Echelon IP-852 User Manual

IP-852 Channel

User’s Guide

078-0312-01C

Echelon, LON, LonWorks, Neuron, 3120, 3150, i.LON, LNS,
LonMaker, L

ONMARK, LonTalk, NodeBuilder, and the Echelon

logo are trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the
United States and other countries. LonSupport, OpenLDV,
and LNS Powered by Echelon are trademarks of Echelon
Corporation.

Other brand and product names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Neuron

Chips and other OEM Products were not designed for

use in equipment or systems which involve danger to human
health or safety or a risk of property damage and Echelon
assumes no responsibility or liability for use of the Neuron
Chips or LonPoint Modules in such applications.

Parts manufactured by vendors other than Echelon and
referenced in this document have been described for
illustrative purposes only, and may not have been tested by
Echelon. It is the responsibility of the customer to determine
the suitability of these parts for each application.

ECHELON MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR
CONDITION OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR
OTHERWISE OR IN ANY COMMUNICATION WITH YOU,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR ANY
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT, AND THEIR
EQUIVALENTS.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of Echelon
Corporation.

Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright ©1997–2011 by Echelon
Corporation.
Echelon Corporation
www.echelon.com

ii

Table of Contents

Preface ..................................................................................................... v

Purpose .......................................................................................................... vi

Audience......................................................................................................... vi

Content...........................................................................................................vi

Installing the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server ....................................... vi

Related Manuals.............................................................................................vii

For More Information and Technical Support.................................................vii

1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 1

Introduction to the IP-852 Channel..................................................................2

2 Creating an IP-852 Channel.............................................................. 5

Creating an IP-852 Channel............................................................................6

Checking IP-852 Device Status........................................................11

Backing Up the IP-852 Configuration Server Database...................12

Managing Multiple IP-852 Configuration Server Databases............12

Creating a Network with an IP-852 Channel.................................................12

Creating an IP-852 Interface...................................................................13

Configuring an IP-852 Device as a LONWORKS Router..........................15

Verifying LONWORKS/IP-852 Router Functionality ..................................17

3 IP-852 Channel Parameters............................................................ 21

Channel Mode...............................................................................................22

Aggregation ...................................................................................................23

MD5 Authentication.......................................................................................24

IP-852 Channel Timing Considerations ........................................................26

Channel Timeout.....................................................................................26

Channel Delay.........................................................................................27

Packet Reorder Timer.............................................................................27

Using SNTP When Creating IP-852 Channels..............................................27

Specifying System SNTP Servers ..........................................................27

Specifying SNTP Servers for a Channel or Device................................29

Choosing an SNTP Server......................................................................30

4 Using NAT, DHCP, and DNS on an IP-852 Channel...................... 31

Network Address Translation (NAT) .............................................................32

Setting up an IP-852 Channel with NAT.................................................32

NAT Example: Simple Home Network....................................................33

Ports and Port Mapping..........................................................................34

IP-852 Device Ports................................................................................35

Creating a Virtual Wire............................................................................35

DHCP.............................................................................................................38

DHCP Servers.........................................................................................39

ISP Address Allocation ...........................................................................39

DNS...............................................................................................................40

DNS and the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server................................41

Linking DNS and DHCP ................................................................................42

Dynamic DNS................................................................................................42

How DDNS Works ..................................................................................42

Appendix A Troubleshooting.............................................................. 45

Common Troubleshooting Problems.............................................................46

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide iii

iv Preface

Preface

You can use an IP-852 channel to implement a LONWORKS® control network over an IP

network, and you can use an IP-852 channel to integrate multiple native L

networks into one large network that uses a high-speed IP-852 channel as a backbone.

With an IP-852 channel, you can use a single LNS

the networks attached to the IP-852 channel remotely and use L

bind the devices on the networks together, regardless of the distance between the

networks. You just need to attach your IP-852 devices, LNS Server computer, and the

computer running the LNS application to the same IP-852 channel.

®

application to monitor and control

ONWORKS connections to

ONWORKS

®

.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide v

Purpose

This document describes how to create an IP-852 channel and how to use the channel
with any IP-852 device. The IP-852 protocol is defined by the ISO/IEC 14908-4 standard.
IP-852 devices are available from multiple manufacturers, and the Echelon IP-852
Configuration Server may be used with any IP-852 compliant device from any
manufacturer. Echelon IP-852 devices include the SmartServer Energy Manager, i.LON
100 Internet Server, i.LON 600 IP-852 Router, and LNS server. This document explains
how to configure an IP-852 channel with the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server, and
guidelines to follow when using NAT, DNS or DHCP on the IP-852 channel.

Audience

This document is intended for Echelon customers, OEMs, and system designers and
integrators with knowledge of control systems and IP networking.

Content

This guide includes the following content:

• Introduction. Provides an introduction to IP-852 channels, and describes the devices

you can use to create and manage these channels.

• Creating an IP-852 Channel. Describes how to create an IP-852 channel with the

Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server.

• IP-852 Channel Parameters. Provides details on the channel parameters you can set

when creating an IP-852 channel with the IP-852 Configuration Server.

• Using NAT, DHCP and DNS on an IP-852 Channel. Describes considerations you

should make when using NAT, DHCP and DNS on an IP-852 channel.

• Appendix A: Troubleshooting. This appendix can be used to diagnose common

problems that could occur when you create an IP-852 channel with the IP-852
Configuration Server.

Installing the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server

The Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server stores and distributes the configuration of the
IP-852 channel, including the IP addresses of all the IP-852 devices attached to the
channel. You will initially configure the IP-852 channel with the IP-852 Configuration
Server, and the IP-852 Configuration Server must be running anytime you modify the
configuration of the IP-852 devices on the IP-852 channel.

You can install the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server on any computer with IP
connectivity to the IP-852 devices to be configured. The IP-852 Configuration Server is
available as a free download from
Configuration Server is also included with many products including Echelon’s
SmartServer, i.LON, LonMaker

www.echelon.com/ilon, and a version of the IP-852

®

, and LNS products.

To install the standalone version of the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server, download a
copy from
the ReadMe document that is available with the download.

vi Preface

www.echelon.com/ilon, and follow the installation instructions provided with

Related Manuals

The documentation related to the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server is provided as

®

Adobe
IP-852 Configuration Server program folder when you install the IP-852
Configuration Server. You can download the latest version of this guide, from Echelon’s
Web site at

The following manuals provide supplemental information to the material in this guide.
You can download these documents from Echelon’s Web site at

PDF files and online help files. The PDF files are installed in the Echelon

www.echelon.com/docs.

www.echelon.com/docs.

i.LON 600 IP-852 Router Server
User’s Guide

Introduction to the L

ONWORKS

Platform

Describes how to use the i.LON 600 IP-852 Router
Server.

®

Provides a high-level introduction to L

ONWORKS

networks and the tools and components that are used
for developing, installing, operating, and maintaining
them.

®

Programmer’s Guide

LNS

Describes how to use the LNS Object Server ActiveX
Control to develop an LNS application that can manage,
monitor, and control devices on an IP-852 channel

SmartServer 2.0 Hardware Guide

Describes how to assemble, mount, and wire the
SmartServer hardware.

SmartServer 2.0 User’s Guide

Describes how to configure the SmartServer and use its
apps to manage control networks.

For More Information and Technical Support

The Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server ReadMe document provides descriptions
of known problems, if any, and their workarounds. To view the Echelon IP-852

Configuration Server ReadMe, click Start, point to Programs, point to Echelon
IP-852 Configuration Server, and then select ReadMe First.

If you have technical questions that are not answered within this document or the online
help files provided with the IP-852 Configuration Server, you can contact Echelon for
technical support. Your Echelon product distributor may also provide technical support.
To receive technical support from Echelon, you must purchase support services from
Echelon or an Echelon support partner. See
on Echelon support and training services.

www.echelon.com/support for more information

You can also enroll in training classes at Echelon or an Echelon training center to learn
more about developing devices. You can find additional information about device
development training at

www.echelon.com/training.

You can obtain technical support via phone, fax, or e-mail from your closest Echelon
support center. The contact information is as follows:

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide vii

Region Languages Supported Contact Information

The Americas

English
Japanese

Echelon Corporation
Attn. Customer Support
550 Meridian Avenue
San Jose, CA 95126
Phone (toll-free):
1-800-258-4LON (258-4566)
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[e-mail]

Europe

Japan

China

English
German
French
Italian

Echelon Europe Ltd.
Suite 12
Building 6
Croxley Green Business
Park
Hatters Lane
Watford
Hertfordshire WD18 8YH
United Kingdom
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[e-mail]

Japanese Echelon Japan

Holland Hills Mori Tower,
18F
5-11-2 Toranomon,
Minato-ku
Tokyo 105-0001
Japan
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[e-mail]

Chinese
English

Echelon Greater China
Rm. 1007-1008, IBM Tower
Pacific Century Place
2A Gong Ti Bei Lu
Chaoyang District
Beijing 100027, China
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[e-mail]

Other Regions

English
Japanese

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

[e-mail]

viii Preface

Introduction

This chapter provides an introduction to IP-852 channels, and describes the devices you

can use to create and manage these channels.

1

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 1

Introduction to the IP-852 Channel

An IP-852 channel carries ISO/IEC 14908-1 packets enveloped in ISO/IEC 14908-4
packets. Unlike traditional L
create connections between the devices on the channel, an IP-852 channel uses a shared
IP network to connect IP-852 devices and is defined by a group of IP addresses. These IP
addresses form a channel that connects IP-852 devices on a shared control network so
they can communicate with each other. IP-852 devices include the SmartServer Energy
Manager, i.LON 100 Internet Server, i.LON 600 L
computers, and LonMaker
with the L

ONMARK IP-852 channel definition can also be used as IP-852 devices. For

systems using an LNS server, an IP-852 channel enables an LNS remote full client to
connect directly to a L

ONWORKS network and perform monitoring and control tasks.

The concept of an IP-852 channel is similar to a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Each
IP-852 device in the system is aware of its peers and each IP-852 device keeps peer
information in its routing tables so it can forward L
address or addresses.

Figure 1.1 shows a typical channel configuration in which three SmartServers are used
to create an IP-852 channel connecting three TP/FT-10 channels, each of which contains
the devices installed on a different floor in a building. The circled portion of the diagram
represents the IP-852 channel connecting the three SmartServers. As a result of this
connection, a single application can connect to devices on all three of the TP/FT-10
channels in the building, and monitor and control the entire building.

ONWORKS channels that use a dedicated physical wire to

®

computers. Devices from other manufacturers that comply

ONWORKS/IP-852 Router, LNS Server

ONWORKS packets to the correct IP

Figure 1.1 An IP-852 Channel

Figure 1.1 shows the IP-852 Configuration Server inside the IP-852 channel. The IP-852
Configuration Server stores the configuration of the IP-852 channel, including the IP
addresses of all the devices and routers installed on the channel. You will initially
configure the IP-852 channel with the IP-852 Configuration Server, and the IP-852

2 Introduction

Configuration Server must be running anytime you modify the configuration of the
devices on the IP-852 channel. You can run the IP-852 Configuration Server on any
computer with access to the IP network containing the IP-852 channel. Chapters 2 and 3
of this document describe how to use the IP-852 Configuration Server. The IP-852
Configuration Server is available as a free download from

www.echelon.com/ilon, and a

version of the IP-852 Configuration Server is also included with many products including

®

Echelon’s SmartServer, i.LON, LonMaker

, and LNS products.

The IP-852 channel definition accounts for the potentially large latencies introduced by
large IP networks such as the Internet. This enables key control network services such
as duplicate packet detection to function correctly over a high-latency IP network.

A complete installation may contain many IP-852 devices and computers—all sharing a
single IP-852 channel. Because the IP-852 channel can exist on any IP network, a system
may span the entire globe as easily as it spans a single building, as shown in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2 Large L

ONWORKS Network using an IP-852 Channel

Note: A single IP-852 channel may contain up to 256 IP-852 devices. If your installation
requires more than 256 IP-852 devices, you must create multiple IP-852 channels.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 3

4 Introduction

2

Creating an IP-852 Channel

This chapter describes how to create an IP-852 channel with the Echelon IP-852

Configuration Server.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 5

Creating an IP-852 Channel

You can create an IP-852 channel by configuring the IP-852 devices that are to be
attached to the IP-852 channel, and entering information about each IP-852 device in the
IP-852 Configuration Server.

This section describes how create an IP-852 channel using an example network with two
devices on an IP backbone to illustrate the process. In Figure 2.1, a L
channel 1 is bound to a device on channel 2 across an IP-852 backbone. The computer
running the IP-852 Configuration Server resides on the IP-852 channel, and has access
to both IP-852 devices through an IP connection. The computer running the LonMaker
software is connected to channel 1. To simplify the network, you can run the LonMaker
software and the IP-852 Configuration Server software on a single computer.

ONWORKS device on

Figure 2.1 Setting Up an IP-852 Channel

To create a network like the one illustrated in Figure 2.1, follow the steps below:

1. If you do not already have an Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server installed on a

computer with access to the IP network, download it from
and install the IP-852 Configuration Server as described in the ReadMe document
that accompanies the download.

2. Set the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway for all the IP-852 devices you

plan to use on the channel. In Figure 2.1, the two IP-852 devices are SmartServers,
although your network could contain any IP-852 devices. Consult the documentation
for your IP-852 device for instructions on how to perform this step.

3. Start the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server application. To do this, click Start,

point to Programs, point to Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server, and then
select IP-852 Configuration Server. The IP-852 Configuration Server main dialog
opens.

www.echelon.com/ilon,

6 Creating an IP-852 Channel

Figure 2.2 Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server

4. Verify that the IP-852 Configuration Server is attached to your IP network. The

Network status box should indicate Enabled. If it does not, select Enabled from
the Network menu. The IP-852 Configuration Server should correctly detect and
display the IP address of your computer in the Channel Description window.

To verify the IP-852 Configuration Server computer’s IP address, click Network and
then click Settings. The Network Settings dialog opens. Confirm that the IP
address of the IP-852 Configuration Server is shown in the IP Address or Host
Name property as shown in Figure 2.3.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 7

Figure 2.3 IP-852 Configuration Server Network Settings

5. If your computer has more than one IP address assigned to it, you can click Local IP

and specify the IP address to be used by the IP-852 Configuration Server.

6. The defaults for the channel properties will work in cases where network delays are

low. If you anticipate large delays in the IP segment (many routers / hops, or slow
media segments), you can adjust the channel property settings and/or use SNTP time
servers to synchronize IP-852 Router member devices. See Chapter 3 for more
information on this.

7. To configure the channel mode, right-click the New Channel entry and select

Properties from the shortcut menu. Select Backward Compatible, Standard
EIA-852 or Extended Firewall Support mode. See the

Channel Mode section in

Chapter 3 for more detailed information on these settings.

8. From the IP-852 Configuration Server main dialog, right-click the new channel, and

select New Device from the shortcut menu. An icon representing an IP-852 device
is added to the channel.

9. Right-click on the new device and select Rename Device from the shortcut menu to

enter a name for the device.

10. Right-click the device and select Device Properties. The device properties dialog

opens.

8 Creating an IP-852 Channel

Figure 2.4 IP-852 Configuration Server Device Properties: Address Tab

11. Enter the IP address of the IP-852 device and click Apply. This is the same address

that you assigned to the IP-852 device using the setup Web pages.

If you use a host name, it must be registered in a DNS server that is available to the
IP-852 Configuration Server computer.

12. Click the SNTP tab, and then select the Use Channel Default check box.

13. Click the Protocol tab, and then select the Use Channel Default check box.

Figure 2.5 IP-852 Configuration Server Device Properties: SNTP and Protocol Tabs

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 9

14. Click the i.LON Time Zone tab, and then set the time zone to correspond with the

geographical area of the device.

15. Click Apply.

16. Repeat steps 6 – 15 for each IP-852 device to be added to the IP-852 channel. You

can change the IP-852 device’s settings (for example, IP address, local port, and so
on) later. When you modify IP-852 device settings, update the device’s configuration
with the device software before modifying the device’s settings in the IP-852
Configuration Server. The IP-852 Configuration Server must be running

when you modify the device’s configuration with the device software. You
can keep the IP-852 Configuration Server running at all times.

17. Either click Channel and then click Update Members, or click Device and then

click Update Device. The IP-852 Configuration Server automatically attempts to
set up the device's routing tables by updating all members of the channel with the
current channel configuration and membership.

Figure 2.6 IP-852 Configuration Server: Update Members and Update Device

When you select Update Members or Update Device, a communication process starts
between the IP-852 Configuration Server and the IP-852 devices that you added to the
IP-852 channel. You can view this process by clicking Show Log.

Figure 2.7 Log Dialog

10 Creating an IP-852 Channel

Checking IP-852 Device Status

If any information between IP-852 devices on the IP-channel needs to be updated, the
IP-852 Configuration Server will send updated information to each IP-852 device.
Success or failure of this step is reflected in the IP-852 Configuration Server log screen
and the color of the devices in the navigation pane on the left side of main dialog. The
meaning of each color of the device status is listed in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 IP-852 Configuration Server Device Status Indicator

Color Status Description

Green Normal. The IP-852 Configuration Server has communicated with

the IP-852 device and configuration is up to date.

Yellow Normal, but the Time Check failed for device.

The IP-852 device’s time differs from the time on the computer
running the IP-852 Configuration Server by more than a few
milliseconds. This usually means that either the
IP-852 device or the computer is not referencing an SNTP server
to set the local time. The system may work with some yellow
devices, but the probability of data loss is increased. You can
provide an SNTP server to both the computer and the IP-852
device so that their time bases can be automatically synchronized.
When synchronized, the yellow icon turns green.

Red Communication with the device has failed.

The IP-852 Configuration Server cannot communicate with the
IP-852 device. This usually occurs when no response is received
from a device to which a request was made. This may happen if
the IP-852 device is powered down, disconnected from the IP
network, or has been configured improperly with the wrong IP
address/subnet mask/gateway etc. It may also occur if an
intervening NAT gateway has not been configured to statically
map ports to the IP-852 device as described above.

Make sure that all security and IP settings are configured
properly.

Orange The IP-852 device’s configuration is out of date or the IP address

has not been specified (0.0.0.0).

This indicates work in progress. When the IP-852 Configuration
Server updates the IP-852 device, the icon turns green. in a large
channel (> 40 devices) this can take several minutes. Changing a
connection in a network management tool can require that the
routing tables in every IP-852 device on the IP-852 channel be
updated. In this case, you may see many icons turn orange, and
then one-by-one turn green again when their routing tables have
been updated.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 11

Red/White
Checkerboard

Cyan The IP-852 Configuration Server has not yet attempted to

Disabled. Typically, the user right clicked on the IP-852 device in
the IP-852 Configuration Server tree and selected Disable
Device from the shortcut menu.

communicate with the IP-852 device.

The IP-852 Configuration Server may be busy communicating
with other channel members (this is common on a large channel).
If the IP-852 Configuration Server appears not to be attempting
communication, click Show Log and monitor the progress. Click
Channel and then click Update Members.

Backing Up the IP-852 Configuration Server Database

To back up all the files associated with a LONWORKS network that contains an IP-852
channel, include the LTIPCDB.BIN file in your backup. The location of this file is
stored in the LonWorks Data Path string entry in the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\LonWorks registry key.

Managing Multiple IP-852 Configuration Server Databases

The IP-852 Configuration Server maintains a single database in the LONWORKS
DataPath folder. The IP-852 Configuration Server database includes the current
configurations of the IP-852 Configuration Server, IP-852 channels, and IP-852 devices
you have created, and the current network settings. You cannot manage multiple IP-852
configurations at the same time; however, you can create multiple IP-852 configurations
for separate sites by backing up the IP-852 Configuration Server database after
configuring a site, and then restoring the database for an alternate site. The IP-852
Configuration Server uses the database in the L

ONWORKS DataPath folder.

Creating a Network with an IP-852 Channel

You can create a network containing an IP-852 channel and multiple IP-852 devices.
One or more of the IP-852 devices may be routers to native L
typically TP/FT-10 free topology twisted pair or TP/XF-1250 high-speed twisted pair
channels. You can install devices in the network using a network management tool such
as the LonMaker Turbo Integration Tool. For the best performance, you can attach the
network management tool to the IP-852 channel, making the computer running the
network management tool another IP-852 device on the IP-852 channelFigure 2.8 shows
an example of a L
management tool attached to the channel.

12 Creating an IP-852 Channel

ONWORKS network that contains an IP-852 channel with a network

ONWORKS channels,

IP-852

Channel

LonMaker Computer/

IP-852 Configuration Server

Channel 1 (FT-10)

SmartServer

TCP/IP

Network

Channel 2 (FT-10)

SmartServer

Figure 2.8 Typical Network Containing an IP-852 Channel

To create a LonWorks network with an IP-852 channel using an LNS network
management tool such as the LonMaker tool, follow steps:

1. Create an IP-852 channel containing the L

ONWORKS/IP-852 routers for the channel

as described in the previous section.

2. Create an IP-852 interface for the computer with the network management tool

using the L

ONWORKS Interfaces application.

3. Add the IP-852 interface created in step 2 as an IP-852 device in the IP-852

Configuration Server. See the previous section,

Creating an IP-852 Channel, for more

information on how to do this.

4. Configure the IP-852 devices that are routers to other L

ONWORKS routers.

L

5. Verify that your IP-852 device is functioning as a L

ONWORKS channels as

ONWORKS/IP-852 router.

The following sections describe how to perform steps 2, 4, and5.

Creating an IP-852 Interface

You can attach your network management tool directly to the IP-852 channel to get the
best performance. If you are using a network management tool based on the LNS
Network Operating System such as the LonMaker Turbo Network Integration Tool, you
can attach both the computer with the LNS Server and the computer with the network
management tool to the IP-852 channel. Both the LNS Server and the network
management tool may be running on the same computer. You will have to create an
IP-852 interface definition on your LNS Server computer, your network management
computer, and on any other LNS remote client computers that will be attached to the IP­852 channel. To create an IP-852 interface definition, follow these steps

1. Open the L

ONWORKS Interfaces application in the Windows Control Panel. To do

this, click Start on the taskbar, click Control Panel, and then double-click

LonWorks

Interfaces.

Note: The following steps describe how to create an IP-852 interface using OpenLDV

4.0. If you are using a different version, the subsequent steps may vary slightly.

2. Click Interface, point to Add, and then either click IP-852 Interface or click New

Interface and then click IP-852 in the Select Interface Type dialog.

3. The Add Network Interface Wizard dialog opens.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 13

Figure 2.9 Add Network Interface Wizard Dialog

4. Enter the following properties for the IP-852 interface:

Name

Enter a name for the IP-852 interface definition that is unique
to your computer.

IP Address /
Hostname

IP Address

Enter the IP address to be used by the IP-852 interface
definition on your computer.

Each IP-852 interface definition must use a unique IP
address/port combination. This property defaults to the IP
address of your computer's IP network card. If your computer
contains multiple network cards, select the IP address from the
list box that appears.

You can also manually enter an IP address that is not already
defined on your computer. In this case, a warning icon appears
next to the IP Address property; however, you can still enter
the non-defined IP address for the IP-852 interface definition.
The non-defined IP address is marked by "***".

Note: The IP-852 interface definition is not functional until the
IP address has been defined on your computer.

Port

Enter the port number to be used by the IP-852 interface
definition on your computer. The default port is 1628.

14 Creating an IP-852 Channel

You can change the port number; however, you must avoid any
conflicts with other applications that are using the IP network
card. Each IP-852 interface definition you create with the

ONWORKS Interfaces application must use a unique port. If

L
you modify the port used by an IP-852 interface definition, the
change will be implemented once all applications using the
IP-852 interface definition are closed.

Channel Timing

Select the channel delay. You have the following two choices:

• LAN. Select this if your IP-852 channel spans a local area

network. This is the default.

• WAN. Select this if your IP-852 channel spans a wide area

network. This results in a larger channel delay value.

Authentication

If the IP channel used by this IP-852 interface definition is
using authentication, enter the authentication key as a
32-character hexadecimal string representing a 128-bit MD5
key. The following is an example authentication key:

A9048749F4BF89590310C547BD4594D7

You can enable authentication for an IP-852 channel with the
IP-852 Configuration Server. See

MD5 Authentication in
Chapter 3 for more information on using authentication on the
IP-852 channel.

Configuring an IP-852 Device as a LONWORKS Router

An IP-852 device may be either a native IP-852 device or a router to a native LONWORKS
channel. An LNS server may be configured as a native IP-852 device, and any IP-852 to
native L
Examples of native L
TP/XF-1250 high-speed twisted pair. IP-852 to L
multiple manufacturers. Echelon’s IP-852 to L
SmarServer Energy Manager and i.LON 100 Internet Server with IP-852 routing
enabled, and the i.LON 600 L

ONWORKS compliant router may be configured as a LONWORKS router.

ONWORKS channels are TP/FT-10 free topology twisted pair and

ONWORKS routers are available from

ONWORKS routers include versions of the

ONWORKS/IP-852 router.

The procedure that you will use to configure an IP-852 device as a L
depends on the network management tool that you use to configure you L

ONWORKS router

ONWORKS

network. You can use any network management tool that complies with the ISO/IEC
14908-1 Control Network Protocol. The following procedure illustrates how to use the
LonMaker tool to integrate an IP-852 router with the L

ONWORKS network described in

Figure 2.8. For more information on the LonMaker tool, see the LonMaker User's Guide.

1. With the IP-852 Configuration Server running, create a new LonMaker network and

specify the IP-852 network interface created with the L

ONWORKS Interfaces

application in the previous section as the network interface. Change the name of
Channel 1 to IP852 Channel and assign specify IP-10L (if using a local IP network)
or IP-10W (if using a wide area IP network, such as the Internet) as the transceiver
type in the Channel's properties.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 15

Figure 2.10 Creating a New Channel Using LonMaker

2. Drag channel shapes to the drawing representing the FT-10 Channel 1 and FT-10

Channel 2 and assign TP/FT-10 as the Transceiver Type for both channels.

3. Drag two L

ONWORKS Router shapes to the drawing:

• iLONRTR_1. Connects IP-852 Channel (Channel A) to FT-10 Channel 1

(Channel B).

• iLONRTR_2. Connects IP-852 Channel (Channel A) to FT-10 Channel 2

(Channel B).

4. Commission the iLONRTR_1 and iLONRTR_2 routers, and leave them in the Online

state.

If your IP network contains large latencies, you may need to change the network
timing properties as described in Chapter 3.

Note: Verify that the IP-852 Configuration Server is running when you commission
the IP-852 routers or make any other changes to your L

ONWORKS network, such as

adding or deleting devices or connections. You can keep the IP-852 Configuration
Server running at all times so that you don’t forget to start it when it is required.

Once the IP-852 devices have been installed and commissioned, you can add devices,
functional blocks, and connections just as you would in any LonMaker network. See
the LonMaker User's Guide for more information. For example, Figure 2.11 shows
the network described above with a Digital Input device (DI-10) device added to
FT-10 Channel 1, and one of the digital output network variables from the DI-10
device bound to a DO device (DO-2) connected to FT-10 Channel 2 (switch band to
lamp).

16 Creating an IP-852 Channel

Figure 2.11 IP-852 Routers Configured on a L

ONWORKS Network

Verifying LONWORKS/IP-852 Router Functionality

You can verify that an IP-852 device that you have configured as a LONWORKS/IP-852
router is functioning as a L
management tool that you used to configure the IP-852 device as a L

ONWORKS network. You will typically use the network

ONWORKS router to

do the verification. This section describes how to use the LonMaker Integration Tool to
do the verification.

To verify that the IP-852 devices in the network shown in Figure 2.11 are working
correctly, right-click on the network variable connection between
DI-10 (switch) functional block and DO-10 (LED) function block and select Monitor
Input Value. Verify that the value displayed on the connection in LonMaker is tracking
the value of the Digital Output network variable in DI-10 functional block. If you do not
see network variable updates reported by the LonMaker tool, there is a problem. Refer
to Table 2.2 for troubleshooting information.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 17

Table 2.2 Troubleshooting the IP-852 Device

Symptom Probable Cause Corrective Action

No service pin
message is received
from the near
router
(iLONRTR_1 in
Figure 2.10).

There is a problem
with network
connectivity, or the
network interface in
the computer may
not be functioning
properly.

The IP-852 device
may not be
physically
connected to the
network interface.

No IP address has
been assigned to the
IP-852 device.

If you are using an
i.LON 600 IP-852
router as the near
router, the router
application has not
yet been created on
the IP-852 device.

Test connectivity between the network
interface driver and the network
interface card in the computer using

ONWORKS Interfaces in the Windows

L
Control Panel . Test to make sure that

ONWORKS Interfaces application

the L
receive a service pin message from some
other device on the same channel as the
IP-852 device.

Check the network wiring between the
computer and the IP-852 device.

Configure the IP address in the IP-852
device using the setup Web pages and
the IP-852 Configuration Server.

Create the LONWORKS router
application using the Console
Application, as described in Chapter 5
of the i.LON 600 LonWorks/IP-852
Router User’s Guide.

If you are using a
SmartServer or an
i.LON 100 Internet
Server as the near
router, it may not

License and configure the SmartServer
or i.LON 100 server to operate as an
IP-852 router, as described in Chapter 3
of the SmartServer 2.0 User’s Guide or

i.LON 100 e3 User’s Guide.
be licensed or
configured to
operate as an
IP-852 router.

The IP channel
properties have not
been properly set.

For a local Intranet, make sure the

channel property/transceiver type in the

LonMaker tool is IP-10L. For a WAN

(Internet), choose IP-10W.

18 Creating an IP-852 Channel

Symptom Probable Cause Corrective Action

The near router
(iLONRTR_1)
commissions
successfully, but no
service pin
message is received
from the far router
(iLONRTR_2).

Both IP-852 device
routers commission
successfully, but
the device on the
far side of
iLONRTR_2 (the
DI-10 device) does
not install
correctly.

An IP-852 device
added to an IP-852
channel using the
IP-852
Configuration
Server remains red
in the device tree.

There is a problem
with the IP-852
channel setup.

There is a problem
with the IP-852
channel or the
device being
installed.

IP connectivity
problem: the IP-852
Configuration
Server is not able to
communicate with
the IP-852 device on
the defined IP-852
channel.

Be sure the IP-852 Configuration

Server is running when you commission

the devices on the IP-852 channel.

Verify that the near router is online and

that the IP-852 Configuration Server

reports connectivity among all members

of the IP-852 channel (for example, all

icons are green).

Verify that the far router is online. Test

devices on the far side channel (using

the LonMaker Test command). If the

test succeeds for any other device on the

far channel, the IP-852 channel is

working, and the improperly working

device may not be installed correctly.

If no test succeeds, verify connectivity

between the IP-852 devices in the main

dialog status window of the IP-852

Configuration Server.

Verify that the computer running the

IP-852 Configuration Server can ping

the IP-852 device. To perform a ping,

open the Windows Command Prompt

(in the Accessories program folder) and

type “ping X.X.X.X” (the device’s IP

address). You should receive a reply

from your device.

Examine the IP-852 Configuration

Server trace window for clues as to

what may be going wrong.

Verify that you can ping the IP-852

Configuration Server computer or

members of the IP-852 channel using

the Windows Command Prompt.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 19

Symptom Probable Cause Corrective Action

The IP-852 device
on the IP-852
channel pings
successfully, but
will not
commission.

Address translation
may take place
somewhere between
the two devices.

The router
application does not
exist.

Make sure that the IP address of the

target IP-852 device matches the IP

address defined for it in the IP-852

Configuration Server.

If you are using an i.LON 600 router,

determine if the router application

exists by using the listapp command in

the Console Application. Create the

router app with the createapp Router

command if it does not exist. If you are

using a SmartServer or i.LON 100

router, make sure the device is licensed

and configured to operate as an IP-852

router.

20 Creating an IP-852 Channel

3

IP-852 Channel Parameters

This chapter provides details on the channel parameters you can set when creating an

IP-852 channel with the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 21

Channel Mode

You can set the IP-852 device channel mode using one of three options in the New
Channel Properties dialog box. If you are using an LNS Turbo Edition server (LNS

3.2) or higher, it is compatible with all three channel modes.

To access the New Channel Properties dialog box, start the IP-852 Configuration
Server, right-click the New Channel entry, and then click Channel Properties on the
shortcut menu.

Figure 3.1 New Channel Properties Dialog Box

22 IP-852 Channel Parameters

Table 3.1 describes each channel mode.

Table 3.1 Channel Modes

Setting Description

Backward
Compatible

Standard EIA-852

Extended Firewall
Support

Select this option if your channel will contain any legacy
i.LON 1000 servers or LNS 3.0 L

ONWORKS /IP network

interfaces. This causes the IP-852 device to operate
using a protocol that is compatible with these devices,
but is not strictly EIA-852 compliant.

In backward compatible mode, you can use a maximum
of 40 devices. If you select this option, you can only have
one device located behind each NAT firewall, the i.LON
1000 and LNS 3.0 devices cannot be located behind a
NAT firewall, and you cannot have duplicate IP
addresses or duplicate port assignments.

Select this option if your channel contains any mix of IP­852 compliant devices. You can use a maximum of 256
IP-852 devices per channel in Standard EIA-852 mode.

In Standard EIA-852 mode, you can only have one device
located behind each NAT firewall. The IP address
(including the port assignment) must be unique.

Select this option whenever your IP-852 channel crosses
an IP firewall, regardless of whether the firewall is
using Network Address Translation (NAT).

Depending on the particular firewall and its
configuration, this option may be required. In addition,
this will allow you to place more than one IP-852 router
device behind an NAT firewall, and to create multiple
IP-852 interfaces in the same channel using the same IP
address (but with different ports).

If this option is disabled, only one device may reside
behind a NAT firewall, and all devices on the channel
must have unique IP addresses. This option extends the
EIA-852 protocol in a way that is not strictly compliant
with that standard, though it should still be compatible
with other IP-852 devices. You can use up to 256 devices
per channel in this mode.

Aggregation

Click the Protocol tab and then select the Aggregation check box to enable
aggregation on the IP-852 channel. Each IP-852 router aggregates L
for transport over the IP channel. L

ONWORKS packets are relatively small in size and

often arrive at the IP-852 router in bursts or at a high rate. Aggregating packets
decreases the bandwidth necessary to send packets over IP, decreases IP network traffic,
and increases the performance of the IP-852 router.

The IP-852 router is set through the IP-852 Configuration Server to use aggregation by
default. The aggregation time parameter controls how long the router will wait for

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 23

ONWORKS packets

packets. The resolution of the timer depends on the IP-852 device. The resolution for
SmartServer and i.LON devices is in multiples of 10 milliseconds. The default
aggregation time is 16 milliseconds.

Figure 3.2 Aggregation Settings

If the network is idle and a single L

ONWORKS packet arrives at the

IP-852 device, the aggregation timer starts and the first packet is sent across the IP
channel without delay. If the network remains idle, the timer resets. However, if
another L

ONWORKS packet arrives within the aggregation time period, the router waits

the designated time for subsequent packets to arrive (anticipating a burst) so it can
aggregate before sending them onto the IP channel.

MD5 Authentication

MD5 authentication is a channel-wide property that uses an authentication key to set
security on an IP-852 channel. The authentication key is used to calculate the MD5
digest. When authentication is enabled and the IP-852 device prepares to send an IP
packet, the IP-852 device uses the authentication key and the public MD5 algorithm to
compute a digest over each L

For standard channels, the packet format is described in the ISO/IEC 14908-4 standard
for sending L

ONWORKS packets over IP. The computed digest is appended to the end of

the packet and the packet is sent over the network. Authentication digests are appended
to both L

ONWORKS data packets and the IP-852 Configuration Server control packets.

One or more IP-852 devices receive the packet and use their authentication key to
compute a digest over the same payload (not including the appended digest). The
receiving IP-852 device compares the digest it computed to the one that was sent in the

ONWORKS packet in the UDP payload.

24 IP-852 Channel Parameters

packet. If the digests match, the packet is authentic. If the digests do not match, the
packet is considered to have been corrupted, tampered with, or otherwise unacceptable,
and is discarded. The digest includes the entire packet, which contains a time stamp for
preventing replay attacks when used in conjunction with a configured channel timeout
value. For more information on the MD5 algorithm refer to RFC 1321.

Note: MD5 authentication should not be confused with authenticated L
messaging. MD5 authentication applies to IP packets; authenticated L
messaging applies to native L

ONWORKS packets.

ONWORKS

ONWORKS

The authentication key, consisting of 16 hex pairs, is set for each IP-852 device using the
device’s configuration interface (for example, using SmartServer configuration Web
pages). Authentication is enabled and the authentication key set for the IP-852 channel
through the IP-852 Configuration Server. To reset a lost authentication key, you must
obtain physical access to the device and reset the key through the device’s configuration
interface.

To enable authentication and set the authentication key on an IP-852 channel, follow
these steps:

1. Click Channel and then click Channel Properties, or right-click on a channel and

click Channel Properties in the shortcut menu. Click the Protocol tab.

Figure 3.3 Protocol Tab

2. Select the Authenticate check box to enable authentication, and then enter 16 hex

pairs that represent the MD5 authentication key into the entry field. The following
is an example key: ABF145E02B5CFF0019BEEFF145E02B5C.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 25

All authentication keys within a single network must match. Verify that you have
previously entered the same authentication key on all the IP-852 devices defined on this
channel

To disable authentication on a channel that has authentication enabled, clear the
Authenticate check box and click Apply.

IP-852 Channel Timing Considerations

When designing an IP-852 channel over an IP network that might have a large latency,
such as the Internet, you may need to adjust three timing parameters when configuring
the channel. You ca set two of the timing parameters, Channel Timeout and Reorder
Packets, using the IP-852 Configuration Server. You can set the Channel Delay using an
application network management tool such as the LonMaker tool.

On local area networks, set a Channel Timeout if MD5 Authentication is used, disable
Reorder Packets, and set the Channel Delay for the channel to twice the aggregation
timer.

On networks using the Internet, set the Channel Timeout and Reorder Packets
values to be consistent with the Channel Delay parameter. Table 3.2 specifies how to
approximate the timing values for network implementations using the Internet.

Table 3.2 Timing Parameter Calculations for Internet IP-852 Channels

Timing Parameter Set to:

Channel Timeout

Packet Reorder Timer

LonMaker Channel
Delay

If you are using aggregation and the aggregation delay is a high percentage of the
channel timeout or channel delay, add twice the aggregation delay to the Channel
Delay property and one times the aggregation delay to the Channel Timeout property.

Use the ping command from a Command Prompt to obtain the average ping delay.

(Average Ping Delay / 2) + 20%. A typical LAN based
channel will require at least a 50 ms delay and a typical
WAN based channel will require at least a 100 ms delay.

The lesser of the following two values: ¼ of Channel
Timeout Value, or 64 MS

Average Ping Delay + 10%

Channel Timeout

The channel timeout property sets the delay for a packet to travel across a channel. The
assigned delay is a time parameter set in milliseconds that indicates how old a packet
can be before it is discarded. If you are sending packets across a virtual private network
or any configuration that uses the Internet, set the Channel Timeout parameter to ½ the
average ping delay. Synchronize the IP-852 device routers with an SNTP time server.

Set the channel timeout parameter to a value in relation with the ping delay specified in
Table 3.2. In a L
trip delay for a packet traveling across that channel. The channel delay is based on a
combination of bit rate, packet size, and media access. Generally, you should set the
channel timeout on your IP-852 channel to more than half the channel delay value.

26 IP-852 Channel Parameters

ONWORKS network, each channel is assigned a cost defined as the round

Set a channel timeout when using MD5 authentication. When using MD5
authentication, start with a minimum channel timeout of 100 ms and a channel delay of
200 ms. The following factors in affect the Channel Timeout property:

• Variations on each leg of a round trip. Factor the maximum delay into one leg of the

trip.

• Maximum difference between the times on the IP-852 devices. The IP-852 device

stamps its time on a packet when it is sent on the IP network and the target IP-852
device compares the stamp to its own time. If the time has expired, (time of device –
time stamp in packet is greater than channel timeout), the IP packet is discarded by
the target device as stale. You can estimate the maximum difference between the
times on the devices by comparing the offsets displayed in the IP-852 Configuration
Server log window log when you run the channel Time Check command.

Channel Delay

The channel delay specifies the value of the expected round trip time of a message (for
example, message and response). This allows expected traffic patterns to be input to the
system so that the timer calculations can be affected accordingly. You can set this
property using a network management tool such as the LonMaker tool. See you network
management tool documentation for more information on the Channel Delay property.

Packet Reorder Timer

You can use the packet reorder timer property to set the amount of time that an IP-852
device will wait for an out-of-order IP packet to arrive. This parameter is important for
wide area networks (WANs) where IP packets can traverse multiple routers from source
to destination causing packets to appear on the receiver in a different order than
transmitted. If selected, the property defaults to 64 milliseconds.

Packets on a local area network do not get out-of-order; therefore, you can clear the
Reorder Packets check box in this case. Using the packet reordering feature or an
overly long reordering timer value can cause unnecessary delays in packet processing if a
packet is lost or corrupted. Whether enabled or disabled, out-of-order packets are never
sent onto the L

ONWORKS network.

Using SNTP When Creating IP-852 Channels

In small IP networks where there is no appreciable latency, it is not necessary to specify
an SNTP server for your IP-852 channel; however, when creating IP-852 channels that
span large IP networks where large network delays may be present, you must specify an
SNTP time server. This allows each participant in the channel to synchronize to a
common time base. Time synchronization is required to implement some of the

ONWORKS protocol’s messaging services. For example, the LONWORKS protocol’s stale

L
packet detection algorithm requires a common time base to function properly.

You can specify SNTP servers at three levels: system, channel, and device. Each device
and channel may be configured to synchronize to its own SNTP servers, or default to the
next level up. For example, a device can default to its channel SNTP servers, and a
channel can default to its system SNTP servers.

Specifying System SNTP Servers

To specify the system SNTP servers, follow these steps:

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 27

1. In the IP-852 Configuration Server, click Network, click Settings, and then click

the SNTP tab.

Figure 3.4 Setting the System SNTP Server

2. Enter the IP address or host name of the primary and secondary SNTP servers. The

IP addresses must be static IP addresses. You can typically use the default port
numbers of 123.

3. The Use SNTP Server on Device check box is selected by default. This means that

the IP-852 device fetches the time from the specified SNTP time server to update its
clock.

If this check box is cleared, the IP-852 device does not fetch the time from the SNTP
server. This may be desirable in small IP networks that have no significant latency,
and do not define a channel timeout (see
more information).

4. The Run SNTP Client on Configuration Server check box is selected by default.

In this case, the IP-852 Configuration Server fetches the time from the specified
SNTP time server and calculates the effective time to be used by all the IP-852
devices on the IP-852 channel.

If this check box is cleared, the IP-852 Configuration Server does not fetch the time
from the SNTP server. This may be desirable if all the IP-852 devices and your
computer’s clock are already being synchronized by the same SNTP time server, or
the IP-852 devices are using individual SNTP time servers but those time server are
providing sufficiently close times. In these cases, you can clear this check box to save
the overhead created by the IP-852 Configuration Server having to independently
fetch the time.



Channel Timeout earlier in this chapter for

28 IP-852 Channel Parameters

If the IP-852 Configuration Server is not on a domain, you should keep this check
box selected because your computer’s clock may drift too much as a result of
Windows synchronizing to the system clock infrequently (once per week) by default.

The Maximum Time Correction and Update Every properties only apply if the
Run SNTP Client on Configuration Server check box is selected. The IP-852
device SNTP options are self-adjusting and cannot be configured.

5. Click OK to save and return to the main dialog.

Specifying SNTP Servers for a Channel or Device

All channels default to the SNTP server specified for the system as described above, and
all devices default to the SNTP server specified for the channel (for example, the System
SNTP Server if the Channel SNTP server is not changed). Each channel and device in
the network can be configured to synchronize to a different SNTP time server.

To specify SNTP servers for a channel or device, follow these steps:

1. Select the channel or device in the main dialog of the IP-852 Configuration Server,

and then right-click the channel or device and click Properties on the shortcut
menu (or double-click the desired channel or device). Click the SNTP tab.

2. Clear the Use Channel Default or Use System Default check box.

3. Enter the IP addresses or host names of the SNTP servers as shown in Figure 3.5.

Leave the default port numbers of 123.

Figure 3.5 SNTP Server Configuration for a Channel and a Device

4. Click OK to save and return to the main dialog.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 29

Choosing an SNTP Server

You can obtain an IP address for an SNTP server for your IP-852 Channel in any of the
following ways:

• Ask your network administrator for the IP address of an SNTP server in your

corporate network.

• Connect to a time server on the Internet. There are many available public access

servers; a comprehensive list may be found at

http://ntp.isc.org/bin/view/Servers/StratumTwoTimeServers.

• Install an SNTP server on any computer in your LAN. You can use the same

computer on which the IP-852 Configuration Server is installed. One option is
Tardis2000 shareware available from
the software to synchronize with any other SNTP server, or use local time on the
computer by setting Tardis2000 to use the loop back address 127.0.0.1.

http://www.kaska.demon.co.uk. You can configure

30 IP-852 Channel Parameters

4

Using NAT, DHCP, and DNS on an

IP-852 Channel

This chapter describes how to use NAT, DHCP, and DNS on an IP-852 channel.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 31

Network Address Translation (NAT)

Network address translation (NAT) allows multiple computers (hosts) to share a single
IP address. The address is normally set up at the gateway between a private network
and the Internet, allowing the computers on the private network to share a global, ISP
assigned address. This is achieved by modifying the headers of each packet traveling
through the NAT gateway. At a minimum, an IP address in each packet header is
replaced (translated). For outbound packets (to the Internet), source addresses are
translated from private to public. For inbound packets, destination addresses are
translated from public to private.

Figure 4.1 IP-852 Devices Communicating Through Two NAT Gateways

An IP-852 device may be placed behind an NAT gateway or firewall and can
communicate with another IP-852 device placed behind another NAT gateway, as shown
in Figure 4.1.

The port (1628 by default) that the IP-852 device uses to communicate with its peers and
the IP-852 Configuration Server must be opened, mapped, and properly forwarded to the
IP-852 device. See your NAT gateway’s user manual for details on how to setup port
forwarding (sometimes called static port mapping) on your particular NAT gateway.

Once the ports are mapped on the NAT gateway, setting up an IP-852 channel is much
like the procedure described in Chapter 2 with the exception that additional entries are
added to the IP-852 Configuration Server’s device tree for each of the NAT gateways.

Setting up an IP-852 Channel with NAT

To set up an IP-852 channel that spans NAT gateways, start the IP-852 Configuration
Server and perform the following steps:

1. Click Channel and then click New NAT Firewall.

2. Enter a descriptive name for your NAT firewall and then press ENTER.

3. Either double-click the new NAT firewall in the navigation pane or right-click it and

select NAT Firewall Properties, enter the IP address of the NAT gateway/firewall,
and then click OK.

4. Click the new NAT firewall in the navigation pane, click Channel, and then click

New Device. Configure the device’s IP address and other properties, as described in
Section 2. Use the device’s local IP address (typically a private, non-routable
address, such as 10.x.x.x or 192.168.x.x).

5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 to add another NAT firewall and device. The IP-852

Configuration Server should look like the one in Figure 4.2.

32 Using NAT, DHCP, DNS on an IP-852 Channel

Figure 4.2 Setting up Multiple Firewalls with Multiple IP-852 Devices

6. Right-click the channel and click Update Members in the shortcut menu, or

right-click the device and select Update Device in the shortcut menu.

NAT Example: Simple Home Network

If you have a home network with DSL or cable Internet access, you can setup all of your
computers to communicate on the same IP address (assigned by your ISP) with the help
of a NAT gateway. Usually, addresses used in the private network (your home) are
taken from the range of addresses designated as “reserved” by the Internet Assigned
Numbers Authority (IANA). The subnets reserved for private use are as follows:

10.x.x.x or 10/8 (Class A)

172.16.x.x - 172.31.x.x or 172.16/12 (Class B)

192.168.x.x or 192.168/16 (Class C)

169.254.x.x or 169.254/16 – “Auto-configuration”

Note: Reserved addresses are reusable, but are not globally unique; therefore, they are
not routable on the Internet.

NAT translates the source addresses of outbound messages (sent by computers on your
home network) to a single address, making all of the computers on your home network
look like a single computer with a single IP address. When your home network receives
messages from an outside network, the NAT gateway “maps” the response to the proper
computer on your home network by changing the destination of the response to the
correct internal address, as in Figure 4.3.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 33

Home Network

192.168.1.100

192.168.1.101

LAN Side

192.168.1.1

NAT

Gateway

WAN Side

131.28.203.17

ISP Internet

WAN Side Address is

Assigned by ISP

Figure 4.3 NAT Gateway Structure

Ports and Port Mapping

A fully qualified URL consists of an IP address and a port. The URL
www.echelon.com:80 is a fully qualified URL. Port 80 is recognized as the default port
for Web servers worldwide. Browsers typically append a URL with port 80 so you do not
have to enter the full URL when accessing a Web site.

Ports allow a single computer to run multiple services. For example, www.echelon.com
can run both a Web server and an FTP server. It could also run a time server and other
applications as well. Each service may be assigned different ports. For example, Web
browsers use port 80 as the default when they access www.echelon.com and maps the
address to an IP address:port such as 205.229.51.8:80. When accessing an FTP client,
FTP clients typically use port 21 so ftp://www.echelon.com will map to an IP address:port
such as 205.229.51.8:21. Both the browser and the FTP client may simultaneously
access www.echelon.com because the requests are differentiated by port.

Most businesses use port 80 for their public Web site so customers have easy access to
their Web sites. However, if you wanted to host a less public site, you could assign it a
non-standard port number. For example, you could use www.mycompany.com to attract
a wide audience to your business, or you could assign your URL a non-standard port
(www.mycompany.com:81) to “hide” your Web site from the general public. Changing
ports does not provide security to your Web site, so other methods of security must be
used for servers that contain sensitive information. Another reason to use non-standard
ports is to allow access from the Internet to one of your home computers.

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) lists common or “well known” ports as
well as registered and dynamic ports.

www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers for more information.

See

Port mapping can be used to connect two computers behind a NAT gateway that access
the Internet through a single IP address. The NAT gateway forwards packets received
from the Internet to the correct computer using different port settings. To ensure that
packets are forwarded to the proper computer, the NAT gateway must be setup to
perform static port mapping.

34 Using NAT, DHCP, DNS on an IP-852 Channel

IP-852 Device Ports

The IP-852 device uses IANA designated ports for LONWORKS traffic (ports 1628 and

1629). Continuing with the example described above, you could connect an IP-852 device
to your network with an IP address of 192.168.1.102.

Home Network

192.168.1.100

i.LON 600

192.168.1.102

192.168.1.101

LAN Side

192.168.1.1

WAN Side

131.28.203.17

ISP Internet

NAT

Gateway

WAN Side Address is

Provided by ISP (assigned)

Figure 4.4 Adding an IP-852 Device to an NAT Gateway

To allow Internet access to your IP-852 device, you must map the necessary ports on
your NAT gateway (as you did for the computers when setting up Web access). Once port
1628 is mapped to 192.168.1.102, the NAT gateway will forward any requests from peer
IP-852 devices or from the IP-852 Configuration Server.

IP-852 devices can be configured to use ports other than the IANA defaults. This allows
multiple IP-852 devices to reside behind a single NAT gateway. The default Web server
port for a SmartServer or i.LON 600 server is 80. In the example, port 80 is already used
by 192.168.1.100, so you must change the port on the IP-852 device and enter two static
mappings into the NAT gateway:

Port 1628 Æ 192.168.1.102
Port 82 Æ 192.168.1.102

Consult your NAT gateway documentation for details on how to setup static port
mapping for your particular NAT gateway.

Creating a Virtual Wire

LONWORKS networks that do not connect to an IP network may be quite large. A

ONWORKS network may contain 255 subnets, with each subnet containing as many as

L
127 devices. Subnets are linked together using L
implementation is to have many FT subnets connected to a single TP/XF-1250 high
speed backbone.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 35

ONWORKS routers. A common

TP-1250 High Speed Backbone

FT/TP-1250
Router

FT-10
Channel

Figure 4.5 Connecting Devices on a Network

The high-speed backbone is a physical wire and, since all TP/XF-1250 to TP/FT-10
routers are connected to the same physical wire, communication proceeds unimpeded.

IP-852 devices are logically identical to TP/XF-1250 or TP/FT-10 routers, but use IP as
their high-speed backbone instead of a TP/XF-1250 backbone. They may not be
connected to the same physical wire.

Two IP-852 devices located in different cities could use the Internet as a high-speed
backbone to create a single L

ONWORKS network. Instead of connecting the two IP-852

devices with one long wire, the Internet is used to create a “virtual wire”. The IP-852
Configuration Server creates this virtual wire.

Home

Network A

i.LON 600

192.168.1.102

FT Channel

New York London

NAT

Gateway

192.168.1.1

131.23.203.17

ISP A ISP B

Internet

29.1.7.65

NAT

Gateway

10.1.1.1

Home

Network B

i.LON 600

10.1.1.8

FT Channel

Figure 4.6 Creating a Virtual Wire

The IP-852 Configuration Server is aware of NAT gateways, and you should enter each
NAT gateway in your system as you create your IP-852 channel (virtual wire). In Figure

4.6, the IP-852 Configuration Server could be configured as shown below.

36 Using NAT, DHCP, DNS on an IP-852 Channel

Figure 4.7 IP-852 Configuration Server Setup

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 37

Note: The diagnostic information provided about the IP-852 devices (indicated by the
varying IP-852 device icon colors) is more complete than the diagnostics provided by the
changing colors of the NAT gateways. The IP-852 Configuration Server cannot acquire
the same level of diagnostic information about an NAT gateway as it can about IP-852

devices. See Table 2.1 for the descriptions of the different IP-852 Configuration Server

icon colors.

The IP-852 Configuration Server acts as a relay station for all information pertaining to
channel members, including which L

ONWORKS subnets are on the far side of which IP

address.

Whenever a L

ONWORKS routing table changes (this can happen while making a network

variable connection) or a new member is added to the IP-852 channel, the IP-852
Configuration Server relays this information to all devices on the channel that need to
know.

Once all channel devices have been inaugurated into the IP-852 channel, and all

ONWORKS device installations and connections have been made, you can shut down the

L
IP-852 Configuration Server software (you can leave it running, however, to ensure it is
available as required for future configuration changes).

DHCP

For small networks, manually configuring the IP address of each device on the network
is fairly simple. However, as the number of computers on your network grows, assigning
each computer on the network its own IP address can be cumbersome. To solve this
problem, a system called Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) was created to
automatically assign network computers an IP address. Most computers use DHCP.

With DHCP, computers broadcast a message on the local network asking the DHCP
server to assign them an address, instead of using a pre-defined address. The DHCP
server stores a list of the assigned addresses and makes sure that no two requestors are
given the same address. This greatly simplifies the job of the network administrator, but
in the case of Web servers (or IP-852 devices), can create some difficulties.

The DHCP server resides on the network and assigns IP addresses. When you enable
the Automatically Obtain IP Address property in the configuration Web pages for a
SmartServer or i.LON device (i.LON
Router), you are asking Windows to get its IP address from a local DHCP server. DHCP
is commonly used for workstations, but seldom used for Internet-accessible servers. For
example, your company’s Web server likely has a static IP address instead of a DHCP
assigned address.

100 e3 Plus Internet Server or i.LON 600 IP-852

DHCP addresses are assigned in the order computers are powered on. Computer 1 may
be assigned address 100, computer 2 may be assigned address 101, computer 3 may be
assigned address 102, and so on. If computers are powered down and then later
restarted, there is no guarantee that they will receive the same address. This is a
problem if you want to setup a communication channel between a set of computers, as is
done when creating an IP-852 channel. In an IP-852 channel, each device knows the
addresses of other devices on the network. If those addresses change because a peer was
power cycled, then all members of the group need to be updated with the new IP address.
This is easily accomplished by updating an entry in the IP-852 Configuration Server, but
the process is manual, which makes it impractical for larger networks. To prevent

configuration problems due to changing IP address, assign static IP addresses
to all the IP-852 devices on an IP-852 channel.

38 Using NAT, DHCP, DNS on an IP-852 Channel

However, if you are in control of your DHCP server, you may be able to configure your
DHCP server to always assign your SmartServer or i.LON dev ices the same IP address.
This is called making a static reservation, and is supported by most DHCP servers.
Using DHCP with static reservations is acceptable and is similar to using static IP
addresses. If you decide to use this technique, each SmartServer and i.LON device can
be instructed to acquire its IP address from the DHCP server by enabling the
Automatically Obtain IP Address on the TCP/IP Web page for your SmartServer or
i.LON device. See your device’s documentation for how to do this.

DHCP Servers

DHCP servers are configured to assign a range of valid Internet addresses. With a
simple NAT gateway, like the one shown in Figure 4.4, the range is often 192.168.1.2 to

192.168.1.254. As an example, the NAT gateway assigns the first computer to request
an address 192.168.1.100, the second computer to request an address 192.168.1.101, the
next gets 192.168.1.103, and so on. The address a computer is assigned is determined by
the order in which the computers are powered up on a network. Computers request an
address each time they are powered. This means that by using DHCP you run the risk of
losing a previously assigned address for a given computer (or IP-852 device). This
usually is not an issue for a home computer that is used to browse the Internet because
the computer is always the initiator of the Web page request. However, if you want a
computer to act as a Web server, it must have a permanent address so other computers
can access it. The same is true for an IP-852 device participating in an IP-852 channel.

The solution is to avoid using DHCP without static IP address reservations for devices
whose addresses must be known by external users. This includes FTP servers, time
servers, Web servers, database servers, and IP-852 devices.

When a computer does not use DHCP and is assigned an address manually, it has a
static IP address. It is possible to have a network that defines a range of addresses that
will be allocated dynamically by the DHCP server, and a range that will be managed
manually. In the NAT gateway mentioned above, 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.99 are
managed manually.

ISP Address Allocation

Cable or DSL service in the United States costs about $40 - $50 per month for a single
dynamically allocated IP address. Depending on your telephone or cable provider, you
may be able to purchase a business account that provides one or more static IP addresses
at a higher cost.

In the example, if the address provided to your home by the ISP is static, you only need
to setup static port mapping and inform outside users to go to 131.23.203.17:80 or

131.23.203.17:81 to view your Web pages. Similarly, if you wanted to include your home
IP-852 device in an IP-852 channel, you would enable static port mapping on the NAT
gateway and enter 131.23.203.17:1628 in the IP-852 Configuration Server. The packets
on the channel would flow unimpeded.

You will run into problems with your network if your ISP does not offer static addresses.
Even if static port mapping is enabled on your NAT gateway, you may not be able to
access computers within your home because the house IP address (provided by the ISP)
may change unpredictably. This is a common problem. As a result, you should use a

static IP address for both your NAT gateway and the SmartServer or i.LON
device in your local network.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 39

DNS

DNS is a mechanism that translates an IP host name like www.echelon.com into a
numeric IP address like 205.229.51.8. For example, when you enter www.echelon.com in
your Web browser, your Web browser queries a DNS server to find the IP address. It
then requests the home page from the numeric IP address—not the IP host name.
Because the process is transparent, many people are not aware of the existence of
numeric IP addresses.

IP host names are usually used to reference servers such as a Web server
(www.echelon.com), a database server, or a file server. Because these servers are fixed
assets, they are usually assigned a static IP address. That static IP address is also
entered into a DNS server so that the mapping between the IP host name and the
numeric IP address can be made.

If you are in control of your local DNS server, you should give all participants in your
IP-852 channel static IP addresses and create DNS entries for each participant. This
allows you to specify IP host names when setting up the IP-852 channel in the IP-852
Configuration Server, instead of numeric IP addresses. The IP-852 Configuration Server
will translate the IP host name into a numeric IP address and pass that address to all
members of the channel.

For example, if you had a static IP address at your local network, you could register that
IP address with one of the Internet registrars (such as register.com) and associate a
name with that static IP address. The registrar will propagate the address/name pair
throughout the Internet’s DNS servers for you, ultimately allowing you to tell people to

www.mynetwork.com instead of 131.23.203.17.

go to

Note: When a browser tries to view a Web site, it asks the DNS server to translate the
name of a Web site into an IP address. It then uses the IP address to contact the Web
site. The actual IP packets never contain the proper name of the Web site, only the hard
IP address that was resolved by the DNS server. In addition, the IP-852 devices
themselves do not query DNS servers to resolve addresses; they only work with numeric
IP addresses provided by the IP-852 Configuration Server.

This only works for static IP addresses because each time you change the IP address, you
need to contact the registrar to setup the new address/name pair across the Internet.
This may take up to two days for an address/name pair to propagate through the entire
Internet.

To set the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server automatic IP host name address
translation, follow these steps:

1. In the IP-852 Configuration Server, click Network, click Settings, and then click

the IP Host Names tab.

40 Using NAT, DHCP, DNS on an IP-852 Channel

Figure 4.8 IP Host Names Tab

2. Select the Enable Continuous IP Host Names Translation check box, and then

specify an update interval time (if applicable).

3. To issue an immediate IP word-based address translation, click Network and then

select Translate IP Host Names. This will perform a retranslation on all channels.

Note: When enabling the Translate IP Host Names option, the local DNS server
and the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server must be continuously running.

DNS and the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server

When you type myilon.echelon.com:1628 into the IP-852 Configuration Server instead
of 205.229.51.11:1628, the IP-852 Configuration Server goes to the local DNS server
defined on that computer to resolve myilon.echelon.com to a numeric IP address, and
then sends that address to all IP-852 devices on your IP-852 channel. This works until
one of the IP addresses changes.

By default, the IP-852 Configuration Server will periodically (once every five minutes)
attempt to resolve any IP host name on all channels (including SNTP server) with a DNS
server. If a translation is successful, and the resulting IP address is different than what
was previously used, the channel members will be updated. This re-translation process
also occurs when the IP-852 Configuration Server is first started. Therefore, to reference
your IP-852 devices only by DNS name, you must leave the IP-852 Configuration Server
running on your network. The IP-852 Configuration Server will periodically query the
DNS server to verify that all hard IP addresses are still correct, as described previously.

If a device’s IP address changes, the IP-852 Configuration Server will eventually become
aware of the change and update its configuration. However, it is still possible that
changing a device’s IP address could disrupt communication on your IP-852 channel
before the IP-852 Configuration Server becomes aware of the change. To prevent

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 41

channel outages due to IP address changes, use static addresses that do not
change.

Linking DNS and DHCP

DNS and DHCP are separate standards. A network can use DNS without using DHCP,
and vice versa. You can, however, link DNS and DHCP servers in a single network so
that all IP addresses on the network could be allocated dynamically, but still be
referenced by name. While this can work for private networks, usually within
corporations, it is not practical for the Internet.

If your IP-852 channel implementation is under your control, and you have control of all
DHCP and DNS servers referenced by the members of your IP-852 channel, you can
assign each device an IP address using DHCP without static reservations, and resolve
host names using DNS and the IP-852 Configuration Server. This section describes how
you can do so.

Note: The IP-852 Configuration Server requires a single static IP address for all
computers running LNS (version 3.0x or later) that are connected to an IP-852 channel.

If you leave the IP-852 Configuration Server attached to the IP-852 channel, DNS
resolvable addresses can be used. If the IP network links its DHCP server and DNS
server, then IP-852 devices can be setup to use DHCP assigned addresses. However, the
IP-852 Configuration Server’s ability to resolve addresses through DNS is limited.
Dynamic DNS (DDNS) can also be used with the same precautions. For more
information on DDNS, see the next section,

Dynamic DNS.

The ISO/IEC 14908-4 standard requires that devices on an IP-852 channel share IP
addresses instead of DNS resolvable names. If an IP-852 device in a channel is aware of
a peer at 131.1.23.52, and that peer changes addresses, the IP-852 device will lose
communication with the peer until it receives an updated peer list. The IP-852
Configuration Server can solve this problem by sending out an updated list (using DNS)
to all members on the channel. The IP-852 device cannot resolve DNS address issues on
its own.

If DHCP will be used to retrieve the IP information for an IP-852 device, the network
administrator must ensure that a DHCP server is available to provide the IP address,
subnet mask, and gateway address.

Dynamic DNS

If your network administrator or ISP does not offer a static IP address service, you can
use a third party solution called dynamic DNS (DDNS). Providers include dns2go.com,
dyndns.org, and others. Perform a quick Internet search on “dynamic DNS”.

How DDNS Works

DDNS operators rely on the fact that your computer’s IP address does not frequently
change. Depending on your network administrator or ISP, the computer address may
change only when you power cycle your NAT gateway. If your NAT gateway is on 24/7, it
may be months before your computer’s address changes. It is also possible that your
network administrator or ISP forces the address to change even if the gateway is not
power cycled. The amount of time that a device may keep its address is called its “lease”.
DHCP servers lease an address for a period of time after which the lessee is required to
go back and acquire another lease.

42 Using NAT, DHCP, DNS on an IP-852 Channel

When using DDNS, each time a new DHCP lease is given (for example, each time the
computer’s IP address changes) the DDNS server is notified. The DDNS server keeps
track of each client’s current address. To let external users see the Web server in your
LAN, instead of telling the registrar that www.mylan.com is linked to 131.23.203.17,
you tell the registrar that www.mylan.com is linked to mylan.ddns.org (for example).
When an Internet user types in www.myhouse.com, the Internet DNS server forwards
the request to mylan.ddns.org, which forwards the request to the current IP address of
your home.

The DDNS provider tracks any changes in your computer’s address and forwards any
request for mylan.ddns.org to your house’s current IP address.

Because of its potential complications and its reliance on relatively small third
party providers, IP-852 channels configured to use devices with DDNS will
typically not be as reliable as IP-852 channels configured with devices using
static IP addresses.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 43

44 Using NAT, DHCP, DNS on an IP-852 Channel

Appendix A

Troubleshooting

This appendix can be used to diagnose common problems that could occur when you

create an IP-852 channel with the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server.

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 45

Common Troubleshooting Problems

The following lists the most common problems encountered when creating and
configuring an IP-852 channel with the Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server.

Disabled IP-852 devices will not configure properly when the IP-852
Configuration Server is taken off the network. If you reattached the IP-852
Configuration Server and select Update Members, the IP-852 device is still not
configured properly.

• To solve this problem, you must disable your IP-852 device while the IP-852

Configuration Server is still attached to your network.

The device icons in the IP-852 Configuration Server do not turn green.

• This is usually an indication that the IP-852 Configuration Server cannot

communicate with the device. If any of your IP-852 devices are behind a NAT
gateway, verify that the NAT gateway is properly setup to forward ports 1628
and 1629.

I cannot view an IP-852 device’s Setup Web page.

• Many IP-852 devices have a built-in Web server used for setup that

communicates on port 80 by default. To access the Web page from outside your
NAT gateway, be sure that the NAT gateway is configured to forward port 80 to
your IP-852 device.

Computers using DHCP cannot communicate with an IP-852 device using
Ethernet direct connect.

• Communication with an IP-852 device may be lost if you use DHCP and direct

connect (using an Ethernet cable), and then unplug the IP-852 device. When you
plug the Ethernet cable back into the IP-852 device, the device communicates
with the DHCP server and searches for an IP address. This action may cause the
device’s IP address to change. To solve this problem, assign your IP-852 device a
static IP address and make any configuration changes. Enable DHCP before
re-installing the IP-852 device onto your network.

I cannot access an IP-852 device with FTP.

• Many IP-852 devices have a built-in FTP server that communicates on port 21 by

default. To access the FTP server on an IP-852 device that is outside your NAT
gateway, be sure that the NAT gateway is configured to forward port 21 to the
IP-852 device.

The Service LED on my IP-852 device is blinking, what does this mean?

• Many IP-852 devices have a Service LED that blinks when the IP-852 device is

not commissioned. When is the device is added to a network and commissioned,
the Service LED will turn off.

How do I diagnose problems with the IP-852 Configuration Server?

46 Appendix A: Troubleshooting

• Click the Show Log button to display the IP-852 Configuration Server log.

Right-click a device and click Diagnose Device on the shortcut menu. Watch
for any error or warning messages that appear in the log window. To
simultaneously write the messages to a file, click the Log File button and supply
a file name.

Figure A.1 Echelon IP-852 Configuration Server Log

IP-852 Channel User’s Guide 47

www.echelon.com