Fieldbus Advanced Diagnostic Manager Upgrade

The Advanced Diagnostic Module monitors the fieldbus physical layer online and in real time. The Diagnostic Manager is the interface between personnel and fieldbus, and communicates with all diagnostic modules simultaneously.

With the Diagnostic Manager's software upgrade, guesswork is eliminated. On-site work is reduced to a minimum and plant shutdowns are avoided. There is improved availability of the fieldbus infrastructure:

• The built-in expert system automatically learns the communications behavior of a fieldbus segment during commissioning and over time, and is able to precisely diagnose any situation on the basis of past experience. As a result, system operators receive specific warnings and actionable information in clear text that points to possible causes of the problem and includes recommended corrections.
• The commissioning wizard is now even easier to operate and creates better reports. Practical experience shows that the commissioning wizard can reduce the time needed to put a fieldbus segment into service by up to 80%. The wizard elimiates time consuming and repetitive tasks and guarantees well-documented performance levels right from the start.
• The Diagnostic Manager is also able to automatically read and document tags and device IDs in combination with any FOUNDATION fieldbus host. Devices newly connected to the fieldbus infrastructure are detected automatically and the operator is reminded to run the commissioning wizard to verify and document their correct operation.
• The new FieldConnex Diagnostic Gateway greatly improves interoperation between the individual ADMs of a fieldbus infrastructure and the Diagnostic Manager in the control room. It allows information exchange in both directions, via Ethernet, to enable features such as remote setup of ADMs, as well as functions for automatic detection and configuration.
• The self-configuration capability of the new Diagnostic Manager in conjunction with the gateway automatically identifies all ADMs and configures the software accordingly. This avoids configuration errors and adds to system efficiency and reliability.
• The software upgrade includes an improved version of the oscilloscope that offers more trigger events and automatically captures up to 10 shots in a row. Each bit and telegram is identified with type and value, as well as source and destination address.

All these innovations and improvements make the updated Diagnostic Manager an invaluable tool to implement stable fieldbus segments right from the start, easily monitor their everyday operation, and assist the field technician in troubleshooting.

Existing customers can benefit from the new Diagnostic Manager via an attractively priced upgrade license.