Control Network Newsletter

Niagara AX Integration via Haystack

May 2015 - The BASintegratorFIN uses a subset of J2innovations's FIN stack to create a powerful, yet flexible intelligent gateway that integrates Modbus and BACnet points up to Project Haystack clients.

Built on Contemporary Controls' open automation Linux platform, the BASintegratorFIN can discover points and apply Haystack tags to serve up to building supervisors such as Niagara's AX Supervisor. Using an open and free Haystack driver in the AX Supervisor, the AX Supervisor only needs to know the IP address of the BASintegratorFINs in the network for a seamless interface to all points on a job regardless of the type of point. The result is an inexpensive, yet modern approach to building automation where access to structured data is critical.

Project Haystack is an open-source initiative that incorporates a data model that creates structure to this data through naming conventions. The tagging convention is driven through public comment. Using Project Haystack conventions, the BASintegratorFIN not only provides structure to data but also captures the data in a cost-effective manner while delivering tagged field data up to building supervisors.