The SatSCADA Proxy consists of a client and a server. The proxy server is a windows service used to access SatSCADA terminals from the customer SCADA host applications. The proxy client is a windows gui application used to monitor the proxy server and any satellite terminals connected to it.
Click this to get the SatSCADA Proxy installers. View the README.txt and CHANGELOG.txt for details.
The SatSCADA Proxy software is licensed to the customer by Bentek Systems for use with a SatSCADA and SAT1xx Airtime Subscription.
The proxy server uses HTTPS and sockets to exchange application data with the SatSCADA Server. That data is then exchanged with the customer's terminals over satellite and cell.
The customer scada host system connects to the proxy server via sockets to access terminals in the field. The socket port naming convention is described in Proxy IP Ports
Once the scada host system is connected to the proxy the registers can be accessed via modbus. The register numbering convention depends on the firmware installed in the terminal.
The proxy client uses a socket to connect to the proxy server to get real-time updates. The port number used is entered in the proxy client user interface and must be the same as the port number entered in the proxy server properties file. The proxy client uses HTTPS to get terminal static details from the SatSCADA Server database.
The proxy server needs to be installed on a 64 bit Windows platform. Only one proxy server can be running at a time. Typically the proxy server is installed in the customer data center on a server that has access to both the internet and the corporate LAN.
From the Windows Task Manager you can stop, start, and restart the SatSCADA Proxy windows service as you would with any other windows service.
A restart is necessary whenever any configuration parameters are changed, either in the proxy.properties or log4j2.xml files.
A restart is necessary whenever you have purchased more satellite terminals from Bentek or when you have requested that Bentek deactivate a terminal. The list of terminals and their IP port numbers will be in the log. You need these port numbers to connect your scada host system to the satellite terminals. The simplest way to view these port numbers is with the proxy client.
Restart the proxy client to make a connection to the new proxy server.
Configuration parameters are set in the c:/satscada/proxy.properties file using a text editor. If you change these you need to restart the SatSCADA Proxy service using the windows task manager.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| client.username | Used to login to the satscada server. Provided to you by Bentek. |
| client.password | Encrypted password used to login to the satscada server. The encrypted and unencrypted password will be provided to you by Bentek. |
| server.host | Host name of the satscada server. Normally never changed. |
| server.port | Port number of the satscada server. Normally never changed. |
| server.timeout | Timeout, in seconds, when connecting to the satscada server. Default is 10 sec. |
| server.keepalive | Time, in seconds, between keep alive messages sent from the client to the server. |
| sat.timeout | Timeout, in seconds, for a response message to be returned from a satellite terminal. Default is 120 sec. |
| cell.timeout | Timeout, in seconds, for a response message to be returned from a terminal accessed by cell. Default is 15 sec. |
| ip.timeout | Timeout, in seconds, for a response message to be returned from a terminal accessed by ip. Default is 10 sec. |
| proxyclient.port | Port number the proxy client uses to connect to the proxy server. Default is 10000. Normally never changed. |
| proxyclient.timeout | Timeout, in milliseconds, when the proxy client attempts to connect to the proxy server. Default is 5 sec. |
There are a number of logs kept in c:/satscada/logs. These are time stamped and roll over when the size limit is reached. The current log has the .log extension and can be opened with any text editor. The older logs are archived in .gz format and need to be opened with a tool like 7zip.
The satscada.log is the most significant application log. It has the list of port numbers and other application related information.
Parameters controlling log file generation are in c:/satscada/log4j2.xml. The following table has the key parameters you might be interested in modifying. The other parameters normally do not need to be changed but if you are interested the detailed format specification of this XML file is at Log4j 2 User Guide.
If you change these you need to restart the SatSCADA Proxy service using the windows task manager.
| Element | Attribute | Description |
|---|---|---|
| SizeBasedTriggeringPolicy | size | Maximum size of a log file (10 MB is recommended). |
| DefaultRolloverStrategy | max | Maximum number of log files to retain (20 is recommended). |
| Logger | level | Trace level. Can be: trace, debug, into, warn, error, fatal, off. Trace provides the most output and off the least. (trace is recommended). |
The proxy client is a windows application used to obtain information about the customer's satscada terminals and real-time updates about the exchange of data between the customer host system and those terminals.
The proxy client can be installed on the SCADA host computer or on any other Windows PC within the customer's network. It can run on Windows 64 bit platforms.
The proxy client uses a TCP socket connection to the proxy server. The proxy server IP address is entered via the client user interface. The default is 127.0.0.1 which is the local computer and is only used if the proxy client and server are on the same computer. Normally they aren't and the client server is on a remote windows server computer in the customer's data centre. The proxy server port is entered by the client user interface and 10000 is the default.
One or more proxy clients can be connected to a proxy server. This means many users can be monitoring the status of the terminals from many client computers. It also means that a user can start many instances of the proxy client on one computer and use the different instances to monitor the details of a number of terminals.
There are two downloads that can be used to install the application.
The operation of the application is the same no matter which download you decide to use.
You can only install one instance of the proxy client using this method.
To install using the EXE installer:
You can install as many instances of the proxy client as you want with this method. Just install it in different folders.
To install using the ZIP installer:
You can copy this folder to a USB drive and run from that. You can also copy it to as many other computers as you want without having to unzip.
Exit the proxy client before uninstalling.
If you have previously installed the proxy client from the EXE installer: (a) click the uninstaller from the Windows start menu; or (b) use the Windows control panel to uninstall as with any other program.
If you have previously installed the proxy client from the ZIP installer then just delete the folder.
The menu bar at the top of the main form has these menu items.
| File > Exit | Stop the proxy client. The proxy server continues to run until you use the windows task manager to stop it. |
| Server > Connect | The Connect form is displayed. When OK is clicked the proxy client will connect to the satscada server and, optionally, the proxy server. The list of terminals will be obtained from the server. The Details button will be enabled and can be clicked after a terminal has been selected using a check box. |
| Server > Disconnect | The proxy client will disconnect from both the satscada server and the proxy server. The list of terminals will be cleared. The Details button will be disabled and turns grey. |
| Help > Contents | Shows this online document. You can view proxy topics as well as topics related to all SatSCADA hardware and software. |
| Help > Support | Shows the Bentek Support contact information and hours of operation. |
| Help > About | Shows the proxy client version and build date. |
The Help Button is the blue circle with white question mark in the upper right of the main form. Clicking it is equivalent to Help > Contents and will open this wiki page.
The status bar at the bottom of the main form has three text boxes. The left text box is for informative messages. A red background indicates an error. A green background indicates that the operation was successful. The middle text box indicates whether the proxy client is connected to the satscada server or not. The right text box indicates whether the proxy client is connected to the proxy server or not.
To connect your application to a satscada terminal you must connect that application to the proxy using one of the listed IP port numbers. Your permitted IP port numbers are listed on the main form. The scroll bars can be used to view all your terminals.
For a complete description of the meaning of the IP ports see How to Access a SatSCADA Terminal.
The Callout column lists port numbers you can use to access terminal callout data stored in the satscada server database.
The OTA columns list port numbers used to access over-the-air channels on the terminal. There are three OTA channels. The terminal must be configured to use one or more of these channels using the SatSCADA GUI.
The 'x' in the table refers to the digits in the legend at the bottom of the form next to the OK button.
The Sat/Cell/Web columns show what interfaces the terminal is capable of supporting. These are set by Bentek and are based on the options you purchased. If 'sat' is checked the terminal can be accessed via satellite. If cell is checked the terminal can be accessed via cell. Both need to be checked to enable cell to satellite fail over. The 'web' flag is normally checked and means the terminal supports request/response virtual serial (via web service). The 'web' option is slower but more secure since SSL is used over https. This may be simpler to use in your IT environment. If 'web' is unchecked then a TCP/IP socket connection is used from the proxy to the satscada server. This is faster but will require firewall configuration.
If the proxy client is connected to the proxy server and a scada host system is connected to a terminal by a port then that port number turns green in the table. If a port number was used previously but is now disconnedted then it will be yellow if the last operation had no errors or red if the last operation had errors.
If you want to see details for a terminal then select a check box and click the Details button.
If the proxy client is connected to the proxy server then the Ports field will have a list of port numbers that have been connected to at least once by the client since the last server restart. The To Terminal, From Terminal, and Status fields are updated real-time. The other fields are obtained when you login to the proxy client and are not updated in real-time.
Selecting a port number from the combox box shows the message transfer activity for that port in the To Terminal and From Terminal fields. These fields are obtained from the proxy server and are set to zero when the proxy server is restarted. They increment indefinitely. The Status field shows the status of the connection for the selected port. Either connected or not connected and optionally an error message if the last operation ended abnormally for that terminal.