Batch Context Generator results in incorrect batch times after manual Clear

Symptoms

Wrong batch start or end times returned for batch for a manually cleared generator-type Batch Context Generator node.

Cause

When data is populated in the node by doing Find batches, or when a project execution is using it, the wrong batch start- or end times may be returned from the Batch Context generator.

While Clear successfully removes all knowledge about previously found batches, it does NOT correctly remove internal state in the code. This causes it to incorrectly start at the previously known 'current time' when it samples real-time data. This, in turn, can pick up inconsistent batches.

This problem only affects Generator-type nodes, not Aggregation-type nodes. 

More information

If Batch Context Generator shows the expected batches and is used in real-time in SIMCA-online it will continue to work as expected over time. The above mentioned issue appears after manual Clear.

Workaround

Instead of using Clear, make a change in the node and answer Yes to the prompt that the node data will be cleared.  Or make a copy of the node, delete the node, and then paste. Both of these actions ensures that the node starts fresh.

Status

This will be fixed in SIMCA-online 17.0.1.