Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue During a Vista 5.x.x installation, failure can occur during the SQL installation portion of the install. This solution could encompass many different SQL installation errors; however, one that is known and verified is shown below: Failed to create or configure database on SQL Server! ([17] SQL Server does not exist or access denied.) Here is another common one:   Failed to create or configure database in SQL Server ([1802] CREATE DATABASE failed. Some file names listed could not be created. Check related errors.) If you have previously uninstalled Microsoft SQL Server, data files for the database may still exist in the SQL Server data directory. Remove the files manually and click Retry or click Cancel to abort installation. Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista Server 5.x.x Cause Uninstalling and reinstalling the software can leave pieces of SQL behind. Even if you try to uninstall everything in Add/Remove Programs, left over portions may cause the TAC Vista installation not to be successfully installed. The Program Files\SQL Server directory is flagged for compression or encryption. Installing Vista version below 5.1.5 on a Windows 7 64bit machine will cause this error. Resolution Please check the Windows Event log for the specific installation error. See Viewing, Saving, Sharing Windows Event Logs for Troubleshooting Purposes for information on viewing the Windows Event Log. Consult Log file of SQL installation when installing Vista Server for information on viewing the SQL Server installation log. If the Event log reveals Error 28001, the sa password must meet SQL Server password policy requirements, please refer to the solution provided in Error 28001 - sa password complexity error when installing TAC Vista 5. If not, then please proceed with the resolution below: If the SQL Server installation log file complains that the Program Files\SQL Server\ directory is flagged for encryption or compression then right click on the directory and select properties. The advanced option exposes the check boxes for compression and encryption. If the folder is flagged for compression the it will be visible in blue instead of black font. Remove the encryption or compression flags and apply then reinstall. If the PC operating system is Windows 7 64-bit, install Vista 5.1.5 or higher. Resolution below will not solve the issue. In most cases this is caused by MSXML 6.0 parser. This software is commonly installed by programs using SQL, and also during the TAC Vista installation. If this can't be removed using Add/Remove Programs, you can download a program from Microsoft that cleans up and removes this software (and others). It is called Windows Installer Cleanup. Link to download: msicuu2.exe. NOTE: Microsoft recently removed this utility from the downloads section of their support site. They have this to say about the utility: While the Windows Installer Cleanup utility resolved some installation problems, it sometimes damaged other components installed on the computer. Because of this, the tool has been removed from the Microsoft Download Center. Use this utility with care at your own risk.   In most cases TAC Vista will install successfully after removing MSXML 6.0 parser. For alternative solutions see SQL Express install fails on MSXML 6 and Error when installing SQL 2005 Express on a machine that had previously had MSDE installed .

Issue External resistors are required for Biasing and Terminating RS-485 trunks connected to an Automation Server (AS) Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment SmartStruxure Automation Server (AS) with  RS-485 trunk(s) under it. Field controllers on the RS-485 trunk; for example, the Network 8000 ASD controllers (MZ2, PEM1, etc)  Cause Bias and terminating resistors are not built into the AS hardware. Resolution External resistors are required for Biasing and Terminating RS-485 trunks connected to an  Automation Server (AS). See the Technical Reference Guide, revision 1.3, pages 2723, 2724, and 2771. Also check out the SmartStruxure-RS485-Network Installation Quick-Help video on the Exchange. Biasing and Termination details are now found in the "RS-485 Communications" chapter of SpaceLogic - Hardware Reference Guide

Issue Satchwell ALE series Linear Actuator requires replacement. Product Line Field Devices Environment Satchwell ALE series Linear Actuator installed on Satchwell MJF, MZ, MZF, VJF, VSF, VZ or VZF series Plug and Seat Valve Body.  Actuator type :- ALE series.  Cause Obsolescence of Satchwell ALE series Linear Actuator. Resolution Replace Satchwell ALE series Linear Actuator with Schneider Electric M800 Linear Actuator and Linkage Kit :-   Linkage kit to mount a M800 actuator to a Satchwell valve (MZ,MZF, VZ, VZF, VSF and MJF) = L2SV Replace ALE Actuator with M800 + L2SV combined part number 880-0650-000 Replace ALE with Auxilary Switch kit with M800-S2 + L2SV combined part number 880-0651-000 Just linkage kit = 880-0124-000 Just M800 = 880-0310-030 N.B.  Should the Satchwell ALE series Actuator include a wired Auxiliary Switch then the following Accessory should also be installed on the S-E M800 Actuator as appropriate :-  S2 - Two independent 24 volt 4amp AC-1 rated SPDT Auxiliary End Point Switches. (880-0104-000)   Particular care should be taken when selecting an Schneider Electric Forta M800 Actuator to replace an existing Satchwell ALE series Actuator. The Schneider Electric Forta M800 Actuator may be used to replace an existing Satchwell ALE series Actuator but it should be noted that where an existing Satchwell ALE series Actuator has been connected directly to a Satchwell Controller, an independent Transformer rated to provide the greater level of power required by a single Schneider Electric Forta M800 Actuator (50VA) will also be required. (e.g. Schneider Electric Transformer Type TR60)   Where an existing Satchwell ALE series Actuator has been connected via an independent Transformer, it is possible that the Transformer may have been rated to provide the level of power required by a single ALE series Actuator (9.5VA) only.   In such circumstances the existing independent Transformer may also require replacement by another independent Transformer, rated to provide the greater level of power required by a single Schneider Electric Forta M800 Actuator (50VA) (e.g. Schneider Electric Transformer Type TR60) Details of the Schneider Electric M800 Actuator may be viewed here Details of the Schneider Electric TR60 Transformer may be viewed here

Issue Personnel.csv file fails to import into Continuum No error message is shown Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum access control Keywords: CSV, Import, cardholder, personnel Cause CSV file gets modified by MS excel such that the import fails During the process of manually changing and saving a personnel.csv file within MS excel, a number of commas are added to the first line (corresponding to the number of column fields in the CSV) Resolution Use notepad or similar to delete commas before importing into Continuum as Microsoft Excel does not show up any trailing commas This will NOT import correctly Personnel,,,,, Name,FirstName,LastName,CardNumber,CardType,SiteCode Smith_Fred,Fred,Smith,10,Infinity_37,3701 This will import correctly Personnel Name,FirstName,LastName,CardNumber,CardType,SiteCode Smith_Fred,Fred,Smith,10,Infinity_37,3701 For more information on CSV imports Click Here For an example .csv file for testing Click Here Note: If importing X Driver points using a .csv file the comm port attribute "Port" must always be defined before the X Driver parameters Param1, Param2 etc. The Port must contain the full path e.g. "Network1\CXName\Comm1" Example X Driver Numeric: InfinityNumeric Name,Alias,Format,Description,Port,Param1,Param2,Param3,Param4 XDRPoint1,XDRPoint1,##,First X Driver Point,Network1\CX1\comm4,1,3,10001,1

Issue AVU2201 Replacement Product Line Field Device Environment AVU2201 Cause AVU2201 obsolescence, replacement required. Resolution The replacement actuator is the MZ300S-24F actuator.

Issue EBO 3.2.x SNMP Engine ID seen in EBO 3.2.x is not the one used by the EBO 3.2.x system. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation (from v3.2) Building Operation Automation Server (AS-P and AS-B) (from v3.2) SNMP Cause EBO 3.2.1 introduced a new SE3Linux operating system for the AS-P and AS-B servers. The engine ID: seen in Device Administrator or Workstation is the engine ID: contained in Linux, this is not the one used by EBO 3.2.x Resolution The SE3Linux engine ID:  “0x80001f8803005006042bd7” viewed using the Device administrator: The SE3Linux engine ID:  “0x80001f8803005006042bd7” viewed using the Workstation The engine ID used by EBO for this example would be: 0x80002a1d03005006042bd7 The difference is always 2a1d compared to 1f88 and the rest of the bytes are the same. For further information see the attached document SNMP SBO 3.2.x Engine ID Explained.

Issue The TGML JavaScript methods alert(), confirm() or prompt() do not work on Advanced Display when using the Webstation app. Nothing happens when the methods are used, and the modal window that is expected is not displayed. See attached TGML file for a graphic example using the JavaScript methods. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Advanced Display V2 Building Operation Advanced Display V3 Cause The embedded browser in the Webstation app does not support alert(), confirm() and prompt(). Resolution Use other ways to interact with the user that do not use modal windows. It is also likely that the usability of your graphics will benefit from removing the above mentioned JavaScript methods.

Issue Connecting a serial cable to a Xenta 5/7/9xx controller Product Line Satchwell MicroNet, TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment Xenta Servers Xenta 511, 527, 555, 701, 711, 721, 731, 913 Cause Xenta Servers have a service portal for use with HyperTerminal with a serial connection to the RS-232B port. Resolution Connect a serial cable, Programming Serial Kit, part no. 0-073-0920-0, between the PC and the RS232 port B on the TAC Xenta.  For more information about the cable see Cable Guide OFL-3972. Go to Start/All Programs/Accessories/Communications/HyperTerminal, and open the HyperTerminal. In Connection Description Windows, type any name you like in the Name box. Click OK. In the Connect to window, choose the correct COM port that the RS-232 cable is using. If you do not know which COM port it is using. Go to your computer device manager. (Right click on “My computer” icon, and choose “Manage”. Then under “System Tools”, choose “Device Manager”. Find “Ports (COM & LPT)” and expend it Find the COM port number that is used by the RS-232 cable. Click OK. In the COM Properties window, type 9600 for “Bits per second”, 8 for “Data bits”, “Parity” is None, “Stop bits” is 1, and “Flow control” is None. Click OK. Options: you can save this setting for future use. Click on File Menu and Save. Press ENTER to activate the command prompt. Default username and password is both “root”. Type “root” and press ENTER for both the username and password. Type “setip” and press ENTER. NOTE: Product support has also witnessed strange behavior with serial connections when certain laptops were not plugged into a power source or the Xenta Server was not grounded. If connection problems persist after the connection setting above are verified, make sure the Hyperterminal PC is plugged into a 120 vac power source.

Issue Addressing issues with M-Bus metering application because it is unclear what Storage# or Tariff# to use in Xbuilder. Environment Xenta 913 5.x.x Xbuilder 5.x.x Cause Manufacturers of meters which utilize the M-Bus protocol may not specify the Storage# or Tariff# needed by Xbuilder. They may instead include DIF or DIFE information regarding their meter points. These codes correspond to the M-Bus protocol and indicate the Storage# and Tariff# of the data. Resolution Use the M-Bus DIF calculator to parse the data type, Storage#, and Tariff# of the data point. This spreadsheet should be sufficient for the majority of applications, but some exceptions apply. The hexadecimal codes for the data point must be provided by the manufacturer for the calculator to be useful.

Issue The IP address can be entered into a UNC-520 using the Admin Tool but after rebooting or power cycling the device, the IP address is reset back to the factory default. Environment I/A Series (Niagara) R2 UNC-520-2(-N) with serial number greater than 36183  Cause The newer UNC hardware manages stored OS configuration data in a different manner than the older UNC-520 devices.  Because of this change, the factory default operating system has the capability to read, but not permanently change the device IP address. Resolution You must use the Admin Tool Installation Wizard to install the r2.301.527 (or newer) version of the OS and NRE (system software) before you can save any new Ethernet address information to the UNC. Follow the procedure in the UNC-520 installation manual (F-27391) section "Upgrade, License and Configure the Host" to install the OS and NRE system software.  Click here to see the referenced page of the manual.

Issue Control HVAC or especially lighting based on the sunrise and sunset times for a given location on a given date, even though this functionality does not exist in Vista like it does in I/NET. Environment Menta Cause Menta/Vista time schedules have no built-in sunrise/sunset capability.  If this is required, it will need to be programmed into a Menta file. Resolution The attached Menta Macro calculates the sunrise and sunset for a given location. Click the picture to download.       Inputs - Menta Simple Blocks Month Date Hour Minute Configurable Parameters Year = Current year.  As Menta has no "Year" block, it must be calculated in the controller and should be set initially for the current year. DST = Does this location participate in Daylight Savings Time?  1=Yes, 0=No. TimeZone = Location's offset in hours from GMT Latitude = Location's latitude in degrees. North is a positive value, south is a negative value. Longitude = Location's longitude in degrees. West is a positive value, east is a negative value. Outputs - Available Data Current minutes past midnight Sunset minutes past midnight Sunset hour Sunset minutes Sunrise minutes past midnight Sunrise hour Sunrise minutes Output integer represents minutes until next transition.  Mimics a Menta time schedule.  Positive values count down minutes until sunrise.  Negative values count down minutes until sunset.

Issue BACnet b3 or Infinet i2 controller shows version 0.000000 Product Line Andover Continuum Environment BACnet b3 Controller Infinet i2 Controller Cause The Controller is likely to be in bootloader mode, this can be confirmed by looking at the CPU flash speed. If you can count the flashes it is likely to be in bootloader mode see CPU LED flashing rate  Resolution Reflash the controller OS with the firmware compatible with the Continuum installation on site, using "Update b3 OS" or ""Update Infinet2 OS" NOTE - An ACX57 with Comm1 set to Infinet is unlikely to be able to communicate with an i2 device in bootloader mode, in this case an NC2 or other NetController may be required

Issue I/A Series R2 station installed on a JACE-645 retrofit board (TRD-RB-645) fails to run with the following errors Product Line TAC IA Series Environment JACE-645 Retrofit Board (TRD-RB-645) I/A Series R2 version 2.301.535.v1 I/A Series G3 version 3.6.406 Cause The R2 station has not been upgraded to R2 version 2.301.535 using the dbadmin command in the Niagara console. There are errors when converting the upgraded XML version of the station to SNS.  Resolution Ensure that the R2 station is upgraded as per step 3 on page 4 of the Retrofit Board Niagara R2 Install & Startup Guide before copying the station into the JACE-645 retrofit board. 

Issue Are examples available to show how to write Plain English programs and create points for a Modbus RTU X Driver linked to Schneider Electric Power meters? Environment Modbus RTU X Driver Schneider Electric PM700, PM750 Power meters. Cause Requirement for some examples to see how Modbus RTU programs can be written to poll for the data in a 3rd party Modbus device. Resolution The attached example was written by an application engineer in the UK to extract data from the Schneider Electric PM700 and PM750 meters. This example provides the mapping of data for these 2 specific meters, but the polling principle utilized in the Plain English programming can be applied to any Modbus RTU interface Download file here. 

Issue How many controllers can be connected to an ASD bus before a repeater is required? Environment Global controller with an ASD bus connected (GCM, UNC, ENC, LNC-100, SIM-CCN, SIM-MTECH, SIM-TRANE, SIM-YORK) ASD controller (LIM-1,MicroFlo II, MicroZone II, MN-ASDI integrator, PEM-1) Cause Requirements for ASD bus installation. Resolution A maximum of 32 nodes are allowed for each ASD bus segment.  Each controller and repeater count as one node, so a bus segment with a master (GCM, UNC, etc.) and a repeater can have 30 other nodes on it ( MZII, MN-ASDI, etc.) For details, See the Network 8000 Hardware Installation Practices manual, F-23061-1, "Network & Communication Wiring", "Repeaters - RS-485".

Issue What is the maximum MSTP cable length without a repeater? Environment Bacnet BCX B3 MSTP Cause Controller was not responding as online. Resolution Below is a document that explains the Maximum Cable Length for MSTP communications without a repeater. Click HERE for document.

Issue Getting "Commport is not XDriver enable" error when attaching the driver file to the comm port. Comm port has been flashed to enable XDriver operation. Controller Options shows Xdvr Comm2:00000009 (0000) Product Line Andover Continuum Environment BCX NCI NCII B4920 XDriver Comm Port Cause Bad controller XDriver support flash file. Resolution 1. Take the Workstation offline, edit the comm port, and set the default mode to "XDriver". 2. Go back online and send the comm port to the Controller. 3. Attempt to attach the Driver file to the comm port, if the same error occurs then contact Schneider repair department for a new XDriver option flash file. See article Determine if a controller comm port is XDriver enabled - Communities (se.com) 

Issue Dumping or reloading a NetController using HyperTerminal. Environment Windows HyperTerminal CX9900 CX9400 CX9200 Command Terminal Configuration Guide Infinity and Continuum Window Interface Cause Not known cause. Resolution Click here for instructions on using HyperTerminal to dump or reload controller.  For full details on using the Window interface as used on Infinity and 1st Generation Continuum controllers, you can download the Command Terminal Reference Guide.

Issue NXT will not communicate using RS-485 port 3 Environment R2/AX Niagara Cause Incorrect documentation of communication port number and RS-485 wiring diagram Resolution New document is available with correct comport number 4 and RS-485 wiring diagram.  To download a copy click on link T-NXT-MtgWiring Guide

Issue How to bring SX8000 objects to Continuum when upgrading. Environment Infinity SX8000 Continuum CyberStation Debug document Cause Upgrading from legacy Infinity SX8000 system to Continuum Resolution See Infinity to Continuum upgrade for information on how to convert Infinity SX8000 objects to Continuum.