OrionLXm

User Manual

January 24, 2023

Document Revision J
© 2023 by NovaTech, LLC
 OrionLXm
NovaTech, LLC
13555 West 107th Street
Lenexa, KS 66215
Phone (913) 451-1880
www.novatechautomation.com
orion.support@novatechautomation.com
orion.sales@novatechautomation.com
Data classification: Public use
© Copyright 2009, 2023 by NovaTech, LLC
All Rights Reserved. All NovaTech trademarks are owned by NovaTech, LLC. All other trademarks are
the property of their respective owners.
The NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD) software may be installed on multiple computers as needed
under the following conditions:
▪ The computers must be owned by the end user or its subsidiary.
▪ The NCD installation must be used for an Orion-related project.

All files installed by NCD are protected by copyright and may not be shared with any third party. By installing
NCD on a computer, you agree to these terms and conditions.

Any repairs should be performed by NovaTech.

Disclaimer
This manual contains information that is correct to the best of NovaTech's knowledge. It is intended to be
a guide and should be used as such. It should not be considered a sole source of technical instruction,
replacing good technical judgment, since all possible situations cannot be anticipated. If there is any
question as to the installation, configuration, or use of this product, contact NovaTech, LLC at
(913) 451-1880.
To ensure that the equipment described in this User's Manual, as well as all equipment connected to and
used with it, operates in a satisfactory and safe manner, all applicable local and national codes that apply
to installing and operating the equipment must be followed. Since these codes can vary geographically
and can change with time, it is the user's responsibility to determine which codes and standards apply, and
to comply with them.
Failure to follow the instructions provided in this manual, and/or failure to comply with
applicable codes and safety standards can result in damage to this equipment, damage
to connected devices, and/or serious injury to personnel.
The OrionLXm is not designed nor approved for installation or operation in nuclear facilities.
All links to external websites have been verified as correct and appropriate at the time of the publication of
this document. However, these links and websites, being outside of NovaTech LLC’s control, are subject
to change by their respective owners and may no longer be correct. In this case, please contact
orion.support@novatechautomation.com.
Authorized Representation – European Union
NovaTech Europe BVBA
Antwerpsesteenweg 124/78
2630 Aartselaar, Belgium
Phone +32 (3) 458-0807
Fax +32 (3) 458-1817
General information: info.europe@novatechautomation.com
Technical support: orion.support@novatechautomation.com

The CE version of this product is not available for purchase in Switzerland.

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The documentation for the Orion products is structured as follows.

Manual name (see cover Purpose

page of each manual)
Quick Startup Guide Describes out-of-the-box setup for quick installation.
User Manuals ▪ Description of Orion hardware and hardware options.
▪ OrionLX+ ▪ List of software protocol options.
▪ OrionSX ▪ NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD) software description:
▪ OrionLXm o Installation of software on PC
▪ OrionMX o Information on running NCD
▪ Orion I/O ▪ User interface information for monitoring and maintenance:
o Using the Orion Webpage
o Using MMI console
▪ Setup and operation of the video option (-MMC for OrionLX+, -MMM
for OrionSX)
Software Manuals Software manuals explain all aspects of setup and operation of protocols
such as DNP3 client and software options (Archive, Logic, DA Logic, etc.)
Tech Notes Tech Notes provide solutions for general integration, such as scaling or
setup of RS-485 networks.
Field Instructions Field Instructions provide step-by-step instructions for installation of new
hardware or software in the field.

In the directory with the documentation, the names of the protocol software manuals begin with Protocol,
such as Protocol_DNP3_Client.pdf and software application manuals begin with Software, such as
Software_IEC61131-3.pdf.

See also Appendix F - Additional Documentation for a list and locations of the recommended reference
manuals.

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Styles and Symbols

In this document, fonts, text styles and symbols are used to distinguish standard text from keyboard input,
program text, GUI messages, and hyperlinks as follows. Warnings and safety notices are indicated with
ANSI symbols.

Displayed text or symbol Description

This is normal text.
See OrionMX Setup
www.novatechautomation.com
orion.support@novatechautomation.com
See OrionLX+ User Manual
Minimum value
Name of the data point
Save
if frequency < 60.0 then
<Enter>, <Ctrl>+<G>, <G>
Standard text.
Hyperlink to text in same document.
Hyperlink to website.
Clicking this link starts email client on the PC.
Document name.
Menu item or text displayed by software.
Text to be entered in input field or window.
GUI button to be clicked.
Program code.
Key to be pressed.
This yellow triangle indicates a warning that
must be observed by the users to avoid
possible equipment damage or personal injury.
This yellow triangle indicates an electrical
hazard.

Electrostatic sensitive device requires proper

handling and grounding procedures to avoid
equipment damage.
DANGER indicates an imminently hazardous
situation which, if not avoided, will result in
death or serious injury.
WARNING indicates a potentially hazardous
situation which, if not avoided, could result in
death or serious injury.
CAUTION indicates a hazardous situation
which, if not avoided, may result in minor or
moderate injury.

Note that depending on the Windows® display settings on the computer running NCD, some of the screen
shot details may appear differently than shown in this manual. The screen shots in this manual have been
taken using Windows 10®.

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Table of Contents

I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 17
Introduction to OrionLXm .................................................................................................................. 17
Overview of the OrionLXm User Manual .......................................................................................... 18
Location of Documentation ............................................................................................................... 19
OrionLXm Setup ................................................................................................................................. 20
Setup of OrionLXm IP Address .................................................................................................. 20
Setup using NCD .......................................................................................................................... 20
Setup using OrionLXm Webpage ............................................................................................... 21
Setup Worksheet .......................................................................................................................... 21
Change of Passwords.................................................................................................................. 25
Operation of OrionLXm ...................................................................................................................... 26

II. OrionLXm Hardware ........................................................................................................................... 27

Physical Specifications ...................................................................................................................... 27
OrionLXm Standard Features ............................................................................................................ 29
OrionLXm Options .............................................................................................................................. 29
Part Number Examples ................................................................................................................ 31
OrionLXm Front Panel ....................................................................................................................... 32
Diagnostic LED Description ........................................................................................................ 33
Port A Configuration and Diagnostic ......................................................................................... 36
Power Connections ...................................................................................................................... 37
Digital Input .................................................................................................................................. 39
Changing the Digital Input Voltage .................................................................................. 39
Alarm Output ................................................................................................................................ 41
Ethernet Ports .............................................................................................................................. 41
IRIG-B Port .................................................................................................................................... 44
OrionLXm Optional Cards ................................................................................................................. 45
Changing Communication Card and I/O Card Settings .................................................................. 45
Type S4 Communication Card .................................................................................................... 46
Type T4 Communication Card .................................................................................................... 48
Type F4 Communication Card .................................................................................................... 49
Type IL and IH I/O Cards.............................................................................................................. 51
Inputs ................................................................................................................................... 51
Outputs ................................................................................................................................ 56
Mounting Instructions ........................................................................................................................ 57
OrionLXm Dimensioned Drawings ................................................................................................... 59

III. NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD) .......................................................................................... 60

Introduction to NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD) ............................................................... 60
System Requirements ................................................................................................................. 61
Copyright Information ................................................................................................................. 61
Outline of NCD Sections.............................................................................................................. 61
Installation of NCD.............................................................................................................................. 63
Standard NCD Installation ........................................................................................................... 63

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Passive NCD Installation ............................................................................................................. 63
NCD Default File Information ...................................................................................................... 64
Running NCD ...................................................................................................................................... 66
NCD Main Menu ............................................................................................................................ 66
Quick Access Toolbar ........................................................................................................ 67
File Menu ....................................................................................................................................... 69
Edit Menu ...................................................................................................................................... 74
User Settings - Updates Tab ............................................................................................. 75
User Settings - General Tab .............................................................................................. 76
User Settings - Capture Tab .............................................................................................. 77
Configure Menu ............................................................................................................................ 78
Standard Software Features ............................................................................................. 79
General ................................................................................................................................ 79
Hardware Model Information ............................................................................................. 81
Operations in the Port Setup Windows ............................................................................ 82
Serial Ports ......................................................................................................................... 83
Network Port ....................................................................................................................... 85
NKI – Time Interface ........................................................................................................... 86
Add Ons............................................................................................................................... 89
Accumulator Freeze .................................................................................................. 89
Alarm/Archive/Retentive ........................................................................................... 89
Alias ............................................................................................................................ 90
Configuration Manager Agent .................................................................................. 91
Data Logger ................................................................................................................ 94
Orion Redundancy ..................................................................................................... 95
Points Blocking .......................................................................................................... 95
Pseudo ........................................................................................................................ 95
Pusher ......................................................................................................................... 95
Sensor ......................................................................................................................... 95
System Logger ......................................................................................................... 100
Text Module .............................................................................................................. 100
Hardware I/O ..................................................................................................................... 101
Built-In Standard (SER) ........................................................................................... 101
Optional I/O Cards (IIO) ........................................................................................... 105
Logic .................................................................................................................................. 114
Math & Logic ............................................................................................................ 114
Advanced Math & Logic .......................................................................................... 114
LogicPak ................................................................................................................... 115
Distribution Automation (DA) Logic ...................................................................... 115
IEC 61131-3 ............................................................................................................... 115
Communications Menu.............................................................................................................. 116
Grouping Connections .................................................................................................... 121
Communication Window ................................................................................................. 122
Window Menu ............................................................................................................................. 124
Help Menu ................................................................................................................................... 125
Documentation ................................................................................................................. 126
Protocol Information ........................................................................................................ 127
Control Versions .............................................................................................................. 127
Program Versions ............................................................................................................ 128
System Information .......................................................................................................... 129
About ................................................................................................................................. 129

IV. Orion Webpage ................................................................................................................................. 130

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 130
Orion Login ................................................................................................................................. 132

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Home Tab .......................................................................................................................................... 134
Diagnostics Tab ................................................................................................................................ 135
Diagnostics -> Devices .............................................................................................................. 135
Diagnostics -> DataValues ........................................................................................................ 136
View Input Values ............................................................................................................. 137
Column Options ....................................................................................................... 138
Force Input Value ............................................................................................................. 140
View Output Values .......................................................................................................... 142
Force Output Values ........................................................................................................ 142
View Tagging Archive ...................................................................................................... 144
Diagnostics -> ViewComms ...................................................................................................... 146
Diagnostics -> System ............................................................................................................... 149
Diagnostics -> Logs ................................................................................................................... 153
Alarms Tab ........................................................................................................................................ 156
Archive Tab ....................................................................................................................................... 159
Files Tab ............................................................................................................................................ 163
User Files .................................................................................................................................... 164
Selecting the Active Configuration .......................................................................................... 165
System Files ............................................................................................................................... 166
Settings Tab ...................................................................................................................................... 167
Users ........................................................................................................................................... 169
Change Password ............................................................................................................ 171
Group Management .......................................................................................................... 171
Authentication Rules ................................................................................................................. 173
User Lockout Rules .......................................................................................................... 173
Password Rules ................................................................................................................ 174
Remote Root Login .......................................................................................................... 175
Remote Accounts ....................................................................................................................... 176
Firewall ........................................................................................................................................ 177
Key Management ........................................................................................................................ 181
Create Key ......................................................................................................................... 183
System Log ................................................................................................................................. 184
Networking .................................................................................................................................. 186
General Interface Settings ............................................................................................... 187
Interface(s) Settings ......................................................................................................... 187
Advanced Networking Options ....................................................................................... 188
Static Routing ........................................................................................................... 188
Network Bond(s) ...................................................................................................... 189
Network Bridging ..................................................................................................... 192
Serial Access .............................................................................................................................. 194
Time ............................................................................................................................................. 197
Serial............................................................................................................................................ 201
S4 Communication Card.................................................................................................. 201
T4 Communication Card .................................................................................................. 202
F4 Communication Card .................................................................................................. 203
I/O Card.............................................................................................................................. 203
WebUI .......................................................................................................................................... 204
HMI Tab.............................................................................................................................. 204
Link Bar Tab ...................................................................................................................... 206
Timeouts Tab .................................................................................................................... 207
Page Configuration Tab ................................................................................................... 208
Login Message Tab .......................................................................................................... 210
Database Tab .................................................................................................................... 211

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Alarms ......................................................................................................................................... 212
Notifications ...................................................................................................................... 213
Operations ........................................................................................................................ 213
Text Colors ........................................................................................................................ 214
Background Colors .......................................................................................................... 214
Database ..................................................................................................................................... 214
Tagging ....................................................................................................................................... 216
Cascaded Orions ........................................................................................................................ 220
Services ...................................................................................................................................... 221
Scheduler .................................................................................................................................... 222
Scheduling Tasks ............................................................................................................. 222
Add CSV Task ................................................................................................................... 223
Add FileMover Task ......................................................................................................... 225
Add Config Manager Agent Task .................................................................................... 226

V. Orion MMI .......................................................................................................................................... 227

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 227
Connecting to the Orion MMI .......................................................................................................... 228
OrionLXm Port A ........................................................................................................................ 228
Connecting to the Orion with NCD ........................................................................................... 228
Unlocking a User Account ........................................................................................................ 228
MMI Menus ........................................................................................................................................ 229
File Menu ..................................................................................................................................... 230
File Transfer (PC -> ORION) ............................................................................................ 231
File Transfer (ORION -> PC) ............................................................................................ 232
Make Config File Active ................................................................................................... 233
Delete a File ...................................................................................................................... 234
View a File ......................................................................................................................... 234
Data Menu ................................................................................................................................... 236
View Input Values ............................................................................................................. 237
View Output Values .......................................................................................................... 240
Force Input Values ........................................................................................................... 241
Clear Forced Input Values ............................................................................................... 244
Force Output Values ........................................................................................................ 244
View Communications ............................................................................................................... 248
Client Port Troubleshooting ............................................................................................ 251
Server Port Troubleshooting .......................................................................................... 252
Device Statistics ......................................................................................................................... 253
System Menu .............................................................................................................................. 253
Clock Configuration ......................................................................................................... 254
View System Info .............................................................................................................. 255
View Event Log ................................................................................................................. 256
Clear Event Log ................................................................................................................ 256
View Version Info ............................................................................................................. 257
Pass-Through Menu ......................................................................................................... 258
Thread Info ........................................................................................................................ 260
Restart ............................................................................................................................... 262
Disconnect .................................................................................................................................. 262
Session Timeouts ...................................................................................................................... 262
Network Menu ............................................................................................................................. 264
Basic Network Configuration .......................................................................................... 264
Start/Stop Firewall ............................................................................................................ 267

Appendix A - Glossary............................................................................................................................ 268

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Appendix B - Inputs / Outputs Tools and Buttons .............................................................................. 269
1. Display/Hide Tag Name ............................................................................................................. 269
2. Search Point List ........................................................................................................................ 269
3. Toggle Show Point Detail .......................................................................................................... 270
4. Display/Hide Alias Names ......................................................................................................... 270
5. View Report ................................................................................................................................ 270
6. Edit Common Attributes ............................................................................................................ 270
7. Font Size ..................................................................................................................................... 271
8. Slider Bar .................................................................................................................................... 272
9. Point Type Filter Tabs................................................................................................................ 272

Appendix C – Backup and Restore User Configuration ..................................................................... 273

Backup User Configuration ............................................................................................................. 273
Restore Backup User Configuration............................................................................................... 274

Appendix D - Maintenance ..................................................................................................................... 277

Opening the OrionLXm Enclosure .................................................................................................. 277
Orion Storage and Unpowered Standby ........................................................................................ 277
Battery Replacement ........................................................................................................................ 277
Cleaning ............................................................................................................................................. 278

Appendix E - GPL License Information ................................................................................................ 279

Appendix F - Additional Documentation .............................................................................................. 280

List of Figures

Figure 1: NovaTech Documentation Link ............................................................................................... 19

Figure 2: Documentation in Windows 10® .............................................................................................. 19
Figure 3: OrionLXm with Two Serial Communication Cards (Option S4S4) ....................................... 32
Figure 4: OrionLXm Options S4IL and RJ45 Eth0 and Internal Ethernet Switch on Eth1 ................. 32
Figure 5: Port A Location ......................................................................................................................... 36
Figure 6: WR Power Connector Keying .................................................................................................. 37
Figure 7: OrionLXm Power Connection .................................................................................................. 38
Figure 8: Ground Lug ............................................................................................................................... 38
Figure 9: OrionLXm Digital Input Connection ........................................................................................ 39
Figure 10: Digital Input Voltage Jumper ................................................................................................. 40
Figure 11: OrionLXm Digital Output Connection ................................................................................... 41
Figure 12: Dual Ethernet Ports ................................................................................................................ 41
Figure 13: Copper Ethernet Port and Built-in Ethernet Switch ............................................................ 42
Figure 14: Fiber Ethernet Port and Built-in Ethernet Switch ................................................................ 42
Figure 15: Ethernet Switch Application .................................................................................................. 43
Figure 16: IRIG-B Port............................................................................................................................... 44
Figure 17: S4 Communications Card ...................................................................................................... 46

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Figure 18: OrionLXm with T4 Bit Serial Ports ........................................................................................ 48
Figure 19: OrionLXm with ST Fiber Serial Ports .................................................................................... 50
Figure 20: F4 Communication Card – P1 Jumper .................................................................................. 50
Figure 21: OrionLXm with I/O Card ......................................................................................................... 51
Figure 22: Input Circuit ............................................................................................................................. 52
Figure 23: IL and IH Circuit Board, Revision B ...................................................................................... 53
Figure 24: IL and IH Circuit Board, Revision C ...................................................................................... 54
Figure 25: Shunt Storage (Revision C) ................................................................................................... 55
Figure 26: Jumper Pins (Revision C) ...................................................................................................... 55
Figure 27: 19" Rack Flush Mounting ....................................................................................................... 57
Figure 28: 19" Rack Recessed Mounting with Cable Holes ................................................................. 57
Figure 29: Dual Mount Option .................................................................................................................. 57
Figure 30: Conventional Horizontal Panel Mount .................................................................................. 58
Figure 31: Horizontal Mount - Top of Panel and Bottom of Panel Options ......................................... 58
Figure 32: Vertical Panel Mount Options ................................................................................................ 58
Figure 33: Vertical DIN Rail Mount .......................................................................................................... 59
Figure 34: Orion Documentation Location ............................................................................................. 62
Figure 35: NCD Program Directory Structure ........................................................................................ 64
Figure 36: NCD Data Directory Structure ............................................................................................... 65
Figure 37: NCD Opening Screen - Main Menu........................................................................................ 66
Figure 38: Quick Access Toolbar ............................................................................................................ 67
Figure 39: File Menu ................................................................................................................................. 69
Figure 40: Select Hardware ...................................................................................................................... 71
Figure 41: Selecting Configuration for Save, Save As, Close .............................................................. 71
Figure 42: Convert Operations ................................................................................................................ 72
Figure 43: Reorder Network Ports ........................................................................................................... 72
Figure 44: NCD Prompt for Logic File ..................................................................................................... 73
Figure 45: Edit Menu ................................................................................................................................. 74
Figure 46: User Settings – Updates Tab ................................................................................................. 74
Figure 47: User Settings – General Tab .................................................................................................. 76
Figure 48: User Settings – Capture Tab .................................................................................................. 77
Figure 49: Configure Menu....................................................................................................................... 78
Figure 50: General Settings ..................................................................................................................... 79
Figure 51: OrionLXm Hardware Configuration ...................................................................................... 81
Figure 52: Port Operations ....................................................................................................................... 82
Figure 53: Choose Port for Copy/Move .................................................................................................. 82
Figure 54: Serial Port Selection ............................................................................................................... 83
Figure 55: Serial Port Protocol Selection ............................................................................................... 84
Figure 56: Serial Port Configuration ....................................................................................................... 84
Figure 57: Network Port Configuration ................................................................................................... 85
Figure 58: Network Port Protocol Selection Menu ................................................................................ 85
Figure 59: NKI – Port Setup...................................................................................................................... 86
Figure 60: NKI – Time Interface Setup .................................................................................................... 87
Figure 61: Add On Options ...................................................................................................................... 89
Figure 62: Alias Assignment .................................................................................................................... 90
Figure 63: Configuration Manager Agent General Settings ................................................................. 93
Figure 64: Select Port Commands .......................................................................................................... 94
Figure 65: Sensor Setup - Port ................................................................................................................ 96
Figure 66: Sensor Setup - Inputs Tab ..................................................................................................... 97
Figure 67: Hardware I/O .......................................................................................................................... 101
Figure 68: SER Client Description ......................................................................................................... 102
Figure 69: SER Setup – Port .................................................................................................................. 103
Figure 70: SER Inputs Setup .................................................................................................................. 104
Figure 71: Optional I/O Configuration ................................................................................................... 105
Figure 72: IIO Client Port Setup ............................................................................................................. 106
Figure 73: IIO Card Setup ....................................................................................................................... 107

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Figure 74: IIO Card Options ................................................................................................................... 108
Figure 75: Move Card Option ................................................................................................................. 109
Figure 76: IIO Inputs Setup – No Filter .................................................................................................. 109
Figure 77: IIO Inputs Setup – Binary Filter ........................................................................................... 110
Figure 78: IIO Outputs Setup ................................................................................................................. 111
Figure 79: Output Point Mode Setup ..................................................................................................... 113
Figure 80: Logic Options ........................................................................................................................ 114
Figure 81: NCD Communications .......................................................................................................... 116
Figure 82: Manage Connections ............................................................................................................ 117
Figure 83: Connection Information ....................................................................................................... 119
Figure 84: Creating/Saving/Loading Connection Files ....................................................................... 121
Figure 85: NCD Communication Window ............................................................................................. 122
Figure 86: Window Menu ........................................................................................................................ 124
Figure 87: Help Menu .............................................................................................................................. 125
Figure 88: Documentation File .............................................................................................................. 126
Figure 89: Protocol Information ............................................................................................................ 127
Figure 90: Control Versions ................................................................................................................... 127
Figure 91: Program Versions ................................................................................................................. 128
Figure 92: System Information .............................................................................................................. 129
Figure 93: NCD Version Information ..................................................................................................... 129
Figure 94: Connect with OrionLXm ....................................................................................................... 130
Figure 95: Microsoft Edge Security Warning ....................................................................................... 130
Figure 96: Chrome Security Warning .................................................................................................... 131
Figure 97: Firefox Security Warning ..................................................................................................... 131
Figure 98: Orion Login ............................................................................................................................ 132
Figure 99: Orion Homepage ................................................................................................................... 132
Figure 100: Orion Unlock Prompt .......................................................................................................... 133
Figure 101: Orion Home Tab .................................................................................................................. 134
Figure 102: Devices Page ....................................................................................................................... 135
Figure 103: DataValues – Main Page ..................................................................................................... 136
Figure 104: DataValues – View Input Values ........................................................................................ 137
Figure 105: DataValues – Column Options .......................................................................................... 138
Figure 106: DataValues – Force Input Value ........................................................................................ 140
Figure 107: DataValues – View Output Values ..................................................................................... 142
Figure 108: DataValues – Force Output Value ..................................................................................... 143
Figure 109: DataValues - View Tagging Archive .................................................................................. 144
Figure 110: DataValues - Applied Tags ................................................................................................. 145
Figure 111: ViewComms – Select Port .................................................................................................. 146
Figure 112: ViewComms – Select Displayed Information ................................................................... 147
Figure 113: ViewComms ......................................................................................................................... 148
Figure 114: ViewComms – Reset, Clear, and Download ..................................................................... 148
Figure 115: System Page........................................................................................................................ 150
Figure 116: System Page – Serial and Ethernet Interfaces ................................................................ 152
Figure 117: System Page – Memory Info .............................................................................................. 152
Figure 118: System Page – Package Versions .................................................................................... 153
Figure 119: Logs Page ............................................................................................................................ 154
Figure 120: Log Message Details .......................................................................................................... 155
Figure 121: Alarms Tab .......................................................................................................................... 156
Figure 122: Column Setting Menu ......................................................................................................... 157
Figure 123: Alarm Archive without Filter .............................................................................................. 158
Figure 124: Alarm Archive with Filter ................................................................................................... 158
Figure 125: Archive - 1000 Most Recent Records ............................................................................... 159
Figure 126: Archive with Custom Filter ................................................................................................ 160
Figure 127: Archive –Trending .............................................................................................................. 160
Figure 128: Archive – Trend for Multiple Data Points ......................................................................... 162
Figure 129: Files Page ............................................................................................................................ 163

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Figure 130: Send Files to OrionLX ........................................................................................................ 164
Figure 131: Select Active Configuration ............................................................................................... 165
Figure 132: Confirmation Prompt .......................................................................................................... 165
Figure 133: System Files ........................................................................................................................ 166
Figure 134: Settings Menu ..................................................................................................................... 167
Figure 135: User Management Page ..................................................................................................... 169
Figure 136: Add User Page .................................................................................................................... 170
Figure 137: Change Own Password ...................................................................................................... 171
Figure 138: Authentication Rules – User Lockout Rules .................................................................... 173
Figure 139: Authentication Rules – Password Rules .......................................................................... 174
Figure 140: Authentication Rules – Remote Root Login .................................................................... 175
Figure 141: Remote Accounts Page ...................................................................................................... 176
Figure 142: Firewall Settings ................................................................................................................. 177
Figure 143: Firewall Filter Options Page 1 ........................................................................................... 178
Figure 144: Firewall Filter Options Page 2 ........................................................................................... 179
Figure 145: Key Management Settings ................................................................................................. 181
Figure 146: Default Key Values ............................................................................................................. 182
Figure 147: Create New Key ................................................................................................................... 183
Figure 148: System Log Setup .............................................................................................................. 184
Figure 149: Networking Settings ........................................................................................................... 186
Figure 150: Add Static Route ................................................................................................................. 189
Figure 151: Ethernet Bonding Configuration ....................................................................................... 190
Figure 152: Add Network Bridge ........................................................................................................... 193
Figure 153: External Modem Settings ................................................................................................... 194
Figure 154: Time – Time Zone ............................................................................................................... 197
Figure 155: Time – Set Time................................................................................................................... 197
Figure 156: Time – IRIG-B Input Settings ............................................................................................. 198
Figure 157: Time – NTP .......................................................................................................................... 199
Figure 158: Time – PTP/IEEE 1588 ........................................................................................................ 200
Figure 159: Serial Ports Setup ............................................................................................................... 201
Figure 160: T4 Serial Ports Setup .......................................................................................................... 202
Figure 161: F4 Fiber Optic Ports Setup ................................................................................................ 203
Figure 162: I/O Card Setup ..................................................................................................................... 203
Figure 163: WebUI Settings – HMI ......................................................................................................... 204
Figure 164: Small text in header and link bar....................................................................................... 205
Figure 165: Large text in header and link bar ...................................................................................... 205
Figure 166: Control dialog with tag information .................................................................................. 205
Figure 167: Control dialog without tag information ............................................................................ 205
Figure 168: User-defined SVG files on Home page ............................................................................. 206
Figure 169: Link Bar Example ................................................................................................................ 206
Figure 170: WebUI Settings – Timeouts ............................................................................................... 207
Figure 171: WebUI Settings – Page Configuration .............................................................................. 208
Figure 172: Link Bar and Header Settings............................................................................................ 209
Figure 173: WebUI Settings – Login Message ..................................................................................... 210
Figure 174: Custom Login Message ..................................................................................................... 210
Figure 175: WebUI Settings - Database ................................................................................................ 211
Figure 176: Alarms configuration .......................................................................................................... 212
Figure 177: Acknowledge All button on Alarms tab ............................................................................ 213
Figure 178: Database Settings ............................................................................................................... 214
Figure 179: Add Database User ............................................................................................................. 215
Figure 180: Tag List ................................................................................................................................ 216
Figure 181: Add New Tag ....................................................................................................................... 217
Figure 182: Tagging Button in Graphics .............................................................................................. 219
Figure 183: Setting a Standard Tag ....................................................................................................... 219
Figure 184: Cascaded Server ................................................................................................................. 220
Figure 185: Services Settings ................................................................................................................ 221

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Figure 186: Scheduler – Task List ......................................................................................................... 222
Figure 187: Task Scheduling ................................................................................................................. 223
Figure 188: CSV Task Parameters ......................................................................................................... 223
Figure 189: FileMover Task Parameters ............................................................................................... 225
Figure 190: OrionLXm MMI Main Menu ................................................................................................. 229
Figure 191: OrionLXm File Menu ........................................................................................................... 230
Figure 192: File Transfer to OrionLXm Using NCD ............................................................................. 231
Figure 193: File Transfer Orion to PC ................................................................................................... 232
Figure 194: Configuration File Selection .............................................................................................. 233
Figure 195: Make Selected Configuration File Active ......................................................................... 233
Figure 196: Delete File from Flash Memory.......................................................................................... 234
Figure 197: Select File for Viewing ........................................................................................................ 234
Figure 198: View File ............................................................................................................................... 235
Figure 199: Data Menu ............................................................................................................................ 236
Figure 200: Select Port for Input Point Monitoring .............................................................................. 237
Figure 201: Input Point Monitoring ....................................................................................................... 237
Figure 202: Data View Column Editor ................................................................................................... 238
Figure 203: Data View Sort Editor ......................................................................................................... 239
Figure 204: Select Port for Output Monitoring ..................................................................................... 240
Figure 205: Output Point Monitoring .................................................................................................... 240
Figure 206: Select Port for Forcing Input Values ................................................................................ 241
Figure 207: Select Input Point ............................................................................................................... 241
Figure 208: Force Input Point ................................................................................................................ 242
Figure 209: Parameters for Forcing Input Points ................................................................................ 242
Figure 210: Remove Forced Input Value .............................................................................................. 243
Figure 211: Clear Input Override ........................................................................................................... 244
Figure 212: Select Port for Forcing Output Values ............................................................................. 245
Figure 213: Select Point for Forcing Output Value .............................................................................. 245
Figure 214: Select “Force Value” .......................................................................................................... 246
Figure 215: Force Output Point Parameters......................................................................................... 246
Figure 216: Communications Menu ...................................................................................................... 248
Figure 217: Viewing Communications .................................................................................................. 249
Figure 218: Communications Display Options .................................................................................... 250
Figure 219: Device Statistics ................................................................................................................. 253
Figure 220: System Menu ....................................................................................................................... 253
Figure 221: Clock Configuration ........................................................................................................... 254
Figure 222: System Information ............................................................................................................ 255
Figure 223: View Event Log ................................................................................................................... 256
Figure 224: Version Information ............................................................................................................ 257
Figure 225: Pass Through Menu ........................................................................................................... 258
Figure 226: Passthrough Window to Relay .......................................................................................... 259
Figure 227: Thread Info .......................................................................................................................... 261
Figure 228: Restart Menu ....................................................................................................................... 262
Figure 229: Session Timeouts ............................................................................................................... 263
Figure 230: Session Timeouts ............................................................................................................... 263
Figure 231: Network Menu ..................................................................................................................... 264
Figure 232: Basic Network Configuration ............................................................................................ 264
Figure 233: Edit Port-Specific Parameters ........................................................................................... 265
Figure 234: Network Port Configuration – Multiple Ports Configured .............................................. 266
Figure 235: Start/Stop Firewall .............................................................................................................. 267
Figure 236: Input/Output Menu Tools ................................................................................................... 269
Figure 237: Edit Common Attributes .................................................................................................... 270
Figure 238: Edit Common Attributes - Details ..................................................................................... 271
Figure 239: Slider Bar ............................................................................................................................. 272
Figure 240: Filter By Point Type ............................................................................................................ 272
Figure 241: Backup File Selection ......................................................................................................... 273

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 OrionLXm
Figure 242: Backup File Action ............................................................................................................. 274
Figure 243: Select File – Restore Backup............................................................................................. 275
Figure 244: Restore Items Selection ..................................................................................................... 275
Figure 245: Send File to Orion ............................................................................................................... 276
Figure 246: Restore Confirmation ......................................................................................................... 276
Figure 247: Restarting Orion.................................................................................................................. 276

List of Tables

Table 1: Overview of OrionLXm User Manual ........................................................................................ 18

Table 2: Feature Configuration Overview ............................................................................................... 25
Table 3: OrionLXm – Webpage and MMI Overview ............................................................................... 26
Table 4: OrionLXm Front Panel Diagnostic LEDs ................................................................................. 35
Table 5: Port A USB Communications Parameters ............................................................................... 36
Table 6: Power Connector Keying ........................................................................................................... 37
Table 7: Digital Input Terminal Header ................................................................................................... 39
Table 8: Digital Input Turn-On Voltages and Current Draw .................................................................. 39
Table 9: Digital Output Connection ......................................................................................................... 41
Table 10: OrionLXm Optional Cards ....................................................................................................... 45
Table 11: S4 Communication Card Slot Addressing ............................................................................. 46
Table 12: RS-232 Pinout ........................................................................................................................... 47
Table 13: RS-485 Half Duplex Pinout ...................................................................................................... 47
Table 14: RS-485/422 Full Duplex Pinout ................................................................................................ 48
Table 15: T4 Bit Serial Card Pinout ......................................................................................................... 49
Table 16: T4 Communication Card Slot Addressing ............................................................................. 49
Table 17: F4 Communication Card Slot Addressing ............................................................................. 50
Table 18: I/O Card Slot Addressing ......................................................................................................... 51
Table 19: Input Terminal Numbering for I/O Card in Upper Slot (Card B) ........................................... 52
Table 20: Input Terminal Numbering for I/O Card in Lower Slot (Card A) ........................................... 52
Table 21: Input Voltage Range Jumpers ................................................................................................. 52
Table 22: Revision B Jumper Designations ........................................................................................... 54
Table 23: Revision C Jumper Designations ........................................................................................... 55
Table 24: Output Terminal Numbering for I/O Card in Upper Slot ....................................................... 56
Table 25: Output Terminal Numbering for I/O Card in Lower Slot ....................................................... 56
Table 26: Contact Monitoring Jumpers and Leakage Current ............................................................. 56
Table 27: NCD Program Directory Structure .......................................................................................... 64
Table 28: NCD Data Directory Structure ................................................................................................. 65
Table 29: NCD Main Menu ........................................................................................................................ 67
Table 30: Quick Access Toolbar Description ......................................................................................... 68
Table 31: NCD File Menu Descriptions ................................................................................................... 71
Table 32: General Settings ....................................................................................................................... 80
Table 33: Port Operations ........................................................................................................................ 82
Table 34: OrionLXm Ports ........................................................................................................................ 83
Table 35: NKI Port – General Options ..................................................................................................... 86
Table 36: NKI – Time Interface Data Points ............................................................................................ 88
Table 37: NKI – Time Interface Parameters ............................................................................................ 88
Table 38: Alias File Format....................................................................................................................... 91
Table 39: ZIP File Naming Convention .................................................................................................... 92
Table 40: Configuration Manager Agent General Settings ................................................................... 94
Table 41: Sensor Inputs Description ..................................................................................................... 100
Table 42: SER Setup - Description ........................................................................................................ 102

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 OrionLXm
Table 43: SER Setup – Port .................................................................................................................... 103
Table 44: SER Input Setup ..................................................................................................................... 105
Table 45: IIO Port Setup .......................................................................................................................... 106
Table 46: IIO Device Setup ..................................................................................................................... 107
Table 47: IIO Card Options Description ................................................................................................ 108
Table 48: Configured IIO Input Points ................................................................................................... 111
Table 49: Outputs Setup ......................................................................................................................... 112
Table 50: Manage Connections ............................................................................................................. 118
Table 51: Connection Information ......................................................................................................... 120
Table 52: Manage Connections Folders and Files .............................................................................. 121
Table 53: NCD Comm Window ............................................................................................................... 123
Table 54: Orion Homepage Menu Items ................................................................................................ 133
Table 55: Orion Home Tab...................................................................................................................... 135
Table 56: DataValue – Browsing Pages ................................................................................................ 138
Table 57: DataValues – Input Point Display Options ........................................................................... 139
Table 58: Data Values – Force Input Values ......................................................................................... 141
Table 59: Data Values – Force Output Values ...................................................................................... 144
Table 60: Data Values - Tagging Archive.............................................................................................. 145
Table 61: System Page Information ...................................................................................................... 151
Table 62: Trending Filters ...................................................................................................................... 161
Table 63: Orion File Types ..................................................................................................................... 164
Table 64: Settings Page .......................................................................................................................... 168
Table 65: User Management Commands .............................................................................................. 169
Table 66: User Account Management ................................................................................................... 170
Table 67: User Groups ............................................................................................................................ 172
Table 68: User Lockout Rules ................................................................................................................ 174
Table 69: Password Rules ...................................................................................................................... 175
Table 70: Firewall Settings ..................................................................................................................... 180
Table 71: Key Management Settings ..................................................................................................... 182
Table 72: System Log Setup .................................................................................................................. 185
Table 73:OrionLXm Ethernet Port Names and PTP Support .............................................................. 186
Table 74: General Interface Settings ..................................................................................................... 187
Table 75: Network Settings for Ethernet Ports .................................................................................... 188
Table 76: Static Routing Parameters .................................................................................................... 189
Table 77: Network Bonding - Settings .................................................................................................. 191
Table 78: Bonding Modes....................................................................................................................... 192
Table 79: Network Bridge Parameters .................................................................................................. 193
Table 80: Modem Settings ...................................................................................................................... 196
Table 81: Time – Time Zone ................................................................................................................... 197
Table 82: Time – Set Time ...................................................................................................................... 198
Table 83: Time – IRIG-B Input Settings ................................................................................................. 198
Table 84: Time – NTP .............................................................................................................................. 199
Table 85: Time – PTP/IEEE 1588 ............................................................................................................ 200
Table 86: Serial Port Setup..................................................................................................................... 202
Table 87: Bit Port Setup .......................................................................................................................... 202
Table 88: Fiber Optic Port Setup ........................................................................................................... 203
Table 89: WebUI Settings – HMI ............................................................................................................ 205
Table 90: WebUI Settings – Timeouts ................................................................................................... 207
Table 91: WebUI Settings – Page Configuration .................................................................................. 209
Table 92: Notification Parameters ......................................................................................................... 213
Table 93: Database Settings .................................................................................................................. 215
Table 94: Standard Tags ......................................................................................................................... 216
Table 95: Tag Fields ................................................................................................................................ 218
Table 96: Scheduler – Task List ............................................................................................................ 222
Table 97: CSV Task Parameters ............................................................................................................ 224
Table 98: FileMover Task Parameters ................................................................................................... 226

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 OrionLXm
Table 99: Serial/Ethernet Cables and Software ................................................................................... 227
Table 100: OrionLXm File Types ........................................................................................................... 231
Table 101: Data Point Information ......................................................................................................... 239
Table 102: Force Input Point Parameters ............................................................................................. 243
Table 103: Force Output Point Parameters .......................................................................................... 247
Table 104: Client Port Troubleshooting ................................................................................................ 251
Table 105: Server Port Troubleshooting ............................................................................................... 252
Table 106: System Information .............................................................................................................. 255
Table 107: Port-Specific Parameters ..................................................................................................... 265
Table 108: Glossary ................................................................................................................................ 268
Table 109: NovaTech Documentation ................................................................................................... 280

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 OrionLXm

I. Introduction

Introduction to OrionLXm
The OrionLXm is a multi-port automation platform. It is designed to operate all ports independently of one
another. Each port can support a unique communications protocol:

▪ Client mode - connected to Intelligent Electronic Devices (IED’s) or other server devices
▪ Server mode - connected to Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Clients (SCADA), or Human
Machine Interfaces (HMI’s)

Each port provides its own communication timing. All ports use a common database, which makes data
from all ports available to any other port. The OrionLXm also provides a logic processor and
logging/archiving capabilities. For practical purposes, the capability of communications with multiple IEDs
and SCADA masters make the OrionLXm a powerful RTU. The OrionLXm acquires data from IEDs and
stores this data for polls by SCADA. SCADA commands are routed to the target IED for appropriate action.
The OrionLXm automation platform is designed to interface with:

▪ IEDs from all major relay control and meter vendors using ASCII or binary protocols
▪ PLCs from major vendors
▪ Other devices and meters

The OrionLXm base unit comes with the following features:

▪ Diagnostics/configuration USB Type B port (port A)
▪ One digital input
▪ One relay output (Alarm)
▪ IRIG-B input
▪ Ethernet port options that can be factory configured as:
- Two copper Ethernet ports (ETH0, ETH1).
- One copper Ethernet port (ETH0) and a six-port copper Ethernet switch (ETH1).
- One fiber Ethernet port (ETH0) and a six-port copper Ethernet switch (ETH1).
▪ Up to two communication cards or I/O cards can be added in any combination as follows:
- Communication card with four DB9 female ports which can be configured for RS-232, RS-485, and
RS-422.
- Communication card with three DB9 female ports which can be configured for RS-232, RS-485,
and RS-422, and one, bit protocol DB9 male port.
- Communication card with four ST fiber optic ports.
- I/O card with 12 digital input points and 4 relay outputs.

17
 OrionLXm
Overview of the OrionLXm User Manual

Title Content
I. Introduction General description of the OrionLXm device,
documentation, and setup information.
II. OrionLXm Hardware Description of the OrionLXm hardware, dimensions, and
electrical characteristics including port information.
III. NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD) How to use NCD, the primary tool for configuring the
OrionLXm. NCD requires a PC that is running the
Windows® operating system.
IV. Orion Webpage This section details how to use the OrionLXm webpage
to setup the diverse advanced features of the OrionLXm.
V. Orion MMI Describes setup of the OrionLXm IP address and
configuration of the MMI using the USB port for
monitoring the runtime operations of the OrionLXm.
Appendix A - Glossary Description of terminology.
Appendix B - Inputs / Outputs Tools and Describes the use and function of the buttons available in
Buttons the Inputs and Outputs menus in NCD.
Appendix C – Backup and Restore User Description of the backup and restore procedures for the
Configuration user configuration files and database.
Appendix D - Maintenance Recommendations for storage of spares.
Appendix E - GPL License Information Information about GPL software license.
Appendix F - Additional Documentation List of additional relevant manuals.

Table 1: Overview of OrionLXm User Manual

18
 OrionLXm
Location of Documentation
All manuals are installed as .pdf files on the PC’s hard drive during the installation process described in
section Installation of NCD. Once the installation of NCD has been completed, the folder containing the
Orion manuals can be accessed in NCD -> Help -> Documentation.

Figure 1: NovaTech Documentation Link

Documentation can also be accessed through the Windows® Start menu via Windows 10® Start ->
NovaTech NCD3 -> NCD Documentation.

Figure 2: Documentation in Windows 10®

The documentation files are stored at: C:\Program Files (x86)\NovaTech LLC\NCD3\Docs.

19
 OrionLXm
OrionLXm Setup
The OrionLXm provides a number of hardware and software features that are basically set up in two stages
using the NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD) and Orion Webpage. This section is intended to assist
users in setting up the OrionLXm most efficiently in terms of required OrionLXm features and available
engineering resources.

Note: Before connecting to the OrionLXm for the first time using an Ethernet port, the OrionLXm
IP address must first be set by connecting to the serial MMI port (see Basic Network
Configuration).

The NCD Communications window, or any communication software, can be used to connect to the
OrionLXm. A web browser is required to access the Orion Webpage. Once connected to the OrionLXm,
configuration files, download archives and logs, and new firmware can be transferred to/from the OrionLXm.
In addition, the firewall can be configured, data values forced, and communication on any of the
communication ports can be logged.

The following sections show each feature of the OrionLXm and the respective tool used for the setup of
each feature. This allows planning of the most efficient setup. Each entry in the table is a hyperlink to the
respective section in this manual to provide easy navigation.

Setup of OrionLXm IP Address

First, set up the serial communication connection from the PC (running NCD) to the Orion USB console
port (Port A) as described in Communications Menu section of the NovaTech Configuration Director
chapter.

Then set up the IP address for Eth0 as described in the Network Menu section of the Orion's MMI section.
As a factory setting, all Ethernet ports are disabled. First, an Ethernet port must be enabled, and an IP
address must be set. Usually, static IP addresses are required.

Once the IP address of ETH0 has been set to a known address, the OrionLXm webpage can be used to
configure all remaining network settings as described in section Networking.

Setup using NCD

The full point mapping and logic configuration for an OrionLXm can be created using NovaTech
Configuration Director (NCD), even before the OrionLXm is received on site. The following features are
configured with NCD:

▪ Selection of OrionLXm hardware and port setup

▪ General setup and debug features (forcing I/O)
▪ Serial protocols using copper and fiber ports, including device properties and I/O point lists
▪ TCP protocols including setup of device properties and I/O lists
▪ Data points for network time protocols/IRIG-B
▪ System/Point Logger (standard software feature)
▪ OrionLED (standard feature)
▪ Sensor Client (standard feature)
▪ IIO Client port (MIIO) discrete input/output points
▪ Text Module
▪ Math & Logic/Advanced Math & Logic (Lua)

20
 OrionLXm
NCD configures the programmable elements that pertain to the applications within the OrionLXm, such as
communication ports, software features, devices, points list, logic, etc. If there are several departments
involved in the OrionLXm setup, the parameters of the programmable elements are typically determined by
the engineering, substation, or communications department. Once a configuration has been created, it can
be loaded into an OrionLXm using the OrionLXm’s serial MMI port, or the Ethernet port.

The latest version of NCD software can be downloaded from the Orion download site at
www.novatech-llc.com/support as soon as the customer account has been set up. As an option, the NCD
software CD can be ordered separately free of charge.

Setup using OrionLXm Webpage

The features configured with the Orion Webpage are operational features and security features that are
typically set up by, or in cooperation with, an IT department.

▪ Time Synchronization: IRIG-B, UTC/Local, Modulated/Unmodulated, NTP Time Source, Time Zone
▪ User Management: Manage users, set rights, allowed services, allowed operations, clearances
▪ Authentication: Lockout rules, password rules, LDAP setup, Remote Root Login
▪ Networking: Set host name, DNS, DHCP, Gateway, IP, Subnet, Media
▪ Firewall: Set input, output, and forwarding rules, start firewall
▪ Key Management: Create and manage key, certificates
▪ Services: Enable/disable SNMP, Telnet, FTP, HTTP, MultiSpeak HTTP, MultiSpeak HTTPS

Setup Worksheet
The following worksheet in Table 2 assists in configuring an OrionLXm most efficiently. The Feature
column describes the features offered by the OrionLXm. For each feature, the respective configuration tool
is described in columns Offline Configuration with NCD or Online Configuration with Webpage.

Steps in columns Offline Configuration with NCD and Online Configuration with Webpage can be
performed one after the other by the same engineers, or in parallel. For example, the Substation
Department can use NCD to set up field devices and I/O lists, while the IT Department can set up the
OrionLXm’s network settings using the OrionLXm’s webpage.

Before the OrionLXm webpage can be accessed with a web browser, the OrionLXm IP address must be
configured. This is done as described in section Network Menu of the Orion MMI. It requires a USB port
on the PC and the USB A-B cable included with OrionLXm to connect to Port A on the OrionLXm. Drivers
for the USB connection are installed as part of the NCD installation and is also available in the Microsoft
Apps Store. If NCD is not installed on the PC, the driver will automatically install when the USB cable is
connected if there is internet access.

Once the offline configuration with NCD is completed, the ncd file created by NCD must be transferred to
the OrionLXm. This can be done using a serial connection or an Ethernet connection between the PC
and the OrionLXm.

21
 OrionLXm
Online
Offline Configuration with
Item Feature Step Step Configuration
NCD
with Webpage
001 Hardware Configuration Hardware Model Information
Select the correct Select OrionLXm
OrionLXm.
002 Serial Protocols Serial Ports
DNP3, SEL, Modbus, etc. For port 1 through 8, specify
protocol, poll type (serial
client/serial server), then port
parameters and list of points.
1

003 IP/Network Protocols Network

DNP3, SEL, Modbus, etc. Then specify protocol, poll
type (client/server), port
parameters and list of points.
Up to 96 ports can be
configured for the OrionLXm.
Up to 128 DNP host devices
can be polled for data.2
004 Force Inputs/Outputs General Users grants or
Allow/Disallow forcing of disallows each
I/O points through individual user the
OrionLXm MMI/Webpage ability to force I/O
for Troubleshooting, etc. points through the
OrionLXm Webpage.
005 Archive Alarm/Archive/Retentive
Archive I/O points, and Refer to Alarm/Archive/
view archived values with Retentive Software Manual.
web browser, and transfer
.csv file to PC for further
processing.
006 Pseudo Client Refer to Pseudo Software
When two client stations Manual.
need to exchange data, set
up two corresponding
server ports on the Orion,
and the Pseudo Client.
007 Data Logger Data Logger
Logs long events from Refer to Data Logger Manual.
SEL relays connected to
the OrionLXm to the
OrionLXm’s expanded
memory. Files are
transferred to PC with
FileMover.

1Refer to specific manual for detailed description of setup.

2Capable of delivering up to 500mA. Total demand across all four ports across each card capped at 500
mA.

22
 OrionLXm
Online
Offline Configuration with
Item Feature Step Step Configuration
NCD
with Webpage
008 System Logger System Logger
OrionLXm system events Refer to System & Point
(e.g. startup) and point Logger Manual.
changes are logged to
OrionLXm’s flash memory.
009 Pusher Server Pusher
When two server devices Refer to Pusher
(PLCs, IEDs, etc.) need to SoftwareManual.
exchange data, set up two
corresponding client ports
on the Orion, and the
Pusher Server.
010 Text Module Text Module
Based on user-specified Refer to Text Module Manual.
I/O changes, the OrionLXm
creates event-specific text
messages for further
processing.
011 Monitor Orion Hardware See Sensor for automatic
Monitor essential Orion setup of Orion status points.
Status: Firewall, Alarm,
internal voltages, and
temperature.
012 OrionLXm I/O Points Optional I/O Cards (IIO) and
The OrionLXm provides Built-In Standard (SER) for
built-in SER capable setup of I/O points.
discrete I/O.
013 Logic Functions Full logic package: Math &
The Orion provides freely Logic and Advanced Math &
programmable logic, Logic. Refer to Advanced
prepackaged logic Math & Logic Software
functions, and IEC 61131. Manual.
Prepackaged logic: LogicPak,
see LogicPak Software
Manual for more information.
IEC 61131: See IEC 61131
Logic Software Manual for
more information.

23
 OrionLXm
Online
Offline Configuration with
Item Feature Step Step Configuration
NCD
with Webpage
014 IRIG-B/NTP NKI – Time Interface Time for setting
Set up time-related points Time-related points, such as up Time Zone,
(e.g. time quality), IRIG-B Orion Time Quality, IRIG-B,
settings, NTP time source, Orion PLL Status, etc. Modulated/
and time zone. are set up automatically. Unmodulated,
NTP Time Source
015 User Accounts Users
Manage users, set
passwords and rights,
allowed services and
operations, account
expiration, menu or
command line upon login.
016 Authentication Rules Authentication
Lockout rules, password Rules
rules, enable remote login.
017 Remote Accounts Remote Accounts
Account caching, LDAP,
Kerberos setup.
018 Firewall Firewall
Set input, output, and
forwarding rules; start/stop
firewall.
019 Key Management Key Management
Create and manage keys,
upload key files from
computer to OrionLXm.
020 System Log System Log
Setup for system log host
and logged events.
021 Networking Networking
Common and per-port
settings: host name, IP
addresses, DHCP, etc.
022 Serial Access Serial Access
Setup of modem port.
023 Time Time
Setup of IRIG-B, NTP time
sources, and time zone.
024 Serial Serial
Setup of serial ports for RS-
232 or RS-485, bit ports, and
fiber optic ports.
025 Web User Interface WebUI
Setup of login message, links
to custom pages, web by-
page access control,
webpage appearance, etc.

24
 OrionLXm
Online
Offline Configuration with
Item Feature Step Step Configuration
NCD
with Webpage
026 Alarms Alarm/Archive/Retentive Alarms
Setup of alarm displays, Refer to
colors, alarm archive data. Alarm/Archive/Retentive
Software Manual.
027 Database Database
Database management and
remote access setup.
028 Tagging Tagging
Tag setup and management.
029 Cascaded Orion Refer to Cascaded Orions Cascaded Orions
IP and key parameters for Software Manual.
cascaded Orions.
030 Services Services
Enable/disable Telnet, FTP,
HTTP
031 Scheduler Scheduler
Schedule moving or emailing
files and other tasks to run at
user-specified intervals.
Table 2: Feature Configuration Overview

Change of Passwords
During, or after completing the setup of the OrionLXm, the default passwords must be changed in order to
establish secure operations. This is explained in section Change Password.

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 OrionLXm
Operation of OrionLXm
For monitoring the operation of the OrionLXm, both the Orion webpage and serial MMI can be used
individually or in combination. Each provides a different set of features. For each feature, the respective
menu item to access the feature is listed. All entries in the following table are hyperlinks.

Feature OrionLXm Webpage OrionLXm MMI

View System Home Tab System Menu
Thread Info
View Data Diagnostics -> DataValues Data Menu
Force I/O Points Diagnostics -> DataValues Data Menu
Device Statistics Diagnostics -> Devices Device Statistics
(poll/responses)
View/Log Communications Diagnostics -> ViewComms View Communications
Serial Port Statistics (bytes) Diagnostics -> System n/a
Network Port Statistics (bytes) Diagnostics -> System n/a
Software Versions Diagnostics -> System System Menu
View Version Info
View orionlx.ntk (license file) Diagnostics -> System File Menu
File Transfer (ORION -> PC)
System/Security Logs Diagnostics -> Logs n/a
Event Logs Diagnostics -> Logs System Menu
Specific logs View Event Log
viewable or downloadable
Configuration File Management Files File Menu
Manage Web Files Files and WebUI n/a
(.svg, .js, .css, etc.)
Passthrough to connected devices n/a System Menu
(IED, meters, relays, etc.) Pass-Through Menu
OrionLXm Restart Diagnostics -> System System Menu
Reboot Orion Restart

Table 3: OrionLXm – Webpage and MMI Overview

26
 OrionLXm

II. OrionLXm Hardware

Physical Specifications
Processor and Memory
CPU AM335x ARM® CortexTM-A8, 800MHz
Memory 512MB DDR3 RAM
Non-volatile memory 4GB

Data Points
IED/SCADA Points 20,000 maximum
Refresh Rate < 2 sec typical
Actual values may be higher or lower, dependent upon the type of protocols,
number of ports used, and specified update cycles.

Data Ports
Serial ports
S4 card Four DB9 female ports for RS-232 with IRIG-B output or RS-422/485
(software-selectable) with 2kV isolation.
T4 card Three DB9 female ports for RS-232 with IRIG-B output or RS-422/485
(software-selectable) and one DB9 male bit port with 2kV isolation.
F4 card Four ST fiber optic serial ports, wavelength 800-850nm
Ethernet - Copper RJ45
Ethernet - Fiber LC
IRIG-B Input
Port A USB type B jack
I/O Terminals Compression screw terminals, #12-24 AWG
Power Terminals Compression screw terminals, #12-24 AWG

IRIG-B
IRIG-B Input Modulated and unmodulated, auto-detection of mode
Compression screw terminal, #12-24 AWG
IRIG-B Output
Output (on serial ports) Unmodulated
Drive Current 24mA (max) (sufficient to drive one SEL relay on each port)

Communications
Serial Bit or byte, 1200-115kbps
Ethernet Copper - 10/100BaseT, half/full-duplex
Fiber:
▪ Option -1S6E: Single mode fiber, 1310nm, maximum 30 kilometers, LC
▪ Option -1M6E: Multimode fiber, 1300nm, maximum 2 kilometers, LC

Alarm Output
Type Form B, AC/DC general use
Contact Ratings 10A (max)
MOV protected

27
 OrionLXm
Discrete Inputs
Quantity 1 input (standard) 12 inputs (optional I/O Card)
Input Range 12-48V dc or 125V dc 12-48V dc or 125-250V dc
Isolation 1kV 2kV

Discrete Outputs
Quantity 4 outputs (optional I/O Card)
Specifications 2 form A, 2 form C dry contacts, AC/DC general use
Wetting voltage sense option
Contact Ratings Make: 30A @ 125V nominal dc, per IEEE C37.90
Carry: 10A @ 125V nominal dc, per IEEE C37.90
Breaking capacity: .3A @ 125V dc, per IEC 60255-0-20: 1974
(10,000 operations)

Indication LEDs
Power Supply Power supplied
Copper Ethernet (ETH0) Link and activity
Fiber Ethernet (ETH0) Link and speed
Ethernet Server (ETH1) Link and speed for each port
Serial Communications TX LED for each port, RX LED for each port
IRIG-B IRIG-B present, IRIG-B quality
Built-In Input Status LED for input point
Built-In I/O card Status LED for each input point
Status and relay LED for each output point
OrionLXm Status Active Config, Alarm

Power Supply Options

24-250V dc ± 15% / 120-240V ac ± 15%, 50-60Hz
12V dc (10.5-15.0V dc)
Power Consumption 10W nominal, 15W max.

The OrionLXm power connection must include adequate power fusing

and power disconnect options as well as unobstructed access to the
disconnection device.

Physical
Dimensions 8.5W x 3.5H x 6D inch (2U)
Weight 5 lbs.

Environmental
Operating Temperature -40ºC to +70ºC
Operating Humidity 5%-90% non-condensing plus other IEEE 1613
Altitude 2000 meters max.
Overvoltage Category Category II
Rated for indoor use only

28
 OrionLXm
OrionLXm Standard Features
The OrionLXm comes with the following standard features:
▪ System/Point Logger
▪ Text Generation Module
▪ NTP Kernel Interface
▪ Sensor Client
▪ MMI
▪ 2 RJ45 Ethernet ports

OrionLXm Options

Card Options
Two options must be specified so that the resulting part number has four characters, such as XXXX, S4XX,
or F4F4, or S4IL.
-XX No card options.
-S4 Communication card with four RS-232 or RS-422/485 ports (software
switchable).
-T4 Communication card with three RS-232/RS-422/RS-485 ports and one, bit
port.
-F4 Communication card with four ST fiber optic serial ports.
-IL I/O card with 12 digital inputs and 4 digital outputs, 12-48V dc nominal input
turn-on voltage.
-IH I/O card with 12 digital inputs and 4 digital outputs, 125V dc nominal input
turn-on voltage.

Ethernet Options
-2EXX Dual copper Ethernet ports
-1E6E One copper Ethernet port and a six-port copper Ethernet unmanaged switch
-1M6E One multimode fiber Ethernet port (LC connector) and a six-port copper
Ethernet unmanaged switch
-1S6E One single mode fiber Ethernet port (LC connector) and a six-port copper
Ethernet unmanaged switch

Digital Input Voltage

-ILV Nominal input voltage 12-48V dc
-IHV Nominal input voltage 125V dc

Mounting Options
-RACK 19" rack mount
-PANL Panel mount
-DINR DIN rail mount

Power Supply
-WR 24-250V dc / 120-240V ac nominal operating voltage
-12V 12V dc

29
 OrionLXm
Software Options (field upgradable)
-35 LogicPak Module
-57 XML Webserver
-80 Passthrough Interface Client Module
-81 iDial Module
-82 DA Logic Module
-83 Math & Logic Module
-93 Passthrough Interface Server Module
-94 Relay “Data Logger” (I-Log) Module
-95 Alarm/Archive/Retentive Module
-96 Email Module
-97 Cascaded OrionLXm ClientModule
-98 Cascaded OrionLXm Server Module
-99 Advanced Math & Logic
-100 Average Archive Server Module
-101 IEC 61131-3 Module
-104 Connection Manager Agent Module
-105 Points Blocking Module
-106 Configuration Backup Manager Module
-107 Automatic Changeover Device Logic Module
-108 Tile Annunciator Module
-109 Redundancy

Client Protocols (field upgradable)

-01 DNP3 Serial Client
-03 DNP3 IP Client
-04 Modbus Serial Client
-07 Modbus TCP Client
-08 Basler Client
-09 GE DLP Client
-10 ABB DPU Client
-11 OPTIMHO Client
-12 PG&E 2179 Client
-13 RFL Client
-14 SEL ASCII/Fast Messaging Client
-15 Tejas V Client
-16 Transdata DTO
-18 Kitz Client
-24 CDC-I / II Client
-25 L&G Client
-28 DF1 Client
-29 DQI Client
-30 SPAbus Client
-32 SEL2030 Client
-33 Generic ASCII Client
-36 IEC 60870-5-103 Client
-37 SEL TCP Client
-38 Conitel 2020/300 Client
-39 IEC 60870-5-101 Client
-103 IEC 61850 Client/Server/GOOSE Module
-201 PML Client
-202 ABB 10-Byte Client
-203 Harris 5000/6000 Client
-204 IEC 60870-5-104 Client

30
 OrionLXm
Server Protocols (field upgradable)
-41 Conitel 2020/300 Server
-42 DNP3 Serial Server
-44 DNP3 IP Server
-46 L&G Server
-47 Modbus Server
-49 Modbus TCP Server
-51 Harris 5000/6000
-52 Pusher Server
-55 ASCII IED Web
-56 REDAC 70-H
-61 CDC-I Server
-67 IEC 60870-5-101 Server
-68 IEC 60870-5-104 Server
-69 Tejas V Server
-70 SPS Server
-71 SES-92 Server
-72 ICCP/TASE.2 Server

Part Number Examples

The following part number examples show the structure of the part number.

OrionLXm-XXXX-2EXX-IHV-WR-RACK-01-03-42-44-95-99

XXXX No serial com ports

2EXX Two Ethernet ports
IHV High Input Voltage
WR Wide Range power supply
RACK Rack mount
01 DNP3 serial client protocol
03 DNP3 IP client protocol
42 DNP3 serial server protocol
44 DNP3 IP server protocol
95 Alarm/Archive/Retentive
99 Advanced Math & Logic

OrionLXm-S4S4-1M6E-ILV-12V-PANL-03-07-44-57-95-96-101

S4S4 Eight serial com ports with DB9 connectors

1M6E One multimode fiber Ethernet port and a six-port copper Ethernet unmanaged switch
ILV Low Input Voltage
12V Wide range power supply
PAN Panel mount
03 DNP3 IP client protocol
07 Modbus TCP client protocol
44 DNP3 IP server protocol
57 XML webserver
95 Alarm/Archive/Retentive
96 Email
101 IEC 61131-3

31
 OrionLXm
OrionLXm Front Panel
The OrionLXm front panel provides visual diagnostic indication and connections for advanced user
diagnostics. In addition, the front panel contains a USB port (Port A) for advanced diagnostics. The
OrionLXm front panel layout depends on the ordered communication cards, I/O cards, and Ethernet options.
The front panel also provides LEDs to indicate the status of power, digital input, alarm output, Ethernet
communication, serial communication, time synchronization, and inputs/outputs for I/O cards.

Figure 3: OrionLXm with Two Serial Communication Cards (Option S4S4)

Figure 4: OrionLXm Options S4IL and RJ45 Eth0 and Internal Ethernet Switch on Eth1

32
 OrionLXm
Diagnostic LED Description
The OrionLXm provides the following diagnostic LEDs.

LED Function
Tx/Rx (DB9 and ST fiber serial ports) Each DB9 and ST fiber serial port has a green Tx
and red Rx LED. The LEDs will illuminate when
data are transmitted or received at the respective
communication ports. This indicates only the
presence of communication, without any
verification as to checksum, device or register
addressing, or a server device receiving the
Orion’s communication. If no DB9 or ST fiber ports
are installed, these LEDs are not present.
I/O Card For each installed I/O card, there is one block of
LEDs to the left of the I/O card (see also Type IL
and IH I/O Cards).
For each of the 12 digital inputs, there is one LED
which illuminates when the respective digital Input
is On. For each of the 4 digital Outputs, there are
two LEDs. The first LED indicates the Status of the
output. It is illuminated when the status at the
output terminals is On. The second LED is
illuminated when the OrionLXm has activated the
internal Relay.
Power (Status) The Power (Status) LED indicates that the power
supply is operating at correct levels.

Active The Active LED will illuminate when there is an

active configuration file running on the OrionLXm
unit.

Input The Input LED (In1) will illuminate when voltage is

detected on the input.

33
 OrionLXm
LED Function
Alarm The Alarm LED will illuminate and the ALM output
will be closed when the OrionLXm detects an
internal alarm.
▪ The Alarm LED indicates an alarm condition
upon restart until the unit has verified normal
operating conditions. If the alarm condition
persists, the LED will remain on. Specifically,
the Alarm LED is illuminated as follows. The
alarm output (ALM) on the OrionLXm follows
the LED, i.e. when the LED is illuminated, the
contact is closed, and vice versa.
▪ Orion start/restart (full restart and quick
restart): from beginning of the start to when the
diagnostics menu is displayed again.
▪ If during the start, either a driver was not
detected (i.e. the .ncd file includes a driver that
is not loaded on the OrionLXm), or a port could
not be opened, the LED and output remain
active until the problem is corrected.
Time IRIG-B, Quality ▪ The IRIG-B LED will illuminate when the IRIG-
B signal is detected.
▪ The Quality LED will illuminate when time
accuracy is < 1ms.

Ethernet Link/Activity The Ethernet Link and Activity LEDs are located on
the upper left (activity) and right (link) corners of
each Ethernet port connector.
The Ethernet Activity LED will illuminate when the
OrionLXm is transmitting or receiving on the port.
The Ethernet Link LED will illuminate when a
physical link to another device has been detected.

Ethernet Fiber Link/Speed The Ethernet fiber Link and Speed LEDs are
located below the LC fiber connector.
The Link LED (left) will illuminate when a physical
link to another device has been detected and will
blink to indicate receive and transmit activity.
The Speed LED (right) will illuminate only when a
Gigabit link is active. If not illuminated and the Link
LED is lit, data speed is 10 or 100 meg.

34
 OrionLXm
LED Function
Ethernet Switch Link/Speed Each Ethernet port, ETH1-0 thru ETH1-5, on the
Ethernet Switch has an individual Link LED (upper
or lower left) and Speed LED (upper or lower right).
The Link LED will illuminate when a physical link to
another device has been detected and will blink to
indicate receive and transmit activity.
The Speed LED will illuminate only when a Gigabit
link is active. If not illuminated and the Link LED is
lit, data speed is 10 or 100 meg.

Table 4: OrionLXm Front Panel Diagnostic LEDs

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 OrionLXm
Port A Configuration and Diagnostic
The OrionLXm provides built-in diagnostics for viewing of data values, port communications, device
statistics, system events, and system/version information. It also allows the changing of network settings
and configuration file, firmware file, and log file transfers via Z-Modem (bi-directional), as well as
passthrough to connected relays and meters. This allows the use of the respective manufacturer’s
programming software to configure the relays and meters, the retrieval of event information, etc.

Figure 5: Port A Location

Port A is the designated diagnostics/configuration port. As such, none of Port A’s parameters can be
changed. Port A is located on the front panel and uses a USB Type B connector.

An A/B USB 2.0 cable is included with the OrionLXm shipment. The PC connecting to the OrionLXm will
require a USB device driver before communications can be established. The USB driver for the PC is
installed with NCD. The PC can also obtain this driver from the Internet when it first connects to the
OrionLXm.

The communication parameters are as follows. These parameters are fixed and cannot be changed.

Port Parameter Value

Interface USB B Female
Baud Rate 115,200 (fixed)
Parity Bits None (fixed)
Data Bits 8 (fixed)
Stops Bits 1 (fixed)
Default Login Name novatech (case sensitive)
Default Password novatech (case sensitive)
Default Root Name root (case sensitive)
Default Root Password novatech (case sensitive)
Password Back Door There is no back door.

Table 5: Port A USB Communications Parameters

The connections for Power, ports P1 to P8, Ethernet, Inputs, and Outputs are described below in the
respective sections.

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 OrionLXm
Power Connections
The OrionLXm power input is located at the bottom left of the front panel.

The power supply voltage is indicated on the label above the connection port as shown in the following
figure. Figure 7 indicates that the Wide Range (24-250V dc/120-240V ac) power supply is installed in this
OrionLXm and the power connector would be keyed as shown in Figure 6.

The power connector is keyed to match the installed power supply.

Figure 6: WR Power Connector Keying

Power Supply Connector Key

WR – 24-250V dc/120-240V ac 110
LV – 12V dc 001

Table 6: Power Connector Keying

Wiring: The minimum recommended wiring for general use is an AWG #16 (1.29 mm diameter) copper
wire3; preferred or required values may be different depending on local or national codes and specific
OrionLXm use cases. The connectors accept #12-24 AWG wire, with the insulation stripped between 1/4”
to 3/8”.

Supply Disconnect: For user safety and regulatory compliance, the power connection must include a
means to disconnect the OrionLXm from all current-carrying conductors. This requirement may vary with
local or national codes and specific OrionLXm use cases.

Fuse: For user safety and regulatory compliance, a 3-amp 250V fast-acting fuse is required for general
use. Preferred or required values may be different depending on local or national codes and specific
OrionLXm use cases.

3Wire size recommendations based on Handbook of Electronic Tables and Formulas current carrying table,
assuming wiring in a bundle and the conservative estimate of 700 circular mils / amp.

37
 OrionLXm

Figure 7: OrionLXm Power Connection

Figure 8: Ground Lug

When the Orion is connected to power, attempting installation,

removal, or maintenance the screw terminal connections on the
outside of the Orion enclosure, or removing the cover of the Orion
enclosure and touching the power supply inside the enclosure, could
result in injury or death. Proper corporate and public safety
instructions must always be observed.

Protective Earth Ground: For user safety, optimal product operation, and regulatory compliance, a
minimum of one of the designated protective earth terminals of the OrionLXm must be connected to system
earth ground using an appropriate conductor. Note that the GND terminal (3) on the power connector is
not designated a protective earth terminal.

The minimum recommended connection for all general use is an AWG #16 (1.29 mm diameter) copper wire
with a crimped #8/#10 (4.07mm ID) ring terminal for connection to the OrionLXm. Preferred or required
values may be different depending on local or national codes, and specific OrionLXm use cases.

An adequate ground connection is required for safety and emissions compliance. NovaTech recommends
that all grounding be performed in accordance with ANSI/IEEE C57.13.3-1983.

The OrionLXm uses removable screw terminal compression fittings for power connections. These
connectors are removable and are keyed by voltage level so that a plug keyed for a higher voltage cannot
be plugged into a socket keyed for a lower voltage.

The OrionLXm also provides internal monitor points for indicating power. These input points are configured
with NCD (see section Sensor). Since the OrionLXm cannot communicate without the power supply
operating properly, a “Power Supply Status” indication is assumed to always be on.

38
 OrionLXm
Digital Input
The OrionLXm has one digital input (In1) on the front panel. This input uses a compression screw terminal
connector that accepts #12-24 gauge wire. The digital input is factory set to either 12-48V dc or 125 V dc
input. See Table 8 for exact voltage ranges. The input is optically isolated from the rest of the OrionLXm.
This input can be time stamped to 1ms when the OrionLXm is receiving quality time synchronization.

Figure 9: OrionLXm Digital Input Connection

Function In1 + In1 -

Terminal 11 12

Table 7: Digital Input Terminal Header

Input Range Turn-On Voltage Max. Current Drain

ILV (12-48V) 9.6-60V 2.1 mA per input
IHV (125V) 93-150V 2.1 mA per input

Table 8: Digital Input Turn-On Voltages and Current Draw

The input voltage can be changed in the field.

Changing the Digital Input Voltage

To change digital input voltage described in this section, complete the following steps.

1. Open the OrionLXm as described in Opening the OrionLXm Enclosure.

2. Locate the main board and jumper as described below.
3. Set the jumper for the desired settings as described in the following Figure 10.
4. Close the OrionLXm as described in Opening the OrionLXm Enclosure.

39
 OrionLXm

Figure 10: Digital Input Voltage Jumper

40
 OrionLXm
Alarm Output
The OrionLXm has one digital output (ALM) on the front panel to indicate an OrionLXm alarm status. This
output utilizes a compression screw terminal connector. The ALM contact is a form B (Normally Closed)
dry contact relay.

The output indicates an alarm condition upon restart until the unit has verified normal operating conditions.
The red Alarm LED on the front panel positioned under the In1 LED also indicates the alarm condition.

Figure 11: OrionLXm Digital Output Connection

Function ALM ALM

Terminal 13 14

Table 9: Digital Output Connection

Ethernet Ports
The standard OrionLXm comes with two copper Ethernet ports.

Figure 12: Dual Ethernet Ports

The Ethernet ports are labeled Eth0 and Eth1. Both ports are a 10/100BaseT full-duplex port with RJ45
female connectors.

An optional Ethernet configuration has one standard copper Ethernet port, Eth0 and a built-in unmanaged
six port Ethernet switch with ports Eth1-0, Eth1-1, Eth1-2, Eth1-3, Eth1-4, and Eth1-5. All

41
 OrionLXm
ports are 10/100BaseT full-duplex ports with RJ45 female connectors. Eth0 is set up with one IP address
and Eth1 is set up with another IP address.

Figure 13: Copper Ethernet Port and Built-in Ethernet Switch

Another optional Ethernet configuration has one multimode or single mode fiber Ethernet interface and a
built-in unmanaged six port Ethernet switch with ports Eth1-0, Eth1-1, Eth1-2, Eth1-3, Eth1-
4, and Eth1-5. The fiber Ethernet is a 100FX interface, LC connector, and all the copper ports are
10/100BaseT full-duplex ports with RJ45 female connectors. Eth0 is set up with one IP address and Eth1
is set up with another IP address.

Figure 14: Fiber Ethernet Port and Built-in Ethernet Switch

Setting the IP address and subnet mask for port ETH1 is the only configuration that the internal Ethernet
switch requires. Figure 15 illustrates how this switch integrates into the OrionLXm.

42
 OrionLXm

Figure 15: Ethernet Switch Application

43
 OrionLXm
IRIG-B Port
The IRIG-B input is standard in the OrionLXm. This input allows the OrionLXm to stay synced with an IRIG-
B/GPS clock within 1 millisecond. The OrionLXm uses a webpage to configure unmodulated or modulated
IRIG-B inputs (see Settings -> Time). The OrionLXm accepts standard IRIG-B as well as the IEEE 1344
IRIG-B extensions that provide a two-digit year.

Figure 16: IRIG-B Port

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 OrionLXm
OrionLXm Optional Cards
The OrionLXm can be set up with a total of two optional communication and/or I/O cards shown in the
following table. Any combination of cards is possible. If there is one I/O card and one communication card,
the I/O card is always the upper card, card B.

Card Type Card Description

S4 Communication card with four DB9 female ports which can
be configured in software for RS-232 and RS-485/422. See
Type S4 Communication Card.
T4 Communication card with three DB9 female ports and one
DB9 male bit port. These ports can be configured in software
for RS-232 and RS-485/422. See Type T4 Communication
Card.
F4 Communication card with four ST fiber serial ports. See
Type F4 Communication Card.
IL I/O card with 12 digital inputs and 4 digital outputs, 12-48V
dc nominal turn-on voltage. See Type IL and IH I/O Cards.
IH I/O card with 12 digital inputs and 4 digital outputs, 125V dc
nominal turn-on voltage. See Type IL and IH I/O Cards.

Table 10: OrionLXm Optional Cards

Changing Communication Card and I/O Card Settings

To change the communication card and I/O card settings described in the sections below, complete the
following steps.

1. Open the OrionLXm as described in Opening the OrionLXm Enclosure.

2. Locate the respective board and jumpers as described below. Make sure to use the descriptions
matching the version of the boards installed in your OrionLXm.
3. Set the jumpers for the desired settings as described below.
4. Close the OrionLXm as described in Opening the OrionLXm Enclosure.

45
 OrionLXm
Type S4 Communication Card
The S4 card provides four DB9 female ports which can operate both as RS-232 and RS-422/485 half/full
duplex ports. The operating mode is set up in the webpage shown in section S4 Communication Card.

The P1 jumper block on the S4 card sets the cards USB address for the upper or lower card slot in the
OrionLXm.

Slot P1 Jumper Pins

Lower 1-2, 4-5 and 7-8
(Card A)
Upper 2-3, 5-6 and 8-9
(Card B)

Table 11: S4 Communication Card Slot Addressing

Figure 17: S4 Communications Card

If operating as an RS-232 port, three jumpers are available for setting up the port to operate as standard
RS-232 port or SEL®-compatible RS-232 port, see Table 12 for pinout information. The S4 card in Figure
17 has all 4 ports configured for SEL®-compatible RS-232.

46
 OrionLXm
Standard RS-232 RS-232 with SEL
Mode Pinout
DB9 Pin SEL Pinout
JP1/4/7/10 = DCD JP1/4/7/10 = +5V dc
Number Description
JP2/5/8/11 = DSR JP2/5/8/11 = IRIG-B
JP3/6/9/12 = DTR JP3/6/9/12 = IRIG-B
1 DCD +5V dc Fused at 100 mA4
2 RxD RxD Receive Data
3 TxD TxD Transmit Data
4 DTR IRIG-B TTL Time Signal
5 GND GND Signal Ground
6 DSR IRIG-B GND Signal Ground for IRIG-B
7 RTS RTS Request to Send
8 CTS CTS Clear to Send
9 RI RI Ring Indicator

Table 12: RS-232 Pinout

If operating as RS-485 half duplex port, the pinouts are as follows.

DB9 Pin Signal Description

Number
1 NC Not connected
2 Tx/Rx+ Tx/Rx+
3 NC Not connected
4 NC Not connected
5 Ground Ground
6 NC Not connected
7 NC Not connected
8 Tx/Rx- Tx/Rx-
9 NC Not connected

Table 13: RS-485 Half Duplex Pinout

4 Capable of delivering up to 500mA. Total demand across all four ports on each card capped at 500mA.

47
 OrionLXm
If operating as an RS-485/422 full-duplex port, the pinout is as follows.

DB9 Pin Signal Description

Number
1 NC Not connected
2 Tx+ Transmit Data +
3 Rx+ Receive Data +
4 NC Not connected
5 Ground Ground
6 NC Not connected
7 Rx- Receive Data -
8 Tx- Transmit Data -
9 NC Not connected

Table 14: RS-485/422 Full Duplex Pinout

Type T4 Communication Card

The T4 card provides three DB9 female ports which can operate both as RS-232 and RS-485/422 half/full
duplex ports. These three ports behave the same as the ports on the S4 card, and they use the same
pinouts explained in the previous tables (Table 12, Table 13, and Table 14).

In addition, the T4 card provides one DB9 male bit port in the slot furthest to the right. In the following
image, ports 5 through 8 display a T4 card. The Port 8 connector contains the male bit port.

The setup is described in section T4 Communication Card.

Figure 18: OrionLXm with T4 Bit Serial Ports

48
 OrionLXm
The bit port handles bit-oriented support for legacy protocols. The logic levels match RS-232 levels. The
message framing is unique to the specific bit protocol. The specific bit protocol firmware is programmed at
the factory and stored on the individual communication card.

The DB9 male bit port has the following pinout.

DB9
Male Pin Description
Number
2 Bit Receive
3 Bit Transmit
5 Ground
7 RTS
8 CTS

Table 15: T4 Bit Serial Card Pinout

Slot P1 Jumper Pins

Lower 1-2, 4-5 and 7-8
(Card A)
Upper 2-3, 5-6 and 8-9
(Card B)

Table 16: T4 Communication Card Slot Addressing

Type F4 Communication Card

The F4 card provides four serial fiber ports with wavelength of 800-850nm. It is shown in the top slot in the
following figure.

The setup is described in section F4 Communication Card.

49
 OrionLXm

Figure 19: OrionLXm with ST Fiber Serial Ports

Figure 20: F4 Communication Card – P1 Jumper

Slot Jumper Pins

Lower 1-2, 4-5 and 7-8
(Card A)
Upper 2-3, 5-6 and 8-9
(Card B)

Table 17: F4 Communication Card Slot Addressing

50
 OrionLXm
Type IL and IH I/O Cards
The OrionLXm can support one or two optional built-in discrete I/O cards. Each card has 12 digital inputs
and 4 digital outputs with LEDs to display I/O status. These connectors use compression screw terminal
connectors that accept #12-24 gauge wire. The IL option has 12-48V dc nominal turn-on voltage and the
IH option has 125-250V dc nominal turn-on voltage. The outputs are two form A (Normally Open) and two
form C (Normally Open/Normally Closed) dry contacts rated to up to 10A max continuous with whetting
voltage present sense options.

Figure 21: OrionLXm with I/O Card

The P1 jumper block on the I/O card sets the cards USB address for the upper or lower card slot in the
OrionLXm. When the cards are installed in the OrionLXm and shipped from the factory, the jumpers are
set correctly and changing the jumpers is not required. It is only required when cards are changed in the
field.

Slot P1 Jumper Pins

Lower 1-2 and 4-5
(Card A)
Upper 2-3 and 5-6
(Card B)

Table 18: I/O Card Slot Addressing

Inputs

The inputs are grouped in two groups of six each (1-6 and 7-12). These inputs utilize compression screw
terminal connectors that accept #12-24 gauge wire. Each group of 6 digital inputs shares a common input
(Com). The input circuitry provides 1000V channel-to-channel isolation. Inputs can be time stamped to
10ms when the OrionLXm is receiving quality time synchronization.

LEDs provide the input status for each input and will be illuminated when the turn-on voltage is detected.

51
 OrionLXm
Upper In1 In2 In3 In4 In5 In6 1-6 In7 In8 In9 In10 In11 In12 7-12
Card + + + + + + Com + + + + + + Com
− −
Terminal 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64

Table 19: Input Terminal Numbering for I/O Card in Upper Slot (Card B)

Lower In1 In2 In3 In4 In5 In6 1-6 In7 In8 In9 In10 In11 In12 7-12
Card + + + + + + Com + + + + + + Com
− −
Terminal 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

Table 20: Input Terminal Numbering for I/O Card in Lower Slot (Card A)

Figure 22: Input Circuit

Two versions of the I/O card currently exist for the OrionLXm. Revision B (Figure 23) and Revision C
(Figure 24) differ in the number of jumpers (JP) on the board as shown in Table 21 and by the location of
the shunt storage on the board.

In Revision B of the I/O card, jumpers JP3 - JP14 select the input range. In Revision C of the I/O card,
jumpers JP3 - JP6 select the input range. Each input is current limited.

JP3 through JP14 (Rev B) Input Turn-On Voltage Max. Current Drain
JP3 through JP6 (Rev C) Range

Input Jumper Installed 12-48V 9-90V 2.1 mA per input

Input Jumper Removed 125V 90-250V 2.1 mA per input

Table 21: Input Voltage Range Jumpers

Although the individual pairs of jumper pins in both versions serve identical functional purposes, the
designation numbers for each pair have changed. Table 22 and Table 23 describe the functions assigned
to each pair of jumper pins in both cards.

52
 OrionLXm
In both revisions of the I/O card, the default state, whether high voltage (9-90V dc, jumper off) or low voltage
(90-250V dc, jumper on), for each jumper is determined by the purchaser and set in the factory. These
jumper states can be manually adjusted in the field.

Figure 23: IL and IH Circuit Board, Revision B

Revision B Jumper On Jumper Off

Jumpers
JP3 Input 1 set to LV Input 1 set to HV
JP4 Input 2 set to LV Input 2 set to HV
JP5 Input 3 set to LV Input 3 set to HV
JP6 Input 4 set to LV Input 4 set to HV
JP7 Input 5 set to LV Input 5 set to HV
JP8 Input 6 set to LV Input 6 set to HV
JP9 Input 7 set to LV Input 7 set to HV
JP10 Input 8 set to LV Input 8 set to HV
JP11 Input 9 set to LV Input 9 set to HV
JP12 Input 10 set to LV Input 10 set to HV
JP13 Input 11 set to LV Input 11 set to HV
JP14 Input 12 set to LV Input 12 set to HV

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 OrionLXm
Revision B Jumper On Jumper Off
Jumpers
JP15 Monitoring enabled for Output 1 Monitoring disabled for Output 1
JP16 Monitoring enabled for Output 2 Monitoring disabled for Output 2
JP17 Monitoring enabled for Output 3 Monitoring disabled for Output 3
JP18 Monitoring enabled for Output 4 Monitoring disabled for Output 4
JP19 Shunt storage (no electrical connection) Shunt storage (no electrical connection)

Table 22: Revision B Jumper Designations

Figure 24: IL and IH Circuit Board, Revision C

Revision C Jumper On Jumper Off

Jumpers
JP3, pin 1-2 Input 1 set to LV Input 1 set to HV
JP3, pin 3-4 Input 2 set to LV Input 2 set to HV
JP3, pin 5-6 Input 3 set to LV Input 3 set to HV
JP4, pin 1-2 Input 4 set to LV Input 4 set to HV
JP4, pin 3-4 Input 5 set to LV Input 5 set to HV
JP4, pin 5-6 Input 6 set to LV Input 6 set to HV
JP5, pin 1-2 Input 7 set to LV Input 7 set to HV

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 OrionLXm
Revision C Jumper On Jumper Off
Jumpers
JP5, pin 3-4 Input 8 set to LV Input 8 set to HV
JP5, pin 5-6 Input 9 set to LV Input 9 set to HV
JP6, pin 1-2 Input 10 set to LV Input 10 set to HV
JP6, pin 3-4 Input 11 set to LV Input 11 set to HV
JP6, pin 5-6 Input 12 set to LV Input 12 set to HV
JP7 Monitoring enabled for output 1 Monitoring disabled for output 1
JP8 Monitoring enabled for output 2 Monitoring disabled for output 2
JP9 Monitoring enabled for output 3 Monitoring disabled for output 3
JP10 Monitoring enabled for output 4 Monitoring disabled for output 4
JP11 Shunt storage (no electrical connection) Shunt storage (no electrical connection)

Table 23: Revision C Jumper Designations

You can manually turn on any set of two jumper pins by separating a shunt from the shunt storage cluster
(Figure 25) and setting the shunt over the two jumper pins (Figure 26). This procedure activates the
jumper, which changes the corresponding input to the low voltage setting. For example, in Figure 26, to
set input 2 to low voltage, set a shunt over pins 3 and 4 in JP3. To revert the input to the high voltage
setting, remove the shunt from the jumper pins.

Figure 25: Shunt Storage (Revision C)

Figure 26: Jumper Pins (Revision C)

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Outputs

Both the high voltage and the low voltage version of the I/O card has 4 digital outputs with LEDs to display
the output status and the resulting input status. These outputs utilize compression screw terminal
connectors that accept #12-24 gauge wire. Outputs Out1 and Out2 are Form C dry contacts and the
outputs Out3 and Out4 are Form A (Normally Open) dry contacts.

Upper Out1 Out1 Out1 Out2 Out2 Out2 Out3 Out3 Out4 Out4
Card NC C NO NC C NO C NO C NO
Terminal 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80

Table 24: Output Terminal Numbering for I/O Card in Upper Slot

Lower Out1 Out1 Out1 Out2 Out2 Out2 Out3 Out3 Out4 Out4
Card NC C NO NC C NO C NO C NO
Terminal 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Table 25: Output Terminal Numbering for I/O Card in Lower Slot

There are two LEDs for each output point. The Relay LED will be illuminated when the relay coil is
energized. The Status LED will be illuminated when the channel’s Whetting Voltage Sense jumper is
installed, and voltage is detected across the open relay contacts (see Table 26). When Whetting Voltage
Sense is enabled, there will be a leakage of less than 1mA across the open relay terminals.

The contact status for each output can be obtained by monitoring voltage on the relay contacts. These
status inputs are enabled by installing the output sense jumpers for your revision. Revision B uses JP15
through JP18 and Revision C uses JP 7 through 10. The first output jumper (either JP15 or JP7, depending
on revision) enables monitoring of Out1, and the last output jumper (either JP18 or JP10) enables
monitoring of Out4. The following table shows the voltage ranges and leakage current for the voltage
monitoring.

If the output jumpers are installed, the status inputs are polarity sensitive when used
with DC voltages. The DC common must be connected to the relay common. The
positive DC voltage must be connected to either the NO or NC terminal.

Input Range JP15 through JP18 Max. Leakage Current

70-250V ac Jumper Installed <1 mA per input
or
9-250V dc
N/A Jumper Removed N/A

Table 26: Contact Monitoring Jumpers and Leakage Current

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Mounting Instructions
The Orion can be mounted in a variety of ways:
▪ Single OrionLXm in 19" rack
▪ Dual mount two OrionLXm's side-by-side in 19" rack
▪ Panel mount, multiple options
▪ DIN rail mount, multiple options

Ensure that the OrionLXm is mounted in compliance with all applicable

safety requirements.

Figure 27: 19" Rack Flush Mounting

Figure 28: 19" Rack Recessed Mounting with Cable Holes

Figure 29: Dual Mount Option

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Figure 30: Conventional Horizontal Panel Mount

Figure 31: Horizontal Mount - Top of Panel and Bottom of Panel Options

Figure 32: Vertical Panel Mount Options

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Figure 33: Vertical DIN Rail Mount

Note: When mounting in Vertical Panel Mount (Figure 32), Vertical DIN Rail Mount (Figure 33), and
other vertical configurations, mount with the power supply side (indicated by the power
connector) facing up.

OrionLXm Dimensioned Drawings

OrionLXm drawings are available in the Power Community at www.novatechautomation.com.

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III.NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD)

Introduction to NovaTech Configuration Director (NCD)

NCD is Windows®-based configuration software with a practical and straightforward graphical user interface
(GUI) that does not require special programming or scripting. NCD is available for download at
www.novatech-llc.com/support. This requires an account which you may obtain from
orion.support@novatechautomation.com. Communications are easily set up between the Orion and
protocol clients, Human Machine Interfaces (HMI), Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), or Intelligent
Electronic Devices (IED) such as relays and meters. For many server devices (i.e. devices being polled by
the Orion), default files are available that contain the device’s standard input and output points with name,
point address, and range. This further facilitates fast setup of the Orion.

NCD is used to set up the following features of an OrionLXm configuration. The setup of other features not
listed here is described in section Orion Webpage.

▪ Hardware model and options selection

▪ Serial and network port setup
▪ Input/output point lists for each client and server port
▪ Allow forcing of input/output points for commissioning and troubleshooting
▪ Add-on features:
- Alarm/Archive/Retentive
- Alias
- Average Archive
- Configuration Manager Agent
- Data Logger
- Orion Redundancy
- Points Blocking
- Pseudo Client
- Pusher Server
- Hardware Sensor
- System Logger
- Text Module
▪ Input/output hardware
▪ Logic
- Math & Logic
- Advanced Math & Logic (Lua)
- LogicPak
- DA
- IEC 61131-3

Once the Orion’s configuration has been created off-line and saved to the respective files (.ncd, .ncz, .lua,
.bas), the respective files must be transferred from the PC to the Orion in one of the following ways:

▪ USB or SSH connection between the PC running NCD and the OrionLXm. Option File Transfer (PC ->
ORION) of the Orion’s MMI transfers the configurations file to the Orion.
▪ Ethernet connection between the PC running NCD and the Orion. After logging in on the webpage, the
configuration files can be transferred to the OrionLXm as described in User Files.
▪ One Click Transfer option from the NCD window using an SSH connection between the PC and
the OrionLXm as described in the Quick Access Toolbar section.

In addition to the configuration options, NCD provides a built-in terminal window for viewing of data values,
port communications, device statistics, system events, and system/version information. It also allows

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firmware file and log file transfers via Z-Modem (bi-directional), as well as pass-through to connected relays
and meters. This allows using the respective manufacturer’s programming software to configure the relays
and meters, retrieve event information, etc. Section Orion MMI provides a full explanation of these features.

System Requirements
The PC running NCD must meet the following requirements:
▪ > 100MB hard drive space
▪ Windows 8®, Windows 10®, or Windows 11®
▪ .NET 4.0
▪ Mouse
▪ Graphics resolution 1024x768 or better
▪ CD/DVD Drive (when using the optional NCD installation CD)
▪ USB port
▪ Ethernet port

Copyright Information
NCD may be installed on multiple computers as needed under the following conditions:

▪ The computers must be owned by the end user or its subsidiary.

▪ The NCD installation must be used for an Orion-related project.

All files installed by NCD are protected by copyright and may not be shared with any third party. By installing
NCD on a computer, the installer agrees to these terms and conditions.

Outline of NCD Sections

The section Installation of NCD provides the step by step procedure to install NCD from the download of
the NCD software from the NovaTech customer service web site or using the NCD Installation CD that was
ordered with the OrionLXm. This section also describes the associated files that are installed and their
location in the computers file directory.

The section Running NCD explains how the various OrionLXm options are configured using NCD. The
respective protocol and software manuals that pertain to the installed options must be available for setup.
For example, if the DNP3 Client over TCP/IP was ordered with the OrionLXm, the corresponding DNP3
Client Software Manual explains the DNP3-specific parameters, such as RTU addresses, point types,
communication parameters, etc.

In addition to creating the Orion’s configuration file, NCD also supports online communication ports for
connection to the OrionLXm Man Machine Interface (MMI) menu. This feature is fully explained in section
Orion MMI.

All manuals are installed as .pdf files on the PC’s hard drive during the installation process described in the
following section Installation of NCD. Once the installation has been completed, the manual can be opened
as follows:

▪ In NCD, select Help -> Documentation.

▪ Windows 10® or Windows 11®: Press the Windows key to get to the Start Menu, then go to NovaTech
NCD3 -> NCD Documentation.

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Figure 34: Orion Documentation Location

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Installation of NCD
There are two NCD installation methods available:
▪ Standard NCD Install is the most commonly used and requires user interaction while installing NCD
software, USB serial port drivers, and optional Inkscape software.
▪ Passive NCD Install is used by IT professionals and runs from the command line or scripts to install
NCD software only. The USB drivers and optional Inkscape software must be installed with a separate
command.

Standard NCD Installation

The standard NCD installation will install the NovaTech Configuration Director software and user interface
but it will also install several other file sets that will be used to support the configuration and operation of
the Orion. See Table 27 for a listing of the other directories and the file types that will be installed with
NCD.

Note: Antivirus software running on the PC may cause some NCD software files to not be installed.
To avoid this possibility, either disable the antivirus software during NCD installation,
approximately 10 minutes, or have the IT department “white list” or approve the NovaTech
NCD software if temporary disabling is not possible.

NCD is installed on a PC as follows:

▪ Unzip the downloaded .zip file with NCD to a directory on the PC. In that directory, run the file setup.exe.
▪ If installing from the NCD installation CD, insert the CD into the PC’s CD drive. If the PC is set up to
autorun, the NCD installation will start automatically. If the installation does not start automatically, then
open a command prompt and type x:\setup.exe where x is the name of the CD drive (E:, etc.).

To complete the installation, the PC must be restarted. When the PC has completed the restart, NCD can
be opened. See Running NCD to configure Orion for operation.

Passive NCD Installation

To facilitate the installation of NCD from the command line or a script, the NCD Passive installation can be
used. The NCD Passive installation is run from a command line input and does not require user response
during the NCD installation process.

Note: The passive install does not install the Orion Serial Port Driver or Inkscape Extension during
the NCD installation. These will need to be installed individually on the machines.

From the root directory on the NCD installation disk, with administrative rights, enter one of the two following
commands:
▪ setup -passiveinstall This will install to the default file locations (Figure 35).
▪ setup -passiveinstall “C:\[user defined directory]”

To install the serial port driver, go to \\USBDriver\OrionLXm\ftdDrivers in the installation .zip file
and run with administrative rights:

To install the Inkscape Extension, from the root directory on the NCD installation .zip file, run with
administrative rights:

OrionInkscapeExtension /S

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NCD Default File Information

NCD and accompanying files are installed in the following directories as shown in Figure 35.

C:/Program Files(x86)/NovaTech LLC/NCD3/

Figure 35: NCD Program Directory Structure

Directory Description
\Defaults Default files for IEDs and relays supported by the Orion. New default files
can be added as needed and described by each respective protocol
manual. The default files are .csv (comma separated value) files.
\Docs All related documentation regarding the following: NCD, Orion, protocols,
and Technical Notes.
\HMI Library Library collection of .svg graphic images of equipment faceplates, control
panel elements, substation symbols and other elements to be used in the
one-line diagrams.
\LogicSimulator LogicSimulator.exe allows running the logic program on the PC to
check it for errors before transferring it to the Orion.
\USB Driver\OrionLXm The USB driver for communication between the PC and the Orion via USB
cable.
\HWDEF Internal software directories.
\IEC61131-3
\Protocols
\WIC

Table 27: NCD Program Directory Structure

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The NCD configuration files, user-defined connection settings, and user-defined default files are stored by
default under \My Documents\NCD\ as shown in Figure 36. Of course, other directories can be set up
as needed for storing these files.

Figure 36: NCD Data Directory Structure

Directory Description
\Captures By default, any files with MMI captures are stored in this directory. These files
can also be stored elsewhere on the PC if desired. See section User Settings
- Capture Tab for details.
\Connections User-defined .conn files for the NCD connections with the Orion.
\NCDFiles Orion .ncd configuration files and associated logic files.
\UserDefaultFiles User-defined default files for IEDs and relays. New default files can be added
as needed and described by each respective protocol manual. The default
files must be .csv (comma separated value) files.
\UserMIBFiles Management Information Base (.mib) files for the devices monitored by the
SNMP Manager.
\UserSCLFiles Any .scl, .icd, or .cid files imported by the user in the IEC 61850 driver are
stored in this directory. See the IEC 61850 Client Software Manual for more
details.

Table 28: NCD Data Directory Structure

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Running NCD
To open NCD3 there are multiple paths that can be used. For example:

▪ On the desktop, double click the NCD3 shortcut icon.

▪ Press the Windows key to get to the Start Menu, then go to NovaTech NCD3 -> NCD3.
▪ Use the file path C:\Program Files (x86)\NovaTech LLC\NCD3\NCD3.exe

Opening NCD3 will display the NCD opening screen and main menu (Figure 37).

NCD Main Menu

The main menu of NCD provides the options listed in Table 29. A more in-depth description, including all
sub-options, is found in the following sections.

Multiple Orion configurations can be opened and edited simultaneously.

Figure 37: NCD Opening Screen - Main Menu

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Menu Bar Description
File Access to .ncd file-related options, such as New, Open, Close, Save, Save As,
and recently edited files. Each .ncd file contains a single configuration for an
Orion. Multiple .ncd files can be transferred to the Orion, but the Orion can run
only one configuration at any given time. See File Menu for a full explanation of
all file-related options.
Edit The automatic login data to the Orion Support Site, NCD Update Options, settings
to enable logging of events and errors, changing default file locations, and setting
capture file parameters are all accessed with this menu option. See Edit Menu for
a full explanation of all edit related options.
Communications This option manages the Online connections from the PC to the Orion. See
Communications Menu for a full explanation of all communications related options.
The Orion’s man machine interface (MMI) can be accessed with both NCD and
standard terminal software, such as WinTerminal, CRT, etc. The Orion’s MMI is
fully explained in the Orion MMI section.
Window If multiple windows are open in NCD, this option allows arranging the windows
vertically or horizontally, or cascading of the windows.
Help This option provides the standard About information, as well as Protocol Info
which summarizes the current configuration.
Configure The entire Orion configuration is set up from this option, including hardware
configuration and options, software, port configurations, addresses, IP addresses,
input/output point lists, poll rates, etc. See Configure Menu for all configuration-
related options.
Note: The Configure menu selection is only available when an .ncd file is
open.

Table 29: NCD Main Menu

Quick Access Toolbar

Below the main menu is the Quick Access Toolbar (Figure 38) which provides one click access to some of
the most used commands.

Figure 38: Quick Access Toolbar

See Table 30 for the descriptions of these icons.

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Toolbar Icon Menu Command Description
File -> New Starts the configuration for a new .ncd file by first
specifying the hardware that will support this NCD file.
New
File -> Open Open an existing .ncd file.

Open
File -> Save All Saves all .ncd files currently open.
Save File
Communications > Opens Manage Connections command menu to
Online Connections manage the Online maintenance connections from the
Connections PC to the OrionLXm.
Configure Orion One Click Transfer. When only one
NCD file is open and the hardware model is OrionLX+,
OrionSX, OrionLXm, OrionMX, or Orion I/O, you can
Configure setup a connection between NCD and the Orion to
Orion One (none) transfer the NCD and logic files to the Orion and
Click automatically activate the file set. One Click
Transfer configuration requires the user to select an SSH
connection from the Communications menu and the
username/password for the Orion.
The Orion One Click Transfer icon will be active once
the One Click Configuration parameters have been
One Click (none)
entered. Clicking the icon will transfer the NCD and logic
Transfer files to the Orion and automatically activate the file set.
Help -> About This provides the standard About information for the
NovaTech NCD software.
About

Table 30: Quick Access Toolbar Description

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File Menu
This menu has the commands for maintaining the .ncd files which contain the Orion configuration data.
See Table 31 for a description of the File menu commands.

Figure 39: File Menu

Command Description
New Starts the configuration for a new Orion .ncd file. This configuration will later be saved
with Save or Save As. When creating a new configuration, the Select Hardware
window (see Figure 40) will be displayed. Select the hardware Model and any
Options that are installed. Select Cascaded NCD File if this Orion is the
Cascading Client of a cascaded configuration. When using cascaded Orion's, refer
to Cascading Software Manual as well as section Cascaded Orions. After selecting
the Orion hardware, the next step is the Configure Menu.
Open Opens an existing .ncd file. The installed default directory location is,
C:\My Documents\NCD\NCDFiles\. However, the .ncd file and the associated
.bas, .lua, and/or .ncz files can be stored anywhere on the PC.
Save All If multiple .ncd files are open, this option is enabled for saving all open files at the
same time.

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Command Description
Save Saves the current Orion configuration to the corresponding .ncd file (and associated
.bas file for Math & Logic, .lua file for Advanced Math & Logic, .ncz for IEC 61850 and
IEC 61131) already on the hard drive. If this is the first time that this configuration is
saved to file, a Save As window will appear. If multiple configurations are open, the
configuration to be saved must be selected (Figure 41).
Save As Saves the current Orion configuration to a new .ncd file (and associated .bas file if
Math & Logic is used or .lua file if Advanced Math & Logic is used). The new file
name must be entered. If multiple configurations are open, the configuration to be
saved must be selected (see Figure 41).
Close Closes the open Orion configuration without saving any new or changed parameters
to an .ncd file. If multiple configurations are open, the configuration to be closed must
be selected (see Figure 41). If the configuration has unsaved changes, a
confirmation message will ask if saving the file is desired before closing.
Page/Printer Provides the fields to setup printer paper size and source, orientation and margins
Setup for the selected .ncd file that is to be printed.
Print Opens a Print Preview window displaying the selected .ncd files data in the format
Preview that was specified.
Print Opens a Print window that allows for printer selection, page range to print and number
of copies to print for the selected .ncd file.
Convert There are several conversion operations available as shown in Figure 42.
▪ NCD file from Orion5r to OrionLX… converts an .ncd file which has
originally been set up for an Orion5r to an OrionLX. If the existing Orion5r
configuration includes Modbus Plus, this function converts all related configuration
information to Modbus TCP.
▪ NCD file from OrionLX to OrionLX+ converts an existing .ncd file which
has been set up for an OrionLX to an OrionLX+ .ncd file. The conversion sets the
NovaCard type to NC1, removes Power Supply 1 and Power Supply 2
Status points from the SER Client and adds Power Supply 1 and Power
Supply 2 online points to the Sensor Client.
▪ NCD file from Standard to Cascaded Client (Create New)… converts
an existing .ncd file which has originally been set up for a stand-alone Orion into
a new .ncd file for the client Orion of several cascaded Orions.
▪ NCD file from Standard to Cascaded Server (Import into
Existing)… converts an existing .ncd file which has originally been set up for a
stand-alone Orion, and makes it part of an existing cascaded .ncd file.
▪ Math and Logic to Advanced Math and Logic… converts .bas logic to
.lua logic. The Orion will support both logic types; however, using Advanced Math
& Logic offers more user flexibility and options. This conversion tool will convert
both the .bas to .lua as well as update any references in the .ncd file from .bas to
.lua.
Show This option compares two .ncd files. The result of the comparison is displayed in a
Differences window and can be copied to the clipboard or saved to a file for detailed analysis.
Relay Helper The Relay Helper supports configuration for SEL® relays and is described in the
SEL® Client Software Manual.

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Command Description
Reorder This function opens an existing .ncd file for reordering the network ports. Then the
Network network ports can be rearranged by clicking
Ports in NCD the Move Up and Move Down buttons as shown in Figure 43.
File
IEC 61850 This option is used to create a SCL file that models and configures logical devices,
Model logical nodes, data objects, and data attributes to the specifications required by IEC
Builder 61850 standards.
Exit Exits NCD. If the current configuration has not yet been saved to an .ncd file, an
additional prompt allows saving the file before exiting.

Table 31: NCD File Menu Descriptions

Figure 40: Select Hardware

Figure 41: Selecting Configuration for Save, Save As, Close

Note: An asterisk (*) following the file name indicates unsaved changes to the file.

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Figure 42: Convert Operations

Figure 43: Reorder Network Ports

Note: An Orion configuration is stored as an .ncd file on the PC’s hard drive. If logic is used, NCD
stores the logic in an associated .bas or .lua file located in the same directory. The name of
the .bas or .lua file is stored in the corresponding .ncd file.

If the .ncd file has been renamed, or the .ncd file has been moved without moving the associated .bas or
.lua file, NCD displays a prompt for the missing .bas or .lua file file (see Figure 44). This is because the
.ncd file still contains the original name of the associated .bas or .lua file, but now the .bas or .lua file has a
new name, or is still in one directory while the .ncd file is in another directory. If the correct logic file name
is not entered, NCD will continue with an empty logic file.

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Figure 44: NCD Prompt for Logic File

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Edit Menu
The Edit menu sets up features related to the operation of NCD.

Figure 45: Edit Menu

Once Settings is selected, the User Settings window opens with the Updates tab selected (Figure
46).

Figure 46: User Settings – Updates Tab

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User Settings - Updates Tab

Under the Updates tab (Figure 46), the following features can be set up.

Orion Support Site User Information

Entering the NovaTech-issued User Name and Password allows automatic login to the NovaTech Orion
Support site to obtain update information . If the User Name and Password have not yet been issued,
clicking Request User Name generates an email to NovaTech using the default email client software
installed on the PC, such as Outlook.

NCD Update Options

NCD is updated based on the option selected here. Updates can be installed automatically whenever they
are available. A notification can be displayed when an update becomes available. If the update is
downloaded, the update will be installed automatically when NCD is restarted. If desired, updates can be
disabled altogether. The number of backup copies of the previous install to keep is designated here. This
can range from 0-3 with a default value of 3.

Proxy Server

If the PC is connected to the Internet using a proxy server, its address and port number must be entered to
allow NCD to access the NovaTech server.

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User Settings - General Tab

In the first checkbox, the splash screen on NCD startup can be enabled and disabled.

Selecting the Log Program Events/Errors box logs the NCD events and errors to the log file specified
in the following field. View Log File opens the current log file for viewing, and Delete Log
File deletes the current log file.

If a specific default directory for NCD files, user default files, user SCL files, or user MIB files is needed
which is different from the NCD standard location, it must be entered in directory path field. To browse for
the desired file location, click the “Browse for Folder button” .

Figure 47: User Settings – General Tab

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User Settings - Capture Tab

The live communications between the OrionLXm and other devices can be captured to a file as described
in section Communication Window. The settings for the capture file are configured under the Capture tab
as shown in Figure 48.

If the Enable Capture File Limits box is not checked, the capture file can potentially occupy all
remaining free space on the hard drive. If the Enable Capture File Limits box is checked, the size
of the capture file and the number of capture files can be set.

File Size Limit sets the upper limit for a log file. The default maximum is 10 MB.

Limit Number of Capture Files limits the number of log files. The default value is 10.

If Rollover is enabled, the oldest capture file will be deleted when the above limits are reached. If the
box is not checked, the capture will stop when the above limits are reached.

Figure 48: User Settings – Capture Tab

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Configure Menu
The options under the menu item Configure set up all aspects of the Orion with regard to client and server
port configuration, point lists, logic, logging, redundancy, etc.

Figure 49: Configure Menu

The configuration is stored in an .ncd file on the PC’s hard drive using the steps described in the previous
section. If logic is used, NCD stores the logic in an associated .bas or .lua file located in the same directory.
Once the .ncd (and .bas/.lua) file is created, it can be transferred from the PC to the OrionLXm using the
One Click Transfer feature in the Quick Access Toolbar (Ethernet connection), the Orion Webpage
(Ethernet connection) or Orion MMI (serial connection or Ethernet connection).

The data protocols available in the NCD installation for Serial Ports and Network are shown in Figure
55 and Figure 58.

Options under NKI – Time Interface, Add Ons, Hardware I/O, and Logic are marked with
once they are configured.

Additional drivers and options can be obtained by contacting NovaTech.

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Standard Software Features

The following software is standard for all Orion's.

▪ NKI – Time Interface

▪ System Logger
▪ Sensor

Other software options must be ordered specifically.

General

The following window is displayed for this selection. Table 7 provides the description for each setting in
the General Settings window.

Figure 50: General Settings

Setting Description
Force Inputs Allows forcing of input points from the Orion’s MMI console. If the box is checked
here and the input is forced in the MMI, the client station will see the input point
with the value forced at the Orion MMI, as opposed to the value obtained from
the end device. This feature helps debug the communication between the client
station and the Orion without having to force input values in the end device. See
section Data Menu in the MMI section of this manual for details. Note that for a
user to be able to force inputs, the user account must be set up with this option
(see section Group Management).

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Setting Description
Force Outputs Allows forcing of output points from the Orion’s MMI console. If the box is
checked here and the output is forced in the MMI, the end device will receive a
value for an output point as forced by the Orion as opposed to sending a value
all the way from the client. This feature helps debug the communication between
the end device and the Orion without having to send output values in from the
client. See section Data Menu in the MMI section of this manual for details. Note
that for a user to be able to force outputs, the user account must be set up with
this option (see section Group Management).
Comments This field allows recording of any kind of notes regarding this configuration, such
as location, specific parameters, history, etc.

Table 32: General Settings

Enabling Force Inputs allows forcing of input values through the

Orion’s MMI console. Then, the forced Orion data point(s) will indicate
an equipment state or condition to the SCADA master that is only
simulated and does not reflect the actual state or condition. This may
lead the SCADA master or personnel to initiate operations based on the
simulated state as opposed to the actual state. The necessary
permissions must be obtained from the control center and other
departments in accordance with your corporate safety and operating
guidelines. Failure to do so could result in equipment damage, injury,
and/or death.

Enabling Force Outputs allows forcing of output values through the

Orion’s MMI console. This may operate a live piece of equipment on the
end device, the same way it would be operated locally, or from the front
end/SCADA master. The necessary permissions must be obtained from
the control center and other departments in accordance with your
corporate safety and operating guidelines. Failure to do so could result
in equipment damage, injury, and/or death.

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Hardware Model Information

The various models of Orion family are available with numerous options. For the OrionLXm, the Model
OrionLXm must be selected. If the OrionLXm has an I/O card installed, the I/O Cards (IIO) box should
also be checked.

Figure 51: OrionLXm Hardware Configuration

When the NCD file that is open is a cascaded NCD file, the model of the client and server(s) cannot be
change but their options may be changed.

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Operations in the Port Setup Windows

Most of the options described in the following sections are configured using a port setup window with the
following Port Options displayed at the top of the window. Depending on the port type, all options may
not be available.

The asterisk (*) on the right side of the title bar text indicates that the current NCD setup has not yet been
saved.

Figure 52: Port Operations

Setting Description
Copy The current port configuration can be copied or moved to another port in the same
Move Orion configuration. If multiple configuration files are open, the ports in the other
configuration files are listed as well as targets for the copy or move operation.
Any port-specific parameters are automatically adjusted to the target port. All
other parameters are simply moved or copied.
Delete Remove the current port with all configured parameters and data points from the
configuration. If other ports map points defined on this port, these ports are
affected by the removal of this port.
Close After configuring all parameters and data points for this port, clicking this option
closes the port setup window.

Table 33: Port Operations

Figure 53: Choose Port for Copy/Move

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Serial Ports

With the exception of Port A (USB console port), all ports can be individually configured with a specific
protocol, and the related communication parameters, device lists, and point lists. All ports are independent
of each other, i.e. there are no limitations on the combinations of protocols used. After selecting a port in
Figure 54, the protocol selection screen in Figure 55 allows the selecting of the protocol for the port.

Figure 54: Serial Port Selection

Port Description
Port A Built-in diagnostic USB port. The communication parameters are 115200N81 and cannot
be changed.
Port B Not available on the OrionLXm.
Port C
Port D
Port 1-8 These ports can be RS-232, RS-485, RS-422, fiber, and various bit protocols depending
on the modules ordered and installed in each slot (see section OrionLXm Optional Cards.)

Table 34: OrionLXm Ports

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Figure 55: Serial Port Protocol Selection

After selecting the protocol, refer to the specific NovaTech protocol documentation to configure the port
communication parameters, RTU/device list, input point list, output point list, poll groups, and any other
related parameters. Example settings for Modbus Serial Server:

Figure 56: Serial Port Configuration

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Network Port

Under Network, the network ports are configured. Port 23 is a default HTTP Server port. Selecting
Configure New Port (Figure 57) adds a new port to the configuration using protocol which is selected
on the screen shown in Figure 58.

Figure 57: Network Port Configuration

Figure 58: Network Port Protocol Selection Menu

After selecting the protocol, refer to the specific NovaTech protocol documentation to configure the port
communication parameters, RTU/device list, input point list, output point list, poll groups, and any other
related parameters.

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NKI – Time Interface

The OrionLXm time synchronization software module is a standard Orion feature. It is used for obtaining
and distributing time. This module samples IRIG-B and/or NTP time sources, providing highly accurate
time and date in the Orion. IRIG-B and NTP can be sampled concurrently for redundant time sources. The
Orion can, in turn, distribute time via IRIG-B and NTP.

Synchronization is accomplished through constant sampling. Thousands of time samples are required
before the Orion adjusts its time. On power up, it can take the Orion up to 30 minutes to set the Time
Quality Flag, which indicates 1 ms accuracy. Under rare circumstances, it can take up to 8 hours for the
flag to set when no frequency drift file is present on the Orion.

On the Port tab, the Orion driver and port information is entered. For most configurations, the default
parameters generated during creation of the configuration file are correct and need not be changed.

Figure 59: NKI – Port Setup

Parameter Description
Port Name The default name is NTP Kernel If the name is changed, the new port name
should describe the port’s purpose, as this will provide self-explaining MMI
menus when the Orion is operating. This string can be up to 30 characters
long, and can contain all printable characters except @, [, ], ', ", &, =, and
commas.
Module Name The Module Name specifies which protocol driver will be utilized in the Orion.
NKI defaults to mnki, which is required for NKI and cannot be edited.

Table 35: NKI Port – General Options

In the screen shown below, the following data points can be configured as explained in Table 36. These
points can be monitored by a SCADA master and used in the Orion logic. The parameters for each point
are explained in Table 37.

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Figure 60: NKI – Time Interface Setup

Inputs Function
Orion PLL Offset The last applied correction to the system clock in seconds.
Source scaling: -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.
Orion PLL Freq The automatic periodic correction to the system clock in Parts Per Million (PPM).
Positive values make the clock go faster while negative values slow it down.
Source scaling: -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.
Orion MaxErr The maximum clock error in seconds.
Source scaling: -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.
Orion EstErr The estimated collective time source error in seconds. This value will vary from
Orion to Orion.
Source scaling: -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.
Orion PLL Status The PLL status is represented by a numerical range. If the PLL is enabled,
synchronization is occurring (synchronization is a never-ending process when
connected to a time source). Entering the following command on the MMI
command line displays the current status condition along with a brief description:
# ntpdc –c kern
Source scaling: -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.
Orion Time The time quality of the Orion time daemon. This value is 0 when no time sources
Quality are reachable or if estimated error is greater than or equal to 0.03 seconds…32
if estimated error is less than 0.0005 seconds…31 if estimated error is less than
0.00075 seconds.
Source scaling: 0 to 32.

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Inputs Function
Orion Time Binary point indicating time accuracy. On indicates accuracy to +/- 500 µsec.
Quality Binary Source scaling: 0 to 1.
Orion Time This is an 8-bit register with the bits corresponding to the reachability of a
Reachability configured source during the last 8 poll cycles. 0 indicates no sources were
reached during the last 8 polls. 255 (decimal) indicates a source was reached
during each of the last 8 polls. Bit 0 (LSB) corresponds to the most recent poll
issued while bit 7 (MSB) represents the poll “8 polls ago”.
Source scaling: 0 to 255.

Table 36: NKI – Time Interface Data Points

Parameter Description
Point Name The Point Name and the Device name are combined into the Tagname
which references the point within this port, as well as all other ports/protocols
where that point might be used. Using self-explanatory names facilitates online
monitoring of the Orion’s operation. This string can be up to 30 characters
long, and can contain all printable characters except @, [, ], ', ", =, and
commas.
Alias Name Displays the Alias Name (specified in the Alias module under Add Ons).
Point Type Eight point types are used for the predefined points. The types are:
offset, freq, maxerr, ester, status, quality, qualitybin,
reach.
The Point Type cannot be modified by the user since it is predefined in the
Orion.
Device The only Device available on this tab is the predefined Orion Internal
device, since each Orion has only one NKI port.
Min/Max Values Each point has a minimum and maximum value. The minimum and maximum
values are used by the NKI to normalize the value and make it available to
other ports in the Orion. A complete discussion of scaling is provided
NovaTech’s Analog/Accumulator Scaling Technical Note.

Table 37: NKI – Time Interface Parameters

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Add Ons

The Orion has numerous additional modules for data retrieval, storage, logging, and communications
available. These modules are configured under Add Ons (Figure 61).

Figure 61: Add On Options

For each option, the respective NovaTech software manual provides complete instructions regarding setup
and operation.

Accumulator Freeze

The Accumulator Freeze option enables accumulator change logging, automated freeze commands,
and accumulator resets. See the Accumulator Freeze Software Manual for a detailed description.

Alarm/Archive/Retentive

The Alarm/Archive/Retentive option sets up alarming, archiving and retention (restoration of point
values after a power-cycle) of data points. These values are then written to the database. The
Alarm/Archive/Retentive Software Manual provides the necessary details regarding the setup and
operation of this option.

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Alias

The Alias feature is a standard feature of the Orion. It allows mapping the point names as generated
during the Orion configuration to external point names imported from a .csv file. From then on, the Orion
data points can be referred to by their imported point names throughout the Orion software, menus, and
webpage. This feature is useful for importing standard point names already defined and used in the
corporate setting. Thus, without any additional training, all staff are immediately familiar with all data points
which are configured in the Orion, because those are the names already in use.

When opening the Alias option, the following screen is displayed with all Inputs and all Outputs that
have been configured for the current configuration file. Select Inputs or Outputs in the pane on the left.
In the center pane, all configured input or output points are displayed. In the right pane,
the Load File button allows opening of a .csv or .txt file which contains a simple list with all input and
output aliases, i.e. existing names that are already used in the corporate environment, to describe the
points currently in operation (see example in Table 38). Alternately, you can copy/paste or drag/drop one
or more cells from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet into the Available Alias Names field to create
additional alias names. In the .ncd file, the Alias names can be a maximum of 63 characters. There are
seven (7) characters that cannot be used in the Alias name (@, [, ], ’, ”, =, comma).

Figure 62: Alias Assignment

Each point can be assigned its alias by drag and drop. Aliases can also be entered manually.

The .csv or .txt file containing the alias names consists of a single column as shown in the following table.
Both the list of input aliases and the list of output aliases require a specific header ([Input Alias] and
[Output Alias]) for the alias file to be useable by NCD.

Note: The headers, [Input Alias] for the input alias list and [Output Alias] for the output
alias list are required. Without the header, the alias list will not be imported.

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The size of the .csv or .txt file depends on the number of points configured in the Orion and the number of
points existing in the corporate environment. If multiple Orion’s are used, multiple alias files can be created,
each representing a subset of the total number of existing points in the control system.

[Input Alias]
AliasName for Input1
AliasName for Input2
AliasName for Input3
AliasName for Input4
AliasName for Input5
AliasName for Input6
AliasName for Input7
AliasName for Input8

[Output Alias]
AliasName for Output1
AliasName for Output2
AliasName for Output3
AliasName for Output4
AliasName for Output5
AliasName for Output6
AliasName for Output7
AliasName for Output8

Table 38: Alias File Format

Once all input and output aliases have been assigned, clicking the Port Option, Close Port at the top of
the window closes the Alias Interface (Figure 62).

Configuration Manager Agent

The Configuration Manager Agent creates a .zip file containing configuration information for the Orion and
its connected relays. The agent scans the relays using the command list specified in the .ncd file, captures
additional information from the Orion, and packages the results into a .zip file on the Orion. The .zip file
produced by the Configuration Manager Agent is named according to the IEEE C37.232 standard, which
requires the timestamp, substation name, device name, and company name. The following table explains
the components of the .zip file name in greater detail.

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Example Value IEEE C37.232 Field Description
150424 StartDate Date of file creation (YYMMDD)
163415026179 StartTime Time of file creation (HHMMSSmicroseconds)
0 TimeCode Time code (0 denotes UTC)
Station1 StationId The Station Name property set in NCD
Orion1 DeviceId The Orion Name property set in NCD
PowerCompany CompanyName The Company Name property set in NCD

Table 39: ZIP File Naming Convention

The .zip file produced by the Configuration Manager Agent contains the following files.

▪ Log files: Individual log files for the ports configured in NCD on the Configuration Manager Agent
Ports tab. The file name for each log file uses the Station Name, Device Name, and Company Name
components, with an additional port number component. The start date, start time, and time code can
also be included.
▪ User files: All user files currently on the Orion, including the following file types.
o Active NCD file and logic files (.bas, .lua, and .ncz).
o Orion16.ini file that specifies active NCD file.
o All SVG files.
▪ Sysfiles: System configuration files. These files are stored in the Sysfiles subdirectory in the .zip file.
▪ orionlx.ntk: This file contains the license keys for all NovaTech software components installed on the
Orion.
▪ packages.txt: This report lists the Orion serial number and all the packages that have been
automatically installed on the Orion. The version number of each package is included.
▪ openports.txt: This report lists all listener sockets on the Orion. These listeners can include IP, TCP,
UDP, and Unix Socket listeners. This information indicates what open ports currently exist for the Orion.
▪ sysfiles_attr.txt: This report uses typical Linux listing methodology to list all the files included in the
Sysfiles directory, including file attributes and date.

The General tab allows you to manage settings for the .zip file and .log files produced by the Configuration
Manager Agent. You can modify the following settings.

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Figure 63: Configuration Manager Agent General Settings

Field Description
Station Name This field entry determines the first part of the .zip file name and each of the .log
file names.
Orion Name This field entry determines the second part of the .zip file name and each of the
.log file names.
Company Name This field entry determines the third part of the ZIP file name and each of the .log
file names.
Output This field entry determines the file path location on the Orion where the .zip file
Directory is created. You must either retrieve this file from the selected directory on the
Orion after the file is created or use FileMover to automatically transfer. You can
ignore the other temporary files created in that directory.
Purge Old This option instructs the Orion to remove any .zip files that currently exist in the
Archives output directory whenever a new .zip file is generated. This option can prevent
the directory from taking up too much space on the Orion. If you select this option,
there will only be one such .zip file at any time. Make sure you have a process in
place to retrieve the generated file before the file is purged. This option is selected
by default.
Include Time This option includes the recorded creation time and date in the file name for each
Stamp of the generated .log files. This is the same time stamp that displays in the .zip
file name itself. This option is not selected by default.

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Field Description
Checksum Point If you select this option, at the specified point name, the Orion will create a
checksum of all the content in the files in the .zip file. Since the MD5SUM result
is a 128 bit value, the checksum is stored in the specified point as a string. You
can monitor the checksums using another software utility to determine if the file
contents have changed. Use this process to pinpoint unintended changes in the
Orion and the specified ports. If you select this option, a new point is created
inside the Orion with the name entered in the Point Name field.

Table 40: Configuration Manager Agent General Settings

After making modifications to the settings on the General tab, click the Accept button.

On the Ports tab, select the ports you want to generate log files. By default, all ports with a defined SEL®
Client protocol are included in the Available Ports list. If a port has no selected commands, the
configuration agent manager does not produce a log file for that port.

Figure 64: Select Port Commands

Data Logger

The Data Logger option sets up data points for logging to files. Multiple files can be set up for logging.
Points related to each other can be logged to the same file. The setup and operation of this option are
described in the Data Logger Software Manual.

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Orion Redundancy

Orion Redundancy is a hot standby redundancy configuration consisting of a Primary Orion and a
Secondary Orion running the identical configuration file. With Orion Redundancy, user system performance
requirements will not be impacted by the failure of one system component. The failure will be detected and
initiate an automatic switchover to the standby Orion. The repair of the failed component of the system and
the normal monitoring and maintenance of the sub-station can be accomplished without causing the system
to be inoperable. See also the Orion Redundancy Software Manual.

Points Blocking

Points Blocking is defined as the action of temporarily not reporting changes in real-time data values to
SCADA and/or Archiving. The Points Blocking module can be ordered for the Orion to enable users to
temporarily block the reporting of selected points, or groups of points, to SCADA and/or Archiving. The
Points Blocking Module requires the additional Alarm/Archive/Retentive option to be purchased due to the
retention of the blocked point state through power cycles (see Points Blocking Software Manual).

Pseudo

Typically, data is polled from the end device by the Orion through a client port, and in turn, an Orion server
port is polled by a client station, such as a SCADA master or HMI. However, some applications specify
that the Orion be connected to two client stations, and data to be exchanged between two clients. Thus,
the outputs of one client become the inputs of the other client, and vice versa. This option allows setting
up the data transfer between two server ports on the Orion, i.e. data between two client stations is
exchanged. The setup and operation of this option are described in the Pseudo Client Software Manual.

Pusher

Typically, the Orion is polling data from the end device using a client port. In turn, an Orion server port is
polled by a client station. However, some applications specify that the Orion be connected to two server
devices, and for data to be exchanged between those two server devices. A typical example is two PLCs
connected to the Orion, with the PLCs needing to exchange data. Thus, the Orion reads the inputs from
one server device and writes them as outputs to the other server device, and vice versa. This option allows
setting up the data transfer between two client ports on the Orion, i.e. data between two server stations is
exchanged. The setup and operation of this option are described in the Orion Pusher Manual. This option
is an integrated part of the Modbus Client (see Modbus Client Manual) and SEL Client (see SEL® Client
Manual).

Sensor

The Sensor Client module is a standard Orion feature. It monitors the Orion hardware-related sensor
points, (temperature, voltages, firewall status, and alarm status) and security points (login, failed login,
remote login, and SSHD status). These configured point values will be available as analog or discrete
data points for logging, processing in logic, or client stations. All data points shown in the table below are
available in default setup.

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Figure 65: Sensor Setup - Port

By default, the alarm status, firewall status, syslog error, Ethernet port statuses, and hardware-related
sensor points are included in the Orion realtime database.

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Figure 66: Sensor Setup - Inputs Tab

Input Function
Active Config The string attribute of this point will contain the name of the active NCD file. Value
is 1 when string attribute contains the active NCD file, value is 0 when the active
NCD file cannot be obtained.
Alarm Status Binary point indicating whether an alarm is active. When mapped, the range of
the mapped point must be 0…1. An active alarm is also indicated by the Alarm
LED (see Alarm) and the Alarm Output (see Alarm Output).
Source scaling: 0 to 1 (Off and On).
Available Analog value showing the available memory space available. Value is in Bytes.
Memory Range is 0 to 2000000.
Distro Version The version, such as “9.6.0”, will be displayed in the string attribute.

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Input Function
eth0 activity There is communication activity on the respective Ethernet port. Depending on
eth1 activity the installed Ethernet options, there may be additional activity LEDs.
eth0 link The respective Ethernet port has a good link to another device or switch.
eth1 link Depending on the installed Ethernet options, there may be additional link LEDs.
Firewall Status Binary point indicating whether the OrionLXm firewall is turned off or turned on.
When mapped, the range of the mapped point must be 0…1.
Source scaling: 0 to 1 (Off and On).
Free Memory Analog value showing the free memory space available. Value is in Bytes. Range
is 0 to 2000000.
HTTP Session Value is 1 if HTTP login is used. Value is 0 with logout, including idle timeout.
Status Affected application(s): HTTP
HTTPS Session Value is 1 with HTTPS login. Value is 0 with logout, including idle timeout.
Status Affected application(s): HTTPS
Idle CPU Analog value indicating the percent of idle CPU time. Range is 0 to 100.
IEC61131 Value is 1 if IEC61131-3 login is made via NCD. Value is 0 with logout, including
Session Status idle timeout.
Affected application(s): Debug connection via NCD
Invalid Incremental counter registering each invalid signature failure. Indicates execution
Signature of a file, kernel module or peripheral firmware loading was blocked due to a failed
Failure signature verification. When this point is mapped, it will create a system log entry
that mirrors the audit log entry but will contain a level so the entry can be sent via
syslog protocol. Range is 0 to 65535.
Known User Increments every time a known user fails to log in. Does not decrement. Value
Login Failure is 0 on reboot. The value of this point is also available as Text event.
Count Examples of Text event format:
host slog username attempted login on app
Local Root Value is 1 if local root login is used. Value is 0 with local root logout, including
Session Status idle timeout.
Affected application(s): GDM and TTY
Local Session Value is 1 if local login is used. Value is 0 with local logout, including idle timeout.
Status Affected application(s): GDM and TTY
Login Telnet Value is 1 if Telnet login is used. Value is 0 with logout, including idle timeout.
Session Status Affected application(s): Telnet
Login TTY Value is 1 with TTY login. Value is 0 with logout, including idle timeout.
Session Status Affected application(s): TTY (Serial Port)

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Input Function
Orion 3A Volts The current 3A voltage of the Orion. The default source scaling is 0…255. On a
server port that this point is mapped to, either 16-bit integer or floating-point
format should be used for setting up this point. For 16-bit integers, the range
must be defined as 0…65,535. In the mapped point, the voltage is then indicated
as a number between 0 and 4382, representing a voltage between 0 and 4.382
Volts. If the mapped point is set up as a floating-point value, the range must be
defined as 0…65.535. The voltage is then indicated as a number between 0 and
4.382 Volts.
Source scaling: 0 to 255.
Orion 3B Volts The current 3B voltage of the Orion. The default source scaling is 0…255. On a
server port that this point is mapped to, either 16-bit integer or floating-point
format should be used for setting up this point. For 16-bit integers, the range
must be defined as 0…65,535. In the mapped point, the voltage is then indicated
as a number between 0 and 4382, representing a voltage between 0 and 4.382
Volts. If the mapped point is set up as a floating-point value, the range must be
defined as 0…65.535. The voltage is then indicated as a number between 0 and
4.382 Volts.
Source scaling: 0 to 255.
Orion 5 Volts The current 5V voltage of the Orion. The default source scaling is 0…255. On a
server port that this point is mapped to, either 16-bit integer or floating-point
format should be used for setting up this point. For 16-bit integers, the range
must be defined as 0…65,535. In the mapped point, the voltage is then indicated
as a number between 0 and 6640, representing a voltage between 0 and 6.64
Volts. If the mapped point is set up as a floating-point value, the range must be
defined as 0…65.535. The voltage is then indicated as a number between 0 and
6.64 Volts.
Source scaling: 0 to 255.
Orion The current temperature inside the Orion. The temperature is made available in
Temperature degrees Celsius.
Source scaling: -128 to 127.
PPP Session Value is 1 if user is connected and logged in via PPP (dial up networking); value
Status is 0 with logout or disconnect, including idle timeout.
Affected application(s): PPP (Dial-up networking)
Pro FTPD Value is 1 if FTP login is used. Value is 0 with logout, including idle timeout.
Session Status Affected application(s): FTP (SFTP is part of SSH)
Remote Root Value is 1 if remote root login is used. Value is 0 with remote root logout,
Session Status including idle timeout.
Affected application(s): Network
Remote Session Value is 1 if remote login is used. Value is 0 with remote logout, including idle
Status timeout.
Affected application(s): Network
Root Session Value is 1 if root login is used. Value is 0 with root logout, including idle timeout.
Status Affected application(s): Local or Remote Root
Secure Passthru Value is 1 if NCM is connected and logged into. Value is 0 with no NCM
Session Status connections are used, including idle timeout.
Affected application(s): Debug connection via NCD

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Input Function
SSHD Session Value is 1 if SSH or SFTP login is used. Value is 0 with logout, including idle
Status timeout.
Affected application(s): SSH, SFTP
Syslog Error Binary point indicating an error with the system log file. Values are 0 (Off), 1 (On).
Unknown User Increments every time an unknown user tries to log in. Does not
Login Failure decrement. Value is 0 on Orion process restart or reboot. The value of this point
Count is also available as Text event.
Examples of Text event format:
host slog Invalid user username attempted login on app
User Lockout Increments every time a user is locked out. Does not decrement when user is
Count unlocked out. Value is 0 on Orion process restart or reboot. The value of this
point is also available as Text event.
Examples of Text event format:
host slog User username is locked out
User Login Increments with every login. Decrements with each logout, including idle
Count timeout. Value is 0 on Orion process restart or reboot. The value of this point is
also available as Text event.
Examples of Text event format:
host slog username login on app
host slog username logout on app
Note: All the above text events will be attached to this point.

Table 41: Sensor Inputs Description

System Logger

The System Logger is a standard Orion feature. It allows logging of system events, such as operation and
communication related events, as well as point changes for all points or a specified list of points. The
setup and operation of this option are described in the System & Point Logger Software Manual.

Text Module

The Text module monitors the current values of specified discrete or analog points and generates text
string events for the monitored point. For specific values, text strings can be defined, and when the point
assumes a specific value, the associated text is generated. The Email, Datalogger, and Logic modules of
the Orion can subscribe to the generated text strings for various purposes, such as sending emails. The
setup and operation of this option are described in the Text Module Manual. See also Email Manual, Data
Logger Manual, and Advanced Math & Logic Software Manual.

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Hardware I/O

The OrionLXm provides one discrete input (see Digital Input) and one discrete output (Alarm) (see Alarm
Output) on the front panel. The SER Input is configured with the menu item Built-in Standard
(SER).

In addition, optional I/O cards are available as described in section Type IL and IH I/O Cards. These are
configured with the menu item I/O Cards (IIO).

Figure 67: Hardware I/O

Built-In Standard (SER)

The OrionLXm provides one standard digital input with 10ms timestamp resolution located on the front
panel (see Figure 9). In addition, an accumulator can be set up for this discrete input which counts each
change of discrete input. The Output tab on the SER Client Port configuration screen will have no points
listed.

The input voltage level is set at the factory to either 12-24 V dc (option -ILV) or 48-125 V dc (option -IHV)
(see OrionLXm Standard Features). The digital inputs are polarity dependent and described in section
Digital Input.

After selecting Built-in Standard (SER) as shown in Figure 67, the following screen is displayed
(Figure 68).

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SER Description

On the SER selection, the description of the sequence of events recorder is set.

Figure 68: SER Client Description

Parameter Description
Description The name entered here will be used throughout the Orion configuration. Using
a name like SER or Local makes the displays self-explanatory. This string can
be up to 30 characters long, and can contain all printable characters except @,
[, ], ', ", =, and commas.

Table 42: SER Setup - Description

After completing the description, click on Accept .

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Port General Options

On the Port setting, the Port Name is the only entry. The Module Name is the default file and cannot be
changed. If the port name is changed, click Accept .

Figure 69: SER Setup – Port

Parameter Description
Port Name The default name is SER Client. If the name is changed, a port name that
describes the port’s purpose should be used, as this will provide self-
explaining MMI menus when the Orion is operating. This string can be up to
30 characters long, and can contain all printable characters except @, [, ], ',
", =, and commas.

Table 43: SER Setup – Port

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Inputs Configuration

Select Inputs to configure the discrete and associated accumulator/counter inputs of the Hardware
I/O/SER Client Port.

Figure 70: SER Inputs Setup

The left column, Inputs – Default Tagnames shows a complete list of available input points in the
SER I/O. Any Orion input point to be used in the Orion’s configuration must be highlighted in the left column
and moved to the right column by clicking on >> . Highlighting a point in the right column and
clicking << removes the highlighted point from the Orion’s configuration.

Parameter Description
Orion Point The Point Name which references the point within this port, as well as all other
Name ports/protocols where that point might be used. Using self-explanatory names
facilitates online monitoring of the Orion’s operation. This string can be up to 50
characters long, and can contain all printable characters except @, [, ], ', ", =, and
commas.
Alias Name Displays the Alias Name, as specified in the Alias module, if it is enabled.
Point Type Point type Binary for the discrete input itself, and Counter for the associated
accumulator that counts the changes of the discrete input.
Point Number Only one discrete input and one counter input are available on this port, Input01
and the corresponding Input Counter01.
Filter Time The digital input must remain in the new state for at least the determined contact
(msec) Filter Time for the new state to be recorded by the OrionLXm. The time recorded
will be the initial change of state time (prior to the filter). If the input remains in the
new state for less than the contact Filter Time, no change of state and no event
will be recorded. The contact Filter Time can be set to any value up to 65,535
msec.
The default setting for the contact Filter Time is 0.

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Parameter Description
Debounce Time After the contact Filter Time expires, all subsequent input state changes are
(msec) disregarded until the Debounce Time has elapsed. Then the digital input is
monitored for changes again. The Debounce Time can be set to any value up to
65,535 msec.
The default setting for Debounce Time is 0.
Chatter Count If, in the interval set in the Chatter Time field (sliding interval), more input state
transitions occur than are allowed as per Chatter Count, the point is put into the
Chatter State. When the input stabilizes, and the chatter falls below the configured
Chatter Count for the current sliding window, the point is again reported normally
with its current state and events. The Chatter Count can be set to any value up
to 99999.
The default setting for Chatter Count is 60 state changes.
Chatter Time Interval in microseconds of the sliding interval of time used with the Chatter Count
value.

Table 44: SER Input Setup

Optional I/O Cards (IIO)

The OrionLXm can be ordered with one or two optional discrete I/O cards (Type IL and IH I/O Cards).
Each card has 12 digital inputs and 4 digital outputs with LEDs to display I/O status. These points are
configured using the optional I/O Cards (IIO) module (Figure 71). The timestamp resolution for these inputs
points is 10ms.

Figure 71: Optional I/O Configuration

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Port Setup

The opening configuration window is for the IIO Client Port, adding IIO cards, and the discrete input and
output points. In the left pane, click Port to display the following screen.

Figure 72: IIO Client Port Setup

Parameter Description
Port Name The default name is IIO Client. If the name is changed, a port name that
describes the ports purpose should be used, as this will provide self-explaining
MMI menus when the Orion is operating. This string can be up to 30 characters
long, and can contain all printable characters except @, [, ], ', ", =, &, and
commas.

Table 45: IIO Port Setup

On the Port setting, the Port Name is the only parameter entry that can be edited. The Module Name is
the default file and cannot be changed. If the port name is changed, click Accept .

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Add New Card

Click Add New Card in the left pane to configure a new card. Each discrete I/O card in the OrionLXm
must be set up as a separate card. Expand the Card section by clicking the button. Then configure the
new card as shown below.

Figure 73: IIO Card Setup

Parameter Description
Company Select NovaTech (Default).
Card Select OrionLXm (Default).
Description The name entered here will be used throughout the Orion configuration. Using
a name like SER or Local makes the displays self-explanatory. This string can
be up to 30 characters long, and can contain all printable characters except @,
[, ], ', ", =, and commas.

Table 46: IIO Device Setup

The Card Options are available when the card is selected in the IIO Client menu tree (Figure 74). The
options are described in Table 47.

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Figure 74: IIO Card Options

Option Description
Accept When any changes to the Card or Card Parameters are made,
the Accept button must be clicked to add the changes to the configuration
file.
Cancel When any changes to the Card or Card Parameters are made,
the Cancel button can be clicked to clear any changes that were made.
Delete Card When a card is selected, (A or B), clicking the Delete Card button will
remove the cards configuration from the file. A confirmation dialog will open to
verify that deleting the card is the desired action.
Copy Card When a card is selected, (A or B), clicking the Copy Card button copies the
card type and any configured input or outputs to the next available card slot.
Move Card When a card is selected, (A or B), clicking the Move Card button will open
the Move Card dialog window for selection of the new location. Select new
card location and click OK .
Note: If destination card already exists, its contents will be swapped with
the current card.

Table 47: IIO Card Options Description

Note: The first card added to the Client IIO port will always be Card A, the lower card position. If
this discrete I/O card is the upper card in the OrionLXm, Card B, use
the Move Card option to have it configured correctly (Figure 75).

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Figure 75: Move Card Option

Input Configuration

Click Inputs in the left pane to set up the input points of the I/O card. In the center pane, highlight the
discrete or accumulator input points which are desired in the OrionLXm mapping table and real-time
database. Then click >> to move these points to the pane on the right as shown in Figure 77.

Figure 76: IIO Inputs Setup – No Filter

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Figure 77: IIO Inputs Setup – Binary Filter

Parameter Description
Orion Point References the input point within this port, as well as all other ports/protocols where
Name that point might be used. Using self-explanatory names facilitates online monitoring
of the Orion’s operation. This string can be up to 50 characters long, and can contain
all printable characters except @, [, ], ', ", =, and commas.
Alias Displays the Alias (as specified in the Alias module).
Channel The valid range for both BinaryInput and BinaryInputCounter inputs is
Number 0 - 15, corresponding to physical inputs Input01 - Input16. The Binary input
with Channel Number 0 maps the first binary input BinaryInput01, and the
Counter input with Channel Number 0 counts the changes of the first binary input
InputCounter01, and so on. Input13 - Input16 provide the status of the four
outputs. If current is flowing through the associated relay contact, a value of 1 will
be reported.
Type This field is not editable and is only displayed on the All Points filter tab. For
BinaryInput points, this field will be Binary and for BinaryInputCounter
points it will be Binary Changes.
Filter The binary input must remain in the new state for at least the determined contact
(msec) Filter time for the new state to be recorded by the Orion. The time recorded will
(Binary filter) be the initial change of state time (prior to the filter). If the input remains in the new
state for less than the contact Filter time, no change of state and no event will
be recorded. The default setting for the contact Filter time is 0. The contact
Filter time does not have an upper limit.
Debounce After the contact Filter time expires, all subsequent input state changes are
(msec) disregarded until the Debounce time has elapsed. Then the binary input is
(Binary filter) monitored for changes again. The default setting for Debounce time is 0. The
Debounce time does not have an upper limit.

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Parameter Description
Chatter Count If more input state transitions occur than are defined in the Chatter Count field,
(Binary filter) the point is put into the Chatter State. The Chatter Time field defines the sliding
interval. When the input stabilizes, and the chatter falls below the configured
Chatter Count for the current sliding window, the point is again reported normally
with its current state and events. The default setting for Chatter Count is 1000
state changes. The Chatter Count does not have an upper limit.
Chatter Time Interval in milliseconds of the sliding interval of time used with the Chatter Count
(msec) value. The default setting for Chatter Time is 60000 msec.
(Binary filter)

Table 48: Configured IIO Input Points

Output Configuration

Click Outputs in the left pane to set up the output points of the I/O card. In the center pane, highlight the
discrete output points which are desired in the OrionLXm mapping table and real-time database. Then
click >> to move these points to the pane on the right as shown in Figure 78.

Figure 78: IIO Outputs Setup

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Parameter Description
Orion Point References the point within this port, as well as all other ports/protocols where that
Name point might be used. Using self-explanatory names facilitates online monitoring of
the Orion’s operation. This string can be up to 50 characters long, and can contain
all printable characters except @, [, ], ', ", =, and commas.
Alias Displays the Alias name (as specified in the Alias module).
Channel The valid range for discrete outputs is 0..3, corresponding to physical outputs
Number Output01..Output04.
Mode Each output point must be assigned one of the following three modes or output types
(see also Figure 79).

Output Description
Type
TC If a point address is designated as TC (Trip/Close), two consecutive
physical outputs are used. Trip/Close points must start on either
Channel Number 0 (Output01) or Channel Number 2 (Output03).
The first output is pulsed if a Trip command is received and the
second output is pulsed if a Close command is received. When the
On Time expires, the output is set to Off/Open again. For example,
if Channel Number 0 is configured as TC, then output Output01
is the Trip coil, and output Output02 is the Close coil.

Command Output1 Output2

0 (Trip) Pulsed ---
1 (Close) --- Pulsed

Pulse A Pulse output is pulsed with the time specified in On Time when
a command is received. A Pulse output is mapped to a single
output coil.
Latch A Latch output stays in the commanded position after the command
is received. A 0 opens the coils, and a 1 closes the coil. A Latch
output is mapped to a single output coil.

Timer Allows overriding of On Time, and Pulses received from the server port. If
Override checked, the user defined On Time, and Pulses are used instead of values sent
to the Orion server port. If unchecked, the On Time, and Pulses will only be used
if the value sent to the server port is 0. This applies only to TC and Pulse output
types.
On Time Number of milliseconds to pulse an output. Only applies to TC and Pulse output
(msec) types.

Table 49: Outputs Setup

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Figure 79: Output Point Mode Setup

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Logic

The Orion provides five logic options (Figure 80). All logic modules process the selected input points and
output points and the user-programmed logic. They can set any input or output point configured in the
Orion. Logic also defines and sets internal data points points which can be used by external client or server
devices

Figure 80: Logic Options

Math & Logic

Math & Logic is the basic logic module. A complete description of this module is provided in the Math &
Logic Software Manual.

Advanced Math & Logic

Advanced Math & Logic utilizes the Lua programming language (Lua 5.3.5 – Copyright © 2015-2020
Lua.org, PUC-Rio). A complete description of this module is provided in the Advanced Math & Logic
Software Manual. For a complete reference of the Lua programming language, refer to the complete online
reference manual via the following link: http://www.lua.org/manual/5.3/manual.html .
H H

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LogicPak

The LogicPak module provides the following pre-packaged input and output functions.

Input functions:
▪ PrimarySecondary
▪ OR
▪ AND
▪ Negate
▪ KYZ Relay
▪ Delay
▪ Calculator
▪ DoubleBit
Output functions:
▪ LocalRemote
▪ Negate
▪ PrimarySecondary
▪ TripCloseSplit

A complete description of this module is provided in the LogicPak Software Manual.

Distribution Automation (DA) Logic

The DA logic module sets up the Distribution Automation module which provides control for electrical grid
functions and operations on the distribution level. Before the DA Logic can be set up, all client ports in the
OrionLXm that communicate with the respective RTUs in the DA Logic must be set up. A complete
description of this module is provided in the DA Logic Software Manual.

IEC 61131-3

The full set of IEC 61131 programming languages is available for the OrionLXm:
▪ Structured Flow Chart
▪ Function Block Diagram
▪ Ladder Diagram
▪ Structured Text
▪ Instruction Language

A complete description of this module is provided in the IEC 61131 Logic Software Manual.

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Communications Menu
The following steps show how to connect to the Orion using NCD (NovaTech Configuration Director) either
by way of a serial connection or an Ethernet connection.

Note: During the initial setup of the Orion, its IP address must be entered using the serial MMI as
described in Network Menu

If another terminal software program is being used, consult the documentation supplied with that software
for setup of a connection to the Orion.

Select the Communications tab and choose Online Connections (Figure 81) to open the Manage
Connections window (Figure 82).

Figure 81: NCD Communications

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Figure 82: Manage Connections

New connections are created by highlighting Connections at the top of the pane (Figure 82) which
enables the New Connection button. Then click on New Connection to open the following window
(Figure 83).

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Button Function
New Connection Creates a new connection, and opens the window for configuration as
shown in Figure 83. In this window, the connection name is entered,
such as Washington County Substations.
Delete Connection Deletes the highlighted connection.
Edit Connection Opens the window (Figure 83) for editing the highlighted connection.
Connect Uses the parameters from the highlighted connection to connect to an
Orion.
Close Closes the Manage Connections window.
Advanced >>
<< Simple Toggles the display of the following actions.

Group Folder Actions

Create New Creates a new folder for connections, such as Western Utah.
Under a folder, new specific connections can be created, such as
North or West. Folders can be nested. This allows easy connection
management for multiple devices or locations.
Deleted Selected Deletes the currently selected folder and all connections in it.
Rename Selected Renames the currently selected folder.
File Actions
Create New Create a new .conn file for saving all connections presently displayed
in the Connections pane.
Save Configuration Saves all current connections to a file as shown in Figure 84.
Load File Load a previously saved connection file.

Table 50: Manage Connections

NCD supports multiple serial and Ethernet connections. The settings for each connection can be saved to
a separate file.

The bottom section of the Manage Connections window allows saving and loading the connection files
from the hard drive. The display of this section can be toggled by
clicking Advanced >> and << Simple .

In the Simple display of the Manage Connections window, all items below the << Simple button
(Figure 82) are hidden. In the Advanced display, the items below the Simply button are displayed as shown
in Figure 82.

Most of the time, the Simple display is sufficient. When working in larger or multiple regions, then the
Advanced display helps with grouping the connections in two ways. See also Grouping Connections.

▪ Creating and managing groups such as “Western Utah” to group connections by user-specific criteria
using the buttons in the group “Group Folder Actions”.
▪ Creating and managing different connection files for different regions, etc. when even more connections
are needed. These files can then be loaded as needed. The related buttons are in the group “File
actions”.

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Figure 83: Connection Information

Clicking OK saves the parameters and returns to the Manage Connections window.
Clicking Cancel abandons any changes and returns to the Manage Connections window.

Note: The communication parameters for connection to serial Port A of the Orion are 115200N81.

Parameter Description
Connection Name The name entered here is used to display the connection in Figure 82.
File Transfer The default value is 1024 bytes. To facilitate communication on slower
Packet Size connections such as radio modems, this value can be set to 128 bytes.
Serial These four buttons select the type of connection. Only one button can be
TCP/IP Connection selected for a connection. If a button is selected, the associated parameter
SSH frame (Serial Connection or Settings) is enabled, while the other frame
is disabled.
Telnet

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Parameter Description

Serial Connection

Comm Port Select the COM port used to connect to the Orion. If Show All is checked,
any COM port between 1 and 256 can be selected, whether it is installed or
not on the PC. If Show All is not checked, only the COM ports installed
on the PC will be available for selection. Window assigns the COM ports
randomly. It is recommended to check the Device Manager to determine the
current COM port assignment. In the following example, an OrionLXm is
connected to COM10. Other Orion models are displayed accordingly when
connected to the PC.

Parity None, Odd, or Even can be selected. The Orion supports No Parity.
Data Bits 7 or 8 data bits can be selected. The Orion supports 8 data bits.
Stop Bit 1 or 2 stop bits can be selected. The Orion supports 1 stop bit.
Baud Rate Baud rates between 1200 and 115200 baud can be selected from the
dropdown list. The Orion supports 115200 baud.

Network Connection

Host Address Enter the IP address of the Orion that this connection is set for.
Port Specifies the TCP Port number for the connection if User Specified port
number is selected. If User Specified is not selected the default SSH
(22) or Telnet (23) TCP Port number will be used.
Login Retention Retains the username and password entered when the user checks the
Time (min) Remember Until Terminal Closes or Timeout box on the Login
message box.
Default is 30 minutes.

Terminal Colors
Back Color Background color of the window used to communicate with the Orion.
Fore Color Foreground color of the window used to communicate with the Orion.
Font Font used to display text in the window used to communicate with the Orion.

Table 51: Connection Information

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Grouping Connections

NCD supports multiple serial and Ethernet connections to provide access to Orions. The connections can
be grouped in groups like “Western Utah” or saved to different files.

The bottom section of the Manage Connections window provides the means for creating, saving, and
loading connection files from the PC hard drive. The display of this section can be toggled by
clicking Advanced >> and << Simple button (Figure 82).

Button Function
<< Simple Toggles the display of the following five options (Figure 82).
Advanced >>

Group Folder Actions

Create New Creates a new folder for connections, such as Western Utah.
Under a folder, new specific connections can be created, such as
North or West. Folders can be nested. This allows easy connection
management for multiple devices or locations.
Deleted Selected Deletes the currently selected folder and all connections in it.
Rename Selected Renames the currently selected folder.

File Actions

Create New Create a new .conn file for saving all connections presently displayed
in the Connections pane.
Save Configuration As Saves all current connections to a file as shown in Figure 84.
Load File Load a previously saved connection file.

Table 52: Manage Connections Folders and Files

Figure 84: Creating/Saving/Loading Connection Files

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Note: When a previously configured and working USB connection does not work, it is possible
that the USB cable was plugged into a different USB port, which results in a different
communication port number. The Windows Device Manager shows the connected COM
ports (Table 51).

Communication Window

After highlighting the desired connection and clicking Connect in Figure 82, NCD will open the following
communications window. Refer to section Orion MMI of this manual for more information regarding the
Orion MMI.

Figure 85: NCD Communication Window

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The toolbar at the top of the window provides the following tools.

Parameter Description
Edit Connection Clicking this button opens the Connection Information window shown
Figure 83 for editing the connection parameters.
Start Capture/ Any communication between a client or server device and the OrionLXm can
Stop Capture be logged to a file for analysis or tech support purposes. This button is a
toggle button, i.e. either Start Capture or Stop Capture is displayed.
After clicking Start Capture, the log file name and location on the PC’s
hard drive must be specified. While the communication is being logged, Stop
Capture is displayed. Clicking on it will stop the logging and close the log
file.
Reset This applies only to Orion5, Orion5r, and Orion16. Clicking this option
Configuration disables the current configuration file of the connected Orion. The type of
currently connected Orion must be specified. After the subsequent warm
boot, the legacy Orion will operate without the configuration file. This option
can be used, for example, if the current configuration file contains improper
port or mapping parameters that cause operation errors.
Disconnect/Connect Toggles the current connection state to the Orion.

Table 53: NCD Comm Window

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Window Menu
If multiple configuration and communication windows are open, this option allows
▪ Cascading all windows
▪ Closing all windows
▪ Switching to one of the currently open windows

Figure 86: Window Menu

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Help Menu
The Help menu has a hyperlink to the NovaTech Documentation directory, protocol, version and system
information regarding the Orion and NCD configuration. The information provided by these Help selections
may be required for technical support.

Figure 87: Help Menu

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Documentation

This option provides a link to the NovaTech documentation directory that contains the Orion user manuals,
protocol manuals, software manuals, field instructions, and tech notes.

Figure 88: Documentation File

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Protocol Information

This option provides a point count for all currently open configurations as shown below.

Figure 89: Protocol Information

Control Versions

Displays the information about the currently installed drivers.

Figure 90: Control Versions

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Program Versions

Displays the details of the currently installed software files for the support and operation of NCD.

Figure 91: Program Versions

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System Information

Display of the information about the hardware, drivers, and operating system that make up the computer
system that is in use.

Figure 92: System Information

About

This option displays the NCD version information.

Figure 93: NCD Version Information

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IV. Orion Webpage

Introduction
When connected to a LAN or the Internet, the Orion provides a webpage for user settings and diagnostics.
All current web browsers are supported, including Firefox, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Safari. By
default, the OrionLXm does not enable unsecured HTTP. Secure HTTPS is enabled. To start working with
the OrionLXm webpage, type https:// and the IP address of the OrionLXm in the browser URL window.
Example:

Figure 94: Connect with OrionLXm

After connecting to the Orion via HTTPS, the browser may display a certificate warning. The Orion ships
with a self-signed key used for all encrypted communication including HTTPS. NovaTech does not include
a key file issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) such as VeriSign, because the Orion leaves NovaTech’s
control when shipped. Since the Orion key file is not certified by a Certificate Authority (CA), the browser
warns that an individual could have obtained the key file and could monitor network communications
between the PC and the Orion. For setting up keys, see section Key Management.

When using Microsoft Edge (Figure 95), this warning message will display. Click Advanced and then
Continue to <IP address> (unsafe) to proceed to the Orion login screen in Figure 98.

Figure 95: Microsoft Edge Security Warning

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When using Chrome, the following warning message will display. Click on Advanced to display
additional information and a link to the Orion webpage. Click Proceed to <ip_address>
(unsafe) to proceed to the Orion login screen in Figure 98.

Figure 96: Chrome Security Warning

When using Firefox, the following warning message will display. Click Advanced o display the
button Accept the Risk and Continue in order to proceed to the Orion login screen in Figure 98.

Figure 97: Firefox Security Warning

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Orion Login
After entering the username and password (Figure 98), the Orion homepage is displayed (Figure 99). The
tabs under the Orion logo are the various main headings for diagnostics and settings.

Figure 98: Orion Login

Note: The tab headings shown may vary depending on the various protocol packages and options
installed on the Orion. The figures shown in the following figures represent the standard
tab headings.

Figure 99: Orion Homepage

To access all Orion menu items and make changes, click on Locked in the upper right corner as shown
in the following figure. A window for entering the password is displayed. After 30 minutes of user inactivity,
the Orion will automatically return to the “Locked” state, which limits user operations.

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Figure 100: Orion Unlock Prompt

Menu Function
Home View basic Orion information, including Serial Number, Orion Main Firmware
Version, Uptime, Active Configuration, Hostname, and Ethernet Address.
Diagnostics Diagnostics offers the following menu items:
Devices View and clear Poll and Response counters for each device polled by the Orion.
DataValues View and force values of Input and Output points by port.
ViewComms View communications on any Orion port.
System View and manage Orion system information and firmware upgrades.
Logs Displays the various Orion logs messages including timestamps and priority level.
Alarms View and acknowledge alarms by point name, zone, etc.
Archive View archived values based on standard or custom filters, such as time, device,
point name, etc.
System Download system information, view key file with licensed options, reboot the Orion,
view version information, serial and Ethernet port statistics, and more information.
Files Transfer files to and from the Orion including NCD configuration files, SVG, and
update packages, and system files.
Settings Configure Users, Authentication Rules, Remote Accounts, Key Management,
System Log, Networking, Serial Access, System, WebUI, Alarms, Tagging,
Cascaded, Services, and Scheduler.
Contact NovaTech address, phone number, and email address.

Table 54: Orion Homepage Menu Items

The following sections describe each tab on the Orion homepage in detail.

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Home Tab
The Home tab provides general information about the OrionLXm including serial number, distro version,
firmware information, uptime, active configuration, and hostname.

If user web graphics are used, a link to these graphics can be set up on the home page under User Links
on the right side (see section WebUI for more information). The name of currently active configuration file
is displayed in the upper right corner. The adjacent lock symbol indicates whether the Orion is locked
or unlocked .

Figure 101: Orion Home Tab

Item
Orion Serial #
Orion Distro Version
Orion Distro Date
OS Uptime
Orion Process Uptime
Active Configuration
Date/Time
Description
Each Orion has a unique serial number. This serial number is required
when requesting support from NovaTech. The serial number is also
found on the identification label on the Orion.
Displays the version and the date of the Distro currently running in the
Orion.
Displays the time since the Orion Linux operating system has been
running in days, hours, minutes, and seconds. This will reset after a full
restart or after a power cycle.
Displays the time since the Orion process has been running in days,
hours, minutes, and seconds. This will reset after a full restart, quick
restart, or power cycle.
The NCD configuration file that is currently running in the Orion.
Current date and time as well as time zone.

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Item Description
Hostname The hostname is used to identify the Orion on the network. This is found
on the top right corner of every page. Using the hostname requires a
DNS server.
eth0 Shows the configured IP address for each enabled Ethernet port. If a port
eth1 is disabled, this information is omitted.
...

Table 55: Orion Home Tab

Under User Links links to user-defined .svg files can be set up for quick access as described in section
.

Diagnostics Tab
The Diagnostics tab provides the following items:

▪ Diagnostics -> Devices – Check communication statistics for devices connected to the Orion
▪ Diagnostics -> DataValues – Check and force data points in the Orion
▪ Diagnostics -> ViewComms – Monitor communication on any of the Orion’s serial or Ethernet ports
▪ Diagnostics -> System – View system information and upgrade the firmware
▪ Diagnostics -> Logs – View Orion logs

Diagnostics -> Devices

The Devices page displays communication statistics about all server devices attached to the Orion, i.e.
devices that are being polled by the Orion. The Reset All Counters link resets the Polls and Responses
counters for all devices to 0 (zero). The counters roll over a 2 32 (=4,294,967,296). Devices that are offline
are displayed with red background to indicate an error. If more devices are connected to the Orion than can
be displayed on one page, scrolling and paging is available.

Figure 102: Devices Page

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Diagnostics -> DataValues
The DataValues page allows real-time viewing and forcing of each input/output point’s value and point
information on a port-by-port basis.

Each data point in the Orion will typically be displayed on at least two ports:
▪ The client port of the Orion that communicates with a server device and obtains the input point value
from that server device or sends the output point value to the server device.
▪ The server port of the Orion that communicates with a client station and sends the input point value to
that client station or receives the output point value from that client station.

The Orion maintains the value of each input point and each output point in the real-time database as a
normalized value, i.e. percentage of full scale. For complete details, see the Analog/Accumulator Scaling
Technical Note.

Forcing the value of input points and output points is available only if the logged in user has permission in
the Users settings. Forcing an input/output point means that the Orion will use the value(s) entered on the
Orion webpage as described below when communicating to the SCADA master (to which the Orion is a
server) or RTUs/IEDs (to which the Orion is a client) instead of using the values from live devices the Orion
communicates with. This is useful for testing, or when the Orion is installed and not all other devices or
communication links are available yet.

As shown on Figure 103, select the inputs or outputs of the port whose point values are to be monitored
or forced.

Figure 103: DataValues – Main Page

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View Input Values

After clicking on inputs for a specific port, all the inputs on that port are displayed.

Figure 104: DataValues – View Input Values

Up to 30 input values can be displayed on one page and sorted by Point Name,Alias, Device, Type,
and Point Number. If more input points are mapped to the port, pagination allows browsing of the pages.
Points that are offline are highlighted in red to indicate an error. Points can be forced from the input page
by clicking the desired point name. If the point does not highlight when moving the mouse over it, the Orion
is Locked and needs to be Unlocked (see Figure 100) or the login account does not have the permission
to force inputs. Section Users provides information on setting user permissions.

The links First, Previous, Next, Last, and the page numbers enable browsing of the pages as follows.

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Link Function
First Skip to the first page.
Previous Go to the previous page.
Next Go to the next page.
Last Skip to the last page.
Go to the specific page.

Table 56: DataValue – Browsing Pages

Column Options

When viewing the page for input values (Figure 104) or for output values (Figure 107), click
the Column Options button to customize the page by adding and removing columns from the default
display. The Column Options section lists all available columns that can be displayed as well as the point
value notation (Decimal, Octal, Hex) (Figure 105). The columns selected to be displayed are
highlighted in green. The column selection can be changed by clicking on the column name in the list, to
either add the column or remove the column from the current display. The Reset Selection button
returns to the last saved settings which are saved using cookies on the PC.
The Save Preferences option saves the changes made to the display. These settings are universal
for all ports. The Remove Saved Preferences button returns the display to the default column
selections.

Figure 105: DataValues – Column Options

The displayable columns are explained in the following table.

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Column Description
Point Name Each point has two text descriptors for user identification. A Point Name, also
Alias known as Tagname, is required and usually describes the end device where the
point originates, such as Breaker424@HV Relay. An Alias is an optional
descriptor that is intended to display the SCADA master terminology, such as West
Sub Breaker 424 HV Relay.
Default: Point Name column is displayed, and the Alias column is not displayed.
Device Every point belongs to a device. This column displays the user defined device
name, such as HV Relay, and is convenient for sorting multi-dropped ports.
Default: Device column is displayed.
Type Protocol-specific point number and point type. Some examples of point types are
Point Number AI for Analog Input, BI for Binary Input. Depending on the protocol and the way it
addresses points, points may be numbered in hexadecimal (17h), decimal (23), or
octal (27o). The MMI will display the point address the way the specific protocol
addresses points. If there is a bit position within a word, the point number is
displayed as 17:03, which means bit 3 in word 17. Bit numbering and word sizes
are protocol dependent, i.e. bit 1 can be LSB or MSB, and a word can be 8 bits or
16 bits. The respective protocol manual provides additional information.
Default: Type column is displayed, and Point # column is displayed.
Changes Counter that displays the number of point changes since the Orion (re)start. For
analog or accumulator points, every data change increments the corresponding
change counter by 1. For digital points, every 0-1 or 1-0 transition increments the
change counter by 1.
Default: Changes column is not displayed.
Fails Counter that displays the number of failed polls since the Orion (re)start.
Default: Fails column is not displayed.
Successes Counter that displays the number of successful polls since the Orion (re)start.
Default: Successes column is not displayed.
Value Current value of the point as per communication with an end device. If the point
has been forced, the forced value will be displayed instead of the value from the
end device.
Default: Value column is displayed.
Percent FS Percent of full scale of the current value. For example, if the value is scaled from
–2048 to 2047, and the current value is 1024, this file will show 0.75 for 75%.
Default: Percent Full Scale column is displayed.
Status If the corresponding value is updated from the remote device, the field will show
Online. If there is any type of communication error with the remote device, the
field will show Offline.
Default: Status column is displayed.
Forced No or Yes, depending on whether the value is obtained from the server device, or
overridden by a value entered on the webpage.
Default: Forced column is displayed.

Table 57: DataValues – Input Point Display Options

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Force Input Value

Forcing or overriding input values allows for the testing of the correct transmission of values to the client
polling the Orion, without having to generate those values in the end device in the field. The ability to force
inputs depends upon the user’s permission settings. Forcing inputs can be useful under several
circumstances:

▪ The end device and/or the communication to it have not yet been installed or are temporarily not
available.
▪ Generation of test values in the end device is too complicated or not possible, depending on the end
device.

To force a point, first select the port of the point that is to be forced (see Figure 104). After clicking on the
point, the following screen (Figure 106) will appear. If the Force Input Value display does not open, the
Orion may be Locked or the account used to login does not have permission to force inputs.

Note: If the desired point does not highlight when moving the mouse over it, the Orion may be
Locked or the account used to login does not have permission to force this point.

Figure 106: DataValues – Force Input Value

With this command, the Orion data point will indicate an equipment
state or condition to the SCADA master that is only simulated and does
not reflect the actual state or condition. This may lead the SCADA
master or personnel to initiate operations based on the simulated state
as opposed to the actual state. The necessary permissions must be
obtained from control center and other departments in accordance with
your corporate safety and operating guidelines. Failure to do so could
result in equipment damage, injury, and/or death.

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By entering the following parameters, input data points can be forced to report those values.

Parameter Description
Force Value Enter a decimal number either a percentage or scaled value.
Scaled Value or In the drop-down box, select one of these two values:
Percent Full Scale ▪ scaled value
▪ percent full scale
Examples:
For a discrete value of 1 (On), enter either 1 and Scaled Value, or
100 and Percent Full Scale.
For an analog value of 6 with a scaling range of 0..10, enter either 6
and Scaled Value, or 60 and Percent Full Scale.
Comm Status The point can be simulated as being either Online or Offline.
Online indicates that the value is received online from the end
device. Offline indicates that there is no communication with the
end device, but rather the most recent value as of the time of the last
communication.
Time to Remain Forced Determines how long (in minutes) the point will stay in the simulated
state before returning to the actual value as obtained from the end
device.

Table 58: Data Values – Force Input Values

After entering the above parameters, clicking Force Value writes the entered value to the data point.
Clicking Cancel aborts the operation. Clicking Remove Forced Value clears the forced value on
this input point only.

Click the Clear Input Override button (Figure 104) to clear all forced values on all ports.

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View Output Values

To view output values, i.e. values sent from a client port to an end device, click on outputs of the desired
port as shown in Figure 103. The last output value sent to the device will be displayed (Figure 107). This
value may have been sent by a client, to which the Orion is connected as a server, or the value may have
been generated by logic running in the Orion, or the value may have been forced by user input.

Figure 107: DataValues – View Output Values

Up to 30 values can be displayed on one page. Pagination is provided to allow jumping to different pages.
See Table 56 for a description of the pagination commands.

Section Column Options provides a complete description of the Column Options button.

Force Output Values

This function sends output values to connected server/end devices as entered by the Orion. During normal
operation, any output commands sent to those devices would be issued by a front end/SCADA master, and
merely passed through by the Orion. This function can be used for localized testing without involving the
entire system end-to-end. The ability to force outputs depends upon the user’s permission settings.

Output points can be forced by clicking on the desired point name in Figure 107.

Note: If the output point does not highlight when moving the mouse over it, the Orion may be
locked or the login account does not have permission to force outputs.

This command can possibly operate live equipment on the end device,
the same way it would be operated locally, or from the front end/SCADA
master. The necessary permissions must be obtained from control
center and other departments in accordance with your corporate safety
and operating guidelines. Failure to do so could result in equipment
damage, injury, and/or death.

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Clicking on the desired point displays the following screen.

Figure 108: DataValues – Force Output Value

The dialog shown in Figure 108 is a “generic” screen in that it shows all parameters possibly needed,
whether the output point is a simple discrete output, a select-before-operate output, a trip/close output, a
pulse output, or an analog output/setpoint. Depending on the protocols used to connect the front
end/SCADA master to the end device, only a selection of the listed types will be available, as either the
protocol between the front end and the Orion, and/or the protocol between the Orion and the end device
may not support all point types. The only value that must be entered is the value required by the point type.
The following table lists the parameters.

Item Description
Force Value Enter a decimal number either a percentage or scaled value.
Scaled Value or In the drop-down box, select one of these two values:
Percent Full Scale ▪ scaled value
▪ percent full scale
Examples:
For a discrete value of 1 (On), enter either 1 and Scaled Value, or
100 and Percent Full Scale.
For an analog value of 6 with a scaling range of 0..10, enter either 6
and Scaled Value, or 60 and Percent Full Scale.

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Item Description
Duration Usually, trip/close, raise/lower, and pulse outputs require a duration. If
(msec) none is entered, and a default value is used in the point configuration,
the default value is used instead.
Pulses For pulse output points, the number of pulses may be required unless
it is predefined by the respective protocol.
Offtime For pulse output points, the offtime between on-pulses may be
(msec) required as well.

Table 59: Data Values – Force Output Values

After entering the above parameters, click Force Value to perform the operation as set up.
Clicking Cancel aborts the operation.

View Tagging Archive

The View tagging archive button allows a user to determine whether or not any tags which may
have been created in the Orion HMI menus have been applied. The button is located on the upper right
side in the following figure. Clicking on the button displays a summary for each tag entered. The summary
for each tag consists of the parameters described in Table 60.

Figure 109: DataValues - View Tagging Archive

Any tag which has been applied will result in an entry being created in the tagging archive. Once the entry
appears in the tagging archive, the user can remove the tag if desired. If a tag in the tagging archive is

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removed, the archive will display a time stamp parameter indicating when the tag was applied and removed
(Figure 110).

Figure 110: DataValues - Applied Tags

Item Description
Point Name The Point Name and the Device name are combined into the Tagname
which references the point within the port, as well as all other ports/protocols
where that point might be used. Using self-explanatory names facilitates
online monitoring of the Orion’s operation. This string can be up to 30
characters long, and can contain all printable characters except @, [, ], ',
", =, and commas.
Alias Point Name Each point has two text descriptors for user identification. Name, also
known as Tagname, is required and usually describes the end device
where the point originates, such as Breaker424@HV Relay. An Alias is
an optional descriptor that is intended to display the SCADA master
terminology, such as West Sub Breaker 424 HV Relay.
Tag Type Generally, tags are identified by one of three types (or by user-specified
custom tags). The three default tag types are Do Not Operate,
Information, and Out of Service.
Applied Time Stamp Time stamp alerting the user to the moment the tag went into effect.
Removed Time Stamp Time stamp alerting the user to the moment the tag was released or
removed.
User Name User name required at login.
Comment Optional field. Comments can be used to alert the user to special
circumstances or instructions.

Table 60: Data Values - Tagging Archive

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Diagnostics -> ViewComms
The communications on any client or server port of the Orion can be monitored, similar to the viewing on
the MMI of the Orion (see section View Communications). First, select the desired port on the Port tab in
the following figure.

Figure 111: ViewComms – Select Port

On the Options tab, specific information can be excluded or included as needed. Also, the viewing Timeout
can be set.

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Figure 112: ViewComms – Select Displayed Information

When all selections are made, click on the View tab to monitor the ongoing communications for the
selected port. The viewing can be paused by clicking on the Pause button.

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Figure 113: ViewComms

The viewed communications can be reset/cleared and downloaded via the menu item .

Figure 114: ViewComms – Reset, Clear, and Download

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Diagnostics -> System
The System page displays the following Orion system information:
▪ Operating system information
▪ File system
▪ Module versions
▪ Serial and Ethernet interfaces
▪ Network statistics
▪ Memory information
▪ Interrupts information
▪ Package versions

The System page also provides some maintenance and management tools:
▪ Download system information
▪ Restart the Orion
▪ Update Orion image
▪ Manage Orion core dumps
▪ Backup user configuration
▪ View key file
▪ Download key file
▪ Delete key file

The operations available on this page usually require unlocking the Orion.

Table 61 describes the information displayed on the system pages.

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Figure 115: System Page

Item Description
Uptime The time the Orion Linux operating system has been running, in days,
hours, minutes, and seconds. This will reset after a full restart or power
is reapplied.
Linux Version Version of the currently installed Linux kernel.
DataBase: True/False Database Enabled status display. Possible values are True or False.
See also section Database.
Download system info Compresses all system diagnostic log files into one .zip file. This file
can be transferred to the PC. NovaTech support engineers may
request this file to support the Orion.
Full Restart Force a hard re-start of the Orion.

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Item Description
Quick Restart Force a restart of the configuration without a full reboot.
Update This button updates the image of the Orion. Refer to the Updating
Orion Image Field Instructions for a complete description of the update
process.
Core Dumps A core dump will be generated by the Orion if a program crash occurs.
The core file can be transferred to the PC by clicking on the date and
time stamp that is displayed. It is used by Technical Support to analyze
the issue.
Backup This button allows backing up Orion files.
▪ System Files – Online settings and System Files listed on the
Files tab.
▪ User Files – NCD, logic, SVG, and key files.
▪ Database – SQL tables including Archive/Alarm/Alarm Archive,
and tagging files.
A compressed .zip file will be created containing the selected file
groups and is downloaded to the PC. See Appendix C – Backup and
Restore User Configuration for additional information.
Default file name: sysfiles.zip
View key file View all protocols and software options licensed on this Orion. To
check for protocol library versions, scroll to the Package Versions
table on the System page (Figure 118).
Download Key File Transfers the Key File from the Orion to the PC.
Delete Key File Deletes the orion.ntk license key file from the Orion’s non-volatile
memory.
Note: The key file with the software licenses is required for the
Orion applications to run.
File System Display the status of the Orion file system, including overall size,
available space, mounting points, etc.
Module Versions Lists port, name, version, and date for all protocol drivers and the
main.exe running on the Orion. All Orion protocol packages can be
verified in this table.
Serial Ports Displays all serial ports, the number of bytes transmitted and received
on each port since the last boot, and the status of the RS-232 lines.
Ethernet Interfaces For each Ethernet port, the port’s name, MAC address, IP address,
and subnet mask is displayed.
Network Stats–Receive Displays the number of transmitted and received bytes, packets,
Network Stats–Transmit errors, etc. for each network interface since the last reboot.
/proc/meminfo Displays memory information.
/proc/interrupts Displays interrupt information.
Package Versions Displays the application packages and their versions which are
installed on the Orion.

Table 61: System Page Information

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Figure 116: System Page – Serial and Ethernet Interfaces

Figure 117: System Page – Memory Info

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Figure 118: System Page – Package Versions

Diagnostics -> Logs

The Logs page displays the log information showing the entries time stamp, message source identifier, and
message priority (emergency, alert, critical, error, warning, notice, information and debug). The log
messages can be filtered by the filters Identifiers, Boot IDs, and Priorities. The events meeting
the selected criteria can be downloaded as a .csv (Comma Separated Values) file by
clicking Download.CSV near the top of the page. Additional details of a message will be displayed by
clicking on the message (Figure 120).

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Figure 119: Logs Page

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Figure 120: Log Message Details

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Alarms Tab
The Alarms page shows all currently unacknowledged alarms in the Orion. Alarms can be acknowledged
individually by selecting a specific alarm check box or collectively by clicking the select all check box at the
top of the column, and then clicking Acknowledge Selected . Acknowledged alarms are moved to the
alarm archive which can be viewed by clicking on Alarm Archive .

The colors for specific alarm levels and unacknowledged/acknowledged are set up as described in section
Alarms. By default, data points that are still in alarm are displayed in red, and data points that have returned
to normal are displayed in green.

Point setup for alarming is described in the Alarm/Archive/ Retentive Software Manual.

Figure 121: Alarms Tab

The active Alarm list can be sorted by clicking the respective column header. The Alarm list may also be
searched by entering text in the search box, upper right in window, and click the search button .

The display tables for the Alarms and Alarms Archive can be customized to display only the desired set of
columns (Figure 122). Click the Column Settings button , select the columns to be displayed
(highlighted in green) for this table and click Apply Preferences . The customized settings only apply
to the user logged on and to the specific browser currently being used.

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Figure 122: Column Setting Menu

The Alarm Archive list (Figure 123) can be filtered by clicking the Filter Table button and specifying a
Pointname, Message or Alias, and/or by specifying a date/time range in the filter options section, and
click the Add Filter button to add the option to the filter string and display the results. The following
figures show the unfiltered and the filtered Alarm/Alarm Archive.

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Figure 123: Alarm Archive without Filter

Figure 124: Alarm Archive with Filter

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Archive Tab
The Archive page displays the periodic archived values and/or events for binary data changes and analog
data changes. The desired points are configured in the AAR Module in NCD. Binary events are displayed
when the value changes from On to Off or from Off to On. Analog events are displayed when they change
outside the defined limits. Binary and Analog values can also be configured to archive periodically, such
as every 15 minutes. The events can be viewed in their entirety, or filtered to the 1000 most recent records,
or filtered by clicking the Filter Table icon . Via Rows per page, the records can be viewed 10, 25,
50, or 100 records per page.

Figure 125: Archive - 1000 Most Recent Records

Alternatively, the archive can be filtered by clicking the Filter Table icon and enter a Point Name
or Alias in the Search for data point… box and click the Add Filter button . The archive
table can additionally be filtered by selecting a time period from the Date dropdown menu (Figure 126).

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Figure 126: Archive with Custom Filter

Trends can be viewed by clicking View Trending at the upper right side (Figure 126). Click
on Date and Point Name (Figure 127) to specify the desired time period and the desired point
name(s) for the trend.

Figure 127: Archive –Trending

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Item Description
Under Date, select the time period for which to display the trend. A
Custom time period can also be specified.

Under Point Name, select whether to search for Point Names or

their Alias. Then enter the desired name. The matching points are
displayed automatically for selection. To add a point to the trend, click
on the icon on the right side of the entry field. When the first point
has been added, the trend is displayed automatically.
The values of the currently displayed trend can be saved to the PC as
a CSV file.

Table 62: Trending Filters

All applied filters, such as time period and points, are displayed as shown in Figure 128 and can be removed
by clicking the X behind each, or altogether by clicking .

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Figure 128: Archive – Trend for Multiple Data Points

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Files Tab
The Files page allows uploading, downloading, activating, and removing configuration files from the Orion.
This page also allows the transfer of system files and update packages. File transfers between the PC and
the Orion use the HTTPS file transfer protocol. HTTP can also be used if enabled as described in section
Services.

Figure 129: Files Page

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User Files

Files can be transferred to the Orion by clicking the + Select files... button and selecting the file
in the PC’s file system. Alternatively, files on the PC can simply be dragged and dropped onto the User
files area of the webpage. Click the Send button to transfer the selected files to the Orion (Figure
130). This process is used to restore a backup file to the Orion (see Appendix C – Backup and Restore
User Configuration).

Figure 130: Send Files to OrionLX

If a file selected for transfer has the same name as the active configuration, a warning
message is displayed. If the file is then actually transferred, the active configuration
will be overwritten and the Orion application process will automatically restart.

File Extension File Use Description

.ncd Configuration file Orion configuration file.
.bas Logic file Logic in “Basic” syntax executed by the Orion.
.lua Advanced logic file Logic in Lua programming language.
.ncz Compressed file 61850, 61131, and SNMP Manager information.
orionlx.ntk Key file They key file specifies what protocol drivers a specific
Orion is licensed to run. Protocol and software modules
will not execute without the proper license in this file.
Contact NovaTech support for troubleshooting.
.svg Scalable Vector Graphics file User webpages.
.js Java Script file User webpages.
.zip Compressed file Contains system files.

Table 63: Orion File Types

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All available files are listed under User files. The files in Table 63 can be transferred between the PC
and the Orion using the Files page.

The listed files can be sorted by filename, size, and date by clicking the respective column headers
Filename, Size, and Date.

Clicking a file name opens the file for viewing. Files of type .ncd, .lua and .bas are displayed as ASCII text.
Files of type .svg are displayed as graphics.

Each of the files can be selected by clicking the checkbox to the left of the file name. Then, either
the Download or the Delete button can be clicked, and the operation is applied to all selected files.

Clicking the Download button transfers all selected files from the Orion to the PC.

Clicking the Delete button deletes all selected files from the Orion non-volatile memory.

Selecting the Active Configuration

From all configuration files that have been transferred to the Orion, the active configuration can now be
selected from the drop-down box shown in Figure 131. A separate prompt requires confirmation for
switching to another configuration (Figure 132). Note that all files belonging to a configuration must have
been transferred to the Orion, such as .bas, .lua, .svg, etc. for the selected configuration and .ncd file to
operate correctly.

Figure 131: Select Active Configuration

Figure 132: Confirmation Prompt

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System Files
The System Files section on the Files page includes system files parameters such as date and size (Figure
133). The system files contain user-configured settings which have been set and saved using the Orion
webpage. These files can be moved from one Orion to another, assuming the logged in user has the
appropriate permissions. The files can be transferred to the PC as a compressed .zip file by clicking
the Download all button at the bottom of the list. System files cannot be transferred individually to
the PC.

The System Files section allows sorting on Filename, Size, and Date by clicking the respective column
header. The sort will alternate between ascending and descending.

Figure 133: System Files

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Settings Tab
Configuration and system parameters such as user authorization, modem settings, alarms, or scheduling
can be set up on the Settings Menu. All settings configured through these pages are saved on the Orion
and can be transferred to the PC for backup (see System Files). These settings can also be transferred to
a spare Orion instead of being manually configured on a spare Orion.

Figure 134: Settings Menu

The following table provides an overview of available settings behind each link.

Menu Function
Users Manage users, set passwords and rights, allow services and operations,
account expiration, menu or command line upon login.
Authentication Rules Set user lockout rules, password rules, and remote root login permission.
Remote Accounts Set accounts, server parameters, and active directory parameters.
Firewall Set firewall rules for receiving, sending, and forwarding of packets.
Key Management Create, manage, and transfer keys.
System Log Set system log destination and filters.
Networking Enable/disable Ethernet ports, IP networking, port bonding, network bridging,
and PRP/HSR setup.

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Menu Function
Serial Access Setup of modem.
Time Set time zone, IRIG-B input/output parameters, and NTP time sources.
Serial Setup of serial ports.
WebUI Setup of webpage links, HMI tagging, and Orion webpage access rules.
Alarms Alarm notifications, alarm colors, and alarm archive settings.
Database Setup of archive, retentive, and tagging database and database access
management.
Tagging Setup and management of tags.
Cascaded Orions Settings for cascaded Orions.
Services Enable SNMP; Telnet, FTP, and HTTP (unsecure protocols); DisplayPort;
Multispeak HTTP and HTTPS.
Scheduler Set up recurring tasks in the Orion, such as emailing of .csv export files from the
archive and alarm database, and moving files via SFTP/FTP from the Orion to
a host computer.

Table 64: Settings Page

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Users
The Orion users are managed on the following page. The Orion is shipped with the two default users root
and novatech. Additional users can be added as needed.

Note that the following user administration pages are displayed only for users who belong to at least the
groups https (or http) and useradmin.

Figure 135: User Management Page

Function Description
Add User Click this link to add a user. Then the page in Figure 136 opens.
Edit the setttings for this user.

Change the password for this user. See also Change Password.

Delete this user.

Table 65: User Management Commands

Note: NovaTech recommends creating new accounts and deleting the default novatech account.
Setting up a second administrator account to be used only in an emergency (e.g. when the
first administrator account has been locked out, or its password has been misplaced) is
strongly recommended.

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Figure 136: Add User Page

Function Description
Username Enter unique username for the new user.
Password Sets the user password. The password rules are configured on the Authentication
Verify Password Rules page.
Days valid Sets the number of days that the password is valid. Upon expiration, the user will
be prompted to enter a new password.
Login Type Defines the user interface provided by the Orion after logging in via Telnet, SSH,
or serial connection.
Menu Display of Orion MMI. See Orion MMI for details.
Text Command line interface. Typing ntsh will display the Orion menus
from the command line.
iDial For communication with SEL AcSELerator Quickset ®. See Orion iDial
Software Manual.
Groups The groups the user is a member of. Each group grants certain permissions to
a user as explained in Table 67.

Table 66: User Account Management

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Change Password

If the user that is logged in does not have the permission to manage users (useradmin), only the own
password can be changed. This is the only available option for users without user management
authorization.

Figure 137: Change Own Password

Group Management

Note that access to any Orion webpage requires membership in group https or http. Figure 135 is
displayed only for users which belong to group https or http and useradmin.

Function Description LDAP

Group ID
alarming (1-5) The Alarming checkboxes are used with the Alarm/Archive/Retentive 116 - 120
option. These levels can be used to enable different users to
acknowledge different types of alarms. Up to 5 levels of
acknowledging alarms are supported.
Example: a breaker maintenance issue could be set up so only a
maintenance engineer can acknowledge, while a breaker status
change might be set up for only a relay protection engineer to
acknowledge.
The assignment of points to alarm acknowledgment groups is
described in the Alarm/Archive/Retentive Module Software Manual.
control (1-5) The Control checkboxes are used with the user webpage options. 121 - 125
These levels can be used to enable different users to send different
controls from a webpage. Up to 5 levels of controls are supported.
The assignment of points to control groups is described in the
WEBserver (XML Server) Software Manual, section "NCD Setup of
XML Server", "Outputs Tab".
cronconfig This group grants a user the ability to change the scheduled tasks on 128
the Scheduler page.

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Function Description LDAP
Group ID
forceinput Allows the user to force inputs in the Orion through the diagnostic port 109
for debugging purposes (see sections View Input Values (webpage)
and Force Input Values (MMI)).
forceoutput Allows the user to force field outputs connected to the Orion through 110
the diagnostic port for debugging purposes (see sections View
Output Values (webpage) and Force Output Values (MMI)).
ftp Allows the user access to the Orion using FTP. 101
http Allows the user access to the Orion using HTTP and a web browser. 102
https Allows the user access to the Orion using secure HTTP and a web 103
browser.
modem Allows the user access to the Orion using the dialup modem over 105
PPP.
networkconfig Allows the user to modify and save network parameters on the 111
Network Settings page. This page can be viewed but not edited by
the users that do not have this box checked.
networksecurity Allows the user access to the Firewall page. This page cannot be 114
viewed by users that do not have this box checked.
orionconfig Allows access to the Files page. This page cannot be viewed by 108
users that do not have this box checked.
packageinstall Allows the user to install updates on the Orion. 113
passthrough Allows the user to use the passthrough option on the system menu 115
via Telnet/SSH. Passthrough allows users to communicate with
devices that support ASCII protocols
postgres Checking this box will allow the user to set up the PostgreSQL 502
options.
ppp This group grants a user the ability to make a dial-in connection and 127
establish a PPP link using a modem
ssh Allows the user access to the Orion using secure shell. 104
tagging (1-5) Up to 5 levels of tagging for HMI use. 129 - 133
The setup of the tagging groups is described in section Tagging.
telnet Allows the user access to the Orion using Telnet. 106
tty Allows the user access to the Orion console on port A. 5
useradmin Allows maintenance of this page (adding, deleting, and editing of user 107
accounts). This page cannot be viewed by users that do not have
this box checked.
viewlogs Allows the user to view system log files. This page cannot be viewed 112
by users that do not have this box checked.
webfiles This group grants a user the ability to view/add SVG pages on the 126
Orion.
wheel This group grants a user who has shell access (the login type Text) 10
the ability to become the super user (root).
Table 67: User Groups

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For each category (alarm acknowledgment, control, and tagging), the matrix of each group and the users
assigned to each group must be carefully designed. The users must be able to perform their job functions,
and at the same time be prevented from operations they are not authorized to perform.

Each of the five groups of a category (alarm acknowledgment, control, and tagging) are disjoint groups and
not supersets of each other (like the groups superuser, administrator, power user, and user are in a
computer). This means that assigning a user to control groups 2 and 5 for example, grants permission for
operating control groups 2 and 5 only, and not for control groups 1, 3, and 4.

For more details, see also Orion Alarm/Archive/Retentive Software Manual.

Authentication Rules
The Authentication Rules page sets the criteria for failed login results, valid password guidelines, and
remote Root user access. If any changes are made to the Authentication rules,
click Save changes button at the bottom of the page.

User Lockout Rules

User Lockout rules define the number of consecutive failed password attempts before a user account is
locked out or disabled. This is an important setting to prevent unauthorized users from gaining access to
the Orion. A locked out user can be enabled again by the root user using the faillog command on the
console.

Figure 138: Authentication Rules – User Lockout Rules

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Parameter Description
User Lockout Enable/disable lockout rules. When this setting is on, the Orion will use the
Rules following settings to decide when to disable a user due to failed login attempts.
Default: On
Max. Login Defines the number of consecutive failed password attempts before the user
Attempts account is locked out or disabled.
Default: 5
Lock Out Instructs the Orion to permanently disable a user account after a number of
Permanently failed attempts.
Default: Off
Time Until Unlock Defines the number of seconds the Orion will remain in lockout.
(sec) Default: 172800 seconds (2 days)
Temporary Lock The amount of time between failed attempts the Orion will lockout.
Time (sec) Default: 3 seconds

Table 68: User Lockout Rules

Password Rules

Password rules configure how many digits and the types of characters that are required in a password. A
long password with a mixture of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters is the most secure.
This password conformance check is executed when a new user is added or when a user changes the
password.

Figure 139: Authentication Rules – Password Rules

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Parameter Description
Password Rules Enable/disable password rules. When this setting is on, the Orion will check user
passwords to make sure they follow the rules defined below.
Default: Selected (On)
Min. Length Defines the minimum number of characters a password must be to be accepted.
Default: 8
Min. Digits Defines the minimum number of numeric digits (0-9) that must be used in a
password.
Default: 1
Min. Uppercase Defines the minimum number of uppercase (A-Z) letters that must be used in a
password.
Default: 1
Min. Lowercase Defines the minimum number of lowercase (a-z) letters that must be used in a
password.
Default: 1
Min. Special Defines the minimum number of special character digits that must be used in a
Chars password. Special characters include:
! @ # $ % ^ & * ( )+ ,- ./ :;< => ?“‘ [\ ]_ `{| }~
Default: 1
Max Repeated Defines the maximum number of times a character can be repeated.
difok Sets the minimum number of characters that must be different when changing a
password.
Default: 5
Password Defines the number of password changes before a previously used password can
History be reused.
Default: 3

Table 69: Password Rules

Remote Root Login

If the Allow Remote Root box is checked, remote login will be allowed for the root user. However, the
root user will also need to be given remote login permissions as described in section Users. To do this, the
root user must be a member of the ssh group (see also Figure 136 and Table 67).

Figure 140: Authentication Rules – Remote Root Login

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Note: For security reasons, enabling remote root login is not recommended.

Remote Accounts
The Remote Accounts page (Figure 141) configures the remote authentication settings for Active Directory
and RADIUS. For a full description of the Active Directory or RADIUS setup of the Orion, see the Orion
Remote Authentication Tech Note.

Figure 141: Remote Accounts Page

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Firewall
The firewall is an important cyber-security tool since it is a first defense step to keep unwanted traffic from
entering the Orion and its applications. The firewall is only one component which must be combined with
secure authentication and encryption methods as well as other security procedures to secure the network
and the devices connected to it.

The firewall provides a packet filtering process. Configuration involves establishing a list of rules based on
source and destination server IP address and port numbers. Rules will be set for Input traffic which will
have a specific IP address as an allowed source server and the Orion IP address as the destination server.
Rules will also be set for Output traffic which will have the IP address of the Orion as the source server
and a specific IP address as the destination server.

If Routing has been enabled using the Network Settings, data will be routed through the Orion. In this case
rules for Forward traffic will need to be established where neither the source nor the destination server is
the Orion but are device addresses within the network.

Generally, a firewall is set up to drop all incoming and outgoing packets. Exceptions are defined to allow
specific applications from specific machines to communicate with the Orion and its applications. Adding a
comment to each rule is recommended so settings can easily be identified and modified later.

Figure 142: Firewall Settings

The Orion is shipped with the firewall disabled. The default setting is set to drop both input, output, and
forward packets. When configuring the firewall, the Input rules, the Output rules, and the Forward rules
must be modified.

Note: As a general practice, firewall settings should only be configured locally so that the firewall
can be disabled using the serial MMI interface if an incorrect rule is configured.

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When first setting up a firewall, we recommend temporarily setting the output default to ACCEPT packets
while setting up the input rules to keep from having too many changes at once. Once the input rules function
properly, change the default for the output back to DROP, and then add the output rules.

The order in which rules are executed is important. If the firewall is configured to accept traffic from
26.45.123.54 and the next rule drops all incoming packets, this results in no incoming traffic being received.
If the first rule drops all incoming packets and the second rule accepts packets from 26.45.123.54, incoming
traffic will be received.

To set up the firewall of the Orion, rules must be added. Select the Input, Output, or Forward tab and
click the Add Rule button (Figure 142) for each rule.

Clicking the Edit button displays the following Filter Options webpage (Figure 143). To go to the
second page of the firewall Filter Options (Figure 144), click the button. After the filter options for this
rule have been specified, click Submit to establish the options for this rule. All filter options that are not
needed should be left empty.

To rearrange rules, drag and drop the rules into the desired order. After all rules have been configured, the
Enabled checkbox must be checked before clicking Save . The web browser will automatically refresh.
If the browser does not refresh within one minute, the Orion will turn off the firewall to enable the user to
modify the firewall rules.

Figure 143: Firewall Filter Options Page 1

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Figure 144: Firewall Filter Options Page 2

Function Description
Source
Interface The Interface setting specifies the Ethernet interface(s) to which this rule applies.
The available options are any (all interfaces), eth0, eth1, lo (loopback), and/or
tun0 (VPN tunnel).
The first list box allows choosing whether the selected interface is or is not
included in this rule.
Address Defines the IP source address of the incoming packet that is or is not included
in this rule.
Port Defines the source port number that is or is not included in this rule. A list of
preset port numbers is provided for convenience. Other port numbers can be
manually entered. Presets include:
FTP, SSH/SFTP, Telnet, HTTP, HTTPS, DNP, Modbus, NTP, OpenVPN, Radius,
Radius Account, PostgreSQL, LDAP, and Secure LDAP.
Destination
Interface The Interface setting specifies the Ethernet interface(s) to which this rule applies.
The available options are any (all interfaces), eth0, eth1, lo (loopback), and/or
tun0 (VPN tunnel).
Address Defines the IP destination address of the incoming packet that is or is not
included in this rule.

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Function Description
Port Defines the destination port number that is or is not included in this rule. A list
of preset port numbers is provided for convenience. Other port numbers can be
manually entered. Presets include:
FTP, SSH/SFTP, Telnet, HTTP, HTTPS, DNP, Modbus, NTP, OpenVPN, Radius,
Radius Account, PostgreSQL, LDAP, and Secure LDAP.
Common
Protocol The Protocol setting specifies the IP protocol (tcp, udp or icmp) that is or is
not included.
Default: TCP and UDP
State The Orion remembers the State of the connection. This setting defines the actions
based on the current state of the connection. Stateful packet inspection is important
to prevent exploitation of a device. Server (or server) protocols will utilize a state
setting, such as Established to keep a program from accepting a connection that
met all other firewall rules. The available settings are:
NEW A new connection is being created.
ESTABLISHED A current connection is established.
RELATED New connections created from previous connections.
INVALID Not new, established, or related.
Action and Additional Options
limit Specifies the maximum average number of matches per the specified time frame:
/seconds, /minutes, /hours or /day.
limit-burst Specifies the maximum burst before the limit parameter is enforced.
mac-source Defines the MAC address of the incoming packet that is or is not included in this
rule.
Action Action to take if the packet matches the rule.
NONE No action is taken.
DROP Drop the packet and do not send a reject message.
ACCEPT Accept the packet.
REJECT Drop the packet and send an ICMP error message back to sender.
LOG Accept packets and log packet information.
Default: NONE
Additional This is a command line option that requires advanced knowledge of firewalls. If
Options needed, this option will require assistance from NovaTech.
Comment Allows users to add a comment for the purpose of the rule.

Table 70: Firewall Settings

Note: It is possible to create a set of firewall rules that lock out the user during the Orion setup.
In this case, the USB interface port must be used to disable the firewall using the MMI
network menu.

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Key Management
The Key Management page allows the creation of new keys, the uploading of them, and the associating of
SSL keys with system features. The Orion ships with a default key that is used for SSH and HTTPS.
NovaTech does not include a key file issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) such as VeriSign, because the
Orion leaves NovaTech’s control when shipped. The Orion’s self-signed keys cause most browsers to
generate a warning message. The warning message can be resolved by accepting the warning, changing
browser settings, or installing your own certificate. For the latter, obtain a signed key from a trusted CA,
upload it by clicking Browse and Upload , and associate SSH and HTTPS with that key.
Clicking Save saves any entered settings.

Figure 145: Key Management Settings

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Field Description
Keys The Keys section shows the list of all SSL keys in the Orion. The key values
can be viewed by clicking the respective link under the Key Name heading.
Figure 146 shows the parameters associated with the default key. In order
to create a new key, click Create a new key, which requires the parameters
shown in Figure 147. See also section Create Key.
System Keys Allows users to select a specific key for SSH, HTTPS (Apache), and the
MultiSpeak, DNP3, and IEC 104 protocols. The dropdown box next to each
displays all key files displayed in the Keys section.
Key file upload Allows uploading of key files to the Orion. If the file selected on the PC exists
already on the Orion, you

Table 71: Key Management Settings

Figure 146: Default Key Values

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Create Key

After selecting the Create a new key button, the Distinguished Name window (see figure below)
opens for entering all the key parameters. Once the parameters have been entered,
click Create Key to create the key. The new key will be displayed in the key list (see Figure 145).

Figure 147: Create New Key

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System Log
If the system log or syslog function is set up, the Orion sends the system messages specified below to the
specified computer(s) for logging and analyzing. This function is used for system management and security
auditing.

Figure 148: System Log Setup

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Field Description
Enable Remote Logging This box must be checked to enable the syslog functionality.
Host Address IP address of the syslog host computer.
Backup Host Address IP address of the computer that is the backup host computer.
Destination Port Port number of the host computer which is used for syslogging.
Default: 514
Connection Type Connection type with syslog host computer.
Default: TCP
Filter Options Check all types of events for which messages shall be sent to the syslog
host for logging.
Default: alert, critical, emergency, error.

Table 72: System Log Setup

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Networking
The Networking page configures the installed Ethernet ports as well as General Interface Settings and
Advanced Networking Options. Once the Save changes button is clicked, these settings immediately
take effect. If the IP address of the Orion has been changed, the new address of the Orion must be entered
in the web browser for continued access to the Orion’s webpages.

Figure 149: Networking Settings

The internal names of the Ethernet ports which are labeled as Eth0, Eth1, etc. on the Orion enclosure are
as follows. The following table also shows the PTP/IEEE 1588 support for each port. If PTP/IEEE 1588 is
supported in hardware, the achieved accuracy is < 1µs. It is not supported on switch ports and PRP/HSR
ports.

Connector Label Interface Name PTP/IEEE 1588

ETH0 eth0 Software
ETH1 eth1 Software

Table 73:OrionLXm Ethernet Port Names and PTP Support

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General Interface Settings

The General Interface Settings settings affect all network adapters as follows.

Function Description
Hostname Optional name that identifies the Orion on a network. The DNS server must be
aware of this hostname and supply connecting devices with the IP address. This
name is also displayed on the Orion title bar for device recognition.
Default: orionlx
DNS Servers The Domain Name System (DNS) Server converts a hostname to an IP address.
The Orion supports two DNS servers. If no DNS is required for communications to
and from the Orion, it is recommended to leave the DNS server fields empty for
faster SSH connection times.
Enable Routing The Enable Routing setting allows the Orion to act as a router. When routing, the
Orion becomes the gateway between two networks. After selecting this option, the
user must configure the Orion IP address as the gateway addresses of the two
networks that the Orion is routing. The default gateway addresses of the Orion
Ethernet ports should be left blank.
Note: NovaTech recommends using the Firewall, Forward Settings when the
Enable Routing setting is selected.

Table 74: General Interface Settings

Interface(s) Settings

For all network ports, the same set of parameters must be configured. All ports operate independently of
each other. In most environments, the IT department or networking engineering personnel must be
consulted to obtain specific addresses for the Orion’s network configuration.

Note: Each Ethernet port must belong to a different network and set up with corresponding IP
addresses. If network ports are set up with IP addresses belonging to the same IP
network, IP communication errors may occur.

Example 1: 192.168.x.x and 172.16.x.x are different networks.

Example 2: With subnet mask 255.255.255.128, the ranges 192.168.1.1 - 192.168.1.127 and
192.168.1.129 - 192.168.1.255 are different networks.

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Function Description
Enabled Controls whether the Ethernet port is enabled (checked) or disabled (cleared).
Default: cleared (disabled).
Use DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allows the Orion to obtain its IP
address from a DHCP server. Depending on the requirements and network setup,
the IP addresses can be assigned automatically through a DHCP server on the
network. However, unless the DHCP server is set up to assign a specific address
to the Orion, this will result in varying addresses assigned by the DHCP server. In
most network architectures, static IP addresses will be the preferred setup.
Default: Checked (DHCP enabled)
IP Address Static IP address for Ethernet ports.
Example: 172.16.123.12
Subnet Mask The Subnet Mask is used to divide networks. Devices that communicate over a
network must have the same subnet mask. The corporate IT department or
networking engineering personnel normally provide the specific settings.
Example: 255.255.0.0
Gateway The Gateway setting allows the Orion to communicate with devices that are not on
the network. Commonly, the gateway is the IP address of the router. NovaTech
recommends using a gateway setting for one network interface only. If multiple
gateways are required, Static Routes may need to be configured using the
Advanced Networking settings.
Example: 172.16.0.1
Media Settings Defines the speed at which the Orion communicates over the network. auto
negotiate allows the Orion to connect at the optimal available speed. Selecting
a specific setting restricts this port to the selected speed and duplex mode.
Default: auto negotiate

Table 75: Network Settings for Ethernet Ports

Advanced Networking Options

The following advanced networking options are supported:

▪ Static Routing
▪ Network Bonding
▪ Network Bridging
▪ HSR/PRP (if NC3 card is installed)

Static Routing

Static routing is a manual configuration of a network route. It is used in situations where the network
parameters and configuration will remain constant. Packet routing decisions are preconfigured in the routing
table which can only be changed manually by the administrator.

Clicking the Static Routs link opens a new window where static routes can be configured.
Click Add to open the following window (Figure 150) to configure new static routes.

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Figure 150: Add Static Route

Function Description
Destination Network Enter the IP address of the final destination.
Address
Destination Network Enter the subnet mask of the final destination.
Subnet Mask
Gateway Enter the gateway IP address which must be on the same LAN segment as
the Orion.
Interface Select the Orion Ethernet port for which this static route applies.

Table 76: Static Routing Parameters

Network Bond(s)

Bonding provides a method for aggregating multiple network interfaces into a single logical bonded
interface. The behavior of the interface depends on the mode of operation that has been selected. Modes
provide hot standby or load balancing plus the option of link integrity monitoring. Clicking the Network
Bond(s) link opens a new window where a bonded port can be edited or configured. Click Add to open
the following window (Figure 151).

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Figure 151: Ethernet Bonding Configuration

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Function Description
Use DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allows the Orion to obtain its IP
address from a DHCP server. Depending on the requirements and network setup,
the IP addresses can be assigned automatically through a DHCP server on the
network. However, unless the DHCP server is set up to assign a specific address
to the Orion, this will result in varying addresses assigned by the DHCP server.
Note: In most network architectures, static IP addresses will be the preferred
setup.
Default: DHCP disabled
IP Address Orion static IP address for the logical bonded interface.
Subnet Mask The Subnet Mask is used to divide networks. Devices that communicate over a
network must have the same subnet mask. The corporate IT department or
networking engineering personnel normally provide the specific settings.
Gateway The Gateway setting allows the Orion to communicate with devices that are not on
the network. Commonly, the gateway is the IP address of the router. NovaTech
recommends using a gateway setting for one network interface only.
Mode Specifies the mode of operation of the bonded interface: See Table 78 for mode
descriptions.
▪ active-backup
▪ balance-rr (default)
▪ balance-xor
▪ broadcast
▪ 802.3ad
▪ balance-tlb
▪ balance-alb
Enslave Specifies the primary server port that makes the logical bonded interface specified
in the IP Address field.
MIIMON Specifies the MII link monitoring frequency in milliseconds. This is the frequency of
Frequency checking the link state of each server for link failure.
Default: 100 ms
Down Delay Specifies the time, in milliseconds, to wait before disabling a server after a link
Time failure has been detected. Valid with miimon link monitor only.
Default: 0
Up Delay Time Specifies the time, in milliseconds, to wait before enabling a server after link
recovery has been detected. Valid with miimon link monitor only.
Default: 0
Use Carrier Specifies the method that miimon uses to monitor link status. The two methods
are:
▪ True - netif_carrier_ok (default)
▪ False - MII/ETHTOOL ioctls
Enable Controls whether the port bonding is enabled (checked) or disabled (cleared).
Default: checked (enabled)

Table 77: Network Bonding - Settings

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The following table provides a description for the available bonded interface modes.

Mode Description
active-backup Operates in an active backup configuration. One interface will be in a backup
state and will only become active if the link is lost by the active interface. This
mode provides fault tolerance.
balance-rr Balanced round robin mode transmits packets in a sequential order starting
with the first available server through the last. This mode provides load
balancing and fault tolerance. This mode is the default mode.
balance-xor Packets are transmitted on a server interface based on XOR formula using the
source MAC address XOR’d with the destination address. This mode provides
load balancing and fault tolerance.
broadcast All packets are transmitted on all server interfaces. This mode provides only
fault tolerance.
802.3ad Dynamic Link Aggregation which creates aggregation groups that share the
same speed and duplex settings. Requires a switch that supports IEEE
802.3ad Dynamic link.
balance-tlb Adaptive transmit load balancing mode. Outgoing traffic is distributed
according to current load and queue on each server interface.
balance-alb Adaptive load balancing mode which includes the balanced-tbl plus receive
load balancing. Receive load balancing is achieved by ARP negotiation.

Table 78: Bonding Modes

For more details, see the Orion Port Bonding Technical Note.

Network Bridging

Clicking the Network Bridges link opens the page where the network bridge can be configured.
Click Add to open the following window (Figure 152) to configure a new network bridge.

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Figure 152: Add Network Bridge

Function Description
Use DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allows the Orion to obtain its IP
address from a DHCP server. Depending on the requirements and network setup,
the IP addresses can be assigned automatically through a DHCP server on the
network. However, unless the DHCP server is set up to assign a specific address
to the Orion, this will result in varying addresses assigned by the DHCP server.
Note: In most network architectures, static IP addresses will be the preferred
setup.
Default: DHCP disabled
IP Address Enter the IP address of the final destination.
Subnet Mask Enter the subnet mask of the final destination.
Gateway The Gateway setting allows the Orion to communicate with devices that are not on
the network. Commonly, the gateway is the IP address of the router. NovaTech
recommends using a gateway setting for one network interface only.
Bridge Specifies the interfaces that make the logical bridge.
Enabled Controls whether the network bridge is enabled (checked) or disabled (cleared).
Default: checked (enabled)

Table 79: Network Bridge Parameters

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Serial Access
The OrionLXm offers external modem support on the last two ports (3,4 and 7,8) of each communication
card. The port must be set up as an RS-232 port as described in section Serial. Refer to the external
modem’s user manual for any information needed for setting up this modem, such as initialization strings.
The entered settings become effective after clicking Save changes .

Figure 153: External Modem Settings

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Field Description
Enabled To enable a modem port or console port, the Enabled checkbox must be checked.
This enables the port selection and configuration of other settings.
Default: Not enabled
Comm Port Select any port that is set up as an RS-232 port (see section Serial).
Only ports 3, 4, 7, and 8 have control lines to support external modems. All ports
can be configured for a direct (console) port.
Direct (not This option will always be checked for ports 1, 2, 5, and 6 since these ports only
dial-up) support a direct connection, that is without a modem. Ports 3, 4, 7, and 8 allow
direct connection or external modem support.
PPP IP Address This is the IP address that the OrionLXm PPP server will assign to the PC that is
dialing in. This must be in the same range as the PPP Server IP Address, and
cannot match the ranges of any other network interfaces.
PPP Server IP This assigns the IP address to the OrionLXm PPP server. This must be in the same
Address range as the PPP IP Address, and cannot match the ranges of any other network
interfaces.
Port Speed Selects the baud rate between the Orion and the external modem.
Default: 115200
Use DTR to When checked, the OrionLXm uses the DTR line to reset the modem. Using DTR
reset modem to reset the modem is highly recommended.
Hold the DTR Amount of time the DTR line is low when resetting the modem.
line low Default (milliseconds): 500
Init Chat Enter the modem initialization commands and expected response strings as per
the modem manufacturer manual. This field is space delimited.
Example: "" AT&F OK ATV1X0&D2E0S0=0 OK
“” instructs the OrionLXm that no response is expected. AT&F is then sent to the
modem with OK as the expected response. ATV1X0&D2E0S0=0 is then sent to
the modem with OK as the expected response.
Force Init Enter the force init chat string as per the modem manufacturer manual. In some
Chat cases, a modem can get stuck in a mode where it won't accept simple AT
commands. Usually this happens because the modem is set to ignore the DTR line
and still has a data connection to the other side. To get the modem back to a known
state, use the force-init-chat chat sequence.
Example: “” \d+++\d\d\dATH0 OK
The example pauses, sends the +++ escape command, then ATH0 to get the
modem back to command mode.
Post Init Chat Enter the post init chat string as per the modem manufacturer manual.
Some modems forget parts of their settings when switching modes during modem
initialization. For these modems, you can use this command to send AT commands
after initialization has completed.
Modem Check The OrionLXm checks with a simple AT…OK sequence to determine if the modem
Time is still alive and responding as specified. If not, the OrionLXm will perform a full
modem reset.
Default (seconds): 3600

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Number of Specifies the number of rings after which the OrionLXm instructs the modem to
Rings answer when being called from the outside.
Default: 2
Answer Chat Enter the answer chat string as per the modem manufacturer manual. This is the
command sequence used to answer a phone.
Example: "" ATA CONNECT \c
Answer Chat During the answer-chat, each expected string must arrive in the time specified here.
Timeout This time should be at least 5 seconds longer than the time set with the |ATS7=...|
modem setup command.
Default (seconds): 80
Autobauding Some modems switch their DTE line speed to the communication line speed after
connecting, e.g., after sending CONNECT 2400, the modem switches to 2400 bps.
Newer modems usually have a switch to "lock" the DTE baud rate, which is strongly
recommended. If the connected modem switches the speed, checking
Autobauding will set up the OrionLXm modem driver accordingly.
Ignore Carrier If the connected modem does not assert the DCD (carrier detect) line, or the serial
port, cable, or serial driver is broken, it is possible that the connection will “lock”
after a successful CONNECT. In this case, there are no immediate error
messages, but nothing is sent to the port anymore. This can happen before printing
the ‘/etc/issue' file or after printing the ‘password:' prompt. To work around this,
carrier detection can be ignored.
WARNING: When using this option, the system will not be able to detect when a
caller just hangs up instead of cleanly logging out. This may result in hanging
modems, etc.
Login Time This specifies the maximum time the user can take to log in. If no login has occurred
after that time, the OrionLXm modem driver will hang up the phone.
Default (seconds): 240

Table 80: Modem Settings

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Time
The Time page configures the Time Zone, Date/Time, IRIG-B, NTP, and PTP/IEEE 1588.

Figure 154: Time – Time Zone

Field Description
Time Zone Defines the Orion time zone. The Orion will use this time zone setting for user
interface time values, but not for log files. Protocols that use time provide an offset
for multi time zone systems. If daylight savings time is undesirable, use the
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) offset zones.
Click Save Time Zone to save the setting.

Table 81: Time – Time Zone

Figure 155: Time – Set Time

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Field Description
Date Enter or select the desired date and time and click Save to set the Orion clock.
Time

Table 82: Time – Set Time

Figure 156: Time – IRIG-B Input Settings

Field Description
Signal Type Defines what type of IRIG-B signal the Orion will receive. Unmodulated is an
AC signal and Modulated is a DC signal.
Default: Unmodulated
Timezone Defines how the Orion will interpret the incoming IRIG-B signal. If UTC is selected,
the Orion will apply the time zone setting to the incoming time before using it. If
Local is selected, the Orion will use the exact time received.
Default: UTC

Table 83: Time – IRIG-B Input Settings

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Figure 157: Time – NTP

Field Description
NTP Time Network Time Protocol (NTP) is a very accurate network protocol for setting the
Sources Orion time. The Orion can receive both IRIG-B and NTP messages. Commonly, a
hostname or IP address is entered. Several hostnames are provided, but usually
the NTP Server is a GPS clock or server on the network. Hosts can be added by
typing the hostname or IP address and clicking Add . After saving, the new entry
will be displayed in the list box. The Delete button allows deletion of individual
hosts.
Remote Host Select to Enable NTP For All Remote Hosts to allow other devices to receive
timing from this Orion.
Default: Disabled

Table 84: Time – NTP

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Figure 158: Time – PTP/IEEE 1588

Field Description
Domain Number 0: Default domain
1-3: Alternate domains
4-127: User-defined domains
128-255: Reserved
Interfaces All the ports which support PTP are listed. Using Table 73, select the port on which
you want to use PTP.
Network Select UDPv4, UDPv6, or Layer 2 (L2) for PTP, depending on the settings for your
Transport network.
Default: UDPv4
Delay The Delay Mechanism specifies one of the two PTP delay mechanisms supported
Mechanism for propagation delay measurements: End-to-end (delay request-response
mechanism) and peer-to-peer (peer delay mechanism). Auto setting is also
supported.
Default: Peer-to-peer

Table 85: Time – PTP/IEEE 1588

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Serial
The Serial settings page varies depending on the serial port cards installed in your OrionLXm. The
OrionLXm can contain up to two option cards in any combination of the following.

▪ S4 Communication Card
▪ T4 Communication Card
▪ F4 Communication Card
▪ I/O Card (IL or IH)

The Serial settings page displays a section for each of your installed cards, with the setup options
available for that card. These options are displayed and explained in the following sections.

After you finish setting up your serial port cards, click the Save Settings button at the bottom of the
screen.

S4 Communication Card

The ports on the S4 communication card can be set up to operate as RS-232, RS-485 2-wire, and RS-
485/422 4-wire ports.

Figure 159: Serial Ports Setup

The following port settings are available.

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Port Type Description
RS-232 The port operates as an RS-232 port. The pinout is described in Table 12.
RS-485 2-wire The port operates as an RS-485 half duplex port using two wires. The pinout
is described in Table 13. The Enable terminating resistor setting
adds a 120  termination between the + and - wires when RS-485 2-wire
is configured.
RS-485/422 4-wire The port operates as an RS-485/422 full duplex port using four wires. The
pinout is described in Table 14. The Enable terminating resistor
setting adds a 120  termination on the receive pair when RS-485/422 4-
wire is configured.

Table 86: Serial Port Setup

T4 Communication Card

The T4 communication card is physically identical to the S4 card, except for a single male bit port replacing
the fourth serial port. If you have a T4 card installed, the following displays on the Serial settings page.

Figure 160: T4 Serial Ports Setup

The following port setting is available. This is the only setting for this port. This port is programmed at the
factory for a bit protocol such as Conitel server or CDC client.

Port Type Description

Asynchronous Bit The port operates as a bit port. The pinout of the DB9 male connector is
described in Table 15.

Table 87: Bit Port Setup

The three serial ports on the T4 communication card can be set up to operate as RS-232, RS-485 2-wire,
and RS-485/422 4-wire ports. Refer to Table 86 for more information.

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F4 Communication Card

The F4 communication card provides four fiber optic ports. If you have a F4 card installed, the following
section displays on the Serial settings page.

Figure 161: F4 Fiber Optic Ports Setup

The following port transmission settings are available.

Port Type Description

Point-to-Point The fiber optic port communicates directly with the attached IED
device.
Multi-drop ring (Echo) The fiber optic port transmits between multiple devices connected in
a ring topology. Only the addressed device responds to the
transmitted protocol telegram. In a ring topology, the client is
configured without echo and all server devices are configured with
echo.

Table 88: Fiber Optic Port Setup

I/O Card

The IL or IH versions of the I/O card do not have any online setup options. If you have an I/O card installed,
the following message displays on the Serial settings page, which has no modifiable contents. The
voltage range can be set as described in Type IL and IH I/O Cards.

Figure 162: I/O Card Setup

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WebUI
The settings related to the Orion’s webpages are set on the tabs of the WebUI Settings page. All settings
become effective by clicking the Save button at the bottom of the page.

HMI Tab

The items in the following figure are set up on the HMI tab.

Figure 163: WebUI Settings – HMI

Field Description
Use large text in If this box is unchecked, the header bar is displayed as shown in Figure 164.
the header bar and If the box is checked, the header bar is displayed as shown in Figure 165.
link bar on HMI Default: Small text
Display tagging Tags can be set up as described in section Tagging. When executing control
button and operations in the HMI dialog, the respective tags can be displayed as part of
information in HMI the confirmation screens. If this is desired, this box must be checked (Figure
control dialog 166). Otherwise, this box must be unchecked (Figure 167).
Default: Enabled

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Field Description
Refresh HMI SVG The HMI can be updated every time a new SVG file is uploaded to the Orion.
when a new SVG Default: Disabled
file is uploaded
Check for new HMI The Orion checks for new SVG files every x seconds.
SVG file every x Default: 60 seconds
seconds

Table 89: WebUI Settings – HMI

Figure 164: Small text in header and link bar

Figure 165: Large text in header and link bar

Figure 166: Control dialog with tag information

Figure 167: Control dialog without tag information

On the Orion Home page, direct links to user-defined SVG files can be displayed under User Links
(Figure 163). Each file that requires a link on the home page must be checked like SUB900_ONELINE.svg
in the following figure.

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Figure 168: User-defined SVG files on Home page

Link Bar Tab

Below the blue Orion banner, links can be set up for immediate access to the linked pages by entering the
desired link names and link addresses in Figure 169. As shown below, the link addresses and names must
be entered on the respective lines. Orion menu items are be linked by, for example, /Alarms for the Alarms
page. User-defined .svg files must be prefixed with /SVG, for example /SVG/SUB900_ONELINE.SVG.

Figure 169: Link Bar Example

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Timeouts Tab

The Sessions timeout and Inactive Redirect are set on the following tab.

Figure 170: WebUI Settings – Timeouts

Field Description
User sessions Sets the amount of time in minutes that user inactivity on the Web UI will result in
time out user logout. Factory default is 1200 minutes (20 hours). This parameter increments
after x in 1 minute steps to a maximum of 44640 minutes (744 hours/31 days).
minutes. Default: 1200 minutes
Auto redirect Enter the number of minutes following user inactivity before the Orion redirects to
after user is the specified page. The redirect functionality is only supported on Orion pages.
inactive for Default: 0 (disabled)
x minutes
Redirect Enter the file path of the destination page. Do not include the IP address or domain
Address name in this file path. For example, enter /SVG/SUB900_ONELINE.svg/ to
redirect users to the oneline diagram of the Orion.

Table 90: WebUI Settings – Timeouts

The Inactive Redirect timer does not restart following an automatic logout. For example, if the
Inactive Redirect timer is set to 15 minutes and the User sessions time out timer is set to 10
minutes, the redirect timer does not restart following the logout at 10 minutes. Instead, the redirect occurs
15 minutes following the most recent user activity.

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Page Configuration Tab

Each Orion section shown in the figure below has three parameters that can be customized; the dropdown
box for access setting, Hide header, and Show link bar. Clicking Add rule will allow additional
access rules to be defined for specific IP address or CIDR address range. If no rules or parameters are
defined for a section, the default settings for each parameter will be used. After all of the parameters are
set and the rules have been added for the sections, click the Save button located on the bottom of the
webpage.

Note: The HMI section is available only if the XML Server protocol is configured.

Figure 171: WebUI Settings – Page Configuration

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Control Box Description
By default For each section (Home, Files, System, etc.) of the Orion, default access can
(dropdown list) be set (login, unlock,…).
Additional rules can be added by clicking the Add rule button. For each
section, multiple rules can be specified. Each rule determines whether
accessing that section of the Orion from the specified IP address or CIDR
block, no_login, login, or unlock is required. deny denies access from
that address (range). Access to that section can also be disabled altogether by
selecting deny for the specified IP address or CIDR block (see the dropdown
box in Figure 171). To remove a rule, click the Delete button associated
with that rule.
Hide header If this box is checked, the blue Orion header as shown in the red frame in Figure
172 will not be displayed when the respective section page is displayed.
Show link bar If this box is checked, the user link bar is displayed as shown in the green frame
in Figure 172. The link bar will also be shown on all pages linked from the main
section page.

Table 91: WebUI Settings – Page Configuration

Figure 172: Link Bar and Header Settings

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Login Message Tab

By default, no custom text is shown on the Orion’s initial login page. Custom text (Example: “Welcome to
Desert Road Substation!”) can be entered in the Login Message text field (Figure 173), which is then
displayed as shown in Figure 174.

Figure 173: WebUI Settings – Login Message

Figure 174: Custom Login Message

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Database Tab

Specifies the user group that has access to database management actions. Typically, the access is
restricted to the postgres group. See also section Group Management.

Figure 175: WebUI Settings - Database

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Alarms
For alarms, the visual and audio notifications, and the colors can be specified. Refer to the
Alarm/Archive/Retentive Module Manual for setting up data points for alarming.

Figure 176: Alarms configuration

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Notifications

For unacknowledged alarms, the following options can be specified. Refer to Alarms Tab for acknowledging
alarms.

Control Box Description

Show warning If this box is checked, a warning banner will be displayed if there are any
banner unacknowledged alarms.
Show most recent If this box is checked, the most recent alarm will be displayed if there are any
alarm in banner unacknowledged alarms.
Play <alarm sound> If this box is checked, the specified alarm sound (alarm1, alarm2, alarm3,
every <x> seconds alarm4, or alarm5) will be played at the specified interval.

Table 92: Notification Parameters

Operations

When the Acknowlegde All button checkbox (Figure 176) is checked, the red button is displayed on
the Alarms tab as shown in the following figure.

Figure 177: Acknowledge All button on Alarms tab

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Text Colors

The colors for normal values, alarm values, and acknowledged alarms can be defined using standard colors
or custom colors. The colors can be entered either by text name as shown in Figure 176 or by the respective
six-digit hex code. For example, #FF0000 represents red.

Background Colors

The background colors for normal values, alarm values, and acknowledged alarms can be defined using
standard colors or custom colors. The colors can be entered either by text name as shown in Figure 176 or
by the respective six-digit hex code. For example, #FF0000 represents red.

Database
The following database operations work in combination with NCD configuration for archiving, retentive data,
and/or alarming (see Alarm/Archive/Retentive Module Manual). For the user to have access to these
database actions, they must be assigned to the postgres users group.

Note: For all database operations (such as Reset database), the database must be enabled.
The database is enabled when the link Disable database is displayed as shown below
(Figure 178).

Figure 178: Database Settings

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Function Description
Enable Database Enable or disable the PostgreSQL database.
Disable Database Default: Disabled.
Reset Database Deletes and recreates all database tables. All data in the database will be
lost. The database must be enabled for this operation to be available.
Analyze Database Collects statistics about the contents of tables in the database. The query
planner uses these statistics to help determine the most efficient execution
plans for queries. Using this feature for large databases optimizes the query
response time. The database must be enabled for this operation to be
available.
Allow remote When this box is checked, the database server will listen on TCP/IP port
database access 5432 (on all interfaces) for connections and provide access.
Click Save to save the setting.
Add When connecting remotely to port 5432 using a client such as pgAdmin, or
a driver such as psqlODBC, a username and password must be specified
to connect. This option permits access for the specified database users.
When clicking this button, the following window is displayed (Figure 179).
The respective username and password must be entered. The checkboxes
for the desired access (archive, retentive, tagging) must be set as
well.
Delete Clicking on this link to the right of a database user name removes that user’s
account.

Table 93: Database Settings

Figure 179: Add Database User

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Tagging
For tagging of equipment, the Orion provides the following three standard tag types.

Tag Type Name Description Permis- Disable Display

sion Output Value Group
Do Not Operate Place on devices to inhibit operation. 1 0 1
Information Place on devices to give information. 1 None 2
Out of Service Place on devices that are out of 1 Both 3
service.

Table 94: Standard Tags

The meaning of Permission, Disable Output Value, and Display Group is explained in Table 95.

Figure 180: Tag List

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Additional tag types can be added by clicking Add tag type in Figure 180. Then the new tag type can
be set up as shown in Figure 181.

Figure 181: Add New Tag

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Field Description
Name Name of the new tag.
Description Description of the purpose of the new tag.
Disable control This parameter sets which output values will be disabled when the tag is
value applied to the individual control. The options available in the drop down
menu are:

Parameter Description
none This parameter would be used for Information only type
tags. Neither control will be disabled with this selection.
both This is the most restrictive parameter. The control will not
be able to be turned on or off.
0 An output value of 0 will be disabled if this option is
selected. Depending on how the operation of the control
is defined, this parameter could turn the control on or off.
1 An output value of 1 will be disabled if this option is
selected. Depending on how the operation of the control
is defined, this parameter could turn the control on or off.

Permission There are five permission groups set up in Group Management, called
tagging1, tagging2, etc. The operator who is setting the tag must belong
to the specified group.
Display Group The display group can be 1 through 16. This option corresponds to the
Tagging Visibility Group that is set on the Orion HMI Inkscape
Extension.
Additional Fields The additional fields are optional. If left empty, no additional fields will be
displayed (Figure 183). If additional fields are needed, they can be added
by clicking + and filling in the desired text labels. In the above example,
two fields called Tester Name and Tester Phone Number have been
added.

Table 95: Tag Fields

Note: Using the tagging feature requires that the Alarm/Archive/Retentive (AAR) module is
configured in the NCD file, even if the point to be tagged is not configured for AAR. Without
the AAR module running, tagging does not work.

For taggable equipment, the Tagging button must be inserted in the .svg graphics next to the
equipment (Figure 182). Clicking the button opens the tag window shown in Figure 183.

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Figure 182: Tagging Button in Graphics

All existing tags for the associated data point are displayed below the data point’s name on the left hand
side. Existing tags can be removed by clicking the respective Remove tag button.

Figure 183: Setting a Standard Tag

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Cascaded Orions
When several Orion’s are cascaded, the NCD configurations for the server Orion are generated on the
following screen of the client Orion by clicking Save and Make Active . The client Orion in turn, has
been set up accordingly in NCD (Figure 40).

A complete description of setting up a cascaded Orions is available in the Cascading Software Manual.

Figure 184: Cascaded Server

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Services
The Services page enables/disables SNMP, the MultiSpeak protocol, and the unsecure protocols that are
disabled by default. Each of these protocols has a secure equivalent that is enabled in the Orion by default.
SSH replaces Telnet, SFTP replaces FTP, and HTTPS replaces HTTP. After clicking
the Save changes button, any changes will immediately take effect. Enabling SNMP requires
additional configuration as described in SNMP Manager Software Manual. The MultiSpeak protocol is
described in the MultiSpeak Server Software Manual.

Figure 185: Services Settings

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Scheduler
The Scheduler page allows the scheduling of various tasks to run at user-specified intervals. Multiple tasks
may be run concurrently. Only users who belong to the cronconfig group (see Users) can access this
function.

Figure 186: Scheduler – Task List

Field Description
Restart Cron Daemon Click this button after adding new tasks, or editing or removing existing
tasks.
Add CSV Task Add a CSV task as described in Scheduling Tasks and Add CSV Task.
Add FileMover Task Add a FileMover task as described in and Add FileMover Task.

Add Config Manager Add a Configuration Manager Agent task as described in Scheduling
Agent Task Tasks and Add Config Manager Agent Task.
remove When clicking this link next to a task, the task will be removed and will no
longer be executed.
Task (such as Click on a task to open the task for editing.
CSV File Generator)

Table 96: Scheduler – Task List

The hwclock task is the hardware clock task that keeps the time synchronized. This task cannot be edited
or deleted.

Scheduling Tasks

For all tasks, a task name must be entered. The scheduling procedures for all tasks are identical. Two
schedulers are available, the Basic Scheduler and the Advanced Scheduler. To ensure correct scheduling,
both schedulers display the specified schedule in red verbose text.

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Figure 187: Task Scheduling

The task-specific setups are described in the section Add CSV Task, Add FileMover Task, and Add Config
Manager Agent Task.

Add CSV Task

With the CSV task, portions of the Archive or Alarm database can be emailed. The CSV task parameters
are set up on the following page. Any changes on this page must be saved by clicking the Save button.

Figure 188: CSV Task Parameters

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The .csv files generated by this task are saved to one of two directories, depending on the database being
used. Files generated using the Archive database are saved to the
/var/cache/csvFileGenerator/archive directory on the Orion. Files generated using the Alarm
database are saved to the /var/cache/csvFileGenerator/alarmArchive directory.

The naming conventions for the generated CSV file use the format <Date>,<Time>,<Time Zone
Code>,<Name describing CSV file>.csv. In addition, if the Use device date/time setting is
enabled, a “t” character is included following the time stamp. For example, a file with the text “Sub237” in
the Name describing CSV file field that was generated on July 19, 2016 at 10:29:55,936 with the
Use device date/time setting enabled has the filename 160719,102955936,+02h00t,
Sub237.csv.

Field Description
Database Designates whether the CSV file will contain data from the Archive or from
the Alarm database.
Maximum file size Minimum file size is 10 Kbytes, and maximum file size is 500000 Kbytes.
Default: 20000
Maximum files This is the number of files that will be saved before the files begin to be
deleted to make room for new files.
Default: 60
Use device Uses the date and time information gathered from the specific device rather
date/time than using the Orion information.
Email CSV To utilize the emailing function, check the Email CSV box which will enable
Email to group the Email to group field. In this field, enter the name of the group that
data should be emailed to. The email groups are configured in NCD. For
instruction on how to configure an email group in NCD, see the Email
Software Manual.
Name describing CSV The content of this field will be used as the “Subject” of the email.
file

Table 97: CSV Task Parameters

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Add FileMover Task

With the FileMover task, files in the Orion can be transferred to a host computer using FTP or SFTP. The
FileMover task parameters are set up on the following page. See the Orion FileMover Tech Note for an
example.

Figure 189: FileMover Task Parameters

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Field Description
ftp sftp Select the protocol for the file transfer.

Source
Path Path in the Orion file system of the file to be transferred.
Private Key Path to the private key file used for encrypting the transferred file. This is
only needed when using SFTP.
Destination
IP Address IP address of the host computer to which the file is transferred.
Port Port of the host computer used for file transfer.
Path Path in the host computer file system where the transferred file is stored.
Username Username for login at the host computer.
Password Password for login at the host computer.
Delete on success If this box is checked, the specified file will be deleted in the Orion file system
upon successful transfer to the host computer.

Table 98: FileMover Task Parameters

Click the Save button to save any changes.

Add Config Manager Agent Task

The Configuration Manager Agent creates a .zip file containing configuration information of the Orion. The
agent scans the configured ports using the command list specified in the NCD file, captures additional
information from the Orion, and packages the results into a .zip file on the Orion. See section Configuration
Manager Agent for information about configuring the software agent in NCD.

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V. Orion MMI
Introduction
The OrionLXm provides a built-in MMI for viewing data values, port communications, device statistics,
system events, and system/version information. It also allows configuration file, and log file transfers via
Z-Modem (bi-directional), as well as passthrough to connected relays and meters. This allows use of the
respective manufacturer’s programming software to configure the relays and meters, retrieve event
information, etc.

The OrionLXm’s dedicated MMI port is port A via USB. Additional serial ports on the OrionLXm can be set
up as MMI ports if needed. For example, if viewing in different locations is required, or if multiple aspects
of the MMI are to be viewed at the same time.

In addition, the same MMI with the same functionality is available for access by way of SSH, and the
OrionLXm’s Ethernet port(s). Again, multiple MMI windows can run simultaneously.

Using the MMI requires NCD (NovaTech Configuration Director) software or a standard terminal software
to make commissioning, monitoring, and troubleshooting as easy as possible.

Connection Requirements
To connect to the OrionLXm, the following hardware and software are required.

Serial Connection Ethernet Connection

Hardware PC with available USB port and A/B PC with Ethernet port and Ethernet
USB cable (included with Orion) cable
Software - NCD or - NCD or
- any terminal software - any software which allows SSH
connection (CRT, PuTTY, etc.)

Table 99: Serial/Ethernet Cables and Software

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Connecting to the Orion MMI

OrionLXm Port A
The configuration and diagnostic port of the OrionLXm is port A on the front panel. Port A is automatically
set up to run the MMI, and does not require any configuration. The communication parameters are 115200
Baud, No Parity, 8 Data Bits, and 1 Stop Bit (115200N81). The terminal mode is ANSI. For port A, the
parameters cannot be changed, meaning the above parameters are fixed, and the port cannot be used for
a protocol interface.

Connecting to port A requires a USB A/B cable such as the one that is included with a new OrionLXm.

Loading a NCD configuration file into the OrionLXm enables the OrionLXm to operate the configured
protocols on all other ports, as well as operating additional MMI ports, user-defined logic, etc.

Connecting to the Orion with NCD

The section Communications Menu describes how to set up a serial connection in NCD and how to connect
to an Orion. After connecting to the Orion MMI, login to the Orion with the appropriate username and
password.

Unlocking a User Account

If a user is locked out due to too many failed login attempts, the Orion MMI can be used to view the failed
login attempts and unlock the user account. This must be done from an administrative or root user account.
In the terminal window, type the command faillog followed by the username to reset the locked out user
account. Example: faillog novatech. See the Orion Linux Commands Tech Note for a list of other
shell commands that can be used in the terminal window.

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MMI Menus
The OrionLXm displays the following Main Menu on Port A.

All menu items in Figure 190 are hyperlinks to the respective sections.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2020 NovaTech LLC
OrionLXm_Demo.ncd

Main Menu
--------------------------------------------

1. File Menu
2. Data Menu
3. View Communications
4. Device Statistics
5. System Menu
6. Disconnect
7. Session Timeouts
8. Network Menu

Figure 190: OrionLXm MMI Main Menu

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File Menu
The File Menu allows uploading, downloading, activation, and deletion of configuration files from the
OrionLXm. File transfers between the PC and the OrionLXm use the Z-Modem file transfer protocol.

All menu items in Figure 191 are hyperlinks to the respective sections.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

File Menu
--------------------------------------------

1. File Transfer (PC -> ORION)

2. File Transfer (ORION -> PC)
3. Make Config File Active
4. Delete a File
5. View a File

Figure 191: OrionLXm File Menu

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File Transfer (PC -> ORION)

This option allows the selection of and uploading of a file, such as .ncd or .bas, to the Orion. When using
NCD, the following window will open in order to select the file on the PC.

Figure 192: File Transfer to OrionLXm Using NCD

File Type/Extension File Use Description

.ncd Configuration file OrionLXm configuration file.
.bas Logic file Logic in “Basic” syntax executed by the OrionLXm.
.lua Advanced logic file Logic in Lua programming language.
.ncz Compressed file IEC 61850, IEC 61131, and/or SNMP configuration.
orionlx.ntk Key file The key file specifies what protocol drivers a specific
OrionLXm is licensed to run. Protocols will not execute
without the proper license in this file. Contact
NovaTech support for troubleshooting.

Table 100: OrionLXm File Types

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File Transfer (ORION -> PC)

This feature downloads a specific file from the Orion to the PC. The typical reason for this would be to
review a configuration that has been uploaded from another PC that is not available on the presently
connected PC. First, specify the file to be downloaded by its number on the following screen.

Note: Files can be uploaded only one file at a time.

If more than 20 files are stored in flash memory, the screen ends with ---More---. In this case, hitting
any key will scroll the screen by 20 more lines, or until the end of the file list.

1. orion16.ini
2. central.bas
3. central.ncd
4. southyard.ncd
5. southyard.bas

Please enter the number of the file to send to PC:

Figure 193: File Transfer Orion to PC

After entering a file number, an NCD window (if using NCD) is displayed for specifying the name and
location on the hard drive for the file that is to be transferred to the PC.

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Make Config File Active

An Orion can have several .ncd files (and associated .bas, .lua, and/or .ncz files) stored in its flash memory.
However, only one of those files can be active at any given time. This option specifies the configuration file
the OrionLXm shall load and operate. The user must verify that the configuration file loaded is actually
intended for the specific OrionLXm, and that the OrionLXm has the correct hardware options installed. In
the following screen, the configuration file to be loaded is specified by its number. If there is a logic file
associated with a configuration file, it will be loaded automatically.

If more than 20 files are stored in flash memory, the screen ends with ---More---. In this case, hitting
any key will scroll the screen by 20 more lines, or until the end of the file list.

1. spv1_31.ncd
2. bricktn2.ncd
3. central.ncd
4. southyard.ncd
5. eastyard.ncd

Please enter the number of the file to make active:

Figure 194: Configuration File Selection

After the new configuration file has been specified, the Orion must be restarted for the configuration file to
be loaded and run (Figure 195). If Do not restart is chosen, the OrionLXm will continue to operate
with the current configuration file.

A Full restart resets all hardware, all software, and all drivers; including the operating system.
However, it can take up to several minutes, depending on the OrionLXm’s configuration.

A Quick restart reloads only the protocol drivers and usually takes under 60 seconds to complete.

In order for the new configuration to take effect the

OrionLX must be restarted. Do you wish to perform a
full restart, quick restart or no restart?

1. Full restart.
2. Quick restart.
3. Do not restart.

Figure 195: Make Selected Configuration File Active

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Delete a File

If multiple configuration files are uploaded to the OrionLXm for testing, commissioning, or for use as a lab
unit, eventually files will have to be deleted off the flash memory of the OrionLXm. Figure 196 shows a list
of files from which the file to be deleted must be specified by its number. Files can be deleted only one at
a time by entering the number that is listed with the respective file.

If more than 20 files are stored in the flash memory, the screen ends with ---More---. In this case, hitting
any key will scroll the screen by 20 more lines, or until the end of the file list.

After a file has been specified, a user prompt requires confirmation of the operation.

1. spv1_31.ncd
2. spv1_31.bas
3. orion16.ini
4. southyard.ncd
5. southyard.bas

Please enter the number of the file to delete:

Figure 196: Delete File from Flash Memory

View a File

View a file allows viewing of a configuration file. First, the file must be selected using its number as
shown in the following screen. If more than 20 files are stored in flash memory, the screen ends
with ---More---. In this case, hitting any key will scroll the screen by 20 more lines, or until the end of
the file list.

After entering the file number, the actual file is displayed. The  (Cursor Up) and  (Cursor Down) keys
allow scrolling through the file. <Esc> returns to the menu in Figure 191. Entering <G> prompts for a line
number to go to, and then displays that line (Figure 198).

1. spv1_31.ncd
2. spv1_31.bas
3. southyard.ncd
4. southyard.bas

Please enter the number of the file to view:

Figure 197: Select File for Viewing

234
 OrionLXm

ConfigCreation=7/20/2009 11:58:47
ConfigLastWrite=8/06/2009 9:41:05
RemoteUsername=
RemotePassword=
RemoteAttemptsBeforeLockout=0
RemoteLockoutTime=0
MMITCPPort=23
ForceInputs=1
ForceOutputs=1

[Comments]

[System]
BootDelay=0
EnableRouting=0
LoadTimeout=

[Orion Model]
Model=OrionLXm
NetworkCards=NONE
ModbusPlusCards=NONE
InternalModem=0

Figure 198: View File

235
 OrionLXm
Data Menu
Option 2 of the main menu is Data Menu. The Data Menu allows real-time viewing of each input/output
point’s value information on a port-by-port basis.

An input point is a point that is obtained from a field device and reported to a client, and an output point is
a point that is sent from a client to a field device. Since the Orion essentially only passes through points
from the front end to the end device, the notion of input point and output point is maintained the same way,
whether the point is viewed as part of a client port where the Orion acts as a client to an end device, or as
part of a server port where the Orion acts as a server to a front end/SCADA master.

The following options are available if the Force Inputs and Force Outputs options are selected
accordingly under option General in NCD.

3. Override Input Values

4. Clear Input Override
5. Send Output Values

Forcing an input/output point means that the Orion will use the value(s) as entered by the user at the MMI
of the OrionLXm. These values are then transmitted when communicating to SCADA masters (to which
the OrionLXm is a server) or RTUs/IEDs (to which the OrionLXm is a client). Forced values temporarily
replace values from live devices the OrionLXm communicates with. This is useful for testing, or when the
OrionLXm is installed and not all other devices or communication links are available yet.

All menu items in Figure 199 are hyperlinks to the respective sections.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Data Menu
--------------------------------------------

1. View Input Values

2. View Output Values
3. Force Input Values
4. Clear Forced Input Values
5. Force Output Values

Figure 199: Data Menu

236
 OrionLXm
View Input Values

After selecting this option, select the port whose point values are to be monitored from the following screen.

OrionLX
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Input Values
--------------------------------------------

1. Port 1 - SEL Client

2. Port B - DDIO Port
3. Port 20 - NTP Kernel
4. Port 21 - Sensor Client
5. Port 24 - XML
6. Port 25 - SER Client
7. Port 26 - AAR Server
8. Port 124 - Logic

Figure 200: Select Port for Input Point Monitoring

Each data point in the Orion will typically be displayed on at least two ports; the client port that obtains the
point from another device, and the server port through which another device polls the Orion for the point’s
value. A point can also be mapped to more than one server port if more than one client polls the Orion for
that point. The Orion maintains the point’s value in the real-time database as a normalized value, i.e.
percentage of full scale. However, the scaled values for the same point will vary, based on the scaling
entered for each port. See also NovaTech’s Analog/Accumulator Scaling Technical Note for more details.

Once a port is selected, all its values are displayed as follows.

Data values for Port 1 - SEL Client (p1)

Name Point Number Value Percent FS
Polls @SEL 501 Dual Relay N/A 390244.000 0.009086
Responses @SEL 501 Dual Relay N/A 390244.000 0.009086
Comm Fail @SEL 501 Dual Relay N/A 0.000 0.000000
Meter IAX @SEL 501 Dual Relay 00040 3.000 0.009156
Meter IBX @SEL 501 Dual Relay 00041 0.000 0.000000
Meter ICX @SEL 501 Dual Relay 00042 9.000 0.027467
PassThru Status @SEL 501 Dual 00998 0.000 0.000000

ESC=Back C=Column Editor S=Sort Editor H=Hex D=Dec O=Oct

Figure 201: Input Point Monitoring

237
 OrionLXm
The  (Cursor Up) and  (Cursor Down) keys allow scrolling through all the points on the selected port. In
the header of the above figure, (p1) indicates page 1 of the points list.

<G> allows jumping to a specific page. After pressing <G>, Goto: appears in the lower left hand corner for
entering the specific page number, followed by <Enter>.

<Esc> returns to the screen in Figure 199.

<H>, <D>, and <O> display the Value column in hexadecimal, decimal, or octal format, respectively. The
default display is decimal.

<C> starts the Column Editor (Figure 202). The Orion always displays four columns, and defaults to the
columns shown initially. In the column editor, columns can be removed from and added to the display.
New columns are displayed in the order in which they were added. After specifying the desired columns,
<Esc> returns to the previous screen.

COLUMN EDITOR

Add/Remove: Selected Columns:

1. Remove Name Name
2. Add Device Point Number
3. Add Data Type Value
4. Remove Point Number Percent FS
5. Add Changes
6. Add Fails
7. Add Successes
8. Remove Value
9. Remove Percent FS
0. Add Comm Status
A. Add Forced
B. Add Alias

Figure 202: Data View Column Editor

Field Description
Name Point’s tagname, such as Breaker424 @HVRelay.
Device Device from which the point originates, such as HVRelay.
Data Type AI: Analog Input, BI: Binary Input, ACC or CI: Accumulator/Counter Input.
Point Protocol-specific point number. Depending on the protocol and the way it addresses
Number points, points may be numbered in hexadecimal (17h), decimal (23), or octal (27o). The
MMI will display the point address the way the specific protocol addresses points. If there
is a bit position within a word, the point number is displayed as 17:03, which means bit 3
in word 17. Bit numbering and word sizes are protocol dependent, i.e. bit 1 can be LSB
or MSB, and a word can be 8 bits or 16 bits. The respective protocol manual provides
detailed information.
Changes Counter that displays the number of point changes since the Orion (re)start. For analog
or accumulator points, every data change increments the corresponding change counter
by 1. For digital points, every 0-1 or 1-0 transition increments the change counter by 1.

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 OrionLXm
Field Description
Fails Failed polls for the specific point.
Successes Successful polls for the specific point.
Value Current value of the point as per communication with an end device. If the point has been
forced, the forced value will be displayed instead of the value from the end device.
Percent Percent of full scale of the current value. For example, if the value is scaled from –2048
FS to 2047, and the current value is 1024, this file will show 0.75 for 75%.
Comm If the corresponding value is updated from the remote device, the field will show Online.
Status If there is any type of communication error with the remote device, the field will show
Offline.
Forced No or Yes, depending on whether the value is obtained from the server device, or
overridden by a value entered at the Orion MMI.

Table 101: Data Point Information

The Sort Editor (Figure 203) is started by pressing the <S> key. The editor allows sorting of the data
screen by any of the displayed columns. Table 101 shows the available sort criteria. Up to three sort
criteria can be selected, each in ascending (lowest value first) or descending order (highest value first).
First, one or more of the existing sort criteria must be removed. Then the new sort criteria must be selected.
Ascending order will be indicated by ASC, and descending order will be indicated by DESC. Once the sort
order is specified, <Esc> returns to the previous screen.

SORT EDITOR

Add/Remove: Sort Order:

1. Add Name Device ASC
2. Remove Device Data Type ASC
3. Remove Data Type Point Number ASC
4. Remove Point Number
5. Add Changes
6. Add Fails
7. Add Successes
8. Add Value
9. Add Percent FS
0. Add Comm Status
A. Add Forced
B. Add Alias

Figure 203: Data View Sort Editor

239
 OrionLXm
View Output Values

On the following screen (Figure 204), the port whose point values are to be monitored is selected. The last
output value sent to the device is displayed. Depending on the application, the output value may have been
sent by a client that the OrionLXm is connected to as a server, or it may have been generated by logic
running in the OrionLXm, or it may have been forced at the MMI.

OrionLX
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Output Values
--------------------------------------------

1. Port 1 - SEL Client

2. Port B - DDIO Port
3. Port 20 - NTP Kernel
4. Port 21 - Sensor Client
5. Port 24 - XML
6. Port 25 - SER Client
7. Port 26 - AAR Server
8. Port 124 - Logic

Figure 204: Select Port for Output Monitoring

Once a port is selected, all of its values are displayed as follows.

Output values for Port 25 - SER Client (p1)

Name Point Number Last Output Percent FS
Output1 @OrionIO 1 0 0.000000
Output2 @OrionIO 2 1 100.00000
Output3 @OrionIO 3 0 0.000000
Output4 @OrionIO 4 1 100.00000

ESC=Back C=Column Editor S=Sort Editor H=Hex D=Dec O=Oct

Figure 205: Output Point Monitoring

The  (Cursor Up) and  (Cursor Down) keys allow scrolling through all the points on the selected port. In
the header of the above figure, (p1) indicates page 1 of the points list.

<Esc>, <C>, <S>, <H>, <D>, <O>, and <G> are identical options for viewing input values, and are explained
in the section View Input Values.

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 OrionLXm
Force Input Values

Forcing input values allows testing of the correct transmission of values to the client that is polling the
OrionLXm, without having to generate those values in the end device in the field. This can be necessary
under several circumstances:

▪ The end device and/or the communication to it, have not yet been installed, or are temporarily not
available.
▪ Generation of test values in the end device is too complicated or not possible, depending on the end
device.

By default, this function is enabled when the configuration file is set up in NCD.

As with the other options, first select the port of the point that is to be forced temporarily.

OrionLX
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Force Input Values

--------------------------------------------

1. Port 1 - SEL Client

2. Port B - DDIO Port
3. Port 20 - NTP Kernel
4. Port 21 - Sensor Client
5. Port 24 - XML
6. Port 25 - SER Client
7. Port 26 - AAR Server
8. Port 124 - Logic

Figure 206: Select Port for Forcing Input Values

The  (Cursor Up) and  (Cursor Down) keys allow scrolling to the point which is to be forced. All points
on the port are available, and are sorted in alphabetical order of the tagname. The current point is always
highlighted. Pressing <Enter> selects the point to be forced. <G> (Goto) allows jumping to a specific
page by entering the page number.

Force values for Port 1 - SEL Client (p1)

Comm Fail @SEL 501 Dual Relay
Meter IAX @SEL 501 Dual Relay
Meter IBX @SEL 501 Dual Relay
Meter ICX @SEL 501 Dual Relay
PassThru Status @SEL 501 Dual Relay
Polls @SEL 501 Dual Relay
Responses @SEL 501 Dual Relay

Figure 207: Select Input Point

241
 OrionLXm

FORCE INPUT VALUE

Point Name: Meter IAX @SEL 501 Dual Relay

Percent Full Scale: 0.018311
Comm Status: Online
Minimum Value: 0.000000
Maximum Value: 32767.000000
Scaled Value: 6.000000
Manually Forced: No

Force Value
Back

Figure 208: Force Input Point

Pressing <Enter> while on Force Value in the above screen displays the following screen (Figure 209).
By entering the following parameters, an input point can be forced to a specific value. This facilitates the
testing of the Orion’s communication link with any SCADA master polling those input values without having
to go through the effort of forcing the test values in the end devices in the field.

With this command, the OrionLXm data point will indicate an equipment
state or condition to the SCADA master that is only simulated and does
not reflect the actual state or condition. This may lead the SCADA
master or personnel to initiate operations based on the simulated state
as opposed to the actual state. The necessary permissions must be
obtained from the control center and other departments in accordance
with your corporate safety and operating guidelines. Failure to do so
could result in equipment damage, injury, and/or death.

FORCE INPUT VALUE

Point Name: Comm Fail @SEL 501 Dual Relay

Percent Full Scale: 0.000000
Comm Status: Online
Minimum Value: 0.000000
Maximum Value: 1.000000
Scaled Value: 0.000000
Manually Forced: No

Forced Point Values

Scaled Value [ 0.000000]

Percent Full Scale [ 0.000000]
Comm Status [ Online]
Time to Remain Forced [ 5]
Force Value
Cancel

Figure 209: Parameters for Forcing Input Points

242
 OrionLXm
Function Description
Scaled Value One of these two values is required for all point types. For digital input points,
enter 0-1 or 0-100 percent, and for analog values enter either the scaled value,
Percent Full or its percentage of full scale. Regardless of the point type, a value must be
entered in either of those two fields, as this is the value that will be sent to any
Scale polling SCADA master.
Comm Status A point can be simulated as being either Online or Offline. Online indicates
that the value is received online from the end device. Offline means that there
is no communication with the end device. However, the most recent value as of
the time of the last communication can still be polled.
Time to Remain Determines how long the point will stay in the simulated state before returning to
Forced the actual value as obtained from the end device. The unit is minutes.
Force Value After entering the above parameters, Force Value or Cancel must be selected.
or Cancel immediately returns to the points list (Figure 207). Force Value
Cancel displays a prompt to confirm the operation before sending the entered output point
value to the field device.

Table 102: Force Input Point Parameters

FORCE INPUT VALUE

Point Name: Meter IAX @SEL 501 Dual Relay

Percent Full Scale: 0.024415
Comm Status: Online
Minimum Value: 0.000000
Maximum Value: 32767.000000
Scaled Value: 8.000000
Manually Forced: Yes

Remove Forced Value

Back

Figure 210: Remove Forced Input Value

243
 OrionLXm
Clear Forced Input Values

With this option, forced input values can be cleared. This means that all forced input values are removed,
and that the real-time values from the field devices are used and transmitted to the client station again.

Are you sure that you want clear the override flag
for all input values? This will cause all forced
inputs to change value on the next scan.

(Y/N)

Figure 211: Clear Input Override

With this command, multiple value and state changes may be reported
to the SCADA master. All involved personnel must be informed of this
action in order to avoid wrong responses to the real-time data reported
to the SCADA master. Failure to do so could result in equipment
damage, injury, and/or death.

Force Output Values

This function forces output values to connected server/end devices as entered by the Orion. During normal
operation, any output commands sent to those devices would be issued by a front end/SCADA master, and
merely passed-through by the Orion. This function can be used for localized testing without involving the
entire system end-to-end.

By default, this function is enabled when the configuration file is set up in NCD.

With this command, you will possibly operate a live piece of equipment
on the end device, the same way it would be operated locally, or from
the front end/SCADA master. The necessary permissions must be
obtained from the control center and other departments in accordance
with your corporate safety and operating guidelines. Failure to do so
could result in equipment damage, injury, and/or death.

244
 OrionLXm
For the output point to be forced, first select the point’s port (Figure 212).

OrionLX
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Output Values
--------------------------------------------

1. Port 1 - SEL Client

2. Port B - DDIO Port
3. Port 20 - NTP Kernel
4. Port 21 - Sensor Client
5. Port 24 - XML
6. Port 25 - SER Client
7. Port 26 - AAR Server
8. Port 124 - Logic

Figure 212: Select Port for Forcing Output Values

The  (Cursor Up) and  (Cursor Down) keys allow scrolling to the data point to be forced (Figure 213). All
points on the port are available and are sorted in alphabetical order of the tagname. The current point is
always highlighted. Pressing <Enter> selects the point to be forced. <G> (Goto) allows jumping to a
specific page after entering the page number.

Force outputs for Port 25 - SER Client (p1)

Output1 @OrionIO
Output2 @OrionIO
Output3 @OrionIO
Output4 @OrionIO

Figure 213: Select Point for Forcing Output Value

On the following screen, the two initial choices are Force Value and Back. Back will return to the point
selection screen (Figure 213). Force Value displays the screen in Figure 214. This screen is a “generic”
screen in that it shows all parameters possibly needed, whether the output point is a simple discrete output,
a select-before-operate output, a trip/close output, a pulse output, or an analog output/setpoint. Depending
on the protocols used to connect the front end/SCADA master to the end device, only a selection of the
listed types will be available, as either the protocol between the front end and the Orion and/or the protocol
between the Orion and the end device may not support all point types.

245
 OrionLXm

Point Name: Output2 @OrionIO

Percent Full Scale: 0.000000
Comm Status: Offline
Minimum Value: 0.000000
Maximum Value: 1.000000
Scaled Value: 0.000000

Force Value
Back

Figure 214: Select “Force Value”

FORCE OUTPUT

Point Name: Output2 @OrionIO

Percent Full Scale: 0.000000
Comm Status: Offline
Minimum Value: 0.000000
Maximum Value: 1.000000
Scaled Value: 0.000000

Forced Output Values

Scaled Value [ 0.000000]

Percent Full Scale [ 0.000000]
Duration (msec) [ 0]
Pulses [ 0]
Offtime (msec) [ 0]
Force Value
Cancel

Figure 215: Force Output Point Parameters

246
 OrionLXm
Function Description
Scaled Value One of these two values is required for all point types. For digital output points,
enter 0-1 or 0-100 percent, and for analog values enter either the scaled value,
Percent Full or its percentage of full scale. Regardless of the point type, a value must be
entered in either of those two fields, as this is the value that will be sent to the
Scale output point.
Note: Depending on the output point type, the following fields may be required.
Duration (ms) Usually, trip/close, raise/lower, and pulse outputs require a duration. If none is
entered, and a default value is used in the point configuration, the default value is
used instead.
Pulses For pulse train output points, the number of pulses is required.
Offtime (ms) For pulse train output points, the offtime between on-pulses is required as well.
Force Value After entering Scaled Value/Percent Full Scale, Duration, Pulses, and
Offtime, Force Value or Cancel must be selected. Cancel immediately
Cancel returns to the points list (Figure 213). Force Value displays a prompt to confirm
the selection on a separate screen before sending the entered output point value
to the field device.

Table 103: Force Output Point Parameters

247
 OrionLXm
View Communications
The ability to view the real-time communications of all OrionLXm ports facilitates identifying and resolving
communication and configuration issues.

To view communications, the port to be monitored must first be selected from the screen shown in Figure
216 by entering its number. Live communication sent and received on this port of the OrionLXm will then
be displayed (Figure 217). If the OrionLXm is a client, then an exchange typically starts with a transmission
of a poll/command (indicated by TX), and ends with a reception of the reply (RX). If the OrionLXm is a
server, an exchange typically consists of a reception (RX) of a poll/command, to which the OrionLXm replies
with the transmission of a reply (TX). The OrionLXm displays limited verbose explanation of the data
exchanged. For a detailed explanation, refer to the standard manual of the protocol that is being monitored.
Typically, the protocol manuals are not supplied by NovaTech, but by the supplier of the equipment that the
OrionLXm connects to.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Communications Menu
--------------------------------------------

1. Port 1 - SEL Client

2. Port B - DDIO Port
3. Port 20 - NTP Kernel
4. Port 21 - Sensor Client
5. Port 25 - SER Client
6. Port 26 - AAR Server

Figure 216: Communications Menu

248
 OrionLXm

Viewing Communications for Port B - DDIO Port

Press 'c' to change comm display options.
SYSTEM INFORMATION DUMP:
Uptime: 20 days, 19 hrs, 10 min
(Port B)(16:54:28:043):
(Port B)(16:54:28:043): Event/Individual Point Poll - DDIO Address 1
(Port B)(16:54:28:203)TX[33]: 05 64 18 C4 01 00 05 00 (99 F2)-CRC
C1 C1 01 3C 04 06 3C 03 06 3C 02 06 01 02 01 00 (55 82)-CRC
00 07 00 (9E 78)-CRC
(Port B)(16:54:28:281)RX[34]: 05 64 19 44 05 00 01 00 (EB CD)-CRC
C1 81 10 00 01 02 01 00 00 07 00 01 01 01 01 (2C 0A)-CRC
01 01 01 01 (BF B9)-CRC
(Port B)(16:54:28:282): DDIO
(Port B)(16:54:28:282): IIN: Time Sync Request
(Port B)(16:54:28:284): Parse Binary Inputs - Range 0 to 7
(Port B)(16:54:29:087):
(Port B)(16:54:29:087): Event/Individual Point Poll - DDIO Address 1
(Port B)(16:54:29:246)TX[33]: 05 64 18 C4 01 00 05 00 (99 F2)-CRC
C2 C2 01 3C 04 06 3C 03 06 3C 02 06 01 02 01 00 (E9 E6)-CRC
00 07 00 (9E 78)-CRC
(Port B)(16:54:29:326)RX[34]: 05 64 19 44 05 00 01 00 (EB CD)-CRC
C2 C2 81 10 00 01 02 01 00 00 07 00 01 01 01 01 (90 6E)-CRC
01 01 01 01 (BF B9)-CRC

Figure 217: Viewing Communications

Additional communication information can be displayed by pressing <c> (lowercase) to change the
Communication Display Options (Figure 218). Any of the listed display options can be turned on or
off. For most communications issues, turning on the timestamps and the sequence numbers will be most
useful.

To effectively analyze protocol communication, familiarity with the monitored protocol and the
corresponding protocol documentation is required. The communication can also be logged to a file and
sent to NovaTech for analysis. This allows in-depth tracking of issues.

249
 OrionLXm

COMM DISPLAY OPTIONS

0. Transmit Messages YES

1. Receive Messages YES
2. Transmit Errors YES
3. Receive Errors YES
4. Non Data Messages YES
5. Non Data Errors YES
6. Verbose Messages YES
7. Include Timestamp YES
8. Include Sequence Num.NO
9. Include Port Num. YES
A. Include Device Num. NO
B. Include Data Length. YES
C. Sys Info On 15min. NO

Figure 218: Communications Display Options

The following tables (Table 104 and Table 105) provide an overview of the most common communication
issues that can be tracked with the View Communications feature of the Orion. Depending on the
Orion’s configuration and communication system architecture, there may be numerous additional scenarios
that can only be examined on a case-by-case basis.

250

Client Port Troubleshooting
The OrionLXm communicates as a client to one or more end devices via a serial or Ethernet connection.
Observation
There are no polls for an expected
device.
There are no responses to polls
sent out by the Orion.
There are error responses to polls
sent out by the Orion.
Table 104: Client Port Troubleshooting
OrionLXm
Issue
▪ The device has not been configured at all.
▪ The device has been configured, but with another device node
address. (If multidrop, another end device may respond in its
place.)
▪ The poll time (in Polls Groups) has been set to an excessive time,
so the polls could be much farther apart than anticipated.
▪ The baud rate/parity bits/data bits/stop bits are not set up correctly
in the device or the Orion.
▪ The cable/connection between the Orion and the device is not
plugged in.
▪ The connection between the Orion and the device is not set up
correctly (for example, a straight serial cable is used instead of a
null-modem cable, etc.).
▪ The poll/command going to the end device is asking for points that
are not configured in the end device. Check the point types and
addresses in the end device and verify against the points
configured in the Orion. This could be either an address specified
in the command, or the length/number of points specified.
▪ If an error is returned for an output command, the value specified
in the command could be out of range.
251
 OrionLXm
Server Port Troubleshooting

The OrionLXm communicates as a server to a front end/SCADA master via a serial or an Ethernet
connection. The OrionLXm responds to the client for each device that it hosts, and the client cannot tell that
it is communicating with a single OrionLXm in place of multiple RTUs.

Observation
There are no polls for the RTU
hosted by the Orion.
There are no responses from the
Orion.
There are multiple responses/
noise when the response is
returned, and the client reports
communication/CRC/BCH errors.
Issue
▪ The front end/SCADA master is not set up (yet) to poll for the new
device.
▪ The baud rate/parity bits/data bits/stop bits are not set up correctly
in the device or in the Orion.
▪ The cable/connection between the Orion and the device is not
plugged in.
▪ The connection between the Orion and the device is not set up
correctly (for example, a straight serial cable is used instead of
null-modem cable, etc.).
▪ There is a RTU address mismatch between the client and the
RTU(s) in the Orion, so the Orion does not see any of “its” devices
addressed.
▪ There is another device on the shared line with the same address
as a device in the Orion. Thus, both devices respond to the same
command, which results in overlaid simultaneous responses to
the client, which in turn logs a communication error.

Table 105: Server Port Troubleshooting

252
 OrionLXm
Device Statistics
The following screen shows the statistics for each server device connected to the OrionLXm. Server
devices are devices being polled by the Orion.

<C> resets the poll/response counters for all devices to 0. The counters roll over at 232 (= 4,294,967,296).

The  (Cursor Up) and  (Cursor Down) keys allow scrolling through all the points on the selected port.

These options allow verifying connectivity and communication quality with server devices.

Device Statistics (C to Clear)

Port Device Status Polls Responses Percent Successful
1 SEL 501 Relay Online 392442 392442 100.000000
2 DDIO Online 1168083 1168083 100.000000

Figure 219: Device Statistics

System Menu
The System Menu provides the Clock Configuration, Event Log, System, and Version
Information, etc. for the OrionLXm as shown in the following menu.

All menu items in Figure 220 are hyperlinks to the respective sections.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

System Menu
--------------------------------------------

1. Clock Configuration
2. View System Info
3. View Event Log
4. Clear Event Log
5. View Version Info
6. Pass-Through Menu
7. Thread Info
8. Restart

Figure 220: System Menu

253
 OrionLXm
Clock Configuration

The hardware clock of the OrionLXm can be set with the following menu. In order to change time or date,
select the respective item by entering the associated menu number as shown below.

For the new time to take effect, option 7. Save Time must be selected after the correct time and date
have been entered with options 1. through 6.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Clock Configuration
--------------------------------------------

Current Date/Time: 10/14/2009 16:28:10

New Date/Time: 10/14/2009 16:27:21

1. Set Seconds
2. Set Minutes
3. Set Hours
4. Set Day
5. Set Month
6. Set Year
7. Save Time

Figure 221: Clock Configuration

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 OrionLXm
View System Info

The System Information screen displays the following information.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

System Information
--------------------------------------------

Process Uptime: 14 days, 02 hrs, 56 min

System Uptime: 14 days, 23 hrs, 27 min
Keynum: 9000

Figure 222: System Information

Function Description
Process Uptime Shows the time since the last configuration change or software reboot of the
OrionLXm.
System Uptime Shows the time since the last power-cycle or hardware reboot of the OrionLXm.
Keynum Serial number of the Orion. The same number is also displayed on the label on
the Orion enclosure.

Table 106: System Information

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 OrionLXm
View Event Log

An OrionLXm event log is displayed below. It includes all Orion process events since the last warm boot
or configuration change. If needed, the log can be captured to a file as well (see section Communications
Menu). When testing a new configuration, it is recommended to always check the event log for messages
regarding the system status.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

View Event Log

--------------------------------------------

09/30/2009 18:31:56.500 notice: Orion Started!

09/30/2009 18:31:57.289 prtcl err: No function body found for
LogicOut1Change.
09/30/2009 18:31:57.289 prtcl err: No function body found for
OrionOut4Change.
09/30/2009 18:31:58.329 notice: LoadLibrary(mmi)
09/30/2009 18:31:59.858 notice: LoadLibrary(/usr/lib/orion/salar001.so)
09/30/2009 18:32:00.192 notice: LoadLibrary(/usr/lib/orion/msel129.so)
09/30/2009 18:32:00.409 notice: LoadLibrary(/usr/lib/orion/mdnp126.so)
09/30/2009 18:32:00.625 notice: LoadLibrary(/usr/lib/orion/mnki100.so)
09/30/2009 18:32:00.738 notice: LoadLibrary(/usr/lib/orion/msens101.so)
09/30/2009 18:32:00.853 notice: LoadLibrary(/usr/lib/orion/sled100.so)
09/30/2009 18:32:00.968 notice: LoadLibrary(/usr/lib/orion/shttp106.so)
09/30/2009 18:32:05.285 notice: Logic started.
10/13/2009 21:00:02.340 prtcl err: Archive Monitor: Connect failed.
Error: could not connect to server: No such file or directory
Is the server running locally and accepting connections on Unix domain
socket "/var/run/postgresql/.s.PGSQL.5432"?
10/13/2009 21:00:04.344 prtcl err: Archive Monitor: Connect failed.
Error: could not connect to server: No such file or directory
Is the server running locally and accepting connections on Unix domain
socket "/var/run/postgresql/.s.PGSQL.5432"?
10/13/2009 21:00:06.352 prtcl err: Archive Monitor: Connect failed.
Error: could not connect to server: No such file or directory
Is the server running locally and accepting connections on Unix domain
socket "/var/run/postgresql/.s.PGSQL.5432"?

Figure 223: View Event Log

Clear Event Log

The event log described in the previous section can be cleared by selecting this option. Note that when
selecting this option, the event log is cleared without requiring further confirmation.

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 OrionLXm
View Version Info

This option lists the version and date of the protocol drivers and software as configured for each port. If
needed, the version information can be captured to a file (see Communications Menu).

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-20 NovaTech LLC

Version Information
--------------------------------------------

Orion Core Module - main.exe Version 2.2.21 08/14/2020 11:58:01

Port 1. SEL Client - msel131.so Version 1.31.86 10/15/2015 14:35:01

Port 2. none
Port 3. none
Port 4. none
Port 5. none
Port 6. none
Port 7. none
Port 8. none
Port 9. none
Port 10. none
Port 11. none
Port 12. none
Port 13. none
Port 14. none
Port 15. none
Port 16. none
Port A. Man Machine Interface - Version 2.0.12 10/29/2015 12:26:01
Port B. none
Port C. none
Port D. none
Port 20. ntp interface – mnki201.so Version 2.1.0 05/07/2015 09:25:01
Port 21. Sensors - msens102.so Version 1.2.5 01/08/2015 08:40:01
Port 22. LEDs - sled100.so Version 1.0.3 12/30/2010 09:31:01
Port 23. http server - shttp106.so Version 1.6.2 10/24/2012 14:38:01
Port 24. xml server - sxml102.so Version 1.2.8 04/08/2013 11:32:01
Port 25. SER - mser100.so Version 1.0.7 07/13/2009 09:09:01
Port 26. AlarmArchiver - salar001.so Version 0.1.5 08/27/2009 10:04:00

Figure 224: Version Information

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 OrionLXm
Pass-Through Menu

Many manufacturers of IEDs (Intelligent Electronic Devices) such as relays and meters provide special
software for device configuration, event and log extraction, etc. If the end device has two ports, the second
port can be directly connected to the PC running that software, bypassing the control network with the
OrionLXm. However, the second port may not be available, or it may be impractical to use it. With the
Pass-through option, the IED manufacturer software installed on the PC can connect through the OrionLXm
to the IED. This requires the following steps.

Pass-through to an IED

1. In the main menu, select 5) System Menu.

2. In this submenu, select 6) Pass-Through Menu.
3. In the Pass Through Menu (Figure 225), select a port number for pass-through.
4. At this point, NCD (or the terminal software) is “directly” connected to the IED, and a screen
similar to Figure 226 will be displayed.
4a. At this point, manual commands can be entered. These commands are sent directly to the IED
and executed, and the IED response is displayed in this screen.
4b. Alternatively, the IED manufacturer software can be started and connected to the IED after exiting
NCD. The IED software must use the same communication parameters that NCD used (since
the software will first connect with the Orion, and the Orion in turn will connect with the IED).
Once the IED operations are completed, the manufacturer’s software must be closed and NCD
restarted. In the NCD communication window, entering <Ctrl>-<X> five times terminates the
pass-through of the Orion.

OrionLX
Communication Processor
Version 2.2.21 Date:08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Pass Through Menu

--------------------------------------------

1. Pass Through to Port 1 - SEL Client 1

2. Pass Through to Port 2 - SEL Client 2
3. Pass Through to Port 10 - SEL Client 10

Figure 225: Pass Through Menu

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 OrionLXm

Entering Pass Through Mode

Press CTRL-X five times to exit
2

3I2X IRX 3I2Y IRY

I (A,pri) 4 3 8 7

=>>QUI

HP-233 Date: 10/26/09 Time: 22:17:09.603

HP-232

Figure 226: Passthrough Window to Relay

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 OrionLXm
Thread Info

This option lists the running threads in the Orion, with port number and system/user time. If needed, the
thread information can be captured to a file (see Communications Menu).

ORION Thread Dump

0x40377490: Logging System Monitor Thread (port=0 level=1) Priority=0
tid: 4889
System Time: 0
User Time: 0

0x403E6490: MMI Port_17_Thread (port=17 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4890
System Time: 0
User Time: 1

0x40625490: Alarm_Archive Main Thread 30 (port=30 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4891
System Time: 0
User Time: 1

0x40718490: SEL Client Task_p1_Thread (port=1 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4893
System Time: 1813
User Time: 788

0x40758490: SEL Client Start_p1_Thread (port=1 level=1) Priority=0

tid: 4894
System Time: 110796
User Time: 17260

0x407BC490: DNP Client Task_p18_Thread (port=18 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4895
System Time: 98398
User Time: 41088

0x40808490: mnki_24_Thread (port=24 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4896
System Time: 5701
User Time: 697

0x40856490: msens_25_Thread (port=25 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4897
System Time: 13023
User Time: 1144

0x408A1490: sled_26_Thread (port=26 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4898
System Time: 11
User Time: 3

0x408FC490: HTTP_main_27 (port=27 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4899
System Time: 158
User Time: 101

0x40958490: sxml_p28_Thread (port=28 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4900
System Time: 0
User Time: 0

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 OrionLXm

0x409E6490: AAR Monitoring Thread 30 (port=30 level=1) Priority=0

tid: 4902
System Time: 26
User Time: 23

0x40A26490: Archive Monitoring Thread 30 (port=30 level=1) Priority=0

tid: 4903
System Time: 815
User Time: 874

0x40A66490: LogicThread (port=0 level=0) Priority=0

tid: 4904
System Time: 802
User Time: 46314

0x40AA6490: LOGICEventThread (port=128 level=1) Priority=0

tid: 4905
System Time: 0
User Time: 0

0x40AE6490: RPC Call tid 1085170832 (port=0 level=1) Priority=0

tid: 4906
System Time: 37
User Time: 10

0x40C3F490: DNP Client Monitor Thread_p18_Thread (port=18 level=1)

Priority=0
tid: 4907
System Time: 0
User Time: 0

0x40D40490: MMI UDS on /var/run/orion/mmi (port=0 level=1) Priority=0

tid: 9687
System Time: 15
User Time: 9

0x40DC1490: MMI TCP RX to (port=0 level=1) Priority=0

tid: 9688
System Time: 2
User Time: 0

0x40E01490: MMI TCP TX to (port=0 level=1) Priority=0

tid: 9689
System Time: 17
User Time: 13

Figure 227: Thread Info

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 OrionLXm
Restart

A Full restart resets all hardware and restarts all software and drivers, including the operating system.
However, it can take up to several minutes for the OrionLXm to boot up, depending on the OrionLXm’s
configuration.

A Quick restart reloads only the protocol drivers which usually takes under 30 seconds to complete.

Do you wish to perform a full restart, quick restart or no restart?

1. Full restart.
2. Quick restart.
3. Do not restart.

Figure 228: Restart Menu

Disconnect
From the Main Menu, this option closes the current session and disconnects NCD from the Orion.

The response is a brief display of Goodbye, and then the following statement is displayed:

Disconnected ** Press any key to reconnect

Session Timeouts
The session times out, i.e. disconnects, automatically after a specified time (default is 5 minutes). Timeout
is adjustable from 5 to 99 minutes. As shown below, the timeout is based on user/equipment behavior and
the timeout clock:

▪ Whether any user key strokes were sent to the Orion within the specified time
▪ Whether any user key strokes were sent to the Orion, or any information – such as screen updates,
communication updates, etc. – was sent from the Orion to the PC within the specified time

The second option is useful when logging information from the OrionLXm for lengthy periods of time.

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OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Session Timeouts
--------------------------------------------

Current session behavior:

End session if the Orion hasn't received in 5 minutes.

Press 1 to change behavior to:

End session if the Orion has neither sent or received in 5 minutes.

Timeout: 5 minutes
Press 2 to specify a timeout in minutes

Figure 229: Session Timeouts

With the following setting, communication can be logged to file indefinitely as long as drive space is
available, and communications are either sent or received.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.4 Date: 01/22/2020
Copyright 2000-2018 NovaTech LLC

Session Timeouts
--------------------------------------------

Current session behavior:

End session if the Orion has neither sent or received in the specified
time.

Press 1 to change behavior to:

End session if the Orion hasn't received in the specified time.

Timeout: 99 minutes
Press 2 to specify a timeout in minutes.

Figure 230: Session Timeouts

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 OrionLXm
Network Menu
On the Network Menu, the OrionLXm network parameters such as IP address, gateway, and firewall can
be set up. All menu items in Figure 231 are hyperlinks to the respective sections.

OrionLX
Communication Processor
Version 2.2.21 Date:08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2012 NovaTech LLC

Network Menu
--------------------------------------------

1. Basic Network Configuration

2. Start/Stop Firewall

Figure 231: Network Menu

Basic Network Configuration

This menu selection displays the current configuration of network ports, (Eth0 and Eth1), and provides for
editing of the port. The OrionLXm Networking webpage allows for advanced network configuration.

If any changes have been made, option 4. Save Settings must be executed before pressing <Esc> to
return to the previous menu.

Basic Network Configuration

--------------------------------------------

Eth0 (eth0) IP Address: 172.16.16.20 Subnet: 255.255.0.0

Gateway: 172.16.0.1 Media: auto

Eth1 (eth1) IP Address: 192.168.0.1 Subnet: 255.255.0.0

Gateway: Media: auto

1. Edit Eth0 ( eth0)

2. Edit Eth1 ( eth1)
4. Save Settings
5. Reset to defaults

Figure 232: Basic Network Configuration

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The following parameters are set up individually for each Ethernet port. Since each port can be connected
to a different network, the parameters are entered separately for each port.

As per factory default, all ports are initially disabled. Select the menu option for the port that is to be
configured. Then select 1. Enable Interface which will open the menu to set the interface parameters
(Figure 233).

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 2.2.21 Date: 08/14/2020
Copyright 2000-2020 NovaTech LLC

Basic Network Configuration

--------------------------------------------

Eth0 (eth0) IP Address: 172.16.16.20

Subnet: 255.255.0.0
Gateway: 172.16.0.1
Media Settings: auto

1. Disable Interface
2. Enable DHCP
3. Edit IP Address
4. Edit Subnet
5. Edit Gateway
6. Edit Media Settings

Figure 233: Edit Port-Specific Parameters

Function Description
Enable/Disable Enable/disable the selected Ethernet interface.
Interface
Enable DHCP If DHCP is enabled, the IP Address, Subnet, and Gateway are assigned by a
DHCP server on the network. In most cases, DHCP will be disabled and these
parameters are entered manually as permanent values as described below.
Generally, these parameters are determined as part of the system architecture, or
by the IT department.
IP Address The IP address has the format n.n.n.n where n = 0..255, e.g. 172.16.16.20.
Subnet The Subnet mask has the format n.n.n.n where n = 0..255, e.g. 255.255.0.0.
Gateway The Gateway address is required for outbound traffic that is located on another
network. It has the format n.n.n.n where n = 0..255, e.g. 172.16.16.1.
Media Settings Defines the speed at which the OrionLXm communicates over the network. auto
negotiate allows the OrionLXm to connect at the optimal available speed.
Selecting a speed and duplex mode restricts this port to the selected speed and
half duplex mode.

Table 107: Port-Specific Parameters

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 OrionLXm
Note: Each port must belong to a different network and set up with corresponding IP
addresses. If network ports are set up with IP addresses belonging to the same IP
network, IP communication errors may occur.

Example 1: 192.168.x.x and 172.16.x.x are different networks.

Example 2: With subnet mask 255.255.255.128, the ranges 192.168.1.1 - 192.168.1.127 and
192.168.1.129 - 192.168.1.255 are different networks.

Verify the port parameters and press <Esc> to return to the previous menu (Figure 232) and select
4. Save settings.

Note that the MMI is intended primarily for setting up one Ethernet port to enable configuration via the Orion
webpage. If more than one Ethernet port are set up with a gateway, then the MMI changes as shown in
Figure 234. The Gateway IP addresses are no longer displayed. Instead, “Advanced” is displayed and
only option 5 is available for resetting the network settings to the factory defaults. Any other settings must
be made on the Orion webpage in Settings -> Networking.

Basic Network Configuration

--------------------------------------------

Eth0( eth0) IP Address: 172.16.123.100 Subnet: 255.255.0.0

Gateway: Advanced Media: auto negotiate

Eth1( eth1) IP Address: 172.16.16.20 Subnet: 255.255.0.0

Gateway: Advanced Media: auto negotiate

5. Reset to defaults

Figure 234: Network Port Configuration – Multiple Ports Configured

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 OrionLXm
Start/Stop Firewall

The following menu provides the options for starting or stopping the Orion’s firewall. Additional firewall
options and settings are described in section Firewall.

OrionLX
Automation Platform
Version 1.40.0 Date: 09/22/2009
Copyright 2000-2009 NovaTech LLC

Start/Stop Firewall
--------------------------------------------

1. Start firewall
2. Stop firewall

Figure 235: Start/Stop Firewall

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Appendix A - Glossary

Term Description
HMI Human Machine Interface
Input Point An input point is generally a point whose value originates at an end device
(server device), such as a PLC, RTU, IED, relay, or meter, and is transferred
to one or more client devices, such as a SCADA master, or a HMI. During the
transfer, the information may travel over different media (such as leased line
modems, Ethernet, radio, etc.) as well as different protocols as dictated by the
client’s and end device’s capabilities and locations.
IED Intelligent Electronic Device. This general term includes relays, meters, and
other devices equipped with a microprocessor.
Client Device A client device issues polls or commands to server devices in order to obtain
values from the server device, or to cause specific behavior or actions by the
server device. Typical client devices are SCADA masters and HMIs. If a port
on the Orion is set up as a client port, the OrionLXm will initiate communication
with the server device(s) connected to that client port.
NTP Network Time Protocol
Output Point An output point is generally a point whose value originates at a client device
(such as HMI or SCADA master, etc.) and is then transferred to the end device
to control some type of action or behavior of the end device (such as opening
or closing connected switches, control computations, retrieve specific logs,
etc.). During the transfer, the information may travel over different media (such
as leased line modems, Ethernet, radio, etc.) as well as different protocols as
dictated by the client’s and end device’s capabilities and locations.
PLC Programmable Logic Controller
RTU Remote Terminal Unit
SCADA Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition
Server Device A server device responds to a poll or command from a client device, but
generally does not initiate communications with another device or the client on
its own. Typical server devices are PLCs, RTUs, IEDs, meters, and relays. If
a port on the OrionLXm is set up as a server port, an external client must issue
a poll or command to that port of the OrionLXm for that port to issue
communication.

Table 108: Glossary

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 OrionLXm

Appendix B - Inputs / Outputs Tools and Buttons

For easy configuration, numerous tools and buttons are available as shown in Figure 236 and described in
the sections below. The tools and buttons described in this appendix are available for both the Inputs menu
and the Outputs menu. The Inputs menu and the Outputs menu are very similar, so the screenshots of
either menu are nearly identical.

Figure 236: Input/Output Menu Tools

1. Display/Hide Tag Name

Clicking the button to the left of the Inputs – Default Tagnames or Outputs – Default
Tagnames heading hides the Tag Name list, thus providing more usable screen space. Clicking the
button displays the Tag Name list again.

2. Search Point List

The Tag Name list and the Orion Point Name list can be searched using free text. Enter a free text
word such as Reset in the search field. In this case, all point names containing Reset will be filtered and
displayed.
The search field can be cleared by clicking on the Clear Search button, to the right of the search
field. Then the complete points list will be displayed again.

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 OrionLXm
3. Toggle Show Point Detail
To view configuration details of one or more points, highlight the point(s) in the Tag Name list (left column)
or the Orion Point Name list (right column) and click the Toggle Show Details for Selected
Rows button . To close the point details display, click the Toggle Show Details for Selected
Rows button.

4. Display/Hide Alias Names

If the Add Ons option Alias Module has been configured, the Toggle Alias Column Visibility
button is displayed above the Orion Point Name list in the right pane. Clicking this button will
toggle the display of the Alias points name column.

5. View Report

The View Report button generates a printable report for the points which are currently displayed
in the Orion Point Name list. This report can be printed, previewed, or saved as a file on the PC.

6. Edit Common Attributes

Attributes which are shared by multiple points can be configured to the same setting using the Edit
Common Attributes window. First, select a point type filter tab at the bottom of the pane such as
Binary. Second, highlight all points for which the attributes shall be set up identically. Then click on the
Edit Common Attributes button . The Edit Common Attributes window opens displaying
the common attributes that can be set (Figure 237).

Figure 237: Edit Common Attributes

Clicking Details in the Edit Common Attributes window lists the points to be changed with this
action (Figure 238).

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 OrionLXm

Figure 238: Edit Common Attributes - Details

Click the check box for the attribute to be changed, edit the attributes setting and click Apply .

7. Font Size
The font size of the Orion Point Name grid can be adjusted by moving the slider. Range is from 10 to
40 point.

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 OrionLXm
8. Slider Bar

To enlarge either the left or the right points list, move the mouse pointer over the vertical Slider Bar (Figure
239), click and hold the left mouse button, and drag the slider left or right.

Figure 239: Slider Bar

9. Point Type Filter Tabs

Selection of a point type filter tab will filter both the Default Tag Name list and the configured Orion Point
Name list. The filter that is being applied to the name lists is displayed in both panes (Figure 240).

Figure 240: Filter By Point Type

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 OrionLXm

Appendix C – Backup and Restore User Configuration

This appendix covers the backup and restore process using the Orion Web Interface. The User
Configuration – Backup is initiated from the Web UI Systems tab and the restore will be accomplished from
the Web UI Files tab.

Backup User Configuration

From the Orion webpage, select Diagnostics -> System. Click the Backup button in the User
Configuration box. The Select Items to Backup window allows the selection of Database and/or
User Files to be added to the System Files in the compressed .zip file.

Figure 241: Backup File Selection

Click Backup and in the dialog box Figure 242, select the desired action and click OK .

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 OrionLXm

Figure 242: Backup File Action

If “Open with Windows Explorer” is selected, the sysfiles.zip backup file is placed in the temp file of
the computer which is usually C:/Users/<user_name>/AppData/Local/Temp).

If “Save File” is selected, the sysfiles.zip backup file is downloaded to the download directory of the
PC.

Restore Backup User Configuration

To restore a backup user configuration file to the Orion, select the Files tab in the Orion Web UI. Click
the + Select files… button which opens File Explorer to browse and select the backup file
sysfiles.zip (Figure 243) that will be uploaded to the Orion.

Note: The file name must be sysfiles.zip for the restore process to succeed. If the file name
is sysfiles(x).zip or sysfiles_x_.zip the file will not be sent to the Orion and
restored.

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 OrionLXm

Figure 243: Select File – Restore Backup

After selecting the backup file, click Open and the Select Items to Restore window, Figure 244,
opens for selecting which set of files from the system backup is to be restored.

Figure 244: Restore Items Selection

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 OrionLXm
After selecting what file set is to be restored, click the Restore button. The Files tab window (Figure
245) is displayed showing that the backup file is ready to be uploaded to the Orion by clicking Send .

Figure 245: Send File to Orion

Click OK to acknowledge the restore process. Then the Orion will automatically restart. When the restart
has completed, the Home page login will be displayed.

Figure 246: Restore Confirmation

Figure 247: Restarting Orion

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 OrionLXm

Appendix D - Maintenance
Opening the OrionLXm Enclosure
The OrionLXm enclosure can be opened for the following operations:
▪ Replacement of the battery as described in Battery Replacement.
▪ Changing the input voltage from 12-48V dc to 125V dc of the I/O card as described in Type IL and IH
I/O Cards.
▪ Changing the input voltage from 12-48V dc to 125V dc of the single input as described in Digital Input.

When removing the top cover or a side panel of the Orion, observe precautions for
handling electrostatic sensitive devices.

When opening the OrionLXm enclosure, perform the following steps.

1. Remove the OrionLXm from service by disconnecting the power cord and external connectors.
2. Remove the lid.
3. Perform the desired operation.
4. Reinstall the lid and restore the OrionLXm to service.

Orion Storage and Unpowered Standby

Like any device, the Orion experiences shelf aging when not used regularly. Some of the effects of shelf
aging can be reduced or reversed by powering the device periodically.

In the event that an Orion product or Orion product spare components will either not be in use or remain in
storage for longer than a year, we strongly recommend applying power to the unit(s) on a yearly schedule.

Please contact NovaTech for recommendations regarding your specific application.

Battery Replacement
The OrionLXm uses a BR2030 Lithium coin-cell battery to maintain the real-time clock when the OrionLXm
is unpowered. NovaTech recommends replacing the battery every ten years as part of standard
maintenance. If the OrionLXm is stored unpowered for long periods of time (greater than a cumulative total
of four years unpowered), then the internal coin-cell battery should be replaced every five years instead of
every ten years.

Replace the battery with the same type of battery to maintain performance over the entire OrionLXm
temperature range.

To replace the battery, complete the following steps.

1. Open the OrionLXm as described in Opening the OrionLXm Enclosure.

2. Locate the battery in an upright battery holder, in the rear of the OrionLXm on the bottom (carrier)
board. Remove the old battery by pressing the top of the battery forward in the holder and lifting. When
removing the battery, note the orientation.

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 OrionLXm
3. Observing polarity, slide the new battery into the holder from the top and front until the snaps into place
in the holder.
4. Close the OrionLXm as described in Opening the OrionLXm Enclosure.
5. Discard old battery in accordance with applicable laws.

Cleaning
Cleaning the exterior of the instrument shall be limited to the wiping of the instrument using a soft damp
cloth applicator with cleaning agents that are not alcohol based and are non-flammable and non-explosive.

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 OrionLXm

Appendix E - GPL License Information

Some of the software included in this product contains copyrighted software that is licensed under the
GPLv2 and GPLv3 licenses. You may obtain the complete Corresponding Source code from us by sending
a money order or check for $50 to:

NovaTech, LLC
GPL Compliance Division
13555 West 107th Street
Lenexa, KS 66215

Please write “GPL source for OrionLXm” in the memo line of your payment.

This offer is valid to anyone in receipt of this information.

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 OrionLXm

Appendix F - Additional Documentation

The additional documentation listed below represent the main documents which may be required for setting
up and operating the Orion. In addition, for each protocol or software module, the respective manual is
included in the NCD installation .zip file or CD.

By default, the NCD installation stores the NovaTech documentation files in C:\Program Files
(x86)\NovaTech LLC\NCD3\Docs. Third-Party documentation is not included in the NCD installation
and cannot be verified as accurate by NovaTech.

Document Title File Name

Alarm/Archive/Retentive Software Manual Software_Alarm_Archive_Retentive_Module.pdf
Analog/Accumulator Scaling Technical Note TechNote_Scaling.pdf
Average Archive Software Manual Software_Average_Archive.pdf
Cascaded Orion Software Manual Software_Cascaded.pdf
DA Logic Software Manual Software_DA_Logic.pdf
Data Logger Software Manual Software_Data_Logger.pdf
DNP3 Client Software Manual Protocol_DNP3_Client.pdf
Email Software Manual Software_Email.pdf
IEC 61131 Logic Software Manual Software_IEC61131-3.pdf
IEC 61850 Client Software Manual Protocol_IEC61850_Client.pdf
LogicPak Software Manual Software_LogicPak.pdf
Advanced Math & Logic Software Manual Software_AdvancedMath&Logic.pdf
Points Blocking Module Software Manual Software_Points_Blocking_Module.pdf
Pseudo Software Manual Software_Pseudo.pdf
Pusher Software Manual Software_Pusher.pdf
Redundancy Software Manual Software_Redundancy.pdf
System & Point Logger Software Manual Software_System&Points_Logger.pdf
Text Software Manual Software_Text_Generator.pdf

Table 109: NovaTech Documentation

280
 OrionLXm
Revision Date Changes
A 05/16/2014 Initial Release for OrionLXm. MM, BM
B 02/10/2015 Updated Pinout tables, updated NCD and WebUI screens. New
communication and I/O cards. BM
C 07/08/2015 Updated all photos, updated screenshots. Added new information about
Alias assignment, power supply options, storage information, the
connection manager agent, and hardware specs. NF
D 11/09/2015 Updated information about direct modem compatibility. Added tables for
Revision B and Revision C of the I/O cards in the Type IL and IH I/O Cards
section. Added “Inactive Redirect” section. NF
E 04/11/2016 Updated jumper information for I/O cards in the Type IL and IH I/O Cards
section. Removed msense text events that are no longer supported (Table
41). NF
F 04/03/2018 Updated NCD functional descriptions and screenshots. Added the passive
installation procedure for NCD. Updated LogicPak information. Added
Ethernet Bonding information. Updated OrionLXm firewall information.
Added Appendix C, user configuration backup and restore information.
Added information for the internal unmanaged Ethernet switch hardware
options. RM
G 05/01/2019 Updated NCD functional descriptions and screenshots for the configuration
of the Hardware I/O, SER port. RM
H 07/07/2021 New cover photo and new front cover photo with 6 port internal switch.
Updated the OrionLXm Webpage section. Updated the NCD software
installation section. Updated Client/Server information. RM
I 04/05/2021 Corrected -F4 and -1M6E wavelengths. Updated trending. Added Windows
11. Added keying. Updated Settings pages to 9.8.5. Updated address.
J 01/24/2023 Updated GUI description for 10.0 distro.

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