Tutorial: Map a datapoint to BACnet
BACnet mapping allows you to map any data point to BACnet. That is, the NETx Server acts as a BACnet device (BACnet server) and provides the mapped data points as BACnet objects. These BACnet objects can the be accessed by other BACnet clients.
Driver Configuration
In the studio go to BACnet / Driver configuration. Here you set up driver settings so that the NETx Server is found as a BACnet device:
| Parameter | Description | Default Value |
|---|---|---|
| XIO.BACnet.Port | Specifies the port of the local network interface which is used to communicate with the BACnet devices and clients. If 0 is used or if the parameter is commented out, the server chooses a dynamic port. | 47808 |
| XIO.BACnet.ModelName | This parameter refers to the "ModelName" property of the server's BACnet device object. | |
| XIO.BACnet.Location | This parameter refers to the "Location" property of the server's BACnet device object. | |
| XIO.BACnet.IPAddress | Specifies the IP address of the local network interface which is used to communicate with the BACnet devices. | 127.0.0.1 |
| XIO.BACnet.DeviceObjectName | The BACnet device name of the server. This name must be unique within the BACnet network and must be different from the device names of all other BACnet devices. | |
| XIO.BACnet.DeviceObjectIdentifier | The BACnet device ID of the server. This ID must be unique within the BACnet network and must be different from the device IDs of all other BACnet devices. | 4194303 |
| XIO.BACnet.Description | This parameter specifies a human-readable description of the server that is visible via the server's BACnet device object. |
These settings can also be set in the file <WorkspaceDirectory>\ConfigFiles\xio.BACnet.cfg.
Object Mapping
In the studio go to BACnet / Object mapping definitions and set up a definition for each data point you want to map to BACnet:
| Column | Attribute | Mandatory/ Optional | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ItemId | M | The ItemID of the Server Item that shall be mapped to a BACnet object. |
| 2 | ObjectName | O | Here the BACnet object name for the newly created BACnet object has to be defined. Note that the BACnet object name must be unique within the server. The object name is optional – if not defined, the ItemID is used as object name. |
| 3 | Relinquish-default | O | This optional parameter defines the relinquish-default property of the BACnet object. This value is used by the server if all BACnet priorities are set to NULL. |
| 4 | COV Increment | O | Defines the minimum data change that is needed to send BACnet Change-of-Value notifications. |
| 5 | Object type | O | Specifies the BACnet object type. If not specified or the parameter is left empty, the server automatically detects the BACnet object type that fits best to the used Server Item. |
| 6 | Object ID | O | Specifies the BACnet Object ID of the created BACnet object. The object ID and the object type must be unique within the server. If not specified or the parameter is left empty, an auto-increment ID is used. |
| 7 | Units | O | Overrides the BACnet property "Units". If left empty, the engineering units of the server item will be used. |
| 8 | State Text | O | Comma (",") separated list of strings. For Mult-state object types, this value specifies the BACnet property "State_Text". For Binary object types, the first value specifies the BACnet property "Inactive_Text" and the second value the BACnet property "Active_Text". |
| 9 | Description | O | Overrides the BACnet property "Description". If left empty, the description of the server item will be used. |
These settings can also be set in the file <WorkspaceDirectory>\DataFiles\xio.BACnet.MappingDefinitions.dat.
Save the table and restart the server in order to make the changes effective.
During start-up, the server creates a list of all mapped BACnet objects. This list is available as a BACnet EDE file. A BACnet EDE file is MS Excel/CSV with a specific format that has been standardized by the BIG EU.
The location of the EDE file is:
<WorkspaceDirectory>\LogFiles\xio.BACnet.ObjectList_EDE.csv
Information about the EDE format can be found at the website of BIG EU.
In addition to this EDE file, the BACnet object list is also available as a simple text file. This text file is a CSV file that is located here:
<WorkspaceDirectory>\LogFiles\xio.BACnet.ObjectList.log.
Each line – except comment lines that start with ' – corresponds to a created BACnet object.
| Column | Attribute | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Object ID | The BACnet Object ID of the created BACnet object. |
| 2 | Object Type | The BACnet object type of the created object. |
| 3 | Object Name | The BACnet object name of the created BACnet object. |
| 4 | ItemId | The ItemID of the Server Item that is linked to the created BACnet object. |
Article applies to the following products:
- NETx BMS Platform
- NETx Multi Protocol Server
- NETx BMS Server 2.0