A collection of frequently asked questions concerning the JACE 8000 Niagara 4 controller from Tridium.
Q: Which connections are standard on the JACE 8000?
A: The JACE 8000 comes standard with the following connections: 24VAC/DC Power Supply, (2) isolated RS485, Wi-Fi, 1 type A USB (Backup & Restore), 1 micro USB (Serial Shell), and (2)10/100 Ethernet Ports.
Q: By uprading to the JACE 8000, can we move away from JAVA?
A: While Niagara 4 still utilizes JAVA technology, you no longer have to use JAVA as a Web visualization technology. Niagara 4 offers users the opportunity to choose open technologies such as HTML 5 when building/viewing information over the Web.
Q: Are any drivers included with the JACE 8000?
A: Yes. Please refer to Tridium’s list of Niagara 4 drivers, posted online at tridium.com/en/resources/library or niagara-community.com. Additional Tridium or third-party drivers can also be added.
Q: Does the JACE 8000 have RS 232?
A: RS 232 is available through an expansion module. The base JACE 8000 does not have an RS-232 connection. If accessing serial shell, that can now be done through the micro-USB port on the JACE 8000.
Q: Does every JACE 8000 have Wi-Fi capability?
A: Yes, all JACE 8000s come with Wi-Fi capability. 802.11a,b,g, and n networks are supported. Or, the JACE 8000 can be ordered from Tridium with Wi-Fi permanently disabled, if required.
Q: Is there an antenna option to get the wireless signals outside of a metal enclosure?
A: The antenna uses a standard SMA connector. An extension can be used to route the antenna and install outside of the enclosure.
Q: Can the JACE 8000 be configured to automatically save the history trending data to the Supervisor computer?
A: Yes.
Q: Will existing NDIO modules work with the JACE 8000, such as with some sort of adapter cable?
A: No. However, Niagara 4.1 has a tool to help convert NDIO points to an NRIO network. NRIO is compatible with the JACE 8000.
Q: What Agency certifications does the JACE 8000 meet?
A: The JACE 8000 meets UL, CE, FCC, and numerous other standards. Please see the data sheet posted online at tridium.com/en/resources/library for a complete list of
certifications.
Q: What is the default IP address for all JACE 8000 units?
A: 192.168.1.140
Q: Will a JACE 8000 route IP data between Ethernet ports?
A: No.
Q: What is the onboard JACE 8000 storage capacity of the SD card?
A: Each JACE 8000 comes with a 4GB microSD card. User space is set at 2GB.
Q: Are you able to upgrade to a larger SD card for more space?
A: JACE 8000 microSD cards will need to be purchased through Tridium. This ensures that the JACE 8000 performs as expected and has long life. Tridium reserves the right to change the card capacity in the future.
Q: What happens if the microSD needs to be replaced?
A: Tridium recommends that you utilize a Supervisor or new JACE 8000 USB Back-Up & Restore to back up your JACE periodically. Similar to a Niagara AX JACE today, licenses can be transferred over to new hosts and a backup dist can be loaded. Contact your distributor for replacement SD cards.
Q: Can an SD card Host ID be generated on an engineering laptop and then transferred to the JACE 8000?
A: No
Q: Can the license, station and drivers be transferred from one JACE 8000 to another via the microSD card?
A: Yes. The new JACE 8000 will need the system password from the old JACE 8000.
Q: What input power does the JACE 8000 need?
A: The JACE 8000 accepts 24VAC/DC without additional modules. Tridium offers a standard line voltage adapter (WPM-8000) for the JACE 8000.
Q: Can I use a USB flash drive with my JACE 8000?
A: Yes. After inserting a USB flash drive, you can do a complete station backup or restore. See JACE 8000 documentation for additional details.
Q: Using the USB flash connection, would we be able to export history to an external drive in real time?
A: The USB connector is defined for temporary use and not meant to support permanently installed storage.
Q: How is the JACE 8000 licensed?
A: All JACE 8000s come licensed by devices and points. After determining how many devices will be integrated into the JACE 8000, select the license with the appropriate amount of capacity. For example, if you are integrating 20 BACnet, 10 LON and 10 Modbus devices, the NC-8050 device core could be selected to support up to 50 devices.
Q: With the Device/Point licensing, are they both hard limits? For example, 8010 can support 10 devices or 500 points. Is there flexibility to exceed one of those limits? For example, 12 devices with 10 points each?
A: The JACE 8000’s device/point license applies to which limit you reach first. In the example above, 12 devices exceed the 10-device limit, even though only 120 points were used. The device/point license are hard limits, however upgrade packs will be available to upgrade the license.
Q: On licensing, will it still be possible to upgrade an existing license to a license with more capacity? For example, if a project is expanded during construction.
A: Yes, upgrade device/point packs are available. See your distributor for details.
Q: Will the points being used by the JACE 8000 be viewable?
A: Yes. Station summaries can be viewed from the resource manager.
Q: What are the device and point packs being offered?
A: The JACE 8000 is available with 5, 10, 25, 100 and 200 device base licenses. Additional device/point upgrades can be added to any base license. They are available in 10, 25 and 50 device upgrade packs.
Q: Is there a limit to how many Device upgrade packs I can add to a JACE 8000?
A: While there isn’t a hard limit on the number of upgrade packs that can be added, users should monitor CPU utilization, heap usage and integration bus limits when adding device upgrades.
Q: If we have an 8200, and we have 200 controllers connected, can we add one additional controller without another JACE? Or are we absolutely locked to controller number?
A: Upgrade packs are available to enable more than 200 devices.
Q: When does software maintenance start on the JACE 8000?
A: Software maintenance starts when the JACE software license is purchased. Please see your distributor for details.
Q: Is Maintenance and Warranty the same thing?
A: No. Software maintenance enables access to the latest Niagara build with new features and software updates. Warranty covers the JACE 8000 from manufacturing Defects.
Q: Does the JACE 8000 automatically include maintenance at the time of purchase?
A: Yes, it includes 18 months from the date of the creation of the license, when bundled with the INIT license part. Initial maintenance is a separate line item that must be chosen while purchasing.
Q: Can I buy more than 1-year maintenance at a time?
A: Yes. SMA can be purchased for 1, 3 or 5 year periods.
Q: How will multiple quantities of maintenance appear on a license?
A: Dates will run consecutively (i.e. buy qty 2 = 2 yrs). Date will show in license header details and in license view.
Q: What if I choose not to renew my Niagara 4 maintenance?
A: If the SMA has expired on the JACE, it will continue to run the station. However, the JACE will not have access to any new versions, update builds or patches for Niagara 4. Gap charges will apply if you choose to renew once the SMA has expired.
Q: Can I have a mixed Niagara AX / Niagara 4 job?
A: Yes, however the Supervisor needs to be at highest version.
Q: How many accessory cards, or expansion modules, can we add?
A: Up to 4 in various combinations. See the data sheet posted online at tridium.com/en/resources/library for additional details.
Q: Will we have the ability to place the modular expansion cards on a bus? Or do they have to “snap” together?
A: Option modules will need to be directly connected to the JACE 8000.
Q: If I don’t use all the devices I purchased, can I transfer the device to another license?
A: No. Unless ordering a replacement unit, unused license elements cannot be transferred.
Q: How do I buy drivers for JACE 8000?
A: Open drivers are now included, and a list of Niagara 4 drivers is posted online at tridium.com/en/resources/library. Any additional boutique drivers will be purchased ad hoc as before, though global capacity limits apply to all drivers used on the JACE 8000.
Q: How can I buy the JACE 8000?
A: Tridium offers multiple options for purchasing JACE 8000s. Hardware and software can be bundled together or separately. Also, you can add capacity later, as needed. Please contact your distributor for details.
Q: If the hardware fails, what is the warranty process?
A: Please contact your distributor for details.