CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMS BOL 11.

Page 1 of 8

Click here to show toolbars of the Web Online Help System: show toolbars

CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMs

Inside this topic

CHARM I/O
CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMs, together called CHARM I/O, represent a major change in I/O design, wiring, and installation. With traditional I/O, the field wiring must be connected to a single I/O channel assigned to the same controller that is hosting the control strategy. This requires early design decisions that are often only estimates that are then changed late in the project. Late changes can result in the need for new hardware and signal rewiring that can impact the project schedule and increase the project costs. With CHARM I/O, field wiring can be designed and installed without detailed engineering of the control strategies. Channel types are defined individually when the appropriate CHARacterizing Module, called a CHARM, that matches the field device (AI, AO, DI, DO and so on) is installed. I/O channels can be assigned to controllers as needed by the control strategy. Responding to late design changes is easy with CHARM I/O: Signals can be changed from discrete to analog by changing the CHARM to match a new field device. No rewiring to a different I/O card is required. Control modules and their I/O can be reassigned to a different controller without changing the hardware or rewiring. New channels can be added online. New CHARM I/O Cards (CIOC) can be added online only when and where they are needed. CHARMs' signals are processed and made available to S-series controllers by a CHARM I/O Card (CIOC).

What is a CIOC?
CHARM I/O Cards (CIOCs) are simplex or redundant cards that process signals from up to 96 configurable channels called CHARMs and make the CHARMs' signals available to multiple S-series controllersover the DeltaV Control Network. A CIOC is connected to the control network through a CIOC Carrier that also provides power distribution to the CIOCs for signal processing and communications. CHARMs areinstalled on carriers called CHARM Baseplates. Up to eight CHARM Baseplates can be connected to one CIOC Carrier holding redundant CIOCs. Theconnected CIOC Carrier and CHARM Baseplates form a continuous redundant power and communications bus. In the DeltaV Explorer, you can create a CIOC placeholder to configure the CIOC offline before it is connected and then commission a physical CIOC to the placeholder. When you commission the CIOC, the system can autosense the CIOC's CHARMs and reconcile the installed CHARMs to the configured channels.

Create a CIOC placeholder in DeltaV Explorer

A placeholder CIOC is used to configure a CIOC offline before you physically connect it to the control network. After you connect the CIOC to the network, you commission it by assigning it to the placeholder.

http://www3.emersonprocess.com/Systems/Support/bol113/extfile/b_theory/html/cioc.htm

2/11/2014

CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMS BOL 11.3

Page 2 of 8

The I/O Network must be enabled as a DeltaV System Preference before it is available to the DeltaV system. To enable the I/O Network, click Start | DeltaV | Engineering | System Preferences. 1. Select the I/O Network in the DeltaV Explorer hierarchy. 2. Click the right mouse button and select New | CHARMs I/O Card. 3. A CIOC and its CHARMs container appears under the I/O Network.

CIOC configuration options

Among the configuration options for CIOCs are redundancy, system hardware alarms, and enabling a cascade port. CHARM I/O Carrier Specifications shows the location of the cascade port on the CIOC Carrier and Twisted Pair Network with DeltaV Smart Switches and CHARMs I/O shows an example network with cascaded CIOCs. Redundant CIOC functions and CIOC hardware alarms are the same as redundant controller functions and controller hardware alarms. Refer to Controller Redundancy and Alarms and Events Overview for information. Enabling the cascade port, which is an Ethernet port on the CIOC carrier, enables multiple CIOCs to be connected together in series without wiring back to a central switch. A maximum of 16 CIOCs can be cascaded together. Connect only CIOCs to the cascade port. Do not connect any other network devices to the cascade port.

Configure a CIOC placeholder

A CIOC placeholder is configured in DeltaV Explorer through its Properties pages. 1. Select the CIOC in the DeltaV Explorer hierarchy. 2. Click the right mouse button and select Properties. 3. Click the Help button on each Property page for information about the options on that page.

Commission a CIOC and autosense its CHARMs

A physically connected CIOC can be put into service by commissioning it to a CIOC placeholder in the DeltaV Explorer. Commissioning a CIOC synchronizes the CIOC placeholder configuration with the physical CIOC. When you commission a CIOC, you can also autosense its CHARMs. Autosensing automates the comparison between any physical CHARMs installed and the configured CHARMs under the CIOC placeholder and reconciles mismatches within the same CHARM class. 1. Drag a decommissioned CIOC from the Decommissioned Nodes container to its CIOC placeholder. The system prompts you to autosense the CHARMs under the CIOC. 2. Click Yes. The Auto-sense CHARMs dialog opens.

http://www3.emersonprocess.com/Systems/Support/bol113/extfile/b_theory/html/cioc.htm

2/11/2014

CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMS BOL 11.3

Page 3 of 8

The Auto-sense CHARMs dialog lists the autosensed CHARM types and the CHARM types that have been configured and downloaded to the database. To view a list of only the mismatched CHARM types, select the Show Mismatches Only option. Mismatches that have been resolved by autosensing appear in blue, with the checkbox for the autosensed CHARM type selected, by default. Optionally, you can retain the CHARM type configuration in the database, by selecting its checkbox in the Type in database column. To retain all of the CHARM type configurations currently in the database, select the Type in database checkbox at the top of the column. Mismatches that appear in red cannot be resolved by autosensing. This usually indicates one of the following conditions: A mismatch between CHARM classes No physical CHARM installed in the CIOC To manually resolve mismatches of this sort generally requires either installing or replacing a CHARM in the CHARM Baseplate and/or reconfiguring the properties of the CHARM in the database. You can autosense CHARMs anytime to recognize any hardware changes by selecting Auto-sense CHARMs from the CHARMs container.

Version Control Audit Trail and CIOCs

Version Control supports CIOCs and CHARMs. You can check out items at the CIOC level only. Note When Version Control is enabled the CHARMs context menu items Show all CHARMs and Show Only Defined CHARMs are disabled. These menu items are enabled only when Version Control is disabled.

http://www3.emersonprocess.com/Systems/Support/bol113/extfile/b_theory/html/cioc.htm

2/11/2014

CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMS BOL 11.3

Page 4 of 8

What are CHARMs?

When a CIOC is added to the I/O Network, a collapsed container called CHARMs appears under the CIOC in the Explorer hierarchy as shown in the following image.

CHARMs can be thought of as single I/O channels under a CIOC that processes the CHARMs' signals and communications. When the CHARMs container is expanded, all 96 CHARMs that can be supported by the CIOC are visible. The 96 CHARMs are organized in eight banks of 12 CHARMs under the CIOC: bank one is CHM1-01 through CHM1-12, bank 2 is CHM2-01 through CHM2-12, bank 3 is CHM3-01 through CHM3-12, and so on. In the hardware, each bank of 12 CHARMs is installed on a carrier called a CHARM Baseplate. The CHARM Baseplate consists of 12 I/O channels with terminals for connecting field wiring and an Address Plug. Each channel is undefined until a CHARM is inserted into that terminal. That is, the installation of the CHARM defines the physical channel type and makes the signal available to the DeltaV system over the redundant bus. In the software, CHARM placeholders aredefined according to class and type and then assigned to controllers.The CHARM placeholders can be defined offline or when the CIOC is autosensed.

Define CHARMs
Defining a CHARM involves setting the CHARM's properties such as its class and type in the DeltaV Explorer. Defining a CHARM automatically enables it. After a CHARM has been defined, it can be assigned to an S-series controller. 1. Select the CHARM and click Properties to access the Properties dialog. 2. Refer to the help for the CHARM's Properties dialog for information on the various items on the Properties dialogs. 3. Refer to the DeltaV Hardware Reference manual for CHARMs wiring diagrams and specifications.

CHARM classes and types

CHARMs are defined as a specific type belonging to a given class. The class is used to define the channel's available properties and to allow the configuration to be completed before the specific channel type is known. This is especially useful with discrete channels where multiple types such as dry contact, high-side, and isolated belong to this class. Each CHARM type is identified with a single physical CHARM. A default type is available that allows automatic reconciliation during the autosense process. CHARM Classes and Types

CHARM class
Analog Input (AI) Analog Output (AO) Discrete Input (DI)

CHARM type
AI 4-20 mA HART AO 4-20 mA HART DI NAMUR DI 24 VDC Low-Side

http://www3.emersonprocess.com/Systems/Support/bol113/extfile/b_theory/html/cioc.htm

2/11/2014

CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMS BOL 11.3

Page 5 of 8

DO 24 VDC high-side Discrete Output (DO) DO 24 VDC isolated Thermocouple Input RTD Input Voltage Thermocouple/mV RTD / Resistance input AI 0-10 VDC isolated

View only defined CHARMs

It is possible to see only those CHARMs that have been defined rather than all 96 CHARMs when you expand the CHARMs container under a CIOC. 1. Select the CHARMs container under the CIOC. 2. Click the right mouse button and select Show Only Defined CHARMs.

Assign CHARMs to controllers

After a CHARM has been defined, it can be assigned to a controller making it is available for use in control strategies. When a CHARM has been assigned to a controller, the controller name appears in parenthesis next to the CHARM's name in the DeltaV Explorer hierarchy as shown in the following image. Notice that the controller assignments also appear next to the CIOC name. CHARMs from a single CIOC can be assigned to a maximum of four S-series controllers.

CHARMs can be assigned to S-series controllers individually, as a group, or all 96 CHARMs under a CIOC can be assigned to a controller. To assign an individualCHARM to a controller, drag and drop the CHARM to an S-series controller. To assign a group of CHARMs to a controller, expand the CHARMs container, use the Shift and Ctrl keys to select multiple CHARMs , and drag and drop the group of CHARMs to an S-series controller. To assign all CHARMs under a CIOC to a controller, drag and drop the CIOC to an S-series controller or drag and drop the CHARMs container to an S-series controller. Another way to assign all 96 CHARMs to a controller is to select the CHARMs container, click the right mouse button, select Assign, and then browse to an S-series controller.

Locate assigned CHARMs in the Explorer hierarchy

The Goto commands provide a fast and easy way to find an assigned CHARM in the controller's hierarchy or a physical CHARM under the I/O Network.

http://www3.emersonprocess.com/Systems/Support/bol113/extfile/b_theory/html/cioc.htm

2/11/2014

CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMS BOL 11.3

Page 6 of 8

To find a CHARM assignment, select the configured CHARM under the I/O Network, click the right mouse button and select Goto CHARM Assignment. To find a configured CHARM, select the assigned CHARM, click the right mouse and select Goto CHARM.

CHARM addressing
CHARM addresses are defined by the hardware addressing of the CHARM Baseplates. Each baseplate has an Address Plug that defines the bank address for its 12 channels. The baseplates should be addressed sequentially under the CIOC. That is, the baseplate with Address Plug 1 should be installed after the CIOC Carrier; the baseplate with Address Plug 2 should be installed after the baseplate with Address Plug 1, and so on. The Address Plug and a CHARM's position on the baseplate determine the CHARM's address. The address is specified as CHM1-02 or CHM2-12 where the number after CHM indicates the Address Plug and the number after the dash (-) indicates the CHARM's position on the baseplate. For example, the address CHM2-02 refers to the second CHARM on the baseplate with Address Plug 2. The following image shows all 12 CHARMs in bank 1 on the CHARM Baseplate with Address Plug 1 and two CHARMs in bank 2 on the second CHARM Baseplate with Address Plug 2. Both baseplates are under CIOC-1.

Browsing to CHARM DSTs

The DeltaV system uses unique Device Signal Tags (DSTs) to provide a contextual meaning to device signals. A default DST, based on the signal specification, is created for each channel. For CHARM I/O, DSTs are derived from the CIOC name and the CHARM address in the form: CIOCNameCHM1-02. DSTs are used to link a field signal to the control strategy and to provide flexibility during control strategy development by allowing the physical I/O to be defined late in the project. This keeps all control strategy references valid when a channel is assigned to a new controller. Typically, users browse for DSTs from Control Studio when they are assigning a function block to an I/O signal. Like other I/O, CHARM DSTs are browsed with the Browse dialog. There are different types of device tags available to the browser: valid I/O references, unassigned I/O references, and All. When browsing for CHARM DSTs keep the following in mind about the different types of DSTs presented by the browser: Valid I/O references: Presents a list of defined DST references that are suitable for the selected function block. This list is presented in context with controllers. Assign DSTs to the same controller as the control

http://www3.emersonprocess.com/Systems/Support/bol113/extfile/b_theory/html/cioc.htm

2/11/2014

CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMS BOL 11.3

Page 7 of 8

module. Unassigned I/O references: Presents a list of DSTs that are not bound to a physical channel. A signal type is not verified until the DST is bound to a physical channel. All: Presents a list of all valid and unassigned I/O references. This list includes all the DSTs defined in the system. Note A DST differs from a SCADA tag. Refer to Device Signal Tags and SCADA Tags for information on the differences between the two types of tags. In addition to I/O function blocks, I/O references can be created using external parameter references. The browser can be used to define external parameter references and the reference can be made to module parameters, I/O parameters, diagnostic parameters, or to DST parameters: Module parameters: References are made to module parameter paths starting with the module name. Most runtime parameters in the system can be referenced. I/O parameters: References are made to physical I/O parameter paths starting with the controller name. Diagnostic parameters: References are made to parameters structured around the physical hardware that reflect the integrity of the system. DST parameters: Refer to the preceding descriptions of Valid I/O references, Unassigned I/O references, and All. Note To ensure that CIOCs provide the highest possible I/O performance, parameters sourced in a CIOC are not reported to controllers. Any parameter reference that begins with CIOC_Name/ that is downloaded to a controller does not resolve at run time. If you need to use these types of parameter references in your control strategy you can download them to a workstation's virtual controller.

Copy CHARMs from one CIOC to another CIOC

One or more defined CHARMs can be copied from one CIOC to another CIOC. When you copy defined CHARMs between CIOCs, only the DSTs change because the DST is based on the CIOC name. No other CHARM properties change. 1. In the DeltaV Explorer, select the CHARMs container under the CIOC. The CIOC's CHARMs are listed in the right pane. 2. Select the defined CHARMs and click Copy from the context menu. 3. Select the CHARMs container under the CIOC to which you want to copy the CHARMs and click Paste.

Swap CHARMs' configurations

Suppose that your design changed, and as a result either the wiring to a CHARM or a CHARM's configuration must change. The Swap CHARMs Configuration command provides a fast and easy way to respond to late design changes or mistakes in configuration or installation by swapping configuration between two CHARMs. 1. In the DeltaV Explorer, select the CHARMs container under the CIOC. The CIOC's CHARMs are listed in the right pane. 2. Select the two CHARMs to swap and click Swap CHARMs Configuration from the context menu. 3. Download the changes

Downloading CHARM I/O

http://www3.emersonprocess.com/Systems/Support/bol113/extfile/b_theory/html/cioc.htm

2/11/2014

CHARM I/O Cards and CHARMS BOL 11.3

Page 8 of 8

There are several options for downloading a CIOC and its CHARMs: Download an individual CIOC - This downloads any pending definitions for any CHARMs under the selected CIOC. Downloading completes the channel definitions and enables the CHARMs.If the CIOC is assigned to a controller, the controller is updated with the CIOC download information. Download the controller hosting a CIOC or individual CHARMs under a CIOC - This downloads the controller and any assigned CHARM definitions to the database. Download individual CHARM only this option downloads the configuration's definition of the individual CHARM to the CIOC. Note If the configuration has not changed since the last download, either the CHARM definition or the CHARM definition and CHARM assignment can be downloaded. However, if the configuration has changed since the last download, the CHARM definition and CHARM assignment are downloaded even if Download individual CHARM only is selected.

Capacity limits for CHARM I/O

Refer to Capacity Limits for the I/O Network for information.

Troubleshooting CHARM I/O

Use the DeltaV Diagnostics application to troubleshoot CHARMs I/O. Diagnostic information is available for the I/O Network, CIOCs, and CHARMs as well as for the controllers to which CHARMs are assigned. The Diagnostics application can also be used to force a redundancy switchover between the active and standby CIOC. Use the context menu commands from the Redundancy subsystem in Diagnostics to force redundant CIOCs to switch over. Use the Diagnostics online help for descriptions of the diagnostic parameters which provide useful information for maintaining system integrity. The LEDs on CIOCs and CHARMs provide useful diagnostic information about the hardware. Refer to the DeltaV

Hardware Reference manual for a description of the CHARM I/O LEDs.

http://www3.emersonprocess.com/Systems/Support/bol113/extfile/b_theory/html/cioc.htm

2/11/2014