Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue How to filter in a listview AlarmEvent based on the EventNotification Environment Continuum Cause Continuum pre 1.91 did not allow filter in a listview AlarmEvent, based on the EventNotification Resolution See Continuum CyberStation Release Notes Version 1.91(Downloadable here) Fixed Problems 4.007 Cannot filter an AlarmEvent table based on the EventNotification using the query wizard (21101) Find another way to filter or upgrade your version of Continuum.

Issue Laptops are now being supplied with an express card slot instead of a PCMCIA card slot. The LON PCC-10 cards are PCMCIA cards and will not fit in an express card slot. Product Line Satchwell MicroNet, Satchwell Sigma, TAC IA Series, TAC Vista Environment Using the Lon PCC-10 Card in a laptop that has an express card slot and not a PCMCIA card slot. Cause The latest laptops are being supplied with express card slots. The option of a PCMCIA card slot is becoming harder to specify. Resolution Although the slot in the laptop appears to be the same as a PCMCIA card, the Express card slot differs in many ways to the PCMCIA slot the PCC-10 card requires. Express card slot to PCMCIA card converters are available but not all support the PCC-10 card. Some express card to PCMCIA card converters only support 32 bit PCMCIA cards. The PCC-10 is a 16 bit card. Basic testing has been carried out on an express card to PCMCIA card converter with a LON PCC10 card from Roalan Ltd. You can purchase the EC1632 converter direct from Roalan Ltd. website by credit card through the Sagepay secure web server. Alternatively, you can phone your order to +44 (0)1202 861512 or fax it to +44 (0)1202 891454. The product is plug and play on Windows Vista and Windows 7 with a downloadable utility for Windows XP. (Only required on some computers. It was not required on the Dell E6420 when testing the card.) You can download the utility here: EC1632.zip, or from Roalan's website. Further information on the converter is available on Roalan's website. You may also download the EC1632 Installation Guide. The card should be plug and play. If your PCC-10 card does not work when using the express card converter, check the PCC-10 card installation using under the control panel. If the card is not working correctly review The Echelon LonTalk PCC-10 PCMCIA Network Adapter will not work with a Dell E6410 laptop. If you need to order a LON PCC10,PCMCIA card, they are available through Schneider Electric specification number WPA-LON-2.

Issue Xenta 527 Appears offline: Troubleshooting steps. Product Line TAC INET Environment I/NET Xenta 527 Xenta 527-NPR Cause Possible Causes: Ethernet Communication is down Ethernet Port is closed Device is configured incorrectly Device failure Resolution Ethernet Communication is down Using the command prompt, ping the device's IP and trace its route. "ping (Insert IP Address)" and "tracert (Inset IP Address)" Watch to see if the Domain server prints out the correct Hostname.  If the device is shown as offline, there may be an error with Firewall settings or Ethernet communication at the Host Workstation. Connect to the router via Internet Explorer If neither of these is possible, Communication is definitely down on the Workstation side. Next, check the Xenta Server side. Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the Device and plug it into a laptop. See if you are on the network.  Ethernet Port Is closed. If the above process shows that Ethernet communication between the Workstation and Router is valid, you may have the port closed. Use a crossover cable to connect a laptop to the device and see if you can connect to a controller ON THAT LINK in I/NET. Look for live values in Controller Summary.  If you can do this, and you can show that Ethernet communication between the two devices is working, then you most likely have a firewall on port 50069 Contact the building IT department Device is configured incorrectly If, in the above process, you cannot connect to I/NET while directly connected to the Router via an Ethernet crossover cable, the device may be configured incorrectly. Open the active I/NET configuration Profile. Ensure that TCP/IP is enabled Add the Router’s IP address to the Reference Host Table Restart the I/O server Check communication Connect to the 527 via HyperTerminal type setip and verify you have been using the correct IP address and hostname type inethost and add the Workstation’s IP address to the Reference host table. restart the 527 Communication should be restored. Device failure Observe the "Run" light on the device.  It should be solid green. Observe the TCP/IP port LED. If you are actively communicating, this should be blinking. If you are unable to connect to the device via a HyperTerminal Direct Connection or Internet explorer while directly connected, you may have a device failure Cycle Power on the device Connect via HyperTerminal (if you cannot do this, try using the failsafe mode. If that fails, replace the device) Type the command “format” to format the device type “setip” and enter the IP information Download and install the latest system file for the 527 you are using. Remember that the 527 and the 527-NPR use different install files. Configure the I/NET communication in HyperTerminal Other Troubleshooting Steps See if the communication error shows up on multiple computers and, if possible multiple locations. There may be an error with Firewall settings or Ethernet communication that only affects part of a large system Host Workstation. Use a different Ethernet port to connect the 527 or workstation to Direct connect to a controller on the controller LAN via TAP and see if any stations are offline.  It is theoretically possible that some form of electrical failure on the controller LAN has caused the 527 to appear offline.  If you cannot see the entire controller LAN from anyone on one device, you should troubleshoot Controller LAN communication. If this is a recurring issue for the site, please download and use the attached 527 offline response document for information gathering and troubleshooting.

Issue Does Continuum support Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010 as the client for emailing alarms? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Cyberstation (v1.93 and above) Microsoft Outlook 2007 (32-bit) Microsoft Outlook 2010 (32-bit) Cause Sending out alarms as emails using Microsoft Outlook. Resolution Outlook 2007(32-bit) and Outlook 2010(32-bit) have been tested by QA with Continuum for emailing of alarms. This is mentioned in the Cyberstation Installation guide. Outlook Express does not work and is not supported. MS Outlook/Exchange 64-bit is not supported across all versions.  For specific information on how to set up emailing of alarms on your Cyberstation please refer to the Continuum Help available on your Continuum Cyberstation or see Creating an EventNotification Email and Page Distribution List. Note: Outlook 2013 and above has not been tested by SQA, but reports from the field are that it does work. In the new versions of Outlook, they have changed the name of the "Personal Distribution List" to the new name of "New Contact Group" Please see How to create a distribution list from your contacts in Outlook for info on how to set up these groups,

Issue Connected to a remote site network via WorkPlace Tech and a VPN connection, but unable to see the sites BACnet devices. No I/A Series MNB-1000s, or any 3rd Party BACnet devices, are found in Workplace Tech or the Commissioning Tool. Product Line TAC I/A Series Environment MNB-1000 WorkPlace Tech (all versions) Cause The VPN does place the connecting WorkPlace Tech PC on the site network, but the BACnet/IP (MNB-1000 and 3rd Party) devices are on a different subnet then the subnet assigned to the WorkPlace Tech PC. Resolution When BACnet/IP devices are on different subnets, BBMD must be used in order for the BACnet/IP devices to communicate across IP subnets. Only one BACnet/IP device can be enabled as BBMD per subnet.   Setup the MNB-1000 as a BBMD device using the Commissioning Tool Open Device Properties of the MNB-1000 controller and select the IP tab. For Device Type select BBMD and save change. Setup WorkPlace Tech to connect to the BBMD device Select Tool from the WPT Select Configure Communication… Select BACnet and click on Change Select IP and click next Select Access a remote internetwork. For Host BBMD Address, enter the IP address of the MNB-1000 which was setup as a BBMD device. Click the Finish button to save changes. You should now be able to see and connect to the I/A Series and 3rd Party BACnet devices using WorkPlace Tech.

Issue Looking in the controller error log, what does this error indicate and how do I troubleshoot it? 0x00006c0e 0x00002600 0x020a8536 0x00000000 0x00000000 error transmitting (LAN_ERR_TRANSMIT_ERROR) Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Controllers ControllerErrorLogTool error log report Cause This error can be the result of comms buffers being too full to transmit data to the LAN. Resolution Check the following: Check the scan rate of the controller to see if it is high. If high (above 1.0 scans/sec), stop programs to see which may be causing problems. Are there a lot of remote points being read or written from/to this controller? Try minimizing this traffic by limiting the number of points per program line, set COV Increment values, etc... If writing to 3rd party controllers, check how often your programs are doing this. Are they being sent each scan or only once when the value is required? Many BACnet writes per second can saturate the communications buffers and cause communications bottlenecks. Run a Wireshark capture by mirroring the controller's NIC card. This will show the traffic that is making it to the controller's NIC. See if there is traffic from 1 or more IP addresses that could be affecting the system and eliminate or reduce that traffic.

Issue How to reset an existing EBO Licensing installation Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Licensing Cause Most of the time, issues with damaged or corrupted EBO Licenses can be resolved by simply returning and re-registering the affected License, either manually or with the help of Product Support. However, on some occasions, this is not enough, as the actual Licensing installation is affected.  Even re-installing the License Server does not fix the issue because of unwanted data left over in the registry. Resolution A License Server Reset Tool capable of partial or complete reset of an EBO License Server installation has been developed and available for download from the Community: SBO License Server Reset.

Issue Would like to monitor and control points and alarms from an ESMI Fire Detection Panel in EBO. Product Line EcoStruxure Buildning Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium (AS-P) ESMI Fire Detection Panel Cause The integration between ESMI Fire Detection Panel and EBO enables the user to visualize and operate ESMI Fire detection systems effectively from graphics in EBO. Resolution The interface between the ESMI Fire panels and EcoStruxure Building Operation (EBO) is handled by the AS EN54 FIRE SmartDriver. The event and command information is sent/received by the Fire panel using RS-485 communication to/from the AS-P using the SmartDriver.   This resolution is in three steps: Enable communication via RS485 (INFO protocol in Fire panel) Use the AS EN 54 Fire Configurator to create the layout for EBO Install/configure the SmartDriver and create the Fire graphics in the AS-P   Step 1 - Enable communication via RS485 (INFO protocol in Fire panel) This video shows how to enable communication from an ESMI Fire panel and an AS-P over RS485. This is a prerequisite for using the Fire SmartDriver in the AS-P.     Step 2 - Use the AS EN 54 Fire Configurator to create the layout for EBO This video will give you a quick introduction to the AS EN54 Fire Configurator. The AS EN54 Fire Configurator is a Windows application that imports floor plans and configuration files to create the EBO interface, devices, points, alarms and graphics.     Step 3 - Install/configure the SmartDriver and create the Fire graphics in the AS-P This video shows how to connect an EBO SmartX Server to an Esmi Sense Fire detection panel (FDP). And how to create and edit the Fire graphics in the EBO SmartX Server, The fire graphics provide the user interface to visualize and operate Esmi Fire detection systems.  

Issue The Automation Server is constantly using 100% CPU causing a slow operation Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Automation Server Cause Check which process is taking the CPU. Cause 1: The cause was found to be a Function Block Program which was corrupt in some way. When trying to edit, open properties or do anything with this Function Block Program Workstation just hang. The root cause of the problem with the Function Block Program was never found. Cause 2: Some schedules have more than one entry for the same time stamp (likely if the process "CScanner" is taken the CPU) Resolution Solution 1: After deleting the particular Function Block Program (which took over 2 hours) the CPU usage was directly down to 20%. Another solution for an AS with the same symptoms: After downloading a new database to the automation server and then restoring a backup the CPU usage went down to normal levels.  Solution 2: Check all schedules for duplicate entries, especially around the time where the CPU goes to 100%. Also check out the SmartStruxure Quick Help - AS CPU and Memory Loading Quick-Help video on the Exchange.

Issue Users are getting two possible errors when trying to open WebReports page Error #1 - "The Web Site URL for Reports is not configured. Please contact the administrator" Error #2 -  "The webpage cannot be found" can also be generated. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Web Reports Cause These Errors can occur when the link to the Reports Server is not correct.  This is usually caused by having the Enterprise Server and Report Server on the same PC It should be noted that having both the Enterprise and Report Server's on the same PC is not recommended.   The reason the Workstation can not access the Web site / Web service URL's is because the Report Manager points to the "Localhost".  When you try to use a Workstation that is not local to the Report Server it can not locate this URL, hence the error.   This issue is not seen if when installing the Report Server on a different machine to the Enterprise Server as designed. Resolution Even though the Enterprise Server is local to the Report Server if access required by any other Workstation or WebStation you must enter the IP or PC Name of the Report Server within the Report Manager's Web site URL.  In this instance changing only the Web site URL will rectify the problem but it is recommended to change both the Web site and Web Service URL settings. This will allow any remote Workstation / Browser to find the Report Server. In workstation, Browse, to the System folder Click on System>Report Manager Set the Web site URL to http://localhost/SchneiderElectric/WebReports/Login.aspx Set the Web Service URL to http://localhost/SchneiderElectric/WebReportsService If the Enterprise Server resides on a different PC than the Reports Server, change "localhost" to the Report Server computer name or IP address After making this change WebReports should display correctly:

Issue Need information on securing a building automation system. Environment Best practices Cause End user has requested assistance for their IT department to secure the building automation system. Resolution Click here to get a copy of Best_Practices_for_Securing_an+IBMS_WP.pdf,  a white paper written by Schneider' Electric's Buildings BU IT Security Group. This also located on the Download Center here

Issue How to setup OSDP Readers on Access Expert Product Line Access Expert Environment Access Expert Hosted Software Access Expert Premise Software Cause Clear recommendations and instructions needed for the process Resolution OSDP Readers with Access Expert Overview OSDP stands for Open Supervised Device Protocol. It is the replacement of the older clock and data style and Weigand protocols that have been used across the industry for many years.OSDP is based upon an industry-standard from SIA (Security Industry Association) and has various levels.  The original version was called OSDPv1 which was followed by OSDPv2 then Secured Channel Communications was added to OSDPv2. This document will address how to add an OSDPv2 and/or OSDPv2 Secured Channel reader to an Access Expert system. As we move more into a data secured and encrypted environment, it is recommended that all deployments be installed based upon OSDPv2 at a minimum.  More information on OSDP can be found at https://www.securityindustry.org/industry-standards/open-supervised-device-protocol/. When compared to Weigand, OSDP offers various technological advancements with the increased level of security being one of the key benefits associated with OSDPv2 Secured Channel. More Security: OSDP v2 with Secure Channel protects readers against hacking using AES-128 encryption and OSDP constantly monitors wiring to protect against tampering. OSDP helps overcome the growing threat of “man in the middle” attack. More Functionality: OSDP uses fewer wires, allows for multi-drop installation, supervises connections to indicate reader malfunctions, and can disable the reader automatically when removed from the wall. Bidirectional communication: OSDP supports bidirectional communication. This means that the reader configuration can be set at the software and then sent to the reader via the intelligent controller More Interoperability: Using OSDP enables communication among different manufacturers' devices. More Consistency:  Not only does OSDP provide a concise set of commonly used commands and responses, but it also eliminates guesswork since encryption and authentication are predefined. Ease of Use: Low cost of implementation on an embedded device and simplification of the encryption and authentication process. Most readers come with both Weigand and OSDP support already available. Reader Wiring & Prerequisites Prerequisites: Readers wired for OSDP Readers that support OSDP HID Mobile Reader Manager App (iTunes or Google Play) HID Reader configured for OSDP and addressed It is possible to deploy OSDP readers on Access Expert without using the HID Reader Manager App provided you are not “stacking” readers on the same controller port.Stacking is a process of putting multiple readers on the same controller and the same port. If stacking is being used, the HID Reader Manager App will be required to set the 2 nd readers' address. As an example: Application Need Reader Port 1 Reader Port 2 Parking Garage The project will have 2 Parking gates where each will have dual readers Reader 1 on Port 1 is set to address 0 Reader 2 on Port 1 is set to address 1 Reader 1 on Port 1 is set to address 0 Reader 2 on Port 1 is set to address 1 When deploying OSDP, the reader and port address designation for each reader port will default to address 0. This means you can deploy a system without using the HID Reader Manager App provide only a single reader is being used per controller port. Note that the AX-MR62e supports a total of 4 OSDP readers but only has a single reader port. This means the HID Reader Manager App is needed to set the addresses accordingly for readers 2 through 4.   OSDP wiring is different from what most installers are accustom to. Rather than Weigand which takes 6 wires to the reader, OSDP is an RS-485 connection where 2 wires are used for data, and 2 are used for power as noted in the images below. These pictures show an HID R900 reader is connected to an AX-MR52-S3 controller for OSDP. The same wiring method is used when deploying OSDPv2 Secured Channel.  No additional wiring is needed for the reader to pick up additional signals such as Reader Tamper alarms.   Adding OSDP Readers to Access Expert To Add an OSDP Reader to your Access Expert system: Open the desired downstream controller or right-click the downstream and select Add OSDP Reader. Click “Add OSDP Reader”. Enter the Reader Display Name. Select the Address.  This field will default to 0 or 1and represents the controller port. Complete the Reader Information for the other fields similar to how a traditional Weigand Reader is configured. Click "Save & Close".   Take note of the Addressing being used on your system. The address is the Controllers Port address while OSDP Address is the Readers address and will vary when Stacking is being used. At this point, the OSDP reader is added to the Access Expert system without Secured Channel being enabled. Leaving the Assurance Profile to None and using the Default Baud Rate settings will leave the reader connected to the system without using the Secured Channel. It is recommended to set up as default first then enable Secured Channel.  OSDP readers have many of the same fields as a Weigand reader so the setup processes will be similar. Assurance Profile: This is used only by PIV class cards for FIPS deployments. Use Default: Using the default sets the Baud Rate to 9600, the address to 0, and does not use a secure channel. Use Secure Channel: To leverage the extra security that comes from OSDP readers, it is best practice to turn on a secure channel. Baud Rate: Because OSDP readers have bi-directional communication, the downstream and the reader need to be using the same rate of the communication (baud rate). Make sure this is set according to the reader's needs. It is recommended that 9600 be used for OSDPv2 and that Auto Negotiate be used for OSDPv2 Secured Channel. OSDP Address: Multiple OSDP readers can be connected to the same reader port on a controller. As an example, the MR-62E supports a total of 4 Readers on the controller but nly has one reader port.  When this is done, each reader on that port needs a unique address and is set in the HID Reader Manager App. Setting up OSDPv2 Secure Channel The reader must first be configured as an OSDP reader in Access Expert to be successfully configured for Secure Channel communications. Right Click the Reader and select View Live Monitoring. This will allow you to monitor the reader communications as you enable Secured Channel.   Check the "Use Secure Channel" option. Set baud rate to auto-negotiate. Click "Save" The reader will show as offline in the hardware tree. From the Reader setup page, Click Actions then Select Start Linking mode. The linking mode is automatic, and the process can be monitored from the Live Monitoring page. The reader will negotiate the secure communication with the controller and come online. With Secure Mode, if the Reader Tamper is in alarm, the reader will not process any card reads by design. How to - Remove Secure Channel on an OSDP reader At some point, you may need to remove an OSDP reader which has been connected to a system via Secured Channel. Uncheck Secure Channel. Click "Save". From the "Actions" drop-down menu, select "Send OSDP Command". Select the Manufacturer. Choose "Set Install Mode". Click "Execute". The LED on the reader should blink green once completed Note: The 'Send OSDP Command' modal has several OSDP Command options so make sure you are selecting the correct manufacturer and command. How to - Know if a reader is in Secure Channel There will be an event indicating the reader mode changed to card only after the start linking mode command. As the reader comes on/offline, you will notice an event/message that says “OSDP Secured Channel for, Reader Name, is Enabled but not Online or Encrypted” and “OSDP Secure Channel for, Reader Name, is Online and Encrypted.”

Issue UPC Barcodes and EAN Barcodes Environment Site ordering parts from Schneider-Electric Cause What are UPC Barcodes and EAN Barcodes Resolution The EAN contains a 13 digit number and the UPC contains a 12 digit number. EAN = 0012345678905 UPC = (0)012345678905 or 012345678905 GS1, the original source for barcodes has created the confusion between UPC (Universal Product Codes) and EAN (European Article Numbers also called International Article Numbers) Below is an example of a Schneider Electric SHR110 room RH/Temp sensor:

Issue Questions regarding specifications of SmartStruxure Hardware Inputs and Outputs Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment SmartStruxure I/O Modules: AO-8, AO-8-H AO-V-8, AO-V-8-H DI-16 DO-FA-12, DO-FA-12-H DO-FC-8, DO-FC-8-H RTD-DI-16 UI-8-AO-4, UI-8-AO-4-H UI-8-AO-V-4, UI-8-AO-V-4-H UI-8-DO-FC-4, UI-8-DO-FC-4-H UI-16 Cause Different I/O modules have different electrical specifications Resolution Universal Input Specifications Universal inputs can be configured as voltage, current, thermistor, resistance, digital or supervised inputs. Voltage Input Specifications: Range - 0 to 10 VDC Resolution - 12 bit Accuracy - ±(0.7mV + 0.2% of reading) Current Input Specifications: Range - 0 to 20 mA Resolution - 12 bit Accuracy - ±(0.03 mA + 0.4% of reading) Resistance Input Specifications: 10 Ohm to 10 kOhm 10 kOhm to 60 kOhm Thermistor Input Specifications: Range - -50 to 150° C (-58 to 302° F) Thermistors: 10k Type I (Continuum), 10k Type II (I/NET), 10k Type III (Satchwell), 10k Type IV (FD), 1.8k (Xenta), 10k Linearized (Satchwell DRT), 10k Type V (FD w/ 11k shunt), 1k (Balco), 20k (Honeywell), 2.2k (Johnson Controls) Digital Output Specifications Form C Relay: Terminal - Common (C), Normally Open (NO), Normally Closed (NC) Minimum Pulse Width - 100 ms minimum Isolation - 1500 VAC minimum, coil to contact Cycle Life - At least 100,000 cycles Contact Rating - 250 VAC, 30 VDC, 3 A Form A Relay: Terminals - Common (C), Normally Open (NO) Minimum Pulse Width - 100 ms minimum Isolation - 1500 VAC minimum, coil to contact Cycle Life - At least 100,000 cycles Contact Rating - 250 VAC, 30 VDC, 2 A LED Specifications: LED Polarity - Represents the actual state of the output; ON if the output is active, OFF if the output is inactive LED Color - Green Analog Output Specifications Analog outputs can be configured as voltage or current. Module Voltage Output: Range - 0 to 10 VDC Resolution - 50 mV Accuracy - ±100 mV Terminals - Voltage (V), Return Minimum Load - Source, 2 mA; Sink, -1mA Current Output: Range - 0 to 20 mA Resolution - 0.1 mA Accuracy - ±0.2 mA Terminals - Current (I), Return Maximum Load - Output load should not exceed 650 Ohms Supervised Input Specifications Supervised inputs can be used to detect sabotage. Detected resistor values - Open circuit, short circuit, contact open, and contact closed. 5 volt circuit, 1 or 2 resistors, monitored - Series only, parallel only and series and switch combinations. For a 2-resistor configuration, each parallel. Resistor value range - 1k to 10 k resistors should have the same value. The selected resistor value needs to be defined in the system. RTD Input Specifications The specifications of the RTD-DI-16 are extensive and thus are best viewed directly in the data sheet available on the Buildings Download Center: RTD-DI-16 Specification Sheet You can also download the specification sheet here: IO Module RTD-DI-16 Specification Sheet (July 2014).pdf.

Issue Warning - Platform running low on RAM disk space (Niagara G3 Release 3.2.5 and higher) Environment I/A Series G3 (typically embedded ENC/JACE platforms) Cause Low disk warning for history RAM disk A station fault will be generated if the free disk space on the history / alarm RAM disk falls below the minimum percentage specified on the PlatformServices property sheet. Resolution During station startup,  /niagara/bin/ramdisk.sh is invoked to create the RAM disk partition.   The RAM disk is named /aram0 and symbolic links are created from /alarm -> /aram0/alarm /history -> /aram0/history.  After the RAM disk is created it is populated with the contents of the alarm.zip and history.zip files.  During a station save or shutdown, the alarm and history files on the RAM disk are zipped and stored under the station directory in alarm/alarm.zip and history/history.zip.  If this fault occurs, users should take one or more of the following actions to prevent history/alarm data from being lost: Reduce number of histories that you are collecting Reduce number of records in each history Increase history RAM disk system (requires reboot). Action 3, above, will reduce the available system memory and should only be taken if there is sufficient free system memory.  Rather than writing history and alarm records directly to persistent storage, a Niagara G3 station stores history and alarm records in a RAM disk. This approach reduces the number and frequency of writes to flash.  Be careful not to increase too much otherwise you risk consuming all the available JACE free RAM causing the niagarad to crash.  Review the free system memory and make sure to leave a buffer of at least 1 MB of free RAM.  The RAM disk size is stored in /niagara/lib/platform.bog and can be adjusted using Services -> Platform Services. After reducing the number of histories, etc. the RAM disk will still indicate a low warning message until the unused histories are removed from the history storage.  Delete the unused histories using the Database Maintenance view on the history component view within the station.

Issue Will the Multi-Purpose Manager (MPM) act as a BACnet IP BBMD?   Product Line EcoStruxure Building Expert Environment Site using BACnet and one or more  SmartStruxe Lite Multi-Purpose Manager (SSL MPM)  Cause Can the MPM act as a BBMD Resolution The MPM cannot act as a BACnet Broadcast Management Device (BBMD), but it can be a foreign device to another BBMD BACnet protocol includes broadcast traffic which does not pass through on-site routers. For BACnet devices to network across a wide area or across multiple separate sites connected by the Internet, it is necessary to register the BACnet devices with a Schneider BBMD using the Foreign Device Registration function in Building Expert. For a Multi-Purpose Manager (MPM) running Building Expert to function as a BACnet device, when being managed remotely over a standard TCP/IP network, it must be configured as a Foreign Device. It must also be registered on an Automation Server (AS) on the remote network that acts as a BBMD. Once done, BACnet devices can send messages to the BBMD, which are translated by the BBMD so they can pass over a standard on-site router. Then BBMD forwards the messages to the appropriate destination MPM controlling the Devices for which the BACnet messages were originally intended. Then the MPM translates the messages received over the network from the BBMD into standard BACnet messages and passes them on to the intended Devices as if they were direct BACnet messages. This Foreign Device Registration feature allows a single user with a StruxureWare Building Operations (StruxureWare Building Operation) terminal to remotely oversee multiple disparate sites simultaneously using BACnet, without having to install expensive direct connections to each site. You must have Firmware release version 2.9 or higher installed on your Manager to use Foreign Device Registration function. Here is the BACnet-Specifications-PIC-Statement.pdf And the  explanation on how to setup the DR-ForeignDeviceRegistration.pdf

Issue TAC Vista Error Codes in Plain Text Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Server Vista Workstation Cause Vista will sometimes give an error code. This list decodes the TAC Vista Family Error Codes. Resolution For a list of TAC Vista Error Codes in plain text click here.

Issue Will J-Bus operate with Modbus RTU devices on the same bus? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation  Environment Building Operation Automation Server Building Operation Automation Server Premium Building Operation Automation Server Bundled Cause Compatibility of J Bus required. Resolution The J Bus protocol is supported by the Autimation Server, it runs on an RS485 network and uses a subset of the Modbus RTU protocol function codes. The J Bus devices addressing usually has an offset of 1 compared to the Modbus RTU standard, to apply this offset select "J-Bus Mode" = Yes in the Modbus Master Network Properties.   Verify that the devices to be used have a standard RS485 electrical connection and do not require any special electrical biasing, also ensure that all units connected on the bus have a unique ID/ address number. If this is the case then you should be able to connect both Modbus RTU and J Bus devices on the same Automation Server port connection but in the Modbus Master Network select the J Bus Mode setting to No. In J-Bus mode, the Automation Server will automatically reduce the polled register addresses by one, so if the AS is set to Modbus mode, you may need to manually set the register addresses of any J-Bus devices by minus one. With J Bus as with Modbus sometimes the point addressing needs to be offset by +1 or -1, but check with the 3rd party device supplier/ documentation to determine its specific point addressing requirements.  

Issue This is a detailed explanation of extended logging gaps, performance and load balancing  Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum Windows XP Windows Server 2000 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2008 Cause System overloads Slow server and/or server crashes Server CPU Usage running at high percentage rates Low Physical Memory Available Gaps in Extended logging data Resolution This article discusses factors that need to be considered when extended logging is being used to log a large number of points. There are too many variables involved in the Extended logging engine to place specifics on the number of extended logs that can be used. Performance will be contingent on many hardware, software and configuration variables. It is best practice to make one configuration change at a time and wait for the results prior to making an additional change. The SQL server version will affect extended logging performance There are limitations to different versions of SQL server.  For instance, MSDE has a 2 Gig limit and if this is exceeded, it will cause corruption in the database and the database may have to be rebuilt. SQL Standard and Enterprise versions allow a certain number of processors and RAM to be utilized by SQL. This is a link to Microsoft’s web site that compares the versions. http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/features/compare-features.mspx PC hardware such as hard drive access times, RAM amount and speed as well and CPU speed and quantity of processors will directly affect extended logging performance. While always at a minimum following the hardware requirements in the Continuum Cyberstation installation manual, there are times when more processing power and memory are needed. Sites that are performing large amounts of extended logging are definite candidates to consider going beyond the recommended hardware requirements. While 64-bit machines are not supported for running Cyberstation software [before v1.94], they can be used to increase performance on SQL server side. One benefit of using a 64-bit OS and SQL2005/2008 64-bit versions is increased memory capabilities and well as the ability to have several processors. Server hard drives with faster read/write capacities can also be improved. Sites that fall under some of the items discussed below should consider the benefits of faster servers to better handle their Lan site communications and data storage needs. How many Cyberstations are being used? As a general rule, we do not recommend using 1 Cyberstation for logging greater than 2000 points. This does not take into consideration the logging interval. 1 Cyberstation as a stand alone could be overwhelmed by 2000 points if the points are configured at small intervals with a large number of entries. In the case of a LAN site with several thousand extended log requests, more than 1 Cyberstation may be needed for load balancing. What is load balancing? Load balancing was implemented to divide extended logging work among Cyberstations based on the overall number of log entries per hour. Each Cyberstation will be logging on average approximately the same number of entries per hour, but the number of points logged by each workstation may be different. The algorithm looks at the timestamp of the log and if it’s not logged for a specific Cyberstation within a certain timeframe + the Global interval then it’s offered up to the rest of the Cyberstations (pool) to load balance equally. How to identify gaps in data: Run a report for extended log data and you notice that the regular interval for points do not show based on the timestamps. Run the following SQL query to verify the data in the database select * from extendedlog order by datetime desc --Selects all logs in descending order Select top 5000000 * from extendedlog --Selects the top 5 million rows (adjustable) When gaps are identified, a number of steps may be examined to eliminate the gaps. Offline controllers will buffer data as long as they can, but if left offline for long enough then data could be lost as it is first in first out. Normally extended log data will be requested from the controller by Cyberstation once it has come back online and the data will be filled in from the most recent to the oldest data. Check the Continuum error logs. If there is a large number of errors being processed, this can contribute to a draw on needed resources on the system. Resolve the issues in the Continuum error log to reduce the resource overhead. Run Acctrace.exe for a period of time. This can often give some additional information about extended logging that is not reported in the Continuum error logs. Determine how many Cyberstations are being used for load balancing for extended logging. This can be done by verifying in the Cyberstation preferences setting. ‘Download Extended Log data from controllers on the LAN is set to True   To verify the number of Cyberstations being utilized in the database Run a query against the database. Select * from ExtendedLogReservation Observe the ReservationWSLo column, points are evenly assigned to a unique id Any new Cyber added to the pool of workstations for extended logging should be assigned within a couple minutes. Examine the Hard drive I/O subsystem According to SQL server performance data, it is recommended to have multiple smaller drives on a hard drive array as opposed to fewer larger drives for better access times. SQL settings Are any governor settings enabled? (MSDE has one by default) Determine the number of processors that are enabled on the SQL server itself. These need to be selected to be used. Is Boost SQL Server priority selected? If not, enable it.   If a database has moved to another PC or an upgrade was done SP_CHANGEDBOWNER 'andover97' must be run or it can cause db problems including extended logging to no work at all or only partially. SQL profiler can be used to examine if there are issues within SQL that could use specific tuning. For example, certain queries or stored procedures could be isolated that have high CPU usage. Help for using SQL Profiler can be found on Microsoft’s web site or from SQL admin literature. Truncating tables Regular maintenance of removing extended logs can increase performance by reducing the number of rows that the need to be read and inserted into the database. Extended Log Automatic Purge Interval (days) This is the number of days to keep extended log data in the database before purging it. Extended log data is stored in a single internal table, so purging the data after a specified number of days prevents this table from becoming too large. A value of 0 ensures that the data is never purged.  If performance is so bad that it is affecting normal operations it may be desirable to directly purge records from the database. (It is best practice to perform a database backup prior to any delete query.) Also, ensure there is a database backup if the data needs to be saved at various points in time.  This query DELETES all records greater than 3/10/08 14:43:00 from extended log table delete from extendedlog where datetime >= ‘2008-03-10 14:43:00.000’  Increase the interval that extended logs are retrieved in points with small interval times. A listview with the ExtLogEnable and ExtLogInterval columns added can be run for numerics, inputs and outputs to indicate which logs have an interval of zero or a small number for the interval. Increase the interval and reduce the amount to reduce the number of requests. Increase the general preference Extended Log Database Check Interval The interval at which Continuum will check the database for points that are enabled for automatic extended logging. It checks the extended logging table, and uploads the point data. The default is 5 minutes. Increase this Database Check Interval if the system is unable to process all extended logs requested in this timeframe.  Extended Log Maximum LAN Buffer Interval (minutes) This is the maximum time interval, in minutes, that CyberStation may check each controller on a LAN network for new extended logging data. This determines how long Cyberstation will allow the controller log to accumulate new data before downloading it. This setting reduces a small amount of overhead when set to a higher value, and allows more up-to-date extended logs when set to a lower value.  Examples: If this is set to 1 minute and a point is logged every 10 seconds then Cyberstation will wait one minute and download 6 entries for that point. If this is set to 1 minutes and a point is logged every hour, Cyberstation will only try to download the data every hour.  Increase the Extended Log Database Check Interval and stagger Continuum startup When it is necessary, enable logging on several Cyberstations for load balancing. If additional Cyberstations have been added and the system is still having trouble keeping up with logging demand, implement the following procedure. Increase the Continuum General Preference Extended Log Database Check Interval to 60 minutes Stagger the start up times of the Cyberstations to 10 minutes apart. Staggering the startups as well as extending the time should allow the load balancing to level off by enabling the load balancing engine to utilize all of the Cyberstation’s resources and disperse the processing. Adding several Cyberstations at the same time could potentially cause the load balancing engine to get into a race condition where it’s trying to reassign all the points at the same time while still logging data.