Basic SECS/GEM Troubleshooting

Equipment Connections

If you are unable to create an equipment connection after configuring the connection settings, verify that the Active Port and Passive Port values are not already in use. Each equipment connection and simulator must use unique port numbers. Ports cannot be shared between multiple connections.

To verify port usage:

1. Navigate to Connections > SECS/GEM > Equipment on the Gateway.
2. Locate the equipment connection and open the three dots menu.
3. Select Edit.
4. Confirm that the Active and Passive Port values are not used by another equipment connection or simulator.

If the ports are already in use, update them to unique values and save your changes. Once the ports are available and correctly configured, the equipment connection status should transition to Communicating.

Database Tables Are Not Being Created on Equipment Connection Startup

If you are using MySQL, ensure that the latest MySQL JDBC driver is installed in Ignition. You can download the driver from the MySQL website or from the Gateway under Connections > Databases > Settings.

Logging

Each equipment connection has an associated logger that records diagnostic information. Equipment connection loggers and their current severity levels can be viewed from the Gateway under Diagnostics > Logs.

By default, only messages with a severity of INFO, WARNING, or ERROR are logged. Additional diagnostic information can be captured by lowering the log level. At the TRACE level, all SECS messages sent and received by the equipment connection are logged.

To change the log level:

1. Open Diagnostics > Logs.
2. Click the Settings icon to open the Log Configuration panel.
3. Locate the logger associated with the equipment connection.
4. Select a new severity level from the dropdown.

wrapper.log File

Log messages can be viewed both in the Gateway Diagnostics section and in Ignition’s log file, wrapper.log. When troubleshooting unexpected behavior, enabling verbose logging and reviewing the wrapper.log file often reveals validation errors, connection issues, or unexpected message handling.

The wrapper.log file is located in different directories depending on the operating system:

• Windows: Program Files\Inductive Automation\Ignition\logs
• Linux: /var/log/ignition
• macOS: /usr/local/ignition/logs

On Linux systems, the following command can be useful for monitoring log messages in real time: tail -f /var/log/ignition/wrapper.log

Failure to Send a SECS Message

All SECS messages sent or received by an equipment connection are validated against the configured SECS Definition Language (SDL) file. A common cause of message failures is a mismatch between the message being sent or received and its definition in the SDL file.

If a message fails validation:

• The message is inserted into the Errors database table for the equipment connection.
• A validation error is logged, describing why the message failed.
• Details are written to both the equipment connection diagnostic logs and the wrapper.log file.

To resolve validation errors, update the SDL file to ensure that the message structure, formats, and items match the expected definition. The SDL file can be edited directly from the Gateway using the built-in SDL editor on the Equipment page, or downloaded, edited externally, and uploaded again.