Question on SCP270 - Differences with FSIM Plus

There was a question in the DYNSIM LinkedIn group that I though we should post on the blog:

"Apart from the new name, could you summarize what is new compared to FSIM Plus "

Here is the response from Janet Parker, the product manager for SCP270:
SCP270, which is simulation for the current Foxboro Control Processor, provides Foxboro I/A Series system users with a comprehensive environment for modeling, testing, and system checkout prior to start up. It replaces the legacy FSIM Plus product, that was based on the discontinued AW Integrator technology, with a modern infrastructure that behaves identically to the CP270 with the same control block algorithms and communication systems. This means that peer-to-peer sizing and communication, memory footprint, and block count are identical between the SCP and a real CP. This one-to-one CP-to-SCP instancing differs from FSIM Plus that where several real CPs install in a single ‘super’ FSIM CP. A single SCP host computer can run up to 40 SCP instances, many times more than an FSIM Station, reducing the overall hardware footprint. Unlike FSIM Plus, the SCP host computer is not dependent on the I/A Series infrastructure, but runs on a modern, off-the-shelf Windows 7 64-bit or Server 2008 R2 OS multi-core enabled system. Unlike FSIM Plus, SCP270 v1 is not tied to a single, specific version of I/A Series software. It works with I/A Series 8.5 – 8.8 and will work with the next version of I/A Series software. Unlike FSIM Plus, SCP270 supports virtualization. For users who do not need I/O tieback or Operator Training Simulator (OTS) capabilities, the SCP270 software can run independently of DYNSIM, just like a real CP, so that I/A Series users do not need to learn how to use another modeling package. When used independently of DYNSIM, SCP software can be mixed with real CPs before or during a DCS Factory Acceptance Test which allows Foxboro to ship the actual hardware early. Finally, installing the SCP software is extremely easy. Unlike FSIM Plus, there is no need to create a custom System Definition to include a special station type. The I/A Series infrastructure ‘sees’ an SCP270 just as if it were a real CP270.