Echelon OpenLNS Commissioning Tool - Manual (Page 43)

OpenLNS CT User’s Guide 27
Ad-Hoc System Scenario
The ad-hoc system scenario allows you to design and install the network onsite. In this scenario,
OpenLNS CT loads the network configuration information into each device as you define devices,
configurations, and connections. This is different from the engineered system scenario in that
information is incrementally loaded to the physical devices.
The advantage of the ad-hoc system scenario is its flexibility, as the installer can make decisions
onsite. It is most appropriate for simpler systems in which the details of the system to be installed are
not known prior to commissioning.
The disadvantages of the ad-hoc system scenario are that it’s slower for large systems and requires the
same person to do both the network design and installation.
Determining User Permissions
When you create an OpenLNS CT network design, OpenLNS CT does not assign any security to the
network drawing. It defaults to one user—the administrator of the OpenLNS CT drawing. While this
default is permissible if one person is performing the network installation in a secure environment, it
may not be suitable for multi-user or insecure environments. In these environments, you need to create
and manage user profiles to control access to your OpenLNS CT network design. This will prevent
any unauthorized changes to your OpenLNS CT network design and enable you to better manage the
installation or repair of a system.
User profiles allow you to create access controls for a network drawing and its subsystems and set
privileges for actions that can be performed on OpenLNS CT objects. For example, you could have a
scenario in which a system integrator has access to the entire network and can add or change
application devices and routers, while the installers can also access the entire network, but only can
commission the application devices and routers.
You might use a different scenario if you are working with multiple system integrators who are all
supplying devices for your network. In this case, you can give each integrator access to their
subsystem only but allow them to freely change the subsystem drawing and commission devices. This
prevents one integrator from accidentally modifying a drawing created by another integrator.
By default, user profiles are not enabled for new networks. To enable user profiles, you must first
assign an Administrator password and create new user profiles as described in User Profiles. The
Administrator can create, modify, and delete user profiles.
Once you logon as a user other than the Administrator, you can still create new user profiles, as
described in Creating a New User Profile, and you can change your password as described in
Changing Passwords.
For information on using user profiles with OpenLNS CT remotely, see Using OpenLNS CT Remotely
with User Profiles.
Optimizing OpenLNS CT Network Performance
Many factors affect the performance of an OpenLNS CT network design. The following are guidelines
for several aspects of your OpenLNS CT network design that can help optimize network
performance— especially for large networks.
Drawing Files
A single drawing file should not be larger than 3MB, or consist of more than 20 typical pages or 10
complex pages. If you are creating a network exceeding these guidelines, design the subsystems in
multiple drawing files. For optimum performance, devices and their associated functional blocks
should be contained within the same drawing file, as should all members of the same connection.