Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue In declaring a variable, the binding qualifier PUBLIC in a BACnet b3 controller's script program such as "Numeric Public numPoint" gives the error "Unsupported feature" when saving script program. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment AS BACnet b3 i2 Infinet controller Script Numeric Public Cause Need Numeric variable to be readable and writable in BACnet b3 or Infinet i2 controller script programming. Resolution The Public qualifier is supported in SmartX servers (AS, ASP, ASB) and SmartX IP controller script program only.   For BACnet b3 or infinet i2 controller script programming, use Input and Output qualifier and bind to the same object's property outside the program. .

Issue An Enumerated schedule created under the BACnet Interface application folder will not control a digital value (Occupancy) in a b3 controller.  Other b3 controllers are handling this with no trouble. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment b3 Variable Connectors(variable connectors were replaced in v1.5) Schedules bindings Cause Broken variable connectors. Resolution Delete the bindings and perform a Repair References on variable connectors. The digital value responded properly once the schedule binding was re-established. NOTE Variable connectors were replaced in SBO 1.5 and therefore this article in not relevant to the current product

Issue When trying to view a TGML graphic using Webstation version 3.1.1 the error message "invalid path" comes up and the graphic is not shown. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Webstation 3.1.1 or higher Cause The graphic is located in an AS-P connected to the Enterprise Server(ES) and is using a version lower than 3.0 when the ES is version 3.1.1 or higher. WebStation 3.1(Webstation is connected to the ES running version 3.1)only has runtime compatibility with version 3.0 or higher. Viewing the graphic from a Workstation version 3.1.1 connected to the ES works correctly. Only Webstation has this limitation in the runtime compatibility. Resolution Upgrade the AS-P where the graphic is located to version 3.0 or higher.

Issue How to configure the Network 8000 Interface for ASD overrides Part 2 of 2 Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server (All) I/A Network 8000 ASD controllers Cause Requirements and configuration specifics for ASD controller override in the Network 8000 interface Resolution

Issue How to configure the Network 8000 Interface for ASD overrides Part 1 of 2 Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server (All) I/A Network 8000 ASD controllers Cause Requirements and configuration specifics for ASD controller override in the Network 8000 interface Resolution

Issue Users or engineers may be unsure of how to obtain the Smart Connector itself, as they are not generally available for download from the Exchange Download Center or the Smart Connector Forum on the Community. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment SBO/EBO and general integration projects SXWSWSCDL100001 Cause Smart Connectors are not freely available and will require a license obtaining in order to download and use them. As Smart Connectors can be developed by a number of teams around the world that are not part of R&D, these teams will define the costs and requirements for using their software. Resolution A Product Announcement PA-00546 is available that details the concept and use of Smart Connectors. To order the Smart Connector Framework for a project, use part number: SXWSWSCDL100001  Then go to the Smart Connector Server licensing portal to obtain your required license for the specific Smart Connector you require. The URL for the License Portal is: https://www.smartconnectorserver.com/ A login is required for this portal which can can be obtained through the "Sign Up" button. Once logged in the user may browse through the available Smart Connectors and request to download a license. For support information on Smart Connectors, see the article "Support route for Smart Connector Framework issues".

Issue Script Program bindings added to the Watch window or the Binding Variables pane in Script Editor show NULL or a previous value compared to the value in the objects they are bound to. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Enterprise Server Cause Consider the script program below: The bindings (1) are as follows along with the current values (2) in the Watch pane: The source objects all have a value, but the output Bind Value are NULL except for the first Bind Value. Resolution Since SBO 1.5 script program bindings are only updated when they are processed in the program body. In the following picture, only BINDtest1 has a non NULL value since the program is sitting at line 1 which has a reference to BINDtest1. The next picture shows the bindings after the script program has run through all the program lines. Notice that BINDtest5 is still NULL since it has never been referenced in the program's body. Program bindings that are not been processed in the program body will have a value of NULL. or Program bindings that were processed in a previous line inside the program will not update to the latest value until the program goes to a line that references the binding again at which point its value will update.

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 The column labeled "Name" in the BACnet device discovery window is mislabeled. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation (All Versions) Cause BACnet device objects have two different names: An object display name that shows in WorkStation A BACnet name that represents the object in the device These names have different character and length restrictions. For example, when you create a point or value in a BACnet device, you are prompted to enter an object display name. You can enter more than 16 characters here and are not restricted to using only letters, digits, and underscores. For the BACnet name, you can enter up to 16 characters. The BACnet name specifies how an object is identified in a BACnet device and is composed solely of letters, digits, and underscores. If you leave the BACnet name box empty, the EcoStruxure Building Operation object name is truncated and spaces are removed for the name to fit in the box. The object display name and the BACnet name are not linked, so changing one does not modify the other. As a result, when you rename a BACnet device point or value, you need to change both the object display and BACnet names. You rename BACnet device points or values if you wish to change the name to something more specific, or if the point or value was initially named incorrectly. Because the binding templates require a naming convention, you may also need to rename a point or value to match a convention imposed after they were created. Instead of having to delete the point or value and configure a new one, you do a rename instead. Resolution The "Name" column within BACnet discovery actually reflects the BACnet Name and not the object display name.

Issue Clicking on a URL in Workstation gives the error message "Navigation to the webpage was canceled". Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation WorkStation Cause The website owner has added additional code to prevent their webpage from being displayed in a 3rd party application e.g. EBO. However, the webpage can be viewed in a web browser e.g. IE, Chrome or Firefox. This additional measure makes use of a feature called X-Frame-Options and is used to prevent 'clickjacking' and prevents embedding in other websites. In 2009 Internet Explorer 8 introduced a new HTTP header X-Frame-Options which offered partial protection against clickjacking and was shortly after adopted by other browsers (Safari, Firefox, Chrome and Opera). The header, when set by the website owner, declares its preferred framing policy: values of DENY, SAMEORIGIN, or ALLOW-FROM origin will prevent any framing, framing by external sites, or allow framing only by the specified site, respectively. See Mozilla article for further information. Resolution If a web site implements the usage of X-Frame-Options to limit which other web sites it can be embedded into, there is nothing to be done about that. It is the providers' decision, and cannot be circumvented. In Building Operation release 1.9 and later, there are two global policy settings used to protect Building Operation presented web content, so it is resilient against clickjacking. Option 1 - Enable external content to be embedded in WebStation This option must be selected to permit another web page to be rendered in a WebStation <frame> or <iframe>. To protect against clickjacking for all use cases, this option should be turned off. Option 2 - Enable WebStation to be embedded in another site This option permits Building Operation web pages to be rendered in a <frame> or <iframe> from the local server. If this option is selected with option 1, then there is no protection against clickjacking. The most secure and recommended configuration is when both options are turned off. However, when an application requires embedded web content, one or both these options can be turned on. Since this is a global policy, these settings will affect all embedded content. If only some content is required to be embedded then there is no solution or workaround within EBO unless the website owner can remove or change this feature.

Issue SmartX Living Space Sensor Touchscreen SXWSCDXSELXX display has a background color indication for the "Heating cooling status" setting in Workstation, but the Heat/Cool/Off colors Red/Blue/White are very faint and it is nearly impossible to tell them apart. The colors are a bit better when viewed from an angle, but when looking straight at the display they are very faint. The photos below show the states Cool (Blue), Heat (Red) and Off (White) in that order from left to right.       Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation SmartX Living Space Sensor Cause Low color quality of the SmartX Living Space Sensor Touchscreen SXWSCDXSELXX display. Resolution This is a hardware limitation in the current version of the touchscreen display SXWSCDXSELXX. The issue will be resolved in a coming release of the display.

Issue Unable to control the field device with a Triac output. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, Andover Continuum Environment Continuum b3 Controllers Continuum i2 Controllers Building Operation Multi-purpose Controllers with Triacs Cause Triac outputs cannot switch DC loads. Triac outputs require a minimum 30 mA load in order to switch.  Resolution If the inductive load draws less than 30mA a resistor needs to be wired in parallel with the switched load.

Issue There is potential for confusion around the backward compatibility offered in EcoStruxure when the version of Enterprise Server differs from that of Automation Servers in the same system Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation SmartX Servers Cause The 3.1.1 Release Notes refer to a new 'Multi-version system' with the possibility of a v3.1 Enterprise Server but with v3.0 Automation Servers able to function long term within the same system (albeit with some engineering limitations).    This implies that AS running earlier versions than v3.0 cannot coexist, attempts to add AS running v2.0 to ES running v3.0 have produced errors. However........ The System Upgrade Reference Guide refers to 'Runtime Compatibility' with Version 3.1 that states that Automation Servers running v1.8, 1.9, 2.0 and 3.0 can all coexist with an ES running 3.1 without issue Resolution Both documents are true, but there are two possible situations that need to be considered: Situation 1) A site has a v1.9 or v2.0 system which is required to be upgraded to v3.1. When upgrading, the ES is usually the first device to be upgraded, then depending on the number of AS onsite it may take a period of time to upgrade all the AS (especially if some of these servers are used in hospital theaters etc). For this reason EBO has an Upgrade Runtime Compatibility from v3.1 back to to v1.8, 1.9, 2.0 and 3.0, which means that an AS already in the system when the ES is upgraded to 3.1 will maintain connectivity and functionality while the upgrade takes place. Situation 2) A site has an external v1.9 or v2.0 AS whichis required to be added to an ES which is already running at v3.1. When trying to add in a new controller to a v3.1 ES, an error is produced stating that the version of the AS being added needs to be updated to before it can be added. Error Message when adding v2.0 AS to v3.0 ES Error message when adding 2.0 AS to 3.1 ES (better explanation) To summarize EBO does have Runtime Compatibility from v3.1 back to 1.8 as stated, but only for AS already in the system at the time of upgrade. Once upgraded to v3.1 the multi-version environment can be used to operate AS at v3.0 but adding AS running versions before 3.0 will generate a descriptive error.

Issue Receiving warnings such as Import[SNMPv2-CONF] not found for mib [ACC-NC-ALARM-MIB] when loading EBO/Continuum MIB files into SNMP NSM tool Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, Andover Continuum Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Continuum NetController II Cause Required base MIB files referenced in the IMPORT section of the EBO/Continuum MIB files not present Resolution The EBO/Continuum MIB files contain references on their IMPORT section to base MIB files that are commonly included with the SNMP tool used to compile the MIBs. (See screenshot below) Those files are typically included/installed by the SNMP NMS tool, in cases where the tool does not include the base files they must be located and either loaded manually before loading the EBO/Continuum MIB or placed at the appropriate folder for the tool being used. For example, when using MG-SOFT SNMP MIB browser, the tool places the base MIB files @ C:\Program Data\MG-SOFT\SMI Modules\MIB Modules\SMI

Issue How can the IP address of an MPX controller that is configured for DHCP be determined when there is no attached display Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Multi-purpose Controller Cause It is necessary to know the IP address of an MPX that does not have a display for troubleshooting and commissioning multiple MPXs,  Resolution

Issue Is it possible to command the outputs on an MP-C controller before it has been commissioned in EBO? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Multi-purpose Controller Cause It is necessary to verify the field device wiring and control prior to the MP-C controller being brought online. Resolution The following video demonstrates how temporary outputs can be created and controlled in an MP-C controller without the use of a front end system.

Issue When a TGML graphic is opened from Webstation red crosses is shown on the whole graphic or sometimes over certain components. After a few seconds the red crosses disappear. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Webstation version 2.x and 3.0.x Cause The red crosses only appear when values from field bus devices are displayed in in the TGML graphic, and only in Webstation version 2.x and 3.0.x. When the graphic is opened from Workstation no red crosses are shown in the graphic. Resolution This issue is fixed in EBO version 3.1.1

Issue The system memory usage for an Automation Server slowly increases over time and finally the AS restarts with a system alarm "Server restarted because of low memory"  System memory usage for the AS (In this case an AS-B): Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium (AS-P) Building Operation Automation Server Bundled (AS-B) Building Operation Automation Server (AS) Cause One reason for this issue to occur is that two Enterprise Servers (ES) are running with the same database and are connected to the AS at the same time. This is not a common scenario but can happen by mistake if for example an old computer with an ES installed is switch on. The ES runs as a service and can be running in the background on the computer with no one noticing it.  Resolution Stop the Enterprise Server that is started by mistake.

Issue Analog consumer values referencing the temperature of a SmartX Sensor shows in metric units when setup to display imperial units. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EcoStruxure Building Operation Building Operation Multi-Purpose Controller Building Operation Multi-purpose VAV Building Operation Room Controller Building Operation IP-IO Building Operation SmartX Sensor Cause SmartX Sensor is configured in the device as metric measurements (SI System). Setting Fahrenheit in Display of SmartX Sensor does not convert the values from metric to imperial. Consumer values are configured to use the object being referenced and do not convert measurements. Unit conversion is done within the binding and not the device itself. Resolution There are two workarounds: Option 1: Create an analog value and then bind to consumer value Step 1: Create an Analog Value. Setup unit settings to (°F) and Save.  Step 2: Bind Analog Value to temperature from SmartX Sensor and Save Step 3: In the created Consumer Value, bind the Analog Value to the input binding reference and setup unit settings to (°F) and Save   Option 2: Bind to Consumer Value directly and keep the value in metric Step 1: In the created Consumer Value, bind the SmartX Sensor temperature to the input binding reference Step 2: Setup unit settings as configured in the object (°C) and Save.

Issue Some connectors appear in red on the Workplace Tech Visio drawing.  Connectors cannot be bound to objects. Product Line TAC IA Series, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment I/A Series WorkPlace Tech Building Operation Workstation (Workplace Tech Editor) Microsoft Visio  Cause Drawing objects become placed off the normal boundaries of the Visio drawing page causing file corruption.  This can occur during improper file saves, Visio crashes or for unknown reasons. Resolution