Add and configure Device Selector objects

The BACLITE Communication Driver can connect to PLCs. These connections are modeled in the hierarchy by means of Device Selector objects, each of which models the end-point of the communications path.

From the ChannelSelector branch of the Communication Driver hierarchy, create the new DeviceSelector object.

Add a Device Selector connection to your BACLITE hierarchy

1. In the console tree, right-click the ChannelSelector object, and then select Add DeviceSelector Connection. The New_DeviceSelector_000 object and associated Parameters configuration view appear.

2. Rename the object as needed to reflect the connection.

3. Configure the Station field.

   For more information see Setting the Station ID of a Device.

4. Configure Device Groups and Device Items.

Set the Station ID of a device

Set the station ID for a selected device so that the Communication Driver can identify and communicate with it on the network.

Syntax

In most cases, if you are using the standard BACnet/IP protocol, the station ID for a target device should use the following syntax:

<subnet>:<device ID>

If you are on a restricted network or if the target device cannot be discovered on the network, the station ID for the device should use one of the following syntaxes:

<IP address>:<subnet>:<device ID>

<IP address>:<subnet>:<device ID>:<MAC address>

When the Communication Driver sends a broadcast message to discover BACnet devices on the network, it uses the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. If you have devices that are not on the same network using this mask, the Communication Driver will not be able to discover them. To resolve this issue, include the MAC address of the device in the station ID.

The following syntax diagram shows all of the possible options:

{ | IP address: }subnet:device ID{ | :MAC address }

where,

IP address: The specific IP address of the target device.

subnet: The BACnet/IP virtual network number. This should be a decimal value.

device ID: The specific ID number of the target device. This should be a decimal value.

MAC address: The specific MAC address of the target device. This should be a hexadecimal value of either one byte (e.g., B8) or six bytes (e.g., B8098AC14A1F) in length, depending on how your BACnet program and network gateway are configured. For the BACnet/IP protocol, the MAC address is typically six bytes.

If MAC address is not specified, device ID is automatically encoded as an equivalent, six-byte hexadecimal value and included in the network protocol data unit (NPDU). This value is low-bytes first and padded with zeroes. For example, if device ID is 1024 (0x400), the equivalent hexadecimal value is 000400000000.

If MAC address is specified, make sure the number of bytes (1 or 6) matches the Destination MAC Layer Address Length (i.e., the bacnet.dlen field) in your BACnet program.

Examples

Examples of valid station IDs:

12:2

1111:12

1234:32

192.168.110.101:1111:12

192.168.110.101:1234:32

192.168.110.101:1111:12:B8098AC14A1F