Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Following a power spike the controller keeps going on/offline. Ethernet TD & RD LED's flashing erratically. Environment CX9400 Eclipse AEclipse Cause CPU card damaged by the mains supply power spike. Resolution If no LED's are lit on the CPU then it is likely that the PSU is faulty or a fuse blown, Replace fuse or return PSU for repair. If the CPU and IO modules have power then it is likely to have damaged the CPU card, test with a replacement card and if this fixes the problem return the faulty card for repair. If problem persists problem could be with the IO cards, disconnect the external IO connections to eliminate any issues from the field wiring, sensors, actuators. Then start unplugging the IO cards to determine if one of those are faulty causing the communications problem. If this does not resolve the issue, and the PSU has not been replaced it could still be damaged/ overheating from the power spike, test with a replacement PSU. Lastly if all else fails return the complete unit for repair where the Backplane, PSU, CPU and IO modules can all be tested together. As the product is now obsolete, if it can not be repaired it will need to be replaced by a combination of Netcontroller 2 and IO modules, but check the compatibility matrix to ensure the Cyberstation version is compatible.

Issue How can I create a list view that will show only user activity where the user has deleted an object from the database? Environment CyberStation ListView Action Code Cause Need to research what items have been deleted from Continuum by others. Resolution Create a listview. On the General Tab configure the fields as follows. Class: Activity Event Filter: Today Path Type: AllPaths On the Columns Tab add the following columns TimeStamp UserName NodeName EventObjectId Description Action Code On the Qualifier Tab use the Query Wizard to configure the following attribute filter. Attribute: Action Code Operator: Is Value: 2

Issue When an object is created in a controller, Continuum throws an "Unable to insert row in Database Table" error. Environment SQL Continuum CyberStation ContinuumDb Cause New database user created with restricted permissions Resolution When Continuum DB initialization creates the Andover97 user in SQL, it grants essential database access permissions to the user.  Restricting these permissions can impair routine functions in Continuum.

Issue When editing a card layout in EPI Designer how are the live fields linked to the Personnel attributes? Environment Cyberstation with card badging -B Option. Cause Clarification on how to link to personnel attributes Resolution Select the "Dynamic Image" icon from the top menu, then use the cursor to draw a box the size of the photo required on the card. Right Click the new box and select "Properties" Select the Image Tab, then from the image type drop down select from Photograph, Signature or Fingerprint. In this case these 3 options do not require a Field Name entering as they already define the attribute required. Other settings can be selected / adjusted as required on the other tabs. Save the badge layout, close EPI Designer, then select File, Print Preview Card from the Make/Edit Badge screen. This will show how the Photo, Signature or Fingerprint image will look on the card.

Issue Can the ACWebProxyServer and XML Automation Server pop-up windows be closed or hidden from view?  Environment WebClient Server Cause The user wants to close or hide these pop-up windows. Resolution The ACWebProxyServer and XML Automation Server applets are an integral part of the WebClient Server and are required for WebClient to run properly. There is no way to hide them from view other than to minimize to the taskbar.

Issue How does the Test mode work on the B-Link-F repeaters.   Environment B-Link-F Cause Need to know to what extent the test mode assesses fiber signal quality. Resolution Test Mode on the B-Link-F repeaters is a simple test that forces the Light source on at the Test B-Link so that the installer can verify the that the light is being received by the non Test B-Link.  In test mode the TD Led illuminates to indicate that the light source is on.  The RD Led on the non test B-Link-F indicates that the light has passed through the fiber and is seen.   The Test mode is used to test connectivity only and does not evaluate the integrity of the light signal. 

Issue Can I use a uninterruptible power supply for controllers? UPS Environment site requiring constant power supply or unstable power from grid and need to take into account power supplies Cause Can I use the CX99-PSU-BATT for an ACX5720 controller? If not, then what can I use if the customer wants a UPS for each controller. Should I use a big UPS for the system and supply the controllers from it?   Resolution The CX99-PSU-BATT is 70VA 120/240VAC and really designed for the CX9900 PSU. It is suggested to get one of our APC UPS and run the proper voltage transformer to the ACX5720. The ACX 57xx series is rated with a 24VAC 90VA or 12-28VDC 50W on the power supply which I recommend due to devices which connect to this controller and require power. i.e. door readers UPS or uninterruptible power supplies are available from APC by Schneider Electric.  Background The power drawn by computing equipment is expressed in Watts or Volt-Amps (VA). The power in Watts is the real power drawn by the equipment. Volt-Amps is called the "apparent power" and is the product of the voltage applied to the equipment times the current drawn by the equipment. Both Watt and VA ratings have a use and purpose. The Watt rating determines the actual power purchased from the utility company and the heat loading generated by the equipment. The VA rating is used for sizing wiring and circuit breakers. The VA and Watt ratings for some types of electrical loads, like incandescent light bulbs, are identical. However, for computer equipment the Watt and VA ratings can differ significantly, with the VA rating always being equal to or larger than the Watt rating. The ratio of the Watt to VA rating is called the "Power Factor" and is expressed either as a number (i.e. 0.7) or a percentage (i.e. 70%). The power rating of the UPS UPS have both Watt ratings and VA ratings. Neither the Watt nor the VA rating of a UPS may be exceeded. In most cases, UPS manufacturers only publish the VA rating of the UPS. However, it is a standard in the industry that the Watt rating is approximately 60% of the VA rating, this being the typical power factor of common loads. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the Watt rating of the UPS is 60% of the published VA rating. How to avoid sizing errors Using APC sizing guidelines or and APC Configuration can help avoid these problems, as the load power values are verified. Equipment nameplate ratings are often in VA, which makes it difficult to know the Watt ratings. If using equipment nameplate ratings for sizing, a user might configure a system which appears to be correctly sized based on VA ratings but actually exceeds the UPS Watt rating. By sizing the VA rating of a load to be no greater than 60% of the VA rating of the UPS, it is impossible to exceed the Watt rating of the UPS. Therefore, unless you have high certainty of the Watt ratings of the loads, the safest approach is to keep the sum of the load nameplate ratings below 60% of the UPS VA rating. Note that this conservative sizing approach will typically give rise to an oversized UPS and a larger run time than expected. If optimization of the system and an accurate run time are required, use APC sizing and Worldwide Web configuration tools.  

Issue After a controller firmware uprev all the doors stop processing card swipes, when a cardholder presents the access card, the door does not unlock nor any type of access event (valid or invalid) is sent by the controller. Environment ACX5720 ACX5740 Cause The error log will show errors 0x2804 (Vref out of tolerance) and 0x4433 (DEVICE_ERR_COMMSEQ) 0x4433 is an error that indicates communications between the Texas Instrument MSP430 processor that reads the card swipes and the main ColdFire processor is out of sync. The root cause of the problem is under investigation per defect QC466 Resolution After the uprev when the controller is in the described state follow the steps below to recover... -From the controller's web page configuration, clear the database backup, commit the changes and re-start the controller. -After the controller has re-started, remove the battery's connector from the socket then power down the controller. -Wait a minute -Power up the controller then once online perform a reload from CyberStation and then a backup to flash. -Re-connect the battery.

Issue Door configured not to send forced entries access event but forced open alarms keep coming in the alarm viewer Environment CyberStation CX9900 CX9702 CX9680 ACX5740 ACX5720 ACX7xxx Cause The filtering options in the door only filter out the access events, to stop the alarm from triggering modify the expression alarm algorithm. Resolution To have the doors send forced open alarms ONLY when configured to send the forced entry access event modify the expression in the Door Forced Open alarm enrollment as follows: ForcedEntry = True and RecordValHist = True

Issue What are the FIPS-PIV reader outputs supported by Continuum? Environment CyberStation CX9680 ACX5720 ACX5740 Cause Questions on configuring a FIPS-PIV reader to work with Continuum. Resolution Continuum FIPS-PIV enabled controllers (9680, 5720 and 5740) require a minimum 75 bit Wiegand output from a FIPS-PIV readers. Typically card readers can be configured to select the FIPS PIV output format sent by the reader. The following output formats are supported: Built-in Formats: Wiegand 75-bit Agency + System + Credential + Expiration Date Wiegand 200-bit 200-bit FASC-N (No Expiration Date) All other formats are considered FIPS-PIV Custom Card format and must be specified by the user via the FIPS-PIV Custom Format System variable. Custom Format Examples: 200-bit FASC-N with embedded expiration date 245-bit FASC-N with appended expiration date Custom Medium-Assurance Format Examples: 200-bit FASC-N with embedded HMAC 107-bit: 75-bit PIV + 32-bit HMAC 32-bit HMAC + 200-bit FASC-N

Issue IO Modules must be added to a NetController that cannot be powered down. Environment IO Modules Cause NetController cannot be powered down in order to install new IO Modules. Resolution There are two methods that may be used when replacing or adding IO modules. Method 1 -- Power down NetController. Turn off the power supply. Disconnect the batteries. Replace or add the IO module. Turn the power supply on. Reconnect the batteries. Reload the NetController. Method 2 -- Remove power from the IO bus only. Turn the power supply off. From the Continuum Workstation, navigate to the appropriate controller. In the Command Line field in Continuum Explorer, type the following command -- Set IOUPower to Off Replace or add the IO module Turn the power supply on.

Issue How are the existing Areas manually assigned to a Personnel object affected when that Personnel is referenced to a Personnel Template that has existing Areas set to InheritFromTemplate. Environment Continuum Access Control Cause An existing site had manually assigned Areas to Personnel and wants to consolidate common Areas for groups of Personnel by using Personnel Templates with pre-defined Areas. It was unclear what would happen to existing Area assignments once the Template was assigned to the Personnel. Resolution If you have manually assigned Areas to a Personnel and then attach a template, the AreaLinks in the Template will "compliment" the Areas you already had assigned to your Personnel. It will add any additional Areas in the Template. As well, if you update your Template and add new Areas to it, these get pushed to all Personnel that are linked to that Template. If you delete Areas from the Template then this gets pushed out as well, unless the Personnel already had the Area assigned manually - in which case they retain access to it. I guess the simplest way to think of it is that the relationship is like a binary OR operation. Area Assigned = "Manually Added" OR "Defined in RefTemplate"

Issue Older Continuum access controllers (CX9900, CX9702, ACX700, ACX781) can only store one card credential per user in their local databases as opposed to the newer CX9680, ACX5720/40 that store two credentials per user. What is the behavior of said older Continuum access controllers when the system is configured for dual credentials? Environment CyberStation CX9900 CX9702 ACX700/1 ACX780/1 Cause Documentation Resolution To allow older controllers to validate the second credential enable remote validation in the controller by setting its Access Server system variable to the ACCNetId of the primary access server (for consistency, in actuality it can be set to any number in the range 191-254) Explanation: When configured for dual credentials CyberStation will not distribute credential2 to older controllers that can only store one credential, however, when the second credential is presented at a door configured at an older controller the controller will send a remote validation request to the primary/secondary access server and access will be granted or denied appropriately. Note also that changing the Allowed Credentials at the CyberStation has no effect on older controllers that have no concept of the Allowed Credentials functionality, if for example the Allowed Credentials is changed from Credentials 1 and 2 to only credential 2, controllers that support the new functionality will stop granting access to credential 1 but older controllers will continue to grant access to credential 1 until reloaded.

Issue Alarm bell icon that appears on the pinpoint door control does not appear when the door is in an alarm state. Environment Pinpoint Door Control Icon Cause The door control is on a lower level and the alarm icon is being masked by a graphic component that is on top of it.  Resolution Select the door control. Right click on the door control. Select Bring to Front. 

Issue All inputs on an i2920 controller read 999.9 volts even when all input connections are removed. The controller error log shows error number 0x00002809. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment i2920 Cause The 0x00002809 error is logged by the Analog to Digital conversion process when the V Zero is greater than the V Reference.  This would indicate a controller calibration failure or a controller hardware failure. Resolution The controller should be returned for repair.

Issue RoamIO hardware shows activity on the TXD and RXD LEDs on the RS-485 lines but after login in with user name 'acc' and password 'acc' no devices are shown on the tree. Environment RoamIO Infinet Service Tool Cause The password of the controllers ACC user has been changed from the default. The Infinet Service Tool does not generate an error to indicate it has failed to login to the controller. This is a defect in the tool itself and has been reported as such. Resolution Use one of the suggestions below to resolve the login issue. - Use the correct ACC password - Use a different controller user for which you know the user name and password - From CyberStation reset the user's password.

Issue What kind of system behaviour will occur when token round times exceed 90 seconds. Environment Infinet i2 b3 MSTP Cause High demand placed on Infinet controllers by PE programs. Resolution Reduce the demand that placed on the controller by Plain English programs each scan. Stagger programs so that complex calculations are staggered and do not occur with every scan. Beware of using processor intensive functions such as GetName and GetObject in Infinet controllers.

Issue A site has the IO bus set up in a vertical riser topology. The NetController is at the ground level telecom room and groups of modules in each telecom room directly above it for a total of 10 floors. When the bus is connected on the top floor the entire IO bus goes offline. Environment Continuum NetController IO Bus Cause The Continuum IO bus should NOT be wired through (in one side at out the other) each of the groups of IO modules on each floor. Resolution Wire the IO bus as a daisy-chain from the Netcontroller IO bus connector in and out of the righthand side connector of each group of IO modules on each floor. Remember to add the 120 ohm end-of-line resistors as shown in the Continuum IO System Reference manual.   

Issue Silenced/Ack alarms at one WS still beeps unack at second WS. Going to WS2 and selecting one of the alarms in the Active Alarm Viewer causes the alarms in question to update correctly (silenced/ack) ACCTrace shows WS2 receiving the ACK message from WS1 Environment CyberStation Cause Corrupted subscription Resolution In the EventNotification object remove WS2 from the list of recipients then add it back.

Issue Text undefined error TBD 0x00002001 saving PE program Environment CyberStation Cause This usually happens when objects have been copied from another controller or created from a dmp file. Resolution Try creating the objects manually in the controller and then try saving the program.