Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Continuum ODBC Data Source does not appear in Windows ODBC Data Source Administrator. Continuum is operating normally in spite of this. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation Windows 7 Cause Multiple possible causes Windows issue Known Continuum issue in 1.94 running in 64 bit machine. Resolution See Microsoft solution: System DSN Entries Do Not Appear in ODBC Data Source Administrator (odbcad32.exe) Continuum ODBC System DSN is not created on x64 Bit systems A workaround is to run c:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe and the Continuum ODBC is available.

Issue Error when creating Event Notification Template Error "An error was detected during the creation of a remote refresh cached object Unable to find an object in the database" Seen when creating the EventNotification Template Product Line Continuum Environment Templates Event Notification Cause Error "An error was detected during the creation of a remote refresh cached object Unable to find an object in the database" Seen when creating the EventNotification Template and modifying Ack Required or Priority before pressing "OK" Resolution The error is not always seen but a simple work around is to press "OK" before editing the template. Then re-open and modify the template as required - This issue has been reported to engineering and is being evaluated for correction in a future revision NOTE - This was a minor issue and was fixed by version 1.94

Issue The Continuum icon in the system tray does not respond to a right click when attempting to logon to Cyberstation  via a remote desktop connection. Restarting the Cyberstation application will temporarily correct this issue. This problem is usually found when multiple remote machines are accessing the same Cyberstation workstation via Remote Desktop. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Microsoft Windows 10 Cause Windows Remote Desktop behavior can be affected when several RDU hosts whose screen resolutions are not the same and connecting to a remote workstation.  Resolution Ensure the various machines accessing Continuum Cyberstation over Windows Remote Desktop use the same windows resolution aspect ratio.

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 After switching the recovery model from Full to simple, the shrink task fails to shrink the transaction log file. Product Line Continuum Environment Continuum Microsoft SQL Server Cause A transaction log cannot be shrunken while there is a process actively accessing the log file. Resolution Use the log_reuse_wait_desc function in a SQL query to help you identify the process that is preventing the shrinking of the transaction log. Open SQL Server Management Studio.  Click on the New Query button. In the query window type the following SQL statement: SELECT log_reuse_wait_desc FROM sys.databases WHERE name = 'ContinuumDB' Note: The name in single quotes should be the name of the Continuum Database. In some cases, it may have been changed to something other than "ContinuumDb." This query will return one or more of the following keywords.  Each of the following keywords indicates a transaction log process that is taking place. Here is a list of keywords that could be returned. NOTHING CHECKPOINT LOG_BACKUP ACTIVE_BACKUP_OR_RESTORE ACTIVE_TRANSACTION DATABASE_MIRRORING REPLICATION DATABASE_SNAPSHOT_CREATION LOG_SCAN OTHER_TRANSIENT For example, if this query were to return REPLICATION, this would indicate that the replication process has control of the transaction log.  In that case you might investigate the replication configuration or perhaps even turn replication off temporarily to successfully shrink the log. You can find a detailed description for what each keyword indicates by searching the following website Eight Reasons Transaction Log Files Keep Growing

Issue The CyberStation installation guide states that the Continuum DB Server can be run on a Windows 7 PC while the Continuum Compatibility Matrix does not. Which document is correct? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation WebClient ContinuumDB Server Cause There are a variety of documents that describe system requirements for various Continuum products, it is unfeasible to update system requirement information in each document every time a change occurs. For this reason the Continuum Compatibility Matrix should be used as the ultimate word on Continuum products and controllers and the software and firmware that support them. Resolution The Continuum Compatibility Matrix is the ultimate authority when it comes to hardware/software/firmware compatibility.

Issue Is the Personnel Import Utility (PIU) included with Continuum or is it add-on software? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation Cause The PIU is sometimes confused with the Personnel Data Importer, which is add-on software. Resolution The Personnel Import Utility is part of the Continuum system but must be enabled in the CyberStation key before it can be used. The key must have the -D (Data Exchange) option in order for the PIU to work.

Issue Collecting String data from third party BACnet systems where they do not support BACnet String Objects Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Third Party BACnet systems Continuum Text/Strings Datetime Cause BACnet String and Date (characterstring-value and datetime-value) objects are not included in some BACnet systems eg. Continuum. Continuum supports these objects types in a proprietary manor but not as BACnet objects, therefore these values cannot be simply collected by EBO Resolution A simple method of collecting text strings from Continuum is to convert each character to its ASCII equivalent number, then pass these values via BACnet Analog Values, then convert back to a string in EBO The simplistic PE program below shows conversion of the first 8 characters of "String8Character" Object to 8 Analog Values "StringChr01-08", these are collected by EBO The Script Program below converts the Analog Values back to a Text String  

Issue Error when Starting CyberStation: "Continuum Server - OMSInit failed" Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Cyberstation Cause The most common reasons for this are listed below: After installing a new database the workstation was not initialized The IP address is not configured in the workstation. The Upgrade procedure was not followed and the database was never updated The Folder specified for the CyberStation already exists in the DB Resolution To resolve based on the cause above: Initialize the workstation by clicking on the Workstation button during the installation process. Configure the IP address in the workstation (load a network card) Go back and update the database Delete the folder from a second WS (if possible) or specify a different folder name.

Issue The following errors are in the Windows Application Event Viewer: Email, Failed to send email - MAPILogonEx failed in InitSession function!, Result is 80040111 Email, Failed to send email - Email (MAPI) initialization failed in InitSession function!, Result is 80040111 Email, Failed to send email - InitSession failed in CACEmail::Init, Result is 80040111 Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation 1.9x Cause If the errors are only logged on startup of CyberStation then they are not likely an issue. However, if these are being logged more than just on startup they may indicate other issues, such as RPC errors. Resolution If you are not emailing alarms these errors may be able to be stopped. Run a listview [1] of all EventNotifications and display the AlarmOptions attribute. Check if the word email shows up. Edit the EventNotifications where it does show up and remove all emailing from the Actions tab. CyberStation creates some of these EventNotifications in the templates folder and they are setup for emailing by default.

Issue Continuum Security Key does not work and Product Support has requested for it to be sent back to Repairs. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Security Key Cause Security Key was not working and needs to be replaced.  Resolution Download the Andover_Continuum_Software_Upgrade_Forms_-_Americas_&_APAC.7z file from the link in this Product Announcement and then fill out the "CyberStation-web Client Option Upgrade.doc" form with the below information. The P/N will be USB REPLACEMENT. A PO# is required for the amount of the part number. Fill out CyberStation-web Client Option Upgrade.doc with appropriate information and send in to  your local logistics team. An Advance Replacement order will be generated to ship a new USB key to the shipping address. You will need to send back the defective key within 30 days of receipt of the replacement key.

Issue Various controller install guides suggest fitment of an optional varistor for surge/spike protection, what components should be used? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Surge and transient protection Metal Oxide Varistors (MOV) Part Number Line voltage protection, power line protection, mains spike protection. Noise, EMC resilience. Cause Install guides specify 39V, 130V or 250V varistors but what component part numbers should be used? Resolution For controllers with a 24VAC power feed, these are specified as a 39V Varistor, a suitable component would be: V39ZA1 This is also equivalent to Part # 01-2020-095 as listed in some install guides. For controllers fed from a 115VAC power feed, these are specified as a 130V Varistor, a suitable component would be: V130LA20A For controllers fed from a 230VAC power feed, these are specified as a 250V Varistor, a suitable component would be: V250LA40A Littelfuse Varistor ZA Datasheet PDF showing the full specification for each varistors is attached.

Issue When schedules, reports, trend logs, loops or any calendars are loaded, Internet Explorer is rejecting the control and will not host it. IE will then throw a "Cannot Create .net Editor" error. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment .Net 4.51 Continuum webClient Server Internet Explorer Cause Microsoft has stopped allowing IE to host controls from .net 2.0 and 1.1 by default. Resolution In order for these controls you must do the following on all of your client machines: Note: Always make a copy of the registry on the machine before making any modifications Open regedit Update the .NetFramework key as follows: On an x86 Operating System Add a DWORD attribute with the name EnableIEHosting to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework Set the value to 1 On an x64 Operating System Add a DWORD attribute with the name EnableIEHosting to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\.NETFramework Set the value to 1 Reboot the computer At this point you should be able to start WebClient and run the .net editors without any problems. The following Microsoft Article discusses this issue: Application Compatibility in the .NET Framework.

Issue How to read and write from/to files using PE Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation Plain English Cause Site needed a CSV report of personnel accessing the building that included access event information such as time stamp, door, area, card number BUT also data such as employee number etc., a simple list view could not be used since list views can only show data from ONE table in the ContinuumDB. Resolution Sample CyberStation program that reads/writes from/to file and aggregate data from different tables in the ContinuumDB IMPORTANT: PE Program is provided as a sample proof of concept ONLY and it is not to be taken as a complete working solution. REQUIREMENTS: Create STRINGS ReportEventsPath and T_A_Path in the CyberStation where the program will run and set to the path to the input and output files respectively, the input file must exist, the output file will be automatically created if it doesn’t exist. PROGRAM CODE: 'This Cyberstation program takes as an input a CSV file generated from an Access Event list 'and creates a second file with the EMPLOYEE NUMBER added. 'Program is FALL-THRU and NOT autostart 'IMPORTANT 'The Input file MUST be formatted like this... 'AccessEvent 'PersonId,TimeStamp,CardNumber,AreaId 'Root\MyPersonnel\Meran_Abe,3/31/2014 10:16:11 PM,3540,Root\MyAreas\Area1 File inputFILE, outputFILE String 132 DATALINE, RESULT, theEMPLOYEE, empNUMBER, localSTR Numeric CHARSREAD, CHARSWRITTEN, OK, RECORDLINE Numeric DEBUG_FLAG Line INITIALIZE DEBUG_FLAG = 0 'SET THIS TO 1 TO HAVE PROGRAM PRINT DEBUG INFO Line OPENING RESULT = "" RECORDLINE = 0 CHARSREAD = 0 If OpenFile(ReportEventsPath, ReadOnly, inputFILE) = Failure then 'OPEN THE INPUT FILE TO READ FROM RESULT = "COULD NOT OPEN inputFILE FILE" Goto FAILING Endif If OpenFile(T_A_Path, WriteOnly, outputFILE) = Failure then 'OPEN THE OUTPUT FILE TO WRITE TO RESULT = "COULD NOT OPEN outputFILE FILE" Goto FAILING Else Goto COPYING Endif Line COPYING RECORDLINE = RECORDLINE + 1 If DEBUG_FLAG then Print "Record line = " ; RECORDLINE If RECORDLINE = 1 then OK = ReadFile(inputFILE, DATALINE, 132, CHARSREAD, "|10") 'READ FIRST LINE FROM THE INPUT FILE UP TO THE LF Else OK = ReadFile(inputFILE, DATALINE, 132, CHARSREAD, "|13") 'READ ONE LINE FROM THE INPUT FILE UP TO THE CR Endif If OK = Failure then RESULT = "COULD NOT READ FILE" Goto FAILING Else If DEBUG_FLAG then Print "Read..." ; DATALINE If OK = Eof then RESULT = "END OF FILE" Goto CLOSING Endif Endif 'INSERT THE EMPLOYEE NUMBER If RECORDLINE = 2 then empNUMBER = "EmpNumber" 'MODIFY THE HEADER WITH THE NAME OF THE FIELD(S) WE ARE ADDING If RECORDLINE > 2 then theEMPLOYEE = (left(DATALINE, search(DATALINE, ","))) theEMPLOYEE = (left(theEMPLOYEE, (search(theEMPLOYEE, ",") - 1))) 'FOR EACH LINE IN THE INPUT FILE GET THE PATH TO THE PERSONNEL OBJECT Print getname(theEMPLOYEE ; " EmpNumber") to empNUMBER 'AND GET THE EMPLOYEE NUMBER Endif 'WRITE THE LINE WITH THE ADDED NEW FIELD(S) TO THE OUTPUT FILE If RECORDLINE = 1 then Print DATALINE ; chr(10) to localSTR Else Print DATALINE ; "," ; empNUMBER ; chr(10) to localSTR Endif OK = WriteFile(outputFILE, localSTR, 132, CHARSWRITTEN) If OK = Failure then RESULT = "COULD NOT WRITE FILE" Goto FAILING Else If DEBUG_FLAG then Print "Wrote..." ; localSTR Print "CHARSWRITTEN=" ; CHARSWRITTEN Endif 'POINT TO THE NEXT LINE IN THE FILES If RECORDLINE = 1 then If PositionFile(inputFILE, 1, FileCurrent) = Failure then Goto CLOSING 'ADVANCE PAST THE LF Else If PositionFile(inputFILE, 2, FileCurrent) = Failure then Goto CLOSING 'ADVANCE PAST THE CR and LF Endif If PositionFile(outputFILE, 0, FileCurrent) = Failure then Goto CLOSING 'WRITE AT THE CURRENT FILE LOCATION Goto COPYING 'GO DO THE NEXT LINE Endif Line FAILING 'SOMETHING WENT WRONG If DEBUG_FLAG then Print RESULT Goto CLOSING Line CLOSING 'CLOSE THE FILES If CloseFile(inputFILE) is Failure then RESULT = "COULD NOT CLOSE FILE" If CloseFile(outputFILE) is Failure then RESULT = "COULD NOT CLOSE FILE" If DEBUG_FLAG then PEDebug = PEDebug + 1 'IF DEBUGGING INCREMENTED PEDebug MEANS NO ERRORS Stop Line E 'HANDLE RUNTIME ERROR If DEBUG_FLAG then Print RESULT PEDebug = 666 Endif CloseFile(inputFILE) CloseFile(outputFILE) Stop After the program runs if the input file looks like: 'AccessEvent 'PersonId,TimeStamp,CardNumber,AreaId 'Root\MyPersonnel\Meran_Abe,3/31/2014 10:16:11 PM,3540,Root\MyAreas\Area1 The output file will be: 'AccessEvent, 'PersonId,TimeStamp,CardNumber,AreaId,EmpNumber, 'Root\MyPersonnel\Meran_Abe,3/31/2014 10:16:11 PM,3540,Root\MyAreas\Area1,12345  

Issue What camera conditions does Continuum support being shown as a Continuum alarm? Product Line Andover Continuum, Pelco Environment Continuum v2.0 Pelco Video Server Digital Sentry Endura Cause Available documentation is a bit bare on specifically what camera conditions can be monitored / setup to be displayed as alarms in Continuum. Resolution According to the latest Video Compatibility Matrix, only the following video alarms are supported: Video server online/offline Camera video loss (cable connection loss only, not covering of camera lens) Motion detection (per camera) Note: Video loss and motion alarm functionality are not supported on DVX and DVXi Video Servers.

Issue A site physical access is configured as follows... Upon arriving at the site, the employee must check-in at a gate where a main biometric reader at a VIRTUAL door is configured with entry/exit readers for Check-in and Check-out. This 'Registration' reader is not controlling access to any physical door, the Registration door in Continuum has zero for door relay channel but IT IS configured with entry/exit readers so the Continuum access control panel can detect the check-in/check-out transactions. Once the employee has checked in, he can continue on to the building where he must then present his physical access credentials at a physical door to gain access into the building. The site requirement is that the employee can not be given access to the building until they have checked-in at the Registration reader at the gate, also, access to the building must be removed upon the employee checking-out at the gate when leaving the site. The doors in the buildings are configured with entry reader ONLY, so entry/egress anti-passback cannot be used. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation ACX2 NC2 NC1 9702 Cause Documentation Resolution Since this must be done on a per employee basis, an InfinityNumeric is created per employee and assigned as the area schedule in the personnel object for the areas that are in the building. A specific convention is used for the name of the numerics (Key_XXXXX) where XXXXX is the card number assigned to the employee. A PE program monitors the registration door at the gate, when en employee arrives and checks-in the program finds the appropriate employee key numeric and turns it ON to grant access to the areas in the building, conversely, when the employee leaves, the program finds the right key and turns it to OFF to deny access. PROGRAM SAMPLE IMPORTANT: PE PROGRAM IS PROVIDED HERE AS PROOF OF CONCEPT ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE TAKEN AS A COMPLETE TESTED SOLUTION. 'This program controls access to the building on a per employee basis 'The area schedule numeric for the employee is turned ON when the employee 'reports at the entrance reader (GIVE EMPLOYEE THE KEY) and OFF when the 'employee reports his departure at the exit reader. (TAKE THE KEY FROM THE EMPLOYEE) 'ASSUMPTIONS '1. All cards have the same site code 'AUTO START 'LOOPING Numeric Direction, DEBUG String theKey Line INIT DEBUG = 1 'SET THIS TO 1 FOR DEBUG HELP Goto WAIT_FOR_ACCESS Line WAIT_FOR_ACCESS theKey = "Key_" 'RESET KEY NAME 'WAIT FOR A VALID ACCESS AT THE LOBBY If Lobby ValidAccess then Goto GET_DIRECTION Line GET_DIRECTION 'DETERMINE IF ENTRY OR EGRESS If Lobby TimeEntered > Lobby TimeExited then Goto ENTRY Else Goto EXIT Line ENTRY theKey = theKey ; Lobby EntryLastCard 'FIND THE KEY FOR THIS CARD getname(theKey) = On 'GIVE THE EMPLOYEE THE KEY Goto WAIT_FOR_ACCESS Line EXIT theKey = theKey ; Lobby ExitLastCard 'FIND THE KEY FOR THIS CARD getname(theKey) = Off 'TAKE THE KEY FROM THE EMPLOYEE, NO KEY NO ACCESS Goto WAIT_FOR_ACCESS Line E If DEBUG then Print "Hit the error line" to Debug_STR If TS > 0 then Goto WAIT_FOR_ACCESS

Issue WebClient Pre-Installation Requirements for Server 2016 are not included in the 2.03 webClient installation guide Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Windows Server 2016 Continuum webClient Server 2.03 Cause The Pre-Installation requirement steps provided in the webClient planning and installation guide do not show all the steps needed to install webClient successfully Resolution This material is intended as a supplement to the webClient Planning and Installation Guide   Installing IIS on Windows Server 2016 For Windows Server 2016, install IIS on the designated web.Client application server (LAN systems) or the standalone CyberStation/web.Client workstation (standalone system). 1. Start the Server Manager by clicking on the Administrative Tools menu. 2. In the Server Manager, click Add Roles and Features. 3. In the Add Roles and Features Wizard, Before You Begin tab, click Next. 4. In Installation Type, select Role-based or feature-based installation. 5. Click Next and then select a server or virtual hard disk on which to install roles and features. 6. In Server Selection, click Select a server from the server pool. 7. Click Next and select one or more roles to install on the selected server. 8. In Select Server Roles, please select the items from the following snapshots carefully Note: In previous Windows Server instructions from the webClient pre-installation guide, a reference was made to select Application Server. This option is selected and installed by default in Windows Server 2016. No selection for Application Server is offered.   Once these Pre-Installation steps have been performed the webClient Server is ready for Chapter 4 - Installing web.client on the IIS PC (Found in the webClient planning and installation guide.pdf)

Issue Using access card types not natively supported by Continuum system Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation CX9900/9940 CX9702 CX9680 ACX5740/5720 ACX701 ACX781 Cause Continuum has built in support for the most widely used Wiegand card types, occasionally a site might be using a card type for which Continuum has not built in support. In such cases the system must be configured using custom card functionality. Resolution Setting Up a Custom Wiegand Format A custom format must be used when the card format is not one of the standard pre-defined formats. Only one custom format can be used in an ACX7xx controller and NC1(CX99xx), NC2(CX968x) using AC1 modules, up to four custom formats can be used with the ACX57xx and NC1/NC2 using AC1Plus modules. In each ACX700 and ACX780/781, NC1, NC2, ACX57xx create an InfinityNumeric point called AccessFormat (use this spelling exactly!). During the creation process, attach a manual array (log) with 22 entries to the point. If using more than one custom card definitions create InfinityNumeric points called AccessFormat2, AccessFormat3 and AccessFormat4 Create the following InfinityProgram in each controller. The program should be type FallThru, and AutoStart. This program basically saves you from having to set each array value individually for each controller. The program, once created, can be copied to all other access controllers that need it. In the following example the AccessFormat array is setup to allow the system to read the HID Corporate 1000, 35 bit card. Program Name: SetCustCrdArray FlowType: FallThru AutoStart: True Code: Set AccessFormat[1] to 35 ‘overall number of bits Set AccessFormat[2] to 0 ‘control mask Set AccessFormat[3] to 0 ‘ manufacturer’s code Set AccessFormat[4] to 0 ‘ start bit of man. Code (first bit is 0, not 1) Set AccessFormat[5] to 0 ‘ end bit of man. code Set AccessFormat[6] to 2 ‘ start bit of site code (NOTE: If the card has no site code set this field to 0) Set AccessFormat[7] to 13 ‘ end bit of site code (NOTE: If the card has no site code set this field to 0) Set AccessFormat[8] to 14 ‘ start bit of card number Set AccessFormat[9] to 33 ‘ end bit of card number Set AccessFormat[10] to 0 ‘ odd parity mask, first 16 bits Set AccessFormat[11] to 0 ‘ odd parity, next 16 Set AccessFormat[12] to 0 ‘ odd parity, next 16 Set AccessFormat[13] to 0 ‘ odd parity, next 16 Set AccessFormat[14] to 0 ‘ even parity, first 16 Set AccessFormat[15] to 0 ‘ even parity, next 16 Set AccessFormat[16] to 0 ‘ even parity, next 16 Set AccessFormat[17] to 0 ‘ even parity, next 16 Set AccessFormat[18] to 0 ‘ card number multiplier Set AccessFormat[19] to 0 ‘ card number divisor Set AccessFormat[20] to 0 ‘ start bit of issue code Set AccessFormat[21] to 0 ‘ end bit of issue code Set AccessFormat[22] to 0 ‘ decimal shift of issue code​   In each Door Configuration, select the Custom Wiegand card type. Other card types may also be selected. For each Personnel, select the Custom Wiegand card type, and enter the correct card number and site code. If the card is not working, check the Event Log and determine the cause. For Invalid Card Parity errors, set all the parity masks to 0 and try again. For proximity cards, the parity check may be eliminated with little consequence. NOTE: In controllers that support the HID Corporate 1000, 35 bit card natively (NC2 – CX968x and ACX2 – ACX57xx) the AccessFormat numeric is internally used by the system, any other custom card definitions must use AccessFormat2 – AccessFormat4 Control mask Some Wiegand cards are encoded with the bits in one or more fields reversed and/or complemented. It is then necessary to operate on the fields when decoding the data in order to obtain the correct data. In the AccessFormat array a control field is provided to configure the system so that the bits in a field in the access card data can be reversed and/or complemented. The control mask is located at AccessFormat[2] Control Mask The bits of the control mask are used by the parsing routine in the controller to reverse or complement selected fields. Setting the appropriate bit to a 1 will enable the special action: Example: To reverse the bits in the site code field set AccessFormat[2] = 8 Parity mask calculation The table below shows the card format information provided by the manufacturer of a 32 bit Wiegand card. From the information provided by the manufacturer we can deduct the flowing about the format of the data on the card: The card data is comprised of the following 3 fields A = Customer Code B = Facility Code C = Card Number Bits 0 through 16 make up the even parity field. (The ‘X’ indicates that the bit is part of the even parity field) Bits 15 through 31 make up the odd parity field. Note the overlap in the fields (bits 15 and 16 are members of both the even and odd parity fields), this is common as the fields are arbitrarily assigned by the card manufacturers. Armed with the information provided by the manufactures we can calculate the parity mask which Continuum will need to use in order to perform the necessary parity check upon receipt of the card data transmitted by the card reader. First, calculate the EVEN parity mask. To better illustrate how the calculation is done we have added a new row to our table, in this row we are going to enter the even parity mask as a binary number. What we do is write a 1 (one) in each bit that is a member of the even parity field and a 0 (zero) for bits that are not part of the even parity field. The second step is to divide the bits that make up the field into groups of 4 which will make it easier to convert the binary number in the previous row to a hexadecimal number. The even parity mask for this card is 0xFFFF8000 It should now be obvious how Continuum uses the mask when checking for even parity. Upon receipt of the card data transmitted from the reader, Continuum applies the mask to the full 32 bit stream of data received, (a logical AND operation is performed) the mask acts like a filer that allows only the set bits in the even parity field to pass through, now all Continuum has to do is count the bits that passed through the filter and make sure the count is an even number, if the count is not an even number Continuum sends a parity error. The Odd parity mask is calculated using the same procedure. Here is an example for the calculation of the parity masks for a 35 bit card A = Company ID Code B = Card Number P= EVEN PARITY Even Parity Mask 0x76DB (30427) 0x6DB6 (28086) 0xC000 (49152) 0x0000 (0) P = ODD PARITY Odd Parity Mask 0x6DB6 (28086) 0xDB6D (56173) 0xA000 (40960) 0x0000 (0) After calculating the parity masks you enter the decimal numbers into the appropriate fields in the AccessFormat array. S = Site Code C = Card Number P= EVEN PARITY Even Parity Mask 0xFFFF (65535) 0XE000 (57344) 0x0000 (0) 0x0000 (0) P = ODD PARITY Odd Parity Mask 0xFFFF (65535) 0xFFFF (65535) 0xF000 (61440) 0x0000 (0) IMPORTANT: If a custom card is configured with a bit count that is the same as the bit count of one of the cards that are supported natively, the parity masks MUST be entered in the AccessFormat array in order for the controller to be able to parse the custom card correctly, if not parity masks information is entered, the controller will generate an 'Invalid attempt, bad parity' event when the custom card is presented at the reader.

Issue Why do controllers go into bootloader mode? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Bootloader NC2 BCX CX99xx CX96xx i2 b3 Cause Continuum controller are placed into bootloader mode if they repeatedly hit a firmware level exception. An exception is when the controller tries to do something that cannot be done.  Some examples of an exception are... A controller tries to read from memory that it cannot read from. A controller attempts write to memory that cannot be written to. On startup, flash generation controllers load the application from flash RAM.When they hit an exception, older, non-flashable controllers would simply clear the application software from ram, power up and wait for the software to be loaded from the front end.  If there is a bad application there needs to be a means by which a user can intervene before the application is loaded so that the controller firmware can be reloaded or upgraded.  When a flashable controller hits more than three exceptions within a ten minute time period the controller is placed into bootloader mode intentionally. Resolution When a controller repeatedly goes into bootloader mode it is time to take a close look at environment which might be driving the controller to hit exceptions A controller usually goes into bootloader mode due to environmental issues such as Heavy ARP traffic Controller grounding Controller power issues Problems with the communication bus. A controller that repeatedly hits exceptions is placed in bootloader mode by design.  Flashing a controllers firmware is the only way to get a controller out of bootloader mode. 

Issue How to change the CX level controllers message count to improve I2 Infinet communications. Throttling adjustments using accinfoframe1 and accinfoframe2. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment accinfoframe, accinfoframes, acc info frame Continuum Cyberstation CX 9680 Infinet I2 bus Cause Improve I2 communications on the infinet bus. Changing the CX level controller's message count on the Infinet bus to improve alarm delivery and exported data times when heavy polling is occurring. Resolution TPA-BOST-00-0004.00 describes several fixes, including one that improves field bus with heavy traffic. One of the fixes speeds up graphics and field bus reloads. With the latest version of the firmware the ability to throttle the number of messages during token passing has been added. This will allow a variable to adjust an Infinet bus based on the amount of traffic a particular bus is experiencing. With the latest firmware versions 2.100028, 2.000030 for the Netcontroller 9680 there are variables that can be used to adjust the number of messages per token pass. This is very similar to the MaxInfoFrames setting on Bacnet the devices; we'll call them “accinfoframe” for this document and examples. The value can be adjusted for values of 1-128. Since the TPA was issued, the value is defaulted to 128 and if no accinfoframe variable is created the default value is 128. In order to have the ability to adjust the number of messages in the supported controllers, an infinity numeric needs to be created in the CX/BCX. The name of the variable has to be correctly spelled but is case insensitive. The names are accinfoframe1 and accinfoframe2. Accinfoframe1 will be the setting for comm1 one and accinfoframe2 will control the setting for comm2. When configuring accinfoframe1 or accinfoframe2, make sure to select the SetPoint and back up the flash on your controller, so that you retain the settings in case of power failure. Example of when to use throttling: There will be instances where the accinfoframe variables will need to be throttled. For instance, lets theorize a site “ChillerPlant” and the ChillerPlantCX(9680) has 100 infinet controllers located on Comm1. In our scenario we have 3 workstations each running a graphic polling 2 points(200 points) from each Infinet controller and we are running listviews of infinitynumerics on 8 of the Infinets controllers or perhaps hundreds of points that are being collected for extended logging. As one might think, communications would begin to slow down when polling for values on approx 600 points not to mention the point to point communications of the listviews and extended logs. With all of this traffic, the CX will dominate the network token. Since it can do 128 messages when it receives the token and it receives the token between every Infinet, the token round time can go into minutes. This means that the Infinet controllers can take minutes to deliver alarms and exported data. Another potential scenario is if one selected 4 Infinet controllers to reload, the bus may very well be overloaded at this time and may be receiving errors on the reloads in the distribution window. One of the error messages that could be expected is “Unable to reload object CarlNet\My_9680\My_I2_814\Num_1. An invalid response was received from a remote service request.” In this example we could create a infinity numeric on the CX named accinfoframe1(for Comm1) and start to reduce the number of messages CX would generate before passing the token. On the other extreme, if the ACCInfoFrame setting is set too low, such as to 1 as in the earlier versions of Netcontroller II firmware, this extreme traffic could cause such issues as extreme slowness of graphics and listview updates, Extended logging not being capable of retrieving the required data at the required intervals, and possibly the Infinet controllers randomly appearing to be offline to the system. In the example above the question is “What value should the accinfoframe1 be set to?” The answer entirely depends on how much traffic is on the Infinet bus. How many extended logs, how many listviews, how many graphics, alarms and Plain English programs are creating traffic on the bus? The quick way out here would be set the accinfoframe1 to a value of 1. We know for a fact that this would slow the bus down, and you might want to increase the number to 5. As mentioned this is all dependent on the amount of traffic on the Infinet bus. Or we could take a more in depth approach and find out what the token round time is on the bus and adjust our accinfoframe1 based on token round time. We could create the following points. TOKEN ROUND TIMER PROGRAM InfinityNumeric MaxTokenItem InfinityNumeric MaxTokenRound InfinityNumeric TokenRoundTime Logsize:100 Logtype: LogMaximum InfinityProgram TokenRoundCalc InfinityDateTime LastDateExport Program code: Initialise: LastDateExport = PointMapsTests\Infinity2\i2_851\Date Goto DoTokenRoundCalc DoTokenRoundCalc: If LastDateExport <> PointMapsTests\Infinity2\i2_851\Date then TokenRoundTime = (PointMapsTests\Infinity2\i2_851\Date - LastDateExport) – 1 LastDateExport = PointMapsTests\Infinity2\i2_851\Date Endif MaxTokenRound = maximum(TokenRoundTime) MaxTokenItem = maxitem(TokenRoundTime) E: If TS >= 5 then Goto Initialise The program and points above created in the CX will allow the token round time to be captured and one could essentially get very creative and change the accinfoframe value dynamically through Plain English programming. For these examples we just want to find out the token round time and manually adjust the accinfoframe1 variable to avoid any reload errors. The TokenRoundTime, MaxTokenRound and MaxTokenItem numerics can be added to a watch window or a graphic to visually monitor the TokenRoundTime. If you see that your TokenRoundTime is 5, 10 15 seconds, this is an indication you need to reduce the accinfoframe1 value. As a rule of thumb a TokenRoundTime of less then 2 seconds is acceptable, while keeping the TokenRoundTime below 0.7 seconds is ideal.

Issue During SQL install portion of Continuum installation the following error message is received. "SQL Express is not installed properly. Please contact technical support representative." Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Cyberstation (All Versions) Microsoft SQL Express (Version dependent upon Continuum version) Cause Bit Locker has been installed on the system to which Continuum Cyberstation is being installed. Bit Locker enforces specific password requirements across all Microsoft Windows products. Find the SQL installation log at C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20190627_092341\Summary_WTUSLVSE076617L_20190627_092341.txt *NOTE* The parent folder of the log will include the date and time of the installation. The log file name format will be Summary_(your computer name)_date_time.txt At the bottom of the log, you will see an Exception summary which gives full detail of what the error is: "Exception summary: The following is an exception stack listing the exceptions in outermost to innermost order Inner exceptions are being indented Exception type: Microsoft.SqlServer.Chainer.Infrastructure.InputSettingValidationException Message: The specified sa password does not meet strong password requirements. For more information about strong password requirements, see "Database Engine Configuration - Account Provisioning" in Setup Help or in SQL Server 2012 Books Online. HResult : 0x84b40000 FacilityCode : 1204 (4b4) ErrorCode : 0 (0000) Data: SQL.Setup.FailureCategory = InputSettingValidationFailure DisableWatson = true Stack: at Microsoft.SqlServer.Chainer.Infrastructure.InputSettingService.LogAllValidationErrorsAndThrowFirstOne(ValidationState vs) at Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SetupExtension.ValidateFeatureSettingsAction.ExecuteAction(String actionId) at Microsoft.SqlServer.Chainer.Infrastructure.Action.Execute(String actionId, TextWriter errorStream) at Microsoft.SqlServer.Setup.Chainer.Workflow.ActionInvocation.ExecuteActionHelper(TextWriter statusStream, ISequencedAction actionToRun, ServiceContainer context) Inner exception type: Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SqlEngine.ValidationException Message: The specified sa password does not meet strong password requirements. For more information about strong password requirements, see "Database Engine Configuration - Account Provisioning" in Setup Help or in SQL Server 2012 Books Online. HResult : 0x851a0013 FacilityCode : 1306 (51a) ErrorCode : 19 (0013)" Resolution Update or use password for new database that meets the minimum standards of: 8 Characters 1 Capital letter 1 Numerical character 1 Special character (!,@,#...) 1 Lowercase letter This will allow SQL Server to be installed