Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Is it possible to view an Xenta server webpage from webstation without having to log in? Environment TAC Vista Webstation 5.1.X Cause A customer may wish to have a seamless integration of the Xenta server in Vista and in Vista webstation. In workstation it is not necessary to log in to the Xenta server when viewing pages from the Xenta server. Resolution Vista's webserver is unable to serve login details to webstation so at little work-around is required. Create a hyperlink in Workstation. Right-click in Workstation and select New-->Object-->Hyperlink. Create an HTML document which redirects to the desired Xenta server webpage. In a folder that Vista has access to create a new text document and name it redirect.html. Open the file in notepad (or similar) and write HTML code to redirect to the xenta server's web page. An example of this follows where a page called TimeObjectPage1.html is to be viewed in Vista: <.head> <.meta HTTP-EQUIV="REFRESH" content="0; url=https://xx.xx.xx.xx/www/index/index.html?UID=user,PW=password Replace with a valid user who has access to the page you wish to view. Replace with the user's password. Save the file. Edit the hyperlink in Workstation Right-click on the hyperlink object and select Properties. Under URL enter the path to the HTML document e.g. C:\Users\...\redirect.html Click OK.   Launch webstation and confirm that the hyperlink works.       In order to access a specific graphics page in a Xenta server without having to log in, do the following 1. Browse the Xenta server with a FTP client to check the exact path of the graphic 2. Create the URL like this: https://IP_address/www/info/path_to_graphic?UID=root,PW=root      Note that upper and lower case is important      In this example, if the IP address is 1.2.3.4 and the graphic is located in Navigation->Floor 1->Overview the URL will be like this:      https://1.2.3.4/www/info/Navigation/Floor+1/Overview.html?UID=root,PW=root

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 Invalid parameter values. Product Line TAC Vista Environment NL220 LonMaker Vista LNS Cause The NS #44 error is a generic, catch all error. Most likely a parameter was changed in the device template and issued a Build (or a Build and Load) instead of a Build All (or Build All and Load). It can also indicate that NodeBuilder has received a bad parameter. This error often occurs when a device template has been changed. Whenever the device template is modified, the project must be rebuilt. Resolution If a change is made to the domain table entry in the reset clause, this error will occur. It's not really an error in this case. NodeBuilder will issue a reset command before putting it online. If the subnet / node address changes after the reset, NodeBuilder will no longer be able to talk to the node since the subnet / node address of the node will have changed. It will be using the wrong subnet / node address. For more information or help contact Echelon support here.

Issue While attempting to carry out certain operations on a device, you receive an Echelon error telling you that the device is in the wrong state for this operation. Environment Vista LonMaker NL220 Echelon Cause The node was in the wrong state for the attempted operation. To resolve this error, try setting the State property of the nodes AppDevice object to lcaStateCnfgOnline. Resolution Many operations will fail if the device is not in the expected state. For example, an applicationless device cannot be commissioned. If the device is applicationless, load the application image into the device (right-click the device, point to Commissioning, and then click Load on the shortcut menu). If the device is unconfigured, commission it (right-click the device, point to Commissioning, and then click Commission on the shortcut menu). A device in the wrong state is generally indicative of a hardware and/or software problem. In one case, an I/O module right out of the box failed to commission in the LonMaker drawing.  After going through a few replacement modules, the LonMaker drawing was found to be the problem.  Creating a new LonMaker drawing took care of the problem. One possible work around which sometimes works is to delete the I/O module from the LonMaker drawing and then copy and paste another working I/O module that is working. The device is in the wrong state for this operation. (Subsystem: NS, #86)

Issue Is it possible to download the Xenta 511 firmware to a Xenta 511-B? Environment TAC Xenta 511-B version 5.1.7 Cause The 511-B version became obsolete in Vista version 5.1.5 as all Xenta servers got support for Modbus and the B stands for Modbus support. After version 5.1.5 it is only one firmware for the 511 and that is possible to download also to a 511-B.   Resolution The 511-B version became obsolete in Vista version 5.1.5 as all Xenta servers got support for Modbus and the B stands for Modbus support. After version 5.1.5 it is only one firmware for the 511 and that is possible to download also to a 511-B.  

Issue There are many situations that a remote computer wants to monitor and control local Vista values. C/S construction (Client/Server) and B/S construction (Browser/Server) are the two solutions for these situations. Environment Multi-PC environment Vista Cause In many cases this application is needed. Resolution The C/S solution for Vista is Remote Workstation and Vista Server. On the client computer, only the Vista Remote Workstation software needs to be installed. Then it can connect to the Vista Server on the server computer. The Remote Workstation software can be downloaded from here. The B/S solution for Vista is Webstation and Vista Server. On the server computer, Vista Webstation software needs to be installed. Then on the client there is no need to install any software. Just open the IE browser, and type the IP address of the server computer, all the content in the Workstation of server computer can be shown in the client computer. The Webstation software can be downloaded from here.

Issue No offline alarms No system messages Xenta offline Link alarms to event object Environment Vista Xenta Cause You cant directly trigger an alarm object located on another server by "Link alarms to Event object" This alarm object needs to be locally. Resolution You will have to configure a system alarm to trigger an alarm object located locally

Issue TAC Vista server crash when browsing between different TGML graphics. Environment TAC Vista 5.1.4 Cause This is a known bug which is fixed in hotfix 17 for Vista 5.1.4 and in later versions  Resolution Install hotfix 17 for Vista 5.1.4 or upgrade to a later version

Issue Many electrical power meters provide a high resolution Modbus or M-Bus output for cumulative parameters such as kWh, kVAh and kVARh.  This output can be displayed in Vista or on an Xenta Server web page, but the resolution can be degraded by inappropriate conversions in XBuilder and choice of display format.  This article shows how to maintain the full resolution of a meter reading from acquisition through to display on a Vista graphic or Xenta Server web page. Environment Xenta 511, 527, 555, 701, 711, 721 (5.1.5 up) Xenta 731, 913 (all versions) XBuilder PM710 Cause Applying scaling or connections in XBuilder, or processing in Menta, reduces the precision of a high resolution Modbus value to that of a Real or Float. Resolution The following comments refer to Modbus registers in the Schneider Electric PM710 energy meter, although many other meters deal with extended precision values in a similar manner.  Acquiring Data from the meter: 1. If you want to maintain the full precision of the meter 'Real Energy, Total' reading, use register 4000 which is a 32 bit signed integer, representing scaled kWh. The scale factor is stored in register 4108 as a 16 bit integer and the two registers should be used in conjunction for display purposes. The maximum full precision value that can be displayed this way is: 2147483647 - 10 decimal digits - before the scale factor is applied. 2. An alternative to register 4000 is provided in register 1000, which is of type 'Float'.  This equates to the REAL type in XBuilder, so it already has only 21 bit precision. However, there is no need to scale it as the exponent is built in to the Float type. Processing input in XBuilder: 3. For register 4000 in the device template, apply a gain of 1 and keep the converted value as INTEGER.  This will maintain the full 32 bit precision of the Modbus register.  If you apply any gain less than 1 or convert the value to a REAL, you will only end up with a 21 bit precision result.  This equates to a loss of 2 decimal digits approximately. 4. Avoid using Connection objects.  For example, a variable of type 'SNVT_elec_kwh_l' has theoretically the same precision as register 4000 in the PM710, so it would seem to be a direct conversion.  However, because you have to use a Connection object to link the two in XBuilder, the value is converted to a REAL internally and you end up with a 21 bit precision result. 5. Xenta Servers can provide full precision Modbus values for display in Vista. Create new Signal objects in the System pane in XBuilder and drag and drop the Modbus values from the Network pane onto the Signal objects.  The Signal objects will have the same precision as the original Modbus registers and are visible in Vista. Displaying values in Xenta Server and Vista: 6. Value pages in the Xenta Server and TGML graphics pages in Xenta Server and Vista can display a 10 digit integer. In the case of item 1 above, all 10 digits will be accurate. In the case of item 2 above, only the most significant 8 digits will be accurate. 7. A value page in the Xenta Server will display a real as 8 digits plus exponent. However, only the 7 most significant digits will be accurate. 8. The object view in Vista will display a real up to 8 significant digits, with only the most 7 significant digits being accurate.  Vista will attempt to show this as fixed point 6.2 and no exponent.  If the actual value is too big or small for this format it reverts to 3 significant digits plus 3 digit exponent.  

Issue .CFG error Cant download Xbuilder project Trendlog.CFG Alarm.CFG Environment Xbuilder Vista Xenta Cause First time a xbuilder project are downloaded / or changes has been made to Alarm and/or Trendlogs the Xenta may need some minutes to start this processes. If the project are downloaded again while this processes are starting up you may get some errors like Alarm.CFG error and/or Trendlog.CFG error Resolution Please wait a few minutes (Depending how many alarm object and/or Trendlog object you have this might take up to 30 min) before you download the project again. Note: Future revisions will give the user a message about why this occurred instead of a plain error.

Issue How to upload the application from a TAC Xenta 280/300/401 device? Environment TAC Xenta 280 TAC Xenta 281 TAC Xenta 282 TAC Xenta 283 TAC Xenta 300 TAC Xenta 301 TAC Xenta 302 TAC Xenta 401 TAC Menta Cause When the application file is generated and compiled, it does no longer contains any information about the layout, or the "yellow boxes". Therefore, it is not possible to extract a Menta file (.MTA) from the device. It is, however, possible to upload the compiled information, and download it to another device. This way, it is possible to replace a faulty device even if you no longer have access the original application. Resolution Always make sure that you have backup of your application files, as it is not possible to upload the graphical information from the device. To upload the complied application information from the device, you have to start TAC Menta, and connect to the actual device via a serial cable. In TAC Menta, select Options, and Simulate to go to simulate mode. Select Online. Select Upload. Select path and filename. The extension will be *.COD (compiled application file) Select Save, and the complied application file will be uploaded. It is not possible to open the *.COD file in edit mode in TAC Menta, you will always have to go to simulate mode before you can open up a stored *.COD file. To change TAC Menta from Tabular mode to normal mode, just press F5. This requires that you have open up an existing application file (*.MTA) or select to make a new application.

Issue When importing a Xenta server to another it is important that they have the same version but is it also important that the hotfixes(if installed) is the same? Environment Xenta server up to version 5.1.7 Cause In version 5.1.7 and prior versions hotfixes have not changed this part of the code so if the Xentas have the same version it should work. Resolution It is enough if the version of the Xenta servers is the same

Issue Is it possible to change the column size for the alarm window in Webstation? For some alarms it is not possible to see the whole alarm text for an alarm in the alarm window, he need to click on details to see the alarm text.   Environment TAC Vista Webstation 5.1.x Cause The size of the columns is decided when the Webpage is built up and this is nothing that is possible to change in the Websettings. Resolution No this is not possible to change in the Websettings.

Issue When upgrading a TAC Vista server from version 5.0.3 to version 5.1.7 it hangs for hours. Environment TAC Vista 5.0.3 TAC Vista 5.1.7 Cause In the Vista database, two Lon interfaces are using a Loytec NIC-IP. If both of these interfaces are disabled, the upgrade works like it should. Resolution In Vista 5.0.3 open Vista Workstation, open the properties for the Loytec Lon interface Take away the address to the Network interface. Do the same for all Loytec Lon network interfaces. Start the Vista database in Vista 5.1.7.  

Issue Is it possible to speed up the refresh rate of values in a TGML graphic? Environment Vista 5.1.X Cause A customer requires the values to be updated as often as possible. Resolution There is no setting to change the refresh rate in TGML but there are a number of things that can be done to create an efficient graphic. In Vista 5.1.7 and newer: On the view menu, there is an item called 'Statistics'. When testing the graphic it possible to see how efficient the graphic is. Items such as a script on document load are very costly, for example. There is a new property for binding called 'DynamicUpdates'. This can be used to activate a binding later instead of when the graphic is loaded. This can be useful if not all object are visible when the graphic is loaded. Use scripts only when absolutely necessary.  

Issue How many imported projects may you have in TAC XBuilder? Environment TAC XBuilder Cause There is a limit set in the software Resolution You can not have more than 10 other projects imported into Xbuilder.

Issue Alarm Message stating "TACSERVER-______: Offline" comes into the Vista server regularly Environment Vista Server Xenta Server Vista Classic network Cause When a site has multiple Xenta Server or Vista Server revisions, this alarm will periodically occur as result. Resolution Upgrade all Xenta controllers to the same revision Ensure that this revision matches the revision of the Vista Server.

Issue A specific license module is required for running reports in Excel from TAC Vista Environment Microsoft Excel 2003 / 2007 / XP Report generator : Report Generator...........................000882231 Report Generator – Upgrade..................000883231 Report Generator – 1 year subscription ..........000884230 TAC Vista version 5.1.X  Cause A separate license module for Vista Reports Generator is included in some license packages, but is sometimes required to be ordered separately if Reports are required as a feature. Resolution Part no 000882231 is for the Report Generator license in Vista version 5.1.X.

Issue When using STR101 to STR-107 connected to a TAC Xenta 121-FC, the LED Mode indicator will be default allocated to the Y1 output on the TAC Xenta 121-FC, which is the only analog output on the TAC Xenta 121-FC device. Environment TAC Xenta 120-FC STR-101 STR-102 STR-103 STR-104 STR-105 STR-106 STR-107 Cause When using any of STR-101 to STR-107 connected to a TAC Xenta 121-FC, the LED Mode indicator will be default allocated to the Y1 output on the TAC Xenta 121-FC device, which is the only analog output on the TAC Xenta 121-FC device. Resolution In ZBuilder, it is possible to move the Status LED from the default location at Y1 to K1-4. In this case you also need to have an external power supply with 5 Volt DC for the LED indicator. It is also possible to use 24 Volt AC power supply for the LED indicator, however this will make an incorrect temperature reading of about 0.5 degree C. In this case, add a 5 kΩ resistance (4.7 - 5,1 kΩ) ¼W in one of three possible positions: Between G and KC1 Between K1 and LED 16 Between Mx 15 and M. The resistor must be placed outside the STR device.

Issue Is it possible to change the colors for the alarm list in Webstation? Environment TAC Vista Webstation 5.1.x   Cause The colors for the alarm list in Webstation are inherited from Vista Workstation.  Resolution To change the colors for the alarm list in Webstation change the colors for the alarm list in Workstation and Webstation will inherit the colors. Change the colors in workstation: Right click on a alarm in the alarm list and open the properties for it. Go to "Customize". Click on the "Text" tab. Change the color. Open the "File" menu and "Save My Program Settings"