You can discover, define, or import devices that you plan to use with your SmartServer. For BACnet, Modbus, and IAP devices, always use the SmartServer CMS to add and provision these devices.

This section consists of the following:

Methods for Adding Devices

BACnet Devices

You can add BACnet devices to the SmartServer in one of the following ways:

• Manually – to add BACnet devices manually, perform the following steps:
  • Create a BACnet XIF file (*bac). 
  • Import the BACnet XIF file (*bac). See the Importing a Device Type section in Defining Device Types for more information.
  • Manually add the devices using the SmartServer CMS. See Creating Devices below.
    
    
• Device Discovery – to add BACnet devices using device discovery, perform the following steps:
  • Create a BACnet XIF file (*bac). 
  • Import the BACnet XIF file (*bac). See the Importing a Device Type section in Defining Device Types for more information.
  • Run device discovery to add devices using the imported BAC file. See Discovering Devices below.
    
    
• Device and Datapoint Discovery – If no existing BACnet XIF file (*bac) matches the discovered device, then a new BAC file will be created with the discovered datapoint for this device.

Types of BAC Files

There are two types of BAC files: one is created manually and needs to be imported into the SmartServer, and the other is automatically created by the SmartServer during device discovery. These files have different names and are handled differently by the SmartServer during device discovery. 

Manually-created BAC Files

Manually-created BAC files use the naming format: <vendor id>_<product_name>.bac (e.g., 140_VT7200C5x00B.bac).

During device discovery, if a device has the same manufacturer ID and product name, then a device type based on this BAC file will be used for the discovered device, independent of the datapoints that are actually used in the device.

You can manually create BAC files from scratch, or you can use a previously created, datapoint discovered BAC file. If you are using a datapoint discovery BAC file, you must perform the following steps:

1. Copy the file.
2. Rename the file removing the hash number from the name.
3. Remove any datapoints from the file that you do not want.
4. Import the new BAC file into the SmartServer.
5. Either manually add the BACnet device or run device discovery.

Datapoint Discovery-created BAC Files

Datapoint discovery-created BAC files use the naming format: <vendor id>_<product_name><hash number>.bac (e.g., 140_VT7200C5x00B3493413e084.bac, where 3493413e084 is the hash number).

During device discovery if a BACnet device has the same manufacturer ID and product name as a manually-created BAC file, then that device type will be used. If there is no match to a manually-created BAC file, then the datapoint discovery-created BAC files are checked.

For a datapoint discovery BAC file to match the discovered device, the device must have the same manufacturer ID, product name, and datapoints list as the BAC file. If no match is found, then a new datapoint discovery BAC file is created.

Modbus Devices

You can add Modbus devices to the SmartServer either manually or using device discovery, as described below. 

• Manually – to add Modbus devices manually, perform the following steps:
  • Create a Modbus XIF file (*mod).
  • Import the mod file into the SmartServer. See the Importing a Device Type section in Defining Device Types for more information.
  • Manually add the devices using the SmartServer CMS. See Creating Devices below.
    
    
• Device Discovery – The SmartServer can be setup to discover Modbus devices even though the Modbus protocol does not have a way to do device discovery. To add Modbus devices using device discovery, perform the following steps:
  • Find a datapoint with a unique value on the Modbus device (such as model number).
  • Create a Modbus XIF file (*mod) specifying this unique value (called a marker value).
  • Import the mod file into the SmartServer. See the Importing a Device Type section in Defining Device Types for more information.
  • Run device discovery. See Discovering Devices below.
    
    During the device discovery process, the SmartServer will check the Modbus device for the mod file marker value, and if found, then the SmartServer will automatically add the device and assign it to this device type.

LON Devices

You can add LON devices to the SmartServer in one of the following ways:

• LON Independent Management Mode (IMM) – use IzoT CT or other tool based on IzoT Net Server to add and commission all SmartServers and other LON devices. You must switch to IMM mode before using IzoT CT or IzoT Net Server. You cannot add or provision LON devices using the SmartServer CMS using IMM, but you can create LON devices as applications (SmartServer internal devices) that run on your SmartServer. For IzoT CT or IzoT Net Server, the SmartServer internal devices are treated in the same way as any other LON devices.
  • If you want to discover an existing network, then you should use the LNS tool to perform a network recovery to discover the network devices. Do not use the SmartServer device discovery to discover LON devices. 
  • If you use the SmartServer device discovery to discover BACnet or Modbus devices, then it will also discover LON devices that are not already in the Devices widget. In most cases, you will want to remove these LON devices. Therefore, you should run the iNex export tool again after running the SmartServer device discovery to remove any LON devices that are not shown in the LNS database SmartServer IoT device subsystem or child subsystem. 
    
    
• LON Device Management Mode (DMM) – use the SmartServer CMS to add and provision LON devices. You can create LON devices as applications (SmartServer internal devices) that run on your SmartServer. 
  • You can use theSmartServer device discovery to discovery devices on a LON channel. You must first import an XIF (and any necessary resource XML files) for all LON device types before running device discovery. Any device that gets added that does not have an imported XIF file will appear in the Devices widget, but it will be unusable. You should manually remove these devices from the Devices widget as well as the associated device types.
  • With SmartServer release 3.4 and higher, discovered provisioned devices appear as provisioned devices in the SmartServer CMS (green color state) and existing connections are retained. With SmartServer release 3.3 and prior, device discovery shows the discovered devices as unprovisioned (blue color state), and once the devices are provisioned, all existing device connections are removed.
    
    
• LON IP-852 Self-installed Repeater – use the Network and LON Configuration pages with LON DMM to configure IP addresses and enable IP-852. An external tool such as IzoT CT and the SmartServer CMS are not required for a SmartServer used only as an IP-852 router.  You must use an IP-852 Configuration Server.to configure the IP-852 routers in your network.

If you are using your SmartServer on a LON network that is managed with an IzoT Net Server or LNS Server, you can continue to define and commission the devices using a tool based on the IzoT Net Server or LNS Server, such as the IzoT Commissioning Tool (CT), and then export the device definitions from the IzoT Net Server or LNS Server to the SmartServer as described in Importing LON Devices from an LNS Network with IzoT CT. 

Discovering Devices

You can discover previously installed BACnet, LON, or Modbus devices. To discover devices, follow these steps:

1. Define the device interfaces for the devices to be discovered as described in Collecting or Creating Device Definitions.
   
   
2. For BACnet device discovery, you need to enable BACnet using the BACnet Configuration page as described in (Optional) Add a BACnet Interface.
   
   

3. Define CMS device types for the devices to be discovered as described in Defining Device Types.

   Note: If you import device type definition files (.dtp file) prior to device discovery, then any discovered device that matches one of the included device types (XIF) will appear in the SmartServer CMS with only datapoints that are defined in the package.

   For BACnet, if a device type is not found, then a new BAC file will be created automatically (called datapoint discovery BAC file).

   For Modbus, only devices that match one of the MOD discovery files will appear in the SmartServer CMS.

   For LON, all discovered LON devices will appear in the SmartServer CMS, however, those that did not have a previously imported XIF will need to be removed.

4. Open the SmartServer CMS, Devices widget.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the Expand button (  ).  

   
   
   

5. Click the Discover button ().
   
   
   

   When you click the Discover button, the SmartServer initiates discovery for BACnet, LON, and Modbus devices. The SmartServer adds each discovered device that is not already defined in the SmartServer, first identifying or creating a CMS device type as follows:
   

   • If the SmartServer discovers a program ID in the device, the CMS searches for a CMS device type using the discovered program ID.  If the SmartServer finds multiple CMS device types with the same program ID, the SmartServer uses the first one found with a the default property set to true, and if there are no default device types the SmartServer uses the first device type found with the matching program ID.
   • If there is no matching CMS device type but there is an XIF file with a matching program ID, the SmartServer creates a CMS device type for the XIF file with the same name as the XIF file.
   • If there is no matching CMS device type or XIF, the SmartServer creates a CMS device type for the driver/program ID pair named <driverName>-<programID> and assigns it to the device. For example, if a device is discovered with a program ID of 9FFF:FF05:0184:0460, and there is no CMS device type or XIF file for the program ID, the CMS creates a new device type called LON-9FFF:FF05:0184:0460.

   Device discovery remains active from the time you start discovery until 3 minutes pass without a discovery event. 

   The SmartServer creates a name for each discovered device that is not already defined in the SmartServer using the following naming format: Discovered-<deviceType>-<installCode>-<instance>, where

   • <devicetype> is the CMS device type name assigned above
   • <installCode> is the last five hex digits of the unique ID
   • <instance> is the instance number for this device type/install code pair (ordinal starting at 1 for each CMS device type/install code and increments forever without re-use for each CMS device type/install code)

   For example, if three devices are discovered for the LON-9FFF:FF05:0184:0460 device type with unique IDs ending in 07F07, 07F08, and 07F09, then the three devices will be named:

   • LON-9FFF:FF05:0184:0460-07F07-1
   • LON-9FFF:FF05:0184:0460-07F08-1
   • LON-9FFF:FF05:0184:0460-07F09-1
   
   

6. For LON, you can optionally press a service button on a device in the domain to be discovered. The LON driver will wait for a service message that is generated by the pressing of a service button. Next, the LON driver will read the domain index 0 configuration at the unique ID that is included in the service message, and if a domain is configured for domain index 0, then the LON driver will assign the configured domain ID as the LON domain ID to be discovered.
   
   

7. Once the device discovery is completed, you can provision the devices using the CMS Devices widget as described in Provisioning Devices.
   

   For LON devices only

   If you are using IMM for LON devices then you are going to want to re-export (use iNex) to remove any additional devices not included in the IzoT CT/IzoT Net Server SmartServer IoT subsystem or child subsystem. 

Creating Devices

You can manually create devices as described in this section, and you can manually create devices in bulk as described in Creating Devices in Bulk.

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Devices widget.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44631776 (  ).  

   
   
   

2. Click the Create button ().
   
   
   
   

   The Create Edge Devices view appears.
   
   
   
   
3. Enter the device parameters as appropriate, including:
   
   • Name
   • Context – provides a digital representation of the physical world entities in the system with SmartServer 2.8 and higher
   • Select a method – Manual assignment or Guided discovery
     • For Manual assignment, you will need to select the driver type and device type, and define the UID.
     • For Guided discovery, press the service button for the LON device. The UID, driver type, and device type will be filled in through the guided discovery process.
   • Select a driver – BACnet, LON, Modbus, IAP, or custom driver name
   • Select a type of device

   • UID

     Each Modbus device that is added in the CMS must have a unique identifier (device UID). The UID is defined when a Modbus device is created using the SmartServer CMS in one of the following ways:

     • Creating a single Modbus device
     • Bulk loading multiple Modbus devices
     • Importing devices from a file using a previously exported device CSV/DTD file 
     • Importing device type information using a previously exported DTP file from the Device Types widget (see Defining Device Types)
     • For Modbus RTU (RS-485) devices, this field uses the form <channel type>:<logical address>, where the <channel type> is always 01 and the <logical address> is an 8-bit station address. 
       • Example: Modbus RTU (RS-485) device at address 4, the UID is 01:4
         
         
         

     • For Modbus TCP devices, this field uses the form <channel type>:<IP address>[:<logical address>], where the <channel type> is 02 and the <IP address> is an IPV4 address. The 8-bit [:<logical address>] is optional for a Modbus TCP device and only required if the target Modbus TCP device also resides at a specific Modbus logical address at this IP address.

       
       With SmartServer release 3.5 and higher, you can optionally specify the TCP port to be used for a Modbus TCP device using the form<channel type>:<IP address>[:<port>] [:<logical address>], where the <channel type> is 03 and the <IP address> is an IPV4 address. The [:<port>] parameter is optional for a Modbus TCP device and is only required if the target Modbus TCP device uses a port other than the standard Modbus TCP port (502). The 8-bit [:<logical address>] is also optional for a Modbus TCP device and only required if the target Modbus TCP device also resides at a specific Modbus logical address at this IP address.
       
       
       • Examples:
         • Using the standard Modbus TCP port (502): Modbus TCP device at IP address 192.168.42.42 with a logical address of 3, the UID is 02:192.168.42.42:3 
           
           
         • Using a non-standard Modbus TCP port (1502): Modbus TCP device at IP address 192.168.42.42 with a logical address of 3, the UID is 03:192.168.42.42:1502:3
           
           
           
     • For BACnet, this field defines the Device Instance Number (also referred to as Device ID)
       • Example: 0130055
         
         
         
   • Tags
   • Description
   
   
   
   
4. Click SAVE.
   
   The new device appears on the Devices widget (e.g., DIO1 in the example below).
   
   
   
   
5. Provision the devices using the CMS Devices widget as described in Provisioning Devices.

Creating Devices in Bulk

To manually create devices in bulk, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Devices widget.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44631776 (  ).  

   
   
   

2. Click the Create button ().
   
   
   
   

   The Create Edge Devices view appears.
   
   
   
   
3. In the Count field, enter the number of devices to be created, and in the From field, enter the starting device number. (The Name field changes to Name Prefix.)
   
   
   
   
4. In the Name Prefix field, enter the prefix that is to be assigned to the name of device that is being created.
   
   
   
   
5. Enter the device parameters as appropriate, including:
   
   • Context (optional) – provides a digital representation of the physical world entities in the system with SmartServer 2.8 and higher
   • Select a method – Manual assignment or Guided discovery
   • Select a driver – BACnet, LON, Modbus, IAP, or custom driver name
   • Select a type of device
   • Tags (optional)
   • Description (optional)
     
     
     
     
6. Click SAVE. 
   
   The new devices appear on the Devices widget (e.g., TEST2, TEST3, and TEST4 in the example below).
   
   

Importing Devices

You can import device definitions from a CSV file as described in this section.  If you have devices that were defined and commissioned using a tool based on the IzoT Net Server or LNS Server such as the IzoT Commissioning Tool, you can import the definitions from the IzoT Net Server or LNS Server as described in Importing LON Devices from an LNS Network with IzoT CT.  To import device definitions from a CSV file, follow these steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Devices widget.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44631776 (  ).  

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () and select the Import Devices action.

   

   The Import Devices view appears.
   
   
   
   
3. Drag the file to be imported to the DROP FILE HERE area.
   
   
   
   
4. Click IMPORT FILE.

Exporting Devices

You can export an individual device, selected devices, or all devices using the Devices widget. To do so, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Devices widget.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44631776 (  ).  

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () for the device you wish to export and select the Export action.
   
   
   
   Or, to export selected devices, select the devices you wish to export (a checkmark appears), and then click the Action button () and select the Export Selected action.
   
   
   
   Or, to export all devices, click the Action button () and select the Export All action.
   
   

A CSV file is created with the device information.

Assigning a Device to a Context

With SmartServer 2.8 and higher, devices can be assigned to a context. A context provides a digital representation of the physical world entities in the system. Devices that are not assigned to a context appear with a yellow indicator on the device image . To assign a device to a context, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Devices widget.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44631776 (  ).  

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () for the desired device and select Assign to Context.
   
   
   
   The Assign to context dialogue box appears.
   
   
   
   
3. Use the dropdown list to select the desired context.
   
   
   
   
4. Click ASSIGN.
   
   
   
   The device is assigned to the context.
   
   
   

Unassigning a Device from a Context

You can remove a context assignment from a device. To do so, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Devices widget.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44631776

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () for the desired device and select the Unassign from Context action.
   
   
   
   The device is unassigned from the context and appears with a yellow indicator on the device image.
   
   
   

Creating Groups

The Groups widget is available with SmartServer 2.6 and higher.

The Groups widget is used to assign devices or datapoints to a group. Any defined device with any device type, or any defined datapoint on a device of any device type, including LON, BACnet, Modbus, and IAP, can be added to or deleted from a group. Devices within a group may also be provisioned or deprovisioned using the Groups widget.

To create a group, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Groups widget.

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () and select the Create Group action.
   
   
   
   
3. Enter the new group information, including name and geozone.
   
   
   
   
4. Click SAVE.
   
   The new group is added to the list.
   
   

Showing a Group on a Map

To show a group on a map, perform the following steps:

To create a group, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Groups widget.

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () and select the Show on Map action.

Or, to show multiple groups on a map, select the groups you wish to appear on a map (a checkmark appears), and then click the Action button () and select the Show Selected Groups on Map action.

The Locations widget displays the selected group(s).

Assigning Devices to a Group

Devices can be assigned to a group using the Devices widget or Groups widget. The procedures in this section describe both options.

Assigning Devices to a Group Using the Devices Widget

To a devices to a group using the Devices widget, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Devices widget.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44631776 (  ).  

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () for the desired device and select the Assign to Group action.
   
   
   
   Or, to select multiple devices to be assigned to a group, click the the desired devices (a checkmark appears), and then click the Action button () and select the Assign Selected to Group action.
   
   
   
   Or, to assign all devices to a group, click the Action button () and select the Assign All to Group action.
   
   
   
   The device assignment to a group view appears.
   
   
   
   
3. Select the group to which you wish to assign the device(s) from the dropdown list.
   
   
   
   
4. Click ASSIGN.
   
   The device(s) is added to the selected group.

Assigning Devices to a Group Using the Groups Widget

To assign devices to a group using the Groups widget, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Groups widget.

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () for the desired group and select the Edit Group action.
   
   
   
   The Group members view appears.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the Expand button (  ). 

   
   
   

3. Click the Add Members button () to add devices to a group. Available devices appear.
   
   
   
   

4. Click the Action button () for the desired device and select the Add to Group action.
   
   
   
   Or, to select multiple devices to be added, click the checkmark for the desired devices, and then click the Action button () and select the Add Selected to Group action.
   
   
   
   Or, to add all devices, click the Select All button (), and then click the Action button () and select the Add Selected to Group action.
   
   
   
   The selected device(s) are added to the group.
   
   Click BACK to return to the Groups widget view.

Removing Devices from a Group

You can remove devices from a group using the Groups widget. To do so, perform the following steps:

To do so, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Groups widget.

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () for the desired group and select the Edit Group action.

   
   
   The Group members view appears.

   Note: To best view all of the information on this widget, click the Expand button (  ). 

   
   
   

3. Click the Action button () for the desired device and select the Remove from Group action.
   
   
   
   Or, to select multiple devices, click the checkmark for the desired devices, and then click the Action button () and select the Remove Selected from Group action.
   
   
   
   Or, to remove all devices, click the Select All button (), and then click the Action button () and select the Remove Selected from Group action.
   
   
   
   The selected device(s) are removed from the group.
   
   

4. Click BACK to return to the Groups widget view.

Removing a Group

To remove a group, perform the following steps:

1. /wiki/spaces/TEMP/pages/44041710, Groups widget.

   
   
   

2. Click the Action button () and select the Remove action.
   
   
   
   
3. Click OK in the Confirmation dialog box to delete the selected group.
   
   
   
   Or, to remove multiple groups, click the desired groups (a checkmark appears), and then click the Action button () and select the Remove Selected Groups action.
   
   
   
   
4. Click OK in the Confirmation dialog box to remove the selected group(s).