Sequence of Events

Getting Started Guide

GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc.

2500 Austin Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22911
www.ge-ip.com
The information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of GE Intelligent
Platforms, Inc. The software described in this manual is furnished under a license or nondisclosure agreement. This software may be used
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without the written permission of GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc.

© Copyright 2009 by GE Intelligent Platforms, Inc.

All rights reserved. All brand names and product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
SA06-120-102009

The text and screen shots in this document are compatible with Workbench Version 8.3.0 and subsequent releases. If you are running a previous
version, please contact Technical Support.
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Contents
CONTENTS ......................................................................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 4
SOE COMPONENT OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 4
SOE ADMINISTRATION CLIENT ............................................................................................................................ 4
SOE DATA RETRIEVAL CLIENT ........................................................................................................................... 4
SOE SERVICE MANAGER MONITOR .................................................................................................................... 5
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS................................................................................................................................ 5
INSTALLING THE SOE SOFTWARE................................................................................................................. 6
SOE EXAMPLE................................................................................................................................................. 12
RECORDING DATA FROM AN SOE MODULE ....................................................................................................... 12
RECORDING DATA CHANGES FROM OTHER REGISTERS ..................................................................................... 13
SOE ADMINISTRATION CLIENT .......................................................................................................................... 16
SOE DATA RETRIEVAL CLIENT ......................................................................................................................... 19
SOE DATA FORMAT ......................................................................................................................................... 21

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Introduction
Sequence of Events (SOE) data gives an accurate time for event occurrence, along with the event value and
other useful information. This data can then be used to help determine a specific order of occurrences or
"Sequence of Events." There are two different kinds of events that can be recorded: data change events from
SOE modules based on channel inputs or data change events from analog or digital registers found in the
controller. Data change events can be recorded no faster than the cycle time of the controller while SOE
module events are recorded in accord with times in the module’s data sheet (order of milliseconds).
The 8000 IO Configurator is used to configure the SOE channels from which data is captured. The Event
Recording Table for the controller is used to determine the analog and digital points from which data is
recorded.
After the controller is configured to generate events, it begins storing the events into its SOE buffer. If the SOE
buffer becomes full, then the oldest events are lost as new SOE events are generated. However, there is no
need to lose events, since they can be retrieved by the SOE Service Manager and recorded into a Microsoft
SQL Server database. In fact, the controller can support up to four SOE Service Manager clients.

SOE Component Overview

SOE monitoring and display software consists of three components:
• SOE Administration Client (Admin Client)
• SOE Data Retrieval Client (Display Client)
• SOE Service Manager Monitor (Monitor)

SOE Administration Client

The SOE Administration Client is used to configure the SOE Service Manager. The Administration Client must
run on the node on which the SOE Service Manager is to execute. The following tasks can be performed in
the Administration Client:
• Configure the server name, username, and password used by the SOE Service Manager when
starting and connecting to a database.
• Start or stop the SOE Service Manager.
• Delete any or all SOE events.
• Configure the SOE event persistence parameters - that is, how many events or for the amount of time
the events are to be stored.
• Configure the slow poll time.
• Configure the "Partner" database server name, username, and password if a synchronization
database is to be provided.

SOE Data Retrieval Client

Clients that wish to retrieve SOE data connect to the MSDE database, use standard SQL statements to
retrieve the data, and then format as appropriate.
The Data Retrieval Client is a general purpose client used to display, sort, and filter SOE data. Additionally,
data may be written to CSV files suitable for import into other applications.

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SOE Service Manager Monitor

The SOE Service Manager runs as a Windows Service. It can be configured, within the Administration Client,
to automatically start when the operating system is started and executes unattended.
Because the SOE Service Manager is “invisible” when running as a service, it creates an icon that is stored in
the Windows task bar. The color of this icon is indicative of the state of the service manager. Red indicates
that a serious error has occurred; yellow indicates that a less serious error has occurred; green indicates that
no errors have occurred. If the icon is white, SOE events have been received, but not yet acknowledged.
Acknowledging the events return the icon back to green. All errors are logged to the Windows Event Viewer.
Once configured, the Service Manager performs the following actions:
• Poll each controller that was configured in the Administration Client for the existence of SOE data at a
minimum of once every two seconds.
• Retrieve all SOE data and store to an MSDE database.

System Requirements
• Operating System: Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 or Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2
• Processor: Pentium 3 or greater
• Memory: 256M Byte or greater

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Installing the SOE Software

Note: If your computer already has version 8.3.0 or later of the Workbench, SOE was
installed by the Workbench installation utility. Otherwise, SOE can be installed as a
standalone utility according to the following instructions.

1. Insert the product CD into the appropriate drive.

2. The Product Installation window appears. Click Next Page.

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3. The Options screen appears. Select the Additional Programs option and click Go.

Note: The text and screen shots in this document are compatible with Workbench Version 8.3.0
and subsequent releases. Version x.x.x on the screen shots refers to the current version number of
the product that is being installed.

4. The Additional Programs screen appears. Select the Sequence of Events (Standalone Version)
option and click Go.

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Note: If the Workbench is already installed on your computer, the following error occurs. If you
would like SOE only to be installed on this computer, uninstall the Workbench before installing
SOE. If you would like both SOE and the Workbench to be installed on this computer, the
Workbench installs both programs.

5. The installation process begins with the Welcome screen.

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6. If you have a service or program currently running, the Test State of Listed Services/Programs
screen appears. A checkmark indicates which services/programs are running. To stop the
services/programs, click the Terminate Running Services/Programs button. Note that you may
need to click this button more than once to stop all services/programs. Be sure to scroll down the
entire list to view all programs. When all services/programs are stopped, the Continue button is
enabled. Click Continue to proceed with the installation. You may also click Cancel to prematurely
exit the installation and manually stop the services/programs from running. (For instance, if the
services/programs cannot be stopped from this screen.) If Cancel is selected, an error message is
displayed to report that the installation cannot continue. Manually stop the services/programs and
reinstall the product.

7. Click Next on the Welcome screen to continue.

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8. Review the License Agreement and select the "I accept the terms in the license agreement"
option to accept the agreement. Click Next to continue.

9. Select the Complete installation type from the Setup Type screen. Only advanced users should
utilize the Custom installation option. Click Next to continue.

10. The Ready to Install the Program screen appears. Click Install.

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11. The Installing Sequence of Events screen appears. A progress bar indicates the status of the
installation. Click Next when the button is enabled, upon completion.

12. Following a successful installation, the InstallShield Wizard Completed screen appears. Click
Finish.

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SOE Example
The following section is intended to provide an example of how SOE may be used. This example
demonstrates how data monitoring is set up for recording data from an SOE module and from other data
registers in a controller. The SOE module is part of the IO configuration. Additional points are tagged for SOE
monitoring using the Event Recording Table from the Workbench.

Recording Data from an SOE Module

1. Open the Workbench. Open the project and controller to which SOE will be added and double-click
Launch the 8000 IO Configurator.
2. In the 8000 IO Configurator, enter the appropriate configuration settings for an 8127-DI-SE module.
3. On the Channel Attributes tab, click the event check box for each channel on the SOE module for
which SOE will be enabled.
4. In this example, an SOE module has been added to slot 9 of the IO Configuration. Channels 1 and 2
have been selected for event recording. An event is defined as a transition from OFF to ON or from
ON to OFF.

5. Save the configuration using either File | Save or the Save icon on the toolbar.
6. Download the configuration to the controller. To download, put the IO Configurator Online (Edit |
Mode | Auto or click the green traffic light on the toolbar) and then download the configuration
(Configuration | Download Controller).
7. Exit the IO Configurator (File | Exit).

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Recording Data Changes from Other Registers

To set up event recording for analog and digital points, fill in the Event Recording Table for the controller.
1. Right-click the appropriate controller in the project and select Map Data | Build Event Recording
Table from the menu.

2. The Build Event Recording Points form is displayed.

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3. Drag and drop one or more tags from the Available Tags list to either list box in the Tags Currently
Enabled section of the panel. The Workbench automatically determines the proper register space and
populates the proper list box or boxes. In the following example, one analog point (ADD_1) has been
dragged from the Available Tags list and dropped onto the Analog Tags section of the Tags
currently enabled for Event Recording form.

4. The tag is added with default logging attributes. To change the logging attributes, double-click on the
tag and the following dialog is displayed:

In addition to selecting the Data Type of the tag, you can pick which events are to be recorded when
the data value for the analog tag changes by more than a specified value (DeadZone), when the data
reaches a certain value (Enter Lower Limit or Enter Upper Limit), or when the data changes from a
certain value (Leave Lower Limit or Leave Upper Limit). You can also choose whether to check for
the data values at the beginning of the cycle or at the end of the cycle. In this example, event
recording is enabled for this point when the data value for the analog tag changes by more than 100.

Note: The Beginning of Cycle and End of Cycle options allow you to timestamp events more
accurately. Use Beginning of Cycle for tags that are read from IO modules or received by
communications. The timestamps occur after the data is read but before the control strategies are
run. Use End of Cycle for tags whose data is modified by the control strategies. These are
timestamps after the control strategy is run.

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5. When a digital tag is monitored, similar logging data can be set up. Select the ADD_DONE tag from
the list and drag it into the Discrete Tags display. Double-click on the tag to display the following
dialog.

Notice you can still choose whether data is to be logged at the beginning or end of cycle, but you can
now set the log on transitions to ON (select only the Digital On checkbox), OFF (select only the
Digital Off checkbox), or in either direction (select both the Digital On and Digital Off checkboxes).
Click Save on either edit box to apply the edits to the appropriate list box in the main panel and
enable the master Save button. Click Cancel to discard the edit. In this example, event recording is
enabled for ADD_DONE when the point transitions in either direction and is logged at the end of the
cycle.
6. After defining one of the points for which event recording is enabled, click Save on the Build Event
Recording Points panel to save the table.
7. Right-click the controller in the Project Explorer and choose Download Control Strategies to
download the project to the controller.

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SOE Administration Client

Now that the data for which events are to be recorded has been specified, it is time to configure the SOE
service to retrieve the data from the controller(s) using the SOE Administration Client.
1. To start this utility, select <installation_directory>\SOE | Admin Client. The following screen
appears:

2. Fill in the Server, Username, and Password fields just as you would when logging onto the
Workbench. Click Connect.
3. If this is the first time you have connected, you are prompted to create an SOE database. Answer Yes
when so prompted.

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4. Once the database generation is complete, you are asked to click Connect again. The SOE
Administration Client then shows all controllers from which SOE data can be retrieved, such as
follows:

5. In the Controller Monitoring Selection, pick the controllers for which SOE data is to be recorded.
You may also change Data Storage Options and Synchronization Database details at this time.

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6. Once you have finished with these items, click Save. This causes the SOE service to stop and restart.
The bottom right of the SOE Administration Client now shows that the service is running as follows:

In this example, the Primary controller (Node 012) has been selected for event recording, the
information was saved, and the service is now running without errors. You may now exit the SOE
Administration Client.

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SOE Data Retrieval Client

Now that the service is running, it is collecting all data marked for SOE collection and storing this data into a
SQL Database. Use the SOE Display Client to view the recorded data.
1. Select <installation_directory>\SOE | Display Client. Enter the log in information on the Connect
to Database dialog as you did to connect to the SOE Admin Client, such as follows.

2. The SOE Data Retrieval Client appears. In this example, the Data Retrieval Client shows Module 9
as well as ADD_1 and ADD_DONE as items from which events can be retrieved, which are the items
that were set up earlier for event recording. If Module 9 is expanded, Channel 1 (Slot9_DI1_Value)
and Channel 2 (Slot9_DI2_Value) are listed as well.

Note: The items only appear in the display client if the tag/register has caused an
event to be recorded in the database.

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3. At this point we are ready to set the tags for which SOE data is to be displayed. Check the box(es)
next to the appropriate tags and then click Get SOE Data to retrieve the data from the database. For
this example, we will view data for Slot9_DI1_Value, as well as ADD_1. The event data for the
requested tags is displayed. The data for our example tags is as follows:

In this example, the events are ordered by descending time. Events may be ordered by ascending
time and a start time, as well as an ending time, may be entered to limit the number of events
displayed.

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SOE Data Format

Table Name: SOEEventType

This table is used to cross reference an event number with its description. It is created (if necessary) and
populated when the SOE Service Manager starts and is referenced by the SOE clients.

Field Name Data Type Description

DFID Int Identity field – Automatically generated – record identifier
EventType TinyInt Event type
EventMnemonic Nvarchar*12 Mnemonic (short description) of Event
EventDesc Nvarchar*70 Description of Event

Table Name: SOEData

This table is used to store the actual SOE data retrieved from the controllers. It is created (if necessary) and
populated when the SOE Service Manager receives data from a controller and is referenced by the SOE
clients.

Field Name Data Type Key? Description

AXESeconds Int Y Timestamp of data in seconds (from AXE)
FractSecond SmallInt Y Timestamp of data in fractions of seconds (From AXE)
NodeNumber TinyInt Y Node number of associated controller
RegisterNumber Int Y 6 digit Modbus Register number of SOE tag
EventType TinyInt Y Event type (See Event Recording Table Format)
DataType TinyInt N Data Type 0 = Digital, 1 = Short, 2 = Unsigned
Short, 3 = Long, 4 = Unsigned Long, 5 = Float, 6
= Dim
DataValue BigInt N Data value at time of event
SlotNumber TinyInt N Slot number of SOE module in controller (if Register
Number translates to Slot and Channel Number, 0
otherwise)
ChannelNumber TinyInt N Channel number of SOE tag (if Register Number
translates to Slot and Channel Number, 0 otherwise)
TagName Nvarchar*32 N Name of tag
ConvertedTime DateTime N AXESeconds and FractSeconds converted to SQL
Compliant date and time. Accuracy of this field is
three-hundredths of a second, or 3.33 milliseconds.
StoredTime DateTime N Actual time (from PC clock) at which data record was
stored in SQL Compliant date and time. Accuracy of
this field is three-hundredths of a second, or 3.33
milliseconds.

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Table Name: Event Recording Table Format

Event type has the following values:

Value Mnemonic Meaning

0 State 0 Input state changed to off
1 State 1 Input state changed to on
2 Glitch 0 The input state glitched to 0
3 Glitch 1 The input state glitched to 1
4 LFD Off A line fault has recovered
5 LFD On A line fault was detected
6 Paused Event recording is paused due to excessive chatter
7 Overflow The module lost events due to a buffer full
8 Reserved for future use
9 Reserved for future use
10 Digital 0 Digital change report to off
11 Digital 1 Digital change report to on
12 Periodic Periodic value report
13 Change Analogue change report
14 Lower off Exit from lower alarm limit
15 Lower on Entered lower alarm limit
16 Upper off Exit from upper alarm limit
17 Upper on Entered upper alarm limit

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