The life check checks if all devices of the site (primary server, backup server, Desigo room automation server or third-party BACnet device) work correctly, that is, if they are operating and if they are running their application.

  • The primary server monitors if the backup servers / Desigo room automation servers are active.
  • The backup servers monitor if the primary server is active.
  • The primary server checks that only one primary server exists at any one time on a given site.

Add and delete devices

For life check and replication the primary server has a list [BckUpSrv] of all known devices of a site. The primary server automatically adds newly commissioned devices on the site to this list. Devices which are removed from the site must be deleted manually in Xworks Plus (XWP) from the list in the primary server.

Check if all devices are online

The primary server performs a life check at regular intervals, to check that all devices of its site are online. The interval between life checks is defined by the synchronization request period [SynReqp]. During this period, the backup servers are checked one after the other in a cyclical process. The interval between two life checks can be calculated as follows: t ≈ SynReqp / Number of backup servers.

A short synchronization request period and a large number of backup servers may involve a substantial communications load. Take this into account when setting the synchronization request period in Xworks Plus (XWP).

If one or more devices are not online, the primary server generates an alarm signal. The alarm is reset as soon as all devices are online again and have been detected by the primary server. This ensures that problems, such as the failure of a device, the stopping of the HVAC application processing of a device, or faulty configuration (e.g., two primary servers in one site) are detected.

Monitor if the life check checks the backup server

Each backup server monitors its own periodic life check by the primary server. If a life check fails, or if no primary server has ever carried out any life checks on this backup server, the backup server generates an alarm. The backup server resets the alarm as soon as the primary server carries out a life check.