Re: [foxboro] More printer questions...

There are many viable options to make files from alarms:

1. Probably the most robust method would be to use Foxboro's FoxAMI product.
It allows you to send alarms to the Informix database (which, of course, is
already installed on any AW51x).  The product also includes a Graphical
Interface to retrieve/query stored alarms.  You can get more information
from Alex Johnson/Foxboro.

2. Foxboro also sells a package called "alm2unix".  This package allows one
to send alarm messages to this program, and, depending on configured
conditions (i.e. Compound name, Alarm Type, etc), you can invoke a Unix
shell program.  In your case, you would merely make a Unix shell program
that echoes out the alarm parameters to a file.  Alex Johnson/Foxboro is
again your contact for information for the alm2unix package.

3. If you set up your alarm messages to go to a historian, there is a file
that the historian uses to store the alarm history.  You can parse out
alarms from this file and create your own file.  This file is
"/usr/hstorian/almhist" and resides on the AW51x that is the historian host.
This file usually holds the last 1000 alarms messages.  For your specific
requirements, you would need to repeatedly monitor the file for new entries,
parse them out, and append those new alarms to your own file.  This may
require you to be a bit unix-shell-savy; so good luck on this one if you
attempt this.
I have already built this utility, so if anybody is interested, let me know.
Perhaps this would make a good Cassandra public utility?

Good Luck!

- Mark Dumond
Sr App Eng
FeedForward, Inc
Control Systems Applications
Marietta, GA 30066


-----Original Message-----
From: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Wolf, John L.
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2001 2:02 PM
To: 'foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'
Subject: [foxboro] More printer questions...



Greetings All...
We have our system alarms and process alarms printing on a dot matrix line
printer, fed by the serial cable from our AW51E.    What I would prefer
doing, is log these alarms to file instead of a printer. We could then
browse the log files  as needed and save a few trees in the process. Is
there a way to pull this off without investing hard cash into more hardware.
We're running I/A 6.1.2 on Solaris.   I currently use "serial to parallel
converters" but these have proved costly and unreliable.  Any suggestions?

          J.L. Wolf
    Systems Analyst
Tilden Mining Co. L.C.
jlwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx


___________________________________________________________________
This list is neither sponsored nor endorsed by The Foxboro Company.
Use the information obtained here at your own risk. For disclaimer,
see http://www.thecassandraproject.org/disclaimer.html#maillist

list info:   http://www.freelists.org/list/foxboro
subscribe:   mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=join
unsubscribe: mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=leave

 
 
___________________________________________________________________
This list is neither sponsored nor endorsed by The Foxboro Company.
Use the information obtained here at your own risk. For disclaimer,
see http://www.thecassandraproject.org/disclaimer.html#maillist

list info:   http://www.freelists.org/list/foxboro
subscribe:   mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=join
unsubscribe: mailto:foxboro-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=leave

Other related posts: