Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue BACnet/IP port supported with EcoStruxure Building Operation Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation Edge Server - Standard Cause Which BACnet/IP ports are supported with EcoStruxure Building Operation, and can there be more than one port? Resolution By default, the BACnet/IP network uses UDP port 47808 (0xBAC0), this is adjustable higher or lower. The BACnet/IP network supports a single BACnet UDP port, Additional IP networks can be created in the BACnet system as long as each network has a unique identifier (network Id and name) and UDP/IP port number. Refer to: Creating an Additional BACnet IP Network (se.com) and Best Practices When Configuring BACnet IP Networks and BBMDs for EcoStruxure BMS Servers Please note that BACnet/IP uses UDP as its transmission protocol. For more information read the BACnet/IP basic design criteria.

Issue Will J-Bus operate with Modbus RTU devices on the same bus? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation  Environment Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Cause Compatibility of J Bus required. Resolution The J Bus protocol is supported by the Autimation Server, it runs on an RS485 network and uses a subset of the Modbus RTU protocol function codes. The J Bus devices addressing usually has an offset of 1 compared to the Modbus RTU standard, to apply this offset select "J-Bus Mode" = Yes in the Modbus Master Network Properties.   Verify that the devices to be used have a standard RS485 electrical connection and do not require any special electrical biasing, also ensure that all units connected on the bus have a unique ID/ address number. If this is the case then you should be able to connect both Modbus RTU and J Bus devices on the same Automation Server port connection but in the Modbus Master Network select the J Bus Mode setting to No. In J-Bus mode, the Automation Server will automatically reduce the polled register addresses by one, so if the AS is set to Modbus mode, you may need to manually set the register addresses of any J-Bus devices by minus one. With J Bus as with Modbus sometimes the point addressing needs to be offset by +1 or -1, but check with the 3rd party device supplier/ documentation to determine its specific point addressing requirements.  

Issue Import of BACnet/IP device is missing Device ID value. The device is indicated as offline and will not communicate. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation Edge Server - Standard Cause A device instance number is not preserved in an export. An imported BACnet device must be associated with a device.  Resolution Use the Associate with Device option on the BACnet/IP device object, refer to: Associating a BACnet Instance Number with a Device (se.com). Specify the device instance number.

Issue Setting the default BACnet priority levels for different applications avoids priority conflicts by normalizing which priority gets used for a specific action or within a specific application Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation Edge Server - Standard Cause Different EcoStruxure applications may act upon BACnet objects utilizing different BACnet priority levels. This may cause confusion and can keep the system from operating as expected. Resolution BACnet objects created with EBO (1.4 and higher) will have a default BACnet Priority of 16 unless specified otherwise. The default BACnet Priority can be changed to the customer's needs.   As a best practice, define the Default priority level prior to configuring the system. In addition, consider maintaining the same default priority level for multiple active systems at your site. For example, configure the same default priority level for the EcoStruxure Building Operation and fire protection system. In a multi-server system, you can only configure the Default priority level from the Interface Manager of the Enterprise Server. If you set a new priority level, the system propagates the change to the other automation servers in the network. Refer to: Default Priority Level (se.com) and Configuring the Default Priority Level (se.com)  

Issue What is the maximum number of trend logs in a SmartX IP Controller? What is the maximum number of trend log records in a SmartX IP Controller? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Multi-purpose Controller Cause SmartX IP controller free object system memory is shared between objects and data in your application. There are no specific limits on the number of objects and/or trend logs that you can create. Several factors impact memory consumption: Every object added consumes a fixed amount of memory Memory is shared between objects and data. Adjustments to description fields or trend log buffer sizes will also impact the amount of memory consumed. Different controllers have different amounts of memory to start from. RPC controllers have roughly half of the memory of an MPC. Changes to EBO 3.X will also change the memory consumption, so upgrading your system may skew the memory consumption larger than it was in previous versions. Resolution After adding trend logs to the device consult the Free object system memory entry in the device report since this will help determine how much free memory is available. Trend log buffers are pre-allocated on creation of the trend object. The other place to find how much free memory the device have is in the device property page. This value can be put in a watch window, trended, or even bound to a low-limit alarm.     If the amount of free memory drops below 50 Kbytes, that is critically low available memory. A better target is to try to preserve 50% of available memory. Based on empirical testing, estimates of memory available inside a blank controller are: MP-C: 1890 Kbytes MP-V: 1780 Kbytes RP-C: 1115 Kbytes It is important to not overload the controller because the remaining memory can also be used for COV subscriptions (the last line in the table above). If there is no memory available, then opening a graphic which creates COV subscriptions could overrun memory or operate very slowly

Issue Alarm Pane not shown in Webstation Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Webstation Cause The User is viewing a Workspace which does not contain the Alarm Pane Resolution In the Top Left hand corner of the screen click View>Workspaces Select Engineering (or other applicable workspace)

Issue Unable to lock down access to AS WebStation to all clients Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Webstation Cause Required to forbid accessing AS via http or https.. Resolution Https is the default workstation communication channel to an SBO server and therefore cannot be locked down. 

Issue Information is needed regarding the content of the various license types Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Cause If a standard Workstation license and a Workstation Pro. license are purchased, and are loaded on to a License server, when is the professional license used? Resolution The difference between the standard Workstation license and the Workstation Pro. license is that the professional license allows the usage of the editors (Graphics Editor, Function Block Editor, Script Editor, Menta Editor, WorkPlace Tech Editor). The licenses can be seen as a bundle of license features that can be checked in and checked out separately from each other. When a workstation attempts to use any of these editors the license server is asked to check out the license feature for that editor and if successful, that feature is "taken" and cannot be used by any other Workstation until the first workstation leaves the editor. This means that if you have one professional license, only one Workstation can use the same editor at the same time, if you e.g. have 2 professional licenses you can have 2 Workstations using the same editor at the same time. However, any Workstation can use any editor as long as there is a free license feature for it on the license server.

Issue The script program always executes the first condition, whatever the condition is. The code is shown below: Numeric Input AirFlowMin,AirFlowMax,AirFlowRead Numeric OutPut FlowFactor Line Judging if AirFlowMin<AirFlowRead<(AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)/3 then goto 1 if (AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)/3<AirFlowRead<(AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)*2/3 then goto 2 if (AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)*2/3<AirFlowRead line 1 FlowFactor=1 goto judging line 2 FlowFactor=2 goto judging line 3 FlowFactor=3 goto judging After the above program saves successfully, whatever the value of AirFlowRead is, the program only goes to line 1 and sets the value of FlowFactor to 1, and never goes to the other two lines. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment B3s Script Program Cause Some expressions are supported in Continuum Plain English but are not supported in b3 Script programs Resolution Change the expression as shown below: Line Judging if AirFlowMin<AirFlowRead and AirFlowRead<(AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)/3 then goto 1 if (AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)/3<AirFlowRead and AirFlowRead<(AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)*2/3 then goto 2 if (AirFlowMax-AirFlowMin)*2/3<AirFlowRead and AirFlowRead  

Issue When installing Enterprise Server an error is received at the end of the installation:  Clicking on the Details button the following error is shown:  -EnterpriseServer Service registration Starting Execute: "C:\Program Files\Schneider Electric\StruxureWare 1.2\Software Administrator\SE.SoftwareAdministrator.exe" ES /Install --DatabasePath="C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Schneider Electric\StruxureWare 1.2\Enterprise Server\db" --HTTPPort="80" --HTTPSPort="443" --TCPPort="4444" SE.SoftwareAdministrator.exe --install returned -532462766 -EnterpriseServer Service registration Leaving Completed In Software Administrator the Status of the Enterprise Server is indicated as Not Installed. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Cause It appears that the installation package has an issue with the authority to create the Enterprise Server Service, below are some options to try to rectify this.  Resolution SmartStruxure version 1.4 running on Windows 7 If this problem is encountered in 1.4 try the following steps Uninstall Enterprise Server software Restart PC Run the Enterprise Server installation software.  Use the Right Click "Run as administrator" option to ensure correct authority. Download and unzip this batch file Run the .bat file on the affected PC. Check the Software Administrator and confirm that the Server Status has now changed to "Running"   NOTE:  This batch file is only valid for 1.4 and will not work for 1.2 or 1.3.  Resolution #1 (Typically seen with SmartStruxure version 1.2) Changing the DCOM setting as described below has shown to allow for the installation process to complete. From the Start - Search programs and files entry type "dcomcnfg" and then select the dcomcnfg.exe file. Expand Component Services and also expand Computers. Right mouse click My computer and select properties and then select COM Security tab. Select the edit limits button from the  "Launch and activation permissions"  section. Select / Add the Everyone user and make sure all the permissions are set to allow   Reboot the computer. Then reinstall the Enterprise Server. Resolution #2 (Typically seen with SmartStruxure version 1.3) If Resolution #1 does not work or is not possible then you can manually add the Enterprise Server application manually.   Download and unzip this batch file Run the .bat file on the affected PC. Check the Software Administrator and confirm that the Server Status has now changed to "Running" NOTE:  This batch file is only valid for 1.3 and will not work for 1.2.  Alternative Workaround: Should neither of these options work.  You can run the Enterprise Server manually.  To do this: Locate the path: C:\Program Files\Schneider Electric StruxureWare\Building Operation 1.x\bin Double Click on the file name: SE.SBO.EnterpriseServer.exe A DOS Command prompt will open and display the Enterprise Server System log.  This window must stay open.  If you accidently close it, it will force the Enterprise Server to close and shutdown.

Issue Unable to have BACnet alarm trigger directly on a variable from a Function Block Program Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Cause Building Operation does not have the possibility for a BACnet alarm to directly monitor a variable from a Function Block Program.  The problem with doing this is that a Function Block Program is not a BACnet visible object (a BACnet client cannot see it, even as a proprietary object type), and we do not see any provision in the BACnet standard for an alarm object to reference something not visible to BACnet. Resolution The workaround is to create a BACnet point (a BACnet Value object would make the most sense), and bind it to the Function Block Program variable.   There is however an option which may avoid "double" work.  In Building Operation we have implemented intrinsic alarming on the BACnet points and values.  This means that the point can detect and report alarms without creating a separate alarm object.  (they still need to reference to a BACnet notification class just like normal BACnet alarm objects).   The only limitation is in the choice of algorithm: Analog objects (Input, output, Value) support the out-of-range algorithm (high-limit, low-limit). Digital and Multistate objects* (input, and value) support the change-of-state algorithm. *In Building Operation, we do not have digital or multi-state outputs with alarming, because we do not support "command-failure" type alarm that those require.

Issue Unable to establish communication between the enterprise and automation servers through the TCP Port 4444. Values are not being passed between the enterprise to the automation servers or between automation server to automation server. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Workstation Cause Windows Firewall is not allowing inbound or outbound information from passing through the TCP port 4444. Resolution First download and run TCP View. With TCP View running, sort the list by the Local Port and find all devices that are talking on port 4444. If the automation servers are in a state of LISTENING then rules must be created to allow communication. Copy the file path of SE.EnterpriseServer.exe in order to create the rules. This can be found by right clicking on one of the SE.EnterpriseServer.exe process > Process Properties... (C:\Program Files\Schneider Electric\StruxureWare 1.2\Enterprise Server\bin\SE.EnterpriseServer.exe) If the automation servers are in the state of ESTABLISHED, then take a look at Binding between ES and AS or two AS shows Unresolved and "Communication Failed" Alarm occurs when Adding an AS. Source: /Server 1/Servers/ASL/System/Server Communications/Models/2deef04c-05d1-41ae-9c3f-f84a9f7e0b41 for more troubleshooting help.   Change Windows Firewall Settings to Allow Programs Go to Start > Control Panel. Click on Windows Firewall. Click on "Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall" on the left hand side of the window. Find "StruxureWare Building Operation" in the list of programs and make sure Home/Work and Public networks are selected.  Note: If you do not have permission rights to make changes in this area of Windows, move on to the next section where you can set up inbound and outbound firewall rules.   Creating Inbound and Outbound Windows Firewall Rules Go to Start > Control Panel.  Click on Windows Firewall. Click "Advanced settings" on the left side of the window. Select Inbound Rules on the left side of the window and then click New Rule... on the right side of the window. On the first screen of the New Rule Wizard, choose Program. Click Next. In "This program path:" either browse to SE.EnterpriseServer.exe or paste the file path that was copied earlier from the TCP View into the box. Click Next. Select the option to "Allow the connection". Click Next. Leave Domain, Private, and Public checked unless otherwise desired. Click Next. Name the rule StruxureWare. Click Finish. Select Outbound Rules on the left side of the window and then click New Rule... on the right side of the window. Follow steps 5 through 9 to create the Outbound Rule. Note that the SBO Firewall Config tool on the community can be used to automatically create the required firewall rules.

Issue A BACnet devices can contain 1000's of objects, performing an upload on these devices can take upwards of 30 minutes to complete when only a few objects are required for integration. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Cause Uploading all objects in a controller can take a lot of time and is often not required. Resolution From version 2.0 Open the device discovery view / BACnet - then Discover All. Once the Device is hosted, click on the device (in the Device Discovery window) and open the right-hand Object pane. Drag/drop the required Object into the hosted BACnet device Application folder. Alternatively, the Hardware folder can be used, this was the best method for some earlier versions Perform the BACnet discovery, then view the Hardware folder at /ServerName/System/Hardware/BACnet devices. Navigate to the required Device/Object, then Drag and drop the Device and Object as above.

Issue When logging in to an AS or ES, WorkStation freezes or it takes a very long time (>30 minutes) before the login process finishes. Building Operation WorkStation hangs on "Reading data..." when trying to login to an AS or ES Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation WorkStation Cause The problem is related to a delay when validating the license details. It only seems to happen when running a mixed EBO/SBO 1.9.3 system and after having EBO license administrator 2.0.1 previously installed. Resolution Run the SBO License Server Reset tool and perform Reset - Simple Log in to WorkStation, and if the hang or freezing is still present, then follow the next set of instructions. Run Diagnostics in the License Administrator and take note of all the ACT (Activation) and Entitlement IDs Return all the licenses Close all WorkStations and stop all SBO/EBO processes (whichever may be running) Uninstall all License Administrator and License Server Run the SBO License Server Reset tool and perform a Reset - Complete (you will get an output of the commands and result) Install the latest released version of License Administrator and License Server (the latest released version of License Administrator has fixes for virtual servers and some cyber security vulnerabilities, note that License Administrator is backward compatible with earlier SBO versions) Activate the licenses based on the info from step 3 Note: If running the demo license, steps 3 and 4 may be skipped. If problems continue to occur, then send the above details collated (in step 3) and email this/contact support.

Issue Finding the rules governing the BACnet device Instance ID in EBO and learning to change it if required. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled  Cause The BACnet device Instance ID must be unique within a BACnet system. There may be a need to find out or change the device Instance ID to ensure there are not duplicates.  Resolution When a BACnet Interface is added to an SmartX server, AS or ES, the Server will become a BACnet device and it will have an Instance ID (automatically generated or manually assigned).  To check an ES or AS BACnet device instance ID go to the properties of the BACnet Interface and then the Advanced tab. The device instance ID is defined as the Object ID. To check other BACnet device, SmartX controller or 3rd party BACnet device, go to the properties of the BACnet Device and then the Advanced tab. The device instance ID once again is defined as the Object ID.  No 2 BACnet devices in any system may have the same Instance ID/Object ID. The valid range of Instance Numbers for a BACnet device is 0 to 4194302.   Change BACnet Device ID: You can change BACnet device IDs for SmartX Server or Controller when there is a conflict with another BACnet device, move controller or in those situations where you need to change the originally selected value for some local or site-specific reason. In EBO V3.2.3 or higher (except V3.3), it is possible to change BACnet Device ID of an SmartX server (ES, AS-P or AS-B), as explained in: Changing the BACnet Device ID in a SmartX Server To change SmartX IP Controller BACnet device ID, follow: Changing a BACnet/IP Device ID

Issue When trying to log in to WebStation Version 1.7.1 using Internet Explorer 11 you get the following error message: Wrong domain, user name or password Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Webstation Cause The cookie sent from the SmartStruxure server has an old expiry date. This can be confirmed by tracing communication using Fiddler or similar. Resolution Set the correct date and time in the Automation Server or Windows PC where the Enterprise Server is installed. Refer to Web Help #4388 for instruction on how to set the time in an Automation Server

Issue How to use multiple monitors when working in Building Operation WorkStation. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Multiple Monitors Building Operation WorkStation Cause Need to understand how to utilize multiple monitors with Building Operation WorkStation available as an option from version 1.4.1 and above. Resolution Building Operation Workstation provides the ability to place any pane in WorkStation on a separate monitor including the alarm, watch, and event windows. This can be a very productive feature for a building front-end computer or even in the engineering stages of the system. Versions 1.4.1 and above The multi-monitor display support in WorkStation includes the ability to save and reset workspace layouts. Individual users at a given WorkStation can modify the workspace layout and save it such that whenever that user logs in using that PC the workspace will revert to their modified layout. Included in the modified layout is the ability to move panes to a second monitor and have those panes positioned in the same way whenever that user logs in with that PC. The user can revert to the default layout at any time. How to move WorkStation panes to a second monitor Click, hold and drag the title bar (1) of any pane in WorkStation that is to be moved to another monitor. The pane will appear as a purple shadow (2).  Drag the pane to another monitor, release and re-size as necessary (3).    How to save the workspace layout for the current user At the top of the WorkStation window, click on the View menu (1) and select "Save workspace layout" (2).  When the same user logs out and then logs back in again, the layout will remain the same. To return the layout to the default, go to the View menu and select "Reset workspace layout". Note: When working with a two-monitor layout using a laptop on a docking station, if the laptop is undocked it will no longer be possible to see the panes that were moved to the second monitor.  To correct this go to the View menu and select "Reset workspace layout".     Versions 1.4.0 and prior It is possible to use WorkStation and WebStation on multiple monitors in prior releases: Launch multiple instances of the clients and run them on different monitors. In WorkStation, “Tear off” view windows and position on different monitors. Manual positioning of windows is needed.  To get more automatic behavior at start-up or logon, it is better to run with multiple computers with separate displays or see if a 3rd party window positioning utility can help.

Issue Running Bomgar Remote Support Client from Linux for support from Product Support Services Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Edge Server - Standard Cause Bomgar session downloads Bomgar-scc-[long string of characters].desktop file and need to run to connect with a Product Support Services agent. Resolution The file needs to be granted permission to execute and then run. Open browser on Linux OS for website: https://seconnect.se.com  Enter the 7-digit Session Key and press SUBMIT button. After saving the client to the Downloads folder, right-click on the bomgar-scc-[long string of characters].desktop file, then click Properties.  Click on the Permissions tab, then check the checkbox next to Execute to Allow executing file as program.  Open Terminal, then type "sh " (without quotes and not forgetting a space), then drag the file to the Terminal window, then press Enter. The full command will look similar to this image.  Once the executable runs, this image will appear on the screen as the full session begins.  Click Allow to let the agent view and control your computer. 

Issue Servers not visible after upgrade due to permission change Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Enterprise Server ES Enterprise Central EC Cause The Domain Local Group " Reports Administrators" is removed when an ES is upgraded to v4.0 or greater. This Group is automatically deleted during the upgrade because Report Server is not supported in v4.0 or greater. It is possible for local users to be selected as User Group members of " Reports Administrators", so the permissions for these users may change after the upgrade. This is not good practice, only the Reports Server login user should be part of the " Reports Administrators" Group " After the upgrade the Group "Reports Administrators" is removed and the Servers are not accessible Resolution Any users that were part of Group "Reports Administrators" should be reassessed and their permissions corrected 

Issue When trying to activate an embedded license on a SmartX Server using Device Administrator, the activation fails with the following error message: Failure (error) received when reclaiming an embedded license on an Automation Server   "Embedded operation: Activate failed: ASEmbeddedAPI internal error: Capability request could not be created." Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium (AS-P) Building Operation Automation Server Bundled (AS-B) Building Operation Automation Server (AS) All of the above v. 3.0 or higher Cause The cause of this problem is that the trusted storage, i.e., the embedded license database on the SmartX server, is corrupt. The embedded licensing framework undertakes internal checking and if it determines there is a consistency problem, it will consider the trusted storage to be corrupt. This means that no operations to the trusted storage, such as activating licenses, will succeed. At the time of writing, it is unclear why the consistency problems happen. In the server log, you may also observe the following error message: 10:08:06: Executing licensing command 10:08:06: Executing embedded operation: Activate ActivationID: ACT-XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXXXX 10:08:11: Embedded operation: Activate failed: ASEmbeddedAPI internal error: Capability request could not be created 10:08:11: Licensing command completed 10:08:11: Activating licenses failed (Real Activation ID replaced with ACT-XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXXXX)   Although this process is specific to the "Capability request could not be created" error, similar errors can be corrected by following the steps shown in the resolution. Please attempt all steps before contacting support.   Resolution   Building Operation 2022 v4.0.4  and above Upgrading to the above versions will now resolve the trusted storage corruption and inhibit license activation. Building Operation 3.2.X and up to EBO 2022 v4.0.3   Note: Although this process is specific to the "Capability request could not be created" error, similar errors can be corrected by following the below steps. Please attempt all steps before contacting support.    Clear trusted storage within the server Using Device Administrator select the affected server and Open a PuTTY Console An alternative way of connecting to the server is to use WinSCP. Use File protocol SCP and the admin user. When connected, follow the instructions as per the Word Document also attached below Warm or Cold Start the AS-P If failures still occur, attempt the Offline Activation of Licenses Workflow; The key step is that the license is activated offline and then transferred to the server in two different steps, allowing the license activation process to complete successfully.   Warm or Cold Start the AS-P If there are still failures with either of these options, send a support request through your local support center including the errors seen with each activation attempt.     Building Operation version lower than 3.2.X   If the embedded license is a Client license, there is no need to activate the license. Install the EBO Hotfix 3.0.3.2001 (CP1) or later. This will remove the enforcement of SmartX server Clients in the licensing system. See also article Embedded WebStaion client license when logging directly into a SmartX server no longer needed. Other licenses like SmartDrivers, SNMP, and Personal Dashboards may still need to be activated. Contact your local support center to fix this problem.