Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue How to configure the Network 8000 Interface for ASD overrides Part 2 of 2 Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server (All) I/A Network 8000 ASD controllers Cause Requirements and configuration specifics for ASD controller override in the Network 8000 interface Resolution

Issue How to configure the Network 8000 Interface for ASD overrides Part 1 of 2 Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server (All) I/A Network 8000 ASD controllers Cause Requirements and configuration specifics for ASD controller override in the Network 8000 interface Resolution

Issue Where is graphic information stored in Continuum? Is any graphic information stored in the controller. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Cyberstation Continuum webClient Server Cause Need to know where Continuum Graphic information is stored. Resolution While during the Continuum installation process, pin files, image library files and background images are placed in the NewGraphicFiles folder on the workstation on which Cyberstation is installed, these files can alternately be stored on any network share.  Each workstation must have the location of these files defined in Pinpoint under View>Options.   The graphic information is stored in the dbo.Panel table in ContinuumDB.    The Graphics folder paths that are set from 'View\Options' are unique to each Cyberstation and are stored in the device table of the ContinuunmDB on the corresponding row of the appropriate Cyberstation in columns PPBackgroundsFolder, PPGraphicsFolder and  PPGraphicsLibraryFolder  No graphic information is stored in the controller

Issue Script Program bindings added to the Watch window or the Binding Variables pane in Script Editor show NULL or a previous value compared to the value in the objects they are bound to. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Enterprise Server Cause Consider the script program below: The bindings (1) are as follows along with the current values (2) in the Watch pane: The source objects all have a value, but the output Bind Value are NULL except for the first Bind Value. Resolution Since SBO 1.5 script program bindings are only updated when they are processed in the program body. In the following picture, only BINDtest1 has a non NULL value since the program is sitting at line 1 which has a reference to BINDtest1. The next picture shows the bindings after the script program has run through all the program lines. Notice that BINDtest5 is still NULL since it has never been referenced in the program's body. Program bindings that are not been processed in the program body will have a value of NULL. or Program bindings that were processed in a previous line inside the program will not update to the latest value until the program goes to a line that references the binding again at which point its value will update.

Issue Download LonMark SNVT Master List, SNVT Enumerations, and XIF File Reference Guide Product Line TAC IA Series, TAC Vista, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment LNS SNVT types Cause Investigating problems with LON integrations can sometimes involve inspecting the raw XIF file for different SNVT types or enumeration values. These documents from LonMark detail the LON protocol for SNVT communication and device interface file syntax. Resolution LonMark SNVTs & SCPTs Introduction LonMark SNVT Master List LonMark SCPT Master List LonMark Standard Enumeration Master List LonMark Device Interface File (XIF) Reference Guide To check for updated information, please visit LonMark International's Developers Guides.

Issue Need to setup communication for an on-premise setup to use HTTPS Product Line Access Expert Environment Access Expert Premise Software v3 Cause HTTPS is the secure method of communication and is not enabled by default Resolution Create a certificate request or create a self-signed certificate from IIS Manager Click on the server then click on Server Certificates If creating a request, you will need to send it to your DNS registrar to complete it. Once this is done enter the code they provide in the "complete certificate sections" Create the HTTPS binding on the website binding page and specify that certificate In the 'Host name' field in the binding, enter the fully qualified name of the computer where the On Premise server is running, you will then need to specify this host name in the 'Server Address' of the client to login to AccessXpert (see screenshot below)   Note: This is a customized setup and can vary in a multitude of ways. Should you come across issues installing the certificate or setting up HTTPS, please contact your local IT team for the instance you're working on as they will have a better understanding of your network and certificate practices.

Issue Can the I/NET SCU controller connect to Security Expert SP-C directly instead of being imported from the I/NET system? Product Line Security Expert,TAC INET Environment I/NET SCU 1284 Security Expert Controller Security Expert Cause Required to use New I/NET SCU1284 controllers on a Security Expert site. Resolution It is not possible to configure and commission SCU1284 door controllers without the use I/NET on Security Expert. Explanation of why this is not possible: In I/NET, door controllers i.e SCU1284 are on a subLAN that connects to a 779x host device. In the 779x host device, controller parameters such as its reader type, PIN functionality, LED operation, etc are configured for each door. The configuration parameters for each door controller gets stored in the 779x host device, then the host device’s data is saved to a SAV file (i.e., a backup file of the 779x device). To integrate I/NET door controllers with Security Expert, The subLAN (779x host device ) is then disconnected from the door controllers and connected to an SP-C (the SP-C replaces the 779x host device). The 7798x host device’s SAV file is then downloaded to the SP-C as a binary blob.  The SP-C needs this SAV file to know how to communicate with each door controller and to configure these devices if a cold restart is ever experienced.

Issue The column labeled "Name" in the BACnet device discovery window is mislabeled. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation (All Versions) Cause BACnet device objects have two different names: An object display name that shows in WorkStation A BACnet name that represents the object in the device These names have different character and length restrictions. For example, when you create a point or value in a BACnet device, you are prompted to enter an object display name. You can enter more than 16 characters here and are not restricted to using only letters, digits, and underscores. For the BACnet name, you can enter up to 16 characters. The BACnet name specifies how an object is identified in a BACnet device and is composed solely of letters, digits, and underscores. If you leave the BACnet name box empty, the EcoStruxure Building Operation object name is truncated and spaces are removed for the name to fit in the box. The object display name and the BACnet name are not linked, so changing one does not modify the other. As a result, when you rename a BACnet device point or value, you need to change both the object display and BACnet names. You rename BACnet device points or values if you wish to change the name to something more specific, or if the point or value was initially named incorrectly. Because the binding templates require a naming convention, you may also need to rename a point or value to match a convention imposed after they were created. Instead of having to delete the point or value and configure a new one, you do a rename instead. Resolution The "Name" column within BACnet discovery actually reflects the BACnet Name and not the object display name.

Issue Clicking on a URL in Workstation gives the error message "Navigation to the webpage was canceled". Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation WorkStation Cause The website owner has added additional code to prevent their webpage from being displayed in a 3rd party application e.g. EBO. However, the webpage can be viewed in a web browser e.g. IE, Chrome or Firefox. This additional measure makes use of a feature called X-Frame-Options and is used to prevent 'clickjacking' and prevents embedding in other websites. In 2009 Internet Explorer 8 introduced a new HTTP header X-Frame-Options which offered partial protection against clickjacking and was shortly after adopted by other browsers (Safari, Firefox, Chrome and Opera). The header, when set by the website owner, declares its preferred framing policy: values of DENY, SAMEORIGIN, or ALLOW-FROM origin will prevent any framing, framing by external sites, or allow framing only by the specified site, respectively. See Mozilla article for further information. Resolution If a web site implements the usage of X-Frame-Options to limit which other web sites it can be embedded into, there is nothing to be done about that. It is the providers' decision, and cannot be circumvented. In Building Operation release 1.9 and later, there are two global policy settings used to protect Building Operation presented web content, so it is resilient against clickjacking. Option 1 - Enable external content to be embedded in WebStation This option must be selected to permit another web page to be rendered in a WebStation <frame> or <iframe>. To protect against clickjacking for all use cases, this option should be turned off. Option 2 - Enable WebStation to be embedded in another site This option permits Building Operation web pages to be rendered in a <frame> or <iframe> from the local server. If this option is selected with option 1, then there is no protection against clickjacking. The most secure and recommended configuration is when both options are turned off. However, when an application requires embedded web content, one or both these options can be turned on. Since this is a global policy, these settings will affect all embedded content. If only some content is required to be embedded then there is no solution or workaround within EBO unless the website owner can remove or change this feature.

Issue SmartX Living Space Sensor Touchscreen SXWSCDXSELXX display has a background color indication for the "Heating cooling status" setting in Workstation, but the Heat/Cool/Off colors Red/Blue/White are very faint and it is nearly impossible to tell them apart. The colors are a bit better when viewed from an angle, but when looking straight at the display they are very faint. The photos below show the states Cool (Blue), Heat (Red) and Off (White) in that order from left to right.       Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation SmartX Living Space Sensor Cause Low color quality of the SmartX Living Space Sensor Touchscreen SXWSCDXSELXX display. Resolution This is a hardware limitation in the current version of the touchscreen display SXWSCDXSELXX. The issue will be resolved in a coming release of the display.

Issue Unable to control the field device with a Triac output. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, Andover Continuum Environment Continuum b3 Controllers Continuum i2 Controllers Building Operation Multi-purpose Controllers with Triacs Cause Triac outputs cannot switch DC loads. Triac outputs require a minimum 30 mA load in order to switch.  Resolution If the inductive load draws less than 30mA a resistor needs to be wired in parallel with the switched load.

Issue There is potential for confusion around the backward compatibility offered in EcoStruxure when the version of Enterprise Server differs from that of Automation Servers in the same system Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation SmartX Servers Cause The 3.1.1 Release Notes refer to a new 'Multi-version system' with the possibility of a v3.1 Enterprise Server but with v3.0 Automation Servers able to function long term within the same system (albeit with some engineering limitations).    This implies that AS running earlier versions than v3.0 cannot coexist, attempts to add AS running v2.0 to ES running v3.0 have produced errors. However........ The System Upgrade Reference Guide refers to 'Runtime Compatibility' with Version 3.1 that states that Automation Servers running v1.8, 1.9, 2.0 and 3.0 can all coexist with an ES running 3.1 without issue Resolution Both documents are true, but there are two possible situations that need to be considered: Situation 1) A site has a v1.9 or v2.0 system which is required to be upgraded to v3.1. When upgrading, the ES is usually the first device to be upgraded, then depending on the number of AS onsite it may take a period of time to upgrade all the AS (especially if some of these servers are used in hospital theaters etc). For this reason EBO has an Upgrade Runtime Compatibility from v3.1 back to to v1.8, 1.9, 2.0 and 3.0, which means that an AS already in the system when the ES is upgraded to 3.1 will maintain connectivity and functionality while the upgrade takes place. Situation 2) A site has an external v1.9 or v2.0 AS whichis required to be added to an ES which is already running at v3.1. When trying to add in a new controller to a v3.1 ES, an error is produced stating that the version of the AS being added needs to be updated to before it can be added. Error Message when adding v2.0 AS to v3.0 ES Error message when adding 2.0 AS to 3.1 ES (better explanation) To summarize EBO does have Runtime Compatibility from v3.1 back to 1.8 as stated, but only for AS already in the system at the time of upgrade. Once upgraded to v3.1 the multi-version environment can be used to operate AS at v3.0 but adding AS running versions before 3.0 will generate a descriptive error.

Issue SSC or EP1501 is bouncing offline and online Product Line Access Expert Environment Access Expert Controller Cause Not configuring the DNS suffix or misconfiguring the DNS IP or DNS suffix, may cause Access Expert to lose connection to the controller. Resolution Add in the DNS IP and DNS suffix for a local DNS server DNS resolution issues can happen when using a site’s internal DNS. It is recommended to use Google's DNS of 8.8.8.8 to resolve any names to our hosted servers. Per the documentation https://support.feenics.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019852374-Mercury-Controllers See the “Configuring a Controller for IP Client” section Note: You will need your Feenics login credentials. If the 2 options above do not correct the issue, increase the retry interval to 20 seconds. (5 is the default) If needed, as a test, configure a controller with the Host IP field as connect.feenics.com This will reach the V3 US stack

Issue The Continuum Database Transition Tool does not transition the doors even though they are present in the Continuum database being transitioned   Product Line Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server Cause Incorrect configuration of the Continuum Transition Tool Resolution In the 'Record Types' tab of the Continuum Transition Tool, there is a checkbox labeled 'Include Anti passback Programming' If the doors on the Continuum system are configured for anti-pass-back then the checkbox has to be ticked to match the Continuum configuration of the doors.

Issue Receiving warnings such as Import[SNMPv2-CONF] not found for mib [ACC-NC-ALARM-MIB] when loading EBO/Continuum MIB files into SNMP NSM tool Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, Andover Continuum Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Continuum NetController II Cause Required base MIB files referenced in the IMPORT section of the EBO/Continuum MIB files not present Resolution The EBO/Continuum MIB files contain references on their IMPORT section to base MIB files that are commonly included with the SNMP tool used to compile the MIBs. (See screenshot below) Those files are typically included/installed by the SNMP NMS tool, in cases where the tool does not include the base files they must be located and either loaded manually before loading the EBO/Continuum MIB or placed at the appropriate folder for the tool being used. For example, when using MG-SOFT SNMP MIB browser, the tool places the base MIB files @ C:\Program Data\MG-SOFT\SMI Modules\MIB Modules\SMI

Issue Where can I find plugins for a Xenta 102-ES? Product Line TAC Vista Environment Xenta 102-ES Cause Need to find the plugins for a Xenta 102-ES Resolution The plugins for Xenta 102-ES can be found together with the Toolpack.

Issue TAC Xenta programmable controllers (28X, 30X, 401) can have trend logs stored in memory on the controller.  Each programmable device has a different amount of storage space allocated to trends. Product Line Field Devices Environment Xenta programmable controllers (280, 281, 282, 283, 300, 301, 302, 401, 401:B) Cause The settings of a Xenta trend log (how often a point is read, how much data is stored) need to be made with the memory capacity in mind. Resolution This information can be found on the following data sheets :  Xenta 280, Xenta 300, Xenta 401. Each of the programmables can hold up to 50 trend log definitions.  But the frequency of the polling and length of storage for the trends need to be altered.  The limitation in memory is how many data points can be stored, and is dependent also upon the data type. Trend Logging in the TAC Xenta 280 Total logging capacity approx. 650 floating point numbers   or approx. 1,300 integers   or approx. 10,000 digital values   Trend Logging in the TAC Xenta 300 (HW2 or higher) Total logging capacity approx. 4,000 floating point numbers   or approx. 8,000 integers   or approx. 60,000 digital values   Trend Logging in the TAC Xenta 401 Total logging capacity approx. 7,000 floating point numbers   or approx. 15,000 integers   or approx. 110,000 digital values

Issue Enabling TAC Xenta controller service menu Product Line Field Devices Environment TAC Xenta OP TAC Menta Cause To enable the TAC Xenta controller service menu, which is accessible from the OP, this option must be selected when the OP tree is edited/generated. Resolution Edit the OP tree in the OP configuration tool, and select Formats > Settings and "Use Service Menu" option will be available. When this option is selected the OP will be able to view the TAC Xenta device system program version, device name, and network address. In addition to that the OP will also be able to configure the I/O modules and restart the device.

Issue Will public signals in TAC Xenta show up in Echelon Lonmaker? Will AI, DI, AO, DO, PVR, PVI, PVB blocks show up in Echelon Lonmaker?  Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Menta LonMaker or NL220 Xenta 30x, 401, 28x Cause Public signal are proprietary and can only be viewed from Schneider Electric products such as TAC Vista Workstation or EcoStruxure Building Operation. Resolution The answer to both questions is no. Only SNVTs are displayed in Echelon Lonmaker, and the SNVTs have to be added in TAC Menta and then downloaded to the TAC Xenta devices.

Issue Which Java version is supported for Xenta servers version 5.1.9? Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Xenta Server Cause Java  is used for TGML Graphics in the dynamic TGML viewer in a TAC Xenta Server or in TAC Vista Webstation. Resolution The recommended java version for TAC Xenta Server 5.1.9 and TAC Vista Webstation 5.1.9 is java 1.7 update 51. If you are currently running a version prior to 1.7 update 51, it is recommended to upgrade your java installation to the recommended version.