Top Server Release Notes - 2004

TOP Server Release Notes - 2004

November 12, 2004

TOP Server Version 4.150.304 Released - (Download here) (More Information on Drivers)

ServerMain.exe Updates (V4.150.304)

Updated server to comply with the latest 2.05a compliance test.
Fixed OPC diagnostics issue with not being able to open up user-saved .opcdiag files if Auto Save was not turned on.

New Allen-Bradley DH+/DH-485 Driver(V4.00.07)

New DH+/DH-485 driver is now part of the AB Driver Suite. Supports KT/KTX/PKTX/PKTX/PCMCIA cards as well as SST versions of these cards. (More Details)

New Yaskawa Memobus Plus (V4.11.19)

New Memobus Plus is now part of the Yaskawa Suite of drivers. (More Details)

New Profibus and DeviceNet Master/Slave (V4.00.19)

New driver support Hilsher card interface to Profibus and Device Net. (More Details)

New Siemens S7 Unsolicited Ethernet Driver (V4.00.08)

New S7 Unsolicited Driver is able to act as Siemens S7 slave. (More Details)

UCON (User Configurable) Driver (V4.52.79)

Fixed bug where data associated with test commands could be unnecessarily duplicated while working with Transaction Editor and saving project. Resulting opf file could become large and Transaction Editor could become sluggish. Fix includes automatic "clean up" of existing projects.
Added scratch buffers to list of data sources in Test Character command.
Added "BYTE from 2 Offset Nibble chars" device data format.
Added "Float from 8 Offset Nibble chars" device data format.
Added "Custom #5 (8-Bit)" check sum.

Allen-Bradly Ethernet (V4.24.38)

Fixed writing issue to DWORD, LONG and LBCD datatypes on PLC5 Family.

AutomationDirect DirectNet (V4.42.61)

Added address range R.

AutomationDirect EBC (V4.70.67)

Changed data type for P2.01 (Slip Compensation) to FLOAT. WORD operation remains unaffected for GS1/GS2/GS3 Drives.
Added support for Status tags for Terminator I/O modules. Only Extended Error information is currently supported. Extended Error is commonly returned from Analog modules with a broken transmitter (i.e. 14THM). This information is posted to the Event Log and now is available from a tag.

Modbus Plus (V4.40.67)

Added Hilscher card support (slave not supported)
Added Mailbox support.
Addition of the following new features:
1) Modbus Byte Order
2) Modicon Bit Ordering
3) 0/1-Based Bit Addressing Modbus Ethernet (V4.90.50) - Added Loopback page to channel properties. Page contains one item "Communications Timeout" that has the following properties. Only for Loopback mode. Applicable when model = modbus and device ID = local IP(127.0.0.1)
Disabled: 0
Enabled: 1-->64,800 seconds( 18 hours) Modbus Serial (V4.110.91) - Omni Model: Added support for String data type to Omni Custom packets and Raw Data Archive. Modbus Serial Unsolicited (V4.50.58) - Added Settings page to channel properties. Page contains one item "Communications Timeout" that has the following properties.
Disabled: 0
Enabled: 1-->64,800 seconds( 18 hours )
The Communications Timeout represents the amount of time the driver will wait for an incoming request before setting all tags on channel quality to Bad. ODBC Client Driver (V4.03.23) - Fixed incorrect write failure on the stored procedure _Execute tag
when the execute command succeeds.
Fixed issue with dynamic table _RecordCount tag reporting bad quality if the table is empty. The server now return 0 with good quality.
Fixed failure to automatically create a tag database for dynamic tables that reference an empty table.
Fixed an uneccessary error message from being logged when reading data from an empty dynamic table and the selected record has not been advance to something greater than 0.

Siemens S7-200 (V4.24.53)

Fixed blocking issue with reading timer done bits (Tx @ BOOL) above timer 16.
Fixed byte swapping issue reading and writing DWord/Long/Float arrays.

Siemens TCP/IP 200/300/400 Ethernet (V4.21.28)

Changed the default data type to String for Byte references (ie. MB, DBx.DBB) using the .len notation where len > 7.

Yaskawa MP Ethernet (V4.01.14)

Added message box for out of range block size entries.

Yaskawa MP Serial (V4.11.2)

New Driver

Yokogawa DX (V4.38.50)

Incorporated bug fix from DXP - CD write request bypass when "No Math".
Incorporated from DXP - NAK responses bypassing diagnostics.

September 10, 2004

TOP Server Version 4.141.293 Released - (Download here)

ServerMain.exe Updates

Added support for 14400 and 28800 baud rate selections.
Modified server to return the timestamp @ which the data actually changed when sending client OnDataChange events, rather than the latest timestamp in cache. Due to internal threads being preempted it was possible to update the cache twice before sending an update to the client; the first where the data changes, the second containing the same value but an updated timestamp to indicate the freshness of the cache. This new behavior is on by default by turning off the returning of the latest cache timestamp through the following servermain.ini: "Use Latest Cache Timestamp For OnDataChange Events.

Allen-Bradley ControlLogix Ethernet (V4.74.108)

Fixed issue with SoftLogix models set to a Physical Addressing mode where CIP Error 0x05 would result from project uploads following a cable reconnect.
Fixed issue with BOOL reads in Physical Addressing Mode when referenced as a non-Boolean data type (i.e. BOOL @ Word).

Cutler-Hammer (V4.11.44)

Fixed bugs associated with using data types of char and byte with memory type TC.

AutomationDirect ECOM (V4.61.65)

Added support for bit writes to discrete memory types.

GE Focas 1 (V4.20.25)

Expanded range of D registers to 9999 for all models.

Modbus Ethernet (V4.86.49)

Added "Use Modicon bit ordering" device property option

Siemens S5 (3964R) (V4.40.31)

Added support of Extended Data Block Memory Type ( DX ).

Simatic 505 Ethernet (V4.50.61)

Added "505 Protocol" Device property that switches between standard CAMP and CAMP + packed Task code protocols.

Yokogawa Darwin Ethernet (V4.26.60)

Added Tag Origin selection to Device Properties. Autotag generation can be done using Device Tag names or Physical Channel Number.

Yokogawa Darwin Serial (V4.05.37)

Added Tag Origin selection to Device Properties.

July 23, 2004

TOP Server Version 4.141.293 Released - (Download here)

Allen-Bradley Bulletin 900 (V4.00.05)

New Driver

ServerMain.exe Updates

Fixed general issues with scaling BCD and LBCD array types.
Fixed scaling precision issues when dealing with raw BCD and LBCD data types.

Allen-Bradley DF1 (V4.64.87)

Fixed SLC Slot Configuration issue in which error "An unsupported operation was attempted" would occur when attempting to add a Generic Module.
Fixed SLC Slot Configuration issue when modules are attempted to be added or removed with no slot selected.
Fixed Half-Duplex Master polling logic to retry Master Messages that were previously failing with a slave source empty condition.

Idec (V4.30.54)

Added DWord and Long data type support for DW addresses in Micro3, MicroSmart, and OpenNet models

Mitsibushi A-Series Ethernet (V4.31.52)

Expanded Q Series Address Range.

Modbus ASCII (V4.40.34)

Added string support for holding registers
Removed parser issue that allowed string type addresses for Internal Registers.

Modbus Ethernet (V4.76.48)

Removed parser issue that allowed string type addresses for Internal Registers.

Modbus RTU Unsolicited Serial (V4.43.57)

Removed parser issue that allowed string type addresses for Internal Registers.

Siemens S7 200/300/400 TCP/IP Ethernet (V4.21.27)

Performance enhancement will speed up your OPC communications by up to 3-4 times.
Added NetLink Configuration Utility for models 300 and 400. The NetLink device is a Gateway from Ethernet to S7 MPI, in Bus connector format. It can operate at speeds up to 12MBits/sec on the MPI link and 100MBits/sec on the Ethernet link. The NetLink connects directly to the MPI port and requires no external power.

Simulator (V4.31.87)

Fixed BCD and LBCD array write issue.

U-CON (V4.31.75)

Added support for "Custom #3" check sum.
Added support for "Custom #4" check sum

May 28, 2004

TOP Server Version 4.130.287 Released - (Download here)

ServerMain.exe Updates

Updated with latest OPC Foundation supplied proxy/stub includes.
Added milli-second resolution to OPC diagnostic events.
Added OPC DX functionality to TOP Server (separate plug in license purchase required to enable OPC DX)
Added acccess to the OPC DX Configuration utility from the TOP Server menu bar.
Intellution NIOToolkitinterface.dll: Corrected "over range" alarm on startup issue for IDS version. (V1.27.24)

Allen Bradley ControlLogix Ethernet Driver (V4.73.103)

Completed Compatibility Testing with ControlLogix Firmware Version 13

Allen Bradley DF1 Driver (V4.63.78)

Fixed issue involving KF2 in Full Duplex mode where if communications were broken between the KF2 and PLC, communications would not recover.
SLC500 DB9 wiring diagram added to help for DF1 driver

AutomationDirect EBC (V4.60.66)

Added support for ST0.7,8,9,11,12,13 to model GS2 Drive.
Added support for P9.21,22,23,24,25 to model GS2 Drive.
Added support for P6.17,18 to model GS3 Drive.
Added support for P7.3,4,5,6 to model GS3 Drive.

AutomationDirect ECOM (V4.60.64)

Corrected base memory address for GX.

AutomationDirect DirectNet (V4.42.60)

Added read-only Byte support for 305 R registers.

AutomationDirect K Sequence (V4.31.52)

Fixed address parsing issue that affected the valid ranges of models DL-05, DL-06
DL-105, DL-230, DL-240, DL-250, DL-260, DL-430, DL-440 and DL-450.

Dataforth isoLynx (V4.00.12)

New Driver

Modbus Ethernet (V4.75.47)

Added double precision float support for the Fluent model.
Corrected issue with writes to Fluenta single precision floats.

Modbus RTU Serial (V4.101.90)

Fixed issues with write-only tags. Writes to write-only tags would fail. Unable to write to any other tag after a write attempt to a write only tag.
Fixed issue with write-only string tags. Would "read back" full string passed down from client and not the truncated string actually sent to device.

ODBC Client Driver (V4.02.21)

Fixed issues related to misreading data from tables where some columns contain data types not supported by the driver.

Toyopuc Ethernet PC3 (V4.21.34)

Fixed timeout issue seen when unexpected data was received.

UCON (User Configurable Driver) (V4.11.73)

Added 32-bit IEEE float reversed device data format

April 7, 2004

TOP Server Version 4.120.274 Released - (Download here)

Big improvements in the Alias Map setup that will help Wonderware users connecting to TOP Server via Suitelink:

Added ability to resize the alias map window
Added ability to import/export aliases from/to a CSV file.
Modified alias system filter to filter all auto-generated aliases.
Addressed alias map resizing re-paint issues for machines that have modifed their Windows settings to 'Show window contents while dragging' setting.

Fixed ability to apply string filter to the flat item browse that correlated to 'channel' portion of the fully qualified item id (e.g, Channel_1.Device_1.Tag_1 -> Ch* would not return the qualified item ID).
Allen Bradley ControlLogix Ethernet Driver (V4.73.92)

Changed default Protocol Type from Physical Blocking to Physical Non-Blocking.
Improved disconnection logic for gateway models.

AutomationDirect DirectNet (V4.41.58)

Changed default import file extension from txt to csv.
Changed model "DL-250" to "DL-250(-1)"

AutomationDirect EBC (V4.60.59)

Changed data type for GS-EDRV P0.04 (Max RPM) to WORD.
Fixed memory reference for GS-EDRV ST0.0 (Status Monitor 1). Applies to all drives.
GS float scaling is now parameter dependant
Added dialog for launching NetEdit.
Changed "G3 Drive" model name to "DURApulse (G3) Drive". Current G3 users will notice the model change to "H2" as a result.
Changed auto generated tag names to contain only alpha-numeric characters.
Added parameter P8.2 support for GS3 drives.
Changed data type support for parameter P2.1 from float to word as scaling is dependant on the value of P2.10.

AutomationDirect ECOM (V4.60.62)

Changed model "DL-250" to "DL-250(-1)"
Added dialog for launching NetEdit.
Changed default import file extension from txt to csv.

AutomationDirect K Sequence (V4.30.50)

Changed model name prefixes D1-,D2-,D4- to DL-.
Changed default import file extension from txt to csv.

Krauss-Maffei MC4 Ethernet (V4.00.8)

New Driver

Scanivalve Ethernet (V4.00.9)

New Driver

TOP Server Successfully Completes OPC Interop 2004

April 2, 2004 - At this year's interop, OPC client vendors present to test with OPC DA Servers included Axeda, Cyberlogic, Iconics, Indusoft, Invensys Wonderware, Kepware, LabWare, Matrikon, Moore Industries, OSISoft, Siemens, Smar, Software Toolbox Inc., Technosoftware, Woodhead (Applicom), and Yokogawa. All testing went very well - detailed results will be posted soon.

March 2004

Software Toolbox to Participate in OPC Interop 2004 - For the 4th year in a row, Software Toolbox will participate in OPC Interop March 29 - April 2, 2004. Look for results posted here. This effort is part of our committment to interoperability in automation.

New Application Notes:

TOP Server Connectivity Guide - Modbus with Airlink Cellular Radio Modems - This new application note shows you how to use the TOP Server Modbus Suite driver with Modicon PLCs and Modbus Devices with Airlink CDMA Cellular Radios. More Details
Whitepaper - Understanding the TOP Server ControlLogix Ethernet Driver - This document explains new features in the driver and different ways to Optimize performance - More Details

TOP Server Version 4.110.270 Released

New OPC Diagnostics - this powerful new feature is built into TOP Server to let you and our support team see all the OPC messages going between our OPC Client(s) and the OPC DA interface on the TOP Server. Unlike some products that require you to stop your application, reconfigure your client application, TOP Server OPC Diagnostics are "ready to go" any time. Simply bring them up and you can view them, copy/paste them and send them to us. We extensively test TOP Server for OPC Interoperability at each annual OPC Interop Workshop (next one is 3/29/2004), but for those cases where there is an OPC interoperability issue allows us to use this tool to figure out how to solve the problem. Click for more information
Server Improvement - Improved clean-up of tags when a client disconnects in an improper fashion.
Allen Bradley ControlLogix (V4.72.91)

Option on Tag Auto Creation available so no groups are added to the TOP Server, but rather creates all the tags in a flat address space -- great for use with the Wonderware Tag Import Wizard as only one Access name is used for all tags.
Added Long file support to Micrologix via ENI model

AutomationDirect EBC (V4.50.55)

Added Serial Status to GS Status Group.

AutomationDirect ECOM (V4.50.59)

Added Automatic Tag Database Generation feature.
Added String Support for V Data Word memory.

AutomationDirect DirectNet (V4.41.56)

Added Automatic Tag Database Generation feature.

AutomationDirect K Sequence (V4.30.48)

Added Automatic Tag Database Generation feature.

Intouch Client Driver (V4.21.13)

Fixed bug causing WindowViewer from becoming temporarily unresponsive after writes.

Mitsubishi A Series (V4.31.51)

Added string support for R registers.

Mitsubishi Ethernet (V4.42.35)

Added string support for R registers.

Modbus Serial (V4.100.87)

Added Write Only option for all tag addressing.

SattBus Ethernet (V4.00.09)

New Driver

Siemens S7 MPI (V4.14.26)

Ethernet Encapsulation now supported
Added 'MemMapWrite' for writing through cache for faster updates.

Simulation Driver (V4.30.83)

Item persistence between runs added - You may configure the simulator driver to retain its values of K (constant), R (register), and S (string) addresses between runs.

UCON (User Configurable Driver) (V4.00.70)

Enabled unsolicited Ethernet encapsulation.
Fixed library issue that was causing recovery problems in earlier testing of unreleased version.
Expanded Multi Bit Integer device data format options.
Increased number of scratch buffers to 256 per device.

January 2004

TOP Server Version 4.105.260 Released

General Server (servermain.exe) - added support for AR and DR registers to Intellution NIO interface - only affects Intellution users.
AB ControlLogix Driver updated to version 4.71.84

Added support RSLogix5000 V12
Added predefined types: AXIS_GENERIC and COORDINATE_SYSTEM.
Added AC and EXERR members to MOTION_INSTRUCTION.
Added CoordinatedMotionStatus and InterModuleSyncFault to AXIS_SERVO.
Added support for parenthesis in L5K DATATYPE description fields.
Fixed expected frame length logic that could cause "framing errors".
Changed RSLogix5000 project download handling to take all tags off scan during the download process as per recommendation of Rockwell for any and all drivers interacting with a ControlLogix.
Fixed tag import for tags containing colons (i.e. Local:1:C) such that colons are not produced in tag/group names. This fixes problems encountered during CSV export/import with tag/group names containing colons.

Allen Bradley DF1 (V4.62.72)

Fixed discrepancy in the tag hints.

Automation Direct ECOM (V4.35.52)

Increased V memory limit from V7377 to V7577.

GE Ethernet (V4.73.50), GE SNP (V4.21.48), and GE SNPX (V4.21.48)

Fixed Array Tag import issue.

Honeywell HC900 (V4.11.12)

Added Tag import support.
Added worker thread to perform tag generation and import.
Removed "Database Creation" device property page/wizard step. Tag generation will be triggered automatically once device property sheet is closed or device wizard is complete.

Intouch Client Driver (V4.20.09)

Added Import from CSV option.

Modbus Ethernet (V4.65.42), Modbus Plus (V4.26.61), and Modbus Serial (V4.96.82)

Added support for concept "TIME" and "BYTE" types.

Omron Host Link (V4.32.55)

Fixed issue with event log posting continuous messages.

Siemens S7 MPI (V4.13.23)

Expanded Device ID range to 1-126.

Simulator Driver (V4.30.81)

Added item persistence option for K, R, and S.

UCON (User Configurable Driver) (V4.00.64)

Added support for Hex ASCII String device data format.
Added copy to end option to Copy Buffer command.
Added option to Seek Character command to look for character in Hex ASCII format.
Fixed issue when processing delimited list data item, Update Tag command would start search for next delimiter at current buffer pointer position instead of start of tag's data.

Yokogawa MX 100 (V4.00.12)

New Driver