Welcome
BACnet® – the Building Automation and Control Network – is an open-system protocol and international standard, providing the customer with vendor independence. BACnet-compliant equipment can be purchased from many vendors, and implemented at more than one level. The lowest level has digital/analogue sensors and actuators individually connected to a controller or remote I/O device. The next level has BACnet MS/TP intelligent devices sharing an EIA-485 network. Above that BACnet/IP Ethernet takes full advantage of rich BACnet objects and services directly tied to an IP Ethernet network. The Internet on the highest level is accessed via IP routers. Contemporary Controls makes all this work using our BACnet and CTRLink® Ethernet infrastructure products.
To learn more about Building on BACnet, move your mouse pointer over the highlighted rectangles.
IP Routers
IP routers connect two Internet Protocol (IP) networks together – passing appropriate traffic while blocking all other traffic by way of a stateful firewall. The stateful firewall separates the local-area-network side (LAN-side) from the wide-area-network (WAN-side). LAN-side devices can gain access to the Internet via the WAN-side port using external modems or by way of a cellular wireless link.
The wired Skorpion IP router provides either Ethernet-to-Ethernet (LAN-LAN) or Ethernet-to-WAN (LAN-WAN) routing using external Ethernet connected DSL or cable modems. The cellular router (available 1st qtr 2011) makes the WAN connection using the GPRS/EDGE data network. All CTRLink routers provide a host of features such as Port Address Translation (PAT), Network Address Translation (NAT), Port Forwarding, DHCP server and DHCP client yet they are simple to use.
Unmanaged Switches
Unmanaged switches offer ease and simplicity of use without the need of any configuration. All copper-ports automatically configure their data rate and duplex using the Auto-negotiation protocol. Using the Auto-MDIX protocol, each port will adapt to either a straight-through or crossover cable. The units are powered from a 24 VAC or VDC source and can share power with other half-wave rectified devices. Mounting options include DIN-rail or direct panel mounting. Models from the Skorpion and BAS Switch series are available with as few as 5 ports and up to 16 ports with a mix of copper-only and copper/fibre configurations. Fibre support includes multimode and single-mode options, with SC or ST style connectors. Contemporary Controls’ unmanaged switches provide a cost effective, plug-and-play, but reliable Ethernet switch solution for data rates up to 1 Gigabit.
Fire and Smoke Safety
Contemporary Controls qualified the Ethernet Interconnect Switch (EIS) series to comply with the requirements of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 864 Control Units and Accessories for Fire Alarm Systems 9th Edition. All new fire alarm and smoke control systems being installed claiming UL 864 compliance must comply with this latest edition. The EIS series is an unmanaged Ethernet switch with Auto-negotiation of data rate and duplex, and Auto-MDIX allowing for either straight-through or crossover cables. Models are available with copper-only ports or copper/fiber ports with either multimode or single-mode fibre transceivers. Fibre connectors can be either of the ST or SC variety.
Managed Switches
When you need to take control of your network, use CTRLink managed switches for the ultimate in flexibility. Besides the conventional features available in CTRLink unmanaged switches, managed switches include such important benefits as Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) compliance, RapidRing® cable redundancy, RSTP (Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol), VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network), Port Mirroring, Quality of Service (QoS), and a programmable fault relay that can be connected to a supervisory system. Models are available with as few as 8 ports and up to 24 ports with copper-only and copper/fiber configurations. Fibre support includes multimode and single-mode options, with SC or ST style connectors. In addition some CTRLink managed switches support Power over Ethernet (PoE).
BACnet MS/TP
BACnet Master-Slave/Token-Passing network (BACnet MS/TP) is a popular EIA-485 field level control bus that connects to smart sensors, smart actuators, thermostats and controllers over a 2-wire cable. In order to connect one or more BACnet MS/TP networks to a BACnet/IP network, BACnet routers are required.
Contemporary Controls BAS Routers are available in two versions. A DIN rail version is powered from a 24 VAC (or VDC) source and is intended for permanent installations in a control panel. It has one BACnet/IP Ethernet port and one isolated BACnet MS/TP port. Up to 63 MS/TP devices can be attached on the MS/TP side.
For commissioning purposes, a BAS Portable Router is a light-weight alternative http://www.ccontrols.com/basautomation/basportable.htm. It is intended for a temporary connection to a laptop computer and receives its power over a USB port. However, BACnet/IP communication is over the laptop’s Ethernet port. It also can support 63 MS/TP devices.
Modbus Serial
Modbus Serial is proven technology commonly found in buildings or on the plant floor. Its register-based I/O is simple to understand and use. Energy meters, thermostats and motor drives are available supporting the Modbus 2-wire RTU (remote terminal unit) interface. Mapping Modbus registers to BACnet objects requires a gateway.
Contemporary Controls’ BAS Gateway can interface Modbus Serial devices to BACnet/IP systems. Using an off-line spreadsheet, Modbus device profiles are selected and assigned to BACnet objects and complied into a .csv (comma separated variable) file for loading into the BAS Gateway. The BAS Gateway will scan the Modbus Serial devices and report the same devices as BACnet objects when quired.
The BAS Remote Master can also function as a Modbus Serial to BACnet/IP gateway by doing the same thing – allowing Modbus variables to be assigned to BACnet object instances, and read or written via the BACnet/IP connection.
Control by Sedona Framework™
Developed by Tridium Inc., Sedona Framework is a software environment that makes it easy to build smart, networked, embedded devices that are well suited for implementing control applications. The Sedona language is a component-oriented programming language that utilizes "soft wires" to link components onto a wire sheet to create an application. No specialized programming knowledge is required by the user. Contemporary Controls incorporates both Sedona components developed by Tridium and custom components developed by Contemporary Controls for use in its BAS Remote Master – a web-based appliance. In addition to being a Powered by Sedona Frameworktm, the BAS Remote Master functions as a BACnet/IP remote I/O for sensors and actuators, Modbus TCP to Modbus Serial router, and a Modbus Serial to BACnet gateway.
POE
Power of Ethernet (PoE) is a technology (IEEE802.af) that combines both Ethernet data communication and device power together creating a Single Cable Solution. Power sourcing equipment such as the Skorpion PoE Injector generates the required 48 VDC power while the BAS Remote Master PoE consumes power from the data cable. A companion Skorpion PoE Splitter can be used to power non-PoE end devices from a PoE cable. By using PoE, there is a savings in both the cost of the cable and the expense of installing the cable making the technology attractive of green buildings.
