Gateway FAQ

Modbus gateways convert serial Modbus, also called Modbus RTU, to Modbus TCP. There is often confusion about which device type, vendor, and family to select when discovering one of these devices in EcoStruxure IT Gateway. You should always select the device you wish to monitor, most often a power or cooling device, but you might also want to monitor the Modbus gateway itself. For basics on discovering devices in the EcoStruxure IT Gateway, see Discover Devices. GW_Modbus_TCP_discovery_4409052709649.png Discover Modbus TCP devices Devices that can communicate using Modbus TCP are connected directly to the ethernet network without using a Modbus gateway. To discover Modbus TCP devices, you must select the appropriate device type, vendor, and family in the Gateway UI.  This is the most common situation. For example, to monitor an ION9000 Power Meter, discover it with Modbus TCP, select Power Meter, PowerLogic, and ION9000, enter its IP address, and, most often, the Modbus server address of 1 since that is typically the default address of devices that support Modbus TCP. mceclip2_4409052709649.png   Discover serial Modbus devices connected to a Modbus gateway Devices that are not capable of Modbus TCP and use only serial Modbus are often connected to a device that converts Modbus RTU to Modbus TCP, such as a Schneider Electric EGX or Com'X. To discover these devices, you use the TCP option on the EcoStruxure IT Gateway > Discover Devices page, and select Power Meter, PowerLogic, ION9000, and the IP address of the EGX/Com'X. Select the Modbus server address of your device, address 3 in this example. You still use the ION9000 in this case even though the IT Gateway is connected to the Modbus serial to TCP converter because that device is just passing data through and is transparent to EcoStruxure IT Gateway.  To discover the branch circuit monitor, you need to run another discovery with Modbus server address 2, and then another discovery with Modbus server address 1 for the breaker.   mceclip5_4409052709649.png   Discover the Modbus gateway Some devices, for example the Com’X 510, have digital and analog inputs. To monitor the status of those inputs, you need to monitor the Modbus gateway device. To discover these devices, you use the TCP option on the EcoStruxure IT Gateway > Discover Devices page, and select the vendor, device type, and family that matches the device. Consult the user manual for the device to determine the proper Modbus server address, 255 for the Com'X 510 in this example. You can also monitor the power meter, branch circuit monitor, and breaker in addition to the Com'X. This requires four different discoveries, all with the IP address of the Com'X, and the appropriate Modbus server address for each: server address 255 for the Com'X; address 1 for the breaker; address 2 for the branch circuit monitor; and address 3 for the power meter.   mceclip6_4409052709649.png

You can connect Smart-UPS models starting with SMT, SMTL, SRT, and SURT to EcoStruxure IT Gateway with serial Modbus, also called Modbus RTU. Enable Modbus on the UPS.  From the display on the front of the UPS, first enable the advanced menu, then enable Modbus. Connect the serial cable between the UPS and the Gateway computer. Use an APC cable, part number 940-0625 or 940-1525. More info on which cable you need Connect the RJ45 port labeled Serial on the UPS to a DB9 connector on the computer running the Gateway. If the computer does not have a DB9 connector, you will need a USB to RS232 converter as well. These converters are inexpensive and available from plugable.com and cablematters.com.  You might also need to install the driver for the cable. The driver is pre-installed on many Linux systems. On Windows, download and install the driver for the converter. Check the documentation for the cable you are using. The cables from plugable.com and cablematters.com probably use this driver: http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProduct.aspx?p_id=225&pcid=41. Discover the device in the Gateway. Go to Discover devices and then click Discovering a Modbus device? GW_discover_devices_360008889677.PNG Use these parameters: Type: UPS; Device Vendor: APC; Device family: Smart-UPS; Server address: 1 Serial Port On Windows, go to Device Manager and look under Ports (COM & LPT) for the port number.  If you're using the driver described above, it will show as Prolific USB-to_serial Comm Port followed by the port number. Baud Rate: 9600; Data Bits: 8; Parity: None; Stop Bits: 1; Flow Control: None GW_discover_Smart-UPS_serial_Modbus_360008889677.png See also Modbus Implementation in APC Smart-UPS Smart-UPS Communications APC Forum discussion

The EcoStruxure IT Gateway does not support SCP on APC NMC1 devices. Installing and setting up EcoStruxure IT Gateway   APC Network Management Card (NMC1) models AP9617 AP9618 AP9619 APC Network Management Card (NMC1) devices with embedded NMC1 include: APC Rack PDU, AP78xx APC Rack PDU, AP79xx Note: AP79XXB are NMC2. APC In-line Current Meter, AP7152  APC In-line Current Meter, AP7155  APC In-line Current Meter, AP7175  You can easily identify NMC1 devices by the style of their login screen.      

The registration code is used to connect the Gateway to EcoStruxure IT. It appears on the Register Gateway page in the Gateway setup wizard.   GW18_register_Gateway_360006171818.JPG   Once you exit the setup wizard, the code appears on the Cloud connectivity page if the Gateway is not connected.    GW18_configure_connectivity_360006171818.PNG   When the Gateway is connected, the code is not displayed.   GW18_register_Gateway_complete_360006171818.png   If your Gateway can't connect to the cloud, please contact EcoStruxure IT Support for assistance.   Note: This code registers the Gateway with EcoStruxure IT only. It is not the same as the recovery code you can use to authenticate with EcoStruxure IT.

The discovery log can provide reasons a device discovery failed. Provide the log to technical support for further assistance. Click the Discovery log link after you run a discovery. Otherwise: Log in to EcoStruxure IT Gateway. Go to Device discovery.  Click Discovery log. GW18_discover_devices_1_360006606518.png   GW18_discovery_log_360006606518.PNG

EcoStruxure IT Gateway 1.8.1 and newer include more accurate device support for the Uniflair family of CRACs and chillers. With these additions to the Gateway device library, you will need to do a targeted discovery in EcoStruxure IT Gateway. If you have previously discovered Uniflair devices, and have updated to Gateway 1.8.1, you must delete previously discovered Uniflair devices and then rediscover them. Existing device data will not be preserved. See a list of affected devices in the EcoStruxure IT Gateway 1.8.1 release notes Uniflair devices discovered in Gateway 1.8.1 or later are not affected. Follow these steps to discover your Uniflair device: SNMP Discovery Enter the IP address of the device you want to discover. GW18_Uniflair_discovery_1_360006532378.png When the discovery finishes, you'll see this message: GW18_Uniflair_discovery_2_360006532378.png Click Choose device type to see a list of available device types, for example, Chiller or CRAC . GW18_Uniflair_discovery_3_360006532378.png Select the vendor Uniflair. GW18_Uniflair_discovery_4_360006532378.png You'll see a list of all the available device support files for your selection, Uniflair Chiller in this example. GW18_Uniflair_discovery_5_360006532378.png This is a partial list of the Uniflair chillers. To determine which file is correct for your device, you need more information: The full model name of the device, for example, ERAF1221A. The PLC (programmable logic controller) and HMI (human-machine interface) your device is equipped with. When you have this additional information, you can break down the file names and select the proper one. Let's use an ERAC1221A equipped with a pCO5+ PLC and a UG50 HMI as an example. The first part of the file name is the model name, followed by the model number (with x as a wildcard). You know it will be Erac_xx21a, but there are 2 files that start with that combination. That's why you need to know which PLC and HMI are equipped. IMPORTANT: Devices with the same model name but a different PLC/HMI are NOT compatible.  The correct file for this device is Erac_xx21a_pco5_plus_ug50_metric. If you selected Erac_xx21a_pco1_ug40_metric instead, measurements in EcoStruxure IT will be inaccurate, Modbus Discovery Modbus discovery is similar to previous Gateway versions. There is a list for Type, Vendor, and Family (DDF name). The file names are structured the same as in step 5 of the SNMP discovery section. Enter the IP address and server address and select Discover Modbus device. GW_Uniflair_discovery_2020_360006532378.png Note: Modbus.org announced it is expunging all occurrences of inappropriate language of the query and response paradigm of Modbus communications. More...

A number of vulnerabilities, collectively known as Ripple20, exist in Treck Inc.'s embedded TCP/IP stack and are used in Schneider Electric devices.   How is EcoStruxure IT Gateway software affected by Ripple20?   None of the Ripple20 vulnerabilities exist in the EcoStruxure IT Gateway software.   How is the EcoStruxure IT Gateway Appliance affected?   There are two Gateway Appliances, each on a different platform: the NUC and the Dell PowerEdge, Schneider Electric SKUs INNUC0119 and DLPE301118, respectively.  Dell states that their servers are not affected.   SimplyNUC, the NUC's hardware vendor, confirms that the NUC is not affected.     Mitigation   No specific mitigation for Ripple20 is necessary for the EcoStruxure IT Gateway software or the Gateway Appliances. Do not disable DNS on the Gateway Appliance or the computer the Gateway is running on.    DNS is required for communication with the cloud-based services.   Mitigation for the known affected devices is documented in these Schneider Electric notifications: Security Notification - APC by Schneider Electric Network Management Cards Treck TCP/IP Vulnerabilities (Ripple20) Security Notification – Treck TCP/IP Vulnerabilities   How can EcoStruxure IT Expert help mitigate Ripple20?   Connect vulnerable devices to a private network and monitor using EcoStruxure IT Gateway. See EcoStruxure IT Gateway in a Secure Network Architecture Use the Device Configuration feature in IT Expert to set DNS servers to 0.0.0.0 on all impacted NMCs and use static IP addresses for all servers the NMC will connect to. Once new firmware is available for the affected NMCs, use the Firmware Update feature in IT Expert to easily push out the new firmware to affected devices.   See also https://www.apc.com/secure-nmc APC FAQ FA410359  

Device library updates are released more frequently, independent from Gateway software releases. See EcoStruxure IT Gateway device library release notes NOTE: Updates to the Gateway device library are only available through EcoStruxure IT, not as a separate downloadable file.   Manually update Gateway DDFs  Gateways not configured for auto-update require an Administrator user to manually initiate the device library update in EcoStruxure IT.  Note: The Update button is not available when both the Gateway software and the device library are up to date.   Log in and go to Administration > Gateways. Click Update on the Gateway's tile as you would for a Gateway software update.   You'll be prompted to install the type of update available, either a Gateway software update or a device library update. The Gateway software update is always presented first. If a device library update is also available, it will be presented after the Gateway software is updated. The new Gateway software version and/or the new device library version will appear on the Gateway's tile.  

EcoStruxure IT Gateway version 1.4.0 and newer Log in to your EcoStruxure IT account. Go to Administration > Gateways. Click Update on the Gateway tile. More... EcoStruxure IT Gateway software older than 1.4.0 If your Gateway software is older than version 1.4.0, the installer will direct you to download and install Gateway version 1.5.2. Once you log in, you'll see a message that an update is available. You can then update your Gateway to the latest version.    

Starting with EcoStruxure IT Gateway 1.8.0, you reset the admin user’s password using a dedicated command. Resetting the admin user password is no longer associated with the restore, does not have a default value, and does not require a manual Gateway service restart afterwards.  idea_icon_360007070737.png Instructions on how to reset the Gateway admin password for Gateway versions prior to 1.8.0 are here.   Note: In the examples below, replace <version number> with the Gateway version number as it is shown in the installation directory. Windows You must be an Administrator or run the command prompt as administrator. Open a command window. Right-click the command prompt icon and click Run as administrator.   GW_run_as_admin_360007070737.png Navigate to C:\Program Files\EcoStruxure IT Gateway\<version number>\bin. Type the command cd  C:\Program Files\EcoStruxure IT Gateway\<version number>\bin To see the contents of the directory, type the command dir  Type the command reset-password.bat GW18_reset_password_360007070737.png Set the new password when prompted. Linux Navigate to /opt/EcoStruxureITGateway/<version number>/bin. Type the command cd /opt/EcoStruxureITGateway/<version number>/bin Type the command ./reset-password.sh Set the new password when prompted. Note: If the admin user was previously deleted, it is recreated on password reset.

idea_icon_360007070737.png Instructions on how to reset the Gateway admin password for Gateway 1.8 and newer are here.   The password for the admin account will be reset to admin. Users are required to change their password at first login. Note: In the examples below, replace X.X.X with your Gateway version number.   Windows You must be an Administrator or run the command prompt as administrator. Open a command window. Right-click the command prompt icon and click Run as administrator.  Gateway_run_as_admin_360012170533.png Navigate to C:\Program Files\EcoStruxure IT Gateway\X.X.X\restore. Type the command cd  C:\Program Files\EcoStruxure IT Gateway\X.X.X\restore Type the command restore.bat password-reset Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. Restart the "EcoStruxureITGateway Server - X.X.X.X" service. Linux Open a command window and type cd /opt/ExoStruxureITGateway/X.X.X/restore Type ./restore.sh password-reset  Restart the EcoStruxure IT Gateway Server.  Type systemctl restart EcoStruxureITGateway-X.X.X.service The systemctl command can be run from any directory by sudo users.

You can contact support to request support for devices that are not currently supported in EcoStruxure IT Gateway.   Device support requests are reviewed regularly, and then selected for inclusion in the Gateway device library releases over time. Inclusion is based on demand, request order, and customer applicability.   New devices are supported through regular new releases of the EcoStruxure IT Gateway device library, and not through direct delivery of individual files. A rough estimate on the delivery of your request will be given once it has been selected for a near term release. See How to update the Gateway device library   Need device support now? You can use the Asset Definition File service to request support for up to 20 devices to be delivered to you at a pre-determined time. More...

You can find the Gateway serial number in the Gateway user interface or in IT Expert. Gateway Log in to your EcoStruxure IT Gateway (https://<gateway-IP>) Go to Settings > About to see the serial number.  GW18_serial_number_360021554533.PNG IT Expert Log in to ITE. Go to Administration > Gateways. ITE_gateway_serial_number_360021554533.JPG

This article pertains to Gateway versions 1.7.0 and older. See this article for versions 1.8.1 and later. Log in to your EcoStruxure IT Gateway. Click the menu icon, then Discovery. Gateway_discovery_360016408914.png Click Create Discovery. Gateway_create_discovery_360016408914.JPG In Device Discovery, select the Advanced option, and select the device family that matches your device: Device type: Crac Device vendor: Uniflair Device family: Aquascroll, Ug40mp40_imperial, Ug40mp40_metric Enter the IP address of the device, and select SNMPv1 or SNMPv3. Specify the IP address, and select SNMPv1 or SNMPv3. For SNMPv1, specify the Read community name (public is default), the Write community name (private is default), and the port, (161 is default). For SNMPv3, specify the Username, Authentication type (MD5 or SHA), Authentication password, Encryption type (DES, DES3, AES128, AES192, AES256), Encryption password, and Port (161 is default). Run the discovery. Note: Advanced discovery is necessary for only the specific devices listed in this option.

To discover NetBotz appliances in EcoStruxure IT Gateway, provide the appropriate device credentials on the Device configuration page in the Gateway setup wizard. Otherwise, go to Settings > Advanced > Device credentials and click New device credentials.   GW18_device_credentials_1_360006583418.PNG   The device credential type you choose depends on the model of the NetBotz appliance.   NetBotz 200, 250, 750/755   Choose SNMPv1 or SNMPv3 to create device credential settings for NetBotz 200, 250, and 750/755 appliances. Enter the correct community strings or SNMPv3 passphrases.   Note: If you add sensors to the NetBotz 250 or NetBotz 750/755 after you discover it, you must manually rediscover the device to see those sensors in the Gateway. You do not have to delete the NetBotz device before you run a new discovery.   Netbotz 355, 455, 450, 570 Choose NetBotz to create device credential settings for NetBotz 355, 455, 450, and 570 appliances. Enter the administrative username and password.   Note: Support for unsafe ciphers was removed as part of a security update in EcoStruxure IT Gateway version 1.8.0. NetBotz 4.x devices must now support 2048 bit certificates. Self-signed automatically generated SSL certificates use 2048-bit encryption as of NetBotz version 4.5.4.  

Modbus.org now uses client/server to describe Modbus communication   Note: Modbus.org announced it is expunging all occurrences of inappropriate language of the query and response paradigm of Modbus communications. The organization is using "client-server" instead of "master-slave" to describe Modbus communications. More...   Log in to the Gateway and go to the Device discovery page. Click Discovering a Modbus device? To discover Modbus devices manually, enter the Device type, Device vendor, and Device family. For TCP, specify the IP address, Server address, and Port (502 is default). For Serial (RTU), enter the Port, Baud rate, Data bits, Parity, Stop bits, and Flow control.   GW_Modbus_discovery_2020_360024034633.png   Importing a device list   You can import a device list that contains the IP addresses and server addresses. Each line must be of the same type, vendor, and family.  Each line must have both the IP address and Server address.   IMPORTANT: When you import a device list, you must also specify the Device type, Device vendor, and Device family, and the Port (502 is default), on the Gateway Discover devices page.  

You can use Data Center Expert and EcoStruxure IT Gateway in parallel to monitor SNMP and NetBotz devices. You connect only the Gateway to EcoStruxure IT. EcoStruxure IT Expert requires that you connect a Gateway. You cannot connect to IT Expert using DCE. Note: Dual monitoring Modbus devices is not recommended because it may cause some devices to fail. Some Modbus devices do not support polling from monitoring agents. EcoStruxure Asset Advisor subscribers If you subscribe to EcoStruxure Asset Advisor and use DCE to monitor your devices, you must create a second account or disable the connection to EcoStruxure IT on the DCE server during your IT Expert trial. EcoStruxure IT does not allow DCE to be connected to the same account as an IT Expert trial.  You will need: Data Center Expert server monitoring devices EcoStruxure IT Gateway to monitor some or all your SNMP and NetBotz devices in parallel with your DCE server  Note: To monitor SNMP and NetBotz devices on the DCE private LAN in the Gateway, the server running the Gateway must have an additional network adapter on the same subnet as the DCE private LAN. EcoStruxure IT app for Android or iPhone Instructions Go to https://app.ecostruxureit.com/manage. Click Sign up and create an account for your organization. If you already have an EcoStruxure IT account, log in. Click the link to download and install the Gateway to connect your on-premise devices to the EcoStruxure cloud. System requirements Log in to the Gateway. Go to https://localhost/gateway/index.html  on any computer with network access to the server. Follow the setup wizard to specify device credentials and file transfer settings, and discover the SNMP and NetBotz devices you want to monitor using the Gateway in parallel with DCE. Note: Gateway versions older than 1.15 do not allow discovery of SNMPv3 devices with the Authentication Passphrase and Privacy Passphrase set to None. Learn more about installing the EcoStruxure IT Gateway Click Register Gateway and follow the on-screen instructions to connect your Gateway server to EcoStruxure IT. EcoStruxure IT app Download the EcoStruxure IT app and log in using the code your received on your phone. The EcoStruxure IT app is available for iOS and Android in these countries.  Get the app in Google Play Store Google_Play_Badge-200x70_360012258693.png Get the app on iTunes downloadonapp-200x62_360012258693.png

SCP is a secure alternative to FTP for event.txt, device configuration, and firmware update.  It is strongly recommended that you use SCP and disable FTP on your APC NMC-based devices (NMC2 and NMC3).   The EcoStruxure IT Gateway does not support SCP on NMC1 devices. How to identify APC Network Management Card 1 (NMC1) devices   SCP is supported in EcoStruxure IT Gateway 1.9.0 and newer.   The FTP or SCP credentials on the device must match the device transfer settings on the Gateway Settings > Device credentials page.   IT Expert Administrator users can change these settings on APC SNMP devices that support config.ini. See Single device configuration and Device configuration.   Otherwise, refer to your device's documentation for instructions on how to set FTP or SCP credentials.   IMPORTANT: After you update the device configuration settings in the Gateway, you must rediscover the devices that you modified to use SCP credentials.   For instructions, see Configure Gateway device file transfer settings Also see How to enable SCP on APC NMC devices in IT Expert

Schneider Electric devices   Schneider Electric branded (including APC and Uniflair) UPSs, PDUs, and cooling devices are all supported and should able to be monitored. Other Schneider Electric devices, such as power meters, branch circuit monitors, and breakers, are most likely already supported; if they are not, please submit a request and they will be added quickly.   Third party devices   The ability to monitor many third party devices is also already available. The details about which devices have been added are in this report.   Also see the EcoStruxure IT Gateway device library release notes   Support for a third party device is done based on the information in an SNMP MIB or Modbus register map. This often allows many different models within that family to communicate with EcoStruxure IT even though they are not explicitly documented in the report. They are not documented because a list of devices supported by an SNMP MIB map isn't maintained by the manufacturers.   Conversely, a model could appear on the report, but IT Expert is unable to monitor a specific device of the same model. This is often because the device uses a different network communication card or has a different version of firmware.   The only way to know with 100% certainty that your third party device is supported is to install the EcoStruxure IT Gateway, discover the device, and look at the sensors. If that is not feasible, you can generate an SNMP walk of the device and then send it to us.     SE_logo_page_200_360020971853.png Integrating Third-party Devices into Schneider Electric’s DCIM Monitoring Tools: Data Center Expert and EcoStruxure IT Expert    

  When the EcoStruxure IT Gateway server starts, it detects all the available network adapters defined in the operating system and uses all of them to connect to the devices. When you are logged into the Gateway, the IP addresses the Gateway is communicating with are displayed on the Settings > About page. You can use the Gateway user interface on the public network as a proxy to the user interfaces of the monitored devices on the private network. Note: The Gateway user interface does not limit how many network adapters it connects to. One public and one private network is typical. To connect to a device user interface: In the Gateway, go to Devices. Click a device and then the Details tab. Click the IP address link to launch to the device. GW18_launch_device_UI_360016551893.PNG Also see EcoStruxure IT Gateway in a Secure Network Architecture