MCN Health Monitor CBT
The Manufacturing Control Network (MCN) Health Monitor CBT v1.0 course is now available. The course teaches current PI system managers how to install interfaces and create tags to archive various performance metrics collected over the control network. These interfaces collect real-time information regarding the performance of the elements that compose the control network, archives such data, and makes them available for use in reporting, analysis, troubleshooting, planning and decision making.
The course presents most of the topics taught in the Monitoring the Manufacturing Control Network class. This includes how to install the MCN HM interfaces, how to configure the tags whose data is collected by these interfaces, and how to implement local buffering of data when the PI server is unavailable. It is designed for PI system managers who are already familiar with the basics of PI system management, but who want to know specifically how to configure the four MCN HM interfaces:
- PI Ping Interface
- PI TCPResponse Interface
- PI Performance Monitor Interface
- PI SNMP Interface
For students who are not PI system managers who would like a more comprehensive course we recommend the IT Monitor Server and Interface Class (CBT). This course teaches the four interfaces listed above plus the PI server system management tasks.
The 3 hours of voice and video demonstrations are presented using the same lecture notes and exercises used in the regular class materials. Both printed and electronic versions of the class lecture notes and exercise book are included.
<
During the lecture virtual highlighters are used to help focus attention and explain relationships.
The topics are laid out in an easy to navigate menu system that provides quick access to any topic. Unlike a videotape, the topics can be done in any order so that you can skip topics that are of no interest to you. If you drag the video slider bar the screen updates in real time to help you quickly find the spot that presents the entry field, bullet list item, or dialog box you are interested in. Screen annotations have been added to help you follow the demonstrations: a bright yellow spotlight follows the onscreen mouse at all times and multi-colored highlighting of lecture points and the demonstrations accompany the narration.
The course takes the form of a series of short screen demonstrations with voice narration. These are not the small, blurry videos seen on some computer based training but full screen 1024 x 768 resolution recordings. These narrations have been placed in a web browser interface. No installation procedure is required to run the videos from the web menu, although you can choose to automatically add a shortcut to the main menu to your desktop. The user can pause, fast-forward, and rewind the screen video clips.
Users work through the tutorials by first finding a feature on the main menu that they are interested in (for example, "PI TCPResponse Interface"). This link opens up a second window with details of each video, including its length in minutes and seconds. If the user has access to his PI server he can easily switch between applications to practice what was demonstrated.
We estimate it would take a user 1 day to go through all the material, including doing the exercises that are demonstrated. There is a total of 3 hours of video with voice narration.
A yellow spotlight follows the cursor during all demonstrations to highlight the important fields.
OSIsoft CBTs are licensed for individual users, but unlike many of our other applications, we encourage users to remove the tutorials when they are finished to pass on to the next student. Typically a site with dozens of PI users will only need a few licensed copies that are shared as people make time to use them. The tutorials can also be installed to run on a network server (with the appropriate number of user licenses). Copied on a server the tutorials occupy 475 megabytes of disk space.
Class Outline
Review of PI
Architecture and Data Flow
PI Points
Point Building Tools
PI Interfaces general
Description
Installing and configuring interfaces
Interface Configuration Utility
Data Buffering
PI Ping Interface
Principle of operation
Interface configuration
Tag creation
PI TCPResponse Interface
Principle of operation
Interface configuration
Tag creation
PI Performance Monitor Interface
Principle of operation
Interface configuration
Tag creation
Performance Monitor Tag Builder
PI SNMP Interface
Principle of operation
Interface configuration
Tag creation
SNMP Tag Builder
Distributed Architecture for PI Interfaces
Display builder console
Best practices
IT Monitoring Suggestions
Expanding your Monitoring capabilities
System Requirements
The tutorials do not require access to the PI Server. However, if you have access, you can practice the tutorials by switching between the demonstration and the application.
Hardware Requirements:
- Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, XP or later version
- 90 MHz processor
- 16 MB of RAM
- Windows-compatible sound card and speakers or headphones
Software Requirements (to view the video demonstrations):
- Internet Explorer 5.0+
- Camtasia Player (included with software)
Software Requirements (to try the exercises shown in the demonstrations):
- PI Server
- MCN HM Interfaces
- PI System Management Tools
- Microsoft Excel
The files used including the screen video and voice narration remain stored on the CD-ROM and are not installed locally.
What is Included
The CBT includes includes
- Three hours of voice and video lecture and demonstrations that comprise most of the material in the the Monitoring the Manufacturing Control Network class. Both a 3 CD-ROM version and a DVD-ROM version of these videos are shipped in the same package. Recordings are at 1024 x 768 resolution and 15 frames per second.
- The printed class lecture notes consisting of PowerPoint slides and instructor notes.
- The printed exercise workbook.
- Electronic copies of both of the above documents on the CD.
- Exercise solutions, examples, and templates used in the class on the CD.
Back to class list