Migrate from Industrial Gateway Server (IGS) to KepServerEx Driver

This guide will demonstrate how to establish a connection between the KEPServerEX® and GE Proficy iFIX®.

Outline of Steps:

1. Download and Install KEPServerEX

2. Copy the IGS Driver Configuration File to the new KEPServerEX Configuration Utility

   1. Open the Industrial Gateway Server (IGS) Configurator

      

   2. Open KepServer/ Config File>

      

   3. Save as>

      

   4. input password or select no encryption and click OK.

      

   5. Save the .opf file from the IGS Config to desk top to Desktop with an IGS identifier i.e “IGS_CFG.opf”

      

   6. Close the IGS Configurator

      

   7. Open the KEPServerEX Configurator

      

   8. Open the file you just saved File>Open navigate to the desktop folder

      

   9. Click “Yes, Update”

      

   10. Close KEPServerEX

       
   11. 

3. Add the IDS Driver for the iFIX SCU (System Configuration Utility)

   1. Open the iFix program

      

   2. Use Ctrl + W to toggle from Run mode to Configure mode

      

   3. Navigate to Applications then SCU to open the System Configuration Utility

      

   4. Navigate to Configure>SCADA

      

   5. On the SCADA Configuration page click the ellipsis…> Select IDS- Industrial Data Server> then OK

      

   6. Click Add> Now you will see IDS listed under Configured I/O Drivers > Click OK

      

   7. Now IDS appears on the SCU Terminal window (you can navigate File> Save) or just minimize for now

      
   8. 

4. Modify the current tag database

   1. Open iFix Workspace then the Database Manager>

      

   2. The Welcome to iFIX Databas… Select > Open Local Node> OK

      

   3. When the database first opens current value may be “????” refresh the database connection. Refresh the connection with: Ctrl+R

      1. verify the database is updating Current Values

      2. Verify the tags are using the IGS Driver

      3. Select Export on the Home row of icons

         

   4. Export db_IGS.csv We recommend that you rename the database “IGS_filename.csv” select Save

      

   5. Navigate to the file

      1. in the File Explorer C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFix|PDB

         

      2. right click>Open with… Notepad>

         

   6. Modify the IGS .csv file

      1. >Ctrl H to open Find and Replace

         

      2. in the “Find what:” field type ,”IGS”, In the “Replace with:” field type ,”IDS”, Select Replace All

      3. Close the Replace dialog box with Cancel. Notice IGS is now IDS

         

   7. From Notepad File> Save as

      

   8. In the Save As dialog box change the File name to db_IDS.csv and click Save

      

   9. close Notepad

      

   10. Return to the Database Manager and click the “Load Empty” icon on the Navigation bar then

       

   11. With a blank database click the “Import” icon select the new IDS_db.csv file. NOTE: When the Scan Alarm and Control database is stopped all iFIX data fields will show ????

       1. Click OK

          

       2. Select the newly modified filename_IDS.csv

          

   12. The size of your database will impact how long this takes. Luckily there is a Progress bar to stare at.

       

   13. After the new database populates verify the I/O Dev type

       

   14. verify tags are updating> Ctrl+R

       

   15. Use the Save As icon on the very top ribbon to Rename the new database to filename_IDS.

       
   16. 

5. Update the Database Path in SCU> Save

   1. Open up the SCADA Configuration in the SCU > Configure> SCADA

      

   2. In the SCADA Configuration menu, notice the Database Definition in this example is still _IGS.

      

   3. Select the ellipsis to update to the new IDS database you created in step 4. Select Open

      

   4. Verify the Database Definition is updated to _IDS click Ok to close the SCADA Configuration

      

   5. From the SCU Navigate to File> Save> Yes. Then you can close the SCU. If you try to close the SCU before Saving your changes you will be prompted to Save.

      
   6. 

6. Shutdown and Restart iFix

   1. Close all of the iFIX tabs until all you have open is the Startup Utility.

   2. Under Options select Shutdown iFIX. This will take a minute to stop all of the background processes.

      

   3. Double-click on your iFIX desktop shortcut to launch a new instance. You can open up the SCU and verify the Database Definition or open iFIX

      

7. Verify the Tags are connected to your graphics or via the new KEPware /IDS Driver Quick Client

   1. 

8. Delete the IGS driver from the SCU

   1. Open the SCU > Confiiguration > SCADA

      1. 
   2. 

Overview and Requirements

Installing KEPServerEX

1. Users must install Proficy iFIX before installing KEPServerEX, because files are installed to it in
   addition to the server.

2. Double-click on the KEPServerEX icon and select Run or Open to start the install. If an
   active content warning is displayed, click “Yes” to continue.

3. In the installation welcome screen, click Next.

4. In End-User License Agreement, click I accept the terms in the License Agreement.
   Click Next.

5. Continue through the installation, changing the settings as desired.

6. In Select Complete Features, expand the driver tree in order to view and select the drivers desired
   for install. Then, expand Native Client Interfaces.

7. Open the GE iFIX Native Interface drop-down menu and select Will be installed on local hard drive. Click Next.

8. Click Install to start the installation.

Preparing KEPServerEX for an iFIX PDB Connection

Users must complete the following before continuing with the tutorial:

open the IGS Config tool on the desktop

• Configure the KEPServerEX application.

• Start KEPServerEX and load the Simulation Driver Demo project. Once the server
  project has been loaded, open the Runtime menu on the main menu bar and verify that
  the server project has been connected.

Connecting to the Server from iFIX

1. Open the Proficy iFIX Startup menu and click Run the System Configuration Utility.

2. Click the SCADA Configuration icon located in the bottom of the SCU - FIX window.

   1. picture

3. Under Scada Support, select Enable to activate the Database Definition and the I/O Driver
   Definition dialog sections

4. Under Database Definition, accept the default database name "DATABASE." Click the I/O Driver Name browse button. In the list of available drivers, select IDS – Industrial Data Server and then click OK.

5. To add the Industrial Data Server to Configured I/O Drivers, click Add, then click OK. Note: The SCU window should now display a SCADA Configuration icon.

6. Save the configuration by clicking File | Save. Keep the default name.

7. Click File | Exit to close the window.

Adding Tags to iFIX

1. In order to receive data from the server, tags must be added to iFIX. In Proficy iFIX Startup,
   launch Proficy iFIX.

2. In the Proficy iFIX workspace, expand the Database folder in the project tree and doubleclick Database Manager.

3. In Welcome to Proficy iFIX Database, click to select Open Local Node, then click OK

   1. 

4. In the Proficy iFix Database Manager, all of your should be showing IGS in the I/O Dev column

   1. (Ctrl+R) to Refresh the the data and you can see that the data is updating.

   2. We are assuming that you are online with the PLCs if you are not the I/O address will show “????”

   3. 

5. Click the Export within the group of Blocks icons. Export the Database as a .CSV (copy the location in the file explorer). Save as “Filename”IGS

6. Open the File Explorer paste the path where the Database was saved. Right click on the .csv file ans select Open with and select Wordpad.

7. pic

8. Use Ctrl+H to open a find and replace dialog box in the find field input ,”IGS”, in the replace input ,”IDS”,
   Save as IDS“Filename”

9. Make sure the startup database name has updated to the new Database file name SCU “IDS_filename”

10. Open KEPServerEX verify the connection

11. Restart iFix Verify the Tags are connected via the new IDS Driver Quick Client

12. Delete the IGS driver from the SCU