Plant SCADA 2023 R2 (U1), Deployment Server Process won't start, or will start slowly, or only deploy once.

Been having problems with a new (updated) install of PlantSCADA. 20 clients, redundant server, on a domain.

Configured deployment server on development machine. Deployment logs in, creates a deployment and allows deployment to clients and servers, and mostly crashes mid way through deployment (although appears to complete) and then can never deploy again.

Updated to Update 1 with same results. Have tried multiple options (with/without encryption, win11 development machine and server 2016 development machine, move SMS machine, etc no changes.)

Client authenticates to server correctly. SMS, and licensing are on a separate machine. Standard ports.

You can create deployments and deploy once (when lucky) otherwise the process either stops or stops responding. Services says its running, but studio gets stuck in 'refreshing' for computers and versions. Restart the computer and about 50% of the time it starts straight away. The other half the service never starts, just get stuck at 'starting'.

Any ideas welcome.

  • Stuart,

    We got the best performance with the system management server as a separate machine on the domain. I think Schneider recommend this but we did try having the SMS the same as the HMI server and the same as the license manager.

    Yes, our god is a domain user. We also noted that the file permissions that Schneider set during the install should be domain tied, so join your computer to the domain FIRST, then install plantscada.

    Our DNS issue had more to do with the DNS server net stack falling over. It didn't change the fact that the deployment server couldn't connect and was pushing items into the log. The log changed from names that couldn't be found, to IPs that couldn't be found. Can't recommend a lmhost file as I would not be the first person to forget about it and have weird things happen when IPs change, if you can't get to the DNS then hosts file will be your only option.

    Configurator slow to start is a common issue. Still happens to us periodically. seems to be first restart. That might be worth another thread.

  • Thanks Eric, indeed, if we were in some sort of unreliable environment, then firming everything up with some hard coding would be a serious consideration, however I think in our case, as it is still all running in our lab, there is something more fundamental that is going on.  Perhaps it is config at some level, I am not sure.

  • Thanks Dominic, the SMS and deployment server are the only things on that server.  They did have a few more unnecessary components installed on it, but not configured, so I remedied that, to no avail unfortunately.  That process should have installed everything with the pertinent domain groups etc I would have thought, so I am still a bit stuck.

  • So I have now tried a hosts file on all of the VMs in the system, and it appears to be the same as before. I now have access to create a case with Aveva, so I Will do that.

  •  Hi  
    Nice to read from you.
    We cannot use domain controller to host PCS and other component from Plant SCADA. By reading  this coudl be his problem but we are mixing up.
    Mi suggestion is to get in contact with your local distributor and raise the case.

    I don't agree with the comment of  since the host file is only a solution to resolve DNS names. If the problem is accross domains we should have trusted domain (not necessary for all the plugs in that you want to use: AEL does, SMS and Deployment not). DNS suffix is a better and documented solutions for this.

    There are the SMC logs that contain a lot of info when you need to troubleshoot.

    It is something in your setup in my fair opinion so I will start to understand what it is timing up.

    Regards

  • Hi   
    The following fix will be available in Plant SCADA 2023 R2 U4 (October Update). Hope this update would resolve your issue.

    3455908 - Deployment server performance impacted on a domain environment without an internet connection.

    The deployment server configuration and its operation were slow when a client used a domain controller and both the client and domain controller were not connected to the internet. The Configurator will now launch quickly under these circumstances, and the deployment server configuration and deployment operations will respond promptly.

  • Thanks Jacky, I have gotten in touch with local Plant SCADA support (Schneider) and because of the other issues I was having on that machine, suggested KB41300 - and this somehow seems to have made a huge improvement.  I mean it fixed common services portal, which makes sense, but also somehow made configurator come up quicker and the deployment server service comes up quicker and the deployment activity has so far worked quicker and consistently. 

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    I am now monitoring the situation.

    **Edit** deployment activity still times out, which makes more sense but unfortunately my problem persists, so hopefully it is the problem / fix you describe