Modify System Communication Settings

Use
System Communication Settings
 to select Socket.IO or DCOM for distributed system. When you select
Auto
, the system prefers Socket.IO connection. If Socket.IO connection cannot be established, the system will use DCOM. When you select
Socket.IO
, the system uses only Socket.IO connection. When you select
DCOM
, the system uses only DCOM connection.
To modify System Communication Settings
  1. In the
    FactoryTalk Administration Console
    Explorer
     pane, go to
    localhost
     >
    System
     >
    Policies
     >
    System Policies
    .
  2. Double-click
    Security Policy
    .
  3. In
    System communication
    type
    , select
    Auto
    ,
    Socket.IO
    , or
    DCOM
    .
    IMPORTANT:
    • When working in a mixed system, for example, a server computer with FactoryTalk Services Platform version 6.31 or later and client computers with FactoryTalk Services Platform version 6.30 or earlier, you must use
      Auto
      or
      DCOM
      to ensure compatibility.
    • When working in a system where the computers hosting the FactoryTalk-enabled software client and server have FactoryTalk Services Platform version 6.31 or later installed, you can use
      Auto
      or
      Socket.IO
      .
      Auto
       attempts to use Socket.IO first until that communication fails. Once Socket.IO communication fails, the system will switch to DCOM and stay at DCOM until the application is restarted.
    • Communication between the FactoryTalk Directory Server and Clients that use DCOM is insecure. To ensure secure communications, there are two options:
      • You can set the
        System communication Type
         to
        Socket.IO
         to force the system to use only Socket.IO communications.
      • If you cannot take this step, then you must raise the DCOM Authentication Level using by FactoryTalk-enabled products on all computers in the system to Packet Privacy using the FactoryTalk DCOM Authentication Level utility, or Windows group policy to change the FactoryTalk registry key, described in Rockwell Automation Knowledgebase Document ID: IN39470 - Mitigating Microsoft DCOM Hardening Patch (CVE-2021-26414) for Affected Rockwell Automation Products, to a value of '6' which equals Packet Privacy.
  4. In
    System communication protocol
    , select
    Polling
    or
    WebSocket
    .
    • WebSocket:
       It is a persistent TCP connection between a client and a server, which provides a real-time full-duplex communication channel.
    • Polling:
      It is a discontinuous TCP connection between a client and a server, which provides a near-real-time data access pattern.
      Note:
       When the network is not stable, we do not recommend that you use
      WebSocket
      Protocol
      . Turning on
      WebSocket Protocol
       requires the computer to be restarted.
    This setting only affects the system when
    System communication type
     is set as
    Auto
    or
    Socket.IO
    .
  5. In
    System communication port
    , enter the communication port for the computer hosting the FactoryTalk Web Event Server.
  6. Select
    OK
     or
    Apply
    .
    Be sure to restart the client computers and the FactoryTalk Directory server computer when you change a port or communication mode, for example, the System communication type: AUTO, DCOM, and SOCKET.IO.
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