Technical Specifications

For more information, please contact your nearest GE Sales
or Service office, or an authorized GE Sales representative.
*ARCNETisaregisteredtrademarkofDatapointCorporation.
*Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation.
*HARTisaregisteredtrademarkofHARTCommunicationFoundation.
*ModbusisaregisteredtrademarkofSchneiderAutomation.
*Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
*Mark, ControlST, CIMPLICITY, and Proficy are trademarks of the General Electric Company.
Copyright©2010GeneralElectricCompany.Allrightsreserved.
GEA18405(10/2010)
NewTechnology
The Mark VIe platform offers many new features and capabilities,
enhanced reliability, and greater availability. It also enables
incorporation of many advanced control and turbine operability
enhancements, such as the GE Suite of OpFlex offerings, TILs,
andadvancedDryLowNOx.ExistingMarkVprocessorsare
replaced with state-of-the-art Mark VIe processors, substantially
increasingcomputationalpower.TheARCNET*communicationis
upgradedtoredundant100MBEthernet
®
for both the I/O network
andexternalcommunications,whilemaintainingtheARCNET
communicationtotheEX2000whereapplicable.Newoperator
stationscommunicatedirectlytotheredundantcontrollers<R>
<S><T>,notthroughtheMarkV<C>module,eliminatingasingle
point failure and the need for a backup display.
The new network provides high speed, peer-to-peer
communications among other Mark control systems and the
ability to add redundant networks without requiring a Mark V
gatewaymodule<D>inthesystem.
ForsiteswithEX2000generatorexcitationsystems,anARCNET-
to-Ethernet gateway is provided, or the control section of the
excitercanbeupgradedwithanewDigitalFrontEnd(DFE)using
theEX2100eplatform.Thisupgradeallowsseamlessintegration
with the same ControlST software configuration, diagnostics tool,
and networks as your new Mark VIe system.
Operator and Maintenance Software
Existing operator and maintenance stations are replaced
withGE’scurrentProficy*HMI/SCADACIMPLICITY*graphics
system with improved graphics, screen navigation, alarm/event
management,andtrendingtools.Ifyouhaveanoriginal<I>
station, this also gives you a Windows* operating system with
modern client/server networking capability. GE still supports
your existing Modbus
®
and TCP/IP GSM links to plant controls,
and complements these with OPC and HMI Client-to-PI server
interfaces.
GE uses proven automation tools, ensuring that your existing
application software, with its tens of thousands of attributes,
is accurately translated to a modern 32-bit floating-point data
format.AllI/Oscaling,alarms,andpointnamesareretained.
This new software environment is part of the ControlST
software suite.
It offers major enhancements and a focus on ease-of-use over
your current tools, including drag-and-drop type editors, math
blocks, macros, trending with video-type forward/reverse/
freezecapability,watchwindows,code-comparetools,etc.Also,
changes can be downloaded online without rebooting the new
controllers.
I/O Interface
The elegance of the modernization is that the Mark VIe control
system maintains the existing cabinet, high density of I/O, all
cabinet and field terminations, and turbine devices, with no
update to site drawings required. This is the key to reducing
outage time from weeks to a few days.
Your new Mark VIe provides complete flexibility to add and
distributeadditionalMarkVIeI/Oasneeded.Additionalflexibility
is gained though the diverse number of Mark VIe I/O types
available, which continues to grow. Mark VIe I/O supports
avarietyofbusses,includingHART*,PROFIBUS-DP,and
FOUNDATIONFieldbus.
GEalsooffers:
• RibbonCableReplacementServiceOption
• Upgradedterminalboardswith:
 – Optionalpluggableterminationstoeasemaintenance
 – Increasedprotectionfromvoltagespikes,includingthose
caused by lightning
 – Bothfieldandribboncableopen-circuitdetectiononall
digital I/O
Aboveall,migrationofyourMarkVcontrolsystemtotheMark
VIe platform gives you a clear path for future enhancements
and life cycle support.
fact sheet