Suggestion for Archive data

Steve have you considered increasing the size of the archive kept from the data logger? I guess right now you keep whet the logger has and allow it to wrap. Would you consider adding a further option to increase the size of the archive? Perhaps configurable by the user up to a max of say 10 or 20 days? I know it would take more disk space but it would help people who perhaps have problems with their WD installs while on vacation and the nearly 2 days worth of the Davis logger would not be enough.

Stuart

Actually yes. Reworking the archive is the next thing on the list for changes to VirtualVP. Under the new model I already have designed you’ll have the option of having VirtualVP maintain as much archive data as you want - even keeping it all. To the weather programs connected to VirtualVP it will look as though the console has some kind of super data logger.

Steve

If the clock is even a minute off WD will start reading the data from the earliest time in the VP data logger. So if there a 20 days of data in the archive will WD start at the beginning? It takes a few (maybe 5) minutes for it to read 2 days of data for me. I’d like to have at least three weeks but believe it would take an hour or so to download the data. Just thinking out loud here.

I guess you could stop the download and then pick the time from the data logger setup page. But I’ve always been leery of that in case the data is lost.

–Dave

that’s a good point, but there are two ways WD can download the entire archive:

  1. use the DMP command (dump all)
  2. use the DMPAFT command and calculate the starting date/time that would get all the data from an “normal” archive.

If it’s #1, VirtualVP could just send a normal amount of archive data. But currently VirtualVP doesn’t even support the DMP command (hmmm, I think I just found the answer to a problem that sometimes occurs between WD and VVP). If it’s #2, then it wouldn’t be a problem anyway.

Doesn’t WD have a time autosync feature? The next version of VPLive will. I’ve already done the code for monitoring and auto-syncing the console clock to the PC’s time. It assumes you’re using a time server to keep the PC on the exact time. I use “Dimension 4”.

Steve

Steve you could normally only send 2 days max data to WD unless the users requests more as an additional option when they set the size of the archive. It is not very often more than 2 days worth would be needed so it would be a good default and only more or less what the logger stores at 1 min intervals.

I use time sync software on all my PCs and they all sync to the same time server. My WD PC syncs the VP console once a day.

Stuart

WD uses #2
but if the console cant not find the data requested, then it starts at the begining sending the data

Yes, WD does have the autosync but I checked two days ago and the time between the VP and WD was off. The get time showed 2 minutes difference and even after set time it stayed at 2 minutes. I’ll have to check again and make sure before I submit a bug. I use Dimension 4 also. Works very well, except it seems it uses a lot of memory for only syncing the time once a day or even every hour.

–Dave

Dave,
Dimension 4 doesn’t show as using that much memory in my system (2 MB virtual memory, a little under 1 MB working set (mem usage in taskManager)).

Brian,
Yeah I remember now, the DMPAFT does the send from start if the date/time isn’t found. It’s the console behavior, not WD’s specifically. That’s probably one of the reasons why you strongly recommend the console archive period be 1 minute, or do you account for that when picking the time you request?

What I’d like to do, although it doesn’t match the console’s behaviour is to have VirtualVP start sending data with the first data point in the archive that is after the date/time requested. Would seem better than spewing out the whole lot.

Steve

or do you account for that when picking the time you request?
if the archive interval is not 1 minutes, and is say 10 minutes, then wd will try and work out the nearest 10 minute time to request from....

dave,try that set time again…sometimes it does not always work the first time…
i presume virtualvp is letting that through, too

Brian, tried the set time about 5 times. The get time is always 2 minutes too slow.

–Dave

Edit: Just shut down WD accidentally. On start-up it downloaded the data for about the past minute. I expected it to download for the last two days because of the time difference.

When I went into data logger and did a get time, the times were the same. Maybe it is resetting the time but not showing the correct time in get time?? EDIT again. Just tried the set and get time. The times are 1 minute off again. Tried the set time 5 times in a row the get time. Still 1 minute off.

Also have you noticed that when clicking on set time or get time the hour glass displays until you exit? The only way to tell something has occurred is that the OK and a couple of other button go to gray then back to black when the action has completed.

Must have looked at something else at the time. Mine is 1.1meg and 3.9 virutal right now. Not bad.

–Dave

Are you running XP? Why don’t you like the XP time sync?

Uh, I don’t remember. I think it would not sync. Yup, just tried it and it won’t connect with either server. Maybe it’s my firewall but I’ve used D4 for years and just got used to it.

–Dave

I use Dimension 4 instead of XP’s feature because it’s more robust, gives me more time servers to choose from, and doesn’t make me hand edit the registry just to change the update interval to something different than Windows default weekly update.

Yeah, what he said. :slight_smile:

–Dave

It was kind of a trick question, I’ve never gotten it to work and wondered if others shared that experience #-o

Excuse me while I remove this hook from my mouth. :wink:

Last time I played with it I did find a utility that handled the schedule set up in the registry, but I think the problem was the server so I should have also edited the reg to ping a different one.

XP time sync works for me, although I did edit the registry to increase the sync frequency.