Echelon OpenLNS Commissioning Tool - Manual (Page 368)

352 Appendix B – Glossary
Device Template
A device template contains all the attributes of a given device type, such as its functional blocks,
network variables, and configuration properties. You can create a device template by importing a
device interface (XIF) file supplied by the device manufacturer, or by uploading the device interface
definition from the physical device. A device template is identified by its name and its program ID.
Both must be unique within a network—you cannot have two device templates with the same name or
the same program ID in a single network.
Device Upgrade
The process in which a new application (.nxe or .apb extensions) is loaded into a Neuron-hosted
device.
Disable
For a device, a device state in which the device application does not run even if the device is reset. For
a functional block, a management command that causes output network variables to send their
configured default values.
Domain
A logical collection of devices on one or more channels. Communications can only take place among
devices configured in the same domain.
Domain ID
The top level of the LonTalk addressing hierarchy of domain/subnet/node. The domain ID can be 0, 1,
3, or 6 bytes long. When using the OpenLNS Server, the zero-length domain is reserved for the use of
the OpenLNS Server and cannot be used as the system's domain.
Download
An installation process in which data, such as the application program, network configuration, and/or
application configuration, is transferred over the network from the OpenLNS network database into a
device.
Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE)
A standard protocol built into the Macintosh, Windows, and OS/2 operating systems. DDE enables
two running applications to share the same data. For example, DDE makes it possible to insert a
spreadsheet chart into a document created with a word processor. Whenever the spreadsheet data
changes, the chart in the document changes accordingly. When applications share information with
each other using DDE, they are said to be holding a DDE conversation. Each conversation has a
well-defined beginning, middle, and end. To begin a conversation, one application, known as the
client or destination application asks another application, known as the server or source application to
open a communications channel. Once a conversation is established, the client can send and receive
data from the server on the DDE channel. For example, an Excel spreadsheet (the client or
destination) may ask the LNS DDE Server (the server or source) for the current fuel consumption from
a flow sensor for use in an automated billing system. Alternately, an InTouch operator interface (the
client or destination) may tell the LNS DDE Server (the server, or source) to change the state of a
valve in a L
ON W ORKS network in response to a request issued by the user interface.
Dynamic Functional Block
A functional block that is not pre-loaded on a device. Dynamic functional blocks are typically used by
controllers that do not have a static interface. These controllers typically require the integrator to run a
plug-in or other configuration software that defines the control algorithm and configures the controller.
The controller manufacturer can use dynamic functional blocks to enable an OpenLNS CT user to add
functional blocks to the controller using OpenLNS CT.