Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Editing TAC Xenta 280/300/401 that has the same XIF file Environment Xenta Programmable Controllers Xenta 280, 281, 282, 283, 300, 301, 302, 401, 401:B Menta NL220, LonMaker Cause The second method can cause a total mess in the LNS database regarding which Device Template the different devices then will belong to. Resolution Tested both with LonMaker and NL220. If you have several Xenta280/300/400 that has the same XIF file (which is a not an unusual scenario), and you want to edit a few of the MTA files, maybe regarding the SNVTs, then it is recommended to: Edit Device A, Download app and params Device A Edit Device B, Download app and params Device B Edit Device C, Download app and params Device C etc and NOT: Edit Device A Edit Device B Edit Device C Download app and params Device A Download app and params Device B Download app and params Device C

Issue TAC Vista 5.1 installation hangs on installing Video Functions. CPU is at 100% and the installation will never finish. Environment Vista Installation Cause It seems like the MSI process for the Video components sometimes gets into a loop. Resolution Start the installation and let it run until it “hangs" Go into Task Manager-Processes and end the process “msiexec” that is using all the CPU. The installation should proceed and everything should be installed correctly

Issue Lost all Xenta Server trendlog values in TAC Vista Environment Vista Workstation Xenta Server Xenta 511, 527, 701, 711, 721, 731, 913 Cause Changing a folder name in XBuilder and updating TAC Vista. Resolution If you change a folder name in XBuilder and update TAC Vista, all trendlogs in this folder will be recreated and will have to be started again. This also means that you will lose all the log data.

Issue The following message appears when launching Niagara R2 serial tunneling for Vserial: "RUNDLL". An exception occurred while trying to run "C:\WINDOWS\system32\shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL" "C:\WINDOWS\system32\natconfig.cpl", Niagara App Tunneling" Environment Niagara R2 Cause Google Desktop and Embassy Suite (Wave Systems Corp) have been found to cause this problem. Resolution If either one of these are installed, remove it and reboot the computer.

Issue It is not possible to add graphics to a folder in TAC Vista The binding window can not be opened for graphics in that folder When trying to add a graphic or open the binding window an error message saying “error creating object” is shown. Environment Vista 5.0 to 5.1.1 Workstation I/NET gpg graphics upgraded to OGC OGC graphics upgraded to TGML Cause The problem is that a lot of objects are created in the background when the graphic is upgraded from OGC to TGML, especially if the OGC graphic have been imported from I/NET. The path for an object in OGC can look like this: RGD-link54C-I/NET-54-02-02.08.AI.value.PV The binding name in TGML after upgrading the graphic to TGML will then look like this: WSUS11387.RGDC.I.NET.54.02.02.08.AI.value.PV The binding name in TGML is the problem, every part of the name that is separated with a “.” will be a new object in the background, a user will not see it but it will be in the database. In this case 10 objects are created for one binding. Note: The limitation for a folder is 32000 objects. If there are many bindings in the graphics this number will be reached pretty fast. Resolution Workaround: Change the “-“ sign in the path for the object in the OGC graphic to something else for example a “:”, to do this use the OGC editor, Edit-References. Then the path will look like this: RGD:link54C:I/NET:54:02:02.08.AI.value.PV. You can use any character which is valid in Vista but not used when naming the objects in your database. Now when upgrading the OGC graphic to TGML the binding name will not have dots(.) in it and only one object is created. The problem now is that the signal path in the TGML graphic isn’t valid. So you have to use the change reference tool in TAC Vista to change it back. From: RGD:link54C:I/NET:54:02:02.08.AI.value.PV To: RGD-link54C-I/NET-54-02-02.08.AI.value.PV. Change the “:” sign back to “-“ in the object path. Note: This issue has been corrected in Vista 5.1.2.

Issue Procedure for changing the name of a FLO2 block in a Network 8000 GCM, and in the MicroFlo II controller Environment Unknown Environment Cause Unknown Cause Resolution The name comes from the FLO2 block in the GCM. Once the block is created and named, there is no direct way to edit the name, either in the GCM or from PSI. The name is saved in the backed-up PSI application file, and when the application is downloaded, the name in the controller changes to the name from the file. Download a different file, and the MFII gets a different name. To keep the programming intact, but change the block name in the GCM and in the controller: 1. Set the physical address of the existing FLO2 block (with the wrong name) = 0. 2. Copy the block, give the new FLO2 block the name you want. 3. Edit the new FLO2 block, set the physical address = the DIP switch setting on the MFII. 4. Reset the new block, created in step 3. This writes the new name to the MF2 controller. 5. Delete the original FLO2 block, that had the wrong name.

Issue Vista IV Webstation licenses are not releasing after logging out of the webpage. Environment Vista IV Webstation Aladdin Privilege Administrator 2.01 Vista IV Licensing Note: Beginning 2012, PSS will no longer support the Privilege License System. The Tamfs26 Server will be retired along with TAC License Server software. It would be wise to inform the customer of this important information to plan for future upgrade in the event that their site license has issues. Cause This problem appears to be caused by configuring to run Webstation IV under ASP.NET version 2.0.5727 rather then version 1.1.4322 which is the supported version. Resolution Open IIS manager on the Webstation PC Expand the local computer, Web Sites, and Default Web Site. Right click on Webstation and select properties. Click on the ASP.NET tab and change the ASP.NET version to 1.1.4322. It is possible that you might encounter some error messages when you log into Webstation and log out again. If so please run the following commands in a command prompt: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\aspnet_regiis.exe -i C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322\aspnet_regiis.exe -c

Issue Programme a DI point into an S-UNC-AI Card Environment S-UNC-AI Card Cause It is possible to programme a Digital Input object at an Analogue Input hardware location and the software will treat it as a digital input. Resolution If you are using the latest AI Card (from production code 200705) then no additional hardware is required, but the board must be left configured for "Resistive". Older versions of the board required the addition of a Digital Input module (579-1-359), which is now obsolete.

Issue Infinity Schedule Standard days and exception days clarification Environment Infinity Cause Information on schedule Standard days and Exception days Resolution Schedule Standard days and exception days clarification When editing standard or creating exception days/range of dates it is important to understand what is really taking place here in order to avoid any issues. Standard days are recurring days from week to week. You can alter the week to week days if you want the same schedule week after week and also have multiple events on each day if desired. Exception days have a higher priority than standard days and once you assign an exception day or range of dates to a schedule you will be overwriting the standard day for the day/dates that your assigning to. For example... if you have a standard day of 8am-5pm and assign an exception day of 9pm - 10pm to one of the standard days, what will happen is that the date the exception is added to will have one event for that day of 9pm - 10pm. If you still wanted the 8am-5pm event as well, you would need to add that to the same exception list  

Issue Infinity controller error: 5363 when opening a schedule on a controller When attempting to apply changes or create a new schedule in a controller the error Infinity controller error: 5363 pops up. Environment Infinet Controller Cause Sometimes this happens when the Infinet controller has on an older version of firmware. Resolution Flash the controller to a recent version Test the schedule again.

Issue Templates cannot be changed for personnel because the option is grayed out in the Personnel Manager Environment Personnel Manager Cause This is an issue that was fixed in 1.82 and above. Resolution There are a couple of work arounds for this issue: Go into each template and select the Attribute data source tab Go to RefTemplate and change it from InheritFromTemplate to CopyFromTemplate Go back to the personnel and the ability to switch to other templates works The other option is to switch the Personnel Manager to False in the Cyberstation preferences to use the Personnel Editor. This is not an issue in 1.82 and above.

Issue With the BCX Controller you can use either the Comm 1 or Comm2 port for the Modbus RTU X-Driver or you could use both simultaneously. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment BCX Controller Modbus RTU X-Driver Cause Enable Comm port for X-Driver Resolution Use either Comm port for the Modbus RTU X-Driver as per page 16 of the Modbus RTU user guide. If you use Comm2 you forfeit the Infinet or MSTP port, you must also create the Communications Configuration Point (Function 99) to tell the X-Driver if it should use RS232 or RS485 on Comm2. This point is required because on the BCX Comm 2 the X-Driver needs to tell the BCX to use the RS485 port (if that is what you want to use) not the RS232 port it defaults to in its Operating System. If you did not create the point the driver would default to the RS232 port. RS485 is half duplex so when transmitting data out the RS485 port, the driver needs to turn off the receiver so that it does not receive its own transmission. Also normally RS232 is full duplex and does not have to do this. However be aware that on BCX's Comm2 both the RS232 and RS485 ports are Half duplex, which although does not normally cause issues with Modbus because it is a Master / Slave network where we never get unsolicited data, it could cause an issue on other protocols. You can have X-Driver enabled on either or both ports, and there is nothing to stop you from having 2 Modbus networks, one on Comm1 the other on Comm2. You could even use a RS232 to RS485 converter on Comm1 if necessary (An Infilink200 would work fine). NOTE: The ability to enable 2 comm ports using Xdrivers can be done, but is not recommended by the Xdriver developers nor supported by PSS. The RTU Xdriver is poll on demand. This type of driver can request a lot of data and starve the CPU on the controller which then makes the polling irregular. If 2 ports are being used then there are typically more devices being added and therefore more points increasing the requests and demand on the controller's CPU. Use one program to control the polling on both ports. Two programs attempting to control the polling asynchronously will cause communication issues. The BCX is able to run 2 X-Drivers but will be a little slower than having 2 BCX's. It is really down to the individual project. If it has big networks connected or update speed is critical then split across 2 controllers. If you just have a few devices on each port and the update time is not critical then you would be fine with 1 controller.

Issue If you are having an issue where a heavy TGML graphic is taking all your CPU power, you can adjust the TGML FPS (frames per second) in TAC Vista Workstation 5.1.1 and later. Environment Vista Workstation 5.1.1 and later TGML Graphics Cause A very large or complex TGML graphic can sometimes slow the system as it tries to render every object on the page so many times per second. Slowing this down, while decreasing quality slightly, can increase performance. Resolution Goto the this location in the registry editor: \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\TAC\TAC Vista Workstation\5.1.1 (Replace 5.1.1 with the current TAC Vista version.) Change the MaxTGMLFPS Default is 15 frames per second. Decreasing this value will decrease the number of times the graphic is repainted in a second. If you decrease it to 10 frames per second, then any animations will travel the same distance, but with fewer repaints, making them appear more choppy, but using less of the CPUs resources. Values below 10 are not recommended.

Issue Upgrading from rev 2.1X to 2.16 Environment I/NET 2.1x site Cause desire to upgrade to newer release of I/NET Resolution When upgrading from revision 2.10 and higher to 2.16, there is an additional step that is required. If you get to 2.16, start I/NET and only question marks are displayed when you connect to the controller, or it takes a long time to connect. There are two work-around things to try for this. Run the 2.15 patch or reinstall 2.15 and then upgrade to 2.16. Run DB Create, force an upgrade to the database and verify that the database version does in fact match the revision that you are running. To get to the revision number, click on the header on DB Create, then select about, it would show this information. The other work around is to just close I/NET and I/O Server and restart them again.

Issue An error message "Cannot process DB Admin command; java.net connection refused" is displayed when attempting to back up a Niagara R2 UNC station using the DB Admin "Get" function. All other DB Admin commands also return the same error message. Environment I/A Series R2 station Cause This error occurs when the HTTP port for the UNC has been changed. Resolution In order to correct this, add a line in the station.properties file that references the new port number. Edit this file using the Admin Tool, as follows: where 'xxxx' is the same http port number changed in the station.  Be sure to type in the line with the capitalization as shown. If not already done, open the Admin Tool and log into the host that contains the station with the changed http port Right-click the station name (not the host name or address) and select Edit > Properties Add a line to the file that reads:  httpPort=xxxx From the file menu, choose File > Close.  If any changes were made, save them or, otherwise, the window closes. If prompted to save your changes, click Yes to save your changes. The file saves and the window closes. To enable the change, stop and start the station and verify that it is running. Test the functionality of the new port by initiating a database conversion.  If the error message is received, verify that the httpPort line was added correctly. For more information, consult the Niagara Networking and Connectivity Guide.

Issue Wiring detail for using the B&B Electronics model USOPTL4 converter with PSI / XPSI Revision 4.1 Product Line TAC IA Series Environment PSI (Personal System Interface) Revision 4.1 XPSI (Xtended Personal System Interface) Revision 4.1 B&B Electronics USOPTL4 converter Cause PSI / XPSI Revision 4.1 does not work with the Patton Electronics RS-232 / RS-485 converter, model 2089-bc, that was widely used with earlier versions of PSI (rev. 3.13) and XPSI (rev. 2.0). Resolution One converter recommended for use with PSI / XPSI Revision 4.1 is the B&B Electronics model USOPTL4. To connect directly to the RJ-12 jack on an ASD device, or on a stat: Cut the RJ-12 plug off one end of an RJ-12 cable. Connect Black and Yellow wires and tape back. Connect the Green wire to the RDB(+) on the screw terminal of the USOPTL4. Connect the Red wire to the RDA (-) on the screw terminal of the USOPTL4. All four switches of the DIP switch on the USOPTL4 must be in the ON position to allow it to work properly on the ASD bus.

Issue Customer gets a yellow warning message (a warning triangle) on the values presented in the graphic in Vista. The node is blinking for a while and then disappears. If mouse is held over the node when the warning comes they get message "WSAhost_not_found" This behaviour occurs from time to time and the data that are suppose to shown is then zero. After a while the data is updated again and shows the correct value. Environment Vista IV Workstation OGC Graphics Cause It appears customer is having a local workgroup in the building that runs the application's. There are several computer connected with different OS and known is that several of this computer is using NT. Since this message only occur time to time and only for a brief moment a conclusion be made that it is a network error. Resolution Possible solution: What needs to be tested in the location is what or whom of the computer's that has become the master browser since the master browser is holding the master list of the other computers in the network. NT system's are normally suitable of becoming a Master browser in the network since they are a "server OS" If several of this OS is on the same network a argue can occur between them who should be the master browser and this can be confusing when the clients is sending the network list to the master browser. When the client is sending the list they send it to the "server that responds first. Now when another client asks for information the server that responds first is sending the data, but this time another server can be the one answering first and don’t hold the updated list. A possible solution to this problem is to narrow down what computer's that is master browser's on the network and choose one that always should act as one "mainly a computer that is turned on all the time" If more master browser is needed after that (most common after 32 computers) the master browser will choose one to act as a "backup Master browser". This information can be read about on Microsoft homepage. NOTE: This can be the fault in the system, since the "list" talked about above is updated after a while when the Master browser is asking the client's on the network for a update. So when Vista make's another request of the value it works again since now the list is correctly updated.

Issue Problem when attempting to read/write trends and event. Environment Vista Workstation SQL Cause This could be because of a damaged COM+. Check the Windows eventlog for COM+ related errors.  TAC Vista uses COM+ to host DSS, the interface between TAC Vista server (TACOS) and SQL server, in versions from 4.3.0 to 5.0.1. As always, make sure to backup your computer before tampering with COM+! The COM+ catalog is a catalog of all the available COM+ applications, classes and attributes on a given system. Windows keeps this catalog to make sure that there's consistency between the various COM+ attributes and exposes it through various programming interfaces. If the catalog becomes damaged, programs that rely on COM+ won't work properly (or at all!). One example of such a service that depends on COM+ is the Volume Shadow Copy Service used by (among other programs) the Microsoft NTBACKUP application. NTBACKUP can make backups of system files or other locked files by using Volume Shadow Copy. However, if NTBACKUP fails with an error in the Volume Shadow Copy COM+ service, odds are the catalog has been damaged and needs to be repaired. (Another symptom of a damaged COM+ catalog is when many programs hang continuously for minutes on end, but this is a minor, less well-documented symptom.) Resolution To repair a damaged COM+ catalog, do the following: Locate the file %WinDir%\System32\Clbcatq.dll and rename it to ~Clbcatq.dll (note the tilde). %Windir% is an environment variable that usually translates to C:\Windows. Reboot the computer in Safe Mode. Open the Registry and delete the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\COM3. Look in the %WinDir% directory for a subdirectory named Registration. Delete Registration entirely, including any files inside it. Reboot the machine normally. At a command line, type regsvr32 %windir%\system32\ole32.dll, and click OK on the acknowledgement that comes up. Open Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs | Add/Remove Windows Components. Click Next to reinstall COM+. You do not need to select any components to add or remove; COM+ is reinstalled automatically as a matter of course. You shouldn't have to reboot after this; the re-registered COM+ services should work immediately.

Issue I/NET shortcut utility in Vista 5.1 does not create shortcuts when browsing in the I/NET link. Environment I2V Integration Vista 5.1 Cause The shortcut utility will fail if there is a "\" in any of the I/NET point names contained in the .sav files. This character is not a legal character in Vista, however the shortcut utility should replace it with an "_" and it doesn't. Resolution Change any "\" characters to "/" Re-run the wizard.  As always, it is good practice to only use Vista legal characters when integrating anything to Vista. Vista legal characters (space) [ ] _ : /

Issue How to prevent the Niagara R2 UNC station from sending multiple messages when emailing an alarm to a Cell Phone. Environment I/A Series R2 station Cause If a message sent to a cell phone as a text message exceeds a specific number of characters, the receiving phone will usually split the message into more than one part.  These message segments may not always be delivered in sequential order. Resolution Limit the number of fields defined to be transmitted in the alarm message. This field information is configured in the properties of the MailRecipient object. Remember that each selected field will appear in the message on a separate line. An alarm message sent as an e-mail message includes the Subject property, address properties (To, From & CC) and selected formatted alarm data fields. The message is formatted by the cell phone service provider based on their message delivery protocol. The exact e-mail delivery technique varies from one cell phone service provider to another. For example, the service providers US Cellular, ATT/Cingular or Sprint, deliver e-mail messages as a series of SMS (Short Message System) messages. The limit for each SMS message is 160 single-byte characters. To format the message into SMS format, the carrier breaks the message into 160 byte chunks and delivers these chunks as a series separate messages to the recipient's cell phone. Some cell phone service providers use MMS messaging (Multimedia Message Service) to transmit e-mail messages to users subscribed to this feature.  With MMS, the e-mail message is typically received as a single message, however, only the message header (To, From and Subject) will be delivered to the phone until the user attempts to read the message. When the user opens a message in this format, the cell phone uses WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) to retrieve the message from the service provider and display the entire message. Note that to read the entire message, the user must have access to his carrier's network at the time he is attempting to read the message. UPDATE: US Cellular has announced that in selected service areas, they will offer a new service on specific phones that will allow sending and receiving HTML (text) based e-mail messages without the 160 character limitation.