MSA FS-8700-95 Notifier NFS-3030 Installation Guide

: June 6, 2024
: MSA

The Safety Company

Driver Manual
FS-8700-95 Notifier NFS-3030

Notifier Onyx Driver Manual

Description

The NFS-3030 Serial driver allows the FieldServer to record data from Notifier Onyx Series NFS-3030 Fire Panels over RS-232.
The FieldServer acts as a Passive Client receiving messages and recording the status of a Notifier-3030
Fire Alarm Panel. There is no active polling by this driver; the communications are one-way through the panel’s printer port.
This driver is not capable of emulating a Notifier NFS-3030 panel and the very limited Server functionality has only been implemented to facilitate FieldServer’s Quality Assurance program.
The purpose of this driver is to record the status of Fire Alarm System detectors and Modules in Data Arrays – one Data Array per loop. It is limited by the information that the Notifier NFS-3030 unit sends in the form of text messages through its RS-232 printer port. The accuracy and timeliness of the data are therefore limited to the frequency of update messages that the Notifier Fire Panel issues.
Section 7 lists the Notifier message types supported by this driver and the effect on the status of points in the Data Array. The driver is capable of supporting the panel’s port supervision message is configured to do so.
The panel must output messages in English.

Max Nodes Supported

FieldServer Mode| Nodes|

Comments

---|---|---
Client| 1| Each FieldServer port can connect to only 1 NFS-3030 panel
Server| 0| The NFS-3030 driver cannot be used as a Server

Driver Scope of Supply

Supplied by MSA Safety

Part #|

Description

---|---
| Driver Manual

Hardware Connections

Notifier Onyx NFS-640 Panel

The FieldServer is connected to the Notifier NFS-3030 Fire Panel as shown in the connection drawings below. Configure the Notifier NFS-3030 Fire Panel according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Connecting the Notifier-3030 Panel to a FieldServer

Hardware Connection Tips / Hints

The printer port must be enabled on the unit and set to 80 columns with NO supervision unless port supervision is enabled in the driver configuration.

Configuring the FieldServer as a (Notifier NFS-3030) Client

For detailed information on FieldServer configuration, refer to the FieldServer Configuration Manual. The information that follows describes how to expand upon the factory defaults provided in the configuration files included with the FieldServer (See “.csv” sample files provided with the FieldServer).
This section documents and describes the parameters necessary for configuring the FieldServer to communicate with a Notifier NFS-3030 Server.
It is possible to connect the Notifier NFS-3030 to any RS-232 port. These ports need to be configured for Protocol=”nfs3030″ in the configuration files.

Panel Status – Data Array Mapping

NOTE: All troubles will be recorded as a counter because there may be several troubles for a single device. This counter will be incremented or decremented as additional troubles are reported or cleared.

Parameter|

Registers (float)

---|---
{per loop}|
Fire Alarm| 0-199
200-399| detectors modules
Trouble each point will increment/decrement the number recorded, system normal will reset the counter to zero of troubles| 500-799
700-899| detectors modules
PreAlarm| 1000-1199
1200-1399| detectors modules
Security Alarm| 1500-1799
1700-1899| detectors modules
Supervisory| 2000-2199
2200-2399| detectors modules
Disabled| 2500-2799
2700-2899| detectors modules
On/Off| 3000-3199
3200-3399| detectors modules
Active| 3500-3799
3700-3899| detectors modules
{system points only}|
System Troubles| 0-1000
Disabled Zones| 1000-1999
2000-2099
Zones 2100-2199| General Zones Releasing
Trouble Zones
Panel
*note: some of these Data Arrays are not appropriate for panels but arranged in this fashion for symmetry in message parsing| 3000-3099
3100-3199
3200-3299
3300-3399
3400-3499
3500-3599
3600-3699
3700-3799| Fire Alarm
Trouble

Security Alarm
Disabled
On/Off

Calculating Array Offset for a Panel

Each Notifier 3030 Loop has a separate Data Array. There can be up to 10 loops per panel, and the status of the detectors and modules on any particular loop is recorded in the appropriate section of the Data Array according to the device address. e.g. For a detector L02D054 in PRE ALARM, the address would be 1054 in the Data Array for loop 2.
Data related to the fire panel but not associated with a loop (Panel Circuit, System Troubles, and Disabled Zones) are recorded in the system Data Array assigned to Loop 0. e.g. For a Panel Circuit P12.7 in FIRE ALARM the address = 3000 + 11*8 + 7 = 3095 would be set to 1.

Data Arrays/Descriptors

The configuration file tells the FieldServer about its interfaces, and the routing of data required. In order to enable the FieldServer for Notifier NFS-3030 communications, the driver independent FieldServer buffers need to be declared in the “Data Arrays” section, the destination device addresses need to be declared in the “Client-Side Nodes” section, and the data required from the Servers need to be mapped in the “Client-Side Map Descriptors” section. Details on how to do this can be found below.

NOTE: *In the tables below, indicates an optional parameter, with the bold legal value as default.**

Section Title

|
---|---
Data_Arrays
Column Title| Function|

Legal Values

Data_Array_Name| Provide a name for Data Array.| Up to 15 alphanumeric characters
Data_Array_Format| Provide data format. Each Data Array can only take on one format.| Float, Bit, Byte, Uint16, Uint32, Sint16, Sint32
Data_Array_Length| A number of Data Objects. Must be larger than the data storage area required by the Map Descriptors for the data being placed in this array.| 1-10000

Example

Client-Side Connection Descriptors

Section Title

|
---|---
Connections

Column Title

|

Function

|

Legal Values

Example

Client-Side Node Descriptors

Note: This driver does not utilize the Node_ID or station address as there can only be one panel per RS-232 Port. However, the configuration files require that this be defined. See below or Client.csv as an example.

Section Title

|
---|---
Nodes

Column Title

|

Function

|

Legal Values

Example

1 Not all ports shown are necessarily supported by the hardware. Consult the appropriate Instruction manual for details of the ports available on specific hardware.
2 If the parameter is not specified or is zero, then port supervision must be disabled at the panel.

Client-Side Map Descriptors

FieldServer Related Map Descriptor Parameters

Column Title| Function|

Legal Values

---|---|---
Map_Descriptor_Name| Name of this Map Descriptor.| Up to 32 alphanumeric characters
Data_Array_Name| Name of Data Array where data is to be stored in the FieldServer.| One of the Data Array names from “Data Array” section above
Data_Array_Offset| Starting location in Data Array.| 0
Function| The function of Client Map Descriptor.| Passive_Client

Driver Related Map Descriptor Parameters

Column Title| Function|

Legal Values

---|---|---
Node_Name| Name of Node to fetch data from.| One of the node names specified in “Client Node Descriptor” above
Length| Length of Map Descriptor.| 4000 (LOOP_X) 3800 (SYSTEM_INFO)
Address| The starting address of the read block.| 1
Loop| Loop number.| 1 to 10

Map Descriptor Example – Standard Example
This shows the standard Map Descriptor set up for a panel with 10 loops plus a single “system_info” Map Descriptor assigned to loop 0.

In the above example:

Data_Array_Offset – Select the Array for data storage according to the Loop ID. System data is stored under loop 0.
Function – All Map Descriptors are passive waiting for a message from the NFS-3030 panel.
Loop – Identify the loop id for which this Map Descriptor will store data

Useful Features

FieldServer Synchronization

To synchronize the FieldServer’s Data Arrays with the Notifier NFS-3030 fire panel, the fire panel must be in the SYSTEM NORMAL state, and then the FieldServer can be restarted. There is no method of auto synchronizing the two devices because there is currently no method for polling data from the NFS-3030 panel through the printer port.

When a system normal message is received by the driver it clears all the Data Arrays associated with the driver. It attempts to do this in one cycle of the FieldServer. Depending on the size of the Data Array’s (each is typically 4k elements for this driver) and the number of loops this can take up so much cycle time that it can cause the system to crash especially in configurations where there are a large number of large moves. This can be avoided by eliminating unnecessary moves and by using bit arrays on the Map Descriptor rather than float arrays.

Port Supervision³

The driver is able to process port supervision queries sent by the panel. It has several modes for achieving this.
Mode = 1 Driver responds to port supervision queries.
Mode = 2 Driver responds to port supervision queries unless it fails to process a message correctly (parsing error). In this case, the driver starts a 7-second timer during which time it will not respond to port supervision queries.
Mode = 3 Driver accepts the port supervision query but does not respond. This mode is useful for panels where supervision is enabled but no response should be sent.
Mode = 4 This is an internal mode. It means the mode is in transition.
Mode = 5 Similar to Mode 1 but can be made to transition between mode=3 and mode=5 based on the value in a Data Array. This mode is useful for Hot Standby.

3 The driver did not support port supervision prior to version 1.02e.

Port Supervision in Hot Standby

A strategy that can be employed is the following.
The Primary FieldServer is set to Mode=1 and always responds to Port supervision Requests. The Secondary FieldServer is normally set to Mode=3 and will not respond to Port Supervision requests but is capable of transition. If the primary fails, the secondary becomes active but does not respond which causes trouble at the panel. If the transition is tied to a Data Array value that changes from a value of 0 to a value of 1 when the secondary becomes active, then the secondary can be made to transition to mode=5 so that it starts responding. Thus, the trouble occurs for the duration of the transition timer (hardcoded – 5 seconds). Thereafter the secondary responds so the trouble is suppressed. This means that the panel logs the event. When the Primary FieldServer becomes active again, the value at offset zero in the stats array will revert to 0 and the mode will transition to Mode=3.

Port Supervision in Hot Standby
A strategy that can be employed is the following.
The Primary FieldServer is set to Mode=1 and always responds to Port supervision Requests. The Secondary FieldServer is normally set to Mode=3 and will not respond to Port Supervision requests but is capable of transition. If the primary fails, the secondary becomes active but does not respond which causes trouble at the panel. If the transition is tied to a Data Array value that changes from a value of 0 to a value of 1 when the secondary becomes active, then the secondary can be made to transition to mode=5 so that it starts responding. Thus, the trouble occurs for the duration of the transition timer (hardcoded – 5 seconds). Thereafter the secondary responds so the trouble is suppressed. This means that the panel logs the event. When the Primary FieldServer becomes active again, the value at offset zero in the stats array will revert to 0 and the mode will transition to Mode=3.

In the above example:

Data_Array_Function – Monitor the Hot Standby Status Array.

In the above example:

Source_Offset – Offset 3 relates to the Secondary FieldServer.
Target_Offset – The 1st element in the Data Array has control over how the driver responds to the port supervision request.
Task_Name – Move the Hot Standby status to the 3030 driver stats array.

Normally the Secondary FieldServer is not active and must not respond to the port supervision query. When it does become active it must start responding.
Define the Stats Array as described in Section 6.5.

Troubleshooting

Connection Tips & Hints

Trouble connecting to the Notifier printer port may occur if the port has not been enabled. By default, this port is disabled. Please check the Notifier Manuals on how to enable this port and ensure that it is set to 80 columns with no supervision unless port supervision is enabled in the driver configuration.
If the FieldServer reboots when connected to the Panel Serial port, then it is most likely that an Optical Isolator is required to balance ground potential differences. Such differences have been known to damage the FieldServer serial port, and therefore it is recommended that this action is taken as soon as the symptom is observed.

Driver Limitations and Exclusions

General zone disabling will be recorded, but zone information related to corresponding alarm, trouble, pre-alarm, security alarm, supervisory, and on/off will not be recorded.

Read point status data will not be recorded as this information is not available at the printer port.
The Printer port must be enabled on the unit and set to 80 columns with NO supervision unless port supervision is enabled in the driver configuration. Refer to Section 5.1 for more information.
Data related to non-event-driven printer reports will not be recorded by the FieldServer.
This driver was written specifically for the following Notifier 3030 firmware versions. Any changes or additions by Notifier will not be reflected in this driver unless specifically revised.
o Boot: 001.001.001 Dec 03 2002
o App: 001.005.001 Feb 28 2003
Information about zone status that is incorporated with point status messages will not be recorded by this driver.
This driver is not designed for multi-dropped panels – there can only be one panel connected to any given FieldServer port.
This driver records data as presented to the printer port by the Notifier NFS-3030 and can only be as accurate as this data.
The driver cannot send any messages (including Ack, Reset, and Silence) to the 3030 Panel.
The driver does not support NFS2-3030, – a separate driver is needed.

Error Messages

Most error messages are associated with errors parsing an incoming message from the NFS-3030. The most likely cause is a mismatch in the expected message format. The driver will flag one of the following error messages and continue. In most cases, the message currently being processed by the driver will also be printed so that problems can be easily diagnosed.

Message

|

Explanation

---|---
NFS3030:#1 Err. Incoming data is being abandoned on port %d. MapDesc’s are required to define storage.| A corresponding Map Descriptor with the correct loop number was not found for storing data.4
NFS3030:#2 FYI. Attempted to decrement < 0| A “cleared trouble” message appeared for an address when there were no more troubles to clear. This may occur if a history printer dump is made. The Notifier messages may not be printed in chronological order, so the clear will occur before the trouble.
NFS3030:#4 Err. Two-line addressing parsing failure.| Please contact Tech Support.
NFS3030:#5 FYI. The MapDesc called <%s> is too short.| Increase the NFS3030-stats Data Array size4
NFS3030:#7 Err. Illegal Map Descriptor length – defaulting to 1.| Ensure that all Length field entries have been made correctly.4
NFS3030:#8 Err. Loop value error. Defaulting to 1| The Loop parameter has an invalid value. 4
NFS3030:#9 Err. Undefined Loop.| Ensure all entries for the “Loop” field have been made. 4
NFS3030:#10 Err. Illegal Node_ID [%d] – Set to 1| Nodes or stations are not part of this protocol – set the node value to the dummy value recommended in the driver manual. 4
NFS3030:#11 Err. Parsing Invalid Single Line message: %s| Please contact Tech Support.
NFS3030:#12 Err. Parsing Invalid 2 Line message: %s| Please contact Tech Support.
NFS3030:#13 Err. Parse failure, sys trouble not found in lookup: |%s|| Please contact Tech Support.
NFS3030:#14 Err. Test file <%s> not found.| For development and testing only, please contact Tech Support.
NFS3030:#15 Err. Diagnostic line ignored.| For development and testing only, please contact Tech Support.
NFS3030:#16 Err. Attempt to store data outside of Data Array range.| Correct Data Array declarations. 4

4 Check configuration file settings. If necessary, update the .csv file. Refer to the Configuration Manual for assistance.

Message|

Explanation

---|---
NFS3030:#17 Err. No polling is allowed. Presumed write thru abandoned!| Polling is not supported by this driver. The write is not performed and the Map Descriptor is returned producing a Protocol Error. To avoid the problem, reconfigure the upstream driver so that it does not write data into the Data Arrays associated with this Driver’s Map Descriptors.
NFS3030:#18 Err. Internal Diagnostic. Call Tech Support.| The driver performed a poll. This is not permitted except as part of the driver’s self-diagnosing QA tests.

FieldServer Statistics

The following table identifies statistics generated by the Notifier NFS-3030 serial driver and their meanings.

Message|

Meaning

---|---
Messages received| Total number messages of all types received and successfully interpreted from the Notifier NFS-3030
A message can be a single or double line reporting status.
Bytes received| A total number of bytes received by all message types from the Notifier NFS-3030. This number is independent of whether the message is to be ignored, is producing an error, or will be successfully interpreted.
Protocol Errors| A message could not be parsed or stored correctly.
Msg Ignored (can be seen on error statistics screen for connection)| A total number of messages ignored by the driver. Driver ignores the following messages Complete message but length is less than 50 leading CR (carriage return)character leading LF (line feed)character

Additional Statistics

Additional statistics are available if the NFS3030-Stats Map Descriptor is declared in the configuration file. The statistics are recorded in a Data Array and addressed according to the formula. address = {statistic Id#} + {port #}*{50 stats per port}. They may be viewed using the FieldServer FS-GUI, or by reading the FieldServer’s data with another device. To invoke this feature, add the following to the configuration file:

Statistic| Description|

ID #

---|---|---
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_BYTES_RCVD| Total number of bytes received on port| 30
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_MSGS_RCVD| Total number of full-length messages received, whether rejected or successfully interpreted| 31
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_BYTES_REJECTED_BY_COMPLETE| Total bytes rejected if the message is not of full length (i.e. <50)| 32
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_OCCURRENCES_REJECTED_BY_COMPLETE| Total number of messages rejected if the length is less than 50 or message is only CR or LF| 33
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_BYTES_REJECTED_BY_PARSE_KEYWORD| Total number of bytes rejected if event keyword (see Section 7.1.1 ) is unknown| 34
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_OCCURRENCES_REJECTED_BY_PARSE_KEY WORD| Total number of messages rejected if event keyword (see Section 7.1.1 ) is unknown| 35
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_ADDRESS_PARSE_FAILURE| A total number of messages producing error because of wrong address for loop, detector, panel, zone, etc.| 40
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_PARSE_KEYWORD_FOUND_BUTNOT HANDLED.| Total number of messages received with known event keyword but not described in Section 7 . 1.1| 41
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_STORE_IGNORES_MESSAGE| Total number of messages which Map Descriptor is not defined to store data| 42
NFS_STAT_SLAVE_STORED_MESSAGE| Total number of messages for which Driver stored data| 43
NFS_STAT_CLIENT_SENDS_POLL| Used during testing only – Increments by 1 each time the Client sends a poll| 44

Message to Data Array MappingReference

This driver was designed to be connected to the Notifier Onyx NFS-3030 printer port and listen for incoming messages. The panel’s default setting for the printer port is off. To utilize this driver, the printer must be enabled on the unit and set to 80 columns with NO supervision unless port supervision is enabled in the driver configuration. Refer to Section 5.1 for more information on port supervision.
The purpose of this driver is to record the status of devices connected to the NFS-3030 system by interpreting the text messages sent to the printer port. Only messages that directly pertain to device status are currently supported. The following subset of event messages is recognized:

Notifier NFS-3030 Message Types Recognized

Event Keyword| Data Arrays Affected| Clearing Event|

Notes

---|---|---|---
Fire Alarm| Modules/Detectors| Cleared Fire Alarm
System Normal| states: {0,1}
Trouble| Modules/Detectors System
Panel Circuit| Cleared Trouble
System Normal| This is for both point and system trouble – system troubles are only 1 line message with no point address.
states: {counter}
Pre Alarm| Detectors| Cleared Pre Alarm
System Normal| states: {0,1}
Security Alarm| Modules Panel Circuit| Cleared Security
Alarm
System Normal| states: {0,1}
Supervisory| Modules| Cleared
Supervisory
System Normal| states: {0,1}
Disabled| Zones Modules/Detectors
Panel Circuit| Cleared Disabled System Normal| states: {0,1}
On/Off| Modules
Panel| Off/On| states: {0,1}
System Normal| All| | Will reset all Data Arrays for all loops and the system to zero
Active| Modules| Cleared Active|

System Trouble Messages

Detailed mapping of message interaction System Trouble messages provided by Notifier at the time this driver was written is tabulated below. Any changes or additions by Notifier will not be reflected in this driver unless specifically revised. Because of the patterns of the messages, the search string has been truncated to permit message recognition with the device address.

Case| NFS-3030 message|

Alternative search string

---|---|---
1| LOOP x- x COMM FAILURE| COMM FAILURE
2| STYLE 4 SHORT x LOOP x| STYLE 4 SHORT
3| ANNUN x NO ANSWER| NO ANSWER
4| ANNUN x TROUBLE| TROUBLE
System Trouble| ID #| System Trouble| ID #| System Trouble|

ID #

---|---|---|---|---|---
AC FAIL| 0| INTERNAL RAM ERROR| 15| PROGRAM CORRUPTED| 30
ADV WALK TEST| 1| LOADING.NO SERVICE| 16| PROG MODE ACTIVATED| 31
UDACT NO ANSWER| 2| COMM FAILURE| 17| SELF TEST FAILED| 32
UDACT TROUBLE| 3| MAN EVAC INITIATED| 18| SOFTWARE MISMATCH| 33
AUXILIARY TROUBLE| 4| MAN EVAC RECEIVED| 19| STYLE 4 SHORT| 34
BASIC WALK TEST| 5| MANUAL MODE ENTERED| 20| STYLE 6 POS. LOOP| 35
BATTERY| 6| NCM COMM LOSS| 21| STYLE 6 NEG. LOOP| 36
CHARGER FAIL| 7| NETWORK FAIL PORT| 22| STYLE 6 SHORT LOOP| 37
CORRUPT LOGIC EQUAL| 8| NFPA 24HR REMINDER| 23| TEST PROGRAM UPDATE| 38
DRILL INITIATED| 9| NVRAMBATT TROUBLE| 24| TM4 TROUBLE| 39
DRILL RECEIVED| 10| NO DEV. INST ON L1| 25| TM4 NO ANSWER| 40
EPROM ERROR| 11| NO POWER SUPPLY INST| 26| TM4 DISABLED| 41
EXTERNAL RAM ERROR| 12| PANEL DOOR OPEN| 27| TROUBLE| 42
GROUND FAULT LOOP| 13| PRINTER OFFLINE| 28| NO ANSWER| 43
GROUND FAULT| 14| PRINTER PAPER OUT| 29| SYSTEM INITIALISATION| 44

APPLICABILITY & EFFECTIVITY
Effective for all systems manufactured after March 2021.

Driver Revision: 1.05
Document Revision: 3. A

The Safety Company

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