Connection Row Edit: Physical Connection Edit tab

Connection Type

Select the connection type used by your system. The selection you make may affect the availability of other fields. Connection types are:

• Network. This is the most commonly used connection type. In a network connection, the host is always connected to the remote via a TCP/IP connection. With leased line, for instance, the connection may go through a terminal server. This type of connection is used when remotes are connected through a terminal server via leased- line modems or radios OR when remotes are directly connected through a terminal server via an RS-232 connection.

  Network UDP. This connection type is chosen for a remote that is directly connected to a WAN or LAN (for example, 10 base T). For this type of connection, a remote must have an IP address.

• Dial. In a dial connection, the host connects to the remote via a dial- out modem. A dial connection requires a modem record in conjunction with a connection record in order to form a complete connection. A dial connection defines the phone number used to obtain a communication path, behaviors such as dial retries and time to wait for auto answer, and the preferred modem bank (Mbank) record to be used for a modem.

  At the time the connection is established, a dynamically associated modem is obtained from the preferred bank of modems to form a complete dial connection.

• Cry-Out. This connection type is a dial-in connection that allows the remote to initiate the dial connection. This is similar to a dial connection except that the preferred modem bank and modem must be configured as a cry-out. In this type of connection, it is the field device, not the host, that controls the establishing of a communication path.

Term. Server/Host Name

Enter the name of the terminal server, the host name, or an IPv4/ IPv6 address.

For a Network or Network UDP connection, this field contains the host name of the terminal server or remote. The host name must be defined in the DNS or the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts file in the RealTime computers.

Port Number

Enter the specific port connection for the line at the terminal server or remote. This port definition varies depending on the brand of the terminal server. For example:

Port number = 2000+(100*port)

For example, Port 4 on the terminal server has a port number of 2400.

UDP Source Port Enable

If the Connection Type is Network UDP, you can optionally select this checkbox to configure the local transport address (port number), which could be different than the remote port number. This option provides flexibility when a firewall is present.

UDP Source Port Number

Enter the port number on which the AVEVA Enterprise SCADA host listens for responses from remotes on the connection.

Default Signal Configuration

Select (...) and select an existing signal configuration from the Sigconfig Select dialog box. This field is critical for all connection types.

A dial connection, for instance, uses the default signal configuration defining the connection between the modem in the field and the remote (for example, when the baud rate is determined at the modem, it uses the baud rate that was set in the signal configuration).

Before you can use the modem, this field must match that of the modem record.

The default signal configuration is also important for connections that do not require modem configuration, such as leased-line multi-drop modem connections or direct-connected RS-232 line connections. The default signal configuration must match the bit-rate speed of the remotes that are using the connection. This match is critical: communication timeout values are calculated by multiplying the expected data length by the bit-rate speed. The wrong input value could cause the rejection of valid responses.

Temporary Connection

Select the checkbox to indicate that this connection is closed as soon as the minimum number of poll cycles have been completed and that there are no outstanding command requests.

Delay between Temp Connections

Enter the time delay (in seconds) between temporary connections. This field is only enabled if Temporary Connection is selected.

Min. # of Poll Cycles Before Release

Enter the minimum number of poll cycles required before the connection releases its modem and closes. This field is used with temporary connections or dial connections that have round-robin polling enabled.

Preferred Modem Bank

Select (...) and select a preferred modem bank for the connection from the Mbank Select dialog box. For more information, refer to Modem Bank (Mbank) table.

Dial Telephone #

Enter the dial telephone number of the remote, prefaced by a t for tone or p for pulse.

Use a comma (,) to indicate a pause. For example, a pause might be required after dialing 9 to reach an outside line (e.g., t9, 3035551212)

Before you can dial using the connection, the modem connection strings must be defined in the modem records.

# of Dial- connection Retries

Enter the number of times to attempt dialing the phone number before declaring failure.

Max. # of Dial- connection Failure

Enter the number of connection failures that should occur before the system generates a dial connection failure alarm/event.

Auto-answer Timeout (sec)

Enter a delay (in seconds) during which the modem in the field can answer the phone call. This is the amount of time to wait for a response after sending a dial string, which is the Telno string as defined in the Commands tab in the Modem Row Edit dialog box.