Viconics VWG-50 User Manual
VWG-50-5000
Viconics Wireless Gateway
January 10th, 2012 / 028-367-R1
Setup Guide
C
ONTENTS
Disclaimers 2
Trademarks 3
Overview 3
Parts Available 4
Compatibility & History Revision Table 4
Compatibility Overview 5
About Viconics Wireless Mesh Networks 6
Basic Initial Design and Deployment Consideration 7
6A stands for a maximum 6 addresses per device / node / controller. 8
Orphan Nodes. 9
5H stands for 5 hops maximum recommended. 11
Best practice Zigbee™ initial network start-up procedure 11
Gateway Configuration 16
Initial Connection 16
Configuration of the wireless gateway 16
Recommended setting for java 17
Recommended setting for internet explorer 17
VWG Zigbee™ Settings 19
BACnet Settings 21
Broadcast Distribution Table Manager 22
Foreign Distribution Table Manager 22
BACnet IP Settings 23
BACnet Settings. BACnet MS-TP Settings 24
Wireless Controller / Controllers Manager 25
BACnet Points Viewer 28
Additional Options 29
Station Date and Time 29
General TCP/IP Configuration 30
Tips and Things You Need To Know 32
VWG Wireless Adapter LED Status Indicators 33
Controller / Controller Wireless Adapter LED Status Indicators 33
1 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
DISCLAIMERS
NO WARRANTY. Viconics, Inc. (herein after referred to as “Viconics”) makes no warranty
as to the accuracy of or use of this technical documentation. Any use of the technical
documentation or the information contained therein is solely at the risk of the user.
Documentation may include technical or other inaccuracies or typographical errors.
Viconics reserves the right to make changes to this document without prior notice, and the
reader should in all cases consult Viconics to determine whether any such changes have
been made. The information in this publication does not represent a commitment on the
part of Viconics.
Viconics shall not be liable for incidental or consequential damages resulting from the
furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
This guide contains links and references to third-party websites that are not under the
control of Viconics, and Viconics is not responsible for the content of any reference
material or linked websites. If you access a third party website mentioned in this guide,
then you do so at your own risk. Viconics provides these links only as a convenience, and
the inclusion of the link does not imply that Viconics endorses or accepts any
responsibility for the content on those third-party sites.
Electronic controls are static sensitive devices. Discharge yourself properly before
manipulation and installing the Viconics wireless gateway.
All Viconics wireless gateways and related wireless controllers are to be used only as
operating controls. Whenever a control failure could lead to personal injury and or loss of
property, it becomes the responsibility of the user to add safety devices and or alarm
system to protect against such catastrophic failures.
All VT7000 series wireless controllers and associated VWG (Viconics Wireless Gateway)
have been rigorously tested to ensure reliable operation in most building applications using
the latest 2.4 Zigbee™ ™™ technologies. Viconics cannot guarantee against potential
network interference should additional wireless systems be deployed sharing close
proximity.
Best practices covered in this manual and all related Viconics VWG documents should be
considered as a guide to apply Viconics Wireless Network devices only. The instructions
included in this manual are based upon Viconics in house testing and should be referred to
as a guide only.
Viconics Inc. may not be held liable for continued reliable, or robust operation of any and
all wireless based devices. Although Viconics has taken many precautions in assuring the
robustness of the VT7000 series wireless controller product line and associated network
access point (VWG-50-XXXX-1000) Please note; future application of additional wireless
devices utilizing the same or similar channels and / or frequencies may degrade
performance of overall system and / or reliability.
Non-approved modifications or changes made to the VWG or wireless controllers may void
the FCC compliance of the VWG and wireless controllers.
2 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
Ferrites supplied with the power supply and VWG MUST be installed according to
instructions. Failure to do so may void the FCC compliance of the VWG and wireless
controllers.
Only VWG-PS-DC and VWG-PS-AC power supply can be used with the VWG. The usage
of another non-approved power supply may void the FCC compliance of the VWG and
wireless controllers.
THIS DEVICE COMPLIES WITH PART 15 OF THE FCC RULES. OPERATION IS
SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TWO CONDITIONS: (1) THIS DEVICE MAY NOT
CAUSE HARMFUL INTERFERENCE, AND (2) THIS DEVICE MUST ACCEPT ANY
INTERFERENCE RECEIVED, INCLUDING INTERFERENCE THAT MAY CAUSE
UNDESIRED OPERATION.
TRADEMARKS
Niagara, Niagara AX is a registered trademark of Tridium, Inc.
LON, LonWorks™ and LonTalk™ are registered trademarks of Echelon™ ™ Corporation.
BACnet™ is a registered trademark of ASHRAE.
OVERVIEW
The VWG-50 and related wireless controllers are targeted to retrofit
applications where the addition of communicating field bus wiring within
the building space is prohibitive. The Gateway and Communicating
Controllers with wireless field bus encourages the use of existing wiring
utilized by existing electronic controller type controls.
The VWG-50-XX-5000 when utilized in conjunction with the
VT7xxxXxxxxW series wireless controllers will offer the integrator simple
BACnet IP or BACnet MS/TP objects to integrate over standard building
automation systems using familiar integration toolsets.
A maximum of 50 wireless controllers can be wirelessly attached to a single VWG-50
The following additional documentation is available on www.viconics.com
Gateway BACnet integration guide, is available in document ITG-VWG-50-BAC-Exx
Information on VWG hardware installation is available in document LIT-VWG-50-
INSTALL-Exx
3 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
PARTS AVAILABLE
V
V
V
Part number Description
Viconics BACnet™™ over MS-TP & IP wireless gateway.
VWG-50-5000
Includes:
Supports up to 50 wireless controllers
Factory mounted wireless adapter
Gateway mounted antenna
VWG-RA
WG-WA
WG-PS-AC
WG-BB
Remote antenna for gateway when the gateway is installed
inside a metal cabinet or when remote antennal mounting is
required by physical installation
Replacement antenna for gateway mounted antenna setup
120 VAC to 15 VDC power supply for VWG with cord
Replacement battery backup pack for the VWG
COMPATIBILITY & HISTORY REVISION TABLE
Release 1, May 2009
Associated Jar
Files
VWG-40-MSTP1000
VWG-40-IP-1000
Compatible VT7200 Zone wireless controllers are identified with wireless module
051-0021 Rx
Compatible VT7300 FCU wireless controllers are identified with wireless module
051-0021 Rx
Compatible VT7600 Staging wireless controllers are identified with wireless
module 051-0022 Rx
Release 2, June 2011
Associated Jar
Files
VWG-50-5000 2
Revision
Level
1
Revision
Level
Compatible Devices
VT7200 Zone wireless controllers
VT7300 FCU wireless controllers
VT7600 Staging wireless controllers
Compatible Devices
VT7200 Series zone wireless controllers
VT7300 Series FCU wireless controllers
VT7600 Series staging wireless
controllers
VTR7300 Series FCU wireless
controllers
VZ7200 Series zone wireless controllers
VZ7600 Series RTU wireless controllers
4 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
Compatible VT7200 Series zone wireless controllers are identified with wireless
module 051-0083 Rx
Compatible VT7300 Series FCU wireless controllers are identified with wireless
module 051-0083 Rx
Compatible VT7600 Series staging wireless controllers are identified with
wireless module 051-0083 Rx
Compatible VTR7300 Series FCU wireless controllers are identified with
wireless module 051-0083 Rx
Compatible VZ7200 Series zone wireless controllers are identified with wireless
module 051-0070 Rx
Compatible VZ7260 Series zone wireless controllers are identified with wireless
module 051-0089 Rx
Compatible VZ7656B RTU wireless controller is identified with wireless module
051-0071 Rx
Compatible VZ7656R/H/F/E Series RTU wireless controllers are identified with
wireless module 051-0087 Rx
Compatibility Overview
Controller wireless communication adapter revision(s)
Release 1
Current VT72 / 73
051-0021 Rx
Release 1
Current VT76
051-0022 Rx
New Release 2
VT(R)72 / 73 / 76
051-0083 Rx
New Release 2
VZ72xxX
051-0070 Rx
051-0089 Rx
Exception to the new
VTR73xx FCU Controllers
Jace Driver firmware(s)
Release 1 VWG-40
Release 2 VWG-50
Important Note
The Release 2 wireless
controllers are fully compatible to
the Release 1 VWG-40 versions.
This means that if replacement
controller parts are required on a
Release 1 installation, Release 2
controllers are compatible.
Release 2 VTR7300 FCU
controllers & Zoning products
VZ72xxX / VZ76xxX are NOT
compatible to Release 1 VWG40 versions installations.
Release 1 VWG-40 versions
installations CANNOT be
updated to the new Release 2
VWG-50 versions as the
controllers are NOT compatible.
New Release 2
VZ76xxX
051-0071 Rx
051-0087 Rx
5 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
ABOUT VICONICS WIRELESS MESH NETWORKS
The Viconics Wireless Gateway (VWG) and related wireless controller family
(VT7xxxXxxxxW) networkable devices operate using Zigbee™ ™/IEEE 802.15.4 physical
layer for communication.
General characteristics of the wireless physical communication layer are:
Uses a wireless physical layer of 2.4GHz with a data rates of 250 kbps
Yields high throughput and low latency
Automatic multiple topologies configuration: star, peer-to-peer, mesh
Fully handshake protocol for transfer reliability
Range: 50 feet / 15M typical (up to 100 feet / 30 M based on environment)
IEEE 802.15.4 along with Zigbee™ ™’s Network and Application Support Layer
provide:
Low cost installation deployment
Ease of implementation
Reliable data transfer
Short range operation
Very low power consumption
Appropriate levels of security
The VWG acts as network coordinator device for the IEEE 802.15.4/Zigbee™ network
used with the Viconics wireless controllers.
Many network specific features of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard are not covered in detail in
this paper. However, these are necessary for the efficient operation of a Zigbee™
network. These features of the network physical layer include receiver energy detection,
link quality indication and clear channel assessment. Both contention-based and
contention-free channel access methods are supported with a maximum packet size of
128 bytes, which includes a variable payload up to 104 bytes. Also employed are 64-bit
IEEE and 16-bit short addressing, supporting over 65,000 nodes per network. All those
properties of the physical layer are used and employed by the Viconics mesh network but
are hidden to the installed / user for ease of configuration and commissioning of the
network database.
6 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
A maximum of 50 networkable controllers can be supported by a single VWG. Database creation and
configuration is easily made using a Viconics software appliance that communicates with the VWG.
BASIC INITIAL DESIGN AND DEPLOYMENT CONSIDERATION
IMPORTANT: It is HIGHLY recommended that you do a proper field survey with the
Viconics survey tools to establish connectivity limitations and architecture layout on ALL
job sites considered for deployment with the Viconics wireless controller products. Please
refer to the following manual for the survey procedures and tool usage: MAN VWGSURVEY-Exx.
Please note that the following is well covered in the field survey tool procedure manual. A
quick summary is provided here as a reference.
The Viconics wireless survey tools are intended to verify and validate the deployment and
use of the Viconics wireless controllers on a potential job site.
The survey tool will display a numerical percentage value on the LCD screen which
represents the wireless network Zigbee™ ™™ RSSI dBi value (Receiving Signal Strength
Indicator).
Any value from 10 to 100% indicates good Zigbee™ connectivity.
Any value below 10% “may” indicate that an extra Router VRP 5000W1000W
may need to be installed.
Knowing and understanding the 6A / 5H rule of Zigbee™ and how to cover orphan
nodes!!!
Zigbee™ is a standard which is suitable for wireless sensor and controller networks. In
Zigbee™ ™, a device / node / controller is said to join a network if it can obtain a Zigbee™
network address from a parent device. This Zigbee™ address is a value which is NOT
initially exposed or available for the integrator to see.
Devices / nodes / controllers can calculate and assign addresses for their surrounding
devices by a distributed address assignment scheme. This assignment is flexible, but it
does somewhat restricts the number of attached devices and the possible depth of the
said network for any given device on the network.
Zigbee™ supports three kinds of networks type: star, tree, and mesh networks. The
Zigbee™ coordinator ( In our case, this is the VWG with the wireless communication card
) is responsible for initializing, maintaining, and controlling the network.
A star network has a coordinator with devices directly connecting to the
coordinator.
A tree and mesh networks, devices can communicate with each other in a multi-
The network is formed by one Zigbee™ coordinator and multiple Zigbee™ routers. A
device can join a network as an end device by the associating with the coordinator or a
router.
hop fashion.
7 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
A Zigbee™ device / node / controller is said to have successfully joined a network if it can
obtain a Zigbee™ network address from the main VWG coordinator or any other router
devices / nodes / controller.
6A stands for a maximum 6 addresses per device / node / controller.
Any given device / node / controller including the VWG –coordinator can ONLY give a
maximum 6 Zigbee™ addresses out to other devices so they join the active Zigbee™
network. This means for any device / node / controller to be able to successfully join a
Zigbee™ network, it needs an address to be assigned by another device / node /
controller which is within connectivity and that has NOT already assigned its maximum of
6 addresses allowed.
Please note that once a device / node / controller has been assigned a Zigbee™ address
& has joined the active Zigbee™ network, it will save its assigned Zigbee™ address to
flash memory & re-use it afterwards even after a power failure or a network re-start. The
ONLY time device / node / controller would require a NEW Zigbee™ address is if the
network is re-started with either a new PAN ID or a new Channel value. This causes the
currently assigned & saved Zigbee™ address in flash to be erased & will force the / node /
controller to try to re-join a new network.
8 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
Orphan Nodes.
As such it is important to understand that HOW the network is first initially started up
“may” create orphan unassigned devices / nodes / controllers that will seem to NOT want
to join the Zigbee™ network. Let’s first understand how an orphan node is created. A
typical example is when jobs are started on a technician desk before sending the devices /
nodes / controllers in the field for installation. Often the integration technician will power
the VWG – coordinator & connect it to the Workbench tool first creating & adding the
WirelessTstatNetwork driver layer.
Once the WirelessTstatNetwork driver layer is up and running, they open & will start up
the wireless devices / nodes / controllers one by one on their desk and add them to their
Niagara database.
They will power the first unit, add it to the database & then power it down.
They will power the second unit, add it to the database & then power it down.
And so forth up to 6 devices maximum
This will work fine for 6 devices maximum, simply because the VWG – coordinator has
filled its maximum 6 give away addresses. So when the technician powers up the 7
device / node / controller, it will NOT be able to join the Zigbee™ network…….unless one
of the previous device / node / controller is powered back on also.
In order to add another 6 devices, one of the previously added devices needs to be left
on. And so forth as the number of added devices / nodes / controllers grows. If 42 devices
are to be added to the network, 8 of them should be ALWAYS powered & within
connectivity range of all the others.
So how would orphan nodes appear I the field & how would you allow them to join the
Zigbee™ network?
Please note again that this ONLY applies to the initial network start-up & that once all the
devices are online to the Niagara database, everything will operate seamlessly even on
power up / down & network re-starts.
How Orphan nodes are created in the field. Ex.: 2 small buildings are within a few feet
of each other. Both have 6+ devices / nodes / controller each.
th
A possible case for Building B orphan nodes is as follow: Building A is first stated & sets
the VWG – coordinator configuration parameters for the PAN ID & Channel.
9 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
Premises:
Building A is first stated.
Yellow device / node / controller have given out its 6 addresses to other devices
in building A.
Building B devices / nodes / controllers can only be connected through blue
device / nodes / controller due to maximum distance coverage.
Result:
Orange devices / nodes / controllers cannot join the Zigbee™ network.
Workaround to get orphan devices on the network:
Disconnect & bring one of building B device / node / controller & power it up in
building A until it joins the Zigbee™ network ( confirmed either at the VWG –
coordinator or using the status LED on the wireless communication card of the
device / node / controller.
When the device / node / controller has joined the network in building A and is
added to the Niagara database, bring it back into building B so it can propagate
Zigbee™ addresses to the other devices in building B.
10 | VWG-50-Setup Guide
Loading...