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 Services for assistance. Issue What is the procedure for replacing a CX9200, CX9400 or 99xx with a BCX9640 Environment BCX9640 CX9200 CX9400 CX99xx Convert Conversion Cause While Continuum Versions 1.91 and higher have a direct procedure for upgrading a CX9200, CX9400 or 99xx to a CX9680, no such option exists for converting a controller to a BCX9640 controller.  Resolution There is no quick and easy way to replace a 9200 (9400 or 9900) with a BCX9640.  In order to do this it will be necessary to bring the BCX9640 online as a new controller (with a new ACCID) and copy the contents of the 9200 (9400, 99xx) into the BCX9640.   Do not copy the System Variables from the 9200, 9400 or 99xx into the replacement controller. As always a backup of the Continuum database should be made prior to making any such changes to the system. External point references, point references on graphics and alarm links would have to be checked and repaired where they have been lost.  Other controllers that referenced points in the original 9200 (9400 or 99xx) will have to be corrected so that they point toward the corresponding object in the new BCX9640.  A full recommissioning of the controller may be required.  Once the conversion is complete the original controller object would be deleted from the system. While importing a text dump of the (9200, 9400 or 99xx) is another approach, this can be a messy process that requires the dump file to be manipulated.  This can lead to more substantial problems if done incorrectly.

Issue How do points map from a i2 controller and the xP expansion modules to Infinity SX8000? Environment Using Continuum i2 controllers and xP modules on SX8000 Infinity systems. Cause The I/O channels on expansion modules are different from Infinity to Continuum. Resolution You can add an i2 controller to your Infinet networks on Infinity and it will co-exist with the other Infinity controllers. The controller will be seen as a equivalent infinity controller i.e. a i2850 will be seen as a TCX850. Also you will not be able to use any of the additional features that a i2 controller has like the flash memory or the smart sensor connection. For Expansion modules you could however use the xP modules (not including the xP display) the attached spreadsheet that shows how the i2 controllers I/O channels will be seen by the Infinity Controller. Download the spreadsheet here.  

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 Seeing multiple losses of functionality starting to occur, such as controllers going offline, browsing with the client being slow, reports failing to run and events not being logged. Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert SQL Server Cause In SQL Server the SecurityExpertEvents database has a very large LOG file ( hundreds of gigabytes) resulting in degraded performance in SQL and Security Expert.   The Recovery model of the SecurityExpertEvents database is set to FULL and the database has not been maintained. When using the Full recovery model, regular backups of the transaction log should be performed to prevent the transaction log file size from growing out of proportion to the database size. Recovery model full New user databases are created with the same recovery model as the model database. The default recovery model for the model database depends on the edition of SQL Server you have installed. Editions targeted at test and development environments (SQL Server Express) set the recovery model of the model database to SIMPLE. Other editions set the recovery model of the model database to FULL. Resolution Reduce the size of the log file and prevent it from getting too large again by changing the recovery model of the database from FULL to SIMPLE. The databases are then shrunk to free up drive space.   Refer to the following steps: Take a backup of both the SecurityExpert and SecurityExpertEvents databases and store them in a safe location Change the Recovery Model of the SecurityExpertEvents database from Full to Simple in SQL Server Management Studio. To do this, right-click on the SecurityExpertEvents database and go to its properties. Select 'Options'. Change the Recovery Model setting to Simple. Recovery model simple Right-click on the SecurityExpertEvents database and select Tasks > Shrink > Files Shrink files In the Shrink File - SecurityExpertEvents window, change the File type to Log. Shrink log file Click OK Repeat steps 2-5 for the SecurityExpert database   It is recommended that regular scheduled backups be configured when using the SIMPLE recovery model. In SIMPLE recovery mode, changes since the most recent backup are unprotected.

Issue Values in EBO from a PM5000 series energy meter do not update Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, Field Devices Environment Building Operation Server BACnet PM5000 series energy meter Cause The EBO trace log shows a lot of BACnet related error messages, such as:   nsp.pin.BACnet.VariableProperty Subscription to ~/BACnet Interface/IP Network/PM 5340/Application/THD Current - Ph G attempted COV, but will POLL due to BACnet error: 0x00030013 (resources,no_space_to_add_list_element)   This error indicates that a Change of Value (COV) subscription is being attempted but has failed. This is due to a resource issue with the device, i.e., error class 0x0003 from error code 0x00030013. The error is no space to write property (0013 part) which suggests the subscription limit of the device has been reached. Refer to the Decoding BACnet Errors Knowledge Base article for further information on decoding the error code.   Reviewing the PM5300 series user manual reveals that the device only supports 20 COV subscriptions.     Resolution Remove BACnet objects that are not required in EBO, it is unlikely that fewer than 20 values will be practical. Disable COV for the device in EBO. This can be done via the service_blacklist as noted in the BACnet RULES implementation to disable features such as readPropertyMultiple, COVs etc How to disable RPM (readPropertyMultiple), COVs etc services in AS/ES BACnet interface. Knowledge Base article. The following is an example service_blacklist for the PM3450 <blacklist> <rule> <vendor>10</vendor> <model>PM5340</model> <no-cov/> <no-rpm/> </rule> </blacklist> Polling can put an unintended load on the polling device and the polled device. The polling intervals should be adjusted using the settings on the BACnet Interface. This is available from BACnet Interface -> Properties -> Advanced and scroll all the way to the bottom as shown below for an ES. If looking at the option for an Automation Server it will also have additional options for the RS485 communication ports. Minimum polling intervals in the range of 5,000 to 10,000ms are a good starting point.  

Issue Which adaptor should be used when mounting a M3000 actuator on a V321 DN125/150? Environment V321 Forta M3000 M22 M50 Cause Forta actuators are a direct fit to V321 on all sizes DN100 and smaller unless stated differently in the catalogues/data sheets. Resolution The M3000 actuator will not fit on the V321 DN125 and DN150 sized valves due to the different design of the valve body. For DN125/150, actuators M22 and M50 should be used. 

  Issue For an AS-P running on EBO 4.0.3.176, in Device Administrator, it is showing the State-Ready (Device crash logs available). When trying to download the debug info, it populates the below error and does not get rid of the logs.   ERROR: Failed to run devadmin3 command cmd with arguments -u -m devadmin3 --sa -v cmd 172.20.214.78 -b *** "rm -f /var/sbo/log/crash/coredump_SM222432005_nsp_servers_2022-09-03_110836.tgz" :rm: can't remove '/var/sbo/log/crash/coredump_SM222432005_nsp_servers_2022-09-03_110836.tgz': Permission denied   Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment • Building Operation Workstation • Building Operation Automation Server Cause Not running Device Administrator correctly Resolution When opening Device Administrator, ensure to run as administrator as below. This will clear device logs.  

Issue Communication issues caused by improper grounding of the BACnet MS/TP shield connections to the B-LINK-AC repeater.   Environment BACnet MS/TP installation with B-LINK-AC repeaters. Cause The shield connection on port 1, labeled "(Input)", of the B-LINK-AC repeater is internally wired differently than the four other ports. Resolution Due to the differences in how the shield terminals are wired, the following techniques must be followed when wiring the B-LINK-AC BACnet MS/TP repeater. Port 1, marked (Input), must have its MS/TP bus shield connected to the SHLD terminal, which is isolated from Earth Ground. The incoming MS/TP shield must be grounded at only one point, at a location other than the repeater. Typically this is at the opposite end of the bus, or where the MNB-1000, UNC, ENC or other BACnet parent controller resides. All four of the other repeater ports, # 2 - 5, have their SHLD terminals tied together, and tied to Earth Ground internally, through the power supply's Earth Ground connection. For each MS/TP bus cable connected these ports, the single point of ground for the shield is at the repeater and, therefore, the shield must not be grounded at any other point on the bus. None of the five MS/TP ports on the repeater have internal termination resistors.  If a MS/TP trunk ends at the repeater, a 120 ohm terminating resistor must be connected between the MSTP+ and MSTP- terminals on that port of the repeater.  Likewise, the far end of each MS/TP trunk must also be terminated with a 120 ohm resistor between the MSTP+ and MSTP- terminals of that last controller. None of the five MS/TP ports on the repeater have internal bias resistors.  Standard practices, regarding the biasing of the MS/TP trunks, should be applied, as described in the I/A Series MicroNet BACnet Best Practices Guide, F-27360. Additional information on the use of these repeaters can be found in the "Approved MS/TP Repeaters" section of Chapter 5 of the I/A Series MicroNet BACnet Smoke Control Systems manual, F-27419.

Issue What diagnostic information is available within Niagara that can be sent to Product Support or acted on locally? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series Enterprise Server I/A Series Jace Cause Jace or Enterprise Server operating slow or specific problems are causing the need for debugging a station or platform Resolution There are several diagnostic tools available: Check the station Resource Manager Right-click on the station and select "Views - Station Summary" This will open up a resource monitor page where you can check CPU and memory usage.  The CPU should not be consistently above 80%.  Spiking is common as the process is executing and completing tasks.  There are other things easily referenced here also. Heap memory will vary as well.  It can slowly increase until a garbage collection cycle releases unused heap back to the pool.  You should never use more than 75% of the total available heap memory. Heap Memory is primarily used by station modules and java program objects, so if the memory usage is high, these 2 might be the main reasons Engine Hogs   Right-click on the station, and select "Spy". From the main view, click on "sysManagers". Click "engineManager" and then scroll down to find "Engine Hogs". Clicking Engine Hogs will open a list of the main components of the station and a column on the right-hand side will display the average execution time of the component. Review the top 10 or so and see if any are taking an extraordinary amount of time.  This can help to locate improperly executing objects. Driver Poll Rates Drivers that are based on polling data, like BACnet when COV is not enabled, or Modbus constantly run commands to read data based on the fast, normal, and slow configured rates.  Open the Poll Service under the network the points are being polled on. Looking at the property sheet of the driver, it is important to verify that the cycle time (1) for each rate (fast/normal/slow) is always equal to, or below the actual time configured (2) for that rate. The defaults are 1 second for Fast Cycle Time, 5 seconds for the Normal Cycle Time and 30 seconds for the Slow Cycle Time. Seeing a longer cycle time is usually an indication that the network is saturated with commands and may cause the Jace/Niagara controller to be slow with heavy use of controller resources.  There are several ways to correct this: changing the polling rate spreading the number of objects being polled at each rate, etc. In this example, all points (3) are in the "normal" bucket. Application Director console The "Application Director" (under "Platform") shows a live console output.  Open it by clicking the option under the platform Copy the content of the Application Director, or "stream to file" to send the content to support. It will be essential to help the support engineer to understand the problems in the station.  Add more debug information to the Application Director console You can add more granularity to the messages in the Application Director for a deeper look into possible issues. This can be accomplished in 2 different ways: Right-click on the station, and select "Spy". Then, select "logSetup" on the main view From the list that appears, you can scroll and find appropriate topics to log and you can select at what level you want the information to appear.  This will add traffic to the application Director window so be careful how "fine" and how many logs you enable.  It might be good to consult with support before enabling these logs. example; bacnet.debug/finest if you select this box. Debug Service   Select the "DebugService" from the station "Services" In the Log Category, type a few letters of the topic and scroll to find what you are interested in logging From the pulldown menu, determine the granularity of the log Click the plus Click "Save" Setting this logging and streaming the output to a file will allow information to be sent to support for better diagnostics if required.  Remember to set this logging back to "Default" when done so the Application Director is not overwhelmed with information when you are only trying to view normal station activity.

Issue Building Operation WorkStation freezes and crashes. The stack trace shows: System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception: Not enough quota is available to process this command Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation WorkStation Cause This is an error from Windows system: Not enough quota is available to process this command There are two potential causes for this error: Windows does not have enough virtual memory for all of the processes that are currently running on the machine or Windows is running out of other resources such as: disk space, handles, GDI resources, process message queue or something else. This error turns up on a lot of programs in Windows intermittently, such as Windows File Explorer. WorkStation freezes (usually because its waiting on the server) and the user tries to do a 'soft' shutdown (not a kill process) of WorkStation in the Task Manager. The Windows OS then sends instructions via the message queue (to simulate a user press on the "red cross" button on upper right in caption bar) which in turn leads to this quota error. Resolution If this error is seen, Microsoft recommends closing some applications and trying again. If you still get this message, increase the size of your paging file.   In the Taskbar Search, type “Advanced System“. You will see View Advanced System Settings. Click on it. Or you can navigate to it via Control Panel In System Properties, click the Advanced tab In the Performance section click the Settings button Performance Options will open. Click the Advanced tab Here, under Virtual memory, select Change Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives Highlight your Windows system drive Select Custom size Change the Initial size value and the Maximum size value to a higher value Click Set Finally, Click Apply/OK all the way  

Issue Is it possible to save a copy of a TGML graphic in a standard format such as jpeg, bmp etc? Product Line TAC Vista Environment TGML graphics editor 5.1.X Cause For documentation purposes a customer may wish to have an image of a TGML graphic, perhaps in a system reference guide, with explanatory text. Resolution Open the graphic in TGML graphic editor. Select "Export..." from the file menu and then select the file format in the dialogue that appears.

Issue Is BAS2800+ compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7 or higher? Product Line Satchwell BAS2800+ Environment Windows Vista Windows 7 Windows 8 Windows 10 Cause What Windows version can BAS2800+ version 2.9 and 2.10 run? Resolution Officially BAS2800+ version 2.9/10 has only been tested on and therefore is only officially supported on Windows NT, Windows 2000,Windows XP and Windows 2003 Server it has not undergone any official testing in Windows Vista or Windows 7. If BAS2800+ software is to be installed on a Windows Vista or higher, the customer should be warned that BAS2800+ has not been tested under that environment. Any issues identified would be their responsibility, Schneider Electric would not accept any liability for any issues encountered. It may be possible to run BAS2800+ using Windows 7 XP mode, however this is also not tested or supported, the best option would be to downgrade the computer to Windows XP. It should also be noted that BAS2800+ was discontinued in 2008 and no further effort will be made to update or test the product against newer operating systems.

Issue nvoSpaceTemp from TAC Xenta 100 series used with the room unit STR150 does not read temperatures greater than 33.4 °C (92.3 °F). Product Line TAC Vista Environment ZBuilder Xenta 121 Xenta 122 STR Sensor Cause The STR150 and the Xenta 100 line of controllers are capable of displaying temperatures greater than 33.4 °C (92.3 °F) or less than 8 °C (46.4 °F). However, the communication protocol between the STR150 and the Xenta 100 series is limited and thus restricts the temperature that the TAC Xenta 100 can read from the STR150 device. Resolution The STR150 data sheet states that temperature range transferred to a TAC Xenta 100 device is limited to 8 °C through 33.4 °C (46.4 °F to 92.3 °F). If temperatures outside of that range are needed an STR100 (simple 1.8k thermistor) or an STR-350 (communicating Lon stat with display) could be substituted. The ranges of those devices connected to a TAC Xenta 100 device are as follows: STR100: –10 °C to +50 °C (14 °F to 122 °F) STR350: 5 °C to 45 °C (41 °F to 113 °F)

Issue Replacing battery Product Line Satchwell Micronet Environment Panel Wall mounted Controller mounted Cause Obsolescence Resolution Updated June 2019 The MicroNet 50 series range MN350, 450, 550, 650 LCD and Touchscreen have been withdrawn from sale. The IAC 420, 600 and Touchscreen have now also been withdrawn from sale. No direct replacement is offered. Further information on these changes can be found in PA-00495 - Notice of Withdrawal - Satchwell Sigma and PA-00528 - End of Commercialization - Satchwell Sigma. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battery part number Type LS14500 The battery is available from RS Components

Issue Unable to login to Webstation when it is embedded in an iframe on a webpage even though the security setting Enable WebStation to be embedded into another website is set. Clicking Log on after entering credentials just makes the login page reload. Security Setting "Enable WebStation to be embedded into another website" security setting   Webstation login page in iframe Webstation might even go into a login loop if the Guest account is activated and Webstation logs in automatically to this account: Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Enterprise Central Building Operation Webstation Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Cause The Webstation login functionality relies on HTTPS redirect to function properly when it is embedded in an iframe. Error message in the browser developer tool console says: Blocked autofocusing on a <input> element in a cross-origin subframe. Resolution Webstation needs to redirect web clients to HTTPS. There is a setting in Security Manager that controls this. Follow the steps below to activate the redirect: Login to Workstation and go to Control Panel and then Security Settings. Check Redirect web clients to HTTPS and save the change.

Issue How do you see what authentication settings Security Expert was installed with? Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Client/Server Authentication Cause When installing the Security Expert Client/Server three authentication settings for the Client to Server connection can be specified: To connect to the Security Expert Server using additional software, such as Data Sync or SOAP, the current authentication is needed so the additional software authentication can be set the same.  However, if this was not recorded at installation the only way to be 100% sure is to remove and reinstall. Resolution Navigate to the existing Security Expert installation folder:    C:\Program Files (x86)\Schneider Electric\Security Expert   Depending on the installed components there will be a file called either: SecurityExpertSV.exe.config - where only the Server component is installed SecurityExpert.exe.config - where only the Workstation component is installed Note: both files will be available if the Server and Workstation are installed on the same machine   Either file can be used.  Open the file using a text editor such as Notepad to find the current Security Settings used in the original installation. In the example below the authentication setting used was TLS 1.2 As illustrated in the image above the information is between the <netTcpBinding> tags.  The image below illustrates the settings for the three possible authentication types.  Look for the <security> tags to identify the authentication used:  

Issue Do I need an X Driver to send simple ASCII strings to a third party system? Environment Plain English Drivers PE Driver, Raw Mode CX Controllers Netcontroller II bCX ACX Cause Require the limitations of Plain English drivers Resolution It is possible to create a Plain English driver to print ASCII data out of a Comm port. Use the Open, Close and Print keywords to develop your program in a CX or bCX controller, if you go to the "Help, Contents" on Cyberstation Explorer you can enter these keywords and get full details on their use including example programs. You can also read responses from the 3rd party system with the "Read" keyword. The Plain English program would be able to print out any information that can be put into an InfinityString. The characters that a PE Driver cannot handle are the FFh (255) and 0H (null) characters, to use these would require the use of an X Driver or another form of gateway to an open protocol. If you have a first generation controller (CX9900, CX9400 etc) there is a Generic ASCII "X Driver Filter" that can be used to print/ read an ASCII string with no character limitations. If the port is X Driver enabled then download software X-Driver Filter The CHR keyword can be used to send "Non printable characters". The other thing is that a Plain English Driver will be dependent on the controller scan time so it would not be suitable for any protocols that are timing critical and the controller scan time must be kept low. As a general rule of thumb, if you can send the required characters out using Hyperterminal and the system accepts it, then a PE program should be able to send them too.  The attached document is an example of a Plain English driver that was written a while ago to communicate with a Video Recorder over an RS232 link, the principles and techniques used in this example show the use of the above keywords as well as some of the string manipulation keywords. Download it here. This also applies to the ACX57xx controllers but they only have a single half duplex RS485 port which may not be suitable for all applications.

Issue TA 240 U Tour Andersson Controller Environment Site with a TA 240 U Tour Andersson Controller Cause Controller needs change in programming Resolution Attached Manual for the Tour Andersson 240 can be found HERE. 

Issue The Viconics VT7600 (or SE7600 - Schneider-Electric brand) LON thermostat displays a network variable input (nviSetpoint) with both the Niagara R2 and Niagara G3 stations. It is not available on the thermostat's local display. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Expert, TAC IA Series Environment Viconics VT7600 SE7600 Niagara R2 Niagara G3 Cause Add nviSetpoint to a Niagara-based graphic, but it cannot be cross-checked on the local display.  This may add confusion to the end users. Resolution nviSetpoint is, by design, a network variable without local display access.  It is used to calculate the occupied heating and occupied cooling setpoints (in conjunction with the deadband).  The occupied heating and occupied cooling setpoint have local display access. Below is an excerpt from the Viconics LonWorks Integration Manual (page 😎 describing the function of nviSetpoint and how it works with deadband to create occupied heating and cooling setpoints: Parameter Variable Name Function Occupied Cool & Heat Setpoints network Input SNVT_temp_p nviSetpoint This input network variable is used to allow the occupied temperature setpoints only to be changed via the network from a single analog value. (Note: the Unoccupied setpoints are not changed.) The corresponding heating and cooling values are derived from the minimum deadband configuration value Default Null Value: 621.81°F (327.67°C or 0x7FFF) Ex. If the minimum deadband configuration value = 2°F and nviSetpoint = 70°F The resulting Occupied heating setpoint will equal 69°F which is derived from 70°F minus one half the minimum deadband configuration value of 2°F The resulting Occupied cooling setpoint will equal 71°F which is derived from 70°F plus one half the minimum deadband configuration value of 2°F

Issue SE7000s (all) and old hardware SE8000 (firmware <= 1.7.4) won't support EBO Zigbee. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment SSL SE7000 SSL SE8000 Cause EBO Zigbee has Standard and High-Security levels. The SE7000s and old hardware SE8000 (firmware <= 1.7.4) only supports Zigbee Low Security. Resolution Replace the SE7000s and SE8000s old hardware using SE8000 with the current hardware that supports firmware 2.0.0 and newer.

Issue Is it possible to upgrade TAC Xenta 401 and TAC Xenta 300 HW1 to latest system version? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation  Environment TAC Xenta 401 TAC Xenta 301 TAC Xenta 302 Cause Whenever possible, upgrading to the latest system version will give you all of the latest product fixes and enhancements. Resolution You can upgrade TAC Xenta 300 as well as TAC Xenta 401 to any system version BUT you cannot use HW1 in EcoStruxure Building Operation. All HW versions can be upgraded for use in TAC Vista Classic system.