State

Associated with: Driver items other than outstation sets, points, and pulse actions

(Points have several ‘State’ status attributes, including Current State and Previous State.)

The State status attribute indicates the present state of the item. The possible values vary, depending on the type of item.

A server might be in one of these states:

• Online—Geo SCADA Expert is able to communicate successfully with the server.
• Offline—The server has not yet attempted communications with a remote device. This state is typically fleeting, after which it is replaced by either the Online or Failed state.
• Not In Service—The server is not In Service. As such, the server and any items in the database that are dependent on that server, are not active. (If the item’s configuration indicates that it is In Service, this state indicates that the server’s configuration is incomplete and that the item therefore behaves as if it is not In Service.)
• Uninitialized—Displayed if the driver is not running. Also seen on new servers, until the driver has updated the state of the server with its true state.
• Failed—Geo SCADA Expert’s attempts to communicate with the server have been unsuccessful, therefore Geo SCADA Expert deems the connection or server to have failed. If available, the State attribute includes additional information to clarify the reason for the failure. The item’s Quality status attribute might also provide further clarification.

A channel on a simple driver might be in one of these states:

• Online—Geo SCADA Expert is able to communicate successfully with the channel.
• Offline—The channel has not yet been used to communicate with a remote device. This state is typically fleeting, after which it is replaced by either the Online or Failed state.
• Not In Service—The channel is not In Service and is therefore not active. (If the item’s configuration indicates that it is In Service, this state indicates that the channel’s configuration is incomplete and that the item therefore behaves as if it is not In Service. The item’s Quality status attribute should provide further clarification.)
• Uninitialized—Displayed if the driver is not running. Also seen on new channels, until the driver has updated the state of the channel with its true state.
• Failed—Geo SCADA Expert’s attempts to communicate via the channel have been unsuccessful, therefore Geo SCADA Expert deems the channel to have failed. If available, the State attribute includes additional information to clarify the reason for the failure.

A scanner might be in one of these states:

• Online—Geo SCADA Expert is able to communicate successfully with the scanner.
• Offline—The scanner has not yet attempted communications with a remote device. This state is typically fleeting, after which it is replaced by either the Online or Failed state. The Offline state also occurs if the scanner or its channel are not In Service, or if Geo SCADA Expert has detected that the scanner’s channel has failed. The scanner’s Quality status attribute should provide further clarification.
• Uninitialized—Only displayed for a new scanner with which Geo SCADA Expert is yet to attempt communications. This state typically indicates that the scanner’s configuration is incomplete—for instance that the server with which the scanner is associated is yet to be specified.
• Failed—Geo SCADA Expert’s attempts to communicate with the scanner have been unsuccessful, therefore Geo SCADA Expert deems the scanner to have failed. If available, the State attribute includes additional information to clarify the reason for the failure. The item’s Quality status attribute should also provide further clarification.

For more information on the checks to undertake should a scanner on your system not be in a healthy state, see Troubleshooting in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Simple Drivers.

A Slave source might be in one of these states:

• Online—Geo SCADA Expert is able to communicate successfully with the Slave source.
• Offline—This state occurs if the Slave source and/or its channel are not In Service, or if Geo SCADA Expert has detected that the Slave source’s channel has failed.
• Uninitialized—Only displayed for a new Slave source with which Geo SCADA Expert is yet to attempt communications. This state typically indicates that the source’s configuration is incomplete—for instance that the channel with which the source is associated is yet to be specified.

A channel on an advanced driver might be in one of these states:

• Active—Applies to PSTN channels only. This state indicates that a call is being established, or is in progress on the channel.
• Healthy—Geo SCADA Expert is able to communicate successfully with at least one remote device on the channel.
• Start Delayed—This state indicates that the channel is waiting for the Start Delay period to elapse before starting up. The Start Delay is specified on the Channel Form’s Channel tab (see Defining General Channel Communication Settings in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Advanced Drivers).
• Disconnected—Geo SCADA Expert is unable to communicate via this channel. This might be for any of a number of reasons, such as:
• The channel’s configuration is incomplete—for instance, that the telephone number to which a PSTN channel’s dial-up modem is connected has not been specified (see Checking for Invalid Configuration in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Core Configuration).
• The channel is not In Service (in which case, the channel will typically display an ‘Out of Service’ Quality).
• Failed—Either communications with multiple remote devices on the channel have been detected as failed, or the channel cannot connect to its device (for instance, the COM port). To ascertain further information about the reason for this state, look at the item’s other status attributes, or use the Display Alarms pick action to display the channel’s Alarms List.

An outstation might be in one of these states:

• Healthy, Multidrop—Geo SCADA Expert is communicating successfully with the outstation. With outstations on Shared outstation sets that use Heartbeat polling, this state indicates that both direct lines are healthy. With outstations on Switched sets, or on Shared sets that do not use Heartbeat polling, this state indicates that communications via the currently used line are healthy; additionally communications via the other line were healthy the last time that the outstation communicated via that channel (if at all). (To check the current state of the channel that is not in use, look at the state of the channel, rather than the outstation.)
• Multidrop Available—Applies to direct and shared outstations for which the direct communications connection is only available 'On Demand'. This state indicates that Geo SCADA Expert is not currently in communications with the outstation, however multidrop communications via the outstation’s direct channel(s) is available when required.
• Healthy, A Failed—Geo SCADA Expert is able to communicate successfully with the outstation via the second of two channels. Geo SCADA Expert’s most recent attempts to communicate via the channel designated as Line A were unsuccessful. As such, Geo SCADA Expert deems Line A to have failed. (The channels are designated Line A or Line B on the Outstation Set Form.)
• Healthy, B Failed—Geo SCADA Expert is able to communicate successfully with the outstation via the first of two channels. Geo SCADA Expert’s most recent attempts to communicate via the channel designated as Line B were unsuccessful. As such, Geo SCADA Expert deems Line B to have failed. (The channels are designated Line A or Line B on the Outstation Set Form.)
• Healthy, PSTN—Applies to both PSTN outstations and direct outstations that use PSTN as a fallback means of communication. Geo SCADA Expert is communicating successfully with the outstation via a PSTN channel.
• PSTN Available—Applies to PSTN outstations only. Geo SCADA Expert is not currently in communications with the outstation, however PSTN comms is available when required.
• PSTN Available, Multidrop Stopped—Applies to direct outstations that use PSTN fallback. PSTN communications is available. Direct communications with the outstation have stopped. This state occurs when the Fallback pick action has been used to force Geo SCADA Expert to communicate with the outstation via PSTN, rather than via its direct channel(s).
• PSTN Available, Multidrop Failed—Applies to direct outstations that use PSTN fallback. Geo SCADA Expert is unable to communicate with the outstation via its direct line(s), but PSTN communications are available when required.
• PSTN Available (Incoming Only)—Applies to PSTN outstations only. Geo SCADA Expert is not currently in communications with the outstation, however incoming PSTN comms is available when required. For more information, see Define Dial In Line Properties on a PSTN Outstation in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Advanced Drivers.

  '(Incoming Only)' is additional information to the 'PSTN Available' state. Geo SCADA Expert is able to provide this additional information in Status displays and other displays, such as when the outstation's State is displayed on Mimics. However, the driver log files, and communications state messages in Events Lists, only specify the State, without this additional information, and so will indicate that the outstation State is 'PSTN Available'. For more information about driver log files, see Driver Logging in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Server Administration.

• PSTN Available (Outgoing Only)—Applies to PSTN outstations only. Geo SCADA Expert is not currently in communications with the outstation, however outgoing PSTN comms is available when required. For more information, see Define Dial In Line Properties on a PSTN Outstation in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Advanced Drivers.

  '(Outgoing Only)' is additional information to the 'PSTN Available' state. Geo SCADA Expert is able to provide this additional information in Status displays and other displays, such as when the outstation's State is displayed on Mimics. However, the driver log files, and communications state messages in Events Lists, only specify the State, without this additional information, and so will indicate that the outstation State is 'PSTN Available'. For more information about driver log files, see Driver Logging in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Server Administration.

• Dialing—Geo SCADA Expert is in the process of calling the outstation via PSTN. This state applies to both PSTN outstations and direct outstations that use PSTN as a fallback means of communication.
• Retry Connection Pending—Applies to direct and shared outstations for which the direct communications connection is only available 'On Demand'. This state indicates that a previous attempt to communicate with the outstation via its direct channel(s) was unsuccessful. Geo SCADA Expert is currently waiting before trying to open the connection again. The time that the server waits is specified on the Direct tab of the Outstation Form (see Specify Whether the Direct Communications Connection is Always Online or only Available on Demand).
• Retry Dialing Pending—A previous attempt to communicate with the outstation via PSTN was unsuccessful. Geo SCADA Expert is currently waiting before dialing the outstation again (the time that the server waits is specified on the PSTN tab of the Outstation Form). This state applies to both PSTN outstations and direct outstations that use PSTN as a fallback means of communication.
• Connecting—Geo SCADA Expert is in the process of establishing communications with the outstation, via one of its direct channel(s).
• Parent Outstation Failed—Applies to remote outstations only. Some protocols support a Parent - Remote setup, whereby Geo SCADA Expert is able to communicate with remote outstations via a ‘parent’ outstation. The Parent Outstation Failed state indicates that Geo SCADA Expert’s latest attempts to communicate with the remote’s parent outstation have been unsuccessful. As such, Geo SCADA Expert deems the parent outstation to have failed. By implication, communications between Geo SCADA Expert and the remote outstation have therefore also been unsuccessful; however, communications between the parent and remote outstation may still be okay.
• All Channels Failed—Geo SCADA Expert is unable to communicate with the outstation via any of the channels that it should be able to use to contact that outstation. (Therefore the true state of the outstation is unknown.)
• Disconnected—Geo SCADA Expert is unable to communicate with this outstation. This might be for any of a number of reasons, such as:
• The configuration of the outstation and/or its associated set and/or channel is invalid (see Checking for Invalid Configuration in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Core Configuration).
• The outstation and/or its associated set and/or channel are not In Service. (The item that is not In Service will typically display an ‘Out of Service’ Quality.)
• Disconnected (Unavailable)—Applies to outstations for which communications availability is set to ‘Periodic’ or 'Incoming Only'.

  With outstations for which the availability is set to 'Periodic', communications are only available for a limited period of time (see Specify the Availability of Communications Between the Outstation and Geo SCADA Expert in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Advanced Drivers). The state indicates that it is not possible for Geo SCADA Expert to communicate with the outstation, as it is outside of the outstation’s available period.

  With direct outstations for which communications availability is set to ‘Periodic’ but not ‘On Demand’, the state indicates that Geo SCADA Expert is not currently in communications with the outstation, as it is outside of the outstation’s availability period.

  With ‘On Demand’ outstations, the state indicates that it would not be possible for Geo SCADA Expert to initiate a connection to the outstation, if required, as it is outside of the outstation’s availability period. This also applies to PSTN outstations for which communications availability is set to ‘Periodic’ and for which the PSTN channels are ‘Dial Out Only’.

  With outstations for which the availability is set to 'Incoming Only', all communications between Geo SCADA Expert and the outstation are instigated by the outstation (see Specify the Availability of Communications Between the Outstation and Geo SCADA Expert in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Advanced Drivers). The state indicates that Geo SCADA Expert is not able to initiate a connection with the outstation.

  '(Unavailable)' is additional information to the 'Disconnected' state. Geo SCADA Expert is able to provide this additional information in Status displays and other displays, such as when the outstation's State is displayed on Mimics. However, the driver log files, and communications state messages in Events Lists, only specify the State, without this additional information, and so will indicate that the outstation State is 'Disconnected'. For more information about driver log files, see Driver Logging in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Server Administration.

• Failed, Multidrop Stopped—Applies to direct outstations that use PSTN fallback. This state occurs when the Fallback pick action has been used to force Geo SCADA Expert to communicate with the outstation via PSTN, rather than via its direct channel(s), following which Geo SCADA Expert’s attempts to connect to the outstation via PSTN were unsuccessful. As such, Geo SCADA Expert deems PSTN communications to have failed. (With such a situation, Geo SCADA Expert does not automatically switch the outstation back to multidrop. If appropriate, use the Fallback pick action to switch to multidrop communications.)
• Failed—Geo SCADA Expert’s attempts to communicate with the outstation have been unsuccessful. As such, Geo SCADA Expert deems the outstation to have failed. If available, the State attribute includes additional information to clarify the reason for the failure. The item’s Quality status attribute might also provide further clarification.

For more information on the checks to undertake should an outstation on your system not be in a healthy state, see Troubleshooting in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Advanced Drivers. The section includes a list of diagnostic messages that might be displayed should Geo SCADA Expert detect a communications problem.

A Slave outstation might be in one of these states:

• Healthy, Multidrop—The Slave outstation (Geo SCADA Expert) is communicating successfully with the SCADA master. With Slave outstations on Switched sets, this state indicates that communications via the currently used line are healthy; additionally communications via the other line were healthy the last time that the Slave outstation communicated via that channel (if at all). (To check the current state of the channel that is not in use, look at the state of the channel, rather than the Slave outstation.)
• Healthy, A Failed—The Slave outstation (Geo SCADA Expert) is able to communicate successfully with the SCADA master via the second of two channels. Geo SCADA Expert’s most recent attempts to communicate via the channel designated as Line A were unsuccessful. As such, Geo SCADA Expert deems Line A to have failed. (The channels are designated Line A or Line B on the Slave Outstation Set Form.)
• Healthy, B Failed—The Slave outstation (Geo SCADA Expert) is able to communicate successfully with the SCADA master via the first of two channels. Geo SCADA Expert’s most recent attempts to communicate via the channel designated as Line B were unsuccessful. As such, Geo SCADA Expert deems Line B to have failed. (The channels are designated Line A or Line B on the Slave Outstation Set Form.)
• PSTN Available—Applies to Slave PSTN outstations only. The Slave outstation (Geo SCADA Expert) is not currently in communications with the SCADA master, however PSTN comms is available when required.
• Dialing—Applies to Slave PSTN outstations only. The Slave outstation (Geo SCADA Expert) is in the process of calling the SCADA master via PSTN.
• Retry Dialing Pending—Applies to Slave PSTN outstations only. A previous attempt to communicate with the SCADA master via PSTN was unsuccessful. The Slave outstation (Geo SCADA Expert) is currently waiting before dialing the SCADA master again (the time that the Slave waits is specified on the PSTN tab of the Slave Outstation Form).
• Connecting—The Slave outstation (Geo SCADA Expert) is in the process of establishing communications with the SCADA master, via one of its direct channel(s).
• All Channels Failed—The Slave outstation (Geo SCADA Expert) is unable to communicate with the SCADA master via any of the channels that it should be able to use to contact that master.
• Disconnected—Geo SCADA Expert is unable to communicate with the SCADA master via this Slave outstation. This might be for any of a number of reasons, such as:
• The configuration of the Slave outstation and/or any associated set and/or channel is invalid (see Checking for Invalid Configuration in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Core Configuration).
• The Slave outstation and/or any associated set and/or channel are not In Service. (The item that is not In Service will typically display an ‘Out of Service’ Quality.)
• Failed—The Slave outstation (Geo SCADA Expert)’s attempts to communicate with the SCADA Master have been unsuccessful. For example, Geo SCADA Expert’s attempts to send unsolicited data might have been unsuccessful, or the TCP/IP connection might have failed. As such, the Slave outstation is deemed to have failed. If available, the State attribute includes additional information to clarify the reason for the failure. The item’s Quality status attribute might also provide further clarification.