BACnet/IP

BACnet (Building Automation and Control Network) is an open communication protocol used to automate and control building systems. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) maintains the BACnet standard. Your device can act as a BACnet/IP server, making specific values available to your building automation system. BACnet/IP is an Ethernet-based BACnet network type that uses UDP/IP packets.

Supported device modes

Your device can act as a normal or foreign BACnet device.

Device mode	Description	Purpose
Normal	Devices that communicate using the BACnet protocol within the same BACnet/IP network.	Device interoperability according to the BACnet standard.
Foreign	Devices that are on a different IP subnet than the BACnet/IP network that they seek to join. Foreign devices must register with a BBMD on the BACnet/IP network.	Useful in scenarios where: The device must receive broadcast messages from other subnets. AND Installing a BBMD on the device subnet is not feasible or economical.

For more information, see the BACnet and ION technology technical note, available on www.se.com.

Other device types in a BACnet/IP network

The following table summarizes other common devices found in a BACnet/IP network:

Device type	Description	Purpose
BACnet Broadcast Management Device (BBMD)	Devices that facilitate broadcast distribution between BACnet/IP devices on different subnets.	Used to forward broadcast messages from one subnet to another, allowing broadcast messages to traverse IP routers.
BACnet router	Devices that interconnect two or more BACnet networks.	Used to bridge networks, route messages, and, if necessary, translate BACnet protocols between networks.