Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Continuum Workstation initialization resolved but will not start normally. Only a few executables start Environment Continuum Windows 7 McAfee Enterprise and Intrusion Detection Cause McAfee Intrusion Detection was installed and updated and after that Continuum would no longer start Resolution Removed McAfee Intrusion Detection, rebooted and then Continuum started normally

Issue Software Licensing for Continuum 2.0 & StruxureWare Solution Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Continuum Site integration with the StruxureWare Solution Continuum Cyberstation software & Licensing Cause Request for Software Licensing compared to the Hardware key.  Resolution There is a Ordering and Activation document available on the Buildings Exchange Download Center. A link is provided below: Ordering and Activation of Software License for Continuum v2.0 Software license is a dedicated license per workstation and locked to both the hardware and the operating system. Recommended not to install on old hardware. Software licensing is available for both new and existing installations after Continuum 2.0.  A Hardware key is required in order purchase a software license.  This is because the Continuum features and options are purchased with the physical Hardware key, not with the keyless license.   When purchasing the Keyless license, the serial number of the Hardware key is submitted along with a License Information file (c2v) that has been created on the workstation that is to be licensed.  The License Information file is created using the Hasp Key Utility.   Continuum installations pre version 2.0 (e.g. v1.94) who wish to upgrade to v2.0 and would like to benefit from Software Licensing feature must download and install the required files. Those are outlined in the document above. Note: For Continuum Interface for SmartStruxure Solution the demo StruxureWare Building Operation license has all required features. Your Continuum 2.0 key must have the Advanced Webserver feature enabled.You can use the Continuum Interface Server for any Continuum installation: Standalone or Multi-User (LAN). All existing Andover Continuum configurations are supported in the Continuum Interface Server.  

Issue The suggested Belkin Bluetooth adapter is obsolete.  Is there a suggested replacement for use with RoamIA? Environment Roam IA BACnet MSTP communications Cause The suggested Belkin adapter is no longer available. Resolution Two alternates have been found to function well with the RoamIA; they are the AZIO BTD-V400 and SMK VP-6495.  Both of these devices are very compact and use Bluetooth v4.0 technology.

Issue How long will it take for a MNB controller to drop to 'Read-Only' mode when the AC power supply voltage drops below 20.4 Vac? Environment MNB controllers Cause Site installation using one AC transformer for multiple controllers.  Site is also suffering brownout conditions. Resolution Factory testing confirms that it takes only one AC cycle of power (i.e. one complete sine wave) of voltage below 20.4 Vac for the controller to drop into 'Read-Only' mode. It is difficult to view with a standard digital multimeter.  A scope may be required to capture the voltage dip.

Issue The Xenta Group Master is offline in Vista Workstation but  the rest of that masters group is online. Environment Workstation TAC Vista System Plug-In Cause The issue occurs most of the time when dealing with a system that is using a Loytec NIC 852 card. Somehow the address table entry for tag_0 can become corrupted, lost, or not updated.  Resolution Open up the TAC Vista System Plug-In through LonMaker or NL220. Click on the LNS Network menu > Create Group Bindings. Now go to the TAC Network menu and click on Commence Communication. Once the Commence Communication operation is complete, click Close. Update Vista Database. Refresh the system tree in Vista Workstation.

Issue Controller comm is lost after enabling Network Security after properly configuring the Controller and Workstation. Environment Network Security NCII CX9680 ACX5740 ACX5780 Cause Network security activation was being inhibited by the domain user security policies. Resolution In this case both the controllers and Windows network security policies had been configured properly for Continuum.  This fact was confirmed when the IT department got involved.  Once they relaxed some of the security policies on this machine Continuum network security began to work as expected, both from the controller and Cyberstation point of view. The customers IT personnel did not share with us what policies were responsible for the activation issues.

Issue Controller drops offline when reloaded or when an attempt to flash firmware is made. Environment Infinet MSTP Cause Massive CRC errors on the MSTP bus due to a bad controller on one leg of blink. Resolution In this case the problem was due to a bad controller on the bus.  The offending controller was located by segmenting the bus to determine which legs were introducing this problem. Once it was determined which controller was causing this issue, the controller was removed and a replacement installed.

Issue Upgrading a UNC 196 outstation. Environment UNC 196 296 Upgrade Cause Customer wishes to upgrade his BAS outstation to a Sigma controller. Resolution To upgrade the outstation the following cards will need to be replaced. Comms/CPU Card Power Supply Card. These can be purchased together as an S-x96-UPKIT If the outstation also contains a Maximum Demand card, this is replaced by a Digital Input card (S-UNC-DI).

Issue Importing a Xenta 121-FC controller into StruxureWare Building Operation. Environment Xenta 121FC Cause How do you setup the Xenta 121-FC using StruxureWare Building Operation only, as all the config needs setting for 1 Return Temp. Cooling Only (AO type). Fan On/Off   Resolution The original process would require the use of LonMaker and ZBuilder to configure the Xenta 121-FC controller onto the LON network, before adding it to the StruxureWare Building Operation LON interface. Version 1.4 introduces LNS device plug-in support to configure LonWorks® devices. StruxureWare Building Operation v1.4 supports third party software: OpenLNS. OpenLNS is only required on WorkStation machines used for configuration of LON® devices (e.g. WorkStation Pro machines). Automation Server and Enterprise Server databases are updated with any changes created with the plug-in. With LNS device plug-in support, now ZBuilder can be used with SmartStruxure solution. Plus, all Xenta controllers are supported, including the X100 series – e.g. Xenta 121.

Issue BCX9680 controller goes offline every five to ten minutes then returns online. Environment Infinity Controller BCX NC CX Cause Duplicate IP address on the network. Resolution Give the controller a unique IP address.

Issue The Web Server threw an exception. Please make sure the StruxurewareReportingAgent service is running and is set to run "Automatic" An error occurred on the Web Server while processing your request. If the problem persists, please contact your system administrator. Environment Webreport 1.4 upgrade Cause A WebReports installer must use an admin-level SQL Server Management Studio user account to log on to a computer running WebReports. This installer account also requires the addition of three database permissions that permit access to and control of the WebReports database during installs or upgrades. For example, an administrator can detach the database. In SQL Server Management Studio, verify that the Login Properties for the NTAuthority\IUSR and designated WebReports installer user accounts include the db_datareader, db_datawriter, and db_owner database role memberships. Resolution Use SQL management SQL studio and log in to the SQL. Use properties on the user NTAuthority\IUSR and make sure the following are included db_datareader, db_datawriter, and db_owner database role memberships.

Issue The jobsite will eventually have 4 RS-485 trunks each communicating Modbus.  Two option cards have been ordered with the Jace (part# TRD-NPB-2X-485). Does each port on the option cards need a separate Modbus driver purchased for each? Environment Niagara G3 Cause Ordering/licensing clarification Resolution Purchasing one Modbus driver (part# ENC-DRV-MOD) will cover all ports used for Modbus on the Jace-6/7.

Issue Continuously repeated errors in Standard Output Window of R2 (Niagara) station,  "Set timer for tag: (an integer) :400" and "Clear timer for tag: (same integer)" . The integer increments by one about every second until it reaches 128, then reverses the count, counting down by one into negative numbers. Environment I/A Series R2 UNC with the GCM driver Network 8000 GCM Cause The cause of the problem was resolved with the gcm-2.304.530b.v1.jar. Resolution This is considered a nuisance error, and was corrected in the gcm-2.304.530b.v1.jar.

Issue The customer is requesting a documentation on how the Alarm notification from Continuum works with MS Outlook to send out alarm email alerts to their facility engineers.   Environment MAPI MS Outlook CyberStation Email Cause The client is asking for information on how Cyberstation works with MS Outlook. Resolution Continuum uses the Enhanced MAPI messaging architecture to interface with MAPI compliant messaging applications/systems.  To understand this process in better, research Enhanced MAPI.

Issue What determines haw many active animations a graphic can have? Environment Cyberstation Pinpoint graphics. Cause Graphic updates will slow down if an excessive number of animations are configured. Resolution 50 Animations on a graphic is a good limit that should give a reasonable update rate on most systems. In the Pinpoint editor you can change the polling rate of each animation from the default 1000mS allowing less important points to be polled less, thus allowing the important points to be polled more. In Edit mode; go to Configuration, Object List to see the polling rates listed, each animation allows you to change its polling rate. It is generally better to have more graphics with fewer animations for faster updates. The rate at which you can poll for updates will also depend on your system layout, a system with many animations being polled from large slow MS/TP of Infinet field bus network will update much slower than a system with NetcontrollerII and IO modules with all points connected at the Ethernet level. No Pinpoint animations poll from the SQL database, all data is polled directly from the controller that holds the Animated object. When a graphic is opened the Workstation goes to the SQL Server to get the background file and the location of all polled objects, it will then directly poll the field controllers with no further need to connect to the SQL database.

Issue Does the short yoke Forta actuators fit on the current portfolio of valves?  Environment MG600C Venta Forta Cause With the new short stroke actuator MG600C soon available, will it work with the regular valves? Resolution The MG600C is designed to be used with the VG210R / VG310R valves that will be released in the near future. 

Issue LNS Plug-in for Viconics Thermostats Environment LNS NL220 Lonmaker Cause It is necessary to configure the Viconics VT7000 series controllers with an LNS Plug-in Resolution Download the latest Viconics Plug-in Here. Additional Information on the Viconics product offering can be found at http://www.viconics.com/.

Issue When using Conversion Coefficient slope m = 1.0, the return to normal (RTN) Alarm Limit on an AI point appears to have a built-in offset. Environment I/NET Seven - Analog Inputs (AI), all revisions. Cause There is a built-in hysteresis of 3 counts on the return-to-normal settings for both the low and high limit setting of an analog input (AI) point.  When using a conversion coefficient slope (M) of 1, this provides a 1:1 scale between counts and engineering units which could provide undesired results.  So this built-in hysteresis needs to be considered when using a slope (M) of one or higher on analog input alarm points.    Resolution Consider using a conversion coefficient slope (M) of 0.1.  Alternatively if this is not possible, creating an internal AI point (using a m = 0.1) or a DA and applying a calculation to reflect the points value or alarm state as required as a workaround.

Issue The Enterprise Server’s archives are not updating and the following message is displayed in the Standard Output Window:      ERROR: LogService.archive: SQL Exception: Container 1,342,197,790,972 not found.      ERROR: LogService.archive: Force close of Connection!      WARNING: Closed Pooled connection [ConnectionPool]      ERROR: XSCH1: Container 1,342,197,790,972 not found.   Environment Niagara R2 Enterprise Server – all versions Cause The “SQL Exception” error and “Closed pooled connection” warning appears to indicate a corruption within the Cloudscape SQL database. Resolution In this instance, the app folder became corrupt when copied between builds during an upgrade.  The original app folder was simply recopied. The second copy of the app folder copied without errors.   The following would apply in instances were the original app folder is corrupt:  First, try and recover the Cloudscape database and repair the corruption using the console and the dbadmin command.  After stopping the station, open the console and run the command at the prompt:            dbadmin >  recover  The software will search through the Cloudscape SQL database and attempt to clear the errors and recover the database.  If this is unsuccessful, you may have to remove the APP folder from the station and start over.    To remove the Enterprise Server’s app folder: Stop the server’s database and delete its app folder.  A new app folder will be created when the server is restarted.    Note: All archived information will be lost when the app folder is deleted.          

Issue Cannot find manual service pin location Environment Schneider Electric SE76xx, SE73xx and SE72xx Viconics VT76xx, VT73xx, VT72xx Ready7 Commissioning Neuron ID Lonworks ID Service Pin message Cause The Service PIN is used to identify the device at commissioning. There is not a visible service pin button located on the Viconics device. Resolution A Service Pin will transmit the program ID and the Neuron ID (LonWorks Unique ID) contained in the device to the commissioning or service tool. The Status LED will blink when the device accepts the Service PIN command. VT7600 device - Press simultaneously the “Yes” button and the “No” button located on the keypad interface VT7300 and 7200 device - Pressing simultaneously the “Up” button and the “Down” button located on the keypad interface.       Additional Information on Viconics VT7600 series can me found in this Viconics Lon Integration Manual. Additional Information on Viconics VT7300 and VT7200 series can me found in this Viconics Lon Integration Manual.