Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue Procedures to purchase and unlock a permanent copy of WorkPlace Tech Tool (Asia Pacific customers) Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series WorkPlace Tech Tool software version 5.x. Cause WorkPlace Tech unlock code request should not be sent directly to Customer Care since orders in Asia Pacific are placed through Hub Asia.  Resolution 1. Install WorkPlace Tech. 2. After installation, generate the codes required to request an unlock code. 3. Complete the Unlock Code Request Form or output it to the file (InVueOrder.txt). Submit the form or the file together with the purchase order to your local orders processing team.  The procedure to generate the order codes can be found in the WorkPlace Tech Tool Installation Instructions. 

Issue Using the IR Tool or RS 485 converter to communicate with the controller Environment NCP Palm IR Tool RS232 to RS485 converter. Cause Configuration and use of NCP Palm. Resolution Using the IR Tool to communicate with a Unifact Pro controller. Connect the IR Tool to your laptop and Unifact Pro controller. Start the NCP Palm programme. Select the correct serial communications port and uncheck the CTS / RTS selection boxes, then select OK. From the "File" menu select "Connect" Enter 0 for the Subnet address, 0 for the Node address, then select OK. This has now confirmed that you are connected to the IR Tool. To connect to the controller select the "File" menu and select "DisConnect" Select the "File" menu and then select "Connect". Enter 1 for the Subnet address, 1 for the Node address, then select OK. You are now connected to the controller. Using an RS 232/485 converter is similar to connecting to the controller, but the controller communications terminals are used instead of the IR Tool. For further details on NCP Palm, please click HERE.

Issue What SNVT_temp_p value in the AS local node is required to force an MNL controller to fallback to a Not Active (NA) condition?  The AS station is configured to use degrees Fahrenheit and standard SNVT_temp_p definition uses degrees Celsius. Environment StruxureWare Building Operation Cause SNVT_temp_p is defined by the standard as a degrees Celsius temperature with a range of - 273.17 to + 327.66 Deg C (0.01 Deg C).  A value of 327.67 Deg C (0x7FFF) will cause the MNL controller to fallback to an NA condition.  The AS station is configured to use degrees Fahrenheit the value must be entered in Deg F. Resolution Sending a Not Active (NA) To write SNVT values, one is to write from programming logic to the local node out of the mirrored network variable to the controller SNVT.  Example: Mirrored variable, local node -> Vav??? -> nvoSetpoint, writes to VAV??? nviSetpoint [MNL-V2RV3] Go to the local node Find the nvoSetpoint Expand to Temperature value Right-click and select Properties Under Basic tab, General Information Section, Limit Section, locate the Invalid value Use the following value for NA in your programming [for SNVT_temp_p it is 621.81]

Issue A space temperature sensor is not reading correctly on a MicroSmart controller (Model # MSC-P-1504).  The type of sensor is not known due to its remote location.  What are the possible values for the SCALE, OFSET, and CVTYP elements? Environment MicroSmart MSC-P-1500 line of controllers Cause Trying to determine the type of sensor installed so a spare sensor can be brought for the service call. Resolution The different combinations of SCALE, OFSET, and CVTYP can narrow down the type of sensor installed (i.e. RTD, voltage, or current).  The exact model cannot be identified remotely.  See page Table 6 on page 17 of the Installation Guide for this controller family.

Issue   A calibration certificate is sometimes requested by the end customer Product Line Field Devices Environment Veris sensors Cause   To ensure that a sensor is keeping measurement values within specification, a certificate is sometimes requested by the end customer. Resolution Calibration certificates are available for some Veris models and must be requested at the time of ordering by selecting  “N” in NIST block for 1% and 2% humidity transmitters. Temperature transmitters can be ordered with 1 or 2 point calibration certificates by selecting 1 or 2 in the in the Temp Cert Block. The following example shows how the model numbers are built up: As can be seen in the second example above the model HD2NVCTC2 has a 2% accuracy RH element with a NIST traceable certificate, it also has a 1K platinum RTD with a 2 point  calibration certificate. For information on NIST traceability see the National Institute of Standards and Technology website

Issue How to have visibility into what a controller sees in its list of peer controllers and Cyberstations following a tech. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment All CX controllers Cause Documentation Resolution If controller is 9900 you can perform a "dump controller" from Hyper Terminal and see the list of peer controllers and CyberStations the controller has been taught. For Second Generation Continuum controllers that do not have a terminal interface you can put a program in the controller to get information about the list. (You can use the program in the 9900 as well.) Click HERE to see a sample PE program. IMPORTANT UPDATE: If the site has more than just a few (3-5) controllers comment out the line in the program that gets the controller names. Also, comment out the line that gets the security flag if there are first generation (9900, 9640) controllers involved.

Issue preventDefault() Javascript function not working on Mouse Up Environment TGML Editor Cause Users want to override the default function showing the StruxureWare Building Operation properties editor by preventing the default action for the Up function. The Building Operation Properties editor is not launched on Mouse Up but on Mouse Click. Resolution Select The TGML Script Add the line "evt.preventDefault();" to the onClick function

Issue After installing the Niagara AX Lon Tunnel Client, the service fails to start and Windows displays the following error: Could not start the NiagaraAX Serial Tunnel service on Local Computer. Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start. Environment I/A Series AX Lon Tunnel Client Cause There are two possible causes of this issue. The LON port specified is already in use and assigned to a physical LON adapter.  The LON adapter assigned to this port may not necessarily be currently installed into the computer. One of the underlying Windows functions or services required by the AX Lon Tunnel is not installed or is corrupted. Resolution To verify that the LON port you have selected is not already installed in the computer, perform the following steps: Open the "LonWorks Interfaces" applet from the Windows Control Panel (Procedure describes operation with OpenLDV 4.00 installed.  The procedure for OpenLDV 3.20 or OpenLDV 3.40 is similar to what is shown in the following steps. Under the "View" menu, insure that "Show detached interfaces" is checked. Select a LON port that is not already shown in the list and enter it in the "Lon Port" field of the "Niagara AX Lon Tunneling" Windows control panel applet. If the LON port name is valid and the NiagaraAX Lon Tunnel service still displays the 1068 error message, an issue could be occurring with another Windows service or DLL file.  Microsoft provides a method of diagnosing and possibly correcting this type of issue. Open the Windows Start Menu and in the "Search Programs and files" box enter the command:       cmd In the Command Prompt window, type in the following command:       sfc /SCANNOW This command "scans integrity of all protected system files and repairs files with problems when possible". In the event that this process finds an uncorrectable issue, the program will stop, displaying an appropriate diagnostic message.

Issue Deleting a point from an MNB controller in StruxureWare Building Operation results in the following error Environment StruxureWare Building Operation: All versions up to and including 1.5.x I/A Series Micronet BACnet Controller Cause StruxureWare Building Operation does not support the deletion of points in the Application Folder of a MNB device.  Resolution To delete a point, disconnect the MNB controller from the network. Once StruxureWare Building Operation server is unable to communicate with the MNB device, it will allow the deletion of the point in the Application folder. Take note that even though the point has been deleted from the AS Application folder, the point still exist in the MNB controller.

Issue Continuum errorlogs from i2 controllers show many 1465 CRC errors for each controller. There is no other information, warnings, or errors logged. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum 1.81 CX9900, 1.52000022 I2, 3.x Cause Some controllers with special firmware contribute to 1465 CRC errors greatly. Resolution Upgrade CX controller to latest firmware version 1.53000026. For more detail about 1465 CRC, refer to What do CRC errors (1465) indicate?

Issue How do I configure outbound email to satisfy a hosting service that requires SSL/TLS Product Line TAC IA Series Environment ENC-410 ENC-520 JACE-2 Cause Many SMTP(email) host no longer except non-secure email for transmission.  They require, at minimum, SSLv3 inbound messages. Resolution The devices mentioned in the "Environment" section all use the IBM J9 Java Virtual Machine and can not be configured for the minimum secure socket the hosts require.  You must upgrade this hardware if you want to use one of these secure SMTP Host providers. If you are unsure of the JVM on the device, look at the Platform of the device.; The Jace 6E/645 and the Jace 8000 use the Oracle-Sun HotSpot JVM and meet the requirements. ENC 520 (J404) unsupported SSL/TLS Jace 6E-645 Supported TLS using the Oracle-Sun Hotspot JVM Jace 8000 Supported TLS using the Oracle-Sun Hotspot JVM

Issue Power Monitoring Expert (PME) is able to make its data objects and alarms visible to EBO via EcoStruxure Web Services (EWS). But when viewed, the Alarms from these EWS objects only shows a number rather than its actual object name in PME. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server EWS Integration Cause There are two stages to bringing data via EWS into EBO.  The first is to create the EWS interface in EBO so that the EWS source (in this case PME) can be discovered.  However, if those discovered EWS objects are not then hosted in EBO, the Alarm Source details will be not complete. Resolution 1. First Identify an object in PME which is also in Alarm and will also be Alarming in EBO when hosted. The date and time of the actual Last Occurrence can be useful here. 2. Notice that the Source name and Source of the same Alarm in EBO is only a number. In this case 3 or EWS Client/3. 3. Now select Host EWS objects from the EBO Menu and host that point or controller onto the EWS interface 4. Note now that all Alarm references previously showing just a number now immediately update with the correct Source name and Source now that the point has been hosted in the EBO Database.  In this case PDU_2B_1_6A_ION9200 Note:At this point it would be very easy to simply decide to Host the entire PME Server onto the EBO Interface rather than a single object or controller as this would then update the sources of all alarmed objects.  However care must be taken that at this point not to overload the system.  Every hosted object will then be polled for value and alarm status periodically adding greatly to the comms between the PME and EBO systems and while the polling rate for Value and Alarm can be adjusted to sensible values there is an argument to only host those EWS objects that data is required from.

Issue Error message when trying to edit the Licensing Settings for an Automation Server in Device Administrator. Error message: Failed to get current data from server: Error when attempting to get license information: :Request to [AS-IP-ADDR]:443 failed. [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed (_ssl.c:833) Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Building Operation Automation Server Cause The Server has been added with EBO server protocol HTTPS, but no SSL certificate has been transferred to the server. The error message is displayed after taking the following steps: In Building Operation Device Administrator check Show licenses Select an Automation Server by checking the box in front of the question mark displayed instead of the server name Click License Settings Resolution This problem can be resolved either by adding a SSL Certificate to the server, or by changing the connection type to HTTP. Solution I: Adding an SSL Certificate to the server Click the server name in Device Administrator. (The server name will be a question mark as DA will not be able to communicate with the AS in this state.) Select SSL Certificate in the left menu and click Generate new certificate. Click OK if you agree to use an auto-generated password. (Otherwise click Cancel enter a password and click Generate new certificate again) Click OK Click Transfer to server Click OK Go back to the server list and verify that the State says Ready and that the name is displayed correctly. Solution II: Changing connection type to HTTP Remove the server from the Device Administrator Uncheck Show licenses if it is selected Select the server by checking the box in front of the question mark displayed instead of the server name Click Remove in the green bar above the server list Confirm by clicking Yes Add the server with connection type HTTP Click Add Server Enter the server address, password and choose HTTP as EBO server protocol

Issue Required a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) or statement of accessibility for the Andover Continuum System. Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Andover Continuum Cause The Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a document that evaluates how accessible a particular product is according to the Section 508 Standards. It is a self-disclosing document produced by the vendor which details each aspect of the Section 508 requirements and how the product supports each criterion. VPATs are used by buyers to determine how accessible a product is and where any potential deficiencies are. They are required by some buyers before a purchase is made. More Information can be found from the below public links: Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) Overview of Technologies and Formats WHAT IS A VPAT AND HOW IS IT USED? Resolution Schneider Electric does not have a VPAT document for Continuum.

Issue After a power failure, the Automation Server has a designed procedure to restore script programs in to a particular state. This process should be taken in to consideration when designing the system.  Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Automation Server Cause Automation Server loses power and restarts, unsure where script programs will start from once the Automation Server comes back online. Due to the onboard "super cap" saving the database to flash on power loss, are the last script program line and variable values retained for when the Automation Server starts back up? Resolution The Automation Server saves it's current active database to flash before losing power completely, the super cap has enough power for it to do this one last task before the Automation Server loses power completely. See AS Power supply interruption or failure on how this is accomplished. On startup from power fail, any script Programs in the Automation Server will start scanning at the first program line. Make sure to keep this in mind and write your programs so that the first line sets your control values to the default "safe" value before moving on to further control logic.

Issue Where can I get information and documents on the Building Analytics service? Environment Building Analytics Cause Information and documentation is required on this product. Resolution Available documentation is available on the Download Center A diagram of network architectures can be seen Here.

Issue If only Cyberstation was installed, but Webclient is needed will installing Webclient over the top work? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Webclient Windows XP Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause At times a Webclient install is needed but a Cyberstation installation was done. Resolution Trying to install over the top will not install the needed web components. The recommended installation of Webclient when Cyberstation has been installed first is as follows: Uninstall Cyberstation Reboot Install Webclient Run the following command after the install to re-register .NET framework with IIS. C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_regiis.exe -i​

Issue Trying to use OPRIF to make a few programming changes to a MicroSmart controller. OPRIF is installed on a SIGNAL computer (Windows 98). With SIGNAL disabled, OPRIF is able to start and handshake with the COM port. However the Auto Answer feature is enabled by default and begins an endless loop of trying to synchronize with the modem. The looping effect prevents a proper connection to the DMS to do programming changes. How can the Auto Answer be disabled on startup of OPRIF? Product Line TAC IA Series Environment OPRIF or Operator Interface version 11.4 and higher Cause Initialization file was modified by default Resolution The readme.txt file in the DMS folder explains how to prevent Auto Answer from being enabled on startup of OPRIF. Click here to view the entire readme file. Below is the excerpt on how to disable Auto Answer: Changes to the command strings used for modem-initialization and control The default modem init-string "AT C1 E1 V1 S0=1 S7=51" has been changed. It is now "AT&C1&D2E1V1". If you or your modem don't like this string, you can now override the default. Using NOTEPAD or EDIT, create a file called MODEM.INI in the DMS directory. This file should contain a single line of ASCII, which will be your customized initialization string. The line must begin with the letters "AT", and must not contain the letters "DT". Other than this one restriction, your modem-init string can contain whatever commands your modem requires. Two separate default strings have been defined for turning auto-answer ON and OFF. These may be overridden by creating files with the appropriate names in the DMS directory. To specify a customized string to force your modem to STOP auto-answering, use NOTEPAD or EDIT to create file a called ANSWEROF.INI in the DMS directory. By default, this file would contain the single ASCII line "ATS0=0". If your modem requires a disconnect command, you could instead write a line that reads "ATH ATS0=0". The default autoanswer ON string "ATS0=1", instructs the modem to answer on the first ring. To answer on the third ring, use NOTEPAD or EDIT to create a file called ANSWERON.INI in the DMS directory. It should contain the single ASCII line "ATS0=3". SUMMARY: Description Default String Filename Comment Modem Initialize AT&C1&D2E1V1 \DMS\MODEM.INI Modified in 11.4 Auto-answer On ATS0=1 \DMS\ANSWERON.INI New in 11.4 Auto-answer Off ATS0=0 \DMS\ANSWEROF.INI New in 11.4

Issue Integrating to Zigbee devices not available in Building Expert Product Line EcoStruxure Building Expert Environment SmartStruxure Lite Multi Purpose Manager SmartStruxure Lite Building Expert Cause The Zigbee device is not available in Building Expert Resolution Zigbee devices are fairly complex to integrate when compared with EnOcean devices and requires development work from the engineers in R&D. Therefore, depending on the business case in your region, it has to be discussed with offer management on whether it could be part of the roadmap or not. You are reach out to the regional product managers to discuss about the opportunity. APAC - EMEA Dusan Janjic (dusan.janjic@schneider-electric.com) Ilda Metani (ilda.metani@schneider-electric.com)  North America Michael Sabinash (michael.sabinash@schneider-electric.com) South America Marcelo Varde (marcelo.varde@schneider-electric.com)   To be able to build a driver for a 3rd party Zigbee device, the following information are required. IEEE Address Endpoint(s) Cluster(s) Attributes Instead of waiting for R&D to build a driver though, you can always write your own script using the information above. However, no active support will be provided by our support teams.

Issue Connecting to an ES that is on another machine through WorkStation and trying to force a BACnet input or output point located on a b3, connected to an AS-P, causes WorkStation to freeze. The only way to get out of freeze is by ending the system task in Windows.   Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server v2.0.2.x Building Operation Automation Server v2.0.2.x Building Operation Workstation v2.0.2.x Continuum b3xxx Controller any version Cause EBO v2.0.2.x has communication issues when connecting to an ES that is not on the machine you have WorkStation on.  Resolution Upgrading to 2.0.3.45 or later will resolve this