Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Downloaded the WPT (WorkPlace Tech Tool) software.  How do I get a serial number so that I can complete the licensing form displayed with the "Purchase WorkPlace tech Software" program? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment WorkPlace Tech Tool 5.x.x Cause The WPT license generator program requires a "WIBS serial number" so that the license request can be generated. If the field is left blank, the program will not allow the license request to be generated.   Resolution The serial number is provided on purchased CDs so as to provide a method of tracing the manufactured CDs. To license the downloaded version of the Workplace Tech Tool software, you must enter an 8 digit serial number.  It is suggested, although not required, that you enter the current date as the serial number. When using the date as the serial number, enter the four digit year followed by the two digit month followed by the two digit day, i.e., in the format YYYYMMDD. For example, 20230203.

Issue What is the maximum number of devices that can be placed on the MS/TP trunk of the ENC-520, UNC-520 and MNB-1000? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Niagara R2 Niagara G3 UNC-520 ENC-520 MNB-1000 Cause Unit Load is a measure of the electrical loading of an EIA-485 (MS/TP) network. An EIA-485 network may have 32 unit loads. One unit load consists of one full-load transceiver, two half-load transceivers, four quarter-load transceivers, or eight eighth-load transceivers. Resolution All MNB-xxxx, UNC-xxx, and ENC-xxx devices use quarter load transceivers, which mean that a MS/TP network comprised solely of MNB devices can have up to 128 total devices (1 router plus 127 controllers). The maximum number of BACnet devices allowed per MS/TP trunk, if all devices are quarter-load transceiver, is 127 plus the ENC/UNC or MNB-1000 controller. Note: 32 unit loads times 4 transceivers per unit load equals 128 maximum transceivers per network (32 X 4 = 128). UNC/ENC Resource Limit Although the 128 BACnet devices is the stated maximum for a MS/TP trunk, this maximum is normally not achieved. This is because the number of MS/TP devices that can be placed on a MS/TP bus is limited by the resource limit of the UNC/ENC controller. A shortage of resources will limit the devices on an MS/TP network to a number less than the physical limit. Exceeding the resource limit will negatively affect the UNC/ENC-520s, possibly causing poor performance and resets (of the UNC/ENCs). Reference Appendix A of BACnet Wiring and Networking Practices Guide for additional information.

Issue My Server has a 100,000 alarms and a lot of old trend data.  How can I delete them quickly? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series R2 Niagara Cause The APP folder under the station holds all alarm and trended data.  When this folder gets too big, i.e. >500 MB the Server functionality can slow down while working with this large database file. Resolution Stop the Server station Rename the existing APP folder to something other than APP Restart the Server station.  When the Server station restarts it will check for the presence of a folder called APP and when none is found it will create a new one and use that one to archive alarms and trend data. 

Issue Customer wants a customizable permanently installed touch-screen display instead of a computer and web based graphics for display of points from their network of I/A Series BACnet controllers.  They would like to accomplish this without having to create shadow objects in a UNC or ENC. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series MNB family of controllers Optional ENC or UNC Cause Customer does not want to deploy computers that would be easily stolen but instead wants to have permanently installed touch-screen displays. Resolution The LoyTec LVIS-ME212 or LVIS-ME215 touch panels can be directly connected to any BACnet-IP or BACnet-MS/TP network and can be linked to any BACnet object on the interconnected BACnet networks including those objects accessible over attached BACnet routers such as an ENC or MNB-1000. Available through the Schneider Electric iPortal online ordering system as LOY-LVIS-ME212 and LOY-LVIS-ME215  

Issue What is the procedure for upgrading the I/A Series G3 software in an I/A Series ENC? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series G3 Workbench software on computer (both the old version and new version need to be installed on the computer) I/A Series G3 ENC-520 or ENC-410 Cause Need to upgrade the software that is installed in the ENC. Resolution With the old version of Workbench running on the computer, backup the station running in the ENC.  All required graphic files, etc., stored in the ENC should also be backed up.  Note the station folder name for use in step 5, below. Verify that the license in the ENC is compatible with the new release to be installed. If not, use the License Manager (under the Platform) to install an updated license. If the correct version of the license is not currently available, it must be obtained and installed prior to beginning step 6, below. If the new release of the I/A Series G3 software has not already been installed on the computer, install it now. Verify that the Workbench computer has a license that is version compatible with the new release of the I/A Series software to be installed.  If the license is not version compatible, acquire a new license for the Workbench computer before continuing. Copy the entire named station folder (used in step 1) from the old release Stations folder to the new release Stations folder.  See NOTE below regarding the installation of a version downgrade. Run the "Install Platform Daemon" command from the Windows Start Menu folder for the new version of the software. Open the Workbench in the new version of the I/A Series G3 software and connect to the platform of the ENC to be upgraded. From the Platform menu, open the License Manager and verify that the ENC license has been updated to allow use with the new version of the I/A Series G3 software. Right-Click on the ENC platform in the Workbench tree and select Commissioning Wizard. Complete the commissioning process as documented in the Niagara AX Install and Startup Guide . On the first screen, select the operations to be performed.  The required minimum operations will normally be checked and shown in grey.  The "Install a station..." option needs to be checked if not already checked. Click [Next] to begin the commissioning process.  Continue through the various steps, as required.   When prompted, select the station copied in step 5. When prompted, verify that all required modules are available and are selected for installation. Allow the commissioning process to complete, following the prompts as required. The upgrade is now complete.  Start the station as required. NOTE: Do not use the process to directly downgrade the version of software installed in an ENC.  You must use the Platform "Distribution File Installer" to install the appropriate clean distribution (from the cleanDist folder under the software version to be installed.  Typically, only one clean distribution file will be available to be installed.  Select that file then click the [-> Install] button to downgrade the ENC software.  This process needs to be done as noted in step 5, above, after backing up the station but before beginning the commissioning of the device with the older I/A Series G3 software version.

Issue In MNB-1000 (Plant Controller) firmware Revision 1.50E, the Spanning Tree Protocol is Disabled, by default. All previous versions were shipped with the Spanning Tree Protocol enabled. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series MNB-1000 (Plant Controller), firmware Revision 1.50E, and later. Cause In some cases where multiple BACnet routers (eg, MNB-1000, UNC, ENC, etc) were installed on the same BACnet-IP internetwork, having the Spanning Tree Protocol enabled in the MNB-1000 would allow a "router loop". Resolution Be aware that in MNB-1000s with firmware Revision 1.50E and later, the Spanning Tree protocol is disabled, by default. Click here to see the Release Notes for firmware Revision 1.50E . It is always recommended the highest firmware version available for the MNB-1000 be used.  Many issues have been addressed for better functionality.

Issue Field office needs to access the Web Service page so that they can perform an Ethernet network packet capture for communications troubleshooting purposes. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series MNB 1000 with firmware 1.510 and later only. Cause The field office needs to access the Web Service page so that they can perform an Ethernet network packet capture for communications troubleshooting purposes. Resolution The Web Service page has been removed from the MNB-1000 Plant Controller firmware effective with release version 1.510.   All functions that were previously included on the MNB-1000 Web Service page are now included in the WorkPlace Commissioning Tool -- Device Properties window for MNB-1000 controllers.  The changes to the Device Properties screens were documented in the WorkPlace Tech Tool 5.7.7 release notes, available here.

Issue In MNB-1000 with firmware Revision 1.50E, the Router Table can be viewed and /or reset without resetting the Plant Controller. This allows users to clear table entries that could cause router problems, without needing to reset the MNB-1000. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series MNB-1000 (Plant Controller) with firmware Revision 1.50E, or later. WorkPlace Tech Tool, Commissioning Tool (WPT CT) version 5.7.7 and later Cause Product enhancement. Resolution To view or reset the Router Table, choose from the following procedures, depending on the version of firmware: For MNB-1000 with Revision 1.50E, use a web browser to access the Plant Controller to view or clear its Routing Table. Click here to see the Release Notes for Revision 1.50E, for more details. For MNB-1000 with Revision 1.510, use the WorkPlace Tech Tool Commissioning Tool, version 5.7.7.  Go to the Device Properties, Diagnostics Tab, and Router Table Information button. Click here to see the Release Notes for WPT 5.7.7, for further details.

Issue Unable to ping the MNB-1000 (Plant Controller) using firmware Revision 1.50E until 1.532  Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series MNB-1000 (Plant Controller), firmware Revision 1.50E, until 1.532. Cause Common IP (Internet Protocol) ports echo (7), daytime (13) and time (37) are open. Having any of these IP ports open may be a cause of concern for customers that are sensitive to network security issues; these customers include defense installations, financial institutions, and government buildings. Resolution The services using the echo, daytime, and time protocols have been disabled which prevents IP ports 7, 13, and 37 from being open. These services and protocols have no purpose during the normal operation of the MNB-1000. Disabling the echo protocol and closing of port (7) has the side effect that the MNB-1000 cannot be “pinged”. Using the command line program Ping will not detect an MNB-1000 that has firmware v1.50E installed. Use WPCT instead of Ping to verify communications with the MNB-1000. Click here to see the Release Notes for firmware Revision 1.50E. Update; In firmware 1.532, the ping function was re-initiated as the default.  Please see the TPA-IA-19-0004.00 Firmware 1.532 Release Notes.  It is always recommended the highest firmware version available for the MNB-1000 be used.  Many issues have been addressed for better functionality.

Issue A Niagara G3 server station was running well for a long time.  Then in a matter of a couple of days, the station began failing to run.  The error listed in the Application Director Output is:   ERROR [java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: GC overhead limit exceeded 13:46:17 20-Mar-14 EDTjava.lang.OutOfMemoryError: GC overhead limit exceeded][sys.leasejava.lang.OutOfMemoryError: GC overhead limit exceeded] Error in run Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series G3 Enterprise Server Cause There is not enough memory allocated to the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). The email service is keeping a very large outbox because the network email server's IP address was changed. Resolution Increase the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) memory allocation Using a text editor, open the nre.properties file (located in the niagara 'lib' subfolder on the server hard drive). Locate the line: java.options=-Xmx256M. Change it to java.options=-Xmx512M. Empty the outbox file (i.e. delete it) and/or update the email server's IP address.

Warning Potential for Data Loss: The steps detailed in the resolution of this article may result in a loss of critical data if not performed properly. Before beginning these steps, make sure all important data is backed up in the event of data loss. If you are unsure or unfamiliar with any complex steps detailed in this article, please contact Product Support for assistance. Issue If the passphrase is incorrect when trying to install a station .bog, the following error message can appear; Transfer failed. com.tridium.platform.daemon.DaemonResponseException: Request to platform daemon at (stationName) failed: bad return code to commit file instance at com.tridium.platform.daemon.DaemonFileUtil.transfer(DaemonFileUtil.java:661) at com.tridium.install.InstallScenario.commit(InstallScenario.java:1444) at com.tridium.platDaemon.ui.stationtransfer.FinalStep.run(FinalStep.java:341) at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:750) Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series N4 Enterprise Server I/A Series N4 Jace Cause The .bog has not been properly placed in the User Home / Stations for copying into the device or the passphrase is not known. Resolution Always use the Station Copier to install the .bog from the User Home / Stations path If the error message appears, open Workbench and navigate to the "Stations" folder under the "User Home" Expand the station you are attempting to install Double-click the .bog (1) and locate the "Bog File Protection" icon at the top of the page (2) Select the (1) "Force the File to start..." radio button and (2) Update.  Note the information regarding existing passwords. If the message "Cannot display page" occurs when you double click the .bog, open the "Details" and look for missing modules "Cannot load module '......=.....'. Any missing modules will need to be available on the Jace or ES before attempting the force start operation.  

Issue WPT and WPTE require certain Microsoft Security updates for Visio and for Office running on the host machines. Issues currently observed: Different and various functions in the fluent ribbon do not work or the ribbon does not appear. The following error "Application compile failure during save operation" is seen when saving/compiling an application in WorkPlace Tech Editor Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, TAC IA Series Environment Visio 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021(.msi install)  Visio 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 (subscription "Click to Run", Plan 2) Office 2010, 2013, 2016 (.msi install) Office 2013, 2016, 365 (subscription "Click to Run", Plan 2) Support for Workplace Tech 5.10 / previous and Workplace Tech Editor Note: Visio 2019 and Visio 2021 are not supported in 5.9.4 or EBO versions before EBO 2022.  Visio 2019 and Visio 2021 are supported when using Workplace Tech 5.10.x and EBO 2022. Cause Interoperability of Visio and Office can cause problems with Workplace Tech and Workplace Tech Editor if these MS16-70 updates are not applied.  If the Office / Visio product is "Click to Run" the software has not been updated to the latest version. Resolution Install the updates from Microsoft Update Catalog To use the catalog, copy and paste the KB number into the "search".  Always select the 32-bit version of the update. Visio 2010 32 bit KB3114872                Office 2010  KB3115198 select 32 bit  Visio 2013 32 bit KB3115020                Office 2013  KB3115173 select 32 bit  Visio 2016/2019 32 bit KB3115041       Office 2016  KB3115144 select 32 bit Visio 2016/2019 32 bit KB4484333 NOTE:  If the Visio or Office is "Click to Run" (subscription such as Office 365, Plan 2) rather than from a Microsoft Office .msi, the product should be upgraded by using the Update Options feature If you try and install the KB/.msi install patches, you will get this message

Issue What diagnostic information is available within Niagara that can be sent to Product Support or acted on locally? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series Enterprise Server I/A Series Jace Cause Jace or Enterprise Server operating slow or specific problems are causing the need for debugging a station or platform Resolution There are several diagnostic tools available: Check the station Resource Manager Right-click on the station and select "Views - Station Summary" This will open up a resource monitor page where you can check CPU and memory usage.  The CPU should not be consistently above 80%.  Spiking is common as the process is executing and completing tasks.  There are other things easily referenced here also. Heap memory will vary as well.  It can slowly increase until a garbage collection cycle releases unused heap back to the pool.  You should never use more than 75% of the total available heap memory. Heap Memory is primarily used by station modules and java program objects, so if the memory usage is high, these 2 might be the main reasons Engine Hogs   Right-click on the station, and select "Spy". From the main view, click on "sysManagers". Click "engineManager" and then scroll down to find "Engine Hogs". Clicking Engine Hogs will open a list of the main components of the station and a column on the right-hand side will display the average execution time of the component. Review the top 10 or so and see if any are taking an extraordinary amount of time.  This can help to locate improperly executing objects. Driver Poll Rates Drivers that are based on polling data, like BACnet when COV is not enabled, or Modbus constantly run commands to read data based on the fast, normal, and slow configured rates.  Open the Poll Service under the network the points are being polled on. Looking at the property sheet of the driver, it is important to verify that the cycle time (1) for each rate (fast/normal/slow) is always equal to, or below the actual time configured (2) for that rate. The defaults are 1 second for Fast Cycle Time, 5 seconds for the Normal Cycle Time and 30 seconds for the Slow Cycle Time. Seeing a longer cycle time is usually an indication that the network is saturated with commands and may cause the Jace/Niagara controller to be slow with heavy use of controller resources.  There are several ways to correct this: changing the polling rate spreading the number of objects being polled at each rate, etc. In this example, all points (3) are in the "normal" bucket. Application Director console The "Application Director" (under "Platform") shows a live console output.  Open it by clicking the option under the platform Copy the content of the Application Director, or "stream to file" to send the content to support. It will be essential to help the support engineer to understand the problems in the station.  Add more debug information to the Application Director console You can add more granularity to the messages in the Application Director for a deeper look into possible issues. This can be accomplished in 2 different ways: Right-click on the station, and select "Spy". Then, select "logSetup" on the main view From the list that appears, you can scroll and find appropriate topics to log and you can select at what level you want the information to appear.  This will add traffic to the application Director window so be careful how "fine" and how many logs you enable.  It might be good to consult with support before enabling these logs. example; bacnet.debug/finest if you select this box. Debug Service   Select the "DebugService" from the station "Services" In the Log Category, type a few letters of the topic and scroll to find what you are interested in logging From the pulldown menu, determine the granularity of the log Click the plus Click "Save" Setting this logging and streaming the output to a file will allow information to be sent to support for better diagnostics if required.  Remember to set this logging back to "Default" when done so the Application Director is not overwhelmed with information when you are only trying to view normal station activity.

Issue What is the latest firmware version for the MNL-800? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A MNL-800 Cause Upgrade the device to the latest firmware. Resolution The latest firmware version is 2.0 (p/n MNEA-810-200), which was released in January 2004. See Announcement 04-01 listing the features of this version. Announcement regarding the end of commercialization of this part 

Issue LON card indicates fault (unique name required) when multiple LON cards are installed in the JACE-6E, JACE-7 or Jace 8000 Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series G3, JACE-600, JACE-600E, JACE-700 I/A Series N4 JACE 8000 Cause The default name when adding a LON network to the G3/N4 station is LON1.  Both networks will attempt to use the same LON card (LON1) causing a fault condition. Resolution Under each LonNetwork within the Lon Comm Config, specify a unique device name for each card or network (LON1 and LON2).  In the case of the JACE 8000, a total of (4) LON modules is acceptable but would not be advised.  Continue with LON3, and LON4 if required.  

Issue Checking if a port is open Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Expert, EcoStruxure Building Operation, Field Devices, Pelco, Satchwell MicroNet, Satchwell Sigma, TAC IA Series, TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment TCP/IP Communication Command Prompt Telnet Command Cause Suspect certain network ports are blocked and need to verify Resolution It is possible to check if a port is open in a network by issuing the Telnet command. Note:- Telnet operates using the TCP protocol. UDP connectivity cannot be tested using Telnet. If a port is open, a blank screen will be seen after issuing the command: telnet [domainname or ip] [port] where [domainname or ip] is the domain name or IP address of the server being checked [port] is the port number the server application is listening on For example: telnet 192.168.0.20 9001 (to a closed port would display a connect failed message)   telnet 192.168.0.20 9003 (to an open port would display a blank screen)   To exit the Telnet session, type Ctrl + ] and then type "quit".   For how to enable Telnet in Windows 7 please see Enable Telnet Client on a Windows 7 PC

Issue Provide the information required to support ProView for LON with Niagara G3 and N4 Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series G3 (3.5.34 or higher) I/A Series Niagara N4 (4.1.27.20 or higher) ProView for LON (MNL-PROV-WAL) Cause Required files for configuring the ProView for LON display with G3 and N4. Resolution Support for ProView for LON with I/A Series G3 and N4 requires the download and installation of the Distech Controls EC-NET-AX Support Package and EC-Display Configuration files.  Those files are available for download from The Exchange Download Center. Download the following files. BCS Distech Controls EC-Display Configuration v3.4.369 Setup.zip Distech Controls EC-NET AX Support Pack v4.4.17198.1 Setup.zip Unzip the files and run the executables to install the Distech Controls EC-NET-AX Support Package and Distech Controls EC-Display Configuration files. Follow the instructions to install the version(s) required. Install the Distech distribution file into the ENC (if required) using the platform distribution installer. The distribution file will be located in the Distech Controls Files directory added to G3 or N4 during the installation process. Open the distechControls palette (LonWorks - Services container) and add the LonWorksWizardService to the Services. Open the Drivers - ConfigurableControllers container and add the EcDis210 device object to the LonNetwork. Commission the ProView device using the LON Device Manager. Right-click on the EcDis210 and select Views - Ec Dis Wizard to test the wizard connection and launch the display wizard.

Issue Niagara 4.9 (or later) sometimes has a new Host ID that differs from the Host IDs of other versions of Niagara that were installed on the same host PC Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series N4 Enterprise Server Cause Niagara 4.9 and later, are only available in a 64-bit version. The older Niagara versions installed on the host PC are probably 32-bit versions, which will always have Host IDs different from 64-bit versions. Resolution If the older versions are Niagara 4.3 or lower, you may need to update the older versions, as per the following document… I/A Series G3 and N4 Eliminating multiple HostID on a single PC  Niagara 4.9 (or later) is only available in a 64-bit version.  The other Niagara versions installed on the host PC are probably 32-bit versions, which will always have Host IDs different from 64-bit versions.  In this case, the host PC will require one of the following Un-installing the 32-bit versions and re-installing 64-bit equivalents One license, to be "transferred" to a different Host ID when necessary Multiple licenses, one for each unique Host ID.

Issue N4 software installation stops because; azul-zre-compact3-qnx7-arm tridium-qnx7-n4-titan-am335x software is missing Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series N4 Jace 8000 Cause A valid license including the features that meet the dependencies is not installed. Resolution Install a valid license containing the jre8J8000Azul, jre8Qnz7Zulu and qnx7, jreQnx7Zulu features before attempting to commission the Jace 8000

Issue Can report generation be scheduled in a Niagara G3 (AX) station? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment Niagara G3 (AX) station Cause Set the report schedule in the Export Source Object. Resolution Reports can be generated at scheduled times: Add an Export Source object (from the Report Palette) to the Report Service. Double-click the Export Source Object and set the built-in schedule to the desired time and frequency (e.g. 6:00 AM Daily) Click the chevron near “Source” and browse to the ReportPx file. Click “Next” and choose PxView to Pdf in the Exporter field. Then click “Finish.” Drag an Email or File Recipient to the Report Service and link the Export Source to the Recipient. Set up the Email Recipient with email addresses. Set up the File Recipient with a folder for the file. Force an export by right-clicking the Export Source object and choosing “Actions – Generate”.