Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Unable to view a graphic in Xenta Server web interface. The graphic is not displayed and a Java error message is shown. The message is as follows: Environment TAC Xenta Server TGML graphics 5.1.X Cause The exact cause is unknown but this is somehow related to localisation - in other words a conflict between the language setting on the PC and the Xenta Server web interface. Resolution Set the PC's (on which the browser is located) language to English to eliminate the problem.

Issue The Lonworks Network has been moved under the LNS Port and no longer resides directly under the Vista Server in the tree structure as it was in previous versions.  This will add a level in the binding path and the old paths are no longer valid. This will impact any binding paths to objects on the root level of the System Tree.  Product Line TAC Vista Environment Upgrade Vista from versions older than 4.5 to newer versions OGC Graphic bindings Trend Log bindings Cause Versions of Vista < 4.5 had the Lonworks Network connected directly to the Vista Server in the workstation tree structure. A revision to this tree structure was made in all versions of vista > or = 4.5. After an upgrade from an earlier version to 4.5 the Lonworks Network is under the LNS port and is no longer connected directly under the Vista Server. This will add a step to the path in your graphic bindings that must be corrected in the OGC Graphic Editor. Example: OLD Binding Path: VistaServer_LonWorksGroup_ControllerName_Point NEW Binding Path: VistaServer_LNSPort_LonWorksGroup_ControllerName_Point Resolution You will need to edit the binding path of graphics at the root level of the System Tree. Follow the steps below to repair the bindings: Right click on the folder that contains the graphics that need to be altered in Vista Workstation (This same procedure can be performed on individual graphics as well instead of an entire folder). Select "Change References". Click Search in the Change references window. This will display all references that are contained in this folder. Select all references (Alt A) in the window and click Replace. Type the OLD path into the "Find what" field (example:VistaServer_LonWorksGroup). Type the NEW path into the "Replace with" (example:VistaServer_LNSPort_LonWorksGroup). Click OK. Verify that the reference path in the New column is correct and then click Save. This will repair all of the bindings in this folder.  You will need to repeat these steps for all folders containing items that reference points below the LNSPort . Note: Correcting this path will fix the graphics bindings in all future releases of Vista.

Issue When using a STR-150 room stat with the TAC Xenta 121-FC/HP, the effective occupancy signal output defaults to the Y1 output in ZBuilder. Y1 is the only analog output on the Xenta 121-FC/HP so this creates a conflict if an analog valve is being controlled Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Xenta 121-FC/HP STR-150 ZBuilder Cause In order to activate the effective occupancy signal to the STR-150 room stat, the Hardwired status LED option must be selected. This can be found under the Configuration tab > Connected devices > Room unit in ZBuilder. When this is selected, it places the output on Y1 by default. Resolution In ZBuilder, it is possible to move the effective occupancy signal named "Status LED" from the default location on Y1 to K1 through K4. If a K output is used then a 5 Volt DC external power supply will be required. Place the 5 Volts DC on KC and land the mode wire from the STR-150 on one of the K outputs. It is recommended that K4 be used because it does not share a common with the other K outputs. This way K1, K2, and K3 are free to be used for other things.

Issue Various errors during installation of I/NET 2.42 and Vista 5.1.7 on a 64-bit Operating system Product Line TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment Windows 7 64-Bit Cause Windows 7 64-Bit Resolution Overview: Install SQL according the instructions found in the SQLExpress folder on the I/NET CD Run the SQL Server 2005 backwards compatibility tool located on the I/NET installation CD Install Vista 5.1.7 Install I/NET 2.42. Step-by-Step Process: Installing SQL Download SQL2008 Express 64 (SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe) bit from this location http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=1695 Run SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe In the left hand section, select Installation In the Right and section, select New SQL Server stand-alone installation of add features to an existing installation. At the "Setup Support Rules" screen select OK At the "Product Key" screen, select Next At the "License Terms" screen, check accept and select "Next" At the "Setup Support Files" screen, select Install At the "Setup Support Rules" screen, select Next At the "Feature Selection" screen select: Database Engine Services, SQL Server Replication, Management Tools - Basic (If Present) and SQL Client Connectivity SDK. Leave the Shared feature directory as default. At the "Instance Configuration" screen, select the Default instance option, accept the default Instance ID, accept the Instance root directory default settings and select next. At the "Disk Space Requirements" screen, select Next At the "Server Configuration" screen, under SQL Server Database Engine set the Account name to NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEM, leave the password field blanks, and set the startup type to automatic. Under SQL Server Browser Service, set the Startup Type to Automatic At the Database Engine Configuration screen, set the Authentication Mode to "Mixed Mode", Define a strong password (example: @sql2008), in the Specify SQL Server administrators section click "Add Current User". Select Next. At the "Error and Usage Reporting" screen, select Next At the "Installation Rules" screen, select Next At the "Ready to Install" screen, select Install At the Installation Progress screen, when the setup process is complete, select Next At the "Complete" screen, select Close. SQL Configuration: In the Windows Start Menu, launch the SQL Server Configuration Manager In the Left hand section of the window, highlight SQL Server Services Verify that SQL Server Browser and SQL Server are Running In the left hand section of the window, expand SQL Server Network Configuration and highlight Protocols for MSSQLSERVER Enable Named pipes and TCP/IP Close the SQL Server Configuration Manager Restart the PC Installing SQL Server 2005 Backward Compatibility On the I/NET 2.42 installation CD, look in Support\SQLBCM_64Bit and launch the SQLServer2005_BC_x64.msi file Follow all the prompts on each screen and accept all defaults. Install Vista 5.1.7 Download and Run the TAC Vista Server 5.1.7 installation package. Accept all default settings Do not start the Vista Server at this time Install I/NET Seven 2.42 Install I/NET Seven 2.42 using the installation CD Follow prompts and use defaults When prompted for the SQL password, select "Windows Authentication" Restart the PC Open I/NET Configuration through the start menu. Modify the default Config profile or create a new profile. Close I/NET Configuration Start I/NET Activate any Vista Licensing Start Vista Server Start Vista Workstation

Issue Is there a way to see what someone has done on a particular Xenta controller and what they have changed Environment Vista Cause Yes you can select the controller and retrieve the events for that controller. Resolution First locate the controller in the network. The right click on the controller and select View events The event viewer will then display all the events from that controller. this will include the old vale and new value is a value has been changed. The user that made these changes is also logged in the event viewer. You can use the filter option     then to narrow down on the date range if required.

Issue What happens to an alarm message when the clocks go back during the BST/GMT changeover? Environment RAM Remote Alarm Manager Time Changeover BST GMT Cause This is an issue relating to RAM and how it handles BST/GMT changeover. If an alarm occurs, is it handled correctly by the Remote Alarm Manager? What will happen if the PC  time goes back, and the alarm is then cleared before the time passes the original alarm time. Will this cause any issues when viewing the alarm on the Remote Alarm Manager?   Resolution  Tests confirmed that there were no issues with this scenario; An alarm was generated at 15:46 and a text message was received. The PC time was put back an hour, and the alarm cleared at 14;52. . The alarm and the alarm cleared messages are shown in the RAM log below as 15:46 and 14:52 respectively.     The screen shot below shows the alarm status after the alarm was cleared.     The screen shot below shows the alarm properties, and here there is an error, the cleared state shows 15:52 which is incorrect.     When the time catches up everything returns to normal.

Issue Time Zone and DST when syncing time to an NTP server Time differs from NTP server with x hours. DST is not following NTP server time. Environment TAC Xenta 701, TAC Xenta 711, TAC Xenta 731,TAC Xenta721, TAC Xenta 511, TAC Xenta 527 NTP server Cause NTP provides UTC, no information about time zones or daylight savings ( DST)  is sent. So if you don't set the correct time Zone and DT settings the time will be set to UTC time in the device. Resolution Log in to Xenta server Go to  Configuration- Time- Regional Settings Set correct information

Issue The following error has been generated. An attempt was made to register or add a device without a channel handle specified, but the system was not able to automatically determine the channel on which the device resides. (Subsystem: NS, #79) Environment LonMaker NL220 Vista Cause An attempt was made to register or add a device without a channel handle specified, but the system was not able to automatically determine the channel on which the device resides. Resolution This error will occur if the channel the device resides on is connected to any other channel by repeaters or permanent bridges. Also, this error will occur if the channel is not currently configured in the system. The first thing to try is to perform a cold reboot on the controller.

Issue Vista only supports EXCEL reports. Environment Vista 4 and 5 Cause Vista reports only supports EXCEL format as a standard installation. Resolution A PDF printer can be installed and set to auto save as a PDF file. Vista can then print the report to the PDF printer which will save the file as a PDF. To set this up you need to first install the PDF printer. PDFCreator is one printer option that can be set to auto save functionality. Here is a link to download this software. http://www.pdfforge.org/ Once installed you configure the auto save option Then in Vista setup the report to print to the PDFCreator The setup the Report Periodical to print the report This will then save the report as a PDF in the folder defined in the PDFCreator setup.

Issue Unused Members The following SNVT members are not used: nviSNVTinput is a structured SNVT and contains the unused member state! nviSNVTinput is a structured SNVT and contains the unused member value! Environment Menta SNVT inputs and outputs Any structured SNVT type. Some examples are: switch hvac_status hvac_overid muldiv obj_request obj_status Cause The pop up is a warning only informing you that the structured SNVT has unused members. If those members are not being used by the program, then it is not necessary to define them in the Menta application. Resolution There are two options to remove this warning: At the bottom left-hand corner of the warning is an option for "Don't show this dialog again." If that is checked, then it will not show warnings for any more unused members each simulation. Add SNVT inputs or outputs for the additional unused members. To do this: Add and AI or AO to the program Double click it and go to the Bind dialog Choose the same SNVT type as the other members and make the name of the SNVT the same as the other members From the Member drop-down list, define one input or output for each member of the structured SNVT.

Issue While downloading the certificate from the XBuilder to Xenta Server the following error occurs "Failed to generate the file prvkey".   Environment XBuilder Xenta 500 and 700 series Servers Cause XBuilder might not be installed correctly. Resolution The following items can be attempted to correct this issue: Check computer's security settings in the Internet options of Internet explorer. The recommended setting would be low or medium. Try to reinstall XBuilder. (Uninstall first then reinstall) If that does not help download the certificate from another PC which has XBuilder installed. Just make sure the PC and the Xenta Server are in the same IP range.  

Issue An attempt was made to add a node that is already defined. Received the error: The device is already defined. (Subsystem: NS, #52) Environment NL220 LonMaker Vista LNS Cause A device in the TAC network has been assigned the same neuron ID previously as the device that is attempting to be downloaded. Resolution In the system plug-in: In the TAC network pane, delete the Xenta group that the controller belongs too. Update the TAC network. Download the controller again.

Issue Could not find the program definition required to execute the service. (Subsystem: NS, #48) Environment NL220 LonMaker Vista LNS Cause Error generated when trying to validate a database. Resolution Run LNS Database Validator to help identify and possible correct the issue(s). For further assistance contact Echelon support here.

Issue How to communicate with an Xenta 200/300/400 via an X911 in Vista Environment TAC Vista 5.1.X X911 5.1.X Xenta 200/300/400 device. Cause An X911 is to be used as an IP/Lon gateway. Resolution To add an X911 in Vista do the following: 1. In Vista workstation, right-click on the Server object and select New\Device\Communication Port - Xenta 911. 2. Give the device a suitable name. 3. Right-click on the device and select Properties. 4. Set the IP address for the device. 5. Right-click on the X911 and select New\Lonworks Network. 6. Give the network an appropriate name. 7. Right-click on the network and select New\TAC Xenta Group. 8. Give the group an appropriate name. The new Xenta devices can now be added by right-clicking and selecting New\Xenta 200\300\400. The device can then be configured via the properties menu. Once the device\s are configured the configuration can be downloaded to the devices. 1. Right-click on the lonworks network and select Commission and Download. 2. Click on the Start the selected operation  button and wait until the download has been completed. See TAC Xenta 500 700 911 913 Product Manual for full instructions on how to configure an X911.

Issue Are DDC Controllers Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certified? Environment Site wanting Green Building Council Certification Cause Are DDC Controllers Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certified? Resolution The USGBC does not certify particular devices or controls systems such as I/NET, Continuum, or Xentas. LEED focuses on the design of the building and not on its actual energy consumption, and therefore it has suggested that LEED buildings should be tracked to discover whether the potential energy savings from the design are being used in practice. Five basic categories make up the design points system. Totaled together, these points determine your certification level. The level of certification depends upon the total number of points. As you can see, energy and atmosphere along with indoor environmental quality factors make up half of the available basic points. Five categories for accumulating points 1. Sustainable sites.... 26 Points 2. Water efficiency ....14 Points 3. Energy and atmosphere ....35 Points 4. Materials and resources.... 10 Points 5. Indoor environmental quality.... 15 Points 6. Innovation and Operations.... 6 Points 7. Regional Priority.... 4 Points Subtotal: 100 Points LEED 2009 for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance 100 base points; 6 possible Innovation in Operations and 4 Regional Priority points Certified 40–49 points Silver 50–59 points Gold 60–79 points Platinum 80 points and above The U.S. Green Building Council is a national, non-profit organization that works to “promote the design and construction of buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work” (USGBC Mission Statement). The USGBC created the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design® (LEED) Green Building Rating System. LEED was fashioned to provide a standard of measurement for defining a “green” building. It takes a whole building approach that encourages and guides a collaborative, integrated design and construction process. The program evaluates and recognizes performance of your buildings in accepted green design categories—Energy & Atmosphere, Water Efficiency, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Sustainable Sites. Buildings are given a certification rating based on the number of points they receive in their evaluation. The four levels of LEED certification include: Certified Level, Silver Level, Gold Level, and Platinum Level. By becoming certified, building owners are given third-party validation of their contribution environment; qualify for various state and local government incentives; contribute to the growing knowledge base; receive a LEED certification plaque and official certificate; and receive marketing exposure through the USGBC website, case studies, and media  

Issue Is it possible to link to webstation from another website/web portal without needing to log in? Environment Vista 5.1.X Vista Webstation 5.1.X Cause A customer may wish to integrate a/some webpage/s from TAC Vista webstation into their company's own internal website. Resolution There is an option in TAC Vista web settings that enables a user to be redirected to Webstation from an external application, e.g. another website, and then automatically logged in to Webstation. The requirement for this to be possible is that the external application and Webstation shares a secret key and an Initialization Vector (IV). These are cryptographic terms and as far as the layman (or sysadmin) is concerned these can be considered to be two passwords of approximately 30 characters each. The key and the IV are both generated through the "TAC Vista Web Settings" application. The key and the IV are two securely randomized and different 128-bit byte arrays which are then encoded as Base64 for usability purposes. The external application should be programmed to read and decode these two Base64 strings and use them as the key and the IV for the AES (Rijndael) encryption algorithm. The encryption is used to pass a secret string from the sender (external app) to the receiver (Webstation). This secret string contains the date and time of the current request (in UTC and in ISO 8601 format) followed by a space and then the user name of the account in Webstation. The secret string should match the following regular expression or else it is not considered valid:  [0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}T[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}:[0-9]{2}\s.*   Example of secret string:  2005-12-31T21:55:30 fido   The encrypted string that is passed to Webstation should be Base64 encoded and also UrlEncoded so the string can be passed in the URL. The UrlEncoded string should be passed to Webstation as a query string parameter where the parameter name is PortalLogin. Ex: " http://webstation/AlarmListPage.aspx?PortalLogin=%2bxQZvkf5PhtNCsxcuE1I54ZgrwUcQHG%2buPPc7Zn9ThQ%3d" 1. STEPS THE SENDING APPLICATION NEEDS TO PERFORM a. Construct a string according to the format: YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss user. b. Encrypt the string using the shared key and initialization vector (IV). The encryption algorithm has to be AES (Rijndael) and key size 128-bit. c. Encode the encrypted string using Base64. d. URL-Encode the string. e. Forward the client to an arbitrary Webstation page and append the query string parameter PortalLogin= followed by the string. 2. WEBSTATION CONFIGURATION a. The following parameters has been added to Web.Config to support Portal Login:     TAC.WebStation.PortalLogin.Enabled" value="false" />     TAC.WebStation.PortalLogin.Key" value="" />     TAC.WebStation.PortalLogin.IV" value="" />     TAC.WebStation.PortalLogin.TimeSpan" value="60" />     The above values are the default values. Key and IV should be generated by Web Settings and not entered manually. TimeSpan is the amount of seconds the time stamp from the sender can differ from the Webstation server's time when it receives the request.      

Issue The name of the Excel Workbook disappears from the title bar in excel after saving a non-Vista document. Environment Vista 5.1.X Excel 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010. Cause A number of macros are used in Vista reports, amongst others a macro that changes the title bar from displaying "Microsoft Excel - document name" to TAC Vista Reports - document name. Resolution If working in the instance of Excel opened by TAC Vista reports, close the Vista reports macro by selecting Vista Reports\Exit from the menu. Alternatively, opening Excel from the start-menu will also avoid this issue. A report opened from Vista workstation. An Excel workbook opened on the TAC Vista Reports Excel Instance.

Issue Blinking red lights Solid red lights Blinking orange light Blinking green light Solid green light Environment Xenta Server Controllers 511, 527, 555, 701, 711, 721, 731, 911, 913 Cause The indicator lights on the face of the Xenta Server controllers can help explain the state of the controller in many different situations. Resolution A number of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on the Xenta device indicate that the application program is running and when communication is in progress.    Fig. 1: LED diagram on the Xenta Server device.   Table1: LED description on the Xenta Server device.     Position Description 1 Neuron status indicator • Off – Normal mode • Red, blinking – Unconfigured mode • Red, steady – Hardware fault 2 Serial RS-232 B port activity indicators: • RX – Indicates that data is received • TX – Indicates that data is transmitted 3 Overall Run indicator • Green, steady – Normal mode • Green, blinking – Start mode • Red, steady – Fail-safe mode (see    description below) • Red, blinking – Unit fault 4 Serial RS-232 A port activity indicators: • RX – Indicates that data is received • TX – Indicates that data is transmitted 5 Serial RS-485 C port activity indicator. 6 Ethernet 10Base-T activity indicator Note • The LEDs for the RS-232 A interface (position 4) do not indicate communication when using the RS-485 A interface although internal port A is used for both.               Fig. 2: Internal serial ports and RS-232/485 interfaces.

Issue The need to verify the proper wire positions on a Xenta Server device Environment Vista XBuilder Xenta Servers Xenta 511, 527, 555, 701, 711, 721, 731, 913 Cause Installing a Xenta Server device on a network Resolution Table 2.1: Connections on the Xenta device Position Description 1-2 Power supply. Minimum cross-sectional area 0.75 mm2 (AWG-19). 1 (G) - 24 V AC (or DC+) 2 (G0) - Ground 3-4 LonWorks TP/FT-10 connection 3 (C1) 4 (C2) 5-8 Internal port A RS-485 A connection 5 (RX/TX+) 6 (RX/TX-) 7 (RX+) 8 (RX-) Note that the interface RS-232 A (position 21) and interface RS-485 A (position 5-8) are internally connected to port A on the processor. Only one should be connected. 9 Ground 9 (G0) 10 Fail-safe Note Jumping these pins together while cycling power will flash the device and load the minimum amount of drivers necessary for communication. If an IP address has already been assigned fail-safe will NOT remove it. 11-15 Unused 16-17 Ground 16 (G0) 17 (G0) 18 Unused 19-20 Internal port C RS-485 C (SDLC) connection 19 (RX/TX+) 20 (RX/TX-) 21 Internal port A RS-232 A connection. Note that the interface RS-232 A (position 21) and interface RS-485 A (position 5-8) are internally connected to port A on the processor. Only one should be connected. 22 Internal port B RS-232 B console connection 23 Ethernet 10Base-T connection 24 Service pin Caution G0 equals GROUND. Only G0 may be connected to protective ground.

Issue When you try to insert a new Xenta server into NL220 you receive the error message. Environment NL220 XBuilder Cause Controller Object names are limited to 16 character long. Resolution In X-Builder, under the SNVT folder, rename the Controller object names to less than 16 characters.