Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue For example: >  Can a I/A Series G3 3.5.34 station in an ENC be edited with a 3.7.106 release of Workbench? >  Can a I/A Series G3 3.6.47 station in an ENC be edited with a 3.6.406 release of Workbench? Environment I/A Series G3 ENC or JACE controller (any 3.x release) I/A Series G3 Enterprise Server or Workbench software at any 3.x release Cause When engineering a mixed system it is advised that you use the correct version and brand of Workbench to connect. This insures that the modules on your Workbench will be compatible with the modules used by your station.  It is known that connecting with a different set of modules, i.e., different release, can result in a few odd behaviors or display problems or it may not allow you to connect at all. The incentive to upgrade is primarily for the new features. But it is also convenient to have all your stations at the same build so that you do not have to load different builds of Workbench to properly design and maintain the site. Resolution There are two solutions to this issue. Upgrade the older stations to the latest release. Install multiple copies of the I/A Series G3 software on the engineering computer and use the appropriate version when editing an existing ENC or JACE station.  When more than one version of the I/A Series G3 software is installed on the same computer, you must load the corresponding version of the Niagara platform daemon before attempting to use the Workbench software.  There are two ways to load the Niagara platform daemon.  When newer versions of the I/A Series G3 software are installed, a Windows Start menu folder is created for that version.  The "Install Platform Daemon" command will be found under that folder.  After running that command and allowing the Niagara Daemon service to start, you can use the "Enterprise Network Server" in the same Start menu folder to launch the corresponding release of the Workbench.  With any version of the I/A Series G3 software, you can manually install & start the platform daemon then start Workbench.  To set the version, start the Niagara console (<release directory>\bin\console.exe) for the version you want to run and then type the command "plat installdaemon".  You can then also start the workbench from that console window by typing "wb" at the command prompt.

Issue How can the priority as set in the Event Notification be used to sort alarms? Environment Cyberstation all versions. Cause The Priority of an alarm is not stored in the Alarm log. Resolution To sort the Active Alarm view by priority: In the Active Alarm view, from the top menu select View, Sort. This will open the sort criteria for the active alarms. There are 3 levels of sort: Primary, Secondary & Tertiary. by default these are Datetime, Name & Value.   For Historical alarms in a list view, the Priority of an alarm is not recorded in the Alarm Event table database, so you cannot filter or sort on Priority when looking at historical alarm logs. Note: The Priority is read from the Event Notification table for use in the live alarm window.  

Issue Part numbers for SVEA Lighting modules. Environment SVEA LON Lighting Cause Part numbers no longer listed. Resolution The SVEA Brand of lighting control products became obsolete as of 1st January 2011. Please see Product Announcement PA-00139.

Issue Is there any duct air velocity sensor available in our portfolio? Environment Duct Air velocity sensor Cause Some applications requires a duct air velocity sensor. Resolution Unfortunately no sensor of this type is available in the Sensors portfolio.

Issue Browser wbapplet Guest user account login issue with I/A Series G3 versions 3.6.406 and 3.7.106 - indicates syntax error. Environment I/A Series G3 build 3.6.406, web module 3.6.406 I/A Series G3 build 3.7.106, web module 3.7.106.4 Cause Issue with web modules 3.6.406 and 3.7.106.4. Resolution Download and install the latest Consolidated Patches for the 3.7.106 environment.  This is available for download from The Exchange Download Center.

Issue Is it possible to use the V321 and V311 valves in applications with a glycol content up to 50%? Environment V311 V321 Cause   Some valves are not suitable for use in applications with glycol content in media. Resolution The V321 and V311 can be used in applications with deaerated water with glycol-type antifreeze agent (max 50%)

Issue b3 controllers in StruxureWare Building Operation do not seem to support Counter inputs. Environment Counter Inputs b3 Cause SmartStruxure does support the creation of Counter inputs within b3 controllers. Resolution Counter inputs are Analog Inputs.  When the Object Creation wizard is used to create an Analog input the user is prompted to select the electric type.  At this point select Counter.

Issue When running TAC Vista as an application it is not possible to start it as it can't find the files PLPSU.DLL and PLSERV.EXE.   Environment TAC Vista 4.XX Cause A antivirus program called Avast have blocked PLPSU.DLL and PLSERV.EXE. Resolution Don't use this antivirus program when running TAC Vista or mark the files as safe in the antivirus program.

Issue Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Compliance Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment StruxureWare Building Operation Cause Is the Automation Server or Enterprise Server FIPS compliant? Resolution There is not Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Compliance with the current release of Building Operation.

Issue Does the TAC Vista OPC server have a certificate from OPC foundation? Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista OPC server Cause The OPC Foundation established the OPC Certification program to help vendors verify that their products meet end-user requirements of plug-and-play interoperability, robust behavior and meet minimum performance expectations by providing well-defined behavior, documentation and test tools for the testing of OPC Servers and Clients. Resolution TAC Vista OPC server have not been tested and certified by OPC foundation, but TAC Vista OPC server is following the OPC specifications established by OPC foundation.

Issue XBuilder crashes when opening a project or simply opening the editor Environment TAC Vista 5.1.8 and earlier Windows 7 32-bit computers Cause Due to some Windows issue, XBuilder may crash on SOME Windows 7 32-bit computers. Resolution This issue is solved in TAC Vista 5.1.9.

Issue Vista Workstation error log has "Netfunc errors." Environment Vista Vista multi server system Cause The Netfunc message in the log means that the master node is already working on the subscription that the node is sending. This can be caused by an overloaded network. The node has not received an acknowledgement from the master in a timely manner. It could also mean that the Master and its node are not synchronised correctly.   Resolution If the error continues to appear in the log: Make sure the network is not overloaded.  Close down the server and the nodes and restart them so they will resynchronize.

Issue Alarm emails are not being received by email recipients configured in the email distribution list.  Alarm emails appear in Outlook outbox but are not sent to recipient. Environment Cyberstation Alarm Email notification Cause While Continuum is responsible for handing off the alarm notification to the Email host application, once the notification appears in the Outbox of Outlook the notification is under Microsoft's control. Resolution The problem must be troubleshot on the Microsoft end.  This is not a Continuum issue.

Issue I/A Series G3 HTML navigation tree example   Environment I/A Series G3 graphics Cause Need an example of creating a HTML navigation tree for I/A Series G3 graphic pages. Resolution The demo station that is installed with the I/A Series G3 software includes an example of a HTML navigation tree. Open the demo station in Workbench and go to Config > Services > UserService. Open up the user 'adminFrames'. From here you can see that the Web Profile used is the Handheld Wb Web Profile. The Nav File used is 'frames.nav'. In the station, go to Files and then the nav folder. Expand the folder and open the 'frames.nav' nav file. From here, we can see that the target ord for the home page is frames/home.html.  In Windows Explorer, navigate to \niagara\niagara-3.x.xxx\stations\demo\frames. You can see 3 files here, home.html, top.html and tree.html. Look at these 3 files to see how the tree and frames are created. The images folder contains the images used on the page.  Major steps. Engineer your station database and graphics as what you would do normally.  Create user(s) that uses the Handheld Wb Web Profile.  Create a nav file that points to home.html. Assign the nav file created in step 2 to user(s) created in step 1. Edit the home.html, top.html and tree.html according to your requirements.  User(s) created in step 2 will have the tree view when they log on from a web browser. 

Issue Is it possible to use the VF208W valve in applications with a glycol content up to 50%? Environment VF208W Cause Some valves are not suitable for use in applications with glycol content in media. Resolution The VF208W can be used in applications with deaerated water with glycol-type antifreeze agent (max 50%)

Issue There is no way to directly connect the output of a PID loop (COx) to an analogue output (AOx) Environment MPM Programming of PID loops Cause Analog Outputs (AO) do not appear in the drop-down list for the Manipulated Variable parameter of the PID Controller. If you bind the output to an Analog Value (AV), the AV has no reference parameter to bind to an AO. Resolution Use a Lua Program (PG) to write the AV to the AO. e.g.  if PID controller has AV8 as its Manipulated Variable, the following one line program will write AV8 to AO2 :   ME.AO2 = ME.AV8

Issue When reloading a controller or deleting objects from Continuum, an error "Distribution Server MFC application stopped" appears. It looks like an MFC compatibility issue, but is not. After creating a new database and logging on to Continuum, the problem does not exist. Environment Continuum 1.94 Windows 7 Cause Some database issue may cause the distribution server MFC application to crash. This is only one issue encountered. There may be other unknown reasons that could cause this problem also. Resolution Export the original database to a dump file Create a  new database and make Continuum work. Create a network in the new system and give the same name as the original database to the network Import the dump file into the new system, and reload all the controller in the system.

Issue Troubleshooting Heat Meter installations (also Cooling or Flow meter) Environment Heat cooling or flow meter installation Kamstrup Cause Troubleshooting Heat Meter installations (also Cooling or Flow meter) when there is a problem with the values being measured Resolution To aid Product Support please supply the following information 1. Sketch of the installation, including physical details of pipe size, lengths and bend details plus any local valves etc. 2. Schematic sketch showing positions of Boilers/Chillers, Pumps, meters and sensors. 3. Photo of the installation if possible 4. Details of the media, maximum/minimum temperature, nominal flow and system pressure 5. What BMS is connected to the meter? Running NOTE Were no flow or little flow is seen, there may be air within the system, even if the "Air in System" info is not given on the meter.

Issue A Niagara G3 jace-6 has been operational in a building for more than two months with no reported problems.  End customer reported no updates to related graphics screens.  The jace-6 stopped responding on both of its ethernet ports.  A serial shell connection displayed the following information: IPL for NPM 6-E (PPC440EP) v4.00-6.32 ECC Press to stop autoboot... Autobooting... npm6xx startup version 7.00-6.41 Welcome to QNX Neutrino 6.4 on the NPM 6xx (ppc440) Press ESC to choose alternate boot options... continuing boot... ----------------------TCP/IP Network Status------------------------------ en0: flags=80008843 mtu 1500 address: 00:01:f0:8e:5f:70 media: Ethernet none full-duplex status: active inet 143.83.31.10 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 143.83.31.255 inet6 fe80::201:f0ff:fe8e:5f70%en0 prefixlen 64 tentative scopeid 0x2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- NPM6-E with T2023 JACE-2 Base Board detected SRAM mounted successfully at /sramopt LON interface detected # # An unexpected error has been detected by HotSpot Virtual Machine: # # SIGILL (0x4) at pc=0xfe4a26dc, pid=1773598, tid=1 # # Java VM: Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (1.5.0_34-b28 mixed mode, sharing) # Problematic frame: # Memory fault   Environment Niagara G3 jace-600, jace-600E, jace-700 Cause Internal memory issue Resolution The jace-6 cannot be repaired with a reported memory fault.  Replace it.

Issue Is it supported to access an Automation Server 1.4.0 with the Workstation 1.4.1? Are there any problems and what features are supported when accessing a 1.4.0 Automation Server with WorkStation 1.4.1? Environment Enterprise Server / Workstation 1.4.1 Automation Servers 1.4.0, 1.3 with SP1 and SP2 Cause Understanding of the new Runtime Compatibility mode available in 1.4.1 available during system upgrades Resolution Building Operation supports runtime compatibility between servers running two versions on a single system, during an upgrade process. Version 1.4.1 servers are runtime compatible with version 1.3 SP1 and 1.3 SP2 servers. The system is able to exchange runtime information between 1.4.1 servers and 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 servers. However, configuration changes cannot be made from an upgraded WorkStation via an upgraded Enterprise Server to a non upgraded Automation Server, such as creating, configuring, and deleting objects. There is also no runtime compatibility for WebStation. Runtime compatibility means you can delay the upgrade of some Automation Servers running version 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 while upgrading the Enterprise Server, WorkStation, Reports Server, and some Automation Servers to version 1.4.1. You cannot make any configuration changes on an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version with WorkStation and Enterprise Server running the 1.4.1 version. However, you can make the changes using a parallel WorkStation running a 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version that is connected to the Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version. Full compatibility is supported on Automation Servers running the 1.4.0 version   Additional detail is available on the Online Help http://help.sbo.schneider-electric.com/topics/show.castle?id=9807&locale=en-US&productversion=1.4&a=1 Supported Features: Navigate You can navigate in the system tree of an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, with WorkStation and Enterprise Server running the 1.4.1 version. However, object and property types removed in the 1.4.1 version compared to the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version are not be displayed in the system tree. Search You can perform an object or property search on an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, with WorkStation and Enterprise Server running the 1.4.1 version. However, object and property types removed in the 1.4.1 version compared to the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version are not be displayed in the search list. View Events You can view detailed information and perform commands on events on an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, with WorkStation and Enterprise Server running the 1.4.1 version. The 1.4.1 Enterprise Server will also store events from an Automation Server running 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version. View Trend Logs and Trend Charts You can view trend log lists and trend charts on an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, with WorkStation and Enterprise Server running the 1.4.1 version. Extended trend log lists in the server running 1.4.1 version are functional and be able to retrieve values from a server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version. View Graphics You can navigate to and view a graphic on an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, with WorkStation and Enterprise Server at 1.4.1 version. Graphic variable values can be changed with Graphics Editor, but configuration data cannot be changed. View Alarms You can view detailed alarm information from an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 and 1.3 SP2 version, with WorkStation and Enterprise Server at 1.4.1 version. Also actions on alarms can be performed, such as assigning or disabling an alarm and enabling a Change-state logging. View Dynamic Values You can navigate to and view dynamic values in the Watch pane from an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, with WorkStation and Enterprise Server running the 1.4.1 version. However, because there is no way to navigate to and view objects or properties that have been removed in the 1.4.1 version, such dynamic values cannot be viewed. Transfer Values You can transfer values from an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, with an Enterprise Server or Automation Server running the 1.4.1 version and the other way around. Change and Force Variables You can change and force variables using properties on an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, with WorkStation and Enterprise Server running the 1.4.1 version. Lead and Shadow relationships Lead and Shadow relationships work for all objects with the runtime compatibility support. Backup You can make a backup of an Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, with WorkStation and Enterprise Server running the 1.4.1 version. Log on to the Enterprise Server and then make a backup of the Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version. You can also log on directly to the Automation Server running the 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version with WorkStation running the same 1.3 SP1 or 1.3 SP2 version, and then make a backup of the Automation Server.