AVEVA™ Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2 Readme

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About This Release

This document contains important information about the Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2 version that has been released along with System Platform 2023 R2. Carefully review this document for issues that have been resolved in this release, and some known issues you may encounter while using the Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2.

Third Party/Open Source Software Disclosure

The Communication Drivers Core incorporates Third Party/Open Source Software components whose licenses and copyright notices can be found at the following folder on the target machine:

Program Files(x86)\Wonderware\OSSLicense_CommunicationDriversPack.pdf

New in This Release

OpenSSL version upgrade

The Communication Drivers Pack now ships OpenSSL version 3.0 along with the existing version 1.1.

OPC UA Methods Support

Client applications can now call methods in an OPC UA server through the OPC UA client in the Gateway Communication Driver.

System Requirements

Platform Compatibility

The Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2 release is compatible with the following releases:

System Platform 2023 R2

For detailed information on product and platform compatibility, refer to the Technology Matrix section of the Global Customer Support (GCS) Site.

Operating Systems

The Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2 release is supported on the following Windows client and server operating systems (64-bit only).

Semi-Annual Channel Releases:

Windows 10 20H1 SAC Professional, Enterprise, and IoT Enterprise
Windows 10 20H2 SAC Professional, Enterprise, and IoT Enterprise
Windows 11 20H1 SAC Professional, Enterprise, and IoT Enterprise
Windows 11 20H2 SAC Professional, Enterprise, and IoT Enterprise

Long Term Service Channel Releases:

Windows 10 LTSC Enterprise, IoT Enterprise 2019 (1809)
Windows 10 LTSC Enterprise, IoT Enterprise 2021 (21H2)
Windows 11 LTSC Professional, Enterprise, and IoT Enterprise
Windows Server 2016 LTSC Standard and Datacenter
Windows Server 2019 LTSC Datacenter, Essentials, Standard
Windows Server IoT 2016 LTSC
Windows Server IoT 2019 LTSC
Windows Server 2022 LTSC Standard and Datacenter

Refer to the Technology Matrix, available at the Global Customer Support (GCS) site, for the latest information.

The Technology Matrix is a searchable database that contains the latest product information. Enter the product name in the search bar, then select the release to view:

Product Information: version name, number, release date, etc.
Product Notes: key release information, new features, and updates
OS Compatibility: list of compatible Windows and Windows Server versions
Browser Compatibility: list of compatible browsers
Virtualization Compatibility: list of compatible virtualization software products and versions
Product Coexistence: list of products that can be installed on the same computer
Product Interoperability/Compatibility: list of products that can operate together and communicate with each other through a common message protocol.

Hardware Requirements

To run a Communication Driver, the following hardware configurations are the minimum recommended:

2 GHz or faster processor, 32-bit or 64-bit (Intel Itanium processor is not supported)
RAM: 1 GB or more (512 MB minimum supported but may limit performance and some features)
At least 8 GB of available hard disk space
Super VGA (1024 x 768) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor
Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

Note: For every additional 5 connections (Up to 10,000 I/O @ 1000 ms each), add 1 GB RAM and 1 Cores.

Installing AVEVA Communication Drivers

Installation Checklist

Before installing the Communication Drivers Pack, please ensure the following:

Exit all AVEVA (formerly Wonderware) programs, including executable (.exe) files and services
Disconnect/close all third party OPC clients of existing DAServers/OI Servers/Communication Drivers
Deactivate all DAServers/OI Servers/Communication Drivers

It is also recommended to stop the platform where the Communication Drivers Pack will be installed.

Install/Upgrade Procedure

Download AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2 from the Connectivity Hub section of the Global Customer Support.

Note: AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack is not supported on 32-bit operating systems.

The GCS Connectivity Hub contains the product downloads, documents, and videos.

Note: The downloaded files could be blocked. Since the Windows regards downloaded files as potentially unsafe, it blocks the file from executing after the downloaded. Check your Downloaded ZIP or ISO file to ensure that the downloaded file is not blocked. If it is blocked, you must unblock it before extracting.

To Install/Upgrade the AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack

Locate the installer file (Setup.exe) in the AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2 installation media. Double-click the Setup.exe file or right-click Setup.exe and select Run as administrator.
Depending on your computer's security settings, the User Account Control may ask for permission to run the installation program. Click Yes to allow it to run. A dialog box with the list of all the products that will be upgraded appears.
Click OK. The License Agreement window appears.
Review the license agreement and agree to the terms stated. Read the License Agreement. If you agree to the stated terms, select the I have read and accept the terms of license agreement(s) and click Agree.
If you accept the license agreement, the Preview Installation window with the list of Communication Drivers appears. You can find the following options to select:
Note: If you are upgrading, the Communication Drivers that are already present will be selected and grayed out. You cannot unselect them. The Core Communication Drivers and the other Communication Drivers that are already present will be upgraded. The previous configuration will be retained after the upgrade.
- AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack - Includes all the supervisory Communication Drivers as well as the necessary components for the individual configuration, management, runtime, licensing, and diagnostics for each driver. If you select this checkbox, all the below drivers gets selected. You can select or unselect the below drivers as per your requirements.
  - PCS Plug-In: Supports PCS connectivity for Communication Drivers.
  - Allen-Bradley - ABCIP: Supports the logix platform from Allen-Bradley including ControlLogix, GaurdLogix, CompactLogix, FlexLogix, SoftLogix, and MicroLogix. Supports legacy SLC 500 Ethernet controllers. Supports bridge connectivity to legacy PLC5 and SCL 500 via DH+ and ControlNet networks. Supports AutoBuild for Logix controllers.
  - Allen-Bradley - ABTCP: Support for Allen-Bradley legacy platforms including PLC-5 and SLC5-500 controllers.
  - Beckhoff - TWINCAT: Leverages the TwinCAT ADS communication library for communication and supports any TCP/IP Ethernet Beckoff device compatible with the ADS Library version you install. The TC1000:TC3 Library should be compatible with CX1010, CX1020, CX1030, CX2000, CX5000, CX5100, CX8000, and CX9000 and any other device hosting the TwinCAT runtime 2 and 3.
  - General Electric - GESRTP: Supports Series 90-30, Series 90-70, Versamax, Versamax Micro, Versamax Nano, and PACSystems (RX3i, RX7i) controller families.
  - Internal - SIM: Supports simulation of Discrete, Integer, Real (Float/Double Float), and String data types through OPC or SuiteLink. It has advanced data simulation capabilities for setpoint, noise, and process value tracking.
  - Mitsubishi - MELSEC: Supports the controller families MELSEC-Q, MELSEC-QnA, MELSEC-L, and MELSEC-iQ-R.
  - Modicon - MBTCP: Supports generic Modbus TCP, Modicon family of controllers including TSX Quantum, TSX Momentum, TSX Premium, and also supports Modbus Bridge.
  - Omron - OMRONFINS: Supports for Omron Ethernet-based controllers supporting the FINS network protocol including CJ1, CJ2, CS1, CP1, CV, CVM1 series.
  - Schneider-Electric - SOMAC: Supports the Logic Controllers Modicon M241 PLC and Modicon M251 PLC. Also, supports the Motion Controllers PacDrive 3 LMC Eco/ Pro/Pro2.
  - Siemens - SIDIRECT: Supports Siemens S7-1200, S7-1500 platform in both legacy and symbolic modes. Supports Siemens S7-300, S7-400 controllers. Supports AutoBuild for S7-1200 and S7-1500 controllers.
  - Standards - BACLITE: Supports the BACNet/IP Communication protocol.
  - Standards - CODESYS: Supports connectivity to Codesys-based controllers of versions 20x and 3.x. The following were qualified internally, but the driver can still work suppliers that use the CODESYS.
    - Bosch Rexroth-L40 and L65
    
    - CODESYS – SP WIN V3.5.1 Control, SP PLCWinNT V2.4.4.0
    
    - EATON – XC-CPU202 CODESYS V3.5
    
    - Schneider Electric – 241/M251
    
    - WAGO- CPU 750-841
  - Standards - GATEWAY: Allows connectivity to SuiteLink, OPC DA, OPC UA, InTouch, and Application Data sources. Then exposes data via SuiteLink and OPC DA to software clients.
  - Standards - MQTT: Supports Subscription and publishing of Sparkplug and JSON-based MQTT payloads based on the MQT 3.1.1 specification.
  - Standards - SNMP: Supports SNMP versions V1, V2C, V3.
  - Standards - WEBSVC: Supports communications with client web services over an HTTP/S network using: Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) (XML payload format only), Representational State Transfer (REST) (XML, JSON format supported). Secured connectivity limited to REST-based web servers.
  - Texas Instruments - TI500: Supports the Control Technology Inc. – CTI2500 (replacing the TI500’s series). Supports the controllers – TI545 / 565 / 575. Supports Serial and Ethernet connectivity.
  - Communication Drivers SDK: Installs the Communication Drivers Software Development Kit (SDK) and associated templates and required to develop a new Communication Driver based on the AVEVA Communication Drivers framework.
- License: Select this option to install both the AVEVA Enterprise License Server and AVEVA Enterprise License Manager.
  - AVEVA Enterprise License Server: Select this feature if you want to install the license locally in the node where you are installing the Communication Drivers Pack, thus requiring that node to act as a license server. If you want to install the license server in another node, this feature is not required. Use the Configurator utility to select the License Server upon installation.
  - AVEVA Enterprise License Server Legacy Support: Select this feature to install legacy versions of the license server (version prior to the AVEVA Enterprise 4.0.) on the node where you are installing the Communication Drivers Pack. If this checkbox is not selected, all client nodes that connect to this License Server would need to be upgraded to 4.0.
  - AVEVA Enterprise License Manager: Select this feature if you want to install the License Manager locally in the node where you are installing the Communication Drivers Pack, thus requiring that node to act as a License Manager. Use the Configurator utility to select the License Server upon installation.
- PCS_Framework: The following PCS Framework components can be installed if the PCS framework is installed on the machine
  - PCS - Runtime
  - PCS - Service Repository
Note: As part of the CDP installation, you can install the PCS plug-in for Communication Drivers, along with the PCS framework components (PCS Runtime and PCS Service Repository), only if the PCS framework is installed on the same machine. The PCS Framework is installed along with System Platform.
If no version of the PCS Framework is present on the machine, the PCS plug-in and PCS framework components cannot be installed during the CDP installation.

Select the required Communication Drivers that you want to install and click Next to continue.
The list of Prerequisites and selected Products (Communication Drivers and Licensing components) that are going to get installed or upgraded appears. Click Install to continue the install/upgrade.
The Installation Complete window appears.
Click Configure to open the configuration window or close the window to exit the setup.
Note: While upgrading an existing Communication Drivers Pack with unsecure SuiteLink to 2023 or later without configuring SMS, then fallback is disabled. SuiteLink no longer works after upgrade. Make sure the Accept non-encrypted SuiteLink connections (mixed mode) check box in the Advanced window of the Configurator is selected. By default, this option is selected on upgrade. For more information, refer to the Secure SuiteLink Connection section of the AVEVA™ Communication Drivers Pack help.

A reboot may be required to complete the installation process. After the installation, you can see only one component (AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2) in the Control Panel. The user interface in the OCMC remains the same.

OPC connectivity, DCOM, Windows Firewall, and Anonymous Access

The Communication Drivers Pack no longer supports Anonymous Login setting in DCOM configuration for OPC connections. In order to ensure proper communication between both nodes, you need to ensure DCOM, Windows Firewall, and user credential settings are configured properly. For additional details, refer to the section OPC connectivity, DCOM, Windows Firewall, and Anonymous Access in the Communication Drivers Core Help.

Modify, Repair, or Remove the AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack

Modifying an Installation

You can change the Communication Drivers Pack components installed on your computer. You can add new components or modify the existing ones. Download the AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack 2023.1 Patch 02 from the Connectivity Hub section of the Global Customer Support before you can modify a program.

To modify an installation

Open the Modify, Repair or Remove Installation dialog box by doing either of the following:
- Run Setup.exe from the Communication Drivers Pack installation DVD.
- Navigate to Uninstall or Change a Program in the Windows Control Panel.
Right-click AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack and select Uninstall/Change.

Note: The name of the Uninstall/Change option may vary depending on which Windows operating system is installed on your computer.
Click the Modify option, and then click Next. The list of Communication drivers Pack components appears.
Select or clear the components that you want to add or remove, and then click Next.
The Select Modify to confirm feature changes window appears. You can see the list of Communication Drivers that will be added newly in the Adding these features box. Click Modify.
Review the license agreement and agree to the terms stated. Read the License Agreement. If you agree to the stated terms, select the I read and accept the terms of license agreement(s) and click Agree.
The selected components are added or removed. If the added components require configuration, the Configurator opens. If not, the complete modification dialog box appears.
Click Finish.

Repairing an Installation

You can repair the installation of any Communication Drivers Pack component to fix missing or corrupt files, registry keys or shortcuts. You can also reset the registry key to the default value.

Note: You must insert the installer DVD in the DVD-ROM drive before you can repair a program.

To repair an installation

Click the Uninstall or Change a Program option in Windows Control Panel. The list of software installed on your computer appears.
Right-click AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack and select Uninstall/Change. The Modify Repair or Remove Installation dialog box appears.
Note: The name of the Uninstall/Change button varies depending on the Windows operating system installed on your computer.
Click the Repair option, and then click Next. The Confirm Repair dialog box appears.
Click Repair. The complete repair dialog box appears.
Click Finish.

Uninstall the Communication Drivers Pack

The uninstallation process uninstalls only the Communication Drivers and the dependent components. All the prerequisites and independent components (such as the PCS framework and Licensing components) should be uninstalled manually. The following Communication Drivers are uninstalled along with the Communication Drivers Pack:

Allen-Bradley - ABCIP
Allen-Bradley - ABTCP
Beckhoff - TWINCAT
General Electric - GESRTP
Internal - SIM
Mitsubishi - MELSEC
Modicon - MBTCP
Omron - OMRONFINS
Schneider-Electric - SOMAC
Siemens - SIDIRECT
Standards - BACLITE
Standards - CODESYS
Standards - GATEWAY
Standards - MQTT
Standards - SNMP
Standards - WEBSVC
Texas Instruments - TI500

To uninstall Communication Drivers Pack

Click the Uninstall or Change a Program option in Windows Control Panel. The list of software installed on your computer appears.
Right-click AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack, and select Uninstall/Change button. The Modify, Repair or Remove Installation dialog box appears.
Click the Remove option, and then click Next. The confirmation dialog box appears.
Click Uninstall. The AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack is uninstalled and the complete uninstallation dialog box appears.
Click Finish.

Note: You cannot uninstall the Communication Drivers Pack if the Application Server or InTouch product from SP2020R2SP1 (or above) is installed on the same machine. You have to uninstall the Application Server or InTouch product before uninstalling Communication Drivers Pack.

Silent Installation of Communication Drivers Pack

The Communication Drivers Pack supports silent (command line) installation.

Before initiating the silent installation of the Communication Drivers Pack, it is strongly recommended that you stop all the DAServers, OI Servers, and Communication Drivers.

Silent Installation Syntax

The basic syntax of the silent installation command consists of the full path to the Silent_Install_Setup.bat file (typically the DVD drive designation on your local computer), and the command line switch.

<DVD>: AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2>Silent_Install_Setup.bat /<argument>

The usage instructions can be retrieved by the following command line. It returns the supported operations - install and uninstall.

<DVD>: AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2>Silent_Install_Setup.bat /?

To install/uninstall the Communication Drivers Pack

Open a command prompt using Run as administrator
Run the batch file set up with the /install or /uninstall switch respectively.
Installation: C: AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2>Silent_Install_Setup.bat /install

Uninstallation: C: AVEVA Communication Drivers Pack 2023 R2>Silent_Install_Setup.bat /uninstall
Wait for the system to display the confirmation message - Silent installation completed successfully or Silent uninstallation completed successfully

The silent installation process installs Communication Drivers along with the prerequisite products. However, the uninstallation process uninstalls only the Communication Drivers and the dependent components. All the prerequisites and independent components should be uninstalled manually. The following Communication Drivers are installed along with the Communication Drivers Core:

Allen-Bradley - ABCIP
Allen-Bradley - ABTCP
Beckhoff - TWINCAT
General Electric - GESRTP
Internal - SIM
Mitsubishi - MELSEC
Modicon - MBTCP
Omron - OMRONFINS
Schneider-Electric - SOMAC
Siemens - SIDIRECT
Standards - BACLITE
Standards - CODESYS
Standards - GATEWAY
Standards - MQTT
Standards - SNMP
Standards - WEBSVC
Texas Instruments - TI500

Resolved Issues

Resolved issues for individual drivers are listed in the respective driver readme files.

The following issues are resolved in this release of the Communication Drivers Core.

Defect ID	Case Number	Description
2519933	960277171	Some values would turn to bad quality when switching symbols in WindowViewer.
2543057 / 2616406	960311100 / 960330161	An unknown error 0xC0000005 would appear due to an issue in the SuiteLink data type when creating an item.
2584245	960303129	Incorrect Update Time would appear in some Device Group configurations due to an issue with the MaxUpdateInterval system item.

Known Issues

Following are known issues in this release. Individual driver known issues are listed in the respective driver readme files.

Defect ID

SR/Case Number

Description

2629730

(Internal)

Issue: While upgrading from SP 2023 to SP 2023 R2, a warning message related to the "OIMigrationUtil" component appears, although there is no functional impact in the Communication Driver.

This error will not appear in future upgrade scenarios post SP 2023 R2.

(Internal)

Issue: Old CHM help files may appear in the Microsoft Management Console when you upgrade to CDP 2023 R2 on a machine with a version of System Platform older than SP 2023.

Work-around: CHM help files have been deprecated. You can access the latest AVEVA Communication Drivers web help in any of the following ways:

Press F1 on any Communication Driver node
Right-click on a node and select Help
Open AVEVA Help from the Windows Start menu

AVEVA™ Communication Drivers Pack Documentation

The AVEVA™ Communication Drivers Pack documentation set includes the following guides. These documents can be accessed from the Help menu in the OCMC.

AVEVA™ Communication Drivers Pack Help. This documentation describes the runtime Configuration, Diagnostics, and Activation/Deactivation aspects of a Communication Driver.
Note: In the OCMC, under the Help menu, if you click the Help Topics option, you may not be able to view the CHM help in some operating systems. Alternately you can open the online help by right-clicking on the respective communication driver node and selecting the Help option.
Log Viewer Help. This guide provides information about the Logger™ and the Log Viewer snap-in to the Operations Control Management Console.
LogFlag Editor User's Guide. This documentation describes the user interface and functions of the LogFlag Editor utility. This utility can be opened only from the Log Viewer, a part of the Operations Control Management Console suite of utilities.
AVEVA Enterprise License Manager Help This guide describes how to use the License Manager to activate and acquire licenses.
Note: The AVEVA Enterprise License Manager Help can be accessed through the License Manager application (available only for the new license framework). For earlier versions of the license framework, see License Utility Guide.