Label: EcoStruxure Access Expert - Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Understanding Access Expert's schedules holidays and one-offs and their interaction with Triggers and Procedures Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Server Hosted Software Access Server Premise Software Cause More details on schedules holidays and one-offs are needed to clear confusion about Triggers & Procedures configuration. Resolution Let's first break this down into some basic principles on Schedules and Holidays.   Schedules can become active or inactive. A status change is commonly used as a Trigger to some procedure (ie change a reader mode to unlocked) Holidays act as schedule masks so that schedules cannot become active or inactive, thus never triggering. With that in mind; One-off dates are SCHEDULE behaviors, similar to how choosing "Monday" is a scheduled behavior. All schedules can be masked by holiday configurations. Special dates are HOLIDAY behaviors. They act as flags that effectively invert the bit that would normally mask, performing the inverse behavior. Now that we've established those event types and configurations, let's go over Triggers & Procedures. As mentioned in (1) that a status change is a trigger because it is a generated Mercury event. These triggers do whatever procedure you instruct them to do. As a result, whenever a trigger occurs that activates procedures A or B, or C, those procedures will execute.   When configuring many reader modes you can quickly and easily produce conflicts where a schedule becomes active and thus a procedure occurs, which sets a behavior that another schedule does not like because that trigger already happened. There is no concept of "following a schedule" in Mercury. In order to correctly configure reader modes, you will want to limit the normal modes to as few as possible (preferably 1) and instead create intelligent sets of schedule INTERVALS within one schedule, more specifically, you wouldn't use multiple modes, you would use 1 mode with a schedule containing multiple intervals.   If you would like a schedule to ignore a holiday, you would set "ALWAYS ACTIVE ON" and choose your holidays in the interval(s). The trick here is not to apply holidays to schedules that are not normally active.   Mercury controllers support up to 8128 Triggers and 8128 Procedures. Holidays Mask schedules from becoming active. Always Active On will ensure that a schedule is NOT MASKED for that holiday group, by flipping a bit.   For customers using many sites which their own holiday restrictions, we offer enterprise licensing. Each location should have its own shared instance where holidays are localized to that instance's controllers and hardware. Holidays should only be implemented when you want to mask schedules, if you then have schedules that shouldn't be masked, you would apply the "always active on" for those groups. If you have a schedule that won't become active on that holiday, then there's no need to override using always active on.

Issue What is Domain Name Service (DNS)? Product Line Andover Continuum,EcoStruxure Access Expert,EcoStruxure Building Expert,EcoStruxure Building Operation,EcoStruxure Security Expert,Satchwell BAS & Sigma,Satchwell MicroNet,TAC IA Series,TAC INET,TAC Vista Environment TCP/IP Networks Cause DNS is a distributed hierarchical system for resolving host names into IP address. Under DNS, there is no central database with all of the Internet host information. The information is distributed among thousands of name servers organized into a hierarchy similar to the UNIX file system. DNS has a root domain at the top of the domain hierarchy that is served by a group of name servers called the root servers. Source: TCP/IP Network Administration by Craig Hunt, O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. Resolution Short for Domain Name System (or Service or Server), an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. Because domain names are alphabetic, they're easier to remember. The Internet however, is really based on IP addresses. Every time you use a domain name, therefore, a DNS service must translate the name into the corresponding IP address. For example, the domain name www.example.com might translate to 198.105.232.4. The DNS system is, in fact, its own network. If one DNS server doesn't know how to translate a particular domain name, it asks another one, and so on, until the correct IP address is returned.  

Issue When adding a new reader to a controller, the readers status shows "Unknown" in the hardware tree. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Xpert Version 2 Hosted & Premise Install Cause The newly added reader has not been brought into "Online Mode" Resolution From the hardware tree right-click on the reader and select "Online Mode". The reader should now show up as online, and the user should be able to control the door operation.     **Note - If unable to put the readers into online mode, it is necessary to first make the controller active, as shown below. After selecting this, a reboot of the controller is necessary for the changes to take effect. 

Issue Access Expert is able to communicate down to the SSC (a reboot works) but the SSC won't come online and its status shows as unknown. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment SSC Cause In IIS the binding has been configured incorrectly. (On Premise ONLY) Mercury port (3001) blocked.  Resolution This is what a properly configured binding looks like. (On Premise ONLY) Reference How to verify ports needed for AX-SSC communication with the Access Expert server are open from within the AX-SSC itself to check status of the Mercury port, if block work with IT department at the site to have it unblocked.

Issue How to create a successful LDAP Query on Version 3. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Win 10 and above Version 3 Premise Hosted Cause There are no instructions on how to create an LDAP Query to bring in users from Active Directory.  Schneider Electric does not normally write the queries as these are duties more geared to a LDAP person or IT person who is familiar with the structure of the AD. Resolution The following steps are needed to create a successful LDAP Query: Make sure the LDAP appliance or Service is running and that the default port 389 is opened From Access Expert, select the General Configuration Tab and then the LDAP Agents Once opened, create a new LDAP Query by entering all the necessary fields and information to connect to the AD (Active Directory) Enter the mapping fields in the Set Person Mapping fields When Finished click on the Save button that will run the query Select the Access Control Tab and click on the List Icon If the query was successful, then all the users that the LDAP Query was based on will be displayed If it was unsuccessful, then it would be blank.  To troubleshoot any issues, connect to the appliance if possible and browse to the SEQ Folder Open up the Browse SEQ Look at what is displayed on the window to determine what the issue could be Click on the Error on the Right Side of the Window to bring up the Error Messages View the error and correct accordingly (for the most part it is probably the query having extra spaces) Once corrected, re-run the query and verify that it updated correctly by following step 6 again

Issue Access Expert V2 configured MR52 Interface with inputs and outputs showing as Not attached (See snapshot) Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment V2 SSC MR52 Interface Cause The MR52 interface was previously configured with elevator controls but now has been detached in some manner. Resolution Remove the configured elevator references on each input and output individually and resave the point. Delete and re-add the points and configure the I/O as needed.  V3 works differently then V2. V3 allows for a more granular configuration so that the I/O selection just allows for the specific elevator other I/O selections. In V3 the assignments doesn't need to be released, only reselected.

Issue What is the procedure for adding an MR52 to a system. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Expert in Cloud or Premise Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8, Server 2012, Server 2014 Cause Unable to find documentation of the installation process for the MR52. Resolution In order to add an MR 52 sub device to an SSC, the following steps need to be followed:   1. Address the board with proper address via dip switch settings (address switches should be pointing to the numbers on the board) 2. Power up the device and verify that LEDS are displaying correctly 3. Once the controller is Online, click on Add Interface 4. Open up the Live Monitoring Window to check the status of the controller 5. If the devices show offline, Right Click on the controller and select Reboot 6. The Live Monitoring Window will show what is actually being sent to the controller 7. Once completed the status will change to reflect what state the controller is in 8. If correct it will be Online (Green), if not check the configuration and/or wiring again

Issue When the Ethernet is removed from an AX-SSC controller, all of the devices underneath that controller inexplicably lose their connection to the controller. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment AX-SSC Cause The firmware of the SSC is outdated. Resolution The firmware of the SSC needs to be upgraded to version 24.01.241 or newer. This can be accomplished with the following procedure:   1. From Access Expert (the firmware of the SSC can only be updated within Access Expert, not from the Device Administrator), select the "Hardware Provisioning" tab. 2. Click "Controllers", and then select the correct SSC controller. 3. Under "General Info" verify the "Reported Version Number". If less than 24.01.241, the firmware needs to be updated. Click "Update Firmware".

Issue Unable to locate where to configure the SMTP Server in an Acess Expert V3 Instance. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment V3 Premise Cause The earlier versions of the on-premise server/client did not have SMTP functioning properly. As a result, the tab to Configure the SMTP server settings was left out of the software. Resolution Newer versions of the software have SMTP functionality working properly. After upgrading the Server and Client software to the newest versions available, the SMTP Configuratiuon tab will be available as shown below.  Note: For Instructions on how to upgrade the Premise Server and Client software, please see Upgrade Premise Software to Latest Version.

Issue Card being denied access at a Reader when attempting Simulated Card Read Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Expert Win 8.1 and above Version 3 Cause Card format is not assigned or created in the Controller Resolution To resolve an Access Denied Invalid Card format, the Card Format must be present in the System and assigned to the controller. The following steps shows how to accomplish this: If the card is read, a Message will show up on the Live Monitoring Window with the Raw Data from that card Use the Raw Data to decipher what format the card is as well as the Facility Code and Card Number From the Access Configuration Tab, Click on the Card Format to Create a new Format Assign it to the Controller, then reboot it to push the changes down Add the necessary Access Levels for that card as well as the user To test use the Simulated Card Read function in the Reader Right Click on the Reader, Simulate Card Read Enter the values and card number and verify in Live Monitoring that the card has worked Once presented to the Reader, an Access Granted message would show in the Live Monitoring Window, depending on Hardware Configuration for Door Contacts etc.

Issue Need the procedure to create an Unlock Door Schedule. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Version 2 Hosted Version 3 Hosted Premise Cause How to create a schedule for a door to unlock during business hours and then relock afterwards. Resolution To unlock a door or doors during a particular time, a schedule needs to be created for that duration and then assigned to the Mode of the necessary doors. The following steps describes how this should be done: 1. Create a schedule for the time duration 2. Select the particular doors from the Hardware Tree 3. Select the Mode Tab on the door editor 4. Add Mode to the Door based on what is being accomplished 5. Click on the Schedule Icon to add the necessary Schedule    6. Add Schedule, Action and Access Method  7. Save and Close the Editor 8. Once the controller verifies the configuration, the Door will follow the Mode

Issue Cardholder Nickname field is showing "Nickname" instead of data entered into 2nd cardholder when previewing badges. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Badge preview Nickname field Cause In Access Expert the cardholder Nickname field must have unique data within the database Resolution The Nickname field must have unique data for all card holders within an Access Expert database. Do not enter 'admin' in that field for one card holder and again for another cardholder.  What is the intended use for this field? In one case, the intended use was for Job Title and a better solution was to create a Custom Attribute of Job Title instead and to place that field in the badge layout. That way the field can have the same data in it for multiple cardholders.

Issue Before installing Access Expert on premise server software, the Mongo DB must be installed and the Mongo service started, this requires creation and editing of a configuration file where the data and log directories are specified. There have been many cases of YAML errors seen during V3 on premise installation when attempting to start the Mongo service. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment V3 Mongo DB Cause The YAML parser that reads the "mongo.cfg" file is very sensitive to the format of the configuration file including some very strict rules about spaces, double quotes and back slashes. When editing the file, it helps to setup the text editor to display ALL characters which will show any hidden characters that might be causing a parsing error. Resolution Space is needed between key and value pair. Enclose paths in double quotes. Double back slash required in Windows systems.

Issue Creating a bar code for Time Management and the format is not working. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Win 8.1 and above Premise  Hosted Version 2 Version 3 Cause Kronos Bar code scanner unable to read the format printed on the card from Access Expert Resolution BarCode in Access Expert needs to be setup accordingly and the size of the bar dictates what it will read for the scanner. The following screen shots shows how this should be set up: 1. From the General Configuration tab select Badge Types and Add New Badge Type 2. Create a card for with both front and back views, design accordingly 3. Click on the Two Sided tab then click on the Back button 4. Click on the Barcode and select the type of format you want to use, in this example I chose Code 39 5. A bar code will appear on the screen, please modify the layout so it matches existing cards from previous systems, with layout and sizing 6. Edit the expression if a card number or other field is needed such as Employee Number if Time Tracking is being utilized, default is shown here 7. Add the expression by clicking Insert and delete the 0 as can be seen below 8. Once finished click on Save and Close 9. Select a user that this format will be applied to then select the Badge Preview tab 10. This is a the format and layout of the card that can be printed and given to the user

Issue Unable to connect to on premise server from client. Attempting to connect using the "Management Client" results in error "Could not connect to net.tcp://localhost:42171/KeepManagementService. The connection attempt lasted for a span of 00:00:01.9950682. TCP error code 10061: No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it 127.0.0.1:42171" Looking at the Keep by Feenics services NONE are running, an attempt to start the Keep by Feenics Management Service results in 13816 Unknown error code. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment On premise server Cause The server has been relocated to different machine. As a result, the server's key code has been invalidated and a new key code is needed. Resolution Send license information to your local country support group so that the new server's key code can be generated.   In the server, go to the location where the license file is located and move the file to a temporary location.   Run the Feenic.Keep.Installer.msi and do a REMOVE then install the server software.   When prompted during installation enter the new key code provided by product support.   If the issue is resolved, the license file that was moved to temporary location can be deleted.

Issue Adding a new card to a User Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Expert Windows Server 2012 and Above Cause Adding a card to a user Resolution Search for the user, either the using the Global Search or Specific Search Open the user record and click on the Cards Tab Select Assign card from the options Assign the Card Number (Must be unique otherwise an error will occur) If the expiration date is specified here, then it will override the Badge Expiration date if there is a Badge Type (keep in mind) Save and close To test, Click on Live Monitoring from the Main Screen and set the Priority to 0 (to see all activity) Simulate a card read with the card number by Right clicking on the Door then selecting Simulated Card Read Select the Card Format, Enter the card number and click on Send An Access Granted Message would be displayed in the Event Window, indicating that the card is now valid and can be read at the readers

Issue It is unclear how to unlock a door from a graphic. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment V2   Hosted Instance & Premise Install See Premise Installs on Windows OS for supported Windows OS Cause In order to unlock a door from a graphic, the door reader must first be added to that graphic. Resolution To add a door reader to a graphic, do the following: From the “General Configuration” tab navigate to “Floorplans” and select the correct floorplan, then go to the hardware tab. Add the appropriate reader by clicking the green +, then drag it to the correct location on the floorplan graphic. Save the change to the floorplan graphic. From the “Access Control” tab navigate back to the newly updated floor plan. Now you can right-click on the reader and select “Unlock”. This will unlock the corresponding door.

Issue When attempting to login to the hosted instance, the below error is received indicating that the user is already logged in. Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment V2 Hosted Instance Cause There are two things that can cause this- A user can only be logged into a single instance at any given time. The user may currently be logged into a different instance. The user did not correctly log out of the instance they are attempting to access, and therefore is still logged in.  Resolution Take the following steps to resolve each of the two causes: Ensure that the user is not logged into any other instances. When closing out the web browser it is necessary to log the user out, as opposed to just closing the web browser. Failure to log out prior to closing the browser will result in this error.

Issue How to create Elevator Access and Floor Override on Version 3 Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Expert Applet Win 10 and above Cause There is no help or direction on how to perform this task. Resolution In order to do Elevator Controls, here is a link below to a video as well as some screen shots for clarification: Firstly there needs to have a Schedule, Access Level and Elevator Access created based on the application as seen on the screen shots Schedules Access Levels Elevator Access Elevator Reader Settings Elevator Floor Settings Floor Override Settings  

Issue How does Visitor Management work in V3? Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Hosted Premise Version 3 Cause No directions on how to configure Visitor Management in V3 Resolution In order to use Visitor Management in V3, here are the steps to get it configured: Open up a Chrome browser and enter this url http://ax.accessxpert.com Once the site comes up, enter the instance name and necessary user credentials From the AX Header, Select Visitor Management Tab Select the Kiosk Tab and Enter the visitor's name and email address and click Next to proceed Enter the person who the Visitor is seeing, system will automatically pull up the person, click on Next Capture the Photo of the Visitor and Crop accordingly Sign into the Window and click on Check in to see "Person" An email will be generated to that person to let them know that they have a Visitor A badge will be shown on the screen which has the Visitor's Photos and information Click on the Print Button to Print a badge that can be displayed on the Visitors body Depending on the printer (eg. Dymo being used), there are some settings that may need to be set for a good picture to be captured and Printed Choose the right paper source as well as scaling value.  In this case, it is set to 70 Once everything is correct click on the Print button to send to the respective Printer Attach to the Visitor for duration of the Visit Upon completion of the Visit, select Check Out and this will Check the Visitor Out of the system