Frequently Asked Questions

Details

Created on Tuesday, 05 April 2011 09:41

Pre-Purchase

Q: What version of Citect is compatible with SMSServer?
A: SMSServer is compatible with Citect 5.20 Service Pack B or newer

Q: Is the fingerprint related to the PC hardware configuration?
A: The hardware fingerprint is bounded to hard disk, network card and CPU. We use the fingerprint to verify the PC identity. Different fingerprint means different PC. If you want to change any of PC hardware components listed above, you will need a new SMS Server software licence.

Q: In case of PC formatting or operating system upgrading, does SMS Server license remain valid?
A: The SMS Server licenses are based on hardware fingerprint, so if you don't change the hardware your license will remain valid.

Q: What is the maximum capability of SMS Server software?
A: There are no limits on alarm and user configuration. If you want to send multiple SMS at the same time, remember that they are queued and sent actually one at a time. That's because you can use only one modem. The SMS througput is modem dependent and normally it's one SMS per second.

Q: I upgraded SMS Server from an older version. It doesn't seem to work!
A: Probably you are trying to launch SMS Server with an old version of smsserver.ini file, because the uninstall procedure didn't delete it.
You can backup your current smsserver.ini file renaming it in smsserver_old.ini and launch the program again.
SMS Server will create a new smsserver.ini file, compatible with the latest version.
Later you can import the previous configuration values (COM settings, IP settings, etc.) from the smsserver_old.ini file.

Q: Could you provide a Citect sample project?
A: You can try SMS Server with any Citect project, even "CSV_Example" project delivered with Citect. Be sure to configure the CtAPI interface properly (see below).

Q: Is SMS Server compatible with Windows Server 2008?
A: Yes, it is, but Data Execution Prevention (DEP) technology prevents it to run.
Follow these steps to treat SMS Server executable file as a DEP exception.
1) Locate SMS Server executable file (SMS Server.exe) in your computer and take note of the full path. Default SMS Server installation is "C:\Program Files\CP Sistemi\SMS Server\".
2) Open Windows Start menu, right click on "Computer" and choose "Properties". A "Computer" icon may be available on the desktop too. A "System" window will appear.
3) Open the tab "Advanced system settings".
4) Look for the section called "Performance" and click the button "Settings...". A "Performace Options" window will appear.
5) Select the tab "Data Execution Prevention".
6) Select the option "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select:".
7) Click the "Add" button and a standard "Open File" window will appear. Navigate to the SMS Server exetutable file (SMS Server.exe) and select it.
8) Click the Open button. The window will close and the SMS Server.exe file will now be visible in the DEP exception list. Now click the "Apply" button and close all the open windows. DEP will ignore executable file.
9) Run SMS Server!

Purchase order

Q: I need multiple SMServer licences. Any discount available?
A: Please contact JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING

Q: What is the VAT number?
A: Please visit Wikipedia page. VAT number (or equivalent) is required for invoice reason.

Customer Support

Q: I need technical support. What can I do?
A: Please contact JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING

Q: Which data do I have to supply in order to get a fast and efficient support?
A: Following data may be very usefull:
- version of SMSServerCOM.dll;
- version of CitectSCADA;
- version of Windows and installed service pack;
- smsserver.ini file (you can find it in Windows folder);
- SMS Server log files, named mm_yyyy.log and mm_yyyy.exception.log, where mm is the month and yyyy is the year (you can find them in the SMS Server installation folder);
- agenda.mdb file (you can find it in the SMS Server installation folder);
- citect.ini file, related to Citect (you can find it in Windows folder or in citect's config directory depending on CitectSCADA version).

General questions

Q: I need a list of compatible modems.
A: Here is a not-exhaustive list:
....

Simens mobiles
Nokia mobiles
Audiotel Modex USB GPRS
Wavecom Fastrack M1206B
Wavecom Fastrack M1306B
Wavecom Fastrack Supreme 10
Wavecom SR2MOD03
...
Any GSM modem compatible with AT commands

Q: Local connection between SMS Server and CitectSCADA (or Vijeo Citect) doesn't work.
A: SMS Server uses CtApi in order to communicate with Citect. Be sure to enable CtAPI in citect.ini file, adding the "Remote" and "AllowLegacyConnection" properties:

[CtAPI]
Remote=1
AllowLegacyConnections=1

You can verify the use of CtAPI executing in the command prompt:
netstat -an
and searching for TCP port 2073 in LISTENING mode (it's the default CtAPI port).
The CtAPI interface may be license-based in your Citect software: check the "Max CtAPI" field in the Citect kernel general window.

Q: I need to send different alarms to different groups at the same time. How could I do this?
A: The groups are referencing time periods, persons are referencing alarms filters.
The best practice is to create an "always available" group and set this group in calendar for always availability.
Then you can create persons for this group and set, for each person, one or more alarm filters (area and/or category).
It's not possibile to configure more than one group per time period, but you can configure the persons in the group with different alarms filters.

Q: Is it possible to export SMS Server configuration from my computer to another? For example, to a customer computer.
A: Yes, it is. Simply copy "C:\Windows\smsserver.ini" and "C:\Program Files\CP Sistemi\SMS Server\agenda.mdb" from your computer to the customer computer.

Q: Is it possible to include the actual value of the Citect tag in SMS details?
A: You can include the tag value in the Alarm Description.

Q: Is it possible to customize the order of details included in SMS?
A: No, it isn't. Sorry!

Q: I seem to have some trouble with SMS Server when Citect runs in multi-process mode.
A: SMS Server doesn't support Citect multi-process mode. Not yet. Sorry!

Q: I can't understand the meaning of "alarm area" resource.
A: Alarm area is an extended property of Citect alarms, you can access it by pressing F2 in Citect Explorer meanwhile you are editing an Alarm.
Search "Alarm properties" in CitectSCADA Help and you will find:
[..]
Extended forms fields
The following fields are implemented with extended forms (press F2).
[...]
Area
The area to which the alarm belongs (maximum of 16 characters). If an operator does not have access to an area, the alarm is not visible on the alarm display. For example, if you enter Area 1 here, operators must have access to Area 1 (plus any required privileges) to acknowledge or disable this alarm.
[...]