This quote by Nathan in another thread got me thinking: “Can you verify that the FactoryPMI service is running (control panel->admin tools->services)?”
Maybe there is already a way to do this, but can you expose the gateway status and services status so they can be displayed on a FactoryPMI screen somehow? I can see myself getting a call from a customer, and the first thing I would ask about is if the services were running, but there are some customers out there who I just wouldn’t want poking around Control Panel, let alone the Admin Tools. But if they had a quick way to bring up a screen and get the same info, that would be helpful.
Thats exactly what the “Monitor FPMI Gateway” utility application is for. its in the start menu.
We couldn’t expose this status information in an FPMI screen - that would be like a chicken and egg problem - the FPMI project wouldn’t run if the service was stopped!
You could give them a link to the gateway status page. However, this won’t help much for troubleshooting “lower level” problems (service, network connectivity, etc)
Ok, I’ve got some time to give this a little more attention…
I’ve added the link to my project, and that will work fine except that the “monitor gateway” page also has links to the designer, configuration, and help. Obviously, I don’t want the customer techs going to these places. Could we get a page without these links? That would give them a pretty comprehensive read-only view of what’s going on.
I’m already using the “ping” action item that you guys provided, and I give them device status of everything else I can access, including drive parameters, ProfiBus node states, baud rates, IO card status, you name it. I know my customers well, and every bit of diagnostic info that I can give them will save a call in the middle of the night.
Are you talking about the "Monitor FPMI Gateway" utility application or the "Gateway Status" webpage?
I'm going to assume its the latter, since the former doesn't work remotely.
That page has links to the Launch page (which they should be familiar with), the Configuration page (which is password protected), and the user manual. I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind removing these links. Note that you can remove the links on the launch page through the System Setup configuration page.
Agreed - I think the Gateway Status Page provides all the info that it can to the end user. Keep in mind that the gateway config page can't say things like the service isn't running or it's on another port (how would you access the page)?
The Monitor Gateway Utility runs as a separate application that communicates with the Gateway (FactoryPMI service).