Why did the DCS crash 4 times in one year?
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Our plant’s DCS often freezes; according to the instrumentation staff, this happens because the volume of data in the reports is too large, causing the server to become overloaded and freeze. Later we deleted a lot, but crashes still occurred. I study engineering and don’t know much about this. I’d like to ask everyone: what could cause a DCS system to crash?
Currently, bidding is used when selecting operating systems, with no specific technical specifications specified; the vendor with the lowest bid is chosen, which inevitably leads manufacturers to opt for servers with lower capacity and lower prices. That’s why, as the original poster said, the DCS crashed 4 times within a year.
For system or software issues, it is necessary to strengthen DCS operation management.
It is possible to shorten the data retention period and print it out promptly, which can be effective.
It’s mainly a hardware issue; of course, system issues cannot be ruled out. The DCS in our plant operates 24/7 on a continuous basis, and there are no crashes as you mentioned. One thing to keep in mind is that if several computers send data commands to the same device, conflicts may arise due to differences in system processing, which can cause the DCS computer to crash; in such cases, it is necessary to contact the manufacturer to adjust the system software!
The server needs to be upgraded; the computers used for production don’t have as high a configuration as those used by management.
Given current computer technology and prices, system crashes are generally not caused by configuration issues; it seems that problems with the software itself are more likely to be the cause.
Our factory’s computers have high specifications, and the software used is from a well-known company. According to them, such conditions have not occurred in any other factories. But for something too specific, I can’t say. The manufacturer also came a few times, but left empty-handed each time. It’s terrible for our production.
It’s scary when a server crashes. If the computer at the control station crashes once or twice, it’s just enough to restart it. We use EMERSON’s DeltraV; it’s not like those from Yokogawa or HONEYWELL, as it runs on WINDOWS. Even if people use WINDOWS XP every day, it can still crash
The DCS needs to be inspected. 100 yuan per point; seek services from DCS suppliers.
New perspective: The operating environment is poor, with a high concentration of corrosive substances in the air; this leads to corrosion of circuit boards, especially at the contact points!
The DCS system used in our factory runs on Lenovo machines; it crashes rarely over the course of a year, but it needs to be restarted very frequently. Our DCS system was designed by Beijing Institute of Technology.
I think it’s mainly a hardware issue. First, an industrial computer needs to be used; second, there are environmental problems such as dust or inadequate ventilation and cooling. Additionally, vibrations can cause the communication module to become disconnected from the main CPU, which leads to the shutdown of the monitoring computer. When using it, pay attention to the speed at which the page content is refreshed; if this speed slows down over time, it’s necessary to consider clearing out some of the contents. This is often due to too many backup files, insufficient disk space on the system, or too many graphic files open, all of which can also lead to system crashes. We have encountered such a situation here. Process engineers use the DCS system frequently in their daily work; they notify the instrumentation staff promptly when problems are detected, which helps to reduce system crashes over time~
We have encountered this situation as well; the control station often freezes, and the reason is unknown! And the keyboard doesn’t work at all; I’ve only been driving for half a year! Is the quality really that poor?
Simply put, it’s either a hardware issue or a software issue. I encountered a situation where program logic issues caused the DCS to crash; fixing the problem took three days and two nights, and nothing went wrong for the rest of those years. It seems that care must be taken when choosing a supplier.
Reinstall the system, and reports must be printed and kept on time.
Every time we stop, the agent comes to deal with it, but still can’t resolve it. Thinking about such things fills me with horror. Besides, the instrumentation department in our factory isn’t very professional at all; it’s terrible.
It might be a problem with your computer’s operating system... or there’s a conflict with the software installed...
Check the card module and see how the system software is performing. Also pay attention to the ambient temperature; if it’s too high and not well controlled, this issue can occur as well. Check the system’s static grounding. Another aspect is to strengthen management by properly defining management permissions, and to shut down external interfaces such as USP in order to prevent viruses from causing damage.
There are many reasons for a computer to crash, and overload may be the main one. It depends on the requirements of your operating system regarding computer specifications. Keeping the DCS computer on all the time can affect its data processing speed; especially in seasons with high temperatures, system crashes are understandable. It turns out that every office has a backup computer, of an engineer-level, which can be used to restart other machines that are running slowly for a while.
It’s probably a software issue; since it’s been checked many times already, configuration problems are the first thing to be examined.