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Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article provides steps to resolve the following error message - "Permission Denied , Microsoft Explorer" - received in the Tag Watch page when trying to create a Private Tag List. | Solution: This problem is not related to Aspen Web.21, but it's a permission problem on MS Windows.
On the Web.21 Tag Watch page, both Private Tag Lists, and Public tag Lists, are saved on the server, but in different directories. The main difference between Private and Public Tag List is that Public tag Lists are visible to everybody, and the tag lists appear on the Tag list Menu in the left navigation pane, and the Private Lists are only visible to the user who created them.
In order to save a Tag List, users need to have WRITE and MODIFY permission to the following directories:
c:/inetpup/wwwroot/Aspentech/Web21/Taglists/ -->for Public tag Lists
and
c:/inetpup/wwwroot/Aspentech/Web21/Taglists_private/<Username>/ --> for Private Tag Lists
READ only permission on these directories, prevents Web.21 from saving Tag Lists, displaying error: "Permission Denied , Microsoft Explorer".
Keywords: Web.21, Tag Watch, Permission Denied
References: None |
Problem Statement: Getting the following error when opening the Web.21 home page:
Active Server pages error '00000000'
Create object failed
?
An error occurred while creating object 'oS95'
Microsoft JScript runtime error '800a0046'
Permission denied
/LM/W3svc/1/Root/Web21/global.asa, line 193 | Solution: This error relates to accessing a file in the \AspenTech\ProcessData directory. To resolve this, the account that Web.21 is using for authentication needs to have Read & Execute, List, and Read permissions to the \AspenTech\ProcessData directory.
To verify which account Web.21 is using for authentication, right mouse click the Web.21 Virtual Directory in the Internet Services Manager and select "Properties". Select the Directory Security tab and click on the Edit button under Anonymous access and Authentication control. If Anonymous Access is selected, then the account used for anonymous access needs permission to the \AspenTech\ProcessData. If Basic or Integrated Windows authentication is selected, then users launching Web.21 are making requests with their own user context. In this latter case, an Active Directory group or role -- such as Authenticated Users -- that user accounts belong to should be granted permission to the ProcessData directory.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: When you look at the data sources in Aspen IP.21 Process Browser there is missing information. (Data Source(s) is/are incomplete) | Solution: Add a new Data Source. (adding a new Data Source will cause Aspen IP.21 Process Browser to update all Data Sources.)
Note: you may delete the Data Source you just created previously.
Keywords: data source
web.21
process browser
References: None |
Problem Statement: For Aspen IP.21 Process Browser to verify Aspen Frame Work Security, the virtual directory MSADC must exist in Internet Information Services (IIS 7.x). Especially on Windows 2008 Servers, it can be seen that the MSADC virtual directory is missing. This solution details how to add the MSADC virtual directory. | Solution: The following steps explain how to add the MSADC virtual directory to IIS.
Open IIS 7.0
Browse to Sites | Default Web Site (the exact path may vary, depending on the plattform).
Right click on "Default Web Site" and select ADD | Virtual Directory from the context menu. The Virtual Directory Creation Wizard is now started.
It will first ask for an Alias. Type in MSADC
Enter the following path for
-32bit Operating systems enter C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\msadc
-64bit Operating systems enter C:\Program Files(x86)\Common Files\System\msadc
Press 'Ok'Button
Restart IIS Service.
MSADC should now appear as a virtual directory in IIS beneath the "Default Web Site" area.
KeyWords
AFW
Local Security
MSADC
IIS 7
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article provides steps to resolve the following message:
"The tag name =AT01*9/5+32 could not be validated on database AACPIM01. Do you wish to continue?"
which may be encountered when trying to configure an ad-hoc calculation in the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser Graphics Studio. | Solution: This message is just a warning and a notification. You should be able to click "Yes" and continue on to publish the file and see the desired results.
Key_Words
The tag name <your ad-hoc tag name> could not be validated on database <your database name> Do you wish to continue?
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Aspen IP.21 Process Browser can't show trend plot successfully unless 'enable21bitapponwin64' is set to 'true'. | Solution: On the Windows 2008 64-bit system, go to the trend page and insert a tag. The trend plot cannot be displayed successfully and the value displays invalid, and the database shows null in the trend plot page.
To get the trend plot to display successfully, follow the steps below:
1.Open a command prompt and navigate to the %systemdrive%\Inetpub\AdminScripts folder.
2.Type cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32BitAppOnWin64 'true'
3.Press Enter.
Keywords: trend plot
Windows 2008 r2 64-bit
References: None |
Problem Statement: Due to recent Java restrictions (Java versions 1.7.0_51 and later), publishing graphics or projects that contain graphics to Aspen IP.21 Process Browser requires that the files be packed in a JAR file and signed with your company's signature.
The HTML export status page that appears after publishing displays information regarding JAR signing status if enabled.
Once a signed JAR file for a Graphic Studio project or graphic has been successfully published to the web server, it will automatically be used by Process Browser to view the graphics published from that project.
See the Oracle documentation of jarsigner.exe for more detailed information on the signing process:
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/tools/windows/jarsigner.html
A detailed explanation of the various jarsigner options shown on the JAR Publish tab of the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser Graphics Studio is provided below. | Solution: Publish JAR File - Select this check box to enable JAR publishing. This check box is selected by default. Once you try to publish without the JAR signing information, however, this check box will be cleared and your graphics will not be packed in a JAR file. This means that they will not run with Java version 1.7.0_51. If you are using Java version 1.7.0_51, be sure to select this check box after securing your JAR signing information.
Manifest - Enter or browse for the path to a JAR manifest file. The manifest is a special file containing information about the files packaged in the JAR file.
The jar.exe tool automatically puts a default manifest into the JAR file, but you can enable additional functionality by specifying a manifest text file. Its information is included in the JAR manifest when publishing.
See http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/deployment/jar/secman.html
For signed graphic JARs, the manifest file will probably contain something like this:
Permissions: all-permissions
Codebase: *
Application-Name: Web21Graphics
Application-Library-Allowable-Codebase: *
Caller-Allowable-Codebase: *
Trusted-Only: true
Trusted-Library: true
Warning: Be sure the manifest text file ends with a new line or carriage return so that the last line will be parsed properly by jar.exe.
jarsigner options
-keystore (JKS file) - Enter or browse for the path to a JKS keystore file. A keystore is required when signing. Use the java keytool command to generate a keystore file. See http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/tools/solaris/keytool.html.
-tsa - A URL can be specified here to identify the location of the Time Stamping Authority (TSA) for generating the timestamp.
If specified, a timestamp is generated by jarsigner for the signature.
-storepass - The password to access the keystore. This is required when signing a JAR file.
alias - The unique alias for accessing the keystore. This is also required when signing a JAR file.
-keypass - The password for the private key of the keystore entry addressed by the alias. Required if it is different from the store password.
other - Any additional options desired for jarsigner.exe can be added here, such as "-verbose".
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: After turning on "Show friendly HTTP error messages", per solution 118161, the following error message appears when trying to access the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser default page: "Script timed out" , http://host_name/web21/: | Solution: You need to extend the time out allocated in Microsoft's Internet Information System (IIS) server, to allow it to show what specific script is timing out. To do this, go to Microsoft's IIS configuration program, under the local computer, Web Site -> Default Web Site and select the Properties menu:
Under the Web Site tab see if you have the "Connection Timeout" set to 120 seconds, and increase it to say 300 seconds(5 minutes).
Restart the IIS Admin service after the change, and try to connect again.
This time you should see more information on the screen that would indicate the reason for the error, like the one below:
"Your Web.21 session is unlicensed!"
The error indicates that the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser server can't access the Aspen's SLM license server to validate the license.
Keywords: script timeout
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do you change the default color of trending pens when plotting with Aspen IP.21 Process Browser? | Solution: In the Trends/Plots of Aspen IP.21 Process Browser, select the Properties link and select Default.
Select the Pen tab. From this dialog, it is possible to change the default pen colors that appear in the plot by using the selector for "Number" and selecting the desired color.
Keywords: Web21
color
default
References: None |
Problem Statement: When Aspen InfoPlus.21 database's snapshot is upgraded and migrated to a new system, why does the accounting option under Aspen IP.21 Process Browser give an error message even though all files used for loading accounting exist and the user can connect to the data source with no problem? | Solution: This occurs because the existing snapshot may have had records that previously existed, but were emptied afterwards. To resolve the issue, all the association records with empty accounting records need to be deleted to get the page to start working.
To do this, run the following Aspen SQLplus query on the Aspen InfoPlus.21 database:
for (select name ASSOC, occnum CNT from actg_assocdef where actg_data_record
is NULL and name not like 'D-%' order by name, occnum)
do
update ACTG_AssocDef set USABLE=0 where name like ASSOC;
BEGIN
delete from ACTG_AssocDef where name like ASSOC;
write 'Deleted '||ASSOC;
EXCEPTION
write 'Exception deleting '||ASSOC;
END
end
select name ASSOC, occnum CNT from actg_assocdef where actg_data_record is
NULL order by name, occnum;
Accounting in the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser should now work as intended now.
Keywords: Accounting
Aspen IP.21 Process Browser
References: None |
Problem Statement: For Aspen IP.21 Process Browser (formerly called Aspen Web.21) clients to connect to the server it is very important to install and configure Internet Information Server (IIS) prior to installing Aspen IP.21 Browser on Windows Server 2008. This solution details the steps to follow in order to install IIS on Windows Server 2008 | Solution: 1. From Control Panel, select Programs and then Programs and Features.
2. In the Tasks list, click the Turn Windows features on or off link. The Server Manager dialog box is displayed.
3. Expand the Roles node, and select Web Server (IIS).
4. If Web Server (IIS) is not one of the enabled roles, then click Add Roles, and add it. After the role is added, then add Role Services, as described next.
5. In the right pane of the Server Manager dialog box, find the Web Server (IIS) section, and click Add Role Services.
Add the following Role Services. (NOTE: When you are selecting them, allow Windows to add the required dependent role services, if prompted.):
Common HTTP Features
? Static Content
? Default Document
? Directory Browsing
? HTTP Errors
Application Development
? ASP.NET
? .NET Extensibility
? ASP
? ISAPI Extensions
? ISAPI Filters
Health and Diagnostics
? HTTP Logging
? Request Monitor
Security
? Basic Authentication
? Windows Authentication
? Request Filtering
Performance
? Static Content Compression
Management Tools
? IIS Management Console
? IIS 6 Management Compatibility (NOTE: Enable ALL sub-items for this service.)
5. Close the Server Manager dialog box and Programs and Features window when complete.
Keywords: IIS 7
Install
Windows server 2008
IP.21 process browser
References: None |
Problem Statement: The following error message appears when attempting to access a Aspen Web.21 application. | Solution: The Custom Error feature is a security option that allows Administrators to limit the amount of detailed information that appears in Aspen Web.21 error messages.
The Custom Errors setting can be altered by changing the "Custom Errors Mode" in the Web.Config file located at ?\inetpub\wwwroot\Aspentech\Tools\ on the Web.21 server.
There are three possible settings for the Custom Errors Tag:
1) On: Enables custom error on ALL machines where Web.21 is opened. This setting shows "friendly/generic error messages" (Prevents the display of folder structures to increase security)
2) Off: disables custom errors. ALL machines will show full/normal error messages. (filenames and structures are shown in error messages)
3) RemoteOnly: allows normal errors messages ONLY if Web.21 is run on the server; BUT shows custom errors when Web.21 is run on client/remote workstations. (Set this way for security purposes).
** Note: After modifying the Web.config file, you must restart IIS.**
Keywords: Web.config;
Custom errors;
<custom errors>;
Security;
remote;
References: None |
Problem Statement: Aspen IP.21 Process Browser randomly hangs or starts new sessions.
Cause
The user's network may be NTLM, while the IIS Authentication Provider is listed as "Negotiate" by default for Aspen IP.21 Process Browser. This causes conflicts in the protocol, which causes IIS to fail to authenticate users intermittently. | Solution: 1. Open the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
2. On the left hand pane, navigate to <nodename> | Sites | Default Web Site | Web21
3. Double click Authentication
4. Select Windows Authentication
5. Select Providers... from the right hand pane
6. Highlight the option Negotiate and click remove
7. Press OK and close the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
8. Open a command window and run an iisreset
9. Close and reopen Aspen IP.21 Process Browser
The page should no longer experience the issue of randomly hanging and/or starting new sessions. An example page of the solution is shown below:
Keywords: browser hangs
slow
References: None |
Problem Statement: This knowledge base article provides an example .asp page which demonstrates how to do the following through JavaScript:
Add tags to a plot
Change the begin and end times of the timeline
Display the tag values to the user
The Aspen Web.21 plot and timeline objects are the same objects used by Aspen Process Explorer. Therefore, full documentation for the objects used in this example can be found in the Aspen Process Explorer Automation Interface on-line help file. | Solution: Download ContainerSample.asp.
Keywords: Time
Line
PEPlot.asp
ocx
ActiveX
JScript
References: None |
Problem Statement: I have Aspen InfoPlus.21 database security implemented. Can I use Anonymous Authentication for Aspen IP.21 Process Browser [Web.21] connection? | Solution: When Aspen InfoPlus.21 database security is implemented, all users that access Aspen InfoPlus.21 must be defined in a security role that provides access.
The authentication methods configured in IIS must be considered when implementing this type of security:
- Windows and Basic Authentication use the logon account or require entering a user/password which can be added to an Aspen InfoPlus.21 database security role.
- If Anonymous access is required, then the anonymous account must also be added to the Aspen InfoPlus.21 database security role. By default, the local IUSR account is used as the Anonymous account. However, this account is not recognized by Aspen InfoPlus.21 database security. The workaround for configurations that require Anonymous access along with Aspen InfoPlus.21 database security is to use a named domain account that is a member of an Aspen InfoPlus.21 database security role.
Keywords: IIS Anonymous Authentication and IP.21 Database Security compatibility
IP21 DB security
References: None |
Problem Statement: Background: Microsoft FrontPage is a tool that one can use to create and modify web pages. There is an add-in for FrontPage that will give the user the ability to incorporate Design-Time Controls (DTCs) into web pages for Aspen InfoPlus.21-related objects like data points (including ones to write back to the database), bar graphs, trend plots, and summaries. This functionality complements that provided by the Aspen IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio. The add-in is called Web21Addin.dll and it gets installed as part of the Aspen IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio installation.
Question: Since Microsoft FrontPage has been superseded by other products like Microsoft Expression Web and Microsoft Sharepoint Designer will the FrontPage add-in work with those products? | Solution: At the time of this writing (July 2010) the add-in is only supported for Microsoft FrontPage. AspenTech is reviewing other possibilities for the future but there are no firm commitments for support of other editors at this moment.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Newly added tags are not shown in High Performance Trend (HPT) Search automatically. Typically, auto-indexing should be turned ON (refer to solution ID 133988) or users can force a refresh of the search database to index new tags (refer to solution ID 134189). However, if there are tags that are not added by the above methods, they can be manually added. | Solution: A list of tags that are to be added manually are to be generated from the Aspen InfoPlus.21 database. The following steps detailed requires to be performed on the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser server machine.
1. Browse to http://localhost/Web21 in Internet Explorer.
2. Click on "SYSTEM" on the top right-hand corner.
3. Click on "Search Configuration" button.
4. Key in the tags to be added manually into HPT Search.
NOTE: Please separate multiple Tags using a comma ",".
If above image is not displayed, please refer to the attached PDF file.
5. Click on the Update button.
6. A dialog box will prompt that "The request was submitted successfully".
Keywords: Index Tags
missing Tags
HPT search
reindex
Tag search
Web21
Web.21
References: None |
Problem Statement: Strange apparently inexplicable problems have been seen with Automated Aspen SQLplus Web Reports where the report is being e-mailed to one of more recipient. Often other reports do not have any problems and it is difficult to see any difference between those that work and those that do not.
One example is that a user received 61 copies of each e-mailed report rather than all 61 recipients receiving their own single copy.
Another example is that the Web Report was set to save 5 days' worth of reports on disk but it was not saving any of them. | Solution: Both of the above cases were due to the fact that the list of e-mail recipients stored with the report contained one or more addresses that were invalid. They either had a spelling error, or they pointed to user(s) that no longer worked with the company.
Keywords: web report, email, e-mail problems, distribution list
References: None |
Problem Statement: After installing patch v7.3.0.2 on to my IP.21 Process Browser server, I am getting an error when using the new PME Search function in the High Performance Trends.
This issue is due to the installation of patch v7.3.0.2 on systems where the original v7.3 installation of IP.21 Process Browser is not on the C: (default) drive. Unfortunately part of the installation is put on the C: drive and creates an error when using the Apache Tomcat 7 service to request data using the PME search. | Solution: Follow these steps to resolve the error:
? If patch v7.3.0.3 is not installed on the system please install this patch
? Once patch v7.3.0.3 has been installed please stop all AspenTech services and Apache Tomcat 7 service running on the Server
? Browse on the Server to the location: C:\Program Files (x86)\AspenTech\AspenSearch\Tomcat 7.0.8\AppData\solr
? Copy all files and folder contained in the above location
? Browse on the Server to the location: X:\Program Files (x86)\AspenTech\AspenSearch\Tomcat 7.0.8\AppData\solr (where X is the drive where you had previously installed IP.21 Process Browser v7.3)
? Paste all files and folders into the above location overwriting existing files when prompted to do so.
? Browse on the Server to the location: X:\Program Files (x86)\AspenTech\AspenSearch\Tomcat 7.0.8\WebApps\solr\WEB-INF
? Edit the file Web.xml and replace the line shown to reflect the correct drive letter (and path).
? Restart all AspenTech services and Apache Tomcat 7 Service.
Keywords: Error parsing JSON: Syntax Error: Unexpected token <
PME Search
HPT
References: None |
Problem Statement: Error accessing Aspen InfoPlus.21 Process Browser default page (http://localhost/Web21). The message appears when trying to access the page at the Process Browser server and for users calling the page from other computers. Restarting Internet Information Service (IIs) corrects the problem.
The error received looks like:
Active Server Pages error '0000000'
create object failed
?
An error ocurred while creating object 'ResourceLocalizer'
Microsoft JScript runtime error '800a0005'
invalid procedure call or argument
/LM/W3svc/1/Root/Web21/global.asa line 449 | Solution: This type of error occurs when one or more components of Microsoft's Internet Information Service (IIS) or ASP.NET are missing from the Windows system where the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Process Browser product is installed.
Re-installing Microsoft's IIS and ASP.NET resolves the problem. This requires re-installing Aspen IP.21 Process Browser.
Keywords: Active, Server, Pages, error, create, object, failed
References: None |
Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article shows how to programmatically access the scooter bar information on a Aspen Web.21 plot. | Solution: There is an interface for the scooters on the TrendChart object. It provides a "Count" property for number of scooters (for example, TrendPlot1.TrendChart.Scooters.Count).
You cannot get tag values directly through that interface, but you can get the time values of each scooter. For example:
h = TrendPlot1.TrendChart.Scooters.GetHandle(i)
scooterTime = TrendPlot1.TrendChart.Scooters.GetTime(h)
Those time values could then be used to get the necessary tag information.
Below is a test sample using PEPlot.asp to show scooter time:
============================================
function onTest1()
{
try
{
var trend = PlotObj.Plot.ControlDispatch();
if ( trend )
{
var trendScooters = trend.Scooters();
var numScooters = trendScooters.Count;
if ( numScooters > 0 )
{
var scooterHandle = trendScooters.GetHandle(0);
var scooterTime = trendScooters.GetTime(scooterHandle);
alert(scooterTime);
}
else
{
alert('No scooters');
}
}
}
catch(x)
{
}
}
===========================================
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: This solution shows how to customize the sizing function of the pddetail.asp page when opening the tag detail page from a graphic published using Aspen IP.21 Process Browser Graphic Studio.
When implemented, this solution prevents the tag detail page from undergoing resize. | Solution: ? Open C:\inetpub\wwwroot\AspenTech\Web21\behaviors\Graphic.htc
? Make a backup copy of the Graphic.htc file
? Find the following highlighted portion of the document. It resides in the public_tagDetail function. Change the height and width arguments to the desired size of the tag detail page.
? Locate the pddetail.asp page that is opening in the graphic upon the OnClick function. The detail page resides in the following directory: C:\inetpub\wwwroot\AspenTech\Web21
? Make a backup copy of the detail page.
? Locate the function TagNamesDone() and remove the highlighted portion
Now, when the user invokes the detail page from a graphic the size of the page will open to the custom size as specified in the graphic.htc file.
Keywords: tag
detail
pddetail
resize
References: None |
Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article shows how to restrict various users from accessing process graphics published in Aspen IP.21 Process Browser (formerly known as Web.21). | Solution: Attached to this solution please find an MS Word document titled: Securing Process Graphics.doc for detailed instructions. Please note that the instructions provided will hide the graphic available from the users according to their respective roles. However if a user manually types in the URL to a particular process graphic, he can still access the process graphic.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: AspenTech applications that use web pages require Default Website Identifier to be number "1". When Default Website Identifier is not "1", the following problems will occur with the installation of Aspen applications:
1. Aspen Application Pool is not created.
2. Aspen Web.21 virtual server is not created; when one attempts to create it manually, the error message "element not found" is returned.
3. Users can't deploy Aspen Role Based Visualization solutions. | Solution: The above installation problems occur as a result of rebuilding of the Default Web Site in IIS. When recreating the Default Web site (or creating new web sites), IIS assigns a different Website Identifier than the default identifier of "1". That causes Aspen installation scripts to fail since they use number "1" as Default Web Site identifier.
Therefore, when it's necessary to rebuild the Default Web Site in IIS, one must reconfigure the site identifier back to the original state in the Default Website properties before attempting to install any Aspen applications that use web pages.
The best way to recreate the Default Website is to restore it from a backup file from another IIS server. Please read the following article explaining how it's done:
http://www.ssw.com.au/ssw/KB/KB.aspx?KBID=Q889546
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Users may receive the following messages when navigating in Aspen IP.21 Process Browser (formerly Web.21):
Warning! No servers available. Details:
followed by:
DoDBConnect - connect() on well known port failed-ECONNREFUSED
Aspen IP.21 Process Browser functionality will be lost (e.g. trend plots won't work) until this issue is addressed. | Solution: To correct this issue make sure that the IPGCSI entry in the services file is using the same port number as what is specified in the ADSA server configuration for:
Aspen Process Subscription (GCS)
The services file is located in:
\WINDOWS\System32\drivers\etc
and can be opened via Windows Notepad. After making the change please restart TSK_BGCSNET from the InfoPlus.21 Manager and then open a Windows OS command prompt and issue this command:
iisreset
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: When Crystal Reports version 8.0 is installed onto a PC, it overwrites some registry settings. It will change the permissions on the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\TypeLib registry keys.
After these settings have been overwritten, it can cause problems with the Web.21 sessions (both on the Web.21 server and on Internet Explorer clients). | Solution: This behavior is detailed in Microsoft Knowledgebase Article Q266621, and includes a suggested fix for resolving it.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q266621
KeyWords:
ASP 0177: 0x8002801D "Library not registered"
Error registering COM+ Application. Contact your support personnel for more information. Microsoft Transaction Server does not support this interface because it is a custom interface built with MIDL and has not been linked with the type info helper library. (Package: IIS-{MyServices//Root})
(IID: {D97A6DA3-9C1C-11D0-9C3C-00A0C922E764})
(Microsoft Transaction Server internals information: File: i:\viper\src\runtime\cw\cwhlpapi.cpp. Line: 318)
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: IIS's World Wide Web Publishing service sometimes hangs and cannot be restarted. Often this occurs when the IIS Admin service is restarted. This adversely affects Aspen Web.21 as the site cannot be accessed without this service running. To resolve the problem, most users are forced to reboot the entire web server machine. The following solution contains a link for some system tools that can be used to restart the inetinfo.exe (the executable that corresponds to the WWWPublishing service), without having to reboot the server. | Solution: Sysinternals offers a utility that provides a "kill" command for Windows computers. You can download PSTools from the following website:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896649.aspx
In the case of a hanging WWWPublishing service, open a command prompt and navigate to the directory where the pstools were downloaded. Type in:
pskill inetinfo.exe
This will restart the inetinfo.exe/WWWPublishing service, without requiring a reboot.
KeyWords:
page could not be displayed
die
IIS
crash
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: An error is received when viewing a graphic within Aspen IP.21 Process Browser web page
"Warning! DataSource <DataSourceName> is not available on this Server. Tags using this DataSource will not be updated." | Solution: Following are the possible solutions to resolve the error referenced above :
1. Verify that only a single Process Subscription service component (either Aspen Process Subscription (Generics) or Aspen Process Subscription (GCS) when using GCS graphics) is configured in the Data Source defined by ADSA.
2. Stop and restart the IIS Admin Service. IIS will not see a data source that is recently added with the Process Subscription component unless it has been restarted.
3. When creating the graphic, ensure that each tag is referenced to a public data source and not a local user data source.
4. Prior to v2004.2, Aspen IP.21 Process Browser used to be case-sensitive in resolving data sources. For example, if the data source name in ADSA was changed from DS_1 to ds_1, any graphics that we specifically configured for DS_1 would no longer be able to access the data source. For more information and a work around under this scenario please refer the solution 119026.
5. Check to see if you have security implemented on your Aspen InfoPlus.21 database. If so, Web.21 virtual directory within IIS needs to be running with an account that have read permissions to the database instead of using Anonymous access IUSR account. Please refer the solution 130193 for more information.
KeyWords:
Data
Source
Web.21
servers
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: When you try to access the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser page on an Aspen InfoPlus.21 server or client machine, you may encounter the following problem:
When the node name is typed in Internet Exlorer as follows: http://nodename , instead of http://nodename/web21, it automatically defaults to http://www.nodename.com, where the nodename is referring to the nodename of the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser server.
However, you may also notice that if you type in http://10.148.0.2/web21, where 10.148.0.2 is the IP address of the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser server, the IP.21 Process Browser pages appear on the screen. | Solution: First, check to see if the nodename is resolving properly.
Type: Nslookup 10.148.0.2 at a command prompt to see if the nodename is resolved correctly.
Alternatively, you can also add the nodename and its corresponding IP address into the Windows host file.
Next, follow up with the Internet Explorer settings. Go to Tools->Internet Options->Connections ->Lan Settings, select the "Automatically detect" setting and check to see if the "Use a proxy server" setting has been checked.
If this option is checked, then you can uncheck it to resolve the problem. However, the security at your site may be compromised. This is because some companies may want to filter certain sites from the users and they use the proxy server to do so.
There is another option in the Tools->Internet Options->Connections ->Lan Settings under "Use Proxy Server" (when it is checked), "Bypass proxy server for local addresses". Select that option and you would be able to use/view Aspen IP.21 Process Browser pages without compromising the security.
KeyWords:
web21
proxy server
IE setting
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: By default, Aspen Web.21 displays eight lines in the IO Summary display. If you have more than eight transfer records defined under your scanners (logical devices), then only eight of them will be displayed. There is no obvious way to increase the display to show all available devices on the system. | Solution: The data source for the IO Summary Log in Web.21 is the IoSummary record in InfoPlus.21. IoSummary has a Repeat Area called MAX_SUMMARY_LINES. Increase the number of occurrences in the Repeat Area to equal your transfer objects (i.e. Get Records.) The display will start displaying a Getrecord when the status of the Getrecords changes. So if the status (ie. Succes, Some bad points) has not changed since you increased MAX_SUMMARY_LINES it will not appear yet. You can force a status change by toggling IO_RECORD_PROCESSING OFF and ON in the Getrecord and it will appear (but this may cause a little data gap)
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Certain customers experience an issue browsing to the InfoPlus.21 Process Browser home page when using Internet Explorer 8. Partial loading or no loading of the webpage may occur. | Solution: It is possible for the local cache within Internet Explorer to cause these issues. As the cache determines what should be loaded when visiting a webpage and how often, this setting can be changed within the Internet Explorer application itself. Customer have found that changing to Automatic instead of Every Visit has resolved issues with components not loading.
Open Internet Explorer
Go to the Tools Menu and select Internet Options
In the General Tab, under Browsing History click on the settings button and this, or a similar window, should be shown:
Change the "Check for newer versions of stored pages" from it's current setting to Automatic.
Close and reopen Internet Explorer.
This issue is also referenced by Microsoft here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/818506/EN-US/
Keywords: Internet Explorer 8
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do you move a project from one Graphics Studio installation to another?
What folder or files are required to accomplish this? | Solution: To move a project to a different Graphics Studio installation use the Backup Project menu option.- Click File | Backup.
Select a location to save the backup.
Web.21 Graphic Studio creates a Zip file that contains all required files and directory structures for the project.
Copy the Zip file to the new Graphics Studio installation and extract the backup to the Web.21 Graphic Studio folder, the default location is: C:\Program Files\AspenTech\Web21GraphicStudio.
See also Solution 120843, "How can I delete a published Graphic Studio project from the navigation tree in Aspen Web.21?".
Keywords: graphics studio project move
References: None |
Problem Statement: When going to the Aspen Web.21 website (http://servername/web21/) from any client PC, user immediately gets an error page with the following message:
Server object error 'ASP 0178 : 80070005'
Server.CreateObject Access Error
The call to Server.CreateObject failed while checking permissions. Access is denied to this object.
Notes:
- No problem when using Web.21 on the Web.21 server itself
- No problem if changing the default settings in IIS to anonymous logon | Solution: - Change the identity of the application pool running Aspen Web.21 to "Local System" as per Knowledge Base solution 116927
- Give both the "AUTHENTICATED USERS" and "SERVICE" Read & Execute permissions on the Web.21 & MSDAC folders (as per the IIS installation)
Keywords: Server object error
Access is denied
Access Error
ASP
0178 : 80070005
global.asa
Server.CreateObject
failed
checking
permissions
DefaultAppPool
References: None |
Problem Statement: After applying the latest Cumulative Patch to a V7.3 IP.21 Process Browser server, in some environments the clients may start displaying failures like this on pages that query InfoPlus.21:
1. From the Audit & Compliance page:
Query error: Web.21 Server is not available
2. From the Tag Lists page:
Web Server NOT Available | Solution: This may occur in environments that have increased security restrictions.
To restore functionality for these queries, open the Java application which can be found in the Windows Control Panel and de-select the "Enable the next-generation Java Plug-in" option, as shown:
Restart any open Internet Explorer sessions and re-try the same queries.
Keywords: cannot retrieve data, no data, query fails, page fails
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can I diagnose intermittent "HTTP 500 Internal server error" errors when accessing Aspen IP.21 Browser pages? | Solution: Error 500 is a general error code requiring gathering additional information to troubleshoot the problem.
For further information about this problem and a possible fix see Microsoft's KB, 945701:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/945701
If this patch does not resolve the issue then to troubleshoot the problem further you can enable ASP error logging in Micorsoft's Internet Information Services, IIS to get further information displayed in the web browser page when the error occurs.
You need to find out first if Aspen's AppPool is running as a 32 or 64 bit application in Micorsoft's Internet Information Services, and based on this run the appropiate command to enable ASP error logging.
Go to the Aspen IP.21 Browser Server and open the Internet Information Management Services (IIS) management program. Navigate to the Application Pools and select Advanced Settings for the AspenAppPool to check the "Enable 32-Bit Applications" flag, like:
If the "Enable 32-Bit Applications" is set to true, then open a command window using the "Run as Administrator" option , and enter:
C:\>%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:asp -scriptErrorSentToBrowser:true
and repeat the operation that produce the error condition.
If the "Enable 32-Bit Applications" is set to false then open a command window using the "Run as Administrator" option , and enter:
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:asp -scriptErrorSentToBrowser:true
and repeat the operation that produces the error condition and use the extra information displayed on the screen to resolve the issue.
After you finish troubleshooting, turn OFF ASP error logging by issuing the command:
appcmd set config -section:asp -scriptErrorSentToBrowser:false
Keywords: HTTP 500, internal, server, error
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I customize the banner in Aspen IP.21 Process Browser to put a company logo in there? | Solution: The solution to the problem is to modify the 'AppVars.js' file that is under the directory
'<drive>:\inetpub\wwwroot\AspenTech\Web21' .
The original file reads:
//Header Variables
var As_ProductName = 'Web.21' // Short form product name
var As_AppHome = '/Web21/Default.asp' // Home url
Change it to:
//Header Variables
//var As_ProductName = 'Web.21' // Short form product name
var As_ProductImage = 'images/AspenDVD.gif'
var As_AppHome = '/Web21/Default.asp' // Home url
Basically, use 'As_ProductImage' to specify the image that you want to put there. Using this will replace the word "Web.21" in the Home page with the image specified under the 'As_ProductImage' variable. There is no way to have both the image and "Web.21" to be displayed in the header so, make sure you comment out the 'As_ProductName' var in order to display the company logo.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can the side navigation menu and header/menu bar (on top) be automatically hidden so that the plot or graphic display can be increased? | Solution: Append the following parameters to the URL:
1. To hide the side menu: &UseMenu=no
e.g. http://localhost/Web21/PEPlot.asp?path=/Web21/Plots/Sample.xml&UseMenu=no
2. To hide the top navigation bar: &ShowHeader=no
e.g. http://localhost/Web21/PEPlot.asp?path=/Web21/Plots/Sample.xml&ShowHeader=no
3. To hide the menu and navigation bar:
http://localhost/Web21/PEPlot.asp?path=/Web21/Plots/Sample.xml&ShowHeader=no&UseMenu=no
4. The URL is similar for a graphic:
http://localhost/Web21/graphics.asp?ModelName=AspenDemo.Preflash&ShowHeader=no&UseMenu=no
Keywords: menu
bar
navigation
References: None |
Problem Statement: This knowledge base article explains why data point values on a graphic may not update with historical values as the time line is scrolled. | Solution: The cause of values displayed in a graphic not updating as the time line is scrolled is due to an incorrect configuration of the data point object. The following configurations of the data point object will not cause this behavior :
However, a configuration that explicitly references a field in the fixed area, such as IP_INPUT_VALUE will not track with the timeline. Example:
The following table provides a summary of the various data point configuration options and their corresponding behavior when the time line is scrolled.
Name field
Attribute field
Map field
Datapoint displays history when time line scrolled?
ATCAI
---
---
YES
ATCAI
<VALUE>
---
YES
ATCAI
IP_TREND_VALUE
---
YES
ATCAI 1 IP_TREND_VALUE
---
---
YES
ATCAI IP_INPUT_VALUE
---
---
NO
Keywords: time
line
timeline
history
graphic
References: None |
Problem Statement: Some components of aspenONE Manufacturing Execution Systems have a pre-requisite to install a specific version of the Sun Java JRE or JDK products installed prior to the installation of the products.
Sometimes after installing the products you will get repeated Java update prompts, like:
The "Check for Updates Automatically" checkbox can be easily unchecked in the the Java Control Panel in Windows 7, Windows server 2008 and Windows server 2012:
However the setting reverts back to the checked state as soon as you close the window and you'll continue to see the prompts for updating the version of Java. | Solution: As stated in Knowledge Base solution 142517, the Java version cannot be updated because certain Java components required by some AspenTech applications may no longer be included with newer versions of the JRE or JDK products, therefore AspenTech recommends not to upgrade the version of Java on your installation.
Find the Java control panel javacpl.exe program in C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre7\bin\javacpl.exe and right click and select, "Run as administrator" Un-check "Check for Updates Automatically", click "OK" and then reopen it to check that the setting stays as selected.
This will stop the prompts to update Java.
KeyWords
InfoPlus.21 Browser Graphic Studio, java, update
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Aspen IP.21 Process Browser users may notice that the default map record displayed in the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser trend plots has changed from IP_AnalogMap to IP_AnalogDef. This knowledge base article describes how to resolve this problem. | Solution: Follow these steps to resolve this problem.
1. Restore a copy of your Aspen InfoPlus.21 snapshot which was saved before the problem appeared.
2. Ensure that there is only one record named "IP_AnalogDef" in your database. This can be checked by running the following query through Aspen SQLplus:
select name, recid from all_records where name like 'ip_analogdef';
3. If the first two steps do not pinpoint the problem then apply the latest cumulative patch for Aspen IP.21 Process Browser. The latest cumulative patch can be downloaded from the AspenTech support website patch center.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: When looking to upgrade aspenONE products, can one upgrade some components to the latest version and leave the rest of the products in the current version?
For example, when upgrading from v2004.2 to v2006.0 or v2006.5, can one upgrade Aspen InfoPlus.21 only and leave Aspen Process Data, Aspen Web.21 or Aspen Batch.21 with the current version? | Solution: The answer is no, you have to upgrade all products at the same time, different versions of Aspen products cannot co-exist in the same system.
The reason for this is that the products share core components they depend on.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article shows how to configure a scroll bar for the left frame navigation tree in Aspen Web.21. However, please note that this is not the way Aspen CUI is design to work and this should be treated as your own customization. Also, you will have to make sure the next CUI update doesn't override it. | Solution: Here is how to accomplish that:
? Open the file HeaderInc.htm in ..\inetpub\wwwroot\AspenTech\AspenCUI\Include
? Locate the line
<iframe id="MenuFrame" class="MenuFrame" align="left" SCROLLING="no" MARGINHEIGHT="0" MARGINWIDTH="0" FRAMEBORDER="0" BORDER="0"></iframe>
and change the value of the attribute SCROLLING from "no" to "yes"
? Open the file CUIFcns.js in ..\inetpub\wwwroot\AspenTech\AspenCUI\_ScriptLibrary
? Locate the function sMenuFrameHeight and make the changes as follows:
function sMenuFrameHeight()
{
try
{
if( g_Menu )
hMenuFrame.style.setExpression("height", "document.body.clientHeight - document.getElementById('MenuFrame').offsetTop");
//hMenuFrame.style.height = private_fnSetHeight() + 'px'
}
catch(x) {}
}
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Aspen Role Based Visualization (RBV) and Aspen IP.21 Process Browser (Web.21) consume tokens in a very similar way, but how does it work in detail? e.g. If a user is running IP.21 Process Browser from the RBV portal, do both products take tokens? Starting from which aspenONE version is this handled dynamically? | Solution: Tokens for RBV and IP.21 Process Browser are handled in the following way starting from V7.1. They are not handled dynamically this way in aspenONE 2006.5.
For perpetual licenses, nothing has changed.
For token systems:
(Note: We will assume here for simplicity that the fractional token consumption of these products is 1 token per 3 users, but the actual consumption is indicated in the contracts and may change)
RBV checks out tokens, one token for the first 1 to 3 RBV users, another token for the next 1-3 users (i.e. users 4 through 6), etc. So 9 users would consume 3 tokens. A 4th token would be consumed with the introduction of a 10th user.
IP.21 Process Browser has been modified so that in a token system it does not consume any tokens if it is being used inside RBV. It does this by first checking to see if it is being used in a token system. If IP.21 Process Browser is being used inside RBV, and if it is part of a token system, then it does not check out any tokens.
If IP.21 Process Browser is not being used inside RBV, and if it is part of a token system, then it checks out tokens per users - similar to how RBV does - one token for the first 1 to 3 IP.21 Process Browser users, another token for the next 1-3 users (i.e. users 4 thru 6), etc.
IP.21 Process Browser and RBV use the same license key in token systems, so their usage is combined when it comes to tokens. For example, the first IP.21 Process Browser user (not through RBV) will check-out a token. Then an RBV user connects to the same license manager, but is only the 2nd user connecting to the combined IP.21 Process Browser & RBV license key, so no additional token gets checked out. Then another IP.21 Process Browser user connects to the license manager - this is the 3rd user connecting to the combined license key, so still no additional token check-out (3 users per token). Then a 2nd RBV user connects - so now there are 2 IP.21 Process Browser and 2 RBV users, for a total of 4 - so now a second token is consumed.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article answers the following question:
Does the Web21Controls.cab file have a specific class id (CLSID) and version set up? | Solution: The Web21controls.cab file has CLSID "C5E07EE3-994D-11D0-91BC-00609739AEE8". This does not change between versions of Web.21. You can find it in PEdownload.asp file:
<object classid="CLSID:C5E07EE3-994D-11D0-91BC-00609739AEE8" codebase="/Web21/AspenCUIRef/Web21Controls.cab#Version=<%=Application("ATPECoreCtls.ocx#Version")%>"
Looking at the above code excerpt you can see that the Web21Controls.cab file doesn't have its own specific version set up. It uses the version of ATPECoreCtls.ocx which does change between versions of Web.21.
There are no plans to change this in future releases of Aspen Web.21.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: When attempting to run Aspen IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio, I receive the error message "You are not authorized to run Aspen IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio" | Solution: Check if the AFW Tools server is redirecting to the correct security server. Next go to the AFW Security Manager and make sure the role you belong to has permissions to execute the securable object like in the examples below:
Keywords: IP.21 Process Browser
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I open the Aspen High Performance Plot (PEPlot2.asp) and pass in arguments for tags with different data sources? | Solution: When passing in arguments for tags with different data sources you can enumerate each tag using the 'tag' argument and data source using the 'source' argument and enumerate these in the command line, as follows:
http://support-beta/Web21/WebControls/PEPlot2.asp?tag=12FC028.PV,52FI100.PV, ATCAI&source=support-beta,europa
In the above example tag 12FC028.PV will be called from server 'support-beta' and tags 52FI100.PV and ATCAI will be called from server 'europa'.
If you have different data souces for each tag then you can enumerate each tag with a matching data source in the list, such as:
http://support-beta/Web21/WebControls/PEPlot2.asp?tag=12FC028.PV,52FI100.PV, ATCAI&source=support-beta,europa,cassini
where tag 12FC028.PV will be called from server support-beta and tag 52FI100.PV from europa and ATCAI will be called from server cassini.
You can also save the plot with all the attributes and settings by using the menu "Save As". For example a file called abc gets saved as an xml file under the folder C:\inetpub\wwwroot\AspenTech\Web21\Plots in the Aspen Process Browser (Web.21) system. The file can then be called using the following URL:
http://support-beta/Web21/WebControls/PEPlot2.asp?PlotFile=/Web21/Plots/abc.xml
Keywords: HPT, plot, tag, datasource
References: None |
Problem Statement: When installing AspenIP.21 Process Browser on a 64-bit server running Microsoft SharePoint the defined SharePoint websites and SharePoint Central Administrator websites become unavailable with an HTTP 500 error. | Solution: Since Microsoft SharePoint is a 64-bit application and Aspen IP.21 Process Browser is a 32-bit application it is necessary to change the settings of the application pools post-install of our products as shown:
It may be required to perform an IISRESET command once this has been completed.
Keywords: SharePoint
References: None |
Problem Statement: When doing a tag search in the Plots application, the result is empty, no tags are found. | Solution: Per the information included in the Release Notes of the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser V7.3.0.2 patch, the DispatchUrl.vbs script may need to be manually run the first time you do a tag search. This adds a new Web site in Internet Information Services (IIs) called PlantArea, which is used to publish the list of tags in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 system.
In a Windows 2008 system this script is found under C:\Users\<Install user>\AppData\local\Temp, in a Windows 2003 system the script is found under C:\Documents and Settings\<Install user>\AppData\local\Temp. Look for the file in Windows Explorer and double click it to start the operation.
When it finishes then restart the Apache Tomcat service in Windows Services.
Keywords: plot
search
patch
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why does a published graphic not appear in the Aspen IP.21 Graphic Studio, Graphics menu? | Solution: If the project is not saved and published at least once the graphic may not be visible. Follow the correct sequence below to publish a project and graphic.
The correct sequence is to create a project, add graphics to it, then save the project,
followed by Publishing the Project.
Once this has been done once, then you can publish individual graphics.
Keywords: publish graphic project
References: None |
Problem Statement: The Aspen Web.21 product shows a Graphics Studio graphics screen when one opens the Graphics link in the program.
Often times, companies would like to incorporate their own screen in this initial Graphics page in Aspen Web.21. What are the steps to do this? | Solution: The initial graphics file, WGStudio.jpg, is located in the C:\Program Files\AspenTech\Web21\Graphics folder, this is a JPG file.
In order to change this initial graphics screen, replace the WGStudio.jpg file with your own JPG file, then refresh Java's cache. You need to name the new file WGStudio.jpg for Web.21 to show the new graphic in the Graphics link.
Then go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Java. In the General tab, click on Temporary Internet Files, click on the Settings button and select the Delete Files button. Make sure to check the Applications and Applets and Trace and Log Files options and click on OK.
Refresh Internet Explorer, and select the Graphics link to see the new screen.
See also Solution 116817, How can the size of an Aspen Web.21 graphics be modified?.
Keywords: graphic Web.21
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can I increase the length of the description field in TagSearch.aspx? | Solution: The length limitation of the description field is 64 character. It is limited so it can fit into the screen.
The limit is not configurable because it is within the C# hard coded in application
Keywords: TagSearch
Aspen IP.21 Process Browser
Length
description
Aspen InfoPlus.21
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the URL syntax to hide legend and timeline for a HPT trend?
For Products Ip21 Process Browser (Web21) and Role Based Visualization you may want to hide the time line and legend. | Solution: To hide the timeline and the legend you can use the URL in the example below.
http://localhost/web21/WebControls/AtWebPlots.asp?ShowLegend=0&ShowTimeLine=0&path=/web21/Plots/DemoAtcl101.xml
If you want to hide the timeline and the legend but still have the Plots pane use the URL below.
http://localhost/web21/WebControls/AtWebPlotsHome.asp?ShowLegend=0&ShowTimeLine=0&path=/web21/Plots/DemoAtcl101.xml
Not supported inside Process Browser (Web21)
http://localhost/web21/WebControls/AtWebPlots.asp?ShowLegend=0&ShowTimeLine=0&path=/web21/Plots/DemoAtcl101.xml
NOTE: In both cases a Plot was created and saved first in Process Browser (web21) called DemoAtcl101
Keywords: Web.21
Process Browser
Hide timeline
Hide legend
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to prevent the error message, "Encountered an improper argument" while publishing project from Aspen IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio to process browser. | Solution: 1- Check if there is nothing added to the project folder.
2- Right click on the project folder->Add Display items->select a graphic
3- Public project to Process Browser, you will not see above error message.
Keywords: Publish, improper argument, Graphic studio
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to prevent error message "No mimic files found in directory" while publishing project from Aspen IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio to aspenONE Process Explorer (A1PE). | Solution: 1. Check if there is nothing added to the project folder.
2. Right click on the project folder->Add Display items->select a graphic
3. Public project to A1PE, you will not see above error message.
Keywords: Publish to A1PE, No mimic files
References: None |
Problem Statement: Administrators may want their users to run Internet Explorer without a toolbar or in kiosk-mode when accessing Aspen web solutions (e.g. InfoPlus.21 Process Browser (formerly Web.21) and Production Control Web Server (PCWS.) | Solution: There are no known direct Aspen configurations that supports this. However, there are several work-around that may be suitable for you:
A. Internet Explorer Kiosk mode
Use the following command line to start Internet Explorer (IE) 7 in full kiosk mode.
---
"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" -k "http://support.aspentech.com"
---
B. Custom Visual Basic script (vbs) that launches an Internet Explorer without toolbar.
The following example is a vbs script that opens an IE 7 without a toolbar.
---
Dim IE
Set IE = WScript.CreateObject ("InternetExplorer.Application")
IE.Toolbar = false
IE.Navigate "http://support.aspentech.com"
IE.Visible = true
---
The output:
The screen capture above demonstrates this approach with Aspen Web.21 2006.5.
Keywords: Web
Internet Explorer
IE
no toolbar
kiosk
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the default security configuration of Internet Information Services (IIS) on a Windows 2008 server for web-based applications such as Aspen IP.21 Process Browser? | Solution: Internet Information Services (IIS) is used by Aspen web-based applications such as Aspen IP.21 Process Browser to make the application available to internet users.
IIS uses several mechanisms to implement security for web-based applications: Anonymous, Basic Authentication, Windows Authentication, and ASP Impersonation; this Knowledge Base article describes how to configure IIS with these mechanisms.
Definitions
Anonymous access, the most common web site access control method, allows anyone to visit the public areas of a web site while preventing unauthorized users from gaining access to a web server's critical administrative features and private information. Anonymous authentication gives users access to a web site without prompting them for a user name or password.
Basic Authentication transmits user names and passwords across the network in an unencrypted form.
Windows Authentication is a secure form of authentication because the user name and password are hashed before being sent across the network.
Impersonation is when a ASP.NET program executes code in the context of an authenticated and authorized client. By default, ASP.NET does not use impersonation and instead executes all code using the same user account as the ASP.NET process, which is typically the ASP.NET account.
The following is the expected setup upon installation of the web-based applications such as Aspen IP.21 Process Browser on IIS on a Windows 2008 server:
Application pools:         Managed PipeLine Mode                      Identity
ASP.NET v4.0                         Integrated                    ApplicationPoolIdentity
ASP.NET v4.0 Aspen              Classic                        ApplicationPoolIdentity
Security Pool
ASP.NET v4.0 Classic             Classic                        ApplicationPoolIdentity
Aspen Security Pool                 Classic                        ApplicationPoolIdentity
AspenAppPool                         Classic                        LocalSystem
AspenAppPool v4.0                  Classic                        ApplicationPoolIdentity
AspenDispatchService             Integrated                    ApplicationPoolIdentity
AspenProcessDataAppPool      Integrated                    LocalSystem
Classic .NET AsppPool            Classic                        ApplicationPoolIdentity
DefaultAppPool                        Integrated                    ApplicationPoolIdentity
Here are the default configurations for the different Aspen IP.21 Process Browser pages:
Web Sites                                Authentication
Default Web Site:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Anonymous Authentication
ADSAWebService                    Anonymous, Basic and Windows Authentication
AspenCalc                               Basic Authentication and Windows Authentication
AspenCalcWebService             ASP.NET Impersonation, Basic, Windows Authentication
AspenCUIÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Anonymous, Windows Authentication
AspenTech                              Anonymous Authentication
aspen_client                            Anonymous Authentication
Batch21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â ASP.NET Impersonation, Basic, windows Authentication
Batch21ws                               Basic, Windows Authentication
BPCManager                           ASP.NET Impersonation, Basic, Windows Authentication
BPCS95WebServices              ASP.NET Impersonation, Basic, Windows Authentication
BPCS95WebServices              Anonymous, ASP.NET Impersonation
Anonymous
DispatchServic                        Windows Authentication
IP21HealthMonitor                   ASP.NET Impersonation, Basic, Windows Authentication
MSDACÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Basic, Windows Authentication
ProcessData                            Windows Authentication
SQLplus                                  ASP.NET Impersonation, Basic, Windows Authentication
SQLplusWebService                ASP.NET Impersonation, Basic, Windows Authentication
VisualizationNavigation            Anonymous, Windows Authentication
Web21Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Basic, Windows Authentication
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: This solution illustrates the syntax to display any particular occurrence from IP_#_OF_TREND_VALUES in Aspen InfoPlus.21 on to the Aspen Web.21 Graphics. | Solution: In order to display a particular occurrence of a trend value for an Aspen InfoPlus.21 tag in Aspen Web.21 Graphics right click on the object defined in the Aspen Web.21 Graphics Studio, go to 'Properties' and then to 'Data' tab. Under the 'Data' tab select the Data Source and type in the following syntax in the 'Name' field
Tagname [Occurrence_Number] IP_Trend_Value
For example, if you wanted to display in a Web.21 graphic the first occurrence of a trend value for tag named 'ATCAI', the syntax would be: ATCAI 1 IP_Trend_value
Keywords: Occurrence
Trend value
syntax
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to set autoscale of Tag Detail plots in Aspen Web.21? | Solution: Here is how to permanently set the scaling to Autoscale for the Tag Detail plots.
Open up the TagDetailPlot.asp file in the Web.21 virtual directory and make the following change in function InitTagNames:
Try:
{PlotObj.loadFile(name);
TrendTags = PlotObj.Plot.ControlDispatch.TrendTags;
// force autoscaling on tag
TrendTags.Item(1).Scaling.Scaling = 0;
TrendTags.Item(1).PropertiesChanged(); }
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why does a published graphic in Aspen IP.21 Process Browser show NaN when using a datasource configured to use Aspen Process Subscription (GCS)? | Solution: Check to see if the datapoint configured is only using a tag name and not a corresponding tag field as shown below.
If the datapoint is configured as pictured above, reconfigure the datapoint to use the tag name and tag field. Republish the graphic and verify that the value of the datapoint appears in the graphic.
Keywords: GCS
Generic
Web21
NaN
-0.00
References: None |
Problem Statement: How is Aspen IP.21 Process Browser licensed in V7.1? | Solution: Starting in V7.1, Aspen IP.21 Process Browser and Aspen Role Based Visualization both share the SLM_ASPEN_VF license key. In the case of Aspen IP.21 Process Browser, it will only consume licenses as a standalone product (Fig.1). Otherwise the SLM_ASPEN_VF key will be consumed by Aspen Role Based Visualization (Fig.2) .
Fig.1: Standalone IP.21 Browser Fig.2: Embedded IP.21 Browser
Both Aspen IP.21 Process Browser and Aspen Role Based Visualization consume one license per every three users.
Keywords: IP.21 Process Browser License
Aspen Role Based Visualization
SLM_ASPEN_VF
References: None |
Problem Statement: What could cause the message "Unknown Query Attribute( TS ): E_INVALIDARG" in the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser log file? | Solution: Unknown Query Attribute( TS ): E_INVALIDARG simply means an incorrect log message. This is an error message that can be ignored and does not effect the product.
Keywords: Invalidarg
Unknown Query Attribute
log
References: None |
Problem Statement: When opening Aspen IP.21 Process Browser home page one would expect to see a screen with the Navigation pane and the tabs. However In some cases the navigation tree and tabs will not appear. This solution discussed different options that you can try when Navigation pane don't appear in the Process Browser home page. | Solution: Go into the Microsoft Internet Explorer Settings using one of the methods below (note that one may need to click the 'Alt' key to get the Menu Bar to appear)
1. Click on the Settings Icon and Select Internet options or
2. go to Tools from the Menu bar and Select Internet options
In 'Internet Options' switch to the Security tab:
Then add the URL for the website to either the 'Local intranet' or 'Trusted sites' zone, as appropriate by using the 'Sites' button. In this example "http://flyingfortress" would be added.
Finally, reduce the security level to the lowest permissible level for that zone.
Note: In some cases the security level cannot be adjusted unless Internet Explorer is started by right-clicking the icon and choosing 'Run as administrator'. If these options are grayed out even while doing 'Run as administrator' please check with your IT or System administrator.
After making these adjustments close and reopen Internet Explorer and access the main page again to verify that the Navigation pane and the tabs are available.
Keywords: Navigation
Menu Bar
IP.21 Process browser home page
References: None |
Problem Statement: When doing an installation of several Aspen products receive a message indicating that Java version 1.6.0.18 is required when installing Aspen IP.21 Process Browser.
The problem occurs on a Windows 2008 64 bit installation, and a newer version of Java is already installed in the system. | Solution: Upon investigation it was found that the customer installed a 64 bit version of Java, Aspen products are built as 32 bit applications and require the 32 bit version instead.
Once a Java JRE 32 bit version was installed the installation completed successfully.
Keywords: IP.21 Process Browser
Install
java
References: None |
Problem Statement: This knowledge base article explains how to animate an Aspen IP.21 Process Browser Graphic Bar Graph object. | Solution: 1. Turn the Animation check box on on the Animation tab of the Bar Graph properties dialog.
2. After binding the Value fields to a Tag or Variable, fill in the animation fields on the Data Tab. These fields are in the lower half of the Data tab on the Bar Graph properties dialog. You may reference a Tag or a Variable.
3. Fill in the Condition fields on the Animation tab. The animation conditions should refer to the DATAPOINT object and not the BARGRAPH1 object. Simple conditions can be expressed directly; < 5, > 10. Complex conditions require the explicit naming of the object, DATAPOINT1 in this example. The && is required as well for linking condition together.
Keywords: bar
graph
animate
animation
References: None |
Problem Statement: Can Aspen Web.21 plots and graphics be visualized in a mobile phone or PDA ? | Solution: Generally speaking, the hand held devices are supported by Web.21 as long as they support the Pocket IE web browser. It should be hardware independent as long as it runs software that can run Pocket IE such as Dell Axim and a Symbol Device.
Furthermore, handheld devices running the Pocket PC operating system support Web.21 via Aspen Role-Based Visualization for aspenONE v2004.x and higher, which contains a feature called "PocketPC Server". It provides a web site Internet Explorer access from a PocketPC operating system. It uses Web.21 as the basis for its features. These are: * Tag Search * Tag Details * Tag Attribute Details * Tag Detail Trend * History Summaries * Non-Historical Summaries * Ability to modify Plot Parameters * Summary entry selection * History Logs * Operations Navigator Page. The feature is for PocketPC Internet Explorer PDA's. RBV does not support other PDA formats at this time.
The pre-requisites for PocketPC support are:
1. Web.21
2. IIS 5 or later
3. RTView (if you want to view dashboards and graphics)
4. Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1
Client - PocketPC 2002 or later with Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer
NOTE: PocketPC Server is no longer distributed as of aspenONE v2006.5. Hence, there is no more Internet Explorer access available from a PocketPC operating system.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I get animation to work for IP_TextDef tags in Aspen IP.21 Process Browser Graphic Studio? | Solution: In order to get animation to work for IP_TextDef tags, configure the datapoint as depicted in the following screen captures.
When configuring the conditions for the animation of a given datapoint field, reference the specific name of the datapoint you are working with. For example, DATAPOINT1 is used in the condition because the name of the datapoint field in this case is DATAPOINT1. This name can be changed to something user specified on the General Tab of the Datapoint Properties window.
Keywords: datapoint
animation
condition
IP_TextDef
Graphics Studio
Web21
IP.21 Process Browser
References: None |
Problem Statement: I have recently installed the new Aspen IP.21 Process Browser v7.3.0.2 Patch and when I try to open a Trend plot I receive multiple errors and the trend plot does not open.
Errors are as shown: | Solution: The new High Performance Trends in Aspen IP.21 Process Browser requires the installation of Google Chrome Frame for Internet Explorer.
This can be found at the following URL: Google Chrome Frame
You need to be connected to the machine using an Administrative account prior to performing the installation.
You can also find an offline installer for Enterprise deployment here: MSI Deployment
Keywords: Google Chrome Frame
ZoomControl: Unable to create Canvas Element
High Performance Trends
References: None |
Problem Statement: When asking for tag detail in Aspen Process Browser ? Tag list, you get the following error message for your Custom tags.
No Detail Page defined for this tag | Solution: The Aspen Tag Search Tool in Aspen Process Browser will automatically find all records in the database, even those defined by custom definition records.
For tag detail to work in Aspen Process Browser, you have to link your custom definition record to a detail display record. You can define this link from the Aspen Definition Editor (Detail Display field in the def record Properties), or in Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator (look for the DETAIL_DISPLAY_REC in Fields under the definition record).
For example, the detail display record used by IP_AnalogDef is ipanalog (defined by DetailDisplayDef).
If you wish to have a detail display page displayed by double-clicking on the tag, then you would need to create a custom detail display page (the detail display page for IP_AnalogDef is ipanalog.asp)
Keywords: No Detail, Page, Custom, Records, Display
References: None |
Problem Statement: Creating drawings in Process Graphic Explorer , exporting them in XML format in order to import them in other applications such as IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio, could result in a garbled rendering of the drawing.
In figure 1 we can see an example of a Process Graphic Explorer drawing
Figure 1 - Process Graphic Explorer graphic
The graphics can be exported to XML to be made available for other applications to re-import it.
Importing such exported xml file in IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio results in the garbled rendering of the drawing as shown in figure 2.
Figure 2 - IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio garbled graphic import
This is due to the difference in the scale-factor that the two applications use.
This is a known issue and is targeted to be resolved in v8 of the Manufacturing suite. | Solution: As a temporary workaround if you are experiencing the issue described above, you can overcome it by:
1. Locating the file PEtoWeb21.xsl (in a standard AspenTech product installation under C:\Program Files\AspenTech\Web21GraphicStudio\etc folder).
2. Within this file, a tag describes the scale-factor which is configured as default to the value 5 (e.g. "<xsl:variable name="scale-factor" select="5"/>")
3. Changing this value to "<xsl:variable name="scale-factor" select="1"/>", should result in rendering imported graphics from Process Graphic Explorer properly.
Keywords: Process Graphic Explorer
Aspen Process Explorer
IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio
Aspect ratio
Scale
Export graphics
Import Graphics
References: None |
Problem Statement: Upon applying the Process Browser cumulative patch 7.3.0.3, Internet Explorer 8 is producing strange errors while attempting to trend plots on the Windows 2008 server machine. Turning off Enhanced Internet Security has no effect.
CreateChart: (Error) Invalid Argument.
ZoomControl: Unable to create Canvas element!
Stack overflow at line: 52
The clients PCs are not affected, most likely because they are running a newer version of Internet Explorer. | Solution: HPT makes heavy usage of HTML5 and you need to upgrade Internet Explorer to version 9. Go to the Microsoft website to get the free update. Don't forget to turn off Enhanced Internet Security when asked to do so.
Alternatively, download and install free Google Chrome Frame plug-in for Internet Explorer 8.
Keywords: Internet Explorer
HPT
HTML5
References: None |
Problem Statement: Each session of Aspen IP.21 Process Browser can consume more than 100 ports for Aspen IP.21 Process Browser Servers running on Windows Server 2003.A Examining the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser server using a tool like Microsoft's TCPView shows thousands of ports left in the TIME_WAIT state.A Eventually, the unused ports can choke an Aspen IP.21 Process Browser server causing sluggish performance and forcing a reboot of the server.
This problem only occurs on systems using Windows Server 2003 and is independent of the version of Aspen IP.21 Process Browser being used. | Solution: Aspen IP.21 Process Browser uses a framework of technologies provided by Microsoft that allow uniform access to data stores called MDAC (for Microsoft Data Access Components).A MDAC is the layer leaving the ports open.A
Since the problem resides in MDAC, you will have to upgrade from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008.A If you change operating systems, you will need to upgrade to at least AspenOne version 7.3.
Keywords: Web.21
slow
References: None |
Problem Statement: Why am I seeing the error "Error parsing JSON: SyntaxError: Invalid character" when using the PME Search? | Solution: The issue is with conflicting ports between the Apache TomCat installed by the V7.3.0.x IP.21 Process Browser patch, and the Apache TomCat installed with Aspen Process Execution Manager.
The workaround is to:
1. Choose different ports for tomcat7 by editing its conf\server.xml, make sure the port number is not being used by the PlantData website either.
2. Update the port number in Inetpub\wwwroot\AspenTech\DispatchService\Metadata\web.config, look for "<add key="LocalSearchPort" value="8081"/>"
Keywords: IP.21 Process Browser, PME Search, CQ00466175
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I publish a graphic to an Aspen InfoPlus.21 Browser web site? | Solution: Here is a general procedure to follow when creating and publishing graphics to an Aspen IP.21 Browser Web site.
1. Start Aspen IP.21 Browser Graphic Studio.
2. Create a new project or open an existing one.
3. Create a new graphic or open an existing one.
4. Add elements to the graphic.
5. Save the graphic.
6. Go to the Project Manager and R-click on the project name.
7. Select Add Display Items.
8. Select the graphic and Add.
9. Note: the graphic is now displayed as a sub component of the project.
10. Save the project.
11. Publish the project.
The graphic should now be viewable on the Aspen IP.21 Browser Web site.
Keywords: Aspen Web.21, graphic, images, components
References: None |
Problem Statement: Sometimes when viewing the plot generated from a Tag Detail Display page, a dotted or dashed line often appears at the top of the plot, and in some cases a second one may also appear near the middle or bottom of the plot. On some occasions the dashed lines are green, but it has been observed that they can be any color.
What do these dotted or dashed lines represent? | Solution: The dotted or dashed lines sometimes displayed on the Aspen IP.21 Process Browser Plots that are created using the Tag Detail Display page represent the specified LOW and HIGH Alarm Limits that have been configured in Aspen InfoPlus.21 for the Tag or Tags being plotted.
NOTE: This display behavior can be reproduced as follows:
1. Perform a tag search and then double click on one of the tags which will bring you to the Point Details page.
2. From there, click the Plot button to produce a single tag plot for the tag.
3. In the resulting trend, if the tag does in fact include associated LOW and/or HIGH Alarm Limit values configured in Aspen InfoPlus.21, then you will notice a corresponding dashed line for each limit.
In short, dotted lines will still be displayed at the the LOW and/or HIGH alarm value limits configured for the Tag or Tags being plotted when those values are in fact defined. And when those alarm limit values are undefined in the Tag's configuration then the dotted lines will be absent and none should be displayed on the Plots.
Display Example from "Working" V7.3 System
NOTE: The 2 light blue Dotted Lines shown in the example screen shot attached below represent the
respective LOW and HIGH Alarm value limits for the PMCAnalaogDef Tag that is being plotted.
KeyWords
DOUBLE
LINE
DOTTED LINE
DASHED LINE
EXTRA LINE
TAG PLOT
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: After upgrading aspenONE Process Explorer, the Search function is not working and the following error message. | Solution: The issue is caused by the Domain Security had been turned ON by default but the Domain Connection Details are incorrect. This issue can be resolved by the following procedure to turned OFF the Domain Security.
Stop the Apache Tomcat service in the Windows Services.
Launch Windows Explorer and browse to the Tomcat folder. The default location is C:\Program Files(x86)\Common Files\AspenTech Shared\Tomcat<version>. Manually make the following changes
Tomcat<version>\logs - delete contents of logs folder
Tomcat<version>\webapps - delete AspenCoreSearch and solr subfolders (if any) BUT DO NOT delete AspenCoreSearch.war and solr.war files
Tomcat<version>\work\Catalina - delete contents of Catalina folder
Rename Tomcat<version>\appdata folder (to appdata_old, for example). The appdata folder and its subfolders will be recreated when Apache Tomcat service is restarted. Any missing or customized xml files will have to be manually restore. (E.g. \appdata\solr\collection1\conf\AspenSearchSolrSecurity.xml and files in the \appdata\scheduler\config\jobs folder).
Change the property unpackWAR from Tomcat<version>\conf\server.xml from false to true.
Restart Apache Tomcat service and wait until the service is started fully. Verify that the deleted appdata folder and its subfolders deleted in step 3 have been recreated.
Stop Apache Tomcat service again. Manually restore any missing xml files in the scheduler jobs folder (see step 3, use files backed up in appdata_old).
Restart Apache Tomcat service.
Launch aspenONE Credentials utility from Windows menu or double-click on aspenONECredentialManagement.exe found in C:\Program Files (x86)\AspenTech.
Tick the checkbox beside "Domain Security" in the aspenONE Search Engine Configuration dialog box.
Tick the checkbox beside OFF.
Click on the APPLY button.
Perform a full manual indexing and wait for its completion before proceeding to the next step.
Stop the Apache Tomcat service.
Change the property unpackWAR from Tomcat<version>\conf\server.xml from "true" to "false". By changing the unpackWAR property back to "false", it will prevent the following:
Contents will be unpacked every time Apache Tomcat is restarted resulting in a longer start up time.
Configuration may be overwritten
Restart the Apache Tomcat service.
Note: If Domain Security is to be turned ON, the AspenSearchSolrSecurity.xml in the backup folder, appdata_old, will have the necessary LDAP URL, etc if it was configured correctly initially.
Keywords: AspenONE Search
Unable to validate server response.
Search Service responded with the following error:
HTTP Code: 400
Description: Bad Request
References: None |
Problem Statement: Uploading the Aspen Plus model to Column Analytics does not work correctly.
The user is able to browse and select the file, but when the "Open" button is clicked, the file does not upload. There is also no warning message to notify the user of this. | Solution: This issue is attributed to the users Internet Explorer security settings, when some scripting is not fully enabled.
To resolve the issue:
1. In the Internet Explorer, navigate to Tools and select Internet options
2. Select the Security tab and click the "Custom Level" button
3. Modify the following:
a. ActiveX controls and plug-ins->Binary and script behaviors => set to "Administrator approved"
b. Scripting->Active scripting => set to "Enable"
4. Click the “OK” button to confirm the changes.
The simulation file should now load properly.
Keywords: Column Analytics, Uploading file
References: None |
Problem Statement: Overview of Firewall security, Antivirus scanning and Windows permission requirements for MES Products | Solution: Follow our permission checklist to make sure machines and networks are configured with required permissions.
Windows Permission requirement
MES Server applications requires service account during installation. This service account needs to have local and domain administrative privileges.
Aspen InfoPlus.21 Desktop Application user's needs to have read privilege to the system registry while using the application. Admin privileges will only be required during application installation and configuration.
Windows and Network Firewall requirement
Windows and Network firewall needs to be configured to allow specific ports communication for our application. View KB: 1421 for detailed firewall ports requirement.
Give exception to AspenTech Support website and support email address to use our support resources. View KB:45773 to give exception to access AspenTech Web Content.
Anti Virus Scanning requirement
Antivirus software scanning MES Server and Desktop applications can affect the performance of our application. Giving exception to Anti Virus software will optimize the performance. View KB:47912 for giving exception to application files and folder.
Keywords: security configuration
security requirement
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can I lock the contents of Excel input files without interfering with PIMS execution? | Solution: Excel files can be saved as Read-Only. This will allow PIMS and users to access the contents but users will not be able to modify the file without a password. Steps to save a file as Read-Only are shown below. These steps have been tested in the volume sample model:
Open the excel file to set as read-only
Click on File->Save As
Click the Browse button
In the Save As dialog, at the bottom, there is a Tools drop-down menu. Click Tools->General Options.
In the General Options dialog, check the Read-only option and then enter a password in the "Password to modify" field. Leave the other password field blank.
Click ok in the General Options dialog
You will be prompted to enter the Modify password again.
Click Save and then click Yes to replace file
Close the excel file and now run the PIMS model that uses this excel file.
The model should run without any prompts or other dialogs popping up.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: This article explains the steps to configure the Aspen Fleet Optimizer database in SQL server. | Solution: Before getting started with the steps described in this article, make sure you have your AFO database installed or create a new one by running the Setup Script provided by AspenTech. For more information on setting up or upgrading your AFO database, please contact our Support Team at https://esupport.aspentech.com
1. Configure the ODBC Data Source Configure the Data Source Name (DSN) for the Fleet Optimizer database in the MS ODBC Data Source Administrator and test the connection. On 64 bit operating systems, you must use the 32 bit ODBC Data Source configuration, odbcad32.exe, to configure the data source. The odbcad32.exe is located at C:\Windows\SysWoW64.
To add a new DSN, click on “Add…” and follow the steps. Configure the DSN name, server name and database throught tthe steps. Test the connection by clicking on “Test Data Source…” button:
2. Create Database users Log in to SQL Server using an account with system administrator privileges. Go to Login folder under Security folder and right click on “New Login” option. In General page, create the login name and password for the new user.
In User Mapping page, grant the desired roles for the user:
Click OK to finish creating the login.
3. Edit the Customize.ini file This procedure adds the required database information to the Customize.ini file, allowing you to successfully login to Fleet Optimizer. You will need to edit the Customize.ini file for each individual user.
Click Start | All Programs | AspenTech |Aspen Fleet Optimizer | Aspen Fleet Optimizer Settings |Customize.ini.
In Windows Server you might find it in: C:\Users\*User Name*\Documents\AspenTech\Fleet Optimizer\Settings
Save the Customize.ini file and open AFO. You will see the following window with the Username, DSN and Database names:
Enter the password and you should successfully log into AFO.
If you get the “DB Connect failed!” error message, go to dberrlog and odbcerrlog to get more information on the issue.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: When working with Aspen Assay Management, there are three plots you can generate to view your results. This article explains what they are and how to generate them. | Solution: There are three different plots user can generate from the “Cut Crudes” section in Assay Manager.
Distillations plot. The Distillations plot is used to display the distillation curves of selected assays.
Overlaps plot. The Overlaps plot is used to display the distillation temperatures of the product cuts as a function of the cumulative volume or weight percent yield of the selected assays. Due to the different type of separation you select on the Cut Crudes form, the Overlaps plot can be different. The following image shows a plot generated from Distillation-based separation.
Properties Plot. The Properties plot displays a property as a function of cut temperatures of the selected assays. The property value of both the old cut and the new cut can be shown in the plot at the same time. The properties plot is useful to compare the properties of the old cuts versus those of the new cuts after changing the cut points of certain products.
To display the plot gallery, go to the “Setup” tab in “Cut Crudes” section and click on any of the cuts listed in the table. The plot gallery should show in the tool bar at the top.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Message "No trend data available" when viewing Profile Sensor Trend in Mtell View
A particular agent will show "No trend data available" message even when there is data available for the period. | Solution: This article will explain how to address "No trend data available" when viewing Profile Sensor Trend in Mtell View.
Select Probability Sensor Trend and select the same period and make sure there is data available for that same period.
If the data is available but still the Profile Sensor Trend does not show any trend, then follow below steps:
Launch Aspen Mtell System Manager
Click Configuration tab and Select Charting option within System Settings
Increase Chart Row Warning Threshold to 1,000,000
Increase Live Profile Chart Row Warning Threshold to 100, 000
Click Save button
Launch CMD as Administrator and Type: IISRESET
Launch Mtell View and you should be able to view Probability Sensor Trend for the same period.
Keywords: no trend
no data in Mtell view
References: None |
Problem Statement: What model switching parameter equations are used in determining pure component temperature dependent properties? | Solution: Aspen Plus uses the model switching parameters (THRSWT and TRNSWT) to specify which equation format to use in the various temperature dependent property calculations for specific components.
Normally, these parameters do not need to be set by the user since the switches are set automatically when parameters are entered. The switches are needed when multiple sets of property parameters are entered for one property or the default equation is not desired for a set of DIPPR parameters.
Following is a table defining the different parameters and their definitions. The thermodynamic properties use the THRSWT submodel-selection parameter, and the transport properties use the TRNSWT submodel-selection parameter.
As the tables show, a property is associated with an element of the submodel-selection parameter. For example, THRSWT element 1 controls the submodel for solid volume. The following table shows the values for THRSWT or TRNSWT, and the corresponding submodels.
Thermodynamic Models:
Element Number Property Available Sub models
THRSWT/1 Solid Volume Aspen, DIPPR, IK-CAPE, NIST
THRSWT/2 Liquid Volume Aspen, DIPPR, PPDS, IK-CAPE, NIST
THRSWT/3 Liquid Vapor Pressure and Solid Vapor Pressure Aspen, Wagner, BARIN, PPDS, IK-CAPE, Only Extended Antoine and NIST for solid
THRSWT/4 Heat of Vaporization Aspen, DIPPR, PPDS, IK-CAPE, NIST
THRSWT/5 Solid Heat Capacity Aspen, DIPPR, BARIN, PPDS, IK-CAPE
THRSWT/6 Liquid Heat Capacity DIPPR, PPDS, BARIN, IK-CAPE, NIST
THRSWT/7 Ideal Gas Heat Capacity Aspen, DIPPR, BARIN, PPDS, PML, IK-CAPE, NIST
THRSWT/8 Second Virial Coefficient DIPPR
Transport Models:
Element Number Property Available Submodels
TRNSWT/1 Liquid Viscosity (Route MUL01) Aspen, DIPPR, PPDS, IK-CAPE, NIST
TRNSWT/2 Vapor Viscosity Aspen, DIPPR, PPDS, IK-CAPE, NIST
TRNSWT/3 Liquid Thermal Conductivity Aspen, DIPPR, PPDS, IK-CAPE, NIST
TRNSWT/4 Vapor Thermal Conductivity Aspen, DIPPR, PPDS, IK-CAPE, NIST
TRNSWT/5 Liquid Surface Tension Aspen, DIPPR, PPDS, IK-CAPE, NIST
The equation actually used to calculate the property for a given component depends on which parameters are available. If parameters are available for more than one equation, the Aspen Physical Property System uses the parameters that were entered or retrieved first from the databanks. The selection of submodels is driven by the data hierarchy, and controlled by the submodel-selection parameters.
The following table shows the values for THRSWT or TRNSWT, and the corresponding submodels.
Parameter Values
(Equation Number) Submodel
0 Aspen
1 Aspen and DIPPR
100 to 127 DIPPR
200 to 211 BARIN
301 to 302 PPDS or property-specific methods
400 PML
401 to 404 IK-CAPE
501 to 515 NIST
For example, use the standard Aspen Plus equations, set the parameters to 0; to use the standard DIPPR equations set the value to 1 to use the default or use a specific code from the table at the end of this document.
All built-in databank components have model-selection parameters (THRSWT, TRNSWT) that are set to use the correct equations that are consistent with the available parameters. For example, suppose that parameters for the DIPPR equation 106 are available for liquid surface tension. For that component, TRNSWT element 5 is set to 106 in the databank. If you are retrieving data from an in-house or user databank, you should store the appropriate values for THRSWT and TRNSWT in the databank, using the appropriate equation number.
Otherwise, the Aspen Physical Property System will search for the parameters needed for the Aspen form of the equations.
If a component is available in more than one databank, the Aspen Physical Property System uses the data and equations based on the databank list order on the Components | Specifications | Selection sheet. For example, suppose the databank search order is ASPENPCD, then PURE10, and that the Aspen Physical Property System cannot find the parameters for a particular submodel (equation) in the ASPENPCD databank. If the PURE10 databank contains parameters for another equation, the Aspen Physical Property System will use that equation (most likely the DIPPR equation) to calculate the property for that component.
If your calculation contains any temperature-dependent property parameters, (such as CPIGDP for DIPPR ideal gas heat capacity, entered on the Properties | Parameters | Pure Component form), the Aspen Physical Property System sets the corresponding THRSWT and TRNSWT elements for that component to the default values shown in the table above. This default setting might not always be correct. If you know the equation number, you should enter it directly on the Properties | Parameters | Pure-Component form. New THRSWT and TRNSWT parameter forms are found with the T-Dependent correlations in the Submodel selection option folder.
For example, suppose you want to use the:
DIPPR equation form of heat of vaporization (DHVLDP) for a component
Aspen equations for the remaining temperature dependent properties
Set the fourth element of the THRSWT parameter to 106, and the 1-3 and 5-8 elements to 0.
If you want to set the other temperature-dependent properties to use what is defined for that component in the databank, leave the element blank.
To see the values set by Aspen Plus, go to the Setup | Report Options | Property sheet and check "All physical property parameters used (in SI units)", run, and view the report file for the simulation. Search from THRSWT or TRNSWT to see the values of the parameter.
The Physical Properties Methods and Models reference manual chapter 3 describes the Aspen, DIPPR, BARIN, and IK-CAPE equations for each property. For descriptions of the the BARIN equations for heat capacity and enthalpy, see BARIN Equations for Gibbs Energy, Enthalpy, Entropy, and Heat Capacity.
Aspen Equations
Thermodynamic Models:
Element Number Property Aspen Model Parameter Name
THRSWT/1 Solid Volume Aspen VSPOLY
THRSWT/2 Liquid Volume Rackett RKTZRA
THRSWT/3 Liquid Vapor Pressure and Solid Vapor Pressure Extended Antoine PLXANT
THRSWT/4 Heat of Vaporization Watson DHVLWT
THRSWT/5 Solid Heat Capacity Aspen CPSPO1
THRSWT/6 Liquid Heat Capacity - -
THRSWT/7 Ideal Gas Heat Capacity Aspen CPIG
THRSWT/8 Second Virial Coefficient - -
Transport Models:
Element Number Property Aspen Model Parameter Name
TRNSWT/1 Liquid Viscosity Andrade MULAND
TRNSWT/2 Vapor Viscosity Chapman-Enskog-Brokaw See model
TRNSWT/3 Liquid Thermal Conductivity Sato-Riedel See model
TRNSWT/4 Vapor Thermal Conductivity Stiel-Thodos See model
TRNSWT/5 Liquid Surface Tension Hakim-Steinberg-Stiel See model
DIPPR Equations
The January 1993 version of DIPPR no longer uses a single equation for any individual property. There are ten different equations that DIPPR can use for any property of a component (although in general it is limited to two or three). The following table lists the equation forms used and the appropriate model number for each equation form.
In order to use a specific form of an equation, enter the model number as the parameter for THRSWT. The default equation form depends on the property being calculated. These default DIPPR equations are used automatically when the model-switching parameters are set to 1.
Thermodynamic Models:
Element Number Property DIPPR Eqn. # Parameter Name
THRSWT/1 Solid Volume 100 DNSDIP
THRSWT/2 Liquid Volume 105/116(for water only) DNLDIP
THRSWT/3 Liquid Vapor Pressure and Solid Vapor Pressure 101
THRSWT/4 Heat of Vaporization 106 DHVLDP
THRSWT/5 Solid Heat Capacity 100, 102 CPSDIP
THRSWT/6 Liquid Heat Capacity 100, 114, 124 CPLDIP
THRSWT/7 Ideal Gas Heat Capacity 107, 127 CPIGDP
THRSWT/8 Second Virial Coefficient 104
Transport Models:
Element Number Property DIPPR Eqn. # Parameter Name
TRNSWT/1 Liquid Viscosity 100, 101, 115 MULDIP
TRNSWT/2 Vapor Viscosity 102 MUVDIP
TRNSWT/3 Liquid Thermal Conductivity 100, 123 KLDIP
TRNSWT/4 Vapor Thermal Conductivity 102 KVDIP
TRNSWT/5 Liquid Surface Tension 106 SIGDIP
Key to DIPPR Equation Forms
Number Equation
---------- ------------
100 Y = A + BT + CT^2 + DT^3 + ET^4
101 Y = exp[A + B/T + ClnT + DT^E ]
102 Y = (AT^B)/(1 + C/T + D/T^2)
103 Y = A + B exp [ -C/T^D ]
104 Y = A + B/T + C/T^3 + D /T^8 + E/T^9
105 Y = A/B^(1 + (1 - T/C)^D )
106 Y = A ( 1 - Tr ) ^ ( B + CTr + DTr^2 + ETr^3 )
107 Y = A + B[(C/T)/SINH(C/T)]^2 + D[(E/T)/COSH(E/T)]^2
114 Y = (A^2)/t + B - 2ACt - ADt^2 - (C^2t^3)/3 - (CDt^4)/2 - (D^2t^5)/5
where t = (1 - Tr)
115 Y = exp[A + B/T + C lnT + DT^2 + E/T^2]
116 Y = A + Bt^0.35 + Ct^ (2/3) + Dt + Et^4/3 where t = (1 - Tr)
123 Y = A [1 + Bt^(1/3) + Ct^(2/3) + Dt] where t = (1 - Tr)
124 Y = A + B / t + Ct + Dt^2 + Et^3 where t = (1 – Tr)
127 Y = A + B { [(C/T)^2 exp (C/T)] / [exp(C/T) – 1]^2 } + D { [(E/T)^2 exp (E/T)] / [exp(E/T) – 1]^2 } + F { [(G/T)^2 exp (G/T)] / [exp(G/T) – 1]^2 }
Y = property value
T = temperature in Kelvins
A, B, C, D, E, F, G= parameter elements
Barin Equations
The following equations are used when parameters from the Aspen Physical Property System inorganic databank are retrieved first.
The phase can be solid, liquid, or ideal gas. For each phase, multiple sets of parameters from 1 to n are present to cover multiple temperature ranges. The value of the parameter n depends on the phase.
The four properties Cp, H, S, and G are interrelated as a result of the thermodynamic relationships and one set of parameters (CPxSPn) can be used to calculate all of them.
Gibbs Energy:
Gi = A + BT + C(TlnT) + DT**2 + ET**3 + FT**4 + G/T + H/T**2
Enthalpy:
Hi = A - CT - DT**2 - 2ET**3 - 3FT**4 + 2G/T + 2 H/T**2
Entropy:
Si = -B - C(1 + lnT) - 2DT - 3ET**2 - 4FT**3 + G/T**2 + 2H/T**3
*Heat Capacity:
Cpi = -C - 2DT - 6ET**2 - 12FT**3 - 2G/T**2 - 6H/T**3
where
T = temperature in Kelvins
A, B, C, D, E = CPxSPn parameter elements
Vapor Pressure:
The Barin equation for vapor pressure is
lnP = (GL - GV)/(R*T) + lnPref
where GL is the Gibbs Free energy for the liquid phase
GV is the Gibbs Free energy for the vapor phase Pref is the reference pressure (1 atm)
The equation for the solid vapor pressure is
lnP = (GS - GV)/(R*T) + lnPref
where Gs is the Gibbs Free energy for the solid phase.
Thermodynamic Models:
Element Number Property Barin Eqn. # Parameter Name
THRSWT/1 Solid Volume - -
THRSWT/2 Liquid Volume - -
THRSWT/3 Liquid Vapor Pressure and Solid Vapor Pressure 200
THRSWT/4 Heat of Vaporization - -
THRSWT/5 Solid Heat Capacity 200 CPSXP1, CPSXP2, ..., CPSXP7
THRSWT/6 Liquid Heat Capacity 200 CPLXP1, CPLXP2
THRSWT/7 Ideal Gas Heat Capacity 200 CPIXP1, CPIXP2, CPIXP3
THRSWT/8 Second Virial Coefficient - -
PPDS Equations
The PPDS equations are available only to the customers who have licensed the PPDS databank from NEL.
PML Equations:
Modified API Equation is
Cp = A + BT + CT^2 – D/(T^2) + E/T
where
T = temperature in Kelvins
A, B, C, D, E = Parameter elements
IK-CAPE Equations
In order to use a specific form of an equation, enter the model number as the parameter for THRSWT or TRNSWT.
Thermodynamic Models:
Element Number Property IK-CAPE Eqn. # Parameter Name
THRSWT/1 Solid Volume 401 VSPO
THRSWT/2 Liquid Volume 401 VLPO
THRSWT/3 Liquid Vapor Pressure and Solid Vapor Pressure 401 PLPO
THRSWT/4 Heat of Vaporization 401 DHVLPO
THRSWT/5 Solid Heat Capacity 401 CPSPO
THRSWT/6 Liquid Heat Capacity 401/403 CPLPO/CPLIKC
THRSWT/7 Ideal Gas Heat Capacity 401 CPIGPO
THRSWT/8 Second Virial Coefficient - -
Transport Models:
Element Number Property IK-CAPE Eqn. # Parameter Name
TRNSWT/1 Liquid Viscosity 401/404 MULPO/MULIKC
TRNSWT/2 Vapor Viscosity 401/402 MUVPO/MUVSUT
TRNSWT/3 Liquid Thermal Conductivity 401 KLPO
TRNSWT/4 Vapor Thermal Conductivity 401 KVPO
TRNSWT/5 Liquid Surface Tension 401 SIGPO
Key to IK-CAPE Equation Forms
Number Equation
401 Y = A + BT + CT**2 + DT**3 + ET**4 + FT**5 + GT**6 + HT**7 + IT**8 + JT**9
402 Y = AT**0.5 / ( 1 + B/T )
403 Y = A + BT + CT**2 + DT**3 + E/T**2
404 Y = A exp( B/T ) + C
Y = property value
T = temperature in Kelvins
A, B, C, D, E = parameter elements
NIST Equations
In order to use a specific form of an equation, enter the model number as the parameter for THRSWT or TRNSWT.
Thermodynamic Models:
Element Number Property NIST Eqn. # Model Parameter Name
THRSWT/1 Solid Volume 503 NIST ThermoML polynomial DNSTMLPO
THRSWT/2 Liquid Volume 503
504
514
515 NIST ThermoML polynomial
NIST TDE expansion
NIST TDE Rackett
NIST COSTALD DNLTMLPO
KNLEXSAT
KNLRACK
KNLCOSTD
THRSWT/3 Liquid Vapor Pressure and Solid Vapor Pressure 501
502 NIST TDE Polynomial
NIST Wagner 25 PLTDEPOL
WAGNER25
THRSWT/4 Heat of Vaporization 505 NIST TDE Watson equation DHVLTDEW
THRSWT/5 Solid Heat Capacity 503 NIST ThermoML polynomial CPSTMLPO
THRSWT/6 Liquid Heat Capacity 503
506 NIST ThermoML polynomial
NIST TDE equation CPLTMLPO
COKTDECS
THRSWT/7 Ideal Gas Heat Capacity 503
513 NIST ThermoML polynomial
NIST Aly-Lee CPITMLPO
CPIALEE
THRSWT/8 Second Virial Coefficient - - -
Transport Models:
Element Number Property NIST Eqn. # Model Parameter Name
TRNSWT/1 Liquid Viscosity 508
509 NIST TDE equation
NIST PPDS9 MULNVE
MULPPDS9
TRNSWT/2 Vapor Viscosity 503 NIST ThermoML polynomial MULTMLPO
TRNSWT/3 Liquid Thermal Conductivity 503
510 NIST ThermoML polynomial
NIST PPDS8 equation KLTMLPO
KLPPDS8
TRNSWT/4 Vapor Thermal Conductivity 503 NIST ThermoML polynomial KVTMLPO
TRNSWT/5 Liquid Surface Tension 505
511
512 NIST TDE Watson equation
NIST TDE expansion
NIST PPDS14 equation SIGTDEW
SIGISTE
SIGPDS14
KeyWords
thermoswitches
transport switches
DIPPR
BARIN
PPDS
PML
IK-CAPE
NIST
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: When user goes to stop link a crude run event to another event, with the radio button for quantity selected, instead of redetermining the quantity based on the new end time, the quantity does not change and the start time changes. | Solution: In this workflow, there are two scenarios. If there are parameters defined on the crude unit, this is the expected functionality as APS does not allow overlap of Crude run events when a parameter is defined.
When there are no parameters defined on the crude unit, however, the quantity should be adjusted but it is not doing so. This is a known issue, and will be fixed in the upcoming releases.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can I reset primary key values in Aspen Fleet Optimizer database? | Solution: In Aspen Fleet Optimizer (AFO), users can reset primary key values in the database by going to table TPS_SEQUENCE.
This is particularly useful when, for any of the primary keys, user has reached the maximum value specified in field MAXVALUE (9999999999).
It is important to note that this table is also used to generate unique keys for primary keys. Editing of the the keys must be done through internal stored procedures CREATESEQUENCE, DELETESEQUENCE, and NEXTSEQUENCEVALUE. Any manual modifications to the primary keys of this table might lead to database corruption.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: When using _SRVC in Units.xls for a process tank, why am I getting a value of -1 instead of the expected material service id (MATERIAL_ID)? | Solution: Whenever you have a blend event into a tank, the tank service will automatically be set to the service of the product. The material service event will be updated after the blend event has ended.
When blending starts and no material tag has been assigned for the product, the tank service code switches to unassigned (-1).
To solve this you can declare a material with the name of blending product tag, then code will switch to the MATERIAL_ID of this product instead of -1. To add a material tag for the product go to Model > Materials.
Keywords: POST, worksheet, INPUT, APS
References: None |
Problem Statement: Does the SLM License Profiler provide an accurate Token count? | Solution: The provided information is just an estimate done by the license profiler application at the moment you click on the "View Licenses" button (v8.8 to v10) or the "Load Information" button (v11).
The token count can change after the information is displayed, since the license profiler doesn't auto refresh, you can update the information again by clicking the "View Licenses" button (v8.8 to v10) or the "Load Information" button (v11) again.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: I have many components with no flow. Is it possible to not show those components on the stream summary? | Solution: In V11, there is an option in Stream Summary to “Hide Components with zero flow” that should effectively solve their copy problem. This option has always been available in the text report, but it is finally making it into the user interface. The workaround now is to explicitly define the components for the properties.
V11:
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: In V11 PIMS, how to resolve model crashing while generating reports error? | Solution: The model seems to run fine in V11 PIMS-AO. However, after the solving process, the application crashes while attempting to generate reports. How to solve this?
This is a defect that will be fixed in V11. The workaround is to uncheck “Generate !PGUESS_AO Excel file” checkbox in Model Settings -> Reporting -> Outputs
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: This article explains what is the BLMAP report, how to generate it and how to access it in Aspen PIMS. | Solution: The BLMAP report (Product Blending Map) contains information for all specification blends and blend groups. This report includes two sections:
BLEND STOCK. Both weight and volume recipes are shown for the blends
BLEND QUALITIES. Blend qualities are displayed with the respective specification values.
To generate this file:
Click Reports… in Model Execution Dialog box and check BLMAP in Selection tab.
Once report is generated it can be easily accessed through Solution Files in model tree under Report Maps.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is there a way to change unit set for the simulation without the steam and block inputs changing as well? I would like only the calculated results to change units? | Solution: When you change the Global unit of measure, all of the input units of measure change and values are converted. If you then go to a form and manually change a value and unit of measure, it will stay with that specified unit of measure unit there is a global change.
For output units, it is possible to specify the units of measure on the Display Options tab of the Edit Stream Summary Template for any of the stream properties.
Templates should be saved using the Save as New button on the Template section of the Stream Summary ribbon.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: When using the Excel Aspen Properties Add-in, how can I see messages that would normally go to the history file? | Solution: The history file (*.his) is written to C:\Users\your login name\AppData\Local\Temp.
If this file does not have the information you need, you may try running the Aspen Properties (*.aprbkp) file standalone. When this is done (and before you close Aspen Properties, which will clean up all the temporary files), look for the temporary report file *.rp2. This file is written to your working directory, typically where the .aprbkp file is located.
Keywords: None
References: : VSTS 416187 |
Problem Statement: Alcohol-water mixtures (e.g., methanol, ethanol, isopropanol) exhibit maxima in mixture viscosity. However, I am unable to generate similar curves in Aspen Properties for these mixtures while using default NRTL modeling. Could you suggest a properties model setup that would generate accurate mixture viscosity as a function of composition for alcohol-water and other binary mixtures? | Solution: NRTL and many other property methods use the Andrade Mixture Liquid Viscosity Model. This model calculates viscosity from pure component viscosity and includes a mixture term to allow accurate representation of complex liquid mixture viscosities.
Kij is the parameter ANDKIJ, and mij is the parameter ANDMIJ.
The pure component parameters are available in the databanks; however, the binary parameters (ANDKIJ and ANDMIJ) are not. With data, these parameters can be regressed to fit data that includes a maximum value.
In the attached file, viscosity for ethanol-water mixtures for a range of temperatures can be fit by simply regressing the ANDKIJ parameter. For mixtures with more complex behavior, additional parameters can be regressed.
Keywords: None
References: 1 Trans. Chem. Soc, 1902, 81, 179.
2 J. Amer. Chem. Soc, 1916, 38, 2316. |
Problem Statement: Is there an example of a batch reactor? | Solution: This example is a simple illustration of an Aspen Plus Batch Reactor (RBATCH) with second order power law kinetics. Ethanol and acetic acid are reacted to form ethyl acetate and water. Both forward and backward reactions are considered.
This example complements another example that implements the same rate expressions with a User Kinetics Subroutine. That example is stored in USRKBT.FOR. Comparison of these examples will provide a better illustration of how kinetic expressions can be defined in Aspen Plus.
A liquid phase reaction is defined for both forward and backward rates. The pre-exponential factor is in SI units. The reactant concentration exponents is set to 1 for second order kinetics. A temperature exponent may also be defined.
The flowsheet is comprised of a single Batch Reactor. The charge volume is calculated from the specified feed flow rate and cycle time so that the time-averaged product mass flow rate equals the feed mass flow rate. The reactor volume is set equal to the charge volume. The charge can optionally be set to the product of the feed time and feed flow rate. In this case, the product mass flow rate will be the reactor charge divided by the reaction time. Temperature is in degrees C and the pressure drop is zero.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I verify the Software License Manager (SLM) License Server version? | Solution: To verify the version of SLM Server, please follow these steps:
1. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\SafeNet Sentinel\Sentinel RMS License Manager\WinNT
2. Right click lservnt.exe file and select Properties
Click on Details Tab, File Version will show you the version of SLM Server.
Note: Latest version of SLM Server can be downloaded from the Download Center.
Keywords: Lservnt
SLM Server
Version
11.
References: None |
Problem Statement: The user gets an error message “Incorrect number of headers found.” while importing work items. | Solution: The Work Items import template changed in V11.0.1 and more columns are now expected, so .csv files created using old templates will generate an error message. Please follow the steps below to generate the new import template.
Launch Agent Builder and select Failure Library
Click the Import Work Items button
Enter a filename for your new template in the Import File field and then click Generate Import Template
Click OK to the pop-up message informing that the template has been created.
You can now use the new template to create work item import .csv files.
Keywords: Import
Work items
Template
Import failed
Headers
References: None |
Problem Statement: & | Solution: Some FAQ regarding linefill in MBO.
1. Can MBO model line fill from component tanks to a blender? If not, what's the workaround?
MBO does not have a built-in feature to model line fill from component tanks to blender. We suggest that a possible route would be to create a fixed transfer from a dummy tank to the product tank that corresponds to the volume and qualities of the line fill.
2. Does MBO track what's left in each line path from blend to blend?
MBO updates the line fill after each blend. You can track the volume and properties of the line fill in the "LineFill Summary" dialog in the Events menu. You will notice that the values of the line fill show step changes right after the end of each blend
3. Does Audit Invent & Qual import beginning linefill data from _LINEFILL to LINEFILLINV?
No, that workflow does not update LINEFILLINV
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: What to do when you see “E2042: The Unit YYYY in Table UNITS is Not Defined in OrionVb.dll”? | Solution: There are two scenarios in this case:
You suspect there are things you have not defined correctly for your unit.
You have defined the unit as “VB Unit” in APS and have already coded everything correctly in your VB code.
Please check if you have defined everything like the following:
Define your unit type as “VBU” in ATORIONUnitsDef table.
In your OrionVBNet project, make sure that unit is listed there.
Pay attention to the error you get and identify which unit ID it is complaining.
If you have defined everything correctly, then please check in your VB code for the unit. Please check if the unit returns “Nothing”. If so, please add a dummy value to it. Otherwise, APS will think the unit doesn’t exist and it will result in the error you see.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: What are electrolyte pair parameters GMELCx or GMENCx parameters? What are the defaults? | Solution: Electrolyte pair parameters GMELCx and GMENCx parameters are used to model molecule - ion pair and ion pair - ion pair interactions in the ELECNRTL and ENRTL-RK property methods used for electrolyte systems. GMELCx parameters are used in ELECNRTL, and GMENCx parameters are used in ENRTL-RK. These parameters are used to calculate the taus similar to the way that NRTL parameters are used to calculate the taus for molecule-molecule interactions.
In the absence of electrolytes, the Electrolyte NRTL model (ELECNRTL and ENTRL-RK Property Method) reduce to the NRTL equation which is widely used for non-electrolyte systems. The Molecule-Molecule interactions are modeled using the NRTL parameters which can be obtained from binary non-electrolyte systems.
The GMELCx and GMENCx parameters used to model molecule - ion pair and ion pair - ion pair interactions are of the form:
tau = GMELCC + GMELCD/T + GMELCE ( (Tref-T)/T + ln (T/Tref) ) where Tref = 298.15 K.
tau = GMENCC + GMENCD/T + GMENCE ( (Tref-T)/T + ln (T/Tref) ) where Tref = 298.15 K.
Electrolyte-molecule binary parameters (GMELCx or GMENCx) can be obtained from data regression of apparent single electrolyte systems.
Electrolyte-electrolyte parameters (also GMELCx or GMENCx) are required only for mixed electrolytes with a common ion. Electrolyte-electrolyte parameters are generally negligible and can be assumed to be zero. However, electrolyte-electrolyte parameters can affect trace ionic activity coefficients significantly and can be important when dealing with salt precipitation. Electrolyte-electrolyte parameters may be obtained by regressing solubility data of multiple component electrolyte systems.
Many binary interaction parameters for electrolytes have been regressed by AspenTech and are retrieved when using the Electrolyte Wizard. However, Aspen Plus does not have electrolyte pair parameters for ion pairs for all solvents.
When the electrolyte-molecule and electrolyte-electrolyte binary parameters are zero, the Electrolyte NRTL model reduces to the Debye-Huckel limiting law. Simulation results with electrolyte-molecule and electrolyte-electrolyte binary parameters fixed to zero should be adequate for very dilute weak electrolyte systems (this was the default for GMENCC in ENRTL-RK and GMELCC in the old SYSOP15M option set); however, for concentrated systems, binary parameters are required for accurate representation.
GMENCx parameters default to 0; however, there are different default parameters for the GMELCC parameters depending on the type of solvent. For this purpose, all molecular components besides water, including Henry components, are treated as solvents. The defaults for non-water solvent - ion pairs are 10 and -2 which are appropriate values for a poor solvent that contains ions.
Ion pair - molecule
defaults for GMELCC
water - ion pair: 8, ion pair - water: -4
non-water solvent - ion pair: 10, ion pair - non-water solvent: -2
defaults for GMELCD and GMELCE are 0.
Ion pair - ion pair (with one common ion)
Suggested values for specific cases
solute - ion pair : 15, ion pair - solute : -8
defaults for GMELCC, GMELCD and GMELCE are 0.
These values are part of the mode, not default values, so you will not see them in the report file.
Note if the values for a GMELCC pair are entered as zero in the User Interface for ELECNRTL, the defaults (8 and -4 or 10 and -2) will be used in the calculations. If you want GMELCC values to be zero to compare to ENRTL-RK, you need to set a very small non-zero pair value (1e-10, 1e-10) for GMELCC in ELECNRTL.
The electrolyte NRTL (ELECNRTL) activity coefficient (GAMMA) model (GMENRTL) option code 1 can be used to specify the default values of pair parameters for water/solute and solvent/solute; the solute represents a cation/anion pair. The value (1) sets the default values to zero and the value (3) sets the default values for water/solute to (8,-4) and for solvent/solute to (10,-2). The value (3) is the default choice of the option code. The option codes accessed using the button on the Methods | ELECNRTL | Models sheet when selecting the property GAMMA.
Components such as the N-Hexane-rich phase do not contain ions (as predicted in Aspen Plus by the dielectric constant in the hexane phase). However, the GMELCC parameters need to be specified to reflect the strong interaction in the aqueous phase. At high acid concentrations, the Hexane concentration is greatly overestimated.
To correct this problem, use the recommended vales of GMELCC for this type of solvent are 5 and 5. That is the electrolyte pair-organic solvent and organic solvent-electrolyte pair parameters should be set to 5.
For more details see the Aspen Plus
Keywords: None
References: | Physical Property Methods and Models | Physical Property Models | Thermodynamic Property Models | Activity Coefficient Models | Electrolyte NRTL Activity Coefficient Model (GMENRTL) help topic for more on the ELECNRTL equations and the Symmetric and Unsymmetric Electrolyte NRTL Activity Coefficient Model help topic for more on the ENRTL-RK and ENRTL-SR equations.
Reference: VSTS 468816 |
Problem Statement: It seems as if certain variables such as extra stream property calculations and batch results are not accessible via automation or when doing a background run. | Solution: Indeed, certain variables are not accessible via automation, .xml, or from background runs. These are variables stored in the ADS (Aspen Data Share) and include:
Column Analysis results
Variables associated with the Convergence Monitor
Results of BatchOp and BatchSep blocks
Variables plotted in strip charts and all time-profile results from batch flowsheets
Stream results are available via automation, but additional properties added in the stream summary may not be accessible. The correct path for a stream result is under \Data\Streams\(the stream id)\Stream Results\Table\, as in the following example for stream 3:
FindNode("\Data\Streams\3\Stream Results\Table\VVSTDMFL cuft/hr #1")
The example references a property set property VVSTDMFL in cuft/hr units. To ensure this variable is available, you need to create a property set referencing property VVSTDMFL and reference it in Setup | Report Options | Stream | Property Sets. Then run the simulation. You should then be able to navigate to the path in the Variable Explorer to ensure that the variable exists.
Keywords: None
References: : VSTS 498654 |
Problem Statement: What is the best practice concerning the units of entering Equal Concern Errors (ECE) for transformed variables? | Solution: Transforms are used by DMCplus in order to mathematically linearize any non-linear behavior in process data and trick the controller into thinking that the process is linear. When using transformed variables in a controller, the user would be required to enter all parameters (except the ECEs) associated with the variable in engineering units of the variable (raw measurement). The DMCplus engine would internally transform all these parameters from the input engineering units to transformed space before using the values for engine control calculations. KB146650 provides the list of variable parameters that are internally transformed by the engine.
Legacy versions of Aspen DMCplus required users to enter ECEs for transformed variables in transformed space/units, and this continues to be the default behavior in current versions. The current versions however, allow users to choose the desired units (real or transformed) for entering ECEs of transformed variables. The parameter that allows users to select the ECE units is called as XFRMECEM for manipulated variables and XFRMECEC for control variables.
(default) XFRMECEM/C = 0 means Enter ECEs in transformed units
XFRMECEM/C = 1 means Enter ECEs in engineering units
This feature allows entering the ECEs for some variables in easily understandable engineering units, as they may be a bit more difficult to set in transformed space. It should however be noted that entering ECEs in engineering units is not recommended for situations where the operator limits may change significantly as this may lead to inconsistent behavior in terms of CV control trade-offs. When ECEs are entered in engineering units, the transformed value will be calculated relative to a reference point. For lower ECE (Steady state, dynamic and ET) and the lower transition zone, the lower operating limit (LDEPTG) will be used as a reference point. For the upper ECE (Steady state, dynamic and ET) and the upper transition zone, the upper operating limit (UDEPTG) will be used as the reference point. For the middle ECE, the average of the operating limits will be used as a reference point. Because the reference points (the operator limits) are subject to change by users, the equal concerns will also be subject to change, causing the relative trade-offs between the CVs to change as the operator limit of the transformed ECEs are revised.
The magnitude of change in the ECEs based on the changes in the operator limits depends on the type of transform being used on the variable and the magnitude of change in the operator limit (reference point). Consider the following example of a composition variable with units in ppm and defined with a common logarithm transform.
Original Limits:
Lower Limit
Upper Limit
ECELPL
ECELPU
Engineering Units
100
200
5
5
Transform
Log (100)
Log (200)
Log (100) - Log (95)
Log (205) - Log (200)
Transformed Units
2
2.301
0.022
0.011
Please note that even though the values entered for ECEs are equal in engineering units, the actual/transformed values used by the control engine are different. The difference comes from the slope of the logarithm curve at the respective limit values.
New Limits:
Lower Limit
Upper Limit
ECELPL
ECELPU
Engineering Units
10
30
5
5
Transform
Log (10)
Log (30)
Log (10) - Log (5)
Log (35) - Log (30)
Transformed Units
1
1.477
0.301
0.067
Please note that the ECE for the new limits, which is closer to 0 (the portion with largest gradient/non-linearity in log transform), are around 13 times large for the lower ECE and 6 times larger for the upper ECE, even though the ECE in engineering units are the same as earlier. This causes a form of non-linearity in the way the controller behaves/responds in order to control the variables.
For situations where the operator limits are not changed by the operator by order of magnitude differences, it would be advisable to enter ECEs in engineering units as it makes it easier for engineers to associate a physical significance with these values. In such a scenario, even if the operator limits do change, but the changes are not large (depends on the type of transform used) the amount of the so called non-linear control behavior caused due to entering the ECEs in Engineering units is limited and not as pronounced.
For situations where it is expected that the operator limits change by a significant amount, it would be better to enter ECEs in transformed units to keep a consistent controller behavior. For situations where a unit might be operated at different rates, it might also be possible to build separate CCF files for the different operation rates with a different set of tuning for each operation rate. This would take care of the desired tuning changes required when the process and controller operate at multiple rates. In such a case, the user could either consider entering ECEs in engineering units or in transformed units.
**Note: Users should pay close attention to the values (such as limits, maxmov, etc.) being entered for transformed variables and should think in both engineering and transformed space while tuning the controller. The reason being the non-linearity transform manipulates the entered value internally before using them in the control calculation and if close attention is not given during tuning, the magnitude of the engineering and transformed values might cause unexpected control action. Ex. in case of valve parabolic transforms, the operator, engineering and validity limits when entered consistently on both high and low sides in engineering units might actually be spaced very close to each other at one end of the transform (high limit) and spread wide apart on the other end (low limit).
Keywords: Equal Concern Errors
Transforms
References: None |
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