Creating and configuring APOGEE Building Management System MSIB nodes for the Navigator Configuration Service

This section provides instructions on creating MSIB nodes and configuring the Navigator Configuration Service. From a high level, creating and configuring nodes is a two part process:

  1. Create a virtual node or nodes in MSIB for the purpose of exposing BACnet IP, APOGEE P2 Ethernet or P2 RS-485 via AEM data from the source.
  2. Configure the Navigator Configuration Service for pushing data to Navigator.

Before beginning

MSIB for FDD Navigator is an integral part of the FDD workflow. Before creating and configuring the MSIB nodes, you must have completed some of the FDD steps because MSIB is dependent on the following:

  • Rule Mapping Tool CSV output file
  • A system site set up in Navigator
    • Navigator meters will need to be created before MSIB can send data to the meters.
    • Trends are not necessary because MSIB will use point data.
  • If a proxy connection is needed for the Navigator connection, see the section titled User interface for setting up the proxy.
  • For other needs, see System Requirements for MSIB with Navigator Service in the section titled MSIB Application Requirements.

Collecting data

To create MSIB nodes and configure services, the following source and client information is required:

  • An understanding of both the source and Navigator site will be necessary in order to configure MSIB nodes for communication.
  • Online access to source data will be necessary to verify communication with the source.

Sending data from a single source to multiple destinations

In order to send data from a single source to multiple destinations, a separate node will need to be created for each destination service.

Creating a new node

The first step to configuring MSIB is to create a virtual node or nodes. Select Create single node to create a single node or Create multiple nodes to create multiple nodes.

Creating multiple nodes

The most commonly used node creation workflow is the multiple node creation. The multiple node creation option allows you to create multiple nodes that come from one Rule Mapping Tool output and go to one Navigator site.

  1. Select Create multiple nodes.
  1. In the Create multiple nodes wizard, select Navigator Configuration Service from the drop-down list.
  1. Enter the Navigator Device Username and Navigator Device Password.

MSIB validates the Navigator device name and Navigator device password before allowing a node to be created.

  1. For Import Type, select Rule Mapping Tool Export File from the drop-down list.
  1. Select Choose file and select the import file.
  1. Select the Source Service to indicate how data is acquired for MSIB. Choose BACnet Polling, Siemens P2 AEM Polling, or Siemens P2 Ethernet Polling.
  • Depending on the selection, different fields display.
  1. Enter a desired Polling Interval or leave the default of 900 seconds between polling cycles (15 minutes).
  1. Enter a desired Separation for the number of milliseconds between point requests within a polling cycle or leave at the default of 600 milliseconds.

A separation of 600 means that 1.5 points will be polled per second. With a Polling Interval of 900 seconds, a total of 1,350 points can be polled from this source.

The intent of the separation for a polling period is to reduce the amount of data requested from a device at any one time. Older source devices with limited resources are especially prone to going offline when they are being overwhelmed with requests for data.

  1. For BACnet Polling and Siemens P2 Ethernet Polling, select Create and start.
    For Siemens P2 AEM Polling, continue with next step.

Ensure that exactly one AEM router is defined for the AEM ALN on which you will be polling.

A P2 field panel supports up to 32 ALN devices per ALN. The AEM used as a router for MSIB cannot be added to an ALN with 32 ALN existing devices. It cannot be added because the AEM device is counted as one of the 32 devices.

  1. Select the previously defined Existing Router. If no AEM Router is defined, enter a New Router Node Number between 0-99.
    This node number must not be in use by any other nodes on the ALN.
  1. In the AEM Node Number field, enter the node number of the P2 panel to which the AEM is attached.
  1. Enter the name of the AEM ALN in the AEM ALN Name field.
  1. Enter the IP address of the AEM in the AEM IP Address field.
  1. Select Create and start.
  • You may need to refresh the page before the data displays. This is especially true for larger amounts of data. MSIB will start sending data to the Navigator site. For details about the operation of nodes, see Working with nodes.
  • MSIB will try to use Read Property Multiple for reading object properties from a device. If a device does not support Read Property Multiple, MSIB will fall back to Read Property to read a single property in one poll. To accommodate this single property at a time Read Property device communication method, please allow five times as long for MSIB to capture the Read Property device values over the time it takes to read the standard RPM devices.

Creating a single node

There may be times you wish to add a single node. For example, if a panel is added to an existing site or if only one panel is needed from the Rule Mapping Tool output file, you may want to use the single node creation option. To create a single node, you will need to know the Panel Name from the Rule Mapping Tool.

  1. Select Create single node.
  1. Enter a Node Name.
    The name must match the desired panel name from the Rule Mapping Tool output file. Panel names are located in the Device Sys Name column of the Rule Mapping Tool file.
  1. From the Service drop-down list, select Navigator Configuration Service.
  1. Enter the Navigator Device Username and Navigator Device Password.

MSIB validates the Navigator device name and Navigator device password before allowing a node to be created.

  1. For Import Type, select Rule Mapping Tool Export File from the drop-down list.
  1. Select Choose file and select the import file.
  1. Select the Source Service to indicate how data is acquired for MSIB. Choose BACnet Polling, nhaystack Polling, Siemens P2 AEM Polling, or Siemens P2 Ethernet Polling.
  • Depending on the selection, different fields display.
  1. Enter a desired Polling Interval or leave the default of 900 seconds between polling cycles (15 minutes).
  1. Enter a desired Separation for the number of milliseconds between point requests within a polling cycle or leave at the default of 600 milliseconds.

A separation of 600 means that 1.5 points will be polled per second. With a Polling Interval of 900 seconds, a total of 1,350 points can be polled from this source.

The intent of the separation for a polling period is to reduce the amount of data requested from a device at any one time. Older source devices with limited resources are especially prone to going offline when they are being overwhelmed with requests for data.

  1. For BACnet Polling and Siemens P2 Ethernet Polling, select Create and start.
    For Siemens P2 AEM Polling, continue with next step.
    For nhaystack Polling, see Creating and Configuring Niagara AX nHaystack MSIB Nodes .

Ensure that exactly one AEM router is defined for the AEM ALN on which you will be polling.

A P2 field panel supports up to 32 ALN devices per ALN. The AEM used as a router for MSIB cannot be added to an ALN with 32 ALN existing devices. It cannot be added because the AEM device is counted as one of the 32 devices.

  1. Select the previously defined Existing Router. If no AEM Router is defined, enter a New Router Node Number between 0-99.
    This node number must not be in use by any other nodes on the ALN.
  1. In the AEM Node Number field, enter the node number of the P2 panel to which the AEM is attached.
  1. Enter the name of the AEM ALN in the AEM ALN Name field.
  1. Enter the IP address of the AEM in the AEM IP Address field.
  1. Select Create and start.
  • You may need to refresh the page before the data displays. This is especially true for larger amounts of data. MSIB will start sending data to the Navigator site. For details about the operation of nodes, see Working with nodes.
  • MSIB will try to use Read Property Multiple for reading object properties from a device. If a device does not support Read Property Multiple, MSIB will fall back to Read Property to read a single property in one poll. To accommodate this single property at a time Read Property device communication method, please allow five times as long for MSIB to capture the Read Property device values over the time it takes to read the standard RPM devices.

Node validation

Before MSIB creates a new node or nodes, it will make some basic checks and supply error information. For example, if the import file is not attached, the Import File box will be highlighted in red and an error displays, explaining that there was a problem with the file.

MSIB validates the Navigator device name and Navigator device password before allowing a node to be created.