Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Continuum 1.93 was installed on a workstation connecting to a SQL Server 2008 LAN server. When the Database Initialization for a LAN server was run, but it fails to initialize a new database. An error is displayed that the SQL Server login failed or the SQL Server does not exist. Environment LAN site with multiple workstations running Windows XP with service pack 3 and a server class computer running SQL Server 2008. Cause Continuum 1.93 was installed on a workstation connecting to a SQL Server 2008 LAN server. The Continuum Database Initialization for a LAN server was started but it fails to initialize a new database, displaying a "Server login failed or the SQL Server does not exist." error is displayed. The ODBC Connections utility in the Windows XP Control Panel was unable to connect to the SQL server, but the SQL Server would respond to a ping. Resolution The SQL Server 2008 had not been configured to allow Named Pipe connections. After the SQL Server was changed to allow Named Pipe connections, a new database was initialized and a backup of the site database was restored.

Issue Adding entries to the Web.config file during installation. Environment WebClient installation. Cause Unclear instructions in webClient Planning and Installations Guide. Resolution When modifying the Web.config file located in: C:\\Program files\Continuum\DNWACServerFactory Add the following lines before the close Configuration tag <system.webServer> <security> <requestFiltering allowDoubleEscaping=”True”/> </security> </system.webServer> </configuration>

Issue How to troubleshoot email from controller Environment CX 9680 BCX 4040, 4000 BCX 9640 Cause Troubleshooting SendEmail function. Resolution Below are the error codes that can be returned when using the SendEmail function. Sample code: Example 1 Program File 'Fall-thru program that sends a simple email message to a recipient Numeric EmailStatus Sending: EmailStatus = SendEmail ("addr1@abc.com", "Lights", "We need to save energy") Checking: If EmailStatus is 0 then EmailErrorString = Success"     Error Code Description 0 No error 1 Not called from a program 2 Illegal argument value 3 Illegal argument count 4 Not enough memory to complete the operation 11 Failed to create SMTP user session to the email server 13 Email queue is temporarily full. The user should retry later 14 Cannot connect to the email serve 15 Error in sending the sender information 16 Error in sending the TO recipient information 17 Error in sending the CC recipient information 18 Error in sending the BCC recipient information 19 Error in sending the subject 20 Error in sending the message 21 Error in sending the end-of-message 22 Error in disconnecting from the SMTP server 23 Failed to resolve SMTP server address 24 Invalid dialup settings 25 Failed to connect remote SMTP server 26 Modem port is in use 27 Email settings are not configured

Issue How do I configure Continuum to enforce entry/egress anti-passback only when a credential holder attempts to re-enter the same area she/he is already in? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment CyberStation CX9702 CX9900 CX9680 ACX5720 ACX4740 Cause Doors configured to enforce strict entry/egress anti-passback. Resolution On doors configured to enforce entry/egress anti passback go to the door editor's entry options/exit options tabs and check the box labeled "Anti-Passback Violation Only on Area Re-Entry" This is known as relaxed entry/egress anti-passback. When configured this way, at validation time Continuum does not check which area the person was last allowed into as long as it isn't the same area they are attempting access to.

Issue When a card format needs to be changed on multiple doors it can take a long time to go to each door individually to make card format changes. A way to update multiple doors at one time would save time. Environment Continuum Windows XP Windows 7 Windows Vista Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause Editing every single door on a large access site to change the card format can take a long time. Resolution Before making any changes to the database, it is recommended to get a good database backup. The card format attribute is available in the All_Doors listview, but is not available in the set attribute drop down, so unfortunately this method cannot be used.  One way to make the change to multiple doors is to do the following: Edit the All_Doors listview and add the card format attribute Highlight the doors that you would like to change and select Object> export all or selected to a .csv (name and save the file)  Edit the .csv file to reflect the new card format for all the doors and save the file. (Textpad editor works well) The card format numbers are listed below: Inf 37=1 AC4+4= 2 Wiegand26=4 CK34=8 Custom=16 G31 bit=32 HIDCorp1000=64 * If you have more than one card format selected on the door, they are added together Ex. Infinity 37 and HIDCorp1000=65 Import the edited .scv file and verify the changes have been made. It is recommended to verify this procedure on a small subset of the doors to ensure the process is working as needed before applying it to a large number of doors.

Issue How do I wire two card readers in parallel? Environment ACX57xx AC1X ACX78X CX9702 Cause Configuration of parallel readers. Resolution Use KIM board Part #01-0009-059 to wire the readers in parallel.

Issue Can no longer see BACnet point values at the Cyberstation.  BCX will not communicate with Cyberstation after IP addressing changes to the system. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Cyberstation 1.74xx and up BCX 40xx Cause This can happen if the controller needs to be reloaded when accessing some, but possible not all objects. This can also happen if you change the BACnet Port Number - UDP in the bCX configuration webpage.  Resolution Edit the BCX and Cyberstations BBMD registrations Correct the invalid IP addresses. After adding the BCX bbmd entry, reload the controller.

Issue After replacing the badge printer with different make and model, Continuum will not print graphics on the badge.  When a badge is printed from Continuum, the card printer will issue a badge with no graphics printed on it. Environment Continuum CyberStation WebClient Zebra MagiCard EPI Designer Cause The printer has not been configured in that badge layout in EPI Designer. Resolution Do the following for all badge layouts. From Personnel Manager, select Create Edit Badge From the Make/Edit Badge window, select Edit Badge Layout Select File > Page Setup Select the new badge printer. Select OK In EPI Designer select File > Save

Issue The error "Security error: security logon rejected" is received when accessing schedules in webclient Environment webClient Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause An "&" (ampersand) that is used in a logon name or password  or another object will cause problems with webClient Resolution Do not use the ampersand, change the object name or username to use a different character.

Issue Can the Continuum Software be downloaded from the web, or ordered on CD? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Cyberstation software Cause Download of Continuum Cyberstation software Resolution The Continuum Cyberstation software is available for download from The Exchange Download Center. The link below will direct you to the Cyberstation software. CyberStation Software If specific older versions of software are required see Older CyberStation versions not found on the Extranet (Exchange Online). If a customer specifically requests the software on a CD, then these can be ordered through the regular Order Entry channel specifying the version required.

Issue Using a PE program to try and perform a readproperty on a 3rd party bacnet controller point Environment CX 9680 3rd party Bacnet controller Cause CX 9680 does not communicate with the Bacnet Protocol unless there is an Xdriver enabled and configured on the CX9680 Resolution There are 3 solutions to this issue. Either purchase an Xdriver for bacnet communications to communicate to the 3rd party IP Bacnet Device Install a BCX4040 on the site to handle the Bacnet communications. With this option you'll have much more flexibility to expand and add Bacnet capability in the future. Use a workstation program to handle the readproperty from the 3rd party bacnet device. This will work but if the workstation is shut down or the workstation has issues the communications to the 3rd party device will stop working.

Issue Need to show the name of a person triggering invalid attempt alarm at a door in the alarm's feedback message. Environment CyberStation CX9702 CX9900 CX9680 ACX5720 ACX5740 ACX701 ACX781 Cause Alarm engine does not provide functionality natively to display personnel name on invalid attempt at a door, Plain English program must be used. Resolution The basic idea is to set the door’s description to the value of the door’s LastInvalidEntry (or LastInvalidExit) attribute, and use the wild cards %N and %D to embed the Door’s name and LastInvalidEntry (or LastInvalidExit) into the alarm’s feedback messages. Since the controller is unable to resolve the path to the personnel object pointed to by lastInvalidEntry/LastInvalidExit a CyberStation program is needed. Also, because the InvalidAttempt flag of the door only persists for one scan it is necessary to latch its value into a numeric point. In the controller write a looping program to latch the value of the door’s InvalidAttempt flag. CONTROLLER PROGRAM 1:   If Vault_Door InvalidAttempt then     VaultDoorInvalid = 1         <---VaultDoorInvalid is a numeric point in the controller     Goto 2   Endif  2:   If VaultDoorInvalid = 0 then Goto 1 CYBERSTATION PROGRAM  Write a program in CyberStation to monitor VaultDoorInvalid and set the door’s description to LastInvalidEntry   WaitForInvalid:   If LocalNetwork\ACX2.13\VaultDoorInvalid then     Print LocalNetwork\ACX2.13\Vault_Door LastInvalidEntry to STR1     Goto SetDrDescription   Endif  SetDrDescription:   LocalNetwork\ACX2.13\Vault_Door Description = STR1  <--- STR1 is a String object in CyberStation   Goto ResetFlag  ResetFlag:     LocalNetwork\ACX2.13\VaultDoorInvalid = 0    If LocalNetwork\ACX2.13\VaultDoorInvalid = 0 then Goto WaitForInvalid  ALARM ENROLLMENT  Lastly, create an expression AlarmEnrollment , set it to             Description <> “” And attach it to the door.  When an invalid attempt is detected the alarm stays ON until the door object is edited (from the alarm view itself) and the description cleared.

Issue Which Continuum controllers support RAS via modem connection? Environment CyberStation CX9900 CX9940 CX9680 CX9640 CX9200 CX9924 Cause Not all Continuum controllers support modem connection. Resolution The access point for a remote site is the controller that is configured with a modem that is used to establish a communication link with the remote CyberStation. Only the following Continuum controllers can act as access points for remote sites. CX9900, CX9940, CX9680, CX9640, CX9200, CX9924. Note that other controllers communicating with the access point controller via ethernet can fully participate in RAS communications as the access point controller will route messages to/from its peers.

Issue Is there a way to stop the beginning zeros from being truncated off  in a card number? 00123  becoming 123 when saved and refreshed. Environment Continuum 1.93 PIM FIPs. Wiegand 26 Cause Exporting and Importing card data into 3rd. Party system. Resolution The beginning zeros automatically get truncated off in a card number They get removed in all the user fields in Continuum. This is by design and cannot be altered

Issue How do I add nodes to my controller? Environment Netcontroller CX99xx Netcontroller II ACX57xx BCX Series Cause Adding more nodes to a controller Resolution First you will need to contact upgrades department to obtain a node upgrade flash file for your controller.  Upgrades can be reached at upgrades.continuum@schneider-electric.com Once you have received your flash file you will being the process of updating your OS. 1.  Rick Click and Edit the controller 2.  Click update OS 3.  Path to file and select file 4.  Verify controller updated 5.  Reload Controller

Issue Wants to know the correct termination specification for each different I/O modules and different IOU networks. Environment NC1 - CX9900, CX9940 NC2 - CX9680 IOU modules Cause Different type of terminations are required for different type of I/O modules (ACC-LON and FTT-10A) and different topologies (Bus topology, Free topology and Doubly terminated Bus topology). Resolution ACC-LON  requires two 120 ohm resistors at both ends of the bus. One between pin 1&2 of the I/O module on the NetController side and the other one between pin 1&2 of the I/O module at the last node of the bus. FTT-10A Free topology requires one 52.3 ohm resistor between pin 1&2 at any place on the bus. FTT-10A Doubly terminated bus topology requires two 105 ohm resistors.  One between pin 1&2 of the I/O module on the NetController side and the other one between pin 1&2 of the I/O module at the last node of the bus.

Issue Creating a bacnet schedule to control a 3rd party device generates the error:  “Bacnet operation rejected generated in response to a confirmed request apdu in which the service choice field specifies an unknown or unsupported service”  Environment Continuum 3rd party bacnet device Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause The bacnet error occurs when dynamic creating of schedules is not supported in the 3rd party device and the packet gets rejected. Resolution An ethereal capture from the Cyberstation will show the packet getting rejected. A work around for this is to use a BCX to create the schedule and communicate to the 3rd party device.

Issue Is there an Xdriver for the purpose of using comm1 as an BACnet over MSTP for this netcontroller BCX 9640 and still use comm2 as Infinet?   Environment BCX 4040 BCX 9640 Cause Supported feature to use Bacnet MSTP on a BCX 9640 on Comm1 via x-driver Resolution There is no x-driver to allow MSTP Bacnet communications on a BCX 9640 NOTE: Suggestion would be to use a BCX 4040 and Comm2 for MSTP Bacnet Communications.

Issue Does Modbus TCP/IP xDriver opens socket connection per each device or the gateway of the devices? Environment NetController - CX9900, CX9940, CX9680, bCX9640. BACnet Controller - bCX4040. Cause As some Modbus TCP/IP gateways have the limitation of maximum TCP/IP connections, if Modbus TCP/IP xDriver opens a socket per modbus device and keeps it open, the gateway might run into a problem due to the limited number of socket connections. Resolution The Modbus TCP/IP xDriver opens one(1) socket connection per server not device. So for a gateway that has a number of devices, the Modbus TCP/IP xDriver only uses one(1) socket connection.

Issue Reloading controller and receiving "Invalid Handle ID" error Environment Continuum Cyberstation BCX 4040 B3 controllers CX controllers i2 controllers Cause Most common cause is points already in the controller and/or bring controller from a different site/location and trying to reload while controller already has points in it. Resolution Reset controller Reload controller Backup controller flash memory