Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue In Niagara R2, how are special events configured within a schedule? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Niagara R2 Cause Define a single day, consecutive days, or combination of days as special-event days to override weekly and holiday schedule. Resolution Click below to watch a video document (vdoc) explaining the process to configure Special Events.

Issue In Niagara R2, how can alarms be viewed and acknowledged using a web browser? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Niagara R2 Cause Incorrect URL (Alarm Summary) in the address bar of the browser will not display the alarm summary page. The alarm summary page provides a view of exist unacknowledged alarms. Resolution Click below to watch a video document (v-doc) explaining the process of how to View and Acknowledge alarms using Niagara Servlets.  

Issue How do I Create or Edit a schedule in Niagara R2? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Niagara R2 Cause Instruction on setting up schedules object. Resolution This presentation will show you how to use servlets to view and acknowledge Niagara Framework alarms from your internet browser. We'll also look at two other useful servlets. Servlets are designed to give the user access to information via the web browser.

Issue Can one common transformer be used to power full-wave and half-wave devices? (For example, a MNB-1000 controller and a DuraDrive actuator) Environment Full-wave and half-wave devices Transformer Cause Use a common transformer to power full-wave or half-wave devices. Resolution Ensure that the transformer's power rating is greater than the power requirements of both loads. To prepare for the installation of any power wiring, review "EN-206 Guidelines for Powering Multiple Full-Wave and Half-Wave Rectifier Devices from a Common Transformer" (F-26363) as a reference.

Issue Is there a way to convert a Trane BCU (BMTW or BMTX) from BACnet/Ethernet to BACnet/IP for integrating to a Niagara R2 UNC? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Trane BCU (BMTW or BMTX) Niagara R2 UNC Cause There are two components required to change over the BCU from BACnet/Ethernet to BACnet/IP. Resolution A special serial cable is required to download the BCU with the new configuration. Below are the pin outs to make the cable:     Access to the Tracer Summit software. Here are the steps for running the BCUconfig.exe program to change over the BCU from Ethernet to IP: Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files\Tracer Summit\Bin Double-click on BCUconfig.exe Enter the information and select download. Note - This is where you must have the Trane serial cable. The BCU will reset. Now change the Connection type in the Tracer Summit software to IP connection: Open the Tracer Summit software and select Connect. The Site connection Wizard will appear. Select the BACnet/IP radio button. From the Ethernet Configuration window, select the 'open on startup' check box. Select the 'Use BBMD connection' from the BACnet/IP configuration window. Specify the IP address of the BBMD BCU and the UDP port which is the BACnet port. Select Finish.

Issue Unable to upgrade a JACE 8000 to I/A Series Niagara 4.8 or later due to insufficient memory allocation. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series Niagara 4 I/A Series JACE 8000 Cause I/A Series Niagara 4.8 or later running on a JACE 8000 will consume approximately 40 MB more memory than Niagara 4.7 due to new features including a new OS (operating system) and JRE (Java Runtime Engine). Resolution The following information will help identify if there is sufficient system memory to upgrade to Niagara 4.8 or later and if not, how to tune memory parameters to increase required system memory. Use the following analysis to determine if a Niagara 4 platform, operating at release 4.7 or earlier, requires a memory allocation adjustment PRIOR to upgrading to version 4.8 or later. Determine the amount of Free Physical RAM in the embedded platform while running the current release (prior to a 4.8 or later firmware upgrade) Open the embedded platform with the Niagara Platform Administrator tools. Check the amount of Free Physical RAM that is currently available. The image below displays where the information is located. If the amount of Free Physical RAM is greater than 40,000 KB (40 MB), the JACE 8000 platform is ready to perform an upgrade to Niagara version 4.8.  If the amount of Free Physical RAM is less than 40,000 KB (40 MB), the platform will require adjustment to the NRE Memory allocation using the steps below. Determine the amount of memory allocation required Subtract the current amount Free Physical RAM (MB) from the required 40 MB allocation. In the example above, 40 MB – 26.3 MB = 13.7 MB. Round this value up 14 MB. Next, add a buffer value of 10 MB to the previous result for a new total of 24 MB. System memory will be freed by reducing size of RAM disk used for histories. Ensure that /mnt/aram0 contains at least this “allocation adjustment” free space.  Using the above example, there is 326,944 KB (approximately 326 MB) of available memory that can be re-allocated to satisfy the additional 24 MB requirement.  Note: If there is not enough free space available in the /mnt/aram0, please contact Product Support for more options. Adjust the NRE Memory allocation Use the Platform Administrator tool to locate and select the Configure NRE Memory button as shown below. Record the current memory allocations for Heap Space and Meta Space by reviewing the memory sizes shown below. Increase the Meta Space by using the Meta Space slider to provide additional working space. Slide the Meta Space adjustment shown below to add 40 MB to the existing value of 48 MB increasing the Meta Space to 88 MB. Increase the System Reserve by the required 24 MB calculated in the example above. Slide the System Reserve adjustment shown below to set the value to 24 MB. Return (increase) the Heap Space back to the original 384 MB size by adjusting the Heap Space slider shown below. The final adjustment will bring the Meta Space back the original 48 MB size by adjusting the Meta Space slider shown below. Save the changes and reboot the JACE 8000.  Using the information from Step 1, verify that the Free Physical RAM is now above 40 MB.  If confirmed, the JACE 8000 platform is ready to perform an upgrade to I/A Series Niagara version 4.8 or later.

Issue There are missing serial ports (COM ports) when viewing the 'SerialPortService' under 'PlatformServices' in a station. Some or all COM ports will be missing. Local serial ports and/or serial ports of the attached modules do not function. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series AX Jace 8000 Cause This could show up for several reasons. This was found during an upgrade to Niagara 4.2. It was also experienced when converting a Jace8000 running N4.2 (or lower N4 version) to AX. This can occur with a new out of the box J8000 to AX conversion if you do not first commission the Jace8000 to Niagara 4.4 or above before converting to AX. All of these problems are due to older version USBbinary files not being properly updated during commissioning. The LON option module (side-car) might stop communicating on the LON trunk due to the same binary file issue. Resolution This can be fixed via serial shell; either by direct connecting with a mini-USB cable or via ssh after it is enabled from the Platform Administration view. It is recommended that PuTTY.exe be downloaded and used as the terminal program to access the shell. The directions below are CASE-sensitive and must be entered exactly as shown. We recommend that you do not type these commands, but rather use copy-and-paste to avoid typographical errors. This is especially true of the usbSerialNumber itself -- it is case-SENSITIVE. By default, PuTTY.exe uses mouse-left-click-drag-and-highlight as an automatic shortcut for copy. Mouse-right-click is the automatic shortcut for paste. Once logged in type: Display the USB serial number(s) sh [hit enter] $ ls /etc/usb [this will display the USB serial number(s), if nothing displays see the note* at the bottom] 85091090FPGGS41 [this is an example serial number] Display the available binary files $ ls -Rp /sys/images/usb [this will display the available binary files] /sys/images/usb/applet-flash-sam4s16.bin* /sys/images/usb/vid03eb/pid2404/Tridium232-1_r03.bin* /sys/images/usb/vid03eb/pid2425/Tridium485-2_r04.bin* Note: You could also see '_r05' instead of '_r04'. If this is your result, make sure to update using the line below. /sys/images/usb/vid03eb/pid2425/Tridium485-2_r05.bin* The USB ports unavailable is due to the 'Tridium485-2_r04.bin' (or Tridium485-2_r05.bin) file was not written to the USB serial number file. This can be corrected by updating the USB serial number file with the correct binary file using the statement below. Make sure to replace the X in the statement with the highest number binary found in 'STEP 2' above. $ echo /sys/images/usb/vid03eb/pid2425/Tridium485-2_r0X.bin > /etc/usb/<usbSerialNumber> Update the binary file Using the example serial number and USB binary file found in STEP 2: $ echo /sys/images/usb/vid03eb/pid2425/Tridium485-2_r05.bin > /etc/usb/85091090FPGGS41 Make sure to use the serial number found when 'ls /etc/usb' was called. If there is more than one serial number found, write the command multiple times, once for each serial number found. Also, make sure to use the highest USB binary file number found. Currently r05 is the highest number. If '_r05' is returned as the available USB binary file, make sure to use '_r05' when updating the USB serial number. After a reboot, check the SerialPortService to confirm the ports are restored. *Note: if no usb serial number was found using ls /etc/usb another method would be to call for the slog by typing: $ sloginfo An error would have been logged here during the last startup and will display the serial number; example output: Oct 10 13:42:06 1 6 0 serusb_is_device_supported: Device 2 on bus 0 unrecognized. Using CDC-ACM Class Oct 10 13:42:07 4 11111 0 error opening /etc/usb/85091090FPGGS41 rc=-1 In addition to the symptoms listed above, the inability to communicate with the LON option module may cause the any of the following messages in the Serial Shell and/or the Platform Administration System Logs: error opening /etc/usb/<serial number here> rc=-1 U50Read returned unknown rc = 8!!! io_write failed ldvRC=7, length=<various numbers of bytes> The Station will most likely show that the LON network is up, but the LON devices are down. The device fault cause may show "unable to write" or something similar.

Issue BACnet tuning policies improperly applied can cause BACnet network problems Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series G3 ENC I/A Series AX / N4 Jace Cause Configuration parameters in the BACnet tuning policies can initiate high polling rates, force high volumes of writes, reads, and apply confirmed COV to BACnet proxies in the Jace / ENC. Resolution The following video will help us, Configure the "DefaultPolicy" as well as creating additional tuning policies for BACnet proxies   Apply tuning policies to regulate BACnet network utilization

Issue How to configure BACnet networks in an IA Series Jace Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series G3 (AX) ENC (Jace) I/A Series N4 ENC (Jace) Cause Need for a detailed approach to IP and MSTP network setup. Resolution This video explains the steps necessary to configure a JACE to Communicate with BACnet IP and MSTP controllers.

Issue What is the procedure for upgrading firmware in an I/A Controller? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Workplace Commissioning Tool I/A Series MNB Cause Improvements to MNB firmware require upgrades to be made periodically to the controllers. Resolution This video demonstrates how to upgrade MNB devices with the I/A Commissioning Tool.

Issue How can I derWho-is broadcasts are causing a large amount of BACnet network traffic Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series MNB I/A Series WorkPlace Commissioning Tool Wireshark Cause Experiencing network issues caused by Who-is broadcasts.  Resolution This video demonstrates how to... Troubleshoot a Who-is Broadcast Understand what initiates a Who-is Broadcast

Issue How can Workplace Commissioning Tool be used to backup projects and restore of I/A devices? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series WorkPlace Commissioning Tool I/A Series MNL controllers I/A Series MNB controllers  Cause Define the procedure for backups/restore in Workplace Commissioning Tool Resolution This demostration shows how to perform backup and restore procedures using Workplace Commissioning Tool

Issue Who-has Broadcasts are causing a large amount of BACnet network traffic Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series MNB I/A Series WorkPlace Commissioning Tool Wireshark Cause Determining BACnet network issues caused by Who has? broadcasts Resolution The objective of this video are to Demonstrate how to troubleshoot a Who-has Broadcast Explain what initiates a Who-has Broadcast

Warning Potential for Data Loss: The steps detailed in the resolution of this article may result in a loss of critical data if not performed properly. Before beginning these steps, make sure all important data is backed up in the event of data loss. If you are unsure or unfamiliar with any complex steps detailed in this article, please contact Product Support for assistance. Issue How to connect to the Jace 8000 system shell Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series Jace 8000 Cause Multiple diagnostic and low-level configuration processes need to be performed directly connected to the Jace 8000 in the system shell of the device. Resolution Connect the USB cable between the controller’s Debug port and the USB port you are using on your PC   On your PC, start your terminal emulation software. For example to start PuTTY from the Windows Start menu, this is typically Programs > PuTTY → PuTTY. PuTTy can be downloaded at no cost if you do not already have it on your PC. In the tree in the PuTTY Configuration dialog, expand Connection and click Serial. Set the “Serial line to connect to” for your PC’s (USB) COM port to use. For example, COM3. NOTE: You can examine Ports in Windows Device Manager to determine which serial port is in use on the PC. If you don't see the Jace in the COM ports, you will need to install the driver which can be Downloaded from FTDI.  It is also attached to this document below for Win10. Set the “Configure the serial line” fields as follows: • Speed (baud): 115200 • Data bits: 8 • Stop bits: 1 • Parity: None • Flow control: None In the tree in the PuTTY Configuration dialog, click Session and then click/select the “Connection type” as Serial NOTE: (Optional) You can save this configuration to reuse (load) in future PuTTY to JACE serial sessions. To do this, type in a connection name in the “Saved Sessions” field (for example, “JACE- 8000-S”), and click Save. When you start PuTTY again to serially connect to the JACE, select this name and click Load. At the bottom of the PuTTY Configuration dialog, click Enter. At the login prompt, enter a platform user name, and at the password prompt, the platform password. a. If prompted for system passphrase, enter the platform’s system passphrase. If login is successful, the TITAN System Shell menu appears. When finished making platform changes from the system shell, do the following: • If no changes or reboot is not necessary, simply type L to Logout. • If changes require rebooting, select the Reboot option. Type “y” at the “Are you sure you want to reboot [y/n]” prompt, and press Enter. Shutdown-related text appears in the terminal (PuTTY) window. Click the Close control (upper right corner) in the terminal session (PuTTY) window. Click OK in the “PuTTY Exit Confirmation” popup dialog. Unplug the USB connector from the JACE’s Debug port. This procedure is simply how to connect using USB serial port for system shell.  More information about functions available once connected can be found in other Knowledge Base articles and in the Jace 8000 Install and Startup Guide

Issue Digital SAT outputs are not available when using the EBO MN-HPFC object Product Line TAC IA Series. Environment I/A Series Network 8000 MN-HPFC Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Cause The standard MN-HPFC device object in EBO cannot be used when the device was previously configured for Satellite Mode used in a Network 8000 system or R2 integration. Resolution Use the MN:MicroNet 2000 Generic object to interface to an MN-HPFC when configured for satellite mode.  This object provides a set of generic inputs and outputs that map over to the satellite controller points.  See the attached MN-HPFC Reference Manual that details the inputs and outputs starting on page 6-11.   DIN6 ( Digital Input 6 ) controls DO1 Sat Cmd DIN7 ( Digital Input 7 ) controls DO2 Sat Cmd DIN8 ( Digital Input 8 ) controls DO3 Sat Cmd

Issue How do I configure outbound email to satisfy a hosting service that requires SSL/TLS Product Line TAC IA Series Environment ENC-410 ENC-520 JACE-2 Cause Many SMTP(email) host no longer except non-secure email for transmission.  They require, at minimum, SSLv3 inbound messages. Resolution The devices mentioned in the "Environment" section all use the IBM J9 Java Virtual Machine and can not be configured for the minimum secure socket the hosts require.  You must upgrade this hardware if you want to use one of these secure SMTP Host providers. If you are unsure of the JVM on the device, look at the Platform of the device.; The Jace 6E/645 and the Jace 8000 use the Oracle-Sun HotSpot JVM and meet the requirements. ENC 520 (J404) unsupported SSL/TLS Jace 6E-645 Supported TLS using the Oracle-Sun Hotspot JVM Jace 8000 Supported TLS using the Oracle-Sun Hotspot JVM

Issue Can Workplace Tech (version 5.7 or later) be installed so that a user with only normal user rights can use the program? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment MicroSoft Windows XP MicroSoft Windows 7 Visio 2003, 2007 WorkPlace Tech Tool software version 5.7.x or newer Cause Some sites do not allow users to have unlimited administrative rights on their computers due to security concerns.  These restricted users need to be able to use the WorkPlace Tech Tool software. Resolution NOTE: This was tested in Windows OS and Visio versions defined in the "Environment" only.  The later versions of Visio and, consequently, Workplace Tech use a ribbon COM Add-In for navigation that does not work correctly using the methods described here.   All versions of WorkPlace Tech must be installed by a user with Administrative rights on the local computer.  This would include the following users: Local computer administrator Windows Domain user with administrative rights Windows Domain user with user domain rights that have been given "Local Administrative" rights After the administrator has installed a revision 5.7 (or newer) version of WorkPlace Tech, ANY user on the computer will be able to run the software.

Issue How to configure the Network 8000 Interface for ASD overrides Part 2 of 2 Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server (All) I/A Network 8000 ASD controllers Cause Requirements and configuration specifics for ASD controller override in the Network 8000 interface Resolution

Issue How to configure the Network 8000 Interface for ASD overrides Part 1 of 2 Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server (All) I/A Network 8000 ASD controllers Cause Requirements and configuration specifics for ASD controller override in the Network 8000 interface Resolution

Issue Download LonMark SNVT Master List, SNVT Enumerations, and XIF File Reference Guide Product Line TAC IA Series, TAC Vista, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment LNS SNVT types Cause Investigating problems with LON integrations can sometimes involve inspecting the raw XIF file for different SNVT types or enumeration values. These documents from LonMark detail the LON protocol for SNVT communication and device interface file syntax. Resolution LonMark SNVTs & SCPTs Introduction LonMark SNVT Master List LonMark SCPT Master List LonMark Standard Enumeration Master List LonMark Device Interface File (XIF) Reference Guide To check for updated information, please visit LonMark International's Developers Guides.