Introduction to the CFX Export Driver
This driver is a stand-alone driver. It provides additional functionality to enable Geo SCADA Expert to interface with specific supported systems or devices. To interact successfully with such systems or devices, you need to:
- Install and run the driver
- Ensure that the driver is licensed
- Configure the required database items and settings on the driver
- Ensure that the database items (and any database items on which they depend) have valid, saved, configuration and are 'In Service'.
Intended Audience
This guide is intended for all levels of user:
- Engineers who are responsible for configuring CFX Export items and features
- Operators who use CFX Export-specific actions and alarm and event categories when performing their duties
- System administrators who may use the CFX Export driver statistics for diagnostics when investigating the cause of any unexpected behavior (relating to the CFX Export driver).
Document Scope
This guide explains how to:
- Add and configure CFX Export items in Geo SCADA Expert.
- Use actions that are specific to the CFX Export driver
- Interpret the alarm and event categories that are specific to the CFX Export driver
- Use the status displays for the CFX Export driver for diagnosis.
- Use the logging features for the CFX Export driver.
This guide contains technical information that is intended for users that are sufficiently familiar with Geo SCADA Expert configuration and operation. Before reading this driver guide, ensure that you are familiar with:
- Geo SCADA Expert configuration practices, procedures, and the configuration of properties that are common to many database items. For more information, see the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Core Configuration, and the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Core Point Configuration.
- Driver structure, components, and configuration properties, pick actions, and status attributes that are common to many drivers. For more information, see the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Drivers.
Some sections of this guide are intended for operator-level users. These sections are intended for users that are familiar with the navigational and operational aspects of Geo SCADA Expert. Before reading the operational sections in this guide, ensure that you are familiar with:
- The Geo SCADA Expert user interfaces (ViewX and Virtual ViewX), the various types of display, their navigation and operation. For more information, see the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to ViewX and Virtual ViewX Clients.
Geo SCADA Expert’s CFX Export Driver enables you to export the following measurement data from Geo SCADA Expert in Common File Exchange (CFX) format:
- If you export to Version 5 of the CFX file format, you can export gas flow run data only.
- If you export to Version 7.05 of the CFX file format, you can export gas, liquid and water flow run data.
For information about specifying a CFX file format for exports, see Configuring CFX Server Settings.
The CFX file format is proprietary and confidential to Flow-Cal, Inc. Once exported, the data can be imported into any of Flow-Cal’s measurement data management applications.
Geo SCADA Expert can monitor flows by interfacing with SCADAPack controllers that are running Realflo™. The Realflo feature converts SCADAPack controllers into electronic Flow Computers. To retrieve flow measurement data, your Geo SCADA Expert system has to be running the SCADAPack Modbus driver, along with the Realflo driver extension. A SCADAPack Modbus Flow Run item has to be suitably configured in the Geo SCADA Expert database for each flow run (for which flow calculation data is to be retrieved). For further information on SCADAPack Modbus and Realflo, see the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to the SCADAPack Modbus Realflo Driver.
To export the retrieved flow measurement data in Flow-Cal’s CFX format, your Geo SCADA Expert system has to:
- Be running the CFX driver. (When that driver is first installed on the system, a system administrator will need to define the settings for the driver (see Configuring CFX Server Settings).)
- Have at least one CFX Export item in the Geo SCADA Expert database, and the item needs to be suitably configured and put In Service. Users can only define the export properties, including the location to which the data is to be exported, if a suitable CFX Export item exists in the database.
This guide explains how to Add and Configure a CFX Export item in Geo SCADA Expert.
It also explains the CFX specific features that are of interest to operators:
and CFX specific features that may be of interest to system administrators and engineers when investigating unexpected system behavior (relating to the CFX Export driver):
For information on flow data that is not covered by this guide or the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to the SCADAPack Modbus Realflo Driver, see the documentation provided with the Realflo application, or the third-party application to which the retrieved data is to be exported.