Have you ever wondered why certain features in TOP Server work the way you experience them, or how something might work in certain scenarios? Well this blog post tries to answer a few of those type of questions!
Anyone that has used TOP Server before has had to make edits to the configuration. While TOP Server allows changes to many settings while actively collecting and serving data, and makes it simple, there are things to consider to avoid disrupting operations. TOP Server has certain restrictions in place when making configuration changes, and while potentially frustrating, these are for your benefit and security. For example, perhaps you have tried to make a certain change, but observed that the setting immediately changes back and “doesn’t stick”. Or maybe you’ve logged onto your machine and were unable to make any configuration changes at all. Why is that?
In this video blog post, we will be covering several common use cases to provide a better understanding of them and sharing the steps to work through those scenarios.
If you are new to TOP Server, we highly recommend that you visit our TOP Server Learning Resources page. And if you’ve worked with TOP Server before, but are unfamiliar with the different TOP Server Components (Runtime, Configuration, Event Log, etc.), we suggest you review our blog on Understanding the Different TOP Server Components.
In this video, I have shown you:
- Only one user can have Read/Write access to the TOP Server Configuration at a time and they must close their Configuration Session before another user can make edits.
- Active Client Connections will restrict the user’s ability to make certain configuration changes. To make changes, users will need to do one of the following:
- Disconnect all Clients (not always feasible)
- Disconnect the Configuration from Runtime (go to Runtime -> Disconnect), make the edits offline, then reconnect and push those changes to Runtime all at once. Note: This will result in a short Runtime disruption.
- Modifying Logging Groups in the TOP Server Data Logger Plug-In is not possible while the Logging Group is Active.
If TOP Server allowed multiple users to access and make changes to the configuration simultaneously, this could result in unintended consequences if proper caution and communication are not followed. Configuration changes in general are best suited to be completed during scheduled maintenance periods. This would avoid any unexpected disruptions to your production environment.
We hope that we’ve been able to shine some light on these common scenarios that you might encounter while editing your TOP Server Configuration. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Technical Support Team through our Ask a Question form.
And don't forget to subscribe to our blog to not only be notified of future posts on TOP Server and other Software Toolbox solutions, but to also find out about more relevant technical topics applying to industrial process automation and solving related challenges.
