SUMMARY

Industrial Graphics that have been added to Application Objects are not displaying values for attributes when the values to be displayed are relative references like me.attribute. However, the direct references like objectname.attribute work.

APPLIES TO

• InTouch for System Platform

SOLUTION

This issue is potentially caused by an earlier unsuccessful deployment.  It can be resolved by completing the following steps to force a recompile of the InTouch application:

1. Close the InTouch ViewApp and cascade undeploy the ViewEngine from the IDE.

2. Log on the target InTouch node and remove the folders and files in the following folders:
   • C:\ProgramData\ArchestrA\ManagedApp
   • C:\Program Files (x86)\ArchestrA\Framework\Bin\
   • C: \ProgramData\ArchestrA\Cache\PBRefCache.bin

3. Redeploy the ViewEngine and InTouch ViewApp

4. Launch the application in WindowViewer again and the issue gets resolved.

SUMMARY

It is possible to encounter an issue with all the default widgets on the server like Web_Browser and Carousel. When loading the Web_Browser widget, only an IP address is shown. When loading an instance of the Web_Browser widget separately on a different test InTouchViewApp, it loads a RedX with an “Empty” text displayed. Same red X is shown on the Carousel widget.

The following message appears in the OCMC logs:

Error: General load failure: System.IO.EndOfStreamException: Unable to read beyond the end of the stream.

APPLIES TO

• InTouch HMI 2020 R2 P01
• Operations Management Interface 2020 R2 P01

SOLUTION

This issue is caused by having OCL 22.1 ( Operations Control Logger ) installed. To resolve the issue, perform the following steps on each machine with OCL 22.1 and InTouch installed:

1. Open File Explorer.  Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ArchestrA.  Find Dbghelp.dll and rename it to Dbghelp.dll.old

2. Open a separate File Explorer window.  Navigate to this folder: C:\Windows\System32.  Find dbghelp.dll and copy the file.

3. Navigate back to this folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ArchestrA.  Paste dbghelp.dll into this folder.

4. Reboot the server.

5. Open InTouch HMI Application Manager or System Platform IDE.  Find the View App that had the issue before and test if the widget is working.

6. If everything looks good, the Dbghelp.dll.old file in C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\ArchestrA can be deleted.

7. Double check that the ViewApp still works after deleting the old file.

SUMMARY

Cross-node encrypted SuiteLink requires both nodes to be joined to the same System Management Server (SMS) server. In some cases, even if SMS is properly configured, a system may encounter the following error and the encrypted SuiteLink connection will fail, even though a Troubleshooting Scan within the AVEVA Common Service Portal may return without errors:
[Multi-Line Message] - Encrypted SuiteLink connection cannot be established.
Problem: SuiteLink connection request was received from un-authorized node <CLIENTNODENAME>.
Possible Reason: Security configuration on node <CLIENTNODENAME> is incorrect.
Possible Solution(s):
1. Ensure the node designated to be the 'System Management Server' is available.
2. ***[IMPORTANT]*** Ensure your applications are using the same 'System Management Server'.
3. For each node, launch the Configurator Utility -> Select the Management Server -> Press Configure -> Verify that the workflow configured successfully (Green configured Icon)
4. For additional details, refer to the 'Security Configuration' section in the product documentation.

CAUSE

This issue can be caused by the suggested problems in the error itself; however, in this case, if the computer name contains lowercase characters, the above error and symptoms may be encountered.

In Platform Common Services (PCS) 7.0.1, the current implementation assumes the following:

1. Letters in the Windows hostname (or Computer Name, or NetBIOS name) must be all capital letters (numbers are permitted)
2. The hostname part of the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) must be the same as the short hostname

APPLIES TO

• Platform Common Services (PCS) v7.0.1
• Communication Drivers Pack (CDP) 2023
• Application Server 2023
• InTouch 2023
• Historian 2023

RESOLUTION

Rename the computer hostname with all capital letters (A-Z) and numbers (0-9), using a total of 15 or less characters and avoiding Unicode characters.

• All numeric is not a valid name.
• Hyphens and longer names are permitted, but this is not recommended, as not all software and systems support this.

This is considered a best practice, as computer names in certificates are case sensitive, but DNS names are not case sensitive. A hostname query against a computer with a lower-cased name can return an all-caps result, which will not be an exact match when compared to the name in that computer’s certificate due to the difference in casing.

SUMMARY

When migrating a Galaxy from an older version to System Platform 2023, the process hangs without any errors or warning and never completes.

The Log Viewer shows the original aaGR process is gone and a new aaGR process has stated with a process ID 263140.

CAUSE

By default, the migration process handles 500 templates at the same time from the original Galaxy.
If there are more than 500 templates, this may exceed the 3.5 GB that aaGR process can handle, causing a crash as we see in the Log Viewer.

The restarted aaGR process does not proceed with the migration thereafter.

This tech note provides the steps to change the default MaxTemplateCacheSize from 500 templates to 10 to make sure the 3.5 GB limit is not violated.

APPLIES TO

• Galaxy migration to versions
  • 2023
  • 2023 Patch 01
  • 2023 Patch 02
  • 2023 Patch 03
  • 2023 R2

PROCEDURE

1. Create the following registry subkey:

• KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ArchestrA\Framework\GR ( for 64-bit machines )

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ArchestrA\Framework\GR ( for 32-bit machines )

2. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. Type “MaxTemplateCacheSize” for the name of the DWORD, and then press ENTER.

3. Right-click “MaxTemplateCacheSize“, and then click Modify.  In the Edit DWORD Value dialog box, type value 10 and click OK.

4. Reboot the system for the setting to be recognized.

5. Migrate the Galaxy again.

6. After the successful migration, delete the DWORD MaxTemplateCacheSize.

SUMMARY

It is possible that you may experience slow performance in the System Platform IDE when opening or checking in objects.  There could be various reasons why the performance within the IDE could be slow, including compatibility issues with newer version of Microsoft SQL Server.

This tech note provides steps to address the issue from the database setting perspective.

APPLIES TO

• Application Server 2020 R2 and newer
• Windows Server 2019 build 1809 / 2022 build 21H2
• SQL Server 2019 Express / Standard Editions

PROCEDURE

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio.

2. Select the Galaxy database.  Right-click the database and select Properties.

3. In the Properties window, select Options.  In the Compatibility level, select the version of SQL Server that is used on the GR Node.

4. Restart the GR node.

5. If necessary, restart SQL Server Management Studio.  Expand Galaxy database > Tables > dbo.gobject.  Right-click the Indexes folder and select Rebuild All.

6. Repeat step 5 for the following tables:

• dbo.primitive_instance
• dbo.visual_element
• dbo.visual_element_reference
• dbo.visual_element_version

SUMMARY

This Tech Note details the procedure to identify and clear APPCRASH events that appear in the Windows Event Viewer for System Platform components. This can impact any component of System Platform and look like the following:

• Windows Error Reporting: Event Name: APPCRASH P1: GDIWebServer.exe
• Windows Error Reporting: Event Name: APPCRASH P1: AELicServer.EXE
• Windows Error Reporting: Event Name: APPCRASH P1: aahIDAS.EXE
• Windows Error Reporting: Event Name: APPCRASH P1: aahStorage.exe

This issue is caused when AVEVA services that are running rely on other AVEVA services that have been stopped. For example, when performing a software install, such as a Service Pack or Patch upgrade,  “Stop Services” is selected to allow the installation to continue.  If some AVEVA services stay on “Running” with other AVEVA services on “Stopped”, the running services may generate the APPCRASH errors.

These APPCRASH events repeat in the same pattern along with other Windows related APPCRASH events. It is also worth noting that at times excessively large logs error reports can continue to report into Event Viewer because the log files failed to “report”, usually in instances where the machine is not connected to the internet. However, the projects/applications can still be developed and ran at runtime, data values continue to come in, alarms can be acknowledged, etc. The system continues to run as expected. Additionally, LogViewer in OCMC/SMC does not report any errors associated with the APPCRASH events.

APPLIES TO

• Application Server
• InTouch HMI
• Historian Server
• Historian Clients
• License Server/Manager

PROCEDURE

To correct the issue, perform a Disk Cleanup and clear the Windows Error Reporting Queue.

1. Open Windows Explorer.  Right-click on the C: drive and select Properties.

2. Under the General tab, select Disk Cleanup.

3. Check Windows error repots and feedback diagnostics, the click OK.

4. APPCRASH events should stop appearing in the Windows Event Viewer logs.

SUMMARY

When attempting to connect to a Galaxy database with a remote IDE within a workgroup environment, the connection may fail.  The following messages will appear in the OCMC logger:

CRLinkProtDCOM: CRLinkProtDCOMObject::InitializewithCallback - m_pIDcomSrv->InitializeClientCallback is failed with result hr = 0x80070005.
CRLinkClient: CRLinkClientAccess::Connect: User does not have access rights to the Galaxy Repository. Error Code = 0x80070005.

This tech note will show you how to correct the issue by updating the security policy.

Security Considerations

• An unauthorized user could potentially exploit this feature by anonymously listing account names and shared resources and using the information to attempt to guess passwords, perform social engineering attacks, or launch DOS attacks.

APPLIES TO

• AVEVA Application Server 2017 and newer

PROCEDURE

1. Navigate to ‘Local Security Policy.’ Search for ‘secpol.msc’ or ‘Local Security Policy’ to open the interface.

2. Under Local Policies, select Security Options.
3. Locate Network access: Let Everyone permissions apply to anonymous users

4. Double-click to change the setting. Select Enabled (the default setting is “Disabled”).

SUMMARY

With managed InTouch applications, it is possible to encounter a situation where all of the industrial graphics used in the application appear as red “X”s with the error “Graphic Not Available” even though the graphics exist in the Graphic Toolbox.  This tech note will provide two methods to resolve this issue.

APPLIES TO

• InTouch for System Platform

PROCEDURE

Method 1 – Associate Industrial Graphics

1. Open the IDE.
2. Right click on the derived template for the InTouchView application and select Associate Galaxy Graphics.

3. In the popup window that appears, make sure the Include all galaxy graphics with this application checkbox is selected, then click OK.

4. Re-deploy the application. If the problem persists, try Method 2 below.

Method 2 – Re-saving Industrial Graphics

1. Open the IDE.
2. In the Graphic Toolbox, double click on one the graphics that is not showing in the application to open it in the Graphic Editor.

3. Make a small change in the symbol (e.g. move one element 1 pixel to the right, then move it back). This will enable the Save function for the symbol.
4. Save and Close the symbol. Make sure the symbol is checked in to the galaxy.
5. Re-deploy the application. If this resolves the issue for that symbol, repeat the process of any other symbols as needed.

SUMMARY

Migrating a System Platform galaxy from an older version to a newer version can be accomplished using two methods. The first method involves creating a backup of the existing Galaxy and restoring it onto a new computer. The second method method is performing an in-place migration on the same computer.  Please make sure to reference the ReadMe documentation associated with the version you plan on upgrading to in order to ensure all requirements are met before performing the upgrade.

APPLIES TO

• Application Server
• InTouch for System Platform

PROCEDURE

Section 1- Backing Up the Galaxy Using a .CAB File

1. In the Operations Control Management Console (previously called the System Management Console), expand the Galaxy Database Manager. Select the Galaxy you want to backup.

2. Select Action > Backup. Alternatively, you can right click on the Galaxy name and choose the option to Backup.

3. A warning message will pop up.  Confirm there are no write operations being made to the database, then click Yes to continue.

4. Type in a name for the backup (.cab) file and click Save.

5. Once the backup process is complete, click Close.

Section 2 – Migrating a Galaxy to a Newer Version

Option 1 – Migrating to a new computer

1. On the new computer, copy the previously created backup (.cab) file to: C:\Program Files (x86)\ArchestrA\Framework\Bin\BackupGalaxies.

2. Start the System Platform IDE.
3. On the Galaxy connection page, select to create a  New Galaxy, then select your backup file from the list of available Galaxy Types (2023 software version shown).

4. Name the new galaxy and click Create.

5. Once the galaxy creation process is complete, click Close.
6. Connect to the Galaxy. You will be prompted be migrate now. Click Yes to begin.

7. Once the migration process is complete, click Close.
8. If your galaxy includes a managed InTouch application, double click on the derived InTouchViewApp template to open it in WindowMaker. You will be prompted to migrate the InTouch application. Click Yes.

9. Optionally follow the steps to create a backup of the application before migrating.

10. The application will be migrated to the new version and opened in WindowMaker.

Option 2 – Migrating a Galaxy In-Place

1. Download (or copy) the install media for the new version of System Platform onto the Galaxy Repository (GR node) for the galaxy you wish to migrate.  Once the installation media is downloaded ensure the file is Unblocked, then run the setup.

2. You will be notified with a list of installed products to be upgraded. Press OK.

3. Confirm the Operating System of the computer is compatible with the new version of System Platform. To verify this, reference the “System Requirements and Guidelines” section of the Installation Read Me. Click Next.

4. You will not be able to modify the products to be upgraded, so on the next window, just click Next.

5. If you have not already created a backup of your galaxy, you can exit the upgrade process at this point and follow the steps in Section 1 (above) to create a backup.  Otherwise, click Next.

6. Click Upgrade to begin the upgrade process.

7. Once the installation is complete, press Configure.

8. Use the Configurator to configure each install component, using the Install guide as reference for how to configure each setting. After configuring, you must reboot the computer for the changes to take effect. Click Restart Now to begin the reboot.
9. If the GR Node does not include the IDE, repeat steps 1-8 for at least one of the IDE nodes.

10. Open the IDE and connect to the galaxy.  You will be prompted to migrate the Galaxy database and objects to the installed version. Click Yes.

11. Once the migration process is complete, click Close.
12. If your galaxy includes a managed InTouch application, double click on the derived InTouchViewApp template to open it in WindowMaker. You will be prompted to migrate the InTouch application. Click Yes.

13. Optionally follow the steps to create a backup of the application before migrating.

14. The application will be migrated to the new version and opened in WindowMaker.

15. Once the galaxy has been migrated, you can continue to upgrade and re-deploy your remaining development and/or runtime nodes.

SUMMARY

It may become useful to test connectivity to a local or remote SQL Server to verify the connection, or credentials in use. This document was designed to explain the process of testing the SQL connection using a common, and non-software specific method.

APPLIES TO

• Microsoft SQL Server

PROCEDURE

1. The first thing to confirm is that you can see/edit file extensions. Open an instance of Windows File Explorer, click the “View” tab > Options > “Change Folder and Search Options”

2. When the “Folder Options” window opens, select the “View” tab. In the “Advanced settings” section take note of the “Hide extensions for known file types” option.  If it is checked, then un-check it, select “Apply” and then “OK.” If it is already unchecked, then simply select the “Cancel” button.

3. On a blank area of the desktop, right-click, hover over “New”, and select the “Text Document” Option

4. The new document will automatically be in rename mode. Name the document “test.udl” and then hit the “Enter” key on your keyboard.  You will get a prompt asking you to confirm the change to the file’s “type”. Click on the “Yes” button to proceed.

5. You can confirm that the change was successful by simply viewing the file icon. It should have changed to look like the following image.

6. Double-click on the new file. When it opens, select the “Provider” tab.
7. In the “Select the data you want to connect to:” list, select the “Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server” option and click “Next”.

8. You should now be back in the “Connection” tab. Enter the node name for the system with SQL Server that you want to try to connect to, or select it from the drop-down list (this can be local or remote). Then enter valid user credentials or choose Windows Integrated, and finally select the “Test Connection” button.
   NOTE: It is not necessary to select a specific database (item 3 in the “Connection” tab). Simply enter data for items 1 & 2, and then skip directly to the “Test Connection” button.

9. If the connection was successful, then you should receive a confirmation pop-up similar to the following: