Building Automation Knowledge Base

Issue What is the impact of the network traffic at the TCP/IP level when running a TAC Vista system?  Product Line TAC Vista Environment Vista Server Cause The system architecture of a TAC Vista system consists of two layers: the TCP/IP layer and the field bus layer. For the TCP/IP layer, the TAC Vista system typically resides on a customer’s intranet. The field bus is twisted data cable using the LonTalk® protocol at 78 kilobits per second.   Connected to the TCP/IP layer will be the primary workstation (referred to as a server by TAC, but not by IT professionals), operator workstations, web servers, web clients, IP to LON® gateways (with routing capability) and in some cases, hardware-based web servers (TAC Xenta™ 511/527). Resolution Please download the following PDF document for details: Download   So what is the load on the intranet as a result of a TAC Vista system? It depends on the number of TAC Vista Servers and the number of TAC Vista workstations that are in use simultaneously.   What is certain is that the individual contributors to intranet bandwidth use are all very small in comparison to the capacity of a 10 or 100 megabit per second intranet

Issue Unable to use the “Contact Open” nor the “Battery Low” statuses of a SED-WDC-G-5045 on EBO.   Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Building Operation Automation Server Premium Cause The SED-WDC-G-5045 points (Contact Open, Battery Low and others) are not exposed individually but in a string of 10 points, bit 0 to bit 9.     Resolution 1. Add a: New object / Program / Script program. 2. Rename it to identify it, in this example it has been renamed Script program SED 3. Right-click on it, click on Edit, Script Editor window will open 4. Paste the below 4-lines script 5. Save 6. Change the “Type” from “Floating” to “Boolean” 7. Save 8. Close Script Editor window   Numeric input IASZone Numeric output ContactOpen, BatteryLow ContactOpen = (IASZone Bitand 2 ^ 0) > 0 BatteryLow = (IASZone Bitand 2 ^ 3) > 0       9. Right-click on “Script Program SED”, click on “Edit bindings” 10. Drag the “IAS Zone” point and drop it on the “Input / IASZone” bindingSave     12. Create a Digital Value 13. Bind it to the Contact Status point from the” Script Program SED” output. 14. Save      

Issue When launching Workplace Tech or Workplace Tech Editor (EBO), the Workplace Tech ribbon does not appear or displays an error indicating it has not executed. Product Line TAC IA Series, EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation (Workplace Tech Editor) I/A Series WorkPlace Tech Cause Smartware Studio 360 release 5.1.540 and later contains a 64-bit version of the Microsoft Access database.  It was modified to allow for installation with either Office 32-bit or 64-bit.  Workplace Tech and Editor requires a 32-bit version of Visio.  Microsoft normally does not allow 32-bit and 64-bit applications to be installed on the same OS.  Because of this, the COM Add-in for the Workplace Tech ribbon can fail. Resolution The Microsoft Access DataBase engine can be uninstalled in the Programs and Features of Windows.  For Studio 360 to function properly, it will need to be reinstalled.    

Issue Switching between LON communication methods within WorkPlace Tech may require a WorkPlace Tech and a LON tunnel client service restart. Product Line TAC IA Series Environment I/A Series WorkPlace Tech 5.9.3 and previous Cause When dynamically switching between LON communication methods within WorkPlace Tech (i.e. LON interface card to LON tunnel client), WorkPlace Tech communications may not initiate communications through the tunnel client properly. Resolution When this condition occurs, restart both WorkPlace Tech and the LON tunnel client as follows.   Save and close any open WorkPlace Tech applications and projects. Shut down the WorkPlace Tech tool. Restart the LON tunnel client service (Niagara LON Tunnel) within the Windows operating system services.  Verify the Niagara App Tunneling settings in Windows Control Panel. Please note, that any changes to the LON Port Name require a reboot of the computer. Start WorkPlace Tech and verify the WorkStation Communications Settings (i.e. network interface device driver and VLon device check box). Note: This does not apply to WorkPlace Tech 5.9.4 and newer encrypted tunneling in N4 Jaces.

Issue Proper handling and preparation of existing .vsd files help eliminate the crashing and lockup of the Visio application. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation, TAC IA Series Environment Workplace Tech Editor EcoStruxure 1.9.x - 3.2.3 Workplace Tech 5.9.1 - 5.9.4 Visio 2013, Visio 2016 Note: This does not apply to Workplace Tech Editor EBO 2022 (and newer) and Workplace Tech 5.10.x Cause The product is affected by the version of Visio in use as well as the file size and unused objects in the drawing. Resolution When using Workplace Tech 5.9.x with Visio 2013 or 2016, the file has to be opened in "Compatibility Mode." DO NOT CONVERT. Illustration 1 While the .vsd file is open in Visio, not in Workplace Tech, use the "Reduce File Size" option and select the boxes in Illustrations 1&2. Illustration 2 In Visio 2016, after opening the "Inspect Diagram," (Illustration 3), select the first 3 boxes in the "Reduce File Size" option (Illustration 4). Illustration 3 Illustration 4 Save the file for use in the Workplace Tech Project or to be imported into your AS-P as a .vsd. Add the "cleaned" file to your project or import it to Workplace Tech Editor. Make sure the Visio 2013 or 2016 is at the most recent version and build. You can find this under the file/account/About Visio. If Version 1802 is available in your Microsoft Office update Channel, use it. Version 1801 was used in testing. For Visio 2013 Build 15.0.4971.1000 MSO 15.0.5007.1000 was tested (Illustration 5) Illustration 5

Issue AS-P controller fails to upgrade Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Building Operation Automation Server Cause The upgrade still fails even after the DFU with a new database. Other AS-Ps on site were upgraded successfully. Resolution It may be required to DFU the AS-P more than once before the upgrade succeeds. NOTE: The DFU then upgrade process should not be performed more than 5 times. If after 5 times it still fails, the AS-P needs to be replaced.

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 Need to upgrade sites with Report Server to EBO 2022 or higher. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Enterprise Central Building Operation Report Server Building Operation Timescale Database Cause WebReports/Report Server isn’t supported in EBO 2022 (V4.0) or higher. Resolution Since WebReports/Report Server isn’t supported in EBO 2022 (V4.0) or higher, there is a Data Migration Assistant (DMA) tool available which read data from a WebReports 3.x and write it to External Log Storage. You use External Log Storage feature to store historical data from EcoStruxure BMS. The amount of stored data is limited only by the equipment you use, and not by the capacities of the feature.   When the External Log Storage feature is activated and configured, WorkStation and WebStation display the historical data in the event and trend views from the External Log Storage. Any server in the system can be configured to write historical data to the TimescaleDB database.   Data Migration Assistant (DMA) Tool can be downloaded from here. License required: External Log Storage requires license, refer to Software and Features that Require Licenses and Part Number Summary and Hardware Software Matrix  Hardware and Software requirement for External Log Storage: Ensure that the hardware and software requirements for TimescaleDB (www.timescale.com) and PostgreSQL (www.postgresql.org) are met. High-performance SSD storage is required and additional CPU/RAM capacity is required for larger EcoStruxure BMSs. As an example, at least 64 GB of RAM is recommended for systems with 100 EcoStruxure BMS servers. Refer to: Information Technology System Planning Guide (se.com) Merging Log data: External Log Storage decreases the amount of extended trend logs retained on the EcoStruxure BMS servers. You can merge log data from an extended trend log to the source log in External Log Storage. For more information, see Merging of Trend Log Data. Enhanced Reporting (XLSX Report Templates): The EcoStruxure BMS servers (3.2 or higher) provide built-in functionality for basic reporting that can deliver reports in any text format and XLSX, without any dependencies to other external software. Reports for XLSX can be enriched by using advanced functionality such as formulas, conditional formatting, charts and sparklines. If External Log Storage is configured and connected (PostgreSQL/TimescaleDB), then historical report data can be fetched from there. Refer to: Examples for the new native EBO Notification Reports - Communities (se.com)  

Issue Site upgrading ES from 3.2.1.630 to 3.2.3.59. After the upgrade, some graphics and custom types are missing   Before Upgrade: EBO 3.2.1.630 After upgrading to EBO 3.2.3.59     Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Building Operation Enterprise Server Cause Error "is not defined in the target version, discarding object ~ " is found in the upgrade log. Resolution There are known issues when upgrading incorrectly, i.e. from the same major. minor (3.2.1.630) to the same major. minor(3.2.3.59) since the work and original folders are the same. Thus, When updating (not upgrading) within the same version (from 3.2.1 to 3.2.3) we must use a hotfix. We shouldn’t be using a Full installer. In this case, Installing the latest (Consolidation point hotfix 3.2.3.1300) resolved the issue.    

Issue What alternatives are available for accessing Continuum WebClient from browsers other than Internet Explorer? Product Line Andover Continuum Environment Continuum WebClient Server Cause While Internet Explorer is the only officially supported browser for Continuum WebClient, Microsoft has announced that support for Internet Explorer will end in June 2022.   When accessing WebClient sites using Microsoft Edge in Internet Explorer mode. WebClient server returns an error, indicating that Internet Explorer is needed to access WebClient. Resolution It is possible to access WebClient using Microsoft Edge in Internet Explorer Mode.   Additional useful snapshots  The method of specifying Internet Explorer Mode for a site’s webClient URL will depend on how the customer treats the configuration of Edge – either settings at the individual Edge level or via group policy settings.

Issue Is it possible to edit a document object like a text file from WebStation? Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation WebStation Cause From WebStation, it is only possible to view a document. Resolution No it is not possible to change a document object from WebStation.   For other differences between WorkStation and WebStation, see the online help topic WebStation and WorkStation Differences

Issue Device Administrator is not able to load new database version 3.2.3.59  into AS-P. Error message “New database failed” Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Workstation Building Operation Automation Server Cause This is an issue with the new McAfee firewall policy where Local the firewall is blocking ICMP6 to the PC. The device needs to be able to "call back" to the PC. If that doesn't happen, the upgrade will not continue and stop at exactly 70% This is seen in 3.x, EBO 2.0 does not exhibit this issue Resolution   This can be resolved by:  Temporarily disabling the local firewall Trying another PC since McAfee policy or some restriction might have caused installing 3.2 to fail   Another possible solution for this issue which we have seen working is to first install version 3.1 using DFU mode and create a new database and then upgrade to version 3.2 using IP connection.

Issue When trying to activate an embedded license on a SmartX Server using Device Administrator, the activation fails with the following error message: "Embedded operation: Activate failed: ASEmbeddedAPI internal error: Capability request could not be created" Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium (AS-P) Building Operation Automation Server Bundled (AS-B) Building Operation Automation Server (AS) All of the above v. 3.0 or higher Cause The cause of this problem is that the trusted storage, i.e. the embedded license database on the SmartX server is corrupt. The embedded licensing framework undertakes internal checking and if it determines if there is a consistency problem, it will consider the trusted storage to be corrupt. This means that no operations to the trusted storage, such as activating licenses will succeed. At the time of writing it is unclear why the consistency problems happen. In the server log you may also observe the following error message: 10:08:06: Executing licensing command 10:08:06: Executing embedded operation: Activate ActivationID: ACT-XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXXXX 10:08:11: Embedded operation: Activate failed: ASEmbeddedAPI internal error: Capability request could not be created 10:08:11: Licensing command completed 10:08:11: Activating licenses failed (Real Activation ID replaced with ACT-XXXXXXXXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXXXXX) Resolution Building Operation 3.2.2 and above Using Device Administrator select the affected server and Open a PuTTY Console Follow the instructions as per the attached document An alternative way of connecting to the server SmartX Server is to use WinSCP. Use File protocol SCP and the admin user. When connected, follow the instruction in the document in point 2 above.   Building Operation version 3.2.1 and lower If the embedded license is a Client license, there is no need to activate the license. Install the EBO Hotfix 3.0.3.2001 (CP1) or later. This will remove the enforcement of SmartX server Clients in the licensing system. See also Knowledgebase Article Embedded WebStaion client license when logging directly into a SmartX server no longer needed. Other licenses like SmartDrivers, SNMP, and Personal Dashboards may still need to be activated. Contact your local Product Support to fix this problem.

The error "Failed to Invoke the Security Expert Suprema Component" is seen when attempting to register/enroll a user's biometric credential at a Security Expert Client Only machine.   Figure 1 - Suprema scan error   When doing a registration/enrollment from the Security Expert Server this error is not seen and the registration is successful. Product Line Security Expert Environment Security Expert Suprema Biometric Reader Cause The Suprema.dll has not been properly registered on the local machine. Resolution First check in C:\Program Files (x86)\Schneider Electric\Security Expert folder and confirm that the three files Suprema.dll, BS_SDK.dll, and BS_SDK_V2.dll are all present. If they are not you will need to copy them over from a working installation of Security Expert Server Installation.   Now run the below commands via an Administrator authenticated command prompt session: For 64-bit machines cd C:\Windows\SysWOW64 regsvr32.exe “C:\Program Files (x86)\Schneider Electric\Security Expert\Suprema.dll” For 32-bit machines regsvr32.exe “C:\Program Files\Schneider Electric\Security Expert\Suprema.dll” You should get a pop-up saying the .dll was registered successfully. Close and re-open the Security Expert client and re-test enrolling a user's fingerprint.

Issue "Software file not found: 7797**.bin" when downloading bin on a 7797 ICI Product Line TAC INET Environment I/NET site with 7797 Cause Error Message in software file not found: 7797**.bin when downloading bin on the 7797 ICI Resolution The reason the Software Restore command is looking for a 7797**.bin file during the download is due to one of two reasons. The ICI has not been configured in the Edit->Controller->Configuration screen to specify the ICI type. Example: 12 for BacNet, 15 for Modbus. Copy corresponding bin file under /Support/Bin/ in the installation CD of I/NET to the Data directory. The download should be OK now.

Issue After upgrading an AS-P to version 3.2.x, it starts to randomly go offline and return online automatically.  When looking at the system log, you can see the following messages: kernel: stmmaceth 4ffe4000.eth eth0: Link is Up - 10Mbps/Full - flow control off kernel: stmmaceth 4ffe4000.eth eth0: Link is Up - 100Mbps/Full - flow control off Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium: v3.2.x or later Cause Network-related issues are inherently difficult to isolate.  However, in some instances, it has been seen that ensuring the following items are checked on the network may also assist in rectifying this particular issue. PoE settings are disabled on all ports to which the servers are connected to Settings similar to "Link autobaud" should be removed and Fixing the ports on the switches to a fixed 100Mbps/Full setting Disable the second Ethernet port on the AS-P if NOT in use In 3.2.x the upgrade to SE3Linux has a module that needed upgrading.  This was seen to cause the AS-P to not negotiate at network speeds below 100Mbps in some instances, causing the server to appear offline to other servers.    Refer to EBO Known Issues & Solutions post SmartX Servers go offline/online randomly - Communities for updates and associated defect for reference. Resolution Upgrade the AS-P to EBO Hotfix 3.2.3.13000 (CP11) - Communities (se.com) or later   If this issue is not resolved using the above consolidation point and the messages in the System Log still occur, and all the points mentioned above in the Cause have been considered, then further investigation of the installed Ethernet network and/or switches as to why this network change is happening will be required with the local IT department and if still unresolved then contact your local support 

Issue How to activate an embedded license for a SmartX Server using the Device Administrator when the computer with the Device Administrator is not connected to the internet. Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Automation Server Premium (AS-P) Cause Device Administrator is used to manage licenses on SmartX servers The following features of a SmartX server need licenses: SmartDrivers SNMP Notifications Personal Dashboards TimescaleDB MQTT Resolution Building Operation 2022 Note: The offline entry of the Activation-ID License items is not all visible - ONLY the first 5 are shown.  This makes entering this information impossible. This has been fixed in the Maintenance Release 4.0.2 of the Device Administrator.  After activating the embedded license offline and transferring this license to the servers, a license violation may be still shown.  The license status should update within 24 hours.  Perform a warm start and then a Refresh License Status on the selected servers to force this update.   If an error is seen in the progress status indicating ASEmbeddedAPI internal error during the offline activation, check the following Embedded license activation fails - Communities to correct the corrupted storage.   This video will show how to activate an embedded license for a SmartX Server using the Device Administrator when the computer with the Device Administrator and/or the server is not connected to the internet. IMPORTANT NOTES: You need to be connected to the SpaceLogic (SmartX) Server using IP (select +Add server on Device Administrator).  It cannot be connected via USB. Ensure always to run the Device Administrator with admin privileges. Select "Run as administrator." Should Device Administrator be running on a computer that has internet access, then there is no need to swap between online/offline computers.  The offline activation process can be run from the same Device Administrator with no need to change computers.  The offline workflow is always the same and detailed on the webhelp topic Offline Activation of Licenses Workflow      At the end of the video session, you will be able to: Create a request file using the Device Administrator on an offline (to the Internet) computer. Activate request files from the Device Administrator on a PC connected to the internet. Send response files to the SmartX Server from the offline Device Administrator.    

Issue EBO can't overwrite notification report file. "System alarm: File access error: sharing violation:" Product Line EcoStruxure Building Operation Environment Building Operation Enterprise Server Building Operation Enterprise Central Building Operation Workstation Cause Notification file is used by another program and "Uniqueness" paramter is set to "None" so EBO can't write on it, ex, Microsoft Excel opens the notification report.  Resolution Make sure that notification report is not used be another program, ex. Microsoft Word or Excel. If the program locking the notification file is not known,  Windows Resource monitor can be used to know which process is locking the file, as below: Press  Windows key+R to open "Run" dialog box. In "Run" dialog box, write “resmon ” and pres Enter. In Resource Monitor "CPU" tab, expand "Associated Handels"  In "Search Handels" box, write the notification file name. In "Image" tab, note the process name. To  end the process which is locking the file, Right-click on the process and then click on “End Process”. It is also possible to append or prepend a timestamp to the file name, so EBO can generate a new file each time.

Issue Attempt to download license and see the below error. Failed to request license Error: Failed to store licence file Exception HRESULT:0x8007051B) (0x0000051B)   Failed to request license Error: Failed to store licence file Exception HRESULT:0x8007051B) (0x0000051B) Product Line EcoStruxure Security Expert Environment Security Expert Cause This error could be caused by a folder permissions issue. Usually occurring when Security Expert was installed without proper permissions to edit the folder or parent folder of where the license is stored. Alternatively it can be caused by a domain user account and local user account having identical names since Security Expert doesn’t know which user to check the permissions of when trying to save the license file. Resolution The possible solutions are shown in the order that they should be attempted: Right click the Security Expert license folder, (usually "C:\ProgramData\SchneiderElectric\SecurityExpert\License")and ensure that the Windows user has permissions to modify and view the contents of the folder. Ensure that the there is no local windows user with the exact same name as a domain windows user (e.g. LOCALHOST\admin, as well as ACME\admin). If this is the case change the name of one of the windows users so it doesn’t exactly match the other.  Perform a manual registration. Generate the .req file, go on the Licensing page, fill the form and download the license file. Then use the Browse button to import you license in Security Expert.

Issue When the time is changed on any TAC Xenta unit using the TAC Xenta OP, all TAC Xenta devices in that group will have their time changed by the same amount. Product Line TAC Vista Environment TAC Xenta Programmable Controllers TAC Xenta Group TAC Xenta OP Cause The time parameters will be considered during this broadcast. This occurs when you change ANY controller, not just the group master. Resolution For example, the time is changed on one controller. It will add the minutes in its time zone field and broadcast the time as GMT. The other controllers in the group will receive the message, subtract their time zone minutes, and change their own time.