To run the FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 7.102, the FactoryTalk Historian ME module must meet the hardware, software, and product compatibility requirements. For the latest compatibility information, refer to the Product Compatibility and Download Center.

Hardware requirements

The FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 7.102 is dedicated to the FactoryTalk Historian ME series C module.

Hardware specifications

This section contains a summary of the FactoryTalk Historian ME series C hardware specifications.

Software compatibility

The FactoryTalk Historian ME web interface can be used in these browsers:

• Microsoft® Edge™ version 96 or later
• Google® Chrome™ browser version 96 or later
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer® version 11. Compatibility View must be enabled.

For more information, see Application notes or FactoryTalk Historian ME Configuration Guide.

Product compatibility

FactoryTalk Historian ME is compatible with these Rockwell Automation products:

Tip: It is always considered best practice to install the latest patch rollups from the Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase. For current software compatibility, refer to the Product Compatibility and Download Center.

FactoryTalk Historian ME is compatible with controllers with these firmware revisions:

Supported controllers

These controllers are supported:

• If you download an RSLogix 5000 or Studio 5000 Logix Designer project file containing tags with TIME as the data type to a ControlLogix L8 series module, the FactoryTalk Historian ME module may stop functioning as expected. First identified in FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware version 7.101. [Jira 4957625]

  Corrected in FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware version 7.102.

• In very rare cases, restarting FactoryTalk Historian ME takes a long time.
When the pinetmgr process stops working, shutdown or restarting the FactoryTalk Historian ME module may take 45 minutes to complete.

There is currently no workaround for this anomaly.

First identified in FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 2.020. [Jira 285775]

• After the "NaN" value comes from the controller, the points with compression and exception turned on do not archive data. The values are also not archived (transferred) on the FactoryTalk Historian SE Server.
There is currently no workaround for this anomaly.

First identified in FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 2.020. [Jira 257176]

• When changing tag properties and then transferring data from FactoryTalk Historian ME to FactoryTalk Historian SE using a low-quality network connection or the FactoryTalk Historian SE server connection is interrupted, tag properties do not update on the FactoryTalk Historian SE server.
First identified in the FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 3.051. [Jira 247798]

To work around this issue, monitor the connection to the FTHSE server after changing tag properties. If the connection is interrupted, reestablish the connection before 60 minutes have passed. If the connection can be successfully reestablished, the properties will update as expected.

• When creating new tags and then transferring data from FactoryTalk Historian ME to FactoryTalk Historian SE without a connection to the FactoryTalk Historian SE server or the connection is interrupted, the tags are not sent to the FactoryTalk Historian SE server.
First identified in the FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 3.051. [Jira 247800]

To work around this issue, reestablish the connection in a maximum of 60 minutes and the tags are created on the FactoryTalk Historian SE server.

• When creating points on the Edit Points page of the FactoryTalk Historian ME web page, the users who belong to the same group as the user who created the point have the Read-only security permission instead of the Read/Write permission.
First identified in the FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 3.051. [Jira 247796]

To resolve this issue, create points using the Add Points Wizard page or Add Individual Points page.

• If event queue files are temporarily stored in the module memory, performing the FactoryTalk Historian ME module backup and restore and trying to confirm the file during the restore process may result in the following error message: The package contains an invalid file opt/PI/dat/pimq<xxxx>.dat. If this happens, it is impossible to restore the file.
First identified in the FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 3.051. [Jira 247781]

To resolve this issue, delete the queue files from the backup file. The queue file names are pimq<xxxx>.dat, where xxxx is a hexadecimal number. Upload the backup file to the FactoryTalk Historian ME module.

• The first login to the web interface FactoryTalk Historian ME is unsuccessful. The second login attempt is successful.
First identified in FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 3.051. [Jira 284401]

There is currently no workaround for this anomaly.

• FactoryTalk Administration Console allows creating Historian ME Server connection in an incorrect location.
In FactoryTalk Administration Console, the context menu of the Connections node may present the New Historian ME Server Connection option, which should not be available for that node. Historian ME Server connections created directly for that node are not recognized by some of the Historian ME clients (like Vantage Point, View SE, and so on).

To work around this issue, remove any Historian ME Server connections created directly under the  Connections node, and re-create the connections under the Connections > Historical Data ME node.

First identified in FactoryTalk Services Platform version 3.00.00. [Jira 307292]

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 doesn’t support the search box in FactoryTalk Historian Machine Edition Help. First identified in FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 7.101. [Jira 3536319]

To resolve this problem, use Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome to view and search the help content.

The following are the application notes for the FactoryTalk Historian ME firmware revision 7.102.

Migration from the FactoryTalk Historian ME earlier series module to later series module

When installing the FactoryTalk Historian ME module for the first time, remove the battery paper tab to allow the battery to function.

Before performing the migration from the earlier series module to the later series module, be aware of the following:

• The series B and series C modules support the 1 GB network speed. With the Autonegotiation checkbox selected on the original module, restoring the module's configuration to the series B and series C modules uses the 1 GB Ethernet speed if available.
• The backup and restore functionality does not restore the archives.
• The backup and restore functionality does not update the time zone. Update the time zone before restoring the backup file on the new module, if necessary. The default time zone is US/Eastern (Eastern Standard Time).
• The backup and restore functionality does not restore the SNMP management information.
• If using the optional Add-on Profile (AOP) for 1756-HIST, a new release adds support for this series B and series C module. Download the release from the Product Compatibility and Download Center. Search AOP for 1756-HIST.

Three possible scenarios to perform the migration are:

• Scenario 1: Replacing your existing earlier series module with a new later series module while retaining the existing module configuration by restoring the backup files on the new module

For this scenario:

If the RSLogix 5000 Module Profile is configured, install and configure the new version.

To install and configure the RSLogix 5000 Module Profile:

If a series A 1G module was replaced by a series B or a series C 2G module, perform the following steps:

1. Sign in to the client machine with the previous version of the RSLogix 5000 Module Profile.
2. Run the FactoryTalk Historian ME Client Tools installer and install FactoryTalk Historian ME RSLogix 5000 Module Profile, available from the Product Compatibility and Download Center.
3. After the installation is completed, run Studio 5000 or RSLogix 5000.
4. Upload the program from the controller on which the Module Profile is configured and go offline.
5. Go to the I/O Configuration tree and delete the module from the tree.
6. Right-click the Backplane item and add a New Module to the I/O Configuration tree.
7. Select 1756-HIST2G as a Module Type and click Create.
8. On the General tab, enter Name, Description, IP Address (optional), Slot, and then click the Change… Button.
9. On the Module Definition form, select the corresponding Series and Revision, and then click OK and accept the changes to the module definition.
10. Save the settings and download the program on the controller.

If an earlier series 2G module was replaced by a later series 2G module, perform the following steps:

1. Sign in to the client machine with the previous version of the RSLogix 5000 Module Profile.
2. Run the FactoryTalk Historian ME Client Tools installer and install FactoryTalk Historian ME RSLogix 5000 Module Profile, available from the Product Compatibility and Download Center.
3. After the installation is completed, run Studio 5000 or RSLogix 5000.
4. Upload the program from the controller on which Module Profile is configured and go offline.
5. Double-click the module item on the I/O Configuration tree.
6. On the General tab, adjust Name, Description, IP Address, and then click the Change… button.
7. On the Module Definition form, select the corresponding Series and Revision, and then click OK and accept changes to the module definition.
8. Save the settings and download the program on the controller.
• Inserting a new module into the same slot of the chassis as the previous module is recommended.
• The DHCP server may require reconfiguring because of the explicit configuration of the module's MAC address.
• Changed SNMP parameters may cause the series B or series C module not to be recognized by network devices.
• Replacing the module may affect its recognition on the communication tree (for example, in RSLinx Classic or FactoryTalk Linx). The module is recognized only after loading EDS files to RSLinx Classic or other network devices. The series B and series C module functionality provide the automatic loading of EDS files.
• If the data transfer is configured, changing the Module Name causes the transferred points to stop collecting data and to create new transferred points.

To retain the PI Server ID and Module Name of the original module, keep the default settings for the ServerID and Module Name checkboxes (for example, selected) while restoring the module configuration. This confirms that the module communicates correctly with the connected clients (if its IP address has not changed) and the data transfer to the FactoryTalk Historian SE server works in the same way as before migration. The points transferred to the FactoryTalk Historian SE server before migration are still collecting data and no redundant points are created.

• Restoring the module configuration to its factory settings results in generating a new Server ID and Module Name and losing the original settings. If the FactoryTalk Historian ME clients are connected to the ME module, recreating the connection without reconfiguring the clients may be impossible, even though manually restoring the Module Name to its original setting is possible.
• Scenario 2: Adding a new later series module to the existing environment while also retaining your existing earlier series module in the environment

For this scenario:

• Restoring the backup file on the new module retains the PI Server ID and Module Name of the original module by default. This may result in the PI Server ID and/or Module Name conflict in the existing environment due to duplicated PI Server ID and Module Name.

To avoid these problems, clear the ServerID and Module Name checkboxes while restoring the module configuration.

• Scenario 3: Creating machines consisting of the later series modules with a configuration restored from the earlier series modules

For this scenario:

• Restoring the backup file on the new module retains the PI Server ID and Module Name of the original module by default. This may result in the PI Server ID and/or Module Name conflict in the existing environment due to duplicated PI Server ID and Module Name.

To avoid this, clear the ServerID and Module Name checkboxes while configuring the restore process.

For detailed information on performing the FactoryTalk Historian ME module backup and restore, see Back up and restore configuration files in the FactoryTalk Historian ME Configuration Guide.

Battery issues

The battery in the module is used solely for the battery-backed clock. The battery supports conditions like temporary power outages and brownouts.

An important consideration is configuring the module to synchronize time to a highly available time source. The best practice is to configure the module to synchronize time to a local controller (assuming the controller is part of a time sync strategy). The next best option is to synchronize time to a local NTP source.

Even if the battery is discharged, the proper time is maintained as long as the module can successfully synchronize upon reboot. If the battery is discharged and the module is unable to synchronize time upon restart, the time is reset to its default value. This action puts the module into the SAFE MODE and requires manual reconfiguration to set the time properly and restore the data collection.

When installing the FactoryTalk Historian ME module for the first time, remove the battery paper tab.

Issues with the module operating at more than 60% of its CPU steady state

When the module operates at more than 60% of its CPU steady state, the output and trigger input tags can reach the controller with variable latency. Do not use output tags for control or any applications requiring real-time updates. The output tags are meant for monitoring purposes only. Trigger input tags cannot read the tag value at the exact moment the trigger condition occurs.

Use only up to seven NTP servers for time synchronization

When using more servers, the CIP application process may stop working.

Set up Compatibility View for Internet Explorer

To be able to access the FactoryTalk Historian ME web interface, use Internet Explorer version 11 or later with Compatibility View enabled.

To set up the Compatibility View

1. In the upper-right corner of the Internet Explorer window, select > Compatibility View settings.
2. Paste the address of the FactoryTalk Historian ME web interface into the text field and select Add.
3. Close the window.

For more information, see the FactoryTalk Historian ME Configuration Guide.