Head End Controllers

This document discusses how to set up and use new and existing Site Controller Data Import Controllers, or Head-End Controllers. It walks the user through creating a new head-end controller, adding controllers by firing alarms, creating channels, and logging data.

Introduction

A head-end controller is a virtual controller that acts as an umbrella for all site controllers. Managing the whole system of the site, it is a place to collect information from all sorts of different device controllers into one all-encompassing controller, which then sends it on to the Verisae application. It’s an alternative way to collect data and maintain a repository for information, alarms, telemetry data, etc., if we are restricted from connecting directly to the device itself. Site and device controllers can send information to the head-end controller, and, once in the Verisae system, we can map the different head-end controllers to the various corresponding sites, as they are recognized in Verisae.

Diagrams

Head-end controller process where the set of devices sends their data directly to Verisae's head-end controller, as they have implemented our API and are able to communicate:

Set Up a New Head-End Controller

Creating a new head-end controller (HEC) is a fairly straightforward process. First, navigate to the Head-End Controller tab via Energy > Head-End Controllers and select the “New Controller” button. You will then be directed to the screen shown below (New Head-End Controller), where you can name your head-end controller and controller type. The fields in the New Head-End Controller form are as follows:

Field	Type	Description
Head-End Controller Name	Free text	Required field for naming the HEC
Controller Type	Drop-down Selector	Required menu with two options: AeroScout Mobile View Site Controller Data Import Note: Site Controller Data Import is the most frequently used option, as it accepts our standard API.
Default Controller Model	Drop-down Selector	Required menu with a master list of controller manufacturers for the user to identify what is communicating with Verisae NOTE: This Controller Model will be the default for all, but it can be changed on an individual basis.
Description	Free text	Optional field for the user to add a description of the HEC, if desired
Status	Drop-down Selector	Menu for the user to define the status of the HEC: Active Inactive

After saving, the new head-end controller is now shown under the list of head-end controllers, and the next step is mapping sites. Select the head-end controller for which you wish to map sites, and then navigate to the “Head-End Controller Meta Data” tab. This table shows you the site mapping for the head-end controller, and it is also the location where you will upload CSV files to import alarms or data. You can begin the site mapping process by either importing alarms or importing data. This guide will import alarms first, but the process could easily be done by importing data first.

You can download a CSV template for either the alarm import or data import by selecting either button, then selecting "Download Template." This will help ensure that the proper format is followed so uploading can be as quick as possible.A single head-end controller can fire alarms or data entries to multiple sites, but the "Source Data Site," or site name from the CSV file, may only be mapped to one Verisae site.

Map Site to a New HEC via Alarm Import

To map sites to a new head-end controller via Alarm Import, select the “Import Alarms” button and follow the steps to upload the CSV. When firing an alarm against a new head-end controller for the first time, the site name that you choose will be the one that shows up on the Meta Data table after you upload the alarm CSV. This can be a name that is chosen by the user or that comes from a site controller.

Select a site that you wish to map. Here, Alarm Site Name 1 has been chosen. Clicking on the magnifying glass icon brings up a window where you can select the Verisae site that you wish to map to your source data site. This window is populated with sites that have already been defined for the client.

Once you have mapped your source data site to a Verisae site, the head-end controller will populate on the Site Controllers list for that site. Since the site was just mapped, there will only be the controller of the name “SYSTEM” associated to that head-end controller. In order to create a new controller associated to this head-end controller, you will need to upload the alarm CSV again. After this latest upload, the controller will be populated on the Controllers tab of the Control Unit Configuration page [Energy tab > Site List > (Select a Site) > Site Controllers > (Select a Site Controller) > Control Unit Configuration]. This new controller will have a Status of Defined, but it will be Undefined for the Device Category, Type, and System Component columns. Select a device controller on the table, define values for the “Undefined” fields, and select the “Save” button when finished.

After saving the modifications to the Site Controller Configuration page, the controller will show with the correct fields on the Controllers Tab of the Control Unit Configuration page. Now any alarm that is associated to the newly created controller will be present on the Equipment Telemetry Summary page in the Alarms table.

This is the table where all alarms for the site, regardless of the site controller, are shown. Creating new controllers follows the same process. However, now only one upload of an Alarm CSV is required before the controller is shown in the Controller tab of the Control Unit Configuration page, because the head-end controller is already defined and mapped.

Create New Channels

A channel is how Verisae logs various types of telemetry against a controller. A controller can be mapped to multiple channels, but a channel may only map to one controller. Once the head-end controller is created and mapped to a Verisae site, creating channels is a quick process. If the head-end controller was not created or not mapped, then the process would be similar to above, but since the mapping is already complete, all we need to do is upload a Data CSV. This is done similarly to importing an Alarm CSV, but instead we select “Import Data” on the Head-End Controller Meta Data page. We must define a name for the new channel that we are going to upload; Test Channel is a good test name, just to ensure that everything is working properly (Note: If we are receiving telemetry data from a site controller, then the channels will already be populated on the site controller configuration page under the channels tab). When creating a new channel, we need to select “Insert” as the mode for our data import. After uploading our CSV, we need to define our channel and then map it to a controller. We can see the channels on the “Channel” tab of the Control Unit Configuration page of our head-end controller.

Clicking on the name of our new channel will allow us to define this channel.

The following fields are included on the Site Controller Channel Configuration page

Field	Type	Description
Description	Free text	Field for adding a description of the channel
Device Controller Name	Pop-up menu	User selects an existing controller (or may create a new controller) to which the channel will be associated
System Variable	Drop-down Selector
Units	Read-only	Unit of measure that this channel is utilizing
UOM (Unit of Measurement)	Drop-down Selector	Required menu for selecting the unit of measurement that Verisae would like to use when we receive the data, if different than the unit in the Units field, then the data will be converted into the UOM selected here If the units the channel is already using is sufficient, select the option identical to the value in the Units field
Frequency	Drop-down Selector	How often a snapshot record is taken of the data point
Status	Drop-down Selector	Select the status of the channel: Active Inactive

We need to now associate our channel to a controller. We can choose an existing controller or we can create a new controller by clicking the “Add New” button.

If we elect to create a new controller, we will then be directed to a familiar screen where we define the Controller Name, Category, and Type.

After we create and save our new controller, we are then directed back to our channel configuration screen. Here we define the System Variable for our channel, the units of measure (UOM), and the Frequency.

Once we save, the channel tab will display the information that we had just defined, and if we have created a new controller, it will also populate on the controller tab.

Now that our channel is mapped, we can begin logging data. In order to log the data, we must upload another data CSV, which can be done on either the “Insert” or “Update” mode. It is perhaps a bit ‘safer’ to use the “Insert” mode, because “Update” is designed to change existing data if there is already data in our system for the timestamp that is in the CSV. After the data has been uploaded, we need to view our data in the system to make sure it was accurately logged. Where the data is stored in our system depends on what Device Category is defined for the controller associated to the channel. For example, if we select a Device Category of “Meter,” then any data that we log will be present under the Device Data table [Energy > Site List > (Select a Site) > Device Data].

If we select a Device Category of “System Data” then we can access data in two places: the Controller Summary page and the Meter Analysis Tool (MAT). The most direct place to see the data is on the “Controller Summary” page [Energy > Site List > (Select a Site) > Controller Summary]. Once on this page, we need to select some attributes for Device Category, Device Type, and System Component. We want our Device Category to be System Data and then from there we can choose our final filter settings to see the data.

Here we see a list of the controllers that satisfy our filter requirements, and we click on the controller name to see the data.

The second place to access the data is the Meter Analysis Tool (MAT), which is under the Energy Tab. Here we can access both types of data, System Data and Meter Data. The first three fields we need to select data for are Site Criteria, Period, and Data Series. Data Series is where we are able to select what data we want to view, and from there we can select controllers or feeds of the data to map. For example, I have created a channel and controller for the main electrical meter of a site and also a channel and controller for a refrigeration case. Both can be graphed at once.