DeltaV Product Data Sheet
January 2011 – Page 1
DeltaV Virtual CHARMS IO Simulation
DeltaV Virtual CHARMS IO provides simulated CHARMS IO from a workstation PC.
 Provides simulated CHARMS IO from a
workstation PC.
 Eliminates IO hardware during FAT.
 Supports rigorous testing of control
configurations and operator graphics.
Introduction
Virtual CHARMS IO simulation provides a cost effective
and easy way to simulate process IO during control
system development and checkout. Prior to CHARMS IO,
special virtual IO module (VIM) hardware was required to
emulate IO cards and provide simulated process IO during
system checkout. With CHARMS IO you now have two
options for simulated IO without using VIMs. You can use
the real CHARMS IO card in simulate mode, or you can
use virtual CHARMS IO card software which runs in a
workstation PC.
www.EmersonProcess.com/DeltaV
DeltaV Virtual CHARMS IO Simulation
Virtual CHARMS IO simulation has the advantage of
reduced hardware staging and it frees up the real
CHARMS IO cards for installation and IO checkout at the
production site. This capability can significantly reduce
project schedule when site IO checkout and control
system FAT are performed in parallel.
Virtual CHARMS IO cards appear the same as real
CHARMS IO cards within DeltaV. When first connected
they appear as decommissioned nodes in DeltaV and can
be commissioned the same as real cards. CHARM
assignments and simulated IO behavior are also the same
as with real CHARMS IO cards.
With virtual CHARMS IO simulation you can rigorously test
your control strategies, operator graphics, and IO
assignments prior to implementing on-line. Simulated IO
can be manually entered, generated from a test pattern, or
provided from a MiMiC process simulation via OPC. With
virtual CHARMS IO simulation you can validate your
control system without any control configuration changes.
DeltaV Product Data Sheet
January 2011 – Page 2 DeltaV Virtual CHARMS IO Simulation

Benefits virtual CHARMS IO card in the same way you commission

Provides simulated CHARMS IO from a
workstation PC. Virtual CHARMS IO simulation
provides the ability to simulation process IO from a
workstation PC for control system development and
checkout. This simulated IO appears the same as real IO
throughout DeltaV and requires no changes to graphics or
control configurations.
real CHARMS IO cards. Once commissioned, you can
provide simulated IO using the DeltaV simulated CHARMS
IO application as show below. You may also provide
simulated process IO via MiMiC using OPC. Up to 96
CHARMS IO are supported on each virtual IO card.

Eliminates IO hardware during FAT. Virtual

CHARMS IO cards eliminate the need for additional IO
hardware during FAT such as Virtual IO Modules (VIMs).
No more wiring and swapping out VIM cards during FAT.
With Virtual CHARMS IO, the real CHARMS IO cards can
be sent to site for early wiring and IO checkout.

Supports rigorous testing of control

configurations and operator graphics. Virtual
CHARMS IO simulation enables rigorous testing of control
applications without any configuration changes. Control
modules are tested running in their assigned controllers
with simulated IO that appears identical to real IO. For
complex control strategies, the virtual CHARMS IO can be
driven by a MiMiC process simulator which can emulate
complex process behavior.

Product Description DeltaV Virtual CHARMS IO Example

DeltaV Virtual CHARMS IO cards provide all the
simulation functionality as real CHARMS IO cards running
in simulation mode. The difference is that virtual
CHARMS IO cards run in a workstation PC and do not
require additional IO hardware. Each virtual IO card runs
in a virtual PC machine on a host workstation. The
number of virtual machines on a host workstation is limited
only by the CPU and available memory in the workstation.
The virtual CHARMS IO cards are designed to run in
VMWare Server 2.0 which is available from the VMware
website (www.vmware.com) .
Once the virtual CHARMS IO cards are installed and
connected to the DeltaV network, you can commission the
Note: DeltaV v11.3 CHARMS IO simulation supports
HART analog signals but does not support HART digital
parameters. HART digital parameters may be simulated in
control module function blocks where they are referenced.
Licensing
DeltaV Virtual CHARMS IO cards are licensed per card. A
base license must be purchased and then additional
virtual CHARMS IO cards can be added for up to 300 total
IO cards. The licenses are sold in quantities of 1, 5, 10,
and 20 as described below. Virtual CHARMS IO cards
may be distributed across multiple host computers on a
single DeltaV system only. The licenses are not permitted
on multiple DeltaV systems simultaneously.

Product Specifications
Virtual CHARMS IO Card (CIOC) Specifications
Number I/O Channels 96 Channels. Individually defined IO signal types.
Number of I/O Clients 4 (Controllers)
Number of virtual CIOC’s per Controller 16
Number of virtual CIOC’s per system 300
Number of virtual CIOC’s per host computer Dependent on host computer resources.
Recommended maximum of 10 for DeltaV workstations.
Redundancy Not Available. Redundancy is not available for virtual CIOCs.
DeltaV Product Data Sheet
January 2011 – Page 3 DeltaV Virtual CHARMS IO Simulation

Workstation System Guidelines — Virtual CHARMS Host Computer*

CPU Minimum: 2.0 GHz Pentium M or better
Memory Minimum: 2 GB, Recommended: 4 GB
Operating system** Windows XP Professional, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
Disk space Minimum 2 GB free space, Recommended: 10 GB free space

* Use standard DeltaV workstations when using a ProPlus or Application Station to host Virtual CHARMS IO
** For dedicated host computers (i.e., without DeltaV installed), 64-bit operating systems can support up to 32 GB of memory
and significantly more virtual CHARMS IO cards.

Ordering Information
Description Model Number
Virtual CHARM I/O Card (Base License) VF1018S001

Virtual CHARM I/O Card Scale-up, 1 Card VF1018UPS01

Virtual CHARM I/O Card Scale-up, 5 Cards VF1018UPS05

Virtual CHARM I/O Card Scale-up, 10 Cards VF1018UPS10

Virtual CHARM I/O Card Scale-up, 20 Cards VF1018UPS20

Prerequisites
DeltaV v11.3 software.

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