RSView32

What do you like best?

The configuration interface for RSView 32 is easy to navigate for anyone with a SCADA or HMI background, even if they are unfamiliar with the product. The basic concepts and setup are easy to complete, with mimics being easy to build and tag in the same way as many other Rockwell products. It remains running after over a decade in place on thousands of sites across the world as testament to it's simplicity and its quality.

What do you dislike?

RSView32 is now legacy software. Whilst still available to purchase, it should not be considered due to its age and the fact that modern SCADA platforms are now capable of much more. It's final build was designed with Windows 2000 and Windows XP in mind as the host Operating System, and any Rockwell technical advisor will explain that it has long since been replaced by FactoryTalk View Site Edition (SE).

With a single control point, RSView's core functionality is broadly similar to FactoryTalk View SE, however with multiple control stations, the Server / Client model used by FactoryTalk View SE for tags and events is far better suited. Additionally, FactoryTalk View SE has evolved and been updated over the last decade to add hundreds of new features which will never be available to RSView32. Whilst RSView might still work on many sites around the world, and it will probably continue to do so reliably, new sites really should be looking towards a more recent product.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

This legacy system is easy to support and maintain, and provided no major changes are planned then the software should prove to be reliable into the future. The software virtualises well too, so if you need to upgrade Operating Systems across a buisness then consider virtualising the current system and running it in a virtualised environment on an upgraded base machine. Do not consider it for new purchases; more recent products are available which will be supported better in the long term.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

I have used RSView32 exclusively by supporting existing systems, having never built a system from scratch with it due to it's age. The applications I have used were easy to modify off-site and then deploy the modified mimics, parameters and tags, especially when compared to more modern SCADA systems. I have been mainly tasked with adding in new equipment to these existing systems, extracting more management information and generating more logged data. All of these have been easily attainable and have helped the plants in question both modernise their equipment without requiring a new SCADA package, and also create more accurate reporting data in a format which can be more eaily used by their accounting department.