Considerations when uploading and registering device description files

This function updates the device description files on the computer that hosts the

FactoryTalk Linx

data server. Once registered, the device description file is available for use in client computers that exchange data with the

FactoryTalk Linx

data server.

To support a new device on computers with different

FactoryTalk Linx

data servers, you must register the hardware device's device description file on each target computer respectively.

Some hardware devices, such as

Data Highway Plus

(DH+) devices, do not have device description files and therefore do not support upload and registration.

Some hardware devices, such as Micro800 series devices and

PanelView Plus

terminals, require a patch or a new release of

FactoryTalk Linx

that officially adds support for the new hardware devices. These devices cannot communicate with

FactoryTalk Linx

merely by device description file upload and registration.

If a device description file is invalid, or an error occurs during the upload and registration, the device description file cannot be registered, and a diagnostics message is logged into

FactoryTalk Diagnostics

Viewer. To view the diagnostics messages:

If you upgrade or reinstall

FactoryTalk Linx

, the device description files that are previously registered on your computer are lost. You must register the device description files again.

If the EDS / Device Description Auto Upload function is enabled, the system detects and uploads device description files from the child devices of a selected node. If a selected node contains a grandchild device, the grandchild device's device description file is not uploaded automatically. To upload and register a device description file from a grandchild device, select its upper-level node to ensure the automatic browsing and uploading, or right-click the device in the network topology tree and select

EDS / Device Description Upload

.

The EDS / Device Description Auto Upload function only uploads and registers device description files for unknown devices. If an existing device contains a new device description file, the system does not upload and register it. To update the new device description file, right-click the existing device in the network topology tree and select

EDS / Device Description Upload

.

If there are many device description files being registered, the

FactoryTalk Linx

Network Browser

may respond slowly.