ASI Controls has officially released its IntelliFront 5 building automation software platform. IntelliFront provides monitoring, control, scheduling, alarming, visualization, integration, and analytics capabilities designed for rapid deployment and flexible integration for a host of use cases.

IntelliFront 5 was designed in concert with J2 Innovations to be more open, fast, and secure than its predecessors. It builds on previous versions with a host of enhancements and new features including a new DB builder, new host app, updated connectors, workflow improvements, and bug fixes. IntelliFront 5 aims to streamline project integration timeframes for system integrators and OEMs while providing a robust and extensible framework for users to customize the system to their needs.

 IoT ready

The new IntelliFront 5 framework supports all major protocol standards including BACnet IP, Modbus IP/RTU, OPC, SNMP, nHaystack, SQL, EnOcean, and others allowing for broad integration and application across disparate building systems. With this upgrade, IntelliFront moves to Haystack 4.0, the most current open IoT standard that uses tagging to automate the configuration process. It also features new objects, better tuning policies, and discovery via open standards such as BACnet. An additional update to Modbus has now made it easier to map registers to create points.

Faster than ever

The new DB Builder is much faster in IntelliFront 5 with a new user interface designed to optimize workflows for faster configuration. It now supports multiple trees that show organized project information by application; including graphics, programs, connectors, and schedules. New tools allow for drag-and-drop creation of records to create relationships, to Clone, use Tag bundles, to apply Templates, add Histories, add Alarms and do Conversions. IntelliFront 5 can also allow for the auto-generated configuration of an entire project from a spreadsheet.

Secure yet flexible

IntelliFront 5 has been completely revised to work independently outside of a project and security has been revamped to allow for stronger passwords and improved user management functionality. Extensive API documentation is available to allow for enhanced customization.

In anticipation of the end of support for Flash in 2020, IntelliFront 5 has eliminated the need for Flash in its user interface.

ASI Controls offers IntelliFront 5 as a front-end option for all its system integrations. Contact sales@asicontrols.com or 925-866-8808 to learn more or locate a system integrator.

 

It’s hard to debate Tridium’s legacy as an industry pioneer in creating a web-served GUI for BAS applications. While Niagara AX greatly improved user experience, the process of creating good looking web graphics for browsers has remained relatively cumbersome; though Niagara 4 brought incremental improvement. Without templates, system integrators still face the time-consuming (and expensive) problem of engineering jobs through Niagara.

There have been many thousands of Niagara sites with supervisory graphics designed through the years, many of which now require upgrading and re-designing. This presents an opportunity for end-users to consider alternatives in the market.

Since 2015, ASI has partnered with J2 Innovations to create IntelliFRONT, the first fully-mobile responsive, HTML5 compliant front end designed to work directly with Niagara. IntelliFRONT boasts a faster graphics creation and system configuration time because we automated many of the traditionally inefficient processes by leveraging the power of Haystack tagging. This means you can create great-looking graphics, update configurations of devices, and batch program edit with the click of a button. The IntelliFRONT Framework is about far more than just the supervisory GUI. IntelliFRONT’s alarming, scheduling, and global control functions are streamlined because we based our software architecture on tagging and the automated configuration that it enables.

Connecting to a Niagara station is effortless using the nHaystack driver, which is freely available via Stackhub.org. A detailed video series from J2 Innovations provides an in-depth look at integration. With IntelliFRONT you’ll see a great pay-off from the first job. Our system integrator partners use IntelliFRONT to manage Niagara-based systems because they like the enhanced user experience they can offer customers, and the lower engineering costs incurred. Speak with our sales department for more information or to find out how to integrate IntelliFront into your next N4 project.

J2 Innovations offers an in-depth video series which highlights the features and benefits

You may have heard about Siemens buying J2 Innovations this week, and because J2 is the OEM provider for the framework that ASI Controls IntelliFront front end software is built on we wanted to share some information about this event with you.

J2 Innovations will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, with no changes in their visionary leadership team and no restrictions on their ability to provide OEM solutions. They will benefit from having more resources available to continue development of the framework that makes IntelliFront the most efficient, scalable and effective front end on the market. Near-term priorities include a distributed architecture that enables new Cloud-based features and increased support for OEM partners like ASI Controls.

We remain committed to IntelliFront and will continue both promoting IntelliFront and releasing innovative new features and enhancements.

What does this mean for ASI Controls?

We do not anticipate any major changes. J2 remains committed to our OEM partnership, and we remain committed to making IntelliFront the best front end in the industry.

Can I still purchase IntelliFront licenses and upgrades through ASI Controls?

Yes. Customers will be able to buy IntelliFront licenses and upgrades without interruption.

Will ASI continue to support IntelliFront?

Yes, you can expect the same outstanding support we always strive for.

Where can I get IntelliFront training and certification?

IntelliFront training and certification are available through ASI Controls. The ASI fundamentals course (Essential Training) features IntelliFront, and we will add Advanced Training in the future.

Will there be new features in IntelliFront?

Yes. Completing the roll out of the ASI protocol connector for IntelliFront continues to be a major priority, and Automated Commissioning is coming soon.

Will ASI continue to support both IntelliFront and the JASIC Open Systems line?

ASI remains committed to giving you a range of options to best meet customer needs, including IntelliFront on the J2 framework and JASIC Open Systems on Tridium’s Niagara Framework.

In the last few years J2 Innovations has significantly raised the bar for control system front-ends. Their acquisition is a testament to the market leadership position they established through relentless innovation guided by deep industry knowledge. The framework J2 provides puts IntelliFront customers in pole position as the pace of technology changes in our industry continues to accelerate. We look forward to adding more value and features to IntelliFront in the months and years to come.

ASI is now shipping the ASIC/1-6100 with new firmware. This firmware version requires some file updates for ASI Expert. Users need to download the TCL and MDB files to ensure proper operation. Without the TCL file, a lot of firmware revision dependencies will fail and the display will not function properly. Without the asic1.mdb update, the new TCL will fail because some new parameters are referenced.

Log in to your Partner Portal account to download the ZIP files. They are listed under ASI Expert on the Datasheets page.

If you have any questions, please reach out to technical support at support@asicontrols.com or call us at 925-866-8808