Process for transitioning a site to an on-site server
This article covers off the steps required to convert a zencontrol installation from cloud based to a local server. This process is otherwise known as "Setting up the On-Site server".
Sometimes you may come across a project where internet access will not be allowed. This should not deter you from providing zencontrol as a control system. zencontrol sites can easily be setup as an on-site server with all the same control and monitoring as the normal cloud but on the local network only.
Below is a step-by-step guide to setting up your zencontrol site with an on-site server:
Step 1: Commission as much of the site as possible
Using the available tools, commission the site (DALI lines and application controllers) with temporary internet connection just as you would for a normal site, including Plan view. The objective of this step is to make use of the configuration tools made available by the cloud connectivity as capabilities made available by the zencontrol commission app will be lost after the on-site licences are applied to the controller/s
Step 2: Configure the IP address in the application controllers
Configure the application controllers to have the networking settings that they will use when connecting to the on-site server. This step is important as configuring the IP address of the application controllers can be easily done via the cloud, but can not be configured again after the licences are applied and the application controllers are loaded into the on-site server.
The zencontrol cloud will have a snapshot of the networking information for the application controllers up until the on-site server licences are applied, meaning you can refer back to this information, but if the application controller changes what IP address it is using after enabling the on-site server license, the cloud will not know about this change.
It is best to avoid DHCP configurations for this reason unless coordination with the stakeholder managing the IT network on site is involved. The best option is to use a static IP address that you can configure later, or engage with the IT team to arrange for static IP address assignment via DHCP.
Step 3: Purchase offline server license/s.
Reach out to Lumen Resources to purchase on-site licences for all application controller required to be offline. After the confirmation of purchase, please note that the application of the licences may take up to 48 hours. Please reach out to Lumen Resources if there is a requirement to coordinate the application of these licences.
Step 4: Download a copy of the on-site server software on to the computer on site.
This step can only be done after 1 or more on-site server license has been applied to an application controller. After a licence has been applied to your site, the software can be downloaded by navigating to your site within the cloud, click on Tools from etiher the Dashboard menu or from the left hand side menu, and find the option zencontrol Onsite for firmware v 1.0 and above
Step 5: Load up the on-site server software
Please see the following article for the system requirements.
After the download of the on-site server on to the computer that will be acting as the headend is complete, locate the downloaded .zip file and extract it to the location on where you wish to run the application from. Once extracted, open this location and run the executable "zencontrol Onsite.exe"
After launching the on-site server software, the tool will then begin to detect any local application controllers that are on the local subnet. If the headend computer is not on the same network as the application controllers, close the software, configure the network settings of the headend computer to be on the same subnet as the application controllers and then relaunch the on-site server software.
To understand further on using the on-site server tool, please see the following article.
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