Alarm messages contain asterisks (Banner)

At runtime, three asterisks (***) in the location of an embedded variable in an alarm message indicate that the value of the embedded variable was not known at the time the message was sent. For example, if you have an alarm message that uses an embedded variable for an associated tag and the value of the associated tag value cannot be read, the alarm message will contain three asterisks (***) in the place of the tag value. When first configuring a system you may enter an incorrect tag name or the name of a tag that does not exist for an associated tag which will result in asterisks being displayed for the embedded tag value.
To fix this problem, start by identifying whether the alarm comes from a Tag Alarm and Event Server, or from a
Studio 5000
 controller:
  1. In the Alarm and Event Summary, on the toolbar, click the
    Show details for selected alarm
     button BUTTON_Show_alarm_details.
    If the
    Show details for selected alarm
     button is not visible on the toolbar, view the details of the alarm in the Alarm Status Explorer.
  2. The first part of the alarm name indicates the area and server where the alarm is located. The format is
    AreaPath:ServerName:AlarmName
    • If the server is the name of a Tag Alarm and Event Server, view the alarm configuration in the Alarm and Event Setup editor.
    • If the server is the name of a
      Rockwell Automation
       Device Server (
      FactoryTalk Linx
       server), the alarm is located in a
      Studio 5000
       controller. To locate the controller producing the alarm, the shortcut to the controller needs to be checked.
      The shortcut name is displayed as the first part of the alarm name, in square brackets. In
      FactoryTalk View Studio
       or
      FactoryTalk Administration Console
      , in the
      FactoryTalk
       Explorer window, expand the application or area where the Rockwell Automation Device Server is located, expand the server, and then double-click
      Communication Setup
      . Click the shortcut name to see the controller it is associated with. Use
      Logix Designer
       to view the configuration for the alarm.
Once the alarm source is known, do the following:
  • View the configuration of the alarm and verify that associated tags are correct.
  • Examine the alarm message for correctness.
  • Test communications with the associated tags.
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