FAQs about JACEs
Tridium Europe offer a range of JACE controllers. Physically there are four types: JACE 2 JACE 6 M2M JACE with GPRS M2M JACE without GPRS This section attempts to answer queries relating to the hardware and the way the Niagara software is licensed on the JACEs.
Q. What is the difference betwen the various JACE product codes?
A. The DIN rail mounting JACE 2 and JACE 6 controllers are designated JCX2 and JCX6 respectively. The numbers after these codes denote the software license that is being ordered. The code indicates the license limitations for each version, which are detaiuled on the Tridium Europe Price List. For example there are four versions of the JACE2 : JCX220, JCX230, JCX240 and JCX250. Although the hardware is identical the performance and capacity of these four versions is different and it is important to ensure the correct "size" is being used for your particular application. The good news is that if the version proves to be too small, a license upgrade can be easily purchased without changing the hardware.
The M2M JACEs are designated JHX2 and JGX2. The H denotes the GRPS option is not included, the G denotes that the GPRS feature is included.
Q. How do I know which version of JACE to use for my application?
A. Each JACE has a certain memory capacity for configuration data which can be used flexibly, so it is hard to say definitively how much strategy, graphics, logging etc can be squeezed into a given JACE. The issue is further complicated by the fact that parts of Niagara's JAVA program can be "tuned" to run faster or slower which enablkes further optimisation of the JACE capacity and performnce. However, there are certain guidelines we offer to our partners and they find from experience after completing a few projects what is feasible and what is not. Tridium's sales team offer advice to partners on this topic. Broadly each network consumes a lot of resources, and each managed device consumes a lesser but significant amount of resources, so a JACE managing one field network (eg Modbus) with one large Modbus device having many points will be able to cope with a much larger number of data points (eg sensors, actuators etc) than the same JACE which is connected to multiple networks (eg Modbus, KNX and M-Bus) each of which has multiple devices. Niagara AX Workbench (the engineering view) includes a Resource Estimator which provides more detailed calculations regarding what an application will use. Our best advice to partners is to be conservative in your assumptions until experience has been gained.
Q. Where is the information about CE compliance?
A. All Tridium products are compliant with the relevant European standards and therefore carry the CE mark. The CE compliance statement is included in the JACE installation instructions, towards the back of the document. These documents can be found in the docs/mtgwiring folder on a Niagara AX install.
Q. The JACEs on our site are much larger than your current products, and have a dark blue metal housing. What are these?
A. Prior to the launch of Niagara AX and the JACE 2 in 2005, Tridium Europe manufactured a product range called the euroJACE. This runs the previous generation of Niagara called R2. The euroJACE product is still supported, as is the R2 software and replacements can be purchased from our price list. The performance and capacity of a euroJACE is about the same as a JCX250, although a license limited version was also sold.
Q. Can our euroJACE controllers be upgraded to run the NiagaraAX softwrae
A. Yes, they can, but the process requires returning the controller to Tridium as we have to reload a new operating system on the hardware. This cannot be done by our customers and requires the unit to be returned to our US based factory. In practice it is simpler and no more expensive to replace the euroJACE with a JACE2 or 6. The other factor is that Niagara AX was completely new, with no code in common with R2, and as the software component libraries are different it is not currently possible to port an existing strategy and graphics configuratioon from R2 to AX. However, such a migration is not generally necessary as if new controllers are being added to a site the R2JACEs can communicate with the new AX ones via oBIX. This enables sites to be upgraded/extended without making the R2 euroJACEs obsolete. R2 JACEs can be managed by AX Supervisor using oBIX but AX JACEs cannot be managed by R2 Web Supervisor, so consideration needs to be given to how best to link the old and new. There are various solutions and it is best for partners to discuss the specific project with one of the Tridium sales team.
