EC-Net 4 Installation Guide

Distech Controls, Inc.

Brossard, Quebec,
Canada

Legal Notice
©, Distech Controls Inc., 2024. All rights reserved. While all ef f orts have been made to verify
the accuracy of inf ormation in this manual, Distech Controls is not responsible f or damages or
claims arising f rom the use of this manual. Persons using this manual are assumed to be
trained HVAC prof essionals and are responsible f or using t he correct wiring procedures,
correct override methods f or equipment control and maintaining saf e working conditions in f ail -
saf e environments. Distech Controls reserves the right to change, delete or add to the
inf ormation in this manual at any time witho ut notice.
ECLYPSE, Distech Controls, the Distech Controls logo, EC-Net, Allure, and Allure UNITOUCH
are trademarks of Distech Controls Inc. BACnet is a registered trademark of ASHRAE; BTL is
a registered trademark of the BACnet Manuf acturers Association. The Bluetoo th® word mark
and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks
is under license. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Specif ications subject to change without notice.
 Pref ace

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE .............................................................................................................................. 5
About this guide .............................................................................................................. 5
Relat ed documentation.................................................................................................... 5

EC-NET 4 INSTALLATION ..................................................................................................... 7

Quick Start .......................................................................................................................... 8
PC Platform Hardware Requirements................................................................................... 9
Operating System Requirements ...................................................................................... 10
Supported Operating Systems ....................................................................................... 10
Java Sof tware .............................................................................................................. 10
License Requirement ........................................................................................................ 11

SILENT INSTALLE R ............................................................................................................ 12

About the Silent Installer .................................................................................................. 13
Editing silent.properties f ile............................................................................................ 13
Running the unattended installer.................................................................................... 14
Viewing the installation process ..................................................................................... 16

COMMON TAS KS ................................................................................................................ 18

Installing EC-Net 4 Pro...................................................................................................... 19
Setting the System Passphrase ..................................................................................... 21
Conf irming the License.................................................................................................. 21
Getting Started in EC-Net 4 Pro ........................................................................................ 23
Desktop Shortcuts and Tiles .......................................................................................... 23
File Locations ............................................................................................................... 24
Performing a “Clean” Installation ..................................................................................... 26
Uninstalling....................................................................................................................... 27

FREQUENTLY ASKE D QUESTIONS .................................................................................... 29

EC-Net 4 FAQs ............................................................................................................ 29
General FA Qs .............................................................................................................. 30

EC-Net 4 Installation Guide 3

CHAPTER 1
PREFACE
About this guide
This guide provides essential instructions on how to install EC-Net 4 sof tware.
Topics in this document include inf ormation on system and license requirements and how to
get started with EC-Net™ 4 Pro. Topics also include descriptions of the EC-Net 4 directory
structure and EC-Net homes.

Related documentation
Additional inf ormation about EC-Net platf orms, installation and operation EC-Net 4 Pro is
available in the f ollowing documents.
• EC-Net 4 Platform Guide
• Getting Started with EC-Net 4

EC-Net 4 Installation Guide 5

CHAPTER 2
EC-NET 4 INSTALLATION
The topics in this section include a short quick start task as well as hardware, licensing,
and operating system requirements f or installation.
In This Chapter
Topic Page
Quick Start 8
PC Platform Hardware Requirements 9
Operating System Requirements 10
License Requirement 11

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 EC-Net 4 Installation

Quick Start
This is a quick summary of installation; see the f ollowing sections f or more detailed
inf ormation.
Bef ore initiating EC-Net 4 installation, verif y that you can meet all hardware and sof tware
requirements described in section: PC Platform Hardware Requirements

1. Download the latest build.

2. Run the appropriate (32–bit or 64–bit) Installer and f ollow the installation wizard steps to
def ine the requested inf ormation, such as:
• Installation location.
• Installation options including the installation of start menu and desktop shortcuts,
and tiles.
• Finish install options, including whether to launch EC-Net 4 Pro af ter installation and
load the start platf orm daemon.
NOTE: For more inf ormation on installer type, ref er to the section on 32-bit vs. 64-bit
installations.
3. Launch EC-Net 4 Pro and conf irm license.

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 EC-Net 4 Installation

PC Platform Hardware Requirements

EC-Net requires an adequate processor, hard disk, memory and speed to run complex
building models.
The minimum hardware requirements include:
• Processor: Intel® Xeon® CPU E5-2640 x64 (or better), compatible with dual- and
quad-core processors
• Operating System: Windows 11 and 10 Pro x64-bit; Windows Server 2022 and 2019;
Linux x64-bit: RedHat Enterprise Linux 8.7, Ubuntu 22.04
• Browser: Chrome, Firef ox, Microsof t Edge
• Mobile Browser: Saf ari on iOS, Chrome on Android
• Relational Database (optional): MS SQL Server 2019, 2016; Oracle 19c; MySQL 8.0.
• Memory: 6 GB minimum, 8 GB or more recommended f or larger systems
• Hard drive space: 4 GB minimum, more recommended depending on archiving
requirements.
• Display: Video card and monitor capable of displaying 1024 x 768 pixel resolution,
1080p (1920 x 1080) minimum resolution recommended.
• Ethernet 100 Mbit or 1Gbit NIC (network interf ace card) with TCP/IP support
• Network Support: Ethernet adapter (10/100/1000 Mb with RJ -45 connector).
• Valid license
• Internet access f or conf irming your license.
As a multi-threading Java application, the Niagara Framework® can take advantage of the
added power available in multi-core processors. A processor that goes beyond minimum
requirements, such as the current Intel Core i3, i5, i7 or AMD A6, A8, A10 series
processors, can provide perf ormance benef its.

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 EC-Net 4 Installation

Operating System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems
For detailed inf ormation regarding the supported operating systems and other sof tware
requirements, ref er to the Distech Controls Sof tware Compatibility Chart on the
Documentation and Resources Portal.
NOTE: To install EC-Net on a Windows host, you must be logged in to Windows as a user
with administrator privileges.

Java Software
The Java SE Runtime Environment (JRE) 8 must be installed on any client PC that will
access the station with a browser and EC-Net 4 Pro web prof ile. The f ree download is
available at: java.com/en/
Af ter installing JRE 8, ensure that the Java plugin f or any earlier versions are disabled:
1. Under the Windows Start menu, click All Programs→Java→Configure Java→View.
NOTE: If the View button appears disabled, then only one JRE version is installed. Clicking
Java→About Java (under the Windows Start menu) shows installed version(s).
2. Conf irm that only the JRE 1.8 plugin is enabled, as shown here. For any version other
than 1.8, click the checkbox in the Enabled column to deselect.

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 EC-Net 4 Installation

License Requirement
You can install EC-Net 4 on any PC with a supported Windows operating system. However,
to successf ully start EC-Net 4 Pro or use the application f ramework, you must have a
license f ile installed.
You only have to license the application on your computer once, typically soon af ter you
f inish installation by starting EC-Net 4 Pro.

EC-Net 4 Installation Guide 11

 Silent Installer

CHAPTER 3
SILENT INSTALLER
This section provides inf ormation regarding the silent installer.
In This Chapter
Topic Page
Editing silent.properties file 13
Running the unattended installer 14
Viewing the installation process 16

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 Silent Installer

About the Silent Installer

As of EC-Net 4.13, Silent Installer allows f or an automated and unattended installation of
Niagara Framework via programming.
It simplif ies PC maintenance, automated testing, and bundling installations with additional
applications. Running the EC-Net installer f or Windows or Linux does not require user
input. The properties f ile allows you to generate installation choices prior t o execution using
the command line.

Editing silent.properties file

Create a .txt f ile and save it as "silent.properties". In the silent.properties f ile, copy and
paste the f ollowing conf iguration options (presented in f our sections) f or the silent
installation. It runs a windowless installation and no user input is required.
Prerequisites:
• You have administrator rights to run installer.exe.
NOTES:
• As a quick overview, in the silent.properties f ile, you will set the passphrase and
installDirectory.
• You can uninstall the previous standard version using its uninstall.exe f ile or
with the help of the Windows control panel. The silent.properties f ile allows you to
conf igure the installation directory. If you do not change the def ault conf iguration
settings, the installation will result in a new directory with the applicable EC-Net
version number. As a consequence, it will not overwrite any existing installation. If
you run the Silent Installer a second time on the same device, it will overwrite f iles.
Step1
No editing needed in the f ollowing section of the silent.properties f ile.
# Configure options for silent installation.
# This will run a windowless installation. No user input is expected.
# Set "silentInstall" to "true" to enable the installation without any user prompts.
silentInstall=true silentInstallMessage=Proceedwith silent installation.
# The license agreement acceptance is provided by the following "acceptLicense" property.
# Any value except "yes" will cause the installer to exit.
acceptLicense=yes
# Setting "showLicense" to "yes" will print out the entire license agreement to the installation console.
showLicense=no
licenseAgreementAccept=Acceptance of the license agreement is assumed when installing silently.
licenseAgreementDecline=License agreement was not accepted.

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 Silent Installer

Step 2
Edit the passphrase in the f ollowing section of the silent.properties f ile if the system
passphrase value has not been previously conf igured on the host.

# The passphrase below is used if one does not already exist on the install target host ID.
# Your passphrase must contain:
# at least 10 characters
# at least 1 lower case character
# at least 1 upper case character
# at least 1 digit
systemPassphrase=Password10
systemPassphraseFailureMessage=Error setting System Passphrase caused installation failure.

Step 3
Edit installDirectory in the f ollowing section of the silent.properties f ile.

# Set the "installDirectory" to a Windows path to override the default installation directory.
# Example: installDirectory=C:\Niagara\EC-Net4-%version%
installDirectory= C:\Niagara\EC-Net4-%version%
installDirectoryNotEnoughSpaceMessage=Insufficient space is available to complete installation.
# Set "createInstallDirectory" to "true" to create the install directory if it does not exist.
createInstallDirectory=true
createInstallDirectoryDeclineMessage=Creating the install directory was rejected in the configuration.
distFileSizeMessage=Distfile space required.

Step 4
Review the f ollowing section of the silent.installer f ile.

# Set "installService" to "true" to install the Niagara daemon as a service.

installService=true
# Set "installDesktopShortcuts" to "true" to install Windows desktop shortcuts.
installDesktopShortcuts=false
# Set "installMenuShortcuts" to "true" to install the Windows Start menu shortcuts.
installMenuShortcuts=true installStepCompleteMessage=Completed
installation step installFailureMessage=Installation failed.

Running the unattended installer

The f ollowing section describes how to execute the Silent Installer.
Prerequisites:
• You have edited the silent.properties f ile.
• You have administrator rights to run installer_x64.exe.
Step 1
Download the EC-Net 4 Pro and Supervisor 4.13 (or higher) package f rom Sof tware
Center. Change the extension f rom .exe to .zip and then unzip the package.

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 Silent Installer

Step 2
Expand EC-Net 4.13 (and higher)→overlay, copy the edited silent.properties f ile in the etc
f older, and keep all existing def ault settings.

Step 3
Choose one of the f ollowing options:
• In the program f older, double-click the Installer_x64.exe f ile.

• Open a command prompt as administrator, change directory, and use the start
command (start Installer_x64.exe) to execute the installation.
Wait a f ew minutes, go to the Start menu and verif y if the new entry f or the EC-Net sof tware
has been added. You can watch this step being perf ormed in the Task Manager.

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 Silent Installer

Step 4
When the new EC-Net sof tware has been added to the Start menu, click EC-Net 4 Pro and
ensure that EC-Net 4 Pro launches and runs successf ully.

There is no output via logging or debugging console.

Viewing the installation process

You can f ollow the installation process via Task Manager watching the Terminal Application
f rom which you launch the Silent Installer.
You will see the installation f ile execute within the f ollowing:
• EC-Net Framework Installer
• EC-Net Runtime Launcher
• EC-Net Platf orm command line tools.

These are the install process stages:

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 Silent Installer

EC-Net 4 Installation Guide 17

 Common tasks

CHAPTER 4
COMMON TASKS
This section provides inf ormation regarding common installation and downloading tasks.
In This Chapter
Topic Page
Installing EC-Net 4 Pro 19
Getting Started in EC-Net 4 Pro 23
Performing a “Clean” Installation 26
Uninstalling 27

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 Common tasks

Installing EC-Net 4 Pro

The latest version of EC-Net 4 Pro can be installed by using the Sof tware Center.
1. Close any programs that are running on the PC.
2. Go to the Sof tware Center, which can be downloaded f rom the Distech Controls
website at www.distech-controls.com.
3. In the EC-NET Platform tab, select EC-Net Pro and Supervisor.

4. Follow the onscreen instructions f or any subsequent prompts that may appear
(depending on whether this is a new installation or an update).
5. The EC-Net 4 Installation process begins.

6. Click Next to start the installation.

7. Continue to f ollow the onscreen instructions f or any subsequent prompts that may
appear.

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 Common tasks

8. The f inal window appears af ter the installation of all f iles. The options allow you to
launch EC-Net 4 Pro immediately, install and start the platf orm daemon, and copy
daemon data f rom the prior release.

9. Select the required options as described in the table below:

Launch Workbench This option is selected by def ault and recommended.

Install and Start This option is selected by def ault. Any Supervisor installation, or
Platform Daemon engineering workstation PC that is licensed to run a local station
requires that you start the platf orm daemon.
Installing the platf orm daemon automatically stops and replaces
any other running platf orm daemon with the platf orm daemon
f rom this release. Also, at any time you can install and start the
platf orm daemon f rom any installed EC-Net build, using the
Start menu shortcut: Install Platf orm Daemon.
The platf orm daemon runs as a Windows service. To verif y that
it is running, f rom a command prompt, type services.msc and
press Enter. In the Services window, double-click on the EC-Net
named service to see details, such as the sof tware release and
build number.
Copy Daemon Data This option is selected by def ault when the installer detects
From Prior Version daemon data in an earlier version. When selected, the installer
copies f rom the earlier version the stations, templates, and other
f iles needed f or the stations to run.
NOTE: Starting in EC-Net 4 v4.2, if the installer detects that
there is an existing daemon home f or the version being installed,
then this option is not available. This is to avoid overwriting a
daemon home with an older version when re-installing sof tware
or upgrading a newer version.
For example, if you have existing EC-Net4 v4.1 and EC-Net 4
v4.2 daemon homes and you install a newer version of EC-Net 4
v4.2. If this option was selected, the installer would copy f iles
f rom the EC-Net 4 v4.1 daemon home to the existing EC-Net 4
v4.2 daemon home, overwriting f iles there which is most likely
an unwanted outcome.
10. Click Finish to close the window and execute the selected options .

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 Common tasks

Setting the System Passphrase

If perf orming a new installation, the program prompts you to set a system passphrase for
encryption purposes, as shown in the f ollowing image.

NOTE: It is important to remember the system passphrase and keep it saf e. If you lose the
system passphrase, you will lose access to encrypted data.
The system passphrase is used to protect sensitive inf ormation stored on all EC-Net
systems, and on the SD card in EC-BOS-8 and EC-BOS-9 controllers. The system
passphrase is assigned as the f ile passphrase f or “portable” f iles, such as backups and
station copies, and is used to encrypt those f iles. During operations in which you transf er
encrypted f iles to a system (restoring backups, transf erring a station, etc.) you are
prompted to supply the f ile passphrase if it doesn’t match the system passphrase. The
system passphrase def aults to the f actory def ault platf orm password. During
commissioning, you will be prompted to change the def ault system passphrase. You must
remember the system password and keep it saf e. If you lose the system passphrase, you
will lose access to encrypted data. To change the system passphrase, use the Platf orm
Administration tool.
For more detailed inf ormation, see “System passphrase” in the EC-Net 4 Platform Guide.
NOTE: Once the installation program sets the system passphrase, this step will not be
presented again upon subsequent EC-Net 4 installations.
1. In the Passphrase f ield, enter the passphrase and then repeat the entry in the Confirm
Passphrase f ield.
NOTE: A strong passphrase is required. Use 10 or more characters and include at
least one of each of the f ollowing: uppercase, lowercase, and numeric.
2. Click Next to continue.

Confirming the License

If you choose to launch EC-Net 4 Pro immediately and click Finish to exit the installation
wizard, a license check routine occurs. You may brief ly see a Check License popup
window, and possibly a License Installed window.
• License Installed indicates that EC-Net 4 has successf ully f ound a matching (bound)
license f or your Windows host on the licensing server and installed it. When you click

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 Common tasks

Continue, EC-Net 4 Pro should continue to open af ter another possible popup window
(Platform Daemon Restart Required - click Continue).
• If , instead, the License Request f orm appears in the browser, enter the License Key
string you received f or this installation, along with other inf ormation requested on the
f orm. Af ter submitting this f orm, the licensing server should f inalize (bind) your license
and make it available f or download, and also email it to you. If EC-Net 4 Pro
successf ully conf irms the license online, you can restart it af ter receiving the email.
EC-Net 4 Pro is now ready f or use (without f urther license checks) on your host, f or the
duration of your license.
1. Depending on which popup displays do the f ollowing:
• If the License Installed popup displays (shown below), click Continue, EC-Net 4
Pro should continue to open af ter another possible popup window (Platform
Daemon Restart Required - click Continue).

• If the License Request f orm appears in the browser (shown below), enter the
License Key string you received f or this installation, along with other inf ormation
requested on the f orm. Af ter submitting this f orm, the licensing server should
f inalize (bind) your license and make it available f or download, and also email it to
you. If EC-Net 4 Pro successf ully conf irms the license online, restart the program
af ter receiving the email.

EC-Net 4 Pro is now ready f or use (without f urther license checks) on your host, f or the
duration of your license.

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 Common tasks

Getting Started in EC-Net 4 Pro

Technical documents are available in the !docs f older as PDFs. Also, to view online help,
open a Help window and explore the Table of Contents.

Desktop Shortcuts and Tiles

Start Menu and desktop shortcuts f or Windows 7 provide access to EC-Net 4 Pro f rom the
Windows desktop. Tiles on the Start and App screens provide the equivalent f or Windows
8 and Windows Server 2012.
The installer sets up shortcuts or tiles f or the f ollowing applications:
• Alarm Portal 4.0.nnn (where nnn is the build) is a way to start EC-Net 4 Pro using an
alarm prof ile. This mode limits most menu options to the support of the Alarm Portal
view, which you can conf igure to monitor and acknowledge alarms f rom dif f erent
stations. Alternatively, you can access the same view in the standard EC-Net 4 Pro
interf ace, via the Tools→Alarm Portal selection. For more details, ref er to the Alarms
Guide.
• Console. This shortcut opens a blue Windows command prompt window with the path
set appropriately f or command line utilities.
NOTE: One command that may be usef ul is: nre-hostid. In cases where EC-Net 4 Pro
ref uses to start, use this command to retrieve the Host ID of your Windows PC.
You can also open a console within EC-Net 4 Pro, by choosing Window→Console. The
console area then appears at the bottom of the window.
• Install Platform Daemon. This shortcut installs and starts the platf orm daemon f or this
release and build of EC-Net. The platf orm daemon is a server process that allows
automatic station restart in case of reboot or f ailure, as well as remote platf orm
management. To host a local station on this platf orm, you must install and start the
platf orm daemon. If another platf orm daemon instance is running, Install Platform
Daemon stops the running daemon and overwrites it with this daemon. For related
details, see the EC-Net 4 Platform Guide.
• EC-Net 4 Pro (Console). This shortcut launches EC-Net 4 Pro with a separate,
associated Console (black) window, which can be helpf ul in troubleshooting. This is
similar to opening a Console (blue) window and entering the command: wb. Either
console provides client debug messages, similar to the platf orm Application Director,
which provides debug f or the (server) station application. If a client side error occurs in
EC-Net 4 Pro, there should be some sort of stack trace debug in the wb console output.
NOTE: If you start EC-Net 4 Pro this way, and then close the console window,the
program also immediately closes. Any unsaved changes are lost. Be sure to save
changes bef ore closing the associated console window. Exiting EC-Net 4 Pro f rom File
→Exit f orces options to be saved. It also prompts f or any unsaved f iles in the session
to be saved or discarded.
• EC-Net 4 Pro. This shortcut launches EC-Net 4 Pro without an associated console
window. If during installation you selected the option to start EC-Net 4 Pro upon
completion, the application uses this shortcut to start the program when it f inishes the
installation process.
• Uninstall. This shortcut removes this EC-Net installation. It provides separate options
to save station f iles and user f iles.
• Demo Station. This shortcut launches the standard demonstration station outside of
normal platf orm daemon control. As a convenience, the station launches using the
station.exe command in a console window.

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 Common tasks

If EC-Net 4 Pro is running, you can connect to the station (Open station). To save any
changes made and stop the station, type quit in the Demo Station console window
and press Enter. To stop without saving any changes, close the Demo Station console
window.
NOTE: Using station.exe is not the recommended way to start a local station. It is a
developer utility that allows quick access to station debug messages in the console
window. While the station is running, the console window can also process a f ew
entered commands (to see them, in the console window enter: help). The
recommended way to start a production station is to open a platf orm connection and
start the station f rom the Application Director. This allows conf iguration f or auto -start
and restart on f ailure.

File Locations
During the EC-Net 4 Pro installation and platf orm commissioning processes, the sof tware
dif f erentiates between two types of f iles based upon the content of the f iles: conf iguration
and runtime data. Files and f olders that contain conf iguration data reside in separate
locations f rom f iles and f olders that contain runtime data. This separation enhances
security by denying general access to the runtime f iles and allowing each user access to
only their personal conf iguration f iles.
As a result of separating conf iguration and runtime data, the system supports multiple
home directories on the Supervisor or engineering workstation. These homes may be
identif ied as:
• The system home contains runtime f iles, such as core sof tware modules, the JRE, and
binary executables
• EC-Net 4 Pro user home f or each user contains conf iguration data, including option
f iles, and registries.
• A platf orm daemon user home f or the Supervisor or engineering workstation contains
platf orm conf iguration data.
• Two station homes called, protected station home and station home, are part of each
user home.

Homes on a Supervisor
The f ollowing table provides a summary of the Supervisor or engineering workstation
homes with shortcut inf ormation.
Home in the Home in the File ORD
EC-Net 4 Pro Nav Platform Admin- EC-Net 4 alias Windows folder location and contents
tree istration view shortcut

My Host→My File System Home niagara_home C:\niagara\ EC-Net4-4.x.xx ! (as in EC-Net™AX )

System→Sys Home Executables and software files

My Host→My File N/A niagara_user_ C:\Users\userName\Niagara4.x\distech ~ (unique to

System→User Home home EC-Net 4 Pro user home for each human user EC-Net 4)
contains that user’s unique configuration files.

shared folder N/A station_home C:\Users\userName\Niagara4.x\distech\shared ^ (as in

EC-NetAX )
stations folder N/A protected_station C:\Users\userName\Niagara4.x\distech\stations ^^ (unique to
home EC-Net 4)

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 Common tasks

N/A User Home niagara_user_ C:\ProgramData\Niagara4.x\distech ~ (unique to

home EC-Net 4)
Platform daemon user home (non -human user)
holds platform daemon configuration files. Requires
a local platform connection to view in the Platform
Administration view.

Homes on a Controller
On a controller there are two homes.
Home in the
Home in the Platform EC-Net 4 alias OFD location and contents File ORD shortcut
Platform
Administration view
Administration view
Platform→Remote File System Home niagara_home /opt/niagara ! (as in EC-NetAX )
System→Sys Home Contains operating system data.
(Read Only)

Platform→Remote File User Home niagara_user_home /home/niagara ~ (unique to

System→User Home Contains configuration data and the EC-Net 4)
(Read Only) installed and running station.

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 Common tasks

Performing a “Clean” Installation

This procedure describes steps to perf orm a “clean” installation f or a subsequent build
(other than a f irst time installation), which means that no f iles and f olders f rom a previous
installation are persisted.
Prerequisites:
• Stop the EC-Net service in the Windows Services maintenance console.
The f iles and f olders in your EC-Net 4 Pro user home and in the platf orm daemon user
home persist, so that all conf iguration data stored there is used by each new EC-Net 4
build that you install. However, f or troubleshooting or testing purposes you may pref er to
start f resh rather than continue to use any of the f iles or f olders f rom the existing installation.
If that is the case, you can move or rename your existing EC-Net 4 Pro user home and
platf orm daemon user home f olders so that new ones are created b y the installer.
1. Navigate to your niagara_user_home location:
(C:\Users\userName\Niagara4.x\distech) and rename the Niagara4.x f older. For
example, change the f older name to niagara4.0_myBackup.
2. Navigate to the platf orm daemon user home f or the localhost
(C:\ProgramData\Niagara4.x\distech) and rename the Niagara4.x f older. For example,
change the f older name to niagara4.0_daemonBackup.
3. Run the installation wizard to install another build. During the installation, the installer
creates new Niagara4.0 f olders in both of those locations.

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 Common tasks

Uninstalling
During the EC-Net installation, the appropriate Uninstall executable is copied to the !bin
subf older, and renamed to uninstall.exe. The installed Start menu Uninstall shortcut
points to this executable.
Running the Uninstaller removes only the installation runtime f iles and f olders in the
niagara_home location (C:\niagara\EC-Net4-4.0.8.nnn).
The f iles and f olders located in your niagara_user home
(C:\Users\WindowsLoginUser\Niagara4.x) and in the platf orm daemon user home
(C:\ProgramData\Niagara4.x) are lef t untouched.
1. Under the Windows Start menu, click All Programs and scroll to the EC-Net build you
wish to uninstall.
2. Click Niagara build > Uninstall. The Uninstall Program wizard opens.
3. Conf irm that the wizard lists the correct build and click Next. The wizard notif ies you
as it immediately begins uninstalling.
On completion, the wizard notif ies you that the uninstallation is complete.

EC-Net 4 Installation Guide 27

CHAPTER 5
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions and answers cover subjects ranging f rom the EC-Net 4 directory structure to
general Framework subjects such as, installing individual modules and conf iguring your
Windows f irewall to allow f or communication.

EC-Net 4 FAQs
Questions and answers specif ically about EC-Net 4.
Q: Why does an installation have so many “homes”?
A: The multi-homed directory structure results in improved security. Because conf iguration
data is separated f rom runtime data, users do not require f ull access permissions to the
installation. This allows administrators f lexibility in regulating access. For more details on
the homes, ref er to the EC-Net 4 Platf orm Guide.

Q: The new station that I just created does not show-up in the Application Director
view. How am I supposed to start the station?
A: The New Station Wizard creates the station in your EC-Net 4 Pro user_home. To start
the station in the Application Director you must f irst copy the station, using the platf orm
Station Copier, to the platf orm daemon user_home .
NOTE: This scenario is true f or early Beta versions. However in later versions the f inal
(Finish) step of the wizard includes several action-on-Finish options, one of which is: Copy
station to secure platf orm f or “localhost” on Finish. If selected, on f inishing the wizard
closes and the platf orm Station Copier appears.

Q: Why on my Supervisor PC am I required to make a local platform connection and

the Station Copier to copy (transfer) a station to the daemon user home from my EC-
Net 4 Pro user home, when I could more easily just use Windows Explorer to copy
and paste folders and files there?
A: Bypassing platf orm tools, even with “localhost” operations, increases security risks. In
the example cited, if you simply copy and paste a station f older using Windows Explorer,
client passwords in that station are lef t in a portable f ormat. Whereas if you use the Station
Copier, those passwords become encrypted with the unique keyring f iles f or the opened
platf orm.

Q: Will other Windows users with admin privileges who log on to the PC where the
installation exists be able to see the Start menu shortcuts, installation folders, etc?
A: The shortcuts are visible only to the original installer. Other administrator-level users,
logged on to the Windows PC, can make their own shortcuts to EC-Net 4 Pro, etc., or
simply navigate to the installation f olders to start EC-Net 4 Pro. The result is that the user
gets their own unique EC-Net 4 Pro niagara_user_home (C:
\Windows\users\userName\Niagara4.x, a separate location f rom that of the user who
installed the f ramework.
Dif f erent Windows logons have dif f erent niagara_user_homes, which is by design, it
protects any passwords you may be using. This also means that sharing backups (and
other items) with other users requires some thought.

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 Frequently asked questions

Q: Is it possible to use EC-Net 4 Pro with an earlier release of EC-Net installed on a

controller?
A: No. You need to use a version of EC-Net 4 Pro that is compatible with the sof tware on
the controller. However, a remote EC-NetAX-3.8 controller can be integrated in the EC-Net
4 Supervisor's station, where you can discover points, schedules, and histories. Also if the
Supervisor is conf igured f or provisioning, it can do provisioning tasks on a remote EC-
NetAX-3.8 controller. See the EC-Net AX to EC-Net 4 Migration Guide f or related details.

General FAQs
Questions and answers on the Niagara Framework.
Q: From my engineering workstation, I need to support different jobs at different
software release levels (for example: 3.7, 3.8, 4.0). Is there a recommended method
to do this?
A : You can install dif f erent release levels on your workstation, and keep them separate by
installing them in dif f erent locations. To run stations locally, remember to check which
platf orm daemon is running at the time (f rom command prompt: services.msc and look at
EC-Net service). As needed, use the shortcut Install Platf orm Daemon to start the
appropriate platf orm daemon.

Q: Is it possible to select which modules are installed?

A: By def ault, the installer installs all modules in your !modules f older. These include all the
online versions of software documents, such as (Getting Started with EC-Net 4) and so on,
various lexicon modules, and all the sof tware modules, including ones f or drivers and other
f eatures.
NOTE When you use EC-Net 4 Pro to install sof tware in remote hosts (typically EC-BOS
controllers), you do select which modules to install, among them all the sof tware modules
in your !modules f older, as well as other items in your sof tware database (!sw f older).

Q: Does EC-Net require changes to my Windows Firewall?

A: Most conf igurations work with the def ault ports. You would make changes to your f irewall
to run a station locally on a PC with other remote stations connected to it, or to allow a
remote EC-Net 4 Pro client to connect to the station and platf orm on this host.

Q: When installing EC-Net on a Supervisor, is the software supposed to be installed

with the “use as install tool” box checked? Is there any reason not to check this
box?
A: This box is optional because the installation is 200MB bigger when it is selected. You
need to have it checked if the Supervisor will be using provisioning to install sof tware to
subordinate controllers, or if you want to use EC-Net 4 Pro f rom that computer to upgrade
sof tware on a controller.

Q: What is the difference between wb_w.exe and wb.exe?

A: Starting EC-Net 4 Pro using wb.exe starts an associated console window that provides
debug inf ormation f or the client EC-Net 4 Pro application in much the same way that the
application director provides server-side debug inf ormation f or the station. It is typical to
start EC-Net 4 Pro using wb.exe when trouble shooting client side issues.

30 EC-Net 4 Installation Guide

 Frequently asked questions

Starting EC-Net 4 Pro using wb_w.exe launches the program without a console window.
You may pref er to use wb.exe because of the console. If EC-Net 4 Pro f reezes with a
console open, you can quickly terminate the program by closing the console window.

Q: I’ve got different versions of EC-Net 4 Pro installed. When is it really necessary
to start the platform daemon?
A: You only need to start the platf orm daemon when you are planning to run a station
locally. However, it does not hurt to get in the habit of loading the platf orm daemon f or the
current release each time you launch EC-Net 4 Pro. Some customers use batch f iles for
starting the platf orm daemon f ollowed by starting the program. This simplif ies things
because you can just double-click the shortcut icon f or the particular version and brand of
EC-Net 4 Pro you need.

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