FAQ: How can I backup the Service Engine data, the data created during Service Engine?

FAQ: How can I backup the Service Engine data, the data created during Service Engine?

The path of the Service Engine folder can be amended in the project properties and it is set into zenon6.ini (VBF30=) when the start project is set in Engineering Studio or in zenon Startup Tool. In the Service Engine folder, there is the subfolder RT and a subfolder with the name of the computer.

Service Engine files
In the RT folder, there are all Service Engine files that are created by the Engineering Studio that are read and interpreted by Service Engine. Some Service Engine files are also modified by Service Engine, for example: Standard Recipes, Recipegroup Manager, User administration, etc..
The Service Engine files are stored in the Service Engine folder. In Engineering Studio, select the project name and press the combination keys CTRL+ALT+R.

Service Engine data
The data folder is created as a subfolder of the Service Engine folder by default. The folder is automatically assigned the name of the computer the Service Engine is running on. This save location can be amended in the project properties (General/Data folder). In this folder, there are all data files that are created in Service Engine, e.g. the alarm message list, chronological event list, historian etc..
Ensure that there is sufficient memory where the Service Engine data is, because there can be much data, due to archiving, AML, CEL etc.
Never set the data folder to a removable device such as an USB stick or a network device. It is recommended that the data is recorded locally and backed up externally.

How can we plan in a zenon project a backup of historical data files (AML, CEL, Recipes, RGM, User Administration, ARX)?
Things to consider:
  1. There is no automatic backup of Service Engine files at the moment.
  2. Files and Data get stored in two different locations.
  3. Service Engine Files that are created by the Engineering Studio are stored in the RT Folder.
  4. Service Engine data that is created and administered by Service Engine like AML CEL or Historian data gets saved in the Data Folder.
For backup you could use for example zenon time control module to set a function which exports or copies the content of the folder to another location (network). Another possibility would be to use zenon redundancy. So you are secure not to losing any relevant data. A Standby Server will take over if your Server crashes.