Understanding the Basics

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Last updated: Jul 29, 2014 by Paul Ogle (Unlicensed)
4 min read

JACE®

JACE (Java Application Control Engine) controllers are embedded computers running the Niagara Framework® software. JACEs are distributed throughout the customer’s network and they provide connectivity to the many different physical systems within a building. JACEs connect to common building automation systems, metering, and other smart devices using protocols such as LonWorks, BACnet, Modbus, and many proprietary protocols. The JACE provides control logic, trending, scheduling and alarming and allows real time point data to be brought into Periscope.

Web Supervisor™

The Web Supervisor is a desktop server or PC running the Niagara Framework. The Supervisor is designed to manage a network of JACEs or to monitor points from third party servers. It reduces the costs of managing and controlling multiple buildings and allows centralized engineering, alarming, scheduling and trending of remote equipment. The Web Supervisor supports multiple client workstations, and has an extensive security/password model to protect user information. A Web Supervisor is often the best location for Periscope because long term trends are generally stored here to manage a network of JACEs or to monitor points from third party servers.

Viewlets

Periscope comes with an ever expanding library of viewlets, which are the basic components of Periscope. Sometimes referred to as a widget or pod, viewlets are the data windows used to populate a user’s “dashboard”, which refers to the Periscope user’s layout of their information. Viewlets are broken into five categories: history, point, diagnostic, sustainability, and general. Point viewlets rely on real-time metrics that change constantly. History viewlets look at sets of trend data for charting changes over time series. Diagnostic viewlets analyze historical and live data to help diagnose inefficiencies or problem areas. Sustainability viewlets display historical and live data related to some sustainable effort (solar, wind, etc.). General viewlets are those which reference other sources for their displays, such as URLs. Each viewlet has different capabilities and configuration options which are covered later in the document.

User View vs. Configuration View

Periscope consists of two major servlet components – a “Configurator” and a “Dashboard”. The “Configurator” servlet is used initially to discover available points, trends, and other available parameters in the Web Supervisor (or JACE) and “map” them into the “Dashboard” accessible library. The “Dashboard” servlet is used to create unique dashboards which can consist of multiple viewlets and tabs selected by the individual user. The Configurator allows Periscope to collect and store all of the information needed for a user to have complete control of how they wish to visualize their energy or facilities data in their unique dashboard view.

The Periscope Configurator is accessed by going to http://(IP address of the Web Supervisor or JACE)/periscopeconfig. This should be the first place a user should visit after completing the necessary installation steps, which are covered on the following page. Users must have super user rights to access the periscopeconfig servlet. After completing a few basic configuration steps covered in the configuration section ahead, the user will be ready to start customizing their dashboard. The address for the Dashboard servlet is normally http://(IP address of the Web Supervisor or JACE)/periscope.


This is a typical user view, or “dashboard”. Viewlets are used to display a user’s facility data in a variety of effective presentations.

Dashboard Basics

The user can modify their dashboard and its viewlets in a variety of ways. Viewlets can be moved, minimized, maximized, added, deleted, and even moved to different tabs. The “plus” tab allows users to choose to add new tabs or viewlets to their dashboard. A viewlet options list is accessible through a menu (gear icon) in each viewlet, and viewlets can be configured through the red wrench icon. Default display colors can also be set for each location in the periscopeconfig browser, assisting users in quickly identifying locations within the viewlets.

Points

”Points” refer to data within the Niagara network that consists of real-time values or setpoints. Viewlets which rely on point data have the ability to update in seconds, and provide immediate indication of a change of status or value. The Point Table Viewlet is an example of a viewlet that uses points.

“Trends” refer to data sets that contain historic information. Trends can consist of data points plotted
for time periods reaching as far back as data is available, years in many cases. Certain viewlets rely on trend data to give users a detailed view of energy usage for a user-selectable time range. This can be useful in identifying areas of concern or opportunities to reduce energy consumption.

Online vs. Offline

There are actually two versions of Periscope with subtle differences, Online and Offline. 

Online: The standard version of Periscope that is offered. This requires access to the internet. Periscope can retrieve updates from the cloud. 
Offline: For those users who need a closed or 'military' system, the offline version of Persicope can run on a closed LAN (it can also function online as well). This version will require a larger jar file to be installed.