Building Automation Knowledge Base

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 When adding a new Domain an error shows “Object does not exist – The domain “your Domain Name” does not exist, and the Domain is not created.   Using control panel Or using System/Domains folder Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Enterprise Central Cause A Content Type rule could be incorrectly configured Resolution Navigate to /Your Server Name/System/Content Types/Rules/ If there is a “*” in the “Container Name Pattern” of any of the rules, correct this or delete the rule.     Once completed, new domains can be added.

Issue If the AS is configured to get the time from an NTP server the customer need to know how often the AS will ask the NTP server for the time.    Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EcoStruxure Building Operation Enterprise Central  EcoStruxure Building Operation Enterprise Server EcoStruxure Building Operation Automation Server (AS/ASB/ASP) Cause In version 1.4, the AS asked the NTP server 1 time per minute. Starting in version 1.5, this was changed so the AS is using the standard solution for the NPT protocol. Resolution When using the standard solution in the NTP protocol as the AS does starting in version 1.5, it depends on how much the AS drifts from the NTP server. The faster the AS drifts, the more frequently the time is updated.   For more information regarding Network Time, please see WebHelp article 6370 and corresponding articles. 

Issue When a local user belonging to the administrator group on an AS-P is logged in to the AS-P using Workstation the user can for example via a Link in a graphic access the system folder in the ES the AS-P is connected to.  The local user in the AS-P can even change the admin password on the ES. How can this be avoided? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Enterprise Server Cause In EBO v3.2.1 and later versions, it is possible to restrict access of the logged-in user to only the server that they are logged into, i.e. it is possible to prevent access to the ES\Servers folder when logged directly into an AS-P that is a sub server of the ES, thus preventing access to the whole system. Resolution In the ES Control Panel open Security Settings: Mark the option "Restrict root permission to logged in server"

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 PCT client can't start properly with "Hardware virtualization is not enabled" error. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Project Configuration Tool (PCT) (All Versions) Cause Hardware Virtualization is Disabled or not available for PCT Resolution  Install "Intel® Processor Identification Utility" then verify the status of "Intel® Virtualization Technology" from the Utility. Using the table below, you can see if your processor supports Intel® Virtualization(provided by Intel).  The above information can also be found on Intel® Virtualization Technology web page If Virtualization is disabled in BIOS then enable it from BIOS else identify other software utilizing the Virtualization and stop the application.  Use Win key or press the Windows Start button Type: cmd Select Run as Administrator  Verify command prompt window title bar is Administrator: Command Prompt Type: shutdown /r /fw/ /f  Press enter and the computer will shut down immediately forcing all applications to close (/f) and restart (/r) into firmware interface (/fw)   If the issue persists, the following article may provide the answer Knowledge Base article - PCT error Hardware-virtualization is not enabled-Please-enable.

Issue Unwanted hardware and other alarms received at Enterprise Server Product Line Satchwell BAS & Sigma, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EcoStruxure Building Operation Sigma Release 4_08 (Build 3_46_57) Cause Unwanted Sigma hardware and other alarms received at Enterprise Server. Resolution Navigate through the “Sigma interface”, to the controller (OSN) that the alarms need to be disabled from. Select the controller’s property (basic tab), Device monitoring can be enabled or disabled.     If you need to disable the alarms for multiple controllers, this can be done by multi selecting the required controllers, opening the property panel and change the setting there.  

Issue The BACnet Interface Contains a Yellow Exclamation Icon and when you hover over to read the tooltip it states, “Contains Unresolved BACnet Reference”. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EcoStruxure Building Operation Building Operation Multi-Purpose Controller Building Operation Multi-purpose VAV Building Operation Room Controller Building Operation IP-IO Cause There is a reference misconfiguration within the “Time Synchronization Recipients” under the BACnet Interface. Resolution Select and highlight the BACnet Interface then select the Time Synchronization Recipients TAB Compare the list Names with the list to the left under the IP Network Tree. In this example, we can see that MPV-9A is not a controller within my database under the IP Network_2. Highlight/Select the controller under Time Synchronization recipients and edit the details by clicking on the pencil icon. Within the Time Synchronization Recipient screen, we want to adjust this device to match the ACTUAL device located under our IP Network_2 named MP-9A_Roof. Click on the “three dots|ellipsis “to browse to the correct Recipient device identifier. In this example: Select the BACnet Interface > IP Network_2 > MPV-9A_Roof as this is the correct path for this device. At this point, we have the correct path under the Recipient device object reference. Adjust the Recipient name to match the BACnet name you configured for that device. In this example, it was set to MPV-9A_Roof. TIP: Click the BACnet button to fill in the recipient name field with the BACnet name of the device referenced in the recipient device object reference field. Click OK. If this is the only device you need to modify then you can click the SAVE icon. If you have more devices to adjust, then you will repeat the process until you're done with all the devices. You have now resolved the reference errors against the BACnet Interface.

Issue Testing Modbus device with a Modbus simulator. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation. Environment Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Enterprise Server Modbus Protocol Cause The field device and Modbus registers can be tested with the Modbus simulator to ensure the device is set up correctly and communication is working. Resolution Once a device is tested with the Modbus simulator, the live Modbus device can be implemented with confidence knowing that the setup in the Server is correct.   Here you can download the Modbus Simulator    Review the following video to assist with the following: Run the ModRSim application Setup the simulator to display the values you need to test Adjust values checking that they are updated by the polling device Display the Modbus traffic and capture traffic if fault finding is needed.  

Issue Need to ensure that there are not any unresolved or invalid bindings Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EcoStruxure Building Operation Workstation v1.5 and above Bindings Diagnostics Cause Bindings are invalid because they point to something that cannot be bound together or they are unresolved because the binding points to an object that is not in the database. Resolution From the Workstation run the Bindings Diagnostics to check for invalid or unresolved bindings.   Open the Control Panel To Check the Status of Bindings  click the option for Bindings Diagnostics.   Observe the Status to identify any invalid or unresolved bindings. Refer to the EBO Webhelp Binding Status Icons topic for more information Right-click the invalid or unresolved binding, edit the binding or view properties, and correct as appropriate.

Issue What mode must a LoyTec L-IP be configured to work with EcoStruxure Building Operation? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Loytec L-IP Building Operation Enterprise Server Cause The operating mode limits the capabilities of the LoyTec L-IP when used with an Enterprise Server Resolution Smart Switch Mode Ensure that the LoyTec L-IP is in Smart Switch mode. This is achieved by using the DIP switch settings for switches 1 and 2 in the ON position.     Reset Forwarding Tables Press the status button for at least 20 seconds. This will clear the forwarding group, the subnet/node forwarding, and the router domain table when used in smart switch mode. Important: If the L-IP is operated in smart switch mode and is moved from one location to another or if major changes to the configuration of the network are made, it is recommended to reset the L-IP forwarding tables Important: Wait at least 30 seconds after power-up of the L-IP before pressing the Status Button to ensure that the L-IP has booted properly!     For additional detail please reference the LoyTec L-IP user manual.

Warning Electrostatic Discharge Required: Always discharge static electricity from your person by touching metal prior to handling any hardware. Failure to do so may result in damage to devices. Issue Difficulty getting b3 controller online in order to replace a failed one Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EcoStruxure Building Operation Continuum b3 Controller Cause A b3 controller has failed and needs to replace with the same model. Resolution Remove the failed b3 controller. In EcoStruxure Building Operation Workstation change the serial number of the failed b3 to that of the replacement b3. Install the replacement b3 and ensure the MSTP bus is connected so it autobauds to the correct rate. Then power it up. Remove the battery tab from the replacement b3 (if applicable). In Workstation right-click on the replacement b3 and select Device -> Commission. A green progress bar should appear with a success status message. In Workstation right-click on the replacement b3 and select Download all objects. A green progress bar should appear with a success status message. In Workstation right-click on the replacement b3 and select Device -> Backup to flash.

Issue Requirement to set the BACnet max master setting on a SE8000 series room controller Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment EcoStruxure Building Operation Automation Server SE8000 BACnet MS/TP Cause The BACnet max master setting is not available to be set locally on the SE8000 room controller Resolution The max master setting of the SE8000 can be changed in EcoStruxure Building Operation Workstation.  Add the SE8000 to the EcoStruxure Server Open the SE8000 device properties On the Advanced tab, change the Maximum master property (which is a read/write property) to the required value. 

Issue CX level controller was once online and now appears as offline Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Netcontroller CX ACX BCX Cause From time to time issues will be reported that controllers are offline at the IP level. Resolution Troubleshooting steps to perform:   From one of the existing sites Cyberstations perform a ping of the controller. If there are responses, verify that the response is from the controller and not another device. Verification of the response can be done via Wireshark capture if the CX appears to be responding. If there are responses to the ping, then attempt to open up the web-configuration page for second generation controllers. Verify the site’s Cyberstation is online itself. (Right-Click/edit the workstation and view the Comm Status. It will be either Online or Offline.) With CyberStation installed on technician’s laptop with the same version as the site version. Plug an Ethernet cable into the same hub the controller is plugged into. Connect to the site database with the local laptop's CyberStation and start Continuum. Check the controller in Continuum Explorer to see if it shows offline to the local laptop's CyberStation. If the controller is online to the local laptop's Cyberstation, then it is clearly a site network issue. At that point we will need to make sure all the IP address info is correct; there is no port blocking, subnet masks, gateways etc… Standard network troubleshooting. If the controller shows offline to the local laptop's CyberStation, then look at the CPU lights on the controller for activity. Watch the link light, CPU, IO bus lights if there is IO modules, etc… If those look abnormal and you have a smart phone it will be worthwhile to try and get a video of them to send into support for review. If there is no link light then try disconnecting the Ethernet cable from the NETWORK SWITCH and plug it back in to check if it brings the controller back online. If that does not bring the controller back online try disconnecting the Ethernet cable from the CONTROLLER and then immediately put it back and check if the controller comes back online. If all of the above fail then the next step will be to power cycle the controller to try and bring it back online. If communications cannot be established, contact support and open up a case for additional troubleshooting to determine if the controller needs to be sent to repair. If communications is restored and further investigation is required, please retrieve the following information and open a case with support for review. Controller error log Controller offline listview exported to CSV A Wireshark LAN capture at the controller level with peak traffic occurring Additional information may be requested including a controller core dump. This is a very intensive process. Support will supply the Core Dump Utility if needed.   Please click HERE for a copy of these instructions in PDF format.

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 Confirming compatible Modbus data types available for a Sigma IC3 Modbus Product Line Satchwell Sigma Environment Sigma Release 4_05-SEB (Build 3_43_18) Sigma Release 4_05-SP2 (Build 3_42_48) Sigma Release 4_06 (Build 3_44_14) Sigma Release 4_06 SP1 (Build 3_44_16) Sigma Release 4_07 (Build 3_45_48) Sigma Release 4_07-SP1 (Build 3_45_51) Sigma Release 4_07-SP2 (Build 3_45_58) Sigma Release 4_08 (Build 3_46_57) IC3 Modbus Cause The use of 64-bit is not mentioned in documentation Resolution 16-bit registers are supported with all versions of Sigma. From Sigma release 4 05 SEB (Build 3_43_18) 32-bit registers are supported. 62-bit registers are not supported with Sigma IC3.   The ba077 Modbus 32-bit application note provides information on the engineering of 32-bit registers. https://ecoxpert.se.com/search?documentUUID=74eaf0dd-fbd9-4429-9c82-eb205aa9be07&title=BA077%20Modbus%2032%20Bit%20Values%20-%20Satchwell%20-%20Application%20Note Sigma 4.06 IC3 Modbus Firmware and Release Note https://ecoxpert.se.com/search?documentUUID=cb99b073-d9ab-400e-8e67-2f8343447768&title=Sigma%204.06%20IC3-Modbus%20Firmware%20-%20Release%20Notes Sigma IC3 Modbus 1.n.2 firmware is the latest available version https://ecoxpert.se.com/search?documentUUID=02d88785-9d13-4184-b74a-d1a0b5ce7edd&title=Sigma%20IC3%20Modbus%201.n.2%20-%20Firmware    

Issue Troubleshooting Sigma IC LON Values going on and offline Product Line Satchwell Sigma Environment Sigma Release 4_05-SEB (Build 3_43_18) Sigma Release 4_05-SP2 (Build 3_42_48) Sigma Release 4_06 (Build 3_44_14) Sigma Release 4_06 SP1 (Build 3_44_16) Sigma Release 4_07 (Build 3_45_48) Sigma Release 4_07-SP1 (Build 3_45_51) Sigma Release 4_07-SP2 (Build 3_45_58) Sigma Release 4_08 (Build 3_46_57) IC LON Cause Lon Values going into and out of default Resolution Compare the IC-LON’s Receive heartbeat set in the “gateway.txt” file in the IC-LON controller, to the send heartbeat set in the controller. The recommendation is for the receive heartbeat be set to 2-5 times the send heartbeat of the field controller. Starting at 2 times, then increasing if the problem persists. If the controller doesn’t have a heartbeat and the LON value rarely changes, disable the receiver heartbeat in the IC-LON’s gateway.txt file by setting the heartbeat to 0. Example: 1     2     3        4      5   6  7 2,   2,  112,  1293,  0,  0, 0   The Sigma system is now out of its support period, consideration should be given to transitioning or upgrading to SpaceLogic - EcoStruxure Building Operation.

Issue Need to send Continuum alarm messages to email addresses  Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Cyberstation Cause Alarm delivery required to remote users via email.  Resolution Please note this resolution is applicable to all versions of Continuum Cyberstattion and requires Microsoft Exchange or Outlook to send emails.  However, CyberStation version 2.xx does not necessarily require Microsoft Exchange or Outlook to send emails for alarm notifications. Instead, it is possible to configure an SMTP server on the network and use it to send alarm email notifications directly to the intended recipient.  Please refer to SMTP Email Alarm Configuration in Continuum 2.00 to 2.03    Here are some requirements for forwarding Continuum workstation alarm events via email and paging: The Continuum workstations that have been designated primary and backup email and/or page handlers must have an email client such as Microsoft Exchange or Outlook. The email client application must communicate with an existing email server application, such as MS Exchange Server. The primary or backup email/paging workstation must be running Continuum at the time an alarm is generated. Each EventNotification object associated with the alarms that you wish to email or page must have its own email distribution list in the personal address book of the client email application using a specified naming convention as outlined in the table below. This email distribution list must be stored in the first address book shown in the list of available address books in the email client application. For example, if you create an EventNotification distribution list in the Personal Address Book in Microsoft Outlook, then the Personal Address Book must be the first one showing in the address list dropdown box when you open the Address Book.   How to Create an EventNotification Distribution List Note: The following steps are based on Microsoft Outlook. Other mail applications may have different menu names and choices but the general procedure is the same. Step Action 1 Open the Address Book for the email account on the Continuum workstation that will be providing the email/paging services. Your toolbar may have a button for this. If not, use the Address Book option of the Tools menu. 2 Select New Entry from the Address Book File menu. 3 Select the entry type Personal Distribution List and put this entry in the Personal Address Book. 4 In the Name field enter a name for the distribution list using the following format: For E-mail: ACC.name For Paging: ACC.page.name where name is the name of the EventNotification. 5 Add members (the email addresses or pager and service numbers of those to whom the notification of the alarm will be sent) to your personal distribution lists. 6 Set address book options so that the address book where your personal distribution lists are stored is the first one to be searched when sending emails or pages.

Issue What is the password recovery procedure for the SpaceLogic Operator Display if the password is lost? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment SpaceLogic Operator Display Cause If losing the password for the SpaceLogic Operator Display there is no password recovery procedure available to recover it. The only option to access the device again is to do a device recovery procedure on the device. When doing a device recovery on the device everything on it, all users, configuration data, and logs will be deleted and a new firmware loaded into the device Resolution Steps to perform a device recovery procedure:   Download the device recovery file (tar.gz file) which is included in the “SpaceLogic Operator Display HMIST6400SL Firmware Package” which you can download from Schneider Electric Exchange Extract files and copy them to a USB stick (Format: FAT) a. Unpack the tar.gz  b. Two unpacks are required, then "aurora" folder should be present c. Copy whole "aurora" folder to a USB stick d. The structure on disk should be: e. aurora (folder)-FIRMWARE (folder)- AURORA.CFG-nand.img Power off OPD (Operator Display) Connect a USB-OTG cable (On-The-Go cable, USB-micro-B to USB-A) to the USB-2 port on the rear of OPD . Note: The cable is like a key, to enable device recovery. Do NOT connect USB stick to cable. Connect the USB stick to the USB-1 port on the rear of the OPD Power on OPD Device will boot to a white screen and display: Recovery Mode Loading nand.img... Writing KERNEL... Writing ROOTFS... Udisk upgrade success! (Loud beep) "Upgrade successfully, Wait to Reboot!" Power off OPD. Remove USB stick and USB-OTG cable Power on device and it will boot to the loaded firmware Firmware version is shown on startup screen.   For more details see video:  

Issue What is the Intel Floating point number as used in the Modbus X Driver? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Modbus RTU X Driver Cause It is not clear how the two special floating point function codes vary. Resolution There are two different floating point data formats (248 & 245) these are both standard 32 bit floating point numbers but the data bits stored in memory (or read over the protocol) differently.   The 32 bits of Function 248 are stored as one string of bits, bit 0 through to bit 31.   For the 245 format the upper and lower words are swapped around, so it stores the data as bits 15 to 0, then bits 31 to bit 16. This format is called Intel format as it is the way Intel microprocessors handle floating point data.   Here is a link to information on floating point numbers FYI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating-point_arithmetic   These two formats can also be called Big Endian (Function 248), or Little Endian (Function 245). Little Endian is also known as the Intel format. Information on Endianness can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endianness

Issue How are the 'Advanced Polling Configuration' settings under the BACnet interface to be used? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Enterprise Server (ES) Automation Server (AS) Cause These settings can be used to reduce traffic on the BACnet networks that can overload both the EBO server as well as the devices being polled. Resolution The settings are used to specify an amount of time (in milliseconds) that the server should wait after completing a polling cycle on the applicable BACnet network before starting the next cycle. A polling cycle is the set of point being polled on a particular network interface. For example, lets assume that the Minimum polling interval for MSTPA network has been set to 1000 ms, if you are polling 30 points on MSTP port A then the BACnet plug in will do synchronous ReadProperty requests to poll each of the 30 points one at a time. Once the 30 points are polled, (one polling cycle) the BACnet plug-in will delay 1000ms before polling the 30 points again. (next polling cycle) NOTE: The settings apply to polling ONLY and do not affect communications done via change of value (COV) To find a proper value to use, it is recommended that you start with 1000 ms and then adjust the value up or down based on polling performance. If the polled values update fast enough, increase the minimum polling interval to reduce CPU usage. If the polled values become too sluggish, reduce the minimum polling interval until performance returns to satisfactory levels. It may take some trial and error to find the optimum balance.

Issue Understanding Access Expert's schedules holidays and one-offs and their interaction with Triggers and Procedures Product Line EcoStruxure Access Expert Environment Access Server Hosted Software Access Server Premise Software Cause More details on schedules holidays and one-offs are needed to clear confusion about Triggers & Procedures configuration. Resolution Let's first break this down into some basic principles on Schedules and Holidays.   Schedules can become active or inactive. A status change is commonly used as a Trigger to some procedure (ie change a reader mode to unlocked) Holidays act as schedule masks so that schedules cannot become active or inactive, thus never triggering. With that in mind; One-off dates are SCHEDULE behaviors, similar to how choosing "Monday" is a scheduled behavior. All schedules can be masked by holiday configurations. Special dates are HOLIDAY behaviors. They act as flags that effectively invert the bit that would normally mask, performing the inverse behavior. Now that we've established those event types and configurations, let's go over Triggers & Procedures. As mentioned in (1) that a status change is a trigger because it is a generated Mercury event. These triggers do whatever procedure you instruct them to do. As a result, whenever a trigger occurs that activates procedures A or B, or C, those procedures will execute.   When configuring many reader modes you can quickly and easily produce conflicts where a schedule becomes active and thus a procedure occurs, which sets a behavior that another schedule does not like because that trigger already happened. There is no concept of "following a schedule" in Mercury. In order to correctly configure reader modes, you will want to limit the normal modes to as few as possible (preferably 1) and instead create intelligent sets of schedule INTERVALS within one schedule, more specifically, you wouldn't use multiple modes, you would use 1 mode with a schedule containing multiple intervals.   If you would like a schedule to ignore a holiday, you would set "ALWAYS ACTIVE ON" and choose your holidays in the interval(s). The trick here is not to apply holidays to schedules that are not normally active.   Mercury controllers support up to 8128 Triggers and 8128 Procedures. Holidays Mask schedules from becoming active. Always Active On will ensure that a schedule is NOT MASKED for that holiday group, by flipping a bit.   For customers using many sites which their own holiday restrictions, we offer enterprise licensing. Each location should have its own shared instance where holidays are localized to that instance's controllers and hardware. Holidays should only be implemented when you want to mask schedules, if you then have schedules that shouldn't be masked, you would apply the "always active on" for those groups. If you have a schedule that won't become active on that holiday, then there's no need to override using always active on.

Issue Internal counter stops counting. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Script Function Block Counter 167777216 Cause When this script is used it stops counting at 16777216. Numeric Output CountOut   Main: CountOut = 16777100 goto Counter Counter: CountOut = CountOut + 1   Resolution This issue was identified in the early days of Continuum and is regarded as a limitation, not a defect. Explanation - Internally the Script handles all numbers as IEEE754 single precision floats, which means that 16777216 is handled as 1.6777216E7. Adding 1 to 16777216 is unrecognizable in that representation. Using an IEEE754 converter at https://www.h-schmidt.net/FloatConverter/IEEE754.html, one can see that 16777216 and 16777217 have the same binary representation. The point at which the counter will stop, will depend upon the value being added each time, so adding 0.9 will count to a different number than adding 1. The counting range can be extended by two or more variables as shown below. Numeric Output CountOut Numeric CountOut1 Numeric CountOut2   Main: CountOut1 = 16777100 goto Counter1   Counter1: CountOut1 = CountOut1 + 1 CountOut = CountOut1 if CountOut1 = 16777216 then goto Counter2   Counter2: CountOut2 = CountOut2 + 1 CountOut = CountOut1 + CountOut2