Control Network Newsletter
In Time for AHR Expo - an Expanded BASautomation Portfolio
January 2013 - Even our customers familiar with some of our BASautomation products might not realize how much the product family has grown in the past year. While getting ready for AHR Expo we've updated our BASautomation - Building on BACnet brochure and the basautomation.com website highlighting our areas of concentration - visualization, integration, control and communication. You will notice a consistent theme to our product family - a commitment to open protocols such as Modbus and BACnet, open technologies such as Sedona Framework and Niagara Framework, and IP networks.
Along with our "CTRLink® - Ethernet Built for Buildings" infrastructure products, we provide solutions that can take any device up to the Internet. This includes our UL 864 Ethernet switches and our new cloud-VPN solution for convenient and secure remote monitoring of BMS systems.
All will be on display at AHR Expo but if you cannot attend the show, please visit our BASautomation.com web site to learn more about what we can offer.
Visualize
The BASview offers a simple web-based graphical interface to a web browser for scheduling, trending, alarming, and graphics generation. It requires no specialized training or licensing. For a more comprehensive head-end, the BASsupervisorAX Network Server or the BASintegratorAX Integration Controller along with web browsers is the solution. By incorporating Niagara Framework® in our Scalable Building Strategy, any size project is within reach.
Integrate
Not all building automation devices are BACnet/IP compliant so there is a need for gateways and routers.
The BASrouterLX High Performance BACnet Router allows connection of BACnet MS/TP and BACnet Ethernet devices to BACnet/IP. By having BBMD support, the BASrouterLX allows BACnet devices to operate over a sub-netted IP network.
The BASgatewayLX Modbus to BACnet Converter interfaces Modbus TCP and Modbus Serial (RTU or ASCII) devices to BACnet/IP. By using predefined Modbus device profiles that were developed by Contemporary Controls, configuration only requires checking off boxes on a web page.
For tougher integration challenges there is the BASintegratorAX which can take almost any other protocol up to BACnet/IP. There is no need to worry about that one device in the specification that must be included in the system.
Control
Having controllers at the IP level provides convenient web page configuration and monitoring over an Ethernet network. The BAScontrol20 is a BACnet/IP compliant 20-point controller that is freely-programmable using Sedona Framework®. Using a workbench tool, control schemes are developed by dropping and dragging components onto a wiresheet. With less I/O, the BASremote provides much the same capability along with a Modbus gateway port. As an option, it can be powered over Ethernet.
Communicate
Accessing machines at remote sites can be a challenge since firewalls block messages that originate from the Internet. Although it is possible to open up ports in the firewall using Port Forwarding, it is better to use a Virtual Private Network or VPN. A VPN tunnel encrypts TCP/IP communications so messages can be sent over the Internet. A simple VPN can exist between two end points. One is a VPN client while the other is a VPN server. Between the VPN client and server, the communications are encrypted - so only authorized devices can communicate over the VPN. Once the VPN connection is made, messages can originate from either side - eliminating the need for port-forwarding.
Having the VPN in the cloud allows access from anywhere on the Internet. Using a cellular connection from the remote site to the cloud is easier to accomplish. Contemporary Controls provides a complete remote monitoring solution by supplying the cellular routers, hosting the Cloud-based VPN server and by recommending a data plan from a cellular provider.
Life Safety
In order to connect general purpose networks with life safety Ethernet networks, an intervening Ethernet switch is required. The EIS Ethernet Switch series is UL-864 and cUL-864 recognized for Control Units and Accessories for Fire Alarm Systems 9th Edition.
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