Communication error does not shutdown HPLC

Hello,

Depending on how Chemstation lost communication with the HPLC it could leave the system in the same state. I would suggest using bottle filling or Pmin in the method to stop the pump if it runs out of mobile phase. Is this a workstation or a client server installation of CDS? Is the instrument on your company network?  

Marty

This is a client server installation of CDS that it connected into the company network. In other words, It connects the HPLC to an AIC in its own server which then connects to the company network, if that makes sense.

When it loses communication, the control panel only states "communication error" and does not give any detail as to why it lost communication. The bottle filling setting is active so hopefully the pump will turn off when it detects low solvent, but my concern is if it loses communication, then the entire bottle of solvent goes to waste if I do not notice it right away. There needs to be a way for the LC to completely shutdown if it detects a communication error. 

Is the comms error specific to one AIC or one instrument or a global thing? That many comms errors could point to a hardware issue on the LC or a network issue, depending on how many systems are affected. If it is a global for all LC's I would be looking at your network infrastructure. If for only the LC's on one AIC, I would be looking at the AIC. If one LC, I would be looking at the comms board on the LC.

Hello, the comm error is a global thing. We have 2 AICs connected to 5 LCs. I notice that when one LC has the comm error, they all have a comm error even if they are connected to different AICs. The AICs are connected to its own server which that is connected to the main server. I would not think that the main server would interfere with the AIC Network, which is no more than 2 months old at this moment. Could a new server and AICs do this?

Hello,

I would ask your IT to look at the switch logs to see if there are any common errors. If it happens at the same time of day or day of the week a large backup job or other network traffic event could be a problem. A common issue these data are port, security, threat detection scans done by your IT. The instruments especially older modules do not always handle that type of network traffic correctly. They can disconnect, require a reboot to connect back to the network, or even be forced into resident mode. If your IT group is doing any scans on the AIC instrument network, they should exclude the IPs or network ports for the instruments. 

Marty