SOE Recorder Users Guide, v3.1

Triconex
Sequence of Events Recorder

Version 3.1
SOE Recorder
User’s Guide
Triconex
An Invensys Company
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Companies,
names and data used in examples herein are fictitious unless otherwise noted. No
part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written
permission of Triconex.
©2001 Triconex. All Rights Reserved.
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Corporation.
Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
Triconex is a registered trademark of Triconex in the USA and other countries.
TriStation 1131 and Tricon are trademarks of Triconex in the USA and other
countries.
All other brands or product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective owners.
Document No. 9720081-002

Printed in the United States of America.
CONTENTS
Preface ................................................................................................................... vii

How This Guide is Organized ...................................................................... vii
Related Documents ...................................................................................... viii
How to Contact Triconex ............................................................................. viii
Requesting Technical Support .................................................................... ix
Gathering Supporting Documentation ....................................................... ix
Contacting Triconex Technical Support .................................................... ix
Telephone ........................................................................................... x
Fax ...................................................................................................... x
E-mail .................................................................................................. x
Training ........................................................................................................... x
Chapter 1 Triconex SOE Functionality ........................................................ 1

Overview of Functionality .............................................................................. 2
Overview of Tasks .......................................................................................... 4
Tasks in TriStation ..................................................................................... 4
Tasks in SOE Recorder ............................................................................. 4
Sample TriStation Application ...................................................................... 6
Chapter 2 SOE Tasks in TriStation ............................................................... 7

Overview ......................................................................................................... 8
Using Time Synchronization ......................................................................... 9
Different Time Stamps for the Same Event ............................................... 9
For Trident Users ..................................................................................... 10
For Tricon Users ...................................................................................... 10
Setting Controller Addresses ...................................................................... 11
Using Default Addresses ......................................................................... 11
Trident Defaults ................................................................................. 11
Tricon Defaults .................................................................................. 12
SOE Recorder User’s Guide

iv
Addressing Methods for Trident Controllers ............................................ 12

Method 1 ........................................................................................... 12
Method 2 ........................................................................................... 12
Method 3 ........................................................................................... 13
Addressing Methods for Tricon Controllers ............................................. 13
Method 1 ........................................................................................... 13
Method 2 ........................................................................................... 14
Method 3 ........................................................................................... 14
Configuring SOE Blocks ............................................................................. 15
Overview ................................................................................................. 15
Block Types ............................................................................................. 16
Block Size ................................................................................................ 17
Using Blocks with Tricon DCS Modules .................................................. 17
ACM .................................................................................................. 17
SMM .................................................................................................. 17
Estimating Available Memory .................................................................. 18
Defining SOE Block Properties ............................................................... 19
Assigning Event Variables to SOE Blocks .............................................. 20
Designating a Trip Variable ..................................................................... 21
Selecting Display Options ....................................................................... 22
Adding SOE Function Blocks to a Project ................................................ 24
Programming Notes ................................................................................ 24
SOESTRT (SOE Start) ............................................................................ 25
SOESTOP (SOE Stop) ............................................................................ 26
SOECLR (SOE Clear) ............................................................................. 27
SOESTAT (SOE Statistics) ..................................................................... 28
Downloading the SOE Project .................................................................... 29
Rules for Downloading ............................................................................ 29
Download Change ............................................................................ 29
Download All ..................................................................................... 29
Reserving Memory for Extra Blocks ........................................................ 29
Chapter 3 Tasks in SOE Recorder ............................................................. 31

Overview ....................................................................................................... 32
Installing SOE Recorder .............................................................................. 33
Hardware and Software Requirements ................................................... 33
Communication Module .................................................................... 34
Requirements for SOE Workstation .................................................. 34
Connecting the PC Cable ................................................................. 34
Installing SOE Recorder .......................................................................... 35
Uninstalling a Previous Version ............................................................... 36
Copying the SOE Definition File ................................................................. 37
Specifying IP Addresses ............................................................................. 38

v
Setting Options for Event Retrieval ............................................................ 40

Display Options for Point Properties ........................................................ 40
Periodic Snapshots .................................................................................. 42
Shift Snapshot ................................................................................... 43
File Naming ....................................................................................... 43
Auto Snapshot Options ............................................................................ 44
On Trip Event .................................................................................... 44
Maximum Events Per File .................................................................. 44
Event File Directory .................................................................................. 45
Auto Export to a Journal File .................................................................... 46
Errors During Export .......................................................................... 47
Retrieving Events ......................................................................................... 48
Before Starting ......................................................................................... 48
Manually Saving Snapshots ..................................................................... 51
Adding and Removing Nodes .................................................................. 52
Analyzing Event Data ................................................................................... 53
Find Events .............................................................................................. 53
Copy Events ............................................................................................. 54
Filter and Sort Events .............................................................................. 54
Filters Tab ......................................................................................... 54
Sort Tab ............................................................................................. 55
Save Snapshot ......................................................................................... 56
Export Events ........................................................................................... 57
Select Display Options ............................................................................. 58
View Event Data ...................................................................................... 58
Print Reports ............................................................................................ 59
Standard Report ................................................................................ 59
Custom Reports ................................................................................ 59
Understanding Communication Errors ...................................................... 61
Lack of Response .................................................................................... 61
Unrecoverable Errors ............................................................................... 61
New TriStation Project Downloaded ........................................................ 61
Appendix A Summary of SOE Tools ............................................................. 63

Menus and Submenus ................................................................................. 64
Table of SOE Commands and Tools .......................................................... 65
Shortcut Keys ........................................................................................... 65
Message Bar ................................................................................................. 68
Shortcut Menu .......................................................................................... 69
Status Bar ..................................................................................................... 69
During Event Retrieval ............................................................................. 69
During Event Analysis .............................................................................. 70

vi
Glossary ................................................................................................................ 71
Index ...................................................................................................................... 75

Preface
Understanding the sequence of events that leads to unsafe process conditions and
possible shutdowns may be essential to your safety application. To help you
retrieve and analyze these events, Triconex control systems offer integrated SOE
functionality using the TriStation 1131 Developer’s Workbench and SOE
Recorder.
This user’s guide explains how to set up the SOE features in your Triconex control
system. The following topics are discussed:
• Understanding the interaction of the controller, TriStation, and SOE
Recorder
• Enabling a TriStation project for event collection
• Installing SOE Recorder and using it to retrieve, save, and analyze event
data
How This Guide is Organized

This guide is organized as follows:
• Chapter 1, “Triconex SOE Functionality” — Explains how Triconex
controllers, TriStation projects, and SOE Recorder work together to detect
and record events.
• Chapter 2, “SOE Tasks in TriStation” — Explains how to use TriStation to
set up time synchronization, set the IP addresses of controllers, configure
SOE blocks and assign event variables to blocks. Describes SOE function
blocks that start and stop event collection and discusses download
considerations.
• Chapter 3, “Tasks in SOE Recorder” — Describes hardware and software
requirements for SOE Recorder; provides installation instructions; explains
how to retrieve, save, and analyze event data; explains how to export event
data to dBASE IV files; and describes reporting features.

viii Related Documents
• Appendix A, “Summary of SOE Tools” — Describes the menus and

commands available in SOE Recorder.
Related Documents
The following manuals contain information related to SOE Recorder:
• TriStation 1131 Developer’s Guide for Trident Systems
• TriStation 1131 Developer’s Guide for Tricon Systems
• Trident Communication Guide
• Network Communication Module User’s Guide
• Advanced Communication Module User’s Guide
• Safety Manager Module User’s Guide
How to Contact Triconex

You can obtain sales information and technical support for Triconex products from
any regional customer center or from corporate headquarters. To locate regional
centers, go to the Global Locator page on the Triconex Web site at:
http://www.triconex.com.

Requesting Technical Support ix
Requesting Technical Support

You can obtain technical support from any regional center and from offices in
Irvine, California and Houston, Texas. If you require emergency or immediate
response and are not a participant in the System Maintenance Program (SMP), you
may incur a charge. After-hours technical support is billed at the rate specified in
the current Customer Satisfaction Price List.
Requests for support are prioritized as follows:
• Emergency requests are given the highest priority
• Requests from SMP participants and customers with purchase order or
charge card authorization are given next priority
• All other requests are handled on a time-available basis
Gathering Supporting Documentation

Before contacting corporate technical support, please try to solve the problem by
referring to the Triconex documentation. If you are unable to solve the problem,
obtain the following information:
• Error messages and other indications of the problem
• Sequence of actions leading to the problem
• Actions taken after the problem occurred
• If the problem involves a Triconex controller, obtain the model numbers
and revision levels for all affected items. This information can be found on
the modules, in the System Log Book, or on the TriStation Diagnostic
Panel.
• If the problem involves software, obtain the product version number by
selecting the About topic from the Help menu.
Contacting Triconex Technical Support

If possible, you should contact your regional customer center for assistance. If you
cannot contact your regional center, contact technical support for the type of
system you are using, either ESD systems or Turbomachinery systems.
Please include the following information in your message:
• Your name and your company name
x Training
• Your location (city, state, and country)

• Your phone number (area code and country code, if applicable)
• The time you called
• Whether this is an emergency
Note If you require emergency support and are not an SMP participant, please
have a purchase order or credit card available for billing.
Emergency calls are responded to on a 24-hour daily basis.
Telephone
Toll-free number 866-PHON IPS (866-746-6477), or
Toll number 508-549-2424
Fax
Send your request to the Technical Support Manager.
Toll-free number 800-325-2134, or
Toll number 949-885-3375
E-mail
ips.csc@invensys.com
Training
In addition to this documentation, Triconex offers in-house and on-site training.
For information on available courses, please contact your regional customer center.

CHAPTER 1
Triconex SOE Functionality
This chapter provides basic information about the integrated sequence of events
(SOE) functionality available in Triconex controllers.
Topics include:
“Overview of Functionality” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
“Overview of Tasks” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
“Sample TriStation Application” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 Overview of Functionality
Overview of Functionality
Understanding the sequence of events that leads to unsafe process conditions and
possible shutdowns may be essential to your safety application. For Triconex
controllers (Tridents and Tricons), an event is the state change of a Boolean
variable from True to False or from False to True. A Triconex controller can collect
events and record the date, time, state, and variable name of each in SOE blocks
that reside in the controller’s memory. The following figure shows how Triconex
controllers, TriStation, and SOE Recorder work together to provide sequence of
events functionality.
Tristation 1131
Developer’s Workbench Sequence of
Events Data
File (*.SED)
SOE Blocks Snapshot
dBASE IV File
ASCII Text File
Event
Variables
SOE Recorder Online
SOE SOE
Function Definition
Blocks (.SOE) File
.SOE File
Analysis
.SOE File
Reports
Downloaded TriStation Projects
Enabled for SOE
Networked Triconex Controllers
CM CM
Tricon
N N
Node 02
M M M C C
P P P M M
A B C 1 2
MP MP
Trident Node 01 Trident Node nn

Overview of Functionality 3
To enable event data to be detected by the controller, you must define the event
variables and SOE blocks in your TriStation project. In addition, your project must
include SOE function blocks that start event collection. After you download an
SOE-enabled project to the controller, TriStation creates an SOE definition file that
contains the SOE block definitions.
To retrieve events with SOE Recorder, you must connect the SOE workstation to
a communication port on a Triconex controller. (You can also retrieve events from
a Triconex controller with an SOE program on a non-Triconex external device.)
You must use TriStation to set the IP address of the controller and you must specify
the address in SOE Recorder.
SOE Recorder can simultaneously retrieve event data from as many as 32
networked controllers, assuming that IP addressing has been done correctly. SOE
Recorder queries all the controllers on the network to determine which downloaded
TriStation projects include SOE blocks. If a project includes one or more SOE
blocks, SOE Recorder opens the appropriate SOE definition file and begins
retrieving events from the associated controller.
While your TriStation project is running, SOE Recorder allows you to analyze
events online as it retrieves them from the controllers. You can also save snapshots
of events that cover specific periods of time before or after trips have occurred. In
addition, SOE Recorder allows you to generate reports of event data, and export
event data to dBASE IV and ASCII text files.
Chapter 1 Triconex SOE Functionality

4 Overview of Tasks
Overview of Tasks
To set up SOE functionality in a Triconex control system, you must complete tasks
in TriStation and in SOE Recorder. This section provides an overview of those
tasks.
Tasks in TriStation
The SOE tasks done in TriStation include:
• “Using Time Synchronization” on page 9
• “Setting Controller Addresses” on page 11
• “Configuring SOE Blocks” on page 15
• “Adding SOE Function Blocks to a Project” on page 24
• “Downloading the SOE Project” on page 29
For more information, see Chapter 2, “SOE Tasks in TriStation.”
Tasks in SOE Recorder

SOE Recorder tasks must be completed after your TriStation project has been
configured for SOE and downloaded to the controller. The tasks include:
• “Installing SOE Recorder” on page 33.
• “Copying the SOE Definition File” on page 37.
• “Specifying IP Addresses” on page 38.
• “Setting Options for Event Retrieval” on page 40.
• “Retrieving Events” on page 48.
• “Analyzing Event Data” on page 53.
For more information, see Chapter 3, “Tasks in SOE Recorder.”
The following figure shows how the tasks in TriStation and SOE Recorder are
related. The figure depicts a typical order for performing the tasks.

Overview of Tasks 5
General TriStation Tasks SOE Tasks in TriStation
Design Control System
Add SOE Function

Create Executable Elements Blocks to Programs
Configure Modules
and Communication Ports
Set Up Time
Synchronization Define SOE Blocks
Specify IP Address
of Controller
Declare Program Instances Assign Event Variables

to SOE Blocks
Declare Tagnames
Designate a Trip Variable
Connect Program Variables

to Tagnames Select Display Options
SOE Recorder Tasks
Install SOE Recorder

Test the Project on a PC
Connect SOE PC to Port

Download the Project
on Communication Module
TriStation Sets IP Specify IP Addresses

Addresses on Network of Controllers
TriStation Creates Copy SOE Definition File

SOE Definition File
Set Options for

Event Retrieval
Retrieve Events
Analyze Event Data
Chapter 1 Triconex SOE Functionality

6 Sample TriStation Application
Sample TriStation Application

The TriStation 1131 Developer’s Workbench provides sample projects for Tricon
(ExSoe.pt2) and for Trident (TdSoe.pt2). These projects include:
• SOE function blocks in a program
• Multiple SOE blocks with event variables assigned to them
With each project, you can generate a sample SOE definition file which supplies
point properties for the event variables. After downloading the project to the
controller, you must copy the SOE definition file to the NT Workstation where
SOE Recorder is installed. Without this file, SOE Recorder cannot retrieve events
from the controller. For more information, see “Copying the SOE Definition File”
on page 37.

CHAPTER 2
SOE Tasks in TriStation
This chapter explains how to set up and control event collection in a TriStation
project.
Topics include:
“Overview” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
“Using Time Synchronization” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
“Setting Controller Addresses” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
“Configuring SOE Blocks” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
“Adding SOE Function Blocks to a Project” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
“Downloading the SOE Project” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

8 Overview
Overview
This chapter explains how to prepare a TriStation project for use with SOE
Recorder. The following tasks are included:
• Using time synchronization (Optional)
• Setting the IP addresses of controllers Required)
• Configuring SOE blocks (Required)
• Adding SOE function blocks (Required)
• Downloading (Required)
Triconex controllers have a time synchronization feature which you can set up in
TriStation to ensure synchronous time-stamping of events by multiple controllers.
In a network, you can synchronize the clock of each controller with a designated
controller, with an external device, or with both. This feature must be used if you
are retrieving events for shutdown analysis.
In SOE Recorder, you must specify the IP address of each controller from which
events are going to be retrieved. Before you can do this, the addresses must be set
using TriStation. If default addresses are used, these are set when you download
the TriStation projects (assuming the projects are configured correctly). If you
cannot use default addresses, this chapter briefly describes the available addressing
methods.
To enable event collection, you must configure SOE blocks and assign event
variables to them. You can configure SOE blocks to provide continuous event
information to external devices on a network, or you can configure them for limited
operation when your controller is not on a network. The event variables must be of
type BOOL and their states can be displayed with names and colors that you define.
You can designate one variable in a TriStation project as the trip variable which
notifies the operator that a trip has occurred.
TriStation provides function blocks you can use to start and stop event collection
for specific SOE blocks, check the status of an SOE block, and clear the values of
an SOE block. You must use the start function block (SOESTRT) to start event
collection. The other SOE function blocks are optional.
If you are downloading your TriStation project for the first time, you must use a
Download All command. If your project has already been downloaded, the type of
download command you should use depends on the type of changes made to the
SOE blocks, and whether you want to reserve memory for SOE blocks to be added
in the future. The SOE definition file is included in the download to provide

Using Time Synchronization 9
information to SOE Recorder about the SOE blocks and event variables. For more
information, see “Copying the SOE Definition File” on page 37.
Using Time Synchronization

Triconex controllers have a time synchronization feature which can ensure
synchronous time-stamping of events by multiple controllers. In a network, you
can synchronize the clock in each controller with the master node (the controller
with the lowest node number) or with an external device that writes time values to
a TriStation project. In a combination approach, the master node can accept time
adjustments from an external device whose time then prevails for all controllers on
the network. The time synchronization feature must be used if you are collecting
events for shutdown analysis.
You can verify whether the polled controllers are in sync by checking the SOE
Recorder message bar. Each day, SOE Recorder compares its clock with the clock
of each controller from which event data is being collected. If a controller’s clock
is out-of-sync with the SOE Recorder clock by five minutes or more, this
information is displayed in the message bar.
Different Time Stamps for the Same Event

In a network of Triconex controllers, one point can be connected to more than one
controller. If that point is represented by event variables in more than one
TriStation project, when an event occurs the SOE time stamps might be slightly
different for the various controllers. You must determine whether this disparity is
acceptable for your process by considering the following information.
In a typical network, Triconex controllers synchronize their time with the master
node (the controller with the lowest node number) within plus or minus 25
milliseconds. A controller recognizes events on a scan basis and time-stamps each
event at the beginning of the scan. Because the scans of the various controllers on
the network are not synchronized, the same event can be logged by two controllers
with different time stamps. The worst-case difference is the longer scan time plus
25 milliseconds.
Chapter 2 SOE Tasks in TriStation

10 Using Time Synchronization
For Trident Users

Trident controllers on an Ethernet network can use either the NET1 port or the
NET2 port on the Communication Modules (CMs) for time synchronization. For
instructions, see the Trident Communication Guide.
For a Peer-to-Peer network that includes both Trident and Tricon controllers,
Triconex suggests using the NET1 port for your network connection. The reason is
that Tricon controllers can do Peer-to-Peer communication only at 10 megabits per
second and that is the only speed available on NET1.
For Tricon Users

Tricon controllers on an Ethernet network must use the NET1 port on their
communication modules and Peer-to-Peer protocol for time synchronization. (The
controllers are not required to communicate with each other using Peer-to-Peer
Send and Receive function blocks in their TriStation projects.) The Tricon modules
that can be used for network communication are the NCM, ACM or SMM. The
ACM and SMM are used with the Foxboro and Honeywell DCS respectively
which have their own SOE programs. In both of these cases, you should
synchronize the Tricon master node with the DCS so that time stamps in SOE
blocks are synchronous with DCS events.
For instructions, see the following manuals:
• NCM User’s Guide
• ACM User’s Guide
• SMM User’s Guide

Setting Controller Addresses 11
Setting Controller Addresses

To use SOE Recorder, you must specify the IP address of each Triconex controller
from which you want to retrieve events. Before you can do this, the addresses must
be set using TriStation. This section briefly describes IP addressing methods. To
specify the addresses in SOE Recorder, see “Specifying IP Addresses” on page 38.
Using Default Addresses

If you have one controller and one SOE workstation, a network is not involved and
you can use a Triconex default IP address. If you plan to retrieve events from
multiple controllers on a network, the network topology might permit the use of
default addresses. If so, each default address is set on the network when you
download the respective TriStation project, assuming the correct node number and
default address are specified in the project.
Trident Defaults
In a Trident controller, you must install the CM in order to use SOE Recorder. The
left CM and the right CM have different default IP addresses, as indicated in the
following table.
Trinode Default Address Default Address

Number for Left CM for Right CM
01 192.168.1.1 192.168.2.1
02 192.168.1.2 192.168.2.2
03 192.168.1.3 192.168.21.3
: : :
: : :
30 192.168.1.30 192.168.2.30
31 192.168.1.31 192.168.2.31
32 192.168.1.32 192.168.2.32

12 Setting Controller Addresses
Tricon Defaults
In a Tricon controller, you can install either the NCM or the ACM for use with SOE
Recorder. These modules can use the following default IP addresses:
Trinode Default
Number IP Address
01 192.168.1.1
02 192.168.1.2
03 192.168.1.3
: :
30 192.168.1.30
31 192.168.1.31
32 192.168.1.32
Addressing Methods for Trident Controllers

To set the IP address of a Trident controller on an Ethernet network, the controller
must include three MPs and a CM with an Ethernet port connected to the network.
All methods of setting the IP address require you to do the following tasks:
• Connect your Trident controller to the network
• Connect your TriStation PC to the Trident controller
• Configure your TriStation project with an IP address and a node number
that matches the address plug on the MP Baseplate
Method 1
If your network topology permits the use of a Triconex default IP address, specify
the default address that matches the correct Trinode number in your TriStation
project and download to set the address.
Method 2
Ask your Network Administrator to program a RARP server on your local network
with the intended address for your controller. You must provide the MAC address
of the CM which is 40-00-00-00-x-03 where x is the TriNode number of your

Setting Controller Addresses 13
controller. Power up the controller or reset the CM. During initialization, the CM
requests the address from the RARP server. Make sure that your TriStation project
is configured with the correct node number and address, then download.
Method 3
Physically connect your TriStation PC to an MP port and connect the network to a
CM port. Make sure that your TriStation project is configured with the correct node
number and address, then download to set the address. If desired, you can then
physically disconnect TriStation from the MP port and reconnect it to an Ethernet
port on the CM or to the network.
Method 4
Specify the intended address when you configure an Ethernet port on the CM. Use
a default address for your Trinode definition and assign a default address to your
TriStation PC. After downloading, you must reconfigure the Trinode definition to
use the intended address, and reconfigure the address of the TriStation PC.
For detailed instructions, see the Trident Communication Guide.
Addressing Methods for Tricon Controllers

To set the IP address of a Tricon controller on an Ethernet network, the controller
must include three MPs and an NCM or ACM with an Ethernet port connected to
the network. All methods for setting an IP address require that you do the following
tasks first:
• Connect your Tricon controller to the network
• Connect your TriStation PC to the Trident controller
• Configure your TriStation project with an IP address
• Physically set the node number switches on the NCM or ACM that is
installed in the controller
Method 1
If your network topology permits the use of a Triconex default IP address, specify
the default address that matches the correct Trinode number in your TriStation
project and download to set the address.

14 Setting Controller Addresses
Method 2
Ask your Network Administrator to program a RARP server on your local network
with the intended address for your controller. You must provide the MAC address
of the NCM or ACM which is 40-00-00-00-00-x where x is the TriNode number of
your controller. Power up the controller or reset the NCM or ACM. During
initialization, the NCM or ACM requests the address from the RARP server. Make
sure that your TriStation project is configured with the correct node number and
address, then download.
Method 3
Power up the controller or reset the NCM or ACM. During initialization, you can
allow the NCM or ACM to apply a default IP address which matches its Triconex
node number and physical switch setting.
For detailed instructions, see the following manuals:
! WARNING
The physical switch setting of an ACM and NCM must match the Tricon node
number specified in the TriStation project. If there are two ACMs or NCMs in one
logical slot, both must have the same switch setting and same node number. If a
Tricon controller has two logical slots each containing two ACMs and two NCMs
respectively, then all of these modules must have the same switch settings and
same node numbers.

Configuring SOE Blocks 15
Configuring SOE Blocks

The following tasks are included in configuring SOE blocks:
• Estimating available memory (optional)
• Defining SOE block properties (required)
• Assigning event variables to SOE blocks (required)
• Designating a trip variable (optional)
• Selecting display options (optional)
Overview
An SOE block is a data structure that resides in the memory of the Main Processors
for the controllers. The block header contains the block type, the buffer size, and a
list of the event variables assigned to the block. The buffer stores the event entries,
each containing a time stamp and one or more data entries.
Sixteen SOE blocks are available. Using TriStation, you can configure blocks 1
through 14 with any combination of these block types:
Historical — for monitoring current events
First Out — for analyzing events that led to a process upset
External — used by external hosts
Blocks 15 and 16 are Modified External blocks that are reserved for use with the
SMM.
When a block is collecting events and one or more event variables assigned to that
block change state, the MPs write an event entry to the buffer. An event entry
includes the values of all the event variables that changed during the current scan
and a time stamp for the scan which applies to all of the changed variables in the
block. For more information, see the TSAA Quick Reference.
You determine when to start and stop collecting events from the SOE blocks by
adding start and stop function blocks to your TriStation project. For more
information, see “Adding SOE Function Blocks to a Project” on page 24.

16 Configuring SOE Blocks
Block Types
The following table describes typical uses for the available block types and
explains how the MPs manage the buffer-full condition for each type.
Block Operation on
Typical Use
Type Buffer Full
Historical Typically used to monitor current events. The MPs overwrite the
oldest event entries.
First Out Used to analyze events that led up to a The MPs change the
process upset. block’s status from
collecting to stopped and
discard new event entries.
External Typically used by external devices, such as a The MPs discard new
Foxboro or Honeywell DCS. When the MPs event entries.
write an event to the block, they notify the
external device. The external device requests
the data from the MPs and acknowledges the
receipt. When the MPs receive the
acknowledgment, they clear the data from
the block. For more information, see the
user’s manual for your external device and
the following Triconex manuals:
• TSAA Quick Guide
Modified Applies to Blocks 15 and 16, which are used The MPs discard new
External with the SMM only. When the MPs write an event entries.
event to Block 15 or 16, they notify the
SMM. The SMM requests the data from the
MPs and acknowledges the receipt. When
the MPs receive the acknowledgment, they
clear the data from the block. For more
information, see the SMM User’s Guide.
Blocks 1 through 14 cannot be designated as

Modified External blocks.

Block Size
The maximum block size you can define is 20,000 events (320,000 bytes). A
maximum size of 60,000 events (1 megabyte) is allowed across all blocks.
The block size, expressed in multiples of 16 bytes, is the amount of memory that
the MPs reserve for recording event entries. An event entry consists of an eight-
byte time stamp and one or more eight-byte data entries. Each data entry contains
the changed variable’s alias and state. The following figure shows how the MPs
store data in an SOE block:
Scan Number Block

Number of Events Contents
1 1 time stamp
_ data entry
2 2 time stamp
_ data entry
_ data entry
3 1 time stamp
_ data entry
Using Blocks with Tricon DCS Modules

This section describes some considerations that apply when you configure SOE
blocks for use with the ACM or SMM. This section is for Tricon only.
ACM
If you configure a block for use with the ACM, the Foxboro I/A Series system will
configure the event variables for this block. The only additional configuration you
can do in TriStation is to specify a type of External and an appropriate size. For
more information, see the ACM User’s Guide.
SMM
If you use SMM, blocks 15 and 16 are specified as Modified External blocks which
are reserved for use with the SMM. For more information, see the SMM User’s
Guide.

Estimating Available Memory

The maximum size you can define for one SOE block is 20,000 events (320,000
bytes). The maximum size allowed across all blocks is 60,000 events (1 megabyte).
This task is optional.
▼ To estimate available memory:

1 Create your TriStation project, but do not configure the SOE blocks.
2 Go to the Control Panel and use the Download All command to download your
project to the controller.
3 Run your project by selecting the Run command on the Commands menu.
4 Go to the Diagnostic Panel and look at the System Overview window (Trident)
or System Configuration window (Tricon) to find the amount of Free Memory
in the controller.
Free memory = _____________
5 Determine how much memory you want to reserve for future modifications to
your project.
Reserved memory = _____________
6 Compute the amount of memory available for SOE blocks by subtracting the
Reserved Memory (step 5) from the Free Memory (step 4).
SOE block memory = _____________
7 To compute the maximum number of events, divide the reserved memory by 16.
Events (maximum) = _____________
8 Use the Configuration editor to define your SOE blocks and use the Download
All command again.
9 Make sure Free Memory is greater than or equal to Reserved Memory.

Defining SOE Block Properties

This task is related to the general TriStation task of configuring hardware and can
be completed at the same time. This task is required.
▼ To define SOE block properties:

1 From the Configuration editor, expand the SOE Configuration icon to display
the placeholders for Blocks 1 through 16.
2 To open the Properties box called SOE Block Definition, double-click a block
number as shown in the following example:
3 Select the Block Type as EXTERNAL, FIRST OUT, or HISTORY. For

descriptions of the block types, see “Block Types” on page 16.
4 Enter a Title and a Buffer Size. Click the Confirm button.
Note To change the type of an SOE block and the variables assigned, you can use
the Download Change command. To add new SOE blocks or change the buffer size
of existing blocks, you must use the Download All command.
5 Repeat these steps for the each block you want to configure.

Assigning Event Variables to SOE Blocks

Before you can assign event variables, you must have defined SOE block
properties. This task is required. For more information, see “Defining SOE Block
Properties” on page 19.
▼ To assign event variables to SOE blocks:

1 From the Configuration editor, click the SOE Configuration icon to display all
of the Tagnames (variables) defined for points which are SOE-configurable.
These include BOOL Inputs and BOOL Aliased Memory variables.
2 To open the Properties dialog box, select the desired variable and double-click
it. If you select multiple variables, click the Properties Box tool in the toolbar.
3 On the SOE Block Select tab, check the block numbers to which you want to
assign the selected variables, as shown in this example:
4 Repeat these steps to assign other event variables to SOE blocks.

Designating a Trip Variable

A trip is a shutdown of the controlled process, or a portion of the controlled
process. In a TriStation project used for safety shutdown, a trip variable is an
aliased tagname whose state transition causes SOE Recorder to automatically
create a trip snapshot. A TriStation project can have only one trip variable, but it
can apply to all of the blocks. If a project requires several variables related to trip
conditions, these variables must be evaluated in combination to determine the final
state of the trip variable. This task is optional.
When a trip event occurs, SOE Recorder can automatically create a trip snapshot.
This snapshot is a file of events that occurred x minutes before a trip and y minutes
after a trip, based on TriStation settings. For more information, see “Auto Snapshot
Options” on page 44.
Before you can designate a trip variable, you must specify the properties for at least
one SOE block and assign event variables to the block.
1 From the Configuration editor, double-click the SOE Configuration icon to
open the dialog box called SOE Trip Variable, as shown in the following
example:
2 Select the Trip Tag Name from the list of event variable names and choose a
Trip State of true or false.
3 Set the Time Before Trip and Time After Trip in minutes. The minimum time
for each of these limits is two minutes; the maximum time for each limit is ten

minutes. Setting these limits creates a window of time that SOE Recorder will
use to create a trip snapshot.
Selecting Display Options

For each event variable, you can determine how to display the state of the variable.
These display options help identify alarm conditions. This task is optional.
▼ To select display options for event variables:

1 From the Configuration editor, click an SOE block under the SOE
Configuration icon.
2 To open the Properties dialog box, select the desired event variable and double-
click it. If you select multiple event variables, click the Properties Box tool on
the toolbar.
3 Click the Monitor tab to display the Monitor Display Options.
4 Enter the names for the TRUE State Name and FALSE State Name and select
colors for the TRUE and FALSE Colors, as shown in the following figure.

Note In a Trident project, the Properties dialog box for an event variable includes
only the SOE Block tab and the Monitor tab. You can make other types of changes
to event variables in the Trident Points window.
5 To save the settings, click the Confirm button. (To return to the default setting,
click the Default button.)
6 Repeat these steps to set display options for other event variables.
Note To revert to the default values, click the Default button.

24 Adding SOE Function Blocks to a Project
Adding SOE Function Blocks to a Project

This section describes function blocks that control and verify event collection for
SOE blocks. The start function block (SOESTRT) must be added to your program
to identify the SOE blocks where events are to be collected. The other SOE
function blocks are optional.
SOESTRT Starts event collection for a specified SOE block (Required)

SOESTOP Stops event collection for a specified SOE block (Optional)
SOESTAT Checks status of a specified SOE block (Optional)
SOECLR Clears a specified SOE block (Optional)
Every SOE function block includes the following inputs and output parameters:
Parameter Description
CI (Control Input) Enables operation of the function block.
If CI is False, there is no operation—in other words, the
outputs and internal state of the function block do not
change.
BLOCK (input) Specifies the SOE block number (1 - 16).
CO (Control Output) Indicates completion of the operation with no errors.
If CO is false, the SOE block number is out of range; a bad
parameter error results; and the STAT parameter returns a
value of 0 (zero).
STAT (output) Returns the status of the specified SOE block after
completion of the operation.
Programming Notes
To properly execute the SOESTRT, SOESTOP and SOECLR function blocks, a
program should turn the CI input On for only one scan. If you leave CI on for more
than one scan, SOE Recorder will generate another event for every scan. For more
information, see the ExSOE.pt2 sample project on the TriStation CD.
If you are programming with the Structured Text (ST) language, you must use
conditional statements to execute SOESTRT, SOESTOP and SOECLR. For more
information, see the TriStation 1131 Developer’s Guide.

Adding SOE Function Blocks to a Project 25
SOESTRT (SOE Start)

The SOESTRT function block starts event collection for the designated block. The
Main Processors write an SOESTRT time-stamp entry to the buffer and change the
state of the designated block from not started or stopped to collecting. The MPs use
these initial values as the basis for comparison during subsequent scans. If the
SOESTRT operation is successful, the returned status is 1, which indicates the
block is collecting data.
This function block must be executed for each SOE block you want to collect
events from.
Note The SOESTRT function block is executed for only one scan, which means
the resulting STAT output is only valid for that scan.
Parameter Parameter Data

Description
Type Name Type
CI BOOL Control input which enables operation
Inputs
BLOCK DINT The SOE block number (from 1 to 16)
CO BOOL Control output which indicates completion
STAT DINT Status of block after completion of function:
0 = Block is not started or not configured
Outputs with type and size
1 = Block is collecting data
2 = Block is stopped or cleared
3 = Block is full

SOESTOP (SOE Stop)

The SOESTOP function block stops event collection for the designated block,
writes an SOESTOP time stamp into the buffer, and changes the state of the block
from collecting to stopped. No further events are collected until the next SOESTRT
function block is executed. If the SOESTOP operation is successful, the returned
status is 2, indicating that event collection is stopped.
This function block is not required, but is recommended following each start
function block.
Note The SOESTOP function block is executed for only one scan, which means

Description
Type Name Type
Inputs
3 = Block is full

Adding SOE Function Blocks to a Project 27
SOECLR (SOE Clear)

The SOECLR function block clears the buffer of the designated SOE block,
removes all entries from the block, and writes an SOECLR time stamp into the
buffer. You must stop event collection using the stop function block before
clearing the block. If the SOECLR operation is successful, the status is 2,
indicating the block has been cleared. If event collection was not stopped before
the SOECLR operation was attempted, the status is 0, 1 or 3.
This function block is optional.
Note The SOECLR function block is executed for only one scan, which means

Description
Type Name Type
Inputs
3 = Block is full

SOESTAT (SOE Statistics)

The SOESTAT function block returns the status of the designated SOE block, the
number of eight-byte entries that are used, and the number of eight-byte entries that
are free.
This function block is optional.

Description
Type Name Type
Inputs
with type and size
Outputs 1 = Block is collecting data
3 = Block is full
FREE DINT Number of unused eight-byte entries in block
USED DINT Number of filled eight-byte entries in block

Downloading the SOE Project 29
Downloading the SOE Project

Before you download and run your TriStation SOE project, you should consider
the following:
• Rules for downloading
• Reserving memory for extra SOE blocks
Rules for Downloading

The type of download command that is required depends on the type of changes
made to the SOE blocks. The following describes the appropriate commands for
each type of change:
Download Change
If you change the type, title, or event variable list of an SOE block, you can use the
Download Change command.
Before using the Download Change command, you must stop event collection
using the SOESTOP function block. Then you must copy the new SOE definition
file to the SoeConfig directory associated with SOE Recorder.
Download All
If you add new SOE blocks or change the buffer size of an existing SOE block, you
must use the Download All command.
Reserving Memory for Extra Blocks

To reserve memory for an extra block, you can create a block with the type and size
configured, but without event variables. When you download the TriStation
project, it will reserve memory. Later, you can assign event variables to the
reserved block using the Download Change command in the Control Panel.

30 Downloading the SOE Project

CHAPTER 3
Tasks in SOE Recorder
This chapter explains how to use SOE Recorder to retrieve and analyze sequence
of event data.
Topics include:
“Overview” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
“Installing SOE Recorder” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
“Copying the SOE Definition File” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
“Specifying IP Addresses” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
“Setting Options for Event Retrieval” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
“Retrieving Events” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
“Analyzing Event Data” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
“Understanding Communication Errors” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

32 Overview
Overview
SOE Recorder can simultaneously retrieve event data from as many as 32
networked Tricon or Trident controllers. You can use this event data to identify the
causes of shutdowns, define corrective actions and procedures for preventive
maintenance, and solve other process-control problems.
To use SOE Recorder, you must specify the correct IP address of each Triconex
controller from which you want to retrieve events. Before you can do this, the IP
addresses of the controllers must be set on the network. Ideally, you can get the
addresses that have been set from your Network Administrator. If you cannot, see
“Setting Controller Addresses” on page 11 for more information.
SOE Recorder accumulates events in an event file until a trip occurs or the
maximum allowable number of events occurs. SOE Recorder can also save
snapshots for periods that you specify, such as snapshots that reflect each shift of
a plant’s operation. During event retrieval, you can manually save an intermediate
snapshot of event data at any time.
To analyze the event data, SOE Recorder includes tools for finding events and
copying them to other Windows applications, filtering and sorting saved event
data, specifying the display of point properties for event data, and viewing the
properties of individual events. SOE Recorder also allows you to export event data,
either manually or automatically, to dBASEIV or ASCII text files. A report engine
and standard report are also included.
SOE Recorder tasks must be completed after your TriStation project has been
enabled for SOE and downloaded to the controller. The tasks include:
• Installing SOE Recorder
• Copying the SOE Definition File
• Specifying IP addresses
• Setting options for event retrieval
• Retrieving
• Analyzing event data

Installing SOE Recorder 33
Installing SOE Recorder

This section provides hardware and software requirements and includes
instructions for installing SOE Recorder.
Hardware and Software Requirements

To set up your system for event retrieval, you need the following:
• Any of the following Triconex controllers
Triconex Controllers Main Processor

Tricon version 9.4 Model 3006
Trident version 1.2 Model 3101
• TriStation 1131 Developer’s Workbench, version 2.0 or greater

• A communication module as an interface to the controller
• A PC which runs on the Windows NT operating system and has SOE
Recorder installed (called the SOE workstation)
Note The Tricon model 3007 MPs do not have sufficient memory to be used with
SOE Recorder.
Chapter 3 Tasks in SOE Recorder

34 Installing SOE Recorder
Communication Module
The type of communication module installed in a Triconex controller determines
whether event retrieval can be done by SOE Recorder or by a DCS application. The
following table describes which type of communication modules can be used with
SOE Recorder or with a DCS utility.
Model Communication Module Name Use with: Controller

3201 Trident Communication Module (CM) SOE Recorder Trident
4329 Network Communication Module SOE Recorder Tricon
(NCM)
4609 Advanced Communication Module SOE Recorder Tricon
(ACM) or
Foxboro I/A
Series system
4409 Safety Manager Module (SMM) Honeywell TDC Tricon
3000 DCS
Requirements for SOE Workstation

The SOE workstation must meet the following minimum requirements:
• Windows NT-certified PC
• Pentium™ III (minimum)
• Microsoft Windows NT Version 4.0, Service Pack 5 (minimum)
• 128 Mbyte RAM (minimum)
• 125 Mbyte free hard disk space
• CD-ROM drive
• NT-certified network adapter card
Connecting the PC Cable
For Trident Controllers

To use SOE Recorder with a Trident controller, you need a CM. Connect your SOE
workstation cable to an Ethernet cable on the CM, or to a network that is connected
to the CM. For instructions, see the Trident Communication Guide.

Installing SOE Recorder 35
For Tricon Controllers

To use SOE Recorder with a Tricon controller, you need an NCM or ACM.
Connect your SOE workstation cable to the NET2 port on the NCM or ACM front
panel, or to a network that is connected to the NCM or ACM. For more information
about network connections, see the NCM User’s Guide.
If you are using an ACM or SMM with a DCS utility for event retrieval, see the
ACM User’s Guide or the SMM User’s Guide.
Installing SOE Recorder

You can install and run SOE Recorder on the same PC as TriStation or on a
different PC. (The PC must it meets the minimum requirements listed in
“Hardware and Software Requirements” on page 33.)
To uninstall a previous version, see “Uninstalling a Previous Version” on page 36.
To install SOE Recorder, you must be logged on to NT either as an Administrator
or as a user with administrative privileges.
▼ To install SOE Recorder:

1 Exit any open applications.
2 Place the SOE Recorder CD in the CD ROM drive.
3 From the Start menu, select Settings.
4 Click the Control Panel icon.
5 Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
The Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box is displayed.
6 Click the Install/Uninstall tab.
7 Click the Install button.
8 Follow the instructions given in the Installation Wizard.
Triconex recommends installing SOE Recorder in the default destination
directory, which is c:\Program Files\Triconex\TcxSoe.
9 To restart your computer when the installation has finished, select Yes. To
restart your computer sometime later, select No.
10 To complete the installation of SOE Recorder, click OK.

36 Installing SOE Recorder
SOE Recorder is now installed on your computer. To start it, select Triconex
Sequence of Events from the Triconex shortcut of your Programs menu.
Uninstalling a Previous Version

You should uninstall any previous version of SOE Recorder before installing a new
version.
▼ To uninstall a previous version:

1 From the Start menu, select Settings.
2 Click the Control Panel icon.
3 Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
The Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box is displayed.
4 Click the Install/Uninstall tab.
5 Select Triconex Sequence of Events and click the Add/Remove button.
The Confirm File Deletion dialog box is displayed, asking you to confirm
deletion of the selected application and all its components.
6 To delete, click Yes or press Y.
The Remove Programs from Your Computer dialog box is displayed while the
previous version is uninstalled.
7 When the message “Uninstall successfully completed” is displayed, click OK.
(If this message is not displayed, contact your system administrator for help in
uninstalling the program.)
8 To close the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, click OK when the
uninstall is finished.
You are now ready to install the new version of SOE Recorder. For instructions,
see “Installing SOE Recorder” on page 35.

Copying the SOE Definition File 37
Copying the SOE Definition File

When you download an SOE-enabled TriStation project, TriStation creates an SOE
definition file in the directory where the TriStation project file resides. The SOE
definition file contains SOE block definitions and point properties for the event
variables assigned to the SOE blocks. Before you can use SOE Recorder to retrieve
events, you must copy the SOE definition file from the TriStation project directory
to the SoeConfig directory on SOE Recorder. If you do not, events cannot be
retrieved by SOE Recorder.
TriStation’s naming convention for the SOE definition file includes the first eight
characters of the TriStation project name, the major version number, minor version
number and time code. An example is:
SOE_EX_9_0_33F4CE47.SOE
SOE Recorder cannot retrieve event data for a particular version of a TriStation
project running in the controller unless you provide the SOE definition file for the
same version.
! WARNING
Do not rename the SOE definition file under any circumstances. Renaming it will
prevent SOE Recorder from retrieving event data.

38 Specifying IP Addresses
Specifying IP Addresses
To use SOE Recorder, you must specify the correct IP address of each Triconex
controller from which you want to retrieve events. Before you can do this, the IP
addresses of the controllers must be set on the network. Ideally, you can get the
addresses that have been set from your Network Administrator. If you cannot, see
“Setting Controller Addresses” on page 11 for more information.
If you are using one Triconex controller and one workstation running SOE
Recorder, specifying a default address supplied by TriStation and SOE Recorder is
sufficient. If you want SOE Recorder to retrieve events from multiple controllers
on a network, you must specify the IP addresses that are used by the controllers on
the network.
▼ To specify IP addresses in SOE Recorder:

1 In SOE Recorder, close any existing event files that are open. The addresses you
specify apply to the next event file you create.
2 Select the Options command on the Tools menu, then select the
Communications tab.
3 Click the Trinode number for the desired controller, then click the Modify
button as shown in the following screen.

Specifying IP Addresses 39
To understand how Trinode names and numbers are specified, see “Setting
Controller Addresses” on page 11.
4 Change the Node Name if desired, then type the required TCP/IP Address and
click OK.
5 Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each Trinode from which you want to retrieve events.
6 Click OK to exit the Options dialog box.
7 To begin retrieving events, see “Retrieving Events” on page 48.

40 Setting Options for Event Retrieval
Setting Options for Event Retrieval

You can use the default settings for event retrieval or customize the options that are
listed in the following table. Instructions for customizing are included in this
section.
Options Description
Display options for point Specifies the event properties to display
properties
Periodic snapshot Specifies a snapshot based on a time period
Specifies a snapshot based on a trip event or a
Auto snapshot
maximum number of events
Event File Directory Specifies where to store the event files
Auto export to a journal file Automatically exports events to a file
TCP/IP addresses on the network Specifies TCP/IP addresses for controllers
Display Options for Point Properties

The columns in an event file represent the point properties assigned to event
variables in TriStation and contained in the SOE definition file. The Display option
allows you to specify which point properties you want to display.
You can do the following:
• Dynamically reconfigure the column display of point properties during live
event retrieval.
• Specify column display options for each event file.
When you create an event file, the column display settings specified for that file are
automatically applied to the next file you create, unless you change the settings.
Adjustments you make to column widths while an event file is open are saved when
you close the file.

Setting Options for Event Retrieval 41
▼ To change the column display:

1 From the Tools menu, select the Options command.
2 Click the Display tab of the Options dialog box.
The AutoScroll
option can only be
used with live event
retrieval, not with
saved event files.
3 To include a column in the display check it. To remove a column from the
display, clear the checkbox. To organize the columns, select the column to be
moved and click the Up or Down button.
4 If you want your event data to scroll continuously during live event retrieval,
check the AutoScroll option. This option is only available during live event
retrieval.

Periodic Snapshots
The Periodic Snapshop option allows you to determine whether a file of events is
taken during a specific time period.
▼ To specify a periodic snapshot:
From the Tools menu, select the Options command then select the Mode tab. A
screen similar to the following is displayed.
Periodic
Snapshots
The following types of periodic snapshots can be retrieved:
None Does not take a periodic snapshot

Shift Snapshot Takes a snapshot based on weekday and weekend shift periods
that you define
Daily Snapshot Starts at 12:00 midnight
Ends at 12:00 midnight the next day
Weekly Snapshot Starts at 12:00 midnight on Sunday
Ends at 12:00 midnight the following Sunday
Monthly Snapshot Starts at 12:00 midnight the first day of the month
Ends at 12:00 midnight the first day of the next month

Shift Snapshot
A shift snapshot retrieves events based on time periods you specify, which can
include up to three weekday shifts and three weekend shifts.
▼ To specify the Shift Definitions periods:

1 From the Tools menu, select the Options command then select the Mode tab.
2 Select the Shift Snapshot option, then specify the start and stop times for shifts.
The name that SOE Recorder gives to a shift snapshot is the SED filename,
concatenated with the date and time of the snapshot and the extension “_S.SED.”
File Naming
Periodic snapshot files are SED files that include the date and time of the snapshot
and one of the following file extensions:
• _D.SED for Daily Snapshot
• _W.SED for Weekly Snapshot
• _M.SED for Monthly Snapshot
• _S.SED for Shift Snapshot
A sample filename for a weekly snapshot is Node7_19970613_10:20:15_W.SED.
The parts of the filename have the following meanings:
Node7_ 19970613_10:20:15_ W.SED

User-defined name of Date and Time of
Weekly Extension
event file (.SED file) Snapshot

Auto Snapshot Options

The Auto Snapshot option automatically saves a snapshot when a trip occurs or
when a specified number of events occurs. You can have snapshots taken when
either or both situations occur.
▼ To specify an auto snapshot:
From the Tools menu, select the Options command then select the Mode tab. The
options are described following the screen.
Auto Snapshots
On Trip Event
If you select the On Trip Event option, SOE Recorder automatically saves a trip
snapshot when a trip occurs. A trip snapshot is a file of events that occurred x
minutes before a trip and y minutes after a trip, according to settings in TriStation.
SOE Recorder adds the extension “_T<node #>.SED” to the filename for the trip
snapshot. For information on setting the time before and after a trip, see
“Designating a Trip Variable” on page 21.
Maximum Events Per File

If you select the On Max Events option, SOE Recorder automatically saves a
snapshot based when the number of events specified in The Maximum Events per

File field occurs. SOE Recorder can store a maximum of 100,000 records. You can
specify a lower number.
When the specified number is reached, SOE Recorder does the following:
• Saves an auto snapshot file with an extension of “_O.SED”
• If necessary, removes old records and adds new records
Event File Directory

The Event File Directory option allows you to specify the directory where SOE
Recorder stores the event files.
▼ To specify the event file directory:
From the Tools menu, select the Options command then select the Mode tab.
Files that SOE Recorder automatically stores in this directory include periodic
snapshot files, auto snapshot files, and trip event files.
The default Event File Directory is:
<drive letter>:\Program Files\Triconex\TR1SOE\SoeData

Auto Export to a Journal File

The Auto Export option allows you to automatically export event data to a dBASE
IV or ASCII journal file. You can enable this option before or after you begin
retrieving events. If you select this option, event data are exported to the specified
file every 30 seconds.
To export events, SOE Recorder must have exclusive access to the journal file. If
another application accesses the file for several minutes, SOE Recorder waits until
the file is free to resume the export activity.
If you move a journal file from the original directory, SOE Recorder automatically
creates a new journal file in the directory of origin.
▼ To automatically export event data:

1 From the Tools menu, select the Options command and click the Auto Export
tab.
2 To enable the option, check Auto Export to a journal file as shown in the
following screen.
Auto Export option
3 Select the format for the journal file by clicking the dBASE IV or ASCII
Delimited Text option.
4 Specify the absolute path for your journal file, including a filename. Use the
browse button if needed.

To ensure that any dBASE IV application can open this file, you should limit the
filename to eight characters.
If you don’t specify a filename, SOE Recorder uses the name JOURNAL. If you
don’t specify a path, SOE Recorder uses the SoeData directory under the
directory where you installed the SOE Recorder executable.
5 To save the setting, click OK.
If SOE Recorder is already retrieving events, it begins exporting events to your
journal file every 30 seconds. Otherwise, SOE Recorder begins exporting event
data as soon as event retrieval begins.
Errors During Export

If errors occur during the automatic export of event data, SOE Recorder places a
status file called JOURNAL_STATUS.TXT in the same directory as the journal
file. Error codes in the status file are as follows:
Error Code Description

AUTOEXPT_0001 Not enough diskspace. SOE Recorder
cannot export any more events.
AUTOEXPT_0002 SOE cannot get exclusive access to the
journal file.
AUTOEXPT_0003 The journal file is invalid. SOE must
create a new one.

48 Retrieving Events
Retrieving Events
You can retrieve events from one or more controllers by creating an event file and
using the Begin Event Retrieval and End Event Retrieval commands. When you
create a new event file, SOE Recorder looks for controllers that are connected to
the network. If the controller is connected and the SOE definition file matches the
SOE definition in the SoeConfig directory, you can retrieve events from it.
Before Starting
Before starting event retrieval, make sure the following tasks are done:
• The SOE definition file must be copied from the TriStation project directory
to the SoeConfig directory for SOE Recorder. You must do this for each
controller you want to retrieve data from. For more information, see
“Copying the SOE Definition File” on page 37.
• IP addresses must be specified for the controllers from which you are going
to retrieve events. For more information, see “Specifying IP Addresses” on
page 38.
• The options for event retrieval should be set. For more information, see
“Setting Options for Event Retrieval” on page 40.
▼ To retrieve events:
1 To create an event file, select the New command from the File menu or click the
New icon from the Toolbar. The Create New SED File dialog box is displayed:
2 Enter a name for the sequence of events data file and click Create.

Retrieving Events 49
If you do not enter SED as the file extension, it is automatically appended to the
file name.
The SOE Retrieve dialog box is displayed. It lists the names of controllers
(nodes) that are connected to your network, as shown here.
If a controller is not on the list, it might not be connected to the network or the
SOE definition file might be missing from the SoeConfig directory.
3 To specify a controller to retrieve events from, click the checkbox next to the
node name. You can select only those nodes that have a filename in the SOE
Configuration File column.
Note If the status is “No response” in the Status column, it means SOE Recorder
could not connect to the node. If the status is “No SOE Data,” it means SOE
Recorder is connected to the node, but no SOE blocks have been configured.
4 To begin retrieving events, go to the Command menu and select Begin Event
Retrieval or click the Begin Event Retrieval button.
Begin Event
Retrieval SOE Recorder displays events in the event file as they are retrieved from the
controller, as shown in the following screen.
If you have checked the AutoScroll option, the list automatically scrolls as
events occur. For information on setting this option, see “Display Options for
Point Properties” on page 40.

Event retrieval continues until you select the End Event Retrieval command or
at the end of a snapshot period.
5 To stop retrieving events, go to the Command menu and select End Event
Retrieval on the Command menu or click the End Event Retrieval button.
End Event
Retrieval

Retrieving Events 51
Manually Saving Snapshots

The Save Snapshot command allows you to manually save a snapshot file of the
current events up to present moment. To use this command, you should be
retrieving event data.
You can also use this command to take a snapshot from a saved event file. To select
specific events, you can use the Sort and Filter commands before saving the
snapshot.
▼ To manually save a snapshot:
From the Tools menu, select Save Snapshot, specify a filename and click Save.

Adding and Removing Nodes

The Add/Remove Nodes feature allows you to add or remove controllers (nodes)
from the list of controllers being polled by SOE Recorder. You can do this at any
time during event retrieval.
If the connection to a controller is lost during event retrieval, SOE Recorder
removes the check mark from the node name in the Add/Remove Nodes dialog
box. After the connection is restored, you must check the node name if you want
to retrieve more events from that controller.
▼ To add or remove nodes from the list:

1 From the Commands menu, select Add/Remove Nodes. (This command is only
available during event retrieval.)
A screen similar to the following is displayed:
The node names displayed in this dialog box are the ones you checked in the
SOE Retrieve dialog box prior to beginning event retrieval. For more
information, see page 48.
2 To remove a node, clear the check mark. Event retrieval from this controller
stops.
3 To add a node (retrieve more events from a controller), check the node name.

Analyzing Event Data 53
Analyzing Event Data

The following commands can help you analyze event data:
• Find events
• Copy events
• Filter and sort events
• Save snapshot
• Export events
• Select display options
• View data for specific events
• Print reports
Find Events
The Find Event command allows you to search the current event file for a single
event that occurred at or after a time you specify.
Find Event
▼ To find an event:
1 From the Tools menu, select Find Event and enter the date or date and time as
shown on the following screen.
(You do not need to enter the slashes or colons—SOE Recorder enters them for
you automatically.)
2 Click Find.

54 Analyzing Event Data
Copy Events
The Copy Events command allows you to copy selected event data and paste it to
another Windows application. You can only copy one screen of data at a time.
Copy Event
▼ To copy events:
1 Select the event or events to be copied.
2 From the Tools menu, select Copy Event. Paste the data to another Windows
application.
Filter and Sort Events

The Filter and Sort Events command allows you to customize the presentation of
data in an event file. After customizing, you can save the data by using the Save
Snapshot command.
Filters Tab
The Filters tab allows you to limit the events which are displayed for an event file.
Leaving a field blank means that all values for that property are displayed.
▼ To filter events:
1 From the Tools menu, select Filter and Sort Events then select the Filters tab.

2 Enter the date and time in the following format:

mm/dd/yyyy—hh:mm:ss
(You do not need to enter slashes or colons—SOE Recorder enters them
automatically.)
3 Enter the Node and Block as integers separated by commas, dashes or a
combination of both. Do not enter the alphanumeric names that may have been
assigned to controller nodes and SOE blocks in TriStation.
4 In the Group and Tag fields, specify point properties that are assigned to event
variables in TriStation.
• In the Alias field, you can enter either a single alias or a range of aliases
(two aliases separated by a dash). Use commas, dashes or a combination of
both.
• In the Tag Name field, you can enter only one name for an event variable,
although you can use wildcard characters if desired. (For more information,
see “Wildcard Characters” on page 55.)
5 In the Variable State field, enter the alphanumeric State Name (other than On or
Off) associated with an event variable (tagname). For more information, see
“Selecting Display Options” on page 22.
Wildcard Characters
Wildcard characters can help you filter events according to their Group 1, Group
2, Tag Name and Variable State properties:
• Use an asterisk (*) for any text string
• Use a question mark (?) for any single character
Sort Tab
The Sort tab allows you to determine the sort order for events as either of the
following:
• In Ascending or Descending order according to the ASCII character set
• In a customized order based on point properties by selecting properties from
the Sort By and Then By lists

▼ To sort events:
From the Tools menu, select Filter and Sort Events then select the Sort tab.
After applying Filter and Sort criteria, you can use the Save Snapshot command to
capture event data in its new presentation.
Save Snapshot
The Save Snapshot command allows you to create a snapshot from a saved event
file. This command can be used to save a copy of an event file or to save a
customized version of an event file.
▼ To save a snapshot:
1 Open a saved event file.
2 If desired, customize the event data by using the Filter and Sort command (from
the Tools menu).
3 From the Tools menu, select Save Snapshot. Specify a filename and click Save.

Export Events
You can manually export events from a saved event file to a journal file that has
one of the following formats.
Database or File Format Filename Extension

Any dBASE IV application DBF
Comma-delimited ASCII text records TXT
A DBF file can be opened by dBASE IV applications such as Microsoft Excel, or

imported into dBASE IV applications like Microsoft Access. A DBF file may be
many times larger than the saved event file.
Manual export consists of opening a previously saved event file and exporting the
event data it contains.
▼ To export events:
1 From the File menu, select the Open command and select an event file to be
opened.
2 From the Tools menu, select the Export Events command.
3 Enter a filename for the journal file, as shown in the following screen:

4 Select one of the following file types from the list:

• dBASE IV (*.DBF)
• ASCII Delimited Text (*.TXT)
If you do not specify an extension, SOE Recorder uses DBF as the default.
5 Click the Export button and wait while SOE Recorder writes the event data.
Select Display Options

The Display tab of the Options dialog box allows you to change the column display
of point properties for the events in an event file. The columns in event files
represent the point properties assigned to event variables in TriStation. SOE
Recorder uses all available point properties in the SOE definition file, however, the
Display tool allows you to specify only the event properties you want to display.
For more information, see “Display Options for Point Properties” on page 40.
View Event Data

You can view information about a selected event by opening a saved event file and
double-clicking the event. The Event Data dialog box displays all of the point
properties that were set in TriStation for the selected event variable, even if you
turned off the column display for some properties in SOE Recorder.

Print Reports
SOE Recorder includes the Crystal Report Engine for printing, which allows you
to print a standard Sequence of Events List or any custom-generated reports created
with dBASE-compatible report tools.
Standard Report
In the standard report named Sequence of Events List, all point properties set in
TriStation are displayed.
▼ To print the standard report:

1 From the File menu, select the Print Setup command and specify the printer to
be used.
2 From the File menu, select the Open command and select an event file.
3 From the File menu, select the Print command from the File menu or toolbar.
Select Sequence of Events List in the Print Report dialog box.
4 Select either the Preview button or the Print button.
Custom Reports
To design custom reports which are printable from SOE Recorder, you need a DBF
file exported from SOE Recorder and one of the following:
• Crystal Reports Version 5.0 or later from Seagate
• Any other dBASE-compatible report generator
For more information about report generators, see the user’s guide for the report-
generating package of your choice.
Note Triconex strongly recommends using Crystal Reports because the Crystal
Report Engine for printing is integrated with SOE Recorder.
▼ To create a custom report:

1 In SOE Recorder, export an event file to a dBASE file named
“~SOERPT.DBF”. For export instructions, see “Export Events” on page 57.
2 In the report-generating package, open ~SOERPT.DBF and create a custom
report format.

3 Save the custom report format in a file with a name of your choice and the
extension .rpt.
4 Before starting SOE Recorder, place the report file in the SoeReports directory
to make the new report name appear automatically in the Print Reports dialog
box.
5 If SOE Recorder is already running, exit the application before placing the
report file in SoeReports. SOE Recorder will recognize the new report file when
you restart it.
6 In SOE Recorder, select the Print command to access the Print Reports dialog
box.
7 Confirm that the report filename appears in the Print Reports dialog box.
8 If desired, select the report name and click the Print or Preview button.

Understanding Communication Errors 61
Understanding Communication Errors

During event retrieval, several types of communication upsets may occur, such as
the following:
• Lack of response to SOE Recorder’s request for event data
• An unrecoverable error
• Downloading of a new TriStation project to an active controller on the
network
Lack of Response
Lack of response to SOE Recorder’s request for data is often recoverable. SOE
Recorder periodically checks each active connection to a node for time-outs. If
more than five seconds elapse after SOE Recorder sends a request to a controller
on the network, the request is considered lost and SOE Recorder re-sends the same
request. In this case, SOE Recorder is operating normally and does not notify you
of the circumstances.
Unrecoverable Errors
In the case of an unrecoverable error such as a disconnected cable, SOE Recorder
re-sends its request to the affected controller three times. If there is no response,
SOE Recorder stops sending requests to this controller and notifies you in the
message bar.
New TriStation Project Downloaded

If a new TriStation project is downloaded to an active controller on the network,
SOE Recorder immediately stops sending requests to this controller and notifies
you in the message bar. Despite this problem, SOE Recorder continues to retrieve
event data from all unaffected controllers without interruption.

62 Understanding Communication Errors

APPENDIX A
Summary of SOE Tools
To help you retrieve and analyze event data, SOE provides a variety of tools.
Topics include:
“Menus and Submenus” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
“Table of SOE Commands and Tools” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
“Message Bar” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
“Status Bar” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

64 Menus and Submenus
Menus and Submenus

The following diagram displays SOE menus associated with event retrieval and
event analysis. For more information, see “Table of SOE Commands and Tools”
on page 65.
Menus and Commands

of the Triconex SOE Recorder
File Command Tools Window Help
New... Begin Event Retrieval Event Retrieval Cascade Help Topics

Open... End Event Retrieval Save Snapshot... Tile Horizontally About SOE...
Close Add/Remove Node Options... Tile Vertically
Save Close All
Save As... Show Message Bar
Print... Mode Tab <recent files>
Print Setup... Retrieval Mode
<Recent files> Auto-Snapshot
Maximum Event per File
Exit
Shift Definitions
Communication Tab
Network TCP/IP Addresses
Display Tab
ListView
Auto-Scroll
Default
Auto Export Tab
dBASE IV File
ASCII Delimited Text File
Event Analysis
Find Events... Filter Tab
Copy Event Date & Time
Node & Block
Filter & Sort Events...
Group
Save Snapshot...
Tag
Export Events... Status
Options... Sort Tab
Order (Ascending or Descending)
Sort By <descriptor>
Then By <descriptor>
Then By <descriptor>

Table of SOE Commands and Tools 65
SOE Recorder also provides a message bar with a pop-up menu. In addition, the
Status Bar provides useful information about SOE operation. For more
information, see “Message Bar” on page 68 and “Status Bar” on page 69.
Table of SOE Commands and Tools

The following table describes the menu commands associated with SOE functions
and the toolbar buttons which correspond to these commands.
Shortcut Keys
In the SOE main menu, underlined characters are shortcut keys to be used in the
typical manner of Windows applications:
• For a menu item, use ALT + <UNDERLINED CHARACTER> to open the menu.
• For a command within a menu, type the <UNDERLINED CHARACTER> of the
desired command.
Note For each toolbar button, a ToolTip description is displayed if you rest the
cursor on the button.
File Menu
Command Description
New... Allows you to create a new sequence of events data (.sed)
file for retrieving events from the controller. Also allows you
to over-write existing event files.
Open... Opens a previously saved event file for analysis.
Close Closes an open event file.

Save Saves all events that are currently stored in a temporary
buffer to the event file.
Save As... Saves the current event file under another filename that you
specify.
Appendix A Summary of SOE Tools

66 Table of SOE Commands and Tools
File Menu
Command Description (continued)
Print... Prints the current event file.
Print Setup Allows you to select a printer and modify its settings.
Exit Closes the current event file and exits SOE Recorder.
Command Menu
Command Description
Begin Event For the current file, starts the retrieval of event data from the
Retrieval selected controllers.
End Event For the current file, stops the retrieval of event data from the
Retrieval selected controllers.
Add/Remove During event retrieval, allows you to add or remove Triconex
Nodes nodes for event polling.
Tools Menu—For Event retrieval

Command Description
Save During event retrieval, allows you to save a copy of all event
Snapshot... data collected up until this moment.
Options... Allows you to set the Periodic Snapshot mode, Auto
Snapshot options, Maximum Number of Events per File,
and Event File Directory.
The Communication tab allows you to add, modify or delete
TCP/IP addresses for Triconex nodes.
The Display tab allows you to change the column display for
event files and turn Auto-Scroll on or off.
The Auto Export tab allows SOE to automatically export
events to a journal file every 30 seconds.

Table of SOE Commands and Tools 67
Tools Menu—For Event Analysis

Command Description
Find Event... Allows you to find an event that occurred at or after a
specific time. You must enter the time in this format:
mm/dd/yyyy
You can also use a more detailed format:
mm/dd/yyyy.hh:mm:ss
Copy Events Allows you to copy selected event data and paste it into
another Windows application such as a word processor.
Filter and Sort Filtering limits the events that are displayed in a saved
Events event file.
Sorting displays events in ascending or descending order
and in a customized sequence of point properties.
Save Snapshot... During event retrieval, allows you to save a copy of all the
data collected up until this moment.
Export Events... Allows you to export a saved event file to a dBASE IV or
ASCII text file.
Options... The Display tab allows you to change the column display
for event files.
The Mode, Communication and Auto Export tabs are not
applicable during event analysis mode.
Window Menu
Command Description
Cascade Cascades all open windows and displays the title bar for
each. To bring a window to the top, select it from the list
on the menu or click on the window’s title bar.
Tile Horizontally Displays any open windows horizontally on the screen.
Useful for showing several windows simultaneously.
Tile Vertically Displays any open windows vertically on the screen.
Useful for showing several windows simultaneously.
Close All Closes all open windows. Prompts you to save any
elements that have been changed since they were opened.
Show/Hide Displays or closes the message bar, which provides useful
Message Bar information during event retrieval.

68 Message Bar
Help Menu
Command Description
Help Topics Opens the Help dialog box with tabs for Contents, Index
and Find.
About SOE Displays the current version number of SOE Recorder and
registered owner information.
Message Bar
During event retrieval, SOE Recorder displays useful information in a message bar
(labelled Messages) at the bottom of the window. Usually, the message bar informs
you of circumstances affecting event retrieval that you could not learn through any
other means. Examples of message content are:
• Oct-17-1997 13:00:07 : TRINODE13 (Node# 13) clock out of sync
(10/17/97 12:52:41).
• Oct-17-1997 13:12:17 : Create Max-Events file
'test1_19971017_131211_O.SED'.
• Oct-17-1997 14:56:12 : TRINODE13 (Node# 13) connection is lost. Node
will be closed.
Note If the connections to all controllers on the network have been lost, SOE
flashes a message about this in the middle of the screen, as well as noting the
information in the message bar.

Status Bar 69
Shortcut Menu
To display the shortcut menu for the message bar, place the cursor in the message
bar and press the right mouse button. The following commands are available:
Command Description
Find... Finds any text in the message bar
Save As... Saves all text in the message bar to a text file
Print... Prints all text in the message bar
Clear... Clears all text in the message bar
Hide Message Bar1 Closes the message bar
1. This command is also available on the Windows menu.
Status Bar
The Status Bar, always displayed at the bottom of the SOE Recorder screen,
provides various types of information depending on whether you are retrieving
events or analyzing event data.
During Event Retrieval

During event retrieval, the Status Bar categories are:
• Number of events collected (dynamically displayed)
• Current operation:
Send Sending a request for event data to Triconex nodes

Recv Receiving event data from Triconex nodes
Stop No communication with any Triconex node
• Periodic Snapshot mode — None, Shift, Daily, Weekly or Monthly

• AutoScroll mode — On or Off
• Workstation time

70 Status Bar
During event retrieval, the Status Bar looks like this:
During Event Analysis

When you are analyzing recorded event data, the Status Bar categories are:
• Help prompt—”For Help, Press F1”
• Stop — No communication with any Triconex node
• FILTER ON/OFF — Filter options for event data are applied or not
• SORT ON/OFF — Sort options for event data are applied or not
• Workstation time
During event analysis, the Status Bar looks like this:

Glossary
.sed file A sequence of events data file. For more information, see event file.
ARP Address Resolution Protocol. A TCP/IP protocol used to obtain the physical
address of a node on an Ethernet network. A client station broadcasts an ARP
request onto the network with the IP address of the target node it wants to
communicate with. The node with that address responds by sending back its
physical address so that packets can be transmitted to it.
Auto Export An SOE Recorder option that automatically exports events to a journal file every
30 seconds.
Auto Scroll An SOE Recorder option that allows continuous scrolling of event data during live
mode event retrieval.
autosnapshot A snapshot of events that SOE Recorder saves automatically either when a trip
event occurs or when the maximum of events per file is reached.
block A data structure that resides in Main Processor memory.
buffer That part of an SOE block in which a Triconex controller stores event entries.
Daily Snapshot A type of periodic snapshot that starts at 12:00 midnight and ends at 12:00
midnight the next day.
event A state change of a BOOL variable that has been assigned to an SOE block.
event retrieval Events are retrieved by SOE Recorder by reading the event data detected by one or
more controllers and storing it on a workstation.
event detection A Triconex controller’s action of storing event data in a buffer for later retrieval by
SOE Recorder.
event variable A BOOL variable defined in a TriStation project whose state changes are detected
by a controller’s Main Processors and retrieved by SOE Recorder.
event file A file which stores events that SOE Recorder retrieves from one or more
controllers. Event file is an abbreviation for sequence of events data (.sed) file.

72 Glossary
exporting events An SOE Recorder feature that exports events to a journal file either manually for a
previously saved event file, or automatically while event retrieval is taking place.
External block A type of SOE block that is typically used by an external host, such as a DCS.
First Out block A type of SOE block used to analyze events that led to a process upset. The Main
Processors change the block’s status from collecting to stopped and discard new
event entries.
Historical block A type of SOE block that is typically used for monitoring current events. The Main
Processors overwrite the oldest event entries in the block.
IP address The unique 32-bit address of a computer attached to an Ethernet network. Every
client and server in an Ethernet network requires an IP address which is either
permanently assigned or dynamically assigned at startup.
journal file A file having the dBASE IV (.dbf) or ASCII text (.txt) format which contains
events exported by SOE Recorder.
MAC address The unique physical address of a network device that is burned into the Network
Interface Card (NIC) of the device when it is manufactured.
manual export A feature that allows manual export of events from a previously saved event file to
a journal file.
manually saved An intermediate snapshot of event data saved by the user during event retrieval.
snapshot
Modified Blocks 15 and 16 which are used with the SMM only.
External blocks
Monthly A type of periodic snapshot that starts at 12:00 midnight the first day of the month,
Snapshot and ends at 12:00 midnight the first day of the next month.
node Any machine on a network. In this user’s guide, node usually refers to a Triconex
controller.
periodic A type of snapshot that SOE saves automatically at the end of a daily, weekly or
snapshot monthly time period.
point A variable in a TriStation project that represents a physical instrument in the user’s
industrial process.
point property A property assigned to a point using the Configuration editor in a TriStation
project. Examples are the tagname, alias and description properties.

Glossary 73
RARP Reverse Address Resolution Protocol. A TCP/IP protocol used by a diskless

workstation to obtain its IP address.
sequence of See .sed file and event file.

events data file
Sequence of A standard report that SOE Recorder can print for any event file.
Events List
shift snapshot A snapshot of events that occur during a time shift of a plant’s operation, based on
user-specified time periods. Three weekday shifts and three weekend shifts are
available.
snapshot A file of event data saved by SOE Recorder according to options set by the user.
There are several types of snapshots: auto snapshots, periodic snapshots, shift
snapshots, manually saved snapshots, and trip event snapshots.
SOE definition A file with the extension .SOE, created by TriStation when an SOE-enabled project
file is downloaded to a controller. The SOE definition file contains SOE block
definitions and point properties for the block’s event variables. Before events can
be retrieved using SOE Recorder, the SOE definition file must be copied to the
SOE workstation.
SOE function Function blocks used in TriStation projects to control and verify event collection
blocks for SOE blocks. The function blocks include: start (SOESTRT), stop (SOESTOP),
clear (SOECLR), and status (SOESTAT).
SOECLR An SOE function block that clears the buffer of the designated SOE block, removes
function all entries from the block, and writes an SOECLR time stamp into the buffer.
SOESTRT An SOE function block that starts event collection for the designated SOE block.
function
SOESTAT An SOE function block that returns the status of the designated block, the number
function of eight-byte entries that are used, and the number of eight-byte entries that are
free.
SOESTOP An SOE function block that stops event collection for the designated block, writes
function an SOESTOP time stamp into the buffer, and changes the state of the block from
collecting to stopped.
tagname An identifying property applied to a point in a TriStation project. The tagname is

usually related to the field instrument to which a point is physically connected.
trip A shutdown of the controlled process, or a portion of the controlled process.

74 Glossary
trip snapshot A snapshot saved automatically by SOE Recorder when the trip variable in a
TriStation project changes state. A trip snapshot contains events that occurred x
minutes before the trip and y minutes after the trip.
trip variable An aliased tagname of type BOOL whose state transition causes SOE Recorder to
automatically create a trip snapshot.
time A method of establishing and maintaining a synchronized, network-wide time

synchronization basis. A Triconex controller’s time is most commonly synchronized with the
master mode in a network of Tricons or Tridents with a Distributed Control System
(DCS).
Weekly A type of periodic snapshot that starts at 12:00 midnight on Sunday and ends at
Snapshot 12:00 midnight the following Sunday.

Index
Symbols buffer for event storage 15

.dbf journal file 57 buffer-full condition of block 16
.RPT extension 60
.SOE extension 73 C
_D.SED extension 43 CI input, SOE function blocks 24
_M.SED extension 43 clear function block 27
_O.SED extension 45 CO output, SOE function blocks 24
_S.SED extension 43 column display of point properties 40–41
_W.SED extension 43 communication modules 34
~SOERPT.DBF file 59 configuring SOE blocks 15–23
contacting Triconex ix–x
A Control Panel in TriStation 18
ACM controllers, lost connection 68
node number switch 13–14 Copy Events command 54, 67
using with DCS utility 17, 34–35 Crystal Report Engine for printing 59
Add/Remove Nodes feature 52 customer support ix–x
Advanced Communication Module. See
ACM. D
Ascending sort order 55 daily snapshot, standard time period 42
ASCII text format for journal file 57 dBASE IV file format 57
automatic export of events dBASE-compatible report generator 59
errors during export 47 DCS utility for SOE
types of journal files 46 communication modules to use 34–35
AutoScroll mode synchronizing Tricon master node 10
selection 41 using External blocks 16
Status Bar category 69 Descending sort order 55
Diagnostic Panel, finding free memory 18
B disconnected cable 61
Begin Event Retrieval command display options
tool description 66 for point properties 40, 58
when used 49 setting in TriStation 22
block header of SOE block 15 downloading
BLOCK input, SOE function blocks 24 rules to follow 29
blocks. See SOE blocks. which command to use 19

76 Index
E Find Event command (continued)

End Event Retrieval command 66 tool description 67
estimating available memory 18 finding events 53
event analysis Free Memory in Diagnostic Panel 18
list of tasks you can do 53 function blocks for event collection 24–28
menus and sub-menus to use 64
procedures 53–60 H
Event Data dialog box 58 hardware requirements for SOE 33
event export Help menu commands 68
automatic 46
manual 57
I
Event File Directory option 45
installing SOE Recorder 35
event retrieval
intermediate snapshot 72
communication errors 61
IP addresses
procedure 48–50
setting for Tricon controllers 13
setting options 40–47
setting for Trident controllers 12
event variables, assigning to SOE blocks
specifying in SOE Recorder 38–39
20
Tricon defaults 12
events
Trident defaults 11
analyzing 53–60
using Triconex defaults 11
copying 54
filtering 54
finding 53 J
retrieving 48–50 journal files of saved events 57
sorting 55
Export Events command 57 M
tool description 67 MAC address
exporting events CM in Trident controller 12
automatic 46 NCM or ACM in Tricon controller 14
manual 57 Main Processors
procedure 57–58 memory reserved for events 17
ExSoe.pt2 sample project 6 models used with SOE 33
extensions writing events to Blocks 15 and 16 16
for periodic snapshots 43 writing events to buffer 15
for sequence of events data files 48 writing SOE time-stamps 25
for shift snapshots 43 major version number, TriStation project
37
F manually saved snapshot 72
File menu commands 65 master node in Triconex network 9
Filter and Sort Events command 54 Maximum Events per File option 44
filter option, status displayed 70 maximum SOE block size 17
Find Event command memory
procedure 53 estimating for SOE blocks 18

Index 77
memory (continued) point properties (continued)

reserving for extra SOE blocks 29 sorting 55
message bar using Group and Tag fields 55
description 68 print engine 59
shortcut menu 69 Print Reports dialog box 60
minor version number, TriStation project printing standard and custom reports 59
37
Modified External SOE block 16 R
monitor display options. See display op- RARP server, setting IP address
tions. Tricon 14
monthly snapshot, standard time period 42 registered owner information 68
N S
NCM Safety Manager Module. See SMM.
node number switch 13–14 sample TriStation project 6
using with SOE Recorder 34–35 Save Snapshot command
Network Communication Module. See creating snapshot from saved event file
NCM. 56
node number, physically setting manually saving a snapshot 51
address plug on MP Baseplate (Trident) tool description 66, 67
12 sequence of events functionality
switches on NCM or ACM (Tricon) diagram 3
13–14 overview 2
nodes (controllers) Sequence of Events List report 59
adding and removing 52 Shift Definition options 43
lost connection 68 Shift Snapshot
extension 43
O specifying time periods 43
On Trip Event option 44 standard time period 42
Options command shortcut keys 65
for event analysis 67 shortcut menu for message bar 69
for event retrieval 66 Show/Hide Message Bar command 67
size of SOE blocks 17
P SMM
periodic snapshot using with Blocks 15 and 16 16–17
mode displayed 69 using with DCS utility 34–35
table of options 42 SOE blocks
point properties assigning variables 20
changing column display 58 block header 15
filtered and sorted in display 67 BLOCK input 24
in SOE definition file 37 changing buffer size 29
setting display options in TriStation 22 defining block properties 19
downloading 29

78 Index
SOE blocks (continued) Sort By option

estimating available memory 18 procedure 55–56
maximum block size 17 status displayed 70
overview 15 sort criteria 56
reserving memory for extra blocks 29 sort order 55
size 17 start function block 25
types 15–16 STAT output, SOE function blocks 24
SOE definition file State Name 22
copying to SoeConfig folder 37 Status Bar
generating for sample project 6 categories during event analysis 70
naming convention 37 categories during event retrieval 69
overview 37 status function block 28
sample name 37 stop function block 26
SOE function blocks stop status
adding to TriStation project 24 during event analysis 70
detailed descriptions 24–28 during event retrieval 69
SOECLR 27 switches, node number 13–14
SOESTAT 28 System Configuration window in TriSta-
SOESTOP 26 tion project 18
SOESTRT 25
SOE functionality T
diagrams 2, 3 tagnames in Tristation 20
overview of tasks 4–5 TdSoe.pt2 sample project 6
SOE Recorder technical support ix–x
installing 35 text file of exported events 46
overview 32 Time After Trip limit 21
table of commands and tools 65–68 Time Before Trip limit 21
uninstalling previous version 36 time stamp
SOE Retrieve dialog box 49 different for same event 9
SOE time stamps 9 of event in SOE block 17
SOE workstation written to buffer by SOESTOP function
comparing to controller’s clock 9 block 26
hardware requirements 34 time synchronization
required operating system 33 overview 9
time on status bar 69–70 rules for Tricon users 10
SOECLR function block 27 rules for Trident users 10
SoeData directory 47 time stamps 9
SoeReports directory 60 time-outs on active nodes 61
SOESTAT function block 28 training x
SOESTOP function block 26 Tricon master node, synchronizing with
SOESTRT function block 25 DCS 10
software requirements for SOE 33 Triconex support ix–x
trip event 21

Index 79
trip snapshot 21
Trip State option 21
TriStation project
examples of SOE features 6
list of SOE-related tasks 4
major version number 37
minor version number 37
U
uninstalling SOE Recorder 36
unrecoverable errors 61
V
version number
of SOE Recorder 68
of TriStation project 37
W
weekly snapshot, standard time period 42
wildcard characters 54
workstation. See SOE workstation.

80 Index

SOE Recorder Users Guide, v3.1

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Triconex

Sequence of Events Recorder

©2001 Triconex. All Rights Reserved.

Crystal Reports is a registered trademark of Seagate Software Company, Inc.

Document No. 9720081-002

Preface ................................................................................................................... vii

Chapter 1 Triconex SOE Functionality ........................................................ 1

Chapter 2 SOE Tasks in TriStation ............................................................... 7

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

Addressing Methods for Trident Controllers ............................................ 12

Chapter 3 Tasks in SOE Recorder ............................................................. 31

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

Setting Options for Event Retrieval ............................................................ 40

Appendix A Summary of SOE Tools ............................................................. 63

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

How This Guide is Organized

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

• Appendix A, “Summary of SOE Tools” — Describes the menus and

How to Contact Triconex

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

Requesting Technical Support

Gathering Supporting Documentation

Contacting Triconex Technical Support

• Your location (city, state, and country)

Emergency calls are responded to on a 24-hour daily basis.

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

Triconex SOE Functionality

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

Networked Triconex Controllers

Trident Node 01 Trident Node nn

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

Chapter 1 Triconex SOE Functionality

Tasks in SOE Recorder

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

General TriStation Tasks SOE Tasks in TriStation

Design Control System

Add SOE Function

Declare Program Instances Assign Event Variables

Connect Program Variables

SOE Recorder Tasks

Install SOE Recorder

Connect SOE PC to Port

TriStation Sets IP Specify IP Addresses

TriStation Creates Copy SOE Definition File

Set Options for

Analyze Event Data

Chapter 1 Triconex SOE Functionality

Sample TriStation Application

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

SOE Tasks in TriStation

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

Using Time Synchronization

Different Time Stamps for the Same Event

Chapter 2 SOE Tasks in TriStation

For Trident Users

For Tricon Users

SOE Recorder User’s Guide

Setting Controller Addresses

Using Default Addresses

Trinode Default Address Default Address

Chapter 2 SOE Tasks in TriStation

Addressing Methods for Trident Controllers