BCS Integration Technologies—Open Communications Networking*
Tom Webster · River Publishers eBooks · 2020
This chapter focuses on building control system (BCS) networking fundamentals and an assessment of approaches to open communications protocols. While all of the categories of open systems will have an impact on BCS development, we will focus here on open protocols and open data exchange. The chapter covers the following concepts: network architectures as they apply to the BCS industry, networking fundamentals, including a short primer on protocols, and the contending approaches to open protocols. In event, developments like these leave the industry-specific object definitions and services themselves as the primary elements of significance that BACnet brings to the table. Echelon has long claimed that LonTalk was a de facto protocol standard even before adoption by EIA. However, one should bear in mind that the primary impact of standards will be on the configuration, procurement, and integration of systems and components.