Yes, RAPID supports insertion of both continuous and A&E data. There is a specific schema for A&E data that is based on the OPC specification and there are a number of agent plugins that support the collection of A&E data (OPC, SQL etc). This schema also supports vendor defined attributes.

If store and forward is required then a RAPID Data Agent can be installed local to the data source (OPC, MODBUS, MQTT etc) and this will collect data from the source independently of the state of the RAPID system or its network connection. During normal operation the Agent sends the data to RAPID over a sockets based protocol. In the event of network issues, this data will be stored in the Agent for forwarding when the network is restored.

Essentially no. Each tag can have up to 1000 events per second (more if multiple events share the same timestamp, where we create an internal array of the data). The only real limit will be imposed by the storage space available.

No, RAPID must use the name from the OPC server to collect data from it, but also supports 2 additional naming fields for each tag. These are ‘Alias’ which is typically a shorter name for the data and ‘Description’ which is a longer name. For data sources where there is no specific item names, the name can be generated to suite the application and the ‘Alias’ used to make the external link, for instance in a MODBUS connection the alias is used to specify the address.

The RAPID Data Agent supports plugin data interfaces via simple DLL’s. It is possible to create custom plugins using Visual Studio with the supplied libraries. These can be developed in both C# and VB.

Yes, RAPID has a full calculation engine which allows end users to define calculations to take stored data or constants and synthesise new data. The calculations can either be executed periodically or triggered by a value change. Calculations are defined using a ‘wiring’ visual editor and where more complex calculations are required there is also a built in C# IDE.

RAPID supports the full range of variant data types from Boolean through to 64k long strings. Including signed and unsigned integers, doubles, floats, characters, currency, date/time, shorts and longs.

Yes, RAPID supports the ability to import tag definitions from CSV files to allow tag names to be created without needing to browse the data source (very useful where the data source does not support browsing). The format consists of a header, containing the names of the fields, followed by multiple rows containing the associated data.

table, td, th {
border: 1px solid black;
padding: 10px;
}
table {
border-collapse: collapse;
width: 100%;
}
th {
text-align: center;
}

An example CSV file can be downloaded below:

Example CSV Tag Import

The structure of a RAPID Database consists of 1 to many nodes each containing 1 to many tags. In a normal system we would recommend that each node contains up to 100,000 tags and that there are up to 100 nodes. This means that each DB can have up to 10 million tags. If more data is required then you can have multiple databases in the same installation.

Yes, RAPID contains 2 batch data management systems. The first is a simple start/stop event system that allows the creation of phase based batch structures. The second is a full S88 implementation consisting of a data collector to capture batch data from common batch execution systems, batch storage schema in the RAPID Database and a web based batch reporting framework.

The underlying schema used to store the data has a patented mechanism to compress the timestamp while retaining its accuracy and the accuracy of the data value. If lossy compression is permitted then RAPID also suppports a number of data compression mechanisms at the cost of data accuracy.

Yes, RAPID allows backfill of data into the database. By default any time range can be inserted, but there are settings to limit insertion of both past and future data.

RAPID supports 2 mechanisms to allow tags to be grouped together. The first is a simple grouping system, where heirarchys of groups can be created, each containing tags and A&E areas. The second is the InfoModel system in RAPIDEnterprise. This allows models of assets to be created, containgn tags, constants, calculations, images etc. These modes can then be used to create instances which mimic the physcal plant/process. This is then deeply integrated into RAPIDVision allowing a single template to be created that represents a model, which can then be executed against all instances of that model.

If you do not have a RAPID Service Level Agreement with us, but have an issue with your RAPID Software, technical support is available on a single incident basis. We help you to troubleshoot a specific problem, error message or functionality that isn’t working as expected.

An incident is a single support issue and the reasonable efforts needed to resolve it. A single support issue is a problem that can't be broken down into secondary problems. If it can be broken down into secondary problems, each secondary problem shall be considered a separate incident. An incident may require multiple contacts and offline research to achieve final resolution. You will be charged a single PAYG Support Ticket fee per incident and not for the amount of time spent in delivering the final resolution.

You can purchase a Pay As You Go Support Ticket through our website by clicking here or by selecting PAYG Support in our Shop

Simply email the details of your issue to Automsoft Support who will be ready to help. You can also contact Automsoft Support through our website here.

PAYG Support is available in normal Irish Standard Time business hours, Monday to Friday (9.00 – 5.30 pm), excluding Public Holidays. Response times are measured from the time you create the PAYG Support Ticket by emailing [email protected] or contacting Automsoft Support through the Automsoft website here.

We currently support all versions of RAPID from 4.0 onwards.

– Onsite support
– Root cause analysis
– Writing or review of custom code
– Support for RAPID Software versions out of the support lifecycle
– Repairs necessitated by the following RAPID Software violations:

• Unauthorised relocation, unauthorised movement, improper operation, neglect or misuse of your RAPID Software or equipment on which the Software is installed
• Failure to maintain proper site or environmental conditions, or
• Any unauthorised attempt at repairs, maintenance, or modifications to your RAPID Software.

In the case of repairs necessitated by RAPID Software violations, Automsoft will quote you a separate fee.

Please contact [email protected] for your credit card billing questions.

We will agree on the definition of the problem with you when you raise the support incident. The incident will be closed after our support engineer has delivered one or more suggested solutions to you which resolve the issue. If you are not happy with the resolution you can notify us. It is at Automsoft’s discretion whether to refund the PAYG Support Ticket fee.

Although our support engineers will make best efforts to resolve your issue, we cannot guarantee to resolve all issues. If the support engineer is unable to deliver a solution, you’ll be notified and the case will be closed as unresolved. It is at Automsoft’s discretion whether to refund the PAYG Support Ticket fee.

The primary data query component in RAPID, the HDA server, supports the concept of aggregation of data. For instance you can ask a query such as ‘return the average value for tag x over the last 24 hours’ and the HDA server will return a single value that is the average of all logged data for that tag for the last 24 hours. This can be extended to request 1 value for each hour, or each minute. The supported set of aggregates are compliant with the OPC HDA specification. For greater flexibility it is also possible to apply filters, for instance, to only use good quality data or only data within a range as the input to the aggregate calculation.

The RAPID Reporting system allows the end user to define formal paper based reports. These can then either be executed interactively or on a schedule to create finished PDF documents.

The licensing system in RAPID will permit the collection and storage of data with an expired licence. The features that will no longer work are all associated with reporting of the stored data. Once a new licence is applied the logged data will become available again.

For each node in a RAPID system there will be a number of files that are used to store the data. As the database grows new files are created based on time or size, this is known in the system as a “rollover”. Without any intervention, the file count will grow continually, but you can specify that there are a maximum number of files that are retained online for each node. Older files in excess of that limit will automatically be detached from the database and deleted (Note: if copies are stored offline they may be re-attached if needed). This mechanism allows the size of the database to be controlled automatically

Yes, RAPID supports three mechanisms to backup the system, all work while in production. The first is a meta data backup, where the structure of the system can be backed up without the data. The second is a regular incremental backup that can either be invoked interactively or via a schedule. Finally there is ActiveBackup. This will take a backup of the ‘active’ portion of the database. This is a very fast backup of the ‘active’ portion of the database and can be used to create a working copy of the database for quick restoration.

The RAPIDVision system allows end users to create their own dashboards and trends. It is pure HTML5, so there is no install required on the client side, just point your browser at the server URL and log in. Full security is provided, and if you have the required credentials you can design new pages directly from with the browser.

Yes, the security system within RAPIDVision can attach to Active Directory to allow any domain member to authenticate. RAPIDVision also has its own internal security system which will allow users external to the organisation to also connect to RAPIDVision.