Hello,

I'm a new user of PI so have several questions.
I'm recently using the PI interface configuration Utility for installing an Universal File Loader.
I want to read data from a serial port and store it in the PI server with the help of the UFL. First a test will be done with Virtual Machine before the actual transfer to the PI server is done.
The data I want to store is something like:
X01,110309,00:00:18,1800,50
a name, a date, a time, a random value, a random value

I followed the Universal File Loader manual and the ICU manual but still I can't figure out how to do it.
In the PI interface configuration I do the following:
Interface > New Windows Interface Instance from EXE
I fill in the following browser executable in my case: C:\ProgramFiles\PIPC\InterFaces\PI_UFL.exe
host PI-server: SRV-BE-DI-061 Path: SRV-BE-DI-061
Point source: UFL Interface ID: 1 Service ID: 1
Click add
I change the scan frequency to 5 min without offset.
I insert the following ini.file:
[INTERFACE]
PLUG-IN = serial.dll

[PLUG-IN]
BITS = 8
COM = 4
COMDATA = "C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Examples\Logs\serial_data.dat"
PARITY = NO
SPEED = 9600
STOPBITS = 0

[SETTING]
DEB = 4
MAXLOG = 10
MAXLOGSIZE = 20
MSGINERROR = "C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\err001.txt"
OUTPUT = "C:\Program Files\PIPC\Interfaces\PI_UFL\Logs\log001.log"

'-----------------------------------------------------------------

[Field]
Field(1).Name = "TagName"
TagName.Type = "String"
Field(2).Name = "Value1"
Value.Type = "String"
Field(3).Type = "Value2"
Value.Type = "String"

[MSG]
MSG(1).NAME = "Serial"
MSG(1).EPC = "String"

[Serial]
Serial.FILTER = C1=="*"

TagName = ["(*),*,*,*,*"]
Value1 = ["*,*,*,(*),*"]
Value2 = ["*,*,*,*,(*)"]

StoreInPI(TagName,,NOW(),Value1,,)
StoreInPI(TagName,,NOW(),Value2,,)

In services I added tcpip.
My question is now what I do next to make the universal file loader working?
How can I send the data to a virtual machine?

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Yes indeed I created a new trust connected to the interface in the PI system management tools.
I have being changing my ini file and checked it in the UFLdesigner program added in PI ICU. So I can say that this is correct.
My log file is saying that 0 data lines are read.
I also get an error about failing to connect to the service control manager. I’m now trying to solve this problem. Maybe it has something to do with the trust.

No data is received in this file.
I currently changed my ini file to the following:


[INTERFACE]
PLUG-IN = serial.dll

[PLUG-IN]
BITS = 8
COM = 4
COMDATA = "D:\UFL\Oefenfiles\test.log
PARITY = NO
SPEED = 9600
STOPBITS = 0

[SETTING]
DEB = 4
MAXLOG = 10
MAXLOGSIZE = 20
MSGINERROR = "D:\UFL\Oefenfiles\err.txt"
OUTPUT = "D:\UFL\Oefenfileslog.log"

'-----------------------------------------------------------------

[FIELD]
FIELD(1).Name = "FIELD_1"
FIELD(1).Type = "String"
FIELD(2).Name = "FIELD_2"
FIELD(2).Type = "DateTime"
FIELD(2).FORMAT = "yyMMdd"
FIELD(3).NAME = "FIELD_3"
FIELD(3).Type = "Time"
FIELD(3).FORMAT = "hh:mm:ss"
FIELD(4).NAME = "FIELD_4"
FIELD(4).TYPE = "string"
FIELD(5).NAME = "FIELD_5"
FIELD(5).TYPE = "String"

[MSG]
MSG(1).NAME = "Serial"
MSG(1).EPC = "String"

[Serial]
Serial.FILTER = C1=="*"

FIELD_1 = ["(*),*,*,*,*"]
FIELD_2 = ["*,(*),*,*,*"]
FIELD_3 = ["*,*,(*),*,*"]
FIELD_2 = FIELD_2 + FIELD_3
FIELD_4 = ["*,*,*,(*),*"]
FIELD_5 = ["*,*,*,*,(*)"]

StoreInPI(FIELD_1&"_S001",,FIELD_2,FIELD_4,,)
StoreInPI(FIELD_1&"_S002",,FIELD_2,FIELD_5,,)

I also constantly get an error like:
Error -2147200891: Failed to connect to the Service Control Manger. The operation completed succesfully.
(OpenSCManger) (Connect to SMC) (GetDependentServices). from function StopService()

And

Error -214720089: Call to StartService failed. An instance of the service is already running.
(StartService) (2) (StartAService) in function StartAService: Service PI_UFL failed to start

Any idea about solving these errors?

I tried re-installing UFL and SMT but nothing helps.

Thanks for the help.

The last time I could get it started this morning I got this log.file: (my error file is empty)
For this I set the DEB to 6

Scheduler PI UFL Scheduler is starting...
Scheduler PI UFL Scheduler started.
Begin reading PI point updates.
End reading PI point updates.
Begin scan.
PL_GetBufferedData() 0 data lines read.
End scan.
Begin updating PI Health Tags.
End updating PI Health Tags.
Begin updating PI PERF.Cntr.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Points Good : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Point Count : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 9.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Interface up-time (seconds) : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 1.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Device Scan Time (milliseconds) : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Scan Time (milliseconds) : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Scheduled Scans: % Missed : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Scheduled Scans: % Skipped : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Scheduled Scans: Scan count this interval : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 1.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Log file message count : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 57.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Points edited in the interface : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Points added to the interface : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Points removed from the interface : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Points In Error : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Points Stale 10(min) : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Points Stale 30(min) : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Points Stale 60(min) : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Points Stale 240(min) : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Device Status : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : PI Status : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 0.
Write to PERF.Cntr : Device Expected Connections : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 1.
Device Actual Connections : time = 13-Jan-12 09:07:15, value = 1.
End updating PI PERF.Cntr.
Begin reading PI point updates.
End reading PI point updates.

I tried to enable the buffer in tools and I added the bufferserv in services; then I got this in my pipc.log file:

PI_UFL.exe> Output is redirected to: D:\UFL\Oefenfiles\log.txt
PI_UFL.exe>PI-API (5080) - SRV-BE-DI-061> APIBUFFER: Unable to open primary shared memory buffer.
PI_UFL.exe>PI-API (5080) - SRV-BE-DI-061> APIBUFFER: Unable to open shared memory buffers.Buffer server may not be running.
PI_UFL.exe>PI-API> Initial connection to [srv-be-di-061:5450][1]

I’m 100% sure that my data is coming in Comport 4, because I have a little program for control the reading of data through Comports called Virtual Serial Ports Emulator.
I still got the error about failing to connect to the service control manger. Do you know what the reason could be for this problem

Thanks again for the help until now.

With the pibufss a startToService failure appears
So excluded that back again.
The log file on the server gives an error:
API buffer: Unable to open shared memory buffers. Buffer server may not be running.

Also when I click to start interactively the service starts running and then I get a warning for that.

When I play around in tools > buffering I again get the failed to connect to service manager error.
Now I have been looking around to encounter this and found out on the Osisoft website that they don't have a direct answer to it.

I'm stilling looking around going from error to error.

The thing is with the com ports, I let a text file being send to com port 2 and this com port sends information back again to com port 4 which I use for the interface.
I do this with a serial ports simulation program. This needs to simulate that information is send abroad by a com port and received at the com port at our office at which the data can be collected for calculation purposes. This is done for testing. So we also made some dummy tags for writing this information to.
The text file I made consists information like:
X01,010112,00:00:01,10,1800
X01,010112,00:00:02,10,1800
X01,010112,00:00:03,10,1800
(a tag name,a date, a time and 2 values)
and it goes on like this

Yes indeed this solved the problem.
I also had the problem that the serial simulation program didn't worked instead I used com0com.
So that is an advice for other users for serial simulation to use online free program com0com.
Now I still have the problem that no data is written to the tags, that has the do with the trusts (for writing) because the same worked with my colleague.
So that will work out.

Thanks for all the help, it was really helpfull.

I also have a question about PI2010 system but I will be posting this under another topic.

Hi arnow, I'm happy to hear that things are going well regarding the UFL interface.

TAGNAME:H037_S032 is it configured as a String or float32,int32? Was this previously created and then later renamed, meaning was it originally created to receive float values and you reconfigured it later to receive string values.

Here I'm again with my UFL,

Now I'm trying to test my UFL on another virtual computer with the help of Remote Desktop Connection.
I have a virtual desktop and I have a virtual server with a certain IP adres.
I made a trust for this computer, I made a trust for the buffer (pibuffss.exe) which I need to use for this computer and I made a mapping for the virtual computer.

I start PI ICU in the virtual computer and first check the SDK connection (Interface > SDK connection), there I check the PI server box and under Network node I enter the IP adres of the virtual server which is made by the IT department. I check the port number and fill in a a username. I click save and PI asks for a PI server login. Whatever I try this doesn't work, even I fill in my own credentials which I already tested on my own computer, this don't work. Therefore I just simply fill in piadmin and this works.

Then I do "new windows interface from exe", I select the UFL.exe file, I check the server and under Path I got the IP adres of my virtual server. I choose the point source and so on. Without the buffer I don't get my data read, also I got some problems with setting the buffer. I disabled the buffer on my own computer, because we can only use one buffer in total and I check the PI buffer box (tools > buffering). I then look in PI buffer subsystem service. There I fill in the username and pasword of the virtual computer and I get a pasword/username disagreement. Therefore I tested this with my own username and pasword, because I know that this worked on my own computer, but this also didn't worked.

So to recapitulate I don't know exactly how to set the virtual server on my virtual computer, I'm not able to read data and I'm not able to set the buffer on the virtual computer.
Please help.

I tried the netmask of 255.255.255.555 this didn't work. The netmask of the virtual computer is 255.255.255.0. I don't know if this matter.

My set up is exactly as you describe it UFL source (in my case serial) > UFL (on virtual machine) > PI server (virtual server).
I tried the API PI server this also doesn't work.
The problem with reading the data I figured out is because of problems with the serial com port, now I'm figuring out this problem.

Thanks for the help.

No the VM(client) and VM(server) are not on the same computer.