Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue How to Use User Search Product Line TAC INET Environment I/NET Site with Access Control Cause Explaining feature for users who have Access Control, to conduct searches for individuals in I/NET. Resolution There is a new feature for users who have Access Control, to conduct searches for individuals in I/NET. To utilize this, I/NET displays a dialog box when you select Access User Search from the main menu. Use this dialog to quickly locate the access control record stored for a particular individual. Use any combination of the following fields to locate the desired record: Last Name – Type the user's last name (up to 50 characters). First Name – Type the user's first name (up to 50 characters). Tenant – Use this drop-down list to narrow the search to a particular tenant, or to search through all tenant records. User ID – Type the User ID (1 to 24000) assigned to the individual. The search is updated with each character that you type and the result is displayed in the list. The result list shows all records returned by the search. Locate and highlight the desired record in the list. Once you have located and highlight the desired record, the following options become available: Picture – Select this option to display a User Search - Picture dialog. This dialog shows an image of the user and provides other information. Tree – Select this option to display the user in the System View interface. Zoom – Select the Zoom button to open the Individuals Parameter Editor. You can then view or change the individual's record as necessary. If necessary, use the Clear button to clear all fields. This can be especially useful when you are preparing to perform a new search.

Issue I/NET Seven Recycle Bin Features Environment I/NET Seven site with Access Control Cause Explaining  Access Control Recycle Bin provides a temporary storage location for deleted individuals, groups, and tenant records Resolution There is a new feature in I/NET Seven when enabled in Access Control Options. The Access Control Recycle Bin provides a temporary storage location for deleted individuals, groups, and tenant records. When one of these records is moved to the Recycle Bin, it no longer appears in any editors or summaries. Recycle bin records can later be restored, or they can be permanently purged from the system. Access to the Recycle Bin editor is restricted to users with proper permissions. This allows your system to be configured in such a way that only select operators are allowed to delete, restore, or purge records. Deleting a Group When you delete a group to the recycle bin, the following information is retained within a single Recycle Bin record: The group’s door assignments The group’s links to other groups The recycle bin does not retain references to a deleted group. Therefore, if you delete a group that is assigned to an individual, or that is being referenced by another group, the links to the group will be destroyed. Even though you can restore the group later, the previous links to this group will not be restored (i.e. individuals who were a member of the group before it was deleted will not automatically become a member of the group again when it is recovered). The system alerts you of this functionality by displaying a warning when you attempt to delete the group. This allows you to cancel the delete request if necessary. Deleting an Individual When you delete an individual to the recycle bin, the following information is retained within a single recycle bin record: The individual record: The individual’s key/card assignment The individual’s tenant assignment The individual’s door and group assignments Deleting a Tenant When you delete a tenant to the recycle bin, all of its groups and individuals are also deleted to the recycle bin and linked to the deleted tenant. The following information is retained within a single recycle bin record: The tenant record The tenant’s door assignments The tenant’s individuals and groups Recovering Records from the Recycle Bin The recover operation recreates an active record from the information stored in the recycle bin. Only a single record at a time can be restored. However, when you restore a deleted tenant, any groups and individuals that were defined for that tenant are also restored. Refer to Recycle Bin Editor for more information. Purging Records You can permanently delete access control records contained in the recycle bin by purging them. Once purged, these records no longer exist and therefore, they cannot be restored. I/NET offers you the following three methods for purging records from the recycle bin: Open the recycle bin and purge selected records directly. Refer to Recycle Bin Editor for more information: Configure I/NET to automatically purge records that have been in the recycle bin for a specified number of days. This function runs every 60 seconds. It uses the deletion time and date stamp contained in each recycle bin record to determine whether or not the record should be purged. Configure I/NET to automatically purge all recycle bin records at log off. Records can be purged silently at log off, or you can configure the system to first prompt the user. When prompted, the user can choose whether or not to purge the recycle bin. The prompt also allows the user to turn off future prompting and allow the system to silently purge the recycle bin at log off.

Issue Upgrading Vista when using Windows XP Service Pack 2 Environment TAC Vista Server Windows XP SP 2 Cause If you upgrade the version of Vista on a properly working machine you will be required to repeat some of the steps. Resolution TPI C-88-1-F57 indicates the steps needed to make Vista run on a Windows XP SP 2 operating system. However if you upgrade the version of Vista on a properly working machine you will be required to repeat some of these steps. The first step you will need to repeat is the exclusion of Vista Server (TACOS.exe) in the Windows Firewall detailed in step 3 found in section 3 of the TPI. This is due to the fact that the installation of the latest versions of Vista includes the revision in the installation directory. The second step is step 4 found in section 4 of the TPI. The DCOM settings for TACOS must be reconfigured to use default Launch and Activation Permissions. The reason for this is the same as described in section 7 of the TPI when configured Vista Server to run as a service or not.

Issue Running Vista Workstation Pro and Remote on same PC Environment Vista Workstation Vista Workstation Remote Cause It is possible to install and run both Vista Workstation Pro and Vista Workstation Remote on the same PC, but problems will be encountered when only one of the software packages is uninstalled. If both are currently installed and Workstation Remote is uninstalled then some critical files will be deleted which cause Vista Workstation Pro to stop working correctly. Resolution Since Vista Workstation Pro offers the same capability to log into a remote Vista Server the only time the user should install Vista Workstation Remote on a PC is if Vista Workstation Pro is not present. When upgrading a PC that has Vista Workstation Remote installed on it to Vista Workstation Pro then Vista Workstation Remote should be uninstalled before installing Vista Workstation Pro.

Issue Sending emails from Vista 4.2.3 Environment Vista 4.2.3 Cause Previous versions of Vista required that Microsoft Outlook be installed to send emails. However with recent changes to Outlook this caused a dialog box to appear asking if it should send the email which came from a 3rd party program (Vista) before the email would be sent. Since the previous recommendation was to not install this security patch or use Outlook 2003 the interaction with Outlook and Vista has been removed in the recently released version of Vista. Resolution In Vista 4.2.3 the email are sent directly to a SMTP server rather then utilizing an email client such as Outlook. The settings for this new functionality are found in the Mail tab of the Server Setup program. It allows you to set the senders name, email address, text encoding method, authentication method used, and the domain name address or IP address of the SMTP server. All other settings and database objects should remain the same while these settings are used behind the scenes.

Issue Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Client relationship. Environment I/NET Seven Site Cause advisory will provide you with an understanding of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 licensing requirements between server and client Resolution This advisory will provide you with an understanding of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 licensing requirements between server and client, and will provide additional guidelines for considering whether to use Full SQL Server versus the Microsoft SQL Desktop Engine (MSDE) provided with I/NET Seven. Please refer to CA-2004-04 Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Client relationship.

Issue Induced voltage generated by electrical discharges & what we use to protect our hardware systems. Environment I/NET Seven or Vista Site Cause Explanation that I/Net and Vista products utilize a variety of design methods and transient related components/circuits for general isolation and/or suppression of EMC noise/disturbances Resolution The I/Net and Vista products utilize a variety of design methods and transient related components/circuits for general isolation and/or suppression of EMC noise/disturbances. We utilize components such as MOVs, Trans-Zorb TVS suppressors, inductors/ferrites, opto-couplers, relays with >1KV isolation, filter capacitors, RC circuits, etc., to suppress and/or isolate EMI interference along with circuit design and segregation practices to achieve compliance with the EMC immunity (and emission) standards applicable to the CE marking of the products. A number of different specific international standards are applied to this compliance verification.

Issue Revision Level in Summary Configuration. Environment I/NET Seven Site Cause Explanation of how the user can quickly check the revision level of their controllers to see whether they are compatible with their front-end software and sub-lan devices Resolution I/NET now has a feature that will enable the user to quickly check the revision level of their controllers to see whether they are compatible with their front-end software and sub-lan devices. To see how this is used, the user should follow these steps: I/NET displays the System Configuration Summary when you select Summary, Configuration from the main menu. This editor allows the operator to display the system hardware architecture at each system level. Select from the following system levels: Host — If configured as LAN, this selection will display each communicating Host (Host #/Host Name) across Ethernet. If configured as direct, this selection will display the Host Tap (7801/7804) connected to the Host. Link — This selection will display each link Tap (7801/7802/7804/7805) associated with the configuration, including the address, Tap type, Tap name, and the revision level and date of the firmware. Station — This selection will display each LAN Tap (7806/7810/7804/7803) and controller associated with the currently connected link. The information provided is address #, site #, Tap/controller type, station name, # of stations, and the revision level and date of the firmware. UC — This option displays all the unitary controllers connected to the 7760 controller (UCI) to which you are connected. The screen indicates whether a connected UC is communicating. MR — This option displays all the micro regulators connected to the 7792 (MRI), 7793 (MCI), or 7798 (I/SITE LAN) on the associated controller LAN. This screen indicates whether a connected MR or ASC is communicating. DPU — This option displays all the door processor units connected to the 7791 (DPI), 7793 (MCI), or 7798 (I/SITE LAN) on the associated controller LAN. This screen indicates whether a connected DPU is communicating. Connect to the site, on the task bar select Summary, Configuration. 

Issue Offline Database Edit Environment I/NET Seven Cause This facility lets you modify controller databases without having to connect to the actual controller. Resolution In I/NET, there is a feature called Offline Database Edit that allows the user to create, or modify new and existing DCUXXXX.SAV files. In order to get to this editor, the user needs to follow these steps: I/NET displays this dialog when you select Connect while the System Work Offline option is selected from the System drop down list. This dialog allows you to select the DCUXXXX .SAV file you wish to edit from among a list of those available. This dialog displays the Link address, station address, controller type, station name, number of stations, save date and filename. Additionally, you may Add, Delete, and/or Copy your files. Note: Before attempting to perform offline edits of your database, you should ensure that the latest version of the DCUXXXX.SAV file is present on the client from which you will be performing the edits. To get the latest DCUXXXX.SAV file, connect to the controller and perform a Station Save. If you elect to work offline after a connection has been made, your connection will be terminated automatically and you must reconnect before you can resume working in online mode. Note: All graphic pages will be closed when this option is selected. Connecting to an Offline Controller Highlight the SAV file you wish to edit and press OK. The status bar at the bottom of the main I/NET window shows the name of the selected SAV file, the controller type, and an indication that you are working offline. Select Edit from the I/NET main menu and choose either Host Computer or Controller. You may then select the editor you wish to modify using the sub-menus presented in the same way you would when operating in the online mode.   Once you have finished modifying your DCUXXXX.SAV files, perform a Station Restore to have the changes applied globally. Options The following options are available from within the Connect Offline dialog: Add – Use this option to create a new SAV file. When you select Add, the system displays the Offline Add dialog. This option is useful for preparing your system to use a controller that has not yet been installed. Later, when the controller is connected, you can simply perform a Station Restore to download the SAV file to the device. Delete – Use this option to delete a SAV file from the system. You will be prompted to confirm the Delete request. Copy – Use this option to copy an existing SAV file. When you select Copy, the system displays the Offline Copy dialog. The new save file will retain the various editor parameter settings that were stored in the original SAV file. This can help to reduce the amount of configuring you'll have to perform on the new SAV file.

Issue Adding Card Numbers through a Card View Reader Environment I/NET Site with Access Control Cause How does one Add Card Numbers through a Card View Reader Resolution In I/NET, if you are using a Card View Reader Plus to read cards into the system there is a simple way to add these cards to Individuals who either have existing cards or no cards. For example, if a user has several hundred cards that needs to be replaced, instead of deleting the old card and re-issuing a new one, follow these steps: Click on Access; choose the Tenant and then Individuals. Select the individual that the card is being added to, then read the card. The number automatically appears in the next line for Hex Numbers. If there is no number, then it automatically puts it in. IF the user has Video Badging, all they would need to do is print the badge of the individual that the card is being added for and then read it into the system.  

Issue Xenta 100 has a discharge temperature alarm when in heat but the alarm limit can't be set high enough Environment Xenta 100 Cause In several parameters, the Xenta 100 plug-ins set limits on the range of valid entries which are tighter than the limits for that SNVT type. One example is nciDischAirMax on the 104-A. The plug-in sets the acceptable range at 32-104°F (0-40°C). The heated discharge temperature is likely to exceed 104°F. Resolution Open the LonMaker browser on the device Change the setting for the high alarm limit there. Values much higher than 104°F can be entered (limited only by the SNVT type).

Issue Upgrading Vista while running Server as a service Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista Server Cause The installation directories include the version number (i.e. C:\Program Files\TAC\TAC Vista 4.2.3). If you perform an upgrade before unregistering the service, you will be unable to unregister the service unless you reinstall the previous version to provide the files Windows requires. Resolution If a user is running Vista Server as a service it is recommended that the user unregister the service before performing an upgrade.  

Issue Printing the NPR Configuration Environment I/NET Seven NPR Cause I/NET now has the ability to print the settings for the NPR when it has been configured. This feature should be used anytime an NPR is set up or changed per the user. It is extremely important for use when and if an NPR has to be replaced or loses its settings due to power failure or whatever the issue might be. Resolution To use this feature the following steps need to be followed: Open I/O Server, NP Routers and modify the active NPR, you can also print the settings of NPRs that are not Online. Once the settings come up, click on Print and it will send this information to your default printer or Network Printer of your choice. Keep this sheet of paper with all of your other I/NET documentation.

Issue FieldServer Bridge in Lon network with more then 15 devices Environment I/NET or Vista Site Cause Can a FieldServer bridge communicate with more then 15 Xenta controllers? Resolution A FieldServer bridge can communicate with more then 15 Xenta controllers despite the address table limitation found with implicit addressing. This requires that the bridge be programmed for explicit addressing which requires the knowledge of the controllers node number and SNVT index numbers. This is useful for situations where you are interfacing to a non LonWorks device that needs to communicate values to more then 15 Xenta or LonWorks controllers.

Issue Deleting a Group from the System Plug-in Environment TAC Vista System Plugin Cause After adding a controller to the Vista database, the System Plug-in automatically creates a new Group Resolution If you move the new controller to a different Group, make sure the controller you added is not still selected when you try to delete the old group. By default, both the controller you moved and the group you moved it from will be selected. Hitting the delete key will delete both.

Issue Xenta 511/527/911: Recovering from a bad download Environment Xenta 511, 527, 911 Cause If the 511/527/911 has suffered an error during the download process and the system starts behaving abnormally, then the device needs to be taken back to a boot state. Resolution Connect to the 511/527/911 using the serial connection on port B Use HyperTerminal to log in. Type "format" command to format the device. Once the process has completed, log in as super user (root/root by default) and set the IP address as detailed in the device manual. Verify that you can ping the device from a computer and then run the appropriate system program for the device you are working with. Select option B Install Full System. This will verify the current program is in the device as well as let you change the color scheme. Once this is completed you should be able to download the existing or new XBuilder project to the device.

Issue Adding Custom Buttons in Vista 4.2 Environment Vista 4.2 Cause In Vista 4.2 you can add custom buttons to the Tools menu or the Toolbar. This can be useful to make shortcuts to the desktop, your Vista database directory, or WordPad. Resolution Right click on any tool bar and choose Customize. On the Tools tab, insert a new shortcut. Enter a name for the button and the Path for the EXE you wish to execute in the Command box. Click Close and your button should be visible from the Tools menu. You can also drag and drop this button on any tool bar.

Issue How can I get SNVT values from one LonWorks network to another without relying on Vista to do object transfer? Environment Two LNS Networks LonMaker/NL220 Cause Data cannot be transferred between two separate LON networks unless they share an L-Proxy in the network management tool. Resolution Each port of a Loytec L-Proxy may be commissioned in a different LonWorks network. Any SNVT bound to one port can be transferred by the L-Proxy to its other port(s).

Issue Corrupted/Hidden Time Schedule Events Environment Time Schedule Objects Vista Workstation Cause Sometimes an event will not show up in the Time Schedule window in Vista, but may still be in the object. Resolution To check all Time Schedules in Vista press Ctrl+Shift+D and a table will show up with all events in that Time Schedule. From here you can edit, add, and delete events.

Issue It is possible to browse and bind the public signals while working on MTA files on your hard drive, however this has repeatedly led to problems when downloaded due to differences in controller names between the MTA file and the controller name in the Vista database. Environment TAC Menta TAC Network Variables Xenta programmable controllers Cause Waiting until the application is imported into the network will allow the Vista database to automatically provide you with the correct controller name to the public signal you are wanting to use. You will have a database browse window rather then a file select window which is your indication that you are doing this the correct way. This method to reduces the chance of operator error. Resolution While generating your Menta application, do not set the Network Address while binding Inputs to the Network Variable option Complete the other parts of the application and import the .mta to the Vista Database using the System Plug In. Once the application has been incorporated in the Vista database you can then edit the application and browse the Network Address of the Input.