Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue The System Alarms: "Timeout Cloud SMS channel offline" and "Cloud telemetry channel offline" are never reset and therefore always present in the Alarm view. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Enterprise Server Cause When cloud connectivity is enabled, the EcoStruxure BMS sends data from the system to the central storage for diagnostics and analysis along with data from other buildings and sites. Under the Cloud Connectivity Tab, The default communication setting is "Auto". If the customer has the "server.cloud.customer" license feature, the BMS Server tries to activate the cloud communication. The alarms are generated if the ES/AS-P, at some point, was able to connect to the cloud, but then taken off the internet while the setting was "Auto/Enabled". Resolution Upgrade the system to EBO version 3.2.1 or to the latest available version. According to Release Notes for EBO version 3.2.1 this issue should have been fixed in that version, see defect 42293 in Release Notes If the issue is still present see the solution below. The only way to reset the alarm is to have a successful connection to the cloud(Internet) again. Make sure the ES/AS-P has internet access Now the Cloud alarms should go away. Verify that they disappear. Go to the Control Panel in Workstation and click Cloud Connectivity Set the Communication setting to Disable and save the changes. Take the BMS Server off the internet again

Issue In the Workstation, old alarms are showing in the alarm pane. Recheck does not remove, and the only option left is to "Hide". The same goes for disabled alarms. Is there a way to erase or scrub these 8-month-old alarms? When checking disabled alarms, there are a lot of alarms that have been disabled, but no one has disabled any alarms. When right-clicking on the alarms to get the context menu, most of the alternatives are greyed out. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment StruxureWare Building Operation version 1.2 or higher Cause First, check the disabled cause to see what disabled the alarms. If it is "user," a person has disabled them. If it is "system," the system has automatically disabled them because the alarm object has lost its monitored value. Resolution Alarms in the alarm view "Recheck" command does not help then try the "Alarms Integrity Check" commend, please see LL Removing invalid alarms  Check the source path on the alarms, do they point to actual alarm objects? If the alarm objects that triggered the alarm in the first place still exist, you should be able to disable them then just enable them again. If you cannot, use the disable button in the alarm viewer then you can use the Disable alarm property in the editor (assuming version 1.2 or higher). If you can’t disable them then try to trigger them back and forth once. If the alarm objects don’t exist anymore, create alarms that would fit the source path, then just trigger those. After that, it should be safe to delete the alarm objects again. Basically, the alarms you create will take ownership of the old alarms in the viewer. Also, add the column Type in the alarm viewer and see what type they are. It would be helpful to know what the Source path and System alarm id (if there is one) are. Remove old Alarms in Alarm Pane Disabled alarms If the monitored values are not used anymore delete the alarm object that monitors the value If this is not enough make sure the path exists in the system, it can be needed to recreate the alarm in the correct path meaning the folder structure needs to be recreated. There is also the choice of right-clicking on the Alarm which gives the following menu: From this menu, one can Disable the alarm or alternatively, Hide the alarm. To view Hidden or Disabled alarms once they are not shown in the Alarms window, select one of the two Icons from the Alarms window icons as shown below:

Issue How to add and bind SNVTs to a local node High bandwidth usage on FT10 LonWorks network causing slow system response Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment LonWorks FT10 network Cause FT10 bandwidth is too high due to a large TGML graphic or lots of Change of value trends set up in the server polling points on the FT10 network.  Resolution The local node resides within the Automation Server so the trend or graphic that is polling every 0.5 to 1-second will only poll the local node and not out on the FT10 LonWorks network. The SNVTs in the field then updates the Local node at a frequency rate setup in the SNVT.   Here is a link to a Quick help Video showing how to set up and bind to a Local node

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 Need to replace and upgrade AS (Classic) to AS-P-NL. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server (AS) Building Operation Automation Server Premium non-LON (AS-P-NL) Cause From EBO v3.2 the AS-P-NL is available, there is a need to upgrade an AS (Classic) but the AS is only supported up to v3.1. Resolution A lower version of EBO can be installed into the AS-P-NL e.g. from v2.01, but this must only be for the purpose of upgrading the database.   Therefore the upgrade path can be as this example shows, there is a requirement to upgrade an AS from v1.6: Upgrade AS v1.6 to v3.1.x) . Backup the AS. Install v3.1.x) on AS-P-NL ( x needs to be same as in step 1). Note: Installing 3.1.x on an AS-P_NL is only for the purposes of upgrading the database, the following steps 4. and 5. must be completed . Restore backup on AS-P-NL. Upgrade to v3.2 or later.   For details regarding upgrade paths see article - Upgrade path from version 1.0 to current version 

Issue How to Identify a specific PCT (Project Configuration Tool) project. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Project Configuration Tool Cause How to identify a specific PCT (Project Configuration Tool) project. Resolution In PCT check the project name for the project to be the backup. For this example, the project named “Test 5 Project” is used.   Go to the project storage folder. (The following is the default locations for PCT v1.2.7.223): C:\ProgramData\Schneider Electric EcoStruxure\Building Operation\Project Configuration Tool\storagemodule\projects   Using a text editor (for example Notepad or Notepad++) open each folder then open the file “project.thrift.pctj”, Open each folder in turn until the correct project has been identified to backup. The stored project folder name can be seen:   Further on in the text editor, the PCT project name can be seen, in this example 'Test 5 Project'.   Alternatively click the “edit” menu item and select find (ctrl + F) from the options and search the text for the PCT project name. Making sure PCT is not running when copies of any of the projects are taken

Issue Need to capture steps taken to reproduce a problem or a solution Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Expert, EcoStruxure Building Operation, Field Devices, OTHER, Satchwell MicroNet, Satchwell Sigma, TAC IA Series, TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment Windows 7 Windows 10 Windows Server 2008, 2012, 2016 Cause A series of screen captures will help to demonstrate the steps needed to reproduce a problem or a solution. You can use this tool to capture the steps you take as a problem occurs and send the output to someone so they can see a screenshot of each step. Resolution In Windows click on the Start menu button  Type "PSR" Windows 7Windows 7 Windows 10, 2012, 2016Windows 10, 2012, 2016 Open the Problem Steps Recorder Windows 7Windows 7 Windows 10. 2012, 2016Windows 10. 2012, 2016 Click Start Perform the desired tasks Click Stop Choose a location to save the file output The .zip file will contain a .mht file which can be opened in a web browser The screenshots will appear in order  This will be followed by a detailed output of keystrokes and mouse movements. For additional information please refer to Microsoft webpage on this topic: Record steps to reproduce a problem 

Issue Setting up, using, and troubleshooting Windows Active Directory with Building Operation Workstation and WebStation. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation WebStation Windows Active Directory Windows Server Cause When integrating EcoStruxure with Windows Active Directory, NO user accounts need to be created in EcoStruxure, all that needs to be done is map the EcoStruxure User Account Group(s) with the Windows group(s) that will be used.  You can map Windows Active Directory groups to Building Operation user account groups if Building Operation runs on a network that uses this directory to manage users and user account groups. A Building Operation user account group that includes a Windows account group can also be a member of another Building Operation user account group. Mapping Windows Active Directory account groups to Building Operation user account groups has advantages both for administrators and operators. Administrators can manage the user accounts in the Windows Active Directory, rather than managing the accounts in two places. Any changes are instantly implemented to the mapped Building Operation user account group. Operations only have to remember the Windows login. Once logged in to a Windows user account that is mapped to a Building Operation account, the user is authenticated to access WorkStation without having to log in a second time. Note: The Building Operation domain used to map the Windows Active Directory user account groups must be a member of the Windows domain where the Active Directory is located. Windows Active Directory account groups can only be mapped on servers that are based upon Microsoft Windows operating system. Automation Servers, cannot map Windows Active Directory groups. For example, the Windows Active Directory user account groups Main Admin and Main User are mapped to the Building Operation user account groups Administrators and External Users. The External Users user account group is a member of the Operator user account group. The Administrators account group, which is a member of the External Users, inherits access to the Operation workspace. The user will then log into Windows on the PC where the WorkStation is installed. When logging into EcoStruxure Workstation the authentication is automatically done from the Windows user account. Resolution NOTE: Active Directory association cannot be achieved using the inbuilt Local Domain Create a new EBO Domain and associate it with your active windows Domain. NOTE: It is best to only use the Domain (Netbios) name (as shown above) when adding the Windows Domain name to this property.  Using the full DNS Domain name, for example, eur.gad.schneider-electric.com will cause issues when utilizing other features that require active directory authentication.  One example where this has been identified is with Change Control.   Create an EBO Domain Group within that new Domain and associate it with the Windows Domain Group in which the Windows Active Directory user(s) reside. Log in using Windows Username, Password, and Domain rather than EBO credentials. When logged on to the Enterprise Server PC as a Domain User it is also possible to select the "Log on as" box. See WebHelp: How to Create and Configure a Domain Conceptual Information on Windows Active Directory User Groups How to Create User Account Groups Troubleshooting Windows Active Directory with Workstation Log in Error: Wrong user name or password If the EcoStruxure Building Operation Domain has the same name as the Windows Active Directory domain name, it will expect the user account to exist locally in the Building Operation domain. Log in Error: "User account not associated with a group. Contact your Administrator." Verify that the Windows user is a part of the Windows group configured in the Building Operation Group settings. In order to identify every group that the current windows user belongs to, run the command: whoami /groups Once the Windows user has been confirmed as a member of the configured Windows group, try changing the Log On as credentials for the Enterprise Server service. The default user that is used when installed is the "Local System account". The Windows account used to run the Enterprise Server service needs "read access" to all places (e.g. OUs) in the Active Directory where user groups potentially involved in an EBO Windows log-on can be found. Note: By default, all domain users in an Active Directory have read access to Active Directory "Users and Computers" objects so it is the sites that have restricted this in some way that may face issues. You do not need to use “domain admin” type accounts for this as they are granted way too much authority in general. An account that has read access to sufficient parts of the AD while having only normal local user privileges on the machine where the Enterprise Server is running will suffice. From the Windows Start menu, launch Computer Management. In Computer Management go to Services and Application > Services. Find Building Operation X.X Enterprise Server, select it and Stop the service. Right-click on Building Operation X.X Enterprise Server and go to Properties. Select the Log On tab. Under Log On as select "This account". Enter a Windows user login that has sufficient Windows rights for the Enterprise Server to log on as. Click OK and then start the service again. Log in to Workstation again using Active Directory. Troubleshooting Windows Active Directory with WebStation From version 1.5.0 and up, using Windows Domain accounts is supported in WebStation. However, the following must be done in order to log in. Must use HTTPS. Must enter your Windows username and password. Must enter the domain as the Windows domain as defined within Building Operation.  See below: An example log-on format is shown below when using the above configuration when using WebStation:    Alternatively, if the following is configured in Building Operation: WebStation log-on will look as follows:  Download a TVDA for Single Sign-On Instructions

Issue EcoStruxure Building Advisor does not connect by default to the Automation Server and the request to EWS returns a HTTP 401 error Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation SmartX Server EcoStruxure Building Advisor Cause Required configuration in EBO to enable EcoStruxure Building Advisor Resolution An EBO connection to EcoStruxure Building Advisor requires MD5 authentication to be enabled, disabling it in EBO will result in EcoStruxure Building Advisor being unable to connect. The “Allow authentication with MD5 hash” can be enabled under the EBO Security manager. During the TLS handshake process, both the EcoStruXure Building Analytics Data Transfer Service (DTS) and EBO negotiate to use Sha384 encryption regardless of whether MD5 is enabled/disabled in EBO. With MD5 enabled, the use of Sha384 encryption works as expected. With MD5 disabled, the use of Sha384 encryption does not work and the request to EWS returns a HTTP 401 error. MD5 is disabled by default in EBO v2.0 and later.

Issue Controllers underneath a LonWorks Interface are going offline, or values are taking long periods of time to update. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Cause There could be a number of causes for Lon communication problems including running the communication wire near high voltage, the Lon is shorted out, or loose terminations. Resolution In EcoStruxure Building Operation (EBO) Workstation you can use the Diagnostics tab under each controller to help troubleshoot the communication issue. From here you can monitor the device state, packet errors, transaction timeouts, receive transaction full errors, lost messages, missed messages, last reset case, and the last error logged. To access the Diagnostics tab, select the controller in the System Tree, and click the Variables tab. Then click the Diagnostics tab on the right side of the screen. Here you will find the different device statuses and statistics. The Packet errors can be used to help identify controllers that are having severe problems and may need the communication wire to be physically checked. In order to test the Packet errors, first you will want to clear the current packet error count. You can do this by right clicking on the controller and selecting Advanced -> Clear Status. This will set the packet error count back to zero and now you can click refresh to monitor how fast the errors are building up. If this number is climbing quickly then there may be a physical layer communication problem. If a lot of packet errors is found, the next step in the investigation will be a deeper analysis of the Lon network, using, for example, a Lon Protocol Analyzer (LPA). Refer to the Knowledge Base Article Troubleshooting LON Network Communication.

Issue What is the basic steps and workflow when connecting a Zigbee device to an AS-P? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium Cause Zigbee is a communication protocol used to create personal area networks with small, low-power devices Resolution As described in EBO Webhelp the workflow is as follows:   Create a Zigbee interface and network Import Zigbee device files Create a logical Zigbee device in EBO Enable the Zigbee network Discover the physical Zigbee devices Associate the logical Zigbee device with the physical Zigbee device For more details please see video:

Issue Changing the name of a folder under which there is an active alarm, causes an incorrect "Source" path in the alarm message Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation version 1.8 or earlier Cause If a folder name is changed it will be correctly updated, but if an active alarm is located  in its sub-folders , then the alarm source path will not be updated. Initial alarm before the folder name is changed, notice the source ...... FF IV/Trendloggar ...... The alarm after the folder name has been changed FF IV TEST, the / between FF IV TEST and Trendloggar is missing. If the alarm has not been acknowledged, and clears a second entry for the alarm is displayed in the alarm view. Resolution This is fixed in SBO/EBO 1.9 and later versions.   For versions 1.8 or earlier: Before updating a EcoStuxure Building Operation(EBO) folder name, check to see if there are any active alarms with a source path that use this folder. If there are, try to clear these alarms. If a EBO folder name has been changed and there are alarms in the alarm view which cannot be cleared, then use the "Recheck" command to clear them.

Issue MP/RP-x device is not pushing firmware down to Room Units (RU) when sensors are attached to the sensor bus. Disconnecting and re-connecting the RU does not help Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Multi-purpose Controller Cause The MP-X controller's file system has been re-initialized and the Room Units firmware files deleted. One case under which this will happen is when the MP/RP-X is factory reset.   The Device Report can be used to confirm whether the files exist in the device or not.   If Room Unit files are not shown in the report then no download to the RU will take place. Resolution Perform an upgrade on the MP/RP-X device, upgrading the device to the same version that is already running will resolve the issue.

Issue A Log Processing Trend Log created in an EBO server and connected to an Extended Trend Log will not transfer any records even if the Force Transfer command is executed. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Cause Log processing trend log records are not saved to database, so they will not be transferred to Extended Trend logs. Resolution In the Basic Properties of the Log Processing Trend Log, set "Persist data" to True to store trend data in the database. This will enable the records to be transferred to the connected Extended trend Log.

  Issue Have an Alarm Category assigned to an Alarm but does not appear in the Alarm View Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Central Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation SmartX Servers Cause In this case, the system has an Alarm Decoration which is filtered on the server name and overriding ALL alarms associated with this server and hence is overriding the Alarm Category defined within the Alarm Handling.   Resolution Option 1: Add the Alarm Category to the Alarm Decoration as shown in the screenshot below: Re-activate the alarm and the Alarm Category should now show in the Alarm View Option 2: If the Alarm Decoration is not required, then delete the Alarm Decoration completely.    

Issue The License Server is not working and may show Vendor Daemon Down errors. The LMadmin log shows the error. LicenseEngine (taclic) exited with status 28 Product Line TAC Vista EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Vista Building Operation Enterprise Server License server Cause Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is activated. Antivirus or other software can scan/use the port used by the vendor daemon. If the time drifts over two minutes and a time synch occurred, the vendor daemon can stop. https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX137111 Resolution First, check that DEP is not activated. Make sure that there is no antivirus program that has portscan activated Make sure there is no other software that uses the same port as the vendor daemon Make sure that the time does not drift too much, if the time drifts two or more minutes and then a resynch occurs the vendor daemon can stop This is more likely on VMware where time synch can occur from either the domain or VMware tool. Check Windows event log (Security) for time synch messages. NOTE: It can also appear just by stopping the server manually.

Issue When attempting to add a new Automation Server under an Enterprise Server that already has one or more AS servers attached it results in an "Object already exists" error ERROR Object already exists Domain: Data access Info:~/System/Server Communication/Models/xxxxxxxx/Members/xxxxxxxxx in module Run Db manager xxxxxxxx = Global Unique Identifier (GUID) The GUID underlined in red in the screenshot above is the duplicated Id. Additional error message possible depending on EBO release version. ERROR: Server already part of a multi server system Domain: Invalid data  Info: Attempt_To_Add_An_Object_To_The _System_That_Already_Exists ERROR: Cannot add a server that is a clone of a server that already exists in your system Domain: Startup  Technical Info: An added server with name 'XXXXX' has the same unique id as an existing server with the name 'YYYYY' which is not allowed. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server  Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Cause The AS that is being added has been restored from a backup created from one of the servers that are already configured under the ES resulting in a duplicate GUID. Resolution Backup the Server Restore the Server and make sure to select "Restore configuration with new IDs" check box. This will ensure that a new GUID is assigned to the AS. Add the Server from ES Please note that the restore function to re-use configuration data from a backup set is supported for all Building Operation supported protocols, except for BACnet and b3 BACnet.  To read more see Web Help To read more see Web help: http://help.sbo.schneider-electric.com/topics/show.castle?id=10228&locale=en-US&productversion=1.7 To read more see Web help: http://help.sbo.schneider-electric.com/topics/show.castle?id=10228&locale=en-US&productversion=1.7

Issue Subnet/Node address shown in Local Node Properties dialog is not what is used on the LonWorks Network. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation. Environment Building Operation Workstation. Building Operation Automation Server Premium. LonWorks . Cause When using External Managed Network, an external binding tool is used to address LonWorks devices, and the external tool sets the address in the Neuron chip, that is used for communication. This information is not tranfered to the database. Resolution When using External Managed Network, the correct address information could be read in the Domain table of the device.

Issue A Dashboard is created with a couple of widgets in it, the widgets are placed where they should be and the Dashboard looks good. But if the Dashboard is opened in a monitor with a smaller screen, the available work area for the dashboard is smaller and the widgets move around. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Webstation Cause There is no option to lock the widget positions on both horizontal and vertical axis as the screen area available to the dashboard changes when creating the Dashboard. Resolution Set the Maximum column count in the Dashboard Layout setting to the total number of columns of the desired widget layout. For example if widget one has Column span 2 and widget two has Column span 3 then the Maximum column count should be set to 5 for the Dashboard. Then set the Minimum column size to 0. Now the text still scales but the widgets lock in position.

Issue Modbus RTU Serial Device (RS485 - Slave) address greater than 247 Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Automation Server (AS, AS-P, AS-B)  Modbus RTU Master RS485 Network Cause Third party Modbus device has an address range between 248 and 255. Resolution For Modbus master/slave RS485 networks, the third party device must be in the range of 1 to 247, this is the Modbus RTU standard. This would apply not only to EBO but to other Modbus master/slave networks.   The KB article Modbus basics explains this amongst other Modbus topics.   If the third party Modbus slave device cannot be changed to an address to within this range, then contact with the product vendor may be required.   For TCP devices see the KB article Modbus TCP Device (Slave) address greater than 247.  

Issue Unable to drag and drop discovered RP-C with the Zigbee adapter to its Zigbee Device Import File resulting in this error: Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Room Controller (RPC) Cause Application Defined Type is not fully universal Resolution Hold "shift" while you drag and drop the RP-C to associate the discovered device with the imported proxy.