FREQUENTLY

ASKED
QUESTIONS

Publication FTALK-FA013A-EN-E June 2007
INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLY





INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLY 2 Copyright 2007 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

FREQUENTY ASKED QUESTIONS
Contents
FactoryTalk View Site Edition
General ..............................................................................................................................................3
What is FactoryTalk View Site Edition?............................................................................................... 3
Are there particular benefits in using FactoryTalk View Site Edition in process
industries?........................................................................................................................................ 3
With what operating systems does FactoryTalk View Site Edition work? ....................................... 4
Is FactoryTalk View Site Edition software protected?........................................................................ 4
What literature is available for FactoryTalk View Site Edition?......................................................... 4
Where can I get FactoryTalk View Site Edition literature?................................................................. 4
At my customer site, with whom should I be talking? ....................................................................... 4
Does FactoryTalk View Site Edition require RSLinx? ........................................................................ 4
How does FactoryTalk View Site Edition communicate to third-party devices and
networks?......................................................................................................................................... 4
Who are the major FactoryTalk View Site Edition competitors?....................................................... 5
How do I get assistance with designing a FactoryTalk View Site Edition distributed
architecture? .................................................................................................................................... 5
Where do I call for post-sales technical support?.............................................................................. 5
Is training available? ............................................................................................................................. 5
INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLY 3 Copyright 2007 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

General
What is FactoryTalk View Site Edition?
FactoryTalk View Site Edition is a member of the FactoryTalk View Enterprise Series family of products. It is an
integrated package for developing and running stand-alone or multi-user, distributed-server human-machine interface
(HMI) applications. It is used for monitoring, controlling and acquiring data from manufacturing operations throughout
an enterprise.
FactoryTalk View Site Edition products include:
FactoryTalk View Studio. Configuration software for developing and testing HMI applications.
FactoryTalk View Site Edition Server. HMI server that stores HMI project components (for example, graphic
displays) and serves these components to clients. The server also performs alarm detection and historical data
management. This is run as a headless service.
FactoryTalk View Site Edition Client. Client software for viewing and interacting with supervisory-level
applications developed using FactoryTalk View Studio. Full-control and read-only clients are available.
FactoryTalk View Site Edition Station. A traditional stand-alone HMI solution that packages a server and client
for use on a single computer.
Are there particular benefits in using FactoryTalk View Site Edition in process industries?
FactoryTalk View Site Edition is suitable for both process and discrete applications. Of particular interest for process
applications are faceplates included as Global Objects. Global Objects save development time by letting users link the
appearance and behavior of base graphical objects to multiple references of the object throughout a FactoryTalk View
application. When you make changes to the base object, all objects that reference that object inherit the same
changes. Standard Global Objects, like the PID and Totalizer faceplates, are included specifically for the process
industries.
New in FactoryTalk View SE 5.0 are Global Object parameters which it easy to create re-usable faceplates and
templates by allowing objects that will be referenced multiple times within a display or an application to use a specific
tag for each instance without breaking the link to the base objects tags and expressions. Each referenced object can
have a unique data source, and still be able to update with changes to other aspects of the global object.
Configuration is simple with the ability to assign a structured tag to a faceplate or global object.
Also new in FactoryTalk View SE 5.0 are Docked Graphic displays that can be fixed to an edge of the FactoryTalk
View SE Client window to provide operators with continuous access to important functions like alarm information,
language switching buttons and navigation tools without having to open a display or duplicate objects on every display.
FactoryTalk Diagnostics give process users common repositories for system diagnostics. FactoryTalk Security
provides a central administration and enforcement of security policies, another strong benefit to process users.
FactoryTalk View SE 5.0 supports FactoryTalk Alarms & Events - a system level alarming solution that spans the
integrated architecture and uniquely involves both the controller and the HMI.
INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLY 4 Copyright 2007 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

With what operating systems does FactoryTalk View Site Edition work?
FactoryTalk View Site Edition is supported on Microsoft

Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003.

Is FactoryTalk View Site Edition software protected?
Yes. In FactoryTalk View Site Edition 5.0, the new FactoryTalk

activation is supported along with EVRSI, the floppy

disc-based activation. The floppy disc-based activation will be removed in the next release.
What literature is available for FactoryTalk View Site Edition?
FactoryTalk View Site Edition is promoted in the Integrated Architecture brozine (Publication # IA-BR004A-EN-P).
FactoryTalk View Site Edition also has a product profile (Publication # VIEWSE-PP001A-EN-P).
FactoryTalk View Site Edition includes an installation guide that is packaged with the product. The installation guide
and a users guide are also available in PDF format on the product CD and are installed with the software.
Where can I get FactoryTalk View Site Edition literature?
Sales support material is available at http://www.software.rockwell.com/extranet/portfolio/performance/SE.cfm.
FactoryTalk View Site Edition product profile and user documentation are available through the Rockwell Literature
Library at literature.rockwellautomation.com/.
At my customer site, with whom should I be talking?
Operations Manager: Responsible for plant production and quality. Increased production and reduced rework are
important.
QA Manager: Responsible for regulatory compliance. Simplifying compliance is important.
Engineering Manager: Responsible for the overall production system.
Does FactoryTalk View Site Edition require RSLinx?
If the system is using Rockwell Automation controllers, RSLinx is required.
For standalone applications, FactoryTalk View SE Station includes both RSLinx Classic and RSLinx Enterprise. They
are automatically activated when used with FactoryTalk View SE Station and do not require a separate license.
For distributed applications, FactoryTalk View SE Server is available bundled with both RSLinx Classic and RSLinx
Enterprise. A separate RSLinx Enterprise activation is included with the bundle. RSLinx Classic is automatically
activated and does not require a separate license when used on the same computer as the FactoryTalk View SE
Server.
How does FactoryTalk View Site Edition communicate to third-party devices and networks?
KEPServer Enterprise provides connectivity to non-Rockwell devices and networks.

Publication FTALK-FA013A-EN-E June 2007 Copyright 2007 Rockwell Automation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION ONLY
Who are the major FactoryTalk View Site Edition competitors?
Some of our major competitors include:

Competitor Product Web site
GE Fanuc iFIX (formerly Intellution) and CIMPLICITY www.gefanucautomation.com
Invensys/Wonderware InTouch www.wonderware.com
Siemens Energy & Automation SIMATIC WinCC www.automation.siemens.com/hmi
Citect CitectSCAD www.citect.com
Iconics Genesis32 www.iconics.com
More detailed competitive information is available on the Extranet at
http://www.software.rockwell.com/extranet/portfolio/performance/SE.cfm
How do I get assistance with designing a FactoryTalk View Site Edition distributed architecture?
The RSView SE V4.0 CPR7+ Distributed System Design Considerations document is an excellent resource to assist
with defining a FactoryTalk View SE architecture. This document is available from the Knowledgebase ID 32549
(http://rockwellautomation.com/knowledgebase/).
Proposed architectures can be submitted to the CST Architecture Review Team for evaluation by following the
Architecture Review Process document located on the RS Extranet at
http://www.software.rockwell.com/extranet/portfolio/performance/techtools.cfm.
Where do I call for post-sales technical support?
Please call +1 440.646.3434.
Is training available?
Yes, training is available for the FactoryTalk View Site Edition modules. For the latest course schedule information,
visit www.software.rockwell.com/training.