ACM 9.0 Release - May 2022

Major Version Change

Database Version

• The ACM Configuration Database will be updated to Version 40 with the release of ACM 9.0.

ACM 9.0 Installation Notes

If you have a support agreement, the new ACM version can be downloaded by using the monthly login credentials received from your sales representative.  For more details, please contact us today.

Important reminders

Mercury devices already configured in ACM will continue to work using the legacy protocol driver, but updates are no longer available.

• AUTOSOL will provide assistance and a method for converting existing devices to the new protocol driver. Contact your AUTOSOL Sales Representative or AUTOSOL Customer Support when ready.

As of June 2021, ACM 7.1 Build 306 and earlier no longer receive new updates. Please contact support to assist you in upgrading to ACM 9 to make sure you have access to the latest features!

ACM OPC UA

OPC UA is an open, reliable interface used to transfer information between servers and clients.

Additional Features:

• Session Security, which includes three different security encryption policies as well as 'Sign' and 'Sign & Encrypt' security modes.

• User Security, including anonymous access (optional), certificate-based access, username/password validation, and user group membership validation.

• Transport Protocols, such as TCP and HTTPS.

View the OPC UA Server for ACM user guide for more information.

AUTOSOL Bridge

ACM can now subscribe to a broker publishing MQTT in SparkplugB format using the AUTOSOL Bridge service. AUTOSOL Bridge can be configured, started and stopped from within the Server Monitor. Note: at least one broker must be configured to start asiBridge. View https://autosoln.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/ACMDOCS/pages/1224409197 for more information.

A separate license is required for AUTOSOL Bridge. Contact your AUTOSOL Sales Representative or AUTOSOL Customer Support for more information.

Weatherford 8500

ACM now supports the Weatherford 8500 Protocol

• Communicates with Weatherford WellPilot RPOC, ePic VSD, ePic RPC, M8800, M8750, M2000, M8650, M8500, and EXS-1000 ESP and other devices that use the same Weatherford/Baker/eProd 8500 protocol, or use protocol simulators.

• Features Supported:

  • Reading and writing parameter data.

  • Uploading card buffer data from devices that support function codes FC16, FC16EX, FC24 and FC25.

  • Retrieval of downhole cards for devices that support FC24 and FC25.

  • Publishing card data to a database or returning it as an array of position/load values to an OPC client.

Features Added

Client Application

• Adds the feature to drop down boxes on the Reports tab to automatically filter results while typing.

• Adds a new tool that processes SCADA XML files containing Emerson DNP3 object/parameter names and provides the ability to create, update or replace ACM Alias Group items. This is accessed via the Start Menu.

• Adds the Object ID and Description to the search results form.

• Provides the ability to assign multiple Alias Groups to devices and views.

• Adds the ability to assign an Interval to Alias Groups.

Configuration Database

• Adds a setting in ACM Monitor called "Keep Meter History". By default, this is set to true, and ACM will continue to keep meter record history as in previous versions of ACM. If this is unselected, ACM will no longer move meter records into history, and ACM will only have current meter records.

Protocols

BSAP Protocol

• Adds ControlWave signal items to RBE polls.
  
  

DNP3 Protocol

• Implements items to log FBx meter configuration file data. These items are: LogMeterFileDP/{meter number}, LogMeterFileLinear/{meter number}, LogMeterFileLiquid/{meter number} and LogMeterFileList.

• Adds an option "Use history points from device" to the Archive Collection tab's EFM Options to signify to ACM to use the FBx history header to publish history records.

• Adds an option "Use meter config from device" to the the Archive Collection tab's EFM Options to signify to ACM to use the FBx meter config file to:

  • Read event and alarm records.

  • Read the meter list and meter config files from the device to determine which items to read and publish as meter configuration records

Honeywell - Mercury Protocol

• Adds OPC item "ChangeACS" in order for the user to change the access code. This is only supported for non-350 series controllers.

• Adds OPC item “MoveAudit” that provides the ability to move each Audit pointer to the desired date and time.

• Adds support for using configurable archive records.
  
  

Micro MP3 Protocol

• Adds the ability to poll and publish alternative (non-truck-loading) batch records.

ROC Protocol

• Adds the ability to process ROC 800 Liquid meter data in the GC Write service.

• Adds compressibility (Zs and Zb) to the meter configuration record for Directive 17 Compliance.

• Adds a new PGAS Output option labeled "Map Volume to INDEX_OFF and 0 to INDEX_ON".

• Adds the ability to collect 'Tap Type' with meter configuration in ROC 800 devices.

• Adds the ability to publish Ultrasonic Data to the FLOWCAL Transaction Queue.

• Adds the ability to retrieve HART tags for Process Limits for the meter configuration records of ROC 800 gas and liquid devices.

• Adds an option to the device tab "Use indicated volume for mass in mass meters." to control whether mass or indicated volume is published as mass for liquid mass meters.

• Adds support for V-Cone meters. A new tab for configuring this has been added between the "Meter Runs" and "History Segments" tabs in the ROC configuration.

SCADAPack Protocol

• Adds support for SCADAPack x70 series RTUs.

• Adds support for RealFlo 7.0.

• Adds support for AGA3-2013.

Weatherford Protocol

• Adds a Weatherford 8500 protocol module to communicate with Weatherford WellPilot RPOC, ePic VSD, ePic RPC, M8800, M8750, M2000, M8650, M8500, and EXS-1000 ESP. Other devices that use the same Weatherford/Baker/eProd 8500 protocol, or use protocol simulators, are also supported.

Publishing

• Adds an option to the PGAS XML output type labeled "Create files per record type" in order to store meter characteristic records separately from other record types. If enabled, meter characteristics records will be stored in their own file. All other record types (volume, alarm, event and quality) will be stored together.

• Field records of an Archive Field Configuration object can now be individually configured to be skipped when publishing the EFM record.

Issues Addressed

ACM Server

• Adds information to GC Request logging to indicate where a failure occurred. GC Status updates that do not change rows will return a DB Error status.

• Resolves issues related to OPC client browsing when clients use absolute browse paths instead of relative browsing.

• Corrects an issue that could cause a scheduled report to run at least once a minute - ignoring the "sync time".

API

• Corrects an issue in the API which reported that "Server" objects are creatable.

Client Application

• Prevents ACM Configuration from attempting to use an http port when connecting to ACM if one has not been configured.

• The Add/Select object window will now retain its size when closed and reopened.

• Corrects various forms throughout the Configuration Manager where fields and buttons were enabled when they shouldn't have been.

• Corrects an issue that occasionally caused an incorrect command name to be logged in the database.

• Corrects the message regarding the maximum number of archive records that can be published from 1000 to 5000 to match the actual limit.

• Corrects the tab order on the "Database" tab of the configuration form of the $Server object.

• Prevents invalid data from being saved by disabling the Save button when text is deleted from a required field and when invalid data is entered.

• Corrects an issue which caused ACM to crash after renaming a device, then renaming its meter to the same name, but saving changes to the meter before saving the device.

• Displays a new error message when an object name contains a carriage return in the name.

Configuration Database

• Deletes Meter Record History rows (in tblMeterRecordsHistory) for meters that do not exist in the ACM configuration.

• Removes the logic from the following deprecated stored procedures: asi_spPubNewRecords, asi_spPubNewMeterRecords, asi_spGetHourlyGapsMain, asi_spGetHourlyGaps, asi_spGetHourly, asi_spGetDailyGapsMain, asi_spGetDailyGaps, asi_spGetDaily, asi_spChildObjects, asi_spDeleteOldArchiveRecords, asi_spDeleteOldArchiveRecords2. The empty stored procedures will remain in the database as replicated stored procedures cannot be "dropped".

• Modifies the Meter Historization process stored procedure (asi_HistorizeMeterRecords) to improve processing speed.

Logging

• Corrects an issue that caused messages to be split into multiple lines in the log file.

OPC Items

• Corrects an issue that prevented Detail Items from displaying correctly in an OPC browse.

Protocols

All Protocols

• Changes the Quality of Extended Items to "Bad" when a device is disabled and "Good" when the device is enabled. This change affects the ROC, Totalflow, Honeywell Mercury, ControlLogix and Modbus Devices.

• Corrects an issue that could prevent a device from returning to its regular polling schedule if its alternative schedule was disabled while the device was actively polling on that alternative schedule.

Benchmark Protocol

• Corrects an issue related to writing to multiple items at once that could cause asiData to crash.

BSAP Protocol

• Corrects an issue that prevented the item value from saving for upload pointer and time sync item reads.

ControlLogix Protocol

• Corrects an issue in the "Processor Slot Number" field on the device tab that allowed out of range values to be entered. The valid range is 0 to 255.

DNP3 Protocol

• Corrects problems with poll cycle interrupts and DNP3 message sequences that shouldn't be interrupted.

Flow Automation Protocol

• Corrects an issue that caused duplicate factor events to be published to the FLOWCAL Transaction Queue, which caused the publisher to fail.

Honeywell - Mercury Protocol

• Corrects an issue that caused gaps to occur in history records after an ACK message timed out. Now, instead of skipping to the next record, the driver will attempt to recollect the previous record.

• Corrects an issue that could cause an access violation error when certain noise bytes are received in a poll response.

• Adds a new informational message when time synchronization is completed.

NGCTT Protocol

• Corrects an issue that caused history polling to terminate when 10 04 bytes were returned from a device in the middle of polling.

ROC Protocol

• ROC Validation of raw TLP OPC tags now takes into account the number and types of meters configured on the device before it attempts to poll them.

• Corrects incorrect event mapping for history segment changes in the ROC800 devices.

• Corrects an issue where mapping and combining points from different segments caused partial records when the segment pointers are misaligned.

Romet-Adem Protocol

• Corrects an issue that could cause incorrect meter configuration values when using the RD command to read register values after a timeout occurs.

SCADAPack Protocol

• Modifies the driver to use the correct registers for reading and writing heating value and gas density value.

• Corrects an issue that caused GC Write to fail for gas coriolis meter runs on controllers running RealFlo 6.95 or greater.

• Corrects an issue that could cause an incorrect pipe material to be published.

Scancom Protocol

• Corrects an issue that prevented "Trusted Log In" from being enabled once it had been disabled.

• Changes the "Read Only" state on FRDM items to reflect Barton documentation.

• Corrects an issue when writing to multiple items at once that caused the message to be too large for the PLC to process. This resulted in no response and communication failure.

Teledyne CA Protocol

• Corrects an issue in the driver that could prevent items of higher cards and points from being polled, which resulted in invalid item values.

Totalflow Protocol

• Adds the Trend Record Type to the trends tab form view. It previously only existed in the Property Grid view.

• Corrects an issue that caused the "Use FT" and "Use FB" event values to be incorrectly formatted when publishing to CFX or Transaction Queue.

Publishing

• Corrects the mapping of the SP and DP calibration values so they are output correctly in the PGAS publisher.

• Corrects an issue that prevented the Contract Hour and Contract Day fields from being output to the FLOWCAL Transaction Queue.

• Corrects the default order of archive records in CFX outputs when publishing meters only.

Reports

• Changes the heading of the 'Date' column in the Configuration Change Reports to 'Date (UTC)'.

• Optimizes the performance of retrieving and displaying report data.

Server Monitor

• Corrects an issue that prevented services from being started via the Server Monitor if the user for the ACM services did not already have the "Log on as a service" right.

• Provides a manual update script to change the tblItems ID column to a BIGINT if the column was not upgraded due to the table being replicated. This can only be run once the tblItems table is removed from the replicated articles.