A Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) gathers data from and send commands to physical plant. The RTU is represented by an outstation in the ClearSCADA database. For detailed information about outstations, see Outstation Types and Communications Set-ups in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers and see Configuring an Outstation in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers.
The TBox driver supports the following types of outstation:
- TBox Direct Outstations: Direct outstations communicate with the ClearSCADA server using a permanent connection, such as a cable or network (see Direct Outstations in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers)
- TBox PSTN Outstations: PSTN outstations communicate with the ClearSCADA server using a telephone line (see PSTN Outstations and Communications in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers)
- TBox Shared Outstations: Shared outstations use a dual channel communications set-up (see Shared Outstations in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers).
Before you can successfully configure an outstation, you need to configure the outstation set to which it belongs (see Configuring a TBox Outstation Set).
Use the fields on the appropriate TBox Outstation Form to configure the properties of each outstation on your system. The form has several tabs:
- The TBox tab contains properties that are specific to outstations on the TBox driver (see Define the TBox Properties).
- The properties on other tabs are common to outstations on many advanced drivers (see Tabs on Outstation Forms in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers).
TBox RTUs that communicate via PSTN, or use PSTN fallback, can support up to eight Dial In lines (depending on the model of the RTU) for reporting alarm data to ClearSCADA. You configure the Dial In Lines on the PSTN tab of the outstation (see Define Dial In Line Properties on a PSTN Outstation in the ClearSCADA Guide to Advanced Drivers).
For the minimum configuration required to create a functioning TBox outstation in ClearSCADA, see Minimum Configuration for a TBox Outstation.