JSON Toolkit for Niagara 4 Now Available

By Matthew Scheffel

Tridium has created a new JSON Toolkit for Niagara 4 software that enables it to “speak” JSON. You can see their press release here. This is important, because much of the Internet speaks JSON in the background. A JACE that speaks JSON is starting to look like that futuristic IoT device we’ve been promised for…

BACnet Frequently Asked Questions

By Matthew Scheffel

What are BACnet devices? BACnet stands for Building Automation and Control network. It is a communication protocol created by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers to allow manufacturers of building automation equipment to create devices that can inter-operate with each other. It’s a standard protocol with worldwide adoption. The idea is that…

Override BACnet Input Objects

By Matthew Scheffel

Have you ever had an outside air temperature sensor fail, causing a building’s automation to go nuts? Instead of overriding the entire building, why not just override the sensor? Usually with building automation systems you have to explicitly program this functionality. This is an area where BACnet shines: the protocol was designed by ASHRAE with…

BACnet Object Types

By Matthew Scheffel

The BACnet standard supports at least 18 different BACnet objects. ASHRAE will add new object types from time to time, but it’s rare to see these exotic object types in the field. The common objects provide intuitive access to building automation features. There is a loop object for PID loops, a calendar object for holidays…

MS/TP Capture Tool now Included with Wireshark!

By Matthew Scheffel

Wireshark is a fantastic tool for network diagnostics. It’s been the best tool for BACnet/IP network troubleshooting for years. It’s even been able to dissect MS/TP traffic dumps if you knew how, and had the right tools. Check out the new Wireshark BACnet MS/TP capture tool, included in 2.4.4 (and possibly earlier), which includes those…

What Is BACnet?

By Matthew Scheffel

The Basics – What is BACnet? An ASHRAE Protocol BACnet is a popular building automation protocol used worldwide to enable communication between devices in commercial automation systems. Industrial automation systems have historically used other protocols such as OPC, Modbus, and proprietary protocols. BACnet standardizes communication across vendors and simplifies the integration process. The name BACnet…

Overview of Commercial Automation Protocols

By Matthew Scheffel

In automation there are several communication protocols. Some are entirely proprietary and others are open. Despite the friendliness of the word, “open” isn’t always good news. Some of the older proprietary protocols are easy to integrate with off the shelf integration products. Two versions of the same protocol often look different. It’s a zoo out…

Add a Remote Device Without a BBMD

By Matthew Scheffel

You may encounter a situation where you must add a device on a different network. You may have no control of the BBMD configuration or you may have no BBMDs available due to poor device support. In these situations, you may have to add a remote device without a BBMD. It’s a handy trick, but…

BACnet Broadcast Distribution Table Example

By Matthew Scheffel

Setting up a BBMD-connected network is a manual and somewhat arcane process. The broadcast distribution table is a list of the BBMDs on the network. Each BBMD on each network should have the same broadcast distribution table. Here’s a quick example of a BACnet broadcast distribution table (BDT) that might help clear things up. The…