Download Package of results transmission solutions via LAN Local Area Network

elemental analysis
Product Specifications
ARLnet: Package of results
transmission solutions via
LAN Local Area Network
Do you need to display or print
results in the process control
room? Transmit them on-line to a
process computer? Via LAN
network? To your favorite
spreadsheet program on your
office computer? To a LIMS or to a
departmental file server? WinOE
and WinXRF analytical software
can do it all and up to 18
destinations!
Option for WinOE and WinXRF Software for
ARL OE and XRF spectrometers
Select the media and
solution for each destination
Defining network communication is that easy
WinOE is the
analytical software
for ARL optical
emission stationary
spectrometers
WinXRF is the
analytical software
for ARL X-ray
fluorescence
spectrometers
define the details of the
link
Data communication options
Flexible and secure transmission
Thermo Electron Corporation makes the life
of engineers designing communication easy
thanks to a clear organization of the
communication solutions. On one hand, all
network solutions, described hereinafter. On
the other hand solutions using serial links,
described in separate documents.
ARLnet is a versatile package to
transmit analysis results via LAN Local Area
Network using a variety of procedures,
protocols and formats to best meet your
needs. It includes the solutions below:
• NetTCPIP: computer task - to - computer
task transmission using TCP/IP protocol
• NetFile: transmission to files on local or
network disks
• transmission to Network Printers
• Software Destination Switch: automatic
results
WinOE and WinXRF can send results to up
to 18 destinations using a distinct solution
and format.
The high flexibility built in ARLnet suits
operating in real communication environment conditions (i.e. when the link is not
available or has problems, when the
receiving application is not listening, etc.).
Varied result transmission
procedures
Results can be transmitted fully
automatically after completion of the
analysis. Alternatively, the user can control
every transmission: the software proposes a
list (configurable) of destinations that can
be amended if necessary.
Analyze • Detect • Measure • Control™
ARLnet
Package of results transmission
solutions via LAN Local Area Network
Results can also be transmitted upon
request, for instance, results that are not
regularly transmitted.
It is possible to transmit stored results.
This allows among others the manual
retransmission of results.
Usually just the average concentration
result would be transmitted but individual
measurements can be included as well.
Intensity, control, setting-up, type standard
update and calibration values can also be
transmitted.
Transmission details, like element list,
order and precision can be selected per
analytical program.
The destinations and the type of results
(the average, the individual measurements
or both) can be defined differently for each
analysis task.
Secure transmission
NetTCPIP
The analytical software advises the
operator if a result transmission failure is
detected and logs these events as well as
communication errors.
In this case, the software temporarily
stores the result message and automatically
retries the transmission repeatedly.
The retries delay and total duration can
be adapted for each destination.
Transmission monitoring displays the
number of results that failed to be
transmitted to each destination device. The
user can re-activate their transmission or
cancel them.
NetTCPIP allows analytical results to be
sent to remote computers using network
access. The transmission is made in real
time, task-to-task, from the analytical
software to another application.
TCP/IP is a non-proprietary
communication protocol used within most of
the networking applications nowadays.
TCP/IP software is included in current
Windows® operating systems. It manages
all the communication details. Just the node
address of the receiving computer and a
socket number for the communication have
to be defined. A simple task will be required
on the destination computer to receive the
message and extract the analytical result.
Result structures
Socket connection implementation
A schematic of the required program stages
is shown in the following diagram.
Several different formats are available to
send the results. Each destination can have
its own format. The formats supported by
ARLnet are:
• Concentration and Intensity: a choice of
CSV (Comma Separated Values) ASCII
formats. Best for computer
communication
• Spreadsheet format: suitable for MS
Excel, Lotus, etc.
• Formatted Plain Text format
• Telex A or B: best for viewing the result
• dBase: suitable for many databases that
can import this format, like MS Access
The structure and content of these
formats are given in separate product
specifications.
Example of transmission with user confirmation of the destinations
proposed by the software
This screen shows the number of outstanding results per destination
and allows corrective actions
Technical notes
Network Printers
• The host computer requires the TCP/IP
protocol installed and running
• The result reception task on the host
computer is not supplied by Thermo
Electron
This is the solution to transmit results to
printers over the network. These printers
can be hooked directly on the network or
can be local printers shared by other
computers. This solution can also be used
to display analytical results on network
visual displays instead of network printers.
Any network printer defined in
Windows® can be used for transmission.
NetFile
NetFile allows transmission of analytical
results to files either on the local disk or to
drives connected using a network.
NetFile is an ideal method of
transmission to computers where an
immediate response to process the result
received is not required. The transfer is
simple as the other application reads the
result from a file without the need of a
reception task.
NetFile can also transmit results to files
on the local disks, requiring no network
access in this case. This enables the
automatic sending of all or only specific
results to a spreadsheet or database
application like Microsoft® Excel or Access.
Flexible file building method
The name, path, and construction of the file
can be specified per destination: either
append the result to previous ones in one
file or create a new file with an
incrementing name for each transmission.
Technical notes
• The networks supported are any network
able to emulate a valid DOS path for
access to a remote hard disk, typically
Windows® network
• Full file access to the location of NetFile
must be provided to store results
• NFT (Network File Transfer), FTP (File
Transfer Protocol) and NFS (Network File
System) are not supported
Software Destination Switch
This function allows results to be sent to
alternate destinations in case of
transmission failure.
The Software Destination Switch is
ideal for result transmission to computers
having backup hardware for non-stop
operation. If the main computer breaks
down, the transmission fails and the
Destination Switch automatically re-routes
the transmission to the backup system.
The Destination Switch always tries
the main destination first; so the
transmission is back to normal as
soon as the main computer is running again.
Technical notes
Remote serial terminals and network
printers cannot be set as master destination
but only as backup. Besides, any valid
destination can be associated (e.g. the
master destination can be a NetTCPIP
device and the backup, a serial line one).
Software
Destination Switch
mechanism
Product Specifications
Utilities
Data formats available
ARLnet includes comprehensive diagnostics
tools. A communication monitoring facility
displays all messages and commands
exchanged. Distinct colors show the
successful transmissions, the failures, the
repetitions and low level information from
the protocol layers. This greatly speeds up
testing and fine tuning the communications.
In addition, the monitoring of
destination devices provides an updated
status of all communications.
The other utilities supplied include a
simulator program able to receive and
display data messages sent by WinOE or
WinXRF.
The following table gives the formats that
can be used for each ARLnet transmission
solution.
Format
NetTCPIP
NetFile
Network printers
Concentration-S or R
Other Concentration formats
Intensity-S or R
Formatted Plain Text
Telex A or Telex B
dBase
Spreadsheet
☺
✓
✓
✓
✓
✗
✗
☺
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
☺
✗
✗
☺ Best format for use with this solution
✓ Possible format
ARLnet technical notes
✗ Non-compatible format
• Overall number of result destinations
(including serial line destinations):
maximum 18.
• The customer is responsible for the
supply and installation of the protocol
layer for the Thermo Electron instrument
computer (just like for any other PC of his
network). However, the protocol layer can
be part of any 32-bit Windows®
operating system package, or of any other
compatible software.
• Cables, connectors and adaptation units
supply and installation are not included.
This software product specification is valid for WinOE
and WinXRF version 3.0 and upwards.
©2003 Thermo Electron Corporation. All rights reserved. All product and company names are the property of their respective owners. Specifications, terms
and pricing are subject to change. Not all products are available in all countries. Please consult your local sales representative for details.
PS41080_E 12/03C
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