Upgrading to Vijeo Citect v7.30 and beyond: Recommended procedures, hints and tips

Upgrading to Vijeo Citect /
CitectSCADA v7.30 and beyond:
Recommended procedures, hints
and tips
Samantha Serna, Global Support Engineer
February 2015

2Schneider Electric - SCADA & MES Global Support - February 2015
Samantha Serna Verenzuela
SCADA & MES Global Support Engineer
Samantha joined Schneider Electric in 2013.
With a background in software development,
business analysis and technical support, she has
adapted her previous knowledge and technical
expertise to SCADA products by working in the
Global Support Team.
She is also a proud member of Schneider Electric’s
Macquarie Park (Sydney) Toastmasters club, and is
currently serving her first term as the club’s Vice
President of Education.

Best Practices for Upgrading
1. Why should you upgrade?
2. Choose the right version
3. Standard process for standalone systems
4. Special considerations for post 7.30 upgrade
5. Online upgrade step-by-step
6. Restoring historical data
7. Upgrade tools
8. Potential issues and how to troubleshoot them

Why should you upgrade?
1. OS and Software compatibility: Microsoft has ended
support for Windows XP.
Please check our Compatibility Matrix to find compatible OS
versions.
2. Supportability: Not all versions of Vijeo Citect /
CitectSCADA are officially under support.
Please check our Product Support Lifecycles to find
supported versions.
3. Access to new features: Vijeo Citect / CitectSCADA v7.30
and above offer:
• New Alarm database and Sequence of Events
• New SQL interfacing Libraries (for SQL Cicode functions)
• Software Licensing Model
• Equipment Editor (7.40+)
• New OPC DA server and OPC A&E functionality

Choose the right version
1. If your project is large/complex, wait for Vijeo Citect 2015 (v7.50):
● Large project: multiple clusters, alarm cicode, alarm summary, 15K+
configured alarms
● Vijeo Citect 2015 is targeted for release in Q2 2015
● Upgrading customers will reap performance and other gains in Vijeo
Citect 2015 versus v7.40 SP1/SP2
2. If you decide to go to 7.30 and above, go straight to 7.40 Spk1
● 7.40 Spk1 in itself contains many fixes over 7.30
3. If you are on v7.30 we recommend going to v7.40 SP1 or wait for
Vijeo Citect 2015
● The upgrade process is mostly straight forward to v7.40 SP1
● Most fixes are being developed for 7.40 SP1/SP2 cannot be back
ported

Standard Process (Recommended)*
*This is the minimal upgrade process
1. Check the help topics on Upgrades
2. Backup V7.20 project
3. Uninstall SCADA V7.20
4. Install SCADA V7.40
5. Restore your V7.20 project into
SCADA V7.40
6. Merge .INI files
7. Un-tick Incremental Compile
8. Pack and Compile
9. Run Computer Setup Wizard: make
sure you assign a server password
and take note of it (You will need it for
In this example, the initial version is 7.20 Spk4 and it is meant to be
upgraded to version 7.40 Spk1.
10.Run and proceed to test
your redundant system)

I want to upgrade but I
don’t want any downtime and I
want to keep all my historical
data.

Online upgrade: Redundant System on
Production
Primary
Client Client Client Client
Standby
Example
Configuration
• 1 Primary Server
• 1 Standby Server
• 4 Control Clients
To be able to upgrade without downtime and avoid any loss of data, you
must have at least a redundant pair of servers already in place on your
production system.
In this example, we will use a redundant pair and 4 Control Clients system.

Special Considerations for Post 7.30
online upgrade
As you might already know, a new Alarm Server engine was introduced in 7.30.
This means that when upgrading from a pre 7.30 version, your clients could
end up without alarm data during the upgrade process.
To stop this from happening, you can add the following .INI parameters to both
your servers and client machines:
[Alarm.MyCluster.MyPrimaryAlarmServer] Priority = 2
[Alarm.MyCluster.MyStandbyAlarmServer] Priority = 1
This will force the clients to connect to the standby server during the upgrade
process.
However, this also implies an extra step prior to the upgrade and restarting and
testing the clients to ensure the .INI changes took effect.
The decision should be made on a customer/project basis, and how long of a
downtime on the Client Machines can be allowed.

Special Considerations for Post 7.30
online upgrade
Primary
Client Client Client Client
Standby
After .INI changes to both your servers and client machines:
[Alarm.MyCluster.MyPrimaryAlarmServer] Priority = 2
[Alarm.MyCluster.MyStandbyAlarmServer] Priority = 1
Ensure your clients are connecting to the standby alarm server.

Online Upgrade: Steps
1. Upgrade the keys: Use our Online License Generator (Note: Key needs to
be in support). http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/vijeo-
citect/downloads-updates/license-generator
2. If Client machine downtime is not desired, add the .INI parameters as
described on previous slides.
3. Set up a development environment and do a standard upgrade:
• Test your project in memory mode
• If possible test on actual device
4. Production environment:
• On both servers: [LAN]EarliestLegacyVersion = 7200
• Shutdown SCADA runtime on the Primary server
• Upgrade Vijeo Citect / CitectSCADA on this server according to the
standard upgrade procedure
• Restart your primary server
• Perform testing

Online Upgrade: Steps - Continued
5. Production environment (Continued):
• Upgrade your clients one by one (make sure to remove the .INI
parameter from step 2)
• Shutdown SCADA runtime on the Standby server
• Upgrade Vijeo Citect / CitectSCADA on this server according to the
standard upgrade procedure
• Once the standby is running fine, check for hardware alarms on
connection to primary
• Finally, test redundancy by switching off the Primary server and
assuring Standby takes over and Clients switch over

Restoring Historic data
1. Backup Historic Data Files
• Back up trend files  path found on Trend Tag definition
• Backup alarm files ALMSAV.DAT and ALMINDEXSAVE.DAT 
Path defined on .INI parameter: [Alarm]SavePrimary
• Alarm logs: defined on devices form (check Alarm Category)
• Reports: Directory defined on report device or report .rtf file
2. After Upgrade
Trends:
• Create the same file hierarchy on the new system
• Place the files in the same folders
• If you want to change the folder location, please use the trend renamer tool:
http://www.citect-kb.schneider-electric.com/ToolBox/KnowledgebaseArticle1244.aspx
Alarms:
• [Alarm]SavePrimary will look the historic data and convert it to the new alarm
database. Point this parameter to your backed-up ALMSAV.DAT and
ALMINDEXSAVE.DAT to restore historic data into the new system.
Once you run the Alarm server for the first time, this data will be transferred to
the new alarm database located on the new version’s [DATA] directory

Other runtime files
3. Additional files to backup
• Data folder  [CtEdit] Data
• Report files: User defined folder  Define on report’s device or report’s .rtf
• Custom ActiveX controls (.OCX)
• [CtEdit]<Pathname> check in citect.ini as it could contain runtime files used by
custom code in the project

Upgrade Tools and Documentation
1. Environment manager (Found on the Extras directory of installation
CD/download: available up to 7.20)
• Only for Development Environment
• Multiple versions
• Multiple projects backup and restore
• Doesn’t allow 7.30 and 7.40 simultaneous installation
http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/vijeo-citect/find-
answers/knowledge-base?view=kbarticle&id=7794
• What’s new in Vijeo Citect / CitectSCADA
• Upgrading to Vijeo Citect / CitectSCADA
2.a. Obsolete functions
Citect Explorer  Help  PC-Based: Getting Started >
What's New in v7.x > What's New in Vijeo Citect /
CitectSCADA v7.40 SP1 > Cicode Functions in Version
7.40 SP1
Getting Started > What's New in v7.x > Previous
Releases > Cicode Functions (7.30)
3. Design Guides (Online)
• Migrating to Production http://www.citect.schneider-
electric.com/scada/vijeo-citect/find-answers/design-guides/13-design-
guides/45-scada-ndash-migrating-to-production
2. On SCADA help (Citect Explorer Help  PC Based Help

Driver compatibility
• Driver web: check for latest versions and OS compatibility
IMPORTANT NOTES REGARDING DRIVERS:
1. Not all the latest versions are included with the latest Vijeo Citect / CitectSCADA
release.
2. Not all of the 150+ drivers have been fully tested on latest OS.
If not compatible, own testing required.
Once tested, OS check can be disabled via .INI parameter:
[<DriverName>]OverrideOSProtection
Knowledge Base
Search for Upgrade issues to find known issues
relating to upgrade
http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/vijeo-citect/find-
answers/knowledge-base?catid=32
Upgrade Tools and Documentation

Potential issues and how to troubleshoot
Slow system after upgrade
Hardware & Software. Refer to installation guide.
Ex: 7.20 Installation Guide, System Requirements

Downtime
Redundant system is necessary to achieve a “No Downtime” Upgrade
Upgrading keys
• Make sure authcode is correct
• Make sure the key is showing correct version
• Upgrade CiuSafe
• Upgrade Sentinel Driver
Further issues?
http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/
vijeo-citect/find-answers/knowledge-base?catid=23

Redundant Servers fail to connect
Hardware Alarm “Server not Found”
1. Make sure that server passwords match (defined on computer setup editor):
Hardware Alarm: Database not connected
New to 7.30 and later. Usually deleting the alarm database works Located in
[Data]MyProjectMyCluster.MyAlarmServer.Database
More info in the following article: Q7798 http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/vijeo-
citect/find-answers/knowledge-base?view=kbarticle&id=7798

Best Practices for Upgrading
Useful Links Summary
Supportability and Compatibility
Compatibility Matrix
Product Support Lifecycle
Knowledge base – Upgrade related articles
http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/vijeo-citect/find-answers/knowledge-base?catid=32
Installation Guide - Installation Files (DVD / Zip file)
Help
Getting Started > What's New in Vijeo Citect / CitectSCADAV7.x
Getting Started > What's New in v7.x > Previous Releases > What's New in Vijeo Citect /
CitectSCADA v7.30
Getting Started > Upgrading to Vijeo Citect / CitectSCADA V7.40
Website
Upgrading SCADA design guides
http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/vijeo-citect/find-answers/design-guides
License Generator
http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/vijeo-citect/downloads-updates/license-generator
Driver web
http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/vijeo-citect/downloads-updates/driverweb

Upgrade Checklist
Pre-upgrade system
 Project backup (ctz file)
 Citect.ini  found on the path defined in [CtEdit]Config
 Data directory  found on the path defined in [CtEdit]Data
 Backup alarm files ALMSAV.DAT and ALMINDEXSAVE.DAT Path defined on .INI:
[Alarm]SavePrimary
 Back up trend files  path found on Trend Tag definition
 Report files: User defined folder  Define on report’s device or report’s .rtf
 Custom ActiveX controls (.OCX)
 [CtEdit]<Pathname> check in citect.ini as it could contain runtime files used by custom code in the
project
Upgraded system
 Restore Project backup (.ctz file)
 Citect.ini  pay special attention to driver parameters, merge other parameters when appropriate.
Keep this as it may help troubleshooting runtime issues after upgrade.
 Place the Backup alarm files ALMSAV.DAT and ALMINDEXSAVE.DAT and point the new .INI to them
using [Alarm]SavePrimary
 Back up trend files  if the location defined previously doesn’t exist on the new system, use trend
renamer http://www.citect-kb.schneider-electric.com/ToolBox/KnowledgebaseArticle1244.aspx
 Report files: place on the user defined location, if not available, you can change it without impact
(defined on report’s device)
 Custom ActiveX controls (.OCX): make sure the graphics objects are linked correctly to the ActiveX
controls. Register if necessary http://www.citect.schneider-electric.com/scada/vijeo-citect/find-
answers/knowledge-base?view=kbarticle&id=3386

Upgrading to Vijeo Citect v7.30 and beyond: Recommended procedures, hints and tips

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Upgrading to Vijeo Citect v7.30 and beyond: Recommended procedures, hints and tips