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Notifier Onyx NFS-640 -- FS-8700-90
FieldServer Driver - Serial

A communications interface solution for Notifier

Description:

The Notifier Onyx NFS-640 Serial driver allows the FieldServer to record data from Notifier Onyx NFS-640 Fire Panels over RS-232. The FieldServer primarily acts as a Passive Client receiving messages and updating the status of a Notifier Fire Alarm Panel. Periodically, the FieldServer can also request that the Notifier Onyx NFS-640 send the status of all points, devices, and zones. This driver is not capable of emulating a Notifier Onyx NFS-640 panel and the very limited server functionality has only been implemented to facilitate FieldServer’s Quality Assurance program. The main purpose of this driver is to record the status of Fire Alarm System detectors and Modules in a bit oriented data array. It is limited by the information that the Notifier Onyx NFS-640 unit broadcasts in the form of text messages through its RS-232 communication port. The accuracy and timeliness of the data is therefore limited to the frequency of update messages that the Notifier Fire Panel issues, as well as the frequency of the read status requests that the FieldServer makes. The request for status of all points and zones occurs every 10 minutes by default; this period can be reduced to 5 minutes or increased. The types of Notifier messages supported by this driver are summarized later in this fact sheet. As well, a detailed table in the manual shows each type of Notifier Onyx NFS-640 message the FieldServer recognizes and the effect that it has on the status of points in the data array. The device status to the data array mapping is also provided in the manual.

Formal Driver Type: Serial, Client Only

Connection type: RS-232 (or RS-485 with converter)

Connection Notes: The Notifier Onyx NFS-640 protocol is node-less. This means that the messages do not identify the panel of origin. Therefore only one panel can be connected to each FieldServer serial port.

Devices Tested: