Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Are there any documented guidelines for using large number in Access Control? Product Line TAC INET Environment I/NET Site Cause Are there any documented guidelines for using large number in Access Control? Resolution Begin by referencing TCON 300. All SLIs and DPUs must use I/NET Seven revision 1.x (or later) compatible binary software. All DPUs must have DIP switch 7 set to ON. Within a single tenant, you can assign a large key/card number directly to an individual, or translate the number using the Key/Card Translation table, but not both (i.e., you cannot have duplicate key/card numbers or individual numbers within a single tenant). Use compatible EPROMs in the DPUs Note: If you directly assign a key/card to an individual, and later translate the same key/card for another individual, only the translated key/card will be operational within I/NET. Other useful articles: SCU dip switch 6 for dual station addressing How to convert existing Idisc to large numbers (Hex) DPU memory allotment in a 7910A and a Non-mipped 7920

Issue Multiple Vista Servers can be noded together in a network. See Creating TAC Vista multi-server network for details. If a PC should crash, it may need to be replaced and should be done with as little interruption to the Vista network as possible. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Servers noded together Cause PC crash Hardware upgrade Any replacement of the physical server Resolution If possible, obtain a backup of the Vista database from the PC that is to be replaced. Bring up the new PC, install all necessary Vista software Restore the backup of the Vista database that is to reside on this PC. Because the Vista server nodes communicate with other Vista servers over IP using server names, this will restore communication for all nodes.  There is no need to perform any other maintenance  If no backup of the database is available because of a PC crash, etc, then ensure the Vista server name matches that of the previous computer's Vista server.  See Rename a Vista Server for that process. Recreate the Vista database, and the node should be communicating with the other nodes.

Issue Require Upgrade or Repair part number and pricing information Product Line Andover Continuum, TAC INET Environment Dongle / Security Key and Software upgrades Controller node count, X Driver or option upgrades Cause Part numbers are not listed for Upgrades or Repairs. Global Product Support do not provide pricing information. Resolution Repairs do not have part numbers, you should contact your local Order Entry department who will be able to provide an RMA form and pricing information.  (Note: An exception to this is if you are in Aus/NZ, repairs do have a part number. Repaired items are set-up in Pronto with the part number prefixed by “4-“. Process and form details for Aus/NZ repairs only.) Upgrades have now been allocated part numbers for all current products. The order forms and details of the new part numbers can be seen here. SAP and other quoting system have been updated with these upgrade part numbers. Contact your local Order Entry department to help you place an order and provide pricing information.

Issue Can an ENC-520 be ordered with 512MB of RAM? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series G3 ENC-520 / ENC-520-2-N Cause Need for 512MB RAM in an ENC-520 instead of the standard 256MB RAM Resolution There is no option to order an ENC-520 with 512MB or any other RAM size other than 256MB. New ENC-520s ordered will be of the extended memory version and shipped with 256MB of RAM. Also refer to related Can I upgrade the ENC-410 or ENC-520 memory in the field or return to the factory to have the memory increased?.   

Issue SE7300 series BACnet controller does not come online in StruxureWare Building Operation if the communications address is greater then 127. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Expert, EcoStruxure Building Operation, Field Devices Environment StruxureWare Building Operation BACnet Cause The communications Address of SE7300 series BACnet controller can be set between 0 to 254. In StruxureWare Building Operation the highest address can be set only up to 127. Resolution Set the communication address less than or equal to 127 for SE7300 series BACnet controllers. Please refer to the Default Device ID / Device Instance of SE7000 series BACnet controllers to know the default Device ID / Device Instance of SE7000 series BACnet controllers.

Issue Unable to edit Xdriver communication settings on a comm port for a 9680 or the stopbits show incorrectly as 1.5 Product Line Andover Continuum Environment 9680 Continuum 1.74 or 1.81 Webclient 1.74 or 1.81 Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause Under certain circumstances, there was an issue in version 1.74 and 1.81 where the comm port settings were disabled or grayed out. If the settings were not grayed out and an attempt is made to set the stopbits, it could get set incorrectly to 1.5. Resolution The issue is corrected in 1.82 and above.  The work around for versions 1.74 and 1.81 are to set the comm port from the command line. See Command examples to check controller comm port settings for Xdriver or other communication to set the parameters manually.

Issue Webstation can't load the menu tree. The following messages appear: Exception: Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt. Stack Trace: at TAC.Interop.TACOSOI.ITACOSobjectMgr.GetObjectByOid(UInt32 dwOid) at TAC.WebStation.Modules.TreeView.TreeViewPageScript.TreeNodePopulate (Object sender, TreeNodeEventArgs e) at PowerUp.Web.UI.WebTree.TreeView.OnNodePopulate (TreeNodeEventArgs args) at PowerUp.Web.UI.WebTree.TreeView._() The following errors have occurred. Please correct these errors and/or contact the system administrator. An unexpected exception has occurred: Error loading type library/DLL. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80029C4A (TYPE_E_CANTLOADLIBRARY)) (0x80029c4a) System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException at TAC.Interop.TACOSOI.TACOSObjectTierMgrClass.GetManager(Guid& riid) at TAC.WebStation.Modules.Alarms.AlarmListPage.GetAlarmsFromServer(TACOSViewObject view) at TAC.WebStation.Modules.Alarms.AlarmListPage.DataBind() at TAC.WebSTation.Modules.Alarms.AlarmListPage.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.Control.OnLoad(EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.Control.LoadRecursive() at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStatesAfterAsyncPoint) Product Line TAC Vista Environment Windows 2008 Server TAC Vista 5.1.5 Webstation IIS 7.0 or higher Cause A webstation function does not have permission to access information from TAC Vista (TACOS.exe). Resolution This article assumes that Webstation has been installed according to the instructions in Problems installing Vista Webstation 5.1.5 or newer. Check which user is running Internet Information Services (IIS) Go to the start-menu and type inetmgr in the search field. Once the IIS Manager console is open locate and select Application Pools in the menu tree. Right-click on SE ASP.NET v4.0 Classic and select Advanced settings. Locate the Process Model\Identity setting and note which user is running the application pool - NetworkService by default. Grant the user running the application pool access to TAC Vista Folders Locate the ...\Schneider Electric\Tac Vista 5.1.5 folder. Right-click on the folder and select Properties. Go to the Security tab and select Edit. Add the user account network services and grant the account Read & Execute, List Folder Contents and Read Permissions.  Webstation functions should now have access to the required folder and files.

Issue Information is needed to set up the APC Xdriver modbus UPS integration with Continuum Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Windows XP  Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause There are a number of APC devices that support modbus and information is needed to get values into Continuum Resolution The following document, APCConfigExample.zip, is provided as an example and will not address every type of APC device. See Helpful Modbus register Information for helpful information on bring in modbus values.  

Issue Webstation Displays the error: The current identity (NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE) does not have write access when attempting access. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Webstation ASP .NET Cause Incorrect setting in ASP and .NET Resolution Please run the DCOM Config 1.0.3.0.exe utility located in Helpful Vista Utilities - Configure DCOM instantly, Register ASP.NET.

Issue Having trouble communicating to an NPR or other I/NET hosts over a slow/busy ethernet. Product Line TAC INET Environment Any Version of Windows OS and Any Version of I/NET Seven Cause You can make I/NET more tolerant of communication delays over the IP network by making the following change. Resolution Open regedit. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CSI - Control Systems International\I/Net 2000\Configurations. Select your active profile. On the right side, right click and modify the DWORD value "EthernetTimeout" and click "Decimal". The default value is 500mS or half of one second. Increasing this value will determine how long I/NET waits for a response over the ethernet before it gives up. Raise it to 1000, 2000, 2500, etc. and see if it helps. For additional information please see NPR's giving you "Host Lost - Host Restore" messages.

Issue Microsoft Database size Limitations and Continuum Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Site Cause There are limitations to the size that a Continuum database can be. The limitations are Microsoft's limitations. Basically if you use their limited sized databases, these are good for smaller sites. Most of these smaller sites usually don't have extended logs or a heavy volume of access and alarm events either. Resolution Microsoft Database size Limitations and Continuum On large scale sites that have a lot of extended logging, heavy access traffic, alarms and do not want to monitor the size of the databases, it is suggested to go with a enterprise SQLversion. Microsoft DB Size Limitations MSDE version (SQL 2000) 2 Gig Limit - See Database size limitation and recover options on a Single User system in Continuum for more information (Cyberstation SU versions 1.81 and earlier). Enterprise version (SQL 2000) No Limit SQL 2005 Express 4 Gig Limit  (Cyberstation SU versions 1.82 to 1.94) SQL 2012 Express 10Gig limit  (Cyberstation SU version 2.0) Exchange Server 2003 before SP2 SQL 2005 Standard Edition 18 Gig Limit SQL 2005 Enterprise Edition 8 Terabyte Limit Server 2003 SQL 2005 Enterprise Edition 8 Terabyte Limit Research your operating system and determine the size limitations for your particular installation. There are other limitations when using limited versions of the SQL Databases like Standard addition. For instance limited number of processors, limited amount of memory used for allocation pool. Note: Do not use 2 database applications on a Stand Alone installation with Cyberstation being one of the applications. 2 SQL versions or 2 database instances has not been tested with a Stand Alone and is unsupported. This scenario can cause Cyberstation performance issues as well as application crashes.  

Issue Error message when opening Vista 5.1.5 Webstation: "HTTP Error 404.2 - Not found. The page you are requesting cannot be served because of the ISAPI and CGI Restriction List settings on the web server." Product Line TAC Vista Environment Windows 2008 server (32-bit & 64-bit). Webstation 5.1.5, 5.1.6, 5.1.7 Cause ISAPI (Internet Services Application Programming Interface) and CGI (Common Gateway Interface) services are not activated by default in Windows 2008 Server. Resolution After following the installation instructions in the Vista 5.1.5 TPA-VSTA-11-0002.01 (or Send to controller fails with "Not enough memory" error in Distribution View) do the following: Click on Start and then Run. Type inetmgr Once Internet Information Services Manager has opened, change to "Detail View" in the View menu. Double-click on ISAPI and CGI Restrictions Feature.   Under the "ISAPI and CGI Restrictions" right-click on ASP.NET v4.0.30319 and select "Allow". Webstation should now work.

Issue Why do Continuum controller MAC addresses have less than 12 digits as required by IT Departments? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment ACX, bCX, CX level controllers NC2 Cause Leading zeros are removed from the MAC addresses of all Continuum controllers Resolution The MAC address is listed as the attribute "Ethernet Id" in Continuum List views. The digits do not display leading 0's, so all Continuum controller addresses start 0:40:11.... To provide the 12 digit MAC address you will need to restore the leading 0's as required by IT departments. e.g.. 00:40:11:0e:00:00. See How to locate a computer's MAC address to obtain a computers MAC address.

Issue Trying to run a Script program from a Graphic but getting error Read Only Property. The control in the Graphic has been bound to a VALUE object, in the Script program an output variable (ManualChange in the code below) is bound to the same VALUE object. The program is supposed to toggle the value of 'theOutput' when triggered by setting 'ManualChange' from the Graphic, this works in versions prior to 1.4. Numeric Output theOutput, ManualChange LEAD_CHANGE:   ManualChange = Off Goto WaitForManualCHG WaitForManualCHG:   If ManualChange = On then   if theOutput = on then theOutput = off else theOutput = on   Goto LEAD_CHANGE endif Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment WorkStation Automation Server - AS Enterprise Server - ES Cause Starting in version 1.4, SmartStruxure does not allow more than one write reference to the same VALUE, once a write reference is defined for a value or other references to the same value are READ ONLY. (See Reference Guide and References beginning with 1.4.x) Resolution Change the ManualChange variable in the Script to a PUBLIC and then from the Graphic bind directly to it. Numeric Output theOutput Numeric public ManualChange LEAD_CHANGE: ManualChange = Off Goto WaitForManualCHG WaitForManualCHG: If ManualChange = On then if theOutput = on then theOutput = off else theOutput = on Goto LEAD_CHANGE endif   See screen shot below of the binding in the Graphic

Issue Group bindings are correct, Xenta programmables download successfully, and all controllers are commissioned and online in LNS. However, no programmable units will show online in Vista Workstation. Check the alarm queue in Vista Workstation (sorted by Last Change) for the following alarm (or similar):  Server-$EE_Mess  Physical device not defined/configured - TAC301: 040294360200 The controller type and Neuron ID will change each time the alarm updates (every 30 seconds or so) as it cycles through each programmable controller in the network.   Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Vista Workstation Xenta programmable controllers Xenta 280, 281, 282, 283, 300, 301, 302, 401, 401:B Cause Group names must not exceed 20 characters in length and must not contain any spaces. Resolution Change all group names to adhere to the standard that they must be 20 characters or less in length and must not contain any spaces. It is also good design practice to change the subsystem names in LNS if that is where they originated from. This will help future service technicians to make sense of the network structure. For alternative solution, view System alarm message, Physical device not defined/configured.

Issue If remote buildings have an internet connection using DSL, will this configuration work with Continuum controllers? Are there any known issues? Is the connection fast enough? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Netcontroller 9680 Netcontroller 99xx BCX ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) Cause Buildings in remote areas may use DSL(Digital Subscriber Line) to access Netcontrollers instead of a corporate LAN. Resolution Netcontrollers can be used with a DSL connection. Two things to keep in mind when implementing this configuration are: Do not employ NAT(Network Address Translation) of any kind. Continuum requires a static IP. This can be requested from the ISP(Internet Service Provider) of the DSL line. All network ports required for Continuum operation will need to be opened. See Router required open port numbers to run a Continuum system for this information. DSL speeds are typically fast enough to not cause connection issues. Note: Where DSL lines have equal up and download speeds, ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) have upload speeds that may be 100 x slower than the download speed, typically 128K maximum and are unlikely to provide a reliable network connection.

Issue No more address table slots for a device involved in the attempted connection. (Subsystem:  NS Connections, #15) Product Line TAC Vista Environment LonMaker 3.X NS Connections Error codes are not specific to any one LON environment, the display of the error may vary, but the steps to resolve should be the same.   Cause Every LON Neuron chip has 15 total address table slots inside, which store addressing information for SNVT communication.  Xenta programmable controllers utilize Address Table slots 0 and 1 for TAC and Xenta Group Binding information for reporting online status to the Vista Server and transferring TA Network Variables to each other.  This leaves 13 available address table slots in a Xenta programmable controller.  There are many scenarios by which address table slots are consumed (both in the sending and receiving controllers).  If you have exceeded the address table limitations, no further SNVT bindings (which would require additional address table slots) will be allowed.   Resolution The error message should indicate which controller has exceeded its address table limitations (sending or receiving).  First verify the current status of the address table. Right-click on the controller Select Properties Navigate to the Address Table tab.   This will tell you (a) if the address table is indeed full or (b) how many slots you have left.  Knowing this can help you determine the easiest recourse to the problem. If the address table is full in the sending controller: Information can only be sent via one-to-one bindings to 15 controllers (13 from a Xenta programmable).  Sometimes combining data into a one-to-many can save address table slots.  Instead of sending an individual occupancy to 20 VAVs, which consumes 20 address table slots, send them all the same one-to-many occupancy command, which consumes only 1 address table slot. Using a broadcast SNVT binding type will save on address table slots by only consuming one slot per receiving subnet instead of one per receiving controller.  This will increase network bandwidth, but allows one-to-one bindings to many controllers in the same subnet.  Xenta programmable SNVT output limits would be the only limiting factor. See Bind to more than 13 unique LON devices without running out of address table entries for details on creating Broadcast SNVT Bindings. If the address table is full in the receiving controller: If the binding is a one-to-one binding type: This is typically not an issue. The receiving controller does not normally have an address table slot consumed by a one-to-one SNVT binding. The only time a receiving controller has an address table slot consumed by a one-to-one SNVT binding is if that SNVT input is set to ""Poll."" (Unacknowledged, repeated, acknowledged profiles have no bearing on the number of address table slots consumed by one-to-one bindings.)   Unless dictated by the manufacturer of the device with which you are integrating, it is very rare to require polled inputs in a Menta file. Check the SNVT AI blocks in Menta and uncheck the "Poll" checkbox. Binding these inputs will no longer consume an address table slot in the receiving controller. If the binding is a one-to-many group binding type: Every member of the binding (sending or receiving) will have at least one address table slot consumed by the group binding. Freeing up address table slots may require some creative manipulation of the bindings. Options are: Convert to one-to-one bindings where the receiving controller will not lose an address table slot Do not customize every individual combination of group bindings (i.e. send the setpoint to the same controllers that are receiving outside air temp, even if they won't be using it). Every unique combination of controllers will constitute a new group and thus consume a new address table slot in each controller.

Issue Cycling power 10 times doesn't clear Xenta base units version 3.61 or later. Product Line TAC Vista Environment Xenta Programmable Controllers rev 3.61 or later Cause A change to the firmware got rid of the 10 power cycles clearing the application. Resolution To clear the memory of a Xenta 2xx/3xx/40x running system program 3.61 or later, i.e. clear out the Menta application, insert a reset plug into the RJ-45 serial connection and then give the controller power. If you don't already have one, it is quite simple to make. See How to Clear the Xenta Application for instructions on how to make a reset cable.

Issue What are the limitations of the Xenta 527 when used with TAC Vista and I/NET. What do I need to consider when integrating I/NET with TAC Vista. Product Line TAC INET, TAC Vista Environment TAC I/NET TAC Vista 5.1.6 and above TAC XBuilder TAC Xenta Server 527 5.1.6 and above I2V Cause Integrating I/NET into Vista. Resolution Below are a few considerations associated with the Xenta 527 Server that may assist when integrating existing I/NET systems with TAC Vista: As in all case the latest versions of both hardware and software should be used on any integration project. The attached datasheet indicates that the TAC Xenta 527 Web Server has been tested with up to 1000 I/NET points, if you require to integrate more points than this it is then recommended to add additional Xenta Servers to cater for this.  You may also consider segregating your I/NET System to improve performance. Currently it is not possible to pick and choose which points are imported into the XBuilder project, it can only be limited to which SAV file (or controller) is imported . Note: Each I/NET point type, as shown below, creates the following number of TAC Vista objects - these include; Alarm, State, Value, Control, Test, Manual, Alarm_ack etc, and vary according to the point type used. I/NET Point Type Number of TAC Vista Objects created DO 14 AO 11 AI 10 PI 10 DI 11 DA 11     The impact to consider here is the time it takes when adding or modifying your Xbuilder Project. This usually means that importing a large number of SAV files will cause the Vista server to get extremely busy creating / importing all of these objects.  It is best to let the process complete before selecting any other window.  Note that the total number of objects created during the import of the I/NET points is not counted as part of the 'tested' 1000 point limit stated in the above datasheet. This is a separate consideration. Network performance can be affected when a large number of connection objects are in use (so direct transfers between I/NET and Vista). There is no documented limitation, but the recommendation is not to exceed 300 connection objects per Xenta 527 Server.  For information on what the effects a connection object on the I/NET controller LAN has and how to calculate this, refer to Connection Objects in Xenta Server effect on I/NET system. Engineering of any I/NET feature apart from Point Control, Trends, Time Schedule and Alarm Configuration can only be done using the I/NET Host Tool or via an I/NET workstation.  Access to these features are via the Xenta 527 web server feature, so pages appear as HTML pages within TAC Vista, this will have a different look and feel to both Vista and I/NET users.   Other Knowledge Base Articles as listed below are also available to assist on integrating I/NET and Vista: Unit conversions when integrating LON to I/NET Vista to I/NET Integration Tips    Decoding the I/NET signal "flags" attribute Viewing I/NET Point Names in Vista Workstation instead of Addresses User Defined Units on I2V integration were accidentally set incorrectly SQL Host not passing data to Xenta 527 Web Server

Issue An I/A Series R2 (Niagara) station opened in the Admin Tool displays "Disabled." What does this error message mean? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment An I/A Series R2 (Niagara) UNC. Cause When a station is in the disabled mode, it indicates that the station has rebooted multiple times in a five minute period. Possible causes are rapid fluctuations in the AC power supplying the UNC, a bad battery, or a station with less than 20% idle time. Resolution Disconnect the battery, then cycle power to the UNC and see if it boots up normally. Run the system spy: in a browser, enter  http:// (ipaddress of UNC):3011/system/spy. Login with the hardware user name and password. At the bottom of the page, click on "Reset Counter", then check to see if the idle time exceeds 20%. If not, the station will need to be tuned to increase the idle time. Check battery per Niagara R2/G3 UNC/JACE reboots every 15 minutes with "Battery test failed" logged. See Batteries for the UNC-410 and UNC-520 are interchangeable for battery part numbers.