Innovation is not limited to the hardware of our products. In the coming years, we will focus on significantly strengthening our own software development, which will bring the next generation of these tools. With this opportunity, we decided to rename our software line from Merbon to DOMAT SOFTWARE, further connecting our product solution with our company name, while increasing our brand awareness.
DOMAT SOFTWARE opens a new era in the field of software solutions for building automation. With this step, we express our will to invest in innovation and moving forward in the field of software development. We want to bring to the market not only powerful hardware, but also comprehensive, flexible and user-friendly software that will allow you to achieve maximum efficiency and optimization when writing software on your projects.
1. Communication .NET drivers support
Platforms with .NET drivers, i.e. markMXL and mark520, bring a Text Parser (similar to a File Driver, i.e. the possibility to read the value of a variable using regular expressions from a web page or from a text file) and communication drivers for Daikin iTC and Hauser. There are also two new Ethernet ports for the markMX.3, which allow the connection of the HT200 terminal or service PC directly in the switchboard without the use of a switch, or „line“ topology.
2. Security of control systems
A fundamental new function is support for TLS communication, i.e. the possibility of encrypted data transfer. This is now a necessary condition for deployment by some users, but especially for sending alarm e-mails and web access - most web browsers already block web servers without https:// communication as suspicious. We will cover encrypted communication in more detailed articles and tutorials; however, its deployment also involves the need to understand and solve the security policy of the building management system as a whole, especially in cooperation with the designer and the operator. Follow the new section Security of control systems in the FAQ on our website.
3. Try new version of Domat IDE already at the beginning of October!
The Domat IDE development environment mainly brings improvements for easier editing and commissioning. There is, for example, a Watch window for monitoring the online values of selected variables, mass writing of values to the default values of variables, support for structures in the Modbus server (this will allow multiple Modbus registers to be mass populated with a single variable of the type, e.g. a field), remote playback of the configuration via the Proxy server, or automatic generating a text menu for the operator (which facilitates the creation of user documentation). Some parameters, such as the communication parameters of channels or devices, can now also be changed from the HMI device - this is made possible by so-called dynamic changes. They will be especially appreciated by the authors of OEM applications: the parameters can be changed by the user during commissioning, it is not necessary to edit, compile and play the entire program for the change.
4. New graphic display options
The HMI editor contains new objects: alarm point, web link, pop-up window, progress bar and slider (setting the desired value with a "pull potentiometer"). For digital indicators, we can now use the masking function, which can simplify work with variables - the relevant bits for status indication are set directly in the graphic object, similar to Rcware Vision.
5. Improved BACnet
The BACnet client now writes and reads multiple properties, but the export of the EDE file at the BACnet server will be more interesting. The exported file enables standardized transfer of variables and import in client programs such as foreign visualizations. For more complex data collection systems, the possibility of writing into history with a user time stamp can be useful: the sample does not have to have assigned the current PLC time at the time of recording, but the time from another variable. This can be used, for example, for asynchronous readings from electricity meters or data loggers and transfer to the Merbon Database.
You can find more news in the release notes for Domat IDE and, of course, in the help for the program.