Miscellaneous

The last tab in the basic settings contains various settings. The first part is about the driver versions that are used. The version selected here (default: Latest) is automatically downloaded to the target system (controller) when the TwinCAT configuration is activated. This applies to all operating systems under 4026, eliminating the need for additional installation in the form of packages on the target system itself.

The log for the Analytics Logger System Manager extension can also be viewed here. Beckhoff Support may also ask you to provide this file when handling a support request.

Copy Deployment

You can also enable and configure a type of patch mechanism using Copy Deployment.

Notice

TwinCAT restart

Use this option only if it will no longer be possible to activate the configuration (TwinCAT Activate Configuration) in the future, but changes still need to be made! A TwinCAT restart is still required!

Copy Deployment allows you to make changes using patch files in a target directory and apply them after restarting TwinCAT. the following workflow describes how Copy Deployment works:

Workflow:

1. Enable Copy Deployment – Check the “Download configuration to target” box in the Deployment section.

2. Select the target directory – TwinCAT saves this path in the driver settings. After step 3, the driver reads the patch files from this folder.

3. Activate Configuration – Activate the configuration with the target directory once on the target system using TwinCAT Activate Configuration. Only then will the driver know where to find the patch files.

4. Make changes - You can then make changes to the logger configuration. If you make only one change after step 6, the configuration remains unchanged.

5. Export patch files – Use the “Local export” button to export the modified configuration as a JSON patch file. The export creates one folder containing one patch file for each stream. The export structure follows this format: <Export folder>/<StreamName>_<ID>/Config.json. The following section describes the format of a patch file in more detail.

6. Adding and/or removing symbols (optional) – You can extend the JSON structures of the patch files by adding an array of symbols. This allows you to add or remove symbols for logging. (See the examples in the following section)

7. Placing the patch files: Place the patch files in the target system under the Target Directory (see step 2), following the same folder structure as in the export.

8. Restart TwinCAT.

After that, the driver loads the patch files and runs using this configuration.

Notice

Activating the configuration

Activate the configuration using the Target Directory once so that the driver can read the patch files from the Target Directory!

Patch file format

Each Config.json file contains:

Level	Field	Description
1	InitData	The complete stream initialization data (encoded). Always present.
1	InitParameters	This object contains the configuration for the Analytics Logger stream. These parameters should not be changed and are intended solely to provide transparency within the patch file.
1	Symbols	Optional list of symbol changes (add or disable).
2	Name	Complete name of the symbol (required)
2	TypeName	Symbol type name (required when adding a symbol)
2	Flags	Additional information. Optional. Flags = 2 means that Size is specified in bits rather than bytes.
2	Size	Symbol size (Required when adding a symbol)
2	IdxGrp	Symbol index group (decimal) (required when adding a symbol if symbolic mapping is disabled. For example, with Device Streams)
2	IdxOffs	Symbol index offset (decimal) (required when adding a symbol if symbolic mapping is disabled.) For example, with Device Streams)
2	Properties	An array consisting of multiple key-value pairs. (Required when adding a pointer or a reference, or when disabling a symbol) (See examples in the following section)

Add symbol

To add a new symbol to the stream, add an entry with name, data type, and size.

Example: Add MAIN.VarInt64 (8-byte integer):

{
    "InitData": "...",
    "Symbols": [
        {
            "Name": "MAIN.VarInt64",
            "TypeName": "LINT",
            "Size": 8
        }
    ]
}

Example: Add Inputs.Frm0State of a Device (2-byte integer):

{
    "InitData": "...",
    "Symbols": [
        {
            "Name": "Inputs.Frm0State",
            "TypeName": "UINT",
            "Size": 2
            "IdxGrp": 61488,
            "IdxOffs": 1520,
        }
    ]
}

Example: Adding symbols with bit data types:

{
    "InitData": "...",
    "Symbols": [
        {
            "Name": "MAIN.VarBit1",
            "TypeName": "BIT",
            "Flags": 2,
            "Size": 1
        },
        {
            "Name": "MAIN.VarBit4",
            "TypeName": "BIT",
            "Flags": 2,
            "Size": 4
        }
    ]
}

Example: Adding a pointer:

{
    "InitData": "...",
    "Symbols": [
        {
            "Name": "MAIN.PtrToInt^",
            "TypeName": "UINT",
            "Size": 2
            "Properties": [
                {
                    "Name": "DataAccess",
                    "Value": "Handle"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Example: Adding references:

{
    "InitData": "...",
    "Symbols": [
        {
            "Name": "MAIN.RefToInt",
            "TypeName": "UINT",
            "Size": 2
            "Properties": [
                {
                    "Name": "DataAccess",
                    "Value": "Handle"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Disable symbol

To disable an existing symbol, you reference it by name and set its “Disable” property.

Example: Disable MAIN.VarInt32:

{
    "InitData": "...",
    "Symbols": [
        {
            "Name": "MAIN.VarInt32",
            "Properties": [
                { "Name": "Disable" }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Combined (add + disable)

Both operations can be combined into a single patch file.

Edit stream configuration

Some settings in the stream configuration can also be edited via the patch file. The settings are described below and explained with examples.

Level	Field	Description
1	Mqtt	The MQTT section defines an MQTT destination to which the recorded data is sent.
2	SamplesPerBuffer	Number of samples per transmitted buffer.
2	CompressionWidth	Compression width in bytes (0 = no compression).
2	SamplingDivider	Sampling rate divider (0/1 = every sample).
2	SystemIdAlias	Optional alias for the system ID.
2	MqttConfig	Embedded MQTT connection parameters (see below).
3	QoS	MQTT Quality of Service (0, 1, or 2).
3	TcpPort	Broker's TCP port (default 1883)
3	ClientId	MQTT client ID
3	Host	IP address or host name of the broker.
3	Topic	Base topic under which data is published.
3	UserName	User name used for authentication.
3	UserPwd	Password for authentication.
3	Tls	TLS/certificate parameters (see the “TLS parameters” section).
4	Version	TLS version, e.g., “tlsv1.2” or “tlsv1.3”
4	CaFile	Path to the CA certificate file.
4	CertFile	Path to the client certificate file.
4	KeyFile	Path to the file containing the client's private key.
4	KeyPwd	Password/passphrase for the private key.

Example: Enable MQTT destination:

{
    "InitData": "...",
    "Mqtt": {
        "SamplesPerBuffer": 32,
        "CompressionWidth": 8,
        "MqttConfig": {
            "TcpPort": 1883,
            "Host": "127.0.0.1",
            "Topic": "Analytics/Stream1"
        }
    }
}

Example: MQTT destination with TLS encryption (certificates as file paths):

{
    "InitData": "...",
    "Mqtt": {
        "MqttConfig": {
            "TcpPort": 8883,
            "Host": "broker.example.com",
            "Topic": "Analytics/Stream1",
            "Tls": {
                "Version": "tlsv1.2",
                "CaFile": "C:\\Certs\\ca.crt",
                "CertFile": "C:\\Certs\\client.crt",
                "KeyFile": "C:\\Certs\\client.key",
                "KeyPwd": "secret"
            }
        }
    }
}

File destination configuration

Level	Field	Description
1	File	The “File” section defines a folder where the recorded data is written.
2	BuffersPerFile	Number of buffers per file
2	SamplesPerBuffer	Number of samples per buffer.
2	CompressionWidth	Compression width in bytes (0 = no compression).
2	FilesInRingBuffer	Number of files in the ring buffer (0 = no ring buffer).
2	SamplingDivider	Sampling rate divider (0/1 = every sample).
2	FilePath	Destination path or file name for the recording.
2	SystemIdAlias	Optional alias for the system ID.

Example: Enable file destination with ring buffer:

{
    "InitData": "...",
    "File": {
        "SamplesPerBuffer": 64,
        "BuffersPerFile": 100,
        "FilesInRingBuffer": 10,
        "FilePath": "C:\\DataStore\\FileStreamTarget"
    }
}