The disconnected Rockwell FactoryTalk SE Interface (Q14246) does not communicate directly with the database. Instead, the interface reads in OPSDATAXML files that have been generated by a Collector Utility that reads the FactoryTalk SE data. Once a minute, the Collector (Q14256) reads in data from the database for each configured tag and writes the data to an OPSDATAXML file. Each file contains 60 data points (one for every minute in an hour) for each tag that you are monitoring. Once OPSDATAXML files are being generated and moved to where the Interface can access them, the Interface will start reading the data into Hach WIMS.

Although it is possible to run the Collector and Interface on the same machine this version of the Interface was designed to have the Interface and Collector on seperate machines. This Interface deals with the situation in which the Interface is not able to communicate directly with the FactoryTalk SE database.

To start the Collector you need to double click on the Collector program 'Q14256.exe'. Clicking on this program the first time will display a warning about configuration, and will launch the Interactive Screen.

The Collector will not start collecting data until it has been configured. Click on the Configure button to configure your settings. When you click on the Configure button you are presented with a Proxy Setting screen before being able to configure the Collector's settings. This will allow you to configure from the collector itself or from the interface (if they are on the same computer).

The proxy screen contains needed information on how you plan to run the Collector. It is recommended to check "Use Standalone configuration" and "Start as Windows Tray Application". Click the Configure Collector button to continue configuring the collectors settings.

On the configuration screen there are three tabs for configurating settings. The General Settings tab contains information on when the Collector will run and specifics about the OPSDATAXML output files.

On the Source Configuration and Select Tags tabs you configure the connection to the Rockwell FactoryTalk SE database and what tags to import. See the article Custom Collector Configuration for Collector Q14256 for how to configure the collector.

When you launch the Collector it will either start as a Windows Tray Application (default) or in NT Service View and Control mode. The Tray Application screen is below.

If the status bar shows "RUNNING" then the Collector is scheduled to run and collect the data. If the status is "PAUSED" you need to configure the connection to the source database and click the Start button. If the collector is not able to communicate with the database or if no tags have been selected yet, then the collector will not run. If you start the collector and it does not appear on the screen then you can find it in the Windows System Tray (by default the Collector is hidden when it is started unless errors occur during startup). You can double click on it's icon in the System Tray to make it visible.

When the Collector is installed to run as a service you are presented with the following screen when starting the application. Notice the buttons are slightly different.

From here you can see if the Service is running, configure it, stop it, start it, and view the activity log files.