Echelon LNS - Manual (Page 98)

LNS Programmer's Guide 84
8. As you manage the network you have created, you may need to perform other
maintenance tasks, such as the removal of devices and connections, and the
replacement of devices. For details on how you can use LNS to perform these tasks,
see Other Device Management Operations and page 129.
Commissioning Phase, Multiple Networks
When commissioning multiple networks that have similar configurations, it may be most
efficient to use a "cookie cutter" approach. To do so, follow the steps described in the
Definition Phase section to create a "prototype" LNS database that contains the basic
configuration you want to apply to each network. You can then customize individual
networks from this proto-type by adding additional information on-site during the
commissioning phase, as described below:
1. Initialize your application in engineered mode, meaning that the application
explicitly resets the network interface and detaches from the network. Chapter 4
describes how to specify a network interface for each client type.
Set MyNetworkServiceDevice.NetworkInterface = NOTHING
2. Create device templates for the devices on that network by importing external
interface files. Then, define each device, adjust its configuration property values,
and create connections between the devices.
For detailed information on how to define devices in engineered mode, see the
Definition Phase section earlier in this chapter.
3. Create your common reference database by making a backup copy of the network
folder. You can use the Backup() method to do so. See Chapter 10, LNS
Database Management, for more information on the Backup() method.
4. Rename the database copy created in step 3 as desired, or create a copy of the
backup using another directory with a name of your choice.
5. To load the reference database into a new Network object, access the
ObjectServer object’s Networks collection, and invoke the collection’s Add()
method. Specify the createDatabase parameter as False, and the
databasePath parameter as the path to the copy of the reference database.
6. Assign a suitable network interface to the NetworkServiceDevice object’s
NetworkInterface property to exit engineered mode and attach the application
to the physical network.
7. Open the system by accessing the System object for the newly created network,
and calling the Open() method.
8. Set the DomainId property to the domain ID for the site. For shared media,
Echelon recommends that you use the Neuron ID of the on-site PC’s network
interface as the domain ID. For standard network interfaces, this ensures
uniqueness as long as the same network interface is not used for multiple
installations on the same shared media.
If the same network interface is used for multiple installations, Echelon
recommends using a random domain ID. For networks containing shared media
such as powerline or RF channels or shared twisted-pair channels, Echelon
recommends using a 6-byte domain ID to ensure uniqueness. For most private