Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Alarm values from LonWorks units in TAC Vista Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Workstation LON devices ASCs Xenta 102-AX, Xenta 104-A, Xenta 121 Cause Vista Workstation alarm objects can be used to monitor SNVT values from LON devices and alert the user when a value has gone outside of acceptable limits. For example, An alarm in TAC Vista if the nviSetpoint of a Xenta 104-A goes over 75ºF. This could also be used on programmable controllers -- any point in the database -- to avoid having to make Menta programming changes in order to alarm a point. The only issue with a Vista Server Change of state object is that the Vista Server will need to be running in order for the alarm to be received and actioned.  If multiple change of state objects are to be used consideration must be taken into the interface type as these points will be polled every second to check the state so actions can be taken on an alarm condition. This can easily overload a Lonworks interface if it is already managing lots of messages.  Resolution Create an object of the type "Change of state Dynamic SNVT" Right-click and go to properties. Click on the ALARM tab. Type in the alarm text for the Alarm. In this case, the alarm triggers if the temperature is over 75°F, so set the High limit to 75. Go to the Object tab and browse in the point that you want to monitor. In reference property select value. Click ok Go to the monitored point, right-click and select properties, change the watch setting to "watch"

Issue Knowing the type of cryptographic protocols that Vista uses for communication security. Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista Server TAC Xenta Server SSL Cause Some systems will require to know the security protocols that TAC Vista uses in order to ensure communication across their network.  Resolution At this time TAC Vista only supports Secure Socket Layer version 3 (SSLv3) to ensure data integrity and security for network communications. More specifically the SSLv3 cryptography algorithm is: SSL_RSA_WITH_RC4_128_SHA This security protocol is hardcoded into the server and is not adjustable. Note: Be aware of other SSL-related issues, mentioned in the following articles: TAC Xenta servers are going offline in TAC Vista Error connecting to Xenta Server in browser using HTTPS

Issue The Xenta 102-AX Plug-in Airflow Parameters tab has a section called Airflow Reset. There are three values listed: Airflow Reset (%) CO 2 Low Limit (ppm) CO 2 High Limit (ppm) Product Line TAC Vista Environment Xenta 102-AX Plug-in Cause The Xenta 102-AX Product Manual states: The minimum airflow volume may be reset by a valid value at the network input variable, nviCO2. When the value received is at or exceeds the threshold value defined in configuration parameters nciCO2LoLimitCln and nciCO2HiLimitCIn the current cooling or heating mode’s minimum airflow volume will be changed by applying the network input variable nviAirFlowReset. The percentage value of this input variable is applied to the current minimum airflow value for an increase in air volume. This is not 100% accurate and will be fixed in later revisions of this product manual. Resolution To activate airflow reset based on CO 2 : nvoEffectOccup must not be OC_UNOCCUPIED or OC_STANDBY Both CO 2 Low Limit and CO 2 High Limit must be non-zero values There must be a valid CO 2 reading (either via SNVT nviCO2 or hardwired input) And the Airflow Reset (%) must be INVALID. (If the Airflow Reset has been changed to a valid value, to set it back to INVALID you can enter 163.835 or higher either in the plugin or on the snvt nviAirFlowReset in the LNS browser) The effect of a CO 2 based airflow reset are: If the CO 2 level is above the High Limit, the minimum airflow is reset 100% (set to maximum airflow) If the CO 2 level is below the Low Limit, the minimum airflow is reset 0% (set to its original value) If the CO 2 level is between the Low and High Limits, the minimum airflow is reset linearly between 0 and 100% as the value modulates from Low to High Limit. All of this can be overridden at any time if nviAirFlowReset has a valid value (either from a SNVT binding or via a value entered in the plug-in. This value will be limited between 0 and 100% and passed through to the airflow reset regardless of the CO 2 values. Example: If the Cooling Minimum Airflow Setpoint is 400 CFM and the Cooling Maximum Airflow Setpoint is 1400 CFM. The Airflow Setpoint can be determined based on the Terminal Load. If the Terminal Load is 50% then the Airflow Setpoint will be 900 CFM. Now if the CO2 Low Limit and CO2 High Limit are given values of 400 ppm and 800 ppm respectively, then the Airflow Adjustment would look like this: If the CO2 level was 700 ppm then the Cooling Minimum Airflow Setpoint would adjust up 75%. With a 75% adjustment the Airflow Setpoint would be calculated: ((Cooling Max - Cooling Min) * Airflow Reset) + Cooling Min  So in this example, that would be: ((1400 - 400) * 75%) + 400 = 1150 and the Airflow Setpoint table would now look like this: So if the Terminal Load is still 50% and the CO2 was 700 ppm then the Airflow Setpoint would be 1275 CFM. The Airflow Reset works a little differently if the 102-AX is in the heat mode.  Since the CFM setpoint does not modulate in the heat mode as it does in the cooling mode, the Terminal Load is not a factor.  Instead, the Airflow Adjustment percentage is applied to the Heating Minimum setpoint and the Warmup Maximum setpoint.  Let's say your Heating Minimum is 600 CFM and the Warmup Maximum is 1400 CFM.  And using the same CO2 high and low limits as above 400 and 800, if my CO2 reading is 500 then the CFM Setpoint will be 800 CFM. Additionally, if a valid value was entered on Airflow Reset (%) in the plugin or on nviAirFlowReset from an LNS browser then there would be the same effect of increasing the Cooling Minimum Airflow Setpoint by the value entered. Whereas by using the Low and High CO2 limits it is on a sliding scale as the CO2 moves up and down, the Airflow Reset increases the Cooling Minimum Airflow Setpoint by that specific amount. Then is still figured from the Adjusted Table based on the current Terminal Load from 0% to 100%. For example, if the Airflow Reset is given a value of 30% and the Terminal Load is 25% then the Airflow Setpoint would be 875 CFM as seen below:

Issue When using the RJ10 OP port for Lonworks communication the TAC Xenta 200, 300, or 401 controllers fails completely.  Product Line TAC Vista Environment Xenta 281 Xenta 301 Xenta 401 Xenta OP Vista server Cause When theRJ10 OP port on a TAC Xenta 200,300 or 401 controller is used to access the Lonworks network the controller can be easily damaged if the 24VAC power is shorted or grounded accidently.  The OP port on these controllers have four pins. Two of them are the Lonworks network and the other two are 24VAC to power the OP panel, If the two 24VAC wires (most left pins on the TAC Xenta 280, 300 and 401) are shorted the embedded fuse in the controller may be blown and the controller will not be able to be used. Resolution In most cases the controllers internal fuse has blown and will require replacement. The repair of this will be dependent on location and type of controller.  Please contact the repairs department if repair is possible.   Recommendation: If this type of connection is to used, then ensure that the two 24VAC wires are very well separated from each other.

Issue How many object transfer objects can one Vista server handle? Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Server  Cause A network with optimized communication performance begins in the design phase. Understanding the limitations of connections objects can help determine logical and physical network structures. It can also be helpful in troubleshooting a network with communication problems. Resolution The question is how often the object transfer will run i.e transfer the value between the objects. The bottleneck will be the communication load. The Vista server can handle a lot of object transfers, the problem will be on the LON bus. Depending on what Lon network interface that is used in TAC Vista it can handle between 10-40 messages per second. For example a TAC Xenta 911 will usually handle around 10 messages per second and is only able to have one active telegram at the time. Where a Loytec interface can have up to 40 messages per second, and have various active telegrams at the same time. That is the total load so graphics, online poll, watched objects and object transfer need to share this bandwidth.   So for example having a TAC Xenta 911 as a network interface and creating 100 Object transfer objects with a transfer rate of 10 seconds these objects will use all bandwidth on the Lon network.  

Issue Setting a TAC Xenta OP to show IP (US) units instead of SI units Product Line TAC Vista Environment Xenta OP Cause Switching the TAC Xenta OP between imperial and metric units. Resolution Connect to a TAC Xenta 100 After pressing "down," there is a setting "unit as" Toggle between SI and US (IP) by pressing the "up" button Please note that this only changes the presentation, and that both absolute as well as relative values are re-calculated. This means that a difference in temperature may be shown incorrectly.

Issue Download LonMark SNVT Master List, SNVT Enumerations, and XIF File Reference Guide Product Line TAC IA Series, TAC Vista, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment LNS SNVT types Cause Investigating problems with LON integrations can sometimes involve inspecting the raw XIF file for different SNVT types or enumeration values. These documents from LonMark detail the LON protocol for SNVT communication and device interface file syntax. Resolution LonMark SNVTs & SCPTs Introduction LonMark SNVT Master List LonMark SCPT Master List LonMark Standard Enumeration Master List LonMark Device Interface File (XIF) Reference Guide To check for updated information, please visit LonMark International's Developers Guides.

Issue Where can I find plugins for a Xenta 102-ES? Product Line TAC Vista Environment Xenta 102-ES Cause Need to find the plugins for a Xenta 102-ES Resolution The plugins for Xenta 102-ES can be found together with the Toolpack.

Issue Will public signals in TAC Xenta show up in Echelon Lonmaker? Will AI, DI, AO, DO, PVR, PVI, PVB blocks show up in Echelon Lonmaker?  Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Menta LonMaker or NL220 Xenta 30x, 401, 28x Cause Public signal are proprietary and can only be viewed from Schneider Electric products such as TAC Vista Workstation or EcoStruxure Building Operation. Resolution The answer to both questions is no. Only SNVTs are displayed in Echelon Lonmaker, and the SNVTs have to be added in TAC Menta and then downloaded to the TAC Xenta devices.

Issue Which Java version is supported for Xenta servers version 5.1.9? Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Xenta Server Cause Java  is used for TGML Graphics in the dynamic TGML viewer in a TAC Xenta Server or in TAC Vista Webstation. Resolution The recommended java version for TAC Xenta Server 5.1.9 and TAC Vista Webstation 5.1.9 is java 1.7 update 51. If you are currently running a version prior to 1.7 update 51, it is recommended to upgrade your java installation to the recommended version.

Issue Vista webstation - Error message in FIPS-compliant systems first time the logging screen is entered and red X instead of values in TGML pictures Error message in FIPS-compliant systems when Windows Communication Foundation is used to serialize generic types: “This implementation is not part of the Windows Platform FIPS validated cryptographic algorithms” Red X instead of values EcoStruxure Building Operation registration WorkStation Error Product Line TAC Vista, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Vista Webstation Cause System cryptography: Use FIPS compliant algorithms for encryption, hashing and signing This security setting determines if the Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer (TL/SS) Security Provider supports only the TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA cipher suite. In effect, this means that the provider only supports the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol as a client and as a server (if applicable). It uses only the Triple DES encryption algorithm for the TLS traffic encryption, only the Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman (RSA) public key algorithm for the TLS key exchange and authentication, and only the Secure Hashing Algorithm 1 (SHA-1) for the TLS hashing requirements. For Encrypting File System Service (EFS), it supports only the Triple Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption algorithm for encrypting file data supported by the NTFS file system. By default, EFS uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm with a 256-bit key in the Windows Server 2003 family and DESX algorithm in Windows XP for encrypting file data. For information about EFS, see Encrypting File System. NOTE - The same errors can occur in EcoStruxure Building Operation when registering. Resolution Go to Local Security Settings Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options System cryptography: Use FIPS compliant algorithms for encryption, hashing and signing = Make sure its disabled to get to local security you can go to 1. go to start 2. Go to run 3. enter secpol.msc 4. press enter NOTE - The same errors can occur in EcoStruxure Building Operation when registering. The Resolution is the same

Issue LON Network - Cable Transient Suppression Product Line EcoStruxure Building OperationTAC IA Series, TAC Vista Environment LON networks that extend beyond the walls of a single building Cause Surge arrestors dissipate transient energy before the cable can provide a low resistance path to the building ground, preventing potential electrical damage. Resolution Click here to download the white paper on this topic: Cable Transient Suppression It is recommended that a Transient Suppression protection device be installed on the LON communications cable at any point where the cable enters or exits the building. The LON is frequently used to connect a collection of controllers in one building with a collection of controllers in one or more other buildings in a campus. The LON may also extend outside the protection of an office building when servicing communications to roof-top equipment and/or outside monitoring equipment. At any location where the LON cable penetrates and extends outside the building compartment, it is recommended that a gas discharge type lightning arrestor be installed across the LON conductor pair and earth ground as shown below. This should be positioned as close as possible to the wall penetration location. The objective is to keep the cable distance as short as possible before the cable suppression is provided. It is important that a heavy gauge earth ground connection be provided to the gas discharge protector with as short a length as possible. Here we want to dissipate the transient energy as soon as possible before the cable extends on into the facility and provide a low resistance path to the building ground. SA2-U8 Surge Arrestor TAC provides a Model SA2-U8 Surge Arrestor which can be used for this purpose. This SA2-U8 device is a gas discharge arrestor packaged in a small DIN rail mountable enclosure. The SA2-U8 is UL864 listed and is the only device that can be used on TAC UL864 listed system. It must be installed on the LON cable at any entry/exit locations. Other Gas Discharge Suppressors On non-UL864 systems, the SA2-U8 may also be used, or the installer may use any one of a number of available 90V gas discharge tube devices. These are typically tubular shaped components and since you need two tubes (one for each of the two LON conductors) a dual element three lead discharge tube is recommended. The device’s leads may be attached to a standard screw terminal block and mounted in most any size electrical box. A collection of some of the suitable gas discharge devices that could be used is as follows: Manufacturer Part Number Bourns 2026-09-C Epcos B88069X8440B202 Citel BTS-90 SRC Devices PMT-090-14   There are other acceptable part numbers available from each of these manufacturers with variations provided in the lead configuration and lengths while maintaining the same 90V protection rating. Devices To Avoid It is not recommended that you use any semiconductor type (Transzorb / TVS / Diode) protection devices. Their higher speed and lower clamping voltage characteristics is not necessary with the inherent protection offered by the FTT-10 and FT-X1 LON transceivers. Such semiconductor based transient suppression devices frequently add some undesirable capacitance to the network which impedes communication performance and most inject signal clamping at voltage levels much lower than necessary or desirable for the Free Topology FTT-10 and FT-X1 based LON networks. The common mode noise immunity of the FTT LON should be much better than that provided by the typical RS485 network. This should provide more tolerance for electrically noisy environments. However, it has been observed that some semiconductor based network protection units have been used that can drastically degrade communications performance. One such device is the Model 91287 from Atlantic Scientific Corp. which was identified by the manufacturer as a LON System protector. This device clamps the signal at one diode drop below ground level which virtually destroys the LON’s common mode noise tolerance. The presence of one of these devices has been found to be the cause of communications problems in a system operating is an electrically noisy environment. This type of communications impairment may be encountered immediately. In other instances, LON retries may cover the problem and the system may operate for extended period of time before environmental or equipment changes raise noise levels above the tolerable threshold. This threshold is now much worse than RS485 networks. This device, and any similar, should be avoided on any LON systems.

Issue How do you add a "CAUSE" for electronic signature? Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista 5.1.x Cause The "Cause" for electronic signature is located in the $System object. Resolution Open the $System object located in the root folder in Workstation Open the tab "Cause" Add the "Cause"

Issue Does TAC Vista 5.1.6 work with a TAC Danduc OPC server? What OS works with TAC Danduc OPC server?  Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista 5.1.6 Cause TAC Danduc OPC server is tested on many sites in Denmark using Vista 5.1.6. Only 32-bit OS works with TAC Danduc OPC server. Resolution TAC Vista 5.1.6 is works fine with TAC Danduc OPC server. All operating systems also work fine as long as they are 32-bit. 

Issue When viewing a Xenta log through Vista, estimated values are seen at a specific time period. Taking note of these times, a pattern develops. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista 5.x.x Cause The trend log backup object $Backup_LDB has been set to run and has the Retrieve trend log data option set. This causes Vista to go to every Xenta trend log and retrieve the latest values. On large sites with many logs, this can take up to 8 hours and create excessive traffic on the Lonworks network. This excessive traffic can cause Xenta logs to fail in the upload process giving estimated values. Resolution Uncheck the Xenta Retrieve trend log data option and backup the values in the SQL database only.

Issue The sort order for data in Reports was changed in TAC Vista version 5.1.7. The newest data should be in the bottom, but in TAC Vista 5.17 the newest is in the top. When inserting a trend log to a report with period "Number of values" chosen, "Start/Stop Time" and "Period" works like they did in previous versions. Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista 5.1.7 Cause This is an error and have been fixed in hotfix 41 for TAC Vista 5.1.7. The sort order is correct in TAC Vista 5.1.8 and later versions. Resolution Install hotfix 41 for TAC Vista 5.1.7, or upgrade to TAC Vista 5.1.8 or later.

Issue Error when running the Checklic license utility: "InitCrypkey Error -103: NETWORK: REPLY FROM NETWORK DRIVER IS BAD" "InitCrypkey Error -102: NETWORK: NETWORK DRIVER APPEARS TO NOT BE SERVING THIS DIRECTORY" Product Line Other, TAC Vista Environment LNS 3.0 LNS Turbo Edition (Ver 3.2) LonMaker 3.0 LonMaker 3.1 LonMaker Turbo (Ver 3.2) Vista Cause A problem has occurred with the LonMaker licensing. Resolution There are two procedures for fixing this problem. Try Procedure 1 first, and if the license still has the same problem, try Procedure 2. Internet access may be required for Procedure 2 to in order to download the setupex.exe and cks.exe programs and request a replacement license. Procedure 1: Confirm that the Windows Crypkey License service is started. To confirm, click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. Verify the Crypkey License status is Started. Also verify that the startup type is Automatic. If not, right-click the name and then click Start. Double-click the name to enter the properties dialog and change the startup type to Automatic. Close the Service window.   Confirm the Crypkey NetworkX driver is started by running C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo\Msinfo32.exe. Expand System Summary > Software Environment > System Drivers in the category tree in the left pane, then locate NetworkX in the right pane. Confirm that the State is Running and the Status is OK. Close the System Information window. If you cannot find these software components, uninstall the Echelon Software product, reboot, and reinstall the product. Antivirus and Internet security software can interfere with the proper installation of the software. Disable such software before you re-install the Echelon software product. At this point, if you are still unable to run your LonMaker or LNS application because of a License Access error message and if the Checklic license utility still reports a -102 or -103 error, follow the steps in Procedure 2. Procedure 2: Check to see if two files exist in the C:\Windows\LNS Licenses folder. setupex.exe cks.exe The LNS Licenses folder is hidden; if you do not see it, open the Windows Explorer Tools menu, click Folder Options, and in the View tab, select Show Hidden Files and Folders and clear Hide Protected Operating System Files (Recommended). If you don't see these files, download them from Echelon and extract them to the C:\Windows\LNS Licenses folder. Open a Windows command prompt by clicking Start > Run and typing in cmd (or command for Windows 98). Type the following command to change your working directory: cd "\Windows\LNS Licenses" Type the following command: setupex /U Reboot the computer. Repeat steps 3 and 4, and then type the following command: setupex Reboot the computer. Open a Windows command prompt and enter "checklic lonmaker.vsl" for the LonMaker Tool or "checklic nsseng.exe" for other LNS tools and applications. If no errors appear, then the LNS application should start. Exit now. If the GetAuthorization Error -4/GetAuthorization Error -1 error is shown, which is expected, try opening/creating network. If the -4/-1 error remains, use the license wizard to request replacement credits. If the InitCrypkey Error -102/-103 error is shown, delete the following files under C:\Windows\LNS Licenses (do not delete other files from the LNS Licenses folder): For the LonMaker tool: LonMaker.rst LonMaker.ent LonMaker.key LonMaker.41s For an LNS tool or application other than the LonMaker tool: nsseng.rst nsseng.ent nsseng.key nsseng.41s Delete esnecil.ind in the C:\windows\system32 folder. Reboot the computer. Run the Checklic license utility again. If the GetAuthorization Error -4/GetAuthorization Error -1 error is shown, which is expected, try opening or creating a network. If the -4/-1 error remains, use the license wizard to request replacement credits. Once the license is fixed, download and install the LNS Licensing Update 2006.

Issue How to permanently purge all alarms in Vista and start fresh. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Workstation alarm queue Cause Sometimes alarms can get stuck in the alarm queue during certain engineering processes. In later versions, these can be erased using the purge feature. Resolution To get rid of all old alarms in Vista, browse to the database location: C:\Program Files\TAC\TAC Vista 5.x.x\Db\$thisdb Note: The example is using the default database path for Vista. If you are unsure of the database location, go to Vista Server Setup where your Vista Database path is from the Vista Database tab. Shutdown the Vista Server if it is currently running. In the vista DB folder, rename $this.alr and $this_bp.alr to something else (e.g. this.alr.old) for future offline use, or delete the files permanently. Restart the Vista server, and the alarms should be cleared with the exception of current active alarms.

Issue Anti-virus software detects some TAC Vista files as virus TAC.Common.License.Flex.dll and LicenseAdapterDLL.dll are detected as viruses Is there a virus in TAC Vista or the Vista installation files? Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista Cause It is not uncommon that anti-virus software perceives perfectly clean files as viruses. This is a growing problem as the amount of viruses are continuously growing, and the likeliness that they may share similarities in the code with a Vista file thereby increases. Resolution Although there is a small possibility that the Vista files may be infected by an existing virus on the computer, this is most likely a false positive detection by the anti-virus software. If the anti-virus software detects a virus, check what symptoms that virus have and if you have experienced any of them. In most anti-virus software there is a setting to exclude certain files or folder from the scan, which could be used as a workaround if you get repeated alerts (given that you have ensured that there is no virus present at the computer)

Issue The Xenta 913 supports several different BACnet object types but does not support all object types. Product Line TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment Xenta 913 BACnet Vista I/NET Cause The Xenta 913 is only a gateway device and is not native BACnet and thus does not support all BACnet object types. Resolution The BACnet specification outlines 49 different object types. Objects include physical points, processes and even internal operations. Most BACnet devices, including BACnet certified devices, do not support all of the object types since some of the object types are particular to specific industries and several are not commonly used. The Xenta 913 controller supports the following object types: Analog Input Analog Output Analog Value Binary Input Binary Output Binary Value Multi-state Input Multi-state Output Multi-state Value The following BACnet object types are unsupported by the Xenta 913: Access Credential Access Door Access Point Access Rights Access User Access Zone Accumulator Averaging Bit String Value Calendar Character String Value Command Credential Data Input Date Pattern Value Date Value Date Time Pattern Value Date Time Value Device Event Enrollment Event Log File Global Group Group Integer Value Large Analog Value Life Safety Point Life Safety Zone Load Control Loop Network Security Notification Class Octet String Value Positive Integer Value Program Pulse Converter Schedule Structured-View Time Pattern Value Time Value Trend Log Trend Log Multiple           Note that there is some confusion among object types. For example, while it is possible to have a Life Safety point that is a binary output, this is not the same thing as the standard Binary Output object type and the two points are not interoperable.