SCADA Expert ClearSCADA - Resource Centerresourcecenter.controlmicrosystems.com/download/attachments/... · SCADA Expert ClearSCADA 2015 R2 Release Notes Page 5 of 29 Usability Improvements

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SCADA Expert ClearSCADA Software for Telemetry & Remote SCADA Solutions

SCADA Expert ClearSCADA 2015 R2

Release Notes

SCADA Expert ClearSCADA 2015 R2 Release Notes Page 2 of 29

Contents

New Features & Enhancements ....................... .................................... 4

Performance & Scalability ......................... ........................................................... 4

Usability Improvements............................. ........................................................... 5

Refreshed Online Help Interface .................................................................................... 5

Database Search ........................................................................................................... 5

Momentary Button .......................................................................................................... 6

ViewX Fullscreen Mode ................................................................................................. 6

Trend Enhancements ..................................................................................................... 7

Locking Embedded Alarm List ........................................................................................ 8

Locate Open Object in Explorer ..................................................................................... 8

New Alarm Reprioritisation Options ................................................................................ 8

Confirmation when Moving Many Objects ...................................................................... 9

Option to Disable Script Execution ................................................................................. 9

Driver Functionality .............................. .............................................................. 10

Enhanced Kingfisher Driver Addressing ....................................................................... 10

Support for the NOCT60 .............................................................................................. 10

DNP3 XML Device Profiles .......................................................................................... 10

Enhanced Support for SCADAPack E Smart RTUs ..................................................... 11

Enhanced Pager SMS Information ............................................................................... 11

Operational Empowerment ........................... ..................................................... 12

Storage of Historic Data during Point Override ............................................................. 12

Historic Data Export to eDNA Historian ........................................................................ 12

Additional Metadata for Wonderware Historian ............................................................ 13

System Administration & Security .................. .................................................. 14

Connect Only to Fully Synchronised Server ................................................................. 14

Secure Connection to E-mail Servers .......................................................................... 14

Secure Connection to ClearSCADA Mobile Server ...................................................... 14

Changes to Default Drivers during Installation ............................................................. 15

Tightened Security of ClearSCADA System User Credentials ...................................... 15

Restrictions during ClearSCADA Upgrade ................................................................... 15

Separation of ClearSCADA Mobile and WebX Installation ........................................... 16


Wonderware System Platform Connector Installation .................................................. 16

Support for Windows 10 ............................................................................................... 16

Removal of Support for Internet Explorer 8 .................................................................. 16

Refreshed Design of Service Manager ......................................................................... 16

Licensing Changes ................................. ............................................ 18

Crystal Reports ............................................................................................................ 18

Resolved Issues & Improvements .................... ................................. 19

Installation .................................................................................................................... 19

System Configuration ................................................................................................... 19

Server .......................................................................................................................... 19

ViewX .......................................................................................................................... 23

WebX ........................................................................................................................... 25

Drivers ......................................................................................................................... 27

Mobile .......................................................................................................................... 29

Tools & Interfaces ........................................................................................................ 29


SCADA Expert ClearSCADA 2015 R2 New Features & Enhancements

Performance & Scalability There’s been a significant focus during the development of ClearSCADA 2015 R2 to improve overall performance for larger systems. Specific focus has been given to the following areas:

1. Improvements to Database Locking – priority is given to tasks writing to the database, allowing them to be processed more quickly freeing up resources

2. Asynchronous driver updates – data from ClearSCADA drivers is now loaded asynchronously, allowing the driver to continue polling while updates are processed by the server

3. Consolidation of Main-Standby transfer requests – fewer round-trips between servers gives improved historic transfer performance, especially over WAN links

4. Consolidation of client requests – pick-menu requests have been optimised, resulting in improved overall responsiveness of the User Interface

Simulations and on-site testing of the above improvements has been performed using databases ranging from 300,000 points to over 600,000 points, which has yielded some impressive results which can be summarised as follows:

• Significant reduction in synchronisation time between servers in a redundant partnership

• Significant reduction in time spent under database lock (time waiting for processes to complete before a new one can start), and

• More than 2x improvement in overall user interface responsiveness.

It is anticipated that ClearSCADA customers with smaller databases should witness similar results to the above.

Note: It is recommended that customers using external DDK driver modules review the driver architecture to avoid excessive calls to “SendReceiveObject”, as this can impact server performance. Instances where the “SendReceiveObject” method is used to read from the ClearSCADA database should be replaced with “ReadOnlySendReceiveObject” for improved performance.


Usability Improvements Refreshed Online Help Interface

The Online Help has been given a facelift in ClearSCADA 2015 R2, with a new look and structure to improve the overall user experience.

A new home screen has been added to allow direct navigation to the most common topics of interest; including Using the ViewX Interface, Operating ClearSCADA, Configuring ClearSCADA, Drivers Reference, System Administration, and more. The four larger topics include a specific homepage for each guide, allowing easier selection of specific help topics without needing to browse the full Table of Contents.

A number of useful links have been added to the footer of each page allowing easy navigation to related content. These links consist of a number of grey-coloured context-sensitive links to parent and child pages, and a number of green-coloured links to other main topics in the same guide.

In addition, other enhancements include:

• Page layout and text font has been adjusted to improve readability. • Support has been added for tablets and other small-screen devices with automatic

detection and adjustment of the layout accordingly. • The Table of Contents is hidden by default, but can easily be expanded via the

button on the left hand edge. • The search algorithm within the help has been improved for multi-word searches to

improve the accuracy of results. • Updated the help navigation buttons to reduce confusion between navigating to the

previous/next page visited and the previous/next page in the Table of Contents.

Direct context-sensitive navigation from within ViewX and other applications is still available for immediate assistance when and where you need it most.

Database Search

A new Database Search feature has been added to ClearSCADA 2015 R2 to simplify the locating of objects, especially useful within large databases when their position within the database hierarchy is unknown.

Database Search is conveniently located on the Ribbon and opens within a tool window that can be docked at your desired location within the User Interface, or pinned for quick access when you need it. Advanced search options are provided to modify the search algorithm, including searching by Name or FullName, and restriction by database object type, case, and server where ViewX has multiple active server connections.

The display of the result-set is limited to 50 entries within the tool window, at which time the user is able to open the full query within a new list window to allow further analysis.


Momentary Button

A new dual-action button is available in ClearSCADA 2015 R2 that can execute two separate actions without needing client-side script or logic programming. The Momentary Button can be configured with one action that is executed when the button is first clicked, and a second action to be executed when the button is released.

The Momentary Button is available as a new ‘Style’ on the Button properties configuration page.

Note: Once the user has activated the button and executed the first configured action, it is not possible to abort the execution of the second action, if one has been configured.

Note: This button is not suitable for use with Object Menu, Hyperlink, ViewX Command or System Command pick actions or pick actions that require input of user password, notes or manual confirmation. In addition, scripts which require time to complete (e.g. scripts including queries, delays, etc) can result in improper operation of the button.

Search for “Momentary Button” within the ClearSCADA Online Help documentation for more information on limitations and acceptable use of the Momentary Button.

ViewX Fullscreen Mode

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 includes new launch options to completely remove the ViewX Ribbon and/or Quick Access Toolbar from view to replicate functionality provided in ClearSCADA 2013 R2 and earlier versions, allowing the mimic to occupy more of the screen real-estate.

Fullscreen options are provided via a new “ToolbarMode” parameter within the ViewX Startup Configuration File, and can be applied to the Primary and/or any Secondary window containers as required.

Parameter Value Action

HideRibbon Hides the ribbon on the Primary window container, including all the tabs. Not necessary on Secondary window containers.

HideQAT Hides the Quick Access Toolbar, available on both the Primary and Secondary window containers.

HideAllMenus Hides both the Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar, available on both the Primary and Secondary window containers.


Trend Enhancements

The trending interface within ClearSCADA 2015 R2 has been enhanced to provide improved x-axis scrolling options, historic alarm indication, configurable fading of unselected traces, and now uses local-time in aggregate plots, as detailed below.

Jump Mode

An additional trend scrolling mode called “Jump Mode” has been added to trends that will behave as Non-Continuous (i.e. the axis remains fixed and doesn’t scroll with time) but will jump to a new period when the current time exceeds the end time on the X axis. This is valuable when users wish to maintain a consistent trend view that doesn’t continually scroll, yet still moves automatically to display current time.

Jump Mode is available as a new checkbox option within the ‘Edit Time Axis’ dialog.

Historic Alarm Indication

Alarm trend markers have been modified to display in a different colour to reflect the alarm state of the point at the time of the sample. The ClearSCADA Colour Palette has been extended to provide a new colour called “Trend – Data in Alarm State” which is used when the marker needs to indicate alarm state.

The existing trend marker colour scheme will apply when the point is not in the alarm state, however the “Trend – Bad Data” and “Trend – Unvalidated Data” colours will be applied in higher priority to the new “Trend – Data in Alarm State” if the trend data is also bad or unvalidated respectively.

Configurable Fading of Unselected Traces and Axes

Fading of unselected traces and axes on a trend is now configurable, allowing fading duration to be adjusted according to user preference, or to be disabled completely.

ViewX users can individually define whether fading should be applied to trends’ traces and axes via the ViewX Options dialog, and if so, the duration of the time taken to implement the fading. Similar settings are also available within the Server Configuration tool for WebX, where a common setting is applied for all WebX users.

Local Time used in Trend Aggregate Plots and Histor ic Tags

Processed Historic Traces now use a user’s Local Time for the data retrieval interval, instead of being constrained to UTC time. This correctly calculates aggregations configured within the Trend Aggregate configuration, and aligns these correctly on the time axis.

Intelligent Scrolling of Time-Axis

Trends with continuous scrolling enabled no longer automatically begin scrolling the time-axis until the trace fills 90% of the screen area, in order to take advantage of the available screen real-estate.


Locking Embedded Alarm List

The embedded alarm list has been enhanced in ClearSCADA 2015 R2 by adding ability to ‘lock’ certain elements so they cannot be modified by runtime users.

Configurable options include sorting, filtering and resizing of columns, as unintentional adjustment of these parameters may result in display of an Alarm List that doesn’t reflect the active alarms of the system as expected (for example, if the user has inadvertently filtered the list to remove visibility of some of the database, or sorted by Source instead of Severity).

New configuration options are available within the Embedded Alarm List Properties dialog.

Locate Open Object in Explorer

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 now allows users to locate an open document within the Database or OPC Explorer bar to reinstate functionality provided in ClearSCADA 2013 R2 and earlier versions. A new “Locate” button has been added to the Ribbon, which has default action of Locate in Database Explorer, and additional drop-down option to Locate in OPC Data Explorer.

Clicking on the Locate button will display (if not already shown) the respective Explorer Bar, and locate and highlight the active database object, bringing the Explorer Bar into active focus. The Locate button is not available to users without permission to view the Database Explorer.

New Alarm Reprioritisation Options

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 introduces enhancements to alarm reprioritisation functionality that will cause an alarm to be reprioritised, and then prompt any associated alarm redirections to be re-evaluated, and update the visible time of the alarm condition.

This is provided as the following new arguments to the “Reprioritise” method on the CAlarm class in conjunction with the existing “PriorityDelta” argument:

Argument Name Type Comment

ReevaluateRedirections BOOL Re-evaluates associated redirections

UpdateVisibleTime BOOL Updates the visible time of the alarm


Confirmation when Moving Many Objects

Confirmation is now required within ViewX if a group containing more than 20 objects is moved via drag-and-drop within the database hierarchy so as to protect against inadvertent changes in database structure, and alert the user that the operation may take some time to complete.

Option to Disable Script Execution

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 introduces a new command-line switch to ViewX which will disable script execution for the session.

This new “/noscript” switch can be used to allow scripts to be edited without them running when a mimic is opened, for circumstances where a script is configured to run automatically resulting in undesired behaviour.


Driver Functionality Enhanced Kingfisher Driver Addressing

The Outstation Addressing rules have been relaxed in ClearSCADA 2015 R2 such that only the combined addressing of an Outstation and its Outstation Set are required to be unique within the database, instead of requiring each individual Outstation to have a unique address across the entire database irrespective of the Outstation Set to which it is attached.

See below for some example configurations and their validity within ClearSCADA 2015 R2:

Summary Configuration Result

Multiple RTUs with the same address connected to separate Outstation Sets with unique addresses (e.g. Outstation 148 connected to Outstation Set 10, plus separate Outstation 148 connected to Outstation Set 20, on separate Channels)

• Chan1: O148 + OS10 • Chan2: O148 + OS20

Valid

Uniquely-addressed RTUs connected to separate Outstation Sets each with the same address

• Chan1: O148 + OS10 O149 + OS10 • Chan2: O150 + OS10 O151 + OS10

Valid

Support for the NOCT60

Schneider Electric’s Net Oil Coriolis Transmitter, the NOCT60, is a new product which is based on a combination of the Foxboro CFT51 Coriolis Flow Transmitter, and the Schneider Electric Realflo Flow Computer. The NOCT60 provides cost effective measurement of Oil, Water, and Gas by measuring the production streams from the gas and liquid legs of 2 or 3 phase production separators, or in some cases from a production stream direct from a well with little or no separation.

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 includes support for the NOCT60 via an extension of existing Realflo driver. Selection of the NOCT60 is now available for Liquid and Water runs within ClearSCADA, including configuration of associated Pressure Compensation on Liquid runs.

DNP3 XML Device Profiles

The DNP3 Device Profiles are made more accessible in ClearSCADA 2015 R2, updating to the standard XML document format for consistency.

These files, along with the same for IEC60870 and DNP3 WITS if the respective drivers are selected at install time, are loaded into an InteropDocuments folder within the ClearSCADA program directory during installation, so they’re always accessible for reference.


Enhanced Support for SCADAPack E Smart RTUs

Enhanced SCADAPack E Smart RTU functionality available in firmware version 8.12.2 (or above) is supported within ClearSCADA 2015 R2 to provide continued interoperability. The enhancements are as follows:

• Support for configuration of additional 5000-series I/O modules, including: o 5304: Analog Output Module o 5405: Digital Input Module o 5414: Compact Digital Input Module o 5415: Compact Relay Digital Output Module o 5506: Analog Input Module

• Configuration of the Modbus Scanner read/write group, used to set the operation that the Modbus Master or Modbus Client performs on the Modbus Slave or Modbus Server.

• Configuration of the bit and byte ordering for Modbus Scanner registers.

Please refer to associated SCADAPack E Smart RTU documentation (firmware version 8.12.2 or later) for further information on the new functionality available in this firmware release.

Enhanced Pager SMS Information

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 now exposes the text of the last SMS message that has been received to allow other processes (e.g. Logic) to be triggered based on receipt of a new message and respond accordingly.

In addition, the new alarm condition that is raised if an incoming message is unable to be parsed now has a separate severity so that this alarm can be disabled.


Operational Empowerment Storage of Historic Data during Point Override

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 allows for storage of historic data collected from external devices while the point is overridden, whereas previously this historic data was neither captured by ClearSCADA nor recorded historically. ClearSCADA now stores overridden data as historic values upon receipt, using a flag to denote them as ‘Put Aside’ data values.

Trends can be configured to display the Put Aside data via a new option within the Trace’s Advanced Source Configuration options, which is only available when displaying a Raw Historic Trace . The new Extended Source Filter selection allows for Raw or Put Aside data to be chosen exclusively, not a combination thereof.

Note: Since Put-Aside data is only available on Raw Historic Traces, it does not take part in Historic Aggregates or Calculations of any sort.

Historic Data Export to eDNA Historian

Wonderware eDNA Historian - now part of the Schneider Electric software portfolio - is a real-time enterprise data historian that collects, archives, displays, analyses and reports on operational, smart device and asset health related information. eDNA collects continuously streaming time-series data from critical control, monitoring and smart devices and then archives this data using an advanced storage and 100% lossless compression technology.

A native interface between ClearSCADA 2015 R2 and eDNA Historian has been created to facilitate the expansion of an existing ClearSCADA system to easily include a centralised enterprise Historian while continuing to capitalise on your existing software investment, providing secure real-time visibility with advanced user applications.

The eDNA Historian can be used to unify data from multiple ClearSCADA systems into a central enterprise repository, leveraging the redundancy features existing in both ClearSCADA and eDNA to provide high availability. The interface includes local buffering of historical data to provide resilience against temporary communications failures without loss of data.

The interface is configured within a new “eDNA Historian” object within ClearSCADA, including options for Data Packet Acknowledgement, Queueing and Data Caching to optimise performance. Individual ClearSCADA points can either opt-in or opt-out to export their historic data via this interface, so only the important data is published across a remote connection.


Additional Metadata for Wonderware Historian

Metadata stored within the ClearSCADA database can now be transferred to Wonderware Historian to give additional context to the historic data exported from ClearSCADA.

The following table gives details of the Wonderware Historian predefined tag properties to which you can map a ClearSCADA metadata field. It also shows the “Type” that you need to enter in the Edit Data Field window when you create the metadata field.

Wonderware Historian Predefined Property

ClearSCADA Metadata Field Type

EngineeringUnit WH_EngineeringUnit String

IntegralDivisor WH_IntegralDivisor Double

MaxEU WH_MaxEU Double

MinEU WH_MinEU Double

RolloverValue WH_RolloverValue Double

TagDescription WH_TagDescription String

TagInterpolationType WH_TagInterpolationType Long


System Administration & Security Connect Only to Fully Synchronised Server

A client configured to prioritise to a local server will typically prefer to connect to a standby server with synchronised real-time and configuration data but not history, as this will enable faster browsing and operation for the client. As an alternative, ViewX clients can now be configured to connect only to a fully-synchronised ClearSCADA Standby server, providing the user confidence that they have visibility of all logged historic data within the server’s configured historic lifetime, and that data is not still in the process of being transferred from the Main server (excepting data recently collected from field devices).

During a period of server synchronisation, rejected client connections will be ‘bumped’ to an alternate server if one is available; if no server is available the client will be unable to connect. Clients that have been ‘bumped’ to a fully-synchronised server will remain on this active server connection even after the initial server’s synchronisation process is complete to save an unnecessary interruption to their session.

Secure Connection to E-mail Servers

ClearSCADA’s E-Mail facility used by Alarm Redirections and Crystal Reports has been enhanced in ClearSCADA 2015 R2 to be more secure. E-Mail now supports Secure Password Authentication for SMTP and encryption for both SMTP and POP3 connections.

The E-Mail configuration options within ClearSCADA Server Configuration tool has been expanded to include new checkbox option to enable secure connection, and selection of the associated minimum supported encryption protocol.

Secure Connection to ClearSCADA Mobile Server

The connection between the ClearSCADA Server and ClearSCADA Mobile Server has been enhanced in ClearSCADA 2015 R2 to be more secure. This interface now includes an option to enable an SSL connection and to enter an associated Server DNS name. When enabled, the equivalent settings should also be enabled and configured within the ClearSCADA Mobile Configuration tool on the ClearSCADA Mobile Server.

This secure connection does not include support for Self-Signed Certificates, although a local Certificate Authority can be created using freely available cryptographic tools to establish a trust relationship between the ClearSCADA Server and ClearSCADA Mobile Server, allowing a secure connection to be established for testing purposes without purchasing a certificate.

We strongly recommend a certificate is purchased from an internationally trusted Certificate Authority (e.g. VeriSign, DigiCert) before deploying ClearSCADA Mobile into a production environment.


Changes to Default Drivers during Installation

The default drivers installed as part of a new Full installation of ClearSCADA 2015 R2 have been modified as follows:

Tightened Security of ClearSCADA System User Creden tials

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 implements tighter restrictions of system user credentials that are stored encrypted within the Windows Registry.

System user credentials, including those used by ClearSCADA for System Calls, Printing, Backup, E-Mail, File Upload, and Server Performance Monitor, can no longer be copied between ClearSCADA servers, as this will result in the credentials being erased from the destination server on system start-up, and these credentials will need to be re-entered via the ClearSCADA Server Configuration tool.

Similarly, restoring a backup of the Windows Registry containing System Credentials to a new server will also cause stored system user credentials to be invalid.

Restrictions during ClearSCADA Upgrade

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 enforces new restrictions during upgrade to prevent inadvertently upgrading to an older ClearSCADA version which could have unexpected consequences.

For example, an upgrade from ClearSCADA 2013 R1.2 (73.4955) to ClearSCADA 2013 R2 (74.5094) is valid because 5094 > 4955. In comparison, an upgrade from ClearSCADA 2013 R2.2 (74.5700) to ClearSCADA 2014 R1 (75.5210) is not recommended because 5210 < 5700, even though it is an increase in the minor version number, as this may reintroduce bugs that have been fixed in the later version.

ClearSCADA should only be upgraded to a newer version that has a higher build number than the currently installed version.

Removed from default installation

Added to default installation

AB DF1 IEC 60870

OPC XML-DA SCADAPack 50

Modbus – Simple

OPC – Simple

EWS – Simple


Separation of ClearSCADA Mobile and WebX Installati on

To rectify challenges during upgrade to ClearSCADA 2015 R1 for existing ClearSCADA Mobile users, the installation of ClearSCADA Mobile and WebX has been separated in ClearSCADA 2015 R2 to provide a simplified upgrade experience. The WebX installation will be executed after successful installation of ClearSCADA 2015 R2, whereas the installation of ClearSCADA Mobile will need to be manually executed if required via the link on the ClearSCADA installation Splash Screen.

Note: Existing installations of ClearSCADA 2015 R1 Web and Mobile will first need to be uninstalled prior to installation of ClearSCADA 2015 R2. Mobile users running versions prior to ClearSCADA 2015 R1 should be able to upgrade to ClearSCADA 2015 R2 without first uninstalling ClearSCADA Mobile.

Wonderware System Platform Connector Installation

The connector for Wonderware System Platform’s ArchestrA Service Bus (ASB) has been removed from within the ClearSCADA installation and placed separately on the ClearSCADA installation DVD (within a new ‘Connectors’ directory) for installation as required.

The ASB connector should be installed alongside Wonderware System Platform.

Refreshed Design of Service Manager

The interface of the Service Manager in ClearSCADA 2015 R2 has been refreshed to simplify the visibility and control of the installed ClearSCADA processes.

Support for Windows 10

ClearSCADA 2015 R2 now includes support for Windows 10, including continued support for Internet Explorer 11 browser.

Windows 10 now includes a new Edge browser; however Internet Explorer 11 is available under Tools -> Accessories, and should be used with WebX for remote access to ClearSCADA to give full support for mimic displays.

Removal of Support for Internet Explorer 8

The update to the Online Help for ClearSCADA 2015 R2 requires Internet Explorer 9 or above Web Browser to be installed, therefore Internet Explorer 8 is no longer officially supported for use with ClearSCADA 2015 R2.


Removal of Support for Android 2.1 (Eclair) Operati ng System

Enhancements to the method of retrieving and acknowledging alarms from mobile devices has necessitated removal of support for Android’s “Eclair” Operating System, version 2.1.

Existing ClearSCADA Mobile customers using Android Eclair Operating System should first update their Android mobile device to Froyo Operating System (version 2.2), or later, before upgrading to ClearSCADA 2015 R2.

ClearSCADA Mobile customers running iOS devices are unaffected by this change.


Licensing Changes

Crystal Reports

SAP has changed the way that it licenses Crystal Reports, which impacts the components that are used by ClearSCADA to generate and display Crystal Reports directly within its User Interface applications. SAP now requires that each operational installation of the Crystal Reports runtime module used within a server application requires a license.

Schneider Electric is obligated to implement the above SAP licensing rules for Crystal Reports, and will require that each new ClearSCADA server that requires the use of the Crystal Reports runtime be correctly licensed. Therefore, the purchase of a new ClearSCADA server that requires the use of Crystal Reports runtime will incur an additional license cost to cover the runtime component - as Schneider Electric is required to purchase this from SAP on behalf of our customers.

Furthermore, we are required to apply the above Crystal Reports runtime licensing rules retroactively for customers already using Crystal Reports. As a result, ClearSCADA users that request an upgrade of their existing ClearSCADA license after the release of ClearSCADA 2015 R2 will be required to purchase a new Crystal Reports runtime license per server to continue to use Crystal Reports.

As a result of the above, the SAP Crystal Reports runtime modules are no longer selected by default during installation of ClearSCADA pre-requisites.

The ClearSCADA server does not need Crystal Reports itself to be installed or any additional Crystal Reports license codes to be entered.

Note: Depending on your system architecture, a Crystal Reports Runtime license may not be required for each ClearSCADA server. For example, Permanent Standby ClearSCADA servers typically do not require the Crystal Reports driver to be operational, and therefore do not require a Crystal Reports runtime license.

Note: ClearSCADA users that do not use Crystal Reports are not impacted by this change.

More information will be available prior to the implementation of the above Crystal Reports licensing changes.


Resolved Issues & Improvements

Installation

• The Visual C++ 2010 and later redistributables now attempt to install regardless of whether already installed in an attempt to avoid situations where mis-installed components from other vendors caused errors within ClearSCADA.

• Changed setup process to check the Crystal prerequisites for installation if a version is already installed.

• Improved Mobile installer .NET detection. • Fixed removal of ClearSCADA IIS site on uninstallation. • Updated Mobile and WebX installer features for WCF in server 2012/R2.

System Configuration

• Improved the URI handling to cater for system names containing a space character. • Configuration of incoming email now requires that the E-Mail Alarm

Acknowledgement keyword be present. • Fixed Wonderware Historian export so that store and forward path can be configured

using the Server Configuration tool. • Fixed issue where Server Configuration tool would show the wrong value default

value for Heartbeat Timeout if no registry entry exists. • Removed warning that server restart is required when Alarm Summary enabled or

disabled from within server configuration tool. • Improved handling of invalid server settings. • Fixed possible exception within the Database Manager when trying to edit or remove

a database server but none is selected. • Fixed Database Manager so that editing a database doesn't change the database

location (to a sub-folder of the database configuration folder), or invalidate the Super User account.

• Fixed problem where keyboard focus could get lost whilst navigating through the different entries in the Server Configuration tool.

Server

• Fixed potential exception within the Server that could occur when saving or importing template instances containing objects that have been converted from an Abstract object in the template.

• Corrected propagation of template properties when converting a nested instance. • Stopped instances that containing local objects not allowed in templates from being

moved into templates.


Server – cont.

• Stopped template integrity check skipping check of instance object properties that are not overridden by the controlling template when the instance is nested inside another instance.

• Updated template transaction progress messages to correctly report the current transaction number.

• Fixed import & merge to a WITS point or pulse action in a template so that it doesn't change the matching points in the instances of the template with regards whether the points exist in their outstation's WITS bulk configuration. The points in the instances may be on different outstations or have different point numbers than the matching point in the template and therefore they must independently determine whether they exist in their outstation.

• Fixed potential server exception that could occur when downloading incremental configuration to a WITS outstation which fails and the outstation generates an error log file which contains an error for a point not in the database.

• Corrected recording of a Logic Program instance's Write Output Time. • Stopping Logic driver will now attempt to abort long running SQL queries. • Fixed scenario where an integrity check failure may occur when importing logic set to

execute "On Input Processed". • Added Moving Range historic aggregate. • Updated the SAP Crystal Reports runtime for .NET Framework 4 to support pack 15,

which includes Windows 10 support. • Changed the standby main server deadlock detection mechanism to be optional, and

added a configurable threshold in seconds to make the mechanism controllable. • Fixed scenario where server exception may occur when using subqueries redirected

through “SELECT *”. • In normal/deployed operation following an exception, DBServer now can only be

shutdown. • A standby will now go Main if the main database is locked for longer than the poll

timeout interval. This check can be disabled by setting the Registry entry under Server\StandbyServerDeadlockDetection to false.

• Improved main-standby alarm redirection process to reduce excessive CPU consumption on the Standby.

• Corrected email redirection retries. • Invalid argument counts in SQL query are now trapped. • Delayed lockout of user accounts is now indicated as temporary in the Event Journal. • Query processor CAST now handles time in UTC irrespective of format used. • Corrected Alarm Redirection message substitution so that it correctly includes the

user configured alarm source if present. • Prevented possible exception on standby whilst importing configuration that includes

historic exports. • Prevented possible corruption of historic export data when synchronising to standby

servers. • Fixed various issues caused when the server processes a request after the link to the

client that made the request has been closed.


Server – cont.

• Fixed potential server exception that could occur where heartbeat monitor received invalid data.

• Fixed internal database index for indexed array reference fields to handle changing the referenced objects in a field to be in a different order (e.g. reverse order), which would trigger a database integrity error.

• Corrected application of time constraints for left outer joins. • Improved the error reporting when a non-secure connection is attempted to a server

which only allows secure connections. • Fixed a potential lock issue, where a non-interlocked variable has the potential to not

be correctly memory fenced. • Changed 'Server Label' property of Archive object to always be overridden to avoid

integrity check failures on upgrade from ClearSCADA 2013 R2 or earlier versions. • Fixed standby transfer compatibility when upgrading a version that includes standby

historic request consolidation to a later minor version with an earlier build number. • Prevent potential server exception that could occur after creating an instance of

CeNetOS. • Corrected Alarm Summary table so entry is created when a disabled active alarm is

deleted. Corrected text displayed for Source Message field in the Alarm Summary table.

• Fixed removal of alarms from Alarm Summary active alarm list on standby server when text alarms are cleared.

• Fixed potential server exception that could occur if importing analogue points when the database is saving.

• Defined 'ORDER BY' clauses are now forwarded to the Query Processor. • Fixed potential server exception or incorrect result that could occur when converting

a variant from B_STR to INT64. • Added support for exporting of CHisArchive configuration to older versions. • Added callbacks for Alarm Summary Add, Delete and Update synchronisation. • Fixed issue where Alarm Summary record fields not initialised correctly (based upon

alarm state) during upgrade. • Fixed issue where alarm condition sequence numbers were not updated as

expected. • Fixed issue where Alarm Summary sequence not initialised correctly during server

upgrade. • Fixed issue that allowed Import/Merge from importing Users or User Groups into a

group without security permissions. • Modify Range of historic data values corrected to avoid deletion of raw records. • Fixed issue where Link status not refreshed or initialised correctly. • Fixed issue where unaccept time not passed through to event processing when

unaccepting an alarm. • Fixed issue where Ack time not reset for Alarm Summary entries when an alarm is

enabled. • Added EvtSeqNumberEnabled and EvtSeqNumberDisabled to alarms.


Server – cont.

• Fixed issues with Alarm Summary record inactive time during upgrade and when an inactive time index is used.

• Added SleepContext to alarm refresh. • Optimised the calculation of the data table memory size diagnostic. • Modified DB memory calculation process so the calculation adheres to the 100ms

time slice allocated to it. • Fixed issue where network restoration could lead to two arbitrations. • Corrected updating Alarm Acknowledge time and user in the Alarm Summary. • Fixed potential server exception that could occur when Standby Link Monitors are not

stopped. • ClearSCADA should no longer cause Windows to send an LDAP request when

establishing a secure session. • Corrected Main-Standby historic records' synchronisation to avoid duplicated records

on standby servers. • Database objects are now revalidated after upgrading a system as the configuration

validation errors saved in the database may be out-of-date. • Fixed SQL queries on the CDBAlarmSummary table which are constrained by

RecordTime and an active alarm has a time exactly on the boundary of the constraints.

• Fixed potential server exception that could occur in main-standby heart-beating. • Fixed issues that could occur when using SQL UPDATE to move or rename objects. • Fixed access violation within the Query Processor's logging method. • Fixed potential exception that could occur in ICMP polling mechanism. • Fixed potential server exception that could occur as a result of a mismatch between

Server Status structure and Server Status values. • Fixed potential server exception that could occur when logic continued to execute on

a newly demoted Main. • Fixed Alarm Summary record ID handling so that alarms in aggregates and alarms

for deleted objects can be used in dynasets, and will be properly handled by a query. • Disconnections of a DMZ Permanent Standby now correctly reset the historic transfer

state on the Main server, so that a full synchronisation is attempted on reconnection. • Fixed potential heap corruption within Alarm Banner methods. • Added a new 'DUMP' command to SCXCMD that outputs the content of database

files to text files. The command supports configuration, data, structure, module data and transaction (header only) database files.

• ClearSCADA can now run as any user and still do ICMP polls. • Prevented server exception which could occur when using FORMATVALUE with

SELECT within USING clause. • Prevented a server exception which could occur as a result of excessive SQL query

progress messages which caused overflow of the Windows message queue. • Fixed provisional logon when used in Main-Standby environments with Windows

authenticated users. • Prevented server exception which could occur when modifying template expression

override.


ViewX

• Newly created instances are now automatically placed into 'rename' mode to allow the instance to be dragged/dropped within the Database Explorer.

• Keyboard focus in the Database Explorer has been improved when a tree node is selected programmatically.

• Database hierarchy improved to select the collapsed parent node if the previously selected item has been hidden.

• Improved the handling for tag synchronisation whilst maintaining user interface responsiveness.

• Mimic Navigator no longer flags non-object Pick Action hyperlinks as invalid. • Fixed the enumeration of items on a mimic layer from script so that the last item can

be indexed. • Improved user interface responsiveness when saving property overrides. • Improved user interface responsiveness when closing the "Select Properties" dialog

in template properties editor without making any changes. • Removed the 'Caps Lock is on' warning message when the document is closed. • Fixed a potential exception that could occur when moving group with ~10000 objects

to another group. • A version mismatch error is now displayed if an older client attempts to open a

document saved in a newer format. • Alarm bell is now Enabled, Disabled, and silenced across the ViewX instance. • Fixed issue which allowed alarm bell to be sounded on ad hoc alarm lists. • Corrected alarm bell sound in ViewX so that it plays the correct sound for the highest

severity alarm. • Fixed problems with some strings being truncated or not localised when a user with a

French locale is logged on. • Pick menu denied permissions are now applied to the context menu for Trends for

the following commands: Annotations sub-menu, Insert/Modify Data, Modify Range Of Values, Delete Data, Validate Data.

• Fixed problem with hand control dialog not displaying floating point values correctly when a foreign locale is active.

• Fixed potential exception that could occur when opening a mimic exported from ClearSCADA 2015 R1 that contained indirect reference animations.

• Forms in ViewX now allow the full range of values to be entered into 64-bit integer fields (both signed and unsigned).

• Added http query support to ViewX (WITS Device Profile). • Fixed Secondary window full screen display not filling the monitor. • Fixed potential exception that could occur when clicking on a symbol in the symbol

mimic of the example projects. • Fixed potential ViewX exception that could occur when opening or navigating

between successive documents. • Implemented Provisional Logon from ViewX clients, to maintain Exclusive Control

across changes of roles/failures of hot standby servers. • Fixed intermittent exception that could occur within ViewX whilst editing property

overrides.


ViewX – cont.

• Added missing support for unsigned integer metadata fields to the metadata editor in ViewX. This allows 'unsigned word', 'unsigned long' and 'unsigned long long' fields to be created.

• Fixed potential exception that could occur when opening a mimic which contains one or more empty embedded mimics.

• Fixed potential exception that could occur when displaying a Trend, XY Plot or XYZ Plot containing one or more traces.

• Fixed potential exception that could occur when running a query containing a FORMATVALUE with a format string of NULL.

• Fixed memory leak caused by non-shared embedded mimics not being de-allocated after navigating to another mimic.

• Improved user interface responsiveness whilst loading a mimic whilst tags are being synchronised (the standard 'busy' swirl is now displayed if needed).

• Fixed potential exception that could occur when displaying the filter dialog when the query references a base column name in the WHERE clause.

• The client advise link stall timeout is now configurable in the registry, under Server\ClientStallTimeout. The default is 120 seconds, and should only be changed if specific problems are being seen under advice from technical support.

• Prevented potential exception that could occur when opening an inset window via a pick action on an embedded list.

• Fixed potential exception that could occur when clicking "Add Action" of advanced pick menu dialog.

• “#” character in list hyperlinks no longer prevents navigation. • Fixed an issue preventing display of the Event List's 'Severity' column tooltip. • Improved the error reporting when trying to save a document with an invalid name

into a document store. • Column widths in an embedded alarm list are now maintained between different

user/locale logons. Column header labels are also translated on a locale change. • Copying a group or template which contains more than 20 child objects to another

system now displays a confirmation dialog warning the user this may take some time. • Embedding a mimic which previously had content but is now empty, displays a

'Cannot embed an empty mimic' error message. • Prevented potential exception that could occur when copying objects between

systems via drag and drop. • The commands on the application menu are now updated correctly once the security

dialog (logon, logoff, change password etc.) is closed. • Prevented potential exception that could occur when using 'Menu.Display' within a

script. • Closed the 'Mimic Properties' dialog after the 'Edit Script' command is invoked. • Removed gradient brush resources from the cache when toggling design mode. • Fixed problem where instantiating a ViewX client via COM could sometimes cause

the caller process to hang indefinitely. • Fixed potential exception that could occur when launching a new ViewX instance via

COM.


ViewX – cont.

• Allow alarms to be sorted by Category on a ViewX client. • Fixed issue with animations defined on embedded mimics not working until a manual

refresh/mouse over/document resize operation. • 'Animate Parameter' option in the Advanced Pick Action dialog can now be disabled

once it has been enabled. • Fixed column height for lists when a column header contains one or more new-line

characters. • Added support for showing a key for embedded dynagraphs within ViewX. • Improved usability for accessing the trace properties context-menu for XYZ Plots. • Fixed issue where processed historic graphs ignored the "Extend to Now" setting. • Added a horizontal scrollbar to the delete consequences list if needed. • Removed Locate in Template from Instance menu when the instance is not in a

template. • Prevented list-view columns from resizing to less than the desired width in ViewX. • Greyed out 'Add' and 'Remove' buttons for array fields on forms in ViewX when

necessary, such as on a disabled aggregate (e.g. historic export). • Fixed issue where cursor left+right keys no longer worked when editing an object's

name in Database Explorer. • Fixed scenario where blink was not working as expected for mimic content. • Prevented potential ViewX exception that could occur when opening a mimic

containing an embedded mimic which has previously been deleted. • Fixed attempting to draw alarm limit traces outside the visible range of trends. • Removed the sequence number (SeqNo) column from Alarm Summary lists. • Control dialog now contains an additional 'point name' field, which has been removed

from the dialog caption. This field will word-wrap if needed (using embedded spaces), to accommodate a long point name.

• Fixed potential ViewX exception that could occur when closing a deleted mimic whilst logged on in single document mode.

• Fixed potential exception within object pick menus that could occur when ViewX is running in single document mode.

• Fixed exception that could occur when closing mimics containing embedded content. • Fixed exception that could occur when navigating between mimics using the script

events Mimic_Load and Mimic_Navigate. • Initiated sound of the alarm bell on ViewX startup for displayed embedded alarm lists. • Fixed exception that could occur when exporting a large database.

WebX

• Fixed inconsistent behaviour for embedded alarm list context menu. • Can now unacknowledge alarm without comment, and remove with comment an

unacknowledged alarm from alarm banner. • Added logging to log licenses in use when the total changes.


WebX – cont.

• Column widths in an embedded alarm list in old WebX are maintained between different user/locale logons.

• Fixed the logon redirection validation so that in certain network schemes, a valid relative redirection URL is no longer treated as an invalid external redirect.

• Fixed issue causing adhoc trends in Example Database to not display traces. • Fixed display of x-axis at the bottom of all traces when configured to be at the top. • Corrected mimics' handling of unknown item names specified via an Indirect Tag. • Corrected HTML queries for URLs containing “\” character. • Corrected trend sample colours for non-root points. • Fixed issue that caused alarm limits not to be displayed. • Changed trends to use automatic scaling unless set to Manual Range. • Improved loading of badly formed adhoc trends. • Incorrect labels in trends now show point name instead of ‘*** Error ***’. • Added title colour and trend background colour to trends. • Added support for custom colours for trend points. • Respected the 'Connect Points' setting for X-Y Plots. • Fixed trend specs from not displaying ‘Copy Shortcut’. • Fixed trends only displaying data for first trace. • Fixed duplicated data in annotations and traces in trends. • Columns and hidden fields are now displayed in the correct order in the 'Add Clause'

dialog. • Fixed Adhoc trends displaying all traces in black. • Fixed trends displaying modify data after validating data. • Mimics' Indirect Tags are now resolved as the mimic is loaded. • Mimics with a system call to "Home" now properly redirect users to their home page. • Trends now show correct annotations with user dictionary strings. • Fixed 'Show Key' command for Dynagraphs. • Reduced GDI+ delay on initial mouse-over when mimics contain combined polylines. • Removed the sequence number (SeqNo) column from Alarm Summary lists. • Corrected original WebX menu for non-compatibility mode. • Fixed historic aggregate definitions. • Prevented cancelling required Notes dialogs. • Added check for redirection to crystal reports from hyperlinks. • Fixed trend AutoTicks. • Added support for processed historic data to trends. • Fixed alarm banner so that acknowledgements are not applied to all alarms of an

object. • Fixed exception that could occur in ActiveX control when using invalid indirect tags. • Fixed WebX database tree selection when multiple objects with the same Name are

visible in the tree. • Corrected handling of WebX MarkerColours for non-existent points. • Fixed WebX parsing of Trend Y-Axis Scale. • Fixed exception that could occur in WebX trends with no valid points.


Drivers

• DNP3 clock drift and set clock alarms have been changed from a fleeting to a permanent alarm.

• Fixed issues where PSTN channels are blocked from making any more outgoing calls following a 'collision' between an outgoing call an incoming call on a different channel (for the same outstation), or where an outstation or channel is modified after an outgoing call has been queued but before the call actually starts.

• Fixed potential DNP3 driver exception which could occur at the transition to/from daylight saving time when using SCADAPack E outstation in the 'Local with DST' time-zone.

• Prevented DNP3 driver from repeatedly attempting to set the DST flag in a SCADAPack E outstation after DST has been disabled in Windows on Main server.

• Corrected TotalFlow drivers polling of Digital Point. • Fixed multi-bit DNP3 binary points to write the correct value/state in the first update. • Fixed a potential server exception that could occur when a multi-bit DNP3 point has

an invalid state. • Fixed an issue where reducing the number of bits on a multi-bit DNP3 binary point

caused the point to be stuck in a state which no longer exists. • Fixed calculation of OPC quality from the DNP3 object flags for multi-bit SCADAPack

E binary output points. • Reduced Event Journal spam for Invalid / Wrong Channel connection requests

relating to duplicated non-network channels. • Added checks of source and destination address in FloBoss driver. • Added a new "Ignore Events Available Interval" setting to DNP3 outstations to protect

against an outstation repeatedly signalling that additional class event data is available blocking other outstations on the same channel from being polled.

• Added missing validation of WITS outstation data set polling interval to prevent an interval of zero being configured, which could lead to a driver exception.

• Fixed a potential exception that could occur in an advanced driver if a driver receives a request for an unknown database object.

• A UDP network outstation that initiates communications with an unsolicited message that is too large to fit in a single UDP datagram now correctly processes the second datagram for the next part of the unsolicited message.

• Improved handling of null strings in LogEvent, GetValue and SetValue server methods.

• Added support for read-only send and receive messages in the DDK. • Fixed validation of 'scan offset' fields to report an error if a time zone is specified (e.g.

"D [00:00 Local]") as this is not supported. This issue affected the following drivers: EcoStruxture Web Services (both simple and advanced), DDE, Hilscher, Mitsubishi, Modbus (simple only), OPC (simple only), OPC XML-DA, Random, SDI-12, Simatic S7.

• Added support for ReadOnlySendReceive object into simple drivers. • Modified ICMP driver to make all point related updates asynchronous, which gives

more accurate poll times. • Added support to Advanced Drivers to enable asynchronous point updates.


Drivers – cont.

• The Simatic S7 driver now sends point updates to the server on a background thread, allowing better responsiveness in high-load situations.

• Saving a SimaticS7 scanner now revalidates all points if the scanned range changes, which will flag points that no longer match that range with invalid configuration.

• Prevented WITS import/upload configuration that creates new analogue / counter type points (any points with alarm limits) incorrectly considering these new points as part of the existing incremental configuration of the outstation, when determining what is being changed by the import/upload.

• Fixed WITS analogue, counter, integrator, rate-of-change, runtime and state counter points so that normal state severity can be configured to 'Event'.

• SP50 Download Configuration's initialisation of action arguments corrected, to set the argument type before populating possible values.

• Fixed management of Advanced Modbus Analogue points when changing the '32 Bit Register Compatibility' option to prevent integrity errors.

• Capped expected RealFLO features on SCADAPack 32 to Version 6.82 features. • Corrected “compatibility” spelling error in Advanced Modbus driver. • Allowed FloBoss Driver to accept response message with 0x20 appended to the end. • Corrected “Low Battery Alarm” spelling error in WITS driver. • OnActionComplete for simple driver actions now checks against SUCCEEDED,

rather than S_OK. • Stopped SCADAPack E Modbus master configuration truncating 6 digit Modbus

addresses. • Accumulators no longer set the input value to the initialising value when using the

initialise method. • Advanced Drivers now use a separate lock for adding batched server link updates to

the batch list to prevent a potentially long wait on the server link lock. • Improved validation of SCADAPack E port number for DNP3 routing table and IP

routing table in the UpdateRowDetails method. • Renamed; Advanced OPC to OPC - Advanced, OPC to OPC - Simple, Advanced

Modbus to Modbus – Advanced (installer only), Advanced EWS to Schneider Electric EWS - Advanced, Schneider Electric EWS to Schneider Electric EWS - Simple.

• Corrected SP50 Point's Device Point form: Stabilisation Time in 100 mS units. • Simple Drivers' handling of a loss of Driver-to-DBServer connection has been

corrected to shutdown driver instance to avoid stalled or orphaned DriverOPC instances.

• Prevented exception that could occur in the Advanced Driver when disabling Parent Outstation after receiving unsolicited message from remote outstation.

• Improved Simple OPC driver's logging to assist investigation of issues. • Database queries executed by the CFX driver are now cleaned up after use, fixing an

accumulation of QP tables until the driver is restarted. • Enhanced support for DNP3 secure authentication so that the master station will

automatically re-key after receiving an 'authentication failure' error from the outstation, rather than waiting for the master's session keys to expire.


Mobile

• Corrected relative paths in Mobile Displays. • Fixed parsing of historic trend data in ClearSCADA Mobile. • Mobile installation now triggers system reboot to enable installed features. • Fixed alarm condition lookup in Mobile Companion to support Alarm

Acknowledgement when using Server 2012. • Fixed mobile connections to force reconnection on password change. • Fixed scenario where duplicate connections were created for mobile devices logging

in as the same user.

Tools & Interfaces

• Added support for non-secure connections via the .NET API. • Fixed Bulk Edit Tool installer to add missing DLL dependency. • Improved connection error logging when using linked ODBC tables from

ClearSCADA. • Corrected the clean-up order of handles for linked ODBC tables. • Fixed .Net API to correctly report non-success events. • Exported field enable mask/expression via metadata XML. Exposed GetObjectFields

to .NetAPI. Exposed form expression evaluation to .NetAPI • Updated ASB connection code to connect as the specified user via local named pipe. • Improved server side browsing performance for ASB IBrowse.