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DB-400 Windows SCADA Database Editing Overview 1.1
DB-400 Windows SCADA Database Editing Overview 1.1
Database Editing
Overview
____________________________________________
support@survalent.com
www.survalent.com
FAX (905) 826-7144
It is assumed that you have some background knowledge about SCADA systems.
Revisions
Date Description
April 3, 2001 Initial version.
January 16, 2004 Minor style and content revisions, updated figures.
November 11, 2008 Minor corrections.
Added Command Timeout in Data Access Preferences.
Added Select Station and Select RTU function to tabular displays, with List
and Tree options.
March 16, 2015 Added the database changes
Added the STC Explorer screens and functionality
1 Introduction 1-1
This manual, DB-400, Database Editing Overview, provides some background in Windows SCADA, and
describes how to use the software provided to create and maintain the various elements of the database.
Whether you will be receiving training in database preparation or not, you should begin by reading this
document, and doing a little planning. If you are expecting to attend a database training course, reading
this material ahead of time can make your training time more productive.
The preparation of your SCADA database does not require knowledge of computers or programming
techniques. All you need is some familiarity with the fundamentals of a SCADA system. For example, you
need to know what an RTU is, and you need to understand the point numbering scheme within each type
of RTU on your system.
Chapter 3 describes the database in general, including the factory-default items you will find in it.
It also provides some planning advice.
Chapter 5 describes the Tabular Data Display programs, the status point viewer and the analog
point viewer. These programs allow you to see all the status or analog points in the database,
organized into their stations.
Chapter 5 describes the Tabular Data Display programs, the status point viewer and the analog
point viewer. These programs allow you to see all the status or analog points in the database,
organized into their stations.
Depending upon the configuration of your SCADA system, there may be other documents available as
well. These will describe optional features or advanced subjects, and you should refer to them as needed.
Since you will need to know a few things about the way your RTUs report data, you may also want to
consult the documentation provided by the RTU manufacturer. If Survalent has supplied your RTUs, the
RTU manual that is supplied with each unit should be sufficient.
This chapter discusses some general concepts regarding the SCADA system, its database, and the
interface to the users.
2.1 Introduction
The SCADA system is made up of a Master Station and a number of outlying Remote Terminal Units
(RTUs). In this chapter, there is a brief overview of the physical subsystems that make up the SCADA
system, and in particular, the Master Station. This identifies the major parts involved in gathering the data
at the remote locations, presenting it to the operator, and sending operator commands out to be
performed by the RTUs.
The view that an operator has of the system is provided by user interface software. This is the man-
machine interface, or HMI. The HMI used by the operators for day-to-day operation of the system is not
discussed in this manual, but you will find a description of the Status Point and Analog Point Viewer
programs. Although they could be used for operating the system, they are intended mainly to provide a
database maintenance capability. They can give the database designer a view of all the points in the
database (see chapter 5, Tabular Data Displays).
The SCADA system consists of the Master Station, which provides a central location for
monitoring and control operations, and a number of Remote Terminal Units, or RTUs, which
gather status and telemetry data at each of a number of distant locations. The RTUs can also
support outputs such as controls (relay contacts) and setpoints (analog currents or voltages).
The Master communicates with the RTUs using one or more communication lines, and gathers
data from each of them. This data is stored in a database, in storage elements known as “points”.
The data is then made available to operators using the WorldView or SmartVU user interface.
Each RTU contains input circuitry to monitor status contacts provided by your field devices. There
is also an analog input capability, which converts measured signals into numbers to be
transmitted to the Master. The status and analog data is communicated to the Master using a
specified communication protocol.
The communication may be carried over a variety of media, including telephone lines, radio, fiber
optic cables, etc. Sometimes the communication is by way of a computer networking protocol
such as TCP/IP, which you should think of as just another medium. In such a case, there may be
more than one “logical” communication line carried by the single physical network.
The RTU has circuits wired to the various field devices to be monitored or controlled. This might
include status inputs, analog inputs, control outputs and sometimes, analog outputs. Monitoring
the state of a device will require one or more status inputs to be connected to it, while controlling
the device will require (usually) two control outputs to be connected (for on-off control). To report
analog quantities, a transducer or other signal source is connected to one of the analog inputs at
the RTU.
Many RTUs also support pulse accumulator inputs. These are counters maintained and reported
by the RTU when requested by the Master (usually at regular time intervals). Although reported
as a count similar to an analog value, the pulses are received by the RTU using input hardware
similar to a status point.
Every change of a status input is normally communicated to the Master, although the RTU may
provide some degree of buffering. This prevents changes from being lost if they occur more
quickly than the rate at which they are sent to the Master.
Analog values come from quantities that are converted to a binary number by the RTU. These
results change a little nearly every time they are measured, but significant changes usually only
occur when conditions in the field change. In order not to waste time communicating tiny changes
to the Master, only those changes larger than a threshold (called the upset threshold, or
deadband) are sent to the Master. The size of this threshold may be adjustable at the RTU or at
the Master, depending upon the communication protocol being used.
The core of the Master Station is a “host” computer, which runs the main portion of the SCADA
software. It is sometimes referred to as a server, since it makes the data it gathers available to
other programs, called clients. For reliability purposes, the host computer is often implemented as
a pair of redundant computers, called the master and the standby computer. In the event of a
failure in the master computer, the standby is able to take over (“failover”) immediately. Such a
backup computer, where the data is instantly kept current to facilitate an immediate failover, is
referred to as a “hot standby”.
For each communication line, the master runs a program known as a “scan task”. Using the
specified communication protocol, this program scans (polls) the RTUs on its communication line,
and stores the received data in the database. It keeps track of the status of each RTU
(responding or not) and the communication line (working or not). The data received from the RTU
is stored in either status or analog points, depending on the format of the data received.
Other programs in the host computer process the received data. First, it is checked for changes
that require alarms to be raised (unauthorized status changes, or analog limit violations).
Optionally, there may be user-defined calculations made on these values, the results of which are
stored in other points in the database (non-telemetered, or “calculated” points).
In some applications, the database values are sampled periodically, to generate a historical
record of the changes in the data. User programs, called command sequences, can be made to
run periodically, or on demand. These may reference database values, and may store values in
other points in the database. They may also perform control operations, raise alarms, etc.
If control operations are requested (i.e., the operator performs a control on a status point in the
database), the necessary commands are sent to the RTU by the scan task. Most protocols do this
by means of a select-checkback-execute sequence. The master first sends a message to select
the desired control output point. A checkback response is required, to ensure the correct point is
selected. Then the execute command is given, which causes the RTU to operate the selected
device. This logic is implemented to ensure that no false command is ever executed.
Notice that in the master, control outputs are related to particular status inputs, in the sense that
both the state and the commands pertain to a device in the field that is represented by a status
point in the database. But in the RTU, the status point is just an input, and a control “point” is just
an output. No relationship between them is known by the RTU.
The STC Explorer provides the user interface for editing the database. Refer to chapter 4 for a
description of the STC Explorer and how to use it.
STC Explorer is a “client” program that communicates the database changes you make to the
server. Although you might choose to do your database editing while sitting at one of the host
computers, it is equally easy to run STC Explorer on a different computer, elsewhere on the
network. So, with appropriate network connections, you can maintain your SCADA database from
any convenient computer.
Two tabular display programs are provided, called the Status Point Viewer, and the Analog Point
Viewer. They provide a list of all existing status points and analog points, respectively.
The two tabular displays are also client programs, which can communicate with the server via
your network. They are extremely useful for checking out and commissioning new database
points. Refer the chapter 5 for a discussion of these displays.
2.3.3 WorldView
Worldview is the client program that provides the primary user interface for your operators. It is a
graphical interface that presents the data on a user-created map, such as seen in Figure 2.3-1.
Symbols on the map represent status points in the database (which in turn represent devices in
the field). These show the current state, indicate alarms when necessary, and can be operated on
to perform controls. Also on the map, analog values can be viewed and manipulated. In addition
to map viewing windows, WorldView includes dedicated alarm viewing windows, and an operator
summary view.
Figure 2.3-1 Typical WorldView Map View
Note that before you can really make good use of the graphical user interface, a WorldView map
must be created. We recommend that map designers receive training from Survalent in the
creation of WorldView maps and their related materials.
2.3.4 SmartVU
SmartVU for Windows is a map user interface for Windows. SmartVU runs on
Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 and operates as a client to the
SCADA host computer.
The SmartVU program uses a local copy of the map (stored on the PC’s hard
drive), on which it overlays dynamic analog and status data that is retrieved from
the host computer.
The PC does not have to communicate with the server to modify the current view
of the map except to obtain new point values. This makes the program usable
with a dial-up link to the host.
In this chapter, general concepts relating to the Windows SCADA database are discussed, including its
logical structure, the provisions for storing different types of data, and things you should consider when
planning your database.
3.1 Introduction
Before beginning to create the database for your SCADA system, you should review the concepts
discussed in this chapter. Then spend a little time planning how you want your system to operate, and
what database design will help you achieve your operational goals.
Although it is always possible to change what has been done in the database, you can save a lot of time
by thinking things through in advance, and making decisions at the beginning that will make your work
easier later on. You may want to get input from others who will be affected by the database decisions you
make, including operating, engineering, and maintenance personnel.
Even if you do not agree with the conventions we suggest, please do settle on your own set of rules for
naming and using things, so that you will not create a database that is difficult to maintain as your system
grows.
You will come to understand how to achieve these goals in the later manuals in this series.
These suggestions, or similar conventions of your own, will allow you to take advantage of certain
features in creating and maintaining your database and your user interface. These include:
Using the Model feature to create points (and other database items) that are based on ones
you have previously created
Copying, cutting, and pasting in the Windows environment
Various Survalent database utilities that rely on point name relationships across stations
Using the Station Cloning feature to create an entire new station and all its points, based on
an existing station
3.3 Organization
The most important organizational structure in the SCADA database is the station. A station is a logical,
rather than a physical entity. It functions as a name, or heading, under which a number of database points
can be grouped.
There is no requirement that the points in a station be physically related to one another. They are made
members of the station in name only, as you create the database.
However, there are inherent relationships between points, just because they are being received from a
certain RTU, or by way of a certain communication line. Although you do not really need to care about
this in organizing your stations, these data points are going to be related to each other. For example, if a
particular RTU fails, all points receiving data from that RTU will fail to get updated information.
To deal with these relationships, the database includes the concept of an RTU, and a communication line.
You will need to define each RTU and communication line in the database, to correspond to the physical
arrangement of your system.
Then you can proceed to define the individual points that you want. Remember that “points” are data
storage locations that may be used to hold data received from an RTU, or data entered manually by an
operator, or the results of a calculation. There are three point types in the SCADA database: status,
analog, and text. Each of these is discussed below.
3.3.1 Station
Most people define a database station to represent a physical location. For example, a database
station may consist of all of the database points associated with a substation in an electrical
network or with a pumping station in a pipeline. The points in a station can include both
telemetered points and calculated or manually entered quantities.
The SCADA system does not restrict how you group points into a station. You can, if you wish,
have a small number of large stations, each representing multiple physical locations in a
geographical area. Or you can have each physical location represented by multiple smaller
database stations (for example, a separate station for each generator in a generating plant or one
for each machine in a manufacturing plant). You can even have a single station that consists of a
group of otherwise unrelated points, such as pole-top switches.
The system also does not enforce an association between stations and RTUs. Most installations
end up having a direct correspondence between stations and RTUs simply because, using an
electrical distribution system as an example, each database station is either a transformer station
or a some kind of substation, and there is typically one and only one RTU at each of these
locations. But this does not have to be the case. You can have multiple RTUs providing data to
points on the same database station or you can have one RTU transmitting data to points on
multiple stations.
A communication line is an element in the database that represents the medium used to
communicate with one or more RTUs. The RTUs that can be accessed via the communication
line are defined separately (see 3.3.3).
The SCADA database supports as many communication lines as your hardware can provide. The
SCADA server software runs a separate scan task for each of them. Each scan task polls the
RTUs defined on its communication line and stores the data it receives from them in the
database.
A communication line has a special status point associated with it, which the scan task uses to
tell you if it’s receiving any data at all. If at least one RTU is responding on the communication
line, the scan task sets the point’s status to Normal. If no RTU is responding on the
communication line, the scan task sets the status of the point to Abnormal. Since an ordinary
status point is used for this, you can define your own alarm messages, alarm severity, and the
terms used to describe the “failed” and “ok” states of the communication line. We will usually call
the two states “Down” and “Up” in this manual.
By manually setting the communication line status point to Down, you can tell the scan task to
stop polling, thereby effectively “shutting down” the communication line. To resume polling, you
remove the manually set value. If any RTUs respond, the scan task will set the communication
line point’s status back to Up.
Among the important attributes of a communication line are communication channel parameters
such as baud rate and parity, timing parameters such as response timeout, retry count and poll
rate, and the choice of communication protocol. The SCADA software supports multiple RTU
protocols on the same system, running a different scan task for each protocol. However,
protocols cannot be mixed on a single communication line.
3.3.3 RTU
An RTU is an element in the database that represents a physical Remote Terminal Unit or other
type of Intelligent End Device (IED) that is connected directly to the communication line. The term
IED is treated a bit specially in the database, and this is discussed more in section 3.3.4.
An RTU has an associated status point that the scan task uses it to tell you whether it’s
communicating successfully with the physical device. If the scan task fails to obtain a good
response from the RTU after a number of retries, it sets the RTU point’s status to Down, but
keeps polling it. When the scan task starts receiving good responses, it sets the RTU’s status to
By manually setting the RTU point to Down, you can tell the scan task to stop polling that RTU,
thereby taking it out of service. To place the RTU back in service, you remove the manually set
value. The scan task resumes polling, and if the RTU responds, the scan task will set the RTU’s
status back to Up.
Among the important attributes of an RTU is a set of associated analog points that the scan task
may use to collect communication statistics for that RTU. Such statistics include counts of timeout
errors, message security errors (i.e. responses that were corrupted by noise) and wrong reply
errors (i.e. responses that were intact but were not the expected response). Exactly which
statistics are gathered depends on which protocol is being used to communicate with the RTU.
3.3.4 IED
The term Intelligent End Device or Intelligent Electronic Device is usually used in the industry to
refer to a meter or relay that has an internal microprocessor, and can be communicated with in a
manner similar to an RTU. It is typically capable of measuring a large number of quantities, and
may include some control capabilities as well.
If you have an IED directly connected to your communication line, you could accommodate it in
your SCADA database by creating an RTU to represent it, and creating the status and analog
points you need to receive its data.
But the SCADA database allows you to create an element called an IED to represent it, instead.
The first reason to do this is to take advantage of an automated tool known as the IED Wizard.
This tool will assist you in creating the IED and all its database points. This is especially helpful if
you have any IEDs with a very large number of data points available.
Another reason to use the IED database element is to represent a meter or relay that is not
directly connected to your communication line. Such IEDs are called “slaves”, because they are
connected to an RTU “Master”, that is in turn connected to the SCADA Master station. Data
points from slave IEDs are mapped into the RTU’s internal database. Then database points are
created in the usual way at the Master, to receive the data.
Because this arrangement can lead to you having to do a great deal of data mapping (especially
if each RTU is connected to many slave IEDs), you will want to use the IED Wizard to help you. It
will simultaneously help you create mapping tables to control how the RTU gets the data from the
IEDs, and help you create the corresponding database points at the Master.
Note: The IED Wizard is an optional feature of your SCADA system, which is described in the
document IED-100, IED Wizard and Control Panel User’s Guide.
A SCADA status point is used to represent the state of a field device such as a breaker or valve.
depending on whether a telemetry address and any control addresses are defined for it.
A SCADA analog point represents a numeric value, which is stored in the database as a double-
precision floating-point number.
If the analog point has a telemetry address defined for it, the point’s value is transmitted from an
RTU. Most RTUs transmit two types of analog data (in the form of binary integers):
Measurements that are digitized by A/D converters, typically with 12–16 bits of
precision
Accumulators that represent pulse counts, with 16 bits of precision or more, and
where each pulse represents a unit of an accumulated quantity such as like energy or
flow consumption
For both types of analog point, the master station converts the received integers to floating-point
engineering values by applying a scale factor and offset that you specify for each point.
An analog point can also be defined to be a setpoint, in which case the analog point’s value is
transmitted to the RTU. This is usually used to output an analog quantity (a small current or
voltage) from the RTU.
Whenever an analog point’s value changes, whether the change occurs through telemetry,
calculation or a manual set operation, the new value is checked against optional alarm limits that
you may specify, which may cause an alarm to be raised or cleared.
Pre-emergency
Emergency
Reasonability
with a deadband value for each limit pair, and a separate alarm severity for each of the six alarm
limits.
A text point is a SCADA point whose value is a text string. A text point’s value cannot be
telemetered from an RTU; it can only be changed by the operator (via manual set operations) or
by application software. Text points do not generate alarms of any kind.
Text points, when placed on a map, can be used as little notes that are manually entered by the
operator. They are even more powerful in the hands of application software, where a set of text
points may be used to tell the operator the condition of an ongoing process. These messages can
be much more flexible than simply translating a 2- or 4-state status point into words like Open and
Closed.
Table 3.4-1 gives the ranges for the different point types in the database, and the maximum quantity of
each type of point you may have in the database.
For most other database items (user types, formats, etc.), there are no fixed limits you need to worry
about. You can create as many as you need, until your computer runs out of memory, disk space, file
size, or some other resource.
If you need it, Survalent can increase the size of one or more of your database files to accommodate
more elements.
Floating-Point Numbers
Where a floating-point number is required, values can range up to about 10 308. Negative numbers of a
similar size are also allowed, in places where negative values make sense. Zero is a valid floating-point
number, but very small numbers can also be specified, down to about 10-308. These “double-precision”
floating-point numbers are equivalent to about 15 decimal digits.
You enter floating-point numbers using an integer format (like 10, or 1234), a decimal format (as in
2467.98), or an exponential format (where 6.022E23 or 6.022e23 both mean 6.022 x 1023).
Text
Some fields, such as names and descriptions, require you to enter text. These can accept any of the
upper-case or lower-case letters, the digits 0 through 9. The five characters $ # @ - and _ may also be
used.
Spaces can also be used in many text items, but they are not allowed in point names.
Point names can be up to 32 characters long. Point descriptions can be up to 128 characters long.
Use care when specifying long text items; you may find they don’t look right in the places you want to use
them, such as alarm messages or printed reports.
The next place to look while planning your database is the next manual in the series, namely DB-402,
Alarm Database Editing Guide. These will give you the knowledge to make reasonable choices for the
basic features of your system.
But be sure to read the later manuals, when you are ready to begin thinking about advanced features
such as calculations, reports, or historical data gathering. Of course, if there are options or advanced
features you want to use right away, you will need to consult their particular manuals early in your
planning process.
The SCADA database is a complex and versatile database. Although you can always change any
attribute of any point at any time, you will save yourself a lot of work if you take a little time to plan ahead
before you start entering the database.
For example, attributes of analog points such as scale factor and alarm limits can be entered and
adjusted after the points are defined. But if you know the values of these things at the time that you first
create the points, by all means enter them.
How much planning you want to do is, of course, up to you. The following is a set of topics that we think
you should plan before you start your database:
Stations
User point type codes
Zones
Command/state strings
Alarm message formats
3.5.1 Stations
In every SCADA system, stations are fundamental to the organization of the alarms in the
system. In Windows SCADA each station can have a dynamic symbol on the SCADA map that
summarizes the alarm status of all the points on that station.
Both the summarization and selectivity provided by these two features are extremely important
when operating the system. The operators need to be able to see at a glance that everything’s
fine, and if something’s not fine, where the problem is. Then they need to be able, in one step, to
zero in on the problem. Keep this in mind when you’re designing your database stations.
A station is known by its name. The full name of every point in the database consists of the name
of the station that the point is associated with, followed by a comma, followed by a specific point
name.
For example, a database station named “ABERDEEN” might represent a substation called
Aberdeen, and a point for current in Feeder 1 at Aberdeen station might be named
“ABERDEEN,Feeder1Amps”.
To make life easier for the operators, and for themselves, many users adopt a point naming
convention such that the same point at two different stations would have the same point name.
For example, Feeder 1 Amps at Aberdeen and Warden stations would be named:
“ABERDEEN,Feeder1Amps”
“WARDEN,Feeder1Amps”
Each status, analog and text point can be assigned a user-defined point type. These point types
can be used as sorting parameters in reports and SQL queries.
You define these types yourself by specifying a short text string for each. This is described in
DB-401, Point Database Editing Guide.
3.5.3 Zones
Zones are intended to represent areas of responsibility. There can be up to 128 individual zones,
which you organize into a number of named groups. Groups can contain one or more zones, and
a particular zone can be a member of more than one group.
You then assign each database point to the zone group of your choice. Event printers and
operator login accounts may also be assigned to any zone group.
A zone or zone group can mean whatever you want it to mean. Examples of how you can use
zones to partition your system into:
Separate utilities – if your system is a combined electric, gas and water system
High voltage and low voltage circuits – if your system is an electric distribution
system and your operators have different training requirements for different voltage
levels
Separate pipelines – if your system is a multiple pipeline system with separate
operators for each pipeline
It is possible to create a user account that is not assigned to any zone group. When this user is
logged in, they will not be allowed to manipulate any points or deal with any alarms. Conversely, it
is not possible to create a point that is not assigned to any zone group.
Command/State strings are text strings that are used by status points to represent their present
states and their control commands.
Command/State strings are defined in sets of eight. In each set, four of the strings, called the
state strings, are used to represent the possible states of the point. The other four strings, called
the command strings, are used for identifying control operations. Most communication protocols
do not support more than two commands, so usually the first two command strings are sufficient.
An alarm message format is a (Fortran-like) format string that specifies what an alarm should look
like. The alarm message formats are described in DB-402, Alarm Database Editing Guide.
As you create status points, you assign the desired alarm format to each. This dictates how the
messages will look when these points raise alarms. Analog limit alarms use a group of pre-
defined message formats, although you can edit these as well.
There are over 100 alarm message formats pre-configured for use by the system itself. Several
additional ones already exist, ready for you to customize for use in formatting the alarm
messages for your points. And if necessary, you can create additional formats as needed.
In later manuals, you will discover how to specify all of the different attributes that define your
status and analog points. You will discover how flexible these definitions can be, and you will find
that there appear to be many ways to create the behavior you want. You may be wondering
which way to proceed, and whether it makes any difference to the system.
Hopefully the following suggestions will shed a little light on this subject, without making too many
assumptions about how you would like to use your SCADA system.
Status Points
It is important to stick to the convention that a “0” value in the database means “open”, and a “1”
means “closed”. For 4-state devices, expand this idea to include the values of 2 (for “in
transition”) and 3 (for the error condition). If you stick to these definitions, you can make other
useful assumptions elsewhere in the definition of the point database, and later in defining
calculations and other advanced features.
Note: We recommend you adhere to this convention, even though “open” for a valve means there
is flow, but for a switch it means there is not. In both cases, the database value should be 0.
You do not need to stray from this convention, even if the device you are monitoring prefers to
report a 0 for “closed” and a 1 for “open”. In that case, use the format code that causes the
received data to be inverted before it is stored in the database (every scan task has one, just look
it up in the scan task user’s guide). Then you can treat the database value for this point the same
as any other.
Note: If you find your Command Strings and State Strings do not both agree that 0=Open and
1=Closed, you may need to choose a better Format Code, or to swap the two Control Addresses.
You will also want to consider the choice of Normal state. Either 0 or 1 must be chosen, and any time
the point is not in the normal state, it is considered to be abnormal. If they are defined as “sustained”
alarm points (see DB-402, Alarm Point Database for a discussion of momentary vs. sustained
alarms), they will generate an alarm when the point goes into the abnormal state. The alarm will be
“active” until the point returns to its normal state. (Remember that this state is specified with respect
to the value in the database, after the format code is applied). This is not the case for “momentary”
alarm points, which generate alarms for every change of state. But all abnormal points will show up in
the Off Normal view in the Status Point Viewer, regardless of the type of alarm they generate.
Analog Points
Analog points have relatively fewer issues around the choices you make. Just remember that once
you have chosen the format code to interpret the number received from the RTU, and converted that
number into real engineering units (using the scale factor, etc.), it is the engineering value that is
stored in the database. Everywhere else that you think about this number, whether for display
purposes, for alarm limits, or what have you, you should think in engineering units.
The individual characteristics of the database items are not discussed in detail here. You should treat this
section as a reference, and rely on DB-401, Point Database Editing Guide, and DB-402, Alarm Database
Editing Guide for details about the items in the database.
Although you are free to edit all information in the database, be sure you understand what an item is used
for before you make changes to it. If you were just looking for something that looks similar to one of the
defaults, consider if you might be better off making a “model” of it, and changing the copy, instead of
modifying the standard version.
The default database includes a few zones, named Zone1, Zone2, and so on. There is also one
zone group defined, called AllZones.
Zone groups may be assigned to points, loggers, and users as you see fit. You may not create a group
that does not include any zones, but you may assign “no group” to a user if you wish. You may not assign
“no group” to a point, since that would make it impossible for any operator to use that point.
Note: If you add zones to your system, be sure to include them in your definition of the zone group
AllZones as well.
It is necessary to log in as a user with sufficient rights, in order to edit the SCADA database. It may also
be necessary to log in to perform ordinary operating duties on the system. For these reasons some user
accounts and their corresponding user rights are provided in the default database.
Each user account is assigned a set of user rights that determines the actions that user may take. This
provides individual control over various operating and editing functions. Each user account may also be
assigned Privilege mode or Training mode. If neither of these is assigned, the user is said to be in Normal
mode.
Privilege mode may be required to access certain high-level functions in your SCADA system, depending
on its configuration. Training Mode restricts an operator to only those stations in the database that are
also in training mode. This prevents trainees from manipulating real system devices, and allows you to
designate a database station and its points for training purposes.
Table 3.6-1 shows the provided user names and their passwords, zone groups and user rights. Table
3.6-2 shows which rights are enabled for each User Rights set.
Note: The GUEST user is used internally by the system. You must not delete this account, or the
NoRights record that it relies upon.
User names and passwords are not case sensitive within the SCADA system.
For example, in order to edit your new database using the STC Explorer (see Chapter 4), you could log in
as a user with the name SCADA, and the password SCADA.
The default database does not include any examples of telemetered status or analog points. You
will need to create points for the data items you are interested in, whether they are telemetered
from an RTU, calculated, or manually entered. Since there are no pre-defined telemetered points,
there are also no communication lines, RTUs or IEDs in the default database.
However, there are a few status points provided in the default database, as described below.
These points can be found in a station called SYS$. This is a station provided in the default
database, to hold points that the SCADA system uses for its own purposes.
If you create database points for other “internal” purposes, feel free to place them in the SYS$
station as well.
ALFULL
This status point is used to raise an alarm if the Alarm file becomes full (of unacknowledged
alarms). See DB-402, Alarm Database Editing Guide.
HostA, HostB
These status points are used to hold the state of the Master and Standby host computers. See
calculation 29 in DB-403, Calculations Database Editing Guide.
Logger1
This status bit holds the current state of the first event logger (printer), if one is present. It is used
to raise an alarm if the logger becomes unavailable.
SCADA
This status point is used internally by the SCADA system, for certain alarms. Do not edit or delete
it.
These point type strings can be used any way you like, but are intended for grouping status and
analog points by function or data type. Thirty-six types are defined for you, named Type01
through Type36, which you may edit or add to however you like.
The types shown in Figure 3.6-1 are provided in the default database. You may use them when
you create points of the listed types.
Status points and analog points receive data from the RTU/IED in one or more data formats.
Which formats may be used depends on the selected protocol and also on the selected object
type of each point. You should refer to the User’s Guide for your scan task for detailed
information.
The “Format” code dictates how the data that is received from the RTU/IED will be stored into the
SCADA database. The formats are also descriptive. For example, for a status point that is single-
bit data, there are two formats available to be used:
Single bit – Normal Processing (meaning, “0” is received from the RTU - “0” is stored
into the database; and “1” is received from the RTU - “1” is stored into the database)
Single bit – Inverted Processing (meaning, “0” is received from the RTU, but “1” is
stored into the database; and vice versa)
A few sets of command/state strings are defined in the default database. These include sets for
simple On-Off and Open-Close points; a typical set is shown in Figure 3.6-2. You may find these
sufficient for your needs, but if not, you can add to them, or modify them.
When creating your own command/state string sets, you should use the words appropriate to
each different type of equipment whose status will be monitored or controlled by the SCADA
system.
The SCADA system comes with a default set of alarm message formats that you can view and
modify. These default formats are listed in Table 3.6-3.
The first 10 formats are intended for you to assign to your status points. Although you may
customize these formats, it is recommended that all alarm messages used for point alarms
contain N2," “,N1 to cause the point’s full name to be included. However, you may wish to delete
the record number that you see included in these default formats.
The other formats in the default set are reserved for use by the SCADA system. Although some
values in between these reserved system formats are not presently used, they may be in the
future, so don’t use them with any of your status points.
Five alarm priorities have their coloring defined in the default database. You may not add or
delete entries in this table. The default color scheme is detailed in Table 3.6-6. See DB-401, Point
Database Editing Guide for a detailed description of the meaning of these items.
The STC Explorer is the program that permits you to navigate throughout the database. If you log in with
appropriate user rights, you may make changes to any portion of the database using the editing
capabilities provided.
4.1 Introduction
You normally invoke the STC Explorer program using the “shortcut” provided under Programs in the Start
menu.Depending on how your computer has been set up you may find other shortcuts in other places,
such as on the Desktop.
STC Explorer is a “client” program, which communicates with another program called a “server”. Although
the server runs on the SCADA host computer, the Explorer can run on any computer that is connected to
the host via the SCADA network.
Because of this arrangement, it is possible for you to manage the SCADA database from any suitably
configured PC on the network. You do not need to go to the host computer to do it.
On the Help menu you will find About and View. ABOUT displays some information about the program
you are using, including its version number.
VIEW displays the “Station List Flat Tree”. If this is checked, when expanding the “Stations” branch, you
will have all of the stations in your database listed below. If “Station List Flat Tree” is not checked, when
you expand “Stations” branch the stations will be organized in parent-child (hierarchical) arrangement.
The default is “Station List Flat Tree” not being checked, i.e. when expanding “Stations” branch, the
stations are displayed according to the parent-child (hierarchical) arrangement.
Note: you will not generally find one-step “undo” commands in the various database editors.
There are two parameter items on the File menu that allow you to configure a few items that the STC
Explorer uses. The Connection Parameters (Figure 4.2-1) include the name of the host computer (or
computers) to which this copy of the STC Explorer will connect next time it runs, a timeout to use to
determine if the connection has failed, and a timeout to use to determine if a command has failed. These
are normally set at the factory, and should not require adjustment
When you click on OK, the STC Explorer reconnects to the SCADA system and displays a login dialog.
You are required to log in again.
The Application Parameters consist of a single item, which is the path used by the optional IED Wizard to
locate the template files it needs. This is discussed in more detail in IED-100, IED Wizard User’s Manual.
The STC Explorer includes a button bar to make certain functions easy to access with a single click. In
particular, you will find the Login, Logout, Connection Preferences and Select Connection. These buttons
will be discussed in the next few paragraphs. Notice that the buttons on this toolbar are highlighted when
you move your mouse over them.
The database includes the definition of a User you can use for your initial editing. You may wish to create
additional users for the various SCADA operators, any non-operating “observers”, and those who will be
maintaining the database.
1. Click on the Login icon located at the top right of the STC Explorer window.
Result: The Log In window displays.
When you are finished, you may want to log off to prevent unauthorized use of your SCADA account.
The different users will have different abilities within the SCADA system. These are controlled by the User
Rights defined in the database. The default database includes default users and their user rights.
Click on the “+” (or press the “+” key in the numeric keypad) to expand the branch to see these sub-
branches. These are the same items you may have seen in the right-hand pane if you selected that
branch with the mouse. The sub-branches may in turn have further sub-branches, and this will be shown
by another “+” sign.
In general, to look at items of a particular type, locate and select the type in the left hand pane, then look
at the list that appears in the right hand pane.
You may sort the right-hand pane by clicking on the header bar, on the field (such as Name, or
Description) you want to sort by. Note that you can only sort on certain fields.
You may select one of the items in the right-hand pane by clicking on it. With an item selected, a right-
click will bring up a menu of actions that can be performed on that item. See section 4.5, Adding and
Modifying Items.
For example, if you have located the list of RTUs on a particular communication line, you may need to
create a new RTU. Or, if you have navigated to an existing item (say a particular status point) you may
need to edit it.
To create a new item, right--click in the right-hand window pane to bring up a pop up menu and
select New.
If you have right-clicked on an existing item, the menu will include the Edit and Model commands
The Model menu choice will create a new item, with the data fields already filled in. The data is copied
from whichever item you had selected when you right-clicked to bring up the menu.
To edit an existing item, the Edit command may be used. You may also double-click on the item.
Either way, an editing dialog appears for the type of item you are working on. You will need to refer to
DB-401, Point Database Editing Guide for instructions on how to specify the various attributes of the item
you are working on. Note that if you have used Model, everything is copied from the existing item.
Therefore you will need to make the changes required in the new item, before you store it
Once you are finished editing, you must choose to press either the OK button (if you are satisfied and
want to keep what you have done), or the Cancel button (if you wish to discard your edits).
If there is an error in any of the data fields when you press OK, an error message is displayed. Once you
dismiss the message, you should correct the error and press OK again.
The Refresh command on the pop-up menu can be used to update the list in the right-hand pane of the
explorer, after changes have been made.
In the various editing dialogs you will use, some fields may appear a dim grey color, and it may not be
possible to edit them. This happens because the fields are needed by a configuration other than the one
you are using. For example, in a communication line, you may have chosen a particular connection type.
Certain fields will not apply to your connection type, so they will be disabled.
2. Select Delete.
Result: A confirm delete window displays.
3. Click Ok.
Use great care in deleting items from the database, especially those that you have not just recently
created. If other portions of the database reference the item, deleting it can cause a number of problems.
If a database has been in use for a while, and you believe that an item is no longer needed, it may well be
better to simply ignore or rename it, than to delete it without examining every place that might have
referenced it.
The button indicated by the arrow in the figure is called a Browse button, and pressing it will call up the
Drag-n-Drop window.
You can navigate the tree of stations in the point browser to locate the point you want. Then drag the
point from the right-hand pane of the point browser on to the point name field that you are filling in.
This chapter describes the Status Point Viewer and the Analog Point Viewer. These are two programs
that allow you to look at the points you have created in the database. They can view all existing points
automatically, without you having to create any specific displays. However, the formats available for
displaying your points are fixed by the program, and you cannot customize them. These displays are
therefore not well suited to normal operation, although they can be very useful for database maintenance.
5.1 Introduction
Two programs are provided for viewing points in the SCADA database: the Status Point Viewer and the
Analog Point Viewer. The viewers can display a list of all the points of the requisite type, one station at a
time. You can control which details to include in the display by selecting from a list of defined views.
Each of the Viewer programs is normally started from the corresponding shortcut on the Windows Start
menu. Depending on how your computer has been set up, you may find shortcuts in other places, such
as the Desktop or the Windows QuickLaunch bar.
Each of these viewers appears in a window that includes a title bar, a menu, a toolbar (button bar), and
the display window containing the list itself. At the bottom is found a message window and
acknowledgment button, as described for the STC Explorer, in section 4.2.
5.2.1 Menus
The viewer’s menu bar consists only of a brief Help menu (listing only the About selection), and a
File menu. Choose About to find out which version of the viewer you are currently running, if you
are asked for this information.
The File menu allows you to set certain preferences in the viewer, invoke the Off Normal display,
or reset the status points’ transition counters.
Preferences
The Preferences menu illustrated in Figure 5.2-1 contains two items. The System Preferences
allow you to set certain database access details, as described for the STC Explorer in section 4.2.
The Application Preferences dialog is shown in the figure. You can control how frequently the
information on your display is updated from the SCADA database by adjusting the Interval
setting.
Off-Normal Display
If you turn on this setting, the contents of the display will be changed to include only those points
that are not in their “normal” state. For status points, this depends on their defined normal state.
For analog points, this means the point is not in violation of any of its limits.
5.2.2 Toolbar
The Toolbar includes (from left to right): Select station, Select RTU, Select view, the Log In and
Log Out buttons, Print, Find context, Refresh and the About button:
The About button works just like choosing About from the Help menu. The other buttons are
discussed under Operating from the Point Viewer, below.
There are also three drop-down selectors in the toolbar. The first shows a list of all the stations in
the database, and allows you to choose the station whose points you wish to be displayed. The
second allows you to choose the RTU whose points are to be displayed. The third selector
allows you to choose the type of view.
Note that, for “flag” type fields, a “+” is displayed to indicate a true or active condition, otherwise it
will be blank.
Select Station
This button causes a list of stations to be displayed in the left pane, from which you may select a
station whose points you wish to see in the right pane. By default, the stations are simply listed in
alphabetical order. However, if you select the Tree option from the arrow pushbutton, the stations
will be displayed in hierarchical order (i.e. parent stations that you can open to see child stations).
Select RTU
This button causes a list of RTUs to be displayed in the left pane, from which you may select an
RTU whose points you wish to see in the right pane. By default, the RTUs are simply listed in
alphabetical order. However, if you select the Tree option from the arrow pushbutton, the list of
RTUs will be organized by communication line.
The list of available views for status points includes the following:
Brief
This view shows point name and description, current status, condition code and control state, tag
type, and unacknowledged alarm flag. The view also provides an indication that telemetry and
control addresses are defined (but not the full addresses).
Full
This view shows all of the above, plus the time of the last update, zone group, user point type,
device class, and transition count.
Commissioning
This view shows the point name, description, condition, control state, unacknowledged alarm flag,
transition count, full telemetry address (no control addresses), device class and user type. The
point list is sorted in numerical order by telemetry address.
The list of available views for analog points includes the following:
Value
This view shows point name, description, current value, condition code, units, unacknowledged
alarm flag, zone group, user type, device class, and time of last update. The view also provides
an indication that a telemetry address is defined (but not the full address).
Limits
This view shows point name, description, current value, condition code, units, unacknowledged
alarm flag, and all the alarm limits.
Compressed
This view shows point name, description, current value, condition code, and unacknowledged
alarm flag.
History 15Min
This view shows point name and description, current value, condition code, average value during
the past 15 minutes, minimum value during the past 15 minutes and the time when this minimum
occurred, and maximum value during the past 15 minutes and the time when this maximum
occurred.
History Hour
This view shows point name and description, current value, condition code, average value during
the past hour, minimum value during the past hour and the time when this minimum occurred,
and maximum value during the past hour and the time when this maximum occurred.
History Day
This view shows point name and description, current value, condition code, average value during
the past day, minimum value during the past day and the time when this minimum occurred, and
maximum value during the past day and the time when this maximum occurred.
History Week/Month
This view shows point name and description, current value, condition code, average value during
the past week/month, minimum value during the past week/month and the time when this
minimum occurred, and maximum value during the past week/month and the time when this
maximum occurred.
At the bottom of the window is a status bar. Here you will see the user name currently logged in,
and the name (or address) of the SCADA host whose database you are connected to.
Once you have the desired view (see Toolbar, above), it is possible to operate the SCADA
system from these viewer windows. How much you are able to do depends on the rights
associated with the user you are logged in as.
Logging In
You can log in using the left button of the pair pictured above. The user name you log in as
appears in the status line at the bottom of the window. When you are done, and you do not wish
anyone else to be able to operate using this window, you should log out using the right-hand
button pictured above.
Operating
Any point in the database is available to you using these viewers. Once you have located the
point(s) you are interested in, you can select one using the mouse. Right-clicking on the selected
point will bring up a menu of available actions:
These are the same actions you would be able to perform in the WorldView operator interface.
Acknowledging alarms, manually setting the point, even performing control operations and
placing tags are possible.
The meaning of these actions, and the effect they have on the
system, is beyond the scope of this manual. Before operating on
points using the viewers, consult the operator’s manuals and other
training materials, to learn about operating the SCADA system.