Wonderware Software Requirements (OS, SQL, etc)

Summary of Requirements for ArchestrA System Platform 2012 R2 (3.6)

Notes:

• The entry for Wonderware Application Server applies to the ArchestrA IDE (Development node) and ArchestrA Run time (Application node).
• The Galaxy Repository (GR node) can run on a client Windows operating system only in a single-node scenario.
• Development and application nodes are considered to be clients of the server GR node.
• Other .NET Framework versions can coexist, but all scripts in objects run in .NET Framework 4.0. 

ActiveX Controls Behavior on Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 Operating Systems

Due to the Data Execution Prevention (DEP) feature of Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2 operating systems, any ActiveX control built with ATL version 7.1 or earlier will fail to host or will have unpredictable behaviors in InTouch 10.6 either in WindowMaker or WindowViewer running on Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2. For more information, contact Wonderware Technical Support.

Configuring Remote Alarm Retrieval Queries When Running Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008 R2

The process to configure remote alarm retrieval queries has changed for interactive applications such as InTouch HMI when running on Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2.

When InTouch WindowViewer is started and generates alarms from an interactive Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008 R2 desktop session, an AlarmViewer control (running within InTouch HMI) on a remote node must be specially configured to query the alarms. The source alarms will not appear unless the AlarmViewer control's alarm query is configured.

This type of query only works for InTouch HMI as an alarm provider running in a Terminal Services session, not for InTouch HMI running in a console session.

To configure the AlarmViewer's alarm query

1. After starting InTouch WindowViewer (alarm provider) on the Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2 node, open the SMC Logger and look for the most recent string generated by AlarmMgr. For example: "Registering AlarmMgr with SLSSVC as AlarmMgr 253.127.148.120". The indicated IP address will be unique to your alarm-providing node. Note the IP address.
2. In the Alarm Query tab of the AlarmViewer control on the remote computer, configure the alarm query as follows, substituting your nodename of the alarm providing InTouch HMI for "nodeabc" below and substituting your IP address noted in the previous step:

where nodename is the name of the node that is providing the InTouch alarm and ip_address is the IP address that you determined in step 1.

3. Test to validate that the alarms generated from the alarm-providing node are shown accurately in the AlarmViewer control.

Wonderware InTouch HMI and Alarm DB Logger

In earlier releases that supported Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008, the Alarm DB Logger could not be enabled to run as a service. The Alarm DB Logger now runs as a Service in Windows Vista and later operating systems primarily to support Galaxy Alarms and InTouch HMI Alarms from Terminal sessions. However, there is a limitation in that the combination of Alarm DB Logger configured as a service and InTouch HMI running locally as a console application is still not supported. If InTouch HMI needs to run in the Console session, the Alarm DB Logger must be configured in the Alarm DB Logger Manager as a "Normal Application" instead of a "Windows Service".

Also, if you are running the Alarm DB Logger as a console application, you cannot run it in the Terminal session until you close the one that is running in as a console application.

Refer to the updated Tech Note 725, "Running InTouch HMI and AlarmDBLogger Services on Vista and Later Operating Systems," for full details of the supported scenarios and applicable alarm query syntax.

Terminal Services Behavior in Windows Server 2008 and Later Operating Systems

In a change from Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 and later operating systems no longer support the /console switch as a means of starting the remote desktop (RDP) client, also known as Session 0 or Terminal Server Console session. In Windows Server 2008 and later operating systems, Session 0 is no longer an interactive session, and is reserved only for Windows services. Windows Server 2008 and later operating systems treat all remote connections as remote RDP sessions regardless of /console, /admin, or any other switches used to make the connection.

This impacts InTouch HMI functionality such as Alarm Manager that depends on the Terminal Server Console session. Refer to the Wonderware InTouch HMI 2012 R2 (v10.6) Readme for further information about InTouch HMI applications running in the Terminal Server Console.

In another aspect of Terminal Services behavior, InTouch HMI functions such as TSEGetClientID() can return a null value when running on Windows 2008 SP2 and Windows 2008 R2 operating systems with InTouch running in a remote desktop (RDP) client session. The cause of this behavior is that the relevant roles are not installed on the Terminal Server. You must install the "Terminal Server" role for Windows 2008 SP2 or the "Remote Desktop Host" role for Windows 2008 R2 in order for TSEGetClientId() and other related functions to work properly.

The impact to Wonderware Application Server is minimal as most Wonderware Application Server processes run as services. One impact to Wonderware Application Server is to carry forward the restriction introduced with the Windows Vista operating system which permits only one alarm provider. While both Wonderware Application Server and InTouch HMI can be configured as alarm providers, only one alarm provider can be configured at any one time.

Wonderware Application Server and InTouch HMI detect when the application is running in the console. In Windows Server 2008 R2 it implies that the application was started by a user physically at the machine. However, this behavior requires that you disable Fast User Switching in both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 and later operating systems.

When running Windows Server 2008 and later operating systems, you must modify the terminal services behavior for the Wonderware software to operate properly.

Wonderware software detects when an application is running in the console. Windows Server 2008 and later operating systems treat all remote connections as a remote RDP session regardless of /consoleor /admin switches in the mstsc connection.

To disable fast user switching through the Group Policy interface

1. Click Start and then Run. The Run dialog box appears.
2. Enter gpedit.msc and click OK. The Group Policy dialog box appears.
3. Go to the following location: Local Computer Policy > Administrative Templates > System > Logon.
4. Set Hide Entry Points for Fast User Switching to Enabled.  Enabling this policy hides the Switch User option in the Logon interface, the Start menu, and the Task Manager.
5. On the File menu, click Exit to close the Group Policy dialog box.

By enabling the policy, Administrators hide the Switch User button in Windows logon, in the Start menu, and in the Task Manager.

Certain editions of Windows Vista do not have the Group Policy editor. So, alternatively, you can configure the Switch User settings through the registry.

To disable fast user switching through the Registry Editor

1. Click Start and then Run. The Run dialog box appears.
2. Enter regedit.exe and click OK. The Registry Editor dialog box appears.
3. Go to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Policies > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Policies > System.
4. Right-click and select DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it HideFastUserSwitching.
5. Set the HideFastUserSwitching data value to 1.
6. On the File menu, click Exit to close the Registry Editor.

In a Terminal Server environment that has a managed application deployed to it, the following behavior applies to references in the InTouch HMI application to the InTouchViewApp object:

ArchestrA Symbols referencing InTouchViewApp_001.Tag1:

Running on the Console - Refers to the tag value of the application running on the console.

Running in a Session - Refers to the tag value of the application running on the console.

Restarting the Window Viewer application running on the console causes references from the terminal session to disconnect and then reconnect.

InTouch Graphic referencing Tag1:

Running on the Console - Refers to the tag value of the application running on the console.

Running in a Session - Refers to the tag value of the application running in the session.

ArchestrA Graphic referencing InTouch:Tag1:

Running on the Console - Refers to the tag value of the application running on the console.

Running in a Session - Refers to the tag value of the application running in the session.

InTouch Graphic referencing Galaxy:InTouchViewApp_001.Tag1:

Running on the Console - Refers to the tag value of the application running on the console.

Running in a Session - Refers to the tag value of the application running on the console.

Wonderware InTouch HMI 2012 R2 (v10.6) with Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2

• Windows Vista does not support a dedicated single-node server configuration that runs one or more databases for an InTouch HMI system. 
• If a computer runs Windows Vista as part of an InTouch HMI system, it cannot be configured to be both an InTouch HMI and ArchestrA alarm provider. The computer running Windows Vista can be either an InTouch HMI or an ArchestrA alarm provider, but not both simultaneously.
• Wonderware InTouch HMI 10.6 does not support the following functions on these operating systems: WWPoke(), WWExecute(), WWRequest(), ActivateApp() and SendKeys().
• If Recipe Manager is started using the path Start\Program\Wonderware\InTouch\Recipe, then select Run as Administrator on Windows Vista or later operating systems.
• The InTouch Extensibility Toolkit might need to be started by right-clicking and selecting Run As Administrator on Windows Vista or later operating systems to function properly.
• The onscreen keyboard options have changed for the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems.
• Hovering to select from the Windows keyboard does not work in the Windows 7 Professional and Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard operating systems.

Wonderware InTouch HMI 2012 R2 (v10.6) View Applications and DDE Support

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 do not support NetDDE for InTouchView applications.

By design, an InTouchView application does not serve data to any other source, including InTouch HMI itself. When WindowViewer starts, it verifies if the application is an InTouchView application. When WindowViewer detects an InTouchView application, it does not register to become a DDE server. ArchestrA Symbols make use of the client layer when accessing InTouch tags, and appear as a third-party client trying to access WindowViewer as a data server. As a result, ArchestrA Symbols cannot communicate with InTouch tags when used with an InTouchView license.

Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Pro still support NetDDE.

In ArchestrA Symbols, InTouch:‹tagname› is still a valid method of referring to an InTouch tag on a local node.

Wonderware InTouch HMI 2012 R2 (v10.6) Support for Windows User Account Control

ArchestrA System Platform 2012 R2 with InTouch HMI v10.6 supports User Account Control-enabled operations on run-time nodes. You must disable User Account Control (UAC) before installing ArchestrA System Platform 2012 R2 and before performing Configurator operations. UAC also must be disabled on IDE and GR nodes.

Wonderware Application Server and DDE Support

In Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and later operating systems, DDE is supported only on a local node. Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and later operating systems do not support NetDDE. ArchestrA Symbols use the client layer when accessing InTouch tags and appear as a third-party client trying to access WindowViewer as a data server. Therefore the use of NetDDE for communication is not supported and not recommended.

In ArchestrA Symbols, InTouch:<tagname> is still a valid method of referring to an InTouch tag on a local node.

Using Wonderware Application Server with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

This section describes specific behaviors and restrictions when using the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems with Wonderware Application Server.

• The DDESuiteLink Client connection to the local DAServer using DDE does not work with User Account Control enabled. The connection will work when User Account Control is disabled.
• For toolkits such as the ArchestrA Object Toolkit, GRAccess Toolkit, and MXAccess Toolkit to function properly on Windows 7 and later operating systems, you may need to start the toolkit by right-clicking on the file and then clicking Run As Administrator.
• Wonderware Application Server may experience performance degradation depending on how certain operating system tuning parameters are configured. For more information, see Tech Note 719, "Optimizing Wonderware Application Server Performance on Windows 7/Server 2008 R2", available for download from Wonderware Developers Network (WDN) Technical Support.

Wonderware Application Server and User Account Control Level

Application Server versions 3.1, 3.1 SP1, 3.1 SP2, 3.1 SP2 Patch 01, 3.1 SP3, 3.2, 3.5, and 3.6 support User Account Control-enabled run-time operations without elevated privileges.

On computers where the IDE or the GR is installed, User Account Control must be disabled. For more information about User Account Control support, see Wonderware InTouch HMI 2012 R2 (v10.6) Support for Windows User Account Control.

SQL Server Rights Requirements

SQL Server 2008 does not automatically create the BUILTIN\Administrators role delivered in SQL Server 2005. Because of this change to SQL Server, the Wonderware Application Server 2012 R2 (v3.6) installation process will create the necessary operating system user group (aaAdministrators) as well as the necessary SQL Server role. This automated process will provide the rights required to allow operations within the Galaxy Repository without the need for blanket BUILTIN\Administrator rights. The aaAdministrators group must be present and enabled. If you accidentally delete the aaAdministrators group from the Windows operating system, you can run either of two options to restore it:

• Run the Change Network Utility from the Windows Start menu.
• Run the aaConfig SQL Utility from the Windows Start menu.

If you accidentally delete the aaAdministrators group from the SQL Server security logins, you must run the aaConfig SQL Utility to restore it. Refer to the Wonderware Application Server User's Guide, About ArchestrA User Accounts, for further information and procedures about restoring the aaAdministrators group.