Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue An attempt was made to add a node that is already defined. Received the error: The device is already defined. (Subsystem: NS, #52) Environment NL220 LonMaker Vista LNS Cause A device in the TAC network has been assigned the same neuron ID previously as the device that is attempting to be downloaded. Resolution In the system plug-in: In the TAC network pane, delete the Xenta group that the controller belongs too. Update the TAC network. Download the controller again.

Issue Could not find the program definition required to execute the service. (Subsystem: NS, #48) Environment NL220 LonMaker Vista LNS Cause Error generated when trying to validate a database. Resolution Run LNS Database Validator to help identify and possible correct the issue(s). For further assistance contact Echelon support here.

Issue How to communicate with an Xenta 200/300/400 via an X911 in Vista Environment TAC Vista 5.1.X X911 5.1.X Xenta 200/300/400 device. Cause An X911 is to be used as an IP/Lon gateway. Resolution To add an X911 in Vista do the following: 1. In Vista workstation, right-click on the Server object and select New\Device\Communication Port - Xenta 911. 2. Give the device a suitable name. 3. Right-click on the device and select Properties. 4. Set the IP address for the device. 5. Right-click on the X911 and select New\Lonworks Network. 6. Give the network an appropriate name. 7. Right-click on the network and select New\TAC Xenta Group. 8. Give the group an appropriate name. The new Xenta devices can now be added by right-clicking and selecting New\Xenta 200\300\400. The device can then be configured via the properties menu. Once the device\s are configured the configuration can be downloaded to the devices. 1. Right-click on the lonworks network and select Commission and Download. 2. Click on the Start the selected operation  button and wait until the download has been completed. See TAC Xenta 500 700 911 913 Product Manual for full instructions on how to configure an X911.

Issue Are DDC Controllers Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certified? Environment Site wanting Green Building Council Certification Cause Are DDC Controllers Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certified? Resolution The USGBC does not certify particular devices or controls systems such as I/NET, Continuum, or Xentas. LEED focuses on the design of the building and not on its actual energy consumption, and therefore it has suggested that LEED buildings should be tracked to discover whether the potential energy savings from the design are being used in practice. Five basic categories make up the design points system. Totaled together, these points determine your certification level. The level of certification depends upon the total number of points. As you can see, energy and atmosphere along with indoor environmental quality factors make up half of the available basic points. Five categories for accumulating points 1. Sustainable sites.... 26 Points 2. Water efficiency ....14 Points 3. Energy and atmosphere ....35 Points 4. Materials and resources.... 10 Points 5. Indoor environmental quality.... 15 Points 6. Innovation and Operations.... 6 Points 7. Regional Priority.... 4 Points Subtotal: 100 Points LEED 2009 for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance 100 base points; 6 possible Innovation in Operations and 4 Regional Priority points Certified 40–49 points Silver 50–59 points Gold 60–79 points Platinum 80 points and above The U.S. Green Building Council is a national, non-profit organization that works to “promote the design and construction of buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work” (USGBC Mission Statement). The USGBC created the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design® (LEED) Green Building Rating System. LEED was fashioned to provide a standard of measurement for defining a “green” building. It takes a whole building approach that encourages and guides a collaborative, integrated design and construction process. The program evaluates and recognizes performance of your buildings in accepted green design categories—Energy & Atmosphere, Water Efficiency, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Sustainable Sites. Buildings are given a certification rating based on the number of points they receive in their evaluation. The four levels of LEED certification include: Certified Level, Silver Level, Gold Level, and Platinum Level. By becoming certified, building owners are given third-party validation of their contribution environment; qualify for various state and local government incentives; contribute to the growing knowledge base; receive a LEED certification plaque and official certificate; and receive marketing exposure through the USGBC website, case studies, and media  

Issue Is it possible to link to webstation from another website/web portal without needing to log in? Environment Vista 5.1.X Vista Webstation 5.1.X Cause A customer may wish to integrate a/some webpage/s from TAC Vista webstation into their company's own internal website. Resolution There is an option in TAC Vista web settings that enables a user to be redirected to Webstation from an external application, e.g. another website, and then automatically logged in to Webstation. The requirement for this to be possible is that the external application and Webstation shares a secret key and an Initialization Vector (IV). These are cryptographic terms and as far as the layman (or sysadmin) is concerned these can be considered to be two passwords of approximately 30 characters each. The key and the IV are both generated through the "TAC Vista Web Settings" application. The key and the IV are two securely randomized and different 128-bit byte arrays which are then encoded as Base64 for usability purposes. The external application should be programmed to read and decode these two Base64 strings and use them as the key and the IV for the AES (Rijndael) encryption algorithm. The encryption is used to pass a secret string from the sender (external app) to the receiver (Webstation). This secret string contains the date and time of the current request (in UTC and in ISO 8601 format) followed by a space and then the user name of the account in Webstation. The secret string should match the following regular expression or else it is not considered valid:  [0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}\s.*   Example of secret string:  2005-12-31T21:55:30 fido   The encrypted string that is passed to Webstation should be Base64 encoded and also UrlEncoded so the string can be passed in the URL. The UrlEncoded string should be passed to Webstation as a query string parameter where the parameter name is PortalLogin. Ex: " http://webstation/AlarmListPage.aspx?PortalLogin=%2bxQZvkf5PhtNCsxcuE1I54ZgrwUcQHG%2buPPc7Zn9ThQ%3d" 1. STEPS THE SENDING APPLICATION NEEDS TO PERFORM a. Construct a string according to the format: YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss user. b. Encrypt the string using the shared key and initialization vector (IV). The encryption algorithm has to be AES (Rijndael) and key size 128-bit. c. Encode the encrypted string using Base64. d. URL-Encode the string. e. Forward the client to an arbitrary Webstation page and append the query string parameter PortalLogin= followed by the string. 2. WEBSTATION CONFIGURATION a. The following parameters has been added to Web.Config to support Portal Login:     TAC.WebStation.PortalLogin.Enabled" value="false" />     TAC.WebStation.PortalLogin.Key" value="" />     TAC.WebStation.PortalLogin.IV" value="" />     TAC.WebStation.PortalLogin.TimeSpan" value="60" />     The above values are the default values. Key and IV should be generated by Web Settings and not entered manually. TimeSpan is the amount of seconds the time stamp from the sender can differ from the Webstation server's time when it receives the request.      

Issue Encountered a 'Drop failed' error when adding a component to the ENC station database Environment I/A Series Enterprise Network Controller (ENC) Cause The module which the component belongs to has not been installed in the ENC. Resolution Install the timesync module into the ENC using the following procedure. In Workbench, open the ENC's Platform. Open the Software Manager. Find and select the required module and click on the 'Install' button. This will select the module for installation. Click on the 'Commit' button to start the module installation process.

Issue The name of the Excel Workbook disappears from the title bar in excel after saving a non-Vista document. Environment Vista 5.1.X Excel 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010. Cause A number of macros are used in Vista reports, amongst others a macro that changes the title bar from displaying "Microsoft Excel - document name" to TAC Vista Reports - document name. Resolution If working in the instance of Excel opened by TAC Vista reports, close the Vista reports macro by selecting Vista Reports\Exit from the menu. Alternatively, opening Excel from the start-menu will also avoid this issue. A report opened from Vista workstation. An Excel workbook opened on the TAC Vista Reports Excel Instance.

Issue Blinking red lights Solid red lights Blinking orange light Blinking green light Solid green light Environment Xenta Server Controllers 511, 527, 555, 701, 711, 721, 731, 911, 913 Cause The indicator lights on the face of the Xenta Server controllers can help explain the state of the controller in many different situations. Resolution A number of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the Xenta device indicate that the application program is running and when communication is in progress.    Fig. 1: LED diagram on the Xenta Server device.   Table1: LED description on the Xenta Server device.     Position Description 1 Neuron status indicator • Off – Normal mode • Red, blinking – Unconfigured mode • Red, steady – Hardware fault 2 Serial RS-232 B port activity indicators: • RX – Indicates that data is received • TX – Indicates that data is transmitted 3 Overall Run indicator • Green, steady – Normal mode • Green, blinking – Start mode • Red, steady – Fail-safe mode (see    description below) • Red, blinking – Unit fault 4 Serial RS-232 A port activity indicators: • RX – Indicates that data is received • TX – Indicates that data is transmitted 5 Serial RS-485 C port activity indicator. 6 Ethernet 10Base-T activity indicator Note • The LEDs for the RS-232 A interface (position 4) do not indicate communication when using the RS-485 A interface although internal port A is used for both.               Fig. 2: Internal serial ports and RS-232/485 interfaces.

Issue The need to verify the proper wire positions on a Xenta Server device Environment Vista XBuilder Xenta Servers Xenta 511, 527, 555, 701, 711, 721, 731, 913 Cause Installing a Xenta Server device on a network Resolution Table 2.1: Connections on the Xenta device Position Description 1-2 Power supply. Minimum cross-sectional area 0.75 mm2 (AWG-19). 1 (G) - 24 V AC (or DC+) 2 (G0) - Ground 3-4 LonWorks TP/FT-10 connection 3 (C1) 4 (C2) 5-8 Internal port A RS-485 A connection 5 (RX/TX+) 6 (RX/TX-) 7 (RX+) 8 (RX-) Note that the interface RS-232 A (position 21) and interface RS-485 A (position 5-8) are internally connected to port A on the processor. Only one should be connected. 9 Ground 9 (G0) 10 Fail-safe Note Jumping these pins together while cycling power will flash the device and load the minimum amount of drivers necessary for communication. If an IP address has already been assigned fail-safe will NOT remove it. 11-15 Unused 16-17 Ground 16 (G0) 17 (G0) 18 Unused 19-20 Internal port C RS-485 C (SDLC) connection 19 (RX/TX+) 20 (RX/TX-) 21 Internal port A RS-232 A connection. Note that the interface RS-232 A (position 21) and interface RS-485 A (position 5-8) are internally connected to port A on the processor. Only one should be connected. 22 Internal port B RS-232 B console connection 23 Ethernet 10Base-T connection 24 Service pin Caution G0 equals GROUND. Only G0 may be connected to protective ground.

Issue When you try to insert a new Xenta server into NL220 you receive the error message. Environment NL220 XBuilder Cause Controller Object names are limited to 16 character long. Resolution In X-Builder, under the SNVT folder, rename the Controller object names to less than 16 characters.

Issue Microsoft Visual Studio causes Just-In-Time Debugging Environment Windows Operating System Cause Visual Studio is installed on the PC and when attempting to perform a task, an error appears claiming Just-In-Time Debugging.  Resolution To disable Just-In-Time debugging: On the Tools menu, click Options. In the Options dialog box, select the Debugging folder. In the Debugging folder, select the Just-In-Time page. In the Enable Just-In-Time debugging of these types of code box, select or clear the relevant program types: Managed, Native, or Script. To disable Just-In-Time debugging, once it has been enabled, you must be running with Administrator privileges. Enabling Just-In-Time debugging sets a registry key, and Administrator privileges are required to change that key. Click OK.

Issue Is there a way to specify that only HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) protocol will be used for communicating with an Xenta Server? Environment Xbuilder 5.1.7 Xenta Server firmware 5.1.7 Cause Certain customers wish to block HTTP traffic on their network. Communication with the Xenta Server uses the HTTP and HTTPS communication protocols. HTTPS is an encrypted protocol for increased security. The security setting in XBuilder for the communication with the Xenta Server decides the level of the security to be used. Resolution The following options are available in Xbuilder 5.1.7: Low – the communication always uses HTTP during the entire session between the web browser and the Xenta Server.  Medium – Communication uses HTTPS during log in and user administration. This is the alternative recommended by Schneider Electric. High – The communication uses HTTPS during the entire session. This alternative encrypts all information. It may slow down the information flow between the Xenta Server and the web browser.

Issue The Vista server is not in operating mode. This is indicated by a red X in the corner of the server icon. Environment Vista Cause Sometimes when databases are moved or upgraded the operating mode is turned off. Resolution Check the Online box under the $System object located in the root directory of Vista.

Issue User can open the database in TAC Vista Workstation, but can not run the project database with an LNS network properly when it has been copied from the project site. TAC Vista Workstation is extremely slow when the user operates it in a separate PC or laptop. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista 5.1.X Windows Environment LonMaker / NL220 Vista System Plug-In Cause In the user's PC or laptop, the Vista database can not find the proper LNS port which exists in the project site PC. Resolution Define the database which was copied from the project site as the active database in the "Vista Database" tab in "TAC Vista Server Setup" Run TAC Vista Server application (TACOS.exe) Run TAC Vista Workstation. Wait a while for the TAC Vista Workstation to open the database completely Right click the LNS port. Wait a while for the right-click options to appear, then click "Properties" Record the port name in TAC Vista Workstation and its "Device address" in the properties window to a TXT file and save it. Delete all text in the "Device address" in the properties window, and click "OK" to accept the change Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6 to delete all LNS ports' "Device address" After the last "Device address" has been deleted. The TAC Vista Workstation's response speed will be back to normal. If some modifications have been made to the database and need to be applied in the project (which means the database would replace the project site database), remember to restore the "Device address" name according to the TXT file before restoring on the site PC.

Issue Some Alarms are not being sent as Emails, while others on the same site are being sent properly. Environment Continuum BACnet bCX1 b3xxx Cause Some EventNotification objects were not configured properly to enable email on alarm. Resolution Ensure that each EventNotification is enabled to allow alarms to be sent as Emails. There are two options that need to be enabled in each EventNotification.   1. Actions tab - Enable "Email on Alarm".     2. Delivery tab - In the Recipient, enable "Primary Email".

Issue How to find the MAC address / Physical Address of a computer. Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Operation, Other, Satchwell MicroNet, Satchwell Sigma, TAC IA Series, TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment All computers Cause The MAC address of a computer may be required when working on licensing issues. MAC stands for Media Access Control and is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. Resolution Go to the Start > Run.   Type "cmd" into the Open field. In the CMD window, type the command "ipconfig /all". Locate the connection that the computer is currently using (For this example it is the Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection). You will find the Physical Address (MAC address).

Issue When closing out NL220, an automatic prompt comes up asking 'Do you want to make a backup of the project ?". After selecting yes, the message "Error reading source file." is displayed.   Environment NL220 Vista Cause Error reading source file is a result of creating a NL220 backup while running Vista server. Resolution There are two ways to avoid this error. Shut down Vista server before closing down NL220 and selecting to make a backup.   With Vista server and NL220 still running, go to the menu bar and select Project > Backup project... In the Backup a project... screen, select Backup.

Issue Need to perform autosensing on an ethernet port but do not have a cross over cable. Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Operation, TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment Ethernet connection to an Automation Server Xenta device ACX BCX Auto-Sensing, Auto Sensing direct connect Auto uplink and trade Universal Cable Recognition Cause Need to direct connect with a straight through or normal patch cable from a computer or laptop to the AS, Xenta, BCX, ACX  Resolution Since 1998, the distinction between uplink and normal ports and manual selector switches on older hubs and switches are obsolete. If one or both of two connected devices has the automatic MDI/MDI-X configuration feature there is no need for crossover cables. Now you can plug your laptop right into the Ethernet port of the device with just a regular patch cable. 

Issue Problems with the speed a script was appearing to run. How to adjust the Variable Connector. Environment StruxureWare Building Operation site with BACnet or LON  Cause Definition of a variable connector Problems with the speed a script was appearing to run Resolution Definition Variable connectors The SmartStruxure system has a base philosophy where different objects and properties are connected using bindings. Bindings do not usually cause any significant load to the system, but in some cases the bindings need to be driven by an external object called a variable connector. The user does not create variable connectors. The system creates variable connectors either when there is no obvious direction of the binding (analog value to analog value, for example) or when passing data between protocols (LonWorks to BACnet or LonWorks to Modbus). Due to load caused by the variable connectors, limit the number of variable connectors according to the variable connectors table above. It is possible to increase this number, but close monitoring of CPU load and memory consumption is needed. Release 1.4 Anticipated removal of Variable Connectors and replaced with a Binding Table. Variable Connectors cannot be removed. The maximum number of variable connectors is (Used when the binding has no obvious direction or when passing data between protocols) Enterprise Server: No practical limit known Automation Server:500 There are 'variable connector' objects in the system folder underneath the server that have a polling time associated with them and these are applied to both incoming and outgoing script variables. They default to 10 seconds polling time so regardless of the setting of a script cycle time it is subject to these polling times. Note: The default value of 10 seconds polling time for values regardless of BACnet, LON or otherwise.  Variable Connectors are automatically created when the bound values themselves are of a kind that lack the logic needed for polling. Editing the binding (by clicking the pencil icon next to the binding list path) indicates that there is a variable connector associated with the binding.   Below is a screen capture for Variable Connector Settings. Transfer Value Click the Force value button and enter the value that you want to force onto the binding. Type Select how the binding is updated. Periodic polling updates the destination value at regular intervals. Change of value updates the destination value only when the source value changes, and only when the change is significant enough. Interval Select the number of seconds between updates. Propagation delta for value changes Enter how much the source value must change to trigger an update of the destination value. Retransmit interval(s) Enter the number of seconds between forced updates. In most cases, you bind a source value to a destination property that is an input variable in a program. The binding is direct, and the input variable actively reads the source value during every execution cycle of the program.However, not all bindings have a destination property that is an input variable in a program. When you create a binding, with a destination property that cannot read or poll the source value, StruxureWare creates a variable connector. Most bindings do not need variable connectors, but when they do, StruxureWare creates them automatically. There are basically three things you can do with a variable connector: Configure polling method Configure polling rate Force the bound value In a direct binding, you do not need to concern yourself with the polling of a bound value. There will be a program execution cycle involved that manages polling. With a variable connector you can configure the default polling settings in the properties of the variable connector. For more information, see Configuring a Variable Connector . Also, in a direct binding, you may be able to force the bound value in the destination property. With a variable connector, you force the bound value in the properties of the variable connector. Variable connectors and their properties are accessible from the Control Panel. There is a Variable Connectors list in the System folder of each server. Variable connectors are also accessible from the Binding point list. LonWorks network variables and configuration properties can be bound to each other in LonWorks bindings. They can also be bound to most points in StruxureWare, such as programs, graphics, alarms, and trend logs, but then StruxureWare bindings is used, not LonWorks bindings.

Issue There are two different methods used for calculating the setpoints in a Xenta 121 controller: method A and method B. Environment ZBuilder NL220 LonMaker Vista Cause Not knowing how each setpoint method is calculated in ZBuilder can lead to using the wrong method in certain applications. Resolution Method A When nviSetpoint receives a valid setpoint, this value becomes the new, common setpoint. The cooling and heating setpoints are recalculated to be at the same distance from the new, basic setpoint as they were from the earlier basic setpoint. Therefore, method A removes any existing asymmetry. The controller calculates the different setpoints for heating and cooling in occupied and standby mode, from nviSetpoint, plus or minus half the neutral zone in occupied and standby modes, which are calculated from nciSetpoints. The controller uses the existing unoccupied setpoints in nciSetpoints for the unoccupied mode. Below are the equations that go into calculating method A:     Method B In standby mode you can choose method B to calculate the existing set-points. The result of method B will only differ from method A when the setpoints are placed asymmetrically around the mean value. With method B the asymmetry is kept. The controller calculates the different setpoints for heating and cooling in occupied and standby mode from nciSetpoints. The effective, absolute setpoint deviation is calculated as the mean value of the occupied_heat setpoint and the occupied_cool setpoint. The controller uses the existing unoccupied setpoints in nciSetpoints for the unoccupied mode.   Below are the equations that go into method B:   Note: If nviSetpoint is not being used, then just remove it from the above equation and calculate.