Best way to connect to BMS system

General Discussion
1

I want to connect Ignition to our BMS system. We use WebCTRL from AutomatedLogic and use BACnet. The BMS server we use has two network cards. One is on a 192.168.x.x. network with all the BACnet and the second network card goes to the corporate network. What would be the best way to connect this to Ignition? Setup a Ignition Edge server with the same structure as the BMS server and use 2 network cards?

2

Note that Edge is limited to 2 devices per the standard license, you can add more for an additional fee.

Does the BMS store data in a Relational DataBase? If so, you can (likely*) connect Igntion to this, and run Ignition reports or real-time displays based on this.

*Ignition supports DataBases using JDBC connectors, so check if your brand/flavor is supported.

3

I understand what you are saying and agree that this would work however the policy in the company is that we don't want to collect data from all kinds of different databases. Maybe in this case it would be the better solution, but I want to explore other options first.

4

Well Ignition has a BacNET driver. Download it for free and try it. Ensure your end devices can support being polled by multiple servers simultaneously.

I don't think Edge is the right fit.

5

I agree that maybe edge isn't the best solution, and I am aware of the BACnet driver. The problem is that the networks are separated. I am sure there are many ways to do this but looking for the best option.

6

The simplest most straightforward way is to have a NIC on your Ignition Gateway (Server) on the same subNet as your BACnet devices. If you need additional networking requirements to e.g. run Vision Clients or Perspective sessions across your Corporate LAN, then again add a NIC dedicated to that.

There are other ways such as routers, but as you mention corporate then IT will want to get involved with that.

So it sounds like you're pretty much on the right track.

Again, you can download the Ignition full version for free in 2-hour demo. There may be some differences in how Ignition addresses end devices with its driver compared to your BMS syntax.