How can I retrieve all needed uploads? DV Version 11.3

We are nearing a shutdown and we will upgrade to 13.3.1 during the outage and before this takes place I would like to take care of all of the necessary uploads that relate to controller tuning. Can someone give me an idea of how to do this in an easier manner than going module to module? If it makes any difference, we do not have Excel installed.

14 Replies

  • Right click on each controller and select Upload. This way you will be able to see all module parameters in the particular controller that may or may not need uploading done. This may be better than going from module to module.
  • In reply to mastermadhawa:

    I tried that method, but the issue with that is if I see a controller that has tuning changed not uploaded I cannot pull up the face plate detail to check the current settings before I upload it. It only allows me to work within that current window while it is opened. This may be the easiest way, but I am sure there has to be another option.
  • In reply to Lucky:

    Right click on the Physical Network -> Upload . A pop-up window will ask if you want to select the parameters that you wish to upload .. click yes and then another window called Upload-Multiple Nodes will come up where you can see the current values from the runtime environment and you can select only the ones that you wish to upload.

    Hope this helps.

    Cheers!
  • You can also check the powerup folders on the ProPlus. All online changes are stored there. This is useful if you want to analyise changes before upload. This can allow you to plan what you will upload before running Adrian's correct suggestion above. The files are stored in flat text file. The behaviour of the system is that if you cancel the upload the powerup folders are left as is. If you do upload and select nothing then the powerup folders for online changes for the associated modules are purged. The only real way to check is to use opc usually with excel. You can pull data from the live system via opc. Then use userdefined export to generate the system settings. A simple compare of the two will identify all differences. It is not necessary to use excel, any opc client can get this data.

    We had this suitation on a previous project and wrote a simple vb routine in the graphics interface to export all the tuning values to a text file. A user defined export gave us a list of modules and then we parsed this to send all this data out. Then this can be compared against the offline database.

  • In reply to Steve Linehan:

    Indeed.. be careful with the parameters. The parameters that get left behind will be purged. I've used a similar vb script to keep track of all the changes. You can also use Event Chronicle and filter on the CHANGE records.

    If you open DeltaV Books Online and search for Uploading recorded parameter changes you will find a detailed explanation on the Upload option and several Cautions to consider.
  • In reply to Adrian_:

    Should the upload values be the same as the current values? I am seeing differences between the upload and CVs.
  • In reply to Lucky:

    Online values may be different to upload values. If values are changed by software they are not recorded as upload values. Safest way is to take online values via vb or OPC. Normally system records all changes but if people have being doing changes to powerup files or adjusting parameters by SFC or FBD these can vary. It depends on how you control your system. Take one instance that is different and let us know what these values are. 1. Database value, 2 Upload value, 3. Online value. Also as Adrian says go through the event logs and filter on this parameter. Also export the database and look for something writing to this parameter. Check direct reference, dynamic reference and also alias reference.
  • In reply to Adrian_:

    I am interested to find out more about the scripts you have used to track tuning parameter changes. Could you possibly give more information on how this was accomplished?
  • In reply to timlocke:

    Do a user defined export to create a list of modules to be analysied. Then you use standard vb functions to open that file for reading and read the first tag. Open a second file for write using the same functions. Then use FrsiReadvalue a few time and store the variables to get the data you want. Append the tag then a comma then the values seperated by comma into a string parameter and write it to the output file. CSV format usually works best. This allows it to be opened by excel for comparison with DB values. I just checked and I do not have a copy of the one I wrote. Mabye somebody else can provide. I can recreate this in work tomorrow if you are still stuck. Not at my desk now I am on India time.
  • There is a tool posted on DeltaV Application Exchange to upload all this info into Excel file which can then be reviewed in Excel and/or offline. You would need to have Excel installed for this tool to work however. It has pros and cons but the big one is to just keep in mind that if you take offline, you might be missing changes that occur since the last time you ran the tool.

    If you seach "uploads" under the type "Configuration Tool" you can find this tool. Unsure about if this tool works with your DeltaV revision but I have used it for some different revisions without issues.

    Here is the site if you are unfamilar:
    http://deltav.com/Appsnew/
  • In reply to Matt Stoner:

    You could go a step further with this Excel file. Read in the changes, delete the ones you don't want to upload (SP changes, mode changes, etc.), overwrite the files in the Powerup directory with only the changes you want to upload (tuning changes, alarm changes, etc.) and immediately perform an upload. Of course, back everything up first, and all the above caveats about what is currently in the Powerup file still apply. If you look in the Powerup files, you will notice a significant amount of data can be stored there - much of it mirrors what is stored in the Event Chronicle.

    If you have an Alarm Management package, you may be able to utilize it's functionality for this. These packages can easily track alarm changes, and tuning parameters should be easy to add to the tracking and management functions in the software.
  • In reply to David Nelson:

    This question comes up frequently. I've been through several sites where this is a big concern (submitted an exchange abstract on this topic this year) In my opinion, rather than scripting a solution (we were on our way) that would require file/objectivity/opc access, I'd encourage more end users to submit as an enhancement to the UDEP the need to build this in. The upload parameters dialogue is a start, but a situational awareness console would be my vision.
  • In reply to Youssef.El-Bahtimy:

    It's funny you mention that... We have a v14 UDEP project this year that I believe will help greatly for this very problem... I encourage everyone to come to exchange this year to hear Chuck Campbell and I talk about it at the UDEP presentation, currently scheduled for Tuesday October 13 at 3:00 pm, and Wednesday October 14 at 9:00 am...
  • In reply to Matt Stoner:

    I am interested in the tool you are referring to in this post. Sadly deltav.com/appnew is not working anymore, where can I find the tool?