AMENDMENT RECORD
AMENDMENT INCORP. DATE PAGE(S) VERSION REASON FOR
NO. BY CHANGE
1 ES 28.03.07 Total: 15 A SW version 3.00
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The information in this book has been carefully checked and is believed to be accurate.
However, no responsibility is assumed for inaccuracies.
Jotron AS reserves the right to make changes without further notice to any products or modules
described herein to improve reliability, function or design.
Jotron AS does not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of the described
product.
LEGAL NOTICE
This manual, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under license and may be used
or copied only in accordance with the terms of such license. The content of this manual is
furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be
constructed as a commitment by Jotron AS. Jotron AS assumes no responsibility or liability for
any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this documentation. Except as permitted by such
license, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission by Jotron AS.
Please remember that existing artwork or images that you want to include in your project may
be protected under copyright law. The unauthorized incorporation of such material into your
new work could be a violation of the rights of the copyright owner. Please be sure to obtain any
permission required from the copyright owner.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 GENERAL ......................................................................................................................... 5
1.1 System description with RACS software version 3.00................................................. 5
1.1.1 Possibilities............................................................................................................. 6
2 INSTALLATION .............................................................................................................. 7
2.1 System demands............................................................................................................ 7
2.2 Install Jotron RACS software version 3.00 or higher ................................................... 7
3 SETUP OF JOTRON RACS SOFTWARE VERSION 3.00 ......................................... 9
3.1 System functions........................................................................................................... 9
3.2 Site window functions................................................................................................. 11
3.3 Reports ........................................................................................................................ 12
3.4 Log windows and status bar........................................................................................ 12
4 APPENDIX....................................................................................................................... 13
4.1 RACS Availability report ........................................................................................... 13
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1 GENERAL
1.1 System description with RACS software version 3.00
The technical management system (RACS) is used to remotely monitor, and perform regular
control of each individual radio and the complete radio system.
The system is based on TCP/IP connection to the different radios via a dedicated SC. (Site
controller unit). The SC communicates with the individual radios through an IP interface or
via a multi-drop RS485 bus.
Communication between the SC and the PC where the RACS software is running is based on
multi-cast and point to point UDP messages.
One or several computers can be placed in a central location. The computers operating, will
log events and keep historical data for the individual radios.
SITE 1
IP address 4
(192.0.0.0/29)
Radio1 Multicast 1
RS485 224.0.0.0/28
1
Radio2 PC
RS485
2
Radio3 Router Router
RS485
3
Interlan
SITE 2 PC
IP address 4
(WAN) Router
(192.0.0.0/29)
Radio1 Multicast 2
IP address 1 224.0.0.0/28
(192.0.0.0/29)
Radio2
IP address 2
(192.0.0.0/29) Router PC
Radio3 Router
IP address 3
(192.0.0.0/29)
Figure 1.1, Configuration technical management system
An example hardware configuration with only 2 sites is shown. The addressing scheme of the
system is based on using class-C IP networks for all radios and local controllers. Each radio
must be assigned a unique RS485 and/or a unique IP address, which is defined during
installation. In addition a radio group (site) must be assigned a common multicast address
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where all messages from the radio are sent. This multicast address is used to separate the
different sites from each other on the management system.
All routers in the system must be enabled for multicast traffic; usually this can easily be done
with newer Cisco routers.
The PC’s shown in the diagram are the workstations that allow monitoring and control of the
radios. Each workstation must be configured to receive messages on the multicast addresses
defined and will automatically detect all the radios on a specific site.
1.1.1 Possibilities
The RACS software v.3.00 presents an easy and user-friendly management access to all radios in
a large nationwide communication system.
The user is responsible for configuring the radios with IP addresses and multicast addresses. The
user must also set up the appropriate multicast groups on the PC. In addition the user is
responsible for placing the site symbol on an approximate location on a predefined map. Apart
from this there is no configuration needed on the PC or radio as long as the routers on the way
between them are enabled for multicast traffic. The RACS will automatically start to listen on the
assigned multicast address for each site, and monitor the messages that are regularly sent from
the radio units.
The radios update its status information with intervals of up to app 30 seconds depending on the
communication type. IP directly into the radio will give faster access and response times, while
RS485 limits the capabilities considerably and limits the update rate to approximately 30s
depending on the number of radios.
The program monitors all status information sent from the radio units, and gives the user a
warning if some parameters on the radio are out of range or if the communication to a site, or any
of its radios is lost.
From the main window of the program it is possible to monitor all sites connected by intuitive
green/yellow/red dots for each site, the meaning of the different colors are explained later. The
main window does also have functions to customize the program by setting various default
values. In addition the main window shows the current total status of the complete system, and a
system log.
Bringing up a window for the site (right click the site in the tree view, choose “Show”), gives a
visual indication of all the radios. In the site window it is possible to double-click an individual
radio, and bring up a radio-control window for that radio.
Data events for each radio is stored continuously on the server, these data contains information
on the operational status, every time the operational status of the radio changes; On error, On
OK, On Active and On Not available. It is possible, in this way to view historical data, and view
events reported from the radio during operation. These data’s are used for Availability
calculations, A(o).
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2 INSTALLATION
2.1 System demands
PC including:
• Pentium® processor
®
• Window XP or higher operating system.
• 128Mb RAM
• 120Mb free space at the hard disc
• CD-ROM station
2.2 Install Jotron RACS software version 3.00 or higher
Start the “setup” program from the CD and follow the instructions.
When the installation is complete, start the program from the main menu:
Start – All Programs – Jotron – RACS.
The first time the system is started on a computer, you will be prompted to input a 12 character
long “key-code” to enable the program. Note! the key-code is case-sensitive and must be entered
exactly as provided. The key-code together with a file that defines the system name, is the
license to use the RACS system.
The key-code should have been distributed together with the CD when the license was obtained.
After the program has been started successfully, center coordinates and scale for the map should
be set-up. Setting of the coordinates and scale are done by pressing the right mouse button in the
map window and choose “properties”.
That brings up the following dialog:
Figure 2.2a, Map settings
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The vector bitmap that is generated has limited accuracy, and too small scales should be
avoided to keep a reasonable understanding of the map.
Next the sites should be configured. The sites are configured by pressing the right mouse button
in the site window, and choose “Add site”.
This menu option will bring up the following dialog:
Figure 2.2b, Site settings
In this dialog, some key parameters from the site are defined. The position on the map can be
set manually, the high and low range of multicast addresses can be defined, or a set of IP
addresses can be defined to distinguish this site from an other.
Normally there will one multicast address assigned to each site, and the system will include all
IP addresses that communicate on this multicast address.
When the map and site has been configured, the program is ready to start looking for radio
units, and will detect any radio that sends the correct message to the multicast addresses
defined.
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3 SETUP OF JOTRON RACS SOFTWARE VERSION 3.00
3.1 System functions
Map window
The map window is generated from vectors; any location on the earth can be set as the center or
reference point. The sites are either green (no faults on any radio), yellow (one or more faults
found, red (one or more faults on all radios), or light blue (no communication available to any
radio).
A pop-up menu is available from the map window, to bring up a dialog to set up the map
properly.
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Site window(s)
The site window(s) is opened from the tree view by right clicking on the site and choose “Show
site” from the menu.
The site window(s) gives a visual indication on the most important parameters of the radio. The
radios are, either green (no faults – all radios operational), red (one or more alarms) or light blue
(no communication).
Double clicking one of the units in the site window, will bring up the radio-controller for that
radio. A pop-up menu is available anywhere in the site-window.
Tree view
The tree view gives a visual indication, on the system, sites and all the radios. The colors will
follow the same scheme as the site window and the map window.
Right clicking on a site brings up the site menu.
Alarm log
The alarm log gives a continuous update on the alarm status of the radios. If an alarm is
generated in one of the radios, it will show up in the log and give a visual indication in the tree
view, site window, and the map window.
Communication log
The communication log gives a continuous update on the data communication status to the
radios. If a communication fault is detected, a message will show up and an indication will be
given in the tree view, site window, and the map window.
Current and historical availability
These number gives an indication on the availability. The colored dots give the current status on
all connected sites, indicating how many of the total available sites are in status “green”,
“yellow” and “red”.
A calculation of the availability over time is also given. This calculation is updated every minute
to show the historical availability in % of the total number of radios. The operational availability
is calculated as follows: A(o) = 1-(Alarm + Communication error)/Total time.
Status bar
The status bar gives an indication of the current availability and the availability for the past seven
days. The bare is normally green, when a failure is detected on one of the radios, the bar will
gradually turn red, depending on the number of units with failures.
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3.2 Site window functions
Figure 3.2a Site menu
Pressing the right mouse button in the site window, will bring up a dialog to choose “RadioSize”.
This function defines the size of the icons for the various radios, and the level of details that is
available for each unit. Shown in this example are radios with a “Minimum” Radiosize
configuration.
Choosing “Normal” or “Maximum” will show the radio icons with more details:
Figure 3.2b Normal and Maximum radio icons in site window
By double clicking a radio icon, a radio control window will be shown, where it is possible to
change all parameters of the radio.
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3.3 Reports
Figure3.3, Print report dialog
Pressing “Reports – print report” from the main menu will bring up a dialog where it is possible
to select the start and stop times for the report.
After pressing “OK” in this dialog, the user will be prompted for an output file name where a
PDF report will be generated.
The report contains information about the system, the individual site, and a detailed log for each
radio in the system. Appendix A shows an example of a status report.
3.4 Log windows and status bar
Figure 3.4, Log window and status bar
The status bar gives a continuous information about the status during the previous selected
period. With the control bar placed at the top left of the window, it is possible to select the time
frame, between 30m and 7 days.
A red indication will built from the top and gives information about approximately how many
units that failed at a given period. Clicking at the status bar, will bring up the log for that actual
time.
When there is no indication (no green rectangle) – it means that the program did not operate
during that period, and that the status of the individual radios was unknown at the given time.
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4 APPENDIX
4.1 RACS Availability report
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