Add an I/O Server Process
- Last UpdatedJul 18, 2023
- 2 minute read
An I/O server process is a dedicated communications server that exchanges data between I/O devices and control clients. No data processing is performed by the I/O server (except for its local display) process.
Data is collected and passed to the control clients for display, or to another server for further processing. Data sent to an I/O device from any computer is also channeled through the I/O server. If data traffic is heavy, you can use several I/O servers to balance the load. The default server port numbers are listed in the topic Server Processes.
Note: With the release of version 2020 R2, Plant SCADA now includes a Connectivity Service that manages tag subscriptions for the OPC UA Server and Industrial Graphics Server. This will place an additional load on your I/O servers, particularly If a subscribed tag also specifies a property or extension. The greater the number of I/O devices, the greater the processing load. If you have a large number of I/O servers on a single computer, it may impact CPU usage. To manage this, you should consider distributing your I/O servers across a number of computers.
To add an I/O Server process:
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In the Topology activity, select Edit.
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On the menu below the Command Bar, select I/O Server.
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Add a new row to the grid.
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Type the required information in each column, or in the Property Grid (see below for a description of the properties).
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Click Save.
I/O Server Properties
General Properties
|
Property |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Server Name |
The name of the server. The name needs to be unique to the project and any included projects, and not contain spaces. |
|
Cluster Name |
The name of the cluster to which this I/O Server will belong. If there is only one cluster defined in the project, you can leave this field blank. The I/O Server will default to the defined cluster. |
|
Comment |
Any useful comment. This property is optional and is not used at runtime. |
Security Properties
|
Property |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Allow RPC |
Determines if the server process will execute remote MsgRPC and ServerRPC calls. Select TRUE or FALSE. If this field is left blank it will default to FALSE and the following compiler warning will be generated: "'Allow RPC' permission is not defined for server (defaulting to FALSE) (W1038)". |
Communication Properties
|
Property |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Network Addresses |
The network address(es) of the server being configured. To specify dual network connections to the server, use a comma delimited list. See Network Redundancy. |
|
Port |
The port this server will listen on. You may leave this blank in which case the default port number will be used. |
Project Properties
|
Property |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Project |
The project in which the I/O server is configured. |