Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM)
A-2
Windows Automation Center WinAC Slot 412/WinAC Slot 416 Version 3.1
A5E00065531-03
A.1
Using DCOM to Expand the Capabilities of WinAC
You can run the components of WinAC on a standalone computer, as shown in
Figure A-1. In this model, this computer provides the complete control system.
PC 1
MPI =
n
MPI card
CPU 416-2 PCI
*
Siemens label control
Siemens edit control
Siemens slider control
Siemens S7 data control
DCOM
components
MPI server
WinLC
*
I/O
I/O
Siemens button control
Third-party control
*
: cannot be operated simultaneously
Figure A-1
Using WinAC Components with DCOM on a Standalone Computer
You can also utilize Microsoft’s DCOM technology to create a network of
computers that cooperate to provide the control system for a machine or process.
Figure A-2 shows how one computer running an application that uses ActiveX
controls (from SIMATIC Computing) can use DCOM to communicate with a
different computer that uses WinLC (or other PLCs) to control a process.
The Windows NT operating system features a configuration tool (dcomcnfg) for
setting up your DCOM security. Use this tool to configure the server and client
computers.
