SIMOTION IT DIAG (web server)

SIMOTION controllers have a web server integrated into their runtime system. The web pages integrated as standard offer extensive help functions for a variety of applications:

• Device information
  Detailed information about the firmware versions, hardware components and technology objects of the device
• Diagnostics
  Information about device resources: CPU load, memory usage, task duration times and operating state, diagnostic buffer, extended diagnostic buffer and technology object alarms, axis overview, watch tables and runtime trace.
  The diagnostic pages for SIMOTION D also display drive alarms, drive diagnostic buffer and parameters of the integrated SINAMICS drive. The watch tables support simultaneous access to the variables of all accessible SIMOTION controllers in the network (V4.5 and higher).
• Runtime trace
  Recorded data can be stored on the HMI device (e.g. PC). The supplied Web Trace Viewer offers a wide scope of options for evaluating recorded data: Graphical, with zoom and dual measuring cursor.
  SIMOTION D offers the Web Trace Viewer as a direct download from the standard web pages. The Web Trace Viewer is compatible with Windows XP and Windows 7 32/64 bit Professional or Ultimate.
• System trace
  As with the SIMOTION SCOUT engineering system, a distributed trace for recording variables can be configured and started across different controllers in the system.
• Access to the device file system
  A web browser can be used to store and access any number of files in a specially provided directory of the file system of the SIMOTION controller. In this way, documentation and service instructions can be stored directly in the controller, for example.
• Project update and firmware update
  The SIMOTION project as well as the firmware of the SIMOTION controller can be updated from the standard web pages.
• Access protection
  SIMOTION IT features extensive security functions, such as security levels, user administration and access protection. All protocols (HTTP/HTTPS/FTP/Telnet) can be enabled individually in the SIMOTION SCOUT engineering project.
• User-specific web pages
  The user can create web pages and save them on the SIMOTION controller.
  Read and write access to the SIMOTION variables is possible. JavaScript can be used to implement active operation and display functions on the web pages. This is supported by existing JavaScript libraries.
  All current web technology tools (HTML4/HTML5) can be employed to create user pages.

SIMOTION IT OPC XML-DA

SIMOTION controllers have an OPC XML-DA server integrated into their runtime system. OPC XML-DA is an interface specified by the OPC Foundation and is based on the standard IT protocol HTTP. The data requests of a client are coded in XML symbolically and transmitted to SIMOTION using the HTTP protocol. These are evaluated by the integrated OPC XML DA server and the response is then sent back to the client over the same path.

It is therefore possible, for example, to create HMI applications in different programming languages (C#, Visual Basic, Java, JavaScript) on any client systems independently of the operating system.

The client application only works with the symbolic names of the SIMOTION variables and has thus only a loose link to the SIMOTION SCOUT database. A symbol export, similar to the Windows-based process on the SIMATIC NET OPC DA server, is not required. This ensures that consistency problems between the version of the client application and the project version in SIMOTION are avoided from the beginning.

The OPC XML-DA server offers the following functions for access to the data of the SIMOTION controller:

• Read and write access to the SIMOTION variables
• Access to diagnostic buffer, extended diagnostic buffer and technology alarm objects
• Symbolic browsing function via the SIMOTION variables
• Intelligent polling of variables using "subscriptions"
• Access protection (password-based) can be configured, if required.

The functionality responds in accordance with the specification of the OPC Foundation "OPC XML-DA Specification Version 1.01".

Note:
SIMOTION offers two further access options via OPC. In addition to the method already described via OPC XML-DA, OPC DA and OPC UA are also supported. OPC DA requires that the SIMATIC NET package is installed on the client PC. OPC DA and OPC UA are described in the OPC server section.

More information about OPC can be found on the Internet at
http://www.opcfoundation.org.

SIMOTION IT Virtual Machine

SIMOTION controllers have a Java runtime environment (Virtual Machine) integrated in their runtime system. Use of this function is licensed through the SIMOTION IT Virtual Machine license.

Java applications can be executed on a SIMOTION controller with SIMOTION IT Virtual Machine. This allows you to develop your own programs and concepts for commissioning, service and preventative maintenance.

The programs can be created with the standard development tools that are available on the market, such as Eclipse or NetBeans. When they have been created, the programs can be downloaded into the SIMOTION controller online. There is no dependency on SIMOTION SCOUT.

All Java applications on the SIMOTION controller are executed in asynchronous tasks in the SIMOTION task system, not in realtime tasks.

The Java environment provides an interface (API) to the SIMOTION runtime system over special system functions. The following functions are available:

• Read and write access to the SIMOTION variables
• Read and write access to the non-volatile memory (NVRAM)
• Use of system functions (functions of the technology objects)
• Use of standard Java classes in the device
  (file access, network functions, string functions, etc.)
• Creation of servlets
  Servlets are ideal for implementing user-specific interaction between the controller and a specific web application.