Notifier NCA2 - NFS2 to Metasys N2 QuickServer Gateway

The QuickServer is a high performance, fully configurable, cost effective Building and Industrial Automation gateway for integrators to easily interface devices to networks in commercial buildings and industrial plants.

System integrators world-wide have benefitted from the value of the powerful line of interoperability gateways offered by FieldServer. Now, QuickServer adds to that value by running the same robust FieldServer protocol conversion software on a highly cost effective platform backed by the experience, engineering expertise and proven technical support that integrators have come to expect from FieldServer.

QuickServer (Serial-Ethernet) is available in two series:

The QuickServer FS-QS-2X10 series is available at four different point capacities. Each QuickServer is preloaded with two drivers (serial and/or Ethernet) from a customer’s choice of 140 different drivers, E.G. Modbus, BACnet, SNMP, EtherNet/IP and many more.

The FS-QS-2010 with 2 RS485 and 1 ethernet port can support up to 250 points. The FS-QS-2210 can support up to 500 points. The FS-QS-2310 can support up to 3,000 points. The FS-QS-2410 can support up to 5,000 points.

Equivalently the FS-QS-2020 with 1 RS485, 1 RS232 and 1 ethernet port can support up to 250 points. The FS-QS-2220 can support up to 500 points. The FS-QS-2320 can support up to 3,000 points. The FS-QS-2420 can support up to 5,000 points.

Every QuickServer includes browser-based tools to make it easy to set-up QuickServer and perform diagnostics including determination of status, network settings, node information, map descriptors and more. The USB flash drive also includes the Discovery utility to determine what FieldServers are on a network.

BTL Mark is registered to the MSA BACnet Driver for MSA QuickServer line of products

The Dual port QuickServer takes the QuickServers to the next level with Security and Power. With two Ethernet ports, the Dual port QuickServer allows data to move seamlessly across disparate subnets, using a dedicated port for Cloud connectivity. This port isolation allows for enhanced LAN security from the BMS/WAN/Cloud. An embedded OpenVPN Server enables secure remote access to Ethernet devices in the field.

The QuickServer FS-QS-3X10-F series is available at four different point capacities. Each QuickServer is preloaded with 140 different drivers, such as Modbus, BACnet, SNMP, EtherNet/IP and many more. See page 3 for the complete list. The FS-QS-3010-F can support up to 250 points. The FS-QS-3110-F can support up to 500 points. The FS-QS-3210-F can support up to 1,000 points. The FS-QS-3310-F can support up to 3,000 points. The FS-QS-3410-F can support up to 5,000 points. The FS-QS-3510-Fire can support up to 10,000 points.

The Metasys® N21 by Johnson Controls network supports communications with a diverse range of devices. Many N2 compatible devices use their own version of the protocol and care must be taken to ensure that the device of interest is covered by the FieldServer implementation.

At present the FieldServer Metasys® N2 driver will support communications with the following devices or classes of devices when acting as a Client:

• N2Open-compliant devices. N2Open is a published N2-compatible protocol enabling 3rd party device vendors to integrate with N2.
• VMA 1400 series (with restrictions)
• DX9100 and XT9100

When acting as a Server the FieldServer Metasys® N2 driver can emulate an N2Open device only.

The NCA2/NFS2-3030 Serial driver allows the FieldServer to record data from Notifier NCA2 or NFS2-3030 panels over RS-232 as per NFS2-3030/NCA-2 EIA-232 Protocol & Data Formats 53219 Rev A 1/3/2008. There is no active polling by this driver; the communications are oneway through the panel's printer or CRT port. The FieldServer acts as a Client; receives messages and records the status of a Panel. The panel MUST output messages in160 characters ASCII format in English.

This driver is not capable of emulating a Notifier NCA2 or NFS2-3030 panel.

The NCA2 controls all the devices (e.g. 3030, 640 panels) connected on the Notifier network. Each Fire Alarm Panel on Network is considered as a Node. 240 Nodes can exist on one network. NFS2-3030 can exist on a network or be self-standing.

NCA2 interacts with other Fire Alarm Panels, records the status of the panels and sends the events to printer and CRT ports. FieldServer captures these events in text form, parses and stores them in Data Arrays. These Data Arrays can be monitored by third party tools. Since the FieldServer does not actively poll for data, the accuracy and timeliness of the stored data is limited to the frequency of update messages that the Notifier Fire Panel issues.

If a networked panel does not send the 'CLEARED' message for latched points via the NCA2 it is not possible to detect cleared points unless a system reset is done. It is possible to configure the FieldServer to clear on reset message from NCA2. See Appendix A.2 for more detail.

Please note that the FieldServer can be configured with a large number of points. The point limits purchased with the FieldServer prevent the entire database from being accessed in any one application. It is therefore strongly advisable to ensure that only the point addresses of interest are configured, and that the FieldServer is purchased with the correct point count.

The types of Notifier messages supported by this driver are summarized in Section 5.1. A detailed table presented in Appendix C.1 shows each type of NCA2/NFS2-3030 message the FieldServer recognizes and the effect that it has on the status of the points in the Data Array.