Issue Can a LA-1 L-Bus adapter be used on the Netcontroller II? Environment Netcontroller II (9680) Cause In order to communication on a port other than Comm 4, an LA-1 must be added. Resolution The Netcontroller II (9680) comes with direct L-Bus option already on Comm4 without having to use the LA-1 adapter. However if you would like a different port to support L-Bus instead of Comm 4 the LA-1 can be added to Comm 1. Note: When using L-Bus you will not be able to connect IOU modules.

Issue   Xenta 700 Menta viewer in Internet Explorer displays some blocks at half-size Environment Xenta Server Xenta 701, 711, 721, 731 Menta Internet Explorer Cause Illegal characters in the description field of the point has caused problems with the web interface live Menta viewer. Resolution Verify that there are no strange characters in the description field of the point. In the most recent case, the = sign caused the block to shrink.

Issue TAC Xenta 280/300/401, the Menta application could stop due to one of the Week charts or Holiday charts in a TSCH block Max set to 0 (zero). Environment Xenta programmable controllers up to version 3.74 Xenta 280, 281, 282, 283, 300, 301, 302, 401, 401:B Menta TSCH block Cause Setting the maximum number of either Week Charts or Holiday Charts to 0 will cause this error. Resolution Make sure that you set Max to at least 1 for both the holiday and the week charts, even if you only are going to use one of the charts.

Issue For the MicroNet sensors MN-Sx and MN-SxHT, what is the drift factor per year? Environment MN-Sx MN-SxHT MicroNet Controllers Cause There is slight temperature drift with MicroNet Sensors. Resolution The non-humidity units (MN-Sx) use a glass encapsulated thermistor sensor that has a maximum drift of .022ºC in the first 30,000 hours (about 3.5 years) and is basically stable after that. The electronics uses precision resistors as references that are powered at less than 1/100 rated power. Using the shelf life specification for drift of 100PPM / year for the reference resistors would add another .022ºC / year. A conservative number of 0.03ºC / year would cover it. The humidity units (MN-SxHT) have a solid-state sensor with a humidity drift of 0.5%RH / year and a temperature drift of 0.04ºC / year maximum. The sensing chip communicates digitally with a microcontroller so there is no electronics related error.

Issue How can a remote BACnet/IP network be accessed using the WorkPlace Commissioning Tool (WPCT)? Environment BACnet/IP network WorkPlace Commissioning Tool (WPCT) Cause Remote connectivity is needed to access a BACnet device that exists on an outside network where WPCT resides. Resolution When WPCT starts, it sends out a "whoIs" (broadcast) message. The responding devices send the reply ("iAm") using its IP address. If the responding device is on a private IP network that is using NAT or Port Forwarding to access the Internet, it is this private IP address that is populated in the "iAm" response. After the response, WPCT starts using directed messages using the address it received from the responding device. Private IP addresses cannot be routed through the public Internet. Therefore, NAT or Port Forwarding cannot be used to access remote BACnet/IP networks using WPCT. There are two ways around this issue: Use a public IP address in the internal BACnet network Use a VPN to access the network For more details, consult the I/A Series Micronet BACnet Wiring, Networking, and Best Practices Guide (F-27360).

Issue Why the Netcontroller 9680 can't be connected via Hyperterminal. How to commission the NC2 and ACX2 (5720/5740) Environment Netcontroller 9680 Hyperterminal NC2 ACX2 5720 5740 Cause The Netcontroller 9680, usually called the NC2, does not have a Hyperterminal interface in which to commission the controller. Resolution To commission the NC2 and the ACX2 please follow the directions below. Note: Check with your system administrator for assistance. Disable the DHCP Services on your PC. Disconnect your computer from the network and set your IP address to 169.254.1.2 and your subnet mask to 255.255.0.0. Using a CAT5 cable (straight-through or crossover), connect the PC Ethernet port to the ACX 57xx Ethernet port.  Run your web browser, then go to URL: http://169.254.1.1 to display the Andover Continuum Embedded WebServer page in the ACX 57xx Series controller. Select Controller Configuration from the WebServer page. Log on using the default Andover Continuum user name and password. Enter relevant configuration parameters on the WebServer Configuration web pages. After entering the parameters, click the Commit Changes/Restart Controller button on the WebServer page. (Restore the PC, and connect the controller to the network when it reboots.)

Issue Epi-Builder display of expiration date workaround Environment Epi-Builder Cause The problem lies in the format of the expiration date in the Epi-Builder software. Resolution Epi-Builder display of expiration date workaround. Recently discovered was a minor issue with the display box of the expiration date field on print pre-view and while printing a card with this attribute. There are multiple formats to select from ie.. mm/dd/yyyy or mm/dd/yy hh:mm:ss etc... but even though you may have selected just to display the mm/dd/yy. What would be displayed is the format mm/dd/yy hh:mm:ss. A simple workaround is to resize the box that houses the attribute when editing the badge layout to only show the desired mm/dd/yyyy.  

Issue The Network 8000 GCM-84000 series has two RS-232 communication ports. Which one is PORT1 and which is PORT2? Environment Network 8000 GCM-84000 series Cause Use the RS-232 ports to connect personal computer-based graphical operator interfaces, VT-100 class terminals, and/or auto-dial/auto-answer modems for remote telecommunications. Dual RS-232 ports can be used to connect personal computer-based graphical  operator interfaces, VT-100 class terminals, and/or auto-dial/auto-answer modems for  remote telecommunications. Dual RS-232 ports can be used to connect personal computer-based graphical  operator interfaces, VT-100 class terminals, and/or auto-dial/auto-answer modems for  remote telecommunications. Dual RS-232 ports can be used to connect personal computer-based graphical  operator interfaces, VT-100 class terminals, and/or auto-dial/auto-answer modems for  remote telecommunications. Resolution PORT1 is the top port and PORT2 is the bottom port. PORT2 is designed with better data buffering and should be the first choice when connecting a computer to the GCM for any type of data exchange. See the Network 8000 Service & Troubleshooting Manual (F-23024, page 88).

Issue I/NET Utility Patch - Upgrading I/NET 2.14 and above. Environment I/NET Cause Two directories are required C:\Program Files\INet Seven and C:\INet Seven Data. These changes occurred as a result of requirements for future release revisions of I/NET and Microsoft Vista - Microsoft 2005 Server Operating System.   Resolution When upgrading I/NET Seven revision 2.14 and above to the later versions using the patch on the web, you are required to run the utility patch twice. Note: When I/NET is compatible with MS Vista and MS 2005 Server a release announcement will be published. Caution: You should always perform a data base backup before you start any upgrade process. A new install of 2.14 will create the data directory in a different location than prior revisions. An upgrade install will not move the data directory from its current location. The patch utility is unable to determine that the data directory has moved. Therefore, it needs to run against both the program directory and the data directory. The following steps should ensure this is done properly: Using the patch utility, point to the program directory by selecting C:\Program Files\INet Seven and execute. Once completed, run the utility again and now point to C:\INet Seven Data and execute. This ensures that both the program files and bin files have the correct version for that revision. Note: Prior to starting I/NET force an upgrade on the database using the DBCreate Utility.

Issue Unable to create new OGC graphic pages in Xbuilder 5.0.2 or later.  The edit option has been grayed out and I cannot open the OGC graphic editor. Environment XBuilder TGML Graphics Editor Vista Cause In Xbuilder 5.0.2 the system was changed to support UTF-8 character encoding. Since OGC Graphics pages cannot support this change all new graphic pages added to XBuilder will be forced to be TGML pages which support the UTF-8 character encoding.  Resolution OGC graphics created in earlier versions of XBuilder will still display properly when those projects are upgraded to newer versions of XBuilder but they can no longer be edited. If changes need to be made to these files you can follow one of the two options listed below:  #1. In order to make changes to these graphics the files must first be upgraded to TGML graphics. This is done by opening the OGC graphics with the TGML editor and the graphics will be automatically updated. #2. It is possible for 2 versions of XBuilder to reside on one PC. You can download the 5.0.2 version of XBuilder and use this version of the tool to make the necessary changes. Once the changes are made you will save the project and open the edited project in the newer version of XBuilder.  

Issue Wiring configuration enabling connection of S-E Forta Actuator set in Increase / Decrease mode to early discrete Satchwell Climatronic CSC/CXR/CXT Controller. Environment S-E Forta Actuator set in Increase / Decrease mode connected to early discrete Satchwell Climatronic CSC/CXR/CXT Controller. Cause Obsolescence of previous Actuator connected to early discrete Satchwell Climatronic CSC/CXR/CXT Controller. Resolution 1.  Connect S-E Forta Actuator set in Increase / Decrease mode to early discrete Satchwell Climatronic CSC/CXR/CXT Controller.  It should be noted that when connecting a S-E Forta Actuator set in Increase / Decrease operation mode to an early discrete Satchwell Climatronic CSC/CXR/CXT Controller it may be necessary to wire the Actuator in a 24v OPEN / 24v CLOSE / 0v COMMON configuration instead of the 0v OPEN / 0v CLOSE / 24v COMMON configuration as shown in the S-E Forta Actuator Data Sheets. 2.  With S-E Forta Actuator DIL Switch No.2 set ON in Increase / Decrease mode wire to the S-E Forta Actuator terminals as follows :- 24v Supply – wire to Terminal G 0v   Supply – wire to Terminal G0 24v Open signal – wire to Terminal VH 24v Close signal – wire to Terminal VC N.B. This deviation from the standard S-E Forta Actuator installation method should be recorded in the site Operating & Maintenance manual. A 24v supply must be present across Terminals G / G0 for the S-E Forta Actuator to work satisfactorily. A 4-wire connection must be made to the S-E Forta Actuator, instead of the 3-wire connection made to any Satchwell Actuator it is replacing. It is important to ensure that the 24v Power Supply to both the S-E Forta Actuator and the Satchwell Climatronic Controller share the same 0v potential. It is also important to ensure that the 24v Power Supply is capable of providing the higher level of VA required to operate the S-E Forta Actuator compared to that of any Actuator that it may be replacing. 

Issue Running reports on Extended Logs shows no data Environment Continuum system Cause Possible Causes: Other programs currently running extended logging (pre-1.7x style). Time sync errors Cyberstation preference is set to false Resolution Check that you do not have programs running that are performing extended logging the pre-1.7x style. Any programs that were used for extended logging should be disabled or removed. Check the Continuum Error Log listview and see if there are time sync errors. A difference of more than 5 minutes between the Master controller and the Cyberstation will stop extended logging from working properly. You will see an error indicating that the time difference has been exceeded. Ensure the Cyberstation preference is set to True Download Extended Log Data from Controllers on the LAN(RAS) If it was set to false, Stop/Restart Continuum Run List views of all points, (inputs, outputs, numerics) Example: In Explorer, Go to ListView> Listview_Infinity Inputs > Edit Click Columns> Add a Column Add ExtLogEnable Check Off Edit box Click Apply then the General Tab Run the listview Select Edit> Select All Select Object> Set Attributes Select ExtLogEnable, For Value type in True and Click OK, OK Select View> Refresh list and the attributes are set to true Repeat this for Outputs and Numerics Wait for awhile beyond how often you are logging your points. Run reports to verify data is being logged. NOTE: Occasionally, after an upgrade, you may need to set all the extended log enable attributes to FALSE FIRST and then to true again for inputs, outputs and numerics to get them working. Data may have been logging and then stopped. The data range requested in the report doesn’t have data, but there is data in the database. Here are some tips on verifying the data in the database. Using Enterprise Manager Use Query Analyzer against the Continuumdb Select * from extendedlog Using OSQL Go to a command prompt Enter in osql –Uandover97 –Ppyramid97 –S then enter (this assumes default user and pw, change if needed. –S needs to be followed by your server name Once you hit enter you’ll be brought to the 1> prompt At the 1> Prompt hit the Enter key 1> select * from ExtendedLog Type Go the Enter If values are returned, then extended logging is working. Type quit (to exit OSQL) Type Exit to close the DOS window

Issue This is a detailed explanation of extended logging gaps, performance and load balancing  Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Windows XP Windows Server 2000 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause System overloads Slow server and/or server crashes Server CPU Usage running at high percentage rates Low Physical Memory Available Gaps in Extended logging data Resolution This article discusses factors that need to be considered when extended logging is being used to log a large number of points. There are too many variables involved in the Extended logging engine to place specifics on the number of extended logs that can be used. Performance will be contingent on many hardware, software and configuration variables. It is best practice to make one configuration change at a time and wait for the results prior to making an additional change. The SQL server version will affect extended logging performance There are limitations to different versions of SQL server.  For instance, MSDE has a 2 Gig limit and if this is exceeded, it will cause corruption in the database and the database may have to be rebuilt. SQL Standard and Enterprise versions allow a certain number of processors and RAM to be utilized by SQL. This is a link to Microsoft’s web site that compares the versions. http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/features/compare-features.mspx PC hardware such as hard drive access times, RAM amount and speed as well and CPU speed and quantity of processors will directly affect extended logging performance. While always at a minimum following the hardware requirements in the Continuum Cyberstation installation manual, there are times when more processing power and memory are needed. Sites that are performing large amounts of extended logging are definite candidates to consider going beyond the recommended hardware requirements. While 64-bit machines are not supported for running Cyberstation software [before v1.94], they can be used to increase performance on SQL server side. One benefit of using a 64-bit OS and SQL2005/2008 64-bit versions is increased memory capabilities and well as the ability to have several processors. Server hard drives with faster read/write capacities can also be improved. Sites that fall under some of the items discussed below should consider the benefits of faster servers to better handle their Lan site communications and data storage needs. How many Cyberstations are being used? As a general rule, we do not recommend using 1 Cyberstation for logging greater than 2000 points. This does not take into consideration the logging interval. 1 Cyberstation as a stand alone could be overwhelmed by 2000 points if the points are configured at small intervals with a large number of entries. In the case of a LAN site with several thousand extended log requests, more than 1 Cyberstation may be needed for load balancing. What is load balancing? Load balancing was implemented to divide extended logging work among Cyberstations based on the overall number of log entries per hour. Each Cyberstation will be logging on average approximately the same number of entries per hour, but the number of points logged by each workstation may be different. The algorithm looks at the timestamp of the log and if it’s not logged for a specific Cyberstation within a certain timeframe + the Global interval then it’s offered up to the rest of the Cyberstations (pool) to load balance equally. How to identify gaps in data: Run a report for extended log data and you notice that the regular interval for points do not show based on the timestamps. Run the following SQL query to verify the data in the database select * from extendedlog order by datetime desc --Selects all logs in descending order Select top 5000000 * from extendedlog --Selects the top 5 million rows (adjustable) When gaps are identified, a number of steps may be examined to eliminate the gaps. Offline controllers will buffer data as long as they can, but if left offline for long enough then data could be lost as it is first in first out. Normally extended log data will be requested from the controller by Cyberstation once it has come back online and the data will be filled in from the most recent to the oldest data. Check the Continuum error logs. If there is a large number of errors being processed, this can contribute to a draw on needed resources on the system. Resolve the issues in the Continuum error log to reduce the resource overhead. Run Acctrace.exe for a period of time. This can often give some additional information about extended logging that is not reported in the Continuum error logs. Determine how many Cyberstations are being used for load balancing for extended logging. This can be done by verifying in the Cyberstation preferences setting. ‘Download Extended Log data from controllers on the LAN is set to True   To verify the number of Cyberstations being utilized in the database Run a query against the database. Select * from ExtendedLogReservation Observe the ReservationWSLo column, points are evenly assigned to a unique id Any new Cyber added to the pool of workstations for extended logging should be assigned within a couple minutes. Examine the Hard drive I/O subsystem According to SQL server performance data, it is recommended to have multiple smaller drives on a hard drive array as opposed to fewer larger drives for better access times. SQL settings Are any governor settings enabled? (MSDE has one by default) Determine the number of processors that are enabled on the SQL server itself. These need to be selected to be used. Is Boost SQL Server priority selected? If not, enable it.   If a database has moved to another PC or an upgrade was done SP_CHANGEDBOWNER 'andover97' must be run or it can cause db problems including extended logging to no work at all or only partially. SQL profiler can be used to examine if there are issues within SQL that could use specific tuning. For example, certain queries or stored procedures could be isolated that have high CPU usage. Help for using SQL Profiler can be found on Microsoft’s web site or from SQL admin literature. Truncating tables Regular maintenance of removing extended logs can increase performance by reducing the number of rows that the need to be read and inserted into the database. Extended Log Automatic Purge Interval (days) This is the number of days to keep extended log data in the database before purging it. Extended log data is stored in a single internal table, so purging the data after a specified number of days prevents this table from becoming too large. A value of 0 ensures that the data is never purged.  If performance is so bad that it is affecting normal operations it may be desirable to directly purge records from the database. (It is best practice to perform a database backup prior to any delete query.) Also, ensure there is a database backup if the data needs to be saved at various points in time.  This query DELETES all records greater than 3/10/08 14:43:00 from extended log table delete from extendedlog where datetime >= ‘2008-03-10 14:43:00.000’  Increase the interval that extended logs are retrieved in points with small interval times. A listview with the ExtLogEnable and ExtLogInterval columns added can be run for numerics, inputs and outputs to indicate which logs have an interval of zero or a small number for the interval. Increase the interval and reduce the amount to reduce the number of requests. Increase the general preference Extended Log Database Check Interval The interval at which Continuum will check the database for points that are enabled for automatic extended logging. It checks the extended logging table, and uploads the point data. The default is 5 minutes. Increase this Database Check Interval if the system is unable to process all extended logs requested in this timeframe.  Extended Log Maximum LAN Buffer Interval (minutes) This is the maximum time interval, in minutes, that CyberStation may check each controller on a LAN network for new extended logging data. This determines how long Cyberstation will allow the controller log to accumulate new data before downloading it. This setting reduces a small amount of overhead when set to a higher value, and allows more up-to-date extended logs when set to a lower value.  Examples: If this is set to 1 minute and a point is logged every 10 seconds then Cyberstation will wait one minute and download 6 entries for that point. If this is set to 1 minutes and a point is logged every hour, Cyberstation will only try to download the data every hour.  Increase the Extended Log Database Check Interval and stagger Continuum startup When it is necessary, enable logging on several Cyberstations for load balancing. If additional Cyberstations have been added and the system is still having trouble keeping up with logging demand, implement the following procedure. Increase the Continuum General Preference Extended Log Database Check Interval to 60 minutes Stagger the start up times of the Cyberstations to 10 minutes apart. Staggering the startups as well as extending the time should allow the load balancing to level off by enabling the load balancing engine to utilize all of the Cyberstation’s resources and disperse the processing. Adding several Cyberstations at the same time could potentially cause the load balancing engine to get into a race condition where it’s trying to reassign all the points at the same time while still logging data.

Issue CFR and User configuration to avoid Environment Continuum Cause When setting up a machine for CFR there are 4 selections on the CFR preferences editor located by right-clicking the Continuum Icon in the lower right icon tray. One of selections is "Force Different User Signoff" which is false by default. If you want to turn this feature on make sure that you have more than one user and the user has the necessary rights to perform the Signoff. The mere mention of Different user should be an indication that you need more than one user to use this feature.  Resolution If you do get caught in this state where you only have one user and have selected true and apply for "Force Different User Signoff" you will not be able approve the activity event. You will then need to forcefully shut down the machine and either restore the DB to a backup previous to enabling the "Force Different User Signoff" feature or Contact Product Support Boston. 978-975-9508

Issue Export personnel pictures from the database and create a report Environment Personnel records in a database Cause Exporting data from the database can be used for auditing purposes. Resolution Exporting personnel pictures from the database Run the List_AllPersonnel listview Select the personnel of the pictures that are needed Right click and select Send to> Text File Create or select a folder on the hard drive and indicate a file name (*.dmp) Click OK on, Are you sure you want to save these objects to a dump file? This will create a dump file of the personnel AND send the personnel pictures to the same folder To get a report of the list of personnel with their pictures Run the same list view from above Select the personnel you want Right click and select Export Selected Create or select a folder on the hard drive and indicate a file name (*.csv) If you need a report all of this on the same page Highlight the cell you want the picture in Select Insert> Picture> From File and navigate to the appropriate file

Issue In Xenta Server's web interface, web pages are displayed incompletely. Environment Xenta Server Xenta 511, 527, 701, 711, 721, 731, 913 HP and Siemens PCs Cause Hyperthreading has been found to be a problem on some PCs. Resolution Disable Hyperthreading in the PC's BIOS. This issue has been found on some HP and Siemens PCs.

Issue When interfacing Veris pressure transmitters (PXP-xx-02S-T1) with a 0 to 5 vdc output signal to a universal input of a MNL controller instead of seeing 0 vdc with 0 pressure the UI is seeing .5 vdc. Environment Veris pressure transmitters (PXP-xx-02S-T1) MNL Controller Cause This is a compatibility issue with the Veris transmitters. Resolution Veris Technical Support suggests putting a 2.2k ohm resister across the OUT and COM of the transmitter. This has been confirmed to resolve the issue by field personnel.

Issue A Niagara R2 Enterprise Server with a large number of alarms and archived data is no longer needed.  How can all this data be removed quickly? Environment Niagara R2 Enterprise Server Cause Delete unused alarms and archived data on Enterprise Server station. Resolution This data is stored in the "app" folder on the Enterprise Server station. Using Windows Explorer go to Niagara > r2.301.522 > stations > "Station name". Rename or delete the "app" folder and restart the Enterprise Server. When Niagara discovers there is no "app" folder it will create a new, empty one.

Issue What is indicated by the Status LEDs on the MicroNet 2000 ASD Integrator (MN-ASDI)? Environment MicroNet 2000 Integrator Cause Information on the Status LEDs Resolution The MicroNet 2000 Integrator for the ASD bus (MN-ASDI) has three Status LEDs: Yellow RX, Green TX, and Red ON. The LEDs indicate the following activities: Yellow RX LED blinks when it detects receive activity on the ASD bus. Green TX LED blinks when it transmits to devices on the ASD bus. The Red LED indicates processor activity AND communication activity on the U-bus interface. The frequency of blinking is dependent on the amount of activity.

Issue TAC Xenta 120, up to version 1.08, CO 2 input as 2-10 Volt Environment Xenta 121-FC ver 1.08 and earlier Xenta 121-HP ver 1.08 and earlier Cause The input is designed for 0-10 volt signal and will be offset by 20% if a 2-10 volt sensor is applied. Resolution When 0-10V for input is used the 120 will multiply the voltage by the scale factor: V * S = CO 2 reading. When 2-10V for input is used the 120 will multiply the voltage by an adjusted scale factor: V * ((S*10) / 😎 = CO 2 reading. When using a 200ppm Scale factor this results in a reading of 600 ppm when reading 3V on a 0-10V input and 250 ppm when reading 3V on a 2-10V input. This behavior is not correct, and needs to be corrected in a future release.