Overview MQTT GDAS

With this function block the controller is connected to the GDAS server. The connection is exclusively encrypted (TLS).

Installation ID and password are assigned by the portal and entered in the block. Without these entries the block does not establish a connection. The ID is at the same time the user name on the server and the identifier of the installation in the portal. It belongs to the project: if the controller is replaced and the project is transferred to the replacement device, the installation remains the same in the portal.

Only the variables (addresses) entered in the filter table take part in the transmission - both when sending to the server and when receiving from the server. Messages for addresses that are not in the table are discarded. The transmission is bidirectional: values are sent to the GDAS server and can also be written back from there.

For each variable, a deviation and a time can additionally be specified in order to reduce the number of messages sent.

KNX Manager import: When importing a project from the KNX Manager, this block is created automatically (if it does not exist yet) and the filter table is updated. Only the imported addresses that were connected to function blocks are entered. Already configured values for deviation and time are preserved, new addresses start with 0/0; addresses that are no longer connected are removed from the table.

Important: The GDAS option must be enabled in the license of the controller; without this enablement the block does not establish a connection.

Only one block may be used per controller.



Outputs
VB
 Connected
 Output is 1 when connected to the GDAS server.

Parameters

Filter
 The filter dialog is opened via the "..." button. Here it is defined which variables are exchanged with the GDAS server. Variables are dragged from the variable window into the dialog via drag&drop. For each variable a deviation and a time can be set (see table "Filter dialog" further below).

Installation ID
 Identifier of the installation assigned by the portal, at the same time the user name on the MQTT server. Mandatory.

Installation password
 Password on the MQTT server assigned by the portal. Mandatory.

Remote access
 The dialog for remote access to devices in the installation network is opened via the "..." button (see section "Remote access to devices in the installation network" further below).




Filter dialog

Address
 The variable to be transmitted. Variables are added from the variable window via drag&drop. A click on the address highlights the variable in the variable window.
Deviation
 Minimum deviation of the value at which a new message is sent. At 0 every value change is sent.
Time
 Time in seconds to limit the send rate. When adding a variable that is not a bit variable (EIS 1), 120 seconds is suggested automatically.
Comment
 Comment of the variable from the variable window (for information only, is not transmitted).

The interaction of deviation and time determines when a variable is sent:

Transmission

The values are published under the topic GDAS/<User>/ADDRESS-VALUE/<Main group>/<Middle group>/<Subgroup>. Bit variables are sent as "0"/"1", text variables as a character string, all others as a numeric value. On reception the values "on"/"true" are also interpreted as 1 and "off"/"false" as 0. Unchanged values are not transmitted again; likewise, received messages without a value change are discarded (prevents loops via the server).

Under the topic GDAS/<User>/CONTROLLER-INFO the block additionally transmits information about the controller (controller ID, project name, project time stamp and the current time of the controller as an ISO time string with time zone). This message is sent when the connection is established and then cyclically every 15 minutes as a keep-alive; the exact moment of sending within the 15 minutes is random, so that not all controllers send at the same time. At start, all variables of the filter table are sent once to the server.

uniPRO Portal (lights and shading)

In addition to the filter table, the block automatically transmits all Block Light/Dimmer, Block Switch and Block Blind function blocks of the project to the uniPRO Portal. No configuration is necessary - the devices are announced when the connection is established and can be displayed and operated in the portal (switching, dimming, shading position).

For each block only the connections that are actually wired are announced: switching/dimming or drive commands and position whenever the address is assigned; optional connections such as brightness, temperature, fault or lock only if a variable has been connected there. Runtime, maintenance and runtime reset are always provided by the block. Sensor values (brightness, temperature) are only sent on change and at most every 60 seconds.

The comment of the block is used as the label, the name of the FB page (without "FB ") as the room name. When importing from the KNX Manager both are set automatically.

Time switch: The switching times of the associated operating widgets can be read and changed via the portal. These are the same switching times that are configured on the widget in the visualization - changes in the portal appear in the widget and vice versa (changes on the widget are transmitted to the portal with a delay of at most 60 seconds).

Further operating elements: Besides light, switch and blind, the following are transmitted as well: colour temperature, colour selector, step switch, setpoint, motion detector, shading, shading safety, room controller, scene, scene group, scene sequence, colour sequence, statistics, energy overview, energy manager, time switch, style and code switch. For these blocks the values are displayed; only the connections intended for it can be operated (for example setpoint, operating mode or starting a scene). For most of these blocks the switching times and the values per presence status can also be changed via the portal; the presence simulation is available for light, switch, colour temperature, colour selector and blind. Display only (without settings) are shading safety, energy overview, energy manager, scene group, scene sequence, colour sequence, statistics and time switch.

Weather station: If the Block weather station function block is present in the project, it is transmitted automatically as well. The portal displays the measured values (temperature, wind, brightness per compass direction, rain and the optional values such as humidity or air pressure), the alarms, the shading releases, the daily values and the alarm log. In addition, the limits and delays can be changed in the portal - these are the same settings as in the operating element. The weather station cannot be operated, it is display only.

Presence status: The presence status of the controller (present, absent, holiday) is transmitted to the portal as well and can be switched there. It is the same status that is also switched via the Presence operating element or a push-button and that determines the releases of all switching times, the presence simulation and the state values of the operating elements. Every change is reported to the portal immediately. The status is stored on the controller: after a restart the last value applies again, without a stored value "present" applies. If the project contains the Presence function block, its switching times are transmitted in addition and can be changed in the portal. The block itself is not mandatory for this - without it the status still takes effect, only its outputs and its switching times are missing.

If a block is removed from the project, the device automatically disappears from the portal after the project transfer.

Remote access to devices in the installation network

The function block can additionally serve as an access point to devices in the installation network. A TCP connection or a UDP data stream to a released device is passed through over the same connection that the portal uses - for example to the web interface of a camera, to the configuration page of an inverter or to an SSH session. No port forwarding is required in the customer network, the controller establishes the connection itself.

Only the devices that are entered in the list and switched to active can be reached. Only the assigned name is transmitted over the connection, never an IP address or a port - the remote side therefore cannot address any other device in the customer network.

Remote access active
 Main switch. If it is not set, no device can be reached. In existing projects it is switched off.
Name
 Designation of the device under which it is addressed. Letters, digits, "-" and "_" are allowed, at most 32 characters. The name must be unique within the project.
IP address
 IPv4 address of the device in the installation network. Host names are not permitted.
Port
 Port of the device, for example 80 for a web interface, 443 for HTTPS or 22 for SSH.
Protocol
 TCP or UDP. TCP is the normal case (web interfaces, SSH). UDP is intended for device protocols that do not use TCP. With UDP there is no connection: the controller passes on individual datagrams, losses are not requested again. Discovery via broadcast or multicast is not possible, and protocols that switch to another port after the first packet do not work.
Active
 Only devices with the check mark set can be reached. This allows an access to be prepared and released only when needed.
Comment
 Free text, for information only. It is not transmitted.
Key
 Secures the transmission. The key is generated automatically when the dialog is opened for the first time, copied to the clipboard with "Copy" and entered once in the portal. The key itself is never transmitted. "Generate new" invalidates the previous key - it then has to be entered in the portal again.

Up to eight connections are possible at the same time. A device page in the browser usually occupies several of them, because a browser opens several connections in parallel.

The speed depends on the internet connection of the installation. Operating interfaces and single images work well, for a continuous video stream the bandwidth of a typical installation is not sufficient.

Important: The transmitted data is protected against modification and unauthorised access, but it is not encrypted. With devices that have an unencrypted web interface (http instead of https), no credentials should therefore be used that also apply elsewhere. In addition, the option Network tunnel must be enabled in the licence of the controller.

See also common parameters of all function blocks.