Control Network Newsletter
BACnet MS/TP Troubleshooting Simplified with the BASrouterLX and Visual BACnet
January 2017 - BACnet MS/TP troubleshooting can now be done remotely on demand or via scheduled analysis thanks to a one-of-a kind product integration from Chicago-based Contemporary Controls and Vancouver-based Optigo Networks. Using Contemporary Controls' popular BASrouterLX to capture MS/TP traffic and Optigo Networks' new Visual BACnet for analysis, technicians will no longer need to be on-site to diagnose MS/TP issues.
Recent technological developments have made diagnosing IP network issues easier, but until this collaboration, troubleshooting MS/TP network issues has been hands-on and time consuming. When an MS/TP network breaks down, the technician has to put on his boots, drive to the site, set up a USB dongle and capture traffic right on-site. The product integration between Contemporary Controls and Optigo Networks changes that.
Using a Contemporary Controls' BASrouterLX, MS/TP traffic is captured and sent to Optigo Networks' Visual BACnet. The MS/TP data can be captured via remote monitoring, or the capture can be scheduled at a specific time each day and then sent to VisualBACnet.com for analysis.
"Troubleshooting BACnet MS/TP issues has always been a challenge," said Harpartap Parmar, Senior Product Manager at Contemporary Controls. "By teaming with Optigo to use the MS/TP traffic for analysis, technicians can quickly respond to a customer's problem without needing to be on-site."
The BASrouterLX by Contemporary Controls is a high-performance BACnet router providing stand-alone routing between BACnet networks such as BACnet/IP, BACnet Ethernet, and BACnet MS/TP. Besides its high-speed processor, it has advanced features such as auto-discovery of MS/TP slaves, MS/TP frame capture and storage for use with Wireshark®. Up to 50 BBMD entries can be made. With the Optigo integration, MS/TP frame capture can be sent to Visual BACnet for analysis.
Visual BACnet by Optigo Networks is a powerful BACnet health analysis and monitoring software. It allows users to concretely measure the health of their networks, and quickly diagnose problems to reduce troubleshooting and downtime. Users can look at their network's health score, drill down to pinpoint problems, and create baseline reports to compare network changes over time.
"We look forward to fully launching this integration with Contemporary Controls in the coming months," said Dan Ronald, VP Product Management at Optigo. "This partnership is a big step towards fulfilling our vision of monitoring sites in real-time, allowing an increase in the overall quality of Building Automation Systems."
Existing BASrouterLX users interested in the new features will be able to install the software upgrade via the BASrouterLX webpage.
Learn more about this new collaboration in Optigo's upcoming webinar Introducing Contemporary Controls Integration, January 25, featuring Dan Ronald and Harpartap Parmar. The product will also be showcased at the AHR Expo January 30-February 1 at Booth C861 and C1458.