Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue TAC213 is obsolete and needs replacement Environment TAC213 0803097005 Cause Obsolete controller needs replacement Resolution TAC213 is obsolete since many years. No replacement product is available.

Issue How many addressable points can the 7716 supervise or control? Environment I/NET site Cause How many addressable points can the 7716 supervise or control? Resolution The 7716 can supervise or control 200 points

Issue When one of operator use "Operator A" account to login I/NET, he is only able to access group A (group A is a door group) of doors. When one of operator use "Operator B" account to login I/NET, he is only able to access group B (group B is another door group) of doors. Environment I/NET Seven 2.31 and above Cause Restricting Individual access in I/NET Resolution Log into I/NET with an Admin level user account Select Edit>Host Computer>Passwords Select the User you wish to limit access to Click modify The Host Passwords Editor will open Click on the Tenant Button at the bottom of the Window The Host Passwords - Tenants Editor will open Click "All No" to remove all permissions Check "Full Access" for any Tenant you wish to allow the user to have full access to If you wish the user to have some access check "Limited Access" The Host Passwords - Groups Editor will open Choose "Selected" for any group you wish the user to have full control of Choose "Read Only" for any group you wish the user to have read only access to Leave unchecked any group you wish the user to have no access to. Click OK to close out of all windows Log out and log back in with the modified user account to test control

Issue How does the Test mode work on the B-Link-F repeaters.   Environment B-Link-F Cause Need to know to what extent the test mode assesses fiber signal quality. Resolution Test Mode on the B-Link-F repeaters is a simple test that forces the Light source on at the Test B-Link so that the installer can verify the that the light is being received by the non Test B-Link.  In test mode the TD Led illuminates to indicate that the light source is on.  The RD Led on the non test B-Link-F indicates that the light has passed through the fiber and is seen.   The Test mode is used to test connectivity only and does not evaluate the integrity of the light signal. 

Issue What are the port settings on a DMS panel for UltiVist to communicate serially to it? Environment UltiVist DMS Cause DMS panel's serial COM ports settings were reset to factory defaults. Resolution The serial COM port on the DMS requires the following settings in order for a serially-connected UltiVist computer to communicate: PORTx = 9600 1 7 E M N x = 1* or 2  (* typically PORT1 is used) 1 = stop bits 7 = data bits E = even parity M = Multi-drop N = no modem

Issue Xenta programmable communication buffer size affected by the application size Environment TAC Xenta 301, TAC Xenta 302, TAC Xenta 281,TAC Xenta 282,TAC Xenta 283,TAC Xenta 401 Cause The communication is handled by the neuron chip and the application is handled by the host processor so there are no effects at all on the communication. Resolution No, there is no effect on the communication buffers

Issue An IP remote client did not receive expected data in time. The connection might be lost. Environment LonMaker Vista LNS Cause Trying to download to controllers and Vista receives an invalid address error.  The LonMaker database had a de-serialization error found when it tried to check the monitor sets.   De-serialization error after attempting a drawing resynch.  Resolution  Restore an old backup of the LonMaker database or the NL-220 database. If the error still occurs additional assistance will be needed from Echelon to try to find a solution.

Issue How to start an event sequence with a single click on a graphics page Environment I/NET 2.4x Cause Application Assistance Resolution Create and test an event sequence to carry out the function you wish to achieve Edit a graphics page Select I/NET>Tool Marker Choose label or graphic symbol as desired Next to the Tool Name field, click "Select" Click Add to create a new tool Name the tool Chose the event type Click OK Browse to the appropriate link Select the controller containing the event sequence created in step 1 In the Available Events pane, select the Event Sequence created in step 1 Click Add (if desired the tool can run multiple event sequences) Click OK till you are back to the graphics page Save and test.

Issue No AMT Function when starting I/NET 2000 Environment I/NET 2000 Cause Starting I/NET from a copy of inetw.exe on the desktop. Resolution Shortcuts on the desktop will work, but do not create a copy of InetW.exe on the desktop. To create a shortcut: Option 1 Right-click on the desktop Click New > Shortcut Browse the path to the location of inetw.exe Option 2 Right-click on InetW.exe in Windows Explorer Dag it onto the desktop and select Create Shortcut Do not select Copy Here

Issue Examples of Controllers and Taps that are not supported by the MIP Environment MIP Cause Offering a list of Controllers and Taps that are not supported by the MIP Resolution 7750 Building Manager 78013 78020 Tap (Plastic Enclosure) 78022 78023 78032 78033 7791 7792 7793 7716 7718 7728 7798

Issue Daylight Savings Time changeover may not automatically occur on some Network 8000 controllers. Environment Network 8000 Cause The controllers with the "Formula Date" option selected will use the "Formula Date" information to calculate a Spring and Fall fixed date which is used to determine when the daylight savings changeover should occur. The fixed dates calculated will be for the current calendar year. This means that if a "Formula Date" recalculation is triggered on April 15, 2007 in a NW8000 controller, the controller will generate fixed dates of March 11, 2007 and November 4, 2007 corresponding to the 2nd Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November. Once the fall back date of November 4, 2007 has been processed, the NW8000 controller will not recalculate the new fixed dates for year 2008 until there is a trigger event that occurs after January 1, 2008. If no trigger event occurs between January 1, 2008 and March 9, 2008, the "spring ahead changeover" does not occur since the controller is still using the fixed date of March 11, 2007. Resolution For the daylight savings time changeover to occur, a new fixed date must be calculated each calendar year before the Spring changeover date. The changeover date calculation is made following a pre-determined trigger event. The fixed changeover dates used for comparison in the "Formula Date" Daylight Savings option currently get recalculated when: The controller’s EEPROM is cleared, The controller is reset, Any information in the INSTALLATION DATA is modified. If the "Formula Date" option is selected in a controller, the only means to insure that a controller will process the daylight savings changeover is to either reset the controller or modify the installation data. If it is unknown that either of these events has occurred during the calendar year it will be necessary to manually initiate one of these events to guarantee that the daylight savings time changeover will occur. Refer to Bulletin 01-40

Issue During Construction it may be required to use a temporary database to allow access control to function before the IP infrastructure is in place. Environment I/NET Seven Cause A temporary database has been used during construction. The end user has an existing database that the new links and doors must be added to. In some cases the temporary database may be required to be used while the building is occupied so a smooth transition between the two databases is required. Resolution Construction Phase Determine in advance the link information to be used for each new Xenta 527, and the full address for each door Determine who will access which doors within the new construction and add these individuals to new or existing groups accordingly Commission doors and add badges using the temporary database by using the available TAP on the SLI. If you use a crossover cable to connect to the Xenta 527, be sure to clear routing tables at the end of construction Ensure that each Xenta 527 has an available patch cable and Ethernet port installed Inform the IT department or installer that I/NET must have port 50069 open DO NOT leave the Xenta 527 plugged into the Ethernet port during construction If the building becomes occupied, add badges to the door using a temporary database connected via TAP If you are using multiple SLI's during the construction phase, it is important to ensure you are using only 1 access control Database.  Any other machine must have access control disabled to ensure cards are not removed from the system. If you have to add additional badges to any of the SLIs or change the temporary Database, you may need to do a station restore for the changes to take effect. Adding the New Links and Doors to the existing system Verify that the Ethernet port by each Xenta 527 is functional by using a laptop to "ping" the Primary Host workstation. The lights on the Xenta 527 may show active Ethernet communication before the new construction IP is connected to the Local network. Connect to each controller using your temporary database. Perform a station save.  If you have any issues, this will function as your restore point. Connect to the Xenta 527 and ensure that the reference Hosts and link information is correct. Connect the Xenta 527 to the Ethernet port and cycle power. At the Host PC, Select Edit>Host Computer>Network Configuration Save the new Xenta 527's, SLI's, SCUs and Doors Select Access>Tenant Add the Doors to the appropriate Tenant Select Access>Groups Give the appropriate Groups access to the correct doors Verify you have given access to all appropriate people.  You may wish to compare the System View of each door on your temporary to the System View of each door on the site database Connect to the controller Select Edit>Controller>Station Save To clear the old database you will need to take the controller to Boot. select Edit> Host computer> software Restore Load the Bin file to the appropriate controller, but hit cancel after 10K have downloaded Load the Bin file again, this time allow it to finish. Connect to the controller Select Edit>Controller>Station Restore Choose the SLI option Select Edit>Controller>Station Restore Choose the DPU option Select all DPUs and restore Once this process is completed test several badges. Repeat steps 12-21 for each SLI under this Xenta 527 Repeat this process for each Xenta 527

Issue Get alarm the "Filename too long for backup" in TAC Vista Workstation. What is wrong? Environment TAC Vista 4.2.5 Cause The too long filename is from one of the debug logs in the $log folder in Vistas database. Resolution Make sure no debug log is started, open the Vista server, Log-Comm. Log, nothing should be active or marked. Delete or copy to another folder the logs in the $log folder.

Issue Displaying a document from a Sigma graphic or Sigma object. Environment Pop-up commands Pop-up menus Opening documents from Sigma Cause Site requires access to related documents from the Sigma system. Resolution Viewing Sigma related documents can be achieved using the Pop-up Menus / Commands options within Sigma. To add this facility to Sigma proceed as follows. In the Sigma System Manager (SSM), select "System Setup", "General" and "Pop-up Menus Commands" Select a "New" command, and give it an appropriate name. Highlight "System Information" and then complete as shown in the screen shot below. Make sure that the command line is correctly entered as follows;  C:\Sigma\Data\System Information\Controller {Unc No}.txt Please note that the {Unc No} is entered by highlighting the Controller number format field and choosing "Select". Create the  C:\Sigma\Data\System Information\ folder with the appropriate files in it. Please note the file names must be Controller xxx.txt, where xxx is the correct controller number. The above configuration opens Windows Notepad, but other programmes can be used. Next, create a new  Pop-up menu. This is done by highlighting  "Pop-up Menus" and selecting "New", choose a suitable number and give it a name Select the newly created command and select it to go into the menu. The final section of this configuration is to allocate the new menu to an Object or Graphic reference, an object is shown below, where the Menu Id is set to 2. Testing the Pop-up command operation. RH click on the Sigma object and select the new menu. The correct file associated with the Sigma object selected, will open.

Issue Finding a new BACNet device causes a BCX controller to show in the Continuum Explorer with the icon of a Workstation Environment BCX Continuum Explorer CyberStation Cause There are incompatible revisions between the controller and the CyberStation. Resolution Delete the BCX from the BACNet view Choose one of the following options: Upgrade the CyberStation to version 1.73 and higher Downgrade the BCX below revision 4.4. Review the Compatibility matrix posted on the Buildings Business Extranet for compatible revisions of products.

Issue When a graphic is selected from the Xenta 555 menu structure,  the graphic opens, but only the close (X) button is shown. Environment Xenta 555 Micronet Cause The Java TM Runtime version is not correct. Resolution Update Java TM Runtime to the latest version. This can be downloaded from here.

Issue Longtext messages not correctly upgraded can cause the Sigma server to stop. Environment RAM Remote Alarm Manager Longtext Server shuts down Cause Upgrading of the Longtext messages was not carried out correctly. Resolution All new Longtext messages were added correctly, but messages that existed before the upgrade were copied in and not upgraded. The result of this was that the Sigma server would periodically stop. When upgrading Sigma from a release earlier than 4.05, ensure that the Longtext folder is present in the Data folder, then run the Sigma upgrade programme.

Issue In a G3 MicroSmart station, does the station point name have to match the point name in the MicroSmart controller? Environment Niagara G3 MicroSmart driver Cause Replacing a MicroSmart controller database with a copy that has identical programming (including I/O assignments) but with different point names Resolution The MicroSmart driver does not use the point name as the link between the G3 station's point and the MicroSmart controller's point. If the I/O assignment is the same, then commands will work.

Issue Can an I/NET control system be connected to a Firefighters Smoke Control Station (FSCS)? Which I/NET product is often recommended as a Fire Alarm Panel (FAP) Interface? Environment I/NET FSCS UL 864 Cause Smoke control in an HVAC application. Resolution I/NET can be connected to a UL 864 listed panel providing contact inputs (for Lamps/Enunciator) and contact outputs delivering override switch status. Only the 7797-12-U8 is approved for use as the primary means of serial alarm reception in a listed smoke control system. Refer to TCON 231, Smoke Control Systems Manual, FSCS Interface Options for more details.

Issue With the Personnel Import Utility, is it possible to query multiple OU containers? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Personnel Import Utility (PIU) Cause Need to be able to query multiple OU containers. Similar to below query. Server Name: LDAP://test/DC=test, DC=com (test and com are separate domains) Resolution Unfortunately the query cannot be changed to accommodate this. Different Domains can be specified but it is not possible to go down to the OU level.