Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Error: 8000401a Retrieving the COM class factory for component with CLSID {2B768E20-89F2-11D2-99FD-00104B6D2299} failed due to the following error: 8000401a.Server process could not start because the configured identity is incorrect. Check username and password. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8000401A).Code: -2147467238 When starting Vista Server, a fatal error happens: TACOS: COM Initializing failed, error code: -2147417831 Product Line TAC Vista Environment Remote desktop TAC Vista Windows 2008 Server or Windows 7 Cause When using Remote Desktop with a Windows 2008 Server and disconnecting, the TACOS process may end up in a "sandbox" and can not be reached by other people trying to log in remotely. Or, the Vista Server can't be started. Resolution The attached Tacos RDP Disconnect contains scripts that will disconnect a Remote Desktop session back to the physical session if tacos.exe is running. If tacos.exe is already running on the physical session or is not running at all, nothing happens.

Issue How can I add a SmartStruxure Automation Server to TAC Vista using BACnet/IP and what is needed Product Line TAC Vista, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment TAC Vista Xenta 913 Automation Server Cause Building Operation versions earlier than 3.2 are not FDA 21 Part 11 approved, In instances where the version is lower than 3.2 it can be achieved by using  TAC Vista as a front end, and having Automation Servers as field controllers. In Building Operation version 3.2 and later an optional Regulated Industries Compliance Pack is available that can be used without the need for  TAC Vista as a front end. Resolution 1. Create a BACnet interface in Automation Server. 2. Create BACnet points in the "Application" folder 3. Browse the Automation Server with a BACnet browser (Here is a free tool) 4. Note the instance id's of the points 5. In TAC Vista, create a Xenta 913 6. Edit the Xenta 913 7. Create a "BACnet IP Client" interface and give it the IP address of the Automation Server 8. Create a BACnet device template containing the points you need - refer to the id's previously discovered 9. Add the device template to the "BACnet IP Client" interface in XBuilder 10. Save and download the project 11. Now you get the live values from the Automation Server in TAC Vista

Issue Needs to know how often Vista (or Xenta Servers) do online/offline polls for Modbus and MBus devices Product Line TAC Vista Environment Xenta Server Modbus Mbus Cause The devices may go offline for several different reasons. It's not possible to give a precise answer to this question, since it depends on your setup and the number of devices. Resolution In general, if a Modbus device has been detected as offline by the Xenta Server, it will wait 60 seconds until it tries polling that device again. That doesn't mean that a device will come online after 60 seconds if it has been offline because as described below, other factors comes into play, such as the number of devices and registers, and invalid registers. Mbus: The Mbus protocol is designed so that all information in the device will be received at every poll, regardless of what is defined in the device template. If the Xenta Server doesn't receive any information it will retry twice and if still no reply it will set the device to offline. All offline devices will be transferred to an offline queue in the Xenta Server, and at every new poll one device (the oldest) will be moved to the poll queue again. The reason for not retrying all is that if you have lots of devices that are offline at the same time, each poll would take very long time to complete and if using a short poll interval it may not be finished in time before the next poll. That will also mean that if you have many offline devices and have set a long poll interval in Xbuilder (default 1 min) it may take quite a while until all devices are online again. Note: In Xbuilder 5.1.9 and later it's possible to set the number of offline devices to poll each cycle. In some cases, for example when there are few meters and/or long poll times you may want to increase this number. Modbus/TCP: You will have a Server address for the TCP Client and if that server's ip address can't be reached all the Modbus devices below it will go offline. However as soon it can be reached again (will be tried constantly), it will scan all devices below it, and if they reply they will be set to online. If there's no response from a single device, it will retry twice before it's set to offline. The time it will take depends on the slave timeout setting in Xbuilder (default 3 seconds). As for Mbus, you have an offline queue where 1 device will be moved to the poll queue every poll cycle. The total poll time also depends on how many devices and registers you have defined (many devices/registers = longer poll time = longer time to detect if a device is offline/online). Modbus/RTU: It works similar to Modbus IP, except for the server part (which is not present). Besides that, you also have the "transmit delay" setting in Xbuilder (default 0 ms, max 1000 ms) which may effect the time it takes for a device to be reported as online/offline

Issue How to set the neuron ID of an I/O Module in a Vista classic network. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Classic Network Xenta I/O modules Cause Xenta I/O modules beneath a base unit (300 or 400 series) do not show up in the Folder view tree structure.  You cannot right-click and set a neuron ID the same way you do for a base unit. Resolution Click on the Xenta base unit (300 or 400 series controller) in the tree structure. This brings up a list of modules inside the Menta file as well as two option modules that cannot be seen from the tree structure-- $IO and $LOGS. Double click the $IO module. All of the I/O modules defined in the Menta file are listed here.  Right-click, properties, to set the neuron ID.

Issue When integrating SIP Video Intercom to Security Expert video is not showing. IPIC video is not working/able to be configured. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server Cause Version of Security Expert is wrong or camera configuration is incorrect. Resolution Use Security Expert v4.2.241.3 or greater. Use the following settings in the Camera Record. Type: H.264 & Motion JPEG Stream Camera URL: http://:8080/video

Issue Would like to change the default Event Description displayed under Monitoring | Status Page View.  Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server Cause Would like to customize Event messages by adding or removing text from the Description field for specific Events. Resolution Unfortunately we are unable to modify any Event Description. Changing, or adding to, the event text is not an option. A couple of alternatives could be: Add a descriptive Instruction to an Alarm that you are filtering (with an Alarm Filter) for raw data events and then monitoring the Alarms feed, instead of the Events feed, for those messages. Setup an "Action" to single out and email those specific Events that you want to see.

Issue How to populate emailed event messages with specific event details. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server Cause Security Expert documentation is missing instructions on how to add specific object details to emailed event messages. Resolution 1. The following email tags can be inserted in the Message and Subject fields to dynamically populate the event email. <FIELDTIME> or <FIELD_TIME>   <EVENTID> or <EVENT_ID>   <LOGGEDTIME> or<LOGGED_TIME>   <FACILITYNUMBER> or <FACILITY_NUMBER>   <USERNAME> or <USER_NAME>   <CARDNUMBER> or <CARD_NUMBER>   <USERID> or <USER_ID>   <INSTRUCTIONS>   <DESCRIPTION>   <INSTRUCTIONS2> (second language)   <DESCRIPTION2> (second language)   <ALARM>   <COMMENTS>   <ACKNOWLEDGED>   <DOORNAME> or <DOOR_NAME>     2. Security Expert documentation is being modified to include this information on the email tags that can be used to populate email messages.

Issue How to setup user photos so they are shown when accessing through a Door. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server Cause Unsure how to add photos to users and have them displayed when that user is accessing through Doors. Resolution There is an option for User photos in Security Expert and the Photo Id option is included with the base Security Expert license. With this "Photo ID" feature enabled you will see the Photo tab on the User object and will then be able to add photos to your users.   1. You can associate a photo to your users in the Photo tab of Users | Users.   2. In Monitoring | Setup | Status Page Editor, you can set the Style to Display User Image. Doing this will show the users photo with the access event.

Issue Cannot bring Reader Expander online. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server Security Expert Controller Security Expert Door Expansion Cause Module addressing has not been configured or is incorrect. Resolution Check the following:   1. Controller (SP_C) Module addressing is correct. When creating the controller for the first time you will need to register it as a Reader Expander to be able to use it's reader ports. Go to the Configuration tab  of the controller and set "Register as Reader Expander" to 1 and the Lock Outputs to the default "Controller PGM 3/4 outputs" setting.     2. Reader Expander Module address. A new module from the factory will default to an id of 254, this will need to be changed. If you only have the controller and one expander module then the SP-C will be id=1 so make the second expander id=2.     3. Health status. Check the Health status of your controller to see if anything shows up there.     4. Update. Update your modules to download changes, review the health status again.

Issue How can a workspace be created that can see only a single graphic page at a time. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Enterprise Central Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation Workstation Cause While more complex workspaces can be created a kiosk or graphic page style interface could be the perfect workspace for the occasional user or touch screen style kiosk in a communal area. Resolution To create a workspace of this style it is important to use the Work Area Window instead of a Graphic pane since the Graphic pane will not fill the window area and has to be linked to a side of the workspace area. Open the StruxureWare Control Panel Select Account Management Click Add under Workspaces Specify the name of the Workspace ("Kiosk" for example) Click Next Click Add in the Content Window Highlight Work Area Window and  click Next Specify your initial path to be the default graphic you want to be presented such as a home page. Click Create Define what user interface options you want to restrict such as the history bar, toolbar, or address bar (Address bar for example can allow access to other parts of the database unless you restrict it with access rights or user permissions) Click Create Select your newly created workspace from the drop down menu and select  User Account groups Add the user account group you want to use this workspace to the right hand column. The graphic page only workspace should now be accessible or configured as the default workspace for a user both in Building Operation Workstation or Webstation.

Issue Trying to install SSL certificate via Web browser but the 'Install Certificate' button is missing. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Webstation SSL Cause User logged into the machine needs to have administrative privileges to install the certificate. Resolution When running the browser, right click on the browser's icon then select 'Run as administrator'

Issue It has come to our attention that people are using Backup and Restore to duplicate Automation Server databases, this is not supported and should not be used as it results in various issues.  Some of the known issues at this time are listed below: When attempting to update Server IP addresses using the advanced feature "Repair server communication"; one or more Automation Servers are listed as Offline even though they are shown as Online within the System Tree. (Click on image for larger view)   When performing a backup / restore from the Enterprise Server the Automation Server(s) are not listed as part of the Child view.    Right-clicking on the Automation Server does not give all the options available and most are grayed out. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 Cause This situation arises because each Automation Server receives a unique identifier, global unique identifier (GUID), when using the backup and restore function this GUID is retained.  Therefore when restored to other Automation Servers these will retain the same identifier.  The only course of action available within this environment is to detach the Automation Server from the Enterprise Server and create a new database from scratch. The correct duplication process across Automation Servers is to use the export and import feature or copy and paste (drag and drop) across Automation Servers.   Resolution StruxureWare Building Operation 1.6 and above update:   You can now use the Restore function to re-use the configuration data from a backup set in a new standalone Automation Server. Rather than manually configuring your preferred Automation Server configuration, you can save time and configure the standalone Automation Server from a backup set. Online help topic: Duplicating an Automation Server Using Restore Backup and Restore feature should NOT be used to duplicate multiple Automation Server's databases it should only be backed up and restored to the same server.  Instead the Export / Import and copy and past features are designed for this function.   A warning note in the Technical Reference and IT Reference guides (versions 1.2, 1.3, & 1.4) has been added warning the users not to use the backup and restore function for duplication.  See the online StruxureWare WebHelp for this current Important Note (login required): Backup and Restore Overview However if you have this situation then it may be possible to recover some or most of the database, please contact Product Support and reference this article number so that this issue can be confirmed.  

Issue Need to know what different system alarms can occur in EcoStruxure Building Operation?  Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Enterprise Central Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Cause System alarms are alarms built into the system, such as "IO module offline" or "Server offline". In EcoStruxure Building Operation, over 230 system alarms exist. Resolution For all system alarms check WebHelp article: System Alarm ID Enumerations

Issue The Automatic Logoff feature is available in version 1.4 and higher. Starting in version 1.5, there is a default automatic logoff time of 10 minutes in both Workstation and WebStation for the Administrators user group. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Building Operation WebStation Cause To prevent unauthorized users access to the system the automatic logoff feature has been added to SBO/EBO. The default Administrators group is set to automatically log off of both Workstation and Webstation after 10 minutes of being idle. This setting cannot be changed for the Administrators group. Resolution The automatic logoff function makes it possible to decide when a user is automatically logged off after a specified time of inactivity. Inactivity means that no user initiated activity is ongoing, that is, no action has been made using the mouse or the keyboard. However, if a user has initiated a big operation in Workstation, for example an import or a large copy and paste, the user is still considered to be active as long as the process is ongoing in Workstation. This is to prevent loss of data. The automatic logoff function is used for security reasons and it also prevents that a Workstation user occupies a license when inactive. The automatic logoff time is set at User Group level and is always defined by the group that has the longest automatic logoff time. For example, if a user belongs to two groups, one group has an automatic logoff time of 5 minutes and the other group has an automatic logoff time of 15 minutes, the user is automatically logged off after 15 minutes. If a user belongs to a group that does not have the automatic logoff function enabled the user will never be logged off. Note: When a user is logged off by the automatic logoff function all settings that are not saved are lost.   Creating a new user group so the Automatic logoff time can be adjusted Starting in version 1.5, in order to change the duration of time before the automatic logoff occurs or turn it off a new User Account Group must be created. Follow the steps below. Go to the Control Panel in Workstation. Click on Account management. Click Add under the User Account Groups section. Name the new User Account Group. Click Next. Select the Users to add to the new group and then click the right arrow to move them to the "Selected User Accounts" window. Click Next. In the same method as step 4, select the Workspace to add to the new group and move it over to the "Available Workspaces" window. Click Next Set the group policies for the new group taking note of the Automatic logoff time which can be set to "Never" if desired. Click Create.   Changing the Automatic logoff time of an existing user group In the System Tree under System > Domains > Local > Groups, select the user group and click on the "Policies" tab. Here the Automatic logoff time can be changed and then click the save button on the tab at the top of the window.

Issue Alarm window either does or does not display on alarm as desired Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Cause The Alarm View Properties are not set correctly Resolution Right Click in the Alarm View window and select Alarm View Settings>Properties Change the Display on Alarm Property to the desired state.

Issue Audible alarms not sounding when there are active alarms. Workspace has multiple tabs for graphics navigation and a tab for Alarm View. If a user is not on the alarm tab when an alarm is activated, the audible alarm is not heard, and the user does not know that an alarm has been activated. The audible alarm works when the user navigates to the alarm tab.  Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation WorkStation Building Operation WebStation Cause The Workspace content does not have an Alarm Pane added.  Resolution Edit the Workspace to add an Alarm Pane to the Workspace content. If the user does not wish to display the Alarm View due to screen space etc., configure the Alarm Pane Default visibility to Hidden.  Note: Audible alarms are available in WebStation from 3.2 onward.

Issue Are Xenta Servers supported in StruxureWare Building Operations? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EcoStruxure Building Operation Xenta 701, 711, 721, 731, 511, 527, 555 Cause Want to use Xenta Server as a controller in StruxureWare Building Operations. Resolution No there are no special support for Xenta servers. But you can add them as normal LonWorks devices. You can only read/write SNVTs from the Xenta server. Normal Lon rules applies here, you can have a maximum of 64 nodes to a segment (we recommend to keep it under that). TAC Xenta Server I/O modules will not be seen in StruxureWare Building Operation, but they will count towards the 64 nodes on the segment. See Maximum number using StruxureWare Building Operation (Scalability and Capacity) for more information on Lonworks units in StruxureWare Building Operation.  

Issue In the Xenta Servers, it is possible to set the communication port to RS232 or RS485. In EBO this is not possible on the Automation Server (AS) Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium (AS-P) Building Operation Automation Server  Xenta 500 Xenta 700 Xenta 900 Cause The AS serial ports are RS-485, not RS-232. Resolution There are two solutions to consider when Xenta is using an RS-232 connection: If the connected device also has a RS-485 connection switch to that. (Optionally replace the device with one that has RS-485.) Use a RS-232/RS-485 converter. The converter must have automatic data direction detection and control on the RS-485 side, since our Automation Server devices have no RTS signal (to enable the transmitter) available externally.

Issue If a Xenta 913 with SNVT(s) is added as a Lon device to an Automation Server Lonworks network the commission process fails in the last step with error 0 Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server TAC Xenta 913 TAC Xenta 700 Cause This is a bug in the Xenta Server firmware. Resolution This issue will be fixed in Xenta 913 firmware version 5.1.9, however  hotfixes have been made for 5.1.8 and can be requested from PSS (TACXenta913-5.1.8.15 and TACXenta700-5.1.8.47). Note: All data will be lost in the Xenta Server when applying the hotfix.

Issue When converting an OGC graphic to TGML an error saying that the binding name is too long is displayed. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Workstation Cause When a OGC graphic is converted to a TGML the bindings are named after the path to the value in the objects in the OGC graphic. Resolution After the conversion is done change the binding name in the TGML editor.