Debugging and Diagnostics Tools for NI OPC Servers With DSC and DataSockets

This article demonstrates commonly used diagnostics tools that can be used to debug NI OPC Servers applications.

To monitor OPC diagnostic information, we recommend the following two options.

• You can enable the diagnostic log for the OPC Client I/O Server,
• You can actively monitor diagnostic information in real time or the Historical View using NI OPC Servers.

Diagnostics using OPC Client I/O Server

To enable the diagnostic log, you'll need to access the Configure OPC Client I/O Server window.

1. In the LabVIEW Project Explorer, navigate to the library containing the OPC Server. Right click the OPC Server and select Properties.
2. When the Configure OPC Client I/O Server dialog box opens, select the Diagnostics tab.
3. Place a check mark on the Enable diagnostics checkbox.
4. Browse for an appropriate path to save the log file.

Diagnostics using NI OPC Servers

First, you need to enable the Diagnostics Capture property. This will allow you to view the captured diagnostics in the OPC Diagnostics window.

To enable the Diagnostics Capture property:

1. Launch NI OPC Servers Configuration/Runtime by accessing Start>>Programs>>National Instruments>>OPC Servers Configuration.
2. Open the File>>Project Properties window.
3. Open the OPC DA Settings tab.
4. Enable the Enable diagnostics capture property.

To access the OPC diagnostics window:

1. In NI OPC Servers Configuration/Runtime, open the View>>OPC Diagnostics window.
2. In the Diagnostic window you can start and stop recording diagnostic information, quickly search for specific text and use the filter dialog to select which events you want to capture.