TOP Server News Archives - 2001, 2002

This page lists TOP Server updates and news announcements from 2001 and 2002. 

• Click here for current news.
• Click here for 2003 archives.

December 2002

• TOP Server v 4.83.225 - FREE UPGRADE - (Download Here)
• AB ControlLogix driver added support for Predefined Data Types: SFC_ACTION, SFC_STEP, and SFC_STOP. (RSLogix5000 Version 11) and made several improvements to L5K import routines
• Siemens 505 Serial driver increased max size of arrays to 100 elements by adding ability to do a multi-pass read or write to overcome limitations of the PLC protocol packet size.
• Modbus Serial Driver now supports the Daniel S500 Flow Meter including 64 bit double precision floating point values.
• GE SNP, SNPX and Ethernet driver - improvements to the SNF file import
• Siemens 3964R - improvements to handling of KT data type conversion (time).
• Yokogawa Darwin Serial Driver now supports Ethernet Encapsulation
• Yokogawa CX Ethernet driver added
• Yokogawa HR2400 Serial driver added
• For full details of the release notes, click here.
   

November 2002

• MAJOR TOP Server New Release - v 4.82.223 - FREE UPGRADE - (Download Here)
   
• Intellution Native NIO Interface Added! - now, users of iFix can connect to the TOP Server DIRECTLY without using the OPC Power Tool - this feature spells a new era in ease-of-use for TOP server users who use Intellution's iFix product. See how to set up and use this feature
• Updated Help Files - All help files have been upgraded to compiled HTML help format, making them even easier to navigate and use than before.
• Improvements in modem handling via the TAPI interface
• Improvements in handling of connections when using the IPersistFile interface
• Improvements to the OPC Quick Client
• Features added to the following drivers:
• Mitsubishi Ethernet Driver now supports strings
• Omron Hostlink Driver added an open addressing model to allow it to work with any PLC model not already listed when configuring a Device.
• Improvements to the following drivers:
• User Configurable Driver (UCON)
• Siemens 3964R
• Modbus Ethernet
• Wago Ethernet
• Yaskawa MP Ethernet
• Yokogawa DXP
• For full details of the release notes, click here.

October 2002

• OPCEnum 1.1 Update - free download - OPCEnum is a program supplied by the OPC Foundation that many OPC clients use to browse for available OPC servers locally and remotely. This version of OPCEnum addresses an issue that was identified when using OPCEnum on PCs with Internet Explorer 6.0 that would prevent browsing for OPC servers. The update is a self running EXE that updates OPCEnum.exe and OPCcomn_ps.dll which opcenum.exe depends upon. NOTE: this update has been included in the TOP Server Version 4.82.223 or higher install set. If you would like to update your system without upgrading to the latest TOP Serer version, you may Download the update here.
   
• TOP Server version 4.81.217-U - FREE UPGRADE (Download Here)
• Improvements made to match the latest OPC Data Access Compliance Test Tool 2.04 SR4 requirements
• Improved data type coercing in the ControlLogix driver
• Siemens S7-200 driver now supports EM241 modem module using PPM ( point to point modem protocol).
• Siemens S5 AS511 driver now supports strings
• Siemens/TI 505 serial driver now supports V memory arrays
• UCON driver - added features for clearing RX buffer and other capabilities.
• For a full list of enhancements, click here.

September 2002

• TOP Server version 4.80.215-U - FREE UPGRADE (Download Here)
• NEW DRIVER - Siemens S7-300/400 Ethernet - This driver allows you to make TCP/IP connections to Siemens S7-300/400 PLCs.
• The GE SNP and SNPX drivers now support Wonderware style Item Name addressing making this driver a direct drop-in replacement for the Wonderware native I/O Server. The GE Ethernet driver has had this capability for some time, now the serial drivers have it too.
• The Modbus RTU Serial, Modbus Ethernet, and Modbus Plus drivers can now directly integrate with Modicon's Concept and ProWORX programming tools to build TOP Server tag databases from the programming software.
• The GE Focas1 Ethernet driver supports improved performance when dealing with unsolicited messages
• The Idec driver supports the latest MicroSmart PLCs as well as direct import of tags from the WinLDR PLC programming package
• Automation Direct EBC driver has been updated to fix issues with reading I/O Bases containing thermocouple inputs -- download the free update. (Download Here)
   
• InTouch Tag Creation Wizard available for download - we have now made the InTouch tag creation wizard available for open download. Learn more about what this tool can do for you and then download it if you are an InTouch user.

July 2002

• 4.72.206-U FREE UPGRADE (Download Here)
• The GE Ethernet driver has been enhanced to support %L and %P program variables for the 90-70 family of PLCs. Additonally a complete series of PLC status tags have been added.
• The Mitsubishi Ethernet driver has been enhanced with full support for the Mitsubishi Q series PLCs. This update includes access to all Q series memory types.
• This version has an important fix for users of serial protocols with the Ethernet Encapsulation mode enabled. A performance issue that resulted in slow communication when a device is in an error state has been resolved.  Download the free upgrade.
   
• See TOP Server and Software Toolbox at the 2002 Invensys Showcase - Software Toolbox will be exhibiting at this year's Invensys Showcase September 8-12, 2002 in Orlando, FL- stop by and meet us, discuss your present and future needs, ask questions - we hope to see you there. See us at Booth # 431 - it's right on the main aisle near the Center seminar area in the showcase hall.

June 2002

• 4.71.202-U - FREE UPGRADE (Download Here)
• Modbus RTU Slave driver now allows up to 40 concurrent com ports chosen from Com1 to Com100:
• Simatic/TI 505 serial driver has been updated to support 32 communications ports. This quick upgrade allows to you communicate with a large number of controllers directly via serial connection or ethernet encapsulation devices.
• AB ControlLogix driver (Version 4.33.51), part of the TOP Server AB Suite, has been updated to address an issue with applications using the NET ENI module. This latest update corrects a problem with connecting to the unit under abnormal communications loss. Download and install the update for free.
• Modbus ASCII driver, part of the Modbus Suite, has been updated to provide direct support for Flow Automation flow computers. This latest enhancement to the TOP Server Modbus Suite continues to broaden the range of devices that can be accessed for one price.
• New Aromat Ethernet driver has been released. This new driver provides OPC access to the Aromat FP PLC family via the ET-LAN interface card. The Aromat Ethernet driver is included with the Aromat serial driver as Aromat Suite.

May 2002

• Version 4.70.200-U - FREE UPGRADE (Download Here)
• All serial drivers may now select com port #'s up to Com100:. The number of allowable simultaneous com ports in use is set by specific driver so please check your specific TOP Server driver for what is supported.
• Modbus RTU Master Serial driver now supports up to 40 simultaneous com ports in use at the same time
• Longer tagnames are now supported by the server (40 characters)
• ControlLogix driver supports the longer tag names - this results in less chance that our L5K import will have to truncate a tagname to handle long ControlLogix program tags.
• Idec Driver now supports importing tags directly from the programming software WindLDR tag information file
• Enhanced diagnostics monitor window - allows you to set the log to pause when an error occurs in commmunications on a driver to allow you to snapshot the diagnostic packet monitor data.

April 2002

• Version 4.64.194-U Install - FREE UPGRADE (Download Here)
• This upgrade launches new help files using the latest in Help File technology to make it easier than ever to navigate through the TOP Server help. 
• Also a new upgraded installer makes it easier than ever to install and upgrade your TOP Server installations.  The new installer uses the latest in installation technologies that make Windows XP happy as well. 
• New Suite - Toshiba Suite - Adds Toshiba Ethernet to the existing Toshiba Serial Driver
• New Driver - Philips PC8/PC20
• New Driver - UCON - User Configurable Driver, is included in the installation set.
• Improvement in Wonderware Toolkit interface to address potential for unexpected server shutdown if user exits WindowViewer or WindowMaker before the server has had the chance to return any valid data from devices to InTouch (i.e. user starts app then immediately exits before everything is up and going).
   
• New Application Notes - Posted two new appnotes on 4/11/02 - click to go to library and view appnotes
• How to setup the TOP Server with AB ControlLogix Gateway to DH+ and ControlNet
• How TOP Server Scan Rate settings can be used to optimize performance of Wonderware InTouch to TOP Server communications via SuiteLink and FastDDE.
   
• TOP Server to Wonderware InTouch Connectivity Video Released - this video shows you how to connect Wonderware InTouch to the TOP Server. Setting up access names, topics, item names and scan rates are covered in this easy to follow free training video. Click to go to the video library.

March 2002

• Updated DCOM Tutorial Released - we have updated our in depth DCOM tutorial that we keep online on our OPC Data Control website. Although the tutorial is kept there, it has general usefulness with any OPC client application used with any of our OPC servers, for if you grasp the concepts and directions we present, you can save yourself a great deal of time and energy in setting a remote client to OPC server by following this tutorial. Go to the tutorial.

February 2002

• Online streaming video training center opened -- our first title is a 19 minute "Getting Started with the TOP Server" that takes you through installation, configuration, setup, and testing of the TOP Server and it's key features.  Videos are designed to be viewed "on demand" over a variety of Internet connection types and speeds. Learn more
• TOP Server Version 4.63.192 ships (download)
• ControlLogix Ethernet Driver v 4.30.43 included in this update adds support for the AB 1761-NET ENI module which allows bridging from Ethernet to Full Duplex DF1 Serial Connections on MicroLogix, SLC, and PLC 5 PLCs.  Simply select the "ControlLogix Ethernet" driver when installing or upgrading. Setup options for the NET ENI device type are found on the Device Properties dialog in the driver setup. This is a free upgrade for any existing licensed user. For information on purchasing the TOP Server AB Suite with 1761 NET ENI support, click here.
• Updated Wonderware FastDDE/Suitelink interface in the main server to fix a problem found in the Wonderware toolkit that affected reads after writes where the PLC would change the value of a register immediately after Wonderware wrote a new value but InTouch would not show the update. This is a free upgrade and recommended update for all Wonderware users.
• Included updates made after 2002 OPC Interop Workshop (more information)

January 2002

• Software Toolbox participates in 2002 OPC Interop Workshop with TOP Server I/O Servers, OPC Data ActiveX, and OPC enabled Instrumentation ActiveX controls - more information on TOP Server Testing.
   
• New bundles for GE Fanuc and for Modbus Drivers, new GE Fanuc Focas1 Ethernet driver, new GE Fanuc CCM driver.

November 2001

• New System Level Tags allow runtime configuration changes from client applications, including switchover to redundant PLCs. Also released were new drivers for ThermoWestronics and IOTech, as well as new value bundles for AB Serial+Ethernet and Omron PLCs.

October 2001

• New Features Added to 5 drivers in the TOP server family - more
   
• Online "Quick Start Guide" released in HTML and word DOC format - designed to get the new user up and going quickly with the TOP Server -more
   

August 2001

• Sample applications for InTouch available - designed to work with our simulation driver, these InTouch 7.1 sample applications help you quickly learn how to use the TOP server with InTouch - also published was a document on using the TOP Server with InTouch - more
   

July 2001

• TOP Server InTouch Tag Import Wizard Reduces Engineering Cost for Wonderware Users - more
   
• TOP Server AB ControlLogix Driver Saves time for Wonderware Users - more