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Facilio Niagara Plugin Installation

Pre-requisites for Installation#

  • Niagara version 4.3 or above.
  • An Internet connection in the Niagara Workbench to communicate to the Facilio Cloud.
  • Download the FacilioDriver-rt available in the link.
  • Facilio certificate & configuration files extracted from Facilio (refer.A. Step.3).

Steps to establish the link:#

    A. Create an agent in the Facilio Platform    B. Add the Niagara Plugin in the Niagara Workbench and Initialize the connection

A. Create an Agent in the facilio platform#

Step 1 - Navigate To Iot Page#

  • Login to the account using the credentials given to you.
  • Homepage > Go to settings >> Click on Portals >>> Click on Work Centers >>>> Click on Agent.

HomePage

Settings

Iot


Step 2 - Add Agent#

Below is the Agent portal overview which can show up the number agents that are active, controllers that are associated with the network, points to capture the readings,etc.. To create an agent, follow the below steps.

  • Click on Add Agent.

Add agent


  • Select the Agent Type as Niagara, Type in Niagara Host ID ( Example : Win-118A-13DA-F1F9-814A ) of the Niagara workbench And Display Name of Agent.
  • Also select the Site name where the agent has to be implemented. Then click on Save.

Add agent


Step 3 - Download Certificate files#

  • Go to Agents and you will see the list of agents that you have added.
  • Select the Agent that you have added and Download the Certificate, Config file and extract files from the downloaded zip folder.

agent

Download Certificate


B. Add the Niagara Plugin in the Niagara Workbench and Initialize it#

Step 1 - Facilio Driver Installation#

  • Copy the downloaded FacilioDriver-rt.jar file to the following directory: This PC > Local Disk(C:) > Niagara > Niagara-4.x > modules.

Jar File->Modules


  • Login to the Niagara Workbench in your network.

Niagara Workbench


  • Refresh the workbench to find the copied Facilio Driver under My modules directory, if you can’t find it, close the Workbench and re-open the it.

Refresh Modules


  • Go to My Host: > My File System > C: > ProgramData > Niagara-4.x > Vykon or Tridium > Shared
  • Create a folder named facilio under the shared directory.

facilio Folder


  • Download the root.crt file from here-link.

  • Move the Downloaded files (facilio.config, facilio.crt, root.crt and facilio-private.key) to the facilio folder which we created in the previous step.

config files


Step 2 - Facilio Signed Certificate#

For Niagara 4.9 & above versions, Facilio's self signed certificate needs to be imported to load Facilio's Niagara driver/plugin successfully in both workbench & station. For other versions also you can follow the below steps to get rid of certificate path validation errors.

Kindly follow the procedure to import the signed certificate into workbench & station.

Download the faciliosignedcert from this link.

  1. In the Workbench, click on Tools(Top Menu) → Certificate Management

certificate Management


  1. Click User Trust Store tab and Click on Import button

certificate Management

  1. Choose the already downloaded faciliosignedcert.pem file & Click open.

  2. Click Ok in the Certificate Import view to complete the import.

  3. Under User Trust Store, faciliosignedcert should be listed.

Repeat the same steps(2-5) for the station, click on Certificate Management under the Platform of a station.

certificate Management for platform


Step 3 - Jace#

  • If the Facilio Plugin is installing on the Supervisor, Ignore this step.

To add the Facilio Niagara plugin to Jace, you will need to follow a series of steps that involve transferring the certification files and installing the Facilio plugin software.


1. Install Software

  • Click on Software Manager under Jace Platform.

Jace software 1


  • Click on import, select import software from files.

Jace software 2

  • Select the FacilioDriver-rt.jar and import it.
  • Click on FacilioDriver-rt once import is done.
  • Then click on install and commit.

2. Certificate files

  • To transfer the certificate files to Jace, you should access the Jace Platform and click on the File Transfer client.

Jace config Files


  • In the File Transfer client, create a directory named facilio under /home/Niagara/shared (user home)
  • Move the files(facilio.config, facilio.crt, root.crt and facilio-private.key) from your computer (Left side) to the facilio folder (Right Side).

Jace config Files


Step 4 - Facilio Connector#

  • Open Palette under Windows > SideBar and search for the FacilioDriver and click on it.

Connector


  • FacilioConnector will be found inside the FacilioDriver.

Connector


  • Create a folder named facilio under the directory MyHost: > Station: > Config

Connector


  • Drag & Drop the FacilioConnector from the palette to the facilio folder which we created under config in the previous step.
caution
  • If you are getting the following error while drag & drop : The following missing modules are required for root targets to be transferred
    • Check with Station's user permissions, user should have READ/WRITE permissions.

Step 5 - Initiating Connection#

Before initiating the connection, below are the steps to verify the connection success.

  • Open MyHost >Platform >Application Director (To see the status of the connection through logs)

Connection


  • To initiate connection, Go to Myhost > Station > Config > Facilio > FacilioConnector
  • Right click on the FacilioConnector > Actions > Init Connection

Connection


  • After initiating the connection, the logs in the application director will show as Connection Successfully Established.

Connection


caution
  • If you encounter the UnknownHostException while intiating the connection, you can resolve it by following the steps below:

    1. Go to TCP/IP Configurations Under Platform.
    2. Add 8.8.8.8 to DNSv4 Servers. (Refer below image)
    3. Once the DNS server is updated, click the Save button.
    4. A dialog will ask for permission to restart the Platform, click Yes.
    5. Once the Platform and station are restarted, try initiating the connection.

DNS Update

  • Go to the Agent Portal, now the Niagara agent will be online. The Agent is ready to communicate with the networks.

Connection

Firewall configuration (If Needed):#

Outgoing connection to

  • Endpoint : Endpoint can be found in facilio.config file, MQTT Port : 8883

if you configured the firewall and connection couldn't established, then check with following command:

  • Windows (PowerShell): Test-NetConnection -ComputerName <aws endpoint> -Port 8883
    • In respone TcpTestSucceeded should be true, if not check with firewall configurations.
  • Linux: telnet <aws endpoint> 8883

Troubleshooting Tips#

Tips
  • Make Sure the Certificate and the Config files (facilio.config, facilio.crt, root.crt and facilio-private.key) are placed in the right location.
  • If Restricted internet access provided, above mentioned firewall configurations should be allowed.
  • Check Niagara Workbench Host Id and Agent Host Id while Creating it should be the same.
  • If Facilio driver is showing up as an Unsigned module and cannot be installed on the server, Follow the step 2 in section B (Facilio Signed Certificate).