Collecting Data

In order to collect data using the Sapphire Collector, the following steps should be performed:

1. Run the stManager.

To start stPro either:

• Click on the stManager shortcut  on your desktop.  

OR

• Click start->programs->Jemmac Software Ltd>Sapphire Trend->stManager.

2. Connect to a Sapphire Collector..

Once the stManager has started up you will be presented with the logon dialog.  Select the node upon which you have installed SapphireTrend from the drop-down list.  This will connect the stManager to the Sapphire Collector on the given node.

3.  Configure the Data Locations

Each OPC Server that the Sapphire Collector reads items from is known as a Data Location (DL).  To set-up the DLs click on the DLs tab in the stManager.  Two methods are then available for adding Data Locations to a Sapphire Collector:

The Discover button - the discover button can then be used to search for all the OPC Servers for which Client side DCOM configuration has been performed on the Collector's node.

Add via Browsing - when adding a DL, the user can use the browse button [...] to search nodes on the local network for OPC Servers.  

• Click the 'Add...' button to bring up the Add Data Location dialog.  

Note:  Each DL can consist of a number of Data Sources allowing for an automated Failover to take place should the Primary Data Source become unavailable.

• Click 'Add...' to assign a specific Data Source to the DL.

• Click the Browse button [...] to browse to the node that the required OPC Server is running on.  

• Select the OPC Server and Click 'OK'.

• Click 'OK' to Add the Data Source.

• Click 'OK' to Add the new Data Location.

Tip:  Configuring DL's via browsing has the big advantage that no client side DCOM configuration needs to be performed on the Collector's node, greatly simplifying the configuration process.

Note:  In order for the Sapphire Collector to be able to connect to the OPC Server the appropriate DCOM security settings must have been set.

4.  Add an SDR.

Sapphire Data is stored in folders called Sapphire Data Repositories (SDRs).  The key attribute of an SDR is it's base frequency since this defines the range of possible comb points at which data in the SDR can be scanned.

Once the StManager is running, click on the SDR tab.  As this is a new installation no existing SDRs will be shown.  To add a new SDR perform the following steps:

• Click the 'Add' button to bring up the New SDR dialog.

• Enter the name, base frequency and base time for the SDR.  

The base frequency defines the fastest rate at which data can be scanned into the SDR.  The base time defines the comb point for scans and can be used to offset SDR's from one another to reduce the loading on the control system.

Note:  There are no limits as to the number of SDR's that can be created within a single Sapphire Collector.

5.  Add an SDP.

SDR's can be thought of as containers holding one or more Sapphire Data Partitions (SDPs).  It is the SDPs that define the actual rates at which data is scanned.  Thus if an SDR is created with a base frequency of 5 seconds, it can contain SDPs at any multiple of 5 seconds (i.e.  5, 10 and 60 seconds).

To add an SDP to an SDR:

• Double click on the required SDR on the SDRs tab.

• Set the required SDP frequency using the control at the bottom right of the dialog and then click the 'Add SDP at frequency' button.

• Size each SDP as required (i.e. define the number of required items and the duration for the SDP).

Note:  Both the size and duration of an SDP can be changed 'on the fly' without any loss of data.

6.  Add Items to the SDP.

To add items to the SDP click on the 'Items' button on the SDR properties dialog.  

Items can be batch added (via CSV files) added manually (one at a time with the user typing the name of a known item) or added by browsing the underlying OPC Server.  This third option is especially useful when the names of items are not remembered.

Once the items have been added then SapphireTrend will attempt to resolve them (i.e. read additional supporting data about the item such as the Engineering Units or the Description).  If resolution is successful then the item will start scanning.

Tip:  For further details on setting up the Sapphire Collector and checking the statuses of items see the appropriate section of the help.