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Building Automation Glossary

Reference glossary for common building automation and protocol-integration terms used across Chipkin documentation.

Categories:

A

Assembly Object: A CIP data container that groups I/O points for exchange between devices on an EtherNet/IP network.

B

BACnet: Building Automation and Control Networks, an open protocol standard based on objects, properties, and services.

BACnet/IP: BACnet transported over UDP/IP using the BACnet Virtual Link Layer.

BACnet MS/TP: BACnet Master-Slave/Token-Passing over RS-485 serial wiring.

BBMD: BACnet Broadcast Management Device used to move BACnet/IP broadcast traffic across subnets.

Byte Order: The arrangement of bytes inside a multi-byte value.

C

CIP: Common Industrial Protocol, the application layer used by EtherNet/IP and related industrial networks.

Coil: A single-bit read-write Modbus point.

COV: BACnet Change of Value reporting where a device transmits updates only when a property changes sufficiently.

D

DATA_TABLE_READ / WRITE: EtherNet/IP access modes that determine whether a gateway reads from or writes to PLC data tables.

Device Instance: The unique numeric identifier assigned to each BACnet device.

Discrete Input: A single-bit read-only Modbus point.

E

EDS File: Electronic Data Sheet describing an EtherNet/IP device’s supported objects and configuration behavior.

Endianness: See Byte Order.

EtherNet/IP: Industrial Ethernet protocol that carries CIP over standard Ethernet networks.

Explicit Messaging: EtherNet/IP Class 3 request-response messaging used for configuration and on-demand reads.

F

FDR: Foreign Device Registration for BACnet/IP.

FieldServer: Chipkin’s gateway platform for legacy and specialty protocol work.

G

Gateway: A hardware or software device that translates data between different protocols.

H

Holding Register: A read-write 16-bit Modbus point.

I

I-Am: BACnet discovery response sent after a Who-Is request.

Implicit Messaging: EtherNet/IP Class 1 cyclic I/O messaging.

Input Register: A read-only 16-bit Modbus point.

M

Max Masters: BACnet MS/TP parameter that defines the highest MAC address polled for token passing.

Modbus: Industrial protocol for point-oriented data exchange over serial or TCP/IP.

Modbus RTU: Serial Modbus with binary framing and CRC error checking.

Modbus TCP: Ethernet Modbus carried over TCP/IP with an MBAP header.

P

Point Map: The configuration table that defines how a gateway translates source data into destination data.

Protocol Conversion: The process of translating data between incompatible protocols through a gateway.

Q

QuickServer: Chipkin’s current-generation protocol-conversion gateway platform.

R

Register Map: Vendor-provided documentation listing available Modbus registers, addresses, data types, and access behavior.

RS-485: Differential serial physical layer widely used by Modbus RTU and BACnet MS/TP.

T

Token Passing: The media-access method used by BACnet MS/TP.

Toolbox: Discovery and connectivity utility used with FieldServer and QuickServer gateways.

V

Veeder Root: Fuel-tank monitoring protocol family commonly bridged into supervisory systems.

W

Who-Is: BACnet discovery request used to locate devices on a network.

Word Order: The arrangement of 16-bit words inside a larger Modbus value.