BACnet driver troubleshooting

The features and functions available in a node are controlled by the licenses that are installed in the node.

To verify that the BACnet driver license is installed:

1. From the Workbench left pane, expand the node whose license you want to check, and then select the Administration icon.
2. From the Administration window, select the Licenses tab.
3. Select the appropriate license. Details of the license appear on the tab.
4. View the Features column to identify the device driver.

If you do not see the correct license, or if the license is expired, you must request a license from your license key provider. For information on how to install a license, see System Administration > Licenses.

The BACnet driver is not part of this node's installation. The BACnet driver is installed as a package separate from the base product installation.

You may be working with different levels of nodes, each with different levels of support for devices. Ensure that this node is the one with support for BACnet devices.

For information on how to add the BACnet driver package, refer to System Administration > Packages.

The BACnet device needs to be configured using the device’s configuration software. The complete description of this configuration is beyond the scope of this documentation. Ensure that the IP Address, Port, the Network ID and / or Device ID BACnet settings are correctly configured for your network setup and that they match the definitions in the device that represents the BACnet device.

The device has been located but the enumeration is taking a long time because of the large number of BACnet devices connected to the device and/or the large number of BACnet objects connected to each device. While it is performing the enumeration process, the state of the device will be Starting. Once the enumeration has completed the state will change to Started. Each device found during the Scan network is displayed in the Devices tab.

Start and Validation failures may indicate that there are firewall restrictions that are preventing the communication to and from the node. If this is not the case, verify the settings defined in the BACnet device definition match the hardware configuration settings for the physical BACnet device. You will need the hardware vendor's configuration software to gain access to the device. For example, the Johnson Controls Metasys browser based software package can be used to view the IP Address, Network ID, and the Device ID for every BACnet device accessible from the BACnet I/P network. This software can also be used to access BACnet devices connected via MS/TP to BACnet controllers.  Often times a BACnet device has to be configured to allow access from external entities such as the BACnet driver.

This section describes the error codes that you might encounter when using deviceWISE and the BACnet driver.  These error codes are available from the Devices window in the Extended Status column. The error codes may also be referenced in the Exceptions Log. 

When the system experiences an abnormal condition (such as a device start failure, a read error from the BACnet Controller, or software error), an error code and extended error code are recorded in the Exceptions Log. In the Devices window, the Status column will always be a generic error code that can tell you if the error is a communication error, a data error, or some other internal device error.  The Extended Status column provides the error code from the driver. These error codes can be basic deviceWISE error codes or specific to the BACnet driver.

The errors at times will be returned in two parts, the class code and the error code. The class code indicates the BACnet component in error, while the error code indicates the actual error condition. 

In the case of needing assistance, you will need a Packet Capture, or PCAP File, that allows the use of Visual Bacnet. Being a log file, by looking at the PCAP, it is possible to identify the cause or the frequency of a certain problem, or the time of day during which it occurs.

If you need in-depth service from the Customer Support, the PCAP file will be asked to be sent to one of our attendants.

If devices are not located during the device scan, there are three ways of solving the issue:

• adding the BBMD address to the channel might resolve the issue;

• changing the IP Address of the deviceWISE node to an address on the same subnet as the BACnet device;

• adding a device manually with a static address.

The methods should be tried in order, the last one being a last resource.

In some specific situations, it might be needed to send to our support a "Log file". When we do ask for this information, you will need to follow a handful of steps:

• To start Logging, go to Administration, then BACnet, where you'll see "Log Packets";

• There, you'll select the "Yes" option and save;

• Going to the "Staging Browser", still inside Administration, you should go to the folder bacnet/logs, and inside there will be the documents needed to be sent to support.