Veristand and KepWare OPC Server causes workspace (and Veristand) to crash

[jeepers52004]

Is anyone else using a non-NI OPC server on the same host machine that VeriStand runs on and if so, do you have issues with the VeriStand workspace crashing?

I'm using KepServer EX5 to read two tags from a remote PLC (for which we do not have access to source code) into a LabView VI.  I'm able to then send those tag values to a PLC that we do have code access to.  This all works fine.

The VeriStand program works fine on its own and will run for hours without issue.

As soon as I start the KepServer, the VeriStand workspace crashes within a couple of minutes.  At this point, there is no interaction between the OPC server and VeriStand.

The host PC, cRIO (where VeriStand is being deployed to), black box PLC, and code-accessbile PLC are the only items on the unmanaged switch LAN and all have statically assigned IP addresses.

Thanks for your input.

Michael

[HollyBerry]

Hi Michael,

I've done some searching and haven't found any recorded instances of OPC and Veristand causing the workspace to close before. I also tried to duplicate the crash using the VS 2014 Engine Demo, NI-OPC server and LabVIEW as an OPC Client. However, the workspace remained opened. 

Are you able to recreate this issue with the veristand engine demo and a simple OPC server such as the sine wave? 

Is there anything else running on the computer or do you think it is definitely OPC and Veristand?

Is Veristand still running on the target when the workspace closes or is this issue just isolated to the workspace?

What happens when you reopen the workspace after it was closed? 

Is there any crash notification? Have you been able to check the Veristand log file on the target?

What software versions are you using?

You may want to contact NI support.

Holly S

[Jarrod_S.]

I'm curious if this issue reproduces for a Workspace that doesn't have a graph on it. I am not aware of any issues either with OPC servers and VeriStand. Can you try to run a quick Workspace that does not have any graphs on it and start up your KepServer?

[jeepers52004]

Hello. 

As it turned out, the laptop we were running VeriStand on was in the initial phases of the hard drive failing.  The hard drive did fail completely which forced us to install the software on another machine.  I have not been able to reinstall the kepserver yet as that takes a little leg work to get a new license key but everything else is working better than ever.  I'm able to run the trial version of NI's OPC server (along with a few other programs) while Veristand runs without issue.

I'll update again after Kepserver is installed.

Thanks!

[HollyBerry]

Thanks for the update!

[jeepers52004]

Newest update on the project; No crashes of the workspace but code doesn't function as expected.  For example, I have two channels in the system definition file.  One parameter in the real time sequence file links to each of the two channels.  When trying to write to one channel from the real time stimulus, I get nothing.  The program is simple enough that nothing else is telling the write to not happen nor is anything else writing to the channel.  

If I re-link the same parameter to the second channel, the write happens when it's supposed to happen.

That was best case.  Current status is worse.  Changed the value to be written to the channel but still get the old number written; bad but worse is, the write happens without the conditions signaling the write being true.

With the recent laptop hardware failure, I'm questioning three things.  First, something awry with the Veristand install.  It's on a 64bit machine but have since installed Veristand on another 64 bit machine that ran some of this code flawlessly when the hard drive failed on the primary machine.  Second, could the drive in the cRIO be in the first stages of a failure?  And third, maybe my understanding of how to work with the code is wrong.  I have a background in programming PLC's but am relatively new to VeriStand programming.

Is there a way to test the cRIO drive?

Also, is there a place you can refer me to for best practices in programming VeriStand?  We are using VeriStand to control component testing and we need start/stop capability that allows cycles to be repeated (1000's of cycles with 20s to 60m cycle times.) while being able to pause the testing periodically and re-start the test following an inspection.  I'm using multitasks and switch statements along with multiple while loops but I'm not sure it's the best way.

Any and all advice and instruction will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Michael

[[dk]]

I would definitely recommend trying to repair/reinstall VeriStand since you have the code working flawlessly on another set up (could be a corrupt install).

I not familiar with any cRIO hard drive test off the top of my head, but let me look into that and see if we can come up with anything.

Also, for best practices in VeriStand, the closest thing I can recommend is the Getting Started materials but this is probably not helpful to you. The next thing would be the actual training but I understand that may not be doable as well. Just from your description of your architecture, I do not see anything inherently wrong but I would have to take a look at the project itself to know for sure.

[Jarrod_S.]

I haven't heard of any such issues. But could you share a sequence and stimulus profile that reproduce this issue perhaps? We might be able to help track down what is going on.

[thumble]

Hi,

We have experienced weird channel values due to mapping arterfact (http://forums.ni.com/t5/NI-VeriStand/Wrong-channel-value/m-p/2951249/thread-id/3814#M3826) maybe you can check that in your own definition file.

Regards,