Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Getting "Comm Error 12 - Cannot run this ROM in this hardware" when trying to access a PEM through XPSI. Environment Network 8000 PEM-1 Cause Internal board failure Resolution Ensure the version of PSI being used is Y2K compliant (i.e. at least version 3.11).  The PSI program utilizes the time/date during log in, and it may well be the year 2000 date that is causing this problem.  The PEM PSI version will show as you enter it from XPSI. If that is not the issue, re-install the controller's database.   If that doesn't help, replace the controller.

Issue How many controllers and Workstations can Continuum systems support? Environment All Ethernet level controllers and Workstations. bCX, CX, NCII, ACX Cause Valid address ranges required Resolution Each "Network" (often called Continuum Network or Infinity Network) supports controllers with ACCNetID values of 1 to 190. No duplicate numbers are allowed on the same network Potentially the database supports up to 4 Million networks. Cyberstation workstations have ACCNetID's in the range 191 through 254 (maximum 64)

Issue AS reboots when opening a Function block program in webstation Environment AS 1.4.1 Webstation Cause There is a issue in the AS that causes it to reboot when you view a Function Block program from webstation Resolution There is a Hotfix that solves this issue. Contact Product support to get it. Please ask for hotfix 1.4.1.4302, this hotfix is for the specific problem.  

Issue How can a TAC Vista system communicate with a Profibus device? Environment TAC Vista system 3rd Party Profibus device Cause A site may have existing devices that communicate via the Profibus field bus protocol and these are to be kept and integrated into the TAC Vista system Resolution There is no standard way to do this, but one way would be to use a Modbus to Profibus converter. On one side of the converter a X913 can communicate via Modbus and on the other side the Profibus device would communicate with the converter via Profibus. The X913 can then be integrated into Vista if/as required.

Issue A report is set up to be printed automatically at certain times using Periodical reports.   Nothing happens and the report is never printed. It is possible to open a report manually and print it but the reports are not printed when using periodical reports. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Server Windows Server 2008 Cause The periodical report worked when running Vista as a application but not as a service. The user starting the service Tacos had a password with only three characters which does not meet the complexity requirements for a Windows 2008 server. It was possible to login and start the service using this password but the service Tacos could not start Excel and create the report using this password. Resolution Change to a user with a password meeting the complexity requirements for a Windows 2008 server for the service called Tacos.

Issue If a Modbus IP server goes offline it will slow the polling of other operating servers, how can this be prevented? Environment Modbus TCP/IP X-Driver Cause When the Client Modbus IP XDriver polls points from a Server that is offline or not communicating it will time out slowing the polling of other online devices. Resolution Create a "Remote Device Status Point" (Function code 102) for each of the Servers on the system. This point will return a  value of 1 when the server is communicating, 0 when it is not connected. If a server is known to be offline or switched off this point can be set to a value of 2 to stop it polling that server for data. This allows the other servers to continue to be polled without any time out delays from every point on the offline server.

Issue What is the "meter factor", what does it mean? Environment Kamstrup Heating meter cooling meter flow meter Multical 601 602 Cause The "meter factor" is mentioned in the documentation, but what does it mean? Resolution The "meter factor" is the number of impulses/Liter, and differs between the different sizes of meters. This value is described in the data sheet. The meter factor can also be seen on the label on the side of the meter.

Issue Installed language pack on PC but the language doesn't change Environment SmartStruxure Workstation Cause The operating system language of the computer on which WorkStation is installed determines the language that WorkStation displays in. For example, if the language of an operating system is Spanish, WorkStation is displayed in Spanish, provided that the Spanish language packages are installed Resolution You have to have the same language on the Operating system as the Language pack.

Issue Changing a Controlli MVL56C actuator. Environment MVL56C VMB VMB16 Cause A Controlli MVL56C actuator is to be replaced, is a linkage required to connect to a Forta actuator? Resolution A linkage is required. The linkage is the AG50, part number 880-0127-000

Issue A "Save Error" message that says "Not enough quota is available to process this command" is displayed when trying to save graphics.  Environment SmartStruxure Workstation  Cause The error message indicates that there not enough virtual memory (VM) available.  Resolution Close some applications and try again. If the error message is still being displayed, try increasing the virtual PC’s memory. Windows XP: 1. Open “Control Panel” and click on “Systems” 2. Select the “Advanced” tab 3. Under the “Performance” header, click on the “Settings” button and then “Advanced” tab. 4. Click on the “Change” button under “Virtual memory” 5. Increase the size of the virtual memory and click OK to save. Since Virtual Memory is dynamic in Windows 7, this error message is not common to a Windows 7 operating system. However, if running a lot of apps or the system has minimum requirement, it is possible that you can see it here. The following are steps to increase the VM for Windows 7. Windows 7: 1. Open Control Panel and click on Systems 2. Select the “Advance systems settings” 3. Under the “Performance” header, click on the “Settings” button and then “Advanced” tab. 4. Click on the “Change” button under “Virtual memory” 5. Increase the size of the virtual memory and click OK to save. VM uses the hard drive for storage.  

Issue DDC lines from I/NET sublan devices are not showing up in StruxureWare Workstation Environment I/NET to StruxureWare integration Cause I/NET ASC devices, particularly the MR-VAV series, can sometimes be configured as MRs. When this is the case, most of the I/NET processes will function, so that this is easy to overlook. Resolution Open I/NET Workstation Connect to the controller that is not showing the DDC lines from the subLAN Select Edit>Controller>MCU Configuration Change any controller that is an MR-VAV to an ASC Change any MRxx series controller to an MR. Perform a Station Save Open StruxureWare Workstation Right Click on the Selected Controller and select Upload Check to see if the DDC lines are now showing up If not, you may need to update I/NET Network Configuration, then deleted and rediscover the I/NET devices affected.

Issue Showing all points in the StruxureWare Database. Environment Enterprise Server Automation Server Cause In some instances you may need a complete list of I/O or values on a site. Resolution This process will show you the majority of objects on the system. It is possible that some will not be listed. For EACH Server on the system. In the System Tree Pane, expand the System Folder Expand to the Modules/RuntimeDBManager/VariableManager folder Click on the Variables Folder Copy the Contents to an Excel Document and repeat for each AS on the system.

Issue Backing up b3 controllers to flash. Environment BACnet b3 controllers Backup to Flash Cause B3 Backup to Flash does not operate as expected. Resolution The b3 controller Backup to Flash operates as follows; System variables that indicate the status of Flash / Backup. StatusBackup – Indicates if backup is needed, has been done, or is in progress. StatusFlash - Indicates that the flash is empty, valid or has failed. LastBackup – Indicates the time and data of the last backup.   Backup to Flash Operation. Downloading a controller will clear the flash memory. Resetting a controller will clear the flash memory. A download to a controller which fails, will clear the flash memory. Setting the controller "RestartMode" variable to Cool Start, will reload the controller from flash memory on power up, assuming there is a valid backup available..   Downloading a single object to the controller does not clear the flash memory.

Issue Making changes in a personnel object from WebClient logs the user out with the error: Web.Client is currently unavailable, if the problem continues, contact your system administrator. Environment WebClient Cause The name of one or more areas attached to the personnel object contain non alpha numeric characters such as commas. Resolution Remove offending character from area's name.

Issue Customer Care cannot offer a cross-reference or functional replacement to a caller looking to order an ENC-520-2 or ENC-410-1 which are obsolete.  Does one exist? Environment Niagara G3 Cause Product obsolescence Resolution Depending on the jobsite's network architecture and protocol integrations, the functional replacement to an ENC-520-2 or ENC-410-1 can vary.  Contact your Regional Sales Manager for assistance in selecting the correct replacement part.

Issue Does Schneider-Electric carry a line of carbon monoxide sensors with BACnet capability? Environment Kele Veris Cause Job specification Resolution Veris will be releasing a carbon monoxide sensor with BACnet and Modbus capability in 2Q14. Kele has the GDN series of carbon monoxide sensors that are BACnet and Modbus capable.  Visit kele.com and type GDN into the search field for a list of available models.

Issue How are BACnet b3 controllers established as being Online / Offline? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Online Offline b3 Cause Controllers show Offline, but they can still be communicated with. Resolution The BACnet device online/offline status is managed by the BACnet plugin device manager. The device manager handles all BACnet I-Am messages and used these information to build the device table. Here are the rules: When a new device is discovered, an entry is added to the device table. A new entry is probed up to four times at a 5 second intervals. If it does not respond in that time, it is declared offline. To detect b3s going offline, StruxureWare Building Operation uses the MSTP dev driver, and watches token passing. 3 missed tokens = device offline . Once detected offline, then the probing rules apply: StruxureWare Building Operation will send a who-is message every 60 seconds. Offline devices are probed at 60 second intervals, indefinitely, until they respond. Online devices are never probed. Once resolved, a device is considered online until it fails to respond to a request and its status is then set to offline.

Issue How long does PSS support a product after it is released? Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Operation, TAC IA Series, TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment All Schneider Electric Buildings Business software platforms Cause After a few years, the majority of issues with a release product are documented in the Knowledge Base.  At this point, if the customer is having issues requiring Product Support, we ask that they upgrade to the current version. Resolution Please read the following Product Announcements: PA_00271 Software Support Policy - General Overview.pdf PA_00272 Software Support Policy - Supplementary info for_Andover_Continuum.pdf PA_00274 Software Support Policy - Supplementary info for TAC Vista.pdf PA_00279 Software Support Policy - Supplementary info for TAC INET.pdf PA_00280 Software Support Policy - Supplementary info for TAC IA Series.pdf

Issue Is it possible to repeatedly send messages from the 911 to keep a connection thru a 3G Cisco access point open? Environment TAC Vista 5.1.8 TAC Xenta 911 Cause There is no function in the 911 designed to do this. But the 911 can get it's time from a NTP server so specifying a NTP server in the 911 will make it ask the NTP server for the time. But the minimum poll rate for the NTP server is 30 minutes. Resolution Go to the Webpage for the 911. Under the time settings specify an NTP server. Now the 911 will ask the NTP server for the time with the time interval specified in the time settings and keep the connection open.

Issue In a TAC Vista server Network is a TAC Vista SmartStruxure Interfaces needed for each server? Environment TAC Vista Server 5.1.8 or later TAC Vista SmartStruxure Interface SmartStruxure Cause Do I need to set up a TAC Vista SmartStruxure Interface per TAC Vista server or can I use just one for all Servers? Resolution You don't have to set up an TAC Vista SmartStruxure Interface per server but you can have several if you want to reduce the server to server traffic.