ClearSCADA is designed to run on systems that meet a minimum recommended specification based on the size of the system.

ViewX is a PC-based interface that gives users full access to the ClearSCADA system. WebX is a browser-based interface that enables operators to access the ClearSCADA system.

ClearSCADA is continually improved by ongoing product development. New versions of ClearSCADA are periodically released which contain new functionality and deliver enhanced capability. You can upgrade existing installations to these new versions of ClearSCADA.

You can make changes to an existing installation, for example, you can add a new driver or uninstall an optional component.

The ClearSCADA system has two main software components. They are:

If ClearSCADA supports more than one type of driver for a particular protocol, the driver-specific documentation provides guidance on which driver to use. If both types of driver provide the functionality that you require, consider using the Advanced version of the driver. The Simple drivers are legacy versions that are included in ClearSCADA for backwards compatibility.

• Supported Drivers and Protocols
• Types of Driver.

An example of such driver-specific guidance appears in the Modbus Driver Guide.

A Hot Standby environment is a multi-server architecture in which one server acts as a Main server and there are one or more backup (or Standby) servers. Such an architecture provides for redundancy and enables load sharing for clients. The Main server processes updates to the database, runs the drivers, and controls the synchronization of the Standby server or servers. If the Main server goes offline, a changeover occurs, whereby a Standby server takes over from the Main server.

You can configure a ViewX client to access multiple ClearSCADA databases. Each ClearSCADA database is independent and runs as a ClearSCADA system on a ClearSCADA server.

You can use the ClearSCADA Server Configuration Tool to change the location of individual components of your database.

User accounts are a part of ClearSCADA system security. A user account is a configurable identity that determines which ClearSCADA features and functionality a particular user can access. A system administrator configures and allocates a user account to a user. The user can then use the account to log on to ClearSCADA.

Typically, a system administrator has the authority to allocate or remove system permissions for other users. A system administrator can:

• Restrict the permissions that particular groups of users have. For example, all WebX users.
• Set permissions for a User account or User Group.
• Set the levels of access that each user has to each database item in your ClearSCADA system.

To learn about ClearSCADA system security, system administrators should read the ClearSCADA Guide to Security.

• Welcome to the Security Guide
• Define whether any Permissions are Restricted.

If you are an individual user, and you want to know what permissions you have been allocated, you will need to look in several places. These places are: the server settings; the settings for your user account and the settings for individual database items. Follow these links:

The Super User account is a special user account that allows you to access all of the ClearSCADA items and features.

The Super User account can be useful when you are setting up your ClearSCADA database. However, having an enabled Super User account on your system can pose a security risk.

You can configure ViewX to display different interface components on different monitors.

ClearSCADA logs configuration changes automatically. You can then view these configuration changes by displaying an Events List. If the Configuration Changes Auditing feature is enabled on your system (the feature is disabled by default), ClearSCADA will also keep a separate detailed record of configuration changes. You can then view this record of changes by using the Display Property Changes pick action.

The Database Explorer Bar is a hierarchical display of database items. Each item has an icon associated with it.

You use Queries Lists to display information about your database and about specific database items. You can use the lists to monitor, control and compare the different aspects of your ClearSCADA system. ClearSCADA provides predefined Queries Lists and you can also create your own custom-built Queries Lists.

When you animate a Mimic object you associate the object with a value in the database. For example, you might animate a Mimic object so that a shape representing a tank appears to fill according to the change in value of a database item. You can also use animations to enable Mimics to provide access to specific pick actions.

WebX uses ActiveX controls to display Mimics. ActiveX controls are only supported by Internet Explorer.

You can use registry settings to control the visibility of layers on a Mimic. For example, this is particularly useful on Mimics that contain maps, where each map layer has a different level of detail.

ClearSCADA can now display, analyze and store geographic information, and enables you to manage your telemetry data using that information. This facilitates location monitoring of fixed assets, mobile assets, and staff (if configured to do so) and the visualization of these assets on integrated maps, as well as location-based alarm notifications, location-based alarm filtering, and more.

You can create single-layer maps or multi-layer composite maps, from online or offline mapping sources, which you can then use for a variety of purposes.

You can associate any database item with geographic coordinates by using the item's Location tab.

You can configure alarms so that they redirect based on the region with which the alarms are associated.

First, check that ClearSCADA should be displaying markers in the portion of the map that you are currently viewing. You could also try zooming out or scrolling the map to view an area where you know that markers should appear.

If you still cannot see any markers, display the Layer Menu at the top right of the screen to check that your query is on the menu:

• Using a ClearSCADA Map

Your query may have failed.

You can check the query detail by displaying it in a table:

• Display User Query Data on a ViewX Client

Check that the column names or aliases are as expected (for example, GISLOCATION->LATITUDE, GISLOCATION->LONGITUDE).

ClearSCADA will set the default zoom level of the Map Set to the zoom level of the first Map Source that you add to the Map Set. If you are displaying a map from a hyperlink in a Mimic, the zoom level can also be set on the hyperlink. This will override the default zoom level setting.

There are three different Map Marker symbol shapes for Queries - triangles, squares and diamonds:

• About Map Markers

An embedded list is a list that has been placed into a Mimic.

Yes, you can use Calculation Points to perform simple calculations on database data. For more complex calculations, you would use Internal Points together with Logic functions.

You can associate a Logic program with any property of any ClearSCADA database item. When there is a change to the value of the property, ClearSCADA will execute the Logic program.

ClearSCADA consists of many different applications. Each application produces log files that provide a record of an application's activity. Log files can help you to investigate unexpected situations in ClearSCADA. You will also need them when you report an issue to Schneider Electric customer support.

To find a likely cause, you should make a number of checks.

To enable Active Directory authentication, you need to configure a Logon type and a Windows domain name in the ClearSCADA server configuration tool.

For LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) authentication, you need to configure an LDAP server Name and an LDAP port number, also in the ClearSCADA server configuration tool.

There are no differences unless automatic user creation is enabled. If so, you need to specify the Windows or LDAP group name, in the appropriate format for the type of authentication, in the Windows/LDAP Group Name field on the General tab of the User form.

Yes. ClearSCADA will only apply external authentication to user accounts that have the Use External Authentication option enabled.

• Define whether a User is Associated with a Windows or LDAP User Profile

A user account that does not have external authentication enabled will continue to be authenticated within ClearSCADA.

No, the authentication server must be available.

There is a server configuration option that may help a user to continue if the user is already logged in but the authentication server becomes unavailable. This is the Connection failure cached password expiry option.

The procedure is as follows:

You configure one or more User Pattern database items in ClearSCADA; a User Pattern defines the settings for these new user accounts. When ClearSCADA creates such an account, it will select the User Pattern to use by:

No, ClearSCADA only uses a User Pattern when it automatically creates a user account. There is no persistent link between a user account and the User Pattern.

Follow this procedure:

There are two parts to centralized user management:

• automatic group membership updates and
• automatic user creation.

You enable automatic group membership updates by linking ClearSCADA User Groups to Active Directory or LDAP User Groups. ClearSCADA will then automatically ensure ClearSCADA memberships match Active Directory or LDAP memberships.

To automatically create ClearSCADA users, you first need to create one or more User Pattern database items that define the default configuration for these automatically created users. You then configure each relevant ClearSCADA User Group to use a particular User Pattern.

You need to associate a ClearSCADA User Group with a Windows or LDAP Group Name. You do this in the Windows/LDAP Group Name field in the User Group tab of the relevant User Group form. In this field, you enter a Windows domain user group, or the full Distinguished Name of the LDAP user group.

For example, in the case of Active Directory authentication, a user group name might be: Site1-Operators. In the case of LDAP authentication, an example user group name might be: CN=Operators,OU=Site1,OU=Groups,DC=auth,DC=example,DC=com.

Yes, ClearSCADA will only automatically update User Group members that are linked to Active Directory or LDAP groups.

You log in with your usual Windows or LDAP username. Assuming that everything is correctly configured, ClearSCADA will then automatically create a new user account database item. The new item's name will generally be the same as the username you logged in with. However, naming restrictions may mean that ClearSCADA will remove or replace some characters. If there are user accounts with potentially duplicate names, then ClearSCADA will add incrementing numeric suffixes. For example, Username, Username (2), Username (3).

In the General tab of the user account database item, the Use External Authentication option will be automatically selected and the Windows/LDAP User Name will contain the username that you logged in with.

A system administrator can view the ClearSCADA Events List, which will give details of any problems that occurred when you tried to log in. For example, if ClearSCADA could not find the authentication server or could not find linked groups.

ClearSCADA supports the ability to hide displays from view should no activity be detected for a period of time on a ViewX client. The feature is a security measure, in case a user has forgotten to log off and has left their workstation unattended. If the feature is enabled on your user account, an administrator will have specified the amount of time that can elapse before the feature is triggered. If no activity has been detected for longer than this amount of time on the ViewX client onto which you are logged, the ClearSCADA displays that are open on that ViewX client will be hidden from view and a dialog box will be displayed.

You can change the configuration of an automatically created user account in the same way as any other user account. However, if the user account is a member of a User Group linked to an Active Directory or LDAP group, ClearSCADA will automatically manage it and override any manual changes. For example, if you remove a user account from a ClearSCADA User Group, but the user is still a member of a linked Active Directory or LDAP group, then ClearSCADA will reinstate the User Group membership in ClearSCADA the next time the user logs in.

ClearSCADA only uses a User Pattern when it automatically creates a user account. There is no persistent link between a user account and the User Pattern.

A system administrator can set the minimum requirements for user passwords which ClearSCADA will then enforce.

• Define the Default Security Settings for New User Accounts

The current NIST guidelines provide a good source of advice to refer to when you are setting the minimum requirements for passwords.

The Super user account is a special user account that has access to all of the ClearSCADA items and features.

You need to enter a Super User password that is at least 12 characters long. The password is case-sensitive.

During the upgrade process, ClearSCADA will prompt you to enter a new Super User username and a password (in the same way it does during a new install). The new credentials will then replace the old ones.

From ClearSCADA 2017 onwards, ClearSCADA encrypts the Super User password uniquely on each server. This change means that you will need to reset the Super User password.

Yes. If you import configuration from another database, and that configuration contains security settings that you cannot reset from the Administrator account, you may need to re-enable the Super User account to amend these settings. However, we recommend that you only enable the Super User account when you need to and that you disable it again when you have finished using it.

If the Super User account is disabled on your system, you can re-enable it by running the installer program again on the ClearSCADA server.

The Control Feedback check is a check that the value of a point matches specific criteria at least once within a specific time period after a control is sent to a device. ClearSCADA will not monitor the value of the point at any other time, including after it detects a match.

The Uncommanded Change check is a check that the value of a point always matches specific criteria except during a specific time period after a control has been sent to a device.

You would use the Control Feedback check. For example, in the Feedback section of the Control Checks tab of the output point, select a Comparison Type of 'Changes by at least Value' and then enter a Value that provides a suitable detection threshold.

You would use the Uncommanded Change check. For example, in the Uncommanded Change section of the Control Checks tab of the output point, select a Comparison Type of 'Changes by at most Value' and then enter a Value that allows for normal variation in the input.

As soon as the point's value matches the specified comparison value, ClearSCADA will stop monitoring the feedback. If the point's value changes again within the timeout period, this will have no effect. You may be able to use the Uncommanded Change check to warn of any additional changes in value.

If the Feedback check is monitoring the feedback from an On Demand or PSTN outstation, it will hold open the connection to that outstation (subject to configured maximum connection times) until it receives feedback that matches the check's comparison value. The feedback check will then no longer hold the connection open, although other actions may do so.

Usually, the Uncommanded Change check will continually monitor an input point. However, this is not possible for On Demand or PSTN outstations. Therefore, the Uncommanded Change check will not hold open a connection to the device; it will only act on value updates that it receives as a result of other actions that open a connection, whether invoked by ClearSCADA or the outstation.