Rockwell Automation 1789-L10_L30_L60 SoftLogix 5800 System User Manual - Manual (Page 244)

244 Rockwell Automation Publication 1789-UM002J-EN-P - December 2012
Appendix D Windows Considerations
Personal Computer
Hardware Considerations The personal computer hardware you chose for the SoftLogix controller will have
a dramatic impact on the performance of the SoftLogix control system.
Most SoftLogix applications run additional software on the same personal
computer as the controller. Make sure the computer meets these requirements:
• IBM-compatible Pentium 4 1.6 GHz
• 256 KB of RAM
• 50 MB free hard disk space
Demanding applications including sequential, motion, HMI, and other local
applications running on the personal computer may require a dual CPU to
achieve performance requirements.
Other considerations include the following.
Consideration Description
Hard disk drives The hard disk drive is capable of bus mastering to reduce loading on the Pentium processor. Bus mastering allows the
hard disk drive to initiate data transfers without using Pentium CPU cycles. To accomplish this the personal computer
must have a motherboard that supports this technology as well as a BIOS that supports it. Then the drive itself is capable
of bus mastering. Most personal computer vendors will fully integrate for you this IDE bus mastering capability.
CD-ROM drives Verify that the hard disk drive for your personal computer is on a designated IDE channel and that the CD-ROM drive is on
another (secondary). Some personal computer vendors attempt to put the CD -ROM as slave off of the primary IDE
channel and this causes performance difficulties for the hard disk drive.
Redundant array of disks (RAID) This technology uses multiple hard disk drives in a personal computer, so that any one hard disk drive can fail without
causing Windows to crash. There are 5 different versions of RAID, each with its own method of error correction and
recovery. The SoftLogix controller supports the RAID environment, which is recommended for critical applications that
can’t afford a crash.
Sensitivity to hard disk drive crashes is common among personal computer users, but over the last 5 years, the reliability
of hard disk drives has greatly increased. RAID technology is expensive and can be hard to implement and support. A
more inexpensive option is to have another hard disk drive with a copy of the original hard disk drive image available. You
can even mount the duplicate in the same personal computer without power or IDE connections, so that it is ready to
connect if the original hard disk drive ever fails.
Uninterruptable power supplies (UPS) Uninterruptable power is an excellent accessory for a SoftLogix system as it prevents disruptions to the SoftLogix
controller due to brown outs and power outages, which are the most common interferences to personal computers. There
are many UPS systems available, including some with digital outputs that can be interfaced back into the SoftLogix
controller by using discrete inputs so that the controller can detect a power outage and prepare for an orderly shutdown
after a designated amount of time.
IMPORTANT Make sure the SoftLogix computer does an orderly shutdown of the Windows
operating system on a power failure or you may end up with operating
system anomalies.