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BUILDING MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM
APPLICATIONS
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Remote
Access |
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As noted in the
section on alarm transmission, we live in a mobile world. We
don’t want to be tied to a single location to our jobs, much
less a chair in front of a computer. Global professionals
require access to information without contacting another
person or traveling to a fixed location. The current Web
infrastructure in first- and second-tier countries
throughout the world provides just such a connection, as
long as the system is converged with it at the source.
Connecting a computer to the Web with a cell phone, wireless
access of a PDA to |
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the network in
a hotel, or simply walking into the Internet café on a
cruise ship gives anyone access to this capability. Care
must be taken by systems providers to ensure a capable and
straightforward user interface to leverage these
capabilities. |
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Web
Services and Interoperability |
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The
convergence of building control and IT
infrastructures will pay its biggest dividends in
what is called “Web Services.” Web Services are a
way of sharing information between computers and
between software applications that is based |
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on XML.
The Web Services model provides information to
diverse requestors of information. This opens the
floodgates for a new class of information-rich
applications to be delivered anywhere, anytime
across a network that is in place and inexpensive.
In most discussions on the subject, it is accepted
that initial delivery of these services will be
accomplished over the Internet or corporate
Intranets via a combination of XML and SOAP (Simple
Object Access Protocol). XML defines the pages we
look at and is a common model for data
representation, while SOAP is used for
client-to-server communication. The immediate goal
for our industry leaders is to define services and
objects that the XML/SOAP communications standards
can request and deliver regardless of the
originating systems or the protocols inherent to
their basic operation. This will answer a common
question: Will it be necessary for all systems in an
enterprise to use the same building management
system protocol to provide information to the
client? The answer is no. As long as each system can
handle the data and respond to the request for
information, it doesn’t matter how the information
got there. BACnet, LonMark, MODBUS or any
proprietary protocol are all equal service providers
in the eyes of an XML/SOAP-empowered client. Web
Services will not be a substitute for
interoperability at the control level, or the
accuracy and dependability of individual
controllers. What we will have is a fully
Web-enabled system that bridges the gap between the
controls and IT infrastructure within an enterprise.
It will deliver information-rich, data based
applications that are transportable between standard
hardware and software platforms. It will be
expandable and extendable using both protocols and
hardware that are proven in our industry. |
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