Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue While editing graphics, the editor may "freeze" if you open the script window for a script object. This is because the window was last opened on a screen that is now not connected Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EBO Graphics Editor Cause The position of the script window is saved along with other settings in a file on the PC. When the window was last opened on an external monitor, the window is displayed in the same position afterwards, ie. outside the area visible when the monitor is not connected. Resolution Make sure the editor is closed and edit the file. Path:% LOCALAPPDATA% \ Schneider_Electric_Buildi \ SE.Graphics.Editor.exe_Url_ [guid] \ [version] \ user.config  - [guid] can for example be: 5r4uwcrxydhrpcwgbhkkrpgxknpckzw5  - [version] can be 3.2.0.44 At the bottom of the file is "ScriptEditorWindowLocation". Set the value to e.g. 0.0 and save.

Issue Connecting a 4-20mA sensor to an analog input on the MPM Product Line EcoStruxure Building Expert Environment Multi Purpose Manager (MPM) Cause "Input Type" for an Analog Input can only be set to either "Volts" or Ohms" Resolution A shunt resistor is required to be installed across the input and ground terminals on the MPM in order to be able to measure the voltage drop over the resistor (see image below). An AIC object is then used to convert the voltage readings to mA reading. Set up AI and AIC as shown in the images below Note: The shunt resistor needs to be a precision resistor of 0.05 % and needs to be mounted as close as possible to the data acquisition system. Preferably directly screwed into the differential inputs, otherwise, you will measure the voltage over the resistor minus the voltage drop of the additional cable which affects the accuracy of your measurement.

Issue Some of the Continuum attributes in b3/i2 objects are not listed for binding in Script, one such example is the ElecValue of an input object, in Continuum, the difference between the Value attribute and ElecValue attribute is the former is the software value while the latter is the actual value read from the sensor. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Cause For reasons that are beyond the scope of this article, not all Continuum properties have been included for binding in Script   For example, the list of bindable properties for a b3 Analog Input is missing the ElecValue property as can be seen below   Resolution In a b3 Script or Infinet Script Program, there is a way to access any property (attribute as they are known in Continuum) of an object by simply referencing the property's name right after a binding variable to the object's value   Consider the situation that can be seen in the screen capture below...     Due to some strange failure the software contains an incorrect value for the input, but accessing the input's electrical value from a b3 Script program reveals the sensor is reading the room temperature correctly.   Below, screen capture of how this is accomplished in b3/i2 Script program     NOTES "theInput" is bound to the value of the "RoomTemperature" input. "theInElecValue" is bound for output to an AnalogValue in the b3 where the program will place the electrical value of the input We access the property by adding its Continuum attribute name right after the variable bound to the input's value, you will need to know the exact Continuum name of an object's attribute in order to access it this way. This works for any attribute that is accessible by Plain English in Continuum including the PriorityArray of b3 commandable objects.

Issue Is it possible to connect eComission SmartX controller mobile application to a SmartX controller with no WiFi available in the building and BLE(Bluetooth) not turned on in the SmartX controller. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation eCommisioning Tool Building Operation Room Controller (RPC) Building Operation Multi-purpose Controller (MPC)   Cause The eCommission SmartX controllers mobile application supports device connection through BACnet Wi-Fi and wireless Bluetooth connection. Resolution Install eCommission SmartX controllers on a computer, connect to the SmartX controller using an IP cable connected directly from the computer to the SmartX controller and enable Bluetooth on the SmartX controller.   Disconnect IP cable from the SmartX controller if there is one connected. Restart the SmartX controller, since it can’t reach the DHCP server it will get an IP address in the range of 169.254.x.x. Make sure the computer IP address is in the same IP range as the SmartX controller. Connect the IP cable directly from the computer to port 2 in the SmartX controller. Start eComission SmartX controller mobile application and connect to the SmartX controller. For details please see the video.

Issue Many campuses are configured with 1 BACnet Network ID number for Primary IP that is unique per building whether or not they are in the same IP subnet or multiple (with BBMDs). Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Cause When reviewing the Technical Reference Guide and searching "BACnet and IP Routing", it does not clearly explain the configuration and it also does not extend to multi-building systems using BBMDs. Resolution BACnet network numbers are assigned at BACnet routers, with a Range of 1-65,534 (where 65535 is reserved for broadcasts). Routed networks are assigned unique network numbers and can only have 1 router per network. Routed networks are usually BACnet MSTP, BACnet Ethernet, and Secondary IP networks. Standard practice is to have primary IP networks consisting of IP routers/devices in the same IP subnet or across multiple IP subnets joined by a BBMD and/or foreign device configuration uses the default BACnet network number 1.

Issue Continuum has a limit on the number of entries that can be added to the BBMD table in the bCX and CyberStation. Do the AS and ES servers have the same limitation? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server (AS-P, AS-B) Building Operation Enterprise Server Continuum Cause Limitations must be known for engineering design. Resolution The number of BDT Entries you can add to the BBMD table in EcoStruxure Building Operation is limited only by the available resources, so for all practical purpose there is no limit. Device BDT (Broadcast Distribution Table) FDT (Foreign Device Table) ES only limited by memory 64 (up to v1.4) 600 (from v1.5) AS only limited by memory 64 (up to v1.4) 254 (from v1.5) ASB only limited by memory 50 bCX1 32 32 Cyberstation 1024 1024 Always refer to the Architectural Guidelines for the latest information

Issue Emailing alarms if Microsoft Outlook is not used on the site? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Cyberstation 1.73 and above bCX 4040 Netcontroller II (9680) ACX57xx Series (ACX II) Cause The customers site IT system is unable to provide reliable Email communications from Microsoft Outlook on the Continuum Workstations. Resolution The documented Outlook support: Initially Full Microsoft Outlook or Microsoft Exchange was specified as the requirement 1.92 to 1.94 specified Microsoft Outlook 2007 for Windows XP and Vista (Full Microsoft Outlook or Exchange) 1.94sp1 to 2.03 specified Microsoft Outlook 2007 Microsoft Outlook 2010 (Full Microsoft Outlook or Exchange software package)   For further information on outlook versions see the KB article Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010 with Continuum email alarms. Notes Only 32bit Outlook was tested/supported Continuum does not support MS Outlook Express for emailing alarms From v2.0 CyberStation has internal SMTP email options see  SMTP Email Alarm Configuration in Continuum 2.00 to 2.03 There are other email option for emailing directly from controllers. There is a feature in the bCX (also NetController II, ACX II) controllers to be able to email messages directly to a SMTP server either manually or via Plain English programs, although this is not directly linked to the Continuum Alarm system and would require a Plain English program to determine what emails are to be sent. See the "bCX1 Controller Technical Reference" Commissioning section for details on how to set up the controller to send out emails to a 3rd party SMTP email server.  There is also the Continuum SNMP Configuration guide for use with SNMP alarming with a Network Management System. Then in the CyberStation online help see the "SendEmail" function help on how to use Plain English to get the bCX (Netcontroller II or ACX II) to send out messages via email.  

Issue How to migrate ebo_db from an old PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB PC to a new PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB PC Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment PostgreSQL TimescaleDB pgAdmin Building Operation Workstation Cause When using External log Storage (the TimescaleDB in PostgreSQL server) in EcoStruxure Building Operation, it is often required to migrate the TimescaleDB (ebo_db) to a new PC or a different HDD due to the hard-disk space issue.   Resolution Stop the External Log Storage (TimescaleDB) from all the EBO servers (ES & AS’s). Using the attached zip file, extract the XML TimescaleDB Search Export and import this to the root location of your server.   The resulting search results will provide ALL servers' Timescale objects and show the status of the Event and Trend configurations. allowing you to multi-select and change the Event and Trend configuration settings quickly.  Use the CRTL key to only select the relevant servers. Alternatively, follow the steps below to locate these properties manually.    Note the Export is for version 3.2.3 Expand the ES Server, expand the System folder, and expand the External Log Storage folder. Right-click the TimescaleDB and select the Properties. Disable the Event Configuration & Trend Configuration and save. Repeat the above operation for all the other servers (AS’s) that are enabled for the External Log Storage. Create a new database in the destination External Log Storage server PC using the “EBO External Log Storage Installer” tool. Refer to page 5 “Database Management” section of the “EBO External Log Storage Installer.pdf” document for detail. Backup the “ebo_db” from the source TimescaleDB server PC using the pgAdmin 4 (refer to https://www.pgadmin.org/docs/pgadmin4/development/backup_dialog.html ), or refer to page 8 “Backup” section of the “EBO External Log Storage Installer.pdf” document for detail. Copy the DB backup file to the destination TimescaleDB server PC and restore the database using the pgAdmin4 tool (refer to https://www.pgadmin.org/docs/pgadmin4/development/restore_dialog.html ). DB Restoration may take a couple of minutes to a couple of hours depending on the size of the database. DB restoration results may show an error caused by pre-existing information in some tables, but it can be ignored. Once DB restoration is completed, make sure to check the timestamp of the oldest log data and the latest log data to verify the result. Start the External Log Storage (TimescaleDB) from all the EBO servers (ES & AS’s) using the search provided in Step 1 or manually as follows: Expand the ES Server, expand the System folder, and expand the External Log Storage folder. Right-click the TimescaleDB and select the Properties. Change the Database name, Host address, User name, and Password for the new (destination) External Log Storage server PC Enable the Event Configuration & Trend Configuration and save. Repeat the above operation for all the other servers (AS’s) that were disabled in the above step 1.

Issue The user of OpenLDV and Echelon U10 USB adapters with their Engineering Laptops are concerned that Niagara 4.9 does not have a 32-bit installation option. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series N4 4.9 and later Windows 10 64 bit Cause OpenLDV 5 runs as a 32-bit application on both 64-bit and 32-bit versions of Windows. It cannot be called from a 64-bit client application. In order to use OpenLDV on 64-bit Windows, the OpenLDV client application must be compiled and run as a 32-bit application. Prior to Niagara 4.9, some customers used the Niagara 32-bit installer exclusively, which no longer exists, so that they could use OpenLDV.  Resolution The 64-bit Niagara 4.9 Windows install includes a 32-bit daemon application that, without any extra configuration, provides a bridge between 64-bit Niagara and 32-bit OpenLDV. This means that technically, the Echelon U10 USB adapter should work in 64-bit Niagara version 4.9 and newer, on a Windows host (Tridium cannot guarantee operation). There is no longer a need to install 32-bit Niagara, and in fact, it is no longer available. 

Issue For various reasons, it is sometimes necessary to change a b3's mac ID. For example, a b3 that is removed from a site and will later be used at a different site needs to have its mac id reset to factory default to avoid the possibility of introducing a duplicate mac id. NOTE: To set the MAC ID to the factory default you need BACnet Service Tool version 1.110004 or newer.   Product Line Andover Continuum, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Continuum b3 Controller Continuum Service Tool RoamIO2 BACnet Service Tool Cause The MAC ID needs to be set or changed on a b3 controller. Resolution IMPORTANT: If the b3 has previously been assigned a valid mac id then proceed to step #1. If the b3 has factory default slave mac id then see  CHANGING MAC ID ON A BRAND NEW B3 FROM THE FACTORY below Make sure the b3 is disconnected from the MSTP network then connect the RoamIO2 directly to the b3 using the service port. Launch the BACnet Service Tool and de-select the 'By Networks' and 'BACnet only' menu options in the view menu. Click the green icon to make the RoamIO2 sync to the baud rate of the b3 and discover it. In the 'Tools' menu select 'Set Offline B3 Mac Id' as shown below.  In the 'Modify MAC Id' window enter the b3's serial number and the new mac id to be set then click Apply. (NOTE: To set the MAC ID to factory default enter 172, DO NOT USE ZERO) To set the MAC Id to the factory default you need BACnet Service Tool version 1.110004 or newer. Tested working on beta version 1.119903). This beta version is attached. Download it and remove the .txt at the end to make it a zip file, unzip then see the readme.txt. A feedback message 'Success! will be returned if the MAC id was changed EXCEPT when setting the MAC Id to factory default (172) When setting the MAC Id to the factory default you will NOT get SUCCESS feedback, this is because the default id of 172 is a slave id (chosen because in hex it is AC for Andover Controls). Slave Ids are not allowed to initiate communication on the MSTP network. So, as a result of that, the b3 is unable to report to the RoamIO2 that the id was successfully changed. A visual sign that the ID was changed to 172 is that the TD led on the b3's RS485 port will shut off. Disconnect and re-connect to have the RoamIO2 communicate with the b3 using the new MAC id (unless you changed it to the factory default of 172). CHANGING MAC ID ON A BRAND NEW B3 FROM THE FACTORY The RoamIO2 can also be used to assign a mac id to a brand new b3 which has a factory default mac id of 0xAC (172 decimal) but the steps are a little different. In order for a RoamIO2 to be able to send communication packets to the b3, it first has to sync up with the baud rate of the b3, it does by listening and analyzing the packets sent by the b3 until it is able to determine the baud rate. As mentioned before, the factory default mac id of a b3 is slave id 172 which prohibits the b3s from sending out packets and makes it impossible for the RoamIO2 to determine the baud rate. There are several ways to work around the baud rate issue... Set the baud rate manually. Click on the green icon to attempt to connect the RoamIO2 to the b3. You will get an error that the baud rate could not be determined, click YES to proceed anyway From the 'Tools' menu select 'Set B3 Baud Rate' and set the baud rate to what you believe the last baud rate was for the b3. (The factory default baud rate is 19200) You should now be able to set the mac id per the steps above. NOTE: You may have to try all the baud rates until you find the one the b3 is operating at.

Issue New and updated Users do not have access at Doors. Performing a Force Download on the controllers does not download new updates. The Security Expert Download Service is started and running, however browsing to the controllers Download Server Diagnostic Window shows a blank window with no entries. Blank Download Server Diagnostic Window Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Controller Security Expert Download Server Cause The Security Expert Download Service fails to start up properly after a Windows restart under certain conditions. Resolution 1. Set the Security Expert Download Service to Automatic (Delayed Start). Download Service Delayed Start 2. Restart the PC.

Warning Hazard of Electric Shock: Remove all power from all devices before removing any covers or doors of the system. Disconnect power at the device and at the power source.   Issue STC300 terminal detail is different to Specification Sheet and Installation Sheet and there are several versions of the same device. Product Line Field Devices Environment STC300 Cause STC300 terminal detail is different to Specification Sheet and Installation Sheet and there are several versions of the same device.   Example of incorrectly wired device. Two versions of the STC300 device are shown.   Resolution On each version of the devices, there is a printed termination legend adjacent to the terminals, follow this.   24Vdc from the power supply is wired to 24V Loop+ on the device. Signal to controller is wired to Loop- on the device.   On the controller, the RET is wired back to the 24Vdc supply using the GRD or RET terminal, see power supply specific wiring detail.    

Issue The SP-C Controller was deleted and recreated with the Controller wizard to create default objects. The Controller had previously been online and downloads were successful. After being recreated with the wizard, downloads are failing with a failed loading dat file error message seen in the Controllers Download Diagnostics Window. Failed to load DAT file. Path = 'C:\ProgramData\Schneider Electric\SecurityExpert\Download\13.dat' , Error code = 80070002 Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Client SP-C Cause The Controller still had configuration settings from the previous setup that were causing a conflict. Resolution Clear the Controller by factory defaulting it, then reconfigure. For instructions on how to default a controller, refer to the Hardware Configuration section Defaulting a Controller in the SP-C Installation Manual - System Controller.

Issue Seeing “Fail to get the next controller step 2 – 0” in the Download Server Diagnostics Window (or similar message) when attempting to download to controller. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Cause There is a problem with the encryption between the client and controller. It's possible only one end of the connection is encrypted and the controller may have been defaulted. You can tell this by looking in the Event Server Diagnostic Window which will usually show entries similar to "Encrypted Packet Received". Resolution Remove encryption by selecting Disable Controller Encryption and attempt to download the controller.

Warning Potential for Data Loss: The steps detailed in the resolution of this article may result in a loss of critical data if not performed properly. Before beginning these steps, make sure all important data is backed up in the event of data loss. If you are unsure or unfamiliar with any complex steps detailed in this article, please contact Product Support for assistance. Issue Download Service fails to start after an upgrade to v.4.2.251 Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server v4.2.251 Cause Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Redistributable (x86) - 12.0.30501; (VC++ 2013 Redist v12.0.0.30501.0) is not installed. This package is a pre-requisite to installing Security Expert v4.2.251. It was needed for extending the Suprema integration but did not get added to the installer for that version. This is now packed with the Security Expert installer. Resolution There are two options to resolve this; 1. [Preferred Option] Install the current release of Security Expert. This required package is now included in all new versions of the Security Expert installation file. 2. Install the package from Microsoft before installing Security Expert 4.2.251. Locate the file on the Microsoft site https://www.microsoft.com/en-nz/download/details.aspx?id=40784. Download and install vcredist_x86.exe, the 32 bit version (because Security Expert is a 32 bit application), before performing the upgrade.

Issue Downloads to the Controller are failing. When reviewing the Download Server Diagnostic Window, numerous Failed to load DAT file error messages are seen. Failed to load DAT file. Path='C:\ProgramData\Schneider Electric\SecurityExpert\Download\5.dat". Error code = 80070002 ***** Invalid Controller (5) version 0 Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert SP-C Cause The Firmware version in the Controller is not compatible with the version of Security Expert being used. Resolution Upgrade the Firmware in the Controller to the latest Firmware build. From the main menu, select Sites | Controllers. Right click on a controller, and select Update Firmware. Click the [...] button and browse to the supplied firmware (.bin) file. Choose which controller(s) to update by selecting the Include option. Only the selected controller(s) will be updated. Click Update to commence the firmware update procedure. The update can take up to 10 minutes per controller to complete. Once complete, the controller is automatically restarted and normal operation resumed.

Issue In EBO 2022 or higher the "Semantic Engineering View" button is grayed-out in EBO WorkStation and "Semantic DB authentication failure" is shown in Alarm View. "Semantic Engineering View" button is grayed-out and "Semantic DB authentication failure" alarm   Semantic db authentication error   Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Cause  EBO user that connects to the Sparql database has the wrong username and/or password. Resolution Make sure that the user configured in EBO semantic settings matches the user created in the GraphDB web interface. In WorkStation, in the System Tree pane, select the EBO server. Click the Control Panel tab. Click Navigate to Sparql database, this will open the GraphDB web interface. Login with the admin user account.  In the top right corner, make sure that correct repository is selected, default name is "nsp".  Go to Setup -> Users and Access. Edit user "nspService". Set a password for the "nspService" account and make sure it has access rights to the "nsp" repository then click save. In EBO WorkStation control Panel, open Semantic Settings. Set the password for username "nspService" to match the password set in the GraphDB interface. For more information, please refer to the GraphDB help: Secure GraphDB — GraphDB SE 9.10.0 documentation (ontotext.com)

Issue The port range used by the Project Configuration Tool is incorrectly documented. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Project Configuration Tool Cause Documentation and web-help states the port range is 49152 to 65535, this is incorrect. Resolution The correct port range used, for the engineering ports, i.e. the ports that the EBO servers are listening too, so that it is possible to log on with WorkStation is 32768-61000.

Issue Understand methods for integrating Security Expert with Active Directory for creation and management of Operators and Users. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Active Directory SX-AD-OPR SX-AD-USR SX-DB-SYNC Cause Security Expert Active Directory Integration provides synchronization and authentication for Active Directory users enabling organizations to leverage on the user management and security policies that Active Directory provides. This article looks at the details between each integration option. Resolution There are four options for Active Directory Integration. 1. Default Windows Authentication option. This allows for logging in to Security Expert with the Windows User account credentials which could include AD users if on a Domain. Operator object must be created in Security Expert and configuration of windows authentication option has some specific steps to be followed for it to work. Unable to login to Security Expert using Windows Authentication Remember to use syntax "<domain>\<username>" for the username when configuring the Operator for a Windows user ON a  Domain. Remember to use syntax "<computername>\<username>" for the username when configuring the Operator for a Windows user that is NOT on a Domain. No extra license is required for this. 2. SX-AD-OPR : License for adding Security Expert Operators from AD. Security Expert Operators will need to be added manually using the following steps: Navigate to Operators and click Add. Check the Windows Authentication box. Click the ellipsis adjacent to the User Name. Use the Active Directory Users window to search for the AD credentials you wish to use. Once the Operator has been added, you may check the Windows Authentication option when logging in. 3. SX-AD-USR : License for adding Security Expert Users from AD. This will allow an active directory domain windows group to be periodically polled for updates that will in turn update the Users in Security Expert. Individual options for importing users, disabling user if AD user is disabled, disabling user if AD user is deleted. Only user names are imported, other than this only action can be disabling of users in Security Expert. No other details can be updated or added. See application note AN-141 Security Expert LDAP User Import Configuration. 4. SX-DB-SYNC : Data Sync Service with Powershell script. Powershell script pulls user details out of AD and writes to a CSV file that the Data Sync Service then imports into Security Expert. Can perform more functions than SX-AD-USR as any attribute from AD users can be mapped to any attribute in Security Expert users. Will require use of powershell experience as the sample script will likely need to be tweaked. Here is a really good video Using Data Sync to Transfer Information from Active Directory to ProtegeGX on using Windows Active Directory as a source of Users/Operators for the Data Sync Service. It provides a good overview of how this is accomplished and how easy it can be to setup. See Security Expert Data Sync Service and sample Powershell script SXFetchADUsers.zip attached  

Issue Error while logging into Security Expert Server from Web Client using windows authentication Error - Invalid Username / Password Security Expert Web Client operator login only works for operators not configured for Windows Authentication.  None of the operator accounts configured for Windows Authentication work on Security Expert Web Client. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Server Security Expert Web Client Microsoft Windows Authentication Cause Older versions of Security Expert Web Client did not support Windows Authentication. Resolution Use a version of Security Expert Web Client that does support Windows Authentication. See AN 299 Security Expert - Using Windows Authentication Web Client - Integration for further details on this.   Also see How to integrate Active Directory with Security Expert and AN 288 Security Expert - Using Active Directory - Integration Guide for details on Windows Active Directory support in general.