Windows SCADA

Point Database
Editing Guide
____________________________________________

Document Number: DB-401

Presentation Date: April 16, 2015

Prepared By: Dina Hamilton
Version 1.2
Copyright, Notices and Trademarks
Copyright © 2014-2015 Survalent Technology Corporation. All rights
reserved. The software described in this document is furnished under
license and can only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of
such license. The content of this manual has been carefully checked for
accuracy. However, if you find any errors, please notify the Survalent
Technology Corporation.

Survalent Technology Corporation

2600 Argentia Road
Mississauga, Ontario L5N 5V4

(905) 826 5000

(905) 826 7144

support@survalent.com

www.survalent.com
FAX (905) 826-7144

The software described in this document is furnished under

license, and may only be used or copied in accordance with
the terms of such license.

About This Publication

This manual describes how create and maintain a Windows SCADA point
database.

It is assumed that you have some background knowledge about SCADA systems.
 Revisions

Date Description
April 3, 2001 Initial version.
Minor style and content revisions, updated figures, new fields added. Added
January 21, 2004
IEDs and Alarm Limit Matrices.
February 5, 2004 Updated references to Outage Accounting.
Added checkboxes in RTU definition that enable downloading of point names
tables.
Added port parameters Key Delay and Retry Count for the Communication
Line Data Fields
Added lockout point and lockout timer as well as several checkboxes in
July 20, 2009 General Page of Status point editor.
Changed Telemetry page and added Alarm Suppression dialog in Alarms
page of Status Point editor.
Updated description of multiple status change validation.
Added Type of Limit Matrix and changed Alarm Limit Matrix Editor.
Added telemetry addresses and alarm priorities to text points.
August 28, 2013 Added description of analog point “Flush” field
May 5, 2014 Added status Device Class “Log Event Only”
Updated screen captures and functionality for new SCADA software.
April 6, 2015
Reviewd by Ilija Mitrov.
August 20, 2015 Added description of control permissions template

Point Database Editing Guide Revisions

Windows SCADA
 Contents

1 Introduction 1-1

1.1 Other Documentation .................................................................................................................... 1-2

2 Communication Lines 2-1

2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 2-1

2.2 Communication Line Data Fields—General................................................................................. 2-3
2.3 Communication Line Data Fields—Connections ......................................................................... 2-7
2.3.1 Use RTU ................................................................................................................................... 2-8
2.3.2 TCP/IP..................................................................................................................................... 2-10
2.3.3 COMM .................................................................................................................................... 2-11
2.4 Communication Line Data Fields—Protocol.............................................................................. 2-13
2.5 Communication Line Data Fields—Statistics ............................................................................. 2-14
2.6 Scan Table................................................................................................................................... 2-15
2.6.1 Starting the Scan Task............................................................................................................. 2-15
2.6.2 Stopping the Scan Table ......................................................................................................... 2-16

Point Database Editing Guide Windows SCADA i

3 RTUs 3-1

3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3-2

3.2 RTU Data Fields—General........................................................................................................... 3-3
3.3 RTU Data Fields—Connections ................................................................................................... 3-5
3.4 RTU Data Fields—Protocol Tab .................................................................................................. 3-7
3.5 RTU Data Fields—Statistics ......................................................................................................... 3-8
3.6 RTU Data Fields — Survalent ...................................................................................................... 3-9

4 IEDs 4-1

4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 4-1

4.2 Slave IEDs .................................................................................................................................... 4-2
4.3 IED Wizard ................................................................................................................................... 4-4

5 Stations 5-1

5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 5-1

5.2 Station Data Fields ........................................................................................................................ 5-3

6 Status Points 6-5

6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 6-5

6.2 Status Point Data Fields—General ............................................................................................... 6-7
6.3 Status Point Data Fields—Telemetry.......................................................................................... 6-14
6.4 Status Point Data Fields — Alarms ............................................................................................ 6-22
6.5 Status Point Data Fields—IED ................................................................................................... 6-26
6.6 Multiple Status Change Validation ............................................................................................. 6-27
6.6.1 Example .................................................................................................................................. 6-29

7 Analog Points 7-1

7.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 7-1

7.2 Analog Point Data Fields — General ........................................................................................... 7-2
7.3 Analog Point Data Fields —Telemetry......................................................................................... 7-7
7.4 Analog Point Data Fields — Alarm .............................................................................................. 7-9
7.5 Analog Point Data Fields — IED ............................................................................................... 7-15

Point Database Editing Guide Windows SCADA ii

8 Text Points 8-1

8.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 8-1

8.2 Text Point Data Fields — General ................................................................................................ 8-2
8.3 Text Point Data Fields — Telemetry ............................................................................................ 8-4
8.4 Text Point Data Fields — Alarms ................................................................................................. 8-6

9 User Point Types 9-1

9.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 9-1

9.2 Editor Data Fields ......................................................................................................................... 9-2

10 Command/State Strings 10-1

10.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 10-1

10.2 Editor Data Fields ....................................................................................................................... 10-3

11 Ennumerated Values 11-1

11.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 11-1

11.2 Editor Data Fields ....................................................................................................................... 11-3

12 Zones and Zone Groups 12-1

12.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 12-1

12.2 Zones ........................................................................................................................................... 12-3
12.3 Editor Data Fields – Zones ......................................................................................................... 12-4
12.4 Zone Groups ............................................................................................................................... 12-4
12.5 Editor Data Fields – Zone Groups .............................................................................................. 12-5

13 Alarm Limit Matrices 13-7

13.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 13-7

13.2 Matrix Definition ........................................................................................................................ 13-9
13.2.1 Application............................................................................................................................ 13-10

Point Database Editing Guide Windows SCADA iii

 1 Introduction

This document describes how to create and maintain your Windows SCADA database. This work will
be performed using the STC Explorer program, which is installed on a PC connected to the SCADA
system via the network.

The preparation of the 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.

The introductory document DB-400, Database Editing Overview, provides the background you will
need in general SCADA database concepts, and how to use the STC Explorer to edit the various
elements of the database. Please refer to it before beginning to edit your point database, since this
manual assumes some familiarity with these concepts.

Point Database Editing Guide 1-1

 This document describes the generation of the point database. The following list describes the
contents of each chapter:

 Chapter 2 describes how to use the STC Explorer to edit communication lines
 Chapter 3 describes how to edit RTUs using STC Explorer
 Chapter 4 describes IEDs, and introduces the optional IED Wizard
 Chapter 5 describes stations in the database, and how to edit them
 Chapter 6 describes how to edit status points
 Chapter 7 describes how to edit analog points
 Chapter 8 describes how to edit text points
 Chapter 9 describes how to edit the user point types that your status and analog points
use
 Chapter 10 describes how to edit command-state strings for status points
 Chapter 11 describes the enumerated values that your analog points can use
 Chapter 12 describes how to edit zones and zone groups
 Chapter 13 describes the alarm limit matrices that your analog points can use

1.1 Other Documentation

The complete set of database guides is listed in Table 1.1-1.

Table 1.1-1 Database Editing Guides

Document
Number Document Name
DB-400 Database Editing Overview
DB-402 Alarm Database Editing Guide
DB-403 Automation Database Editing Guide
DB-404 Historical Database Editing Guide
DB-405 Report Database Editing Guide

Telemetered Points
For telemetered points, many of the data fields described in this user’s guide are closely associated
with RTU communication. Their meaning depends on the type of RTU and the communication protocol
being used (an example of such a field is the telemetry address of the point.) For purposes of
generality, this manual only discusses such fields in general terms.

For each protocol that is supported by the SCADA system, there is available a Scan Task User’s
Guide that describes the RTU-specific data entry requirements.

Point Database Editing Guide 1-2

 Table 1.1-2 shows a list of these manuals for those scan tasks that handle RTUs commonly used in
Survalent Windows SCADA systems.

Table 1.1-2 Scan Task User’s Guides

Order
Number Document Name
TL-401 QUIN Scan Task User’s Guide
TL-406 DNP 3.0 Scan Task User’s Guide
MD-400 MODBUS Scan Task User’s Guide
LG-401 Telegyr 8979 Scan Task User’s Guide
TL-420 SNMP Scan Task User’s Guide
RT-401 Tejas Scan Task User’s Guide

Point Database Editing Guide 1-3

 2 Communication Lines

This chapter describes how to define a communication line in the SCADA database.

2.1 Introduction
In the database, a communication line represents the medium used to communicate with one or more
RTUs. It is a place in the database where characteristics related to this communication medium are
specified. This includes a status point used to indicate whether the communication line has failed or is
operating normally.

As a minimum, one communication line must be defined for each communication connection made to
the SCADA host. This might mean there is only one, if all your RTUs will be reached via the same
communication connection.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-1

Figure 2.1-1 Selecting a Communication Line

Selecting the Communication Line item in the left pane of STC Explorer will show a list of existing
communication lines (if any), as seen in Figure 2.1-1. To edit or create a Communication Line you need to
access the Communication Line dialog.

1. Select the Communication Line you want to edit and right-click.

2. Select Edit from the drop down menu.

Result: The Communication Line dialog displays the Communication Line settings as shown in
Figure 2.2-1.

Note: To create a New Communication Line then right-click in the right window pane and select New from
the drop down menu. An empty Communication Line dialog displays.

You can create as many Communication Lines in the database as you have a need for in your system.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-2

Below each communication line in the tree, you will find the RTUs that are “connected” to that line. This
means they are the devices that are communicated with using the medium represented by this database
communication line. Normally these are the devices physically or logically connected to that medium.

2.2 Communication Line Data Fields—General

Figure 2.2-1 Edit Communication Line Dialog (General)

Point Database Editing Guide 2-3

The data fields described in the table below are found on the General tab of the Communication Line
dialog.

Table 2.2-1 Communication Line Data Fields Descriptions—General continued

Field/Button Description
Name This is the full name by which the communication line will be known. It may
consist of up to 32 characters, and it should be unique (no two communication
lines should use the same name).
Description This field specifies a descriptive text string for the communication line. This
description string appears in displays, reports and alarms, so its length should
be kept reasonable. However, up to 128 characters are permitted.
Link Status The Link Status Point requires the name of a status point that exists in the
database. This point will be used by the scan task to indicate the condition of
the communication line. If a status point does not already exist for this
purpose, you will need to create it. It may be created on any station you think
is appropriate, or you might even create a special “system” station to hold
points such as this.

The scan task will set the point to its normal state when the communication
line is working and to the abnormal state when it is failed. Since it is used for a
special purpose, you should consider designating a separate User Type for
this type of status point (see chapter 9, User Point Types).

Tip: Open a second copy of STC Explorer and use it to create status points as
you need them. No telemetry address is required for communication line and
RTU status points. See chapter 6 for details.

Mode The communication mode can be set to either Poll or Quiescent. If Poll is
chosen, the scan task performs regular round-robin polling. On the other hand,
Quiescent means the scan task does not normally poll, but accepts unsolicited
messages from the RTUs. For quiescent operation, the RTUs must be
designed to spontaneously report their exception data without being polled.

Most scan tasks perform periodic “integrity” all-data polls, even in Quiescent
mode.

Some scan tasks can operate in only one mode or the other, while others can
operate in both modes. See the appropriate scan task user’s guides for more
information.
Protocol This is the name that identifies the protocol to be used to communicate with
the RTUs connected to this communication line. This choice will determine the
type of scan task that is to operate this communication line. Refer to the Scan
Task User’s Guide for your chosen protocol to determine the name to use.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-4

Table 2.2-1 Communication Line Data Fields Descriptions—General continued
Field/Button Description
Connection This specifies the type of communication network to be used. Choose from one of the
following:

 COMM
 TCP/IP
 Use RTU Settings

Note: The Connections tab displays different fields depending on which connection
you select. Go to section 2.3 for details.
Autostart This flag controls the behavior of this communication line when the SCADA system
starts up, either initially, or as the result of a failover. If enabled, this scan task will
start up automatically, and begin polling its defined RTUs without user assistance. If
not, it will not start until you start the scan task manually. See section 2.6.1,Starting
the Scan Task.
Time This parameter specifies the time to wait, in milliseconds, between outgoing polls. It is
Between the primary way the rate of communication with the RTUs is controlled. Initially, you
Scans, msec may want to set this fairly long, until you can see that communication is taking place
correctly. Then you can reduce it improve the response time of your system. Just
avoid making it so short that the RTUs are not ready to receive the next poll (this will
make communication less reliable).
Short Depending on the scan task being used, one or both of the Short and Long Response
Response Timeouts will be used. In general, this is the time allowed for a response to be
Timeout, received from the RTU. This is used by the scan task to time the response to
msec commands as well as to polls. See the particular scan task’s user’s guide.
Long Depending on the scan task being used, one or both of the Short and Long Response
Response Timeouts will be used. In general, this is the time allowed for a response to be
Timeout, received from the RTU. This is used by the scan task to time the response to
msec commands as well as to polls. See the particular scan task’s user’s guide.
DII Short For some scan tasks, messages are carried by a lower “data link” layer of the
Response communication protocol. In this case, the data link layer may make use of its own
Timeout, values of the short and long response timeouts, in sending or receiving smaller
msec message units that comprise the total message. Refer to your scan task user’s guide
to find out if your protocol operates this way.

Generally, the “short” timeouts will be less than the corresponding “long” timeouts,
and the DLL timeouts will be less than the overall timeouts.
DII Long For some scan tasks, messages are carried by a lower “data link” layer of the
Response communication protocol. In this case, the data link layer may make use of its own
Timeout, values of the short and long response timeouts, in sending or receiving smaller
msec message units that comprise the total message. Refer to your scan task user’s guide
to find out if your protocol operates this way.
Generally, the “short” timeouts will be less than the corresponding “long” timeouts,
and the DLL timeouts will be less than the overall timeouts.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-5

Table 2.2-1 Communication Line Data Fields Descriptions—General continued
Field/Button Description
Poll Retry Count This field contains the number of times the scan task is to retry polling an RTU
that is not responding, before giving up and declaring the RTU failed. If omitted,
the scan task defaults to three retries.

Also see the Retry Count under Port Parameters.

Interleave Factor This parameter specifies how often the scan task is to interrupt its normal round
robin polling to perform a fast-scan poll or a retry after error. If the interleave
factor is 2, for example, then the scan task will check for fast scan or error retry
requirements after every 2 normal polls. See the scan task user’s guide for a
discussion of the handling of controls, the resulting status changes, and
communication errors.
Idle Time, msec This is a minimum time to wait between consecutive outgoing messages. This
delay is normally overlapped with the Time Between Polls delay, but may be
executed separately, if there is a rapid sequence of messages to the same RTU
(such as when a control is being performed). It is provided so as not to overrun
the RTU with too many messages, too close together.
Error Recovery This is the time, in seconds, that some scan tasks should wait after some types
Time, sec of communication error before attempting to resume communication. See the
scan task user’s guide to learn if this value is required in your case.
Apply Defaults By clicking on this button, the default values of the above mentioned
parameters for the selected protocol will be filled in.
All Data, sec The field is part of polling parameters. Various timers are specified to control
the rate of certain events. To some extent these depend on the chosen protocol
for this communication line, and on which features are present in the RTUs. The
following is a discussion in general terms.

In many protocols, the normal polling returns only data that is known to have
changed since the previous poll. In order to ensure data integrity, and to update
points whose values have changed very little, an All Data poll is issued
periodically. This is intended to retrieve all data, regardless of what has
changed, allowing the system to update every point’s value and ensuring that
all points are being received.

Accumulators are analog points that receive data from pulse counters in the
RTU. These counts are not returned by normal polling, but instead are handled
by a special poll that is issued only at the specified Accumulator Poll Interval
(and offset from the “top of the hour” by the specified Hourly Offset). These
accumulator points can hold the incremental count received for the most recent
interval, or they can accumulate a total of all the incremental values received.

You can create accumulations (totals) over a number of different intervals by

creating a number of related points in the database. Some scan tasks can also
perform demand averaging on these counts, using the Demand Averaging
Interval specified here.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-6

Table 2.2-1 Communication Line Data Fields Descriptions—General continued
Field/Button Description
Some RTUs require the SCADA host to set their internal time-of-day clock,
and this is done periodically at the Time Sync Interval. Such clocks may
All Data, sec require frequent re-setting if they are being used for highly accurate purposes,
continued such as “sequence of events” time stamping. Therefore you may need to set
this interval to as short as a few minutes, depending on your accuracy needs,
and the inherent accuracy of your RTU’s clock.
Accumulator, sec The field is part of polling parameters. See All Data, sec for information.

Hourly Offset, sec The field is part of polling parameters. See All Data,for information.
Demand Average
The field is part of polling parameters. See All Data, sec for information.
Interval, sec
Time Sync Interval,
The field is part of polling parameters. See All Data, sec for information.
sec
Display Configuration For information regarding the optional switches that may be specified for a
Extra Switches particular scan task, please refer to the user’s guide for each scan task.
Click on this button to start the scan task. See section 2.6.1for more
Start Scan Task
information.
Click on this button to stop the scan task. See section 2.6.2for more
Stop Scan Task
information.

2.3 Communication Line Data Fields—Connections

The Connections tab provides the area where you define the communication ports. Normally, at least
one port is required to create a functional communication line (except when connection information is
being specified in the RTU definition, as described in section 2.3.1 Use RTU Settings). If information is
provided for both ports, the scan task can switch from one port to the other when communication using
the first fails.

Each port corresponds to a physical or logical connection from the host computer to the communication
medium. For RS232 communication lines, this means a serial port attached to the host computer. For
TCP/IP communication lines, a port might mean a serial port on an external terminal server, or it may be
a network connection to an RTU, identified by a host name or address and port number.

Only the applicable fields will be available, once you select the Connection type. Each connection type is
listed in the following sections.

NOTE: Never attempt to define connection information in both the RTU and its Communication Line.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-7

 2.3.1 Use RTU Settings

If you select this type of network, it means that you will not be specifying the network for this
communication line as a whole. Instead, each RTU on the communication line will need to
specify its own communication network settings. Your scan task user’s guide will specify if this
approach is advisable in your case.

Figure 2.3-1 Connections Tab – RTU Connection

These fields specify if the communication line uses a dial-up telephone line. Depending on the
protocol in use (which is selected from the Protocol field on the General tab) this may support
just one RTU, or multiple RTUs multi-dropped together on the other side of the outstation
modem. Again, you will need to refer to your scan task user’s guide for details

The Mode field allows you to select the kind of dial-up connection you need (but consult your
scan task user’s guide to confirm the modes that are supported). The available modes are:

 Disabled - No dial-up modems are used

 Scheduled - The scan task will dial each RTU in turn (using its own dialup settings) at
the interval specified below

 Stay Connected - The scan task will dial to establish a connection using the
communication line’s settings specified here. It will re-dial as needed to maintain the
connection. All RTUs are polled over this connection; the RTUs do not need individual
dial-up settings

Point Database Editing Guide 2-8

  On Demand - The scan task will dial only in response to operator-initiated actions,
using the RTU’s individual settings

Depending on which mode you select the Connections tab will display different fields. These fields
are described in the following table.

Table 2.3-1 Mode Field Description Table

Mode Field Description
Disable N/A N/A
The scan task will call each RTU using its own dialup
settings—the settings on this page are not used. The
Start Time
Scheduled first call of the day is placed at the Start Time, and all
RTUs are called in turn.
Interval This is repeated at the specified Interval.
In Stay Connected mode only, this timeout determines
how long the scan task will wait for a dial-up attempt to
be completed, before giving up. If this occurs, the dialup
Connection
line will be hung up, and the call placed again. Then, so
Timeout, sec
long as the connection remains, all the RTUs will be
polled in turn. If the connection is lost, the call will be
placed again immediately.
This is an initialization string (usually consisting of a
Hayes-compatible AT command) that the scan task
Stay Connected issues to the modem immediately prior to placing a call.
It is used to set up the modem, if required. Up to 80
Initialization
characters are allowed, but you can leave it blank if no
special set up is needed. This is only used in Stay
Connected mode—each RTU has its own settings that
are used in Scheduled and On Demand modes.
This is the command required to dial up the RTU.
Typically this is an AT command containing the
Dial String
telephone number to dial, but up to 80 characters are
allowed. Only used in Stay Connected mode.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-9

 2.3.2 TCP/IP

This is the most common choice. Use it for all connections that rely on the TCP/IP network,
except when you need to choose Use RTU Settings. This includes connections through a
serial port on a networked terminal server or router, and direct connections to certain types of
networked RTUs. You will need to specify the address (or host name) and port number used
for the network connection, but not the serial port configuration. In the case of a terminal
server or similar device, the serial port settings must be programmed into the device.

Figure 2.3-2 Connections Tab – TCP/IP Connection

Connections - Host Name

For TCP/IP communication lines, this will usually be the name that identifies the other device
that we are communicating with over the network. It may be the RTU itself, or more commonly,
a terminal server. It may be a fixed IP address (of the form nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn), or preferably, a
name known to the SCADA host computer (such as may be specified in the Windows HOSTS
file, or by another name-resolution means).

Host Port
For a TCP/IP connection, there will be a TCP/IP port number that must be entered here. For
terminal servers, this will correspond with the number of the desired physical serial port.
Consult the terminal server documentation to determine which port numbers to use.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-10

 2.3.3 COMM

This is used only for those communication lines that will communicate directly through a serial
port on the SCADA host. The scan task will poll one or more RTUs using this port. You will
need to set the port’s name, baud rate, and other characteristics.

Figure 2.3-3 Connections Tab – COMM Network

Port Name
For communication lines that use a local serial port, this must be the name that identifies the
serial port. It will be of the form:

 COMn

where n is a number uniquely identifying the serial port. This is the same name that Windows
uses to identify the port.

Baud Rate, Parity

Select from the available choices for baud rate and parity, if your Network uses a local serial
port. Note that the hardware you are using must support the chosen speed as well.

Keying
In two-wire leased line and single-frequency broadcast radio, there is only one carrier—the line
is said to be “half duplex”. To communicate with an RTU, the scan task must key this carrier and
wait a short time before transmitting its request to the RTU. After the message is sent, the scan
task waits another 20 milliseconds to ensure that the entire message has been transmitted.
Then it de-keys (drops) the carrier so that the RTU can key up and send its reply.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-11

 The time delay executed between keying the modem and the start of the message is definable
via the Keyup Delay field described below.

There are two mechanisms by which the scan task can key the carrier:
 If the port is a serial port built into the host computer, the scan task can manipulate
the port’s DTR signal line, which would be wired to a modem’s RTS signal line or a
radio’s push-to-talk control

 If the port is a serial port on a terminal server, the scan task does not have sufficient
access to the DTR signal line (or any modem control signal line, for that matter). In
this case, the system must be equipped with a Survalent PTM or PCM device (Port
Transfer Module or Port Combiner Module) for each such port. The PTM or PCM
device passes the serial data through unmodified and automatically asserts RTS
during transmission

Depending on the type of PTM or PCM available, the scan task must:

 Issue one “pad” byte (a hexadecimal $FF), execute the specified key-up delay, and
then issue the poll

 Add a number of $FF pad bytes to the front of the request and issue the extended
request as usual. The extra pad bytes at the front of the message allow for the carrier
key-up time. The scan task uses the baud rate to calculate the number of pad bytes
required to produce the specified key-up delay

 Do neither of the above because the type of PCM being used can buffer outgoing
messages during the key-up time. In this case, the carrier keying is performed
entirely by the PCM without the knowledge or cooperation of the scan task

The Carrier Keying drop-down list specifies what kind of carrier keying action is required by the
scan task.

You can select from the following:

 <None>
 DTR
 PTM1
 PTM2

DTR specifies direct RTS signaling.

PTM1 specifies use of a PTM with a single $FF pad byte and a key-up delay.

PTM2 specifies use of a PTM with multiple $FF pad bytes.

If you don’t need carrier keying, or if your PCM is of the type that buffers outgoing messages,
then select <None>. If you need keying, use PTM2, unless it is absolutely necessary to use
PTM1 (consult Survalent for more specifics regarding your system).

Note: Not every protocol supports all of the methods of carrier keying.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-12

 Delay Key Up
This is the value, in milliseconds, that the scan task is to wait after keying the carrier before
beginning transmission.

Note that with the PTM2 carrier keying option, the scan task calculates the number of pad
bytes required based on the baud rate, so a non-zero baud rate must be specified if you intend
to use this feature. See Baud Rate above.

With the PTM1 carrier keying option, you must be aware of external restrictions (other than the
characteristics of your modem or radio) on your choice of delay. In particular if the serial port is
located on a terminal server, you may not get any delay after the pad byte if you specify a
value that is too small. This is because of the way traffic is carried across the network. You
may need to experiment with relatively large values, even if your modem or radio would be
satisfied with less. We suggest an initial value of around 100 ms, but test your situation to
determine what will work reliably for you.

Delay Key Dn
This is the value, in milliseconds, that specify the delay that a scan task is to execute before
keying down a modem or radio.

Retry Count
This field contains the number of times the scan task is to retry polling an RTU via each port. If
information is provided for both ports, the scan task can switch from one port to the other
when communication using the first fails. If the RTU is not responding on both ports, scan task
will give up and declare the RTU failed.

2.4 Communication Line Data Fields—Protocol

This tab name and the fields change depending on which protocol you are using. The protocol is
selected on the General page.

For additional information, consult the scan task user’s guide for the protocol in question.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-13

2.5 Communication Line Data Fields—Statistics
This tab includes fields for four points in the database. The purpose of these points depends on the scan
task that is assigned to this communication line. See the appropriate scan task user’s guide for a
description of their use.

Figure 2.5-1 Statistics Tab

Next to each field is a “browse” button, which will call up the point browser as described in DB-400,
Database Editing Overview. You can use a single browser window to drag point names into any of these
fields.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-14

2.6 Scan Table
A communication line’s scan table is an ordered list of RTUs and points that are telemetered via the
communication line. The scan table is created in memory from the current point information, for use by
the scan task. The scan task uses the table in memory to process data messages it receives from the
RTUs in a timely fashion.

2.6.1 Starting the Scan Task

Call up the communication line from the STC Explorer.You can start the scan task by using
the Start Scan Task button.

After creating or changing a communication line definition, or editing the telemetry address of
any points on the communication line, remember to come back to this dialog to start the scan
table.

Starting the scan task performs the following steps:

 Stop polling, and discard the current scan table (if there was any)
 Find the telemetry addresses of all RTUs and points on this communication line
 Sort the list of points by telemetry address, and create a new scan table
 Load the (new) scan table into memory
 Begin polling, using the new scan table

You may restart the scan table at other times, even if you haven’t made any changes to the
points. You can use this to restart a scan task that has been previously stopped (see below).

If you modify the address of a point (telemetry address, or RTU selection), you must restart
the scan task that contains the point in order to update the new address. If you modify the
address of a point such that it moves from one communication line to another, then you must
restart both of the affected scan tasks.

The scan task does not need to be restart if you modify most other attributes of a point that do
not affect telemetry. This includes such things as format code, scale factor and offset. These
point attributes do not appear in the scan table, nor are cached by the scan task. If you make
a change to these attributes of a point, the scan task will use the new attributes on the very
next received RTU message that contains that point.

If a communication line is marked Auto Start, then the scan table will be built, and the scan
task started, as soon as the SCADA system starts. In a dual-redundant system, the scan tasks
on the Standby computer are not running. When a failover occurs, any communication line
that is marked Auto Start will build its scan table and start its scan task. This is how the
Standby computer takes over responsibility for gathering data from the RTUs.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-15

 2.6.2 Stopping the Scan Table

You can use the Stop Scan Task button to stop the scan task and delete the scan table. You
must delete the scan table (and stop the scan task) if you are:
 Changing from one RTU protocol to another
 Decommissioning the communication line and intend to delete it

You can stop the scan task and delete the scan table any time. When you wish to restart it,
simply start the scan task again.

It is not allowed to delete a communication line or RTU while the associated scan task is still
running.

Point Database Editing Guide 2-16

 3 RTUs

This chapter describes how to define an RTU in the SCADA database.

In the database, an RTU represents the remotely located equipment that is reporting data to the SCADA
host. This equipment is usually a SCADA Remote Terminal Unit, but may also be a PLC, an IED, or
some other device.

Most devices that can communicate with the scan task at the SCADA host will need to be represented
as RTUs in the database.

However, you may prefer to create an IED in the database to represent your device, if it is an Intelligent
End Device with a large amount of data to report. In such cases, you will want to use the optional IED
Wizard to assist in your database creation and maintenance.

Please refer to Chapter 4, IEDs, for a discussion of IEDs in the SCADA database.

Point Database Editing Guide 3-1

3.1 Introduction
The RTU is the place in the database where characteristics related to the remote unit are specified. It
includes a status point used to indicate whether the RTU is failed or operating normally.

Normally, one RTU is defined for each physical remote device connected to each communication line.

Selecting the “Rtus” branch in the left pane of the STC Explorer will show a list of existing RTUs (if any),
as seen in Figure 3.1-1. Alternatively, the RTUs can be seen grouped under their respective
communication lines, under the Communication Lines branch. These are not different RTUs, just
different ways of seeing the same RTUs. Either view will allow you to select an existing RTU for editing,
or to create a new RTU. Just right-click in the right hand pane to bring up the “Edit RTU” or “New RTU”
dialog, as shown in Figure 3.2-1.

Figure 3.1-1 Selecting an RTU

The number of distinct RTUs on one communication line is usually limited by the addresses available in
the protocol being used. The database does not enforce a limit on the total number of RTUs you may
define.

Point Database Editing Guide 3-2

3.2 RTU Data Fields—General
The data fields described below are found on the General tab of the Edit RTU dialog.

Figure 3.2-1 RTU Dialog (General)

Point Database Editing Guide 3-3

The data fields described in the table below are found on the General tab of the RTU dialog.

Table 3.2-1 RTU Dialog Data Fields Description Table—General Tab

Field Description
This is the full name by which the RTU will be known. It may consist of up to 32
Name characters. No two RTUs on the same communication line should use the same
name.
This field specifies a descriptive text string for the RTU. This description string
Description appears in displays, reports and alarms, so its length should be kept reasonable.
However, up to 128 characters are permitted.
This is the name of a status point that exists in the database. This point will be
used by the scan task to indicate the communication status of the RTU. If a
status point does not already exist for this purpose, you will need to go and
create it (see Chapter 6, Status Points).
Link Status
The scan task will set the point to its normal state when the RTU responds to
polling and to the abnormal state when it does not (after the specified number of
retries). Since it is used for a special purpose, you should consider designating a
separate User Type for status points such as this (see Chapter 9, User Point
Types).
This is the field where you specify which of the existing communication lines is
Communication
used to communicate with this RTU. The RTU will then be found under that
Line
communication line, in the STC Explorer tree.

Leave this selection set to Use ComLine, unless you are sure you need to define
connection information for this individual RTU, and not for the communication
line that it is connected to. If you are directed to by the Scan Task User’s Guide
for your communication protocol, select Use RTU Settings to specify individual
Connection
network connection details for this RTU.

Note: Never attempt to define connection information in both the RTU and its
Communication Line.
For most protocols, this is the physical address that the RTU will respond to. It
Address must agree with the hardware or firmware settings in the RTU. On any given
communication line, no two RTUs are permitted to have the same address.
This is the name of a status point that can be used as a switch to speed up
polling of the RTU. Setting this point to a value of “1” causes the scan task to
place this RTU on “fast scan” (i.e. poll this RTU more frequently than others,
based on the interleave factor). Setting this point to a value of “0” causes the
scan task to take the point off fast scan.
Fast Scan
If this field is left blank, the RTU will still be fast scanned automatically during
control operations, but you will not be able to initiate fast scan yourself.

Consult your scan task’s user guide for more details.

Protocol This is a display for the protocol that the chosen Communication Line is using.

Point Database Editing Guide 3-4

Table 3.2-1 RTU Dialog Data Fields Description Table—General Tab continued
Field/Button Description
The RTU Type field allows you to identify the RTU as one of Scout,
Hunter, Pentium or Other. RTUs that are identified as Scout or Hunter
can have IED point mapping tables (created by the IED Wizard)
downloaded to them. RTUs that are identified as Pentium can also have
IED mapping tables downloaded to them, but in this case only tables
RTU Type that are created via the Point Mapping Compiler (PMC) program.

Selection of Scout, Hunter or Pentium type of RTU enables the

Survalent tab (see section 3.6for more information).

Note: The field only displays when you are using the DNP protocol.
Virtual RTU Proxy
When you click on the box a area displays where you can add more
Display Configuration
swiches in the form of text for the protocol. You should only do this with
Extra Switches
instructions from Customer Support.

3.3 RTU Data Fields—Connections

This section provides for one or two communication connections to be specified for this RTU.

Ordinarily, you will not need to define your connection information here because you will have defined
the connection (i.e. port) when you created the communication line. In this case, you will have selected
Use ComLine Settings, therefore the Primary and Alternate field sections on this tab will be disabled,
and you do not need to fill anything in.

Note: Never attempt to define connection information in both the RTU and its Communication Line.

However, there are situations where you may need to specify individual network connections for each
RTU. For example, you may have a separate TCP/IP connection from the Master to each RTU, if they
are all on a network.

In this case, each RTU will have its own host name or IP address on the network. To correctly define
your connections in a case like this, select Use RTU Settings for the connection in the Communication
Line settings (as seen in section 2.3), and select Use RTU Settings as the Connection for each RTU you
create on this communication line. Enter the individual host names and ports on the RTUs using the
fields shown in Figure 3.3-1. Your scan task user’s guide will describe this situation in more detail, if it
may apply to the protocol you are using.

Point Database Editing Guide 3-5

Figure 3.3-1 RTU Dialog (Connections)

The data fields described in the table below are found on the Connections tab of the RTU dialog.

Table 3.3-1 RTU Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Connections Tab

Section Field Description
Next to this field is a “browse” button ( ), which will
Port Switch Point open a point browser to allow you to locate the status
point you want. For additional information, consult the
scan task user’s guide for the protocol in question.
Switches
Next to this field is a “browse” button ( ), which will
Channel Switch Point open a point browser to allow you to locate the status
point you want. For additional information, consult the
scan task user’s guide for the protocol in question .

Point Database Editing Guide 3-6

Table 3.3-1 RTU Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Connections Tab continued
Section Field Description
For TCP/IP connections, this is the name that identifies the
other device that we are communicating with over the network.
Host Name A
It may also be a fixed IP address, in the form
nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn.
If this will be a TCP/IP connection, there will be a port number
Primary Port
that must be entered here.
If you have a redundant port to connect to this RTU then you
need to fill in these fields.
Host Name B/Port
You can only add a second primary or alternate host and port
if you specified the swtich port.
If you want to have redundant connections to this individual
RTU, and to switch between them, you will need to fill in the
values for the Alternate connection, as well as the Primary
Host Name A/Port connection (provided your scan task supports the switching of
Alternate
(Host B/Port) individual connections).

You can only add a second primary or alternate host and port
if you specified the swtich port.

3.4 RTU Data Fields—Protocol Tab

In the RTU dialog screen captures there is a tab titled DNP. This is the protocol tab and it changes
depending on the protocol you select. The information on the tab is pertinent to the named protocol
only.

The protocol is selected by choosing the communication line from the drop down menu of the
Communication Line field in the General tab.

Note: For additional information, consult the scan task user’s guide for the protocol in question.

Point Database Editing Guide 3-7

3.5 RTU Data Fields—Statistics
A number of point names may be specified on this page, using the browse buttons provided. The
function of these status and analog points is determined by the protocol used by this RTU. See the
appropriate scan task user’s guide for a description of their use.

Figure 3.5-1 Edit RTU Dialog (Statistics)

Point Database Editing Guide 3-8

3.6 RTU Data Fields — Survalent
The Survalent tab is only available for RTUs identified as Survalent Technology’s Scout, Hunter or
Pentium, as indicated by the RTU Type field on the General page when you are using the DNP protocol.

Table 3.6-1 RTU Data Fields—Scout

This page allows you to change certain details in the way “slave” IEDs are handled when they are
connected to this RTU. Chapter 4 contains more information on the subject of IEDs, and the difference
between IEDs that are connected directly to the Master, and those that are slaves to an RTU.

Note: The screen capture above displays the settings for the Scout RTU, however, the fields are the
same for all the Survalent’s RTUs.

The data fields described in the table below are found on the Survalent tab of the RTU dialog.

Point Database Editing Guide 3-9

Table 3.6-1 RTU Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Survalent Tab
Field Description

If this checkbox option is selected then Local I/O point mapping table
will be automatically downloaded to the RTU each time that the scan
task starts. The DNP scan task is defined on that way to not
download mapping file to the RTU unless the download mapping
Download Local I/O Map to checkbox is checked (Download Local I/O Map to RTU).
RTU
To conserve communication bandwidth, the scan task does not
download mapping and point-name tables except at startup. If you
make changes to any of these tables (by adding, modifying or
deleting points) and want to put the changes into effect, you must
restart the scan task.

The data from a slave IED is stored in the RTUs internal database in
points determined by an IED “mapping table”. This table is generated
by the IED Wizard, and is sent to the RTU each time the scan table
for this communication line is started. If you do not need the mapping
file sent to the RTU each time, you can clear this flag. This can save
some start-up time, especially if your communication line is running at
a low speed.

RTUs that are identified as Scout or Hunter can have IED point
Download IED Map to RTU mapping tables (created by the IED Wizard) downloaded to them.
RTUs that are identified as Pentium can also have IED mapping
tables downloaded to them, but in this case only tables that are
created via the Point Mapping Compiler (PMC) program.

The DNP scan task is able to upload load profile data from the Scout
RTU. See the DNP scan task user’s guide.
Note: Remember to turn this feature back on if you have made
changes to the mapping table, or have caused the RTU to lose its
previous mapping table.

This checkbox option specifies whether or not to delete the mapping

files in the RTU before downloading. If left unchecked, downloaded
Delete file in RTU before mapping files are simply over-written in the RTU instead of deleted
downloading and added. This allows you to have a mix of mapping files that are
both downloaded from the master and created locally in the RTU
using RTU's Station Explorer program.

Point Database Editing Guide 3-10

 Table 3.6-1 RTU Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Survalent Tab continued
Field Description

This checkbox specify whether point-name table for Local I/O is to be

downloaded to the RTU (Scout or Hunter RTU) each time that the scan
task starts. The purpose of this function is to save you the step of
configuring Local I/O points in the RTU.

Since the size of a point-name table may be large, this checkbox would
Download Local I/O
normally not be checked unless you want to be able to display the point
Point Names
names in RTU.
This checkbox option allows users also to enter Local I/O parameters.
You can now enter the first point number and the last point number for
each point type: analog input, analog output, status input, control
output, and accumulator. These point numbers will then be avoided by
the IED Wizard when mapping the data from IEDs.
This checkbox specifes whether a point names table for IEDs is to be
downloaded to the RTU (Scout or Hunter RTU) each time that the scan
task starts. If the "Download IED Map to RTU" checkbox is unchecked,
then the "Download IED Point Names" checkbox is dimmed (disabled).
If you do not change your RTU points and IED configurations
Download IED Point
frequently, you could conserve communication bandwith at startup by
Names
leaving the checkboxes unchecked. However, you must then
remember to force the table to be downloaded again if you make
changes to the mapping of the points.

Refer to the IED Wizard User's Guide (document number IED-100) for
more details.
TFTP Master field specifies the target Master to be mapped into the
RTU. You may select one from the drop-down menu. The Scout RTU
may be polled by 4 different Masters. Clicking on the Send Map(s)
TFTP – Master / Send
button will cause the mapping files to be immediately downloaded to
Map(s)
the RTU.
Note: To download the mapping files to the RTU, you can either click
on the Send Map(s) button, or the mapping files will be automatically
downloaded when the scan task starts.
For each point type listed, you must specify the first and last point
numbers that are used by the local points in the RTU. These are the
points that represent the physical I/O hardware that the RTU is
Reserved for Local I/O
equipped with. The IED Wizard uses this information to map the IED
points to areas outside these ranges, so as not to conflict with the local
I/O points.

Point Database Editing Guide 3-11

 4 IEDs

This chapter discusses IEDs in the SCADA database. Creation of an IED and all the corresponding data
points is usually performed by the optional IED Wizard. If your SCADA system is so equipped, consult the
IED Wizard User’s Guide (document number IED-100) for details.

4.1 Introduction
In the database, an IED is very much like an RTU. It represents the physical Intelligent End Device (or
Intelligent Electronic Device), and provides a way to define characteristics of the device, including a
status point to indicate whether the IED is failed or responding normally.

Selecting the “Master IEDs” branch in the left pane of STC Explorer will show a list of existing IEDs that
are connected directly to their respective communication lines (if any). Selecting the “Slave IEDs” branch
will show a list of existing IEDs that are connected through an RTU (if any). Alternatively, they may be
seen connected to their respective communication lines (directly - Master IED, or through an RTU -
Slave IED as seen in Figure 4.2-1) under the Communication Lines branch. Either view will allow you to
select an existing IED, or to create a new one. Just select “Master IEDs” or “Slave IEDs” in the tree, then
right-click in the right hand pane and select New or Edit to bring up the IED Wizard.

Point Database Editing Guide 4-1

4.2 Slave IEDs
IEDs may be connected directly to the communication line (Master IEDs), much like an RTU, or they
may be connected as a “slave” to an RTU. These slaved IEDs are connected to secondary
communication ports on the RTU. The RTU is responsible for polling the slave IEDs and storing their
data in part of the RTU’s own database. In this case, the IED’s data is “mapped” into the RTU’s point
space. The data is then forwarded to the SCADA Master as part of the RTU’s normal communication.

The RTU may have several Ports that are being used to communicate with IEDs. In Figure 4.2-1, you
can see the database representation of a Scout RTU with 5 ports, each communicating with IEDs using
a different protocol.

The databases for these IEDs, i.e. all of the points as well as the stations that contain these points, have
been generated by the IED Wizard.

Figure 4.2-1 Status Points on a Slave IED

Point Database Editing Guide 4-2

You can also view the slave IEDs in STC Explorer by expanding the Slave IEDs tree.

Figure 4.2-2 Slave IEDs Tree

For more information about RTU ports and slaved IEDs, see the IED Wizard and Control Panel User’s
Guide (document number IED-100).

Point Database Editing Guide 4-3

4.3 IED Wizard
The creation of an IED in the database is handled quite differently than an RTU. Rather than manually
specifying the characteristics of the IED, and then manually creating all the database points that receive
data from it, you invoke the Survalent IED Wizard.

For a slave IED, you can navigate to the desired port on the RTU that will poll the IED. The right-hand
pane will show any existing IEDs on that port. Right-click in the right-hand pane, and choose New to
bring up the IED Wizard’s first page (shown in Figure 4.3-1). Alternatively, you can select New IED on
the right-hand pane when you are looking at the “Master IEDs” or “Slave IEDs” branch in STC Explorer
(similar to how a new RTU was created in section 3.1).

Figure 4.3-1 IED Wizard

Note: The title bar indicates whether the IED is a Slave or Master IED.

Point Database Editing Guide 4-4

The IED Wizard allows you to select a template for the device’s data points. You choose the
manufacturer, model, protocol and template. Several templates, including some SPA-BUS devices, are
available for download separately. The selected template contains predefined point definitions for
selected points in the device. If you don’t want all of these points, you can de-select the ones you don’t
want and save the result as a new template. If you don’t like the way we have defined the points in the
template, you can change them and then save the template. The IED Wizard allows you also to edit the
telemetry address of points in the template.

Creates Points
The wizard then creates all of the points in the station that you specify, complete with telemetry
addresses. In the case of a slaved IED, a mapping table is also automatically generated, to tell the RTU
how to map the IED data into its internal database.

OPC Protocol
The IED Wizard supports IEDs that use the OPC protocol. This is not supported for IEDs that are slaved
to Scout RTUs, but does work for IEDs that are slaved to other data concentrators that talk OPC to the
master station. An External Name Prefix field in the first page of the IED Wizard allows you to make the
OPC tags for multiple IEDs on such data concentrators unique.

Zone Groups
When the "Apply Zone Group to all Points" checkbox is checked, all points (station, analog, status) are
stored with the zone group that is identified on the first page of the wizard. If this checkbox is unchecked,
only the station is assigned this zone group. The analog and status points are stored with the zone
groups that are defined individually for them in the template.

IED Wizard Options

The IED Wizard contains options that allow you to specify point descriptions and/or analog point limits
that are not to be modified from the template when the IED Wizard updates existing points on an existing
IED. This allows you to preserve changes to point descriptions and alarm limits that you made elsewhere
(e.g. WorldView/SmartVU) next time you use the IED Wizard to update an IED.

The IED Wizard allows you to create multiple IEDs without having to close and restart the wizard
between each IED.

Housekeeping Parameters
It is possible to save numeric housekeeping parameters (e.g. the Write Data delay for Modbus) in the
template. The IED Wizard asks you to save the IED template if it detects that you have changed any of
the following: the housekeeping points and parameters, the "Enable Address Compression" checkbox, or
the "Apply Zone Groups to All Points" checkbox.

Error Messages
An error message is displayed if there is not enough space in the Scout RTU to add points for an IED. In
this case, the wizard also disables the Save IED pushbutton and does not display the red bar graph that
shows where the IED Wizard plans to map the points.

If the IED is being slaved to a non-Scout RTU, then no such restriction is applied (because no mapping
table is created and downloaded). In this case, the wizard simply does not display addresses higher
4096 in the RTU Point Map chart.

The IED Wizard checks for errors when deleting points on an IED update. If an error is detected, the
wizard outputs an error message and stops updating the IED.

Point Database Editing Guide 4-5

 5 Stations

This chapter describes how to define a station in the SCADA database.

5.1 Introduction
A station normally represents a group of points that are physically related, such as those on a pumping
station or an electrical substation. Typically, each station is telemetered by a separate RTU. However, it
is possible to group points from several RTUs into a single station, or conversely, assign points from the
same RTU to different stations. An example of the former might be the grouping of all inter-station tie
switches into a single station in the database.

An example of the latter might be a case where two wells are close enough together to be serviced by a
single RTU. Although the system can support nearly 100,000 stations, keep in mind that the way you
group the points into stations will influence how effectively the operators can monitor the system. See
the discussion of stations in DB-400, Database Editing Overview, and remember a station is simply a
logical grouping of data points, for the convenience of the operator. It is important that some database
operations can be performed on an entire station’s points, rather than having to deal with each one
individually.

Point Database Editing Guide 5-1

When thinking about the naming of points, you will recognize that every point needs a unique name. But
in fact, the same point names may be used again, as long as they are located in a different station. So in
a sense, the “full” name of a point consists of the name of its station, plus the point’s name. We write this
two-part name separated by a comma, such as “Aberdeen,Feeder1BusVoltage”.

Figure 5.1-2shows the data entry fields for a station. This is the dialog that appears when you navigate
to the Stations branch using the STC Explorer (Figure 5.1-1) and either create a new station or make a
model of an existing one or edit an existing one.

The Station Clone function is designed to only clone the non-IED points on the station. If the station
contains IED points (created via the IED Wizard), a warning message indicating that "only the non-IED
points will be cloned" is displayed in the Clone Station dialog. Also, if there is an error in a source point
an error message will be displayed.

It is possible to delete a station and all of the points on the station in the STC Explorer. Use of this
function is controlled by means of a user right called Maintenance Edit.

Figure 5.1-1 Selecting a Station

Figure 5.1-2 Station Dialog

Point Database Editing Guide 5-2

5.2 Station Data Fields
The data fields required for a station are described below.

Table 5.2-1 Station Dialog Data Fields Description Table

Section Field Description
Enter a unique name that the station is to be known by, from
one to 32 characters. Spaces are not allowed. Next to this is
General Name the station ID number, which is internally generated by the
system when you create a new station. You cannot change
this.
This field specifies a descriptive text string for the station. This
description string may appear in displays, reports and alarms,
Description
so its length should be kept reasonable. However, up to 128
characters are permitted.
This field allows you to assign the station to any one of the
defined zone groups. This means it can be assigned to any
combination of the 128 possible zones, so long as there is a
Zone Group
zone group defined for that combination. Refer to chapter 12,
Zones and Zone Groups, for more information about zones
and zone groups.
This field specifies a station type that categorizes the station
for reporting purposes. The meaning of each type code is up
to you. For each point type, you can specify a brief text string.
User Type
See Chapter 9, User Point Types. These point type station
strings may be included in reports and various database
queries.
This field allows you to make this station a child of another
Parent
station by choosing a Parent from the Station tree list.

This indicator show the state of some internal attributes of the

Options Alarm Priority station. It cannot be changed from this dialog box, except for
Training Mode.
This indicator show the state of some internal attributes of the
Unack Alarm station. It cannot be changed from this dialog box, except for
Training Mode.
This indicator show the state of some internal attributes of the
Bell Disabled station. It cannot be changed from this dialog box, except for
Training Mode.
In the Windows SCADA system, a station can be placed in
maintenance mode. Alarms on stations that
are in maintenance mode do not require acknowledgment, do
not sound the alarm bell, and are not
displayed on alarm displays unless enabled in the alarm
Maintenance Mode selection criteria. A station can be placed in maintenance
mode by checking the “Maintenance Mode” option in this
dialog box. It can be also achieved by right-clicking on the
station symbol in WorldView/SmartVU and
selecting the “Maintenance suppression” item in the pop-up
menu that appears.

Point Database Editing Guide 5-3

Table 5.2-1 Station Dialog Data Fields Description Table - Continued
Section Field Description
This indicator show the state of some internal attributes of the
Control Select station. It cannot be changed from this dialog box, except for
Training Mode.
A station that is in training mode allows a new operator to
become familiar with the system and its operation without
interfering with (and risking) the operation of the remaining
Training Mode
stations. When such an operator is logged into a training-
mode user account, he or she can only operate points that are
on a station that is in training mode, as indicated by this field.

Point Database Editing Guide 5-4

 6 Status Points

This chapter describes how to define a status point in the SCADA database.

6.1 Introduction
A status point usually represents a device such as a breaker or valve. Depending on whether a telemetry
address and any control addresses are defined for it, the status point can be defined to be any one of
the following:
 Indication only
 Control only
 Combined indication and control

Status points can be accessed in several ways in the STC Explorer. They can be accessed by station (in
the Stations branch), or by RTU (in the Rtus branch) or by IED (in one of the IEDs branches).

Point Database Editing Guide 6-5

They can also be accessed under the appropriate communication line (on the Communication Lines
branch), grouped under the appropriate RTU or IED. Note that these are not different points, just the
same points organized in different views. See Figure 6.1-1.

Open an existing RTU or station in the left pane, and select Status, to show a list of existing status points
on that RTU or station (if any). Choosing one of these to be edited, or selecting New, will bring up the
“Status Point” dialog, as shown in Figure 6.2-1.

Figure 6.1-1 Where to Find Points

Point Database Editing Guide 6-6

6.2 Status Point Data Fields—General

Figure 6.2-1 Status Point Dialog (General)

Point Database Editing Guide 6-7

The General data fields for a status point are described below.
Table 6.2-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—General Tab
Field Description
Station The Station where the status point is located.
This is the full name of the point. This consists of a station name chosen from a
list of the existing stations, and an individual point name. The combination of
Name station and point names must be unique. Next to this is the point ID number,
which is internally generated by the system when you create a new point. You
cannot change this ID number.
This field specifies a descriptive text string for the point. You should keep to a
Description
reasonable length for practical purposes, but up to 128 characters are permitted.
This field shows the name and type of another element in the database, for which
this point represents the status. For example, if you have created an RTU that
names this status point in its Link Status field, this point’s value will tell whether
the RTU is communicating or not. The Status Of field of this point will then show
Status Of
the name of that RTU, as a cross-reference.

These are display-only fields, whose content will only change if you edit the other
element (e.g., the communication line or RTU) and change its status point.
This field specifies a point type that categorizes the point for reporting purposes.

The meaning of each type code is up to you. For each point type, you can specify
a brief text string. See Chapter 9, User Point Type. These point type text strings
may be included in SCADA reports and various database queries.
User Type
Examples of point types that you can create are switches, circuit breakers, valves,
pumps, pressure readings, voltages, amps, temperatures, and so on. Or you may
prefer to use types that describe the system that uses or provides the data, or the
people or organizations that are interested in it.
The device class specifies the type of alarm processing you want for this point.
Device Class
Note: For details on the alarm processing types go to table 6.2-2 Alarm
Processing Types for Device Class.
This field allows you to assign the point to any one of the defined zone groups.
This means it can be assigned to any combination of the 128 possible zones, so
Zone Group
long as there is a zone group defined for that combination. Refer to Chapter 12
for more information about zones and zone groups.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-8

Table 6.2-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—General Tab continued
Field Description
This field specifies a set of text strings that are used to represent status points.

Each set contains up to four command strings and up to four state strings. The
four state strings correspond to the four possible states of a status point.
Whenever the state of a point is displayed on the WorldView map or output in
the log as part of an alarm message, the corresponding state string is used to
describe the point's state.
Command-State
Similarly, the command strings correspond to the possible control operations
that may be issued against the point. They appear in control dialog windows
on maps and in log messages of control operations. Generally, only the first
two states are actually controllable, and only the first two strings are used.

The system allows you to define sets of these command and state strings in
the Command/State Strings Table. See Chapter 10, Command/State Strings.
The SCADA system contains a breaker lockout detection function. If you
define an associated lockout point for a breaker, the system will maintain the
lockout point as follows:

 If the breaker trips unexpectedly (on its own i.e. not controlled nor
manually set) and remains tripped for X seconds (where X is user-
settable – see section Lockout Timer below), then the lockout point is
set to state 0 (LOCKOUT)
 As soon as the breaker closes, whether it’s via control, manual set or
telemetry, the lockout point is returned to state 1 (NORMAL)
 If the breaker is controlled or manually set to OPEN, nothing happens
to the lockout point
Lockout Point
The lockout point is useful for the following applications:
 Remote alarm annunciation, where it’s desired to transmit alarms for
lockout only, not momentary trip operations.
 Interfacing to OMS systems (e.g. via Multispeak)
 Triggering Fault Detection, Isolation and Restoration (FDIR) agorithms
The lockout point is a pseudo point. No telemetry or control address is
required.
When status points are cloned, the new points are produced without
associated lockout points to prevent duplicate references to the existing
lockout points. You have to add the lockout points to the newly cloned points
yourself.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-9

Table 6.2-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—General Tab continued
Field Description
This is the timer used by the SCADA system to perform its lockout detection
function. See Lockout Point above.
Lockout Timer,
If the value of this field is zero, the system-wide lockout timer specified (in
sec
seconds) by the value of an analog pseudo point named “SYS$,BLDTMR” is
used. Note that after creating and manually setting this global lockout timer
point, you have to stop and restart SCADA.

This flag can be used to prevent normal operators from manipulating the
Privilege point. If this flag is set, only operators with privilege will be able to control or
manually set the point, or acknowledge alarms raised by the point.

This is display-only field that indicate that changes on this point will trigger
Disturbance
disturbance data capture.
The optional Operations and Outage Accounting package is described in the
Windows SCADA Automation Database Guide, document number DB-403.
Outage
This flag indicates that this status point is being monitored by the package.
Check this flag only if you require outage accounting for this point, as
described in the Outage Accounting documentation.
SCS Enabled This field is display only. It shows that this point is used by a line section.
No Manual Set Check this box to ensure that the manual flag does not display on this point
Flag when it is set to manual. The flag is usually represented by an M.
Setting this flag will enable Event Data Recording for this point. Each change
of state will be stored in the event data file, where it may be found by your
Event Data
reports, by application software or by the optional Operations and Outage
Recording
Accounting program. You might want to enable Event Data Recording for
most status points.
If this flag is set, the SCADA system will be willing to receive and store time-
stamped sequence-of-events data for this point, if the RTU reports any.
Otherwise, SOE data for this point will be discarded.
SOE Event
Even if this flag is set for all your status points, most RTUs will only send SOE
data for those points which have been specifically set up for SOE reporting.
Refer to your RTU documentation, and the scan task user’s guide for more
information.
No Redundant If this checkbox is checked, you will not be able to issue redundant controls to
Controls this point (i.e. send an Open command to a point that is already open).
Control Password Check this box if you want control operations on this point to be password
Required protected.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-10

The following table describes the alarm processing types listed in the Device Class field drop down
menu.

Table 6.2-2 Alarm Processing Types Descriptions for the Device Class Field
Alarm Processing Type Description
None Select this if you do not want any alarm processing for this point.
This type of point is a four-state point, typically telemetered by two
consecutive bits of status data in an RTU, and typically used to
represent valves and motor-operated disconnects. For such devices,
the four state values represent open, close, travel and error.

A change of state to any of the four states causes a momentary alarm

to be generated.

4 State Moment If a change of state is not commanded, the alarm is raised with the
alarm severity specified for that state. If a change of state is
commanded, the alarm is raised with severity zero. If, during a control
operation, the device goes through the “travel” state on its way to
“open” or “close”, the change of state to “travel” is alarmed at severity
zero (because it is an expected change of state).

As in the case of a momentary alarm point, if a change of state is

caused by a manual set operation, no alarm is raised.
This type of point is usually a two-state point. For such points, a
change of state does not generate an alarm but an operations log
Log Event Only
message is generated. If the point is controllable, and the control
fails, the appropriate alarm message will be generated.
This type of point is a two-state point. A change of state to either
state causes a momentary alarm to be generated. A momentary
alarm is one that is deleted from the alarm file after a user-specified
time following acknowledgment of the alarm (as opposed to a
sustained alarm, which remains in the alarm file until a user-specified
time following both acknowledgment and clearing of the alarm).

For a momentary alarm point, if a change of state occurs which was

Momentary not commanded, the alarm is raised with the alarm severity specified
for that state, as defined in the corresponding alarm priority field (see
Alarm Priorities). If a change of state is commanded, the alarm is
raised with priority zero.

If a change of state is caused by a manual set operation, no alarm is

raised. Any applications, including command sequences and user-
written programs, that are defined to be triggered by state changes of
this point, are still triggered as usual, however.
This type of point is usually a two-state point. For such points, a
Non-Alarm change of state does not generate an alarm or an operations log
message.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-11

Table 6.2-2 Alarm Processing Types Descriptions for the Device Class Field continued
Alarm
Description
Processing Type
This type of point is a four-state point designed to represent breakers with
reclosers, in which the breaker open/close status is telemetered and the
breaker lockout status is “calculated.”

States 0 and 1 represent trip and close. Whenever the breaker trips (goes to
state 0), the system starts a timer. The value of the timer is specified by the
value of an analog pseudo point named

“SYS$,BLDTMR”

If this point does not exist, a value of 30 seconds is used.

If the timer expires before the breaker (re)closes, the point’s state is advanced
to 2, which represents lockout. If the breaker does close before the lockout
timer expires, then the timer is canceled.

If your control room is unmanned overnight, and you have the Remote Alarm
Annunciation subsystem, you can use the lockout state (being distinct from
trip) to have personnel at home called or paged when a breaker locks out, but
not called or paged for breaker trip/reclose operations that do not result in
lockout. See the Alarm Database Editing Guide for a description of the Remote
Alarm Annunciation subsystem.
Special Breaker
Normally, transitions to any of these three states are alarmed at the severities
assigned to them. By means of a special status point, you can specify that
transitions to “trip” or “closed” are to be annunciated at severity zero, and that
only transitions to “lockout” be alarmed at its assigned severity. The name of
this breaker lockout detection mode point is

“SYS$,BLDMOD”
Setting the value of this point to 0 causes normal alarming for all transitions.
Setting it to 1 specifies severity zero for trip and close, and normal severity for
lockout. If you don’t create the point, you get normal alarming for all transitions
all the time.

If your control room is unmanned overnight, and you are using Remote
Annunciation, the operators on the last shift can set the mode to 1 when they
leave so as to avoid calls at home for breaker trip/reclose operations that do
not result in lockout.

Note: This breaker lockout detection feature requires the cooperation of the
scan task: the scan task must not return a tripped breaker status to “trip” if its
current state is “lockout”. Presently, the only scan task that supports this
feature is the one for the QUICS IV RTU protocol, so only use this device class
with points on QUICS RTUs.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-12

Table 6.2-2 Alarm Processing Types Descriptions for the Device Class Field continued
Alarm Processing Type Description
This type of point is a two-state point. A change of state to the abnormal
state causes a sustained alarm to be raised. A return to the normal state
(see Normal State in section 6.4) causes the original alarm to be cleared
and a return-to-normal alarm to be raised. The return-to-normal alarm
message is a copy of the first alarm message with a “(CL)” prefix added.
A sustained alarm remains in the alarm file, even after it is acknowledged.
Sustained
It will only be deleted from the alarm file after the alarm is cleared.

For a sustained alarm point, if a change of state is not commanded or

manually entered, the alarm is raised/cleared with the priority specified for
that state. If a change of state is commanded, the alarm is raised or
cleared with priority zero.
This is a single-bit sustained alarm point with the following special
handling of the alarm clear (CLOSE):

 if the alarm clears before the operator has had a chance to

acknowledge the original alarm (TRIP), the clear is recorded with
priority zero
Trip
 but if the original alarm has already been acknowledged, then the
clear is raised with its usual priority

For a trip alarm point to function properly, you must assign it a normal
state of 1 (closed). See Normal State in section 6.4.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-13

6.3 Status Point Data Fields—Telemetry
The Telemetry data fields for a status point are described below.

Figure 6.3-1 Edit Status Point Dialog (Telemetry)

Table 6.3-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Telemetry Tab
Section Field Description
These tree fields identify the source of the data. Choose one of
the existing RTUs from the drop-down list to identify which RTU is
RTU, COMM
Input providing the data, and then complete the other fields as
Line, Protocol
described below. You should choose <None> for the RTU if the
point is not telemetered.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-14

Table 6.3-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Telemetry Tab continued
Section Field Description
If a point is to be telemetered, the Address box must be checked,
and then the source of the data (RTU, ComLine and Protocol fileds)
Input Address must be identified. You should clear the Address box and choose
<None> for the RTU if the point is not telemetered (i.e. its value will
come from a calculation, another program, or be manually entered).
Depending on the RTU protocol being used, the source of the data
External Name, may be identified by an “external” name and a data type, in which
Type case fill in the corresponding fields with this information. (Refer to
the user’s guide for your scan task to find out how to do this).

For most RTU protocols, the data will be identified by a “telemetry

address”. This address can consist of up to 4 parts, which we call
A, B, C and D. The meanings of fields A, B, C, and D are protocol
dependent. How to specify these values is described in your scan
task user’s guide.

As an example, in many scan tasks the:

 “A” field specifies the point number

A, B, C, D
 “B” field specifies the point type, such as status input,
analog input or accumulator

 “C” field may specify a group assignment for group polling

 the “D” field is often not used

In another common approach, the “A” address specifies an I/O card

number and the “C” address specifies a particular input number on
that I/O card.

For Survalent RTUs (Scout, Hunter), the field Map specifies the
internal I/O point number of the status point. If the "Download Local
I/O map to RTU" checkbox is checked in the RTU definition, the
Map
mapping of DNP addresses to these internal I/O status addresses
is downloaded to the RTU by the scan task (which means you do
not have to configure the RTU).

Point Database Editing Guide 6-15

Table 6.3-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Telemetry Tab continued
Section Field Description
After identifying the data to be stored in the point, you may need to describe
which of several possible formats the data may take. Consult the scan task
user’s guide, and select the desired Format Code from the drop-down list.
This will determine how the data received from the RTU is to be transformed
into a database value.

The meaning of the format codes depends on the communication protocol of

the RTU that transmits the point. A typical set of format codes is:

 1 – Single bit, Normal Processing

 2 – Single bit, Inverted Processing
Input Format
 3 – Dual bit, Low On = Open, High On = Closed
 4 – Dual bit, Low On = Closed, High On = Open
 5 – Dual bit, Low Off = Closed, High Off = Open
 6 – Dual bit, Low Off = Open, High Off = Closed
 7 – Dual bit, Pass-through processing
 8 – Dual bit, Inverted Pass-through processing

Note: Refer to your scan task’s specific user’s guide.

We have listed the formats by number, but you will select them from the list
by name.

This field allows you to specify the RTU for the control addresses, in case
the controls are on an RTU that is different from the one specified for the
Control RTU telemetry address. This field is enabled by the Enable Control RTU
checkbox in the System branch of the System Parameters editor in the STC
Explorer.
Enable one or both of the control addresses depending on whether your
Control 0, point is going to receive Open (0) commands, Close (1) commands, or both.
Control 1 You will then need to complete an address for each, use the four fields
named A, B, C and D.
The meanings of fields A, B, C, and D are protocol dependent. How to
specify these values is described in your scan task user’s guide.

For Survalent RTUs (Scout, Hunter), the Map field specifies the internal I/O
A, B, C, D, point number of the control point.
Map
If the "Download Local I/O map to RTU" checkbox is checked in the RTU
definition, the mapping of DNP addresses to these internal I/O control
addresses is downloaded to the RTU by the scan task (which means you do
not have to configure the RTU).
In some cases, your control output(s) will need to be identified by an external
External
name and type, in addition to or instead of a numerical address. The scan
Name, Type
task user’s guide will provide more information on this where needed.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-16

Table 6.3-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Telemetry Tab continued
Section Field Description
For a momentary (non-latched) control, the control interval is the
time duration that the control relay will be energized on each control
operation. The interval is entered in time units that may be different
from RTU to RTU. For example, one RTU may be configured for
time units of 50 milliseconds, while another may be set up for 10
milliseconds. For this reason, the field is labeled in “tics”.

The control interval may be specified either as a constant value or

as the name of an analog point, by choosing the appropriate “radio
button”. In the latter case, the value of the specified point is used as
the control interval.

If an analog point is used as a control interval, the point’s

Control Control Interval
engineering value is un-scaled by the point’s scale factor and offset
to produce the actual control interval transmitted to the RTU. This
makes it possible for you to set up the point so that the operator
can enter desired pulse widths in easy-to-use units, like seconds or
milliseconds.

For example, if the RTU’s time units are 50 milliseconds, and you
want the operator to enter pulse widths in seconds, then you should
specify a scale factor of 0.05 and an offset of zero. Then, when the
operator enters a pulse width of 1.5 seconds, for example, the scan
task subtracts the offset of zero, and divides by the scale factor of
0.05 to produce a control interval of 30 (in the RTU’s 50-millisecond
time units, this will yield the desired 1.5 second duration.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-17

Table 6.3-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Telemetry Tab continued
Section Field Description
The control interval is a timer sent to the RTU in control commands
to this point.

The value of this timer may be constant, set in the native units of
the RTU. To use a constant timer, select ‘tics’ and enter the value.

In the DNP protocol, this timer should be interpreted by the RTU as

milliseconds. For other protocols, consult the documentation from
the RTU manufacturer.
Value, tics
If the control interval must be variable, select ‘Point’ and use the
point browser to select an analog point.

If an analog point is used as a control interval, the point’s

engineering value is un-scaled by the point’s scale factor and offset
to produce the actual control interval transmitted to the RTU. This
makes it possible for you to set up the point so that the operator can
enter desired pulse widths in easy-to-use units, like seconds or
milliseconds.
If the control interval must be variable, select ‘Point’ and use the
point browser to select an analog point.

If an analog point is used as a control interval, the point’s

Control
engineering value is un-scaled by the point’s scale factor and offset
to produce the actual control interval transmitted to the RTU. This
makes it possible for you to set up the point so that the operator can
enter desired pulse widths in easy-to-use units, like seconds or
milliseconds.

For example, if the RTU’s time units are 50 milliseconds, and you
want the operator to enter pulse widths in seconds, then you should
specify a scale factor of 0.05 and an offset of zero. Then, when the
Point operator enters a pulse width of 1.5 seconds, the scan task
subtracts the offset of zero, and divides by the scale factor of 0.05
to produce a control interval of 30 (in the RTU’s 50-millisecond time
units, this will yield the desired 1.5 second duration).

At the time of the control, the value of this analog point will be read
and used in the control operation. Again, the time units represented
by this value depend on the protocol and the implementation of the
RTU.

Each protocol has an upper limit on the control interval timer. The
RTU implementation may allow a value of zero, providing an
internal default. In other cases, a non-zero value will be required.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-18

Table 6.3-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Telemetry Tab continued
Section Field Description
This feature allows you to specify conditions under which controls
are to be disallowed. For example, “Do not allow a disconnect
switch to be opened if the associated breaker is closed” or “Do not
allow earthing blades to be operated unless both CB and DISC are
open”. To allow for considerably more complex conditions to be
supported, the control permissions feature is implemented using
templates.

For each control point that requires permissions, the point editor
Control Permissions allows you to specify:
 A template for open control and a template for close control
 Inputs for each of the two templates consisting of two lists
of up to 7 associated points

Clicking on this pushbutton brings up the "Control Permissions"

dialog shown in Figure 6.3-2 Enable the permission for one or both
of the Open (Control-0) and Close (Control-1) commands, and
choose the template for each enabled permission calculation.

Figure 6.3-2 Control Permissions Window (Telemetry)

Before the control is executed, the control template is passed the values of the inputs as defined in the
Control Permissions Window.

If the logic in the template decides to allow the control, the template must set the value of $P1 to 1
before the template exits.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-19

 It the logic decides to prevent the control, the value pf $p1 must be set to 0 and the automaticly-created
string variable $errormessage should be set to the reason for the control rejection. This reason will be
snown to the operator.

Note that $p1 is almost always an input to the template, but it is always an output from the template. All
paths through the template code must set the return value of $p1.

In this sample of template code, the control will not be allowed unless all three inputs are in the ‘1’ state.

if (($p1 .eq. 0) .and. ($p2 .eq. 0) .and ($p3 .eq. 0))

$p1 = 1
else
$p1 = 0
$errormessage = ‘All switches must be open.’
endif
.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-20

Table 6.3-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table—Telemetry Tab continued
Field Description

This field specifies the time, in seconds, which the system will wait for a control
operation on this point to complete.

If the control is successful and the point changes state within this time period,
the change of state is logged as a zero priority alarm. If the timer expires before
the point changes state, the system declares a priority-three control failure
alarm.

If you leave this field blank, or you enter zero, then the system does not time
the response to control operations on this point. You should only leave this field
blank if the point has no control addresses, or if it has no input address,
because if the point does change state as a result of a control, the change of
state will be alarmed according to the alarm priority defined for the new state.

By entering -1 in this field, you can specify that controls on this point are to be
Response completely “quiet” which means the system will not:
Timeout, sec  Log control actions
 Time controls or alarm control failures
 Record control actions in event data recording

The -1 value is handy for control points associated with closed-loop pulse
control algorithms such as generation control or water level control.

If the point’s telemetry address is not specified, the system will not expect a
status change. It will instead update the status point itself, just so that the
point’s value is consistent with the most recent command. If you don’t like this,
you can manually set the point to whatever state you want it to hold.

If any of the expected status changes do not occur within the device response
timeout, the system will declare a control failure alarm. It will also raise
additional alarms identifying each expected status change that did not occur.

If the point has a multiple status change validation record associated with it, and
you have defined a positive device response timeout for it, the system will
Multiple Status
expect to see all of the status changes specified in the multiple status change
Change
validation record.
Validation
See section 6.6, Multiple Status Change Validation.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-21

6.4 Status Point Data Fields — Alarms
The Alarm data fields for a status point are described below.

Figure 6.4-1 Edit Status Point Dialog (Alarms)

Table 6.4-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — Alarm Tab
Field Description
These four fields specify the priorities to be used when an alarm is raised for each
Priority of the possible states of the status point. See the DB-402, Alarm Database Editing
Guide for a description of the meaning of each alarm priority.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-22

Table 6.4-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table —Alarm Tab continued
Field Description
In systems with remote alarm annunciation, these fields can be used to
specify the message that will be sent via the Remote Annunciation feature
whenever the point changes alarm state. Each of the point’s four possible
states can have a separate voice message code associated with it.
Remote Alarm
See the DB-402, Alarm Database Editing Guide for a description of this
feature.

Any of these fields may be set to <None> if you do not wish alarms for the
corresponding states of this point to be remotely annunciated.
These are display-only fields, to help you identify the four states for this point.
Command
The content of these fields comes from the choice of Command-State String,
String/State String
which you made in section earlier.

This field specifies the normal state (0 or 1) for the status point.

If the point is a sustained alarm point or a trip alarm point, an alarm is raised
when the point changes to its abnormal state. The alarm will remain active
indefinitely, even after it’s acknowledged, until the point returns to its normal
Normal State
state.

This is not true of momentary alarms, which raise an alarm for each change
of state. Momentary alarms do not remain active once they are
acknowledged.
This field specifies the alarm message format to be used when an alarm is
raised against a point.

An alarm message format is a special text string that specifies what an alarm
should look like. The alarm message formats are defined using STC Explorer.

Alarm Format See Alarm Message Skeletons, in the DB-402, Alarm Database Editing Guide
for more information.

The system allows thousands of formats to be defined, but 256 alarm

message formats are provided in the default database. Many of these are
pre-configured for use by the system itself. The others are for your use in
creating specialized message formats for the alarms raised by your points.
Normally, status changes that result from successful controls are raised as
priority 0 alarms. They do not sound the bell and do not need to be
acknowledged.
Raise Alarm on
If this checkbox is set, then for this point, the status change that results from a
Control at Priority of
successful control will be raised at the same priority as would be used if the
State Change
status change was unexpected.

This might sound the alarm bell and might need to be acknowledged, and
might be sent to the remote alarm annunciation system.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-23

Table 6.4-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table —Alarm Tab continued
Field Description
This field specifies a delay on the annunciation of sustained alarms on the
point. It is only meaningful with points of device class Sustained Alarm or
Trip Alarm.

If this field is non-zero, any sustained alarm for this point is delayed for this
Annunciation Delay, sec
amount of time. If the point is still in the alarm state when the delay expires,
the alarm is then annunciated (with the time of the original occurrence of
the change of state).

Enter the desired delay in units of seconds.

The priority 0 alarm that results from a successful control cannot be sent to
the remote alarm annunciation system.

Send Remote Alarm of If this checkbox is set, then for this point, the status change that results
Successful Control from a successful control operations will be raised at priority 1, and will be
sent to the remote alarm annunciation software.

This alarm will be annunciated at least once even if it is acknowledged.

This field specifies the name of an associated analog point.

When a meter point is specified, and a suitably defined alarm message

format is assigned to the point, then the alarm that is generated for this
status point will contain the value of the meter point. See Alarm Format
Meter Point listed above and the Alarm Database Editing Guide. This allows such
actions as printing the accumulated flow volume through a valve when the
valve is closed.

This field may be left blank, or an existing analog point may be chosen
using the Browse button.
By Command Sequence
You can use this feature to automatically activate a command sequence on
any change of state of this point. To specify a command sequence, select
“By Command Sequence” from the Task Activation drop down menu, and
then select the desired command sequence from the list below. It is up to
you to program the sequence to determine which state the point is in, and
to take the desired action.

For more information on Command Sequencing and how to use it refer to

Task Activation
the Command Sequencing User’s Guide, CS-400, as well as other
available documents about specific Command Sequencing applications

By Generic Text
This field specifies the name of an application mailbox to which a message
will be sent whenever this status point changes state. The mail message
identifies the point (by point ID), both the old state and the new state of the
point, and also whether the change was commanded or not.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-24

Table 6.4-1 Status Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table —Alarm Tab continued
Field Description
This page is a list of points that are “slaves”, where this status point is the
“master” in a Master-Slave Alarm Suppression scheme.

When you click on the Alarm Suppression pushbutton, a dialog illustrated in

6.4-2 appears.
Alarm Suppression
This dialog has two tabs:
 One that allows you to add other points as slaves to this point
 One that just shows you the masters of this point

See DB-402 Alarm Database Editing Guide for more information.

Figure 6.4-2 Master - Slave Alarm Suppression Dialog (Alarms)

Point Database Editing Guide 6-25

6.5 Status Point Data Fields—IED
This page displays telemetry and control address information for the point, if its data comes from an IED
that is slaved to an RTU, otherwise this tab is not visible. In such a case, the address information on the
Telemetry page (discussed in section6.3,Status Point Data Fields—Telemetry) pertains to the point as it
is mapped into the RTU’s data space.

The information on this page pertains to the actual addressing of the data in the IED itself.

NOTE: We recommend that you use the facilities of the IED Wizard to make any changes to points that
were created by the wizard, rather than edit them manually. This will avoid having your edits undone
next time you use the wizard.

Figure 6.5-1 IED Tab

See the IED-100 IED Wizard and Control Panel User’s Guide for more information.

Point Database Editing Guide 6-26

 6.6 Multiple Status Change Validation
In some instances, a control operation is expected to cause several status changes. Multiple Status
Change Validation provides a way for the system to check that all the expected changes have occurred.
It avoids the nuisance of generating alarms when the operator knows exactly why they occurred.

You don’t need this for simple controls (ones where when you issue an open, the point opens and when
you issue a close, it closes) because the system does this simple validation automatically.

You need it for more complex controls in which the controls cause multiple status changes. For such
controls, the multiple status change validation function:
 Lowers the priority of each expected status change to zero, so that you are not bothered
by an alarm
 Raises a control failure alarm if any of the expected status changes fails to occur
 Identifies, via a separate alarm, each expected status change that failed to occur

To define a multiple status change validation for the point you are editing, click on Multiple Status Change
Validation from the Telemetry Tab on the Status Point dialog. The Multiple Status Change Validation
dialog will appear, as shown in Figure 6.6-1. You must be working on a status point that already exists, to
define multiple status change validation. You will not be able to do this if you have just begun creating a
new status point, and have not yet pressed OK.

Figure 6.6-1 Specifying Multiple Status Changes

Point Database Editing Guide 6-27

The body of this dialog contains a list of status points whose states are expected to change as a result of
controls issued to the point we are working on (the control point’s name appears in the title bar, and the
description appears at the top of the dialog).

Note that the multiple status change validation does not automatically include the control point itself in
the list of points whose states change as a result of control. If the control point changes state as a result
of control, then you must explicitly include it in this list.

When deleting a point, the point editor in the STC Explorer will also clean up any multiple status change
validation records that may have been associated with the point.

Table 6.6-1 Multiple Status Change Validation Fields Description Table

Field Description
For each point you want to add to the multiple status change validation list,
locate it in the point browser (accessed via the "Point Browser" button) and
Point Name drag the point into the dialog. You can delete a point from the list by right-
clicking and selecting Delete.

The desired state changes for a point on the list are specified using the Open
1, Open 2, Open 3, Close 1, Close 2 and Close 3 columns. The Open group
contains the state sequences expected when an Open command is issued to
the control point. The Close group contains the state sequences expected
when a Close command is issued to the control point. Each state sequence
can have up to 3 states.

If a state sequence contains only one state, then the status point must
change to, or already be in, the specified state by the end of the control
Open States, Closed
timeout period. If the state sequence contains more than one state, then the
States
status point must travel through each state in the state sequence by the end
of the control timeout period.

For example, if the state sequence is “Closed, Open”, then the status point
must:
 Change to close (or start out in the closed state)
 Change to open

Point Database Editing Guide 6-28

Table 6.6-1 Multiple Status Change Validation Fields Description Table continued
Field Description
Or, if the state sequence is “Open, Closed, Open”, the status point must:
 change to open (or start out in the open state), then
 change to close, and then
 change back to open

If any status point does not travel through its assigned state sequence
before the control timeout expires, then the control is deemed to be
unsuccessful, even if all the other status points behaved as expected.
Open States, Closed
States If you leave either the open or the close states all set to <None>, then the
associated status point is not checked for that operation. This allows you to
accommodate control points where an open control may cause a different
set of points to operate than the close control.

When you have defined all the necessary status changes, click on OK and
return to editing the control point. At this point, the multiple status change
validation information is stored, even if you now press Cancel in the Edit
Status Point dialog.

6.6.1 Example

As an example, illustrates a multiple status change validation that could be used to validate an
engine’s start and stop commands.

In the example, the control point is named 4THS.EngineRun. When a START (open)
command is issued against the point, the following sequence of events must occur:
 The engine pre-lube status point 4THS.EnginePL must come on (status = 1) and then go
off (status = 0)
 The engine starting status point 4THS.EngineStarting must come on (status = 1) and
then go off (status = 0)
 The engine running status point 4THS.EngineRUN must come on (status = 1)
 No changes are expected in the engine stopping point 4THS.EngineStop (the “Status
Required” field for this point in the OPEN column is blank)

Point Database Editing Guide 6-29

 Figure 6.6-2 Multiple Status Change Validation Example

When a STOP (close) command is issued against this control point, the following must occur:
 The engine stopping status must come on (status = 1) and then go off (status = 0)
 The engine running status must go off (status = 0)
 No changes are expected in either the engine pre-lube status or the engine starting
status (the “Status Required” fields for these points in the CLOSE group are blank)

Point Database Editing Guide 6-30

 7 Analog Points

This chapter describes how to define an analog point in the SCADA database.

7.1 Introduction
Analog data is stored in the database as a double-precision floating-point number. It has approximately
15 decimal digits of precision and a range of about () 10-308 to 10308.

An analog point may receive data either from an RTU or via calculations performed internally in the host
computer. If the data is from an RTU, then the data received will be converted to floating point and
scaled to engineering units before being stored in the database.

Analog points can be accessed in several ways in the STC Explorer. They can be accessed by station
(in the Stations branch), or by RTU (in the Rtus branch) or by IED (in one of the IEDs branches). They
can also be accessed under the appropriate communication line (on the Communication Lines branch),
grouped under the appropriate RTU or IED. Note that these are not different points, just the same points
organized in different views. (See Figure 6.1-1.)

Open an existing RTU or station in the left pane, and select Analog, to show a list of existing analog
points on that RTU or station (if any). Choosing one of these to be edited, or selecting New, will bring up
the “Analog Point” dialog, as shown in Figure 7.2-1.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-1

7.2 Analog Point Data Fields — General

Figure 7.2-1 Analog Point Dialog (General)

The General data fields for an analog point are described below.

Table 7.2-1 Analog Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — General Tab
Field Description
This field displays the station name and can be changed using the drop down
Station
list of the existing stations.
This is the name of the point. It consists of a station name chosen from a list of
the existing stations, and an individual point name. The combination of station
Name and point names must be unique. Next to this is the point ID, which is internally
generated by the system when you create a new point. You cannot change this
ID number.
This field specifies a descriptive text string for the point. You should keep to a
Description
reasonable length for practical reasons, but up to 128 characters are permitted.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-2

Table 7.2-1 Analog Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — General Tab continued
Field Description
This field specifies a point type that categorizes the point for reporting purposes.

The meaning of each type code is up to you. For each point type, you can specify a brief text string.
See Chapter 9, User Point Type. These point type text strings may be included in reports and various
User Type
database queries.

Some examples of point types that you can create are switches, circuit breakers, valves, pumps,
pressure readings, voltages, amps and temperatures.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-3

 This field specifies certain behavioral characteristics of the point.

Analog input
This is a normal analog point, which can be telemetered or calculated. If you manually set this point, it
will no longer update.

Parameter
This code specifies that when you manually set this point, you are replacing its current value but do not
wish to take it out of scan (i.e. the point will continue to update if it has a telemetry address or is the
output of a calculation).

Set-Point
This is an output point. Its telemetry address field specifies an output address. To output a new value,
you manually set the point.

Lead-Lag
This is an analog input point that represents the cosine of an angle (such as the power factor of an
electrical circuit). The value ranges from +1 to -1 but has a discontinuous normal range (see
paragraph7.4, Analog Point Data Fields — Alarm

There are “nesting” rules for the limits. That is, as the analog’s value departs from normal, it must first
cross a pre-emergency limit, then an emergency limit, and it must cross the unreasonable limit last.

The nesting rules depend on the type of point, as specified by the device class, and are as follows:

For Conventional Points (Non Lead/Lag)

The pre-emergency limits must be inside the emergency limits, and the emergency limits must be inside
the unreasonable limits.

The following table displays an example of non lead/lag limits.

Table 7.4-2 Example Limits (Non Lead/Lag)

Limit Value
Upper Unreasonable (HIHIHI) +300
Upper Emergency (HIHI) +275
Upper Pre-Emergency (HI) +250
Lower Pre-Emergency (LO) +150
Lower Emergency (LOLO) +100
Lower Unreasonable (LOLOLO) 0

As you can see, the normal range of values for this point is 150 to 250.

The deadband values can be zero (although this may cause nuisance alarms), and they must not
exceed half the difference between the corresponding limits. For example, the pre-emergency
deadband must not exceed half the difference between the upper pre-emergency limit and the lower
pre-emergency limit. Changes in analog limit deadbands trigger a re-evaluation of a point’s alarm limit
status.

All limit values and deadbands are given in engineering units. If a HI limit value is omitted, it defaults to
the largest possible value that can be stored. If a LO limit is omitted, it defaults to the most negative
Point Database Editing Guide
possible value. Since limit values are required to nest, emergency limits can be omitted 7-4only if the
unreasonable limits are also omitted, and so on.

For Lead/Lag Points

The upper limit values must be non-negative and within the range +1.0 and zero. The lower limit values
 This field allows you to assign the point to any one of the defined zone groups. This means it can be
Zone Group assigned to any combination of the 128 possible zones, so long as there is a zone group defined for
that combination. Refer to Chapter 12 for more information about zones and zone groups.

If this point represents an enumerated quantity then you chose the set of words that apply. Go to
Enumeration Chapter 11 for info on how to create the set of word this point requires. Leave this blank for
conventional analog points that display a number.
This flag can be used to prevent normal operators from manipulating the point. If this flag is set, only
Privilege
operators with privilege will be able to manually set the point, or acknowledge alarms raised by the
Mode
point.
This is a display-only field that indicates that alarming changes on this point will trigger disturbance data
Disturbance
capture.
Setting this flag will enable Event Data Recording for this point. Each change of value will be stored in
the event data file, where it may be found by your reports, or by application software.
Event Data
Recording
You should only enable EDR for those analog point that require this level of recording, since the normal
variation of analog values can generate a large number of change events.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-5

Table 7.2-1 Analog Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — General Tab continued
Field Description

If this flag is set, the SCADA system will be willing to receive and store time-
stamped sequence-of-events data for this point, if the RTU reports any (and the
protocol in use supports it). Otherwise, SOE data for this point will be discarded.
SOE Event
Very few RTUs or protocols support the concept of SOE time-stamped events for
analog values. Refer to your RTU documentation, and the scan task user’s guide
for more information.

The scale factor and offset represent the conversion factors for a linear
transformation of the RTU’s raw input values to engineering units.

To perform such a linear conversion, you will need a Scale Factor (this is the slope
of the line relating input values to engineering units), and an Offset (the Y-offset of
the line). To determine the appropriate scale factor and offset, you can use these
two formulas:

(1)
MaxEngineeringValue  MinEngineeringValue
ScaleFactor 
MaxRawValue  MinRawValue

(2)
Offset  MinEngineeringValue  ScaleFactor  MinRawValue
Scale Factor and
where the Max and Min engineering values are the highest and lowest values you
Offset
want to see, and the Max and Min raw values are the corresponding highest and
lowest values obtained from the RTU.

Suppose, for example, that you are using a 4-20 ma transducer to measure water
level in a reservoir, and that the RTU’s D/A converter converts this to measured
raw values in the range 400 to 2000. If the minimum and maximum water levels
are 100 and 200 meters respectively, then equations (1) and (2) produce:

200  100
ScaleFactor   0.0625
2000  400
and
Offset  100  0.0625 400  75.0

You can check your work by using the resulting scale factor and offset to convert a
mid-point raw value. In this case, a mid-point raw value of 1200 scales to the
expected engineering value of 150 meters.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-6

Table 7.2-1 Analog Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — General Tab continued
Field Description
This defines the zero clamp deadband. This is a range of engineering values
inside of which point’s value is to be clamped to zero. This allows you to eliminate
small, noisy readings around the zero mark of the engineering scale. For
example, if the zero clamp deadband is 3.0, then any input value which converts
to between +3.0 and -3.0 engineering units will be clamped to zero.

You can use this to eliminate the annoying couple of amps or volts that may
Clamp
appear on a “dead” electrical circuit due to noise or slight miscalibration. Or in a
pipeline application, you can eliminate extremely low pressure or flow readings in
an empty pipe.

The zero clamp deadband is specified in engineering units, and is applied to

points with certain format codes only. See the appropriate scan task user’s guide
for more details.
This field is a text string that represents the engineering units of the point (e.g.
Engineering Units KV, AMPS, MWH, DEG C). Up to 16 characters may be used. The engineering
units may appear in reports or database queries.
This is a code that specifies a report-by-exception deadband to be downloaded to
the RTU for this point. The RTU only transmits new analog values if it has
accumulated a change that exceeds this deadband. You can use this to bias the
use of valuable communication bandwidth toward your more critical points.

This field is only meaningful if the RTU reports analog data on an exception basis
and if the RTU supports download of individual exception deadbands for each
point. The scan task determines what values, if any, are allowed for this
parameter.

Exception For PLCs, which may not do report-by-exception, this field is used to define the
Window filter constant for an optional digital filter that the scan task is to apply to the
analog readings. If a non-zero filter constant is defined for the point, the scan task
will pass the raw input values through the filter, store the output of the filter into
the database and discard the raw value.

If you need both the filtered value and the raw value, don’t use this. Instead, use
the digital filter function in the Calculation Editor. See the DB-403, Automation
Database Editing Guide.

Scan tasks that typically handle PLCs all support the digital filter. See the scan
task user’s guides for details.
This field specifies to the scan task what rollover value to use for accumulators
Rollover
that come in from different IEDs slaved on the same Scout or data concentrator.
This field specifies an engineering quantity by which the point's value can be
incremented or decremented during a Manual Set operation.
Jog Amount
In the Manual Set dialog box, you can increment or decrement the displayed
value by the jog amount by clicking on the up or down pushbutton.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-7

Table 7.2-1 Analog Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — General Tab continued
Field Description
This field allows you to control the frequency that analog changes are flushed to
disk and the replicator database (if configured).

Analog points change often, and in order to reduce the number of disk writes that
these changes cause (especially on the replicator and WebSurv), SCADA does
not commit all changes to analog values to the disk.

The default setting “Tlalog controlled” allows the process TLalog to control the
flush rate. The settings for Tlalog are in the system parameters section of the
Flush
STC Explorer.
The other two settings allow a small number of analog changes to be flushed
more frequently for faster updates in WebSurv.

The setting “All changes values” writes all changes in the value of this point to the
disk and to the replicated database.

The setting “Shortly after change” writes changes in the value of this point within a
short time (typically 15 seconds) of the change.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-8

7.3 Analog Point Data Fields —Telemetry

Figure 7.3-1 Analog Point Dialog (Telemetry)

The Telemetry data fields for an analog point are described below.

Table 7.3-1 Analog Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — Telemetry Tab
Field Description
Choose one of the existing RTUs from the drop-down list to identify which RTU is
providing the data.
RTU
Note: You should clear the Address box, and choose <None> for the RTU if the
point is not telemetered (i.e. its value will come from a calculation, another program,
or be manually entered).
The content of ComLine field will be automatically filled with the corresponding
CommLine
communication line of the RTU you selected.
The content of Protocol field will be automatically filled with the corresponding
Protocol
protocol of the RTU you selected.
If a point is to be telemetered, the Address box must be checked, and then the
Address
source of the data must be identified.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-9

Table 7.3-1 Analog Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — Telemetry Tab continued
Field Description
Depending on the RTU protocol being used, this may be by means of an “external”
External name and a data type, in which case fill in the corresponding fields with this
Name/Type information. (You will need to refer to the user’s guide for your scan task to find out
how to do this.)
This field specifies how the data received from the RTU is to be transformed into a
database value.

The meaning of the format codes depends on the communication protocol of the
RTU that transmits the point. These are described in the various scan task user’s
guides. Typical formats could include signed and unsigned numbers of various sizes,
Format and perhaps a few special formats peculiar to the scan task.

Most scan tasks will provide one or more formats for decoding and storing analog
input data into the database point. Then there will usually be two format codes for
dealing with pulse accumulator data: one that stores the incremental count in the
database point, and one that adds the count to the point’s current value (thereby
performing an ongoing accumulation).
More often, the point will be identified by a “telemetry address”. The format of such
an address is A:B:C:D.

The meanings of fields A, B, C, and D are protocol dependent. How to specify these
fields is described in your scan task user’s guide.

As an example, in many scan tasks the:

 “A” field specifies the point number
A, B, C, D
 “B” field specifies the point type, such as analog input, analog output and
accumulator
 “C” field may specify a group assignment for group polling
 “D” field is usually not used.

In another common approach, the “A” address specifies an I/O card number and the
“C” address specifies an input number on that I/O card.
For Survalent RTUs (Scout, Hunter), the field Map specifies the internal I/O point
number of the analog point. If the "Download Local I/O map to RTU" checkbox is
Map checked in the RTU definition, the mapping of DNP addresses to these internal I/O
analog point addresses is downloaded to the RTU by the scan task (which means
you do not have to configure the RTU).

Point Database Editing Guide 7-10

 7.4 Analog Point Data Fields — Alarm

Figure 7.4-1 Edit Analog Point Dialog (Alarm)

The Alarm data fields for an analog point are described below.

Pre-Emergency, Emergency and Unreasonable Sections

Each analog point has three sets of alarm limits:

 Pre-Emergency
 Emergency
 Unreasonable

Each of these three sets of limits has a:

 High limit
 Low limit
 Deadband

Point Database Editing Guide 7-11

 Table 7.4-1 Pre-Emergency, Emergency and Unreasonable Section Data Field Table
Field Description
Limit An alarm is raised when the value exceeds the limit entered here.
Each alarm limit value has an alarm priority associated with it. These priority
codes, which are selected from a drop-down list, determine the priority of the
alarm messages that are raised when the limits are violated.
Priority
If a particular alarm limit is enabled (the checkbox is ticked), select its priority
(from 0 to 10). See the DB-401, Alarm Database Editing Guide for a description
and the meaning of each alarm priority
In systems with remote alarm annunciation, these fields specify the text of
messages to be output to a digital pager whenever the point changes alarm state.
Each alarm limit value can have a voice message associated with it.

The desired choice must be made from the drop-down list of defined voices. Any
Remote Alarm
of these fields may be left as <None> if you do not wish alarms for the
corresponding limits of this point to be remotely annunciated.

See chapter 7, Remote Alarm Annunciation, in the DB 401, Alarm Database

Editing Guide for a description of this feature
The deadband value associated with each set of limits is used to prevent multiple
Deadband
alarms from being generated when the point’s value hovers near a limit value.

There are “nesting” rules for the limits. That is, as the analog’s value departs from normal, it must first
cross a pre-emergency limit, then an emergency limit, and it must cross the unreasonable limit last.

The nesting rules depend on the type of point, as specified by the device class, and are as follows:

For Conventional Points (Non Lead/Lag)

The pre-emergency limits must be inside the emergency limits, and the emergency limits must be inside
the unreasonable limits.

The following table displays an example of non lead/lag limits.

Table 7.4-2 Example Limits (Non Lead/Lag)

Limit Value
Upper Unreasonable (HIHIHI) +300
Upper Emergency (HIHI) +275
Upper Pre-Emergency (HI) +250
Lower Pre-Emergency (LO) +150
Lower Emergency (LOLO) +100
Lower Unreasonable (LOLOLO) 0

As you can see, the normal range of values for this point is 150 to 250.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-12

The deadband values can be zero (although this may cause nuisance alarms), and they must not exceed
half the difference between the corresponding limits. For example, the pre-emergency deadband must not
exceed half the difference between the upper pre-emergency limit and the lower pre-emergency limit.
Changes in analog limit deadbands trigger a re-evaluation of a point’s alarm limit status.

All limit values and deadbands are given in engineering units. If a HI limit value is omitted, it defaults to
the largest possible value that can be stored. If a LO limit is omitted, it defaults to the most negative
possible value. Since limit values are required to nest, emergency limits can be omitted only if the
unreasonable limits are also omitted, and so on.

For Lead/Lag Points

The upper limit values must be non-negative and within the range +1.0 and zero. The lower limit values
must be non-positive and within the range -1.0 and zero. The pre-emergency limits must be outside the
emergency limits, and the emergency limits must be outside the unreasonable limits. For example:

Table 7.4-3 Example Limits (Lead/lag Point)

Limit Value
Upper Unreasonable (HIHIHI) +0.50

Upper Emergency (HIHI) +0.90

Upper Pre-Emergency (HI) +0.95

Lower Pre-Emergency (LO) -0.94

Lower Emergency (LOLO) -0.89

Lower Unreasonable (LOLOLO) -0.50

As you can see, this point’s normal range is from 0.95 to 1.0, and from –1.0 to –0.94. Values closer to
zero than this will raise alarms. This is suited to a point representing power factor, or some other quantity
that normally is near unity (and where the polarity sign may indicate relative phase, for example).

All limit values and deadbands are given in engineering units. If a limit value is omitted, it defaults to zero.
Since limit values are required to nest, emergency limits can be omitted only if the unreasonable limits are
also omitted.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-13

Rate of Change Section
Whenever any program updates the point’s value, whether it is a scan task communicating with an RTU,
or a calculation program, or even an application program that you have written using the Survalent API,
the SCADA system computes the difference between the new value and the previous value and divides
this by the difference between the current time and the time the point was last updated, in units of
minutes. This rate-of-change is checked against the rate-of-change limit, if one is specified here. Both
command sequencing and the program that executes the periodic calculations perform rate-of-change
alarm checking when updating analog point values.

Table 7.4-4 Rate of Change Data Fields Description Table

Field Description
The mode can be Rate or Step.

Rate Mode
The SCADA system computes the difference between the new value and
the previous value and divides this by the difference between the current
time and the time the point was last updated, in units of minutes. This rate-
of-change is checked against the rate-of-change limit, if one is specified
here (see the Limit below). If the computed rate-of-chage is higher than
the rate-of-change limit, a rate-of-change alarm is raised.
For example, if the Rate mode is selected and the Limit is set to 300 (300
Mode
units per minute, which corresponds to 5 units per second), a rate of
change alarm is raised when the value of the point changes more quickly
than 5 units per second, i.e. when the computed rate-of-change is greater
than or equal to 5 units per second.
Step Mode
If Step mode is selected, a rate-of-change alarm is raised when the
difference between the new value and the previous value of the point is
greater than or equal to the specified Limit (regardless of the time
difference).
The Positive and Negative flags specify whether rate-of-change checking
Negative Checking is to be performed on positive-going or negative-going changes in the
Positive Checking value, or for both. Leaving both unchecked means the rate of change will
not be checked.
This is the rate-of-change limit against which the point’s rate-of-change is
checked. If the Rate mode is selected, the rate-of-change limit should be
Limit
entered in engineering units per minute. If the Step mode is selected, the
rate-of-change limit should be entered in engineering units.
Priority This field specifies the priority of the rate of change alarm.
In systems with remote alarm annunciation, this field can be used to
specify the message that will be sent via the Remote Annunciation feature
Remote Alarm
whenever a rate-of-change alarm is raised. If the field is set to <None> no
alarms will be remotely annunciated.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-14

Return to Normal Section

This is the message that gets logged when any of the previous alarms are cleared. The return to normal
alarm has its own alarm priority and voice selections, which are made in the same manner as for limit
alarms.

Table 7.4-5 Return to Normal Data Fields Description Table

Field Description
This field specifies the priority of the alarm clear message
Priority that is generated when the point returns to within its normal
range (i.e. within its pre-emergency limits).
In systems with remote alarm annunciation, this field can be
used to specify the message that will be sent via the Remote
Remote Alarm Annunciation feature whenever the alarm clear message is
generated. If the field is set to <None> no alarms will be
remotely annunciated.

Alarm Limit Matrices

Often there will be situations where a given set of alarm limits should be used by many points. And
sometimes you may want the alarm limits on this point to switch between several sets of values,
depending on some known quantity such as time, or a measured or calculated analog value. These cases
can be handled by creating a matrix of alarm limits, and selecting it by name here.

For a description of the creation and use of Alarm Limit matrices, see chapter 13, Alarm Limit Matrices.

To use an Alarm Limit matrix for this analog point, simply select it by name from the drop-down list. If the
matrix contains only one set of alarm limits, then you are done—just ensure that the "Point" radio button is
clicked and no point is selected. The limits from the matrix will override anything you might have specified
in the alarm limit fields of this dialog box (leave them blank to avoid confusion).

If you want to switch limits from time to time, your matrix will need to contain several rows of limit values.
Select the row you want to use by entering a constant value for the row number (and clicking the Const
button), or by entering an analog point name (and clicking Point). If you are using a point name, the value
of the point will be used to select the row number from your matrix.

Note that alarm limit matrices can only override the limit values themselves, not the alarm priority or voice.

Table 7.4-6 Alarm Limit Matrices Data Fields Description Table

Field Description
Matrix Select the matrix that contains the alarm limits you want.
If you select this you can enter the number from the row that you
Const
want to use from the matrix. This choice is fixed.
If you select this then you must specify a point. The point’s value will
Point be used to choose a row from the matrix. This selection allows you
to change the limits by changing the point.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-15

Remaining Fields

Table 7.4-7 Remaining Fields Description Table

Field Description

This field specifies a delay on the annunciation of limit violation alarms on this point.

If this field is non-zero, any limit violation alarm for this point is delayed for this
Annunciation
amount of time. If the point is still in the alarm state when the delay expires, the
Delay, sec
alarm is then annunciated (with the time of the original occurrence of the limit
violation). This field is entered in units of seconds, where zero means annunciation
is not delayed.
This field specifies the name of an associated analog point. If a meter point is
specified, then an alarm generated for this analog point will contain the value of the
meter point. This allows such actions as printing the flow through a pipe segment
when a pressure alarm occurs.

This field may be left blank, or use the Browse button to select an existing analog
point. Note that if a meter point is defined for this analog point, the system will use
alarm message skeletons 191 through 197 to raise alarms against this point, as
opposed to skeletons 178 through 185 for points that do not have an associated
Meter Point
meter point. This will allow the value of the meter point to appear in the alarm
message.

Note: If an associated meter point is added to an existing analog point while the
analog point is in an alarm condition, that alarm will be cleared. The alarm will be
also cleared if the point had an associated meter point and the association was
removed while the alarm was in effect.

See the Alarm Database Editing Guide for more details.

If this point needs additional processing when it changes alarm state then you have
two ways of doing it:

By Command Sequence
You can use this feature to automatically activate a command sequence on any
change of alarm state of this point by selecting the command sequence from the
drop down menu.

For more information on Command Sequencing and how to use it refer to the
Task
Command Sequencing User’s Guide, CS-400, as well as other available documents
Activation
about specific Command Sequencing applications

By Generic Text
This field specifies the name of an application mailbox to which a message will be
sent whenever the point changes alarm state. The message identifies the point (by
point ID), both the old state and the new state of the point. If the final recipient for
email notification of an alarm happened to not have zones that matched the alarm,
the email operation was considered to have failed only for this recipient (if the alarm
was successfully emailed to other recipients higher up in the list).
This window pops up when you click on this button. It displays a list of points that
Alarm are “slaves” to this analog point “master” in a Master-Slave Alarm Suppression
Suppression scheme. Please refer to DB-402, Alarm Database Editing Guide for a discussion of
this subject.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-16

7.5 Analog Point Data Fields — IED
This page displays telemetry address information for the point, if its data comes from an IED that is
slaved to an RTU. In such a case, the address information on the Telemetry page pertains to the point
as it is mapped into the RTU’s data space. The information on this IED page pertains to the actual
addressing in the IED itself.

Normally the information here will be generated for you when you use the IED Wizard to create your
points (the information on the Telemetry page will be generated for you as well). But you may come here
to make manual changes if you desire. Refer to the IED Wizard and Control Panel User’s Guide
(document number IED-100) for complete information.

Note: We recommend that you use the facilities of the IED Wizard to make any changes to points that
were created by the wizard, rather than edit them manually. This will avoid having your edits undone
next time you use the wizard.

Point Database Editing Guide 7-17

 8 Text Points

This chapter describes how to define a text point in the SCADA database.

8.1 Introduction
A text point is a point whose “value” consists of a text string (up to 128 characters in length). Their
values may be manually entered by the operators, or they may be set by application programs, or in
some cases, transmitted from devices (e.g. via SNMP).

Open an existing station in the left pane, and select Text to show a list of existing text points on that
station (if any). Choosing one of these to be edited, or selecting New, will bring up the “Text Point”
dialog, as shown in Figure 8.2-1.

Point Database Editing Guide 8-1

8.2 Text Point Data Fields — General

Figure 8.2-1 Text Point Dialog (General)

The data fields for the general tab of a text point are described below.

Table 8.2-1 Text Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — General Tab
Field Description
Station This field is the station name where the text point is located.
This is the full name of the point. This consists of a station name chosen from
Name a list of the existing stations, and a unique text point name. Next to this is the
internally generated point ID, which you cannot change.
This field specifies a descriptive text string for the point, which is separate from
Description the string that is the point’s ”value”. You should keep this to a reasonable
length for practical reasons, but up to 128 characters are permitted.
Choose one of the existing RTUs from the drop-down list to identify which RTU
is providing the data. You should clear the Address box, and choose <None>
RTU
for the RTU if the point is not telemetered (i.e. its value will come from a
calculation, another program, or be manually entered).
The content of the display-only ComLine field will be automatically filled with
ComLine
the RTU’s ComLine.

Point Database Editing Guide 8-2

Table 8.2-1 Text Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — General Tab continued
Field Description
The content of the display-only Protocol field will be automatically filled with the
Protocol
RTU protocol.
This field allows you to assign the point to any one of the defined zone groups.
This means it can be assigned to any combination of the 128 possible zones,
Zone Group so long as there is a zone group defined for that combination. Refer to Chapter
12, Zones and Zone Groups, for more information about zones and zone
groups.
This flag can be used to prevent normal operators from manipulating the point.
Privilege Mode If this flag is set, only operators in Privilege mode will be able to control or
manually set the point, or acknowledge alarms raised by the point.
This field specifies a point type that categorizes the point for reporting
purposes.

The meaning of each type code is up to you. For each point type, you can
User Type specify a brief text string. See Chapter 9, User Point Type. These point type
text strings may be included in reports and various database queries.

Examples of point types that you can create are switches, circuit breakers,
valves, pumps, pressure readings, voltages, amps, and temperatures.
Setting this flag will enable Event Data Recording for this point. Each change
Event Data of value will be stored in the event data file, where it may be found by your
Recording reports, or by application software. You should only enable EDR for those text
point that require this level of recording.

Point Database Editing Guide 8-3

8.3 Text Point Data Fields — Telemetry
Text points only have telemetry addresses to support protocols that are capable of transmitting text
strings (e.g. IEC 61850, SNMP).

Figure 8.3-1 Text Point Dialog

Table 8.3-1 Text Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — Telemetry Tab
Field Description
If a text point is to be telemetered, the Address box must be
Address
checked, and then the source of the data must be identified.
External name is the text that identifies the data in the RTU's
database, while the telemetry address locates it logically in the
scan task's database.
External Name
In SNMP, this name is known as the Object Identifier, OID. (You
will need to refer to the user’s guide for your scan task and RTU
to find out how to obtain the full OID for each piece of data that
is available via SNMP).

Point Database Editing Guide 8-4

Table 8.3-1 Text Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — Telemetry Tab continued
Field Description
A The meanings of the A, B, C, and D fields are protocol
(B,C,D in other Protocols) dependent. How to specify these fields is described in the scan
task user’s guide.
This field specifies how the data received from the RTU is to be
transformed into a database value. The meaning of the format
Format codes depends on the communication protocol of the RTU that
transmits the point. These are described in the various scan task
user’s guides.

Point Database Editing Guide 8-5

8.4 Text Point Data Fields — Alarms

Figure 8.4-1 Text Point Dialog (Alarms)

The data fields for the alarms tab of a text point are described below.

Table 8.4-1 Text Point Dialog Data Fields Description Table — Alarm Tab
Field Description
This field specifies the alarm message format to be used when an alarm is raised
against a point. An alarm message format is a special text string that specifies what an
alarm should look like. The alarm message formats are defined using STC Explorer.
See Alarm Message Skeletons, in the DB-402, Alarm Database Editing Guide.
Format
The system allows thousands of formats to be defined, but 256 alarm message formats
are provided in the default database. Many of these are pre-configured for use by the
system itself. The others are for your use in creating specialized message formats for
the alarms raised by your points.
Each text point has an alarm priority associated with it. These priority codes (from 0 to
10), which are selected from a drop-down list, determine the behavior of the alarm
messages that are raised against a point, regarding audible annunciation, message
Priority
coloring and acknowledgement.

Note: See DB-402 Alarm Database Editing Guide for a description of alarm priorities.

Point Database Editing Guide 8-6

 9 User Point Types

This chapter describes how to define entries in the User Point Types table.

9.1 Introduction
The User Point Types table can be edited in the Point Resources branch of the STC Explorer, as shown
in Figure 9.1-1. A list of existing user types is displayed in the right-hand pane. By right-clicking and
selecting the desired function, you can add a new user type, modify or delete an existing user type, or
create a new one as a model of an existing one. The editing dialog is shown in Figure 9.2-1.

User Point Types are short text strings associated with points, and used as selection criteria in reports.
You may create as many different user types as you need to identify your database points.

The Point Type text strings can be:

 Displayed on tabular displays
 Output in reports and database queries
 Used as selection criteria in reports and database queries

Point Database Editing Guide 9-1

Figure 9.1-1 Point Resources—User Point Types

9.2 Editor Data Fields

The data fields for the user type dialog are described below.

Figure 9.2-1 User Type Dialog

Table 9.2-1 User Type Dialog Data Fields Description Table

Field Description
The User Point Type string is referenced by this name you give it. This can be up to 32
Name
characters.
You may optionally specify a description as well (up to 128 characters). This
Description
description only appears in the STC Explorer view of the User Point Types Table.
The internal identification number for this type string also appears in this dialog. It is
ID
assigned by the system, and may not be changed.

Point Database Editing Guide 9-2

 10 Command/State Strings

This chapter describes how to define entries in the Command/State String Table.

10.1 Introduction
Command/State strings are text strings that represent the commands that can be sent out to a
controllable device (which are normally a 0-command and a 1-command), and the current state that is
reported by the RTU (which may actually be 0, 1, 2, or 3). The strings are organized into a record in the
Command State String Table. All types of status points use a command/state string record to define the
strings to be used to show their state, and to identify the commands that can be issued.

The Command/State Strings Table can be found under Point Resources in the left pane of STC Explorer
(see Figure 10.1-1). Doing so will bring up the existing table in the right pane, where you can create a
new string record, clone or edit an existing one. The editing dialog appears inFigure 10.1-2.

Point Database Editing Guide 10-1

Figure 10.1-1 Command/State Strings Table

Figure 10.1-2 Edit Command/State Record Dialog

Point Database Editing Guide 10-2

10.2 Editor Data Fields
The data fields for Command/State String Record dialog are described below.

Table 10.2-1 Command/State String Dialog Data Fields Description Table

Field Description
The Command/State String is referenced by the Name you give it. This can be
Name up to 32 characters. The name will be seen in the Status Point window when
you select the Command/State String for that point to use.
You may optionally specify a description as well (up to 128 characters). This
description only appears in the STC Explorer view of the Command-State
Strings Table.
Description
Note: The internal identification number beside this field is for this command-
state string record. This is assigned by the system, and cannot be changed.
In each string record four of the strings, called command strings, are used by
the system to identify the four possible commands (i.e. the commands that will
cause the four possible states). In particular, they are used to:
 Label control pushbuttons in dialog boxes
Command String
 Log control operations

Most protocols only support commands for the states 0 and 1, so you may only
need to define the first 2 strings.

Point Database Editing Guide 10-3

Table 10.2-1 Command/State String Dialog Data Fields Description Table continued
Field Description
The remaining four strings, the state strings, are used to represent the current
state of status points in:
 Alarms
 Maps and other displays
 Reports
 Tabular status point viewer

Single-bit status points will use only the strings for state 0 and 1, while dual-bit
status points may use three or four strings. In some cases, you may only be
interested in the commands, or only the states. But there is no harm in using a
State String record that contains more strings than you need.

Each string should be kept short for practical reasons, but up to 32 characters
are allowed.

For efficiency, you should have similar types of status points use the same
command/state string record, so that they label the states and commands in the
same way. You can use the command/state string record you like, even if the
status point you are editing will not make use of both commands and all four
states.

Note: The command values (0 and 1) and the state values (0, 1, 2, and 3)
pertain to the value in the database, after the received data is formatted by the
scan task.

Point Database Editing Guide 10-4

 11 Ennumerated Values

This chapter describes how to define sets of Enumerated Values, which can then be used to display
selected analog points as text instead of their numeric values.

11.1 Introduction
For certain analog points, you may prefer not to treat the values that the point could take on as their
actual numeric values. Instead, you may want to treat each expected value as a text string that
describes its meaning. For example, the values reported by a device (such as an RTU) might
correspond to its operating modes, where 1 = Stopped, 2 = Running, 3 = Starting, 4 = Stopping and
5 = Disabled. Such a point would not be expected to take on any other values than these.

Instead of displaying the point values as these numbers, and relying on the operator to know what each
one means, you can define a set of Enumerated Values for them. Then this analog point can be
configured to use these text values. The text will appear in WorldView or SmartVU in any pmacro that is
configured to display one of these points, provided the pmacro is of a text type. The pmacros usually
used to display analog points as numeric values are suitable text pmacros for this purpose, so you don't
usually need to make any other special arrangements to display these points.

Point Database Editing Guide 11-1

The Enumerated Values table can be found under the Point Resources branch in STC Explorer, as seen
in Figure 11.1-1.

Figure 11.1-1 Enumerated Values Window

You can create a new set of values by right-clicking in the right-hand pane and choosing New. If you
have an existing set, you can modify it by double-clicking on it. These actions bring up the Enumerated
Value editor, seen in Figure 11.1-2.

Point Database Editing Guide 11-2

Figure 11.1-2 Enumerated Value Dialog

Each set of enumerated values you create may be used by any number of analog points, so long as
their values have the same meanings. You'll need to create separate enumerated values, with different
strings, for any points whose values have different text meanings.

11.2 Editor Data Fields

The data fields for Enumerated Value are described below.

Table 11.2-1 Ennumerated Value Dialog Data Fields Description Table

Field Description
This set of enumerated values is referenced by the Name you give it. This can
Name be up to 32 characters. The name will be seen in the Analog Point editor when
you select the enumerated values for that point to use.
You may optionally specify a description as well, up to 128 characters. This
Description description only appears here in the STC Explorer view of the Enumerated
Values Table.

Point Database Editing Guide 11-3

Table 11.2-1 Ennumerated Value Dialog Data Fields Description Table continued
Field Description
Typical analog points generate alarms based on a set of limit values you define
for each point. When an analog point is being treated as a set of distinct values,
these limit alarms may not be useful. Therefore they can be configured to raise
alarms corresponding to which value they have.
Alarm Format
In this field, select the Alarm Format that will be used to raise these alarms.
This is similar to the alarm behavior of status points (see section 6.4.7), and
refer to Alarm Message Skeletons, in the DB-402, Alarm Database Editing
Guide.
Here you create a list of every possible value that the points which will use this
Ennumerated
Enumerated Value could take on. In each row, you must specify the value (Key)
Values
how that value is to be dealt with.
This is the numeric value, one of the values that the analog point could take on,
Key either by telemetry or by Manual Set operations. Create a row in this list for
every value you expect the point to have.
Name This is the text that represents the meaning of this particular value. It should be
the exact text you wish to see in place of the point's numeric value.
Priority If you want some or all of the enumerated values to raise an alarm, then you
should also specify an alarm priority to be used, for that value's alarm. If you do
not need a value to raise an alarm, leave the "?" in this field, or choose Priority
0.
Remote Alarm If the alarm that will be raised by the enumerated value should also be
annunciated by the Remote Annunciation feature, select the appropriate
Remote Alarm here. Refer to Remote Annunciation in the Alarm Database
Editing Guide.
Color
If the pmacro that will be used to display this point's value includes a color table
(drawing style table) resource, the entries in that table can be used to specify
the color each enumerated value will be displayed in. Enter the number that
corresponds to the table entry which is the color you want for this value. For
more information on pmacros, resources, and the color table, refer to the
SmartVU Editing online Help or the WorldView Editing Guide.

Point Database Editing Guide 11-4

 12 Zones and Zone Groups

This chapter describes zones and zone groups.

12.1 Introduction
Zones are areas of responsibility. A zone can mean whatever you want it to mean. 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 license requirements for different voltage levels
 Separate pipelines, if your system is a multiple pipeline system with separate operators for
each pipeline

You can segregate your system into up to 128 logical zones, and you can assign each database point to
any combination of zones. Event printers and operator login accounts may also be assigned any
combination of zones.

Point Database Editing Guide 12-1

Zones have the following effects on operations:
 Each event printer only prints alarms and events for points whose zones overlap those of
the printer
 An operator can manipulate only those points whose zones overlap those of his login
account

For example, if a point is assigned to a zone called Water and a zone called Equipment:
 An event printer assigned to zones Water and Electric will print events for the point, but a
printer assigned to the Electric zone alone will not print events for the point
 An operator in an account that is assigned to zones Equipment and Measurements will
be allowed to operate the point, but an operator in an account that is assigned to zones
Accounting and Measurements will not be allowed to operate the point

Since there can be so many zones, it is not necessary to explicitly assign (up to 128) zone names or
numbers to every point, logger and SCADA account.

Instead, you assign them a single group of zones. You define each group’s name, and which zones are
included in the group.

All assignments to points, users, etc., are made by group name. You can define as many named groups
as you like, in order to handle the combinations of zones you need (including overlapping combinations).

Point Database Editing Guide 12-2

12.2 Zones
Select Zones in the left pane of STC Explorer to see the list of existing zones. It can be found in the
Access Control branch, as shown in Figure 12.2-1. Choose one to be edited, or create a new one. The
editing dialog box is shown in Figure 12.2-2.

Figure 12.2-1 Zones Window

Figure 12.2-2 Zone Dialog

Point Database Editing Guide 12-3

12.3 Editor Data Fields – Zones
The data fields for the zone dialog are described below.

Table 12.3-1 Zone Dialog Data Fields Description Table

Field Description
To make it easier to deal with zones when editing the zone groups, you give a name
Name
(up to 32 characters in length) to each zone here.
You may also include a description. Up to 128 characters are permitted. This
description only appears in the STC Explorer view of the Zones list.
Description
The “Code” field is the internal identification number for this zone record, which is
assigned automatically by the system when it is created. This value may not be
changed.

12.4 Zone Groups

Select Zone Groups in the left pane of STC Explorer (in the Access Control branch) to see the list of
existing groups as shown in Figure 12.4-1. Choose one to be edited, or clone the existing one or create
a new one. The editing dialog box is shown in Figure 12.4-2.

Figure 12.4-1 Zones Window

Point Database Editing Guide 12-4

Figure 12.4-2 Zone Group Dialog

12.5 Editor Data Fields – Zone Groups

The data fields for the zone dialog are described below.

Table 12.5-1 Zone Groups Dialog Data Fields Description Table

Field Description
To make it easier to deal with zone groups, you give a name (up to 32 characters in
Name
length).

You can also include a description. Up to 128 characters are permitted. This
Description
description only appears in the STC Explorer view of the Zone Group list.

Point Database Editing Guide 12-5

Table 12.5-1 Zone Groups Dialog Data Fields Description Table continued
Field Description
In the list “Is a member of these zones”, all defined zone names are listed. You
specify the members of this group by marking the desired zones with a
checkmark.

The example group specifies all of the existing zones. Anything assigned to
zone group “All zones”, whether it is a point, a logger or a SCADA account, will
be assigned to those zones.

If a point is assigned this zone group, it may be handled by an operator whose

login specifies a different zone group. As long as the other zone group contains
Member Zones at least one of the zones included in this group, there will be a “match”, and the
operator will be allowed to access this point. Likewise, if a logger is assigned
some other zone group, and at least one of these two zones appears in that
group, the logger will print events related to this point.

As you can see, any group with one or more zones included will result in a
match with this group, “All zones”.

Note: You may not create a group that has no member zones. If you need to
have a user without access to any zones, you should create a user whose zone
group is set to <None>.

Point Database Editing Guide 12-6

 13 Alarm Limit Matrices

This chapter describes the creation of Alarm Limit Matrices, which may be used by analog points as
described in section 7.4 Analog Point Data Fields — Alarm.

13.1 Introduction
The Alarm Limit Matrices can be found STC Explorer tree.

1. Click on the Alams branch.

2. Click on Alarm Limit Matrices

Result: The right window pane displays a list of existing matrices.

3. Double-click on an existing matrix to edit it.

Result: The editing dialog shown in Figure 13.1-1 displays.

4. To create a new matrix, right-click in the right window pane and select New.
Result: The same dialog displays as shown in Figure 13.1-1 but with empty fields.

Note: This dialog box dynamically handles matrix size.

Point Database Editing Guide 13-7

Figure 13.1-1 Lookup Matrix Dialog

Refer to section 7.4 for a discussion of analog alarm limits.

An alarm limit matrix provides one or more “rows”, each of which is a complete set of alarm limit values.
At any given time, one row of the matrix is used to define the alarm limits for the analog point(s) you
have designed to use this matrix. The definition of the matrix includes an indication of which limits are “in
use’, and which are not.

The analog point(s) that use a given matrix get their alarm limits from one row of the matrix. They select
which row to use in one of 3 ways:
 Always use the first row (suitable for limits that never really need to automatically
change). This could represent a single set of alarm limits that you only want to enter
once. It allows you to use this set of limits conveniently in a large number of points,
simply by selecting the matrix when you create the point. If you ever need to make a
“global” change to the limits, you only need to do it in one place
 Based on a numeric constant which is entered in the point’s definition (for cases where
the row selection is rarely changed, or is a “permanent” selection of one of a group of
related limits). This could represent a group of alarm limits. Your points use one of the
members of the group (one row in the matrix), and do not usually need to change. For
example, a matrix may contain feeder current limits, where each row represents a
different size or type of feeder
 Based on the value of another analog point (for cases where the limits may need to
change frequently, or automatically). This could be used where limits change seasonally,
or by time of day, or in conjunction with another measured or calculated quantity. That
quantity is stored in a database point, and is used to determine which row of the matrix is
selected

Point Database Editing Guide 13-8

 13.2 Matrix Definition
In the matrix editing dialog (Figure 13.1-1), you first must specify the characteristics of the matrix. The
fields in this dialog box are described below.

Table 13.2-1 Lookup Matrix Dialog Data Fields Description Table

Field Description
Give your matrix the name that you wish to see on the drop-down list when you are
Name
referencing it in an analog point.
Add a description to help identify its purpose. The Matrix ID number is assigned by the
Description
system, and cannot be changed.
This is threshold for changes to the selection of the row in the matrix. Changes in the
value of the row-selecting point that are smaller than this, will not cause the alarm
Threshold limits to be re-evaluated (the row selection will not change). Zero is appropriate in
many cases, but if the point’s value is telemetered, you may want small changes to be
ignored.
Origin Enter the numeric value you want to associate with the first row in your matrix. If your
seasons will be known as 1, 2, 3, and 4, you should enter 1.
Enter the “step size” in the number that identifies the rows in the matrix (column
Delta Lookup in Figure 13.1-1). For our seasonal example, this would likely be 1. But you
would need to use 10 if you were building a matrix where each row represented a 10-
degree increase in air temperature.
Title This optional field is for a label for your matrix’s “y” dimension. Enter the name of the
quantity that the rows of the table are meant to represent, such as temperature.
Use the checkboxes at the top of the matrix to indicate which limits (columns) are to be
modified by this matrix. Un-checked columns represent limits that will not be changed
(if there is an existing limit defined on the point, it will remain in effect).
Check boxes
The Analog Limit Matrix editor checks matrix cell values only if the limit column is
enabled by the column’s enable checkbox.
For every row that will be used by an analog point, enter the alarm limits you need. To
Matrix add a row right-click in this window and select New Row. Then add the alarm limits by
clicking on each field.

Parameters
The “x” dimension of all alarm limit matrices (the number of columns) is always 6. This represents the six
alarm limit values used by an analog point (see 7.4 Analog Point Data Fields — Alarm).

The origin and delta fields allow you to create the “y” dimension of your matrix to suit you needs. You
might only need one row, identified as number 1. Alternatively, you might need 16 rows, corresponding to
10-degree increments of air temperature, from -40 to 120 degrees.

Once you have created a matrix, these values cannot be changed, because the dimensions of the matrix
are fixed. If you have made an error, you must delete the matrix and create a correct one (before
beginning to enter the limit values).

Point Database Editing Guide 13-9

13.2.1 Application

Refer to section 7.4 Analog Point Data Fields — Alarm to determine how your analog points will
use your limit matrix. If only one row will be used, ensure that the first row of the matrix contains
the values that you want.

If an analog point will use a constant row of the matrix, enter the appropriate constant value in the
point’s definition. Ensure that the constant value corresponds to the number of the row you want
to use (in the example pictured, it should be 1, 2, 3, or 4).

If an analog point will provide the row number, take care that the point you choose produces
values that correspond to the row number labels you have created in the matrix. Values in
between row numbers will match the nearest row of the matrix, while values that are too small or
too large will match the first or the last row of the matrix, respectively.

Point Database Editing Guide 13-10