Mission Critical Features for Systems of Any Size
While VTScada was designed to run the largest systems in the world, it makes mission critical strategies practical for even the smallest applications. Version 12.1 continues to provide powerful new tools to help you seamlessly grow your systems while prioritizing process uptime.
IEC-62443-4-1 Certification – VTScada’s Development Environment is now certified to be in compliance with IEC 62443 Security For Industrial Automation And Control Systems – Part 4-1: Secure Product Development Lifecycle Requirements. This standard defines secure development life cycle (SDL) requirements for products used in industrial automation and control systems. This includes security requirement definitions, secure design, secure implementation (including coding guidelines), verification and validation, defect management, patch management, and product end-of-life. These processes are applied to all development and maintenance phases of VTScada.
Unparalleled Performance – VTScada’s integrated architecture and reactive programming language allow it to meet the needs of massive systems while providing small applications with the power to get the job done with the PC hardware they can afford. Version 12.1 takes performance to a new level.
- Multiple PLC Ports – While radios support one TCP/IP or UDP/IP connection per device, in a plant, PLCs can open dozens (depending on the PLC). Once freed from the limitations of network speed, PLCs can use intervals of free time to process outstanding comm messages, increasing throughput up to ten times. Drivers that support multi-connections include the TI505 Device Driver, the Enron Modbus Driver, and the Modbus Compatible Device Driver.
- PLC Driver Deadbands – VTScada already uses deadbands to avoid filling Historians with irrelevant data like ripples on a pond. Version 12.1 also uses deadbands at the driver level to prevent insignificant changes from loading down the CPU performance and using network bandwidth.
- Script Bubbles – While VTScada already supports dedicated threads, Version 12.1 allows script code to run in parallel “Bubbles” across all PC cores. For example, Modbus can run in its own bubble. The effect on performance is like running multiple copies of VTScada at once.
- Faster Installer –Time is money, especially when commissioning or upgrading applications. VTScada’s new installer is 27% smaller and 18% faster.
Alarm Annunciation over VoIP, no Modem or Internet – VTScada will continue to support physical voice modems for text-to-speech alarm annunciation while they are available. However, it is increasingly difficult to find companies that produce them. Now, you can move beyond this hardware and take advantage of the benefits of VoIP without going through the internet. Version 12.1 allows you to use an analog telephone adapter (ATA) or your existing VoIP phone system to send voice alarm notifications to operators.
- Improved Twilio Performance – You no longer need a VTScada account as part of your Twilio configuration. Security and performance are both improved.
- Alarm Notification/Roster Enhancements – Version 12.1 makes it even easier to ensure that your critical alarms find you anywhere.
- Clearer and Easier Configuration – The Roster Properties dialog has been revamped to make it easier to organize the contacts.
- Drag-and-drop Reordering – This includes the ability to easily reorder contacts in the Roster via drag-and-drop.
- Custom Callout Delays – Rather than a single delay between Roster callouts, you can now set a custom wait time for each contact.
- Notification Bursts – Custom delays allow two or more contacts to be notified in one “burst” by specifying no delay between their callouts.
- Repeat Groups of Contacts – One or more contacts can be repeated in a Roster without having to add them multiple times.
- Increased Roster Capacity – Now, add up to 39 contacts to each Roster.
- New Security Privilege – Now you can allow users to configure Rosters without granting the ability to modify all tags.
Batch & Recipe Management – Batching is critical in industries like food & beverage, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals where repeatability and traceability are key. While Trihedral has been developing batching solutions for decades, this functionality is now standard in every license. Recipes are essentially named collections of setpoints to be sent to a process. VTScada allows you to create any number of I/O tags representing Ingredients, Recipes, and Recipe Books. To ensure traceability, all Recipe changes are permanently recorded and distributed across all application servers and can be easily accessed. Easily configure batches to automatically trigger multiple Recipes in series. Authorized users can scale or modify batches to create revisions. Municipal utilities can also use this functionality to run different modes to accommodate adverse weather conditions. Recipes can be imported and exported as spreadsheets.
Multi-Monitor Internet Clients – The VTScada Internet Client (VIC) can be a flexible alternative to using physical servers for application configuration. Now, VIC users with PCs can take advantage of multiplemonitors just as they could with installed VTScada licenses.
- Configure monitors on a per-realm basis.
- VIC Only – While the Anywhere Thin Client works on any device with a browser, it does not currently support multi-monitors.
On-Screen Keyboard – Touchscreen PCs are now commonplace and have begun to replace single purpose Operator Interface Terminals (OITs). VTScada now seamlessly supports the native Windows onscreen keyboard.
- Easily switch between different keyboard layouts.
- Configure default keyboards on a per-device basis.
New and Updated Drivers
- Rockwell Driver – This major update to the CIP/ENIP Driver Tag improves performance by supporting multiple simultaneous CIP connections. The driver now supports CIP/ENIP and DF1 protocols, through multiple choices of addressing and communications, including CIP Logical and Symbolic, DF1 routed through CIP/PCCC (ControlLogix) and DF1/DH+ serial. Now supports most Rockwell/Allen Bradley PLCs, including Control/CompactLogix, MicroLogix, SLC-500 and PLC-5.
- Delta Driver – For Delta’s Modbus-based PLCs and VFDs. To maximize throughput, this driver supports multiple PLC port connections.
- Honeywell Mercury Driver – This driver can communicate with several types of Honeywell Mercury Flow Computer devices.
- Updated Modbus Compatible Device Driver – I/O reads now run on a separate core, resulting in greater performance particularly in large applications.
- Mitsubishi Driver – Supports Mitsubishi iQ-R PLCs. Communication uses the MELSEC protocol, supporting binary and ASCII 3E and 4E frame types.
- Updated SNMP Agents – Expanded SNMP V3 support improves security. Now, specify read/write and notification credentials for each driver.
- Tag Browser Enhancements – The VTScada Tag Browser now includes new tools to accelerate your application development process.
- Operate PLC Control Tags Without Widgets – Developers can now quickly test control tags by simply opening a control dialog. This, in conjunction with visible tag values, turns the Tag Browser into a mini-HMI without having to add any Widgets to a screen.
- Filter on Tag Attributes – The new Tag Quality column allows developers to filter on tags that are flagged as “Questionable” so they can quickly and thoroughly commission these values.
- Tag Import from OPC Servers – VTScada already allows you to automatically import tags from devices such as Allen Bradley PLCs using CIP. Now you can save time by pulling in tags from OPC UA and DA servers. Simply navigate to the server, choose tags from the list, and VTScada will create them for you.
Faster Third-Party Data Sharing – 12.1 increases efficiency and reduces network bandwidth when sharing massive amounts of data with third-party systems.
- SQL View Tag – Allows you to add tags and relevant data attributes to virtual tables that third-party platforms can query rather than sifting through all properties of all tags. Choose all tags in an area or tags that start with a tag name. Along with table names and tags, choose columns to show for each tag.
- POST requests to the REST interface – To prevent an extremely long query from taking up excessive time and memory, a query size limit is introduced, which defaults to 32KB.
Embedded Video Widget – Seeing is believing. VTScada 12.1 makes it even easier to drop live video feeds onto your HMI screens to help keep your operators safe and allow them to easily verify what their applications are telling them. Version 12.1 uses the MJPEG streaming protocol which supports a wide variety of camera hardware. Developers can simply drag-and-drop the Video Widget onto any screen from the VTScada Idea Studio.
Embedded Browsers – Version 12.1 allows you to provide operators with a wide variety of just-in-time resources by embedding browsers into your process screens. Easily add weather maps, YouTube training or maintenance videos, or even Thin Clients from other VTScada applications.
Updated License Management – Once activated on a workstation, a license cannot be used on another workstation until deactivated on the first. This eliminates the need for hardware locks.
Integrated Function Library / Expression Editor – VTScada includes over 700 pre-built functions that developers can add to expressions to provide advanced functionality. While the Help files provide an extensive reference, Version 12 helps you find the function you need in a snap. The new Expression Editor includes complex pre-built expressions and even allows you to create your own functions and add them to the library.
- Enables the “usability” and “selection” of over 700 functions available in the Function Library.
- Also included are pre-built complex expressions (e.g., strapping tables, American Petroleum Institute, volume correction calculations).
- This includes the ability to create your own functions and have them added to the list.
MultiSpeak Support – The MultiSpeak® Protocol facilitates data exchange between SCADA and various services required by electric utilities, such as outage management. Version 12.1 supports a variety of methods required by the Milsoft™ DisSPatch™ Outage Management System.
Expanded MultiSmart Stations – The pre-built parent tag designed for Xylem’s MultiSmart® Pump Controller can now support up to nine pumps in two wells.
Enhanced MultiWrite Tag – To improve performance, you can now disable event logging for automatically-triggered writes from a MultiWrite tag.