In reply to Andre Dicaire:

Using another module for that sounds like a viable idea for my needs. Thanks!

as for download I am going to remove the modules and IO to give it a clean slate to work with. Nothing more than the controller (which through this i've learned can be worked around) and a couple modules that are easily recreated.

In reply to Nova5:

Great! We are getting there where we want.
As Andre indicated, the VIRTUALDV does not have any IO, so you will have to create and test your configuration fully in Simulate mode.
This means that you create configuration is-if it is for real controllers, except that you do not have to worry about IO channels.
To make the configuration work, you set the Simulate parameter for the IO function blocks (AI,AO,DI,DO) to Simulate/true (open the parameter and it will be clear).
Then link the OUT from AO or DO to the parameters SIMULATE_IN (which you make visible by 'show parameter' when right-clicking on the function block), and you have a simulation running.
Good luck!
(All beginning is hard, I remember my early times... ;-( ).

In reply to Nova5:

removed IO and module assignments. no errors on download, but still show 0 for Configured.

In reply to Nova5:

How best to use DeltaV Simulate Standalone. As you've discovered, there is no IO under the PRo Plus. Typically a control module is created and assigned to a controller, where there is IO. You can still do this with DeltaV Standalone, but to work with the module online, you have to assign it to the Pro Plus where you can download it.

If you are starting from scratch, you can create your modules in their appropriate Plant Area, and you can enter the expected Device Signal Tag in the IO Reference Blocks. When you do this, DeltaV will list these as "Unassigned IO Reference", which means there is a control module that references and IO tag, but that tag is not yet assigned to a physical IO Channel. Since you don't have an actual IO channel assigned, the module will not report an issue when you assign it to the Pro Plus. Later, you can use these tags to configure actual IO Channels, linking the configured IO Block to a physical channel.

If you are starting with an existing configuration imported from another system, the controllers and IO channels will be defined. When you reassign a module from its controller to the Pro Plus, you get the download warnings that the IO is assigned to another node. You can ignore these messages and download the module to the Pro Plus to verify the configuration, or to work with the Operate Graphics. If you want, you can delete the IO definitions, which will leave the module with "Unassigned IO References".

As I mentioned before, the Pro Plus will execute the modules and does not try to bind the IO references to the physical IO. In the case of the Standalone, that would be impossible. But you can still download the modules and they will work as expected in the Pro Plus. Since there is not IO, you need to use Simulate to drive the Inputs. Maarten mentioned you can wire the OUT or OUT_D values back to the Simulate_IN parameters on the input IO blocks. Or you can do this in a separate "Process Simulation" module using external references to read and write the IO signals.

When I first worked with DeltaV I wondered how does one get IO tags into the Unassigned IO Reference list. I thought if I can define all my tags in this list, I can browse to it in modules and later assign them to channels. Alas, that is not how it works. When configuring an AI Block, for instance, you can browse to IO channels and unassigned IO, but if the tag you want to use is not available, you can type it in. When you do this, you create an Unassigned IO Reference (assuming it has not been defined on a channel). If you delete the reference from the module(s), it disappears from the Unassigned IO reference. Good to know...

Now that you can download the Pro Plus (VIRTUALDV), you can assign any module to this computer, download it and work with it online. IO signals need to be simulated through the IO blocks, and the module will execute the logic. Note that when you set a simulate in value, the Status value must also be set. This is by design so that you can simulate a BAD status on the IO Channel. It should be set to GOOD. If you wire the AO/OUT value to the AI/SIMULATE_IN, the status will likely be GOODCASCADE, as the AO block mode will be Cascade. This will work fine. If you decide to write to the simulate In value from another module, be sure that the status of the value you write is GOOD, or the AI/OUT.ST will reflect the BAD status and this is used by the PID block or other blocks to prevent wind up and such.

Status is a function of all parameters in DeltaV, and follows the Foundation Fieldbus model, and allows the simulation to reflect full behavior of real IO signals. For most cases, all you need to do is force it to GOOD and your control module will work normally.

Andre Dicaire

In reply to Andre Dicaire:

Thanks for the very well thought out & detailed information, Andre Dicaire .

Best Regards,

Rachelle McWright: Business Development Manager, Dynamic Simulation: U.S. Gulf Coast

In reply to Rachelle McWright:

Marteen, thank you for the help. Andre, thanks for the info. I am still at 0 Configured on the DVSim and DVSim SIS licences, thats what I've been working on fixing but at this point are we saying this is acceptable for normal DV ops?

In reply to Andre Dicaire:

Just to add. If you have pre-configured module with FFBus IO assignment, IO references or expressions referencing IO, then you need to do Simulate Conversion, see BOL (Advanced Control Products | DeltaV Simulate Suite | DeltaV SimulatePro). Also note that this will change your configuration so I would advice to export your FHX first before doing the conversion.

In reply to Lun.Raznik:

Additionally, Simulate Standalone is "standalone" mode. No network capability. That means that you cannot have it communicate with other nodes including controllers.

In reply to Lun.Raznik:

As previously advised in the tread the system gives a standalone PPN, as advised previously the configuartion that can be assigned is limited - but is usually sufficient to load particular process areas - which can be useful to evaluate slices of control narrative configuration. These can be swapped by re-assigning and downloading.

If a medium to large sized configuration is needed to be evaluated, then a Simulate Multi-Node system is required - where configuration can be assigned to physical controllers or ASNs. The functionality and licensing of both Simulate Standalone and Simulate Pro (for multi-networks) are explained in the product data sheets : - www2.emersonprocess.com/.../PDS_DeltaV_Simulate.pdf

DeltaV Simulate Systems (Standalone and Multi-Node) can also provide an environment for operator training and evaluation within a non-intrusive and realistic simulated platform. These systems can be used to familiarise operations with out of the box DeltaV, and actual project configuration and HMI. Simulations of various fidelities can be integrated with DeltaV. These can be configured wither DeltaV or by external products and linked by OPC. These can provide a simulation of the plant response - these can range from simple device tie-backs, to a high fidelity simulation of the process plant.

In reply to richardwilliambrooks:

If I understand correctly, DeltaV Simulate Standalone is not PPN. PPN stands for ProPlus networked. DeltaV Simulate Standalone is not even assigned an IP of 10.4.0.6.

In reply to Lun.Raznik:

@Lun.Raznik: The ProPlus is assigned the (Primary) address 10.4.0.6 and for the (not necessarily used) Redundant Connection 10.8.06, also for Simulation licenses.
As a matter of fact the DeltaV is not aware of the license other than by the license itself. It checks the license at the start of downloading. For all other, DeltaV behaves the same as real-life DeltaV systems.
Depending on the simulation license bought, even controllers could be assigned, used and downloaded!
This, however is information not being asked for in the opening question...

In reply to Maarten van der Waal:

I believe this is an important information. The OP was asking for DeltaV Simulate Standalone with SIS. DeltaV Simulate Standalone as far as I know does not set the IP of the ProPlus to 10.4.0.6 and it does not work with other DeltaV nodes.

Or maybe I am confused :)