Enterprise Server

Introduction

An EcoStruxure BMS server is the core of the system and performs key functionality, such as control logic, trend logging, and alarm supervision. The Enterprise Server is the Windows application version of an EcoStruxure BMS server that collects site-wide data for aggregation and archiving, yet is flexible enough to run stand-alone applications. The Enterprise Server also serves as a single point of administration through WorkStation or WebStation for the EcoStruxure BMS, Schneider Electric’s intelligent Building Management System.

Features

The Enterprise Server is a central point in the EcoStruxure BMS architecture from which users can configure, control, and monitor the system.

Enterprise Server and Enterprise Central come with built-in support for modelling of the “digital twin” of the building, site, campus, and region using Brick Schema. WorkStation and WebStation provide enhanced human understandability through the additional context that is given to alarms and points through the “digital twin”. The required graph database is included in the installation packages. WorkStation can be used to create the model, or it can be imported using the graph database user interface.

The Enterprise Server can run multiple control programs using a variety of protocols. It can manage alarms, users, schedules, and trend logs. Data from the Enterprise Server can be delivered directly to the user or to other EcoStruxure BMS servers and field devices throughout the site or enterprise.

The entire site, including all of the automation servers and their associated devices, can be accessed and configured through the Enterprise Server.

This overview of the site provides easier mass change engineering and data analysis. The Enterprise Server also aggregates the event and alarm data from all its associated automation servers. Trend logs can be aggregated through the use of extended trend logs.

Unique to the industry, the EcoStruxure BMS servers have both Script and Function Block programming options. This flexibility helps assure that a suitable programming method can be selected for the application.

Alarms from multiple devices throughout the site, including automation servers, are collected by the Enterprise Server for centralized logging, display, and management. Users can also view event logs and trend logs from multiple servers.

The Enterprise Server hosts the historical and configuration databases. These databases store current information, including trends, alarms, user activity, and property information. Alarms can trigger email, SNMP, file, or client notifications, which can include alarm, point value, or trend log data. Notifications can also be triggered periodically by schedules or other binary values.

EcoStruxure BMS servers can be configured to automatically store all historical data, trend log data, event log and audit trail data, in a high-capacity, open, and well-proven database. If data needs to be available for longer periods of time, an external log storage can be incorporated into the EcoStruxure BMS without the need for extensive engineering work. The database supported is TimescaleDB, which is built on PostgreSQL. The capacity is limited only by the size of the selected storage media.

The data in the external log storage is available natively to the viewers built into the EcoStruxure Building Operation clients and to the built-in reporting functionality. No other software is required to access the data throughout the full retention period. The data is readily available for any analytics software that you already use, due to the open nature of PostgreSQL. Most reporting tools have native support for PostgreSQL.

The TimescaleDB extension to PostgreSQL optimizes the solution for time-stamped data and is well-suited for the EcoStruxure Building Operation historical data.

The system architecture is very flexible. All EcoStruxure BMS servers in an EcoStruxure BMS can write to and read from the same TimescaleDB database, or multiple databases can be used.

You can use the powerful Log Processor functionality for custom processing of trend data for viewing in charts, dashboards and for inclusion in reports. The Log Processor enables advanced calculations on one or multiple trend logs and point values.

Examples of advanced calculations:

• Energy usage normalization

• Virtual submeters and summaries

• Calculation of Mean Kinetic Temperature

• Unit conversions

• Average, maximum, and mini m um over custom periods

The output of the Log Processor can be saved in the database, including the External Log Storage or calculated automatically on demand.

The EcoStruxure BMS servers provide built-in functionality for basic reporting that can deliver reports in any text format and XLSX, without any dependencies to other external software. Reports for XLSX can be enriched by using advanced functionality such as formulas, conditional formatting, charts and sparklines.

Reports can be generated on schedule, on an alarm event or other custom conditions, and you can get the output delivered via email or written to file.

Using Enterprise Server and Enterprise Central, reports can be converted to PDF, and you can elevate the data security and traceability even further by using the optional add-on for automatically signing PDF reports with a digital certificate upon generation. This validates that the content has not been altered after the report was generated.

An EcoStruxure BMS provides a powerful permission system that is easy to manage, flexible, and adapts to all kinds of system sizes. The permission system provides a high standard of authentication. Authentication is done against the built-in user account management system , against Windows Active Directory Domains , or via SAML 2.0 single sign-on . The built-in account management system allows an administrator to establish password policies that meet stringent cybersecurity guidelines. When Windows Active Directory or SAML 2.0 authentication is used, the administration costs are lower because users do not have to be managed in multiple directories.

It is important to log more than basic activity. In an EcoStruxure BMS, every action is logged with a timestamp, the user who performed the action, and the values that were changed.

Through any client, the user experience is similar regardless of which EcoStruxure BMS server the user is logged on to. The user can log directly on to an Enterprise Server to engineer, commission, supervise, and monitor the automation server as well as its attached Central IO modules and field bus devices. For more information, see the WorkStation and WebStation specification sheets.

One of the cornerstones of the EcoStruxure BMS is support for open standards. The Enterprise Server can natively communicate with three of the most popular standards for buildings: BACnet (including BACnet/SC), LonWorks, and Modbus.

The Enterprise Server communicates directly to BACnet/IP networks. The Enterprise Server is BTL-listed as a BACnet Building Controller (B-BC), the most advance BACnet device profile, and as a BACnet Operator Workstation (B-OWS). This capability provides access to the full range of BACnet devices from Schneider Electric and other vendors. See the BTL Product Catalog for up-to-date details on BTL listed software revisions on BACnet International's home page. The Enterprise Server can also serve as a BACnet Broadcast Management Device (BBMD) to facilitate BACnet systems that span multiple IP subnets.

The Enterprise Server and automation servers support BACnet/SC applications as a BACnet/SC node, hub*, and router. This allows the Enterprise Server and automation servers to be in BACnet/SC networks and support applications that connect BACnet/IP or MS/TP networks with BACnet/SC networks. A major benefit of BACnet/SC is that it allows more secure transport of BACnet traffic and information between BACnet/SC devices over private and public networks without the need for BBMDs, VLANs, and VPNs, because the BACnet/SC protocol uses WebSocket technology and TLS 1.3 encryption. In addition, BACnet/SC uses certificate management to help ensure only those devices authorized to be on a BACnet/SC network can operate on that network.

* EcoStruxure Building Operation version 4.0.3 and later.

The Enterprise Server works with a range of LonTalk adapters to communicate to TP/FT-10 LonWorks networks. Integrated LonWorks functionality enables access to LonWorks devices from Schneider Electric and other vendors. LonWorks networks can be commissioned, bound, and configured from the Enterprise Server using the built-in LonWorks Network Management Tool. No third-party tools are needed. To increase ease of use, LNS device plug-ins are supported. This allows for easier engineering and maintenance of LonWorks devices from Schneider Electric and other vendors. There are some limitations on how LNS device plug-ins can be used.

The Enterprise Server and automation servers natively integrate Modbus RS-485 client and server configurations, as well as Modbus TCP client and server. This allows full access to third-party products and the range of Schneider Electric products that communicate on the Modbus protocol, such as power meters, UPS, circuit breakers, and lighting controllers.

The Enterprise Server supports the use of Web Services based on open standards, such as SOAP and REST, to consume data into the EcoStruxure BMS. Use incoming third-party data (temperature forecast, energy cost) over the Web to determine site modes, scheduling, and programming.

EcoStruxure Web Services, Schneider Electric’s Web Services standard, is natively supported in the EcoStruxure BMS servers. EcoStruxure Web Services offers extra features between compliant systems whether within Schneider Electric or other authorized systems. These features include access to semantic model, system directory browsing, read/write of current values, alarm receipt and acknowledgement, and historical trend log data. EcoStruxure Web Services requires user name and password to log on to the system.

The Enterprise Server and automation servers support MQTT as an option for publishing data to, and receiving updates from, other systems. MQTT is a messaging transport protocol that with its small footprint, light bandwidth utilization, and simplicity, is ideal for M2M and IoT communication. The MQTT capability supports communication with any MQTT broker, for example, Amazon, Microsoft, Google or IBM.

The EcoStruxure BMS servers communicate using the networking standards. This makes installations easy, management simple, and transactions more secure.

• IP addressing

• TCP communications

• DHCP for easy network configuration

• DNS for simple lookup of addresses

• HTTP/HTTPS for internet access through firewalls, which enables remote monitoring and control

• NTP (Network Time Protocol) for time synchronization throughout the system

• SMTP or SMTPS with support for SSL/TLS based authentication, enables sending email messages triggered by schedule or alarm

• SNMP enables reception of application alarms in designated network management tools

• WebSocket Secure (WSS) and TLS 1.3 encryption (BACnet/SC applications)

Communication between clients and the EcoStruxure BMS servers , and between EcoStruxure BMS servers, can be encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS ). The servers are delivered with a default self-signed certificate. Commercial Certification Authority (CA) server certificates are supported to lower the risk of malicious information technology attacks. Use of encrypted communication can be enforced for both WorkStation and WebStation access.