Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue After testing a Niagara G3 Soft Jace using a USB adapter and connecting a BACnet/MSTP trunk of controllers, a customer would like to install the same configuration on a jobsite.  The test involved using a TIP license which contains all features/drivers but is not intended for use on actual jobsites. Can the customer purchase a Soft Jace and have it properly licensed for a BACnet/MSTP integration? Environment Niagara G3 soft jace Cause A successful BACnet/MSTP integration to a Niagara G3 soft jace on a testbench.  Can this configuration be supported on a jobsite? Resolution Tridium will only allow a Niagara G3 soft jace to be licensed for BACnet/IP.

Issue Communications between a DMS-3500 and a Niagara R2 UNC-520 is slow.  Points are updating very slowly.  What are some settings that can be verified and/or optimized? Environment Niagara R2 UNC-5x0 DMS-35, DMS-350A, DMS-3500 Cause There could be several variables:  high count of polled objects, lower than optimal baud rate between the UNC and the DMS, non-optimal settings for the DMS Comm Service, etc.... Resolution Review the Best Practices section of the DMS Serial Driver Engineering Guide (F-27071) and apply as many of the suggestions as possible.  Among them, here are the suggestions that do not require a hardware modification or an architectural change: Use the maximum allowable baud rate for the DMS serial port (38.4kb for a DMS-3500) Adjust the property settings of the DmsCommService to match the following: intermessageDelay = 1500 timeoutHostMsg = 215000 timeoutHostFragment = 110000 maxReadValues = 10 downDeviceRecoveryInterval = 1 maxMultipleMsgs = 3 autoCycleTimeOn = TRUE deltaCycleDifference = 10 deltaCycleChange = 25 globalCycleTime = 15000 Ensure any DMS point alarms, that are no longer required, are programmed to not annunciate to the serial port being used to interface to the UNC. Optimize polling by customizing the minimumPollInterval setting for each shadow object.  The default setting is 1000 ms.  A space temperature sensor, for example, changes very slowly.  Its setting can be modified to be anywhere from 30000 ms to 60000 ms. Keep the number of Poll-Always points below 600 if they are polling at 1000 ms.

Issue A UNC-6x0 has stopped functioning.  Since it is obsolete and cannot be repaired, will a Niagara R2 Soft Jace replace the UNC-6x0 and integrate directly to a Microsmart trunk? Environment Niagara R2 DMS / Microsmart Cause The UNC-6x0 was installed stand-alone.  There is no Enterprise Server nor other UNC available. Resolution The Soft Jace cannot be licensed for I/A legacy drivers including the Microsmart driver.

Issue Creating new stations in Niagara G3 for an ENC and Enterprise Network Server (ENS) Environment Niagara G3 (all versions) Cause Limited training on Niagara G3 and working with an ENC-520 in the office Resolution To create a station (ENC or ENS): In Workbench, go to Tools > New Station to open the New Station Wizard. To load a station in ENC: Open the Platform of the ENC Open Station Copier, and copy the desired station into the ENC.  After the ENC re-boots, you can open the newly loaded ENC station To start an ENS: Open the Platform of the Ent. Server station Open the Application Director Highlight the desired station, and click Start.  When the station Status displays "Running", you can open the newly created Ent. Server station

Issue Niagara R2 GxText to indicate override (change color magenta) when linked object is in an override condition. Environment Niagara R2 Cause Application Resolution There are various objects in the programLib jar that can be used to detect and indicate when an object is in an override condition. The hvac folder contains the AoCheckForOverride and BoCheckForOverride objects. These can be used to detect an override condition and set a boolean flag if an override condition exists. The programLib util folder contains the ColorOvBinary and ColorOvFloat objects. Connect the priority input to the object being overridden and the object will change color when an override condition exists. In addition, the Active Text can be modified as required and connected to a GxText on a graphic.  The linked GxText will change color when the override occurs.

Issue A 0-10 Vdc sensor will be wired into a MNL/MNB controller.  The voltage must be dropped from 0-10 Vdc to 0-5 Vdc to interface and read properly.  What's the part number for ordering the voltage divider used to achieve this task? Environment MNL controllers MNB controllers Cause Another manufacturer's sensor designed with a 0-10 Vdc control signal. Resolution The part number is AD-8961-220.  It is available for purchase via iPortal (http://iportal2.schneider-electric.com).  The controller analog input object would be set up as follows: Linput= 0.909 Vdc LScale= 0 Hinput= 4.545 Vdc HScale= 100  

Issue Received error message indicating "Neuron application has stopped running.  Reinstall the NXE application file." "Service" LED on controller is solid red. Environment MNL family standard controller: MNL-5xx, MNL-10xx, MNL-15xx, MNL-20xx, MNL-11xx, MNL-13xx Cause MNL family standard  controller Neuron processor application PROM has failed or has been damaged. Controller installation manual states that if the Service LED is solid red, that the Neuron processor application is not running.  The document also indicates that the controller is not field repairable because the Neuron application is not field replaceable. Resolution Replace the controller.  The device is not repairable.

Issue After replacing an older revision MNL controller with a new one, WorkPlace Tech is unable to download the existing application file into the new controller reporting an error "The selected device is Invensys IA(x) ... controller, the application requires Invensys IA(y) ... controller".  In this error message the controller type info (...) will be the same in both parts of the message but the IA(x) and IA(y) part of the message is different.  Environment MNL-50 MNL-100 MNL-110, MNL-130, MNL-150, MNL-200, MNL-Vx Cause Replacement controller is of the same type but of a different version. This issue occurs any time a version 2 controller is replaced with a version 3 controller. for example, this error will occur if a MNL-V2RV2 controller is replaced by the newer version, MNL-V2RV3.   Resolution Open application in the WorkPlace Tech Tool. Open the Hardware Wizard and click the [Back] button to open the Controller Selection page. When the Controller Selection page has been opened, you will note that the [Older] tab has been displayed with the existing controller type displayed. Select the tab corresponding to the controller type, for example if replacing a MNL-V2RV2 controller, select the MNL-VAV tab. Select the model of the replacement controller, for example when replacing a MNL-V2RV2, the replacement is the MN-V2 [MNL-V2RV3]. Click the [Next] button to complete the selection of the replacement controller type then click the [Finish] button to close the Hardware Wizard. Recompile the application and download it to the replacement controller. If the controller is part of a LON network that has been commissioned by a LON Network Management tool, it will be necessary to replace the existing device object and commission the new controller.

Issue Browser Niagara Series G3 does not prompt user for login Environment Niagara G3 Cause User "guest" account if enabled, provides station access from a browser with no login required. Resolution If "guest" account is enabled, the password assigned to guest (if any) is ignored when accessing the station via a browser. However, if opening the station in Workbench as user guest, the password for guest is checked. Solution: Disable guest account

Issue Niagara G3 revision 3.5.25 guest login can result in NullPointerException. When using the guest account, depending on the authentication scheme being used the following error could be encountered when accessing the station from the browser: java.lang.NullPointerException at com.tridium.web.WbServlet.logon(WbServlet.java:272) at com.tridium.web.WbServlet.service(WbServlet.java:86) at com.tridium.web.SysServlet.serviceSpecial(SysServlet.java:149) at com.tridium.web.WebProcess.service(WebProcess.java:66) at com.tridium.web.SysServlet.service(SysServlet.java:108) at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:802) at com.tridium.httpd.ServiceThread.handleRequest(ServiceThread.java:283) at com.tridium.httpd.ServiceThread.run(ServiceThread.java:85) Environment I/A Series G3 Cause The web.jar file is outdated. Resolution Upgrade web.jar file revision 3.5.25. to web.jar file 3.5.403.  Procedure details: Download web.jar 3.5.403 install new jar file in Enterprise Server or ENC

Issue During the installation of the I/A Series R2 software, the first part of the installation completes successfully but when the "Niagara Setup" window is displayed, the "Install Niagara" option is grayed out.  This prevents the user from completing the installation of the software. Environment Any I/A Series R2 (Niagara) version prior to version 5.14 Cause All revisions of Niagara R2 prior to 2.301.514 require Microsoft's JVM.  This version of Java is not installed automatically on Windows XPsp3 computers and is automatically uninstalled from the Windows XP computer when Internet Explorer version 7 is first installed on the computer. To confirm if it is installed, open a Command Prompt window and type "jview" then press Enter. This command will display the current version of Microsoft's JVM (or an error message if it is not installed). Resolution Navigate to Exchange Extranet and download the software file Java Virtual Machine for WinXP After downloading and installing the JVM, rerun the Setup.exe program for the I/A Series R2 (Niagara) software to complete the installation of the I/A Series R2 software. The Microsoft Java Virtual Machine and the Sun Java  "Java Runtime Environment" (required for R2 versions 514 and newer) can coexist on the computer and will not interfere with each other.

Issue Troubleshooting guide for LON bus communications Environment MNL controllers (MNL-50, MNL-100, MNL-110, MNL-130, MNL-150, MNL-200, MNL-V1R, MNL-V2R, MNL-V3R) Cause Troubleshooting guide for LON bus communications Resolution TPA-RKFD-09-0011.00 is a checklist which provides several settings/configurations to review when faced with a communication problem at the controller level. The content was compiled from different resources, summarized, and laid out in an easy-to-use manner so as to provide a quick-reference document.

Issue Troubleshooting guide for DMS-Microsmart bus communications Environment Microsmart controllers (all models installed with revision 9.x, 10.x, or 11.x firmware) Cause Troubleshooting guide for DMS-Microsmart bus communications Resolution TPA-RKFD-09-0010.00 is a checklist which provides several settings/configurations to review when faced with a communication problem at the controller level. The content was compiled from different resources, summarized, and laid out in an easy-to-use manner so as to provide a quick-reference document.

Issue Need to change the booleanKey property value from “overridden” to “value” for hundreds of GxBoolean objects.  Does Niagara R2 provide a way to modify multiple objects’ property values all at once without having to modify each object individually? Environment Niagara R2 (all versions) Cause The AdminTool object is a special "utility" apps object, available in the Local Library (tridium JAR file: tridium/apps/AdminTool). This object provides an admin-level command to "Search and Replace" property values for objects in the station database. Config properties define the property name to search, new value to write, plus other parameters for filtering and recursion. This operation automates what would otherwise be a manual process of opening and modifying multiple objects' property sheets. Resolution The setup is as follows: Copy the AdminTool app from the local library (tridium/apps/AdminTool) into the station. Double-click the AdminTool and select the Config tab Configure the AdminTool to change the GxBoolean objects’ booleanKey from “overridden” to “value”: rootNode:                     /db/ ppropertyName            booleanKey elelementName          (blank) newnewValue                  Value recurecurseChildre        true  (Setting to true will modify all proppropertyNameselected rootNode) objecobjectTypeFilter     (leave blank- can be set to further filter) nodeNanodeNameFilter    (leave blank- can be set to further filter) PropertPropertyValueFiltereave blank- can be set to further filter) Right-click AdminToAdminToold selected searchAndReplace. The GxBooleGxBooleansobjects’nbooleanKeyow be set to “value”. Addition information can be found in the WorkPlace Pro Help menu located at Help > Index > General Index > AdminTool.

Issue What are the differences between the Niagara G3 ENS-UNL, ENS-LMT-100 and ENS-LMT-3? Environment Niagara G3, Workbench all versions Cause The Enterprise Network Server datasheet does not indicate these part numbers and their differences.  Resolution - ENS-UNL (formerly ENS-1) Enterprise Network Server (ENS) with support for connection to Unlimited Enterprise Network Controllers (ENC). - ENS-LMT-100 Enterprise Network Server (ENS) with support for connection to 100 Enterprise Network Controllers (ENC). - ENS-LMT-3 (formerly ENS-LMT) Enterprise Network Server (ENS) with support for connection to 3 Enterprise Network Controllers (ENC). Note: All ENS includes Workbench as standard. - ENS-LMT-100-UP Upgrade from ENS-LMT-3 to ENS-LMT-100 - ENS-LMT-UNL-UP Upgrade from ENS-LMT-100 to ENS-UNL Upgrade of controller limit from 3 to no limit requires purchase of both upgrade parts. * Upgrade of controller limit from 3 to no limit requires purchase of both upgrade parts.  

Issue This issue has been seen Modbus TCP between I/A Series G3 ENC and Eaton PXM meters where the PXM does not respond to the ENC within the message timeout period.  The ENC discards the request and sends a new message with a different transaction ID. The Eaton PXM meter responds using the previous transaction ID causing the ENC to discard the message and generate an error. Environment I/A Series G3, ENC-410, ENC-520 Cause Transaction IDs become out of sequence. Resolution The driver now recognizes that the device is responding out of sequence and resets the session with the device. Upgrade ModbusTCP module to revision 3.5.34.1 or newer. 

Issue Getting error for Weather Server:  ERROR [19:32:28 06-Sep-11 EDT][http.proxy] Error resolving www.weather.gov java.net.UnknownHostException: www.weather.gov - Authoritative Answer Host not found    at java.net.InetAddress.lookupHostByName(InetAddress.java:369)    at java.net.InetAddress.getByName(InetAddress.java:221)    at javax.baja.naming.BIpHost.getInetAddress(BIpHost.java)    at javax.baja.net.BHttpProxyService.get(BHttpProxyService.java)    at javax.baja.net.HttpConnection.connect(HttpConnection.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.advisory.BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.getFeed(BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.advisory.BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.getFeed(BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.advisory.BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.getAdvisories(BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.BNwsWeatherProvider.updateReport(BNwsWeatherProvider.java)    at javax.baja.weather.BWeatherReport.doUpdateWeatherReport(BWeatherReport.java)    at auto.javax_baja_weather_BWeatherReport.invoke(AutoGenerated)    at com.tridium.sys.schema.ComponentSlotMap.invoke(ComponentSlotMap.java)    at com.tridium.sys.engine.EngineUtil.doInvoke(EngineUtil.java)    at javax.baja.sys.BComponent.doInvoke(BComponent.java)    at javax.baja.util.Invocation.run(Invocation.java)    at javax.baja.util.Worker.process(Worker.java)    at javax.baja.util.Worker$Processor.run(Worker.java)    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:823) WARNING [19:32:29 06-Sep-11 EDT][weather] Unable to load advisories for zone MIZ061 java.net.UnknownHostException: www.weather.gov - Authoritative Answer Host not found    at java.net.InetAddress.lookupHostByName(InetAddress.java:360)    at java.net.InetAddress.getByName(InetAddress.java:221)    at javax.baja.naming.BIpHost.getInetAddress(BIpHost.java)    at javax.baja.naming.BIpHost.openSocket(BIpHost.java)    at javax.baja.net.HttpConnection.connect(HttpConnection.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.advisory.BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.getFeed(BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.advisory.BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.getFeed(BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.advisory.BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.getAdvisories(BNwsAdvisoryAlarmExt.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.BNwsWeatherProvider.updateReport(BNwsWeatherProvider.java)    at javax.baja.weather.BWeatherReport.doUpdateWeatherReport(BWeatherReport.java)    at auto.javax_baja_weather_BWeatherReport.invoke(AutoGenerated)    at com.tridium.sys.schema.ComponentSlotMap.invoke(ComponentSlotMap.java)    at com.tridium.sys.engine.EngineUtil.doInvoke(EngineUtil.java)    at javax.baja.sys.BComponent.doInvoke(BComponent.java)    at javax.baja.util.Invocation.run(Invocation.java)    at javax.baja.util.Worker.process(Worker.java)    at javax.baja.util.Worker$Processor.run(Worker.java)    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:823) ERROR [19:32:29 06-Sep-11 EDT][http.proxy] Error resolving www.nws.noaa.gov java.net.UnknownHostException: www.nws.noaa.gov - Authoritative Answer Host not found    at java.net.InetAddress.lookupHostByName(InetAddress.java:369)    at java.net.InetAddress.getByName(InetAddress.java:221)    at javax.baja.naming.BIpHost.getInetAddress(BIpHost.java)    at javax.baja.net.BHttpProxyService.get(BHttpProxyService.java)    at javax.baja.net.HttpConnection.connect(HttpConnection.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.NwsCurrentReader.getFeed(NwsCurrentReader.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.NwsCurrentReader.getFeed(NwsCurrentReader.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.NwsCurrentReader.getCurrent(NwsCurrentReader.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.BNwsWeatherProvider.updateReport(BNwsWeatherProvider.java)    at javax.baja.weather.BWeatherReport.doUpdateWeatherReport(BWeatherReport.java)    at auto.javax_baja_weather_BWeatherReport.invoke(AutoGenerated)    at com.tridium.sys.schema.ComponentSlotMap.invoke(ComponentSlotMap.java)    at com.tridium.sys.engine.EngineUtil.doInvoke(EngineUtil.java)    at javax.baja.sys.BComponent.doInvoke(BComponent.java)    at javax.baja.util.Invocation.run(Invocation.java)    at javax.baja.util.Worker.process(Worker.java)    at javax.baja.util.Worker$Processor.run(Worker.java)    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:823) WARNING [19:32:30 06-Sep-11 EDT][weather] Updating current conditions failed for WeatherReport java.net.UnknownHostException: www.nws.noaa.gov - Authoritative Answer Host not found    at java.net.InetAddress.lookupHostByName(InetAddress.java:360)    at java.net.InetAddress.getByName(InetAddress.java:221)    at javax.baja.naming.BIpHost.getInetAddress(BIpHost.java)    at javax.baja.naming.BIpHost.openSocket(BIpHost.java)    at javax.baja.net.HttpConnection.connect(HttpConnection.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.NwsCurrentReader.getFeed(NwsCurrentReader.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.NwsCurrentReader.getFeed(NwsCurrentReader.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.NwsCurrentReader.getCurrent(NwsCurrentReader.java)    at com.tridium.weather.nws.BNwsWeatherProvider.updateReport(BNwsWeatherProvider.java)    at javax.baja.weather.BWeatherReport.doUpdateWeatherReport(BWeatherReport.java)    at auto.javax_baja_weather_BWeatherReport.invoke(AutoGenerated)    at com.tridium.sys.schema.ComponentSlotMap.invoke(ComponentSlotMap.java)    at com.tridium.sys.engine.EngineUtil.doInvoke(EngineUtil.java)    at javax.baja.sys.BComponent.doInvoke(BComponent.java)    at javax.baja.util.Invocation.run(Invocation.java)    at javax.baja.util.Worker.process(Worker.java)    at javax.baja.util.Worker$Processor.run(Worker.java)    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:823) Environment Niagara G3, Workbench all versions Cause No address entered for DNS or IP Address incorrectly entered. Resolution Configuration for the DNS is located under the ENC/ENS Platform.   Open the Platform Select TCP/IP Enter the IP address for the DNS in the DNSv4 Servers slot and save changes. The network administrator should be able to provide the correct DNS address.

Issue I/A Series R2 Enterprise Server station is unable to connect to the SQL database The following errors are seen in the Enterprise Server station's Standard Output: ERROR: Could not open database connection [/SQL2005/services/DatabaseService] java.sql.SQLException: Charset 0x0904D00031/Cp850 is not supported by the JVM. "The program can't start because MSVCR71.dll is missing from your computer. Try re-installing the program to fix this problem." Environment I/A Series r2.301.529 SQL Server 2005 Java Runtime Environment 1.6 Cause JRE 1.4.1 which I/A Series R2 uses does not know how to support the CP850 character set. Even though the computer has been installed with JRE 1.6, I/A Series R2 is still using JRE 1.4.1. Resolution To enable I/A Series R2 to use JRE 1.6, follow these steps: Download and install JRE 1.6 if it has not been already installed. The latest version can be found here http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp. Go to Windows Services and stop the Niagara service. In Windows Explorer, go to \niagara\r2.301.529\nre\ and rename the 'jre' folder to 'jreold'. In Windows Explorer, go to C:\Program Files\Java (this is typically the path of the Java install). Copy the 'jre6' folder including its contents and paste it to the \niagara\r2.301.529\nre\ directory. Rename the 'jre6' folder to 'jre'. In Windows Explorer, go to \niagara\r2.301.529\nre\lib and open the 'nre.properties' file using a text editor program (eg. Notepad). Comment out the 'java.options...' parameter. Add the parameter shown below, save and close the file. Start the Niagara service and run the station. Check in the Standard Output window to see if the error has been cleared and that the DatabaseService has successfully connected to the SQL database. ######################################################## # # File:  nre.properties # #    NRE properties # # Revision History #   21 Aug 03   Brian     Original version. # ######################################################## # Virtual machine to use: jview|hotspot vm=hotspot #vm=jview                       # List of Java options to pass thru to the VM (hotspot only) # Used with original install 1.4.1 # java.options=-Xmx1024MB # List of Java options to pass thru to the VM (hotspot only) # USed with 1.6 java -Xmx1G   Notes: This solution can be applied to a similar error but with a different charset encoding error other CP850. You may encounter the following error when you try to run WorkPlace Pro after performing this fix. "The program can't start because MSVCR71.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem." To resolve this, go to \niagara\r2.301.529\nre\jre\bin and locate the file MSVCR71.dll. Copy this file to the C:\WINDOWS\system32 directory.

Issue As part of installing InVue, what are the licensing requirements? Environment InVue 1.1 Cause InVue software re-installation on new server hardware. Resolution Two license files are required.  One license is for the Wonderware core and one license is for the add-on programs (like TreeTech, interface drivers, hrdbdde driver, etc...). The Wonderware license file was typically provided on a 3.5" floppy diskette.  The filename is wwsuite.lic.  It is installed in the following path:  C:\Program Files\FactorySuite\Common\License Install the file by using Wonderware's License Utility (available via Start > Programs > Wonderware FactorySuite > Common > License Utility). The license file for the add-on programs is provided during the software installation process.  Unlock codes must be provided to allow the programs to run.  A 30-day temporary license is provided during installation. The filename is WIBSSuite.lic. It is installed in the following path:  C:\Program Files\Siebe\WIBs\Core When the unlock codes are provided, use the Purchase WIB Software shortcut (placed on the desktop during software installation) to enter them.

Issue Customer is installing a new server computer and the host operating system is Windows 7 64-bit.  Will the current version of OPRIF (Operator Interface) version 11.6 operate properly if installed? Environment DMS OPRIF 11.6 or PSOPRIF 11.6 or Operator Interface 11.6 Cause Upgrade of computer hardware and unavailability of Windows XP Resolution OPRIF 11.6 will only operate on a Windows 7 64-bit operating system with XP mode installed. For a compatibility chart, see Product Announcement PA-00163.