Bridges

Any advice
I dont have any bridges in my system and might have to look at a system with 2 in.
Any advice any tips anything I should look out for
Thanks in advance
Mike

 

If you add 2 bridges that will give you 3 networks. If you are using C-gate with 3rd party applications or Homegate/S+ you will need to make sure you have 3 licenses as cgate only ships with 2 free ones. For commissioning using toolkit this is not a problem, it bypasses the licenses to give access to everything.

 

I have some advice for you, as I have had absolute nightmares with Bridges ! Mostly that is because I have never understood them properly

On a Bridged installation, the Network Addresses are "automagically" assigned, and the system is NOT very smart. What I mean by that is that the network addresses are NOT stored in any of the units, but rather are "calculated by Toolkit". It was my original understanding that if I had a unit on Network 254, then that device would always stay on Network 254, but that is not the case, so I was completely wrong !

Normally when you connect to a small network, in Toolkit you see (say) Network 254 and all your units under there. After scanning a network with 1 bridge, you'll also see another node under the Project for the 2nd Network (eg: Network 253). Network 254 is your "local network" and 253 is your "remote network".

To get the units loaded, you do a Scan Network from the Local Network and then after the Bridge is found you highlight it (click on it) and hit CreateNetwork. Then you select that 2nd network and do ScanNetwork again, to load all the devices on the 2nd network into your toolkit database.

HOWEVER, let's say it's a big site and you need to connect to somewhere else on the C-Bus. In this case you must *NOT* connect to and scan from the 2nd Network, or you'll completely screw up your Project !

The reason being that by physically connecting to the 2nd Network, then THAT ONE becomes the "local network" (254) and the original network then gets "re-assigned" to 253. Hard to explain... the bottom line is that after a scan, you will have duplicate Group Addresses on BOTH your networks (in the project files within Toolkit).

So, I learned that you can ONLY scan and work on a "multi-network" networks from ONE place on the Bus. This makes it an absolute PITA working on large sites where you need to physically check things in remote locations.

Read more in the thread I started here : http://www.cbusforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2245

I solved the problem with that particular site by making up a super-long extension lead (basically about 1/2 roll of C-Bus cable, with RJ45's on each end). I used that to allow me to physically connect Toolkit to the "Local Network" even though I was hundreds of metres away and actually working on a "remote network" (does that make sense?)

Note that I still don't really understand Networks, so what I have written about might contain some technical errors...

Cheers, John

PS: If you have the project file from the original installation, then you have to make sure that you connect to the Bus on the same Network as the original installer had done. Otherwise, when you do your scan you'll screw the database ! Hint : Back up the databse first !

 

Topology

In V2 you can access the topology map and change it to suit the network that you are physically plugged into. Is this not available in Toolkit? If not, why not.

Regards,
Peter Brown.

 

We missed that feature out when we wrote Toolkit, it'll make an appearance again in a future version.

 

Depends on why you need more network. If you have a lot of outputs, be aware that outputs with same Application Address and Group Address act together, no matter which network they are in. C-Bus data/command line has no information on Network address. If you need a lot of Group Addresses (more than 255), you need to have more than one application address.

 

Incorrect Information!

Wanricky I think you need to refer to your C-Bus training manual or do the course again!

That information is NOT correct! If connect application is switched off in the network bridge C-Bus messages do NOT leave that network. And the C-Bus message DOES contain network information!

C-Bus Networks - Document Number: CBUS-NET - Issue: 1 - Date: 21 June 2005 - Preparded By: Darren Snodgrass - Page: 9

Application Connect Mode
Application Connect Mode is a setting in a C-Bus Bridge. When set, the bridge will automatically send messages from one of its Networks to the other. This makes the two Networks behave as if they were connected (there are some limitations though).

C-Bus Networks - Document Number: CBUS-NET - Issue: 1 - Date: 21 June 2005 - Preparded By: Darren Snodgrass - Page: 8

C-Bus Message Structure
A C-Bus message contains the following parts:
* Header - the type of message and priority
* Routing - the path the message needs to take to get to the destination Network
* Command(s) - this is what the message does

For this document, the only important part of the message is Routing. This contains a list of C-Bus Bridges which need to be crossed to get to the destination Network.



Happy reading.

 

On that bomb shell!!
Joking!

Thanks all for your input
These forums have yet again proved their worth
Thanks Again
Problem was solved with all your help
Mike