The Action.NET platform

Modern tool for implementing data hubs: Integrated Storage, Communication and Visualization

 

What is Action.NET

Action.NET is a powerful platform that allows users to develop and deliver applications that manage information in real time, and provides a complete set of modules in a unified and intuitive engineering user interface.

Unlimited

The Action.NET is a 100% .NET managed code application that allows users to harness the full potential of today's technology.

Flexible

The Action.NET was architected from a "green field" and was created entirely without the use of any legacy code; this made it possible to create a powerful and simple-to-use system. Design projects can Action.NET scalefrom embedded on-the-go devices and mobile applications to large, distributed, high-performance, and fault-tolerant systems. In addition, Action.NET is intended to be a unified and complete solution to all application development and delivery issues: users don't need to build complex and confusing puzzles to build a project. Having a unified design from the start allows users to create a flexible system that maintains an intuitive and easy-to-use design.

Complete

Action.NET is a complete solution with all modules included. The standard features included are: a real-time tag and asset database, user models, alarms and events, historian, SQL tables and queries, recipes, XML reports, CSV, XPS and PDF, integrated SQL database engine and web server, scripting, scheduling, server and OPC client, native communication protocols, graphic designer, User interface displays accessible from desktops, remote smart clients as well as web browsers.

Action.NET is scada software, with a flexible infrastructure for real-time data management. It has been applied to the Electricity Sector, in generation, transmission and distribution, Renewable Energy and other distributed plants, such as water distribution management and Building Automation systems.

Technological Advantages

The Action.NET architecture was created by a team of professionals with more than 20 years of experience in software development from scratch and entirely without the use of any legacy code. Thus, it became possible to create a system that is simple to use, but very powerful and flexible. It's a fully Microsoft .NET code application that empowers end users and system engineers to leverage and take full advantage of today's most technologies.

All in one: complete, flexible and easy to apply

One of the fundamental concepts Action.NET is providing a complete and unified solution, so users don't have to build puzzles before starting their projects. The unified design from scratch allows you to create a very flexible system while maintaining ease of use and intuitive design.

 

The Action.NET platform

The platform Action.NET offers a single engineering environment. This enables users to get the most out of their systems by providing the richest data-taking experience in a variety of runtime environments and mobile devices.

The platform Action.NET Offers:

  • Hardware and operating system independence, since the same product can be installed in different versions of Windows and includes communication interfaces for a wide variety of industrial equipment and protocols. Projects can be deployed for execution on Windows or Linux operating systems.

  • Friendly and collaborative engineering that helps the developer's life by offering a new multi-user and multi-project environment with resource optimization for editing and executing multiple simultaneous projects.

  • The ability to easily manage projectsbecause individual projects are saved in a single file and are organized by SQL tables in an encrypted database. Access, edit, and run your local or remote computer projects.

  • Smart Tag Editing that makes it easy to create powerful data models through advanced types, hierarchy models, arrays, categories, Intellisense for editing, cross-references, and other unique features.

  • Vector graphical interface. WPF designer tools provide a visually impactful user experience through resolution independence and support publishing pages for rich customers, thin .NET click-once clients, HTML5 pages, mobile apps, and native iOS.

  • A native SQL database and easy integration with other banks such as Oracle, ODBC, ADO.NET or OLE-DB, MySQL, and Microsoft SQL Server.

  • Data record and history on any database and an advanced trend chart that supports annotations.

  • .NET Scripts that make Action.NET intrinsically secure, since it is a 100% .NET-managed code. You can use C# and VB.NET for scripts.

  • Traceability and versioncontrol are suitable for high-performance teams because they allow users to have remote access and work simultaneously in the same project configuration.

  • Communication drivers for a wide variety of PLCs, using native protocols. The Action.NET also provides an integrated OPC server and client, Broker and MQTT client, and Sparkplug B support.

  • Alarms and events that include an audit trail and support fda 21 CFR 21 requirements.

  • Data Access Reports and API integration with third-party tools.

  • Online setup, ready-to-use hot-swap and hot-standby deployment.

Application Areas

 

Process Control: Control systems require reliable server components and dedicated and well-designed screens, so you can maximize the security of operation and get the most out of the power of computing equipment. The Action.NET has a full set of functionalities for implementing distributed and mission-critical process control applications.

SQL and OSIsoft (tm) PI Front-end system: or Action.NET it has several features for managing SQL databases, tables, and queries in real time. It also has OSIsoft SDK-level data synchronization (tm) PI and PI AF system (tm). This makes it the best SCADA platform to create dynamic custom graphics and front-ends for such systems.

HMI, built-ins and OEMs: Action.NET has a wide range of built-in PLC protocols and a special version for advanced visualization on HMI and embedded systems. The version control system, little space requirements, and ease of remote access make Action.NET the best option for machine builders and OEMs.

Performance Monitoring: the ability to create a presentation layer that is a standalone, cloud-ready source makes Action.NET an excellent tool for creating operational dashboards, historians, Manufacturing Intelligence (MI), operational dashboards, OEE, and KPI calculations, and environmentally friendly applications.

SCADA, MES and PIMS: In addition to having the full spectrum of functionality expected for SCADA systems, Action.NET has extended real-time database concepts to include advanced objects such as data tables, dynamic arrays and images, time events, all with a strong connection to the .NET calculation engine. This makes it the best platform for Plant Information Management Systems or for any application for the management and presentation of information in real time.

System Architecture

Persistence and redundancy

Real-time bank access to original values and RAM events, for continuity of operations in the event of critical system failure, can be used either in a disk cache (Persistence or Backlog) or a TCP/IP synchronization with another station in an architecture hot-standby. Both solutions come with the system and the best topology depends on the specific requirements of the project.

Engineering and Runtime

When creating an application, the Action.NET uses the engineering and runtime concepts.

Engineering: Refers to configuring the application or creating a project Action.NET. Engineering tools are a set of configuration utilities, such as table editors and drawing tools, that allow you to implement application specifications at a high level, using user-friendly configuration interfaces instead of low-level programming. When custom logic is required, user interfaces allow code to be created in C# or VB.Net, in an easier and self-organized way, once again providing high-level access to project components.

Runtime: Refers to the execution of the configured project, which means running the developed application. The real-time system performs data acquisition, calculation, logging, and alarms and provides real-time graphic screens according to the engineering project configuration.

Object Model and Namespaces

More advanced than most systems, where you need to create tags or variables for all internal properties and custom logic for your projects, Action.NET allows your applications to directly access all objects that were created in your project. This means that the user does not need to create temporary tags to be able to manage the state of the PLCs network nodes, or the total number of alarms in a group or the number of rows in a dataset. 

In Action.NET, you can access runtime objects, business objects (representing a network node), an alarm group or dataset, and view the necessary information or take action directly through its internal properties.

Action.NET has a fundamental .NET object model, 100% managed code, specifically targeting the development of real-time data management applications. The hierarchical object model includes the following top-level objects, which correspond to the main modules in Action.NET:

  • Tags

  • Dataset

  • Historian

  • Script

  • Safety

  • Server

  • Alarm

  • Customer

  • I/O device

  • Information

This high-level hierarchy is implemented as .NET namespaces. Each namespace has .NET classes and objects created during project setup. In addition to having configuration settings, these objects also have runtime properties, methods, and status.

For example, the namespace has all tags in the application and each tag has properties built-in and field, such as Quality, TimeStamp, Min, Max, Units and many others. Examples:

   Tag.tagname1.bit0, tag.tagname2.timestamp

The same concept as tag properties applies to all other namespaces, such as:

   Alarm.TotalCount, Alarm.Group.Warning.Disable

When building the project configuration, filling in the input fields or creating scripts, the system always offers the ease of auto-completing IntelliSense (smart code completion), which guides you to existing properties that can be used in context according to what you are editing. This feature easily allows you to choose a specific property.

When accessing a project object in the .NET script editor, you must prefix the namespace with the symbol "@" in order to avoid conflicts with local .NET variable names. For example, in tasks codebehind, you should use:

@Tag.Analog1

@ Device.Node.Node1.Status

The "@" symbol is not required on grids and dialog boxes. Some input fields may require objects of only one type, such as tag or display, IntelliSense will automatically guide you to the allowed objects.

For some users who have no previous experience in .NET or similar object-oriented systems, these concepts are initially abstract, but after learning engineering configuration tools and Action.NET modules, the power of these concepts will become quite clear. The certainty is that when the user gets used to object models and IntelliSense, there is a huge increase in productivity and he will no longer accept to work on systems without these features.

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