Skip to main content

PSCAD

Introduction​

Open iT supports PSCAD usage reporting starting Open iT version 10.2.580.

note

Tested and verified with PSCAD V5 Pro.

Open iT supports PSCAD usage by polling the license servers at regular intervals to get the current status of its license use and availability.

For this collection, the data source is through an API. The data collector/preprocessor initiates the license status utility every hour using a 5-minute sample interval, triggering the data collection process. The license status utility requests the current license usage data from the license manager portal. After the license manager portal provides the requested data, the license status utility passes this information to the data collector/preprocessor. The data collector/preprocessor processes the data, preparing it for transmission. Finally, the preprocessed data is sent to the Core Server every night, according to the client's timezone, for further storage, completing the license usage data collection and processing.

License Manager Utility Polling Workflow through API

License Manager Utility Polling Workflow through API

This will produce the following aggregated data types used for historical reporting:

The following sections will guide you in setting up the necessary configuration to collect and send the required data to the server.

warning

Apply the configurations shown in the Open iT Core Client.

Requirements​

Setting up PSCAD Account(s)​

These are the required steps to set up data collection from the PSCAD portal.

  1. Open a command prompt with Administrator level privileges.

  2. Go to the bin directory, which is by default in C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin, run the command:

    Command Syntax
    cd <bin_dir>
    Example
    cd C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin

  3. Set the username and password, run the command:

    Command Syntax
    genlicutil2 PSCAD --config
    note

    If you need to collect data from more than one PSCAD account, use the --account parameter when running this command. This allows you to create separate credentials for each account.

    Command Syntax
    genlicutil2 PSCAD --config --account <account_name>

    where <account_name> is the name of the account you want to use for data collection.

    Example
    genlicutil2 PSCAD --config --account acct1

  4. Type in the username (or email) when prompted.

    Example: Entering Username
    Enter username to use: sample-config@company.com

    then press Enter.

  5. Type in the password when prompted.

    Enter password: **********

    then press Enter.

note

Open iT saves the hashed PSCAD credential file, PSCAD, in the OpeniT directory, which is by default in C:\ProgramData\OpeniT. When you use the --account parameter, Open iT appends the account name to the credential file (for example, PSCAD_acct1). This allows each PSCAD account to maintain its own credentials within the same directory.

Optional Parameters
ParameterDescription
--account <account_name>Use this to specify account you want to use for data collection.
--debugUse this to turn on debug logging.
-h, --helpUse this to display help text.
Optional Parameters

warning

--browser and --browserpath are mutually exclusive.

Configuring Data Collection​

These are the required steps to activate collection of usage data.

  1. Go to the Components directory, which is by default in C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\Configuration\Components, and back up the licpoll.xml configuration file.

  2. Open a command prompt with Administrator level privileges.

  3. Go to the bin directory, which is by default in C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin, run the command:

    Command Syntax
    cd <bin_dir>
    Example
    cd C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin

  4. Once in the directory, copy the object node genericlicense-sample and rename it to your desired name. In this example, we will use genericlicense-pscad. Run the command:

    Command Syntax
    openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-sample=>licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-pscad"
    warning

    Element names cannot contain parentheses ( or ) because they are not valid for XML element names.

  5. Activate the collection of PSCAD data, run the command:

    Command Syntax
    openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-pscad.active=true"

  6. Set the status command, run the command:

    Command Syntax
    openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-pscad.status-command=<bin_dir>\genlicutil2.exe"

    where <bin_dir> is the path to the bin directory, which is by default in C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin.

    Example
    openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-pscad.status-command=C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin\genlicutil2.exe"

    Alternatively, you can use the ${OpeniT.directories.bin} variable to reference the bin directory dynamically:

    Alternative Command
    openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-pscad.status-command=${OpeniT.directories.bin}/genlicutil2.exe"

  7. Set the arguments to the status command, run the command:

    Command Syntax
    openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-pscad.status-command.arguments=PSCAD"
note

If you have multiple PSCAD accounts, repeat the configuration steps to create additional object nodes for each account. Use a unique name for every node (for example, genericlicense-pscad1, genericlicense-pscad2, and so on) and specify the corresponding account in the status-command arguments.

Example for acct1
openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-pscad1.status-command.arguments=PSCAD --account acct1"

This ensures that Open iT collects data separately for each configured PSCAD account.

  1. Run the following command to update the configuration files:

    Example
    openit_confbuilder --client

    Make sure no errors are encountered.

Advanced Configuration

Refer to the PSCAD Data Collection Configuration table to learn more about PSCAD configuration in licpoll.xml.

Object NameAccepted ValueDescription
activeBoolean (true or false)Setting this to true activates PSCAD usage data collection.
typeString (i.e., GenericLicense)The license manager type.
intervalTimespan (e.g., P30S, P5M, P1H)The span of time between each polling round (it is recommended to set a value no less than P1M).
offsetTimespan (e.g., P30S, P5M, P1H)The span of time the aligned poll time decided by interval is shifted.
product-nameString (e.g., %host%;pscad)This object is defined if a vendor license name other than the default %host%;pscad will be used.
license-serverString (e.g., WIN-HOST01)The license server name.
status-commandFileName (i.e., ${OpeniT. directories.bin}/genlicutil2.exe)The binary used to obtain status from the license manager.
status-command.argumentsString (e.g., PSCAD)The arguments used for the status command.
PSCAD Data Collection Configuration

Verifying Data Collection​

After configuration, you can verify that the data is collected by following these steps:

  1. Open a command prompt with Administrator level privileges.

  2. Go to the bin directory, which is by default in C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin, run the command:

    Command Syntax
    cd <bin_dir>
    Example
    cd C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin

  3. Run the command:

    Command Syntax
    openit_licpoll -# 1

  4. Verify that the temp directory, which is by default in C:\ProgramData\OpeniT\Data\temp, contains a LicPoll directory containing .data and status-*.log files.

Next Steps?​

Renaming Vendor License
Renaming Features
Create and Add Report
License Monitor