S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router
Installation and Operations Guide
Enabling the transition from Metasys® to BACnet
S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router
2
JCI Metasys air
handling unit (AHU)
controller
Please note that the terms S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router and S4
Open Appliance, and their variations, are used interchangeably
throughout this document.
Copyright
© 2014 The S4 Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Trademarks
All trademarks referenced in this document are the trademarks of
their respective owners.
Revision History
Created October 2013.
3rd Revision
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S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router
Contents
Overview ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Product Overview ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Features & Benefits ................................................................................................................................................... 6
Concepts ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7
S4 Open: Management Console ................................................................................................................................ 7
S4 Open Appliance .................................................................................................................................................... 8
N2 Device Type Templates .................................................................................................................................... 8
Configure Wizard ................................................................................................................................................... 8
System Configuration File ...................................................................................................................................... 8
Building Control Network .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Network Connections ................................................................................................................................................ 9
Metasys N2 & Ethernet Interfaces ........................................................................................................................ 9
Upstream Network .............................................................................................................................................. 10
Open Upstream Interfaces .................................................................................................................................. 10
Network 1, Network 2 … Network n .................................................................................................................... 11
Network Extended N2 Connections .................................................................................................................... 11
Specifications ........................................................................................................................................................... 12
Options & Ordering ................................................................................................................................................. 13
Successful Site Considerations .................................................................................................................................... 14
Materials and Tools for Installation......................................................................................................................... 14
Minimum Required training & Skills ........................................................................................................................ 14
Metasys N2 Integration Planning guide .................................................................................................................. 14
Investigate the Legacy N2 Bus ............................................................................................................................. 15
Locate and Copy N2 Configuration Files .............................................................................................................. 15
Investigate Legacy Supervisory Controllers, Operator Workstations and Application Data Servers .................. 16
Plan and Budget the Project ................................................................................................................................ 16
Discuss Results with the Facility Owner .............................................................................................................. 17
Implement Solution ............................................................................................................................................. 17
Other Notes ............................................................................................................................................................. 17
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Asbestos Abatement Considerations ...................................................................................................................... 17
Physical Installation ..................................................................................................................................................... 18
Location Considerations .......................................................................................................................................... 18
Dimensions .............................................................................................................................................................. 18
Com Port Assignments ............................................................................................................................................ 19
Mounting the Router ............................................................................................................................................... 19
Wiring the Router .................................................................................................................................................... 19
S4 Open Appliance Configuration ............................................................................................................................... 21
Software Installation ............................................................................................................................................... 21
Connecting to the N2 Router................................................................................................................................... 22
Auto Discovery ..................................................................................................................................................... 22
Manually Linking to S4 Open Appliances ............................................................................................................ 23
Configuration Wizard .............................................................................................................................................. 23
System Administration and Operation ........................................................................................................................ 27
Automatic Windows Security and Port Configuration ............................................................................................ 27
Setting System Options ........................................................................................................................................... 27
System Status .......................................................................................................................................................... 27
Remote System Reboot ........................................................................................................................................... 28
Enabling or Disabling Physical Networks ................................................................................................................. 28
Configure Wizard ..................................................................................................................................................... 28
Backup your system ................................................................................................................................................. 28
N2 Device Properties ............................................................................................................................................... 29
N2 Point Assignments .............................................................................................................................................. 29
Testing Points .......................................................................................................................................................... 30
Updating an S4 Open Appliance .............................................................................................................................. 31
Updating The Management Console ....................................................................................................................... 32
IT Security and Network Administration Considerations ............................................................................................ 32
S4 Open: Management Console Installation ........................................................................................................... 32
Automated Error Reporting ..................................................................................................................................... 32
TCP / IP Port Requirements and Firewall Settings................................................................................................... 32
Windows CE Remote Management Tool................................................................................................................. 32
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S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router
IP Address Configuration ......................................................................................................................................... 33
Configuring a static IP address without a DHCP or BOOTP server ...................................................................... 33
Windows Domain or Workgroup Membership ....................................................................................................... 34
Appendix A: An Overview of Metasys® ........................................................................................................................ 35
Physical Specifications of the N2 Bus ...................................................................................................................... 35
Operating Specifications .......................................................................................................................................... 35
N2 Protocol Information.......................................................................................................................................... 35
Benefits of BACnet-N2 Integration .......................................................................................................................... 35
Appendix B: Case Study ............................................................................................................................................... 38
the Jackson Federal Building in Seattle, Washington .............................................................................................. 38
Appendix C: Integration Worksheets .......................................................................................................................... 41
N2 Bus Worksheet ................................................................................................................................................... 42
Planning and Budgeting Worksheet ........................................................................................................................ 43
S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router
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OVERVIEW
Features
Benefits
Support for all N2 variations
The N2 Router supports any N2 device that you will find
on an N2 bus including N2 Open, VMA, Vendor Devices,
Metasys Integrator, and Centaurus Integrator. Direct
Read, Write, Override, and Release transactions for any
point limited only by the programming in the N2 device.
Automatic N2 device discovery
The Configure Wizard automatically discovers N2
devices and applies the appropriate Device Type
Template, drastically cutting down on the man hours
required for this type of job
S4 Open Management Console
Appliance discovery, setup, commissioning,
maintenance, and management are all performed from
one convenient interface. Multiple copies of the
Management Console can be installed to manage a
facility in the way that works most effectively
Upstream Interface
Co-exist with the legacy head end: minimize downtime for
building occupants, retain programming in the legacy
head end, transition when you’re ready
Gateway to BACnet IP, publish each N2 device as its
own BACnet device in a virtual BACnet network.
Cost effective way to add value and extend the life of
legacy systems in the short term, facilitates the migration
away from Metasys® in the longer term.
“supervisory controller as a BACnet client”
The N2 Router can force the N2 data stream from legacy
Metasys® supervisory controllers to participate in the
BACnet priority array mechanism, giving the integrator
complete control over which head end is commanding
each point. No other product has this capability.
Overview
This document orients the new user to the user interface, concepts of operation, and administration of all S4 Open
Appliances. The functionality of each product is determined by factory installed licensing certificates and can be
easily upgraded in the field at any time. The S4 Open: Management Console is used for the administration,
configuration and diagnostic evaluation of all members of the S4 Open product line.
This guide provides information on the installation, configuration, and application of the S4 Open: BACnet-N2
Router.
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
The S4 Open: BACnet-N2 router offers flexibility and cost savings when integrating legacy Metasys® N2 networks
into BACnet environments. Avoid the heavy upfront costs of replacement or re-engineering existing devices by
offering building owners a transition strategy.
FEATURES & BENEFITS
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S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router
OVERVIEW - CONCEPTS
Concepts
S4 OPEN: MANAGEMEN T CONSOLE
All user interaction with the system is done through the S4 Open: Management Console. The console enables you
to manage all S4 Open Appliances in your enterprise. Launch the console from the Windows Start menu. The S4
Open: Management Console is compatible with all versions of Microsoft Windows from XP on. The console may be
installed on as many machines as you need at no additional charge.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You may need to manually uninstall any previous versions of the console prior to installation
through the Add/Remove Programs utility in Windows Control Panel.
S4 Open Appliances are implemented using advanced object oriented technology. This gives our developers the
power to perform the tasks necessary to deliver the services you need. More importantly, all of the proprietary
details of physical devices are managed behind the scenes, presenting a consistent and predictable view of your
building automation environment to you.
Objects will dynamically be added or removed from the left hand navigation pane (as folders or detail
objects) as needed to represent your building automation environment. You can expand or minimize the
amount of detail that is presented in the navigation pane.
Details about each object in the navigation pane are presented in the right hand pane.
Properties pages are available as right click options from many objects. Wizards and drill down links
provide more details about the objects and allow you to adjust user settable parameters.
Real Time performance statistics are available from the properties page of many objects.
Color coded icons are included in many places to give you quick look status information about the objects
that they represent.
Most operations are intuitive but help is available any time you need it. You can use the main Help menu
item, right click on any object and select Help in the drop down menu, or press F1 on your keyboard at any
time.
Configuration changes can be made on an operational system and will automatically be reflected in the
data provided on all interfaces.
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OVERVIEW - CONCEPTS
S4 OPEN APPLIANCE
All system level commands are issued from the S4 Open Appliance object folder or set through associated
Properties pages. In the previous screenshot, the specific product is the S4 Open: OPC-N2 Router, the default
name displayed for the appliance object. This name may be customized for your installation on the appliance
Properties page.
N2 Device Type Templates
Point mappings are provided as N2 Device Type Templates. A unique Device Type Template is provided for each
combination of Metasys® hardware platform and application loaded into the Unitary or Application Specific
Controller. Vendor provided N2 Compatible devices also have Device Type Templates. Device Type Templates are
automatically assigned to each device object by the Configure Wizard. You have the option to override the
assigned Device Type Template with your own variation for custom applications.
A default set of N2 Device Type Templates comes pre-loaded in the S4 Open Appliance. Additional Device Type
Templates may be loaded via a library provided with the S4 Open: Management Console from a Properties page in
the S4 Open Appliance main folder, or you may develop your own for unique requirements. Refer to other
documentation for details on creating and maintaining Device Type Templates.
Configure Wizard
The primary system level configuration wizard is initiated as a right click command option on the S4 Open
Appliance folder. In most cases, initiating this command is all you need to do to fully configure and commission an
S4 Open Appliance. Do this after loading the appropriate set of N2 Device Type Templates into the appliance, if
needed.
System Configuration File
The internal system file that contains all user-selectable options, the device type template catalog, and N2 device
configurations.
BUILDING CONTROL NE T WORK
The virtual objects in the Building Control Network (BCN) provide a unified view of your building automation
environment. All devices and their points found on the downstream physical networks are represented as objects
under this folder. Most of your interaction with the system will be with objects contained in this folder.
N2 address translation is automatically performed as multiple legacy downstream N2 networks are merged into
the BCN during the Auto Configure process, ensuring that each N2 address published to the Upstream N2 network
is unique. This allows you to merge multiple legacy N2 networks into one virtual N2 network without having to
physically touch any of the N2 devices to adjust addresses. The Properties page for a device object shows the N2
address that it will publish on the Upstream N2 network. This is a user configurable value. You can also see the
physical network and physical N2 address where the device was found on a legacy N2 network.
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S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router
OVERVIEW - CONCEPTS
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is no data routing between the upstream interfaces and the physical N2 networks until
after the Auto Configure process is completed. Points that exist on the devices on the physical N2 networks are
not accessible via any upstream interface until this process is completed.
The Configure Wizard:
Scans all physical networks
Creates all of the virtual objects in the BCN
Assigns N2 Device Type Templates to device objects
Creates the appropriate routing algorithms for all published objects, and
Publishes the point objects to the default upstream interfaces.
The virtual devices and points contained in the BCN folder can be published to any licensed upstream interface.
You have the option of overriding the default publishing configuration on the Properties page of any point object.
By default:
All current S4 Open Appliances publish all point and device objects to the Upstream N2 interface.
The S4 Open: OPC-N2 Router, in addition, publishes all device and point objects to the industry standard
open OPC interface with the addition of “Release” points, which OPC does not natively support.
The S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router, in addition, publishes all device and point objects to the industry
standard open BACnet/IP interface.
You can manually create purely virtual device objects and point objects in the BCN. That is, objects that have no
linkage to a physical device. These objects are used by our optional controller packages to store the results of
calculations or publish global variables.
The “online” status of a N2 device is denoted by the color of the associated device object icon. Green indicates the
device has seen recent activity, grey indicates that it has not. If access to a device fails, the N2 router will try
multiple times to re-initialize the N2 device and try the N2 command again. Please note: This is completely
independent from the online / offline status of a device in a Metasys® supervisory controller, Operator
Workstation, or M-Series Workstation.
NE TWORK CONNECTIONS
Metasys N2 & Ethernet Interfaces
Folders and objects within the container represent communications interfaces to the S4 Open Appliance. The
following options are available within the Properties page for each network object:
Associate a physical COM port with the network
Associate an Ethernet Serial Server with the network
Monitor real time performance of the network
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OVERVIEW - CONCEPTS
Examine the properties of devices found on the legacy N2 network
Search for Field Devices on the network
Enable or Disable the network
Most of your interaction with objects within the Physical Networks folder will be during initial setup of the S4
Open Appliance or when using the S4 Open Appliance as a diagnostic tool for your legacy N2 networks.
Upstream Network
The upstream N2 interface used to publish device and point objects is displayed as a network object under the
Physical Networks folder. By default, this is configured for COM4.
Connecting a Metasys® supervisory controller to the Upstream N2 port is completely optional (except when using
the S4 Open: N2 Switch). If no Metasys® supervisory controller is attached, the S4 Open Appliance will
automatically assume the role of the N2 Master. To shut off communications to the Metasys® supervisory
controller, you can disable the Upstream N2 network from its Properties page, available as a right click option in
the navigation pane.
IMPORTANT NOTE: We always caution customers about the risks of keeping both the legacy Metasys® supervisory
controller and the new head end in the configuration. Doing this is technically viable, but the two head end
systems may try to control the value of a point on a N2 device at the same time. You need to understand the
control algorithms and programming implemented in both head end systems and make certain there are no
conflicting control actions being generated.
Open Upstream Interfaces
Depending on the model of your S4 Open Appliance, it will support one or more of the following open protocols /
interfaces as a target for publishing Device and Point objects to. OPC, BACnet / IP, XML, and SNMP utilize the
system’s Ethernet port; therefore, these options will not have a network object in the Physical Networks folder.
Others, like BACnet MS/TP require a physical interface. In these cases, you will see additional network objects in
the form of additional folders under the Physical Networks folder.
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S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router
Network 1, Network 2 … Network n
OVERVIEW - CONCEPTS
Network n is a view of what the S4 Open Appliance has found on each of the Downstream legacy BAS networks or
field buses. “N” refers to the network number. The network type is found in the Properties page for the network.
In this case, you can see we are working with Metasys® N2 networks.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The “Search Field Devices” command, available from a right click on the Network device
object folder, should be used only when manually configuring the system or using the console as an N2 network
diagnostic tool. Search Field Devices creates device objects in the corresponding Network n folder-- but it does not
fully configure the system. Under normal circumstances, the Configure Wizard at the router node level will handle
the entire process of setting up the system.
Network Extended N2 Connections
If you need more Downstream N2 interfaces than are physically provided by the COM ports on the appliance, or
you need to extend N2 connections over your Ethernet infrastructure, commercially available Ethernet Serial
Servers may be utilized.
The serial server is fully integrated with the network object interface. You will select a serial server type and its IP
address via the Properties page for the Downstream or Upstream interface. Utilizing this technology, you can add
as many Downstream networks as you need to license for an installation (within reason). This feature is not
available for Upstream N2 Networks. Contact your reseller if you need to purchase licenses for additional
interfaces.
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OVERVIEW
S4 Open Appliances currently support Advantech, B&B and Sealevel Systems Ethernet serial servers. Check the S4
Group web site for an updated list of tested and supported devices.
IMPORTANT NOTE: S4 Open Appliances provide a lot of flexibility when integrating legacy N2 networks, but
please be aware that you must still follow address space limitations and honor the Metasys® reserved N2
addresses when publishing to the Upstream N2 network. Typically, this means that you can assign N2 addresses 1
through 253. Addresses 0, 254, and 255 are reserved for Metasys®.
SPECIFICATIONS
S4 Open Appliances are hosted on an Advantech UNO-2059GL industrial PC
Power supply voltage: 10-30 VDC, reversed wiring protection
Power Consumption: 0.6A max under +24V power input or 1.2A max. under +12V power input
Power Requirement: 1A typical under +24 V power input or 1.5 A typical under +12 V power input
Operating temperature: -10 ~ 55°C (14 ~ 131°F)
Chassis size: 164.8 mm (W) x 106.5 mm (L) x 35.5 mm (H) (6.5" x 4.2" x1.4")
Weight: 0.8 kg
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S4 Open: BACnet-N2 Router
Indicates the product family: S4O-BACnet-N2 or S4O-OPC-N2
-S indicates that this is a complete system package. If absent, this indicates a barebones appliance.
The size of the N2 Router i.e. the number of N2 devices it is licensed to support. N016,
N032, N064, N128, or N256
The number of Downstream N2 interfaces that are licensed. D1, D2, or D3
The absence or presence of an upstream N2 interface. U0 (absent) or U1 (present)
OPTIONS & ORDERING
How many devices?
The number of N2 devices determines the size of the router you will need. Choose from 16, 32, 64,
128, or 253 (256, with 3 addresses reserved by Metasys®).
How many Downstream interfaces?
Every S4 Open appliance comes with one downstream interface enabled by default. The
Downstream Adapter provides an easy way to connect legacy Metasys® N2 buses to S4 Open
appliances, without any wiring changes to either system. Simply disconnect the legacy bus from the
controller, plug it into the S4 Open Appliance and rapidly begin the integration process. You may
choose to enable one or two additional downstream ports, depending on your needs.
Upstream connectivity?
Upstream capability is available as an option on all S4 Open appliances, and comes with the full-size
(256) router by default. Upstream connectivity provides an easy way to connect a legacy Metasys®
supervisory controller to an S4 Open appliance. The installer simply disconnects the legacy bus from
the supervisory controller, plugs the Upstream Cable into the supervisory controller, and continues on
with the integration process.
OVERVIEW
System Bundles
S4 Open appliances are sold as system bundles, which means they come complete with power
supply and all necessary cables and adapters, as well as the support CD and Quick Start guide.
All of the information above is represented in our product numbering system.
See how it all comes together:
S4O-BACnet-N2-N016-D1-U0-S
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