MAC36NL - Troubleshooting - Empty software installation window in a commissioning process

Issue:

It is not possible to carry out a commissioning process of a controller from the iSMA-B-MAC36NL family, which means that upgrading the Niagara version is also not possible. The issue is caused by an empty Software Installation window in a commissioning creator, as presented below:

Available solutions in various cases:

Missing distribution files of the MAC36NL controller

Distribution files for controllers from the iSMA-B-MAC36NL family are not provided by default neither in Workbench, nor in Vykon. To carry out a commissioning process, the user has to download distribution files for the MAC36NL controller individually and install them in Workbench.

The distribution files are available in the iSMA CONTROLLI’s Download Center https://support.ismacontrolli.com/02%20Small%20%26%20Medium%20BMS/iSMA-B-MAC36NL/Niagara/.

The installation how-to is described in the ‘Controller System Update’ chapter of the iSMA-B-MAC36NL Installation and Start-up Guide User Manual, which is available here: https://support.ismacontrolli.com/02%20Small%20%26%20Medium%20BMS/iSMA-B-MAC36NL/Manuals/.

Niagara version unsupported on MAC36NL

In case of an attempt to install an unsupported Niagara version on the MAC36NL controller, the BAT script from an installation files package does not allow to install distribution files for Niagara versions different than supported. The list of supported Niagara versions is available here: Distribution - Supported Versions.

To install the Niagara 4.7 on the MAC36NL controller, the exact Workbench 4.7.109.20 version is required.

MAC36NL controllers support more than only the newest versions of Niagara, which are typically provided by Tridium at niagara-central.com, therefore, all Niagara installations supported by the MAC36NL are available here: https://support.ismacontrolli.com/Software%20%26%20Tools/Niagara/Installs/.

Empty Software Installation window appears despite a proper Workbench version and installing distribution files according to instructions

In some cases, the BAT script (because of, for example, unauthorized access to a location or an error in the script related to a specific Niagara version) cannot copy distribution files to proper locations.

In such case, distribution files have to be copied manually:

• Copy the distribution files from folders named after a main Niagara version (e.g., 4.9) and paste them to a ‘.\sw\inbox’ folder in a User_Home location (by default, it is C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\Niagara4.9\vykon\sw\inbox), as presented below:

• Copy the distribution cleaning files, located in the ‘cleandist’ folder, and paste them to the ‘.\cleanDist’ in the Sys_Home location (by default, it is C:\Niagara\Niagara-4.9.0.198\cleanDist).

• Copy the JAR modules files, located in the ‘modules’ folder, and paste them to the ‘.\modules’ in the Sys_Home location (by default, it is C:\Niagara\Niagara-4.9.0.198\modules).

Then:

• reopen Workbench;

• log in to the MAC36NL platform;

• start the commissioning creator and follow the standard steps;

• the ‘Analyzing installable files' pop-up window opens after the Licensing window; in the same moment, the Workbench automatically moves all manually copied distribution files to the '.\sw\inbox’ folder in the User_Home location.

• Then, the filled Software Installation window opens.

• In the next step, a proper distribution is ready to be installed: