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On Equipment Setup#

The On Equipment Setup task configures the driver and handles key driver-related events (not equipment events).
It is automatically added to the workflow when the driver is created and is used exclusively by that driver.

Although it is technically possible to include multiple instances of this task, only one Equipment Setup and one Equipment Setup Result task should exist per driver per controller.

Screenshot showing equipment setup interface with "On Equipment setup" heading and "Equipment setup" label.

Warning

This task is deprecated and will be removed starting with version 12. Its functionality, along with Equipment Setup Result have been split into three separate actions: Equipment Configuration, Driver Event OnInitialize and Driver Command Connect.

Workflows#

Data Flow Control Flow

Inputs#

Name Data Type Description
connect any Instructs the driver to configure and connect to the equipment.
reconnect any Instructs the driver to disconnect and reconnect to the equipment.
disconnect any Instructs the driver to disconnect from the equipment.
<communication parameter> any Protocol-specific communication parameters. Each protocol defines its own.

Outputs#

Name Data Type Description
onInitialize Boolean Triggered when the controller establishes a connection with the driver.
onSetup Boolean Triggered when the driver successfully connects to the equipment (socket, port, directory, etc) and is ready for setup.
onHeartbeat Boolean Occurs at defined intervals during the communicating state to verify communication integrity.
onCommunicationChange String Triggered when the communication state changes.

Settings#

Name Data Type Default Description

| Connecting Timeout |Integer | 30000 | Time (ms) to wait while establishing a connection. | | Setup Timeout |Integer | 10000 | Time (ms) allowed for setup between the onSetup and success stages of On Equipment Setup and Equipment Setup Result. | | Reconnect Interval |Integer | 5000 | Time (ms) between connection retries. | | Heartbeat Interval |Integer | 60000 | Interval (ms) between onHeartbeat triggers. Used to validate connection integrity. Some protocols may not detect connection drops in realtime. |

Screenshot showing settings for equipment setup.

Each protocol driver defines its own communication parameters, displayed in the Inputs tab as a list.
These values are sent to the driver unless a link overrides them.

Screenshot showing equipment setup settings with communication parameters.

Behavior#

When the Controller process connects to the driver process, the On Equipment Setup task activates and triggers onInitialize.

The workflow then defines the next actions. Possible configurations include:

Single Equipment Scenario#

  • Configure the exact communication parameters in the Settings page.
  • Link the onInitialize output directly with the connect input.

Multiple Equipment Scenario#

  • Configure shared communication parameters in the Settings page.
  • Create or reuse attributes in the entities that represent unique communication parameters for each device, such as:
    • Resource\IpAddress
    • Resource\IpPort
  • Add an Entity Instance task:
    • Select the instance representing the equipment (controller or driver).
    • Select attributes containing the device-specific communication properties.
  • Link the onInitialize output to the Activate input of the Entity Instance task.
  • Link each Entity Instance attribute to the corresponding On Equipment Setup input that defines the communication parameter.
  • Link one Entity Instance value to the connect input of On Equipment Setup

Screenshot showing a multiple equipment setup scenario with an entity instance linked to the on equipment setup connect input.

Note

Multiple On Equipment Setup tasks can be linked in sequence to establish communication only after the previous connection succeeds.

When the connect input is activated, the communication parameters are sent to the driver, and the communication state changes to Connecting.

Screenshot showing a multiple equipment setup scenario with an "On Equipment Setup" component.

When the driver successfully connects to the equipment, the state changes to Setup, and the onSetup output is triggered.

Screenshot showing multiple pieces of equipment with configuration options.

At this point, configuration actions can be executed on the equipment side (such as sending commands or setting authentication properties) to ensure the equipment is in the correct state.

If reconnect or disconnect inputs are triggered, the driver disconnects and transitions to the appropriate state:

  • Ready, if disconnect is triggered.
  • Connecting, if reconnect is triggered.

Screenshot showing a multiple equipment scenario with a device labeled "MENBIBRIOTERO CONES".

Remarks#

This task is dependent on the Equipment Setup Result task to complete the setup process.

This task uses a context-based data structure called a zone. For more information, see Zones page.