Use a dedicated PC for monitoring the system. For complex RM4200D systems with a high number of Global functions, there can emerge heavy network traffic that needs to be logged. To do that, use a sufficiently powerful PC that is used for this task only.

Check the network. Before starting the logging, check the used network. You must avoid to operate RM 4200D Devices and the PC with the DHDCS in an existing office network. The data traffic in such a network can disturb the transfer of UDP messages significantly. A RM4200D with several Devices should have its own network segment in which also the PC with the DHDCS is running. Read also the corresponding sections in “Part 5 - Installation Guide” of this manual.

If necessary, use two network adapters. If you need to remotely control the logging PC (e.g. with VNC, Timbuktu or PC Anywhere), it should be equipped with two network adapters. One should be located in the same network as the RM4200D Devices, the other one in the general network where also the controlling PC is running.

Make sure there is enough free disk space. Especially for long time loggings, it is necessary to have enough space available for the log files. If you want to store the files on a file server, check in advance whether this works in your network as desired.

Compress the logging files. Use an archive or compressing program like WinZip (www.winzip.com), to reduce the size of the protocol files, especially if you want to transfer the files via e-mail. By compressing, the file size is reduced to 5-10% of the original size.

Plan the trouble shooting. Certain errors occur only under certain conditions. If you suspect such an error, try to find out, when and under which conditions it is probable. Often, an error can be related to certain times of the day or certain user procedures. Record especially at the times in question.This way, try to keep the amount of data as low as possible to make analysis easier.

Use special software to analyse logging data. Short log files can be analysed using the Windows editor. But if you have to search several hundred MB of data for a certain message, the effort is very high. In such cases, make use of a software that can handle and search big text files. One of these programs is e.g. UltraEdit (www.ultraedit.com). Using it, you can effectively search huge text files and extract important information.

UNIX based operating systems (e.g. Linux, Solaris, Irix, Mac OS X, HP-UX etc.) provide specialized command line applications for such purposes. If you have to analyse big amounts of protocol data, this could be quicker and more effective on a different operating system. Alternatively, you can also install UNIX tools on Windows. To do this, you can use Cygwin Tools (www.cygwin.com) or the Perl for for Windows, ActivePerl (www.activestate.com).