Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Bit Count not Supported errors in the Active Event view and Event log Environment Active Event view Event log Cause Custom cards will be required if bit count is not supported. Resolution On the door configuration screens make sure the correct card type is selected. (Note: On the door you can select multiple card types). If the card bit count and/or format is not one that is supported natively by the door then it may be necessary to configure a custom card.

Issue Configure a Xenta 5/7/9xx for no timeout log out. Environment Xenta Servers Xenta 511, 527, 555, 701, 711, 721, 731, 913 Cause A Xenta 5/7/9xx controller is set up with certain predefined time out durations for logging out inactive users.  While you cannot disable this feature, you can set the duration sufficiently long to effectively eliminate the log out if desired. Resolution Generate a certificate.  To avoid the certificate error every time you connect to the Xenta 5/7/9xx, go to XBuilder, and generate a certificate that has the same name as the IP address of the Xenta. Edit the file viewuser.html.  Connect to the Xenta using FTP.  For example Internet Explorer ftp://:@ viewuser.html is located in the folder www/config.  Save the file on your hard drive.  Edit the file with Notepad, and add the following correction to viewuser.html Line 159:  Add another Option tag with a value of "259200000" and description of 3000 days following the form of the previous entries. Carry out the changes.  Connect to the Xenta using FTP.  Change the name of the file in the Xenta (Backup) Copy the file the you have on your hard drive to the Xenta. Activate "no logout."  Go to the configuration page in the Xenta.  Select "3000 days" for log out

Issue Can connect to a Xenta 527 through the web, and can ping it, but when trying to connect to it with I/NET, it shows that it is offline. Environment Xenta 527 I/NET Seven Cause If you start I/NET and go to Edit/Host Computer/Network Configuration, you can see the Xenta 527 but there is a – sign in the Cnf column. If you right click on your I/O Server/Configure and select NPR Routers, the unit will not be Online and if you uncheck the box then you might see it in the Offline entries. Resolution Check the following settings: Verify that port 50069 is opened on the commercial routers in that network. Using a PC that has ftp access, browse to the Xenta 527, ftp:// 0.0.0.0/configdb/inet/filter.xml Delete this file and then try connecting to it again through I/NET. This file gets recreated with the default settings whenever another NPR or PC tries to talk to it. If this fails, then format the unit and download the bin files back to the unit again.  

Issue Add Xenta trend log is grayed out when right clicking on point in a programmable Xenta controller and selecting Create Trend Log. Environment Xenta Programmable Controller Menta Cause There are no available trend logs in the Menta application. There have to be empty trend logs in Menta for this to work. Resolution Edit the file In Menta Go to Options > Trend Logs Click on the 'up arrow' to increase the number of available trend logs. Save the application to the Vista Database Download to the controller.

Issue How can I change the colors for Vista alarms in Vista Webstation? Environment TAC Vista Webstation Alarm queue Cause Customize the color palette for a Webstation user. Resolution To change the colors used by alarms in Vista Webstation, log in to Vista Workstation as a user that belongs to the $Administrator group. Right click on an alarm and select customize. In the Text tab, you will be able to change the font color or background color for each of the alarm states. Once you have configured the colors to your liking use the File->Save My Program Settings command. The change will now be visible in Vista Webstation next time you log back in.  

Issue When trying to open graphic editor by right clicking on the graphic object and selecting edit, the editor won’t start. The login screen comes up but after logging in the program never starts. Environment OGC Graphic Editor Vista IV Cause The process must be stopped and started again with a proper login. Resolution Open Task Manager end all 'Tadraw.exe' processes. Open the graphic editor from 'Start-programs-TAC-TAC Tools 4.x.x' Log in and close the editor. Now you can open it from within the Vista Workstation again.

Issue Configure the 527-NPR to use custom port assignments Environment I/NET site Cause How to configure the 527-NPR to use custom port assignments Resolution The Xenta 527/511/913 line of controllers are configurable to use custom port numbers for the http, https, ftp, snmp, and other ethernet related protocols. This is configured in the web interface on these controllers. The 527-NPR however has a limited web interface that only allows you to modify the I/NET communication port (default 50069). To use custom port assignments you will need to follow these steps: Connect to the 527-NPR with a ftp client. Browse to the /sys/system directory. Copy the configuration file of the protocol you want to set a custom port on. (http.cfg for HTTP or HTTPS protocols) Modify the port number with notepad. Copy the file back into the /sys/system directory. Restart the 527-NPR. You will now be able to access the 527-NPR with the new port assignments.

Issue Synchronizing time in Vista Server and a Xenta server when running on a Domain Environment Xenta Server Xenta 511, 527, 701, 711, 721, 731, 913 Vista Server Domain network Cause If your computer is running on a domain network then the computer cannot be manually configured to use a Xenta server or an external Time Server as its time source. Resolution To get your Xenta Server and Vista Server to use the same time you have the following options: Take the Vista Server off of the domain and configure the PC to use the Xenta Server as its time server. Set the Domain controller to use the same SNTP server that the Xenta Server is using. This requires that the network open the ports to communicate with the SNTP server. Install a hardware SNTP server or run a software SNTP server that gets its' time from the domain controller and set the Xenta server to communicate with this hardware/software SNTP server.

Issue "TAC DRF kit is not registered" error message when installing TAC software Environment LDRF.cat (LDRF) DRF Kit Cause The DRF kit may not have been installed properly, or it may have become corrupted through the process of uninstalling and reinstalling certain engineering software suites. Resolution Browse to C:\LonWorks\types\ and delete the LDRF.cat file. Start the Catalog Utility from Start > Programs > Echelon LNS Utilities > LNS Resource File Catalog Utility. Click OK. Browse to C:\LonWorks\types\ and click OK. Select "Add a New Directory". Browse to C:\LonWorks\types\User\TAC and click OK. If Echelon LonMaker is being used repeat steps 5 and 6 for the directory C:\LonWorks\types\User\Echelon. Click "Refresh Now", then "Exit" The DRF kit should now be repaired.

Issue Entering values less than 1 in Zbuilder results in red error indication. If you enter ".05" or ".2" into a field in Zbuilder it won't accept it. Environment Zbuilder Xenta 121 Cause A period cannot be the leading digit in a numerical input. Resolution The first digit must be a number,  so you must enter fractional values with a leading zero. Example: "0.05" or "0.2"

Issue Forced inputs in Xenta 121s return to default values Environment LonMaker NL220 Cause Every time you hit "Apply" or "OK" in Zbuilder, the Xenta 121 will get a reset command. When the controller receives the reset command, the inputs lose their forced status and return to default values. Resolution After the Xenta 121 controller has been rest, the overridden points must be forced again.

Issue Trying to filter alarms on Vista Workstation 4.5. Is there a way to permanently set the filter to only display alarms with a priority of 1-8? Environment Vista Workstation 4.5 Cause Permanently setting alarm filters allow for creation of custom alarm views. Resolution In Vista 4.5 you can create user profiles, and assign a custom alarm view to the profile. For more information on how to set up user profiles and alarm viewers see the "TAC Vista IV, Administrating TAC Vista Workstation" manual. If no profile is specified for a user it will use the global object $UserProfile which uses the global object $AlarmView. If you make changes to those objects it will affect all users that are not using their own profiles.

Issue Global Points not working after an Upgrade. Environment I/NET site with Global points Cause Issue with Global Points not working after an Upgrade Resolution Are you having an issue with global points not working after you have upgraded from I/Net 2000 to I/Net Seven? There are 2 ways that you can resolve this, first: On your PC, do you have a reference host IP in your active profile in I/O Server? Change the setting back to 0, shut down I/Net and I/O Server and then restart it again. Modify the profile and place the IP address of the NPR in the reference hosts IP. If you are using an NPR, change the settings back to 0, restart the unit and then put the addresses back again into the reference host IP. Check your global points and they should be updating now. Secondly, follow this example: Point address Example High 1 (Calculation taking the high value from 15 zones) Point address Example High 2 (Calculation taking the high value from 12 zones) Point address Example Avg. (Average of High 1 and High 2) Create a new point and create a calculation that looks at the point that was not updating. After: Point address Example High 1 (Calculation taking the high value from 15 zones) ***Existing points that did not change*** Point address Example High 2 (Calculation taking the high value from 12 zones) ***Existing points that did not change*** Point address Example Avg. (Average of High 1 and High 2) ***Existing points that did not change*** Create a new point called: Point address Example Avg. A (Calculation pointed to Example Avg.) Made the Example Avg. point internal and not Global LAN. Made the newly created point the Global LAN point.

Issue Launching I/NET automatically on startup of the PC. Environment Microsoft Windows I/NET Cause There is a feature where the user can automatically launch I/NET when they start their PC. This keeps operators from having to remember to start I/NET after a reboot or power loss. Resolution Go to Windows Explorer > C:/Documents and Settings/Users/[select the user]/Start Menu/Programs/Startup Create a shortcut for I/NET Select I/NET, right click and select properties, at the end of "C:\Program Files\INET Seven\INetW.exe" place a /winuser. Now it should look like this "C:\Program Files\INET Seven\INetW.exe" /winuser. Log off or shut down the PC Restart it again and I/NET should automatically be started.

Issue Warning: Configuring HTTP and HTTPS on Xenta 511/527/913 Environment Xenta 511 Xenta 527 Xenta 913 Cause If the device reboots with both protocols set to the same port then it will become stuck in an endless reboot. The only way to correct this problem is to send the device back to the factory. Resolution When configuring the HTTP (80 by default) and HTTPS (443 by default) ports in the Xenta 511/527/913 do not try to set these two protocols to use the same ports.  

Issue Vista receives an I/NET transaction from a Xenta 527 as an alarm but not as a transaction Environment TAC Vista Workstation Alarm Queue Event Log I/NET Transactions Xenta 527 Cause If your time stamp is in the future, the events window (transactions window is really a filtered events window) will not display them but for some reason alarms come through. Resolution Open the Xenta 527 from Internet Explorer. Open the Events folder under I/NET. Look for the transactions. Note the date and time. Make sure the date and time in your 527 are set correctly and that the time zone is right in regional settings. Even though the SCU time stamps the transaction, the 527 shifts the stamp according to it's own settings.

Issue Time stamps of I/NET transactions are off in the Vista event and transaction windows. Environment Xenta 527 I/NET Events TAC Vista Workstation Cause Even though the SCU time stamps the transaction, the 527 will shift it according to it's time zone and date settings. Resolution Make sure the time is set correctly in the Xenta 527. 

Issue Since I have upgraded my CyberStation it seems that my distribution of Personnel records takes a very long time. Also I have noticed that I am having intermittent communication problems with my field bus controllers, why is this happening? Environment Cyberstation Cause This could be caused by the new personnel distribution engine. The new personnel distribution system takes advantage of all the workstations running CyberStation to load balance the distribution so not just one workstation will do this. With this feature added it was also necessary to include settings to adjust to optimize the process. Below are the settings and where they can be found. Resolution Workstation preferences can be found on the Preferences tab of the workstation editor. Workstation preferences Line 19 (Added in the 1.62 Version of CyberStation) Enables and disables the immediate distribution of personnel records from this workstation to controllers on the local area network (LAN). A value of “True” is the default. When this feature is enabled, the workstation inspects the status of the database, and if there are pending personnel distribution transactions, it performs the distributions. When to disable this preference — Typically, you would set this preference to “False” if the workstation is running a lot of applications, such as graphics. If there are several workstations at this site, disabling it on the web server may result in better performance. It also gives you the choice of turning it off for a workstation that is shut down at the end of a day. When to enable this preference — Typically, you would set this preference to “True” for workstations that are dedicated servers (running 24 hours per day and seven days per week, typically in a back room) and for other workstations based on the number of distributions and throughput. The more workstations that are distributing, the faster the distribution occurs. NOTE: If you have too many workstations with the above set to true it could actually slow down the distribution to field bus controllers by overwhelming them from different workstations. This could result in slow or no response from field bus controllers when polling them for information. It also could result in very slow personnel distributions to the field bus controllers. It is recommended not to set this to true for all the workstations but only to set it true for a few. Workstation Preferences Line 20 (Added in the 1.62 Version of CyberStation) Enables and disables the immediate distribution of personnel records from this workstation to controllers on remote access services (RAS) networks. If there are no RAS networks on this site you want to make sure this setting is false, true is the default. This feature should only be set to “True” on workstations that have modems in them used to connect to remote sites. When this feature is enabled, the workstation inspects the status of the database, and if there are pending access distributions, it performs the distributions. General Preferences are found by right-clicking on the Infinity icon in the task tray and selecting General Preferences. General Preferences Line 12 (Added in the 1.73 version of CyberStation) Number of Concurrent Fieldbus Personnel Distributions — This is the number of concurrent personnel distributions that are sent from each workstation to controllers on each field bus network. The default (and minimum) value is 1. Maximum value is 4. This setting, which works in conjunction with setting 13, improves performance by preventing or large numbers of personnel records from flooding field bus controllers. General Preferences Line 13 (Added in the 1.73 version of CyberStation) Time Interval Between Fieldbus Personnel Distributions — This is the amount of time (in milliseconds) that CyberStation waits before it sends another personnel distribution to controllers on the same fieldbus network. The default value is 30. Minimum value is 0. Maximum value is 15000 (15 seconds). This setting, which works in conjunction with setting 12, improves performance by preventing large numbers of records from flooding field bus controllers. It is also useful when there are many workstations performing access distribution. (That is, set it higher if there are many workstations.)

Issue Access Event messages say, "Access Mode No Communications." What does this mean? Environment IOU module Access Server Cause This message means that the controller/IOU module is losing communications with the Access Server (Workstation that is selected as either the Primary or Secondary Access Server). Resolution  Troubleshoot your communications network. Note: When you are in No Communications mode, your personnel records will be validated based on of how you configured the door to validate while in No Communications mode.

Issue Access Event messages are showing that are say, "Access Mode NoDatabase." What does this mean? Environment Access Server Cause This means that the controller cannot get to the personnel database to validate a personnel record.  Resolution Generally this means that the controller has lost its personnel database and needs to be reloaded. Note: When you are in No Database mode your personnel records will be validated based on of how you configured the door to validate while in No Database mode.