Release Notes Ping Interface OSIsoft, Inc. All rights reserved

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1 Release Notes Ping Interface OSIsoft, Inc. All rights reserved

2 Contents Release Notes Ping Interface... i Overview... 1 Fixes and s... 2 Known Issues... 2 Setup Operating Systems System Prerequisites Server Platforms Distribution Kit Files Installation and Upgrade Uninstalling Ping Interface List of Files Installed During Setup Documentation Overview Technical Support and Resources... 18

3 Overview Current Version: Interface: UniInt: OSIsoft s PI Ping Interface program determines the latency of a TCP/IP network. In particular, PI Ping measures the response times of ICMP echo messages (i.e., pings ) that it sends to a remote machine. Accordingly, this program can help the user in diagnosing network connection problems between machines residing in a TCP/IP network. PI Ping comes in two versions: a regular (full) version and a limited version known as PI Ping Basic. Feature PI Ping PI Ping Basic Maximum point count Unlimited 32 Availability Available for purchase Installed as part of PI Server 3.3 and higher Can run on a PI Interface node Yes No Must run on a PI Server node No Yes Must send data to the PI Server node on which it runs No Yes Number of copies that can run simultaneously Unlimited 1 Filename PIPing.exe PIPing_basic.exe Release Notes Ping Interface 1

4 Fixes and s Version: Date: 24-Apr-2009 UniInt: Author: RBalaraman The following items were resolved or added to this release of the Ping Interface. Punch List Item Type Description 19654OSI8 Added UniInt Interface Level Failover Phase2, supports types Cold and Hot. Known Issues This section lists problems and enhancements that have been deferred until a future release. Punch List Item Type Description 12130OSI8 Interface should record packet loss in a PI tag 4316OSI8 Ping Interface should be multi-threaded and send pings in separate threads to avoid problems with many unreachable devices. Currently the interface appears to hang while waiting for responses. Release Notes Ping Interface 2

5 Version: Date: 02-Nov-2007 UniInt: Author: ETam The following items were resolved or added to this release of the Ping Interface. Punch List Item Type Description 14737OSI OSI OSI8 Continuous bad status for Integer points. In previous versions of the Interface, if an Integer point received a bad status value (such as I/O Timeout), the Interface wrote this bad status for all subsequent values. PI Ping v fixes this problem. "Good" status for [UI_DEVSTAT] point after successful startup Previous versions of the Interface wrote "Good" to the UniInt [UI_DEVSTAT] Health Tag only after the Interface successfully measured a ping response time. In PI Ping v , the Interface writes "Good" after it has started successfully and is ready to measure ping response times. Display of all IP addresses of Interface Computer At startup, PI Ping v displays all the IP addresses of the computer on which it is running. Release Notes Ping Interface 3

6 Version: Date: 17-Apr-2007 UniInt: Author: ETam The following items were resolved or added to this release of the Ping Interface. Punch List Item Type Description 7239OSI8 9489OSI OSI8 The Basic version no longer requires -host=localhost Starting with PI Ping v , the Basic version does not require the specification of -host=localhost in the startup command line. However, the value of the required host parameter must still refer to the local PI Server computer. Ping frequencies faster than 1 minute The PI Ping Interface does not have a limit for the frequency at which it sends pings. Previous versions of the Interface had a lower limit of 60 seconds. (However, this 60 second limitation applied only for scan classes 2 and higher.) Implement UniInt Health Tags PI Ping version is built with UniInt v This version of UniInt supports interface Health Tags. In particular, for a Health Tag whose Extended Descriptor attribute contains [UI_DEVSTAT], the Interface writes the following values: a) "1 Starting" - the interface has started. b) "Good" - for all the points in the current scan class, the Interface has successfully measured the ping response time. c) "3 n device(s) in error" - for at least one of the points in the current scan class, the Interface has recorded an I/OTimeout value. d) "4 Intf Shutdown" - the interface has shut down. Please refer to the UniInt Interface User Manual.doc file for more information on how to configure Health Tags. Release Notes Ping Interface 4

7 Version: Date: 10-Apr-2006 UniInt: Author: TJohnson / ETam The following items were resolved or added to this release of the Ping Interface. Punch List Item Type Description Better agreement with results from Windows "ping" Prior versions of the Interface recorded ping times that may differ substantially from those obtained via the Windows "ping" command. The reason is that these versions used raw sockets to send the ICMP echo (ping) messages. PI-Ping v now makes use of functions available in Microsoft's Iphlpapi.dll (or Icmp.dll), which is the same library that the Windows "ping" command uses. Thus, the ping times from PI-Ping should correlate closely with those from the Windows "ping" command OSI8 However, by not using raw sockets, the Interface cannot detect an ICMP REDIRECT message. Thus, the Interface cannot write BAD INPUT when a router sends an ICMP REDIRECT in response to a ping request. There is one situation where the Interface still uses raw sockets. This condition occurs when the user wants to send a ping out of a particular network card. That is, the interface point has the OUTADDR keyword in the Extended Descriptor field: OUTADDR= ; For these particular points, the Interface uses raw sockets to send a ping. Release Notes Ping Interface 5

8 Punch List Item Type Description Ability to record ping times less than 10ms Prior versions of the Interface had a limitation of 10ms for the resolution of ping response times. PI-Ping v does not have such a restriction. However, if the underlying Windows operating system does not support ping times of less than 10ms, then the Interface does not either. Use the Windows "ping" command to determine such support. For example, C:> ping Pinging with 32 bytes of data: 7295OSI8 Reply from : bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=255 Reply from : bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=255 Reply from : bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=255 Reply from : bytes=32 time<10ms TTL=255 indicates that the version of Windows does NOT support ping times of less than 10ms. However, C:> ping Pinging with 32 bytes of data: Reply from : bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255 Reply from : bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=255 Reply from : bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=255 Reply from : bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=255 indicates support for ping times of less than 10ms. Release Notes Ping Interface 6

9 Version: Date: 08-Oct-2005 UniInt: Author: TJohnson The following items were resolved or added to this release of the Ping Interface. Punch List Item Type Description 8003OSI8 9490OSI8 Error parsing -host switch with the basic version There were some situations where the basic version of the interface would incorrectly parse the -host command line parameter. This has been fixed. Basic version GUID For license management purposes, the basic version of the interface has been updated to use a different GUID than the full version. Release Notes Ping Interface 7

10 Version: Date: 24-Nov-2004 UniInt: Author: ETam The following items were resolved or added to this release of the Ping Interface. Punch List Item Type Description 6948OSI8 Incorrect rejection of scan frequencies To prevent excessive network traffic, the Interface checks each scan frequency to make sure that it is at least 60 seconds. Previous versions of PI-Ping used an incorrect algorithm whereby a valid frequency specification was rejected. In particular, if you specified an eight hour frequency (i.e., "-f=08:00:00"), the Interface rejected this specification because the number of hours (8) contained a leading zero. That is, the Interface parsed "-f=08:00:00" to be hours ("08") minutes ("00") seconds ("00") and the algorithm considered the above to be hours - 0 minutes - 0 seconds - 0 resulting in an "invalid" frequency of 0 seconds. 6228OSI8 PI-Ping v fixes this problem. In particular, the Interface does not reject valid scan frequencies such as "- f=08:00:00". Inadvertent parsing of invalid keywords Previous versions of PI-Ping inadvertently used values from invalid keywords. This situation occurred when a valid keyword was embedded in an invalid keyword. For example, if the Extended Descriptor contained DO_NOT_IGNORE_REDIRECT=1; the Interface behaved as though IGNORE_REDIRECT=1; were specified. The reason is that the latter is embedded in the former. PI-Ping v fixes this problem. Release Notes Ping Interface 8

11 Punch List Item Type Description 6184OSI8 6784OSI8) 6785OSI8 Support for scan frequency specification in seconds Previous versions of PI-Ping required that scan frequencies be specified in the form -f=hh:mm:ss For example, a frequency of 60 seconds had to be -f=00:00:60 PI-Ping v supports scan frequency specifications in seconds. For example, a frequency of 60 seconds may be either or -f=60 -f=00:00:60 User configuration data size for ping packets Previous versions of PI-Ping sent ping packets whose size was fixed at 64 bytes. The first 16 bytes of the packet contained header and bookkeeping information. The final 48 contained random data. PI-Ping v allows you to indicate a size for the random data. Specifically, you may enter in a point's Extended Descriptor DATASIZE=20; to indicate 20 bytes of random data, resulting in a packet size of 36 bytes. Specification of a particular network card to use On a machine containing multiple network cards, PI-Ping v allows you to explicitly indicate which network card to use for the transmission of pings. In particular, the specification of the "OUTADDR" keyword in the Extended Descriptor indicates the IP address that is associated with a particular network card. That is, OUTADDR= ; tells the Interface to use the network card whose IP address is Release Notes Ping Interface 9

12 Version: Date: 23-Oct-2003 UniInt: Author: ETam The following items were resolved or added to this release of the Ping Interface. Punch List Item Type Description Errors in the Interface Manual The name of the Interface manual is now "PI_PIPing.doc". Previous versions were named "PI_Ping.doc". The latter name prevented users from displaying the manual from within the PI-ICU. 4311OSI8 4243OSI8 4368OSI8 4428OSI8 In addition, for v of the manual, on page 19, the first paragraph for the Location3 (incorrectly) said: "For example, you have configured a PI point to send 10 pings to the remote machine (i.e., Location3 set to 10)." The manual for v now says "For example, you have configured a PI point to send 10 pings to the remote machine (i.e., Location2 set to 10)." Clarification of a 0 value sent to PI Server The manual now mentions that a value of 0 sent to the PI Server is an indication that the remote machine responded to the ping request very quickly (i.e., within 10 milliseconds). Naming convention of the release notes The name of the release notes is now "PI_PIPing_x.x.x.x.txt"; that is, "PI_PIPing_ txt". Previous versions were named "PI_Ping_x.x.x.x.txt". The latter name prevented users from displaying the release notes from within the PI-ICU. Mention of requirement of PI-SDK v1.2.0 Build 180 PI-Ping v uses UniInt v However, UniInt v3.5.5 contains a bug whereby an interface will crash if the version of the PI-SDK is relatively old. PI-Ping v has been confirmed to work with PI-SDK v1.2.0 Build 180. Therefore, the manual now mentions that PI-SDK v1.2.0 Build 180 (or higher) is required. Release Notes Ping Interface 10

13 Version: Date: 04-Sep-2003 UniInt: Author: ETam This version is an official release version. (Unofficial versions were v , v , and v , v , v , and v ) The following items were resolved or added to this release of the Ping Interface. Punch List Item Type Description 4110OSI8 4111OSI8 4111OSI8 4112OSI8 4113OSI8 Case sensitive command line parameters Previous versions of PI-Ping checked only for the lower-case versions of the following startup command parameters: -id= -to= -host=localhost In other words, previous versions ignored startup parameters such as the following: -ID= -TO= -HOST=localhost In addition, when determining the validity of measurement frequencies, the Interface did not recognize -F= as being the same as -f=. PI-Ping v fixes these problems. Incorrect I/O TIMEOUT values Previous versions of PI-Ping may have incorrectly reported I/O TIMEOUT values. This problem happened when another "ping" program, such as the native Windows "ping" command, was running. PI- Ping v fixes this problem. Incorrect ping response times Previous versions of PI-Ping may have reported incorrect ping response time values. This problem occurred when another copy of PI-Ping was running on the same machine. PI-Ping v version fixes this problem. "-stopstat=intf Shut" no longer required PI-Ping v1.4.0 required that "-stopstat=intf Shut" be specified in the startup command file. PI-Ping v does not have this requirement. Timeout threshold now displayed PI-Ping v displays the timeout threshold. For example, in pipc.log: PI-PING 1> Ping timeout threshold set at 3 seconds Release Notes Ping Interface 11

14 Punch List Item Type Description 4114OSI8 4115OSI8 4116OSI8 4116OSI8 4117OSI8 4118OSI8 Debug symbols file is now provided PI-Ping v provides a debug symbols file, located in the same directory as the program executable. For example, C:\program files\pipc\interfaces\ping\piping.dbg This file may be helpful in the event of a program crash. The number of pings sent is now user configurable Previous versions of PI-Ping measured the response time of a single ping that it sent to a remote machine. PI-Ping v allows the user to specify the number of pings to send. The program then calculates the arithmetic mean of the response times of these pings. Please see the description for Location2 and Location3 in the manual for more information. Point level debugging is now available PI-Ping v allows the user to specify debug settings on a point-by-point basis. This feature should be used only in consultation with PI Technical Support. Please see the description for Location5 in the manual for more information. -db option is no longer supported Because PI-Ping v supports debug settings on the point level, the db (program level debugging) is no longer supported. BAD INPUT is written when ICMP REDIRECT is received For a particular point, when PI-Ping v receives an ICMP REDIRECT in response to any of its ping requests, it writes BAD INPUT to this point. You can over-ride this behavior by setting IGNORE_REDIRECT=1; in the point's Extended Descriptor attribute. Please see the description for Extended Descriptor in the manual for more information. Default ping response timeout is now 3 seconds Previous versions of PI-Ping implemented a default ping response timeout of 30 seconds. In PI-Ping v , this number is now 3 seconds. Of course, you can change the timeout value via the -to command line parameter. Release Notes Ping Interface 12

15 Version: Date: 08-Dec-2000 UniInt: Author: ETam This is the first official release of the PI-Ping Data Measurement Program. The names of the files have been changed. In general, "pi-ping" has been replaced by "piping". That is, piping.exe Program executable piping.bat Startup command file piping.doc Program documentation piping_1.4.0.txt Release notes for version There is also a 32-tag limited version called PI-Ping Basic. This version requires that -host=localhost:5450 be specified in the startup command file. In addition, on a given machine, only a single copy of PI-Ping Basic may be running at any time. The file names for PI-Ping Basic are: piping_basic.exe Program executable piping_basic.bat Startup command file piping.doc Program documentation piping_1.4.0.txt Release notes for version 1.4 Release Notes Ping Interface 13

16 Version: Date: 19-May-1999 UniInt: Author: DOda Items that were resolved or added in this release of Ping Interface. Punch List Item Type Description 13-May-1999 Corrected response to ICMP_REDIRECT error, such that rerouting information is ignored. Release Notes Ping Interface 14

17 Setup Operating Systems This release supports Windows 2000 SP3 & SP4, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista and Windows 2008 Server. Windows NT and Windows 9x are not supported. System Prerequisites Installation of an OSIsoft product relies on the presence of operating system components such as the Microsoft.NET Framework. OSIsoft product setup kits check for needed prerequisite software during installation. If not found, the installation will stop and the user will be prompted to install prerequisites. OSIsoft Prerequisite setup kits are available for three target operating system environments: Windows 2000 SP3 & SP4, or 32-bit Windows XP prior to SP2 (install OSIprerequisite-w2k_#.#.#.#_.exe) 32-bit Windows XP SP2 and later, W2003, Vista and W2008 (install OSIprerequisite-32_#.#.#.#_.exe) 64-bit Windows XP SP 2 and later,w2003 & Vista and W2008 (install OSIprerequisite-64_#.#.#.#_.exe) See the Prerequisites Product Pages on the OSIsoft Tech Support Web site to determine which MS Operating System prerequisites you need: Server Platforms To access the PI Module database, use the ICU and ICU Control, PI Server version 3.3. or higher is required. Distribution Kit Files PI_PIPing.docx PI_PIPing_ReleaseNotes.pdf PI_PIPing_ICU_ReleaseNotes.pdf PIPing_ICU.msi PIPingSetup.msi or PingBasicSetup.msi PI Buffer Subsystem User Guide.pdf PIBufSSReleaseNotes.htm PIGenericNames_ReleaseNotes.txt PISDK_ReadMe.htm dotnet20setup.dll MDACSetup.dll MSRuntimes.msi msxmlsetup.dll pibufss.msi Release Notes Ping Interface 15

18 PIGenericNamesSetup.msi pisdk.msi PreRequistie.ini ScriptingRuntimeSetup.dll Setup.exe Setup.ini setuputils.dll Silent.ini WindowsInstallerSetup.dll Installation and Upgrade The PI Ping Interface setup program uses the services of the Microsoft Windows Installer. Windows Installer is a standard part of Windows 2000 and greater operating systems. To install, run the PIPing_#.#.#.#.exe installation kit. Uninstalling Ping Interface The Ping Interface can be removed from your system by selecting it for removal in the Add/Remove Program utility in Control Panel for Windows 2000, XP and 2003, or the Programs and Features Control Panel for Windows Vista and 2008 Server. You must have administrator privileges on your machine to successfully uninstall Ping Interface on Windows 2000, XP or 2003 Server. 1. Go to Start menu and choose Control Panel. 2. Select Add/Remove Programs 3. Select the appropriate entry PI Ping (PIPing) Interface (full version) or PI Ping (PIPing) Interface (basic version) 4. Select it and click the Remove button. List of Files Installed During Setup The following tables list the files installed by the Ping Interface setup program. These files are installed in the same location as other PI products. Directory File Name Version \PIPC\Interfaces\UniInt\ UniInt Interface User Manual.doc \PIPC\Interfaces\UniInt\ Full Version \PIPC\Interfaces\PING\ \PIPC\Interfaces\PING\ \PIPC\Interfaces\PING\ UniInt4x Release Notes.doc PI_PIPing.doc PI_PIPIng_ReleaseNotes.pdf PIPing.bat_new \PIPC\Interfaces\PING\ PIPing.exe Release Notes Ping Interface 16

19 Directory File Name Version \PIPC\Interfaces\PING\ PIPing.pdb Basic Version \PIPC\Interfaces\PING_Basic\ PI_PIPing.doc \PIPC\Interfaces\PING_Basic\ PI_PIPIng_ReleaseNotes.pdf \PIPC\Interfaces\PING_Basic\ PIPing_Basic.bat_new \PIPC\Interfaces\PING_Basic\ PIPing_Basic.exe \PIPC\Interfaces\PING_Basic\ PIPing_Basic.pdb Documentation Overview These release notes are part of the documentation set that supports the Ping Interface. The set also includes: PI Ping User Manual (PI_PIPing.docx): This manual provides a product overview, installation checklist and procedures, point configuration information, startup command file parameters all to assist you with the installation and configuration. It also provides other topics to allow you to get the Ping Interface working and information on troubleshoot. Additional information about this product and other topics of interest can be found in respective books available on the OSIsoft Technical Support and Resources Web site. Release Notes Ping Interface 17

20 Technical Support and Resources OSIsoft provides dedicated technical support internationally, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to customers with a current SRP contract. To locate local access numbers and current contact options, please visit our Contact Methods page on the Technical Support web site at The main contact information is also listed below: Telephone: Web Portal: techsupport@osisoft.com My Calls When you open a case using any of the above methods, you will receive a response from a Technical Support Engineer within four hours. Be sure to provide: Product name, version, and/or build numbers Computer platform (CPU type, operating system, and version number) The time that the difficulty started The message log(s) at that time You can also take advantage of the Self-service Search page on our Technical Support Web Site to look for answers to your technical questions and issues. The search tool searches our online library of documentation, knowledge base articles, technical announcements and bulletins, known product issues, and documented product enhancement requests, as well as a collection of resources for system managers. Release Notes Ping Interface 18

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