Technology and Standards
EnergyWitness™ is built on open standards for technology and data
communications. Developing with the latest technologies, and
maintaining standards compliance, offers benefits such as interoperability
with other systems and protection by not locking customers into a
proprietary structure. Using an open architecture and
industry-leading products as the basis of the EnergyWitness platform builds on what engineers, facilities staff, and financial
personnel already know and are familiar with.
- Microsoft Windows: EnergyWitness is built entirely on the Microsoft Windows
platform. It is the dominate platform for both client and server
applications and already fully integrated into every facility's
operations.
- .NET Framework: An advantage of the Windows OS is
.NET as an
application development platform. It dramatically speeds up the rate
new functionality can be developed and rolled out to customers. The
framework is designed for integration of various application
components and operating in a network environment—a great help
to EnergyWitness as it integrates with process control technologies
inherent in BASs.
- SQL Server: Microsoft's relational database management
system,
SQL
Server, provides the performance, scalability, and reliability
needed for the massive amounts of data collected in the
EnergyWitness data warehouse.
- ODBC: Open Database Connectivity is the industry standard
means of interacting with relational data. Microsoft developed
ODBC based on the work of the SQL Access Group. EnergyWitness
uses ODBC to interact with its data warehouse. ODBC also allows
EnergyWitness to collect data directly from other DBMSs that may
exist storing BAS, advanced metering system, or space planning data.
- OPC: The industry standard for accessing process control
data is
OPC
(OLE for Process Control). Building automation and control systems
have embraced this standard as the way to provide access to data.
OPC also provides a bridge to systems that support other standards,
such as
BACnet,
Modbus, or
LonWorks. EWDataCollector can collect
data from systems supporting any of these access standards through
our OPC server.
- Space Planning: Data from the industry-leading
FAMIS space
planning system can be integrated with EnergyWitness, giving user
access to FAMIS room names and numbers to provide a consistent view
of the facility space. EnergyWitness also integrates the HEGIS
(Higher Education General Information Survey) classification system
for our university customers. All area can be assigned their
appropriate HEGIS code and grouped accordingly.
- Microsoft Office: The most prevalent data analysis tool in
use today is
Excel. EnergyWitness has integrated Excel objects and allows new
objects to be added through a plug-in architecture. This enables
fast deployment of analysis routines without being tied to base
software updates. More importantly, it allows engineers to use the
analysis tools and routines they always have with a fast cut and
paste interface. The cut and paste support extends to all
Office applications, such as Word and PowerPoint, making it easy
to publish operational data or include it as part of a
report/presentation.
System Requirements
When installing an EnergyWitness system, in order for it to perform reliably and
accurately, and for IDS to deliver quality support, we recommend the
following:
Server Hardware
- Processor: Dual Intel Xeon 3.0GHz
- Memory: 4GB
- Hard Drive: 3 160MB drives with RAID 5 controller for
redundancy
- CD/DVD Drive: DVD-ROM or CD-RW / DVD-ROM
- Monitor: Suggest 17" or larger
Server Software
- OS: Windows 2000 Server (or newer)
- Database: Latest version of Microsoft SQL Server for databases expected to be greater than 2 GB.
(Note: EnergyWitness includes Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) database.)
- OPC Server: Usually available from your Building Automation System supplier.
Remote Access to System
- In order to support EnergyWitness, its upgrades, and its users,
IDS requires VPN access and terminal services into the IDS server (or
equivalent). IDS conforms to most IT departments remote access
policies. Remote access is highly recommended. IDS can be
contracted to provide on-site system support on a time and materials
basis.
Clients
- Processor: Pentium III 700 MHz or greater
- OS: Windows NT Server 4.0 (Service Pak 3 or greater), Windows 2000 Professional
- Hard Drive: 10GB available space
- Memory: 512 MB or greater
- Video: Any Microsoft approved card capable of 16-bit resolution
- Monitor: 17" Multi-sync with at least 1024x768
resolution (higher resolution is better)
|
