IADS Data Source

[bkelly]

Environment: Wyle G2 and IADS 6.3
I downloaded the IADS Data Source and it looks like it can be very
usefull to us. There are a few points that puzzle me.

The setup was as follows: The G2 was configured for a mission, the
simulator started and stream 1 was locked up. Then the IADS Server
was started with the approprate configuration and data gathering was
started. Then Visual Studio was started on the G2 and the project was
loaded.

When the solution is compiled and started it just says connecting to
port 49000 and sits there. I presume that there are some changes to
be made on the IADS server but was unable to spot those instructions.
What are the setup steps for the IADS server.

Within the IADS Data Source solution, the section that sets up for the
simulated DECOM output from this test code appears to just select tags
1 through n to send to the server. What needs to be done to associate
these tag values with some parameter names on the server?

To be more specific, we have about 3000 parameters to send via this
pipeline. (Don't worry about the band width, they are heavily sub-
commutated and only a few get sent during any one time span.) How
should we make the connection between tag numbers and our flock of
paramters. I am hoping that you will tell me about some method to
automate this process rather than entering each of the parameters by
hand.

[Adam Chant]

There is a pdf document included in the project that outlines the
configuration details for setting up the parameters that are simulated.
Basically it uses your existing pfconfig file to generate a parameter list.
Let me walk through it and see if I can provide you with some additional
details to get it working.

Adam Chant
Symvionics, Inc.
IADS Application Engineer
(661) 273-7003 x 210

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[Mike Burt]

Hi Bryan:

> The setup was as follows: The G2 was configured for a mission, the
> simulator started and stream 1 was locked up. Then the IADS Server
> was started with the approprate configuration and data gathering was
> started. Then Visual Studio was started on the G2 and the project was
> loaded.

Sounds like you are trying to setup a Custom data source as a
secondary data source to the IADS server...I will continue under that
premise...

> When the solution is compiled and started it just says connecting to
> port 49000 and sits there. I presume that there are some changes to
> be made on the IADS server but was unable to spot those instructions.
> What are the setup steps for the IADS server.

When dealing with setting up a secondary data source first you need to
setup your startup file to define the specs of the additional data
source (i.e. host, port, parameter definition file, etc.)...an IADS
Google Group post that describes this process in more detail is as
follows:

http://groups.google.com/group/iads/browse_thread/thread/8f36f9cc22dc717/a8dd45a9fd8c258f?hl=en&lnk=gst&q=secondary#

Secondly you need to create a parameter definition file that lists the
parameters along with their specs that are to be forwarded from the
data source to the IADS server. This will be reflected in the startup
file entry PARAMDEF_2 (example used in the Google post). See the pdf
file contained in the Iads Data Source package you obtained from the
download site for more detail on the parameter definition file format.
The IADS Data Source package you obtained from the download site
contains parameter definition files associated with the example code
that you can use in your initial test instance...I believe the one
that applies in the default case is iadsCDS.prn.SimStyle (someone
please correct me if I am wrong).

Finally the parameters listed in the definition file that you want
processed in IADS need to be propagated to the IADS config file
ParameterDefaults table. One method is to use the IADS Parameter
Attributes Dialog tool to either create entire config files containing
the parameter sets from both data sources or create csv files that can
be appended into existing config files. Further details on this
process can be found in the IADS help system (see the IADS Parameter
Attributes Viewer page). Steps for either the create or append option
are also described in the following Google Group post:

http://groups.google.com/group/iads/browse_thread/thread/18ebaaaeb6ef6277/54ebd5ee0c4f85fe?hl=en&lnk=gst&q=parameter+attributes#

> Within the IADS Data Source solution, the section that sets up for the
> simulated DECOM output from this test code appears to just select tags
> 1 through n to send to the server. What needs to be done to associate
> these tag values with some parameter names on the server?

The mapping between tag id and parameter is based on the setup within
the data source and will be reflected in the parameter definition file
(AKA prn file) you need to create.

> To be more specific, we have about 3000 parameters to send via this
> pipeline. (Don't worry about the band width, they are heavily sub-
> commutated and only a few get sent during any one time span.) How
> should we make the connection between tag numbers and our flock of
> paramters. I am hoping that you will tell me about some method to
> automate this process rather than entering each of the parameters by
> hand.

We are definitiely lacking in tools to build up a prn file...but not
sure there is a way to standardize how to build one up...depends on
the interface upstream available to obtain the information in an
automated fashion which will be different in each case. We do have
plans to enhance the Custom interface in the future to provide a
connection-based interface to transfer parameter information...but of
course that does not help you right now.

If you continue to have problems with the setup or have further
questions (or I totally misunderstood the original question) please
let us know.

[bkelly]

Following the previous post, I edited the configuration file and added
the four DATA_ lines

DATALOCATION_2 = G_2_User_App 49000 (code uses 49000 not
49002 in the referenced document)
DATA_SOURCE_BUFFER_SIZE_IN_MILLISECONDS_2 = 20
DATA_SOURCE_TYPE_2 = Custom
DATA_SOURCE_PROGID_2 = IadsCustomDataSource.IadsCustomDataSource.1

I put them at the bottom of the file after a comment about them (used
the // to denote a comment) Will that location suffice?
The G2 was started with its simulator and shows frame and subframe
locked, the source code from your downloaded site was compiled and
started. It said it was blocked waiting on port 49000. All well and
good at this point.
The Operator Console was started using a working cofig for the
selected source on the G2. Time was validated and CDS began gathering
data.
The Parameter attributes dialog was opened and I expected to find some
new paramters in there so I could add them to the configuration.
There was nothing new in the parameter list. However, that is now
expected as the DOS window with the new code was still blocked at the
same location.

While CDS was gathering data the application was stopped and restarted
with the same results, blocked on port 49000.

I looked at the PRN file. some of the lines in the example file (from
the PDF that came with the download) are there and some are not. Do I
need to make changes to that file. What is the significance of each
field. (I am hoping for a link to something so I won't consume much
of your time.)

Obviously there is a task I have not discovered and have not
accomplished.

[Mike Burt]

Hi Bryan:

I believe the initial problem you are having is that the entries you
added need to be located inside the CDS section of the Op Console
startup file and the equal signs need to be removed between the
keyword and value of each entry. You also need to add the following
entries:

MODE_2 SIMTPP
PARAMDEF_2 ./parameterDefinitionFiles/iadsCDS.prn

The above assumes the prn file is named iadsCDS.prn and placed in the
C:\Program Files\Iads\ComputeDataServer\parameterDefinitionFiles
folder on the IADS server machine...if not edit accordingly.

> I looked at the PRN file. some of the lines in the example file (from
> the PDF that came with the download) are there and some are not. Do I
> need to make changes to that file. What is the significance of each
> field. (I am hoping for a link to something so I won't consume much
> of your time.)

There are multiple prn files each designating the simulator data
generation mode. For the default mode as setup in the downloaded code
use the iadsCDS.prn.DecomStyle parameter definition file to specify
the data set coming out of the simulator. If you want to use the above
mentioned PARAMDEF_2 entry as is...just place the file in the C:
\Program Files\Iads\ComputeDataServer\parameterDefinitionFiles folder
on the IADS server machine and rename the file to iadsCDS.prn.

The format of the file is as follows:

TagId Name SampleRate DataFormatCode

Further details can be found in section 3.2 of the pdf document
included with the download package.

If you have further problems please let us know.

[bkelly]

Good Afternoon,

I am not able to get over the first hurdle of connecting from the new
source to the server. After editing the config file as noted and
starting the operator console, the configuration file is re-written
and all my changes are gone. The file is in the IADS program files in
the server directory so I think the right file is being edited. (Our
DNS at work is down so I am editing this at home.)

On Oct 7, 2:44 pm, Mike Burt <mb...@iads-soft.com> wrote:
> Hi Bryan:
>
> I believe the initial problem you are having is that the entries you
> added need to be located inside the CDS section of the Op Console
> startup file and the equal signs need to be removed between the
> keyword and value of each entry. You also need to add the following
> entries:

The bit about removing the = sign is puzzeling. The config file on our
system has the = sign in all the DATA lines as does the example file
that was found via the link posted here. I don't understand why you
would instruct me to remove it.

> There are multiple prn files each designating the simulator data
> generation mode. For the default mode as setup in the downloaded code
> use the iadsCDS.prn.DecomStyle parameter definition file to specify
> the data set coming out of the simulator. If you want to use the above
> mentioned PARAMDEF_2 entry as is...just place the file in the C:
> \Program Files\Iads\ComputeDataServer\parameterDefinitionFiles folder
> on the IADS server machine and rename the file to iadsCDS.prn.
>

I searched the IADS program file directory and or disk where we keep
all the user configurations and found but one file of the format
*.prn.

>The above assumes the prn file is named iadsCDS.prn and placed in the
>C:\Program Files\Iads\ComputeDataServer\parameterDefinitionFiles
>folder on the IADS server machine...if not edit accordingly.

Should I create a new PRN file and locate it per the above
paragraph?

[Michael Jones]

Hi Brian,

It sounds like you are directly editing the CDS Startupfile by hand -
if you do this and then run the OpConsole without making the needed
changes your CDS startupfile will get overwritten by the OpConsole.

Running the CDS without an OpConsole is fine - especially while
prototyping. But then when you integrate into your 'full' realtime
configuration the OpConsole takes control of all the pieces.

Take a look at your OpConsole.iadsStartupFile. Search for any of the
CDS Startupfile Key Words - i.e. DATALOCATION
This is where you need to make your additional entries for the 2nd
Data Source.

You can directly cut-n-paste these entries for you CDS startup file,
but be careful (as Mike Burt noted above) that you remove the Equals
sign (the two startup files use different formatting to specify a
Property vs a Value)

Mike

[bkelly]

In the hopes of making my errors easy to detect, and to provide a
procedure I can reference later, here is my understanding of the steps
necessary to add a second source to an IADS and Wyle G2
configuration.
I expect/hope that this application will add a second source of data
and will not disrupt the original data path from the Wyle G2 system to
the IADS data server. The hoped for result will be two paths of data
into the IADS server. I presume the second source could be an
entirely different computer.

1. Download the IADS Data Source project from the download pages
2. Compile it and be prepared to start the application.
3. Start the Wyle G2 and Omega in the normal manner. Select a valid
project and load it in the normal manner.
4. Optional: Start the Wyle simulator and obtain a frame lock on the
Omega Serve. (i.e. get data flowing so that the CDS can validate time)
5. Start the IOM in the normal manner.
6. On the IADS Server:
a. Navigate to file C:\Program Files\OpConsole
\Opconsole.iadsStartupFile
b. Save a copy before making any changes
c. Edit the file
d. Page down in the file to locate

CDS
{
IADS_SERVER
{
Hostname 192.168.2.2 (replace with your local configuration)
Type Omega
}
Properties
{
MODE SIMTPP
Etc etc.
}
}

7. In the properties section, find the following “DATA*” lines, copy
each line, and paste a copy just beneath the original. Edit in the
“_2” on each of the duplicated lines and edit the URL as appropriate
for your system. You will probably have a computer name rather than
an IP address.

MODE SIMTPP
MODE_2 SIMTPP
DATALOCATION 192.168.2.2 7001
DATALOCATION_2 192.168.2.2 49000
DATA_SOURCE_BUFFER_SIZE_IN_MILLISECONDS 20
DATA_SOURCE_BUFFER_SIZE_IN_MILLISECONDS_2 20
DATA_SOURCE_TYPE = Omega
DATA_SOURCE_TYPE_2 = Custom
DATA_SOURCE_PROGID = IadsOS90DataSource.IadsOS90DataSource.1
DATA_SOURCE_PROGID_2 = IadsCustomDataSource.IadsCustomDataSource.1

8. Find the PDF file that came with the downloaded source code and
locate the example PRN file in Appendix C. Copy the text and put it
in a new file located: <please add full pathname here>
9. Start the new IADS source application on the G2 computer. It will
stop with a message indicating it is blocked waiting on port 49000.
10. Start the IADS Operator console. It will communicate with the IOM
and it will <I don’t know yet, but expect it to communicate with the
new user application>
11. When the operator console has started there may/will be some
errors. Start the IADS Parameter Attributes Dialog application.
Browse to the BTD file. Right click and save a new configuration in
the standard configuration directory.
12. Stop CDS and stop the second source application.
13. Restart the second source application and restart IADS Operator
Console.
14. Are there any additinal steps that must be added?

Thanks for your time and patience.

[bkelly]

I tried a few more permutations.
Please be aware of possible typos as my working computers have no
printers and are not even in the same room as this computer I use to
access the internet.

Adding the line:
PARAMDEF_2 ./UserApp.prn
and put the file in the appropreiate directory. That did not work.
Looking at the Op console DOS window, CDS is was still looking for a
file named iadsCDS.prn
The directory C:\Program Files\IADS\ComputerDataserver
\ParameterDefinitionFiles
did not contain any PRN files. So I put a copy of the PRN from the
downloaded PDF file in there and gave it the name iadsCDS.prn

Now when I start the Ops console, it communicates with both sources,
and the new user app recognizes it.
So I used the parameter attributes dialog, created a new config file,
and restarted the Ops console with the new file.
BTW: I did see the new parameters with the attributes dialog tool.
The startup proceeded through most of the start up then displayed the
message:
Unable to locate PARAMETER in Iads control database. The line was
repeated for PARAMETER2, etc.
The config file was opened and PARAMETER through PARAMETERBLOB are
present in the file.
I don't know how to fix this but I will try to think of something
while waiting for a response.
I am getting close and looking forward to the last few changes that
get this working.

[Michael Jones]

Brian, incase it isn't obvious, I thought I would point out that you
certainly don't need to re-perform all that editing. When you have an
established 2-datasource startupfile, simply save it to a new name.
i.e. OpConsole.Multi-Source.iadsStartupFile. You can then make a copy
of your OpConsole shortcut, and edit its properties to load the new
startup file.

If you have extraneous unused paramaters in your
ParameterDefaultsTable - you can simply select the Rows and right-
click -> delete.

On the secondary data source console window, are you seeing the CDS
application make a connection? Have you verified that you are
receiving data from the secondary source? If yes to both, it sounds
like you simply have some extra uneeded parameters in your config file
for some reason.

Mike

[Michael Jones]

Ohhhh, I think I see where you are getting those parameter names from.
It looks like you have cut and pasted the example contents of a
Parameter Definition File according to Appendix 3 of the
IadsInterfaceDoc. Those entries are simply an example - the do not
correlate to the IadsDS sample project.

Open up the IadsDS project in your developer environement.
Look at the header section of IadsDS.cpp (appx Line 207)

You should see a section like this:
#define DECOM_STYLE
//#define SIMULATOR_STYLE
//#define BLOB_STYLE
//#define APERIODIC

In my example, you can see that DECOM_STYLE has been defined - these
defines (1 at a time) illustrate different methods for sending data to
the CDS.

Each of those defines matches a corresponding sample PRN file. In your
development project you should see a folder called CDS Support Files.
In that folder are the 4 corresponding sample PRN files that match the
sample code.
i.e. iadsCDS.prn.DecomStyle corresponds to the DECOM_STYLE definition
in the sample project.

Copy and rename tjhis file as appropriate for your PARAMDEF_2
definition in your startupfile.

Let us know how that turns out.

Regards,
Mike

> > get this working.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[bkelly]

Just for completeness, a phone conversation revealed that we need to
install version 6.6 in order to use this user application along with
the Wyle G2 Omega Serve software. That is in progress.

Are there any start order requirements for using the second source
application. Does it have to be running before starting the Op
Console? Can it be started after the Op console has validated time
for the main stream?

I saw a reference to file IadsInterface.doc in the source code for the
second source application. Where can I get a copy of that document?

Thank you,

[Adam Chant]

IadsInterface.doc has been updated to IADS Real-time Data Source
Interface.pdf located in the installation directory of the
IadsDataSource.zip

Adam Chant
Symvionics, Inc.
IADS Application Engineer
(661) 273-7003 x 210

-----Original Message-----
From: ia...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ia...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
bkelly
Sent: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 7:54 AM
To: IADS

Thank you,

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[Michael Jones]

Yes, all datasources should be ready to accept a connection from the
CDS prior to launching the OpConsole.

If one or more of the data sources is unavailable, you will receive an
error message and be prevented from continuing.