Upgrading Wonderware InTouch to AVEVA InTouch HMI 2023 R2: conditions, order and what usually breaks

Many plants in Vietnam still run AVEVA InTouch HMI (formerly Wonderware InTouch) applications that are ten or more years old, on Windows versions that are no longer supported. Moving them to AVEVA InTouch HMI 2023 R2 SP1 is usually possible, but AVEVA's documentation sets conditions on the starting version, on what has to be removed first and on the order of the upgrade. This article goes through those conditions from AVEVA's InTouch HMI 2023 R2 SP1 documentation and adds the checks we make on a running plant. Background on the Wonderware and AVEVA names: What is AVEVA.

Upgrade or migrate: two different steps

AVEVA's documentation uses two words. Upgrading means installing the new version on a computer that already has an older one: the setup removes the previous version and installs the new one. Migrating means converting an application built with an earlier version so that it opens in the current version.

For InTouch HMI 2023 R2 SP1, AVEVA gives these limits:

So an old computer running a version before 11.1 SP1, or a 32-bit Windows, is not upgraded in place: the new version is installed on a new or rebuilt computer and the application is migrated to it.

What has to be removed or moved first

AVEVA's upgrade notes list several items to deal with before running setup:

• InTouch Access Anywhere Server: uninstall it before upgrading System Platform, then reinstall it afterwards; back up its custom configuration first.
• SPCPro: the statistical process control utility of InTouch before version 11.0 is no longer supported. InTouch will not open or migrate applications that contain SPCPro components, and AVEVA recommends moving SPCPro databases to QI Analyst before installing.
• Managed InTouch applications from Application Server 3.1 SP3 or earlier that use Industrial Graphics: run the Industrial Graphics Analysis and Repair Utility and fix what it reports before installing Application Server.

Order on a computer with Application Server

When Application Server is installed on the same node as InTouch HMI, both have to be upgraded, and AVEVA says to upgrade Application Server before InTouch HMI. AVEVA also notes that the InTouch development environment is now installed with Industrial Graphics support, which brings the IDE, Bootstrap, the Galaxy Repository and FS Gateway onto the node.

After the upgrade: what usually needs attention

AVEVA's operating system notes point to a few things that often surface on old applications:

• ActiveX controls built with ATL version 7.1 or earlier can fail to load or behave unpredictably on current Windows, because of Data Execution Prevention.
• .NET code: all .NET code, including QuickScript.NET scripts, runs under .NET Framework 4.8.
• Alarms across sessions: on current Windows, services run in a separate session (Session 0), so an alarm query that combines InTouch alarms and Galaxy alarms on the same computer is served by two Alarm Manager instances, and remote alarm queries need to be configured as AVEVA describes.
• Galaxy Repository on a client Windows: allowed for up to five nodes; larger systems need the Galaxy Repository on Windows Server.

Upgrading Windows on the same computer

AVEVA states that when the operating system of a computer is upgraded, existing System Platform products must be uninstalled first and reinstalled afterwards. The exceptions are Windows 8 to 8.1, Windows 8.1 to 10, and Windows Server 2012 to 2012 R2.

Checks we make before touching a running system

These are TDL's working steps, not AVEVA requirements:

• Read the installed version and patch level on every node, and whether the Windows is 32-bit or 64-bit.
• Back up the InTouch applications and, on System Platform, the Galaxy, and test the restore on another computer before the upgrade.
• List ActiveX controls, scripts, drivers (DAServers, OI Servers) and SQL connections used by the application.
• Check the licences the new version needs with the distributor before planning the shutdown.
• Upgrade and test on a copy first, then plan the cut-over on site with a way back to the old system.

How TDL approaches it

TDL Industrial Automation is listed in AVEVA's Partner Finder as a System Integrator in the AVEVA Partner Ecosystem. We have updated Wonderware applications together with PLC upgrades on running lines, for example the SLC 500 to ControlLogix upgrade with Wonderware at Nestlé Dong Nai and the Wonderware SCADA reconfiguration after the IS area PLC upgrade at Nestlé Tri An. More on this service: Wonderware InTouch upgrade.