AMiT ATOUCH32 DB-Net communication protocol

Supported device types and versions
Communication line configuration
Communication station configuration
DB-Net initialization
I/O tag configuration
Errors and problems
Literature
Changes and modifications
Document revisions

Supported device types and versions

The protocol supports data acquisition using devices from the AMiT company (ADiS modular control system and ART267, ART4000, AMiRiS, and AMAP compatible control systems and others) via a DB-Net communication network. Communication requires the installation of the ATOUCH32 driver to communicate in a DB-Net ATOUCH32 network (you can download it at http://www.amit.cz). Communication was tested and tuned for the ATOUCH32 driver of V2.10, V2.30, V2.40, V2.60, V2.90, and V3.30 versions.

Limitations: The protocol does not support database variables of "self station", i.e. on the computer with ATOUCH32 driver running but allows to read/write variables on process stations. The DB-Net driver can be used by just one application (in our case the D2000 KOM process) at the same time.

When using the older versions of ATOUCH32 V2.x, just one communication line for DB-Net communication must be configured. ATOUCH32 V3.x versions enable so-called multithreading. It means, you may connect more lines, which will communicate in parallel, to ATOUCH32 and speed up the communication. The driver must be initialized only by one line (see "Init File" parameter, note 2). However, the rule that all lines must be configured within one KOM process on one computer still applies. This feature may be used in D2000 V9.00.021 rel.021 and higher.

Note: if it is necessary to create multiple lines (where communication with AMiT is via TCP and the IP address is configured in the UDP section in the initialization file), each line must be configured using a separate KOM process.

Example of a dbnet.ini file with a network-connected AMiT:

[General]
MyStation=0

[UDP]
Address=172.16.1.20
Station=1

Communication line configuration

• communication line category: API.

Communication line parameters

Communication line - configuration dialog box - the Protocol parameter tab.
Parameters defined in the field have an effect on some optional protocol parameters. The following line protocol parameters can be defined:

Table 1

Communication station configuration

• Communication protocol: AMiT ATOUCH32 DB-Net.
• The station address is the device address in the DB-Net network (value of the “Station” item in the initialization string/file - a 16-bit number). Neither the configuration nor the network can contain two stations with the same address including the address of "self station".

Communication station parameters

Communication station - configuration dialog box - tab Protocol parameter.
Parameters defined in the field influence some optional protocol parameters. The following station protocol parameters can be defined:

Table 2

DB-Net initialization

When starting, the DB-Net driver requires to get the configuration file or string containing the DB-Net network configuration for a particular application. If you use the communication via standard COM port, it is possible to avoid creating the configuration file on disk using the My Station, COM Port, and COM Speed station protocol parameters which must be configured for one of the stations.

If the Init File line protocol parameter is specified for a line (at least one), then the My Station, COM Port, and COM Speed protocol parameters will be ignored on all the stations. Instead, the configuration file on the disk (the path of which is defined by the Init File line protocol parameter) will be used.
For further information on the file contents, see the ATOUCH32 online help.

Example: configuration file contents:

[General]
MyStation=0
UDP.MyPort=222
UDP.MyPassword=111222333

[COM]
Com=2
Speed=38400
Station=1
Station=2
Station=4
Station=13

[COM]
Com=3
Speed=9600
OfsNet=32
Station=33
Station=34
Station=36
Station=45 

[UDP]
Address=192.168.168.1
Password=444555666
Offset=10
Station=10
Station=20
Station=30

[UDP]
Address="segment100.firmaXY.cz"
Password=777888999
Port=333
Offset=100
Timeout=5000
Station=105
Station=106
Station=107

I/O tag configuration

Possible I/O tag types: Ai, Ao, Ci, Co, Di, Do, TxtI, TxtO, TiA, ToA, TiR, ToR.

I/O tag address consists of:

• WID - the numerical name of the variable - a unique number within the DB-Net network. The permitted range is 0..65500, the value is assigned by the PSP3 tool or DetStudio. The number is specified as a decimal number or as a hexadecimal number with a hash at the beginning (e.g. #0A).
• Type - value type of the variable - it can be the INT, LONG, FLOAT types, and the INT MATRIX, LONG MATRIX, or FLOAT MATRIX types. The INT and INT MATRIX types are 16 bit wide; and if they are configured as Ai/Ao value types, they are interpreted as signed numbers; and if they are configured as Ci/Co value types, they are interpreted as unsigned numbers.
  LONG and LONG MATRIX types (32 bit wide) configured as Ai/Ao value types are interpreted as signed numbers and if they are configured as Ci/Co value types, they are interpreted as unsigned numbers. The FLOAT and FLOAT MATRIX types are 32-bit float numbers within the range from ±10^{-36 to ±1038}. DBNETTIME is LONG type interpreted as absolute time in DBNet format (number of seconds from 1-1-1980 0:0:0). INT MATRIX value type can be set for value types of TxtI and TxtO. Then the row from the INT matrix is interpreted as text, each INT element of the matrix represents one character. INT and LONG types can be represented as relative time - i.e. a number of seconds.

• Row, Column - value position in matrix types, the rows and columns are indexed from zero.
• Row count, Column count - In the case of value types TxtI and TxtO, only the column count can be specified, which is the text length. For other value types, the implicit value of row count and column count is 1. If the configured row count/column count is above 1, the values of the whole matrix or part of the matrix are read into the target column of a structure. A part of matrix [Row, Column .. Row+ Row count -1, Column+ Column count - 1] will be read.
  Example: Row=1, Column=2, Row count=20, Column count=30. Rows 1 to 20, columns 2 to 31 are read, i.e. part of matrix [1,2 .. 20, 31].
• Bit - bit number for the Di and Dout value types. It can be within the range of 0 - 15 for the INT and INT MATRIX types or within the range of 0 - 31 for the LONG and LONG MATRIX types.

Errors and problems

When starting or during communication, the following error messages can occur. To make the problem identification easier, set the communication tracking at least to the level Monitor (the best is to temporarily set it to Monitor & Disk). When you set the option Monitor & Disk, a file "line_name.LOG" will be created in the application subdirectory TRACE, which will contain all debug and error logs. If you are unable to correct the error and the problems still persist, please contact  IPESOFT's technical support.

Literature

• AMiT Atouch32 v3.30 online manual. Revision: 12.07.2011, Document version: 1.34.

Changes and modifications

• January 23rd, 2004 – added protocol parameter INIFILE and the possibility to configure UDP and MODEM communication.
• September 6th, 2006 - TxtI, TxtO, TiA, and ToA types added. New entry for station and line protocol parameters.
• January 8th, 2008 - changes in the configuration of matrixes, DBNETTIME, target column.
• May 22nd, 2009 - relation times added.
• October 25, 2012 - multithread for ATOUCH32.

Document revisions

• Ver. 1.0 - March 26th, 2002 - creating of document
• Ver. 1.1 – January 23rd, 2004 – document corrections after changes in the initialization
• Ver. 1.2 - September 6th, 2006 - updating
• Ver. 1.3 - January 8th, 2008 - updating
• Ver. 1.4 - May 22nd, 2009 - updating
• Ver. 1.5 - October 1st, 2009 - parameter "Max. Transactions Error"
• Ver. 1.6 - October 25, 2012 - updating