Issue
Will the Multi-Purpose Manager (MPM) act as a BACnet IP BBMD?
Product Line
EcoStruxure Building Expert
Environment
Site using BACnet and one or more SmartStruxe Lite Multi-Purpose Manager (SSL MPM)
Cause
Can the MPM act as a BBMD
Resolution
The MPM cannot act as a BACnet Broadcast Management Device (BBMD), but it can be a foreign device to another BBMD
BACnet protocol includes broadcast traffic which does not pass through on-site routers. For BACnet devices to network across a wide area or across multiple separate sites connected by the Internet, it is necessary to register the BACnet devices with a Schneider BBMD using the Foreign Device Registration function in Building Expert.
For a Multi-Purpose Manager (MPM) running Building Expert to function as a BACnet device, when being managed remotely over a standard TCP/IP network, it must be configured as a Foreign Device. It must also be registered on an Automation Server (AS) on the remote network that acts as a BBMD. Once done, BACnet devices can send messages to the BBMD, which are translated by the BBMD so they can pass over a standard on-site router. Then BBMD forwards the messages to the appropriate destination MPM controlling the Devices for which the BACnet messages were originally intended. Then the MPM translates the messages received over the network from the BBMD into standard BACnet messages and passes them on to the intended Devices as if they were direct BACnet messages.
This Foreign Device Registration feature allows a single user with a StruxureWare Building Operations (StruxureWare Building Operation) terminal to remotely oversee multiple disparate sites simultaneously using BACnet, without having to install expensive direct connections to each site.
You must have Firmware release version 2.9 or higher installed on your Manager to use Foreign Device Registration function.
Here is the BACnet-Specifications-PIC-Statement.pdf
And the explanation on how to setup the DR-ForeignDeviceRegistration.pdf
