1. Automation

Troubleshoot InetDriver (Enterprise) connection

At times two or more InetSupervisor workstations need to communicate with each other to exchange data. For sake of this conversation we will label "Enterprise" the computer you are running the InetDriver on. The other computers we will call "Remote Rhea".

It happens often that you can import available points using the InetDriver Config but the actual driver does not read valid values, but instead it throws many security exceptions into the InetDriver log file. There are two potential issues:

The remote Rheas are missing crossdomain files.
Computers are not setup to authenticate with each other using Microsoft security.

Fix for item 1:

Place "clientaccesspolicy.xml" and the "crossdomain.xml" files in the "C:\inetpub\wwwroot" directory of the remote InetSupervisor or a Rhea. These files are available at the InetSupervisor download area.

Fix for item 2:

We have two options here: a) make both computers authenticate using Microsoft security, or b) disable the authentication.

Make sure that the User Name and Password under which you are running on the Enterprise is the same (the account exists) as on the remote Rhea. If the Enterprise is running on a Vista machine we noticed that that's all that you need to do. Sometimes you need to put all computer on the same Domain and make them part of the Active Directory.
To disable the authentication, therefore exposing the computer to potential attacks you need to take two steps.

At the Remote Rheas you open the "C:\inetpub\wwwroot\hmi\web.config" in a text editor and search (ctrl + f) for "security mode". You should be able to find two or three instances of <security mode ="Message">. Change the mode to None as such: <security mode="None">
At the Enterprise you open the "C:\LonWorks\Apps\Qci\InetDriver\InetDriver.exe.config" in a text editor and search for "security mode". You should be able to find two or three instances of <security mode ="Message">. Change the mode to None as such: <security mode="None">

If you want to refer to any online resources you can google for security mode ="Message" WCF

Email us with feedback. We would like to hear about your implementation.

Trend settings

Often questions come up on how to set up the trending options in the InetSupervisor. The settings reside in the Config table of the sql InetSupervisor database. You can access them by DabaseConfig then click on SqlDatabase then Config Table and finally click Load/Refresh.

Towards the bottom of the table you will see PropertyNames that begin with the word Trend. You can adjust their values to optimize the trend behavior. The starting point is property "Trend0Interval" – This is how often samples are taken from the network and stored as raw data in the InetTrends0 database. The Value is in minutes and the default is set to 15.

Next is the "Trends0ArchiveDuration" – This is how long the trend samples stored in the InetTrends0 database will be stored there before being compressed and moved to the next database InetTrends1.

Then you have same properties for Trends1, Trends2 and 3 and 4.

The key in selecting proper values is to keep the total number of trend samples in each database within these limits:

27 milion trend samples is the absolute limit where the SQL server express locks up and quits responding.

10 million trend samples is a limit you can run at on a fast RAID system with plenty of resources.

5 million trend samples is a more achievable limit with a moderate computer running current speed hard drive.

3 million trend samples or less is a limit we recommend on slower computers with 5400RPM hard drives.

How do we calculate total trend samples:

I-Interval in minutes , it's the TrendXInterval property from the Config table.

D- Duration in minutes, it's the TrendXArchiveDuration property from the Config table. This is a "Time To Live" since trend sample was taken.

C-Count, it's the total number of trended points

T-Total number of trend samples stored in a database.

So, we want to solve for T.

T = (1/I) * D * C

Pick a target T total of points in the database – "number".
Pick an interval I you want to gather trends at - "minutes".
Look up the count C of the trended points. You can use Database Config Points table , then use a filter to select only trended points. At the top you will see the total number of items found.
Calculate archive duration D =(T * I)C and plug it into the TrendArchiveDuration.

Repeat this process for each Trend database ie. Trend1, Trend2, … Trend4.

You want to increase the TrendXInterval each time you move to a higher database by a factor of 10 or more if possible. The last database should substantially increase the TrendInterval so you can achieve a long Archive Duration and therefore keep highly compressed data for a long time.

Example 1:

Low-end computer, interval trend frequency is I = 15 minutes, total number of trended points is C = 100. We would like a light load in the trend databases so we pick T = 1,000,000 trend samples.

D = (T * I) / C = (1,000,000 * 15) / 100 = 150,000 minutes = 104 days , so put in the following values into the config table:

15 for Trend0Interval
150,000 for Trend0ArchiveDuration

When values get older than 104 days I would like to compress them so the "resolution" interval I = 30 min.

D = (T * I) / C = (1,000,000 * 30) / 100 = 300,000 minutes = 208 days , so plug in the following:

30 for the Trend1Interval
450,000 for the Trend1ArviceDuration = (104 days in Trends0 plus 208 days in Trends1)

When values get older than 312 days then I would like to compress then so the "resolution" interval I = 60 min.

D = (T * I) / C = (1,000,000 * 60) / 100 = 600,000 min = 416 days, so put in the following:

60 for the Trend2Interval
1,050,000 for the Trend2ArchiveDuration = (104 days + 208 days + 416 = 729days)

When values get older than 729 days I would like to compress them so the Interval I = 180 minutes.

D = (T * I) / C = (1,000,000 * 180) / 100 = 1,800,000 min = 1250 days, so put in the following:

180 for the Trend3Interval
2,850,000 for the Trend3ArchiveDuration = (104+208+416+1250 days)

Finally we can stretch the very old data to I = 360 min = 6 hours.

D = (T * I) / C = (1,000,000 * 360) / 100 = 3,600,000 min = 2500 days, so put in the following:

360 for the Trend4Interval
6,450,000 for the Trend4ArchiveDuration = (104+208+416+1250+2500 days = 4478 days = 12 years)

End of Example 1.

Example 2:

We have C=1000 points to be monitored and would like to store samples every I=1 minute. We will load the databases with say T=2,000,000 samples each.

D = (T * I) / C = (2,000,000 * 1) / 1000 = 2000min = 1.38 day, therefore this goes into the Config table:

1 for the Trend0Interval
2000 for the Trend0ArchiveDuration (1.38 days)

When samples get older than 2000 min we compress them into 5 minute averages like so:

D = (T * I) / C = (2,000,000 * 5) / 1000 = 10,000 = 6.94 day, therefore this goes into the Config table:

5 for the Trend1Interval
12,000 for the Trend1ArchiveDuration (1.38 + 6.94 days)

When samples get older then 12,000min (8.33 days) we compress them into 15 min averages like so:

D = (T * I) / C = (2,000,000 * 15) / 1000 = 30,000 min = 20.83 days, therefore this goes into the Config table:

15 for the Trend2Interval
42,000 for the Trend2ArchiveDuration (1.38 + 6.94 +20.83 days)

When samples get older then 42,000min (8.33 days) we compress them into 60 min averages like so:

D = (T * I) / C = (2,000,000 * 60) / 1000 = 120,000 min = 83.3 days, therefore this goes into the Config table:

60 for the Trend3Interval
164,000 for the Trend3ArchiveDuration (1.38 + 6.94 +20.83 + 83.3 days = 113 days)

When samples get older than 164,000 min (113 days) we compress them into 60 min averages like so:

D = (T * I) / C = (2,000,000 * 360) / 1000 = 720,000 min = 500 days, therefore this goes into the Config table:

360 for the Trend4Interval
882,000 for the Trend4ArchiveDuration (1.38 + 6.94 +20.83 + 83.3 + 500days = 612.5 days = 1.7 years)

End of Example 2.

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Cheers;

Adam G.

PointEditor - Read and Write Args.

This post is about the Read and Write arguments editor.

The Read and Write functions alter value of the points before they enter the database or are used on the web, trended or evaluated for alarm condition. In the example above I entered a test value of 71. You can use different values to test your function. Then I added the first function that multiplies my test value by 1.142 to reshape the temperature sensor reading. Next I added 0.5 to give it a little offset. Please note that while adding a new equation you must take the focus out of the previous function by clicking on the "Applied Equations" label. Otherwise you will keep modifying the previous equation instead of making a new one.

When a driver gets a raw value for a point it checks if there are any functions applied in the Read or the Write Args editor. If there are any functions it will apply one function at the time starting at the top. So, in my example it will multiply the raw value by 1.142 first, then it will add 0.5 to the result of the first function, then it will take the result and round it up to two decimal places. As a best practice you want to first calculate the values and last apply the precision (round up to certain amount of decimal places). There are other functions available besides addition and multiplication:

Addition –> result = rawValue + "my constant"
Multiplication –> result = rawValue * "my constant"
Exponant -> result = rawValue to the power of "my constant"
Square root -> result = square root of rawValue
Cosine -> result = Cosine(PI * rawValue / 180)
Sine -> result = Sine (PI * rawValue / 180)
Tangent -> result = tangent(PI * rawValue / 180)
Precision -> result = round rawValue to "my constant" of decimal places.

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Have fun with the math…

How to globally override Delimited Configuration Properties

How do you globally set devices to take certain config property? For example I want to globally set all Distech VAVs on my project to persist Occupancy setting. Other words, I would like to write occupancy command once and have the controller keep (persist) the setting over power outages. Here we assume that the InetSupervisor is installed on your computer including the LNS Driver Service.

We have to use the LNSConfig application that comes with the InetSupervisor CD dated March 10, 2008 or later. Open the LNS Config and go to global override page for enumerated config properties. Then follow these steps:

Click on GetChannels to query the LNS network for all available channels
Click on a channel where one of the typical devices is located.
Click on a device you like to use as a template.
Click on a Config Prop to select the property of choice.
You now will be displayed with information about the config property. You will have to enter your new information into text boxes.
Enter you delimiter. This is a character that delimits each individual value within the config property. In our example this would be a space, so press the space bar once to enter it in.
Enter position of the value (value you want to change) as it is located within the delimited array of values in the config property. This is a zero based array. So in our example this would be 45. Each space delimits the actual values so you count the position starting from zero at left all the way to position of the value you like to change.
Enter the value. In our example this would be 1.
Click WRITE and watch the main window for status. You also get a nice log of all activity including errors and successes in the log file located in C:\LonWorks\Apps\Qci\Logs

You now just imagine what you can do with this utility when combined with the Global Override for Variables and the Global reports. Here another scenario:

Perhaps on a large Fan Coil Unit project you need to prove that the hot water valves work properly. You can do it by following these steps:
- Make sure you have how water circulating
- Use global override to close all your hot water valves.
- Wait a while and run a global report of valve positions and discharge air temperatures.
- Use global override to open all valves.
- Wait a while and run a report of valve positions and discharge air temps.
- The reports you generated are in a standard XML format you can open in Excel. So open both reports in the same Excel spread sheet and make sure that each device's data for the "before" and the "after" are aligned side by side.
- Make a simple formula that compares discharge temps of before and after and flags the bad valves the temp difference is less than x or examine the log by hand.

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Happy networking.

Adam G.-

How to bring LonWorks into InetSupervisor

In this blog we will cover the steps necessary to bring a LonWorks network into the InetSupervisor front-end.

The steps below are a copy of InetSupervisor Setup Manual. Refer to the manual for more information.

2.1 Install Echelon Network Management LNS 3.0

1. Install LonMaker for Windows 3.0 (or later) with the latest service pack. Check http://www.echelon.

com for the latest updates. InetSupervisor will work with most LNS 3.0 or later databases and most LNS network management tools. So you can use the LonMaker or Distech LonWatcher, etc.

2. Build and commission the LonWorks network. Set up your computer to be an LNS Server.

It is not necessary to run the LNS Server during the operation of InetSupervisor.

note: If not using a Lonworks network please skip this step

3.7 Install LNSDriver

1. Install this only if you are using an LNS database with LNS Turbo.

2. Click on LNSDriver Service.

3. Read and click on Accept to agree to the software licence agreement.

4. Follow on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

4.5 Importing LNS Network Variables ("Points"):

1. Click Start, then Programs, HMI, LNSConfig.

Figure 12.

2. Type your name and password (default username is q, default password is q) in the Login dialog box

3. Click Configure, then Import LonWorks Points.

4. Choose the desired channel then click Load Variables . This scans the LNS Database for available

points (variables only) from all LonWorks devices, bringing these points into the LNS Point Import

Wizard.

5. Click Load CP's (Figure 13). This will load all cofiguration properties in the same manner as the

Load Variables.

6. Select a desired point by clicking on it and then click Import Selected (or press Alt + s). Multiple

points can be selected for import by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on, or click/holddown

and dragging across, the desired points, then clicking Import Selected. Repeat this process for

all desired points.

7. If you would like to delete an imported point, select it by clicking on it, then click Delete at the bottom

left of the window.

8. Once all points have been imported, the database is ready for creating a project-specific web page

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Support for multiple Solidyne networks.

Hi there.
This is our first blog on new features of InetSupervisor front-end software for automation systems. Today, Feb 13, 2008 we posted the updated version at Download.
New to this version are couple of Solidyne related features and a demo web page. The demo ships built into the HMI WEB installation. Once you install the software you can access it from the navigation tree under DEMO.

For Solidyne we have:
One - we now support decimal places for Solidyne Virtual Points. The Solidyne Driver can read and write values from -4096 to 4096 with one decimal place.
Two - The Solidyne Driver supports multiple networks. You have to do the following to set it up:

Have more than one COM port available.
Check the baud rate and port numbers with ICMS.
Install SolidyneDriver
Go to driver's directory ("C:\LonWorks\Apps\Qci\SolidyneDriverService") and modify the SolidyneDriverService.exe.config file so the InstanceNumber=1
This will be your first network. The InstanceNumber in the config file corresponds to SiteID=1 in the points table.
Go to SolidyneConfig's directory ("C:\LonWorks\Apps\Qci\SolidyneConfig") and modify the SolidyneConfig.exe.CONFIG file so the InstanceNumber=1
Now the config will import points with the appropriate SiteID. Make sure you set the correct COM port and baud rate and click SAVE.
Install SolidyneDriver2
Go to driver's directory("C:\LonWorks\Apps\Qci\SolidyneDriver2") and modify the *.CONFIG file so the InstanceNumber=2
This will be your second network. The InstanceNumber in the config file will correspond to SiteID=2 in the points table.
Go to SolidyneConfig2 directory ("C:\LonWorks\Apps\Qci\SolidyneConfig2") and modify the *.CONFIG file so the InstanceNumber=2
Now the config will import points with the appropriate SiteID. Make sure you set the correct COM port and baud rate and click SAVE.
Contact us if you like to have more than 2 networks connected. It's easy to do and the limit is in number of COM ports you can put on a PC and you computers horse power ....