Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Creating an object in a BACnet B3 or Infinet controller results in "Invalid Handle ID" or "Unable to insert row in Database Table" error Environment BACnet B3 Infinet controller i2 controller Cause Most commonly this is caused by having too many objects in a B3 or Infinet controller. There is a maximum amount of objects 255, Approximately 50 of them are reserved for system reserved variables and objects, leaving approximately 200 that can be user created in these types of controllers. Resolution One way to determine if this is the problem is to select the controller through Continuum Explorer and get an object count of how many objects are in the controller. If you are seeing roughly 200 objects then try and delete one object to see if you can create a new one. If you can then you have run into the above problem and you need to re-think the programming of the controller.

Issue Error on login to the webClient: "Max user connections has been reached" Environment Continuum webClient Cause webClient support up to 5 users simultaneously. Resolution Make sure the key is enabled for webClient. Make sure all the DCom settings are set correctly. Make sure the IIS and WebClient software was not installed through a remote terminal service type of software. If this was done they will need to uninstall the IIS, WebClient, etc… and then go directly on the server and re-install the software. Make sure the IIS server was not rebooted through a remote terminal service application and then subsequently logged on through remote a terminal service. If this is done they will need to go directly on the IIS server and reboot it while physically on the machine. Verify how many users are actually logged on. Should not display something like 5 / 5. In this case you “have” exceeded the maximum and one user must log off. Users typically run into this on standalone systems where the key is configured for two users and the person shuts down the browser and neglects to log off. Users are NOT disconnected in this case until the 20 minute session timeout occurs. In this state the administrator can close the ACWebServerProxy dialog to disconnect ALL users with one click.

Issue Can not get graphics to work through firewalls when using webClient prior to Version 1.73. Environment webClient prior to Version 1.73 Cause Prior to 1.73 when dealing with WebPinpoint and firewalls you would need one of the below IIS server configurations. Resolution Scenario 1 -- All Client browsers inside the firewall. IIS server needs to be located inside firewall. Web Pinpoint will function correctly.   Scenario 2 -- All Client browsers are Outside the firewall. IIS server needs to be located in a DMZ ( 2 firewalls required to have a DMZ). Web Pinpoint will function correctly.   Scenario 3 -- Clients are located inside and outside the firewall Two IIS servers required, one inside the Firewall and one located in the DMZ. Web Pinpoint functions correctly. Or One IIS server required, client machines outside the firewall access the IIS through a VPN. Web Pinpoint functions correctly.   Scenario 4 -- All client machines are located outside the firewall. IIS server and ALL controllers located outside the firewall **Not recommended**   At revision 1.73 firewalls will no longer be an issue and there is no special configuration needed, just set it up as if there were no firewalls.

Issue Error connecting to webClient after upgrade: "Class factory can't supply requested class" Webclient/accmgr.dst line 13 (or similar) Environment webClient Cause This is caused by not rebooting the IIS server when requested during the installation of the software. Resolution Reboot the IIS server Make sure there are no other browsers connected to it Then re-install the webClient software

Issue What port numbers do routers have to have open in order to run a Continuum system? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Cyberstation Continuum BACnet / Infinet Controllers TCP/IP Cause There have been many questions on which network ports the Continuum system uses for communication. Below is a listing of the network ports along with what the port is being used for. Resolution The destination UDP port from the controller will always be one of the below port numbers. The source UDP port that the controller uses is completely arbitrary and will be anywhere from 32768 to 65534. (0x8000 to 0xFFFE) Controller/Cyberstation Application Packet type Decimal port number Hex Port numbers   Controller Error Log Tool - UDP 33487 0x82CF BACNet B4 controller Point Configuration UDP 33487 0x82CF BACNet B4 controller Alarm Configuration, Alarms, and COV UDP 47808 0xBAC0 BACNet B4 controller Controller flash TCP 33456 0x82B0 BACNet B4 controller Web Server TCP 80 NetController Point Configuration, Alarms, and Events UDP 33487 0x82CF Netcontroller Save from Controller TCP 33440 0x82A0 NetController Controller flash TCP 33456 0x82B0 Sending Email  TCP 25 NetController WebServer TCP 80 (but configurable) CX9702 ** Point Configuration, Alarms, and Events See Note 33487 0x82CF CX9702 ** Save from Controller See Note 33440 0x82A0 CX9702 ** Controller flash See Note 33456 0x82B0 CX9702 ** WebServer See Note 80 (but configurable) ** Note: UDP or TCP port (user configurable via the TransportType attribute) Remote View Remote view Video TCP 18772 0x4954 CyberStation Controller Alarms and Events UDP 33487 0x82CF CyberStation Peer Cyberstation communication UDP 44224 (1.4x and 1.5x), 47808 (all other revisions) 0xACC0 (1.4x and 1.5x), 0xBAC0 (all other revisions) CyberStation Workstation to SQL database TCP Determined by Microsoft, 1433 by default CyberStation BACNet communication UDP 47808 0xBAC0 CyberStation MSMQ TCP 1801 0x0709 CyberStation MSMQ UDP 3527 0x0DC7 CyberStation MSMQ UDP 1801 0x0709 CyberStation MSMQ RPC 135 0x0087 CyberStation MSMQ RPC 2101*,2103*, 2105* 0x0835, 0x0837, 0x0839 *Message Queuing message traffic and internal session management traffic between Queue Managers is delivered over Winsock through reserved TCP port 1801. The Message Queuing Independent Client multicasts a server discovery broadcast over reserved UDP port 1801. Message Queuing Servers listen on TCP port 2101* for RPC-based MQIS and Active Directory lookups. Message Queuing 3.0 independent clients and Message Queuing servers make MQIS requests directly to Active Directory by using LDAP on TCP port 389. Message Queuing Independent Clients and Servers listen on fixed TCP port 2103* and 2105* for RPC-based remote reads of their public queues and private queues. Also, the Dependent Client uses these two ports to communicate with its server for send and for receive. There is a dynamic RPC port that is assigned by the RPC layer for handshaking with an Independent Client or with an RPC server for the Message Queuing Server to determine the fixed ports. This is typically port 135. The internal "ping" mechanism for Message Queuing operates over reserved UDP port 3527. When you use HTTP messaging in Message Queuing 3.0, Message Queuing message traffic and internal session management traffic between Queue Managers is delivered over Winsock through reserved TCP port 1801. * These port numbers may be incremented by 11 if the initial choice of RPC port is being used when Message Queuing initializes. A connecting QM queries port 135 to discover the 2xxx ports. For more information on MSMQ ports check with Microsoft, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/178517 A .PDF document containing this Network Port information can be downloaded Here.

Issue Are 120 Ohm terminating resistors required on the IOU bus? Environment IOU Bus Cause Occasionally, customers have reported that unreliable communications with RS485 versions of IO Modules can be corrected by removing the 120 ohm bus termination resistors. The Continuum IO Module Install Sheet and the Continuum IO Systems Reference documents state that these resistors are required because it is recommended by the RS485 standard and by Echelon documents. These documents assume a perfect bus topology where there are no stubs, cable impedance is uniform throughout the bus, shielding is continuous, and each node's transceiver circuit presents the same load. Resolution The reality is that each installation of a Continuum IO bus is a little different with respect to these parameters and does not represent an ideal bus. A typical installation usually consists of clusters of modules plugged directly together and then connected to each other and the NetController by various lengths of shielded cable. Additional variations are introduced by the fact that multiple vendors and multiple generations of RS485 transceiver ICs are used in the Continuum modules. This means that each installation is in fact a little different and it is possible that the added load of the termination resistors can cause the signal levels on the bus to be ambiguous to some transceivers when the bus is idle. In these cases, removal of the resistors will make the bus more reliable. In summary, if you are experiencing IO Module communications problems, first check all connections per the installation instructions and ensure that the NetController and modules are properly grounded. If you are still experiencing problems try removing the 120 ohm resistors and check to see if reliable communication is restored.

Issue How to remove unwanted entries from the Alarm log, Access Event log, Error log, and Activity log automatically. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum SQL Server MSDE, 2000, 2005, 2008 Cause Want to setup automatic truncation of event logs and unsure how to do this in an SQL Server environment. Resolution MSDE Engine For MSDE, you can go to our Exchange online site and download the Standalone MSDE Database Utilities from the Tools, Utilities and Service Packs section of the Continuum part of our Exchange online web site. This is capable of automatically truncating the logs, as well making automated backups, checking for low hard drive space, etc. SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005 For full-blown SQL Server, you can easily create a scheduled Job. Details are described below. To create a scheduled Job that will truncate the Continuum logs in the SQL Server: 1. Open up SQL Enterprise Manager. Note that the SQL Server Agent service must be running in order to create a Job. 2. Highlight the Continuum database 3. From the Menu, select Tools \ Job Scheduling A wizard opens; "Welcome to the Create Job Wizard" Hit Next 4. Select Transact-SQL Command 5. Hit Next 6. For the Database Name, select ContinuumDB (or whatever the name of the DB is) 7. In the large white space for the Transact-SQL Command, cut and paste the code from our web site: /****** Replace 90 with the number of days to maintain in each log ********/ delete from accessevent where DATEDIFF(day, timestamp, getdate()) > 90 delete from activityevent where DATEDIFF(day, timestamp, getdate()) > 90 delete from alarmevent where DATEDIFF(day, timestamp, getdate()) > 90 delete from errorevent where DATEDIFF(day, timestamp, getdate()) > 90 8. Hit Next 9. On the next screen, you are asked when you do want to run this job. Select "On a recurring basis" and hit the Schedule button. 10. On the Schedule page, set up whatever schedule you desire 11. Hit OK to close the Schedule Page 12. Hit Next 13. On the Job Notifications screen, you can choose (if you want) any email or net send alerts. This is optional 14. Hit Next 15. In the final page, you are given a summary of the Job you have just created and you can change the name of your Job to anything you want. It might be a good idea to give it a more descriptive name like "Weekly Log Truncation" 16. Click Finish and you are done. You should get a message that the job was created successfully. To verify that the Job is running correctly, you can go to the Enterprise Manager of SQL Server and click on the Management Folder, then expand the SQL Server Agent folder and click on Jobs. On the right-hand pane, you will see a list of created jobs. Scroll down and find the job that you just created. You can get information about the history of the Job, whether it ran successfully or not.   SQL Server 2008 1. Run Mgmt Studio and login as sa. 2. Make sure SQL Server Agent is running. Would expect it is by default. 3. Right-click on Jobs (under SQL Server Agent). Select New Job... 4. General tab - Name: TrimLogs // Owner: sa // Category: Database Maintenance // Enabled checkbox 5. Steps tab - New... // Step name: DateDiff // Type Transact-SQL script (T-SQL) // Run as: [null] // Database: ContinuumDB //Command: [pasted in code below]. Press OK. delete from accessevent where DATEDIFF(day, timestamp, getdate()) > 90 delete from activityevent where DATEDIFF(day, timestamp, getdate()) > 90 delete from alarmevent where DATEDIFF(day, timestamp, getdate()) > 90 delete from errorevent where DATEDIFF(day, timestamp, getdate()) > 90   6. Schedules tab - New... // Name: Weekly // Schedule type: Recurring & Enabled // Occurs: Weekly // Recurs every: 1 week(s) on [whatever date and time]. Press OK. 7. Did not set up Alerts, Notifications or Targets. 8. Press OK. 9. Set it up to run a few minutes after creation. 10. After time passed, opened Mgmt Studio and double-clicked Job Activity Monitor. Saw TrimLogs had successfully run. 11. Ran query: Select count(*) from ActivityEvent to verify count went down.  

Issue How to tell if an AC-1 Plus card reader has been tampered with Environment AC-1 Plus card reader Cause Knowing whether a card reader has been tampered with is an important security measure. Resolution Set up an InfinityNumeric. Name it anything. Set its IOU number the same as the entry IOU (or exit IOU) of the door and set the channel number to 6. Set the direction for IOInput. The value of the numeric represents the status of the reader. 0 = Normal 1 = No Reader Present 2 = Reader Voltage problem NOTE: This only works on the AC1Plus access control module.

Issue What are the Plain English program limitations when it comes to number of characters in the program and line label sizes? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Plain English Editor Cause You must stay within the character limits of a Plain English program to have it execute without problems. Resolution Plain English program limitations for a CX9XXX level controller: Number of characters allowed in 1 line label: 16 Number of characters allowed per line: 140 Number of characters allowed in all lines labels (one program): 272  ** there is a 4 char overhead per line label Number of individual lines in (one program): 399 (including whitespace) Number of total characters: 31,728, approx. (this is really based on file size) Limitations for a Infinet/B3 level controller: Number of characters allowed in 1 line label: 16 Number of characters allowed per line: 140 Number of characters allowed in all lines labels (one program): 157  ** there is a 4 char overhead per line label Number of individual lines in (one program): 399 (including whitespace) Number of total characters: 10,725, approx. (this is really based on file size)

Issue Controlling I/NET DO points from a Xenta 527 Environment I/NET Site with Xenta 527 Cause Need to control DO Points using Xenta 527 Resolution I/NET DO point states are modified with the "control" tag in Xbuilder. This tag issues a command based on the control descriptions order specified, not the actual command value. For example if you are trying to control a door point in I/NET and the Control Description table looks like the following: Command 00: STRT 1 01: stop 0 02: Secr 0 03: UnLk 0 04: Lock 0 The Discrete Output definition has 02: Secr defined as the control description. When you change the value of the control tag of the DO point on the Xenta 527 (connection object, on values/graphic page) the valid values will be the following since it is a 3 state point: 0: Secr 1: UnLk 2: Lock The order of the control descriptions matter, but the order of the commands used (whether zero is first) does not matter to the Xenta 527.  

Issue My TAC Vista 5 license that I created from my entitlement doesn't work, but the demo license works fine. Environment Vista 5 Cause Only the Demo license works without a License server installed. Resolution The license server must be installed on your TAC Vista Server machine even if it is a standalone server.  

Issue An error occurred while installing DSS: MSDTC The content of the dialog box or windows event entry starts with: System.EnterpriseServices.RegistrationException: Unable to open COM+ 1.0 catalog to configure components. ----> System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x8004E00F): COM+ was unable to talk to the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Installation DSS Cause This happens when there is a problem with Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MDTC) Resolution Go to Control Panel Administrative Tools – Services Check if MSDTC in running as a Service. The name that you should see in the service list is 'Distributed Transaction Coordinator' Make sure that this is Started, Automatic, Network Service (for XP and Win2003) Here is how to install it if it is not already running: Open cmd prompt Navigate to C:\Windows\%windir% Type "msdtc -install" which installs Msdtc. The service now appears under the 'Services' area. After installing follow the steps in Microsoft Technical Bulletin.

Issue How to recover I2 controller with auto started corrupt/bad PE program and flash backed up with this corrupt/bad program. Environment I2 Controller Cause If the program is in flash, and the ACCRestartMode is set to ACCWarmToCool and the ACCStatusFlash is set to AccValidFlash, you’ll find yourself in an endless loop when trying to power down and restart. What needs to be performed at this point is to get the corrupted/bad auto start program out of the backed up flash. The corrupted program can be one that has just been created/edited or imported and then saved to flash. Resolution Get the corrupt/bad program out of the controller and its flash: With the WS in offline edit, dump the corrupted program/s to file and then delete it/them from the controller. Now send the I2 controller to text file. Edit the controller and write down the parameters i.e.….Name, model #, commport, serial # and infinet ID. Then delete the controller. Bring WS online, manually create a new I2 with a temporary name, same serial #, same model #, same comport and an infinet ID that is not used… ie (if you have for example less than 100 infinet controllers use infinet id of 101) select apply. The temporary I2 just created should come online. Once online, delete it. (The reason for creating with a new temp name and Infinet ID, is that a newly created controller will create an empty controller and empty out the flash.) Now create a new I2 with the original name, commport, serial # and original infinet ID. Once online import the controller dump file we saved, reload and back up to flash if needed.

Issue What is the Vista Server LNS license? Environment Vista Licensing Cause Vista will automatically detect the presence of binding tools (LonMaker, Alex, Lonwatcher, and NL220) and properly communicate with the LNS server without the need of a specific license. However, if you have an LNS database but no binding tool then the LNS license will need to be ordered and installed. Resolution The Vista Server LNS license is used by Vista to enable LNS communication when there is not a binding tool installed on the computer. Note: Vista 5.0 had a bug and was incorrectly checking for the binding tool. This was corrected in Hotfix 14 and 17.  

Issue Error message "Exception from HRESULT: 0x80041038 Code: -2147217352" when logging into TAC Vista Webstation 5.0.0 Environment Webstation 5.0.0 Internet Explorer Cause This error results from an attempt to log in with an invalid user/password Resolution Check that the username and password are valid and try to log in again.

Issue Alarms cease to display and Continuum Workstation reports offline in the Workstation editor but appears as online to the CX controllers. Environment Continuum Workstation Cause On sites where this has been detected, there were alarms setup, the eventnotification settings were set for multiple entry, there was no recipient configured, and the deactivate settings required acknowledgement. This type of configuration will allow the active alarm count in the system to increase with each alarm. The active alarm buffer in the workstation by default is 3000 and when exceeded can cause the WS to appear as offline. Resolution NOTE: Before any query or access of a database make sure that you have a recent known good backup. To test for this situation, run the following query from the database: Select count(*) from alarmevent where active = 1 To fix this situation, correct the incorrectly configured event notifications to avoid the same problem. Shutdown all CyberStations. Run the following query on the database: Update alarmevent set active = 0 where active = 1 Restart Continuum.  

Issue How can the resource count be found for a Niagara R2 station? Environment Niagara R2 station Cause User can't locate the Resource counts using Workplace Pro or a web browser. Resolution There are two methods. Using Workplace Pro, Open a station (Note:  the station must be running)  Highlight the station name Select Search > Resource Count in the drop-down menu bar (alt-R shortcut) Using a web browser, In the address bar, type http://[stationHost]/prism/resources. Sign into the station using an Admin user account. This will display a summary at any level of the database. For each level there is a "Total objects" listing at the top of the page. This is where the resource count is displayed for that level.

Issue Move TGML graphics from one Vista 5 database to another and keep the links/bindings intact. Environment Vista 5 TGML Graphics Cause Linking and binding information is not stored in the TGML source file, but in the Vista database. Therefore if only the TGML graphic is saved and transferred to the new database, all of the binding and linking information would be lost. To preserve this information, a Database Export must be performed for graphics transfers between databases. Resolution In Workstation, open the database you would like to export from and select File-Database-Export. Under the Site PC tab, use the default selection of "Get a customized copy of the database" and click OK. In the Database Export window, Right click on the root object and select Add. In the Select widow, navigate to the object(s) you would like to export and click Select. Use multiselect commands (hold ctrl or shift) to select multiple objects. When you are finished selecting objects, click on the green arrow of the Database Export window to name the export file and save. In the new database, select File-Database-Import. Browse to the Exported file and click OK. (You can also click View to see the contents of the selected File before importing if you have multiple Export files). Refresh the Folder pane of Workstation and the object should now be imported.

Issue "Access Denied" errors are reported during the re-installation of the Niagara R2 software. Environment Niagara R2 software Cause The files installed in the nre\modules folder are write protected. Resolution If an attempt is made to reinstall Niagara R2 software on a computer, an installation error frequently occurs. The Niagara installer (second installation program) progresses one tick on the progress bar then displays a "Module Install Error" window containing the message "Access is Denied". Clicking the OK button to acknowledge the error results in the message window reappearing multiple times. This occurs because the files installed in the nre\modules folder are write protected when installed. To prevent this problem before attempting to reinstall any release of the Niagara R2 software, Open Windows Explorer ("My Computer") Select all files in the niagara\nre\modules folder Right-click on the selected files Select "properties" from the displayed menu. The Properties window appears.  Clear the mark in the "Read-only" box Click the OK button.

Issue Is there a way to backup a Niagara R2 UNC or Enterprise Server station from a web browser? Environment Niagara R2 UNC Enterprise Server XML-capable browser (IE 4.x or higher) Cause Need to save the station's database on the PC for possible restoration. Resolution Yes but note that this method will only backup the station database.  It will open the entire station database in XML format on the webpage.  Depending on the size of the station it may take a long time.  It is best to use this method if Workplace Pro is not available. Follow the steps below to create a station backup of a UNC or Enterprise Server via a web browser: Log into the station via a web browser Navigate to the following URL:  http://[ip-address]/prism/backup. Watch the lower left hand corner of the web browser.  The web pager loader indicator must finish. Once the web page indicates that it is done, save the page as a XML file to your PC.  Use the “Save As” choice to do this step. For more information review Appendix B of the Niagara Browser Access Guide.