Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Need information on how exactly SmartStruxure checks whether BACnet devices are still online or have gone offline. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Enterprise Server - ES Automation Server - AS BACnet devices Cause Understanding how communication status is verified can help with troubleshooting comm loss issues. Resolution After a device is discovered via the WHO-IS/I-AM service and moved into the SmartStruxure database, SmartStruxure uses the following scheme to check on the communication status of the device. For IP Device The server will send a Read Property message to read the devices's system status*** every minute, as long as a reply is received the device is deemed to be ONLINE. If no reply is received by the APDU Timeout the server will retry up to 3 times, if there is no response the device will be considered to be OFFLINE. For MSTP Device The server listens as the token is being passed around the bus and if a device fails to get the token it will be tagged OFFLINE. For both IP and MSTP Device Once the device is tagged OFFLINE, the server will check on the device once a minute by sending a WHO-IS message with the ID of the device, if an I am is received the device will be considered back ONLINE and the ReadProperty 'probe' check (for IP) or token pass check (for MSTP) will resume once a minute. ***In version 1.4 and below the ReadProperty will read the name property of the device. See sample Wireshark capture below, NOTE that in the sample below 10.169.90.31 is the Broadcast address of the sub net where the ES is located. NOTE: For efficiency the BACnet engine may combine the reading of the system status property with other read property requests into a single Read Property Multiple.

Issue "Root element is missing" error window come up when attempting to edit a personnel object using the Personnel Manager. Environment CyberStation Cause Corrupted Personnel Manager data file. Resolution Navigate to the Continuum installation folder. Locate the file "PersonnelEditorWorkstationSettings.xml" Edit the file and try to identify and fix the problem, if not able to identify/fix the problem you can delete the file but you will lose any customizations done to the personnel manager that are saved in the file such as the default location of area link schedules etc. 

Issue Alarm email is not sent out and is discarded. The Last Discard Cause is 'BOutgoingAccount could not dequeue in-memory email: 501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments'.  Environment I/A Series G3 Cause 'Reply To' field in the Outgoing Account properties was left empty. This field specifies the contents of the 'From' field in the email that is sent. Resolution Configure the Outgoing Account 'Reply To' field with a valid email account. In the example below (G3 version 3.7), the valid account being used is my.account@gmx.com. 

Issue In SmartStruxure, how can Network 8000 objects be linked with non-Network 8000 objects?  For example, sharing an outside air temperature value from a LON integration on the same Automation Server with a Network 8000 integration Environment Network 8000 StruxureWare Building Operations Cause No outside air temperature reference is available in a Network 8000 integration.  Resolution Use APT (A=analog), DPT (D=digital), RnetAv, or RnetDv objects to bring non-Network 8000 data into the Network 8000 integration. These objects behave similar to a 'middle man'.  Each of these objects has a global reference on the 'Inputs' tab. Using the APT object as an example, the Inputs tab has an Analog Global Reference section with two settings: Analog global value & Analog global reference. Bind the output of a Function Block Program (for example) to the Analog global reference. Watch the Analog global value as it will display the value once the binding is done. The output of the APT object can now be linked to as many Network 8000 objects as required. Note: The Global Reference takes highest priority. Therefore, the order of input priority is as follows: 1st = global reference, 2nd = input constant, 3rd = input reference. The input constant and input reference are carry-overs from Network 8000 GCM blocks. The global reference was added for SmartStruxure integrations and took over 'top spot'. In order to use the input constant or input reference, the value of the global reference must equal NULL. This is only for inputs. Any output of a Network 8000 object can be bound directly to any non-Network 8000 object.  

Issue What is the BACnet point data refresh rate and how is the rate changed? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation AS-P and AS-B Cause Subscriptions are the connection between the value from the BACnet Interface point to the value on the ES or AS. Resolution These subscriptions can be edited using the Binding of the value. Using 1.4, edit the configuration of the Binding as shown below: Here, the default 10 seconds interval in the Requested Transfer Rate can be changed. The default is 10 seconds. This allows changing the default interval of 10 seconds down to a minimum 100 milliseconds a maximum 24 hours:  Using 1.3: Edit the configuration of the Binding as shown below:  Here the default 10 seconds interval in the Requested Transfer Rate can be changed. The default is 10 seconds.

Issue BACnet device can't be discovered but instead shows up under the 'Unconfigured devices' in the server's hardware folder. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment WorkStation Enterprise Server - ES Automation Server - AS Cause A BACnet device name must be unique. Devices with duplicate BACnet names can't be discovered. In the screen shot below a device by the name AbesbCX already exists under Network1, when performing a device discovery on Network1 a second device with the same name is found, Since StruxureWare already has a device with the same name it adds the device to the list of unconfigurable devices. NOTE: “The <<N>> means the device was discovered on a directly connected network (such as the local IP network, or a directly connected MSTP bus).  The 2 indicates it was “port” 2, (port numbers are really an internal detail) The server's Trace Log shows the following information, which includes the device's ID. The entry gives the reason as duplicate device name. Resolution 1.8.1 and above BACnet device name duplication is allowed, the duplicates will still land in the unconfigured folder and the system alarm will be generated BUT you can drag the duplicate device from the unconfigured folder to the desired network. When finished, manually delete the device from the unconfigured/non-conformant folder. Alternatively, you can also  warm start the server to force the unconfigured/non-conformant devices list to be updated. Note that the devices with duplicate names will still stay in the unconfigured/non-conformant folder until the name conflict is resolved. 1.7.2 and below A workaround is to create the device manually and specify a BACnet name during the create process. When manually creating the device you need to know the Device ID, you can get the id from the information in the trace log as shown above. SmartStruxure will send a message to the device to change its name to the specified BACnet name. The entry in the unconfigured devices folder should automatically update after a few minutes, you can also re-start the server to force the unconfigured devices list to be updated, the entry for AbesBCX should be gone now that the devices has been manually configured.

Issue During the startup of an ENC-520 station, the following warning message appears in the application director output: Platform Service Access Platform Service Qnx will not be added, feature 'accessControl' is not licensed. How can this warning be corrected? Environment Niagara G3 Cause This service is for a product line, offered by Tridium, that is no longer available. Resolution Remove the platAccess module from the ENC and reboot.

Issue How to specify the number of digits to display after the decimal point in a Pinpoint Graphic. Environment CyberStation Cause Have Graphic that is displaying a temperature value as 78.567, customer wants the temperature displayed with only ONE decimal place (78.56) Resolution PinPoint graphics display the value of points based on the point's print format. Edit the point and change the format from ###.### to ###.## If the point is in a BACnet device edit the point under the BACnet Devices folder and set its format appropriately.

Issue If a trend log is referenced by a trend chart that was created in a location that is on a different node the following error is given. This issue is found in multi server networks. Environment Workstation Multi server network Cause If the folder that the trend chart was created in is on a different Node as the trend log that is being referenced, then this error will be given. This action is not allowed.   If you hover over the folders that hold the trend chart and trend log, a pop up window will display which node they belong to. Resolution In order to address this issue both items, the referenced item and the item referencing, must be located on the same node. If items have already been created on the wrong node then they can be copied and pasted to the correct folders. This can cause issues with overloading Vista Workstation and can cause it to become unresponsive. Wait for a couple of minutes and if it still has not responded then shut down and re-launch workstation. Once you have re-launch workstation, if any items are missing then they may need to be pasted again as this task was not completed before shutting down workstation. If you do not have folders referencing the correct node then follow the steps in the next section to create new folders.   How to assign which server a folder belongs to Right click on TAC Vista in the system tree and go to New > Folder. In the Add a Folder Wizard, type in the name of the folder and select the Vista Server (node) that you would like to add it to. Click Finish.

Issue Get the following message in Windows Event Viewer "Guid should contain 32 digits with 4 dashes (xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx)". The complete message looks like this: System.FormatException: Guid should contain 32 digits with 4 dashes (xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx). at System.Guid.TryParseGuidWithNoStyle(String guidString, GuidResult& result) at System.Guid.TryParseGuid(String g, GuidStyles flags, GuidResult& result) at System.Guid..ctor(String g) at TAC.DSS.BusinessLogic.TrendLogProcessor.GetLogValues(XmlDocument filterXml, ITrendLogValuesInterface values) at DssCliLib.TrendLog.GetLogValues2(SByte* pszConnectionString, Char* bstrFilter, ITrendLogValues* pValues) This occurs at regular intervals Environment Vista 5.1.X Cause This is caused by trend log calculation objects being incorrectly configured. The "Trend Log Object" field has been left blank. When Vista tries to execute the trend log calculation, it uses the trend log GUID (Globally unique identifier) of the trend log object to retrieve information from the log database. If the field is left blank, "126??" (which means "object does not exist") is returned instead of the trend log GUID. Obviously "126??" does not comply with the GUID format. Resolution Check all the trend log calculation objects and ensure that they contain a reference to a trend log object.

Issue After upgrading systems to the latest I/A Series G3 Niagara maintenance builds 3.5.406, 3.6.406 or 3.7.106 some customers have noticed spikes in Heap and CPU usage. This behavior has been traced to the excessive creation of NiagaraNetwork worker threads. Customers may see spikes in CPU usage that randomly occur and persist until system appears to halt or in some cases triggers Engine Watchdog Timeout and restart of station.  Customers may also experience the Java Virtual Machine exit with the following exception in the standard output: java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: unable to create new native thread Environment I/A Series G3 versions 3.5.406, 3.6.406, and 3.7.106 Cause It is believed that excessive NiagaraNetwork workers are being spawned due to additional overhead required to encrypt and decrypt passwords from the new password store utilized in 3.5.406, 3.6.406 and 3.7.106. Excessive usage of CPU and creation of worker threads may be seen on both Enterprise Network Server and ENC/JACE platforms. Typically OutOfMemoryError will be seen on ENC/JACE platforms and not on PC based solutions due to the limited resources of the embedded platforms. The issue has only been observed on stations with five or more station devices in the NiagaraNetwork. Resolution Limit the number of NiagaraNetwork/workers that can be created by setting the property "Max Threads" on the NiagaraNetwork/workers property sheet. A good rule of thumb for the number of workers is six times the number of Niagara Network stations monitored by the station.

Issue Referring to a local array by name in Plain English references data element one ([1]) instead of data element zero ([0]) as is the case when the array is a global point or value. In the example below, setting theArray and setting theArray[1] is actually the same, the value 10 is overwritten by the value 20 Environment Enterprise Server - ES Automation Server - AS CyberStation CX b3 i2 Cause Function as designed. Resolution Function as designed. This is the way Plain English works, the ability to access data element one ([1]) by just naming the array is provided for convenience.

Issue What are the rules for inheritance in TGML? Environment TGML editor Cause In order to create TGML components that function as designed,  it is important to understand the TGML rules for inheritance Resolution Attribute inheritance means that a child element inherits (gets) the attribute value from an ancestor element if the attribute value is undefined (omitted) and if the attribute has been specified for an ancestor (any of the parents). In the example below, Rectangle will inherit the Fill value from the component.

Issue Equipment lead lag rotation based on runtime Environment I/A Series G3 Cause Rotation of equipment using runtime.  Resolution A LeadLagRuntime object is available in the kitControl palette (HVAC folder). The LeadLagRuntime object can be configured to rotate 2 to 10 loads. An explanation of the usage can be found in the Niagara Ax kitControl Guide or the online help in Workbench. 

Issue How to change the Domain/Groups/Administrators setup Environment SmartStruxure Cause Domain/Groups/Administrators setup is grayed out and thus cannot be modified Resolution Domain/Groups/Administrators setup is grayed out and cannot be modified, this is to avoid major changes being made the Administrators Group such that everyone could be locked out of the system. This can be seen on the following screens           To change the Users or Workspaces within the Administrator Groups, go to Users or Workspaces modify the Group Membership here  

Issue  Found Webhelp link entitled "Configuring a BACnet Pulse Converter (Generic)" but cannot create one. Environment v1.4 Cause Object type is not available in any devices currently discovered on the system. Resolution A BACnet Pulse Converter (and BACnet Accumulator) are BACnet Object Types. There are currently no Schneider Electric SmartStruxure products that contain either of these object types. Therefore, the only devices that have these BACnet object types are Third Party Devices. You will first need to discover one of these devices and then when the properties are discovered you will see that the device has one or more BACnet Pulse Converters and/or BACnet Accumulators object. It is then that you can configure settings for the object(s). Below is a partial screenshot of the Webhelp configuration page for the object type.  

Issue The entries are displayed in the order they are entered into the table, is there any way to change the order so that the list of attributes is alphabetical? Environment Continuum Personnel Manager Cause The list of Allowable Attribute Values is not sorted alphabetically and is not able to be sorted. The entries will stay in the order they were entered. Resolution Unfortunately there is no way to re-sort these attributes into another order. They will need to be removed from the list and then re-entered in the order that they need to be presented. (Note: Defect#958 has been raised for this issue.)

Issue A TGML graphic has been selected in the Attachments options of a Alarm and also been selected to "Display on Alarm" but does not auto display Environment StruxureWare Building Operation 1.3 and above Cause There are two reasons that can stop this functionality working. The alarm has already been triggered and not cleared from the alarm Queue. There is no Alarm View displayed in the users configuration. If you cannot see the alarm in the users workspace the Graphic page will not be displayed. In StruxureWare Building Operation 1.3 if using custom Alarm Views (i.e. not defined in the default workspaces) the Attached "Display on Alarm" does not function.  This is corrected in release 1.4.0.818 and above.  Resolution Check that the user has an alarm view visible within their login. An example of this is the default Workspace Administrator. In its default setting the Alarm Pane is not set to display. If you log in using the Engineering Workspace the Alarm Pane is displayed and the function works. Here is the two default workspaces that show the alarm pane option 1. Administration Workspace with the Alarm pane not set 2. Engineering Workspace with the Alarm pane set to be displayed   The alarm will also need to be returned to normal and acknowledged so it is not left in the alarm queue. The display on alarm function works on the alarm entering the alarm queue, if it is already present in the queue the display on alarm option will not work. StruxureWare Building Operation Release 1.4 Note: In StruxureWare Building Operation 1.3 if using custom Alarm Views (i.e. not defined in the default workspaces) the Attached "Display on Alarm" does not function.  This is corrected in release 1.4.0.818 and above. 

Issue After configure web client, the log on page appears, then type the user name and password,  the log on process not continue and get server error in '/webclient' application. When use IE browser on the IIS server machine to access web server will get the error as shown as the capture picture below:    When use IE browser on the client machine to access web server will get the error as shown as the capture picture below Environment LAN Windows server 2008 R2 SQL server 2008 IIS 7.0 IE 7.0 Webclient 1.90 Cause Incorrect IIS server configuration, some items is unchecked except CGI and ISAPI Resolution Go to IIS manager, check all the items of web service extension except CGI and ISAPI Try to log on again from browser, that should be ok.

Issue Adding StruxureWare Building Operation license from file fails. The following are the error messages. "License Administrator Major error number: 50044 Minor error number: 71013 System error number: 1 System error message: Description: Error occurred during call to repair locally. Define: LM_TS_LOCAL_REPAIR"   Environment StruxureWare Building Operation License Administrator Cause The cause for this problem is unknown at this time.  Resolution If the problem is not resolved after an uninstall and re-install of the License Server / Administrator then follow the procedure listed below.  Please contact Product Support for further investigation if the problem is not fixed with this procedure.  Exit all StruxureWare Building Operation applications. Stop the License Server (in Windows Services). Uninstall the License Administrator / Server using Windows Add/Remove Programs. If you have multiple versions installed, uninstall all versions. In Windows paths detailed below, search for files that are in the format 'taclic_*_tsf.data' and delete them. There could be other files in the this directory that ends with 'tsf.data' as there could be other 3rd party applications using FLEXnet licensing. Delete only the files that starts with 'taclic'. Windows 7 go to the 'C:\Program Data\FLEXnet\' directory (Windows 7).  Note:This folder may be hidden by Windows 7, Click Here on how to view these paths. Windows XP, the path to the FLEXnet folder is 'C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\FLEXnet'. or C:\Documents and Settings\All Users.Windows\Application Data\FLEXnet). Note:This folder may be hidden by WindowsXP. Install the License Administrator and add the license file as per the normal procedure.  Note: If you are unable to delete the files in step number 4, go to Windows Services and stop the FLEXnet Licensing Service and try again.