What B-AWS 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-AWS (BACnet Advanced Operator Workstation) is the full operator interface, defined in Annex L of ANSI/ASHRAE 135-2024 (clause L.1.2) as the advanced operator’s window into a BACnet system. It is used to monitor a system and modify the parameters that affect its operation, and it supports limited configuration and ongoing commissioning activities that a plain B-OWS does not.
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-AWS is an operator-side (client) profile: it initiates the full choreography of reads, writes, subscriptions, 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-AWS is the engineering and commissioning seat, targeted at an operator or technician with a higher level of technical ability.
- Head-end engineering workstations. The primary workstation at a head end (the central BMS server) where technicians build graphics, configure alarm routing, and create schedules and trend logs in field devices.
- Commissioning stations. A laptop or console used during startup to adjust alarm limits, back up and restore controller configuration, and reinitialize devices.
- Site supervisory consoles. A workstation that manages notification routing, audits device configuration, and synchronizes time across the internetwork.
Required Services
The table below is the exhaustive service set required by the B-AWS 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-AV-A | Yes | Yes |
| Data sharing | ReadPropertyMultiple | DS-RPM-A | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | WriteProperty | DS-WP-A, DS-AM-A | Yes | - |
| Data sharing | WritePropertyMultiple | DS-WPM-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, DM-DDA-A | 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 | Who-Am-I | DM-DDA-A | - | Yes |
| Device and network management | You-Are | DM-DDA-A | 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, NM-CC-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | CreateObject | DM-OCD-A, AE-AVM-A, SCHED-AVM-A, T-AVM-A, AR-AVM-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | DeleteObject | DM-OCD-A, AE-AVM-A, SCHED-AVM-A, T-AVM-A, AR-AVM-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | AtomicReadFile (backup) | DM-BR-A, NM-CC-A | Yes | - |
| Device and network management | AtomicWriteFile (restore) | DM-BR-A, NM-CC-A | Yes | - |
| Audit reporting | AuditLogQuery | AR-AVM-A | Yes | - |
The view, modify, and management BIBBs add no wire service beyond the rows above (skip the codes below unless you are matching a specific PICS line). DS-AV-A (Advanced View) and DS-AM-A (Advanced Modify) read and write object properties; 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; AR-AVM-A and DM-ADM-A configure audit reporting and enumerate objects in remote devices; DM-ANM-A adjusts alarm routing by writing Notification Class recipient lists; NM-CC-A configures Network Port objects. Each is carried by the ReadProperty, WriteProperty, ReadRange, CreateObject, DeleteObject, AtomicReadFile, and AtomicWriteFile rows above.
Related Profiles
| Profile | How it differs from B-AWS |
|---|---|
| B-OWS | Operator Workstation: one step down. Monitors and adjusts, but no configuration, object creation, backup and restore, or audit reporting |
| B-XAWS | Cross-Domain Advanced Workstation: the superset. Adds access-control, lighting, and elevator workstation capability on top of B-AWS |
| B-BC | Building Controller: the device side. It answers the requests a B-AWS sends and generates the notifications a B-AWS displays |
What Chipkin Provides
B-AWS 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-AWS operator interface.