GE Energy Mark* VIe Control Product Description

and are mounted on a DIN-rail. LEDs indicate the status of the IONet link, speed, 

activity, and duplex. 

 100BaseTx 100BaseFx 

IEEE specification 802.3u 802.3u 

Wire speed 100 Mbps 100 Mbps 

Cable type UTP Cat. 5 Fiber (multi-mode) 

Connector type RJ-45 SC 

Maximum length of a segment at full-duplex 100 m/328 ft 2 km/6,600 ft 

Maximum taps per segment 2 2 

Maximum I/O packs per network 199 199 

Maximum number of switches 2 2 

Topology Star Star 

Operator and Maintenance Tools 

Operator Interface 

The operator interface is commonly referred to as the Human-Machine Interface 

(HMI). It is a computer with a Microsoft® Windows-based operating system, 

client/server capability, a CIMPLICITY® graphics display system, and software 

maintenance tools (ToolboxST). It can be applied as: 

• Primary operator station for one unit or the entire plant 

• Maintenance station gateway 

• Engineers station 

• Gateway for communications 

All local and remote data in 

the Mark VIe is accessible for 

screens with high-resolution 

time tags for alarms and 

events. 

The HMI can be re-initialized or replaced with the process running with no impact 

on the control system. It communicates with the main processor board in the Mark 

VIe controller(s) through the control network Unit Data Highway (UDH) and to 

third-party control and monitoring systems through the information network Plant 

Data Highway (PDH). 

System (process) alarms for fault conditions are time-tagged at frame rate in the 

controller(s) and transmitted to the HMI alarm management system. System events 

are time-tagged at frame rate, and sequence of events (SOE) for contact inputs are 

time-tagged at 1 ms in the I/O packs. Alarms can be sorted according to ID, 

Resource, Device, Time, and Priority. Operators can add comments to alarm 

messages or link specific alarm messages to supporting graphics. 

A standard alarm/event log stores data for 30 days and can be sorted in chronological 

order or according to the frequency of occurrence. In addition, a trip history is 

provided that stores the key control parameters and alarms/events for the last 30 

trips. This includes up to 200 alarms, 200 events, 200 SOE messages, and analog 

data before and after the trip. 

Data is displayed in English or Metric engineering units with a one-second update 

rate and one second to repaint a typical display graphic. Operator commands can be 

issued to increment/decrement a setpoint, or a numerical value can be entered for a 

new setpoint. 

Security for HMI users is important to restrict access to certain maintenance 

functions, such as editors and tuning capability, and to limit certain operations. 

A system called User Accounts is provided to limit access or use of particular HMI 

features. 

Software Maintenance Tools (ToolboxST) 

The Mark VIe is a fully programmable control system. Application software is 

maintained by factory software automation tools that select proven GE control and 

protection algorithms and integrate them with the I/O, sequencing, and displays for 

each application. Multiple block libraries are provided with general-purpose blocks, 

math blocks, macros (user blocks), and application-specific blocks. 

Changes to the application software can be made with multi-level password 

protection and downloaded to the controller(s) while the system is running without 

rebooting the main processors. In redundant control systems, the application 

software in each controller is identical, and is represented as a single program to 

maintenance personnel. Downloads of changes are automatically distributed to the 

redundant controllers by the control system, and any discrepancies between the 

controllers are monitored by diagnostics. All application software is stored in the 

controller(s) in non-volatile memory. 

Application software is run sequentially, and dynamic data displays in function block 

and ladder diagram formats. Maintenance personnel can add, delete, or change 

analog loops, sequencing, I/O assignments, and tuning constants. To simplify 

editing, data points can be selected, dragged, and dropped on the screen from one 

block to another. Points can also be dragged from the application software diagrams 

onto trends. Other features include Boolean (digital) forcing, analog forcing, and 

trending at the rate the application software is running, frame rate. 

Application software documentation is created directly from source code and can be 

compiled and printed at the site. This includes the application software diagram, I/O 

assignments, the settings of tuning constants, and such. The software maintenance 

tools are available for use in the HMI or as a separate software package on a 

Windows-based computer. 

Diagnostics 

High/low (hardware) limit checking is provided for each analog input. These limits