VTScada Application Version Control
Standard Component – Only VTScada includes pre-configured change management that allows you to easily see all configuration by all users and instantly roll back anything in seconds. It is increasingly impractical to shut down modern mission-critical SCADA systems in order to configure them. Developing on live systems has the added benefit of allowing you to work with real I/O. Application Version Control (AVC)* provides the freedom to configure in real-time in a multi-developer environment knowing you can instantly roll back any change.
Easy-to-use features allow you to:
- See a full change history of the application
- Identify incremental changes made in each version
- Recover instantly from unexpected effects of configuration
- Merge changes in a multi-developer environment
Change Records and the Version Log - The AVC Version Log (Image 1) allows authorized users to oversee changes on all servers from any workstation running a VTScada Development Runtime license. The log also tracks the version running on each computer.
Automatically Deploy ON
- By default, changes to tags, displays, scripts, security, and other settings are automatically deployed to all networked servers
- This generates a deployed (D) version in the version log (e.g., WorkstationName-D8)
- Changes are deployed to un-networked servers when users create, copy, and apply VTScada ChangeSet files on each server
Automatically Deploy OFF
- If appropriate, Automatically Deploy can be turned off so that changes are only applied locally until users choose to deploy them
- A local (L) version is generated and displayed in the version log (e.g., WorkstationName-L9)
- On deployment, users enter a comment (e.g., “Added station graphics”) and a Deployed Change Record is created
Traceability - Each change record includes a version number, date/timestamp, the user who made the changes, the workstation he/she used and a comment. An administrator may drill down into the Version Log and see details of all incremental changes made within any version (Image 2). A color-coded legend helps identify the ‘from’ and ‘to’ states of each change. If Automatically Deploy is ON, the ‘D’ versions include incremental changes. If it is OFF, the ‘L’ version includes these changes.
Switching Versions - In the event that deployed changes negatively affect the application, the administrator can undo them by selecting a previous version in the Log and switching to it. The selected version is duplicated and becomes the current version.
Reverse Version Changes (Rollback) - Reversing a version change creates a new version of the application and removes all changes from a specific revision and avoids having to redo changes made subsequent to that revision.
Merge Version Changes - When rolling back to an earlier version, later changes can be re-introduced by merging versions. For example, if you have switched from version 10 to 5, you may select specific changes from version 7 and merge them back into the application.
Distributed Version Control - VTScada uses Distributed Version Control – not Centralized Version Control. Changes can be made, viewed and undone anywhere, regardless of whether you’re connected to the network or even on a plane.
Built-in Beats Bolt-on - AVC is a core VTScada feature ensuring airtight integration over the life of your system. Configuration changes affecting multiple files are done atomically, guaranteeing consistency in every revision.
Flexible Licensing - All VTScada applications automatically include change history. Access to the AVC version log is standard with VTScada Development Runtime licenses and optional for Runtime licenses. If you don't enable AVC on your Runtime, your integrator can access your change history if he/she have a VTScada System Integrator license.