Setting Up Communications

Setting up communications between a device and a CitectSCADA I/O Server typically involves a process that includes the following steps:

1. Choose the Method of Communication

2. By examining the capabilities of your I/O Devices and control systems networks, select an appropriate communication mechanism. This mechanism will usually imply the transport and protocol drivers that needs to be con figured in CitectSCADA.

   See The Role of the Transport Medium and The Role of the Protocol for more information.

2. Prepare the Device

3. Confirm that your device meets the hardware and software requirements needed to communicate with CitectSCADA. The Driver Reference Help provides hardware setup information specific to each supported device.

3. Prepare the I/O Server for Communication

4. This involves preparing the I/O Server to communicate with a device. This includes setting up a COM port, a serial board, or a proprietary board in an I/O Server.

4. Create a Test Project

5. Before configuring your CitectSCADA project, confirm communications between CitectSCADA and your system devices. Creating a test project allows you to test the communication path in isolation, and verifies that CitectSCADA can bring your devices online.

5. Configure communications using the Communications Express Wizard

6. The Express Communications Wizard provides default values and a setup tailored to the communications requirements of a selected I/O Device.

   OR

   Configure Communications Manually

   You can manually configure the communications to your I/O Device using the Boards, Ports and I/O Devices forms in the CitectSCADA Project Editor. This often gives more flexibility, but requires a more detailed knowledge of the driver settings and parameters.

Once you have performed these steps, you are ready to run and verify your communications.

See Also