Andover Controls Infinet Driver

Overview

Over 80 models are supported: bCX1 and NetController 2 (CX9680) network controllers, the ACX, CX, and bCX families, and LCX, TCX, SCX, DCX, and Infinity 2 i-series RS-485 field controllers. The driver connects over TCP/IP to one network controller nominated as primary and reads the taught network from it to find every controller behind it. Point discovery returns name, type, electrical type, channel, value, units, format, and description, from which Niagara facets are derived. Inputs, outputs, software variables, and system variables become Boolean, Numeric, Enum, or String points, read-only or writable. Andover point state maps onto Niagara overridden status, so Cyberstation overrides stay visible and points can be overridden from Niagara. Tuning policies bind points to fast, normal, or slow poll rates. Controller logs import as histories, so trend data survives station restarts. Xdriver points are fully supported. Licensing is perpetual, bound to the Host ID.

List of FAQs

How is this different from Tridium's Infinity driver? The Tridium Infinity driver reaches a single Andover NetController through its RS-232 service port and reads points from the service console. It does not work with newer Infinity devices, it requires service port configuration, it can only see field devices under that one NetController, and RS-232 speed limits its performance. The Baudrate Infinet driver communicates over Ethernet using the same protocol as Andover's own software, so it reaches every network and field controller, needs no controller reconfiguration and no extra cabling, and runs at Ethernet speed. Niagara can sit on the same LAN or connect remotely. What is needed before discovery will work? One Infinity network controller has to be nominated as the primary controller, and the network must already have been taught to it using the Teach function in Continuum Cyberstation. The driver then needs that controller's IP address and its network id, also called the ACCNet ID, which can be read in Cyberstation or on the controller web page. Are Xdriver points supported? Yes. Andover Xdrivers are software modules deployed in Infinity network controllers to talk to third-party protocols such as Modbus. The driver discovers all points in a network controller, including the ones created for an Xdriver, so Xdriver functionality is fully available in Niagara. Can historical data already stored in the controllers be recovered? Yes. Infinity controllers log locally, and the driver discovers those logs and imports them as Niagara histories. The first import pulls every sample held in the controller, and later imports collect only new samples. Importing from the controller is preferable to a Niagara history extension, because the data survives a station restart and the station does not have to subscribe to every logged point. Devices are discovered but show as Offline. What is wrong? This is almost always a firewall blocking inbound UDP. The driver sends request