How to run SCADA in the background as a service
There are situations where automation software is required to start/run upon every power startup. The purpose is to ensure the industrial processes and operation are not interrupted. Some will say it can be achieved simply by copying the SCADA file(s) into the OS startup folder. However, this is different from execute and run it as a service, i.e. running it in the background.
What are the main reasons to implement SCADA in service mode?
– Start the project faster by avoiding to launch big old chunks of programs & skipping system login process.
– Worry free. As closing the GUI or HMI will NOT interrupt or stop the SCADA system.
– Hassle free. As it is a service, it will auto-recover itself.
This feature will also aid application which doesn’t require GUI, where the SCADA can simply run in the background despite any user interface or interaction. For example, a project that mostly rely on report logging and trend plotting, data archive is higher priority compared to HMI screens.
Ecava IGX SCADA is developed with service mode feature. Users have the freedom to configure if they wanted to run the SCADA project as a service, which can be done by only one single setting from the Project Editor.
Set Service Mode to ‘True’
Open Project Editor and navigate to ‘General’ from the left menu. From the setting fields, find ‘Service Mode’ in the last row, change the value to ‘True’ and save the project. Refer to screenshot below as example.
Run the project
Click on ‘Run Project’ and IGX server will be launched. You may noticed that the behavior is similar with or without service mode. Now click on the [X] button on top right to note the difference.
When Service Mode is ‘FALSE’, clicking on the [X] button will stop all the tasks and close the project completely.
When Service Mode is ‘TRUE’, clicking on [X] button will prompt a message box to alert you that the project will continue to run in background even if the server window is closed. For instance, as shown in screenshot below.
Proceed to click on ‘OK’ and close the interface of IGX server.
Verify the project service
Let’s verify whether the project is actually running in background as a service.
Launch the Computer Management (Right click on “Computer”, and select ‘Manage’). Then, from the left menu, click to open ‘Services’ under the branch of ‘Services and Applications’. Scroll to find the service named ‘Ecava IntegraXor Service’. If there is an Ecava IGX project running in background, there will be another active service called ‘Ecava IntegraXor Project (your_project_name)’ present on the services list.
For example, the screenshot below shows that Ecava IGX project named ‘DEM0’ is running as a service.
You may further witness the benefit of service mode by shutting down or rebooting your PC. Then, without manually starting IGX Project Editor or IGX Server, check in the Computer Management again and noticed the project service is automatically running upon the system startup.
Download Ecava IGX today and configure your own PLC and SCADA project.