Adding a BACnet Device¶

A BACnet Device represents one BACnet/IP controller (for example an air handling unit controller or a chiller controller) that Enture reads over BACnet/IP. All the BACnet parameters (points) you want to read from that controller are added as children of this device.

Before you begin¶

• A Workspace must already exist for the device to be assigned to.
• You need the controller's IP address and, if it is not the usual one, its port.
• You need the controller's BACnet device instance number. You can find it in the controller's own settings or in its BACnet documentation (it is sometimes called the device ID).
• The controller must be reachable by IP address from the edge device in that workspace — see Network requirements.
• You need Engineer access to create devices.

There are two ways to add a controller: let the edge device find it (Finding controllers automatically), or enter its details yourself (the steps below).

Steps¶

1. Open the Devices section¶

In the left sidebar, go to Digital Twin → Devices.

2. Click Create BACnet Device¶

Click the + button and select Create BACnet Device. The creation form opens.

3. Fill in the device details¶

4. Save¶

Click Create. The device is created and appears in the Devices list.

What happens next¶

The Enture edge device at your facility receives the new device configuration within approximately 30 seconds.

You can now add parameters to this device — see Adding BACnet Parameters.

Finding controllers automatically¶

The edge device of a workspace can look for the BACnet controllers on its network and add the ones you pick. This only reads from the network: nothing on the controllers changes.

1. Go to Digital Twin → Devices, click the + button and select Create BACnet Device.
2. Open the Discover tab.
3. Choose where to search:
   • Search the hub's own network (on by default) asks every controller on the edge device's own network at once.
   • Also search an address range asks each address from the first to the second IP address directly. Use it for controllers on other networks that the edge device can reach, or when the network search finds nothing. Up to 1024 addresses; leave the second address empty to ask one controller.
   • Port is 47808 unless your controllers use another BACnet/IP port.
4. Click Search. The search usually takes a few seconds.
5. The controllers that answered are listed with their name, address, device instance and make. Controllers already added to this workspace are marked Already added.
6. Tick the controllers you want and click Add devices. Each one is created with its name, IP address, port, device instance, make and model as reported by the controller. You can edit any of them afterwards.

Updating a BACnet Device¶

1. Navigate to Digital Twin → Devices and find the device.
2. Open the device and click Edit.
3. Update the fields and click Update.

The edge device applies the new settings within approximately 30 seconds, including a changed IP address or port for every parameter on the device. The workspace of an existing device cannot be changed.

Deleting a BACnet Device¶

A device can only be deleted once it has no parameters. Delete its parameters first; if any remain, Enture tells you that the device still has parameters and leaves everything unchanged.