What B-ALWS 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-ALWS (BACnet Advanced Lighting Workstation) is the full lighting operator interface, defined in Annex L of ANSI/ASHRAE 135-2024 (clause L.9.1) as an advanced operator workstation with the ability to monitor, control, and configure lighting devices. It creates, deletes, and configures Lighting Output, Binary Lighting Output, and Channel objects and commands lighting with WriteGroup.
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-ALWS is an operator-side (client) profile: it initiates reads, writes, group commands, object creation, and device management against other devices, and it receives 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-ALWS is the engineering-grade lighting seat.
- Lighting engineering workstations. A head end (the central BMS server) console where technicians configure Lighting Output and Channel objects, tune fade and ramp parameters, and issue group commands.
- Lighting commissioning stations. A workstation used at startup to create lighting objects, set alarm routing, and back up device configuration.
- Integrated lighting consoles. A supervisory station that presents lighting alarms, trends, and event logs across the lighting system.
Required Services
The table below is the exhaustive service set required by the B-ALWS 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-LAV-A | Yes | Yes |
| Data sharing | ReadPropertyMultiple | DS-RPM-A | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | WriteProperty | DS-WP-A, DS-LAM-A, DS-ALO-A | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | WritePropertyMultiple | DS-WPM-A | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | WriteGroup | DS-WG-A | Yes | - |
| Alarm and event management | ConfirmedEventNotification | AE-N-A, AE-AVN-A | - | Yes |
| Alarm and event management | UnconfirmedEventNotification | AE-N-A, AE-AVN-A | - | Yes |
| Alarm and event management | AcknowledgeAlarm | AE-ACK-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-ELVM-A | Yes | - |
| Trending | ReadRange (trend-log view) | T-AVM-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, AE-AVM-A, SCHED-AVM-A, T-AVM-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | DeleteObject | DM-OCD-A, AE-AVM-A, SCHED-AVM-A, T-AVM-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 management BIBBs add no wire service beyond the rows above. DS-LAV-A (Lighting Advanced View) and DS-LAM-A (Lighting Advanced Modify) read and write lighting-object properties; DS-ALO-A commands standard properties of lighting and value objects; AE-AVM-A and AE-ELVM-A adjust alarm limits and event-log parameters; SCHED-AVM-A views and modifies schedules and calendars; T-AVM-A adjusts trend-log parameters; DM-ADM-A enumerates objects; DM-ANM-A adjusts alarm routing by writing Notification Class recipient lists. Each is carried by the ReadProperty, WriteProperty, ReadRange, CreateObject, and DeleteObject rows above.
Related Profiles
| Profile | How it differs from B-ALWS |
|---|---|
| B-LOD | Lighting Operator Display: the basic display. Views lighting data and issues WriteGroup commands, no alarm, trend, or configuration capability |
| B-ALCS | Advanced Lighting Control Station: a fixed command device, not a staffed workstation |
| B-LS | Lighting Supervisor: the device side. It hosts the lighting objects a B-ALWS configures and commands |
What Chipkin Provides
B-ALWS 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-ALWS operator interface.