Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue  The Modbus TCP-IP XDriver can function as either a TCP Client or a TCP Server but not both at the same time. Environment Cyberstation Continuum Controllers Cause Documentation Resolution  It is the XDriver points themselves that define the mode of the driver, in every point created, Parameter 2 should be set to either “0” for Client Mode OR to “1” for Server mode. You can’t use both in one driver. ALSO, in Client mode you need to create the Remote Device Status point, one per server, but it is Parameter 2 in the points that determines the client/ Server mode. QUESTION: If the XDriver can only operate in one mode (client or server) why does each point need to be configured with the mode type? ANSWER: There is a historical reason for this, the original design envisioned the support of both client and server points simultaneously, but for reasons that are well beyond the scope of this article this was changed to support only one mode at a time.

Issue Require sample code to configure a Door for the "two man" rule, where two valid card reads are required before a door is opened. Environment Continuum Access Control ACX5720 ACX5740 Cause Require sample code to configure a Door for the "two man" rule. Resolution For this "two man" rule you would need to take control from the Door object and do this through a Plain English program. Make sure to remove the door status input from the Door and define this as an Infinity Input if you want to use it within the Door program, otherwise the door will never show a "ValidAccess" signal for the program to work as it will be waiting for someone to walk through the Door first. See below example code of one way to accomplish this.   ========== Sample Code ========== Numeric LastCard WaitForValid1:   Door1 = off     If Door1 ValidAccess is True then       LastCard = Door1 EntryLastCard       GoTo WaitForValid2     Endif WaitForValid2:   If TS > 5s then     goto WaitForValid1   else     If (Door1 ValidAccess is True) and (Door1 EntryLastCard <> LastCard) then       Door1 = on       goto TimeWait     endif   endif TimeWait:   if TS > 5s then goto WaitForValid1 ===============================  

Issue Have the ability in SBO to disable and enable the email delivery from a graphic with a simple switch Environment Automation Server (AS), Enterprise Server (ES) - all versions Cause - none - Resolution In order to enable / disable email delivery from a graphic, do the following: 1. Add a Switch component to a graphic. Save the graphic. 2. In Workstation, open the bindings window for the graphic. Bind the Status of the Email Notification to the Value of the Switch.

Issue Error updating row in the database table when manipulating object. Environment Cyberstation Cause Workstation using unsupported SQL Native Client 10.0 Resolution Use supported version of the SQL Native Client

Issue How can I/A Series G3 be configured to monitor local setpoint changes on the LON based SE7000 Series Room Controllers? Environment I/A Series G3, SE7000 Series Room Controllers Cause Setpoint values on the LON based SE7000 Series Room Controllers are maintained as a network configuration property (nciSetPts).  Local setpoint changes will not be seen at the I/A Series G3 station unless the value is polled or read. Resolution I/A Series R2 had an object (PollSnvtTempSetptCmd) in the lonextras jar that could be set to poll the nci values on a configurable time basis.  The same functionality can be setup in I/A Series G3 through the use of an interval trigger. Open the kitControl palette and expand the ControlPalette - Trigger folder Add an Interval trigger object and configure as Trigger Mode with the Interval required.  The Interval will determine how often the nciSetPts is updated (polled).  The recommendation would be 60 seconds. Right Click on the Trigger and select “Link Mark” Right Click on the SE Room Controller and display the property sheet for the device Locate and Right Click on the nciSetPts parameter.  Select Link From “Name of Your Trigger”. When the link window appears, select Fire Trigger and then select Force Read.  Select OK to complete the link. All setpoints included in the nciSetPts parameter will be updated at the time interval configured to read what has been set at the local device.

Issue When installing SQL server 2008 or SQL 2008 R2 to manually an instance for I/NET, Vista or Continuum, sometimes an error "Invoke or BeginInvoke cannot be called on a control until the window handle has been created" will show up. Environment SQL 2008 / SQL 2008 R2 Vista I/NET Continuum SmartStruxure Cause This issue is happening because of a behavior change in .NET that is exposing an issue with SQL Setup User Interface (UI). Resolution Generally, if you just rerun the installer, it won't hit the issue again. If this can't help, just manually create a C:\temp folder and it will work fine.

Issue When importing a file from TAC Menta into StruxureWare Building Operation Functional Block Editor, the import of the application file fails. Environment TAC Vista TAC Xenta StruxureWare Building Operation Cause The following characters are not allowed in object names in StruxureWare Building Operation. • / • " • ? • * • ~ • White space is not allowed in the beginning or the end of an objects name. • . (period) is not allowed in the beginning of an objects name. Colon (:) is not allowed either, but will automatically be replace by an underscore (_) when importing   In TAC Vista, signal names could contain the character "/". In SmartStruxure, this character is not allowed. Resolution Remove illegal characters from object names in the Function Block program.

Issue Access denied error creating ContinuumDB Environment Cyberstation SQL Server Cause Firewall blocking Resolution Ensure the firewall at both the WS and the SQL Server are not blocking the DB creation process. Turn off all aspects of McAfee or Norton Anti-Virus. In particular, McAfee On-Access Virus Scanning can cause this

Issue Losing VAS client connection; getting error: java.lang.outofmemoryerror: unable to create a new native thread. Environment R2 VAS 2.50 Cause Users at the client were not signing off but rather switching users causing multiple connections to VAS from the same pc.  Resolution Ensure user is logging off, not just switching users.

Issue Normally using RS-485 on an ACX 57xx requires nodes to be activated to work so ordering and price could be affected by this Environment ACX57xx Schlage PIM 400-485 Cause The Schlage PIM RS-485 unit uses RS485 for communication and it's important to know if node activation is required for the Schlage solution to work Resolution The Schlage PIM RS-485 does use RS-485 for communication, but it doesn't require node activation on the comm port. The Schlage solution uses an XDriver instead in order to communicate RS-485 to the PIM

Issue When using STR150 connected to a TAC Xenta 121-FC, the Occupancy Mode indicator will be default allocated to the Y1 output on the TAC Xenta 121-FC, which is the only analog output on the TAC Xenta 121-FC device. Environment TAC Xenta 121-FC STR150 Cause When using a STR150 connected to a TAC Xenta 121-FC, the Occupancy Mode indicator will be default allocated to the Y1 output on the TAC Xenta 121-FC device, which is the only analog output on the TAC Xenta 121-FC device. Resolution In ZBuilder, it is possible to move the Occupancy Mode indication from the default location at Y1 to K1-4. In this case you also need to have an external power supply with 5 Volt DC for the Occupancy Mode indicator.

Issue Customer has a Jace-7 installed with two NICs.  It's installed with 3.7.106. NIC 1 (192.168.1.101) is communicating with 3 other jaces on-site with IP addresses of 192.168.1.102, 103, & 104. NIC 2  (public address) is accessed remotely with Workbench. Is there a way to access the stations (remotely) running on 192.168.1.102, 103 & 104 with fox tunneling? Environment Niagara G3 / AX Cause There is no Enterprise Server on site, just the four Jaces. Resolution Jaces cannot act as Proxy Servers so fox tunneling is not supported on anything except a server.

Issue A customer installed a critical valve with an actuator containing a potentiometer for a positional feedback connection. The potentiometer was wired into a MNL controller's input. After some calibrating, the potentiometer drives past the "0 %open" position which displays as a negative value in the AI point. Is there a way to compensate in software for this negative reading? Environment WorkPlace Tech MNL and MNB controllers Cause It can be difficult to calibrate the feedback potentiometer accurately. Resolution Add a high selector block to the output of the AI block.  Connect the AI block's output and a constant set to a value of zero. Anytime the AI block's output drops below zero, the output of the high selector will display zero.  This can then be used for other logic or for graphical display.

Issue We want to be able to control the outputs on an I/O even if the I/O module is broken. Environment StruxureWare Building Operation I/O Modules   Cause The switches for manual override on the I/O modules needs power to be able to operate. Resolution The switches on the I/O modules that are used for manual override internally controls relays, that need to be powered to be able to operate.

Issue Is there a way to edit the Continuum Security Group export file outside of Continuum? Environment Security Groups .sdf file format Cause The need for a more efficient method of editing Continuum user Security Groups. Resolution There is no method of editing the Security Groups export file outside of Continuum.

Issue Graphics are not displaying values under certain user accounts Environment User Accounts Domains Cause Although the user account configuration appeared to be correct, something in the user accounts was broken. Resolution Once the User Accounts were deleted and recreated with exactly the same configuration the graphics began displaying the values. 

Issue The electrical contractor failed to pull an ground conductor with the controller power conductors.   Environment Controller installation. Controller Power. Cause Electrical contractor neglected to include a ground conductor when running power to the controller panel. Resolution All installation for the entire Continuum and Infinity controller product lines indicate that the controller power terminal must have a true earth ground connected to the ground terminal. Continuum controllers require a true earth ground connected to the ground terminal of the controller power strip.  Controller grounding is essential and impacts the controller in several ways including sensor bus communication, input accuracy, processor function and output performance. Improper grounding can also, in some cases, cause damage to the controllers.   The problem with grounding to the electrical enclosure or to the building structure is that each grounding point can have different  a ground potentials. This will especially cause issues with bus communication since all controller signals must be established with respect to the same ground reference. If each controller has a different ground reference the wave forms will be inconsistent.  

Issue Is there a way to display the value of a doors ADA output or to use this value in a Plain English program? Environment ADA output Door attributes Cause Need to display and track the value of a doors ADA output. Resolution There is no sanctioned way to access or use the value of a doors ADA output.  While in some cases it may be possible to create a separate output object with the same channel number to track this value, this kind of configuration is known to have issues and it is not recommended.

Issue The configuration in "License Setup" changes autonomously meaning that you open "License Setup", make a change, close "License Setup", open "License Setup" and the configuration has reverted to what is was before the change was made. It reverts back to what it was before making the change. Environment TAC Vista 5.1.9 Cause The cause of this is unknown. TAC Vista Server is supposed to set some values in the registry while running also regarding licensing, but not like described here. Resolution Make sure TAC Vista Server is stopped while changing the license setup: Stop TAC Vista Server Change the license setup Start TAC Vista Server

Issue Windows reports that RAM services do not start or stop in a timely manner Environment RAM 2.1.025 Cause Windows reports that RAM services do not start or stop in a timely manner. Re-installing RAM does not resolve the issue Resolution The issue may be with the RAM configuration file (setup.mdb). Note: If possible, record the RAM setup by opening the RAM console. Uninstall RAM and locate and delete or save the Remote Alarm Manager folder to a different location. Reinstall RAM. RAM will need to be re-configured with the site setup.