Bacnet Aws Device Manager

The Bacnet Aws Device Manager (Figure A.1) is the default view for the BacnetAwsNetwork (and any BacnetAwsDeviceFolder), and provides all the same features as the regular Bacnet Device Manager.

Figure A.1. Bacnet Aws Device Manager is default view for BacnetAwsNetwork


Bacnet Aws Device Manager is default view for BacnetAwsNetwork

You discover BACnet devices in this view the same as in the Bacnet Device Manager view. For details, see About Bacnet Device Find Parameters. When doing a discover, the Add dialog provides the same parameters for adding BacnetAwsDevices as for BacnetDevices. See BacnetDevice properties.

NoteAll devices are represented as BacnetAwsDevices in a BacnetAwsNetwork. Nearly identical to a BacnetDevice, a BacnetAwsDevice differs by its device extensions “Trend Logs” and “Config”, and the default views on those extensions.

The bottom row of buttons in the Bacnet Aws Device Manager include two that are in the standard Bacnet Device Manager: TSynch and DeviceID. For more details, see Timesynch (TSynch) function and Device ID function.

Several additional buttons are in the bottom row in the Bacnet Aws Device Manager. These correspond to additional functions that can be performed on BacnetAwsDevices.

These additional buttons available in the Bacnet Aws Device Manager are:

Event Information

 (Also in Bacnet Ows Device Manager) This button in the Bacnet Aws Device Manager retrieves event information from the selected device, requesting all outstanding events from the BACnet device. The purpose of this feature is that if Niagara somehow missed receiving an event, you can still retrieve and acknowledge this event using the Event Information service. For example, the Niagara station may not have been running at the time the original event occurred.

If the GetEventInformation service is supported, this will be used to retrieve events. The events retrieved in this manner contain enough information to generate a valid acknowledgment to the remote device. These event summaries will be propagated to the Niagara Alarm Service through the alarm class assigned in the eventSummaryAlarmClass property of the Event Handler.

Event Handler configuration is contained within the Server layer configuration of the network’s BacnetComm container, as shown in Figure A.2.

Figure A.2. Event Summary Alarm Class (BacnetAwsNetwork)


Event Summary Alarm Class (BacnetAwsNetwork)

If the GetEventInformation service is not supported, but the GetAlarmSummary service is supported, the events will be retrieved using GetAlarmSummary. The GetAlarmSummary service retrieves only events with a Notify_Type of “alarm”, so events with a Notify_Type of “event” are not retrieved.

NoteThe GetAlarmSummary service has been deprecated by the BACnet Committee, and manufacturers should no longer be making devices that use it. Typically, this is seen only in older devices.

Event summaries retrieved using GetAlarmSummary do not have enough information to generate a valid acknowledgment, so they are not propagated to the Niagara Alarm Service. In this case, a dialog box is presented to the user, such as shown in Figure A.3.

Figure A.3. Alarm Summary dialog, showing a single object in alarm


Alarm Summary dialog, showing a single object in alarm

Enrollment Summary

 (Also in Bacnet Ows Device Manager) This button in the Bacnet Aws Device Manager retrieves a summary of all objects within the device that match a set of filter criteria that you define. When you click the Enrollment Summary button, a filter configuration dialog box is displayed, as shown in Figure A.4.

Figure A.4. Get Enrollment Summary request configuration dialog


Get Enrollment Summary request configuration dialog

Here you configure the various options to define the specific types of objects you wish to locate, and then click OK. The device is queried for a list of objects that meet the specified filter criteria, and the result is displayed in a dialog box, as shown in Figure A.5.

Filter options include the following:

  • Acknowledgement

    Filter on points that are acknowledged, or unacknowledged, or leave the filter open to all points.

  • Enrollment

    Filter on only event mechanisms that have a specific recipient, definable either by device id or by device address.

  • Event State

    Specify a particular event state, to restrict the request to include only points that are currently in a specific event state.

  • Event Type

    Restrict the filter to objects that use a particular event type algorithm.

  • Priority

    Choose to only include objects where the priority of the last transition is within certain bounds.

  • Notification Class

    Include only objects and event mechanisms where the notification class used to route the event notifications is equal to a specific number.

Figure A.5. Example Get Enrollment Summary response dialog


Example Get Enrollment Summary response dialog

Communication Control

 This button in the Bacnet Aws Device Manager allows you to control a device’s ability to generate traffic on the network. This could be useful in a diagnostic situation, where you want to temporarily eliminate all traffic except from a single device. Or you may have a faulty device that is sending extraneous data, and you wish to “silence it” until you can identify the cause of the problem. When you click this button, a dialog box appears which allows you to configure the request, as shown in Figure A.6.

Figure A.6. Device Communication Control configuration dialog


Device Communication Control configuration dialog

Configuration options include the following:

  • Enable Disable

    You can choose to Enable or Disable the device from sending any BACnet requests. You can also choose to “Disable Initiation,” which allows the device to respond to BACnet requests, while being prevented from initiating any requests of its own. Note that the sending of a single I-Am request is allowed if a Who-Is request that matches the device’s device id is received.

  • Duration

    You can configure the length of time for which communications will be disabled, after which the communications will automatically be re-enabled for the device.

  • Password

    Some devices may require a password to disable their communications. If a device requires a password, you may enter it here.

When you click OK, a request to control the communication is sent to the device. The result is displayed in a dialog box, with either a success message, or a message including the error returned by the device.

Reinitialize Device

 This button in the Bacnet Aws Device Manager allows you to restart a device. In the popup dialog (Figure A.7), you may choose either “Cold Start” or “Warm Start.”

Figure A.7. Reinitialize Device configuration dialog


Reinitialize Device configuration dialog

NoteThe specific meaning of terms Cold Start and Warm Start is left up to the device’s manufacturer to define, so make sure you understand exactly what each procedure entails for the device in question.

As shown above, this dialog has two fields:

  • Reinitialize Command

    Select either Warm Start (default) or Cold Start (see Note above).

  • Password

    Enter the password required by the device to invoke this command. Some devices may not require a password, so if you do not enter anything, no password is sent to the device.

When you click OK, the reinitialize request is sent to the device. The result is displayed in a dialog box, as either a success or failure.

Backup Device

 This button in the Bacnet Aws Device Manager allows you to backup the selected device’s configuration, as one or more “restorable” files on the BACnet AWS Supervisor PC. If needed, you can use the Restore function later to reinstall this backup.

NoteThe target device must support the BACnet DM-BR-B BIBB, as part of the B-BC device profile conformance. Both the BACnet specification 135-2008 and addendum 135-2008n are supported. In addition, the device may require a password before it initiates a backup or a restore. Otherwise, a backup or restore job will immediately fail, showing the associated reason in the job log details. For example, you may see “Unrecognized Service” or “Security: Password Failure”.

When you click Backup, the standard Directory Chooser appears, in which you specify the target directory for the backup file(s). If needed, use the “new folder” control , as was done in the example shown in Figure A.8 to make a “Bacnet” folder under the system “backups” folder.

Figure A.8. Directory Chooser dialog to specify backup directory


Directory Chooser dialog to specify backup directory

After you choose the target directory, the Backup Device dialog appears, as shown in Figure A.9.

Figure A.9. Backup Device configuration dialog


Backup Device configuration dialog

Configuration fields in this dialog include the following:

  • Base Directory

    Reflects the ord for the local target directory, as previously chosen in the Directory Chooser. If needed, you can modify it using file ord syntax.

  • Device Directory Name

    This specifies the subdirectory that will be made under the base directory for the device’s backup file(s). This defaults to <BacnetAwsDeviceName><YYYYMMDD_HHMM>, where the last portion is a timestamp that reflects when the backup was initiated. If desired, you can modify.

  • Password

    Some devices may require a password to initiate a backup and/or a restore. If a device requires a password, you may enter it here.

When you click OK, the backup request is sent to the device. A Backup job is started, and as shown in Figure A.9 you can click on the job log control near the top of the manager to see the progress of the backup.

Figure A.10. Backup job started, Job Log details dialog


Backup job started, Job Log details dialog

When the job completes, it will post a success or failed status. A successful backup has the specified device subdirectory under the target base directory, containing one or more backup files for the device.

NoteAn invalid backup job typically fails immediately. However, a valid backup job may take several minutes to complete, depending on the implementation in the target BACnet device. Typically, the device executes some “preparation routine” first, before assembling and sending the backup files. In the case of JACE stations running the Bacnet driver, there is a set “server side” routine as well as associated properties, found in the LocalBacnetDevice of the BacnetNetwork. For more details, see Local Device backup and restore properties.

Restore Device

 This button in the Bacnet Aws Device Manager allows you to restore a previous backup to the selected device, where a backup is one or more “restorable” files saved on the BACnet AWS Supervisor PC. See Backup Device.

NoteThe target device must support the BACnet DM-BR-B BIBB, as part of the B-BC device profile conformance. Both BACnet specification addendums 135-2008 and 135-2008n are supported. In addition, you may require a device password to have it initiate a backup or a restore. Otherwise, a backup or restore job will immediately fail, showing the associated reason in the job log details. For example, you may see “Unrecognized Service” or “Security: Password Failure”.

When you click Restore, the standard Directory Chooser appears, in which you navigate to the directory that contains the backup file(s), as shown in Figure A.11.

Figure A.11. Directory Chooser dialog to specify directory with backup file(s)


Directory Chooser dialog to specify directory with backup file(s)

After you choose the source directory, the Restore Device dialog appears, as shown in Figure A.12.

Figure A.12. Restore Device configuration dialog


Restore Device configuration dialog

Configuration fields in this dialog include the following:

  • Directory

    Reflects the ord for the local source directory, as previously chosen in the Directory Chooser. If needed, you can modify it using file ord syntax.

  • Password

    Some devices may require a password to initiate a backup and/or a restore. If a device requires a password, you may enter it here.

When you click OK, the restore backup request is sent to the device. A Restore job is started, and as shown in Figure A.13 you can click on the job log control near the top of the manager to see the job progress.

Figure A.13. Restore job started, Job Log details dialog


Restore job started, Job Log details dialog

When the job completes, it will post a success or failed status. Successful restores will install the backup file(s) found in the source directory, and typically re-initialize (reboot) the device.

NoteAn invalid restore job typically fails immediately. However, a valid restore job may take several minutes to complete, depending on the implementation in the target BACnet device. Typically, the device executes some “preparation routine” first, before accepting the backup files. In the case of JACE stations running the Bacnet driver, there is a set “server side” routine as well as associated properties, found in the LocalBacnetDevice of the BacnetNetwork. For more details, see About backup and restore operations.