Geo SCADA Troubleshooting Guide

Quick Answer

Most Geo SCADA issues fall into four categories: server/service problems, communication failures with field devices, ViewX client errors, and database or historian issues. Start troubleshooting by checking the Geo SCADA server service status, reviewing the event journal for error messages, and verifying network connectivity to remote devices.

Server and Service Issues

• Service not running — Open Windows Services and verify the ClearSCADA Server service is running. Check the Windows Event Log (Application) for crash or startup errors. Common causes include SQL Server not running, license file issues, or corrupted configuration.
• High CPU or memory usage — Review the number of connected clients, active polling channels, and scripted logic frequency. Reduce poll rates on non-critical channels or stagger polling intervals to reduce peak load.
• Mirror failover not working — Verify both servers can reach each other on the mirror port. Check that SQL Server replication is healthy on both nodes. Review the event journal on both servers for mirror synchronization errors.

Communication Failures

• DNP3 device not responding — Verify the outstation address matches the RTU configuration. Check the communication channel status in ViewX (green=active, red=failed). For serial links, verify baud rate, parity, and wiring. For TCP, verify IP address, port, and firewall rules. See Geo SCADA DNP3 device setup for configuration details.
• Modbus device timeout — Confirm slave address, register map, and function codes match the field device. Increase timeout values for slow or overloaded devices. For serial Modbus, check RS-485 wiring polarity and termination. See Geo SCADA Modbus device setup for configuration details.
• Intermittent communication drops — Check radio signal strength for wireless links. Review communication channel statistics (success rate, retry count). For cellular links, verify signal quality and data plan status. Consider increasing timeout and retry values for unreliable links.
• All devices on a channel offline — The issue is likely at the communication infrastructure level — check the serial port, network switch, radio base station, or cellular gateway rather than individual RTUs.

ViewX Client Issues

• Cannot connect to server — Verify the server hostname or IP in the ViewX connection settings. Check that the ClearSCADA Server service is running. Verify firewall rules allow the ViewX port (default 5481). Confirm user credentials are valid in the Geo SCADA user database.
• Displays not loading or blank — Check that mimic files exist in the correct project path. Verify the user account has read permissions for the display objects. Clear the ViewX local cache and reconnect.
• Slow display rendering — Reduce the number of dynamic objects on complex displays. Check network latency between the ViewX client and server. Consider using WebX for remote access over high-latency connections.

Point Quality and Data Issues

• Point shows "Uncertain" quality — The device is communicating but the value may be stale or out of range. Check the point's source configuration and the field device diagnostics.
• Point shows "Bad" quality — Communication to the source device has failed. Check the communication channel status and field device.
• Historical data gaps — Verify the historian logging rate is configured on the point. Check that the server was running during the gap period. For DNP3 devices, verify event buffering and class polling are configured correctly.
• Incorrect scaled values — Review the point's engineering unit scaling against the field device configuration. A mismatch between the RTU raw range and Geo SCADA scaling will produce incorrect readings.

Database and Historian Issues

• SQL Server not accessible — Verify the SQL Server service is running. Check SQL Server authentication and connection string in the Geo SCADA server configuration. Review SQL Server error logs for disk space, memory, or corruption issues.
• Historian not logging — Verify historic logging is enabled on the individual points. Check that the SQL Server database has sufficient disk space. Review the event journal for historian errors or warnings.
• Slow database queries — Large history tables may need index maintenance. Run SQL Server maintenance plans for index rebuilding and statistics updates. Consider archiving old historical data to reduce active table size.

Scripting and Logic Errors

• Script not executing — Check the script trigger configuration (time-based, event-based, or point-change). Verify there are no syntax errors by opening the script in the editor. Review the event journal for script runtime errors.
• Script causing high CPU — Review loop structures and sleep intervals. Avoid tight polling loops in scripts — use event-driven triggers instead. See Geo SCADA scripting basics for best practices.

Diagnostic Tools

• Event Journal — The primary diagnostic tool. Filter by time range, severity, and source to find relevant error messages.
• Communication Channel Status — In ViewX, view channel statistics including success rate, message counts, and last communication time.
• Point Diagnostics — Right-click any point in ViewX to view its current value, quality, timestamp, and alarm state.
• Windows Event Log — Check the Application log for Geo SCADA server-level errors that may not appear in the event journal.