Technology · Setup and operation
Setup and operation
Here are the details behind the six steps on Get started: what it takes in the building, what we need to know before we can quote, when a preliminary study is necessary, who owns the data afterwards, and what an operation and maintenance agreement covers.
The page is written for whoever has to assess the job, whether we carry it out or you do.
01What does it take?
CX2 Service is adapted to the task at hand. We can handle the entire setup, or work alongside your own IT department, consultants or integrators.
If you have the necessary skills in house, you can also install and run CX2 Open without our help.
What is needed depends on the building and the systems that are already there.
If you are building new, there are a few requirements that are cheap to set now and expensive to correct later. Recommendations for new buildings gathers them, with texts you can paste into a specification.
To set up CX2, there must at minimum be access to one or more data sources, and the edge server must be able to communicate with them.
Today CX2 supports direct integration via:
- BACnet/IP
- Nordomatic iBOS
More integrations are added over time. That could for example be Modbus/IP, HelvarNet, LoRaWAN, M-Bus and other relevant systems and protocols.
If an existing system cannot communicate directly over IP, a gateway may also be needed, for example from M-Bus to IP.
You do not need to have all of this mapped out in advance. Working it out is exactly one of the things CX2 Service can help with.
02What do we need to know first?
As a rule we would like to give you one combined quote for getting CX2 working in your building. That way you know both the delivery and the cost before the work starts.
If the task is hard to scope in advance, or if you prefer it, CX2 Service can also be carried out by time spent.
To give a proper quote, we first have to understand the building. Two buildings of the same size can be very different to set CX2 up in.
The price therefore depends less on the number of square metres and more on where the data is, how it can be accessed, which integrations are required, and how well the building is documented.
We typically look at four things.
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Which systems can deliver data?
First we need to understand which technical systems exist in the building, and what data they can deliver. It often starts with a walkthrough of the building management system's interface and screens.
But not every system in a building is necessarily visualised there. There may be standalone lighting controls, energy meters, solar installations, elevators, indoor climate sensors or other systems on the technical network.
In some buildings we can establish this from documentation and dialogue. In others it may be necessary to inspect the installations physically, examine the technical network, or temporarily connect an edge server to get a reliable picture of the available data sources.
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How can the systems be integrated?
Once the data sources are identified, we assess how they can be connected to CX2. Some systems can be connected directly with an integration that already exists. Others may require:
- a new software integration
- a protocol converter
- a physical gateway
- changes to the network setup
- access or configuration from the existing system vendor
If new development or additional hardware is needed, that is part of the assessment and the quote.
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How good is the documentation?
Good documentation makes a big difference. Point lists, system diagrams, functional descriptions, floor plans, room data and building models make it possible to automate a far larger part of the mapping.
The better the connection between the digital data points and the technical documentation, the more of the work can be done automatically.
Poor or missing documentation does not mean CX2 cannot be set up. But it can require more analysis and manual quality assurance.
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Are there particular needs?
CX2 can be used directly for many common needs, but a building owner may also have wishes for things like:
- analyses
- dashboards
- alarm rules
- reports
- KPIs
- specific data models
- integration with other IT systems
Such wishes can be part of the first setup or developed later.
03Some buildings need a preliminary study
In a well-documented building, the initial clarification can often be handled simply, as part of the dialogue about a quote.
If the documentation is incomplete, the installations complex or access to data uncertain, an actual technical preliminary study may be needed.
That can include:
- an on-site walkthrough
- analysis of technical networks
- scanning for systems and devices
- temporary installation of an edge server
- testing access to data points
- assessment of the gateways and integrations needed
- review of existing technical documentation
Such a study is carried out as part of CX2 Service and is agreed separately.
The result is collected in a short report with the findings and a plan for the setup. That gives you a concrete picture of which data sources exist, how they can be integrated, which challenges have to be solved, and how a setup can be carried out.
04The edge server and your data
One important principle in CX2 is simple.
Your data is your data.
If CX2 Service supplies the edge server, it is sold to you. It is not leased and it is not tied to a subscription.
The primary operational data is stored locally on your own hardware.
That means your access to your building data does not depend on continuing to buy a service agreement.
05CX2 Care: optional operation and maintenance
Once CX2 is set up, you can choose to run the solution yourselves or add CX2 Care.
CX2 Care is an operation and maintenance agreement for the individual building, and consists of:
- monitoring that the edge server and the integrations are working
- monitoring that the expected data points are still being logged
- backup of data and configuration
- ongoing updates of the edge server, including operating system, underlying components and CX2 Open
- technical support
- fair use of AI features
- extended warranty on edge hardware
The edge server comes with a one-year warranty. With CX2 Care the warranty is extended to five years, when the server has been supplied by CX2 Service. If you supplied the hardware yourselves, we agree on Care individually.
As part of Care, backup can be kept on CX2's infrastructure, while the primary installation and the primary operational data remain on your own edge server.
CX2 Care covers monitoring and maintenance of the CX2 installation. If monitoring shows that an external system has stopped delivering data, for example, we register the problem and let you know.
Actual troubleshooting, changes or repair of external systems is carried out as CX2 Service.
Do you have a technical question?
Book a 45 minute meeting, or write to us.