Definition
In every configuration you create, a standard system object called Driver exists. It provides information about the driver: Whether the driver is running and whether communication to the PLC(s) is possible as well as communication alarms.
The Driver object monitors the communication at the driver level, so if you have several nodes defined for a driver, it is recommended to create a node status object for each node.
Communication alarms
The alarm numbers between 10 and 51 are reserved for various communication
errors (the communication ports, the PLC, the data collection engine,
etc.). These alarms are automatically reported in the alarm list, if communication
errors occur.
|
Alarm numbers … |
are used when … |
|---|---|
|
10 and 11 |
the setup of drivers is erroneous. |
|
20 and 21 |
the communications ports are faulty. |
|
30 to 39 |
the extended event-driven communication drivers fail; please refer to driver documentation. |
|
40 |
a general PLC error occurs; please refer to PLC documentation. |
|
41 to 45 |
there are driver communication errors; please refer to driver documentation. |
|
46 |
the connection to the PLC program is missing; the physical connection may be in order, but for some reason the PC has not received the expected “I’m alive” message. |
|
47 |
the extended event-driven communication drivers fail; please refer to driver documentation. |
|
48 |
there is an interface error to a remote driver. |
|
49 |
there is an interface error to the Alarmnet. |
|
50 |
incomprehensible data from the PLC is received by the data collection engine (DC). |
|
51 |
too much data output is generated, for example, if a DDE link generates too much data. |
Handling driver alarms
During supervision, possible communication alarms will appear in the alarm list and can be handled as any other alarm (acknowledged, etc.).
Displaying the Driver object
The Driver object may be shown on a process diagram to easily view its status. If any of the alarms from the table above occur, the symbol representing the object will blink with the alarm colour defined for the alarm text. To view the alarm text definitions, select Edit ® Alarm Texts, select the relevant alarm text and click Edit.
The figure below shows an example of how you can represent the Driver object using a *.bmp file. The object has two states: