Operating Instructions

Chapter 2 – System Architecture
14 Siemens Building Technologies, Inc.
Virtual Points
In an MEC, MBC, or a Soft Controller, virtual points hold the information received from OPC items on
third-party servers. You must create a virtual point for each third-party OPC item that you want to
monitor with Insight software.
Follow these guidelines while creating virtual points via Insight software:
• Plan point pairings. For each third-party OPC item (AO, AI, DO, DI) that you want to monitor or
command, create a virtual point of the same type.
• Create a naming convention that makes it easy to determine which third-party OPC item is associated
with each virtual point.
System Recommendations
For optimal performance, the following are recommended:
• Use a Soft Controller. Since the Soft Controller resides on the Insight workstation, communication is
faster than when an MEC or MBC is used.
A Soft Controller is a virtual field panel with many capabilities normally associated with physical
field panels. Through a Soft Controller, you can create and command points, run PPCL, send and
receive COVs, run equipment scheduler, and trend points without a physical panel or physical wiring.
For more information, see Setting Up Soft Controller
(GSSC.chm).
• An MEC or MBC can be used instead of a Soft Controller to hold the virtual points associated with
the OPC Data Manager’s shared points. If used, be sure to add the MEC or MBC to a dedicated BLN.
This will separate the network traffic generated by the OPC Data Manager from network traffic
generated by other parts of the system. Especially in systems using over 100 shared points, this
configuration can help maximize system performance.
• Install the OPC Data Manager and Insight OPCServer on the same computer. Since they use the same
DCOM settings, you can save time during system configuration by configuring a computer for both.
Be sure, however, that the computer has adequate resources to run both applications.