Release Date:  September 27, 2017

A PDF Version is available as an attachment at the bottom of the article.

Aurora Platform

Live View

Blue Pillar has made some modifications and enhancements to the Live View Designer to make design time easier and more efficient.  Existing Live Views will continue to work as designed but can be modified with the new features.

Remove/Rename Entity Name

In the Live View design mode, the entity name can now be modified.  It can be given a new name, moved or hidden.  When the User hovers over the entity name in design mode or run time then the application presents the entity’s given name.

How to rename the Entity Name in the Live View: 

1. In the Live View design mode with at least one Entity on the canvas, double click on the Entity Name and the application places a cursor in the field
2. Type a new name
3. Click on the canvas outside of the Entity name field and the application displays the name

Live View – Design Mode

  

How to remove the Entity Name in the Live View: 

1. In the Live View design mode with at least one Entity on the canvas, double click on the Entity Name and the application places a cursor in the field
2. Delete the name
3. Click on the canvas outside of the Entity name field and the application displays the Entity name field blank.
4. To view the Entity configured name, hover over the entity and the application displays the Entity name

Live View – Design Mode

  

Improved Alignment and Distribution of Objects

In the Live View design mode, multiple objects regardless of their type can be aligned and distributed horizontally and vertically.

How to align multiple objects in the Live View: 

1. In the Live View design mode with multiple objects, multi select the objects to align them
2. Select Edit tab
3. Select Horizontal or Vertical Align option and the application aligns the selected objects

Live View – Design Mode

 

How to distribute multiple objects in the Live View: 

1. In the Live View design mode with multiple objects, multi select the objects to distribute them
2. Select Edit tab
3. Select Horizontal or Vertical Distribute option and the application distributes the selected objects

Live View – Design Mode

  

New Input Control

In the Live View design mode, entity’s tag input control fields can be added for entities with tags that that allow inputs (write tags).  Once the tag input control field is on the Live View then any end user with CanControlEquipment permission can enter an integer or float value for analog tags or choose true or false for discrete tags to control the equipment remotely.

How to add an entity input control fields in the Live View:

1. In the Live View design mode with an entity that allows inputs, select the Inputs tab
2. Select the entity that allows inputs and the application displays the write tags available
3. Select a tag and drag and drop it onto the canvas
4. Select Home tab
5. Select Save and the application displays a message “Liveview save completed”
6. Select the gear setting in the lower right hand corner and select Run Live View

Note:  Once the tag has been added to the canvas then the application prohibits from being added again.

Live View – Design Mode

  

 

How to align and/or distribute the input control field in the Live View:

1. In the Live View design mode with an entity that has an input field, select the Edit tab
2. Select multiple input fields and the application presents the Align and Distribute edit options
3. Select the align option and the application aligns the selected items
4. Select the distribute option and the application distributes the selected items

Live View – Design Mode

How to modify the text in the input control field in the Live View:

1. In the Live View design mode with an entity that has an input field, select the Edit tab
2. Select the input field and the application presents the text/font options
3. Select Left, Center or Right Aligned and the application aligns the text in the input field
4. Select a different font size and the application changes the font size
5. Select the bold, italic and underline font options and the application response accordingly
6. Select Home tab
7. Select Save and the application displays a message “Liveview save completed”
8. Select the gear setting in the lower right hand corner and select Run Live View

Live View – Design Mode

 

How to enter an entity setpoint in the input control field in the Live View:

1. In the Live View run mode with an entity that has an input field, select the field and change the value
2. Select the refresh button and the application displays a message “Value change successful” and the application displays the new value

Live View – Run Mode – tags with their raw values

Live View – Run Mode – tag configured with friendly names

 

How to view the tag name of the input control field in the Live View:

1. In the Live View run mode with an entity that has an input field, hover over the field and the application displays the full configured tag name

Live View – Run Mode

 

How to remove an entity input control fields in the Live View:

1. In the Live View design mode with an entity that has an allow input field, select the input field
2. Select the delete button and the application presents a message “Do you wish to remove the tag from the liveview diagram?”
3. Click OK and the application removes the input field

Live View – Design Mode

  

New Value Control

In the Live View design mode, entity’s tag value/input control fields can be added to the Live View.   These fields will display the entities resulting value and if the tag is a write tag then it can also be used to enter an input value for control.  Once the entity is configured with the entity’s tag value/input control field on the Live View the any end user with CanControlEquipment permission can enter an integer or float value for analog tags or choose true or false for discrete tags to control the equipment remotely.

Live View – Design Mode with Analog and Discrete Input tags added

Live View – Runtime Mode with Analog and Discrete Input tags added

Live View – Runtime Mode with Discrete tag control

How to change the input value for remote control from the Live View: 

1. Given an input value has already been configured onto the live view then click on the current value and the application display a field to enter a new value or a list of values to select a new value
2. Enter or select the new value
3. Click on the Refresh button and the application will display a message that the value change was successful and will display the new value in the field

New Label Control Look and Feel

In the Live View design mode, the label’s border and field can be designed to change the color or make it transparent. 

Live View – Edit Control Field Border in Design Mode

 

Live View – Field Transparent in Runtime Mode

How to make the field background and border transparent: 

1. In the Live View design mode with an entity that has an input field, select the Edit tab
2. Select the input field and the application presents the text/font options
3. Select the font color option and select a color that can be seen once we make the field transparent
4. Select the background color option and select the last color (transparent) in the pallet
5. Select the label border color option and select the last color (transparent) in the pallet

Shown in the above screen shot the value 494.5 font was changed to white and the background and border were changed to transparent.  The field below was left unchanged from the default format.

6. Select Home tab
7. Select Save and the application displays a message “Liveview save completed”
8. Select the gear setting in the lower right hand corner and select Run Live View 

Foreground and Background Images Displayed in their Actual Size

In the Live View design mode, when a foreground or background image is added to the canvas then the application displays the image in its native resolution size.  Once the image is laid onto the Live View

Live View in Design Mode with Background image

Live View in Design Mode with Background image resized

Live View in Runtime Mode with Background image resized

How to add a background image and resize it: 

1. In the Live View design mode select the Background Images tab
2. Click in the “Click or drop to load files” area and the application displays the computer file explorer to find your image to upload
3. Another way to upload the image is to drag the image from your desktop or computer file explorer to the “Click or drop to load files” area
4. Once the file has been uploaded or dropped then the background image is displayed in the Background Image pallet
5. Drag the image from the pallet to the live view canvas and the application displays the image in its native size
6. The image can be resized by clicking on the image and selecting a blue point and dragging it to size
7. Select Home tab
8. Select Save and the application displays a message “Liveview save completed”
9. Select the gear setting in the lower right hand corner and select Run Live View 

How to add a foreground image and resize it: 

1. In the Live View design mode select the Foreground Images tab
2. Click in the “Click or drop to load files” area and the application displays the computer file explorer to find your image to upload
3. Another way to upload the image is to drag the image from your desktop or computer file explorer to the “Click or drop to load files” area
4. Once the file has been uploaded or dropped then the foreground image is displayed in the Foreground Image pallet
5. Drag the image from the pallet to the live view canvas and the application displays the image in its native size
6. The image can be resized by clicking on the image and selecting a blue point and dragging it to size
7. Select Home tab
8. Select Save and the application displays a message “Liveview save completed”
9. Select the gear setting in the lower right hand corner and select Run Live View 

Electrical Connections Improvement

In the Live View design mode, improvements have been made to the electrical connections alignment feature.  When the end-user clicks on the section of the electrical connection and holds down the click then the application recognizes the end user’s desire to re-align the electrical connection.  When the end user lets up on the mouse then the application retains the alignment.

Live View in Design Mode Electrical Connection needs aligned

Live View in Design Mode Electrical Connection has been aligned

 

How to align an electrical connection on the bus bar: 

1. Given there is an electrical oneline with an electrical connection that needs aligned then click on then connection point on the bus bar and hold down on the click
2. The application recognizes that an alignment request is being sent and automatically re-aligns the electrical connection with a new connection point on the bus bar
3. Select Home tab
4. Select Save and the application displays a message “Liveview save completed”
5. Select the gear setting in the lower right hand corner and select Run Live View and the application removes the old connection point  

Reports

Generator 30% Rated Load Report

The Generator 30% Rated Load Report was updated by removing the % column.  The % column was unusable information and just caused confusion. 

Aurora Admin

Data Rollups and Logging Configuration

As an Administrator, the default data rollup persistence configuration can be modified in the Server Configuration of the Aurora Admin. 

When the Data Rollups are enabled then the Administrator can select the interval rollups and enter the hours the interval data should persist in the database.

How to configure Data Rollups and Data Persistence Options:

1. Logon to Aurora Admin
2. Select the Admin menu option
3. Select the Server Config and the application displays the Data Rollup/Persistence Options in the Server Configuration
4. If the server has data rollups enabled then the application will have the follow default values

Shown with the default values that should be used post initial deployment.

5. Deselect/Select the Interval to Rollup
6. Enter in number of hours to persistence the data rollups that were selected
7. Click on the Save button
8. Click on the Down to Server button

Admin Entity Configuration

We’ve made the entity name box larger, shifted several items to the second row and added an Enable Data Quality Monitoring checkbox.  This setting will be set to false by default which means we will not be actively monitoring the pulse_count or kwh tags for data quality.  After a site is installed and you feel confident with the data coming in is accurate then set this checkbox to true to turn on monitoring. 

Save and Download

When a Save and Download is performed in Aurora Admin the application will check the configuration for corrupt data.  If there is corrupt data, then the application will warn the user that the database is corrupted and proceeding will result in a potentially undesirable result.  Steps should be taken to rectify the corrupt data/issues before proceeding with the downloaded changes.

Technical

API - Write Tag Values

Attempts to update the value of a writable tag if it is accessible by the authenticated user and the user has CanControlEquipment permission.

 POST /tags/{tagId}?value={tvalue}

 Parameters

Name	Located in	Description	Required
TagId	Path	The id of the tag to be updated.	Yes
Value	Query string	The new value for the tag	Yes

 Support Types

application/json

 Sample Request

POST /v1/tags/{tagId}?value={tvalue}

 Responses

A successful request will return a HTTP status code of 200. See the Error Codes and

Responses section for a full list of HTTP status codes and error codes.

 Error Codes and Responses

 HTTP Status Codes

Code	Text	Description
200	OK	Success!
400	Bad Request	The request was invalid. An accompanying error message will explain further.
401	Unauthorized	Missing or invalid authentication credentials.
403	Forbidden	The request is understood, but it has been refused or access is not allowed. An accompanying error message will explain further.
500	Internal Server Error	An unexpected exception occurred.  Contact Blue Pillar support and supply the x-logging-id in the response header.

 Error Messages

All error messages are returned in json.  See error object for field description and sample.

 Error Codes

Code	Text	Description
100	Authentication credentials are missing or incorrect.	Corresponds with an HTTP 401.
205	Unauthorized resource requested.	Corresponds with an HTTP 403. Returned when authenticated user does not have CanControlEquipment permission for the system where the equipment is configured.
1002	Null or empty tag id presented during write.	Corresponds with an HTTP 400. Returned when the tag id is invalid.
1003	Null or empty tag value presented during write	Corresponds with an HTTP 400. Returned when the value is invalid or not supplied.
1004	Supplied value is not within the allowed range. If tag is discrete, "Allowed discrete values are True or False." If tag is analog, "Allowed analog range is from Low: 0 to High: 100."	Corresponds with an HTTP 400. Returned when the value is outside of the configured range.

  

Aurora Maintenance Service

Blue Pillar has built in a service to run a series of tasks to ensure the Aurora Platform is running optimally. 

Here is a description of each task.

Task Name	What	Schedule
Alarm History Archive Required on the Platform Server	The History.dbo.AlarmHistory table can get very large and has caused issues on multiple customer sites with sql express limitations and overall performance. This task creates an archive table named AlarmHistory_Archive_[YYYYMMDD]. The name is dynamic based on the date the task is run.  It moves data older than 1 year to the archive table and deletes it from the AlarmHistory table.	Runs the first day monthly
Analytics Data Required on the Platform Server	Deletes data from LogSecond, LogMinute and LogQuarterHour which is past the configured retention policy.  Completes the following roll-ups:  Minute to QuarterHour, Minute to Hour and QuarterHour to Day (runs for the previous day in the first hour of the day).	Runs every hour
Database Backup Required on every server	Performs full database backups on the configured db server and sets all databases into simple recovery mode (this prevents log file from growing out of control).	Runs daily
Diagnostic Retriever Required on every server	Sends the below listed diagnostics information to either an ftp server, an https endpoint or via email, based on configuration. It copies the files to a temp folder on the server, zips the extracted files and sends the zip file to the configured endpoint. §  Event Viewer Application Log §  A backup of the BluePillarConfiguration, BluePillarDB and BluePillarMicroserverDatabase databases. §  The last 1000 alarms persisted in the History.dbo.AlarmHistory table §  Server Process Info (Memory, Threads, TotalProcessorTime etc.) §  Platform logs §  Runtime logs §  Any uploaded files §  Database disk usage info §  Database table disk usage info §  Drive usage §  Entity counts §  Server license info §  Host file	Runs Daily
Long Running Events Required on the Platform Server	Determines if there are any events that have been running for more than 2 hours and sends an email to customer support with event detail.  Customer Support will determine if the event is a true event or if there is a system/equipment failure that needs attention.  If ignored then the LogEvent table could fill up.	Runs hourly
Msdb Maintenance Required on every server	When a backup is done, a record is added to the msdb database to record the activity. This causes the database on sql express instances to exceed the 10Gb limit when we were running backups on transaction logs every minute.  This task deletes the backup history to prevent this issue. When an email is sent, a record is added to the msdb database to record the activity. This task deletes email log activity older than 2 months.	Runs Daily
Telemetry Header Maintenance Required on Cloud v1 Customer VM	This task handles the maintenance of the TelemetryHeader table in the BPALogMinute database. This table only exists in our cloud v1 virtual machines.  It performs the following steps:  Archives old partitions, truncates old partitions from archive table and Allocates new partitions	Runs Weekly on Sunday evenings
Service Monitor Required on every server	This ensures the services in the configuration file continue to run on the server. If any of the services stop, it will restart the stopped services in the order specified.	Runs every minute

 

Bug Fixes

Work Item	Summary	Description of Bug
10392	Entity Details	The Consumer BP Electric Equipment Entity has been added to the Entity Details drop down list.
16702	Live View Summary Resolution Loss	When an image is added to a Live View in design mode the resolution size was not being retained.  An image can now be added to the Live View in design mode and the resolution size is retained.
17715	Live View Bus Bar Node Creation	To add a node to the bus bar the designer first had to click on another entity within the live view.  Now a node can be added to a bus bar by just clicking on the bus bar in the live view designer.
18619	OPC UA Service Reconnect	The OPC UA Service stops attempting to reconnect after 3 tries.  Updated the service so that it will attempt to reconnect indefinitely.
18759	Gateway Config Delete	When attempting to delete a Gateway configuration the end user receives and error.  The Gateway configuration has been fixed so that the Gateway configuration can be deleted as designed.
18782	Gateway Config Create	When a Gateway config was created, there were two instances created.  The Gateway configuration was fixed so that when a Gateway configuration is created only one instance is created.
18935	Application Header	Fixed the application header so that once a site was selected then the site details were displayed instead of the Foresite view.
19029	Test Manager Service	Fixed TestManager so that it would calculate engines running when engines running = 0.
19300	EMPS Generator Camera View	Fixed the EMPS Generator Camera drop down so that the default selection is “Select Camera”.
19386	Camera Configuration	Updated the Camera configuration so that the application will ignore any spaces at the end of the Camera IP Address so that the camera view is not negatively impacted.
19477	Aurora Admin	Fixed the Aurora Admin save and download so that it will consistently push new config to Gateway.
19499	EPMS Alarms	The EPMS Alarms view has been restored.
19510	Foresite KPIs	The Foresite KPI Trending is now defaulting to the proper data interval.
19511	Foresite KPIs	The KPI for a single building on a Site with multiple buildings was not displaying the trended value.
19521	Remote Database Configuration	Database was not configured on remote database due to permissions.
19615	Alarm Clear Notification	The alarm clear email was being sent regardless if the alarm cleared before the configured alarm delay time.  The alarm clear email will only be sent if the alarm clears post the activation of the alarm.
19624	Aurora Admin	When an entity had multiple devices the device tags were getting associated to the wrong device.
19636	Runtime	The Rutime Pull Mode had an extra character returned with the XML causing an error
20707	Live View	Fixed the breaker entity in the Live View that was not updating to the Open and Closed position properly
20939	Live View	The delay in the custom image painting of the last item to display has been fixed.

 

Hotfixes

This includes any change to the release build post the release date.

Build	Hotfix Date	Summary	Description of Hotfix
5.8.0282.001	10/9/2017	Live View Link contains ‘Value’ label	When a link is applied to a live view in design time a value label was also applied.  Removed the extra value label.
5.8.0283.001	10/10/2017	Missing Control Confirmation Message	When a write tag is selected in the Live View runtime and the end user changes the value upon refresh the “Are you sure?” message was missing.  The message was added back to confirm that the change was intended.
5.8.0293.001	10/20/2017	Font options are disabled in Live View design mode	When a system entity was added to the Live View campus during design time and the end user selects the entity label certain font options were disabled.  The font options have been enabled so that bold, italic and underline can be used on an entity label.
5.8.0317.001	11/20/2017	Live Views not centering on the screen correctly	Corrected the Live Views so that they centered in view and scaled appropriately so that the entire live view is visible on the screen.
5.8.0342.001	12/18/2017	Live View Hyperlinks renaming does not save	The text of the Live View Hyperlink (link to another Live View) can be edited.  The saving of the edit was not saving.

Fields will be blank until there is a hotfix that took place.

Hardware and System Requirements

Aurora Server Requirements

• Hardware – The server hardware can be provisioned using any of the following options:
  • Hosted as a Virtual Machine in Windows Azure
  • Deployed as Virtual Machine using the customer’s existing virtual infrastructure
  • Using a Blue Pillar provided Intel-based physical server
• Recommended Operating System Software
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 or minimum Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
• Other Recommended Software
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 or minimum Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP1 or minimum SQL Server 2008 SP1
  • Microsoft .Net framework Version 4.5
  • Windows Internet Information Server (IIS) (access to port 80/443 via http/https)
  • SMTP Server access
• Server Sizing – The physical specifications of the server will depend on the total number of tag counts that will be managed by the server. As a minimum, the following is recommended:
  • 8 Core Machine
  • 16 GB of Memory
  • 1 x 60GB OS Partition, 1 x 375GB Data Partition, 1 x 275GB Log Partition, 1 x 100GB Backup Partition

Aurora Server Administration Requirements

• Database Backups
  • SQL database backups are taken and stored locally for 24 hours in the event of data corruption and recovery.
  • Additional SQL backups can be conducted in accordance with the customer’s disaster recovery policies.
  • Blue Pillar can provide best practice guidelines for setting up and managing additional backups.
  • Blue Pillar can also provide services to manage the SQL backups on behalf of the customer.
• Remote Access for Blue Pillar
  • For ongoing support, maintenance, and upgrades, Blue Pillar needs to ability to remote into the server via Remote Desktop Protocol. This is typically accomplished using the customer’s existing VPN connection method.
    
• User Access
  • Facilities personnel will access the server via http/https on port(s) 80/443. Firewall traffic to prevent all other traffic may be implemented at the Customer’s discretion provided it doesn’t interfere with Blue Pillar’s Aurora product’s functionality.
• Browser/Workstations
  • Supported and Tested Browsers
• Internet Explorer 10 or higher
  • Supported and Tested Operating Systems
• Microsoft Client Operating Systems
  • Browsers demonstrating considerable compatibility
• Microsoft Edge
• Mozilla Firefox
• Google Chrome 32 or higher