Notes for Upgrading the BACnet AddOn

It is possible to upgrade a BACnet AddOn project from an older version to the new BACnet AddOn of version 3.20. Several changes need to be made in the project during this process.

Note:

When upgrading a project, the BACnet AddOn in 3.20 is no longer compatible to the old AddOn. If the old BACnet AddOn is still needed, it must be copied from a previous version (e.g.: 3.19). The old AddOn is still compatible with the current BACnet driver(3.20).

If the old AddOn is still used, the new supported object types and properties can not be used!

Adjusting Datapoint Names

The naming of BACnet datapoints needs to be adjusted manually, as with the upgrade some of the old BACnet datapoints have been renamed. This means they are now inconsistent to the new AddOn naming scheme, and also the corresponding master datapoints and _DynamicDatapoints. The naming is now consistent to the object type in the peripheral address for all datapoints.

BACnet Object Naming

Care must be taken when you create new datapoints for a BACnet object with the new AddOn, as the datapoint naming convention and the datapoint element address configuration are different to the old AddOn's conventions. The new datapoint naming convention in the style of the new AddOn is as follows:

<device Id>_<object type name><instance>

In case the old behaviour is still needed for existing projects, a configuration can be made via the internal datapoint _BACnetEng.DpNaming.. The default value "0" enables the new behaviour. Setting the value "1" enables the legacy behaviour to use <Object name>. Usage of this behaviour is not recommended, as it is not ensured that the <Object name> is unique and does not contain special characters, both of which can lead to problems when creating datapoints.

CAUTION: Setting the old behaviour should be considered permanent for this project and may only be done in the PARA.

JSON Format

In the upgraded project, the JSON format is now used for BACnet complex property display and modification.

Upgrade Requirements

The upgrade will only be done if the stdlib and BACnet AddOns directories are changed to the current version (3.20). This has to be done manually in the project and before starting the project after installing the 3 update.