Adding a FIX Data Source

The FIX connector allows you to connect to an iFIX SCADA or FIX32 server. Even though it is necessary to run iFIX as a view node on your Proficy Portal server, it is recommended that your SCADA server is run on a separate machine than your Proficy Portal server. Running a SCADA node on the Proficy Portal server is supported only for iFIX 4.0 and greater. If you are running a SCADA node on the Proficy Portal server with an iFIX version older than 4.0, lost sessions do not recover and if you shut down iFIX, you need to restart Proficy Portal to re-establish communication between the web server and the SCADA server.

In the Administration application, you can configure a FIX data source by opening the Real Time folder and selecting the FIX node. The Administration application displays the following fields:

FIX Data Source Properties 

Property

Description

Logical Name

Specifies a name for the data source. This name need not be the actual name of the SCADA server you are connecting to.

Node Name

Specifies the iFIX or FIX node name of the SCADA server you want the Proficy Portal server to communicate with.

User Name

Specifies the login name to use when connecting to the iFIX or FIX SCADA server.

Password

Specifies the password to use when connecting to the server.

Show As

Specifies a name for a pair of Maximum Age and Time out fields. This name is used later when you connect a FIX data source to an object.

You can specify one name for each pair of fields (five in total) using alphanumeric characters.

NOTE: You cannot leave the Show As field blank.

Maximum Age

Specifies the maximum age (in milliseconds) of the data retrieved from the SCADA server. The data retrieved will be no older than the value you enter into these fields. For example, if you enter 2000 milliseconds in the Maximum Age field, then the data received is updated within two seconds of the last update.

You can specify up to five maximum age poll rates from 0 to 7,200,000 milliseconds.

Time Out

Specifies the maximum time interval the FIX connector waits for a read or write request. If the server does not receive a request for a data item within this interval, it stops retrieving data for that item.

You can specify up to five time out values from 5000 to 1,440,000.

NOTE: The timeout value must always be greater than the maximum age for any specific data item.

To add a FIX data source

  1. In the Proficy Portal client application, click the Administration button on the main toolbar. The Administration application appears.

  2. Click the Connectors & Data Sources button. A directory tree appears.

  3. Expand the Real Time folder and click the FIX node in this folder. The Add New FIX Data Source window appears.

  4. In the Logical Name field, enter the name of the data source.

  5. In the Node Name field, enter the iFIX or FIX node name of the SCADA server you want the Proficy Portal server to communicate with.

  6. In the User Name and Password fields, enter the user name and password that you use when logging on to the SCADA server.

  7. In the FIX Group Configuration section, you can define up to 5 groups. The groups are used when a FIX data source is connected with an object in an Proficy Portal display. For each group that you want to define, specify the following:

    • Show As - the name of the group.

    • Maximum Age - the maximum number of milliseconds between data updates.

    • Time Out - the maximum number of milliseconds that the server waits for a read or write request before timing out.

  9. Click the Apply button to save your changes. The Test, Copy, and Remove buttons appear.

  10. NOTE: At this point you should ensure that the iFIX view node on the Proficy Portal server is running. If the iFIX view node is not running on the Proficy Portal server, the connection will fail.

  11. Click the Test button to see if your connection is functioning properly. You will receive a message that the data source test passed or that it failed. If the test passed, you are ready to retrieve data. If the test failed, refer to Verifying an iFIX Process Database Connection.

See Also

Managing a Data Source

FIX Data Sources