ICG Solution

Converge

CONVERGE 3.8.5
RELEASE NOTES
CONVERGE 3.8.5.0

th

Published: 15 September 2014

Copyright Landis+Gyr 2014

All rights reserved

Landis+Gyr s.r.o
Plzesk 3185/5a
150 00 Prague 5
Czech Republic
+420 251 119 511
info@landisgyr.cz
www.landisgyr.com

Landis+Gyr Gridstream ICG Solution CONVERGE

Table of contents

Table of contents .............................................................................................................. 1

About Release ................................................................................................................... 2

Release Scope ................................................................................................................... 2

Release History ................................................................................................................. 3

Product Lifecycle............................................................................................................... 3

Supported platforms......................................................................................................... 4

Deployment scenarios ...................................................................................................... 5

Oracle Exadata Ready: target 500 000 MPs ..................................................................... 6

Changes in licensing, license file and related features ..................................................... 8

9.1

New license file format .................................................................................................. 8

9.2

New feature to apply license file ................................................................................... 8

9.3

Built-in license ............................................................................................................... 8

9.4

New licensing policy ...................................................................................................... 9

9.5

Existing license transition .............................................................................................. 9

10

Remote Connect/Disconnect .......................................................................................... 10

11

Billing Values Audit ......................................................................................................... 10

12

Excel Report output formats .......................................................................................... 10

13

Scheduled Events Manager ............................................................................................ 11

14

Multi-Utility support ....................................................................................................... 11

15

Supported Devices .......................................................................................................... 12

16

Legacy Features and Obsolete Components .................................................................. 14

17

Compatibility................................................................................................................... 15

Converge 3.8.5 Release Notes

About Release

Converge 3.8.5 is the latest release of Landis+Gyr Grid stream ICG Solution Converge 3.8.
Key benefits of the new version are:

Increased maximum number of remotely acquired metering points to 500 000

Oracle Exadata Ready certified
Support of latest platforms and technology:
Windows Server 2012 R2
Oracle 12c
Excel 2013
Support for remote connect/disconnect
Enhanced auditability on user changes to meter data
Better support for Multi-Utility customers
Ready for Smart Metering point-to-point data collection

Released: September 2014

Release Scope

Converge 3.8.5 is generally available with no restrictions.

This release is designated for:

New installation
Migration to new hardware and platforms (x64)
Upgrade from former version (supported: 3.7.x, 3.6.x, 3.6, 3.5.2).
Please contact CSC to plan the upgrade.
Upgrade from older version on request, please consult with CSC.
Update of existing Converge 3.8 to the latest version

For upgrade, please contact Landis+Gyr Customer Services Center in Prague, Czech Republic at
following contact:
Dalibor Janckulk
Head Customer Services Center
Landis+Gyr Prague
Office : + 420 251 119 559
Mobile : + 420 724 391 457
dalibor.janckulik@landisgyr.com
www.landisgyr.cz
manage energy better

Landis+Gyr Gridstream ICG Solution CONVERGE

Release History

Following table keeps track of Converge 3.8 history of releases and updates successively
published during active phase of product lifecycle.
Version
Converge 3.8.0.0
Converge 3.8.0.1
Converge 3.8.5.0

Type
Release
Update
Release

Released
October 2013
January 2014
September 2014

Product Lifecycle

Release Converge 3.8.5 does not change product lifecycle.

Product

Lifecycle

First released

Latest version

Converge 3.8

Active

October 2013

3.8.5

Converge 3.7

Active

May 2012

3.7.2

Converge 3.6

Extended

October 2010

3.6.2.5

Converge 3.5

Retired

Converge 3.4

Retired

Converge 3.3

Retired

Next transition*)

January 2015
-> extended

January 2015
-> retired

For more details about product lifecycle refer to Landis+Gyr Product Lifecycle Policy statement.
*) Transition to next lifecycle will be announced in 6 month advance indicating exact date of
completing the transition. This 6 month period aligns with initial 6 month ramp up phase of a
new product version. The column Next transition in the table above indicates expected start of
this 6 month period.

Converge 3.8.5 Release Notes

Supported platforms

Converge 3.8.5 introduces support for latest technology and platforms.

Windows Server 2012 R2

Oracle Database 12c
Microsoft Excel 2013

Following table lists supported platforms Converge 3.8.5 is designated for.

Platform

Application
server

Operating system:
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2
Virtualization:
VMware
Hyper-V

Note

English
Latest service packs and patches applied

Database:
Oracle 12c (12.1)
Oracle 11g R2 (11.2)
Database

High Availability:
Oracle RAC
Oracle DataGuard

Any platform supported by Oracle

Oracle Exadata Ready certified

High-Tech:
Oracle Exadata

Browser

Internet Explorer 11 (32-bit)

Internet Explorer 10 (32-bit)
Internet Explorer 9 (32-bit)

IE11 strongly recommended

Latest security patches applied
Compatibility View mode disabled
IE8 and older not supported
64-bit versions not supported

Excel

Excel 2013
Excel 2010
Excel 2007

OpenXML format (xlsx, xlsm, xlsb) fully

supported
Output to PDF or XPS available
Recommended 32-bit (x86) version *)

*) Refer to Microsoft Support article Choose the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Office.

Landis+Gyr Gridstream ICG Solution CONVERGE

Deployment scenarios

As a mission-critical application, Converge 3.8.5 is designed for and supports different

deployment scenarios addressing following goals or its combinations:

High Availability
Disaster Recovery
Data-Loss Protection
High Performance
Scalability

Below is a brief description of some existing production deployments Converge 3.8.5 is

perfectly suitable for. There is always at least one reference to a real production system for
each scenario.
Details about target architecture of the solution are outside the scope of this document.

Primary Database with on-line replication

to StandBy Database.
Cold
StandBy

Load
Balancing
+
Fast
Failover on
surviving
nodes

Utilizes:
Oracle DataGuard

Redundant application servers 1:1 server

installation, cold standby servers ready to
start using StandBy database after
Switchover or Failover event.

Database operations secured with Oracle

Real Application Cluster configured for
Load Balancing and Connection Failover.
Utilizes
Oracle RAC
VMware ESX server

Application server on hypervisor with

dynamic on-demand resource allocation,
certain capacity always reserved.
Spare VM images for quick fully automated
restore of failed nodes.

Primary and Backup sites geographically

dislocated.
GeoCluster

Utilizes:
Hyper-V Server
Hardware online
replication

Application servers virtualized.

Online hardware replication (bit mirroring)
of whole storage containing both database
as well as virtual machines.

Converge 3.8.5 Release Notes

Application servers virtualized and hosted

in a datacenter (outsourcing) using
IAAS/PAAS private cloud.

Utilizes:

Private
Cloud
Datacenter

Oracle RAC
-or Oracle DataGuard

Database operated on a dedicated

hardware using Oracle Enterprise Edition
with either RAC or DataGuard or both.

VMware ESX server

-or Hyper-V Server

Database administration and application

server administration outsourced; and
both separated from Converge system
administration.

Oracle Exadata Ready: target 500 000 MPs

Scalability of Converge 3.8.5 has been validated in a lab test using Oracle Exadata Database
Machine X4-2 Eighth. Target was set to 500 000 (half million) metering points in simulated
daily acquisition workload and with meter data history for 10 years.
Each metering point consisted of 4 Load profiles, 5 monthly billing values and 5 instant
registers. Meter data were generated for each metering point for ten years. Table below
provides overall overview of the data volume in the system
Data

Characteristics

Total number

Metering Points
(MP)

Metering point =
Virtual Meter + Device +
Communication Path

500 000 MPs

500 000 virtual meters
500 000 devices
500 000 com. paths
1 500 000 definitions

Load Profiles

15 min. integration period

4 channels per MP

Total Load Profile variables:

2 000 000
Total Values (10 years):
1 524 881 200

Value each month

5 stored values per MP

Total Monthly Billing Value variables:

2 500 000
Total Values (10 years):
60 000 000

Monthly Billing
Values

Landis+Gyr Gridstream ICG Solution CONVERGE

Instant Register
Values

Value every day

5 instant register per MP

Total Instant register Value variables:

2 500 000
Total Values (10 years):
9 125 000 000

Outcome:
1. Almost instant responses of the user interface of the Gridstream Converge Data
Acquisition.
2. Seamless behaviour of the Gridstream Converge on Oracle Exada platform.

Results: Landis+Gyr Gridstream Converge certified

Gridstream CONVERGE 3.8.5

500 000 MPs
READY

Converge 3.8.5 Release Notes

Changes in licensing, license file and related features

License is a term referring to the right to use software, its components or features. It is rather
a legal term and usually there is an agreement (EULA) which defines subjects of the license.
License file is electronic evidence of the license. When applied to the system, the license file
controls which components and features are available in what extent; and those end-users are
not entitled to use are hidden.
Converge 3.8.5 introduces new license file format and comes with new feature to apply it to
the system. There is also built-in license, a default limited license available when no other
license file is applied.

9.1

New license file format

The license file is newly protected against unauthorized modifications by employing digital
signature, providing enhanced security and authenticity of the file.
Formerly issued license files require re-issuing. Ask for your current license in new license file
format at your Landis+Gyr support contact. The file will be provided free of charge.

9.2

New feature to apply license file

Formerly the license file was applied during installation; updates required server administrator
with specific skills to do it.
Newly the license file is applied to the system through standard Converge user interface (GUI),
which does not require server administrator to be involved in license update. Also the license
file is not needed during installation.
The main benefit of this new approach is the ability to separate server administration from
license management; a fundamental requirement in case of outsourced application hosting.
Next benefit is the simplicity and intuitive usage which does not require any specific skills.
Converge standard security mechanism is used to control which user has permission to update
a license.

9.3

Built-in license

Starting with Converge 3.8.5, when the system is installed for the first time (including upgrade
or update from previous version), a built-in license is in effect.
The built-in license is in effect until first legal license file is applied.
This built-in license is limited in its use and is intended only for demonstration or testing
purposes.
Additional use of the built-in license is to power up the system for the time being before
proper license file is issued and applied.
Especially this comes in handy when performing upgrade from former version or brand-new
system installation.

Landis+Gyr Gridstream ICG Solution CONVERGE

The built-in license shall not be used for production environments.

9.4

New licensing policy

Converge 3.8.5 applies new licensing policy introduced in Converge 3.8 as published by
Landis+Gyr.

Users
Changed from number of concurrent users to number of total defined users.
In Converge 3.8 number of licensed users expresses a maximum number of user
accounts which can be defined in the system.

Servers
In Converge 3.8 number of DA servers in the system is licensed. Number of DA
servers is always determined by volume, frequency, number of parallel
communication channels and given time range of the data acquisition.

Drivers
In Converge 3.8 every different type of metering device is supported and licensed
separately. New licensing model is based on manufacturer and device type; opposite
to former protocol-based licensing.

For more details about licensing refer to Landis+Gyr Gridstream Converge License Policy
statement.

9.5

Existing license transition

Existing licenses need to be transitioned into the new policy.

For details, please contact your local Landis+Gyr sales representative or contact Landis+Gyr
Czech Republic Sales Department at michal.kucera@landisgyr.com.

Converge 3.8.5 Release Notes

10 Remote Connect/Disconnect
Converge 3.8.5 introduces support for use case of remote connection or disconnection of the
meter.
Remote Connect/Disconnect is implemented as
Relay Control for following devices:

Landis+Gyr E650 DLMS

Landis+Gyr E550 DLMS

Disconnector (formerly called Breaker) for:

Landis+Gyr E350 DLMS/GPRS

11 Billing Values Audit

Audit and change history was available in Converge prior 3.8.5 for load profile values only.
Starting with Converge 3.8.5, audit and change history is available for billing values too in the
same fashion as for load profile values; that is any change is recorded with timestamp, user
name, old and new value and a text description of a reason of the change.

12 Excel Report output formats

Converge 3.8.5 fully supports new Excel spreadsheet formats according to OpenXML
standards.
Following Excel spreadsheet formats are supported:

Macro-Free (xlsx)
Macro-Enabled (xlsm)
Binary (xlsb)

It also newly adds output to PDF or XPS. No special license is needed to produce PDF reports.

10

Landis+Gyr Gridstream ICG Solution CONVERGE

13 Scheduled Events Manager

The Scheduled Events Manager is tool which helps an end user to create and maintain Active
Elements Scheduled Events in data processing of Converge. The Scheduled Events Manager
has an extensive search and filtration capabilities helping to select proper set of Active
Elements with respective Scheduled Events. On the result of the search can be applied set of
actions like execute, add, edit or delete scheduled events. All actions can be executed on
specific Active Element (Scheduled event) or in the batch mode for group of Scheduled Events.
Scheduled Events Manager is fully integrated to existing Converge UI, all result grid columns
support sorting and full text filtering or filtering with combo boxes with selection of available
values. For quick select/deselect of all records or whole page there is a set of links on the top
of the window.
Scheduled Events Manager is licensed feature.

14 Multi-Utility support
Converge 3.8.5 enhances already existing multi-utility support by providing ability to define
categories of virtual meters supporting ability to define different sets of fields and attributes
for each category.
This feature consolidates already existing demand from customers, which used to be
implemented using customer specific-attributes on custom templates.
By consolidating it Converge 3.8.5 is ready for further extensions to common requests of multiutility customers enabling standardized development of features with high degree of
reusability, making the implementation costs significantly reduced.
Besides traditional categories Electricity, Gas and Heat supported by wide range of
device drivers, few other relevant categories were added to complete the portfolio. New
categories must be made visible after the installation; otherwise they do not appear in the
system. Similarly, when by default visible categories are irrelevant, they shall be hidden.
Converge 3.8.5 supports following multi-utility categories:
Category
Electricity Meter
Gas Meter
Heat Meter
Cold Meter
Water Meter
Oil Meter

Visible by default
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No

Note: There is one device on Supported Meters List whose manufacturer primarily designates it
as Oil Meter.

11

Converge 3.8.5 Release Notes

15 Supported Devices
Following table is an excerpt of Supported Meters List. It contains drivers recently re-tested
and validated in Converge 3.8.5. Newly added devices are marked.
Manufacturer

Device Type

Protocol

Landis+Gyr

E850

DLMS

Landis+Gyr

E750

SyM /SML

Landis+Gyr

E650

DLMS, VDEW

Landis+Gyr

E550

DLMS, VDEW

Landis+Gyr

E350

DLMS

Landis+Gyr

S650

DLMS

Landis+Gyr

T550

M-Bus

Landis+Gyr

FAF

SCTM

Landis+Gyr

FAG

SCTM

Landis+Gyr

FBC

SCTM

Landis+Gyr

FCL

SCTM

Landis+Gyr

FFC

DL719

Landis+Gyr

EKM640

SCTM

Landis+Gyr

Metcom

SCTM

Landis+Gyr

EM1210

Kingfisher

Landis+Gyr

EM3030

Kingfisher

Landis+Gyr

EM5300

Kingfisher

Landis+Gyr

EM5400

Kingfisher 1.5

Itron

SL7000

DLMS

Itron

ACE6000

DLMS

Itron

DC4

DLMS, VDEW

Actaris

Corus

CORUS

Schlumberger

DC3

VDEW

Schlumberger

SEVC-D

SEVC-D

Elster

A1800

DLMS

Elster

A1882

ANSI C12.21

Elster

A1700

FLAG

Elster

A2500

VDEW

Elster

A1500

VDEW

Elster

AS1440

VDEW

Elster

A1350

VDEW

Elster

EK280

LIS200

Elster

EK260

LIS200

Elster

DL230

LIS200

Elster

DL240

LIS200

Elster

DL220

LIS200

Elster

DL210

LIS200

12

Landis+Gyr Gridstream ICG Solution CONVERGE

AEM

CST

DLMS, IEC1107

AEM

CEET

IEC1107

EMH

LZQJ

VDEW, DLMS

EMH

LZQJ-XC

DLMS

EDMI

Mk10 Atlas

EDMI

EDMI

Mk6 Genius

EDMI

EDMI

Mk3 Papillion

EDMI

Power Measurement Ltd.

ION 8600

ION

Power Measurement Ltd.

ION 8400

ION

Cewe Instrument

CewePrometer

IEC1107

EnergyICT

WebRTU

DukePower

ZPA

Inmat

M-Bus

Kamstrup

Multical

M-Bus

Kamstrup

MGY8

SCTM

Siemens

PAC4200

ModBUS

Texelektronik

KHM

ModBUS

Turbo Team

KHM-DS-1000

ModBUS

Pietro Fiorentini

Di-Log

ModBUS

Datawatt

Datawatt MRTU

SCTM

Luna

LUN4

Makel

T300

Viko

VEM T5100

For complete listing of all devices and supported features, please refer to Supported Meters
List document.

13

Converge 3.8.5 Release Notes

16 Legacy Features and Obsolete Components

Following table list legacy components or features, which are considered obsolete and its use
is deprecated. Once a component or feature is marked as legacy, it is still kept in the system
for certain period of time to keep backward compatibility and giving enough time to evaluate
transition or adjustment onto new recommended components or features.
Component or Feature

PDF reports

Information
Separately licensed feature to enable Excel Report
output to PDF using 3rd party software (licensed
separately).
In Converge 3.8.5, Excel Report output to PDF has
been introduced using native capability of Excel
2007/2010/2013.
Use this new feature instead
No additional license required
No additional 3rd party software needs to be
installed, maintained and properly licensed

Use Quickjob instead, which is fully featured,

preferred way of on-demand interaction with remote
devices.
As of Converge 3.8, Quickjob fully covers all former
Live Connect use-cases.
Live Connect is not maintained or developed
anymore; newly added device drivers are not and will
not be compatible with Live Connect.
Live Connect

Live Connect is retained in the system as is to

provide users enough time to start using Quickjob to
complete all tasks they were used to complete by Live
Connect in former versions.
By default, Live Connect is not accessible in Converge
3.8.5. For existing customers migrating to Converge
3.8.5 from older version, Live Connect can be made
available again on request. In this case, please note it
when requesting re-generation of license file.

14

Landis+Gyr Gridstream ICG Solution CONVERGE

COM+ interface ADASDeviceAndMeterData has been

marked as obsolete in Converge 3.3.
Please use recommended and supported COM+
interfaces as replacement.
COM+ interface
ADASDeviceAndMeterData

COM+ interface ADASDeviceAndMeterData is still kept

in the system, yet correctness of data returned by its
method calls cannot be quarantined.
Please contact CSC for help replacing your specific
programmatic constructs.

17 Compatibility
Converge 3.8.5 provides compatibility at published COM+ interface level to the same extent as
former version with no difference to these interfaces.
Note that COM+ component ADASDeviceAndMeterData is obsolete since version 3.3 and
shall not be used anymore. It is not guaranteed that methods of this component return correct
and expected data.

15

Converge 3.8.5 Release Notes

16