question
stringlengths 19
6.88k
| answer
stringlengths 38
33.3k
|
|---|---|
Problem Statement: In order to allow insertion of historical data into a repository, the past time parameter found when right clicking on the repository and clicking on Properties, has to be big enough (in hours) to go far enough back into the past to accept the data you're trying to insert. Also, the creation date of the record where the data is to be inserted must be changed to be older than the timestamp associated with the data to be inserted.
Sometimes, due to a system crash or a user error, the end date of one fileset will overlap with the beginning date of the following fileset. One example of how this could happen is when instead of changing the past time parameter of the repository, a user changed the beginning date of a fileset, thus making it overlap with the end date of the previous fileset.
As a result of the above user error, a fileset which has starttime T1 and endtime T2 and normally stores data for T1 < t = < T2, is out of its range and the data won't be stored in it properly. When there are two filesets which have overlapping range, data is stored into the fileset which has older start time, and it is used until end time or until full. Then, the data is not retrieved from the fileset because the historian doesn't know which fileset contains the data.
To remedy that, you must make the start and end times in filesets stand in a sequence, without overlapping. Here's how. | Solution: At the command prompt, run the h21arcadmin utility to change the start or end time/date (whichever is applicable) of a fileset and then run the h21arcck utility, making sure you use the -x flag, to rebuild the fileset. This flag will stop the h21arcck from overriding your date change.
NOTE: AspenTech recommends that you stop history storage using h21arcstop before you run the h21arcadmin utility.
Restart history storage using h21prime utility.
Example:
To run the above-mentioned utilities from the DOS Command Prompt, switch to the drive where InfoPlus.21 database is installed and enter %h21%\bin>utility name, where the utility name is the MS-DOS equivalent command such as h21arcadmin. (If you prefer not to use the environment variable %h21%\bin>utility name, the following path will also work: [drive letter]:\Progra~1\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\c21\h21\bin>utility name)
Use the following syntax:
h21arcadmin -r[repository name] -f[file set location] -m -sstart_time -eend_time
(h21arcadmin -rTSK_DHIS -fC:\Progra~1\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\c21\h21\arcs\arc32 -m -s 25 Aug 00 00:00:00 -e 25 Aug 00 12:59:59)
or, you can use a UNC path where ***** is your machine name:
(h21arcadmin -rTSK_DHIS -f\\*****\IP21g200His\arc32\ -m -s 14 Aug 02 16:06:45 -e 15 Aug 02 14:06:23)
Then run the h21arcck using the following syntax:
h21arcck -r[repository name] -a[fsnum] -o -x -d
(h21arcck -rTSK_DHIS -a32 -o -x -d)
where:
-o is the flag that forces a rebuild of the fileset
-x is the flag that will stop the h21arcck from overriding your date change on fileset number 32
-d is the debug flag that will display what's happening on the screen
NOTE 1: For the description of all the other flags mentioned here please refer to the InfoPlus.21 Administration Manual, History Utility Programs, p.8-1 through 8-4.
NOTE 2: Since the release of aspenONE v2004, there's a GUI, called Setarchivedates.exe, that can be found in the following directory: ...\InfoPlus.21\c21\h21\bin\ . In the background it does h21arcadmin and h21arcck (-x). Please use it as it saves a lot of user errors !!!
Keywords: overlapping filesets
References: None |
Problem Statement: The following error is reported in error.log file during history backup:
30-MAY-06 12:23:09.7 - ARCBACKUP ERROR: Error creating changed or shifted fileset directory. IoError: 3, Path: \\server name\shared name\Changed\H21ARC_TSK_DHIS_1_06-05-09-130430_06-05-16-185735 | Solution: This error is caused when the path specified does not exist in the backup server. In the example above, the path
\\server name\shared name\Changed\
does not exist.
This error will also occur if the path specified uses a mapped drive. The generation of this error due to use of a mapped drive is a known issue, which is being tracked as defect CQ00241563. The workaround to defect CQ00241563 is to change the path to use the UNC address (as shown in the example). Defect CQ00241563 will be fixed in version 2006.1.
Keywords: History
Backup
References: None |
Problem Statement: How are the tag status values determined for SQLA tags? | Solution: The status codes are the same as those used for CIM/21. Please seeSolution #100142 for a list of these codes. Note that the number value is translated from CIM/21 usage to IP.21 usage. Therefore, when viewed in the data table in Process Explorer, you will see a different numeric value for the status that what is in the source database.
For example, for a status of OK (or Good), you would use a 0 (zero) as per the CIM/21 status value list inSolution #100142. Since a Good status in IP.21 is -1 (see the QUALITY-STATUSES record under QualityStatusDef), you would see a -1 for the numeric value of the status in the data table (uncheck the box labeled Display Strings for Level, Status, and Valid).
Keywords: quality status
sqla
References: None |
Problem Statement: Somewhere, such as inside a field in an Aspen InfoPlus.21(IP.21) record, or maybe in a .OUT file relating to an application, you might see the generic error message :
Data changed but no history generated (bad key time stamp) | Solution: The exact meaning of this error is that there was an attempt to write data into IP.21 history, but the timestamp associated with the value being written is older than what is allowed to be entered into the InfoPlus.21 History repository.
The mechanism for determining just how old data can be begins with opening the IP.21 Administrator and expanding the Historian section in the left-hand pane. Now Right-Click on the specific repository and choose Properties. Finally click on the Repository tab, looking for the setting of 'Time Past' .
This 'Time Past' setting is relative to the current time setting on the IP.21 Server.
Therefore, as an example, if the 'Time Past' setting is 24:00:00 (hours) and there is an attempt to write a value to history that has a timestamp older than this exact same time yesterday (hence, longer than 24 hours in the past), the data will not be written to history and you will get the error:
Data changed but no history generated (bad key time stamp)
Note that you could also observe the problem if data is being written with a future time that exceeds 'Time Future'.
To work-around the problem it is possible to increase both the 'Time Past' and 'Time Future' settings. However a stop and restart of the IP.21 database is required for the new settings to take affect.
Finally, there is also a restriction that data cannot be written to the IP.21 Historian with a timestamp that is older than the setting of XOLDESTOK. This setting represents the original creation date of the database record. Please see knowledge base article 103040 for full details.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: How to load a list of calculations into AspenCalc without using the AspenTech's AspenCalc GUI program?
How to load calculations from a XML file into AspenTech's AspenCalc? | Solution: You can take advantage of the Aspen Calc GUI function to accomplish this.
This can be done by appending all calculations in the xml file, <calculation>...</calculation> in a single xml file. The import function in Aspen Calc GUI will loop thru these one by one.
Here's a sample code in Visual Basic to do this:
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim xmlDom As New MSXML.DOMDocument
Dim xmlNode As MSXML.IXMLDOMNode
Dim status As Boolean
Dim calcAppCmd As Object
Dim calcObj As Object
xmlDom.async = False
xmlDom.Load (c:\temp\foo.xml)
Set xmlNode = xmlDom.selectSingleNode(//AspenCalc/Calculation)
If Not xmlNode Is Nothing Then
Set calcAppCmd = CreateObject(CalcScheduler.CalcCommands)
If Not calcAppCmd Is Nothing Then
Dim nodename, username As String
nodename = SomeHostName
username = SomeUserName
Set calcObj = calcAppCmd.CreateCalculationObject(Foo, nodename, username)
If Not calcObj Is Nothing Then
status = calcAppCmd.LoadCalcXML(xmlNode.xml, calcObj)
If status = False Then
MsgBox Failed to load calc xml
End If
End If
End If
End If
Set calcAppCmd = Nothing
Set calcObj = Nothing
Set xmlNode = Nothing
End Sub
Note: The calculation name(s) in the xml file can't be used already in AspenCalc.
Keywords: calculation xml list
References: None |
Problem Statement: When the Windows system clock is set to the wrong time, various problems can occur if Aspen InfoPlus.21 generates a timestamp or invokes scheduled activations. This article describes how to change the default threshold Aspen InfoPlus.21 uses to check for unusual changes in the Windows system time. | Solution: Aspen InfoPlus.21 has been enhanced to periodically check for significant unusual changes in the Windows system time. Aspen InfoPlus.21 will lock the database if the Windows system time has changed too much. (The default threshold is one year.) Aspen InfoPlus.21 will resume after you have confirmed that the current Windows system time is correct.
To change the default threshold:
Create a new DWORD value called MaxTimeChange in
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\4.0\groupXXX\RegisteredTasks\TSK_DBCLO CK.
Note: MaxTimeChange can be set in minutes. Also note that this example is for v.4.0. The registry path will have different numbers for v.5.0, v.6.0, etc.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: This knowledge base article states AspenTech's position in regards to using the Aspen Manufacturing Suite on a server with a 64-bit processor. | Solution: Prior to V7.2 the Aspen Manufacturing Suite products have not been modified to take specific advantage of 64-bit processing. AspenTech has never tested installations of those earlier Aspen InfoPlus.21 versions on 64-bit processor machines therefore we can't say we support it even though it would most likely work.
As far as 64-bit Windows operating systems are concerned, AspenTech has not tested them with versions up to and including V7.1. Consequently, we do not recommend installing any version of Aspen software prior to V7.2 on 64-bit Windows operating systems. It 'may' run but there will probably be major unsupported problems that will prevent you from Upgrading to a newer version.
NOTE: aspenONE V7.2, released in 2010, supports 64-bit processor platforms using a 64-bit Windows operating system on Windows 2008 R2. See knowledge base article 129679 for more information.
Keywords: 64bit
64 bit
64-bit
32bit
32
edition
Windows
References: None |
Problem Statement: Transition Manager entry stuck indefinitely after clicking on the Run and the Stop button. | Solution: The problem here is that when Transition Manager is being stopped before completing its processing, it will crash and get stuck in an indefinite loop. This is a known bug and it is fixed in ER # PM010220A.NTI (Solution ID #105145). This ER fixes various problems with Aspen Process Recipe and Transition Manager, and it is available via our website at www.aspentech.com in the Service Packs area.
The workaround, if you have not installed the above ER, and you experience this condition, is to stop both the client and the server, delete the stuck entry in the RT_STRATEGY table within the database, and restart the server and then the client.
Note: You don''t have to stop the entire database. You only need to stop the Aspen Transition Manager Server service, the ATM_ADMIN, and the ATM_EXEC from the database.
Keywords: transition manager
References: None |
Problem Statement: The setting selected in the IP_VALUE_FORMAT field of an IP_AnalogDef record dictates how the IP_VALUE field, and other floating point fields in that record, are displayed in InfoPlus.21. If numbers are not displaying as expected, you will need to verify the correct format was selected. The following | Solution: explains how the IP_VALUE_FORMAT sets the format of an analog point.
Solution
Analog data points are formatted by a floating-point value format. An example of an IP_VALUE_FORMAT field for an analog value is F9.3. F9.3 is itself a special type of record in the database known as a format record.
The first number in the format, 9, determines the number of placeholders in the number. One of these nine placeholders is reserved for the sign of the number () and another is reserved for the decimal point. The seven remaining placeholders are left for the number digits. The second number specifies the maximum number of decimal values that will be displayed for the fractional part of the number.
If the input value is 1.337 and the IP_VALUE_FORMAT is F6.3, the number will be displayed in the database as 1.337. If however, the number is 11.337, the displayed value is rounded to 11.34. This is because the specified format has not reserved enough placeholders and the final decimal point is truncated. In this case, the format field should be changed to F7.3.
InfoPlus.21 has several pre-defined format records for analog points. However, it is possible to create user-defined format records when needed.
1. In the IP.21 Administrator, browse to Definition Records | RealFormatDef.
2. Right click on RealFormatDef and select New record defined by RealFormatDef.
3. Follow the standard naming convention (i.e. F10.2, F8.1 etc.) and select a folder to save the record in.
4. In the newly created record fill in the following fields: DISPLAY_LENGTH -- the total number of place characters for the number (don't forget to account for the sign and decimal places) DISPLAY_WHOLE_DIGITS -- the number of digits to the left of the decimal place.
NOTE: The DISPLAY_WHOLE_DIGITS is somewhat counter-intuitive. It is not the number of decimal digits; instead it accounts for the amount of non-decimal digits in the number. The following formula can be used to calculate what the DISPLAY_WHOLE_DIGITS should be:
DISPLAY_WHOLE_DIGITS = DISPLAY_LENGTH - 2 - number of decimal values to be displayed
Note: The selected format will only affect how the data is displayed in the Infoplus.21 Administrator. The value that is actually stored in history is independent of the formatting.
Keywords: IP_INPUT_VALUE
decimal
References: None |
Problem Statement: Client tools are unable to see data in some history file sets. It is possible that different client tools may not display data for different time spans. For example, Process Explorer may see data from one file set while SQLplus sees data from the subsequent file set. | Solution: The end time of one archive file set may be set exactly the same as the start time of the following file set. As a result, client tools are unable to display data from both file sets.
To resolve the problem, use the h21arcadmin tool to modify the second file set so that its start time is one second after the end time of the previous file set. Use of the h21arcadmin utility to modify start and end times is detailed below. The utility can be found in the \Program Files\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\c21\h21\bin directory.
h21arcadmin -m -s start_time -e end_time -f filepath
where
-m Changes the beginning and ending times for the archive in the current directory or in the directory specified by the parameter -f. When you use this parameter you must specify the new beginning and new ending time for the archive with -s and -e.The -m option should only be used to modify the beginning and ending dates for an archive that you created with the -c option and have not yet used to store data. Do not use this option to change the beginning and ending dates for any other purpose unless someone from AspenTech Customer Support asks you to do so.
-s Start_time Specifies the starting time for the data in the archive. You must express the beginning time in full explicit time format (dd mmm yy hh:mm:ss) and enclose it in double quotes (), e.g., 04 jul 94 10:00:00.
-e end_time Specifies the ending time for the data in the archive. You must express the ending time in full explicit time format (dd mmm yy hh:mm:ss) and enclose it in double quotes (), e.g., 10 jul 94 00:00:00.
-f filepath Specifies the directory in which to set up the new archive. If you do not specify a directory, filepath defaults to the current directory.
Keywords: Aspen Process Explorer
SQLplus
timestamp
References: None |
Problem Statement: On rare occasions, incomplete data is returned by a custom application reading data from the History table.
Let's suppose we are writing a large number of values into history by writing them in chronological order through IP_INPUT_VALUE & IP_INPUT_TIME, and there is NO data compression for the record (IP_DC_SIGNIFICANCE = ?????, IP_DC_MAX_TIME_INT = +000:00:00.0).
If, after writing each value, we call RHIS21DATA (actuals) to read back the value from history, then it appears as if the value is in history. RHIS21DATA will always be successful at reading back the value.
However, if after writing two values, we immediately call RHIS21DATA to read back the older of the two values from history, the value does not appear to be in history. If we repeatedly sleep in 10 millisecond increments and check again, it takes approximately 20 to 100 milliseconds for RHIS21DATA to return the oldest of the two values..
In the above test, the IP_#_OF_TREND_VALUES was set to 1. If IP_#_OF_TREND_VALUES is set to 2, then RHIS21DATA returns the oldest of the two values immediately. However, if we then write three values, the oldest of the three values is not available from RHIS21DATA until waiting 20 to 100 milliseconds.
Based on the above scenario, what influence (if any) do Number of Points, Buffer Size, and Cache Size have on how much data is available when querying the History table? | Solution: It may be helpful to start off with some definitions and then go to the point.
Number of Points. Number of points specifies the points that will be stored in this repository. The Historian will use this information to determine how much memory to allocate for history storage. If this number is too small, the cache hit rate will be less than 100 percent and cache use will be inefficient. If this number is too large, memory allocation will exceed what is needed. The parameter for Number of Points should be set to equal or larger than the number of records for which you intend to keep history. For example, if you have a repository with 3,000 points, and you are adding 2,000 more points, ensure that Number of Points is > 5000.
This parameter has no influence on the History table.
Buffer Size. Buffer Size specifies the size in bytes for the memory resident Event Queue. The Event Queue is the primary buffer where history events are stored until the archive program can write them to the archives. InfoPlus.21 comes with the buffer size configured to 100 KB (100000 bytes). Note: As this is a memory resident queue, if you make it larger, it will increase memory usage by the history system.
Depending on your version of InfoPlus.21 (IP.21), the size of the Event Queue may determine how much data is available when querying the History table. I will explain more below.
Cache Size. The cache is a memory-resident, temporary storage area used to organize data by record in order to facilitate rapid writes to the archives in the InfoPlus.21 Historian. Cache specifies the number of bytes to reserve for each data point being stored in this repository. The total cache size can be determined by multiplying this parameter by the number of points parameter.
Depending on your version of IP.21, the Cache Size may determine how much data is available when querying the History table. I will explain more below.
In IP.21 versions 2004.0 and older, RHIS21DATA (and RHIS21AGGREG) will check the memory-resident repeat area first, then the history event queue, then the archive. It appears that when data is moved from the memory-resident repeat area data to the archive, there is a time period when the memory-resident data disappears from view when calling RHIS21DATA. This may account for the problem experienced by some users' custom applications seeing gaps in data or seeing less data than expected when querying the History table.
As of IP.21 v2004.1, RHISDATAUSTS() will only return archived data. RHISDATAUSTS() will not return data that is only in the memory-resident history repeat area or history event queue unless archiving is turned off. If archiving is turned off for the history repeat area, then RHISDATAUSTS() will return data from the memory-resident history repeat area. This was done to ensure consistency when querying the History table.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: A history repository has crashed and the event.dat file is growing. A restart of InfoPlus.21 does not start the unbuffering of this event.dat file. The error.log associated with the repository has this error message:
read_buffer() error opening event.dat; permission denied | Solution: The disk drive holding the filesets is most likely heavily fragmented. To verify this, run a disk analyze tool. If it is determined the disk is indeed fragmented, it will be necessary to shutdown InfoPlus.21 to run a defrag. Depending upon the size of the disk drive, this action may take a long time.
A short termSolution is to shutdown InfoPlus.21 and delete the event.dat & cache.dat and restart InfoPlus.21. This will, of course, lead to a loss of history data. But, it should allow new data to be processed by the archiver.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: NobleNet Portmapper generates the following error when attempting to start.
The NobleNet Portmapper for TCP service failed to start due to the following error: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.
The following entry may also be logged in the Event viewer.
Overlap I/O is in progress, NobleNet Portmapper: (winsock) error 997 | Solution: The error is most likely caused by a service conflict. If BrightStor ARCserve Backup in installed on the system, see knowledge baseSolution 103401.
If BrightStor ARCserve Backup is not installed, or ifSolution 103401 does not resolve the issue, run the RPCINFO.EXE utility in C:\Program Files\Common Files\AspenTech Shared\Portmapper. From the menu bar, select Info, then Portmap Dump. Confirm the Host Name and click OK. If NobleNet Portmapper is not running, you should get the message rpcinfo: can't contact portmapper and Connect request was refused.
It is also possible that another process may utilize port 111. A utility such as TCPView can be used to identify such a conflict: http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/tcpview.html
Start the TCPView to return a list of all TCP and UDP end points on the system. TCPView displays four columns which are Process, Protocol, Local Address, and Remote Address. Search the Local Address column for HOST:111 where HOST is the name of the server. After finding HOST:111, look in the process column which has the process which is using port 111. The process using port 111 needs to stop before the NobleNet Portmapper service can be started.
Two services have been reported as using port 111, CA Remote Procedure Call Server service and NetWorker Remote Exec Service service. Check the list of services for either of these services. Stop the service and then start NobleNet PortMapper for TCP service. With conflicting services stopped, the NobleNet PortMapper for TCP service should start properly and allow InfoPlus.21 to start.
NOTE: You may not be able to find HOST:111. Instead, it may read something like HOST:sunrpc. The alternate name corresponds to that in the services file (%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\drivers\etc\services). Check the services file to see if a service has been defined for port 111.
Keywords: rpc
tcp
NobleNet
portmapper
InfoPlus.21
startup
References: None |
Problem Statement: This article only relates to AspenONE v2004.2 systems on a Windows 2003 PC where the Aspen 2007 Daylight Savings (DST) patch has been recently installed.
Aspen Process Explorer and/or Aspen Batch.21 may stop communicating, or be very slow, after a few hours. Or you may be getting errors about Low Virtual Memory in any process on your system.
Restarting Aspen InfoPlus.21, or simply restarting specific tasks in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Manager, resolves the problems - but only for a few hours.
The specific patches that relate to this problem are:-
Aspen InfoPlus.21 2004.2 Cumulative Server Patch (IP070209Z) - March 2007
Aspen InfoPlus.21, Batch.21 and Audit and Compliance 2004.2 Patch (DT021607A) - February 2007
Aspen Process Data 2004.2 Cumulative Server Patch (DT022807D) - March 2007 | Solution: Verify if Microsoft SP1 for Windows 2003 has been applied.
The Aspen InfoPlus.21 v2004.2 Installation guide says that SP1 of Windows 2003 is a requirement.
Now that the DST patch had been applied, there will be a memory leak in the InfoPlus21_api_server executable IF the Microsoft SP1 has not been applied to a Windows 2003 system. This explains why either restarting InfoPlus.21 or specific tasks will cause memory re-allocation - at least for a few hours.
Therefore the only reSolution is to apply Microsoft's Service Pack 1 for Windows 2003
Tasks that may show memory leaks due to this problem are :
TSK_APEX_SERVER
TSK_BATCH21_SERVER
TSK_ADMIN_SERVER
TSK_DEFAULT_SERVER
TSK_EXCEL_SERVER
TSK_ORIG_SERVER
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Problem with a combination of space and no space in the record or folder names. An error Name used by ___ occurs when trying to add a new record or folder. | Solution: Record and folder names like test001 and test 001 are considered to be the same. So you can not create a new record or folder if the only difference is a space in the name of an existing record or folder.
Keywords: duplicate
insert
References: None |
Problem Statement: When attempting to run a tag report from the Aspen Calc GUI, the following error message is displayed:
This Knowledge Base article provides the steps to resolve this error. | Solution: The following COM objects are involved in the report generation. Please open an elevated command prompt in the c:\Windows\SysWOW64 folder, then invoke the command to register each DLL, such as REGSVR32 <dllName>.
Here are the DLLs to register:
Folder Location
DLL Name
Description
c:\Windows\SysWOW64
MSDBRPTR.dll
Microsoft Data Report Designer 6.0 (SP4)
c:\Windows\SysWOW64
MSSTDFMT.dll
Microsoft Data Formatting Object Library 6.0 (SP4)
c:\Windows\SysWOW64
MSBIND.dll
Microsoft Data Binding Collection VB 6.0 (SP4)
c:\Windows\SysWOW64
MSDERUN.dll
Microsoft Data Environment Instance 1.0 (SP4)
Keywords: Error creating tag report.
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do you modify an input value in the GET record? For example, multiply each input value by 10. | Solution: The answer to this question is in the CIM-IO v6.0.1 User's Manual beginning on p.8-13. But it's a little confusing, so it may take some time to understand. Here's another way to describe it:
First of all, you can't just enter a multiplier. You must also specify a valid range. To do so, everything is done in a separate selector record. Then, in the IO_DATA_CONVERSION field in the GET record, you select the conversion record for each tag that requires the conversion.
These are some basic steps to follow:
In the Io-Eu-Conv record (under IoEuConvDef), increase the number of #_OF_SELECTIONS by one. This will create a new Occurrence in the repeat area.
In the repeat area, give a name (SELECT_DESCRIPTION) for this new conversion record.
Enter an IO_VALUE_FORMAT (for viewing the values in the Administrator.)
Consider the extreme range of the process variable's raw (unconverted) values and enter them in IO_MAX_COUNTS and IO_MIN_COUNTS (e.g. 1,000 and 0).
Using the values in step #4, enter the converted values in IO_RANGE_HI and IO_RANGE_LO (e.g. using 10,000 and 0 means multiply each value by 10).
Now you can go back to your GET record and select this occurrence of the Io-Eu-Conv record for the IO_DATA_CONVERSION field.
Keywords: units
cimio
References: None |
Problem Statement: The administrative account was changed on the following Aspen services:
Aspen InfoPlus.21 Task Service
Aspen Local AFW Trustee Server
Aspen Registry Security Server
Now I am getting the following error when trying to add a role to the permissions list in the InfoPlus.21 Administrator tool:
Can not determine the identity for the task server | Solution: If the site has implemented MS Active Directory for Users and Computers, the new user administrative account will most likely have the following Windows domain name reSolution
[email protected].
This is not supported by the AFW Security Manager as the valid format.
Ensure that all Aspen services which run under a specific user account (not the Local System account) reference the Log On As user as follows: DOMAIN\user
To verify this, click START | RUN, type services.msc, and hit Enter. Double click on each Aspen service which runs under a specific user account and inspect the Log On As tab making sure that the user is referenced as follows: domain\user
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: The Bypass permission is missing in the IP.21 database Permissions tab. | Solution: Both the Full and Bypass permissions have been intentionally removed from the Permissions tab in IP.21 Administrator in v5.x. Unfortunately, the IP.21 installation manual is not updated on this latest development. To give the Administrator role full database privileges, you should click on the Set All button on the right of the Permissions tab. This is equivalent to the Bypass permission, and will give the role all available permissions to the IP.21 database.
Keywords: permissions
permission
missing
Bypass
Full
References: None |
Problem Statement: Where can I find an example of Aspen Properties formulas with Aspen Calc? | Solution: Prerequisites:
· Aspen Properties has to be installed (Engineering Suite \ Process Modeling Vx.x \ Aspen Properties).
· If required, register manually the AspenProperties.dll (<drive>:\Program Files (x86 if using OS 64-bits)\AspenTech\Aspen Calc\Bin) –via DOS prompt regsvr32 AspenProperties.dll-.
· The AspenTech Calculator Engine should be started by an Administrator account. If required, add that account to the Administrator and Distributed COM Users groups (Server Manager \ Configuration \ Local User and Groups).
· If the message appears “AspenCalc. Error executing calculation: Error executing method “<Name>”: No Aspen Properties license available, in formula “<Name>” at line #, in formula “<Name> at line#””, make sure that you have the proper license keys. If you have, re-run the SLM Configuration Wizard and/or restart the AspenTech Calculator Engine service.
Configuration:
It’s suggested to update the aromatics.aprbkp file (<drive>:\Program Files (x86 if using OS 64-bits)\AspenTech\AspenCalc\Examples\Properties) to the same version as the running AspenTech software. Open it in Aspen Properties User Interface, then use File | Export to export this to a valid file of type *.aprpdf. If required, back up the original file named aromatics.aprpdf.
When first loading the *.aprbkp file, you may be prompted to use the new PURE## databank, at this point you should opt to Keep existing databanks.
Open Aspen Calc, right click on the node and choose Import XML. Navigate to <drive>:\Program Files (x86 if using OS 64-bits)\AspenTech\AspenCalc\Examples\Properties and select AspenPropertiesCalcs.xml. Open the resulting AspenProperties folder, go to SampleMixtureProperties.
Open the Calculation, update the path of the PDFName to <drive>:\Program Files(x86)\AspenTech\ Aspen Calc\Examples\Properties\ if using OS 64-bits.
Navigate to PDFName and select Data Binding \ None \ Value: <drive>:\Program Files(x86 if using OS 64-bits)\AspenTech\Aspen Calc\Examples\Properties\aromatics.aprpdf. The DiagnosticLogName needs to be changed to (<drive>:\Program Files(x86 if using OS 64-bits)\AspenTech\Aspen Calc\Examples\Properties\PropertiesErrorMessages.txt), as well as, DiagnosticLevel.
Refer to the table below for some of the Input / Ouput of the calculation:
PDFName
The name of the Aspen Properties problem description file.
Temperature
A real number specifying temperature.
Pressure
A real number specifying pressure.
Phase
A CSV list of strings specifying the phases for the properties. Valid phases are L, V and S. (Note: Phase is case sensitive.)
ComponentList
A CSV list of strings specifying component IDs for components in the mixture. Can be a single value or an array.
MoleFraction
Mole fractions of the components in the mixture in the same order as specified in ComponentList. The total of mole fraction values will be normalized to 1.
PDFName
Name of the Aspen Properties aprpdf file.
DiagnosticLevel
Message level for error, warning and diagnostic information.
DiagnosticLogName
Name of the optional diagnostic log file.
For further information please refer to Aspen Calc Help / CalcScript Formulas / Aspen Properties Functions.
Keywords: Aspen Calc, Aspen Properties, Formulas, Aspen Properties Flash, Aspen Properties General, Aspen Properties Toolkit
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can I pass data from Microsoft SQL Server to an Aspen Calc parameter? | Solution: When creating calculations in Aspen Calc you can specify where the data is read from or written to in the Parameter Properties dialog box. The input parameters can be bound to Aspen InfoPlus.21 database fields, ADO data sources, or other Calculations.
You can use the Data Set type of binding to access data from a Microsoft SQL database. This dialogue box is used to create and edit Data Sets. Data Sets are the results of ADO queries and consist of a number of values. A Data Set allows a single query to be used to return several values (as several columns) and these can then be used to set several calculation parameters. The Data Set can only be used for input parameters.- See 'Data Set Dialog Box' in Aspen Calc's online Help for further details.
In order to use the Data Set type of binding in Aspen Calc you need to first create a ODBC connection to the Microsoft SQL Server database. See 'Establishing ODBC Connections' in Aspen Calc's online Help for further details.
In Windows Administrative Tools -> Data Sources (ODBC) Add a new USER DSN Data Source,
select SQL Server driver,
and Enter the Name, Description and the SQL server name you want to connect to, in our example RHEA\SQLEXPRESS:
Finish the creation of the Data Source.
In Aspen Calc when creating the Data Bindings to a parameter in a calculation,
select Data Set and click on the New Data Set button,
and enter a DataSetName, Description, Connection Name. This is the name of the ODBC connection you created in the previous step. Enter the User ID and Password to authenticate on the Microsoft SQL Server database and the SQL Query String. This is a valid SQL query to the Microsoft SQL Server database to get a value to the Aspen Calc parameter:
In this example the SQL Query String retrieves data from a table LabData in the RDBMS database for a specific date and time.
Back in the Binding Properties screen in the Data Set line select the correct row name from the MSQL table, in our example TrendValue from the LabData table.
Exercise the calculation by executing it and confirming the result:
Keywords: bind
parameter
calc
Microsoft SQL
database
References: None |
Problem Statement: What does the InfoPlus.21 Browser Service do? | Solution: IP21serv.exe is the task behind the InfoPlus.21 Browser service. It is responsible for intercepting browse requests from the network which occur when a remote client wants to see the IP21 systems in a particular domain. When ip21serv says that it is starting up, it basically is saying that it is ready to service browse requests. Also, it serves as an informational/debugging tool whenever a group service does not service any requests.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: The Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator is not showing the actual history data. Rather, it is displaying N/A for the data being read from the filesets on disk. For example: | Solution: Register the following DLL's using regsvr32.exe:
1. AtInfoPlus21object.dll located at < drive>:\Program Files\Common Files\AspenTech Shared and
2. AtObject.dll located at < drive>:\Program Files\Common Files\AspenTech Shared\AtObject
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: When upgrading an Aspen InfoPlus.21 system from v2004.1 to v2004.2 using the Upgrade\Repair option on the Program Maintenance screen the list of products to upgrade only shows Aspen Local Security. | Solution: Rename the ..\aspentech\setup\uninstall folder and restart the installation. The folder is used by the installation of AspenTech products prior to AspenOne (v6.1 and older). In some cases this folder may contain files from a previous installation. Renaming the folder eliminates the confusion with older file versions.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Can older versions of Aspen Process Explorer (6.0.1 and earlier) connect to newer versions of Aspen Infoplus.21 (2004 and later)? | Solution: The answer depends upon whether or not Aspen Web.21is involved! If Web.21 is on the same machine as InfoPlus.21, when InfoPlus.21 is upgraded version 2004 or later, the Web.21 components will also be upgraded to the same version at that time. If that is the case, when an earlier version of Process Explorer tries to connect to the Web.21 Server (version 2004 or later), you would have a problem due to the newer web components that it would attempt to download at that time. From the version 2004.2 Web.21 Installation Manual (page 2-3):
Caution: Do not download the 2004 version of the Web.21 client onto a computer that has an older (6.0.1 or earlier) version of Aspen Process Explorer installed; doing so may cause Process Explorer trends not to display.
If Web.21 is not installed on the InfoPlus.21 machine, there will be no problems connecting an older Process Explorer client to a newer InfoPlus.21 server.
Keywords: 2004
Earlier Version
Process Explorer
References: None |
Problem Statement: What is the meaning of ASCII conversion error (no format record available) as a value for IP_ALARM_STATE (in the fixed area of a standard IP_AnalogDef or IP_DiscreteDef record). | Solution: This error message is a result of not having a value for IP_ALARM_FORMAT. Typically, this field is blank in a new record. In the Administrator, simply select a value (e.g. IP_AlarmMessages) from the drop-down list for this field and press F5 (or Shift-F5) to refresh the screen.
Keywords: tag
problem
usage
References: None |
Problem Statement: The TagHistoryArray function allows a user to grab an array of points for a tag between two timestamps, but it does not give any guidance to calculate the number of points, Np, which is a parameter required to call TagHistoryArray. For tags updating at a fixed rate, it is easy to calculate the number of points, but this | Solution: describes a procedure to calculate the number of points regardless og the tag's update frequency.
Note: There are no built in functions for calculating this.Solution
In thisSolution, the VBScript calculation made in AspenCalc will calculate the first value in the array of values from an Aspen InfoPlus.21 tag named ATCAI. The time frame of the array will be between 2:20 pm and 2:23 pm on the day of execution.
First, create four new tags in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 database. This procedure will require three tags defined by IP_TextDef and one tag define by IP_AnalogDef. In this example, the three IP_TextDef records are named QueryTag (used to store the name of the tag that is desired), TimetagOne (for the start time of the array) and TimetagTwo (for the end time of the array), while the IP_AnalogDef tag is named CalcSteps (the calculated number of points between the two timestamps). Once the three tags are created, open the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator application to make sure IP_#_OF_TREND_VALUES in each of the fixed areas is set to a value greater than 2. Also check to make sure that there is a repository (in IP_REPOSITORY) to store the values and that IP_ARCHIVING is turned 'ON'.
Next, open up an instance of Aspen SQLplus and enter in the following query:
local T1, T2, A int, B int, C int;
MACRO tagname=(select IP_INPUT_VALUE from QueryTag);
T1 = TimetagOne.IP_INPUT_VALUE;
T2 = TimetagTwo.IP_INPUT_VALUE;
A=(select MAX(OCCNUM) from &tagname where IP_TREND_TIME>cast(T1 as timestamp));
B=(select MAX(OCCNUM) from &tagname where IP_TREND_TIME>cast(T2 as timestamp));
C = A - B;
update CalcSteps set IP_INPUT_VALUE = C;
Now save the query using Record | Save As... and give it an appropriate name, save is as a QueryDef record and assign an External Task for running this query. Set #WAIT_FOR_COS_FIELDS value to 1 and #OUTPUT_LINES to 1. Double click #WAIT_FOR_COS_FIELDS to add a change-of-state activation parameter. Set WAIT_FOR_COS_FIELD to QueryTag IP_INPUT_TIME and set COS_RECOGNITION to all. This will activate the query whenever the VBScript runs the calculation for a tag.
Now open AspenCalc and select Manager:Calculations and Calculation:New and enter in a calculation name. In this example, it is called TestCalc. Press Next > and select the tab for New Formula and select VBScript and Next >. In the following screen, press Add to insert the following variable names and types of variables:
Press next and enter in the following script:
V1=Now()
T1=Month(V1) & / & Day(V1) & / & Year(V1) & 14:20:00
T2=Month(V1) & / & Day(V1) & / & Year(V1) & 14:23:00
TagString=ATCAI
TagSetValue.function TimeOne, V1, T1
TagSetValue.function TimeTwo, V1, T2
TagSetValue.function TagName, V1, TagString
Np=Points
Request=4
Stepped=0
ReturnData=TagHistoryArray.function(Tag, T1, T2, Np, Request, Stepped)
ReturnValue=ReturnData(1).value
Press Next > and bind the variables to the Aspen InfoPlus.21 tags that were created as follows:
Press Execute to test the query. This should print the first value of the array to the ReturnValue parameter as intended.
The variables specified in this sample calculation will need to be modified accordingly depending on the user's needs.
Keywords: TagHistoryArray
Number of Points
VBScript
AspenCalc
References: None |
Problem Statement: Sites with more than one InfoPlus.21 server on the network may wish to administer or view data on those remote servers from the local InfoPlus.21 Administrator tool. This document discusses the configuration steps necessary to access remote data sources from the Neighborhood view in the InfoPlus.21 Administrator. | Solution: How many InfoPlus.21 databases you see under the Neighborhood icon also depends on the following 3 factors:
In v3.0 and higher, in order to see other InfoPlus.21 databases under the Neighborhood icon within InfoPlus.21 Administrator, the databases MUST be within the same Windows domain or belong to a Windows domain that is trusted by the user's domain. In addition, the user must be a member of the same group (such as group200) as the InfoPlus.21 systems.
When you expand the Neighborhood icon, the InfoPlus.21 Administrator sends out a broadcast request to all servers on the network. The InfoPlus.21 Browser service running on various InfoPlus.21 servers will respond if they receive the broadcast request. InfoPlus.21 Administrator simply lists the databases which responded under the Neighborhood icon.
The list of data sources you have in your ADSA server. If you only have one data source configured in ADSA, then you will only see that data source under the Neighborhood icon. If you have more than one data source configured but some of them do not appear under the Neighborhood icon, then perhaps these missing data sources are not in the same Windows NT domain as the user, or the user is not a member of the same group, or the remote server did not respond to the broadcast request (e.g. the InfoPlus.21 Browser service is not running.)
Here are a few things to check if you do not see the remote InfoPlus.21 server in the Neighborhood view:
Go to the remote InfoPlus.21 server you are trying to access and make sure that the Infoplus.21 Browser service is running. After starting up the service, you will need to close the local InfoPlus.21 Administrator and open it again. Check if the remote server now appears under your Neighborhood view.
From the DOS command prompt, type:
net view \\server_name , where server name is the nodename of the remote InfoPlus.21 server. Any errors obtained must be resolved first. E.g. If you obtain a network path was not found error, this indicates that the nodename is incorrect, or the remote server is not running.
On the remote InfoPlus.21 server, run DCOMCNFG. In the Default Security tab, make sure that the user running the InfoPlus.21 Administrator has default access and launch permissions. Next, check the Default Properties tab. The Enable Distributed COM on this computer box should be checked. My Default Authentication Level is Connect and Default Impersonation Level is Identify.
Open the ADSA client config tool on the InfoPlus.21 server. If the other remote servers have ADSA installed, you should be able to see them in the dropdown list for Directory Server. Select a remote server and click the Test button. If it fails to connect in time, you may wish to increase the timeout to maybe a few minutes. If the test fails, it is likely that server is not on the same Windows domain.
Perform a reverse lookup by entering c:\> nslookup nodename at the DOS prompt on the local server. Do this with the nodename of all remote servers. You must be able to resolve the nodenames of all the remote servers for InfoPlus.21 Administrator to see the data source.
If there is a firewall between the servers, you should refer to knowledgebaseSolution #104056 on how to bypass this problem. In essence, you will need to assign a port number which is not blocked by the firewall to the TSK_ADMIN_SERVER task, eg. enter -n1234 in the Command line parameter field, where 1234 is the port number. DCOM may not work across firewalls. Refer to the Microsoft article: http://www.microsoft.com/com/wpaper/dcomfw.asp on how to use DCOM with firewalls.
Add the nodename and IP address of all remote servers in the Hosts file on the local machine. This will speed up the response because InfoPlus.21 will not need to resolve the nodename via the DNS server. Name reSolution may take a long time to complete.
Keywords: InfoPlus.21 Administrator
Neighborhood
data source
remote
References: None |
Problem Statement: Aspen Calc has On-Demand shared calculation for creating calculations without storing the results in Aspen InfoPlus.21 tags. Can I use results of one On-Demand calculation in another On-Demand calculation? | Solution: Yes. You can use results of one calculation in another calculation, like a tag name.
Example:
ATCAI is an IP_Analogdef tag that is part of the AspenChem demo. Create a new On-Demand calculation named 'TestCalc1' in AspenCalc using the formula =ATCAI. So the On-Demand formula refers to the demo tag name.
Next, create another On-Demand calculation named 'UseOnDemand' in Aspen Calc using a formula =TestCalc1.
You now have an On-Demand calculation that uses another On-Demand calculation.
Keywords: ondemand
shared
References: None |
Problem Statement: What does the error Cache Entry Invalid - Point Id indicate when running h21arcck?
Example output from h21arcck.exe
Cache Entry Invalid - Point Id > 3224603
Cache Entry Invalid - Point Id > 3225627
Cache Entry Invalid - Point Id > 3226651
Cache Entry Invalid - Point Id > 3227675
Cache Entry Invalid - Point Id > 3228699
Cache Entry Invalid - Point Id > 3229723 | Solution: Part of h21arcck's job during initialization is to check that the cache entries match what is in the disk archive file (arc.dat). If it comes across a cache entry that does not match up with what is in the archive file, then that cache entry is ignored. If they do match up, then the data in the cache entry is written to the archive file. When the cache entries are all validated and saved in the archive, the cache is reinitialized.
This error usually occurs after an unplanned shutdown. The cache is saved in the cache.dat file every 5 minutes. If there is an unplanned shutdown late in this time span, then some of the cache entries in the saved cache.dat file may be out of sync with the archive file. When an invalid cache entry is found, it means that the data in it is old and has already been written to history. Under normal circumstances, there is no data lost because of this error. There could be data lost in cache entries that are OK, but are missing data because the saved cache is almost 5 minutes old.
This error could also occur if the cache.dat has been corrupted. In this case, there are an extreme number of these error messages in the output file (one for almost every point in the archive). It may be necessary to stop InfoPlus.21(IP21), delete the cache.dat file and then restart IP21.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Can InfoPlus.21 API be accessed from modules written in FORTRAN? | Solution: Yes, the compiler used to implement and test the FORTRAN interface to IP.21 was Digital Visual FORTRAN V5.0B. Other compilers may work differently. Refer to the compiler documentation explaining how to implement calls to other languages if you are not using the Digital Visual FORTRAN V5.0B compiler.
More information on the subject can be found in the InfoPlus.21 Database API Manual section titled: FORTRAN Access to the InfoPlus.21 API (p. 7-1).
As of Spring, 2005, the Digital Visual FORTRAN compiler is currently marketed by HP under the name COMPAQ Visual Fortran. You can find more information here:
http://h18009.www1.hp.com/fortran/visual/index.html
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: A Recipe node stops in completing state when attempting to exchange Master Recipes. | Solution: In recent versions (V2006.5 ER2 and later) of Aspen Process Recipe and Aspen Process Sequencer the Recipe Node is enhanced to allow for automatic exchange of master recipes. It's designed to hold the exchange if any other nodes are processing. Once the other nodes are complete the Recipe node will complete the exchange.
If the Recipe node holds on completing as noted above then a redesign of the strategy is required so that no other nodes are processing when the Recipe node attempts to replace the master. It is also possible to use manual option so the operator can manually select the Master.
Keywords: transition manager
References: None |
Problem Statement: When attempting to uninstall InfoPlus.21 using the option, Start | Programs | AspenTech | Uninstall AspenTech Software - you may find that the InfoPlus.21 product is greyed out and can't be selected. | Solution: The InfoPlus.21 product won't be available for uninstall if one or more installed components depend on the installed InfoPlus.21 component. In this case, it will be necessary to pre-select the dependent products (thus making InfoPlus.21 available for selection), or use the Select All option (which will remove all installed Aspen components.)
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: This error message may be found in the loaddb.out file when trying to start the Aspen InfoPlus.21 system:
Error code -1073741819
You may receive this error after:
a) moving history from an older Aspen InfoPlus.21 system to a newly installed Aspen InfoPlus.21 system
b) your Aspen InfoPlus.21 system is not shutdown gracefully due to a power outage. | Solution: If you receive the error message due to situation 'a' above then copy the map.dat and config.dat files from the old system to the new system. Next run the h21chgpaths.exe utility to update the repository location. The use of the h21chgpaths.exe utility is outlined inSolution ID 106366.
If you received the error message due to situation 'b' above then for each repository defined within your Aspen InfoPlus.21, rename the file cache.dat. Now when you start the Aspen InfoPlus.21 system it may take longer than usual for TSK_H21_ARCCK and loaddb because of the history to database reconciliation process.
Keywords: Loaddb
-1073741819
cache.dat
References: None |
Problem Statement: When trying to start InfoPlus.21, an error occurs: Error while trying to start the IP.21 Task Service: Overlapped IO Operation in Progress Also, there are errors in the Event Viewer regarding a missing service W3SVC | Solution: In a known case, a customer had reinstalled IIS (Internet Information Services) without checking the option for the World Wide Web Publishing Service, which effectively removed it. TheSolution was to reinstall IIS and making sure the World Wide Web Publishing Service option was checked.
Keywords: w3svc
w3svc.dll
www publishing service
References: None |
Problem Statement: How can the status of a repository be monitored by a query? | Solution: To retrieve all processing information from each configured repository, run:
select * from (SYSTEM '%H21%\bin\h21qwatch')
EXAMPLE OUTPUT FOR A DATABASE WITH TWO REPOSITORIES
LINENUM LINE
----------
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: This knowledge base article describes how to properly reference a tag name in InfoPlus.21 which contains periods when requesting data from InfoPlus.21 though an OPC client application. This applies when the user requests data through InfoPlus.21's OPC server feature.
If an OPC client application attempts to request data for tags which contain periods from InfoPlus.21's OPC server, the tagname will not be properly recognized. The specific errors returned by the OPC client applications will vary depending upon the OPC client application.
Matrikon's OPC Explorer returns:
'The item is no longer available in the server address space.'
If using Cim-io for OPC as the OPC client application, the Cim-io test api returns the standard 'Bad Tag' driver status, which indicates that the tag cannot be located on the OPC server. | Solution: TheSolution is to enclose the tag name in double quotes when the tag name is specified in the OPC client application. For example, if the tag exists in InfoPlus.21 with the following name:
Test.With.Periods
Then in the Matrikon OPC Explorer the user will have to select 'Edit' while the tag is in the 'Tags to be added' window to change the tag name from:
IP_AnalogDef.Test.With.Periods.IP_INPUT_VALUE
to
IP_AnalogDef.Test.With.Periods.IP_INPUT_VALUE
When requesting data from the Cim-io test api (through the Cim-io for OPC interface), the user should request data for the tag name in double quotes, like this:
Test.With.Periods
instead of
Test.With.Periods
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: When starting up IP21 Administrator the following error message appears:
CheckRPCAllStatuses_V1
*****ERROR
^^^^^
WinRPC: :Timed out
Winsock: Successful
(Sub-error is greyed out) | Solution: Restart InfoPlus.21 Task Service
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article answers the following question:
How to export Units of Measure in Aspen Calc? | Solution: 1. Click the Formulas button in the Manager Toolbar
2. Right click the node name and select Export Unit XML from the context menu as seen on the following screen capture
Keywords: Engineering Units
References: None |
Problem Statement: Page two of the Aspen InfoPlus.21 v2006 Release Notes discusses the new feature Breaking Past the 65535 Record ID Limit. Please see Knowledge Base article 119859 for the Release Notes document.
http://support.aspentech.com/webteamasp/KB.asp?ID=119859
However there are several small details that a user needs to be aware of to enable this new feature.
1) The document mentions the need for an Enterprise Aspen InfoPlus.21 License key. There are several ways to check for a specific key, such as browsing the License File, or using the SLM Tool called WLMAdmin.
The required License Key needed here is SLM_IP21_ENT_OPTION
If you don't have this specific license, the maximum Record ID you can use is still limited to 65535.
2) The very large majority of Aspen Manufacturing Licenses are checked during 'installation only'.
The SLM_IP21_ENT_OPTION is different in that it is a RUNTIME license.
This license is read once at 'runtime'. At that time, a registry key is added to confirm that the key has been read from the license file:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\9.0\group200\Maximum_Record_ID
(where the 9.0 will vary depending on the current version)
The value of the key is encrypted and should not be changed.
3) If you believe you have the license key but it is not being read, it's probably because the license wasn't found at runtime. This could create error messages of the sort Maximum record id exceeded, and the registry key would not be present.
The re | Solution: for this is to go run the utility: Start | Programs | Common Utilities | SLM Configuration Wizard
From here, point to either your network based SLM server, or the Standalone License file. This will tell the software which license file contains the specific license key.
4) The final step to using a Large Database is to configure the 'PointCount'.
This can only be done when the InfoPlus.21 database is shutdown.
In the left hand pane of the Aspen IP.21 Administrator, under the InfoPlus.21 icon, right-click on the name representing your database. Choose the Set Point Count otion.
Set this number to the number of points for which the database is licensed.
You should now be able to either load a snapshot with a large number of points, or add more points to your database, where the point count is beyond what you could use with v2004.2 or earlier.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: What does the status Oldest input is before next execution time indicate when using Aspen Calc store and forward option? | Solution: The Oldest input is before next execution time status means that the oldest time among all input parameters in the calculation is older (before) than the next planned schedule time. This indicates that the tags bound to the input parameters possibly have not been updated since the last execution. As a result, the calc logic will not execute the calculation using historical values. As soon as the input parameters are updated, it will execute the calculation using historical data if there are any. This is the essence of the store and forward option.
Keywords: store and forward
References: None |
Problem Statement: SPYRO APC (SAPC) Communication Error | Solution: The SAPC.DLL from Technip has a peculiar issue (along with the USRKTI.DLL used for RTO) in that once the DLL returns a fatal error, it returns zeros in the output array until the DLL unloaded to clear the error buffer. This means that the AspenCalc process must be killed and restarted in addition to correcting the inputs. Just correcting the inputs in not sufficient, the DLL still returns zeros to the AspenTech wrapper DLL called by AspenCalc. This often makes it very difficult to troubleshoot since transferring the data to another PC implies restarting from a reloaded DLL.
Error -117: Radiating wall temperature less than CIT.
In the SPYRO model, the radiating wall temperature is the internal variable that is manipulated to match the COT or Severity/Conversion specification. The Aspen SAPC application uses the converged radiating wall temperature from one cycle as the starting point for the next cycle. If bad inputs (bad analyzer conversion/severity) cause the temperature to be less than the coil inlet temperature (i.e. the crossover temperature) it must be corrected. This is reason for the default runs (you probably could have just changed the radiating wall temperature for the coil that bad to a reasonable value). But you need to restart also the AspenCalc engine to clear the SAPC.DLL error buffer after setting the default runs flag.
Other behavior reported after Error -117 - Fatal error (-117). The status of Output variables in AspenCalc and as well as in IP21 show bad status even though the log of SAPC shows good run status. Sometimes during the fatal error the values diverge and corrupts some values in IP21 which are used in the AspenCalc and may cause the AspenCalc to fail. It suggested to run SAPC using default value (5 times). As a further step, load an IP21 snapshot from a time when the SAPC was running properly which will return to a working condition giving good status to AspenCalc ouputs.
Error -113: CIP less or equal to 0.0
The coil inlet pressure is the internal variable manipulated to get the coil outlet pressure. If the pressure during the integration down the tube goes negative, this error code is set which also locks the SAPC.DLL. I have seen large feed increases cause the problem of the first iteration and large feed decreases cause the problem on the second iteration after overshooting the coil inlet pressure on the first iteration.
Sometimes during the fetal error the values diverge and corrupts some values in IP21 which are used in the AspenCalc and may cause the AspenCalc to fail. It suggested to run SAPC using default value (5 times). Earlier we were triggering the calculation with default values once or twice. However, this did not fix the problem. So, as a further step we thought may be we will load a IP21 snapshot from a time when the SAPC was running properly. And after we loaded the snapshot it started working giving good status to AspenCalc ouputs.
Keywords: Spyro, SAPC, dmcplus, rto, infoplus, third, party, calculations
References: None |
Problem Statement: This knowledge base article describes how to compute the difference between two time stamps in an Aspen Calc formula. | Solution: Aspen Calc does not have a specific function which computes the difference between two time stamps. However, the Visual Basic function CDATE() can be used to accomplish this task when using a VBScript calculation. A simple example is:
Returnvalue=cdate(t1)-cdate(t2)
Where t1 and t2 are time stamps.
Below is an example of how to use the cdate() function. example:
Given t1 = 08/10/2009 07:36:24 AM and t2 = 08/10/2009 06:37:12 AM.
TimeDiff = cdate(08/10/2009 07:36:24 AM) - cdate(08/10/2009 06:37:12 AM)
TimeDiff = 4.11111111097853E-02.
As shown in this example, if the result of this subtraction is less than a 24-hour value, it will be displayed as a decimal equivalent of fractional seconds of a day.
Keywords: Timestamp
Calculation
Subtract
Minus
Operation
References: None |
Problem Statement: The history system within InfoPlus.21 shuts down and this error message is in the error.log file:
archive: create_record () allocate failure, error = 28 | Solution: This message indicates that there is no disk space available on the drive for the filesets to expand. Clean up the drives to allocate more space and stop and restart InfoPlus.21
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Values round to the next highest or lowest whole number when editing AIM values with decimal accuracy in the Control Recipe. (example: 12.34) The same occurs when entering Limit Values LCL, UCL, LSL. | Solution: The Control Recipe inherits the value accuracy from the Master Recipe. Which also affects Limit Values because the accuracy is inherited by the associated AIM value in the Master Recipe. If decimal accuracy is required the Master Recipe AIM Pram Value must be entered with decimal accuracy. (example: 12.34)
To correct the behavior enter a value with decimal accuracy in the Master Recipe AIM Pram Value. Regeneration of the Control Recipe may be required after making this change.
Keywords: Control
Recipe
APR
References: None |
Problem Statement: Error: 80040153 invalid value for registry when attempting to edit DCOM settings.
This issue may occur when DCOM permissions are incorrect. However, you may not be able to modify those permissions by using the Dcomcnfg utility. The Dcomcnfg utility cannot open the properties for a local computer. | Solution: To resolve this issue, modify DCOM permissions by using the Dcomcnfg utility on a different Windows Server 2003-based computer on the network. To do this, follow the steps in Microsoft Article 934701. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/934701/en-us
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Deleting a repository with 0 filesets from the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator might produce a problem. The context menu does not display when you right click on the repository, which means that you cannot select Delete. The repository is currently mapped to a machine name that no longer exists on the network which is the cause of the problem.
Even the delete repository option of the %h21%\bin\h21mon.exe utility, does not remove the reference name from the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator.
For example:
1. Go to Start | Run | CMD <enter>
2. cd %h21%\bin <enter>
3. h21mon <enter>
4. At the 'h21mon' promt> param <enter>
5. At the 'h21param' prompt> delrep <repository name> (where <repository name> is the name of the History Repository)
This deletes the Repository from the history configuration tables. The actual data files and system directories are NOT affected by this command. This does not remove the repository from the list in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator. Stopping and starting Aspen InfoPlus.21 does not remove the the name from the list of repositories.
This knowledge base article describes how to delete this repository. | Solution: There are two ways to remove the repository name from the repository list in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator:
1. Check to see if the repository record is active. If it is active, then it must be changed to inactive and can then be deleted.
2. Create another repository with the same name. Once it is added it will say 'add pending'. Stop and start the Aspen InfoPlus.21 database to accept the newly created repository. The status of the new repository should now be current. This repository can now be deleted from the list using the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator by right clicking on the repository name and selecting Delete repository.
Keywords: repository
delete
history
References: None |
Problem Statement: Corporate standards as well as licensing requirements often necessitate certain uniformity in application versions deployed across the enterprise. Thus, when auditing InfoPlus.21 installations to make sure the proper versions of applications and patches are in place, an auditor might ask the following question:
How can I identify versions of the Aspen Manufacturing Suite of Applications installed on a particular server? | Solution: The product version information for AMS v6.0.1 and earlier is contained in the file: <drive>:\Program Files\AspenTech\setup\uninstall\IP21BASE.INI
In this file, there's a section titled, [Features Installed]
This section details the various version information of the installed components. For example, on an AMS v6.0.1 system it may contain entries similar to this:
IP21BASE=6.0.1.0
INFOPLUS.21=6.0.1.0
INFOPLUS-X=6.0.1.0
IP21 ADMIN=6.0.1.0
IP21 DEFED=6.0.1.0
These are the core product versions installed on your machine. Remembering that you can only have one and the same version of all Aspen products installed on a single machine, you can be pretty certain that, if the entries in your IP21BASE.INI file look like the ones above, then the version of all Aspen applications installed on that system is 6.0.1. In other words, you can be pretty sure that AMS v6.x CD was used to install all Aspen software products on that server, followed by the installation of Service Pack 1.
To find version information for aspenONE.2004.x and later, please follow the steps below:
Start | Settings | Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs
Then select the program of interest and click Click here for support information.
Version information will be displayed.
The ..\Uninstall\*.ini files are no longer used as of aspenONE.2004.x release.
As far as patch or engineering release versions are concerned, there's no easy way to determine which patches or ER's have been installed on your system. Most sites keep a log of installed software and patches for each of their production servers (this is typically required for licensing purposes as well as compliance with the SOX law). Then, based on that log, you can pull up Release Notes for a particular patch (accessible at http://support.aspentech.com/webteamasp/My/FrameDef.asp?/webteamasp/AllDocsDB.asp ) and verify, based on the verification information in the Release Notes, if that patch has been installed.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: After installing an Aspen Process Recipe and Transition Manager patch connection errors may occur when starting Aspen Recipe Explorer, performing a download or running a package. | Solution: This is a DCOM issue that we are currently working with Microsoft to resolve. The current work around is to retype the password for the DCOM identity used for all the Aspen Transition Manager (ATM) components in DCOM.
To do this:
Run dcomcnfg and expand Component Services, Computers, My Computer, and DCOM Config to display the list of DCOM components. Then right Click and goto properties for each ATM* component. If there is a user defined on the Identity tab retype the password, click OK. Launch Aspen Recipe Explorer again.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: Some customers set up a batch install process for end users to install Aspen client tools. The InfoPlus.21 Administrator may be included in that batch install. Is it possible to prevent users from launching the InfoPlus.21 Administrator even though they have it installed on their machine? How can this be done? | Solution: The best way to prevent users from launching the InfoPlus.21 Administrator tool is to remove it from the install script so that it doesn't get installed on users' computers. This is a very powerful tool which should be used only by an experienced InfoPlus.21 administrator.
If you want to prevent users who already have it installed on their machines from launching it, then you might consider manually deleting it, renaming it, or moving it to where they cannot find it.
If you want to prevent only some users from launching it, then you might change security on the executable. Select the file atobjectbrowser.exe using Windows Explorer. Then invoke a context menu. Then invoke Properties. Then invoke the Security tab. Then grant or deny Execute permission as desired.
This would have to be done by a member of the Administrators group on each user's computer. The default location of the file is:
C:\Program Files\AspenTech\IP21Admin\bin\atobjectbrowser.exe
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: When starting InfoPlus.21 (IP.21), loaddb crashes with no errors in LOADDB.OUT or LOADDB.ERR. Also the DBCLOCK.OUT and .ERR files do not show any error messages.
Starting with an empty snapshot works fine.
Trying to load the snapshot from the InfoPlus.21 Administrator tool gives the following error:
RPC Transport error occurred when receiving service reply syserr: 0x2746 | Solution: The RPC error usually arises from a problem during an upgrade, or caused when a snapshot is copied to a new server without the expected history .dat files. In the case of an upgrade:
- Start IP21 with a clean snapshot.
- Run upgrade.exe against the old snapshot.
- Stop IP.21
- Copy config.dat, map.dat and tune.dat from the old system onto the new one.
- Run h21chgpath.exe to change path names of the repository/filesets. For details regarding this utility, refer toSolution 106366.
- Run h21arcadmin in the case of any overlapping filesets. Refer toSolution 103662 for details on how to run this utility.
- Start IP.21.
In the case of moving IP.21 to a new server, there's no need to perform the two first steps.
Keywords: RPC Transport error
syserr: 0x2746
References: None |
Problem Statement: Some customers may find the InfoPlus.21 installation procedure daunting. This knowledge base | Solution: summarizes the procedure to install typical IP.21 client applications on a client PC.
The procedure below uses a recent version of IP.21 client applications as an illustration. For the minimum hardware and software requirements, please refer to the installation manual of the appropriate product(s) you are installing. Note that certain steps or Product options may be different depending on the version and what your license file allows you to install. Always refer to the appropriate installation manuals when in doubt.
This document is NOT meant to replace any of the client software installation manuals. You should read and understand the instructions in the Installation guides at least once before attempting the installation.
Solution
Installation Procedure:
Please ensure that you are connected to the network at all times throughout the installation process, and log in using an account with local Administrator privileges on the box.
1. Ensure that you are logged in using an account with Administrator privileges. Close all Windows applications. Next, stop the IIS Admin Service, and load the AMS installation CD or DVD.
2. At the Aspen Installer splash screen, click on the Install button.
3. Click Next at the Welcome screen.
4. At the Software Selection Availability screen, select Licensed products only, and type in the nodename of the license server or, depending on your licensing scheme, browse to your license file. Click Next to continue.
5. Select Yes at the Software License Agreement screen.
6. Click on Standard install at the Computer Configuration Type screen.
7. At the Choose Destination Location screen, select the path where you wish to install the software using the Browse button. Click Next to continue.
8. At the Select Products screen, choose the desired components by checking the check box beside the product name, and choose subcomponents by highlighting the main product and then clicking on the Select Subcomponent button. Install the following as a guide, and any others you may need:
Product
Subcomponent
Aspen Process
Data
Process Data for InfoPlus.21 and Setcim, Process Data File, Aspen Process Process Subscription (Generic), Process Data for RDBMS, Process Data for Aspen Calc
Aspen Process
Explorer
Q for Process Explorer
InfoPlus.21
Administrator, Definition Editor
SQLplus
SQLplus Client (select SQLplus Query Writer subcomponent), SQLplus ODBC
Web.21 Graphic Studio
None
Select any other products that you require. Once you are done, click Next to continue.
9. If you have chosen to install Web.21 Graphic Studio, a Java Development Kit installation screen will appear. Just click Next to continue.
10. At the Aspen Security Server Configuration screen, type in the nodename of the security server.
11. At the Select Program Folder screen, click Next to continue.
12. At the final Summary screen click on the Start Installing button to begin installation.
13. Installation should take about 20 minutes or more, depending on your hardware specifications. After installation is complete, you will be prompted to reboot the machine.
14. After rebooting the client PC, log in using the same administrator account.
15. The ADSA Properties dialog box will appear after login. Make sure the Use Public Data Sources option is checked, and it is pointing to the correct ADSA server on the network. Click on the Test button and if it is successful, click OK to proceed. If it is unsuccessful, check the connection to the ADSA server.
16. The Windows desktop will appear after that, and you are done.
17. Test and make sure that you can obtain data from the IP.21 database using Process Explorer and/or SQL+.
Upgrade to the latest Service Pack or cumulative patch:
1. Shutdown IP.21 and stop all AspenTech services.
2. Navigate to the Service Pack files you previously downloaded and double-click on Setup.exe or .msi installer file.
3. Confirm all dialog boxes (if any) and click on the Update Products button to proceed. You will need to reboot after completion.
Refer to knowledge baseSolution # 111127 for a guide to an IP.21 server installation.
Keywords: installation
client
install
guide
References: None |
Problem Statement: When starting InfoPlus.21 using the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Manager the following error may be returned:
Error while trying to start the InfoPlus.21 task service. Overlapped I/O operation is in progress. | Solution: Some areas to check while troubleshooting this problem:
1. Make sure the password (network password) to all the Aspen InfoPlus.21 services are correct. If you have made any password changes recently to any of the Aspen InfoPlus.21 services, then make sure all the Aspen InfoPlus.21 services have the same password. If you are not sure, then retype the password to these services and start them if they are not running in Control Panel | Services area.
The following AspenInfoPlus.21 services will be affected by the password change:
Aspen InfoPlus.21 Task Service
Aspen SQLplus Authorization Server
AspenTech Calculator Engine
Aspen Registry Security Server
Aspen Local AFW Trustee Server (i.e. v5.x and older)
To get to these services:
1. Go to: Start | Settings | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services
2. Check to see if the above Aspen services are started and if they are set to be started automatically.
3. Double-click on the service to verify that the password is correct. Re-enter the current password for the account to verify that it is correct.
4. Once the password is added, reboot the server to take the new the new password change into account.
5. Aspen InfoPlus.21 should start up automatically upon reboot.
Important: All these services use This account under the Log On tab by default.
2. If step 1 above doesn't work, then look in the event log to see if there are any error messages in there. If there is any message relating to NobleNet Portmapper, then look in the Control Panel | Services area to make sure you don't have two NobleNet Portmapper services running on your system. The one that should be running is NobleNet Portmapper for TCP/IP. If you have NobleNet Portmapper and NobleNet Portmapper for TCP/IP, then you need to disable the one named ''NobleNet Portmapper'' and keep the one named ''NobleNet Portmapper for TCP/IP''.
3. You may be getting Error while trying to start the InfoPlus.21 Task Service: Overlapped IO Operation in Progress along with some errors in the Event Viewer regarding a missing service W3SVC. This is a known case, where IIS (Internet Information Services) had been r-einstalled without checking the option for the World Wide Web Publishing Service. This effectively removes the W3SVC service. TheSolution is to re-install IIS, making sure that the World Wide Web Publishing Service option is checked.
4. If the Aspen Infoplus.21 Task Service is missing (doesn't exist), then go to %SETCIMCODE% directory, run the following command (substituting the username and password with that of an administrator account on the system):
addgroup <username> <password> (Refer to knowledge base article 108434 for more details)
You might encounter problems running the addgroup utility and the following error might come up:
Security repository already exist. Resetting permission
In this case, delete the Registry Security Server key under
HKEY_Local_Machine/Software/Aspentech/Security/
and also under
HKEY_Local_Machine/Software/Aspentech/Infoplus.21/Version number/Group200
After deleting this key, you will be able to run addgroup again.
Keywords: Overlapped I/O
W3SVC
NobleNet Portmapper
NobleNet Portmapper for TCP/IP
Starting InfoPlus.21
References: None |
Problem Statement: This knowledgebase | Solution: documents the various fileset statuses that are found in the IP.21 historian. You can view the status of the filesets in the FS_STATUS_FLAG field of the repository in IP.21 Administrator.
Solution
Status Explanation
None When a fileset is first created, it will have a status of None (ie. fileset is empty). This status will remain until the fileset has been shifted into, or if backup archive data is copied to the fileset path.
Mounted
The Mounted status means that the fileset is not empty, a valid archive file is present in the fileset path.
Mounted/Shifted
After the active fileset has shifted to another fileset, the status of the previously active fileset will change to Mounted/Shifted.
Mounted/Changed
This status means that the contents of the fileset has been changed (eg. late data written into the fileset).
Mounted/Shifted/Changed
If data is written to the fileset even after the fileset has closed, this status will appear.
Reserved
This fileset is reserved for restoring backup copies of old archive filesets.
The third, fourth and fifth statuses in the list above are also used in conjunction with the Automated History Backup system introduced in InfoPlus.21 version 4.0. For more information look up the Help Topics in the InfoPlus.21 Help files associated with the HistoryBackupdef record.
Keywords: archive
fileset
status
shift
References: None |
Problem Statement: Aspen Calc provides several possible formula types including (CalcScript, VBScript, Excel, COM Object, and EXE). Here is a simple example of how to create a simple COM Object calculation. | Solution: 1. Open the Aspen Calc GUI (Graphical User Interface)
2. Create new calculation, give it a name and click <Next>
3. On the New Formula tab select COM Object and click <Next>
4. Select the appropriate COM Object from the list and click <Next>
For this example I selected Aspen.Calc.HistoryFunctions.1
5. Select the appropriate COM Object Method and click <Next>
For this example I selected the TagAverage method which requires the Tag, T1, and T2 parameters to be configured.
6. Select and configure the properties for the Tag, T1, and T2 parameters.
This step is exactly the same as other Aspen Calc calculations.
7. Finally click the finish button to complete the calculation.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: This | Solution: illustrates the work around if you are unable to see any formulas listed under the Formula tree in Site view of Aspen Recipe Explorer after applying the patch or an upgrade.Solution
Formulas are not listed in the Aspen Recipe Explorer if the name of the Aspen Calc server is not specified or spelled incorrectly. In order to set this up go to Tools-->Options, check in 'Enable Server Calculations' and enter the name of the Aspen Calc server. After you specify this server name one should be able to see all the formulas listed in the tree view.
Keywords: Formula
Calc server
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is it possible to change the max_fileset_size in the HistoryParameters record to 2 GB? Could InfoPlus.21 use the new fileset size? | Solution: Yes, it is possible and InfoPlus.21 could use the larger maximum fileset size but it is not recommended. The reason for it is as follows: Let's suppose that the fileset size is set to 2GB and then, after it has been filled up with data and shifted out of, additional historical or lab data needs to be inserted into that fileset. In this scenario, the fileset size could potentially exceed the 2GB Windows OS file size limit applicable to FAT partitions, thus crashing the system.
NOTE1: FAT32 allows for 4 GB and NTFS file size is unlimited (up to the size of the volume).
NOTE2: The HistoryParameters record shows the default upper limit for fileset size to be 1024 KB or 1 GB.To change maximum default size of various history parameters, use the Change History Tuning Parameters wizard (chghistparams.exe) located in the ..\db21\code directory.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: When attempting to save a snapshot using the InfoPlus.21 Administrator, the following error is returned: | Solution: There are several possible causes for this error.
First, the login account does not have proper permissions to write to the
\Program Files\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\db21\Group200 directory.
If this is the case, you may see errors pertaining to the directory's share name, IP21g200, when attempting to save the snapshot.
Second, if the system is an upgrade, rather than a new installation, it may be that different accounts were used to install and upgrade the software. If this is the case, confirm that all services are started under the new account.
This error may occurs on Windows Server 2008, because of more rigorous security restrictions, even though the interactive user account running the session is already an Administrator on the PC. To resolve the problem, launch the InfoPlus.21 Administraor by doing a right-click, Run As Adminisrator for heightened privilege:
Keywords: access
Permission
System Error 5 Opening File
References: None |
Problem Statement: I cannot set the IP_LOW_LOW_LIMIT field to -99999.002 - the number gets truncated. What are the number ranges and precision parameters for the InfoPlus.21 fields such as IP_LOW_LOW_LIMIT? | Solution: Number ranges and precisions depend upon the host computer and the processor chip that is being used by it. For example, Intel supports the IEEE 754 standard.
As far as normal numbers are concerned, there are two types of precision: single and double. A single precision IEEE754 float has 7 decimal digits precision (significant numbers) and can have values from 3.4e-38 through 3.4e38. In contrast, a double precision float has 15 digits precision and can have values from 1.7e-308 through 1.7e308.
So, the range and precision depend upon whether the IP.21 database field is a single precision float or a double precision float. IP_AnalogDef records all use single precision float. That's why your numbers may sometimes get truncated. If you'd like to use double precision float, which has 15 digits precision, you could duplicate your IP_AnalogDef record, calling the new record something like IP_AnalogDoubleDef, and edit it in the Definition Editor to use a double precision float.
Key Words
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: <Note: | Solution: marked internal because it does contain good information that someone in the future might need.>
What are the steps to load old history data into a reserved file set without peforming a stop and start of the InfoPlus.21 database?
Some system administrators might not be in a position to systematically perform an InfoPlus.21 stop and start without causing grief with their end users. Though an InfoPlus.21 stop and start can address changes done to the history system, the harsh reality is that it will cause a disruption with all end users accessing that server. This example provides a method to make changes to the InfoPlus.21 historian without performing an InfoPlus.21 stop and start.Solution
Here are the steps to load old history data into a reserved file set without peforming a stop and start of the InfoPlus.21 database.
Decide a fileset to load the older files into (arc.dat, arc.byte and arc.key files).
Goto: Start | Run | type CMD <enter>
At the command prompt, type: cd %h21%/bin
Type: h21shutdown.exe (We are shutting down the history system without stopping IP21. The archiver should now be stopped).
Type: h21init.exe (We are starting up the history system).
Type: h21arcck.exe -a<fileset number> -b -d -o (fileset number is where the old files are loaded into ie: step 1).
Type: h21mnttab.bat (Note: the CMD screen will flash off but that is okay. Just repeat steps 2 and 3).
Type: h21prime.exe
If the IP21 administrator is not opened, then open it. If it is opened, then hit F5 to refresh the screen.
Once the page has refreshed itself, you should see the start and end dates of the fileset.
Keywords: reserve
file set
history
References: None |
Problem Statement: The following error message appears after adding an external task to the InfoPlus.21 Manager:
Error creating output file; failed with error code 32
What does this error message mean? | Solution: The error message indicates that there is a missing corresponding record in the database. You will need to create a corresponding record within the IP.21 Administrator using the IOExternalTskDef or ExternalTaskDef definition record, making sure the name of the new record is the same as the name of the task you just added in the InfoPlus.21 Manager. Once that is done, the error message goes away.
Keywords: error code 32
References: None |
Problem Statement: The InfoPlus.21 (IP.21) Administrator displays large numbers of records in groups. In some cases, the records in one group are not able to expand. Clicking on the + sign does not expand the group of records and the + sign then dissapears. It is possible to use the Find function of the Administrator to locate the records from this group however. | Solution: This behavior is caused when there are duplicate records defined in the database. In one specific case, records were created with duplicate names of existing records, except the new records contained a tab character at the end of the record name.
In order to resolve this, the duplicate records must be located, along with their corresponding record ID's. Run an SQLPlus query to view the names and recid's of the records contained within the unexpandable group.
In this SQLplus query example, the grouping which doesn't expand (as seen using the IP.21 Administrator), contains records within the name range of ATCVALUE to FI222:
select name, recid from ip_analogdef
where name between 'atcvalue2' and 'fi222'
order by name;
The output from the query above will show two (or more) records with the same name and different recid's. Once the recid of an offending record is known, another query can be run to correct the problem.
EXAMPLE:
UPDATE IP_AnalogDef
SET name = 'ATCVALUE_NEW'
WHERE recid = '2066';
The record name and recid used will vary depending on the system.
Keywords: IP21 administrator
References: None |
Problem Statement: Adding a new task in the InfoPlus.21 manager gives this error: You do not have DB ADMIN permission. | Solution: This is an example of Terminal Services not working correctly in conjunction with the InfoPlus.21 Manager. Versions of InfoPlus.21 and its related tools, prior to v2004.2, do not support the use of Terminal Services.
NOTE: Starting with v2004.2, Terminal Services will be supported.
Keywords: IP.21
References: None |
Problem Statement: 1. Does an IP.21 database perform better on a single 3 GHz processor server or on a dual 1.5 GHz processor server?
2. Is IP.21 optimized for CPU hyperthreading?
3. Are there any plans to have IP.21 make use of either or both of these features in the foreseeable future? | Solution: Answer 1:
IP.21 is a system of multiple processes. Consequently, you might generally expect to see performance gains by having a second processor. Also, at least some IP.21 processes are multithreaded. Even a single-threaded, one-process application could benefit by running on a multiprocessor system since it may be granted more CPU time. But having multiple CPU's is not an entirely positive thing, and can actually hurt performance in some very rare cases. So, AspenTech recommends having a 3 GHz single processor server instead of a dual 1.5 GHz processor server. The processor speed mentioned in this case is just used for example purposes.
Answer 2:
IP.21 hasn't been built/compiled with hyperthreading in mind and hyperthreading utilization is not expected to exert much of a performance boost. Still, AspenTech does not recommend that hyperthreading should be turned off.
Answer 3:
There are no plans to develop IP.21 to make use of either or both of these features in the foreseeable future.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is Aspen Process Recipe ISA S88 compliant? | Solution: S88 provides a consistent set of standards and terminology for batch control and defines the physical model, procedures, and recipes.
Aspen Process Recipe (APR) is tailored to meet the needs of the continuous and semi-continuous process and borrows from the S88 standards as appropriate. It is not designed for the batch world if there is a strict need for S88 adherence. APR has been used in batch processes but not processes that must be absolutely S88 compliant.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: After backing up data filesets, user sees the error message:
cache entry invalid - point ID.
This error might appear if you back up data and then shift into an unused file set. But what if you are in a buffered state with your data? Data is being buffered in the event.dat file and the file set does not shift. If you manually shifted the file sets, the event.dat file will immediately be dumped into the file set. But if you do an h21arcck on the newly closed file set, stop and start Aspen InfoPlus.21, you will get the same error message:
cache entry invalid - point ID | Solution: Part of h21arcck's job during initialization is to check that the cache entries match what is in the disk archive (arc.dat). If it comes across a cache entry that does not match up with what is in the archive file, then that cache entry is ignored. If they do match up, then the data in the cache entry is written to the archive file. When the cache entries are all validated and saved in the archive, the cache is re-initialized.
This error usually occurs after an unplanned shutdown. The cache is saved in the cache.dat file every 5 minutes. If there is an unplanned shutdown late in this time span, then some of the cache entries in the saved cache.dat file may be out of sync with the archive files. When an invalid cache entry is found, it means that the data in it is old and has already been written to the archive. Under normal circumstances, there is no data lost because of this error. There could be data lost in cache entries that are OK, but are missing data because the saved cache is almost 5 minutes old.
This error could also occur if the cache.dat has been corrupted. In this case, there are an extreme number of these error messages in the output file (one for almost every point in the archive).
Also, the problem might be that the H21archiver process is not stopping correctly when IP.21 is shutdown. You may need to check the following:
1. The size of the key file (arc.byte, arc.dat and arc.key are files that comprise the history system for each file set). If the archive file is huge, then the key file is large which means the archiver will become slower over time.
2. On an Aspen InfoPlus.21 start up, look at the date and time of the cache.dat file. That time and date should match the time of when you stopped the Aspen InfoPlus.21 database. If it doesn't, then that indicates a problem with the archiver not shutting down properly.
3. Another place to look is in the archiver log file. Each time the archiver stops and starts up, it writes a line in the log file. If there are no lines indicating a stoppage of the archiver but only lines indicating it is starting up, then the archiver is not stopping correctly.
4. In the error.log files, near the end, look to see if there is a point where the archiver was not properly shut down. Sometimes this might be indicated by two startup messages in a row.
Keywords: cache entry invalid
History
Infoplus.21
References: None |
Problem Statement: When trying to enter a shared drive as the path for TSK_HBAK history file location, TSK_HBAK.OUT file reports 'unable to create folders' | Solution: This problem is only seen on W2003 systems.
A work around is to create a UNC format path, for example:
\\nodename\sharename\repositoryfolder).
Keywords: Pathnames
Windows 2003
References: None |
Problem Statement: After loading an upgraded snapshot into IP.21 Administrator, some of the views become corrupted. For example, the Tags view is empty, CIM-IO view is empty or displaying details of another tag. | Solution: All the views in IP.21 Administrator (eg. Building Blocks, CIM-IO, Tags) are controlled by the PE_MainBranch record, while individual views are controlled by other records defined by PE_BranchDef. For example, the Tags view is controlled by the IP_TagsBranch record.
While upgrading the old snapshot using the Typical option, some of the records controlling these views may have been replaced with other records due to a conflict in record IDs.
TheSolution is to use the Custom option instead, and just use the default settings thereafter. The steps for doing a custom upgrade are described in pages 5-6 to 5-8 of the IP.21 v5.0 Installation Manual.
Keywords: IP.21 Administrator
views
view
References: None |
Problem Statement: After a reboot the Equipment do not show in Aspen Process Sequencer Run view. | Solution: If the SQL Server Aspen Process Recipe DB is located on the same system as Aspen Process Recipe then the problem is that the Aspen Transition Manager service is starting before SQL Server. The reSolution to this is to add a dependency to Aspen Transition Manager service for SQL Server.
Execute the following command from a command window or the Run dialog to add the service dependency using SC.EXE.
SYNTAX: SC CONFIG SERVICE NAME DEPEND= DEPENDENCY SERVICE NAME
Example: sc config Aspen Transition Manager Server depend= MSSQLSERVER
Important things to note:
The service must be stopped before configuring dependencies.
The service must be contained within double quotes because the service name has a space within it.
The space ' ' between the 'depend=' text and the dependency service name.
The depend service name may be different on your system. [MSSQL$SQLEXPRESS, MSSQLSERVER]
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is there a maximum number of ODBC connections that can be made to an InfoPlus.21 database? | Solution: There is no fixed limit. It depends on the system resources available. It also depends on the executable used for TSK_SQL_SERVER.
Using sqlplsrv.exe (which was the default before aspenONE version 2004), the maximum number of ODBC connections that could be made was 58.
Using sqlplus_server.exe (which is the default in version 2004 and above), AspenTech Development tested 2000 connections.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: When installing the v6.0 Service Pack 1, the Smart Agent installer is looking for a strange version of Aspen Process Recipe (APR)/Transition Manager (ATM) - something other than of v6.0. For this reason, when the APR/ATM component of the Service Pack is selected for installation, you get this message:
Recipe/Transition Manager can only run with version >= 4.0.2.0 of feature Process Recipe Server of ProcessRecipe | Solution: The version information comes from the file: [drive]:\Program Files\AspenTech\setup\uninstall\ProcessRecipe.INI
In this file, there's a section titled [Features Installed]
This section details the version information of the installed components. It will contain entries similar to:
[Features Installed]
PROCESSRECIPE=6.0.0.0
RECIPEROOT=6.0.0.0
PROCESS RECIPE SCRIPTS=6.0.0.0
In order to resolve this, manually change the .INI file to specify the version as 4.0.2.0 for PROCESSRECIPE.
[Features Installed]
PROCESSRECIPE=4.0.2.0
RECIPEROOT=6.0.0.0
PROCESS RECIPE SCRIPTS=6.0.0.0
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: How do I load or start the AspenChem demo? | Solution: 1.A Look in one of the directories below:
A
(32-bit systems)A <Install Drive>:\Program Files\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\db21\etc
(64-bit systems)A <Install Drive>:\Program Files(x86)\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\db21\etc
for the demo snapshot which is named InfoPlus21Demo.snp.
2.A Shut down the Aspen InfoPlus.21 database using the Manager.
3.A Check the 'Command line parameters' box in the lower right corner of the Manager to make sure the snapshot name being used on startup is InfoPlus21.snp (In versions before 2006.5 the startup snapshot name is referenced as part of the loaddb task. In 2006.5 and after, it is TSK_DBCLOCK.)
4.A In Windows Explorer navigate to the Group200 directory and rename the current InfoPlus21.snp, and then copy the demo snapshot into the Group200 directory, naming it InfoPlus21.snp.A The Group200 directory will be in one of the following locations depending on the version of the product used and type of Windows operating system:
C:\Program Files\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\db21\Group200
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\db21\group200
C:\ProgramData\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\db21\group200
5. Restart Aspen InfoPlus.21
NOTE : The demo snapshot is quite small so the reserved memory should be fine to load it. However if you get an error like this:
check KB Article 103866
Keywords: TSK_DBCLOCK is not running anymore. Please check output and error log files.
References: None |
Problem Statement: The following error may appear when opening an unusable record in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Definition Editor:
Failed to load the definition record for viewing
Repeated attempts to open the same record may result in the following error:
An unknown error in CDefRecView::OnUpdate | Solution: Ensure that the definition record appears as unusable in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator and when viewed in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Definition Editor. If the record does not appear as unusable in both applications then toggle the record to usable then back to unusable.
The Aspen InfoPlus.21 Definition Editor must operate on a snapshot that is the correct version. For example, if you are using v2006.5 of the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Definition Editor the snapshot you are modifying must be upgraded to v2006.5 format.
Another cause of this error is that the #_of_fields_in_rec is set incorrectly. Since the definition record cannot be viewed in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Definition Editor, look at it in the Aspen InfoPlus.21 Administrator. Expand the definition record and click on the FIELDs view. Note the value in #_of_fields_in_rec. Then double-click on the #_of_fields_in_rec repeat area to actually view all of the fields in the definition record. If any of the occurrences are empty occurrences, note the last valid occurrence number. Then go back to the fixed area of the definition record and modify the #_of_fields_in_rec field to whatever value is the last valid occurrence number.
Keywords: None
References: None |
Problem Statement: How is reverse unit conversion in a transfer record implemented? | Solution: In order to reverse units, one has to reverse the IO_MIN_COUNT and IO_MAX_COUNT rather than the IO_RANGE_LO and IO_RANGE_HI fields.
IO_min_count
4095
IO_max_count
0
IO_range_lo
0
IO_range_hi
100
For read operations, the Cim-IO client tasks use the following equations to convert raw counts to E.U. units using the fields of this record:
convertedValue=rangelo+(rangehi - rangelo)/(maxcounts - mincounts) * (readvalue - mincounts) if (convertedvalue > rangehi) then convertedvalue = rangehi if (convertedvalue < rangelo) then convertedvalue = rangelo
Keywords: reverse
unit conversion
References: None |
Problem Statement: When creating a custom record, the Field Creation Assistant is used to locate a specific field (Fields > New > Field). However a search for the field generates no returns, as if the field name doesn't exist in IP.21. | Solution: The field being searched for has a Field Pointer that is a duplicate of one already contained in the custom definition. This is not allowed. As a result, the Field Creation Assistant only returns field names that can be validly added.
Background:
FIELD_NUMBERs are displayed in IP.21 as a 4-digit hex value. The last (least significant) 10 bits of the FIELD_NUMBER is designated the Field Pointer. A given definition record cannot contain duplicate Field Pointers.
Example
for a FIELD_NUMBER of 2419:
hex:
2 4 1 9
binary:
0010 0100 0001 1001
The Field Pointer is 0000011001 (decimal: 25)
For additional information on this topic, please reference the Database Structure section of the IP.21 Database Developer's Manual.
Keywords: create
creation
definition
References: None |
Problem Statement: This | Solution: provides information on how to configure a CommandDef record to execute an operating system command.Solution
Using the InfoPlus.21 Manager, create and start external task TSK_SYSC, which executes..\Program Files\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\db21\code\syscmd.exe.
For more information about creating an external task See adding a task in the InfoPlus.21 Administration help file.
Create a record defined be CommandDef and make it usable. Then in the Command_Line field, add the system command to execute when the record is activated, and set the Activate_SW field to Yes. The CommandDef record can be activated by manually setting the Activate Field to Yes or by using an external program.
CommandDef Record Content
Field Description
RECORD_TO_ACTIVATE Name of the record to activate before executing the system
command (useful when the operating system command uses
the output of another record activation, such as a report)
COMMAND_LINE 64-character field containing the system command
MESSAGE SW. Switch to determine whether logging is enabled for this record
(ON causes each record activation to be logged to the log
records specified in the Command_LogCntrl record, which, by
default, points to the log record Command_Log)
ACTIVE SW. Determines if the record is processed when activated. Setting
this field to OFF disables all processing for the record, except
that the ACTIVATE? field is reset to NO.
ACTIVATE? Setting this field to YES activates the record. This field may
be manually entered or set by an external program. Like other
records, activations may also be triggered by other records or
programs.
SUSPENDED_UNTIL_DONE Automatically maintained by InfoPlus21 whenever the record is
activated.
RECORD_TO_ACTIVATE This field contains the name of the record in the field, while the CommandDef
record is waiting for the activated record to finish processing.
RETURN CODE Contains the operating system error code of the last execution
of the command in the COMMAND_LINE field. Consult
your operating system documentation for an explanation of
this code.
LAST_UPDATE The timestamp of the last execution of the command in the
COMMAND_LINE field.
SEQUENCE_NUMBER Contains a sequence number incremented each time the record
is activated.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Are there any reported problems for InfoPlus.21 systems after installing Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-039? (This security patch fully supersedes the patch provided in MS03-026, as well as the one provided in MS01-048.) | Solution: Many customers have asked about MS03-039. There has only been one customer who reported a problem with InfoPlus.21 functionality after installing the patch. Since many customers have installed the patch and seen no problems, this issue may or may not have been directly related to the patch installation:
After installing the patch, The InfoPlus.21 Administrator tool would not expand to show the database structure. There were numerous error messages upon starting up InfoPlus.21, indicating that the user needed to check the RPC configuration as well as a WINRPC timeout error message.
To solve this problem, the customer re-registered two dll files: atobject.dll and atinfoplus21object.dll.
Atobject.dll is located here: C:\Program Files\Common Files\AspenTech Shared\AtObject Atinfoplusobject.dll is located here: C:\Program Files\Common Files\AspenTech Shared
Once the files are registered, stop and start the IP21 server. All of the error messages should be eliminateed and InfoPlus.21 should start up correctly.
Keywords: MS03-039
security patch
824146
References: None |
Problem Statement: The InfoPlus.21 startup is failing at TSK_H21_INIT. The only diagnostic error message is in the Windows Event Viewer Application log:
h21init.exe exited with error code = 2 | Solution: The TSK_H21_INIT task is responsible for reading the config.dat file in the
<drive>:\Program Files\AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\c21\h21\dat directory. This file is most likely corrupt and unreadable. A copy of this file will need to be restored from backup.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is it possible to call the average value of an OnDemand Calc from the aggregate table? | Solution: 1. Create a new ODBC data source in System DSN (ex. IP21ODBC). Data Source (ODBC) will be available in Control panel -> Administrative tools.
2. Create a new Calculation in Aspen Calc, using New formula -> Calc script
3. While binding the tags for calculation, double click and select 'data set'.
4. Specify a new data set with same name as ODBC (ex. IP21ODBC)
5. In the SQL string section, write the SQL query (ex. SELECT AVG FROM AGGREGATES)
6. Click OK and come back to Calc section
7. Execute the calculation & this will populate the field with the average calculation output.
Keywords: On Demand Calc
On demand calc
Aggregate table
Aspen Calc
References: None |
Problem Statement: When attempting to exclude a variable from triggering Store and Forward, you should enable the Extrapolate option but Aspen Calc shows an error message: No such record | Solution: Make sure the original tag exists in Aspen InfoPlus.21. This message can occur when the tag is renamed or removed from the system but the calculation is still binding to it.
Keywords: Store and Forward
Extrapolate
No such record
References: None |
Problem Statement: In the course of adding and deleting file sets, it is possible that file set n is in a directory other than ARCn. This can be confusing if Fileset#1 is in arc2, Fileset#2 is in arc3, and Fileset#3 is in arc1. How do you change the path for multiple file sets to be the same as file set number? | Solution: To match up the file set number and the directory name so that it is less confusing, follow these steps:
1. In the InfoPlus.21 Administrator, right-click on each of the file sets (one at a time) and select Properties.
2. Set the Pending paths to temporary directories (e.g. arc301, arc302, arc303).
3. Copy the files (arc.byte, arc.dat, and arc.key) from the old directories to the new directories (creating if necessary).
4. Restart InfoPlus.21.
5. Reset the Pending paths to the corresponding file set number (e.g. set FileSet#1 to arc1)
6. Copy the files (arc.byte, arc.dat, and arc.key) back again.
7. Restart InfoPlus.21.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: The CalcCommands object in the CalcScheduler library provides two methods to delete calculation objects in Aspen Calc. This | Solution: s explain differences between DeleteCalculationEditObject and DeleteCalculationObject functions.Solution
The DeleteCalculationEditObject function was used on old AspenCalc versions when a copy for edition of the calculation was left in the Edit directory. In this case, the user interface need to do a Cancel Edit call or a DeleteCalculationEditObject if an error was encounter while trying to edit a calculation or library object. The function will return a False (or 0 integer value).if the calculation is not in the EDIT folder.
The DeleteCalculationObject method in the CalcScheduler library is used to delete a Calculation as follows.
Local calccmd, deleteResult
calccmd = CreateObject('CalcScheduler.CalcCommands');
deleteResult = calccmd.DeleteCalculationObject('<CalculationName>','','')
If the calculation has been deleted successfully the method will return True (or -1 integer value). If an issue occurs while deleting the calculation (for example, if the calculation was not found because of the name is not correct) the method will return False (or 0 integer value).
Keywords: DeleteCalculationEditObject
DeleteCalculationObject
AspenCalc
CalcScheduler
References: None |
Problem Statement: By default InfoPlus.21 gets installed with the demo database included. | Solution: It is possible to create a new database without the demo tags, by opening the Aspen InfoPlus.21 manager, click STOP InfoPlus.21 if the database is running, under Actions menu select Create Database.
Here you can choose which special recload files to include with the database. Leave the defaults, but change the source database to InfoPlus21DB.snp (instead of InfoPlus21Demo.snp). The target snapshot should be Infoplus21.snp in the group200 folder. Select OK to create the new snapshot. After the snapshot is created successfully, choose Close to exit the tool.
Now IP.21 can be started, and the database will have a clean snapshot that does not include the demo-tags.
Please note that the Create Database Wizard doesn't load all the rld files that you might want in your database. In the Snapshot Creation Wizard, please ensure the rld records listed below are checked and also check any others that apply to your needs:
accounting21 (if using Accounting.21)
atb (Tag Browser)
cimgcs (InfoPlus.21 Core)
cimio (CIM-IO)
cimiosetcim (if using IP.21 as a CIM-IO server)
cimsqlplus (SQLPlus)
cimsyscmd (InfoPlus.21 Core)
cimvals (InfoPlus.21 Core)
gen_apps (loads PlantSystemsDef, UnitsDef, and SamplesDef records -- don't need this if it's not familiar to you)
newcimq21 (if using Q server)
pims (InfoPlus.21 Core)
sqlplusreports (if using SQLplus web reports)
trend_ctrl (GCS server)
Keywords: create database
demo
snapshot
References: None |
Problem Statement: You''ve created a new record in version 2.5.1 and you want to load it into a 3.1.2 or 4.0 database. You''ve tried to save the record and load it but you get the following error:
Loading record......
INVALID KEY CHARACTER
Load aborted..... | Solution: You could do the following if you want to load ONLY this record in the new database.
Use the save record function in the Administrator to save the record in question as an .rld file.
Create a blank 2.5.1 snapshot
Use the load rec function in the Administrator to load the record into it.
Perform the upgrade using the utility explained in the IP.21 v.3.1 or 4.0 installation manual. The record is now a version 3.1 record.
Use the save record function in the Administrator to save the record in question as an .rld file again.
Use the load rec function in the Administrator to load the record into the 3.1.2 or 4.0 database you wish it to be in.
Keywords: upgrade
loadrec
saverec
record
invalid
key
character
References: None |
Problem Statement: The active_cleanup.bat file, located in the %h21%\etc directory, removes old archive files originally saved by the automated history backup system but no longer required.
A recent modification to this batch file caused the cleanup process to not function for fileset numbers greater than 9. Consequently, any backups for these filesets are not properly deleted and can potentially cause the disk to fill up. | Solution: The error is caused by the following lines in the active_cleanup.bat file:
dir /o-d /b %1\H21ACT_%2_?_??-??-??-?????? > %2temp__1.tmp
and
dir /a-r /b %1\H21ACT_%2_?_??-??-??-?????? > %2temp__2.tmp
The first question mark in both lines is the placeholder for the fileset number. However, the question mark can only be replaced with a single character. As a result, only fileset numbers 1-9 would successfully be deleted. If the placeholder is switched to an asterisk *, it can be replaced with one or more characters.
The active_cleanup.bat file can be fixed by either manually replacing the ? character with an asterisk or by downloading the file attached to this knowledge base article.
To manually repair the file:
1. Open the .bat file for editing by right mouse clicking on the file and selecting Edit from the context menu.
2. Replace the first question mark in the following line:
dir /o-d /b %1\H21ACT_%2_?_??-??-??-?????? > %2temp__1.tmp
to an asterisk. It should now appear as:
dir /o-d /b %1\H21ACT_%2_*_??-??-??-?????? > %2temp__1.tmp
3. Repeat for the second line:
dir /a-r /b %1\H21ACT_%2_?_??-??-??-?????? > %2temp__2.tmp
The updated line should read as follows:
dir /a-r /b %1\H21ACT_%2_*_??-??-??-?????? > %2temp__2.tmp
You will also find a fixed file available to download from this Knowledge Base article. To apply this file, first rename the existing active_cleanup.bat in the \AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\c21\h21\etc to active_cleanup.old. Then download and extract the attached file and copy into the \AspenTech\InfoPlus.21\c21\h21\etc directory.
NOTE: One potential issue with this revision could arise for systems that have multiple repositories with partially duplicated names. For example, if there are two repositories on an IP.21 system: TSK_DHIS and TSK_DHIS_PL1, then running the active_cleanup.bat file on the TSK_DHIS repository will cause backed up filesets for both TSK_DHIS and TSK_DHIS_PL1 to be deleted. This is because the DOS dir command wildcard processing sees the * wildcard and matches both repository names. If your system uses repository naming conventions that could lead to this problem, you may want to keep the original active_cleanup.bat file and manually delete the backups for filesets numbers greater than 10.
This defect was fixed for 2004.1.
Keywords: backup
history
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is there a way to get Visual Basic (VBA) to prepare a list of each unit operation that consumes 1 or more types of utilities? | Solution: Please see the attached spreadsheet and its cmd_Utilities subroutine on SHEET1. The code first counts the number number of utility types and reports their names, then it counts the number of consumers (blocks/unit ops) of each utility and reports their names, consumption rate and unit of measure.
Here is the final report in the spreadsheet
Util Type
Unit Name
Consumed
Dim Units
COOLWAT
COLUMN
13933.64
lb/hr
COOLER
846.5226
lb/hr
STEAM
HEATER
4491.389
lb/hr
COLUMN
1983.042
lb/hr
Here is the code:
Private Sub cmd_Utilities_Click()
Dim Ucount As Integer, Uname(20) As String, i As Integer, j As Integer, Uconsumers(20) As String
Dim RowCounter As Integer
'count number of utilities
Ucount = go_Simulation.Tree.FindNode(\Data\Utilities).Elements.Count
'capture the utility names
For i = 0 To Ucount - 1
Uname(i) = go_Simulation.Tree.FindNode(\Data\Utilities).Elements(i).Name
Uconsumers(i) = go_Simulation.Tree.Data.Utilities.Elements(Uname(i)). _
Output.UTL_USAGE.Elements.Count
Next i
' write the utility type and amount consumed by each consuming unit
RowCounter = 0
For i = 0 To Ucount - 1 'this is the outer loop for each utility type
Range(utilities).Offset(RowCounter, 0) = Uname(i)
For j = 0 To Uconsumers(i) - 1
'write the unit name
Range(utilities).Offset(RowCounter, 1) = _
go_Simulation.Tree.Data.Utilities.Elements(Uname(i)).Output.UTL_USAGE.Elements(j).Name
'write the unit's utility consumption
Range(utilities).Offset(RowCounter, 2) = _
go_Simulation.Tree.Data.Utilities.Elements(Uname(i)).Output.UTL_USAGE.Elements(j).Value
' write the dimensional unit for the utility consumption
Range(utilities).Offset(RowCounter, 3) = _
go_Simulation.Tree.Data.Utilities.Elements(Uname(i)).Output.UTL_USAGE.Elements(j).UnitString
RowCounter = RowCounter + 1
Next j
Next i
End Sub
Keywords: VBA, Excel, utilities, aspen plus, usage rates
References: None |
Problem Statement: Users may get this error message when trying to startup IP.21 in IP.21 Manager without a network connection:
Error 1231 returned by task service. The network location cannot be reached.
The problem disappears when the server is connected to a network. This message is most commonly seen on laptop computers when they are not connected to the network. | Solution: Follow the detailed instructions given inSolution #106662 (for Windows 2000) to create an MS Loopback adapter to simulate a network connection.
Keywords: Error 1231
network
remote
laptop
References: None |
Problem Statement: Does AspenTech support use of remote drives such as a SAN (Storage Area Network) or NAS (Network Attached Storage) for Aspen Infoplus.21 history storage? | Solution: It has been recommended that customers install history repositories and file sets on a local drive to optimize performance and minimize the possibility of losing the connection to the repository drive. Using remote drives seriously degrades performance. The archiver tasks are constantly locking and unlocking archive files. A temporary network problem can result in an archiver exit or hang since the remote files suddenly disappear.
SAN (Storage Area Network) and NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices are essentially special-purpose computers designed as high performance file-servers. The SAN uses a dedicated gigabit fibre channel to access hard disk clusters, it does not make use of the local Local Area Network (LAN) as does NAS. They are OK only if connected via a reliable fiber optic connection. Any connection break will corrupt the database and cause data loss. So if the fiber optic connection is as reliable as a fixed disk, you can choose to use it, but be warned of what happens when the connection breaks.
Important: In 2007, Aspen Technology tested Aspen InfoPlus.21 history storage v2006 in a fibre channel SAN environment. We did not see any problems. Since then we have supported Aspen InfoPlus.21 history storage in a fibre channel SAN environment.
Keywords: Remote storage
SAN
NAS
History
References: None |
Problem Statement: The h21arcadmin program will not run correctly. Regardless of the parameters (or calling arguments) used, the program returns the usage help but does not execute the option. | Solution: It could be that the utility is being run through terminal services. The h21arcadmin program will not run through terminal services.
Keywords: h21arcadmin
terminal services
arguments
parameters
References: None |
Problem Statement: Attempting to enter a new value into IO_MIN_COUNTS or IO_MAX_COUNTS in the Io-Eu-Conv record does not work.
The new value is replaced with either >>>>> or <<<<<. | Solution: The IO_MIN_COUNTS and IO_MAX_COUNTS fields use the I 5 format by default. To change the format record used by these fields, perform the following steps.
1. Navigate to the IoEuConvDef record and select the #_OF_FIELDS_IN_REC repeat area.
2. As desired, modify the value in the FIELD_FORMAT_RECORD column for one or both of the fields. In the example below, the field format for IO_MIN_COUNTS is modified to I 6. Note that this change allows the value -12345 to be recognized as a valid entry for IO_MIN_COUNTS.
Keywords: <<<<<
>>>>>
IO_MAX_COUNTS
IO_MIN_COUNTS
Io-Eu-Conv
IoEuConvDef
References: None |
Problem Statement: This knowledge base article explains how to troubleshoot the error message:
Failed to connect to remote server. Make sure the infoPlus.21 server is version 3.0 or better
which is returned from the Definition Editor. | Solution: This error message, which is returned by the Definition Editor, indicates that network problems prevent the Definition Editor from reaching the InfoPlus.21 server. When this error is returned, please check the following:
1. Does reverse name lookup work correctly on this network? In other words, can this client PC run a successful NSLOOKUP to the IP.21 server and vice versa? Reverse name lookup needs to work on the network in order for the InfoPlus.21 clients to connect to the InfoPlus.21 server.
2. Even if the Definition Editor is run directly from the InfoPlus.21 server it is sometimes necessary to place the IP address and nodename of the InfoPlus.21 server into the hosts file of the client PC to work around this error.
3. Open Local Area Connection/Properties and make sure the Files and Printers Sharing for Microsoft Network option is checked. Reboot the computer if it is necessary to check this box then see if the Definition Editor works.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: It may not be clear what Engineering Releases (ER's) are required when using Aspen Process Recipe. This | Solution: will be a living document that will address any required ER's/patches with each release of Aspen Process Recipe (with and without Aspen Transition Manager).
Solution
If running Process Recipe 2.5.2, you should apply this ER:
ER H000223A.WIN (SeeSolution 103640)
Note: Transition Manager did not exist with this version.
If running Process Recipe 3.1.x, you should apply this ER:
ER PM010220A.NTI (SeeSolution 105145)
Note: This is only necessary if running Transition Manager with Process Recipe.
If running Process Recipe 4.0.1 you should apply these ER's: ER PM010925B.NTI (SeeSolution 106258)
ER PM011121A.NTI (SeeSolution 106552 )
Note: These 2 ER's are only necessary if running Transition Manager with Process Recipe.
ER PM011017A (SeeSolution 106363)
Note: This is only necessary if using the Aspen Process Recipe external interface.
If running Process Recipe 4.1.2, you should apply this ER:
ER PM030514A.NTI (SeeSolution 111295)
If running Process Recipe 5.0.1, you should apply this ER:
ER PM030703A.NTI (SeeSolution 111561)
If running Process Recipe 6.0, you should apply this ER:
ER PM030703A.NTI (SeeSolution 111561)
Keywords: Process Recipe
Transition Manager
ER
patch
References: None |
Problem Statement: Process Recipe is installed as a 2-tier application, client and database. The client consists of both a client component and a server component (for business logic and database access) that is installed on the client machine by default. The original version of Process Recipe had all logic embedded in one component. Later, the business logic and database access were split out to a separate server dll. However, security checking remained with the client component. Therefore, if a company has multiple sites, each with their own Process Recipe installation, it is possible that a client from one site can access the database of the other site. This | Solution: outlines a method of restricting database access to specified users based on Windows credentials.Solution
To block a user''s access to the Recipe database using NT authentication, please do the following.
Right click on the SQL Server group you''d like to configure. This will generally show up as the nodename of the machine on which the database runs. Select Properties | Security.
Set the Authentication to Windows Only. After clicking OK, you will be asked if you would like the SQL Server service automatically restarted. Click yes.
In the Enterprise Manager, select the Security folder | Logins | New Login... under this SQL Server group.
Add a group log which contains every user you wish to block from this Recipe database. For example, if you have two sites A and B, you can add a group on the site B database server which contains all of the users at Site A.
Set the Security Access radio button to Deny Access
Make sure to set the default database to whichever Recipe database you wish to restrict this group''s access. In this example, you would select the Recipe database corresponding to Site B. This effectively restricts all users at Site A from starting Recipe while pointing to Site B''s database.
When a user in this group attempts to start Process Recipe with this database, the user will receive a message stating that his/her login failed for this database.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: When Recipe Explorer is launched, the following error is displayed:
error accessing Transition Manager | Solution: Follow the DCOM configuration instructions in the Transition Manager Installation manual.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Recipes do not show up in Aspen Recipe Explorer run view. | Solution: Stop Recipe Explorer and all Aspen Process Sequencer [ATM] services.
Kill any ATM_* process still running in the Windows Task Manager.
Restart [ATM] services and Recipe Explorer.
Keywords: Process Recipe
atm
Transition Manager
References: None |
Problem Statement: When you use the WHis21dat API routine as explained in the Aspen Infoplus.21 Database API Guide, you may get an Invalid Key Timestamp error. | Solution: WHI21DAT will return an invalid key timestamp error if it cannot insert an event because the specified key timestamp you try to enter is:
1. Outside the allowable date range (1980-2035).
2. Older than the oldest allowed time for the repeat area of the tag you're inserting into. Normally this would be the date/time that the tag record was created. If you want to insert data into a tag before its creation date, you must use the XOLDESTOK. command as described inSolution 103040
3. Older than allowed by the history repository's past time parameter.
4. Older than the start time (T1) of the oldest archive that is on-line.
WHIS21DAT will also return an invalid key timestamp error when it is called in WHIS_TYPE_MODIFY mode and there is no existing history event having the specified key timestamp.
Keywords: errorcode
errcode
-61
-22
References: None |
Problem Statement: The Event.Dat file can be likened to the Store file in CIM-IO - they are both overflow files used when the system is not working at optimum performance. Usually you would only see the existence of an Event.Dat if the Historian Archive process has crashed.
This article discusses the situation of the Archive process still running, AND an Event.Dat file in existence,
AND the unbuffering of that Event.Dat is very slow.
Two example situations in which this MAY be seen both relate to writing a large quantity of data to the Historian. One might be from an SQLplus Query using the Insert Into History function. Another might be when a l;arge Cim-io Store file is trying to unbuffer A third might be when the Cimi-io Server machine has its Time set substantially different to the Time setting on the IP.21 machine. | Solution: Under normal conditions, even these three example situations should not cause problems. The problem WILL occur IF the 'writing to history' is being performed to a fileset that is NOT the current active fileset.
Basically, WRITING HISTORY TO A NON-ACTIVE FILESET WILL ALWAYS BE A SLOW PROCESS (as explained below). Possibly meaning that the archive process cannot keep up, and therefore an Event.Dat will be built but, will unbuffer slowly.
When writing current history to the active fileset, most events are put in the cache and not written to disk. When the cache for a record is full, the entire cache entry for that record is written to disk with one disk write. For an IP_AnalogDef record, you can fit about 20 occurrences in 256 bytes of cache. So there is only one disk hit for every 20 events.
When writing non-current history, the event is written directly to the archive without going through the cache. So each inserted history event causes several disk accesses even in the best circumstances. In the worst case, each inserted event can cause quite a few disk accesses. This goes for any inserted event, whether it's inserted in the active fileset or a non-active one.
Something else unusual will also happen to the fileset where all this data is being sent. It will tend to have a larger than average key file. When history is inserted into a fileset, the archiver will many times need to create new history records in the fileset to hold the new events. Because in normal operation inserts are considered unusual, the archiver allocates only small history records for inserted data. So if you have a lot of inserted data, you will tend to have a lot of small history records, which means there will be a lot of keys in the key file. This will mean a large key file and slower access times to the fileset.
NOTE :-
If you are experiencing similar symptoms and your problem is not related to writing to non-active filesets, please try knowledgebaseSolution 103637 for some configuration suggestions.
Keywords:
References: None |
Problem Statement: Microsoft has released several Outlook E-mail security updates intended to strengthen Outlook's security features. Among many other modifications, one particular modification affects the behavior of e-mail messages sent directly from 1st Quality applications such as Compliance.21, Grade-IT, and the Human Interface's RGD (Report Generation & Distribution).
In some instances, a dialog box will be displayed on the Infoplus.21 server console every time an E-mail message from a 1st Quality product is issued, warning the user and expecting an approval or disapproval action before the E-mail message is delivered. While the dialog box is displayed, the application will wait indefinitely and thus become inoperative.
Another indicator of a security block is the appearance of sendmail.exe longer than usual in the list of processes in the Windows Task Manager. If this is the case, the applications that issued E-mail messages will be waiting indefinitely for the message to be delivered. Under usual circumstances, when E-mail messages are delivered without delays, the process sendmail.exe should appear in the list of processed for intervals of no more than 1 second. | Solution: You can verify beforehand if there will be a problem with E-mail security and avoid indefinite delays. The test below can be done once the 1st Quality applications have been installed and the E-mail profile EMAIL is created in MS Exchange.
Execute from a Command Prompt window the following command:
c:\sendmail -u EMAIL -p temp -r [email protected] -s test -m test -v
where:
-u represents the MAPI mail profile used to send mail
-p represents the password of the profile
-r represents a valid (or invalid) e-mail recipient.
-s represents the subject line
-m represents the message text and
If no security block is in place the following diagnostics will be displayed on the Command Prompt window:
c:\sendmail -u EMAIL -p temp -r [email protected] -s test -m test -v Sender Mailbox: EMAIL
Recipient(s): [email protected]
CopyList (CC:): (null)
Subject: test
Message Text: test (4 chars)
Attached File(s): (null)
Message sent successfully
If there is a security block in place the following dialog box will be displayed:
Microsoft Outlook
A program is trying to automatically send e-mail on your behalf. Do you want to allow this?
If this is unexpected, this may be a virus and you should choose NO.
Yes No Help
If this is the case, you have the following alternatives:
1. Disable e-mail from 1st Quality applications all together.
2. Disable the Outlook security feature.
The second alternative requires adding or changing the contents of the following key in the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Security\CheckAdminSettings
To enable e-mail without the security dialog box the key should have a DWORD value of 1 (one), which means that Outlook looks for custom administrative settings.
The following link provides details about theSolution
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=263297
Keywords: e-mail
email
security
References: None |
Problem Statement: Is the function INSHISDATA supported in InfoPlus.21? Where is the documentation for this function located? | Solution: INSHISDATA() is a Setcim history routine that is not supported with InfoPlus.21. In fact, any history routine that accepts a sequence number as an argument is unsupported in InfoPlus.21. Even if the history routines work now, they may fail to work in the future.
All supported InfoPlus.21 history routines are documented in the InfoPlus.21 API Manual.
Keywords: INSHISDATA
history
References: None |
Problem Statement: After installing Service Pack 1 for version 4.1 of the AMS Suite of products, some required post installation instructions specific to Aspen Process Recipe (APR) running with or without Transition Manager (ATM) are missing. | Solution: After installing service pack 1 (SP1) for version 4.1, it is necessary to run an upgrade script to upgrade/migrate the Process Recipe database. The script, APR_MIGRATE_V41DB_TO_V41SP1DB.SQL, is located at:
Program Files\AspenTech\ProcessRecipe\Utility
After installing service pack 2 (SP2) for version 4.1, it is necessary to run an upgrade script to upgrade/migrate the Process Recipe database. The script, APR_MIGRATE_V41SP1DB_TO_V41SP2DB.SQL, is located at:
Program Files\AspenTech\ProcessRecipe\Utility
These scripts are run from the MS SQL Server Query Analyzer Tool.
Keywords: upgrade
migrate
References: None |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.