to CIO objects for a Mesh system.
Table 2-3. Data Access to CIO Objects on CP270
Multicasts (per second) Direct Sends (per second)

CP270
Idle Time Set Set_Confirm Get Global Find (GF) Set Set_Confirm Get
75% 50 50 50 50 75 75 75
65% 50 50 50 50 75 75 65
55% 50 50 50 50 75 70 60
45% 50 50 50 50 75 60 50
35% 50 40 45 50 75 45 40
25% 50 35 30 40 75 35 35
15% 50 25 25 25 75 25 25
Notes:
1. When using multicasts, the load on a single control station is the sum of all the get/set
operations performed by all the applications in the entire system because each station
must process each message.
2. Sequence code generates get/set requests using the OM API. Refer to High Level Batch
Language (HLBL) User’s Guide (B0400DF) for sequence code guidelines.
21
22
3. System Sizing
The following sections present sizing information for workstations, control stations, and I/O
points. All data values presented in tables and worksheets have been rounded to one decimal
position.
Workstations
Below are the initial Workstation Specification tables (Windows and Solaris platforms) for the
V8.3 I/A Series Mesh control network. The performance and sizing metrics are based on each
workstation’s specifications and thus each worksheet Workstation CPU Factor is 1.0.
Table 3-1. Windows Workstation Specification
Description Value
System Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version 2002 Service
Pack 2
Computer Pentium® 4 CPU 3.2 GHz (PW380, P92)
512 MB of RAM
Hard Disk Drives XP (C:) 15.6 GB
IA (D:) 217 GB
Workstation CPU Factor 1.0
NOTE
Other Windows workstations (for example, PW340, PW360, PW370) have a
Workstation CPU Factor of 1.5 based on performance and sizing specifications for
pre-V8.2 I/A Series releases.
Table 3-2. Solaris Workstation Specification
Description Value
System Solaris 10 Operating System (6/06 distribution)
Computer UltraSPARC IIIi® (Ultra 25® workstation, P82)
1.34 GHz
1 GB of RAM
Hard Disk Drives 160 GB SATA
Workstation CPU Factor 1.0
NOTE
The Workstation CPU Factors for each Solaris workstation that can be migrated
from V7.x to V8.3 software for the Solaris operating system are listed below:
- P79 workstation, SunBlade 150 (550 MHz) = 2.5
- P80 workstation, SunBlade 2000 (900 MHz) = 1.5
- P81 workstation (silver model), SunBlade 1500/S (1.5 GHz) = 1.0
- P81 workstation (red model), SunBlade 1500/R (1.03 GHz) = 1.3
23
B0700AX – Rev G 3. System Sizing
Workstation Summary Worksheet

This section contains a workstation summary worksheet that totals the CPU Load % for the
workstation based on the detailed worksheets that follow (for example, FoxView, AIM*Historian).
The CPU Load % may not exceed 100%; otherwise, you must eliminate selected applications or
transfer them to another workstation.
First, calculate the CPU Load % for each of the detailed worksheets that follow and then enter
their corresponding values into the summary worksheet below. The Workstation Summary Work-
sheet normalizes the CPU Load % based on the Workstation CPU Factor for pre-V8.3 stations
migrated to V8.3. Entries for Base CPU Load and Reserved CPU Load are fixed values and
should be entered in the Workstation Summary Worksheet based on Windows and Solaris plat-
form guidelines.
NOTE
Values in the summary worksheet are based on the Windows and Solaris worksta-
tion examples from the worksheets that follow in this chapter. For example, the val-
ues for the “Alarm Manager” entries in the summary worksheet below are derived
from the Total CPU Load % of “4.5%” and “16.5%” calculated for the Windows
and Solaris workstations in Table 3-4, “Alarm Manager Worksheet” on page 25.
Table 3-3. Workstation Summary Worksheet
Value (%), Value (%),

Windows Solaris
Description Workstations Workstations
1) Base I/A Series CPU Load (Windows=1.0, Solaris=3.0) 1.0 3.0
2) Reserved CPU Load (Windows=40.0, Solaris=40.0) 40.0 40.0
3) Alarm Manager 4.5 16.5
4) FoxView 8.0 10.4
5) AIM*Historian 3.1 4.7
6) Other Applications1 (for example, TDR, Application 5.0 5.0
Object Services, and so forth)
7) Total CPU Load % = 61.6 79.6

Items 1 + 2 + ((Sum of Items 3-6)*CPU Factor)
1.
Refer to the reference document specific to the application.
Examples:
1. Total CPU Load % for a Sun Blade 1500/R Workstation:
(3.0+40.0) + ((1.3)*(16.5+10.4+4.7+5.0)) = 90.6
2. Total CPU Load % for a Sun Blade 2000 Workstation:
(3.0+40.0) + ((1.5)*(16.5+10.4+4.7+5.0)) = 97.9
24
3. System Sizing B0700AX – Rev G
3. Total CPU Load % for a Sun Blade 150 Workstation:

(3.0+40.0) + ((2.5)*(16.5+10.4+4.7+5.0))= 134.5
This configuration exceeds CPU 100% capacity.
4. Total CPU Load % for a PW340 Workstation:
(1.0+40.0) + ((1.5)*(4.5+8.0+3.1+5.0)) = 71.9
The following table shows an example calculation for a Mesh workstation with 100 alarms/second
and 5 Alarm Managers.
Table 3-4. Alarm Manager Worksheet

Windows Solaris
1) Number of alarm messages per second from Aprint 100 100
Services for all CPs
Example: 100 alarms/second
2) Workstation CPU load % for every 100 alarms/second: 2.5% 10.0%
Windows Formula = 2.5% * (number of alarms / 100)
Solaris Formula = 5.0% * ((number of alarms / 100) + 1)
Windows Example: 2.5% * (100/100) = 2.5%
Solaris Example: 5.0% * ((100/100)+1) = 10.0%
3) Base load for Number Alarm Managers 1.0% 4.0%
Windows Formula = Default Windows AST Table 3-5 Lookup *
(default refresh rate / actual refresh rate)
Solaris Formula = Default Solaris AST Table 3-6 Lookup *
(default refresh rate / actual refresh rate)
Windows Example, 5 AMs at default (3.0) AST refresh rate
32K database: 1 * (3.0/3.0) = 1.0%
Solaris Example, 5 AMs at default (3.0) AST refresh rate
32K database: 4 * (3.0/3.0) = 4.0%
4) CPU Load for Matching and Filtering (per Alarm Manager) 1.0% 2.5%
CPU Load % = (Matching and Filtering Load Coefficient
[Windows=0.2%, Solaris=0.5%]) * (Number of Matches/Filters) *
(Number of Alarm Managers)
Windows Example: 5 matches for 1 Alarm Manager
CPU Load = 0.2% * 5 * 1 = 1.0%
Solaris Example: 5 matches for 1 Alarm Manager
CPU Load = 0.5% * 5 * 1 = 2.5%
5) Total CPU Load % = sum of items 2, 3, and 4 above 4.5% 16.5%
NOTE
The Sustained Alarm Rate measures the time to process the alarm message traffic
and is independent of the AST refresh rate.
25
Table 3-5. Default AST Table for Number Alarm Managers on a Windows-Based Workstation
(Local and Remote)
# Alarm AST Refresh CPU Load % CPU Load % CPU Load % CPU Load %
Managers Rate 1K Database 5K Database 10K Database 32K Database
1 3.0 seconds 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4
5 3.0 seconds 0.2 0.2 0.4 1.0
10 3.0 seconds 0.2 0.4 0.8 1.7
15 3.0 seconds 0.2 0.7 1.0 2.2
20 3.0 seconds 0.2 0.7 1.0 3.0
25 3.0 seconds 0.2 0.8 1.5 3.5
Table 3-6. Default AST Table for Number Alarm Managers on a Solaris-Based Workstation
(Local and Remote)
# Alarm AST Refresh CPU Load % CPU Load % CPU Load % CPU Load %
Managers Rate 1K Database 5K Database 10K Database 32K Database
1 3.0 seconds 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9
5 3.0 seconds 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0
10 3.0 seconds 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0
15 3.0 seconds 12.0 12.0 12.0 12.0
20 3.0 seconds 16.0 16.0 16.0 16.0
25 3.0 seconds 20.0 20.0 20.0 20.0
Notes:
1. Each of the Number Alarm Managers tables measures the time to process alarm
changes and is dependent on the AST refresh rate and independent of the sustained
alarm rate, as long as at least one alarm changes per refresh cycle.
2. CPU load is linear based on AST refresh rate. CPU Load formula is based on refresh
rate in table entry lookup.
Formulas:
Windows CPU Load % = (Default Windows AST Table 3-5 Lookup Value for
default AST 3.0 second refresh rate) * (default refresh rate/actual refresh rate)
Solaris CPU Load % = (Default Windows AST Table 3-6 Lookup Value for
default AST 3.0 second refresh rate) * (default refresh rate/actual refresh rate)
Example 1: 1 AM at default 3.0 second refresh rate for 32K database
Windows Workstation: 0.4 * (3.0/3.0) = 0.4%
Solaris Workstation: 0.9 * (3.0/3.0) = 0.9%
Example 2: 5 AMs at 0.5 second refresh rate for 32K database
26
Example 3: 25 AMs at default 3.0 second refresh rate for 32K database
Table 3-7. FoxView Worksheet

Windows Solaris
1) Number of FoxViews only using displays with default 4.0% 10.4%
configuration values at (Windows=2.0%, Solaris=5.2%)
per FoxView
Windows Example: 2 FoxViews = 2 * 2.0 = 4.0%
Solaris Example: 2 FoxViews = 2 * 5.2 = 10.4%
2) Number of FoxViews using any displays with Fast Scan 4.0% 0%
Option at (Windows=4.0%, Solaris=10.0%) per FoxView
Windows Example: 1 FoxView with Fast Scan =
1 * 4.0 = 4.0%
Solaris Example: 0 FoxViews with Fast Scan =
0 * 10.0 = 0%
3) Total CPU Load % = sum of items 1 and 2 above 8.0% 10.4%
NOTE
Actual Total CPU Load % is the sum of all FoxView loads.
Table 3-8. AIM*Historian Worksheet

Windows Solaris
1) CPU Load for data collection change rate 3.1% 4.7%
(Windows=2.0%, Solaris=3.0%) per 1000 points/second
Refer to “Data Collection Rate Example” below.
2) CPU Load for data reduction 3.1% 4.7%
(Windows=1.0%, Solaris=1.5%) per 1000 points, rate >= 15 min-
utes
Windows Example: 3100 pts at a rate >= 15 minutes =
3100/1000 * 1.0% = 3.1%
Solaris Example: 3100 pts at a rate >= 15 minutes =
3100/1000 * 1.5% = 4.7%
27
Table 3-8. AIM*Historian Worksheet (Continued)

Windows Solaris
3) CPU Load for data archiving 3.1% 2.5%
(Windows=5%, Solaris=4%) per 5000 points at a default rate
Windows Example: 3100 pts at a rate >= 15 minutes =
3100/5000 * 5.0% = 3.1%
Solaris Example: 3100 pts at a rate >= 15 minutes =
3100/5000 * 4.0% = 2.5%
4) Total CPU Load % = item number 1. 3.1% 4.7%

Note: Items 2 and 3 are encapsulated in the
workstation reserve CPU load because they
are not sustained loads.
Data Collection Rate Example:

1. Compute configured data collection rate.
♦ 1000 points at 0.5 seconds = 2000 points/second
♦ Configured data collection rate = 3100 points/second.
2. Calculate data collection change rate (½ the points changing).
♦ = (configured data collection rate) * (% of points changing)
♦ = (3100 points/second) * (0.5)
♦ = 1550 points/second.
3. Calculate CPU Load for data collection change rate.
♦ CPU Load = (data collection change rate / 1000) * CPU Load for
1000/second
♦ = (1550/1000) * CPU Load % for 1000 pts/second
♦ Windows = 1.55 * 2 = 3.1%
♦ Solaris = 1.55 * 3 = 4.7%.
Control Processors
Maximum Loading Table
Invensys Foxboro does not recommend exceeding any of the following maximums (in any phase
where applicable). The control station is considered to be fully loaded with respect to that param-
eter when this upper limit is reached. This ensures that adequate time remains for functions that
are above and beyond the routine processing load such as checkpointing, alarm message handling,
display call-up, and so forth.
28
Table 3-9. Loading Summary (% of BPC)
Station Block Field FCP270 ZCP270

Maximum % for “Fieldbus Scan” 60.0 60.0
Maximum % for “Control Blocks” 70.0 70.0
Maximum % for “Sequence Blocks” 70.0 70.0
Maximum % for “Control Blocks” + “Sequence Blocks” 70.0 70.0
Maximum % for “Total Control Cycle” 90.0 90.0
Maximum % for “OM Scan Load” 22.8 22.8
(Maximum value for scanning 12,000 points/second)
Minimum % for “Station Idle Time” 10.0 10.0
(Note: May need to be increased based on sustained alarm rates
and alarm destinations.)
Notes on Station Block display:

1. You can check the Control Loading for the last 10 block processing cycles (BPCs) by
selecting “Control Loading” which also displays the number of control overruns.
2. You can check the OM Scanner Loading for the last 12 BPC cycles by selecting “OM
Scanner Loading” which also displays the number of scanner overruns.
Table 3-10. Station Free Memory (Bytes)

Total Free Memory Available 500,000 500,000
NOTE
Do not load the CP270 so that the “Total Free” memory available is less than the
number of bytes specified in Table 3-10.
Table 3-11. Peer-to-Peer Data

Total sink points 7500 7500
OM sink connections 30 30
OM source connections 100 100
29
Table 3-12. Resource Table
Blocks User OM Initialized

Hardware Per Block Database Scanner OM Station
Resources Second Names Size Capacity Lists Memory
FCP270 10,000 4000 5000KB 12,000 50 5700KB
ZCP270 10,000 4000 5000KB 12,000 50 5700KB
Inter-Network Traffic
V8.3 supports inter-network traffic between The Mesh and Nodebus networks using ATSs. The
preferred method of migration is to replace all Nodebus LIs with ATSs in LI mode at one time.
When using the preferred method, you only need to ensure that stations that migrate to The
Mesh and continue to communicate with stations on the Nodebus maintain their original Node-
bus communications limits.
If you perform a gradual migration using an ATS in Extender mode followed by ATSs in LI
mode, you will also need to size the LI traffic rates. The LI with the ATS in Extender mode can
become a bottleneck as each Nodebus migrates to The Mesh using an ATS in LI mode. Below is
a description of the gradual migration process with sizing calculations required to ensure accept-
able inter-network traffic rates. Figure 3-1 depicts a five-node I/A Series system showing the traf-
fic rates between various LI modules. For example, Figure 3-1 shows a 75 packet per second traffic
rate between Node 4 and Node 5.
1. Determine traffic rates for all Nodebus LIs. Refer to Figure 3-1. Refer to “LI Traffic
Rates” on page 35 for information on computing LI traffic rates on the web.
2. Add connection to The Mesh network by adding ATS in Extender mode to LI (con-
sider using LI with lowest traffic rate). The LI will assume an additional load based on
the ATS traffic rate. Refer to Figure 3-2.
3. Determine the traffic rate for the ATS in Extender mode (traffic between The Mesh
and Nodebus stations). Compute the new traffic rate for the LI with the ATS in
Extender mode. The new traffic rate for the LI with the ATS in Extender mode = LI
rate + ATS rate to Nodebus stations that are not on the Nodebus that has the ATS in
Extender mode. Refer to Figure 3-2. You can optionally measure traffic rates using
LIPDUS30 shared variable - see Helpful Hint 960.
4. All remaining LIs can be replaced whenever you wish with ATSs in LI mode, as long
as their traffic rates can be added to the LI with the ATS in Extender mode and the LI
does not exceed the maximum recommended sustained traffic rate. Refer to
Figure 3-3. If two or more nodes have high traffic rates between themselves, it is rec-
ommended that the nodes be migrated at the same time. This will not increase the
traffic rate through the LI with the ATS in Extender mode because the traffic between
them will be routed through the ATSs in LI mode on The Mesh. Refer to Figure 3-4.
5. When migrating a node using an ATS in LI mode causes the LI with the ATS in
Extender mode to exceed the maximum recommended sustained traffic rate, you
must perform a total replacement using ATSs in LI mode (which includes converting
the ATS in Extender mode to LI mode). Refer to Figure 3-5.
30
NOTE
IP communications cannot transmit across both an ATS and a LAN Interface sta-
tion due to filtering implemented within the LI modules. There is an IP address
limit of 64 stations per node. If full IP communication support is required, the net-
work migration plan should be the preferred method of a complete replacement of
all LAN Interface modules.
Example – Gradual Migration

1. Determine traffic rates for all Nodebus LIs. Refer to Figure 3-1.
♦ LI1 – 100 packets/sec, LI2 – 50 packets/sec, LI3 – 75 packets/sec, LI4 – 100
packets/sec, LI5 – 75 packets/sec
2. Add connection to The Mesh network by adding an ATS in Extender mode to LI
(consider using LI with lowest traffic rate). Refer to Figure 3-2.
♦ ATS in Extender mode is added to LI2, which has the lowest traffic rate.
3. Determine the traffic rate for the ATS in Extender mode (new traffic between The
Mesh and Nodebus stations). Compute the new traffic rate for the LI with the ATS in
Extender mode. Compute LI traffic rates for all LIs that have Mesh traffic. Refer to
Figure 3-2.
♦ ATS in Extender mode traffic rate = 50 packets/sec (between The Mesh and
Nodebus 2 stations)
♦ LI2 traffic rate = LI2 (Nodebus traffic) + ATS in Extender mode traffic rate =
50 (N1↔N2) + 50 (M↔N3) = 100 packets/second
♦ LI3 traffic rate = LI3 (Nodebus traffic rate) + LI Mesh traffic to Nodebus 3 =
50 (N1↔N2) + 25 (N3↔N4) + 50 (M↔N3) = 125 packets/second
4. Migrate Nodebus 1 to The Mesh using an ATS in LI mode (ATS LI1). This decreases
the Nodebus traffic rate for the LI with the ATS in Extender mode by transferring all
traffic between the migrated Nodebus (Nodebus 1) and the LI Nodebus with the ATS
in Extender mode (Nodebus 2) to the ATS in Extender mode. However, it does
increase the traffic rate for the LI with the ATS in Extender mode by the Nodebus
traffic rates between the migrated Nodebus (Nodebus 1) and all LIs with no ATS in
Extender mode (N1↔N3, N1↔N4, N1↔N5). Refer to Figure 3-3.
♦ LI2 traffic rate = LI2 - LI1 (N1↔N2) + LI1 (N1↔N3) + LI1 (N1↔N4) +
LI1 (N1↔N5) = 100 - 50 (N1↔N2) + 50 (N1↔N3) + 0 (N1↔N4) +
0 (N1↔N5) = 100 packets/second
♦ ATS in Extender mode traffic rate = ATS in Extender mode + LI1 (Nodebus traf-
fic) = 50 + 100 = 150 packets/second
♦ATS LI1 traffic rate = LI1 (Nodebus traffic) = 100 packets/second
5. Migrate Nodebus 4 and Nodebus 5 to The Mesh using ATSs in LI mode (ATS LI4
and ATS LI5 respectively). Refer to Figure 3-4. Both nodes are migrated at the same
time because they have significant traffic between them, and you do not want to
impact LI2 with the ATS in Extender mode.
♦ LI2 traffic rate = LI2 + LI4 + LI5 = 100 + 25 (N3↔N4) + 0 = 125 packets/second.
Note: N4↔N5 traffic is routed via The Mesh with no impact on LI2.
31
♦ ATS in Extender mode traffic rate = ATS in Extender mode + LI4 (N3↔N4) =
150 + 25 = 175 packets/second
♦ ATS LI4 traffic rate = LI4 (Nodebus traffic) = 100 packets/second
♦ ATS LI5 traffic rate = LI5 (Nodebus traffic) = 75 packets/second
6. Migrate Nodebus 3 to The Mesh and change the ATS connected to Nodebus 2 from
Extender mode to LI mode (ATS LI2). Refer to Figure 3-5.
♦ ATS LI1 traffic rate = original LI1 Nodebus traffic rate = 100 packets/second
♦ ATS LI3 traffic rate = original LI3 Nodebus traffic rate + new Mesh to Nodebus 3
traffic rate = 75 + 50 = 125 packets/second
The migration from all LI modules to all ATS modules is now complete.
Carrierband LAN
50 (N1↔N2) 50 (N1↔N2) 50 (N1↔N3) 75 (N4↔N5) 75 (N4↔N5)

50 (N1↔N3) 25 (N3↔N4) 25 (N3↔N4)
100 Total 50 Total 75 Total 100 Total 75 Total
LI1 LI2 LI3 LI4 LI5
Nodebus 1 Nodebus 2 Nodebus 3 Nodebus 4 Nodebus 5

(N1) (N2) (N3) (N4) (N5)
Figure 3-1. Original Nodebus Traffic Rates
32
Carrierband LAN
50 (N1↔N2) 50 (N1↔N2) 50 (N1↔N3) 75 (N4↔N5) 75 (N4↔N5)

50 (N1↔N3) 50 (M↔N3) 25 (N3↔N4) 25 (N3↔N4)
50 (M↔N3)
LI1 LI2 LI3 LI4 LI5
N1 N2 N3 N4 N5
ATS
(Extender mode)
50 (M↔N3)
50 Total
The Mesh Network (M)
Figure 3-2. Adding an ATS in Extender Mode
Carrierband LAN
50 (M↔N3) 50 (N1↔N3) 75 (N4↔N5) 75 (N4↔N5)

50 (N1↔N3) 25 (N3↔N4) 25 (N3↔N4)
50 (M↔N3)
100 Total 125 Total 100 Total 75 Total
LI2 LI3 LI4 LI5
N1 N2 N3 N4 N5
ATS ATS
LI1 (Extender mode)
50 (N1↔N2)
50 (N1↔N2) 50 (M↔N3)
50 (N1↔N3) 50 (N1↔N3)
100 Total 150 Total
Figure 3-3. Migrate Nodebus 1
33
Carrierband LAN
50 (M↔N3) 50 (M↔N3)
50 (N1↔N3) 50 (N1↔N3)
25 (N3↔N4) 25 (N3↔N4)
125 Total 125 Total
LI2 LI3
N1 N2 N3 N4 N5
ATS ATS ATS ATS

LI1 (Extender mode) LI4 LI5
50 (N1↔N2)
50 (M↔N3)
50 (N1↔N2) 50 (N1↔N3) 75 (N4↔N5)
50 (N1↔N3) 25 (N3↔N4) 25 (N3↔N4) 75 (N4↔N5)
100 Total 175 Total 100 Total 75 Total
Figure 3-4. Migrate Nodebus 4 and Nodebus 5
N1 N2 N3 N4 N5
ATS ATS ATS ATS ATS

LI1 LI2 LI3 LI4 LI5
50 (N1↔N2) 50 (N1↔N2) 50 (N1↔N3) 75 (N4↔N5) 75 (N4↔N5)

50 (N1↔N3) 25 (N3↔N4) 25 (N3↔N4)
50 (M↔N3)
Figure 3-5. Final Migration
34
LI Traffic Rates
Below is the procedure for computing LI traffic rates using the web.
1. Go to the Global CSC web site (http://support@ips.invensys.com).
2. Log in.
3. Select Support > Foxboro > Trouble Shooting Guides.
4. Select Tokenbus/Nodebus Troubleshooting Guide.
5. Select Next until the LAN Traffic Rates screen appears.
6. Also view Helpful Hint 960.
35
36
Index
A
Address Translation Station, see ATS
AIM*Historian software xi, 11
CPU load 11, 12
disk load time 11
OM scan loading 12
OM scanner connections 11, 13
OM server connections 11
OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS 12
OM_NUM_LOCAL_OPEN_LISTS 12
RTP file size (ARCHSIZE) 13
RTTIME 13
worksheet 27
workstation summary worksheet 24
Alarm Manager software 10, 24
worksheet 25
Alarming in control stations 15
Alarming software 10
AO API xi
AO objects xi
AOS software 13
CPU load 13
number of objects 13
Application Object Services. See also AOS
Applications
CPU load 13
customer 24
performance meter 14
planning 13
third-party 19
third-party and customer 14
ARCHSIZE 13
AST, alarm server task xi
ATS xi
B
Block processing cycle (BPC) 17
C
CMX_NUM_CONNECTIONS 7
Control distribution 15
Control stations xi
alarming 15
estimating number of control stations required 17
37
B0700AX – Rev G Index
execution time 14
load analysis 17
maximum loading table 28
memory 14
OM scan load 15
OM scanner connections 15
OM server connections 15
planning 14
CP. See also Control stations
CPU load
AIM*Historian 11, 12
AOS 13
applications 13
displays 10
FoxView 9
printers 13
reserved 5
virus scanning software 6
worksheet calculations 24
workstation summary worksheet 24, 25
workstations 24
D
DIN rail mounted FBMs 18
Disk load time
AIM*Historian software 11
Displays
CPU load 10
Distribution of control 15
Documents for reference ix
F
Fast scan option 9
FBMs
DIN rail mounted (200 Series) 18
FDSI 18
Foundation fieldbus 18
HART 18
legacy 18
Modbus 18
Profibus 18
FCP270 xi
FDSI xi, 18
Field device system integrator. See also FDSI
Foundation fieldbus FBMs 18
FoxView software 9
CPU load 9
display guidelines and resource usage 9
OM scan load 9
scan rates 9
38
Index B0700AX – Rev G
worksheet 27
H
HART FBMs 18
High speed draft mode 13
Historian software 11
I
I/O points 18
Inter-network traffic 30
Inter-process communications. See also IPC
IPC xii
connected services 8
connectionless services 8
IPC connections xii, 16, 17
IPC_NUM_CONN_PROCS 7, 8
IPC_NUM_CONNLESS_PROCS 7, 8
L
Legacy FBMs 18
LI
traffic rates 35
LI (LAN interface) xii
Loading
control stations 14, 17, 28
CPU 5
workstation 5
Loading summary (% of BPC) worksheet 29
M
Maximum loading table 28
McAfee virus scanning software 6
Memory 29
Mesh. See also The Mesh control network
Modbus FBMs 18
N
Network
bandwidth utilization 19
planning 18
traffic flow 18
Nodebus
sizing when communicating to The Mesh 30
Number of Alarm Managers worksheet 26
O
Object Manager. See also OM
OM xii
API xii
List xii
lists 6
39
number of connections 7, 10
number of entries 7
number of objects 7, 13
number of open lists 8, 10, 12
number of processes that register for IPC 8
number of processes that register for IPC connectionless 8
number of remote lists 8
objects xii
OS configurable parameters 6
scanner xii
server xii
server connections 7
services xii
OM scan load 2, 16
control stations 15
examples
application lists 16
FoxView displays 16, 17
peer-to-peer 17
FoxView software 9, 10
OM scanner connections
AIM*Historian software 11, 13
control stations 15
FoxView software 9
OM server connections
control stations 15
FoxView software 9
OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS 7
OM_NUM_IMPORT_VARS 7
OM_NUM_LOCAL_OPEN_LISTS 7, 8
OM_NUM_OBJECTS 7
AOS 13
FoxView software 9
OM_NUM_REMOTE_OPEN_LISTS 7, 8
default and maximum values 7
Other applications
P
Peer-to-peer connections xiii, 15, 17
Performance
increasing 14
40
Index B0700AX – Rev G
planning and sizing The Mesh control network 1

Phasing 18
Planning 5
alarming software 10
AOS 13
applications 13
BPC 17
control distribution 15
control stations 14
FoxView software 9
I/O points 18
OM scan load 16
phasing 18
printers 13
System Monitor (SMON) 6
The Mesh control network 18
workstations 5
Printers
planning 13
reserved CPU load 13
Profibus FBMs 18
R
RAM
increasing 14
Reference documents ix
Reserved CPU load 5
Resource table worksheet 30
RTTIME 13
S
Scan rates
default 9
fast scan option 9
show_params 6, 7, 8
Sink peer-to-peer status worksheet 29
Sizing
additional sizing for networks connected via ATS
control stations 28
workstations 23
SMDH xiii
Solaris operating system 23
som 7, 8
Specifications 23
Spreadsheets
accessing
from electronic documentation CD-ROM 3
Station block display 29
41
Station free memory worksheet 29

Summary worksheet 24
System Management Display Handler. See also SMDH
System monitor (SMON) 6
System planning 5
requirements 5
System sizing 23
T
The Mesh control network 1, 18
configuration and references 19
planning and sizing for performance 1
sizing when communicating to Nodebus 30
workstation specifications 23
Third-party applications 19
V
Virus scanning 6
W
Windows operating system 1, 23
performance meter 14
Worksheets
AIM*Historian 27
Alarm Manger 25
FoxView 27
Loading Summary (% of BPC) 29
Number of Alarm Managers 26
Resource Table 30
Sink Peer-to-Peer Status 29
Station Memory Free 29
Workstation Summary 24
Workstations xiii
CPU factor 23
planning 5
sizing 23
specifications 23
summary worksheet 24
Z
ZCP270 xiii
33 Commercial Street
Foxboro, Massachusetts 02035-2099
United States of America
www.foxboro.com
Inside U.S.: 1-866-746-6477
Outside U.S.: 1-508-549-2424 or contact your local Foxboro representative.
Facsimile: 1-508-549-4999
Printed in U.S.A. 0608

I/A Series System The MESH Control Network System Planning and Sizing

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I/A Series System The MESH Control Network System Planning and Sizing

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B0700AX

I/A Series® System

Copyright 2004-2008 Invensys Systems, Inc.

SOFTWARE LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

I/O Points ............................................................................................................................... 18

3. System Sizing .................................................................................................................. 23

Who This Document Is For

What You Should Know

♦ DIN Rail Mounted FBM Subsystem User's Guide (B0400FA)

Accessing Spreadsheets from the Electronic Documentation

Virus Scan Software on Windows Platforms

Virus Scan Software on Solaris Platforms

Default Value Max Value

OS configurable parameter (OM_NUM_CONNECTIONS) and can be increased to

♦ AIM*Historian software causes a control station OM Scanner connection to be used

Application Object Services

Example #2 (FoxView Displays – 1 200-point display at default 1-second scan rate)

Example #3 (FoxView Displays – 10 200-point displays at default 1-second scan rate)

Example #4 (FoxView Displays – 1 200-point display at fast scan rate)

Example #5 (FoxView Displays – 6 200-point displays at fast scan rate)

Example #7 (FoxView Displays – 100 10-point displays at fast scan rate)

Example #8 (Peer-to-Peer – 20 150-point lists at 0.5 seconds)

Example #9 (AIM* Historian – 5 255-point lists at 0.5 seconds)

Control Processor Load Analysis

Block Processing Cycle

System Planning Summary Tables

Workstation Control Station Control

Table 2-2. Solaris Workstation System Planning Summary

Workstation Control Station Control

Table 2-2. Solaris Workstation System Planning Summary (Continued)

Workstation Control Station Control

Data Access to I/A Objects

Multicasts (per second) Direct Sends (per second)

Table 3-2. Solaris Workstation Specification

Workstation Summary Worksheet

Table 3-3. Workstation Summary Worksheet

Value (%), Value (%),

7) Total CPU Load % = 61.6 79.6

3. Total CPU Load % for a Sun Blade 150 Workstation:

Value (%), Value (%),

5) Total CPU Load % = sum of items 2, 3, and 4 above 4.5% 16.5%

Table 3-7. FoxView Worksheet

Value (%), Value (%),

3) Total CPU Load % = sum of items 1 and 2 above 8.0% 10.4%

Table 3-8. AIM*Historian Worksheet

Value (%), Value (%),

Table 3-8. AIM*Historian Worksheet (Continued)

Value (%), Value (%),

4) Total CPU Load % = item number 1. 3.1% 4.7%

Data Collection Rate Example:

Table 3-9. Loading Summary (% of BPC)

Station Block Field FCP270 ZCP270

Notes on Station Block display:

Table 3-10. Station Free Memory (Bytes)

Station Block Field FCP270 ZCP270

Table 3-11. Peer-to-Peer Data

Station Block Field FCP270 ZCP270

Table 3-12. Resource Table

Blocks User OM Initialized

Example – Gradual Migration

50 (N1↔N2) 50 (N1↔N2) 50 (N1↔N3) 75 (N4↔N5) 75 (N4↔N5)

LI1 LI2 LI3 LI4 LI5

Nodebus 1 Nodebus 2 Nodebus 3 Nodebus 4 Nodebus 5