Integrating SiPass Access Control

Scenario: This section provides an end-to-end workflow for configuring a Desigo CC management platform to connect to a SiPass Integrated access control system.

 

Reference: For background information, see the reference section.

 

Workflow diagram:

 

Prerequisites:

  • The Desigo CC SiPass extension module is installed and included in the active project.
  • The SiPass access controllers and the SiPass integrated server are installed and configured. See SiPass Integrated Installation Guide (A6V11144323).
  • The SiPass integrated system has the necessary licenses for connecting to Desigo CC. See SiPass License Requirements.
  • System Manager is in Engineering mode.
  • System Browser is in Management View.

 

Steps:

1 – Create a SiPass Driver
  1. Depending where the driver will run, select one of the following:
    - Project > Management System > Servers > Main Server > Drivers
    - Project > Management System > FEPs > [FEP station] > [drivers folder]
    NOTE:     If the [drivers folder] is not available, to create it select the [FEP station] and click New .
  1. In the Object Configurator tab, click New , and select New SiPass Driver.
  1. In the New Object dialog box, enter a description.
    NOTE: The description must be different from that of any other driver on the server or FEP stations.
  1. Click OK.
  • The new driver is added to System Browser, but not started.

 

2 – Create a SiPass Network
  1. Select Project > Field Networks.
  1. Click New , and select SiPass Network.
  1. In the New object dialog box, enter a name and description.
  1. Click OK.
  • The newly created SiPass network is added to System Browser.

 

3 – Associate a Driver to the SiPass Network
  1. Select Projects > Field Networks > [SiPass network].
  1. In the SiPass tab, open the Network Setting expander.
  1. In the Monitored by driver drop-down list, select the driver.
    NOTE: A SiPass driver can be associated to only one SiPass network. Drivers that are already associated to a network will not display in this list. This field becomes read-only once you create a server for the network.
  1. Click Save .

 

4 – Start the SiPass Driver

The status of a newly created driver is Stopped. To be able to connect a SiPass server the driver must be started with either Start or Start Conf…

  1. In System Browser, select the [SiPass driver].
  1. In the Extended Operation tab, select Manager Status property.
  1. Click Start.
    NOTE: Only for configuration purposes, you can also click Start Conf… to activate the driver without establishing any real connection to the field.

 

5 – Create a SiPass Server Under the Network

You can configure multiple SiPass servers under one SiPass network. Skip this step if you want to connect or check the settings of an existing SiPass server.

  1. Select Projects > Field Networks > [SiPass network].
  1. In the Operation tab, check that Driver Associated is True and Network State is Supervised.
    NOTE: If the network is Unsupervised it means either that the network has no associated driver, or that its associated driver is not running.
  1. In the Sipass tab, click Create New Server .
    NOTE: This command is disabled if the network is Unsupervised.
  1. In the New object dialog box, enter a name and description.
  1. Click OK
  • The SiPass server is added to System Browser.

 

6 – Connect the SiPass Server

The SiPass server object created in Desigo CC must now be connected to the SiPass integrated server that monitors the access controllers.

Prepare for Connection

  1. If the SiPass driver runs on a FEP station:
    a. Export the Desigo CC Security Key from the server station.
    b. Import it into the FEP station via SMC.
  1. To check the connection:
  • Try to ping the SiPass server computer (using the host computer name) from the Desigo CC computer (server or FEP) where the SiPass driver runs.
  • If the ping fails, you need to fix the IT network connectivity

Connect Desigo CC to the SiPass Integrated Server

  1. Select Projects > Field Networks > [SiPass network] > [SiPass server].
  1. In the API Server Information expander, complete the following fields:
  • Host IP/Name: Enter the IP address or name of the computer running the SiPass RESTful Management Station API, through which Desigo CC connects to SiPass. This may be the same computer as the SiPass integrated server, or a different one. Note that the SiPass integrated server is always hosted on a separate computer from the Desigo CC server, however the RESTful MS API may be hosted on the Desigo CC server computer.
  • Access API Port: Default value is 8744. This setting must match the Management Station Service port configured during the setup of the SiPass integrated server.
    NOTE: In SiPass integrated, the port number is defined during setup, but you can modify it as described in SiPass Configuration Problems.
  • User Name and Password of the SiPass operator, as configured in the SiPass Integrated Configuration Client.
    NOTE: The operator must be a SiPass administrator with time schedule Always available.
  1. Click Save .
  • In a few seconds, the communication between Desigo CC and the SiPass integrated server is established.
Sipass API Server Information Expander

 

7 – Import the Configuration for the Connected SiPass Server

You can use the discovery feature to import the SiPass field configuration from the connected SiPass integrated server into Desigo CC .

  1. To speed configuration, make sure the Desigo CC Transaction Mode is set to Simple.
  1. (Optional) You can customize the import of SiPass objects in the following ways:
  1. Select Project > Field Networks > [SiPass network] > [SiPass server].
  1. In the Extended Operation tab:
    a. Check that Connection State is Connected.
    NOTE: If it is Disconnected, see the Last Login State property. To solve the problem, check the network connection and the parameter settings.
    b. Click Discovery.
  • The configuration is imported. A confirmation message displays (Discovery Successful).
  • The Status Discovery property indicates the import result (Last Discovery Successful or a failure condition).
    In case of problems, see the troubleshooting section.

 

8 – Finishing Steps
  1. When finished with the import, make sure the Transaction Mode is set back to Logging.
  1. If the SiPass driver was running in Configuration Mode for the import, stop and restart it in full mode for normal operation. See Stopping and Starting the SiPass Driver.