Configuring Virtual Vp with cumulus and weatherlinkip

[sarahh]

Hi,

Can any one help with my set up please. I've been trying for hours to get it all to work together.

Davis VP2 plugged into router using TCP/IP. Disabled updates to davis website.

Windows 7 machine. Running WeatherlinkIP and VirtualVP. Gets turned off at night.

Netbook XP running cumulus and updating personal website. Stays on all the time. It is plugged into the router using an ethernet cable.

Without VirtualVP only cumulus will run. Weatherlink crashes and wont update archive data. I have to turn off cumulus to download my archive data.

I can get VirtualVP to talk to the vP2 using TCP/IP but I cant get it to also talk to Cumulus and I just cant work out whether I need to use a COM (and which one?) or also TCP/IP. I've tried both but it wont connect. I also can't get weatherlink to work while virtualvp is running and when I turn weatherlink on then virtualvp says 'no response after several retries for Get Live Sensor Data'

I'm also struggling to know what order to start each program in so that they all talk to each other.

I'd be really grateful for any help please.

[steve]

You need to start Virtual VP first. You can configure either a serial or TCP/IP connection between VVP and Cumulus, but to use a serial connection you need to install and configure a virtual serial port driver like com0com or N8VBvCom. It's not clear whether you've done that? Note that if you have 64-bit Windows 7, then you need a signed virtual serial port driver.

It should also be possible to configure a TCP/IP connection in VVP, and configure Cumulus to connect to that; the address and TCP port must match. Could you show a screen shot of your VVP communications settings screen, and your Cumulus station settings screen, please?

[sarahh]

(ok, try again without the giant size screenshot)
My vvp setup:

[sarahh]

sorry about the slow reply, netbook grinding to a halt a bit!

[steve]

Presumably 192.168.2.9 is the IP address of the PC running VVP? If Cumulus is running on the same PC, you might have more success using the loopback address (127.0.0.1, as with the VPLive entry). Then configure Cumulus with IP address 127.0.0.1, TCP port 5512, and make sure you have TCP/IP selected for VP Type.

Edit: I've just seen the Cumulus screen shot that you've uploaded. You have VVP configured for port 5512, but Cumulus configured for port 22222. They have to be the same or Cumulus can't connect.

Edit2: And you have Cumulus configured to connect to the logger's IP address rather than VVP. It has to connect to VVP, not the logger, that's the point of using VVP.

[sarahh]

Its no wonder I'm having issues then!!!! clearly this is not my forte! Will have a go at putting that all right.

[sarahh]

Ok, it is talking to cumulus nicely, but not my datalogger. It will download archive data and thats it.

[steve]

Sorry, I don't follow. What is "it" - VVP? You mean VVP will only download archive data but won't read live data? So Cumulus is just getting the same data repeatedly?

[sarahh]

VVP downloads archive data and then cant get live data. I get a green light for cumulus.

[steve]

This is beyond the scope of my knowledge, I'm afraid. It's a long time since I tried running VVP. There's a setting somewhere to turn on some logging which shows what VVP's doing (communication between VVP and the logger, and VVP and the connected programs) which might give some clues, but beyond that I think you'll have to ask Steve Hatchett for help, sorry. Though there are others on here who use VVP who might have some advice.

[sarahh]

Hi again,

Just to try to be clear of the current setup.

Cumulus is running on a netbook. IP address for the netbook is 192.168.2.3
Cumulus setup specifies the IP address as 192.168.2.9, TCP port 22222.

Virtual VP is running on the main pc. IP address of that is 192.168.2.9.

In VVP Communications Settings, Vantage Pro Console has Ethernet(IP) selected, with an IP address of 192.168.2.6 (the DataLogger), port 22222.

Virtual Console TCP/IP Settings has Weatherlink with an IP address of 127.0.0.1 (Port 5511) and Cumulus with an IP address of 192.268.2.9 (Port 5512), the IP address of the main PC.

Note that Cumulus is actually running on the netbook (192.168.2.3), so I would have thought that it would be logical to set the IP address for Cumulus in the Virtual Console section of VVP to the same, but that one isn't available (only ones available are 192.268.2.9 and 127.0.0.1), or am I missing something?

With the above setup, VVP is now giving an error message "Cumulus: Too many consecutive socket errors. Will try to reconnect."

Cumulus itself is now giving an error (red light in the Error section), but no further details.

Any thoughts? - particularly what IP addresses/ports should I be using in the various parts of VVP and Cumulus?

[sarahh]

Thank you very much for trying Steve, I really appreciate it.

[steve]

VVP connects to the logger, so you give it the address and port number of the logger (as you have done).

VVP listens for connections from programs, and you tell it on what IP address and TCP port to listen, for each program that you are going to connect.

Cumulus then connects to VVP, and it has to connect using the same IP address and TCP port on which VVP is listening for connections. So, if VVP is listening on address 192.168.2.9, port 5512, then you have to configure Cumulus to connect to address 192.168.2.9, port 5512.

I'm assuming that your use of 192.268 is a typo, and all of your addresses start 192.168?

[sarahh]

I have a new error. When I turn on cumulus I have error -32701 on cumulus.
I think I'm going to have to leave this soon for the day - I have spent literally all day on it.
(the ip address was a typo it is .168)
Thank you so much for your patience today.

[steve]

The -32701 error is the Davis DLL (that Cumulus uses) saying that it's having a problem connecting. This may be because you have the wrong details configured, or it may be that VVP is doing something that the DLL doesn't like - which is what I found when I tried VVP. But others are using VVP with Cumulus apparently successfully.