Echelon LNS - Manual (Page 189)

LNS Programmer's Guide 175
document. Each Subsystem has a Routers collection containing the Router objects that
represent your network’s routers, just as each Subsystem has an AppDevice collection
containing the AppDevice objects for the network.
Routers have a similar set of properties (e.g. State, Location) and methods (e.g. Add,
Commission) as application devices. And as with application devices, they can be
identified using the automatic discovery, service pin, or manual entry methods described
in the Neuron ID Assignment section on page 115. When using manual entry, enter the
near router side's Neuron ID (if connected to the network). The near router side is the
side that is closest to the Network Service Device. When commissioning a router while
not connected to the network (or connected but unable to communicate with the near side
of the router), the Neuron IDs of both router sides must be entered.
Note that routers do not support the confirmed service pin installation protocol as it is
described in Chapter 6, as they do not support the Wink() method. Instead, you should
use the Reset() method for confirmation of router devices when using the confirmed
service pin installation of s router. This will not work on routers that do not provide a
visual or audible reset notification (such as a Reset LED).
When you call the Routers collection’s Add() method to define a router in the LNS
database, you can define its router class by specifying the
routerType
element. The
most efficient router type to use is the configured router (
lcaConfiguredRouter
). This
allows the LNS Object Server to automate most topology management tasks. The LNS
Object Server also automatically allocates and assigns new subnets as needed. As was
discussed in the previous section, the application can manually control subnet allocation
if required. Note that after you created a Router object, you can change its class by
writing to its Class property.
When using redundant routers, the LNS Object Server cannot automatically determine
the channel to which the far side is attached. In this case, your application must
explicitly specify the channel within the Add() invocation.
Installation Order
The order in which routers and devices are added to the LNS database is important. The
LNS Object Server must be able to communicate with a device or router in order to
configure it. If the LNS Object Server is always attached to the same single channel, then
the routers on that channel must be installed and configured before application devices
and routers on any channel adjacent to the router can be installed. In this way, the
installed network fabric grows outward from the LNS Object Server’s network
attachment point. Full client applications must also be able to communicate with the
LNS Object Server to operate. A continuous physical and logical path must therefore
exist between each Full client application’s network interface, and the network interface
on the LNS Server PC. If multiple network segments are to be installed before the
complete network topology is established, then the network interface on the LNS Server
PC may be moved from segment to segment as it is installed.
Installing Devices With Multiple Channels
As devices (and routers) are installed on a network with multiple channels, it is
necessary to determine the channel on which each device resides. When using the
engineered mode installation scenario, you must always specify the device’s channel
when you add the device to the LNS database. This allows the LNS Object Server to