Chapter 3 - Bacnet Server in Insight: Creating User Accounts For Bacnet

Chapter 3 BACnet Server in Insight

The primary purpose of the BACnet Server is to allow BACnet devices and thirdparty BACnet workstations on a BACnet network to access points residing in
APOGEE and pre-APOGEE field panels. However, before you can take full
advantage of the BACnet Server functionality, you need to complete the following
tasks:
Create BACnet user accounts in Windows NT and in Insight
Add access groups
Change access levels for an access group
Export Points
Set up APOGEE and pre-APOGEE field panels to send alarms to BACnet

devices
Creating User Accounts for BACnet

You need to create an NT and an Insight account for BACnet. The NT account will
allow users to log on to the workstation, while the Insight account will allow you to
export Insight points to a BACnet system.
Windows NT
Keep in mind the following considerations for NT accounts:
Before you can create any new NT accounts on a stand-alone Insight

workstation, you must be logged on to NT using an account that has
Administrator privileges.
Before you can create any new NT accounts on an MLN setup, you must be
logged on to NT using an account that has Domain Administrator privileges.
Furthermore, you must add these accounts from the NT Server on the Domain. If
you do not have Domain Administrator privileges on an MLN setup on a
corporate network, you will need to work with the Network Administrator.
Siemens Building Technologies, Inc.
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To create a Windows NT user account for BACnet, complete the following steps:
1. Do one of the following:
For a stand-alone Insight workstation: From the Windows NT Taskbar, click

Start, select Programs, Administrative Tools, and then click User
Manager.
For an MLN setup: From the Windows NT Taskbar, click Start, select
Programs, Administrative Tools, and then click User Manager for
Domains.
2. From the User menu, click New User.

The New User dialog box displays.
3. In the Username field, type BACnet.

4. Complete the remaining fields. Click Help if you need information about the
fields.
5. Click OK or Add to create the user account.
6. Close the User Manager or User Manager for Domains window.
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Insight
To create an Insight account for BACnet, complete the following steps:
1. From the Insight Main menu, click User Accounts
The User Accounts window displays with the Insight Account tab active by
default.
2. From the Account menu, select New, and then click Insight Account.
The Add Insight Account dialog box displays.
3. Complete the fields in the Add Insight Account dialog box.
Domain. Click the drop-down arrow and select the domain you want to add
the account to.
User Name. Click the drop-down arrow and select BACnet.
Full Name. Insight automatically adds BACnet as the default in this field if
you selected BACnet in the User Name field.
Initials. Enter one to three character to identify the userfor example, BAC.
Default Graphic. To associate a graphic name to the BACnet account for

use in the Graphics application, click the Object Selector , and then select
a graphic name.
Display. If you want the user to see the System Name of objects, click
System Name. If you want the user to see the Name of objects, click Name.
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Language. Displays a users default log on language.
Security. Click According to Access Level defined for Access Groups.
4. Click OK.
Insight adds the new user account, and the account information displays in the
Insight Account tab.
Adding an Access Group

After you create an Insight account for BACnet, you can also add an access group for
BACnet, although it is not required. The BACnet group is where you will add Insight
points so that you can export them to the BACnet network.
To add an access group for BACnet, complete the following steps:
1. In the User Accounts application, click the Access Groups tab.
2. In the Access Groups section, click Add.
The Add Access Group dialog box displays.
3. Type the name of the new access groupfor example, BACnet Export.
4. Click OK.
Insight adds the new access group, and the information displays in the Access
Groups tab.
Changing Access Levels

You can change access levels for the BACnet access group you just created, as well
as for the various Insight applications. For the BACnet Export access group, you
need to assign users a privilege of Read Only or higher.
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To change the access level for the BACnet access group, complete the following
steps:
1. In the User Accounts application, click the Insight Account tab.
2. From the list of accounts, select BACnet.
3. From the list of access groups, select the BACnet group you created in Step 3 of
the Adding an Access Group section.
4. From the Edit menu, click Access Level.
The Access Level dialog box displays.
5. Click the Privilege drop-down arrow, and then select an access level of Read
Only or higher.
6. Click OK.
The new access level displays next to the access group.
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Exporting Points
Before you export points from Insight, make sure that you have selected an
appropriate starting device instance number. This ensures that the device instance
numbers generated for exported field panels will not conflict with existing device
instance numbers on the BACnet network. To select an appropriate starting device
instance number, you will need to know the instance numbers of all other devices
already on the BACnet network.
Each APOGEE and/or pre-APOGEE field panel on a BACnet network is
automatically assigned a unique device instance number determined by the following
formula:
First Device Instance No. + (200 x Trunk Sequence No.) + Node No.
The First Device Instance No. is the starting point for points exported from Insight.
The Trunk Sequence Number is the number of a BLN in a series of BLNs containing
exported devices. Trunk Sequence Numbers begin with 0. So, the first of five BLNs
would have a Trunk Sequence Number of 0, while the fifth of five BLNs would have
a Trunk Sequence Number of 4.
Example 1
First Device Instance No. = 2000
Trunk Sequence Number = 0
Node Number = 5
Device Instance Number = 2000 + (200 x 0) + 5 = 2005
Example 2
Node Number = 18
Example 3
Node number = 47
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When you export points from an APOGEE and/or pre-APOGEE field panel, two
things happen:
Insight automatically creates a Notification Class object for the field panel so that
the panel can send alarms and alarm acknowledgements to a user-defined list of
devices on the BACnet network. For additional information, see the Sending
Alarms to BACnet Devices section in this chapter.
Insight exports the points as BACnet points (objects) to make them available to a
BACnet system for commanding and monitoring. (For additional information
about BACnet points, see the How BACnet Works section in Chapter 1, and the
Commanding BACnet Points section in Chapter 4.)
NOTE:
You need to run BACnet Export whenever you add, delete, or change the
point type for any exported point.
To export points to the BACnet network, complete the following steps:

1. In the User Accounts application, click the Access Groups tab.
In step 4, search for

objects by using * to
find all objects; then
select all of them to be
exported.
2. From the list of access groups, select BACnet Export.

3. In the Group Members section, click Add to open the Object Selector.
4. Select the objects you want added to the access group.
5. Click OK.
Insight adds the objects to the access group, and displays the information in the
Object Name field.
6. Click the Insight Account tab.
7. Click the Account menu, and then click BACnet Export.
The BACnet Export dialog box displays.
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8. In the First Device Instance No. field, enter the First Device Instance Number.
9. Click Export, and then OK. Restart the computer.
10. To save information about exported points to a comma-separated value file that
can be imported into Excel, reopen the BACnet Export dialog box, then click
CSV File.
Sending Alarms to BACnet Devices

When you exported points from an APOGEE and/or pre-APOGEE field panel,
Insight automatically created a notification class object for the panel so that it could,
with some minor additional set up, send alarms to a user-defined list of recipients
(devices) on the BACnet network.
NOTE:
You can export only standard alarms to BACnet. You cannot use enhanced
alarms.
To set up an APOGEE or pre-APOGEE field panel to send alarms to BACnet

devices, complete the following steps:
1. From the Insight Main menu, click System Profile
2. Do one of the following:
In the system tree, click the APOGEE or pre-APOGEE field panel that will
send alarms to BACnet devices. From the Tools menu, click Notification
Class.
Right-click the APOGEE or pre-APOGEE field panel that will send alarms
to BACnet devices, and then click Notification Class.
NOTE:
The Notification Class command applies only to APOGEE and/or

APOGEE field panels that have points exported to the BACnet system.
The Notification Class dialog box displays.
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3. Complete the fields in the Notification Class dialog box.
Instance. Displays 1 as the default.
Name. Leave NC object as the default.
Description. Enter text that provides additional information about this field
panel. For example, MBC_1.
Acknowledge Required for Section. Allows the panel sending the alarms to
require acknowledgement from devices on the recipient list for various alarm
states: TO-OFFNORMAL (signifies an alarm condition), TO-FAULT
(signifies a device malfunction), and TO-NORMAL (signifies normal
operation).
Priority Section. Allows you to set the priority of the alarm states. Alarm
priorities rank from the highest, 0, to the lowest, 255. To set the priority, type
a number or use the up-down arrows to set the number.
Recipient List Section. Allows you to add, edit, or delete BACnet devices
that the field panel sends alarms to. To add a device to the list, click Add.
The BACnet Destination dialog box displays.
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4. Complete the fields in the BACnet Destination dialog box.
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Recipient Section. Allows you to enter either the Instance number or the
MAC address and network number of the BACnet device you want to send
alarms to.
To enter an Instance number, click Instance, and then type the device
instance number.
To enter a MAC address, click MAC, and then click either

Hexadecimal or Decimal. Type the address and network number.
Recipient Process Section. Identifies an application inside a BACnet device.

In the Process ID field, enter the Process ID of the application in the BACnet
device you are sending alarms to. Typically, the value is 0. However, to
ensure that you have the correct value, you should obtain the Process ID
from the vendor you are integrating with.
Notifications Section. Allows a device to issue confirmed alarm

notifications, which means that the device sending the alarm requires a
response from the device receiving the alarm. To issue confirmed
notifications, leave the Issue Confirmed Notifications box checked.
Transitions Section. Allows you to select alarm transitions (TOOFFNORMAL, TO-FAULT, or TO-NORMAL) for a device.
Valid Days Section. Allows you to define the days of the week that a device
will receive alarms.
Period Section. Defines a window of time that a device will receive alarms.
Check the From or To boxes, or both, to set the duration, then enter the time
or use the up-down arrows to set the time. If you do not define a period of
time, the device will receive alarms 24 hours a day, as indicated in the
Duration field.
5. Click OK.
Insight adds the device to the Recipient List in the Notification Class dialog box.
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Commanding APOGEE Points

If you command APOGEE points from a BACnet workstation, you can expect
standard BACnet behavior from those points. However, if you command APOGEE
points from an Insight workstation, the priority array is cleared, and all pending
commands are removed. As a result, the priority array will contain 0 entries if the
APOGEE Priority is NONE, and only 1 entry in all other cases. The mapping in the
following table applies.
NOTE:
Insight priority PDL is executed at BACnet priority 16, EMERGENCY at

7, SMOKE at 4, and OPERATOR at 1.
BACnet Priority Level
BACnet Priority
Insight Priority
Manual Life Safety
OPERATOR
Automatic Life Safety
SMOKE
Available
SMOKE
Available
SMOKE
Critical Equipment Control
EMERGENCY
Minimum On/Off
EMERGENCY
Available
EMERGENCY
Manual Operator
PDL
Available
PDL
10
Available
PDL
11
Available
PDL
12
Available
PDL
13
Available
PDL
14
Available
PDL
15
Available
PDL
Available
PDL
NULL
NONE
16
1
NULL
1. NULL means that there is no command associated with the points Present Value
property. In this case, the Present Value equals the Relinquish Default.
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