Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Which communication paths are secured with encryption when Continuum network security (IPSec) is enabled? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation NetController II - CX9680 ACX II - ACX5740, ACX5720 Cause Information required on Continuum network security. Resolution Continuum IPSec implementation secures communications between Continuum controllers and CyberStations.     The following paths are secured: CyberStation to CyberStation CyberStation to controllers Controllers to controllers. Controllers can be configured to allow communications with other controllers that do not support network security such as the CX9900. Consult the Network Security Configuration Guide for further information.   Securing the communication path between workstations running CyberStation and the DB server is outside the scope of the Continuum implementation and is left up to the site’s IT department to put in place.

Issue Site may be migrating from I/NET to another access control system and would like to import the data. Product Line TAC I/NET Environment I/NET Seven SQL Management Studio Cause The site is migrating from I/Net to Continuum or another access control system. Resolution Open SQL Management Studio and create a New Query by clicking on the "New Query" button Run the script below: SELECT * FROM InetDb.dbo.IdWorksView Note:  This view only shows the Primary Group associated with each individual.     Select File>Save Results As... Save the file as a .csv to a location of your choosing

Issue A Schedule or PE program can not change the value of a point because it is set by another process at a higher Command Priority. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation bCX4040 B3s Cause Command value must be Relinquished at the priority that no longer needs to control the point's value so that a command with a lower priority can take control of it. Resolution Edit the point from the BACnet view. Go to the Command Priority tab, this tab shows the 16 priorities and their current statuses   Select the priority to relinquish and then click on the Relinquish button. The command with the next highest priority should then immediately take over.

Issue Configuration of BACnet Foreign Device Registration Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation,  Andover Continuum Environment BACnet IP  BBMD Foreign device Cause  Foreign Devices registration can be confusing Resolution When configuring a Foreign Device Registration on a B/IP BACnet Network. The Foreign Device only needs to register with the one BBMD on its B/IP Network Segment. The BBMD that has the Foreign Device registered with it creates a table called FDT (Foreign Device Table) internally which is different from the BDT(Broadcast Distribution Table) that the BBMD uses to communicate with other BBMDs.   Once the FDT confirms the Foreign Device, it is up to that BBMD to distribute BACnet communications to and from the necessary BBMD's in its BDT. and the all Foreign Devices in its FDT.  In this way the Foreign Devices does NOT perform Broadcasts.

Issue CX level controller was once online and now appears as offline Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Netcontroller CX ACX BCX Cause From time to time issues will be reported that controllers are offline at the IP level. Resolution Troubleshooting steps to perform:   From one of the existing sites Cyberstations perform a ping of the controller. If there are responses, verify that the response is from the controller and not another device. Verification of the response can be done via Wireshark capture if the CX appears to be responding. If there are responses to the ping, then attempt to open up the web-configuration page for second generation controllers. Verify the site’s Cyberstation is online itself. (Right-Click/edit the workstation and view the Comm Status. It will be either Online or Offline.) With CyberStation installed on technician’s laptop with the same version as the site version. Plug an Ethernet cable into the same hub the controller is plugged into. Connect to the site database with the local laptop's CyberStation and start Continuum. Check the controller in Continuum Explorer to see if it shows offline to the local laptop's CyberStation. If the controller is online to the local laptop's Cyberstation, then it is clearly a site network issue. At that point we will need to make sure all the IP address info is correct; there is no port blocking, subnet masks, gateways etc… Standard network troubleshooting. If the controller shows offline to the local laptop's CyberStation, then look at the CPU lights on the controller for activity. Watch the link light, CPU, IO bus lights if there is IO modules, etc… If those look abnormal and you have a smart phone it will be worthwhile to try and get a video of them to send into support for review. If there is no link light then try disconnecting the Ethernet cable from the NETWORK SWITCH and plug it back in to check if it brings the controller back online. If that does not bring the controller back online try disconnecting the Ethernet cable from the CONTROLLER and then immediately put it back and check if the controller comes back online. If all of the above fail then the next step will be to power cycle the controller to try and bring it back online. If communications cannot be established, contact support and open up a case for additional troubleshooting to determine if the controller needs to be sent to repair. If communications is restored and further investigation is required, please retrieve the following information and open a case with support for review. Controller error log Controller offline listview exported to CSV A Wireshark LAN capture at the controller level with peak traffic occurring Additional information may be requested including a controller core dump. This is a very intensive process. Support will supply the Core Dump Utility if needed.   Please click HERE for a copy of these instructions in PDF format.

Issue Need to send Continuum alarm messages to email addresses  Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Cyberstation Cause Alarm delivery required to remote users via email.  Resolution Please note this resolution is applicable to all versions of Continuum Cyberstattion and requires Microsoft Exchange or Outlook to send emails.  However, CyberStation version 2.xx does not necessarily require Microsoft Exchange or Outlook to send emails for alarm notifications. Instead, it is possible to configure an SMTP server on the network and use it to send alarm email notifications directly to the intended recipient.  Please refer to SMTP Email Alarm Configuration in Continuum 2.00 to 2.03    Here are some requirements for forwarding Continuum workstation alarm events via email and paging: The Continuum workstations that have been designated primary and backup email and/or page handlers must have an email client such as Microsoft Exchange or Outlook. The email client application must communicate with an existing email server application, such as MS Exchange Server. The primary or backup email/paging workstation must be running Continuum at the time an alarm is generated. Each EventNotification object associated with the alarms that you wish to email or page must have its own email distribution list in the personal address book of the client email application using a specified naming convention as outlined in the table below. This email distribution list must be stored in the first address book shown in the list of available address books in the email client application. For example, if you create an EventNotification distribution list in the Personal Address Book in Microsoft Outlook, then the Personal Address Book must be the first one showing in the address list dropdown box when you open the Address Book.   How to Create an EventNotification Distribution List Note: The following steps are based on Microsoft Outlook. Other mail applications may have different menu names and choices but the general procedure is the same. Step Action 1 Open the Address Book for the email account on the Continuum workstation that will be providing the email/paging services. Your toolbar may have a button for this. If not, use the Address Book option of the Tools menu. 2 Select New Entry from the Address Book File menu. 3 Select the entry type Personal Distribution List and put this entry in the Personal Address Book. 4 In the Name field enter a name for the distribution list using the following format: For E-mail: ACC.name For Paging: ACC.page.name where name is the name of the EventNotification. 5 Add members (the email addresses or pager and service numbers of those to whom the notification of the alarm will be sent) to your personal distribution lists. 6 Set address book options so that the address book where your personal distribution lists are stored is the first one to be searched when sending emails or pages.

Issue What is the Intel Floating point number as used in the Modbus X Driver? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Modbus RTU X Driver Cause It is not clear how the two special floating point function codes vary. Resolution There are two different floating point data formats (248 & 245) these are both standard 32 bit floating point numbers but the data bits stored in memory (or read over the protocol) differently.   The 32 bits of Function 248 are stored as one string of bits, bit 0 through to bit 31.   For the 245 format the upper and lower words are swapped around, so it stores the data as bits 15 to 0, then bits 31 to bit 16. This format is called Intel format as it is the way Intel microprocessors handle floating point data.   Here is a link to information on floating point numbers FYI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating-point_arithmetic   These two formats can also be called Big Endian (Function 248), or Little Endian (Function 245). Little Endian is also known as the Intel format. Information on Endianness can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness

Issue On a large system with more than 32 subnets, is their a workaround for the 32 BBMD limit on a Continuum system? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment BBMD Foreign Device Registration. Subnets Cause It is not possible to configure more than 32 BBMDs within a BCX40xx. Resolution While foreign device registration can be used as a workaround when controllers must be installed on a subnet but no additional BBMDs can be configured, foreign devices present their own limitations. Let's say we have two subnets.  Subnet A has a BCX4040 that is configured as a BBMD.  On subnet B there are two BCX4040 controllers.  One controller on subnet B is registered as a Foreign device with the BBMD on subnet A Foreign Device Table registration supports up to 1024 devices on the workstation (v1.94 and later).

Issue How many BBMDs and Foreign Devices can be registered on a CyberStation and a bCX4040?   Product Line Andover Continuum Environment BACnet bCX4040 CyberStation BBMD Foreign Device  Cause Concerned about large BACnet sites and exceeding a limitation on the number of BBMDs and Foreign Devices that can be registered.  Resolution Maximum number of BBMDs The maximum number of BBMDs that can be registered on a bCX4040 or on a CyberStation is 32.   Maximum number of Foreign Devices (FDs) Continuum v1.93 or earlier The maximum number of Foreign Devices (FDs) that can be registered on a bCX4040 or on a CyberStation is 64. Continuum v1.94 or later The maximum number of Foreign Devices (FDs) that can be registered on a CyberStation is 1024 The maximum number of Foreign Devices (FDs) that can be registered on a bCX4040 is 64.

Issue Configuration of multiple BACnet BBMD's over several subnets Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Bacnet BBMD Cause Bacnet Broadcast communication through IP router Resolution Configuration of multiple BBMD's over several subnets: INCORRECT METHOD For example if there are 4 subnets on the same B/IP (BACnet IP Network): Subnet 1: Workstation setup as a BBMD with an entry in the Broadcast Distribution Table for each BCX Subnet 2: BCX setup as a BBMD with an entry in the Broadcast Distribution Table for itself and the Workstations BBMD Only. Subnet 3: BCX setup as a BBMD with an entry in the Broadcast Distribution Table for itself and the Workstations BBMD Only. Subnet 4: BCX setup as a BBMD with an entry in the Broadcast Distribution Table for itself and the Workstations BBMD Only. The BCX's do not reference any points from each other. Since there is no data sharing between the BBMD's, one might think that in each BCX's Broadcast Distribution Table that there would only be a need to add one entry for the Workstations BBMD. Sounds like with this setup we'll reduce traffic by only adding the one entry in each BCX's BBMD Broadcast Distribution Table. The above scenario could in fact slow down a network and cause unnecessary traffic.   The supported method is that every BBMD on a B/IP network have the same routing tables(better known as the Broadcast Distribution Table) as in the below configuration. CORRECT METHOD For example there are 4 subnets on the same B/IP (BACnet IP Network). Subnet 1: WS BBMD with an entry in the Broadcast Distribution Table for itself and all BCX's setup as BBMD on the same B/IP. Subnet 2: BBMD with an entry for all BBMD's(including self) in the Broadcast Distribution Table on the same B/IP. Subnet 3: BBMD with an entry for all BBMD's(including self) in the Broadcast Distribution Table on the same B/IP. Subnet 4: BBMD with an entry for all BBMD's(including self) in the Broadcast Distribution Table on the same B/IP. The entry below can be found in the BACnet Standards 2004:   J.4.3 BBMD Concept Each IP subnet that is part of a B/IP network comprised of two or more subnets shall have one, and only one, BBMD. Each BBMD shall possess a table called a Broadcast Distribution Table (BDT) which shall be the same in every BBMD in a given B/IP network.

Issue Cannot open Calendars on several BACnet Networks. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum 1.9X BCX 4040 B38XX controllers Cause BBMD Sub Net Mask Configuration. Resolution There are two configuration methods allowed in a BBMD Subnet mask. One hop configuration and a Two hop configuration. See Understanding BACnet BBMD Distribution Mask for further details

Issue When configuring a BBMD what is the Broadcast Distribution Mask and what are the valid settings for the field. Continuum EcoStruxure Building Operation Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, Continuum Environment Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Enterprise Server Continuum CyberStation bCX4xxx Cause Documentation Resolution When configuring a BBMD the BACnet protocol defines two methods of propagating the broadcasts messages to other networks. The two methods are referred to as One-Hop also known as a Directed Broadcast and Two-Hop.   Note: In this article the subnet mask is shown using Classless Inter-Domain Routing(CIDR) notation. An IPV4 address is 32 bits long, CIDR notation defines the number of bits used for the subnet mask. The most commonly used are: /8 or 255.0.0.0 /16 or 255.255.0.0 /24 or 255.255.255.0 /32 or 255.255.255.255 One-Hop With the One-Hop method the local BBMD transfers the message directly to the remote devices via the remote router. In this case the IP routers have to support the transfer of IP broadcast messages to remote IP subnets Figure 1 Figure 1 above illustrates the one-hop method, when the bCX1 which has been configured to take the role of BBMD for network 172.16.0.0/16 detects broadcast messages such as WHO-IS, I-AM etc, it sends a message directly to the broadcast address of the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet, it is then up to Router2 to send the directed broadcast to all devices on the subnet. Any device on the subnet that is acting as a router to other networks will then also re-broadcast the message on those networks. (i.e a bCX hosting an MSTP network on COMM2)   Two-Hop With the Two-Hop procedure a BBMD device transfers broadcast messages to a further BBMD in the remote IP subnet, which then distributes the messages in its local network as IP broadcast messages for its IP subnet. Any device on the subnet that is acting as a router to other networks will then also re-broadcast the message on those networks.(i.e a bCX hosting an MSTP network on COMM2) Figure 2 Figure 2  above illustrates the two-hop method, when the bCX1 which has been configured to take the role of BBMD for network 172.16.0.0/16 detects broadcast messages such as WHO-IS, I-AM etc, it sends a unicast message to each BBMD device on its table, it is then up to each BBMD device on each subnet to send a broadcast that will be heard by all devices on the subnet. Which distribution mask should be used? As mentioned earlier, in order for the one-hop method to work, the router on the remote subnet MUST be configured to process incoming messages sent to the broadcast IP address, the two-hop method on the other hand is guaranteed to work, so when in doubt use the two-hop method. Most sites use two-hop distribution for the reason stated above,, the only obvious disadvantage of the two-hop method is that it is a little more verbose than the one-hop method since the message appears twice on the subnet, once as a unicast sent to the BBMD device and then again as a broadcast sent by the BBMD device. In Building Operation and Continuum the distribution mask defaults to the two-hop method (/32 or 255.255.255.255) How to configure the distribution mask For one-hop enter the subnet mask of the remote network in the distribution mask, the system will apply the mask to the IP address to obtain the broadcast address for the remote network. For two-hop enter 255.255.255.255, this tells the system not to do a direct broadcast and instead do a unicast to the remote BBMD device. Sample distribution mask In the BBMD table of a bCX shown in the screen shot above, BDT #1 and #3 use the two-hop method while BDT entry #2 uses the one-hop method.

Issue Communications failure due to transaction timeout when reloading b3 device. b3's version number as seen from the Infinity side reads 0.0000 Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation bCX4040 b3 Cause A b3 BACnet controller is found to exist in the BACnet folder under an MSTP Network which is different from the Network specified in the bCX's comm2 Port. Resolution Delete the MSTP network under the BACnet folder and perform a 'Find new BACnet devices'.  A new MSTP network should be created with the right network ID.

Issue What is the BACnet attribute COV Increment and how to use it Product Line Andover Continuum Environment BACnet Cause The COV Increment attribute on a BACnet point is equivalent to the Threshold attribute of standard Continuum Infinity inputs. When a Continuum BACnet point is subscribed to by other BACnet devices using COV (Change of Value), its value must change by at least that COV Increment value before a new Value Notification will be sent out. Using this attribute will decrease network traffic especially on the MSTP network when subscribing to frequently changing values.  Resolution This CovIncrement attribute can be set in the BACnet point's Editor on the Basic Alarms Tab.   If you have a CyberStation prior to Version 1.8, setting this value from the point editor will not stay persistent in the controller after the controller is reloaded, it will default to 0. In order to keep the value after a reload, you will need to write a PE program to set the desired value after a reload. The program should be Autostart and Fallthru. A sample of the program is below: Line SetCov Writeproperty("Full Bacnet Path to Point", CovIncrement, "Desired Value") Stop If you have several points that need the CovIncrement set, you would just add the additional lines into this program.   In 1.8 or greater, this program is not needed as these attributes get sent to controller on a reload. Suitable initial CovIncrements still need to be added to each BACnet point however as they default to 0.

Issue There is a need to know if Continuum and/or EcoStruxure BACnet support NAT. Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Continuum EcoStruxure BACnet BBMD NAT Cause Many sites use NAT for security purposes.  Resolution NAT traversal is not supported in BBMD implementations (Continuum or EcoStruxure). It is an optional feature that has not been implemented. Requests to add this feature should be directed to Product Marketing to include on the backlog for prioritization. Related Continuum article: Can Continuum operate over a NAT Ethernet connection? Ashrae information: here

Issue Site implements Entry/Egress anti passback access sequence and uses a program that runs overnight to 'forgive' all anti-pass back violations. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum CyberStation Cause Documentation Resolution The following PE code is provided as a sample of how to have a PE program set the current area in ALL personnel objects. NOTE: The code is given for illustration ONLY and is not intended to be taken as a complete solution, engineers using this sample code must be sufficiently proficient in Plain English so as to make the necessary changes and modifications to the code to adapt it to their particular application.                                         'This WorkStation program sets the current area of ALL personnel objects found in 'theFolder' to "theArea" 'Program's flow type is LOOPING. Number RESULT Object thePerson, theArea, theFolder Line INIT 'ENTER THE FULL PATH TO THE FOLDER THAT CONTAINS THE PERSONNEL OBJECTS   theFolder = Root\CredentialHolders 'ENTER THE FULL PATH TO THE AREA   theArea = Root\MyAreas\TestArea2   Count = 0 'OPEN THE LIST OF PERSONNEL OBJECTS IN THE FOLDER   RESULT = OpenList("Personnel", thePerson, theFolder)   If RESULT = Success then Goto COUNT_THEM Else Goto CLOSE_LIST 'COUNT THE OBJECTS SO WE KNOW WHEN WE HAVE GONE THRU THE LIST EVEN IF WE ENCOUNTER AN ERROR Line COUNT_THEM   While GetObject(thePerson) is Success     Count = Count + 1   Endwhile   CloseList(thePerson)   Goto RE_OPEN   Line RE_OPEN   RESULT = OpenList("Personnel", thePerson, theFolder)   If RESULT = Success then Goto SET_AREA Else Goto CLOSE_LIST Line SET_AREA 'GET THE NEXT PERSONNEL OBJECT IN THE LIST  While GetObject(thePerson) is Success 'SET THE CURRENT AREA   thePerson Value = theArea   'thePerson Value = UnKnown   'to set all to UnKnown comment the line above and un-comment this line   Count = Count - 1  Endwhile  Goto CLOSE_LIST   Line CLOSE_LIST   CloseList(thePerson)   Stop Line E   If Count > 0 then 'WE ARE NOT AT THEN END OF THE LIST, HERE PROBABLY DUE TO SOME ERROR SETTING THE AREA, SKIP THIS OBJECT AND GO TO THE NEXT     Goto SET_AREA   Else 'END OF LIST, WE ARE DONE     CloseList(thePerson)     Stop   Endif

Issue Changes to COV and ReadProperty in bCX from v4.500048 Product Line Andover Continuum Environment bCX b3 Controllers Cause New feature to allow user flexibility for using Forced Polling and not COV Resolution From bCX version v4.500048, all Controllers will have the option of forcing a poll of points from other Continuum and third party BACnet controllers. This new feature: allows programmers to decide which data exchange method to use by the syntax in which they write their data-sharing programs. provides a method for forcing point-to-point polling from a device that does not support COV and sends an invalid error message when the subscription is attempted. This previously caused Continuum to reject polling, resulting in a failure to share data. allows programmers to decide to poll a point only when needed, even if the device supports COV subscriptions. This ensures that data from a device is only sent when necessary instead of always being sent on a “change of value”. The following Plain English formats force polling: "Local point = Infinity Remote Point Value" "Local point = BACnet Remote point Value" "Local point = ReadProperty(BACnet Remote point Value)" The second argument, Value, ensures that polling is commanded – now for BACnet, as well as Continuum/Infinity. (The third example shows the use of Plain English’s ReadProperty system function.) If the Value argument, shown in these examples, is left out, Continuum BACnet will operate as it always has – always attempting a COV subscription and only falling back to the polling method if the target device sends the appropriate COV subscription failure message. Caution: If you have a device that does not support COV subscriptions or you have chosen to use the polling syntax, you must be careful how you write your Plain English programs. A program that runs every scan and polls a point from another controller will cause major problems. For instance, if your scan is running at 100 milliseconds and you try to poll any BACnet device at that rate, you will most likely knock the device offline. It will also cause the program to disable and seriously slow down the scan in your controller that is requesting the data (since the scanner waits for an answer to a poll before continuing). You should also use a line E in your programs, since any communication problem to the target device will cause the polling program to disable.

Issue There are a number of reasons that RPC error occur on Cyberstation and troubleshooting steps are needed Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Webclient Windows XP Window Vista Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause RPC (Remote Procedure Call) errors happen on Cyberstation when the connection to the SQL database is not available Resolution There are many reasons that RPC errors can occur. A Google search of RPC errors will indicate that many applications have similar issues with these errors. An RPC error on a Cyberstation means that it has lost connection to the database for some reason and you will need to restart Cyberstation in order to recover. Below is a list of things to check when dealing with RPC errors on CyberStation.   Multiple Cybers Does the issue occur on multiple Cyberstations? Database Does the issue follow the database? i.e. load the database onto a test server or try a test blank database. Were some new objects recently added to the database when this started happening? Does reverting to a backup stop the errors? Increase Virtual Memory Right Click on My Computer> Properties> Advanced System Settings> Under Performance select the Settings button> Advanced tab> Under Virtual Memory click the Change button Recommended is 4096 Network disruption or slowness Networking  -  Verify all aspects of your networked environment.  This includes, but not limited to, slow networks, possible problems with your network interface card (NIC), cabling issues, switch/router issues, busy networks.  As you can see from the above definition of what RPC is it can be heavily reliant on the stability of the network and all it’s interfaces. Continuum does not support DHCP Multiple NIC cards – ensure there is only 1 NIC card enabled. No all NIC cards are created equal. Connections issue can be caused by an integrated NIC card of low quality. There can be settings within the NIC card itself that could affect consistent communication. Check the manufacturers website for details. Verify that there is no duplication of IP addresses on the network. Pull a cable and ping the address, if you still get a response there are 2 devices with the same IP address. WINS -  Verify your WINS settings and make sure there are no issues with the WINS Server.  This is known by Microsoft to cause RPC errors. DNS - Verify your DNS settings and make surer there are no issues with the DNS server.  This also is known by Microsoft to cause RPC errors. Verify that  the "TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper" service is running. Check and see if “File and Print Sharing” is enabled.  There are references in a lot of online articles, on RPC, problems that turning on “File and Print sharing” resolves RPC errors. Ping and SQL Is the SQL database still available to Cyberstation? From a DOS prompt> Ping IP (SQL Server) –t (continuous) Ex. c:\> ping 192.168.1.5 –t Note the number of responses as well as the time in milliseconds to respond. A local SQL server would usually be under 100ms. Check resources on the SQL Server (CPU, I/O Read/Write, memory usage, etc.) Windows Server 2003 Network card setting (This setting isn’t available in Windows Server 2008) Shut Continuum down on the machine having the problem. Start>Settings>Network Connections>Local Area Connections>Right Click and select Properties> Click on File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks>Click Properties button> Select 'Maximize data throughput for network applications'. (Default is Maximize data throughput for File Sharing) Ok through all the screens and start Continuum and see if this makes a difference. XP/Vista/Windows 7 Start> Settings> Network Connections> Local Area Connection> Properties> Advanced tab> Windows Firewall - Click the Setting button> Click the exceptions tab Verify that File and Print Sharing is selected. File and printer sharing are disabled by default with XP SP2. There is no network throughput option in XP, Vista or Windows 7 like there is on Windows Server 2003. Windows Event Viewer Take a look at the Windows Event Viewer Application Log (Start> Run type ‘eventvwr’ or Launch Windows Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Event Viewer Examine the events and look for RPC error indications in the details. There may be a pattern of which executable is causing the errors. You may also see informational events that indicated momentary disconnects. A large number of these can indicate an issue with the Cyberstation being able to connect to the database consistently in a timely manner. Monitoring tools Run an acctrace.exe (C:\Program Files\Continuum) and a wireshark capture at the time of the RPC error to see the Continuum and network processing going on at the Cyberstation. Windows Process Monitor may also be helpful in seeing which process is having trouble. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645 Check the system for SpyWare and/or Viruses. Workgroup versus Domain connection An excerpt from the Continuum System Admin manual In a LAN Configuration, the Continuum CyberStation must be in a “Microsoft Domain “ type installation. This is because the Continuum CyberStation will use Named Pipes Interprocess Communication System (IPC). This is accomplished with Windows remote procedure call (RPC). In a Microsoft Domain model installation, once the session is established between the Continuum Cyberstations Client(s) and the SQL server it is a persistent connection once authentication is established.   In a Workgroup installation, the database connectivity session is re-authenticated and re-established for each database transaction. This results in much slower performance and an inconsistent connection. If you are running a LAN system using Windows 2003 server SP2/R2 and SQL 2005 try disabling the TCP Chimney Offload feature by following the below. Disable the TCPchimney setting on the SQL server and application server Windows 2003 SP2 comes inbuilt with a new network scalability pack which is supposed to accelerate the Windows networking stack. But this setting may not be compatible with all the network cards and it could pose connectivity issues as well. For more information you can refer to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/912222 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942861   To disable this feature please take the following steps on both the SQL Server and application server.   Open up a command prompt on the machine. Run the following command: "Netsh int ip set chimney DISABLED" Change the values of the following registry keys to 0 a. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\ EnableRSS   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\ EnableTCPA Reboot the machine after the above changes. ==========================================================   Disable SynAttackProtect on SQL server: Windows 2003 Sp1 and Sp2 introduces this new feature which monitors processes getting high number of connections and if it detects that too many connections are being made, the connections will be rejected. Click Start, click Run, type regedit , and then click OK. Locate and then click the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. Type SynAttackProtect , and then press ENTER. On the Edit menu, click Modify. In the Value data box, type 00000000 . Click OK. Quit Registry Editor. Sound Card In some cases it was found that the built in sound card is causing the problem. If your not using WAV files for alarms then try disabling the integrated sound card in the BIOS.  If WAV files are being played then try disabling the integrated sound card and put in a PCI sound card. There have also been problems with OEM versions of the Operating system of the client machines.  A lot of vendors, like Dell, add additional applications to the systems they ship to assist them if they need to remote into the computer for troubleshooting purposes.  It is strongly recommended that these OEM versions of the Operating System is removed and install the system from a genuine Microsoft installation CD. Go to Control Panel-> Administrative Tools -> services, click with right mouse button Remote Procedure Call -> click properties. remote procedure call properties window is now open, go to recovery and you´ll see: First failure, second failure, subsequent failures -> choose : restart the service. In this setup the system will automaticaly restart RPC when something shuts it down. Check all your Firewall settings.  If possible turn off the firewall for testing and see if the problem goes away. Check to make sure there are no ports being blocked that the RPC Server uses.  See KB 908472 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908472) details the steps for specifying the RPC port range.  Also, be aware of the consequences of reserving the RPC ports. This has the potential to break other applications that assign ports in this range. KB 812873 discusses this, too. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/812873 Make sure all Peripheral devices like Network cards, Video cards, Sound Cards, etc. have the latest drivers for them installed. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/913384 Control Panel > AdminTools >Services and selected the Properties for Remote Procedure Call (RPC)  In the Log On tab, they changed the Log on as: to the Local System Account. It had been "This Account" NT Authority\Network Service. Is an EventNotification configured to send a page on alarm? If a PC running Continuum did not have a modem but on startup Continuum was trying to send an alarm with a page then accdataservice was crashing causing an RPC. Microsoft KB177446 article that describes in depth RPC troubleshooting procedures http://support.microsoft.com/kb/177446

Issue Continuum crashes with RPC error "The RPC server is unavailable" shortly after launching. RPC Server Error Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Cyberstation Cause Possible causes: Virtual memory, make sure virtual memory is set to recommended value. (see virtual memory requirement in Cyberstation installation document) Remote Procedure Call (RPC) locator service not started (Should be configured for automatic start) A resource needed by Continuum is not available. For example if an EventNotification is configured to page on alarm and there is no modem installed in the workstation then if an alarm is active on start up Continuum will encounter RPC error. Resolution Set workstation virtual memory to recommended value. Configure Remote Procedure Call (RPC) for automatic start. Make sure resource needed is available or reconfigure as needed.

Issue Communication of BACnet Protocol across different subnets Can see BCX 4040 on Infinity side but will not learn in on the BACnet side. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment BCX (4000, 4040) B4920 Continuum Workstation Cause BBMD configuration Resolution Typical Multi-Network BBMD Setup 1 In this Scenario, the controllers in Remote Building A cannot send or receive BACnet broadcast data from controllers or the Workstation on the Main Building Network.   Solution 1: Configure Building A BCX1-R as a BBMD, and Cyberstation as a BBMD  Typical Multi-Network BBMD Setup 2 In this Scenario, the controllers in Remote Building A cannot send or receive BACnet broadcast data from controllers or the Workstation on the Main Building Network. Solution 2: Configure Building A BCX1-R as a BBMD, and Main Building BCX1-CR as a BBMD Workstation BBMD configuration BACnetPreferences Located in the lower right hand side of the screen in the icon tray right click on the Continuum icon and select BACnet Preferences NOTE: After Workstation configuration and Bacnet Preferences have changed the Workstation will need to be restarted.    BCX BBMD Configuration Enable the BBMD on the configuration page Save changes and submit to controller After controller restarts select the BBMD link on the left side of the web configuration page. Enter the IP address for the BBMD device on the other side of the router After configuration of BBMD’s on each side of the subnet you will be able to receive and broadcast BACnet messages across an IP router. THE GOLDEN RULE HERE IS ONLY ONE BBMD PER SUBNET. Otherwise you’ll create a broadcast storm that that will not be good for the network performance and could possibly cause controllers to go offline. After successful creation of BBMD’s on each side of the router, go into Continuum explorer and perform a “Find new bacnet devices”from right click on the root.