ConnectPort X2e for Smart Energy Conversions

This appendix covers necessary information and techniques to convert between certified applications on the ConnectPort X2e for Smart Energy.

Each certified application is made up of two parts. The Node Type, either Coordinator or Router, controls how the low-level Smart Energy network is formed and controlled. When configured as a Coordinator the ConnectPort X2e will create a Smart Energy network and allow other devices to join. Every network must have exactly one Coordinator so this mode is most common when the network does not include a Smart Meter. When configured as a Router the ConnectPort X2e instead joins an existing Smart Energy network such as created by a Smart Meter.

The second part of a certified application is its Device Type. On the ConnectPort X2e for Smart Energy this can be either an ESI (Energy Services Interface) or IPD (In-Premise Display). An ESI is most often used to provide Smart Energy information to the network such as Price or DRLC events while the IPD is most often used to receive events from the network or read from a Smart Meter.

To perform the below updates a Device Cloud account is necessary and your ConnectPort X2e for Smart Energy must already be added to that account. Click here to Get Started with the Device Cloud if you don’t have an account. You will need to use the Add Device button under Device Manager to add your gateway to the account.

Update Node Type

Note

Updating the Node Type will reset a ConnectPort X2e for Smart Energy’s network and halt communication with any devices currently on its network. Especially when running as a Coordinator care should be taken not to strand third-party devices on the old network. For example, third-party devices can be removed from the network with a remove_device RPC request. Many third-party devices will immediately attempt to join a new network while others may require additional steps. Check third-party device documentation for more details and test thouroughly as this is an area which can often cause problems.

Use the xbee_AT RPC command to update Node Type. These commands can be sent with the Digi-SE Debug Console and can be found under RPC_ZigBee_Interface on the Debug Console page. The RPC commands may also be sent programatically, see RPC Requests and Responses for more details.

Execute the following RPC commands in this order:

1. Set Coordinator Enable, 1 for Coordinator or 0 for Router (Coordinator shown)

<xbee_AT>
        <command type="string">CE</command>
        <value type="base16">1</value>
</xbee_AT>

2. Write settings to non-volatile flash

<xbee_AT>
        <command type="string">WR</command>
</xbee_AT>

Update Device Type

Note

The following procedure will update the Device Type of a ConnectPort X2e for Smart Energy to a default factory state and remove any drivers or other custom configuration. More fine-grained procedures that can preserve existing configuration are possible but outside the scope of this section.

First download one of the following configuration files depending on the Device Type you are updating to. Unzip to find five .ini files which will be used later in this section.

Energy Service Interface (ESI) file

In-Premise Display (IPD) file

1. Login to your Device Cloud account then access the Device Manager tab

2. Enter the last 6 digits of the Gateway’s serial number in the entry field under Devices, then hit the magnifying glass icon to Search for your Gateway (see example below):

   

3. Double-click on the entry listed for your Gateway to open the Gateway’s Device Cloud UI.

4. Under the UI menu, navigate to the Python area (lower half of /WEB/python UI page is called Python Files).

5. Under the Python Files area, highlight then hit the red X to delete each of the following files (see example below):

   • clusters.ini

   • endpoints.ini

   • interfaces.ini

   • modules.ini

   • paths.ini

     

6. Upload the files of the same name as those deleted in the previous step. Use the up-arrow icon in the Python Files area to upload after using the Browse popup to locate the directory where you unzipped your .zip file from under the File Links section earlier in this article.

Reboot

After updating either the Device Type or the Node Type you must reboot the ConnectPort X2e for Smart Energy to finalize changes.

1. Login to your Device Cloud account then access the Device Manager tab

2. Enter the last 6 digits of the Gateway’s serial number in the entry field under Devices, then hit the magnifying glass icon to Search for your Gateway (see example below):

   

3. Right-click on the entry listed for your Gateway and select the Reboot option as shown below.