ABB 800xA with Advant Master integrated configuration

In-depth Guide to Integration and Configuration of ABB 800xA for Advant Master

1. Introduction: Connecting industrial automation across two eras

ABB's 800xA system is renowned for its robust collaborative operation capabilities and unified information management platform. Advant Master, particularly the AC 400 series, remains a core component in numerous critical process controls as a time-tested controller in the field of industrial control. The 800xA for Advant Master product serves as a bridge connecting these two eras. It is not merely a simple communication driver, but a comprehensive integrated solution that allows 800xA operator workstations to directly access the MasterBus 300 (MB300) control network, enabling monitoring and operation of AC 400 series controllers (such as AC 450, AC 410) and MasterPiece 200/1.

The core value of this integration solution lies in its significant simplification of engineering tasks. Engineers no longer need to redefine the process database within the 800xA system; instead, they can directly upload existing object structures and data from the controller, achieving a "what you see is what you get" engineering mode. This not only saves time but also eliminates errors that may arise from manual input. Furthermore, it seamlessly integrates Advant Master's powerful event processing and TTD historical logging capabilities into the unified alarm and event list, as well as the trend analysis platform of 800xA.

2. Core integration architecture: Building the communication bridge

The first step of any integration is to establish reliable physical and logical connections. For 800xA and Advant Master, the core lies in the RTA (Real-Time Accelerator) board.

2.1 Hardware Connection: The Role and Selection of RTA Board

The RTA board is a dedicated communication interface connecting the 800xA system server (Connectivity Server) with the MB300 control network. Depending on the hardware configuration, it can be divided into:

PU515A RTA board: a PCI-interface board that is directly installed in the PCI slot of the Connectivity Server.

PU410 RTA unit: An independent hardware unit that connects to the Connectivity Server via Ethernet, supports single-cable or redundant dual-cable connections, and provides dual RJ-45 interfaces for MB300 network access.

Both of these hardware components are transparent to users in terms of configuration and operation interface (such as the RTA Board Control aspect in Plant Explorer). From an engineering perspective, their functionalities are identical, with the main difference lying in the installation method and physical connection. When using the PU410, it is necessary to configure the network interface controller (NIC) of the Connectivity Server. It is generally recommended to set the IP address to 172.16.168.1 (for single cable) or 172.17.168.1 (for dual cable), and ensure that it is within the same network segment as the default IP address of the PU410 (172.16.168.50).

2.2 Network and node configuration

After installing the 800xA system, the first step is to set the network parameters of the RTA board through the configuration wizard:

Network Number: The number of the MB300 network, typically ranging from 11-19, 21-29, etc.

Node Number: The node address of the Connectivity Server on the MB300 network, ranging from 1 to 99.

Redundant network: If a redundant MB300 network is used, a second network number needs to be set, and "PU410 redundant cable supervision" should be checked in the PU410 configuration to monitor the cable status.

These settings are crucial, as any duplicate addresses may lead to network communication failures. After making changes, the RTA board must be restarted through the RTA Board Control aspect for the changes to take effect.

2.3 Time Synchronization Strategy

Precise time synchronization is the cornerstone of stable operation for distributed control systems. 800xA for Advant Master supports two time synchronization modes:

AC 400 controller as the clock master: This mode is recommended when MB300 is the only control network. The Connectivity Server receives time from the MB300 network and acts as the time service master, distributing the time to other nodes (such as Aspect Server, Client) in the 800xA system.

800xA as Clock Master: This mode is enabled when the system includes both an AC 800M controller (running on a TCP/IP network) and an Advant Master controller. The Connectivity Server, acting as the Clock Master, synchronizes all nodes on the MB300 network via the RTA board. To enable this mode, simply check "800xA as Clock Master" in the Network/Node Configuration tab of the RTA Board Control aspect.

3. Engineering construction: Data mapping from controller to 800xA

After completing the communication link, the next stage is the engineering phase, with the core objective of constructing a logical structure that matches the on-site controller within the Control Structure of 800xA.

3.1 Object types and libraries

800xA for Advant Master has predefined a complete set of Object Types to represent various database elements in the Advant Master controller, such as MB300 AI, MB300 PID Controller, MB300 Valve, etc. These Object Types are organized in the AdvantMasterObjectTypes base library, while the related process graphics are stored in the AdvantMasterObjectTypesPG2Ext extension library. This modular library structure allows for flexible activation or deactivation of functions.

3.2 Constructing Control Structure

There are primarily two ways to construct a Control Structure:

Online construction: This is the most direct approach. After creating the RTA board object and the corresponding controller node object, use the MB300 Uploader aspect on each controller node and click "Start Upload". The system will read all process objects and system objects in the controller in real-time through the MB300 network and automatically generate corresponding instances in the Control Structure.

Offline construction: This method is suitable for the early stages of a project or scenarios where network connectivity is not available. It utilizes the output of the Function Chart Builder (FCB) engineering tool for construction. The steps are as follows:

On the engineering station, export the controller database as a source file (.OCD) through the MB300 Uploader option of FCB.

Copy the file to the 800xA server.

In the MB300 Uploader aspect of 800xA, select the "From FCB" tab, specify the source file path, and then upload.

This approach allows for step-by-step construction without the need to connect to a physical controller. Once the controller is finally deployed online, perform another online upload to obtain dynamic address information.

3.3 Naming and relocation of processing objects

In practical maintenance, situations may arise where it is necessary to replace an I/O channel. If objects are simply renamed, it can lead to the invalidation of existing graphics and trend links. The manual provides a standard process for safely relocating objects to avoid such issues:

Mask the alarms of faulty channels.

In the controller engineering tool, rename the DB element of the fault channel.

Name the DB element of the new channel as the original name of the old channel.

In the Control Structure of 800xA, drag the process object to a new location.

Execute upload and complete associated updates.

4. Alarms and Events: Customized Information Processing

The alarm and event handling capabilities of Advant Master are a significant manifestation of its practicality. 800xA fully integrates it and enhances its configurability.

4.1 Event handling mechanism

The configuration of event processing is divided into three levels:

Controller layer: In the Advant Master controller, each process object has an event handling pointer (such as ERR_TR, LIM1_TR), which points to the number of an event handling database element (EVENT).

RTA board layer: The RTA board maintains an Event Treat database, which defines the specific behaviors (such as priority, whether to sound, whether to confirm, whether to block, etc.) of each EVENT element, as well as the text used for display.

800xA system layer: By configuring alarm and event lists, you can define how these events are presented on the operation interface (colors, fonts, classifications, etc.).

4.2 Custom Alarm and Event Text

By configuring the EVENT20 to EVENT300 elements on the RTA board, users can fully customize the text of alarms and events. For example, to set an upper limit alarm EVENT20 for an AI signal, users can:

In the configuration of the RTA board, use the MDB EVENT20 command.

Set its attributes, such as AUDIBLE = 1 (audible), AL_PRIO = 2 (priority 2).

Define event text (such as "oil level too high") in Segment S2, and define attribute text (such as "oil level") in Segment S3.

Finally, save the configuration through RTA Board Backup.

4.3 Alarm refreshing and system alarms

Advant Master Alarm Refresh: After the communication failure is restored, this function will automatically send a status query request to the controller to update the alarm status in 800xA, ensuring the accuracy of the alarm list. For object types that do not support automatic refresh (such as Engineered drive), this function should be used with caution.

System Alarms: 800xA for Advant Master generates two types of system alarms to aid in diagnosing the health status of the system. One type originates from the MB300 node (such as loss of connection), while the other type comes from services (such as RTA board failure). These alarms are collected in the system alarm list of network objects.

5. Historical data: Deep integration of TTD logs

The Time Tagged Data (TTD) function built into the Advant Master controller serves as an efficient mechanism for recording historical data. 800xA for Advant Master considers TTD as the preferred source of historical data.

5.1 TTD Configuration View

Each AC 400 series controller node features a TTD Node Configuration aspect, which offers three key views:

Main View: Lists all currently configured TTD logs, along with their associated objects and attributes.

Controller View: Displays the log groups defined in the controller, including group number, storage interval, and storage capacity.

Synchronize View: Used for uploading and downloading TTD configurations with the controller. Clicking "Upload" can import the existing TTD log configuration of the controller into the historical configuration system of 800xA, automatically creating a Log Template and Log Configuration. Clicking "Download" can then download the newly configured logs to the controller.

5.2 Configuration example

Create a TTD log with a storage interval of 30 seconds and a capacity of 2 hours, and extend it to 4 hours in the historical server. Simultaneously, create a tiered log with a 1-minute average value. The process is as follows:

Create a History Log Template object in the Library Structure.

In its Log Template aspect, add a log with type Direct, and select TTD as the data source.

In the "TTD Data Collection" tab, set the "TTD log storage interval" to 30 seconds and the "TTD log value count" to 240.

Set the "History Log Value Count" to 480 to achieve a 4-hour history storage.

Add a log of type Hierarchical, define its aggregation method as Time Average, set the storage interval to 1 minute, and specify a capacity of 24 hours.

On the target process object, add the Log Configuration aspect and apply this template to its VALUE attribute.

Finally, by executing the download through the Synchronize View of the TTD Node Configuration aspect, this log can be created and activated in the controller.

6. System Management and Performance Optimization 6.1 System Status Monitoring

The System Status Viewer aspect is a powerful tool for troubleshooting. It can be applied at multiple levels:

Network layer: Displays the communication status of all nodes on the MB300 network.

Controller node layer: Displays the hardware status within the controller, such as I/O modules, power supplies, fans, batteries, etc. On the AC 450 controller, the Local Devices graphical display provides an intuitive view for hardware diagnostics.

Service structure layer: Displays the operational status of various system services, such as the MasterBus 300 RTA Management Service.

6.2 Performance considerations

To optimize the load of the RTA board and MB300 network, the following guidelines must be followed:

Data Subscription: Only use update rates of 1, 3, and 9 seconds for attributes that support circular subscription. The list of attributes eligible for circular subscription is provided in the appendix. Subscribing to a faster update rate (<1 second) can significantly increase system load.

OPC Log: It is recommended to use a 9-second cyclic subscription. If a longer sampling time (such as more than 2 minutes) is required, a non-cyclic subscription can be used.

Write operation: Only write operations to DAT objects are supported. Frequent writes can significantly increase the CPU load of the controller.

CPU Load Monitoring: The CPU load of the RTA board can be monitored in real-time by using the ANPER - SYSTEM LOAD command in the command line of the RTA board. It is recommended to keep this load below 50%.

6.3 Backup and recovery

RTA Board Configuration: After modifying the configuration of the RTA board (such as event processing text), you must click the RTA Board Backup button in the RTA Board Configuration tab to save the configuration to a local file. These files are located in ProgramDataABBAC400ConnectAdvantBaseDataRTAInit. It is recommended to regularly back up these files.

Central Backup: Starting from Feature Pack, the system provides the Advant Master Central Backup function, allowing centralized backup and recovery of the AMPL application on the controller. The backup is defined in the Maintenance Structure and supports both manual and scheduled tasks. The backup files are stored in the standard DUAP format.