Defining Datapoint Properties

You can create, view, and edit monitoring, logging, alarm definition, preset definition, and localization definition properties for datapoints.  These properties are called datapoint properties.  You can use the Datapoint Properties widget to define the datapoint properties, you can export the datapoint property definitions to a datapoint logging and alarming (DLA) file with a .dla extension, and you can import the DLA file to other SmartServers. You can also manually create or modify a DLA file and import it on the same SmartServer or a different SmartServer.  You can use the Datapoint Properties widget to view and modify datapoint properties at any time, including after you have modified and imported a DLA file.

You can use datapoint properties to do the following tasks:

• Set monitoring and logging properties to specify polled and event-driven (also known as change-of-value) monitoring and datapoint logging.
• Set alarm definition properties to define alarm thresholds for datapoint values.
• Create preset definitions to define named values for datapoint settings.
• Create localization definitions to define unit conversions for datapoints such as Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion.

You create datapoint properties for a specific device type.  The properties you define will apply to the datapoint you select on all devices of the same type.  You do not specify datapoint properties for an individual datapoint unless you only have one device with the matching device type.

You can customize datapoints on multiple devices that are based on the same manufacturer's model and application.  The interface published by a device is described by the device interface (XIF).  To create multiple device types for the same manufacturer's model and application, create multiple device types and assign the same XIF to each.  You can create different datapoint property definitions for the same XIF by creating multiple device types for the XIF and customize the datapoint properties as required for each.  For example, you can assign different polling intervals to two different controllers with the same XIF by creating two device types for the same XIF and then specifying different polling intervals for the same datapoint in each device type.

You can define datapoint properties using one or both of the following methods:

• Use the Datapoint Properties widget – this method uses an interactive user interface in the SmartServer CMS and provides the easiest method for managing datapoint properties. Users with Administrator, Owner, Controller, or Tenant roles can use the Datapoint Properties widget to create and modify datapoint properties where they have the Administrator, Owner, Controller, or Tenant roles. See Defining Datapoint Properties with the CMS Datapoint Properties Widget for more information.
• Manually create or modify a datapoint logging and alarming (DLA) file – this method uses a text file in CSV format called a DLA file to specify the datapoint properties.  You can manually create a DLA file, and you can export a DLA file for a device type from the Datapoint Properties widget.  To manually create or modify a DLA file, see Creating a DLA File Manually.

This section consists of the following:

• Defining Datapoint Properties with the CMS Datapoint Properties Widget
• Creating a DLA File Manually