AERCO XPC GATEWAY Communications - Manual (Page 74)

GATEWAY COMMUNICATIONS MANUAL
74
SECTION 6 WHAT IS PART II OF THIS DOCUMENT ABOUT?
This document will enable you to integrate the XPC Gateway into a Building Automation System (BAS),
which is communicating using one of the three standard protocols described below.
NOTE
It is assumed that the XPC translator has been configured by the factory
and is functioning correctly. The factory should supply the site integrator
with an object listing, which enables the integrator to gather information
from the translator.
SECTION 7 PROTOCOL OVERVIEW
Protocols are the communication languages spoken by control devices. The main purpose of a protocol
is to communicate information in the most efficient method possible. Different protocols exist to provide
different kinds of information for different applications.
In the BAS application, many different protocols are used, depending on the manufacturer. More and
more owners are demanding that their entire facilities be seamlessly linked together and presented to
their support staff in one easy-to-use front end terminal display.
AERCO’s XPC translator has the ability to understand multiple protocols. So, no matter what company
your customer chooses for the controls throughout their building, AERCO’s XPC translator will
communicate with them without the added cost of programming a customized communications Gateway.
7.1 WHAT IS A PROTOCOL?
• A set of formal rules describing how to transmit data, especially across a network
• Low level protocols define
 the electrical and physical standards to be observed
 bit-and-byte-ordering
 the transmission, error detection, and correction of the bit stream
• High level protocols deal with data formatting, including
 syntax of messages
 terminal-to-computer dialogue
 character sets
 the sequencing of messages, etc.
• It is a language spoken between electronic devices For example: the protocol IP, which stands for
Internet Protocol for two devices to communicate with each other, they must speak the same
protocol or have a protocol translator.
7.2 WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PROTOCOLS?