Aspen Cim-IO™
Standard interface to plant measurements
Aspen Cim-IO is a standard interface solution used to create
interfaces connecting AspenTech systems to just about any known
measurement device, as well as DCSs and PLCs. Aspen Cim-IO is a
core element of AspenTech’s aspenONE® Production
Management and Execution applications.
Aspen Cim-IO is included with Aspen InfoPlus.21
Features
- Client/Server Architecture: Allows the server
to operate in a fully distributed client/server architecture, and
will accept multiple connections to local or remote users termed
Aspen Cim-IO clients.
- Store and Forward: Provides a buffering
capability during a communications problem or system shutdown
between the Aspen Cim-IO client and the server. The Aspen Cim-IO
server writes the data to a local file while the communication is
down. This data is re-transmitted to the Aspen Cim-IO client when
communications are restored.
- History Recovery: Allows a client, usually a
database like Aspen
InfoPlus.21®, to read history from the DCS to fill in the
gap in historical data when the database was shutdown or not
communicating to the server.
- Read and Write Capability: Provides
read-and-write capabilities to enable high-level applications and
calculations to be read and written back to the DCS. The server
returns a value, a status, and a timestamp to the client for each
tag specified in the request.
- Unsolicited Data Transfer: Provides the
ability for the DCS or PLC to send data to the interface when the
data changes on the DCS, reducing the amount of data traffic.
- Smart Data Types: Provides a standard
mechanism for control blocks to communicate controller status
(On/Off, Manual/Auto/Cascade) with upper level applications.
Benefits
- Standard interface allows AspenTech’s real-time databases
and applications to read and write real-time and historical data
from Distributed Control Systems (DCSs) or Programmable Logic
Controllers (PLCs), as well as other types of real-time
databases.
- A process interface developed with Aspen Cim-IO provides a
common set of features to all interface users and guarantees
predictable behavior for standard interface features.