EIB (EIBNet/IP)Connections

To create a new connection of type EIB (EIBNet/IP) perform the following steps:

Select the entry Connections from the VASERControl Server Active Window Tree View.

Open its pop-up menu and select the option New.

Select the item EIB (EIBNet/IP) from the list prompter and press the Ok button.

A new EIB connection is added to the Connections tree node. If necessary, open the branch beneath the Connections tree node by clicking on the + mini-icon and select the newly created EIB connection.

The Workarea in the right part of the window is updated acordingly and allows you to define the necessary parameters.

The parameter Address defines the IP address of the EIBNet/IP Adapter. If a EIB connection is in the state Connected the address may not be changed; i.e. the entry field is disabled. To change the IP address of a connected EIB connection you need to first disconnect the connection.

By default the standard UDP Port number for an EIBNet/IP connector is 3671. This port is defined by the ETS (= EIB Tool Software) and may only be changed there.

The status of the EIB connection may be as follows:

From the status Disconnect the EIB connection changes to the state During Connect after the message connect was send. Depending how fast the EIB gateway can be reached, the connection may directly change to the Connected state if a validChannel message confirms that the gateway is reachable. If no answer has been received in time the message connectDone is sent. This will change the EIB connection into a ConnectionPending state. The default timeout time is 5 sec. If the EIB gateway cannot be reached within this time, the message invalidChannel will be sent and the EIB connection changes back into the state Disconnect.

The timeout should be configurable in the ini.File - Software!!!

Once the server answers back a message validChannel the state is changed to Connected. As can be seen from the State Transition Diagram, a send is only possible when the EIB connection is in the state Connected. As long as a sended request (send) is pending, the EIB connection remains in the state Sending. This only changes back to the state Connected after the request was delivered (message sendDone).

When disconnecting an EIB connection the message disconnect is sent which changes the connection into the state DuringDisconnect. After verification of the disconnect (message disconnectDone) from the server the EIB connection changes into the state Disconect.

EIB utilizes an asynchronous, stateless communication protocol. Therefore it is essential to provide a Sequence number to be able synchronize requests and answers.

The Sequence may not be changes by the user. The workarea simply shows the currently used number.

- #Thomas

The Receiving Port is also an KNX/EIB standard.

Please note that this port is not automatically open! Depending on your firewall settings you may need to explicitly open port 10.001 for UDP.

If you select an existing EIB connection entry (not the Connection tree node but one of its subentries) you may open a specific pop-up menu.

Please note that this pop-up menu is only available from an existing EIB connection entry. Other entries from the Connection tree have different pop-up menus.

This menu option is only available (enabled) when the current EIB connection has not been yet connected to the VASERControl Server.

To disconnect an EIB connection which is currently connected to the VASERControl Server, simply select this menu choice. This menu option is only available (enabled) when the current EIB connection is currently connected.

Select this menu choice to create a new EIB element. EIB elements are grouped under the EIB entry below the Connections node from the tree view. To open the branch of EIB elements simple select the + mini-icon.

To create a new EIB element you need to specify a Name by which it may be identified. If appropriate, please follow the naming conventions you may have established for already existing elements.

Then make sure to enter a valid Groupaddress.

Chose the necessary EIB Type for the newly created EIB element.

To create the new EIB element select the Save button.

If necessary, open the EIB branch by selecting the + mini-icon in front of the EIB connection. All EIB elements are listed in alphabetical order (by name).

Please note that the Save button will only be enabled when correct entries for the Name, the Groupaddress, and the Type have been defined. Text below the entry fields will indicate if entries are not yet correct.

The following EIB types are supported:

EIS 01	Boolean
EIS 02	Dimming
EIS 03	Time
EIS 04	Date
EIS 05	Float
EIS 06	Scaling
EIS 07	Drive Control
EIS 08	Priority
EIS 09
EIS 10	16-Bit Counter
EIS 11	32-Bit Counter
EIS 12	Access
EIS 13	ASCII Character
EIS 14	8-Bit Counter
EIS 15	String

In addition to the ability to individually create new Groupaddesses, VASERControl provides an option to import group addresses definined by the ETS program in one step.

To be able to import group addresses you must have created an ESF file from the ETS.

- Select the EIB connection for which you want to import group addresses and open the context menu.

- Select the menu choice Import group addresses from ETS….

- Select the export file (ESF) in the file selection prompter and press the Open button.

The ETS Import Data Browser is opened on the screen. It shows available EIB elements in a tabular form.

You may select a single or multiple EIB elements from the table to import into VASERControl. To start the import simply press the Import button at the bottom of the screen.

Multiple selection of elements:

• To select a consecutive group of items, click the first item, hold down the SHIFT key, and then click the last item.
• To select a consecutive group of items without using the keyboard, drag the mouse pointer to create a selection around the outside of all the items you want to include.
• To select nonconsecutive files or folders, hold down CTRL, and then click each item you want to select.

To cancel the selection of individual items within a selected group, hold down CTRL, and then click the items that you don't want to include.

Selecting the Delete menu choice the selected EIB connection with all its elements will be deleted. To verify this action a prompter is opened on the screen.

Please note that you may not undo this action; i.e. you will need to re-define all paramters and re-import all groupaddresses if you accidentally deleted an EIB connection.

All EIB Connection Elements are listed below the EIB (EIBNet/IP) tree node. If necessary, you may open this branch by selecting the + mini-icon in front of the tree note EIBNet/IP.

When an EIB (EIBNet/IP) Connection Element is selected the information in the Workarea is updated according to the EIB type of the selected Element.

This picture shows an example of an EIB Element of type EIS 01 - Boolean (an outside lamp located at the barbecue). Its value is depicted by a check box.

Please note that if you select the check box the actual light will be turned on (indicated by a check mark). By selecing the check box again, the light will be turned off again.

This picture shows an example of an EIB Element of type EIS 06 - Scaling (a kitchen light which may be dimmed). The current value indicates that the light is turned on with an intensity of 100%.

Please note that the meaning of a value or the ability to change values is dependent on your used EIB hardware. Some EIB hardware components may use require different group addresses to set a value and to read the status (for example SIEMENS Dimmer). Please refer to the technical information of the component you are using to determine the correct EIB element when you want to set a value.

Each EIB type (i.e. EIS value) has specific parameters and/or values to manipulate.