What B-ACWS Is
A BACnet device profile is a standardized capability level: a checklist of things a device must be able to do before it can wear the label. B-ACWS (BACnet Access Control Workstation) is the physical-access-control operator interface for user administration, defined in Annex L of ANSI/ASHRAE 135-2024 (clause L.3.2). It enrolls and manages users, credentials, and rights (creating, deleting, and configuring Access User, Access Credential, and Access Rights objects) and operates the access-control system, but it does not configure the door and reader object set that a B-AACWS does.
The checklist items are BACnet Interoperability Building Blocks (BIBBs), each a named unit of capability such as “can send a read request” (DS-RP-A). B-ACWS is an operator-side (client) profile: it initiates reads, writes, object creation, and device management against other devices, and it receives access-event notifications rather than generating them. A device documents its profile claim in its PICS (Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement); to verify a claim, ask for the PICS and check the profile line.
Where It’s Used
B-ACWS is the user-administration seat, targeted at an operator who enrolls and manages people in the access-control system.
- Credential-enrollment workstations. A console where staff create and manage Access User, Access Credential, and Access Rights objects for the building population.
- Security operator desks. A workstation paired with a head end (the central BMS server) that acknowledges access events and monitors doors.
- Access-control front ends. A station that presents access events, event logs, and schedules for daily operation.
Required Services
The table below is the exhaustive service set required by the B-ACWS BIBBs. Initiates means the device sends the request or notification; Executes means the device receives and acts on it (responding, for confirmed services). BIBB codes encode the same split: a -A BIBB is the initiating side, a -B BIBB the executing side. A - means the profile does not require that direction; a device may still support it. A service can appear under two capability areas when two different BIBBs use it.
| Capability area | Service | Required by BIBB | Initiates | Executes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data sharing | ReadProperty | DS-RP-A, DS-RP-B, DS-ACAV-A | Yes | Yes |
| Data sharing | ReadPropertyMultiple | DS-RPM-A | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | WriteProperty | DS-WP-A, DS-ACM-A | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | WritePropertyMultiple | DS-WPM-A | Yes | - |
| Alarm and event management | ConfirmedEventNotification | AE-N-A, AE-AC-A, AE-ACAVN-A | - | Yes |
| Alarm and event management | UnconfirmedEventNotification | AE-N-A, AE-AC-A, AE-ACAVN-A | - | Yes |
| Alarm and event management | AcknowledgeAlarm | AE-ACK-A, AE-AC-A | Yes | - |
| Alarm and event management | GetEventInformation | AE-AS-A | Yes | - |
| Alarm and event management | GetAlarmSummary | AE-AS-A | Yes | - |
| Alarm and event management | ReadRange (event-log view) | AE-ELV-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | Who-Is | DM-DDB-A, DM-DDB-B | Yes | Yes |
| Device and network management | I-Am | DM-DDB-A, DM-DDB-B | Yes | Yes |
| Device and network management | Who-Has | DM-DOB-B | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | I-Have | DM-DOB-B | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | DeviceCommunicationControl | DM-DCC-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | TimeSynchronization | DM-MTS-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | UTCTimeSynchronization | DM-MTS-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | ReinitializeDevice | DM-RD-A, DM-BR-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | CreateObject | DM-OCD-A, DS-ACUC-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | DeleteObject | DM-OCD-A, DS-ACUC-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | AtomicReadFile (backup) | DM-BR-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | AtomicWriteFile (restore) | DM-BR-A | Yes | - |
The view, modify, and configuration BIBBs add no wire service beyond the rows above. DS-ACAV-A (Access Control Advanced View) and DS-ACM-A (Access Control Modify) read and write access-object properties; DS-ACUC-A (User Configuration) creates, deletes, reads, and writes Access User, Access Credential, and Access Rights objects; AE-ACVM-A adjusts access-event parameters; SCHED-VM-A views and modifies schedules and calendars; DM-ADM-A enumerates objects; DM-ANM-A adjusts alarm routing by writing Notification Class recipient lists. Each is carried by the ReadProperty, WriteProperty, and CreateObject rows above.
Related Profiles
| Profile | How it differs from B-ACWS |
|---|---|
| B-AACWS | Advanced Access Control Workstation: a step up. Adds site-object configuration (doors, readers), event-log modification, and audit reporting |
| B-ACSD | Access Control Security Display: one step down. Monitoring and event handling with minimal configuration, no object creation |
| B-ACC | Access Control Controller: the device side. It generates the access events a B-ACWS handles and hosts the access objects it manages |
What Chipkin Provides
B-ACWS is an operator-side profile: its initiating and notification-receiving behavior is implemented in Chipkin’s BACnet test tooling rather than the shipping device stack, which targets the server-side profiles. Talk to us about building or integrating a B-ACWS operator interface.