This driver is a simple driver. It provides additional functionality to enable ClearSCADA to interface with specific supported devices using a particular protocol. To interact successfully with such devices, you need to:
- Install and run the driver
- Ensure that the driver is licensed
- Configure the required database items and settings on the driver
- Ensure that the database items (and any database items on which they depend) have valid, saved, configuration and are 'In Service'.
The Mitsubishi Slave Driver allows a ClearSCADA system to act as a MitsubishiTM MELSECTM A PLC and report any data changes back to its Master. The Slave transmits any changes to its database, or sets values or states in its database, upon request from its Master.
The Slave can obtain its data directly from plant, from calculated values, or from any item in the ClearSCADA database. Its Master can be another ClearSCADA server, or a third party server that is using the Mitsubishi MELSEC A protocol.
The Mitsubishi Slave Driver provides extra functionality within a ClearSCADA server for transmitting data or controlling points. A Mitsubishi Slave uses Value Maps for mapping point properties into memory, so that they can be accessed by the Mitsubishi MELSEC A protocol.
The Mitsubishi Slave documentation explains how to configure Mitsubishi Slave-specific features and items within the ClearSCADA database (see The Transmission Protocol Supported by ClearSCADA and see Configuring Mitsubishi Slave Devices in ClearSCADA).
It also explains driver-specific aspects that may be of interest to system administrators and engineers when investigating unexpected behavior (relating to the Mitsubishi Slave driver) (see Mitsubishi Slave-Specific Status Display Attributes).
NOTE: There are no driver-specific pick actions for database items on this particular driver. However, users with the required privileges can add custom pick actions to a database item by using the User Methods tab on the relevant configuration Form (see Using the User Methods Tab to Define Custom Actions in the ClearSCADA Guide to Core Configuration). See a system administrator for the documentation associated with such custom actions (also known as ‘methods’).