The frequently asked questions below provide information regarding SmartServer applications and references for more information, and consist of the following:
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How do I use the SmartServer as a self-installed IP-852 router?
The SmartServer can be used as a self-installed IP-852 router, which allows you to create an IP-852 network with two or more SmartServer IoTs (e.g., connecting two buildings together) without using a LNS network integration tool to add the SmartServers to the existing LNS network. This application is similar to the i.LON 600 self-installed router as repeater feature and also requires the purchase of a U60. In this case, the SmartServers are used as repeaters and repeat all the traffic on any FT-10/XF-1250/Power Line SmartServer to all the other channels connected to other SmartServers. This method is useful when a network integration tool does not support IP-852 routers. In these cases, the SmartServers are physically connected to the existing network, but there are now two logical channels:
- LON channel (FT-10, XF-1250 or power line) which has all the LON devices (except SmartServer routers) and is configured by a third party tool that doesn't know about IP-852 routers.
- The SmartServer U60/U70 are physically connected to these channel, but no SmartServer routers are added to the integration tool.
- IP-852 channel, which connects the SmartServers together. Add both SmartServers to an IP-852 configuration server network. No other integration tools are required.
See the Using the SmartServer as a Self-Installed IP-852 Router section in (Optional) Set up the IP-852 Configuration Server for more information.
For this application, you do not need a SmartServer device capacity license. You only need a maintenance license if you want to upgrade to a new SmartServer software version.
Supported hardware platforms: SmartServer IoT
Can the SmartServer be only used as an RNI, IP-852 routing and/or Multi-port routing for LON devices?
Yes, the SmartServer can be used just as an RNI, IP-852 router and/or Multi-port routing. To use it as a IP-852 router, or multi-port routing, change the SmartServer mode to IMM prior to commissioning it in IzoT CT or IzoT Net Server by using the CMS Device Widget and clicking the SmartServer action menu and selecting "Switch to LON Independent Management mode (IMM). If you use the default DMM to commission the IP-852 or U60/U70 routers then the SmartServer will stop routing after a SmartServer reboot.
This application requires the separate purchase of one or more U60s/U70s.
For these application, you do not need a SmartServer device capacity license. If you use any other of the builtin features you will need a SmartServer device capacity licenses. You only need a maintenance license if you want to upgrade to a new SmartServer software version.
Supported hardware platforms: SmartServer IoT
How can I use the SmartServer to do network recovery for an already provisioned LON network?
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- If using the SmartServer RNI to discover the network, then make sure the SmartServer LON Configuration page Domain Id is not set for the same domain Id the existing network.
- If the SmartServer domain Id is set to the same Id as the working network then you may see a NS, #51 error.
- In CT, when creating the network, in the Naming dialog, the first dialog, select Recover database from network and then continue with the rest of creating a network.
- After you recovering the network go to the network properties and put the network interface onnet.
- The devices may show up in a different subnet or drawing page.
- Add an IP-70 channel and a SmartServer IoT device to the CT drawing or IzoT Net Server database.
- Change the SmartServer mode to IMM.
- Use the IzoT Net Export utility to import the IzoT CT network or IzoT Net Server database into the SmartServer.
Supported hardware platforms: SmartServer IoT.
Do LON networks require a U60 or U70?
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See Add a U60 or U70 LON Network Interface and Router for information on how many network interfaces are supported.
Supported hardware platforms: SmartServer IoT, Remote CMS
How do I do Metering and I/O with the SmartServer?
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Yes, you can use the SmartServer to automatically discover BACnet, Modbus, and LON devices using the Discover button (
) on the Devices widget. Datapoint discovery is only supported for BACnet Devices. For LON and Modbus devices, you must import an XIF file prior to running device discovery. In most cases the device will show up in the SmartServer as unconfigured. To use the device you will in most case have to provision the discovered devices. Provisioning a LON devices will change the domain/subnet/node ids, change the datapoint values and remove any existing connection in the LON device.
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The SmartServer can be used to access BACnet devices either by performing /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/1478027device discovery, which discovers BACnet devices and their datapoints, or by manually creating the BACnet XIF file and defining datapoints that are used for each BACnet device.
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- Create a BACnet XIF file that specifies the BACnet datapoints and how they are represented in the SmartServer. See (Optional) Creating a BACnet Device Interface (XIF) Definition for more information. The SmartServer BACnet discovery feature can be used to automatically discover BACnet datapoints and to automatically create the BACnet XIF file. The BACnet XIF file can also be manually created. See the Importing a Device Type section in Defining Device Types for more information.
- Enable BACnet using the BACnet Configuration page. See Add a BACnet Interface for more information.
- Import the BACnet XIF file using the CMS Device Types widget. See the Importing a Device Type section in Defining Device Types for more information.
- Add BACnet devices in one of the following ways:
- Use the CMS Devices widget to manually add the BACnet devices. See Discovering, Defining, or Importing Devices for more information.
Start device discovery using the CMS Devices widget. For each discovered BACnet device, the SmartServer will use the imported BACnet XIF file. If a BACnet XIF file is not found for a device, then one will be automatically created. See Discovering, Defining, or Importing Devices for more information.
- Provision the BACnet devices using the CMS Devices widget. See Provisioning, Deprovisioning, and Replacing Devices for more information.
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- Create a Modbus XIF file that specifies the Modbus datapoints and how they are represented in the SmartServer. Modbus XIF files are manually created, but can then be used on one or more SmartServers. See (Optional) Creating a Modbus Device Interface (XIF) Definition for more information.
For Modbus RTU, configure the SmartServer RS-485 interface using the RS-485 Configuration page. See (Optional) Add a Modbus RTU Interface for more information.
Info The SmartServer IoT Pro EX Edition has two built-in RS-485 interfaces, and each IOX has its own RS-485 interface. For Modbus RTU, you can only use one of these RS-485 interfaces with a SmartServer. The other SmartServer, or IOX RS-485 interfaces, can be used for other protocols.
Import the Modbus XIF file using the CMS Device Types widget. See the Importing a Device Type section in Defining Device Types for more information.
Info Modbus datapoints cannot be accessed directly from IzoT CT or IzoT Net Server. To do so, use a SmartServer internal device to map the Modbus datapoints to LON datapoints so that you can use IzoT CT to monitor and control Modbus devices. Go to the How do I access BACnet or Modbus datapoints in IzoT CT / IzoT Net Server section for information on using an internal device to map Modbus-to-LON datapoints.
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The SmartServer can be used to access EnOcean devices either by performing /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/1478027device discovery, or by manually adding the devices. First, import the EnOcean XIF or dtp files (which are available on github) prior to discovering or adding the device. The purchase of a 500U USB gateway is required in order to communicate to the EnOcean devices. The 500U allows the SmartServer to see updates from devices within 30 meters of the SmartServer. The EnOcean driver can be used to see EnOcean device updates, but can't be used to write to the EnOcean devices. As EnOcean use Energy harvesting and in most cases no batteries are required. EnOcean devices push datapoint updates to the SmartServer. That is, the SmartServer never polls EnOcean devices for datapoint updates so the EnOcean devices control how often datapoint updates occur.
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The SmartServer can be used to access LoRaWAN devices either by performing /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/1478027device discovery, or by manually adding the devices. The SmartServer uses a ChirpStack LoRaWAN Network Server (LNS). The LoRaWAN service has to be configured first and then devices can be manually added to the Chirpstack server prior to discovering or manually adding them to the SmartServer CMS. Import the LoRaWAN XIF or dtp files (many are available on github) prior to discovering or adding the device to the SmartServer CMS. As LoRaWAN devices use batteries, so the devices push datapoint updates to the SmartServer. That is, the SmartServer never polls LoRaWAN devices for datapoint updates so the LoRaWAN devices control how often datapoint updates occur.
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To use the SmartServer with an IzoT CT network, add a SmartServer IoT device to the SmartServer IP-70 channel backbone. Depending on what type of network interface you are using (IP-852 or RNI), add one or more routers. All devices in the same subsystem as the SmartServer IoT device, and child subsystems, will be exported with the IzoT Net Export tool (inex). The SmartServer needs to be set to IMM before exporting the database to the SmartServer. Depending on the number of devices on the network, more than one SmartServer may be used.
See also the How To References listed below:
- How to export a CT network with an existing SmartServer 2 Web Server FB into the SmartServer IoT
- How to add dynamic datapoints to a SmartServer IoT using CT
- How to access BACnet, Modbus, EnOcean and LoRaWAN devices with IzoT CT
How do I use the SmartServer with IzoT CT, IzoT Net Server, and a BACnet tool?
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- Enable BACnet using the BACnet Configuration page. See Add a BACnet Interface for more information.
- Create a BACnet XIF file (either using device discovery or manually). See (Optional) Creating a BACnet Device Interface (XIF) Definition for more information.
- Import the BACnet XIF file using the CMS Device Types widget. See the Importing a Device Type section in Defining Device Types for more information.
- Use the SmartServer CMS to add and provision the BACnet device. See Site Provisioning for more information.
- Use an internal device to map the BACnet to LON datapoints.
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In IzoT CT / IzoT Net Server:
- If using Modbus RTU, make sure the RS-485 port is correct configured using the using the RS-485 Configuration page. See (Optional) Add a Modbus RTU Interface for more information.
- Manually create a Modbus XIF file. See (Optional) Creating a Modbus Device Interface (XIF) Definition for more information.
- Import the Modbus XIF file using the CMS Device Types widget. See the Importing a Device Type section in Defining Device Types for more information.
- Use the SmartServer CMS to add and provision the Modbus device. See Site Provisioning for more information.
- Use an internal device to map the Modbus to LON datapoints.
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- Use an internal device to map the BACnet/Modbus/EnOcean/LoRaWAN datapoints to LON datapoints, which can be accessed with your LON integration tool. See Add a BACnet Interface for information on how to do the mapping.
- Use the localDev.exe application from the SmartServer GitHub repository to create an internal device with 64 empty LON Functional Blocks (FBs).
Use your integration tool, such as IzoT CT, to dynamically add datapoints to the internal device. If the LON and BACnet/Modbus datapoint types are similar, then you can use a connections (CON) file to do the mapping between the LON and BACnet/Modbus datapoints.
For example, a float datapoint for the BACnet/Modbus translates directly to SNVT_temp_p. You can use shadowConnect.exe (from the SmartServer GitHub repository) if you have similar datapoint types.Info title Considerations for BAC and MOD files There are some limitations for BACnet XIF and Modbus XIF files when using shadowConnect.exe. Additionally, there are limitations for the names of dynamic datapoints added to IzoT CT/IzoT Net Server database. Once you add a dynamic datapoint into IzoT CT/IzoT Net Server, you cannot rename the datapoint. In this case, you must delete the datapoint and add a new datapoint with a new name. See Naming Considerations for BACnet XIF and Modbus XIF Files in the (Optional) Setting Datapoint Names for more information.
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- i.LON 100s, i.LON SmartServer, and SmartServer 2 – purchase a SmartServer IoT and separately purchase a U60/U70 for each channel (i.e., XF-1250, FT-10, or power-line) that you want to support. If you are only using BACnet or Modbus devices, then purchasing a U60/U70 is not required. See KB1365 for more details on how to transition from a SmartServer 2 to a SmartServer IoT.
- i.LON 600 and i.LON 700 – purchase a SmartServer IoT and separately purchase a U60/U70. See Migrating from the i.LON 600 to the SmartServer IoT and Migrating from the i.LON 700 to the SmartServer for more information. See also i.LON 600 and i.LON 700, as well as Documents Archive and search for i.LON 600 or i.LON 700 for additional resources.
- LPR-10 and LPR-12 – purchase a SmartServer IoT and separately purchase at least two U60/U70s. See Migrating from the LPR and MPR Routers to the SmartServer IoT for more information.
- MPR-50 – purchase a SmartServer IoT and separately purchase at least one U60/U70 for each channel (i.e., XF-1250, FT-10, or power-line) that you want to support.
Supported hardware platforms: SmartServer IoT
How can a third-party tool access the SmartServer data?
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- Using the built-in Node-RED editor. See SmartServer IoT Node-RED Tutorial for more information.
- Creating an internal app (e.g., node.js, Python). See Creating a Custom LON App for more information.
- Creating custom web pages. See Creating Custom Web Pages for more information.
- Using connections to connect device datapoints. See Setting up Datapoint Connections for more information.
- Using a third-party tool to setup and manage the SmartServer. See references in the above FAQ.
- Create a custom device driver to support new device protocols (built-in protocols include BACnet, Modbus, LON, EnOcean, and LoRaWAN). See Creating a Custom Driver.
- Replace or modify the SmartServer homepage. See Creating Custom Web Pages.
- Change the look of the CMS web page. See Customizing the User Interface in the Managing Customer and User Accounts section.
- Customize the CMS Web page for each user. See /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/1479817Customize Your CMS Dashboard.
- You can define what contexts and devices user have access to.
- Users can create their own have dashboards.
- Customize web page login prompts. See Adding an Access Warning Banner.
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