Write Request Troubleshooting

Owned by Michael Standal
Jul 10, 2024
5 min read

Overview

Write requests may fail to update the field device for a variety of reasons. Typically, they either fail to be created for processing or fail during a step in post-creation processing. Each area is covered below, including some general tips.

General Guidance

  • Enable the Trace Logging option in the Gas Analysis Writes properties in Server Monitor. Trace Logs are detailed entries containing processing information that can help determine if a request is being processed correctly.

  • The ACM Logger is the primary source for troubleshooting requests during creation or processing. Examples of errors and their sources are covered in the following sections.

  • Several Reports are available that can be referenced to determine if a request failed or succeeded. Requests that fail to be created will not be included in any reports.

Request Creation

In order for a request to be created in ACM, it must have a valid format and the meter object it is targeting must be found in the configuration. The ACM protocol device using the meter object will be used to perform the communication. The following table covers several of the most common issues resulting in request creation failure:

Behavior/Issue

Solution Steps

Behavior/Issue

Solution Steps

  • The request cannot be created and the error message has a return code of CFG_ERROR.

  • The Gas Analysis Write File Service logs an error with a message: “Failed due to Meter/Device Misconfiguration.”

  • The Flowcal Scada Request Service logs an error with a message: “Failed to write FLOWCAL GC request into ACM database…”

  1. Confirm the request GCIdentifier used matches a configured Meter object that is assigned to a protocol device in the ACM configuration using one of the following methods:

    • The External GC Reference (Meter Tab) matches the GCIdentifier

    • The External Meter Reference (Meter Tab) matches the GCIdentifier

    • The Meter Name (General Tab) matches the GCIdentifier

  2. Verify the ACM database has been configured correctly, appropriate security settings have been applied to allow ACM processes to access it, and that it is up to date.

Requests in FlowCal are not being moved from new R to pending P.

  1. Ensure the asiFlowCalScadaRequest process is installed and running from the Server Monitor.

  2. Ensure the connection is configured in the FLOWCAL Database property in Server Monitor.

  3. Ensure the security is configured correctly in FlowCal to allow the asiFlowCalScadaRequest service to connect, read and write to the FC_SCADA_REQUEST table.

  4. Confirm the request GCIdentifier used matches a configured Meter object that is assigned to a protocol device in the ACM configuration using one of the following methods:

    • The External GC Reference (Meter Tab) matches the GCIdentifier

    • The External Meter Reference (Meter Tab) matches the GCIdentifier

    • The Meter Name (General Tab) matches the GCIdentifier

A request file never leaves the Import folder used by the Gas Analysis Write File Service.

  1. Ensure the asiGCWriteFileService process is installed and running from the Server Monitor.

  2. Refer to the ACM Logger for informational and error messages related to the service and finding new files.

A request file gets picked up from the Import folder, but goes to the Failed folder without being processed by the Gas Analysis Write File Service.

A request file may have one or more requests in it. If more than one request is present, then all must fail to be parsed and created for the file to go into the Failed folder.

  1. Ensure the file conforms to the configuration settings:

    1. Check the Has Column Headers setting configured in the Gas Analysis Write File Service properties in Server Monitor. This determines if the first line in the file is to be skipped or not. This may result in an error if column headers are present and set to false.

    2. Check the Field Delimiter setting configured in the Gas Analysis Write File Service properties in Server Monitor. This determines how the fields are separated when the file is parsed. The delimiter configured must match what is being used in ALL files to be imported.

    3. Check the Field Mapping setting configured in the Gas Analysis Write File Service properties in Server Monitor. This determines how the service reads in and maps the values in each line to the new request object. The mapping configured must match what is being used in ALL files to be imported.

  2. Confirm the request GCIdentifier used matches a configured Meter object that is assigned to a protocol device in the ACM configuration using one of the following methods:

    • The External GC Reference (Meter Tab) matches the GCIdentifier

    • The External Meter Reference (Meter Tab) matches the GCIdentifier

    • The Meter Name (General Tab) matches the GCIdentifier

  3. Check the Validation Tolerance setting configured in the Gas Analysis Write File Service properties in Server Monitor. A request will fail to be created if the mole components are totaled up and are found to be out of the tolerance window configured.

  • A request file is picked up from the Import folder and moved to the Completed folder, but not all the request lines are processed.

  • The file results in one or more requests being created and processed.

  • The file is removed from the Input folder and placed in the Completed folder. However, one or more requests failed to be created.

Refer to the previous solution steps.

Request Processing

In order for a request to be processed in ACM, the GC processing services should be running and the device protocol is able to successfully send the write message(s) to the field device. The following table covers several of the most common issues resulting in request processing failure:

Behavior/Issue

Solution Steps

Behavior/Issue

Solution Steps

No Requests are being processed, even those that were created successfully.

  1. Ensure the asiGCWriteManager service is running from the Server Monitor. This is an optional service, so it may not be running by default. In addition to this, asiData and asiItemServer must also be running to process requests to end devices.

  2. Ensure there is not a Blackout Period in effect.

Requests are being processed but not writing values to the field device

Requests are processed, as indicated by log activity, but may result in failures or retry loops. The protocol may be experiencing communication issues when reaching the field device due to network problems, interruptions, etc. Additionally, the field device may reject the write request for security reasons or because one or more of the value points are invalid or out of range.

  1. Ensure the Protocol supports GC Writes

  2. Verify the Protocol was able to validate the OPC item and accept the values sent. The Protocol will log errors or other informational messages to the ACM logger. Using the logger, you can verify if the GCWrite item is included in a message to be sent. The following logging options may need to be enabled on the device configuration:

    1. Device and Item Activity

    2. Data values sent to device

    3. Items in messages

  3. The logger is the best way to determine where in the sequence the request is failing. Enable Trace Logging option in the Gas Analysis Writes properties in Server Monitor.

 

 

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