BacnetIP

8 min

Review the following information for setting up and configuring the BacnetIP device.

Manufacturing Connect Edge Compatible Series

Compatibility parameter	Compatible items
Driver type	Ethernet
Validated devices/series	BACnet/IP devices

To set up and configure this device in Manufacturing Connect Edge, you will need to do the following:

Step 1: Set up and Configure the PLC Device
Step 2: Set up the PLC Device in Manufacturing Connect Edge DeviceHub
Step 3: Configure the List of Registers

Step 1: Set up and Configure the PLC Device

Important: When setting up the PLC device, the Bacnet driver and your Manufacturing Connect Edge instance must be on the same subnet. If they aren't on the same subnet, the Bacnet driver won't be able to connect to Manufacturing Connect Edge.

To find the network parameters of the driver, you have the option of using the Device Discovery Tool. Otherwise, set up the device for Ethernet access and collect the network parameters.

To use the device discovery tool:

Navigate to DeviceHub > Devices.
Click Add New Device.
Add New Device icon
Click the Device Type drop-down list and select BACnet.
Click the Driver Name drop-down list, and select BacnetIP.
Click Device Discovery. The Device Discovery dialog box appears.
Device Discovery option
In the Network address field, open the drop-down list and select the appropriate ethernet port. The available options are based on the interfaces configured in Manufacturing Connect Edge. To review interfaces, navigate to System > Network > Interfaces.
In the Retry count field, review the default value (5) and update it if needed. This configures the number of times Manufacturing Connect Edge will attempt to discover devices.
In the Timeout field, review the default value (2) and update it if needed.
Click Start discovery. When the search is complete, available devices will be listed with the following parameters:
- Device ID
- IP address
- Port
Click the appropriate device, and then click Update form with discovery results. The Connect Device dialog box appears with Network Address, Network Port, and Target Device ID pre-filled based on the discovery results.
Move onto Step 2 and continue configuring the device with the remaining parameters.

Step 2: Set up the PLC Device in Manufacturing Connect Edge DeviceHub

Configure the following parameters when you Connect a Device with this driver. Update default values to the specific set up of your device.

Parameter	Value
Type	BACnet
Driver	BacnetIP
Network Address	The device address you defined in Step 1
Port	47808
Target Device ID	The Object ID of the device
Instance Device ID	If the default value of 0 is configured, then a random instance ID will be generated. This ID must be unique.

Step 3: Configure the List of Registers

When you Add Tags to the connected device, refer to the following register table and tag parameters. You can also Search for Pre-defined Device Tags for this device.

Refer to the following additional resources:

Register Table

Note: When browsing for tags, only tags with the property of Present_Value will be identified.

Name	Value Types	Max Address	Description
AI	float32	2147483647	Analog input
AO	float32	2147483647	Analog output
AV	float32	2147483647	Analog value
BI	uint32, bool	2147483647	Binary input
BO	uint32, bool	2147483647	Binary output
BV	uint32, bool	2147483647	Binary value
MSI	int32	2147483647	Multi state input
MSO	int32	2147483647	Multi state output
MSV	int32	2147483647	Multi state value
SCH	float32	2147483647	Schedule
LFSP	uint32	2147483647	Life safety point
LOCTL	float32	2147483647	Local control
OCTSTR	octet_string	2147483647	Octet string
PINT	uint32	2147483647	Positive integer
CHV	string	2147483647	Object character string value
F	octet_string	2147483647	File object
PROPRIETARY	bool, int32, uint32, float32, float64, string, octet_string	2147483647	Proprietary

Tag Parameters

Name: Select a register name from the drop-down list. Available options depend on the names in the register table.

Value Type: Select a data type from the drop-down list. Available options depend on the register name selected.

Polling Interval: Enter a value in seconds. This determines how often the tag should poll the register for data.

Tag Name: Enter a name for the tag.

Description (Optional): Enter a description for the tag.

Address: Enter a tag address. The value must in the decimal format within the allowed min/max range. Omit the leading zeros. The device might use the decimal (D), hexadecimal (H), or octal (O) address format. See the Register Table at the bottom of the dialog box. For Bit tags, append the bit address without the bit separator. The lowercase letters in the address format indicate how many digits you should enter in the Bit address.

Count: Enter the number of register values to read. A count higher than 1 will generate an array of values from the address value configured and respective subsequent address values.

Tag Formula: Enter a formula for the tag to process the generated data. Two variables are permitted: value (current tag value) and timestamp (current tag UNIX time in milliseconds). The following math functions are available:

sqrt

power: power(x) performs the operation 10^x.

log: log(x) is the natural logarithm (the logarithm is in base e).

exp: exp(x) performs the operation e^x.

Only Publish on Change of Value: Select the checkbox to publish NATS messages only when the value parameter changes to a new one value. Change of Value only applies to boolean, numeric (such as int or float), and simple string data types. It does not apply to complex types, such as JSON or array. Poll-once topics are not affected by Change of Value settings. These topics will still only see a single message.

Meta Data: Metadata summarizes basic information about data. This feature allows you to define key-value pair data for the device output payload later on. It can then be used to find, use, and reuse particular instances of data.

Note: If you use special characters in meta data key names, the special characters are replaced with underscore characters in the payload. This can cause two key names to be combined into one. For example, configuring the key names a**b and a&&b will cause only one key name to be created (a__b).