Troubleshooting the File Collector

Accessing the Log File

By default, the log file of the collector is saved in the following folder: C:\Proficy Historian Data\LogFiles.
Note:

If you are experiencing any problems with the File collector, use the .LOG file (in the \LogFiles folder) to troubleshoot. The .LOG file sometimes logs errors that do not get processed to Historian Administrator. For example, if you have no archives in your system and you attempt to import a .CSV file with formatting errors, the file is not processed and no alerts are sent to Historian Administrator (if there are no archives created, the message database has not been created). But this error does appear in the .LOG file.

The following table lists typical Error messages received with the File collector and tips to troubleshoot those messages.

Typical Error Messages and Suggested Solutions

Error MessageTroubleshooting Tips

12-Aug-0113:38:00 - Import Line Error: Input past end of file

12-Aug-0113:38:00 - Error Occurred On Line12: General Format Error

There is an extra line in the file. Open the file in Note- pad and remove the extra line.

10-Aug-01 15:47:02 - Import Line Error: Type mismatch

10-Aug-01 15:47:02 - Error Occurred On Line 2: General Format Error

Two fields were rolled into one due to a missing comma. Open the file in Notepad and add the comma.

12-Aug-01 14:18:12 - Invalid Import Field: TimeResolution

12-Aug-01 14:18:12 - zProcessFragment>> Aborted Import Due To Formatting Errors

If an import field is invalid, (in this case Time resolution should be StoreMilliseconds) the import will abort.

Identifying Lines in which an Error Occurs

If the File collector log file contains an error description such as:

20-Jul-01 10:1717 - Import Line Error: Input past end of file

20-Jul-01 10:1717 - Error occurred on Line 7:General Format Error

the line number in the log is produced by the SDK, not the File collector. This means that the line number is counted relative to the header or field list for each section of the file, ignoring comments and blank lines.

CSV File Imports

If a .CSV file has an extra line in it, it may not successfully import using the File collector. If a .CSV file has extra commas on the data line, it may not import completely.

Typically, a .CSV file must be less than 10 MB and an ideal file should be 1 or 2 MB. If the file size is greater, then the File collector may not respond.

If you view these files through Microsoft Excel, the characters are not visible. It is recommended that you use a text editor to examine files that are causing format errors when you attempt to import them.

You cannot import CSV or XML data that goes back beyond the Archive Active Hours setting (1 month by default). Adjust your Archive Active Hours setting and re-import the data.

Also, data before the first archive will not be imported.

Troubleshooting Large File Import

To prevent a locked file scenario when building large files for import into the Incoming directory, first build the file under a temporary file name or directory that will be ignored by the File collector, then rename or move the file to the real file name or Import directory when the file is fully built.

Unable to Access Historian Administrator After Installing File collector

If you encounter problems with opening the Historian Admin Client following the install of the File collector, perform an upgrade of the Historian Server. On upgrading the File collector from 7.0 SP2\7.0 SP3\7.0 SP4 to 7.0 SP5 or later versions, you will notice the following:
  • The previous version of the collector will be in the stopped state and the new version of the collector will be in the running state. In the previous installs of Historian 7.0 (SP2\SP3\SP4), the File collector name was indicated using the destinationNode_Collector. But from SP5 onwards, the collector name is indicated as sourceNode_Collector.
  • The data collection will be stopped for the tags which were added earlier to the File collector.
To overcome this:
  • you must change the collector to the newer version in Tag properties for all the tags which were added using the older version of the collector.
  • delete the older version of the collector from the Collectors section in Historian Administrator.