Ib Com 2 0 0 New Features

IB-COM
Integrated Internet Module
New Features List

SW version 2.0.0
1 General information 3
2 IB-COM firmware update 4
3 Changes in version 2.0.0 10
15 Changes in version 1.1 24
16 Notes 25
IB-COMNew Features List 2

1 General information
1.1 Clarification of notation
Note: This type of paragraph calls readers attention to a notice or related theme.
IMPORTANT: This type of paragraph highlights a procedure, adjustment etc., which can cause a
damage or unproper function of the equipment if not performed correctly and may not be clear
at first sight.
Example: This type of paragraph contains information which is used to illustrate how a specific function
works.
1.2 Information about this version

The version 2.0.0 is a major update. Please see details in the chapter Changes in version 2.0.0 (page 10).
Full identification of the released build is 2.0.0.1
IMPORTANT: Once the IB-COM module does contain firmware version 1.4.0 and above do not
step back to any firmware of version lower than 1.4.0!

2 IB-COM firmware update
The procedure of firmware update depends of the original firmware version which is to be replaced with
new version.
2.1 Original version is 1.X.X

The firmware is to be updated using a web browser connected to the service web pages of the module
(controller).
1. Download the latest firmware package from the ComAp download center. You must be logged-in with
your ComAp club name and password to have access into the download center.
2. The firmware is distributed as ZIP archive containing the latest firmware (e.g. 1.1) and also the auxiliary
firmware 1.0.1. Both firmwares are in binary form. Unpack both the BIN files from the archive to a
suitable folder in your computer (e.g. “Documents”).
IMPORTANT: When updating firmware from version 1.X.X to 2.X.X please note, that after you
have the firmware updated the service web pages are no more available. Your browser will
indicate connection error.
2.1.1 Connection via LAN

1. If threre is a DHCP server in the network adjust the setpoint Comms settings -> IP addr mode to
AUTOMATIC. If there is no DHCP adjust properly the setpoint Comms settings -> IP addr mode to
MANUAL and Comms settings -> IP address, Net mask, Gateway IP. Consult the settings with your IT
specialist.
2. Connect the ethernet port of the controller to your local Ethernet network. Your computer must be
connected either to the same network or to other network from which there is a route into the network
where the controller is connected.
3. Switch the controller on and if you use automatic IP address mode then wait until the controller obtains
the IP address from the DHCP server. The actual IP address is visible in the setpoint Comms settings ->
IP address. It may take several seconds.
4. Start a browser in your computer and put the address http://<controller_ip_address>/sp_index.htm into
the browser address line.
5. You will be asked for password. Enter the controller administrator password.

Image 2.1 Main service web page
6. Ther service web page should appear after entering correct password. Click to the link “IB-COM firmware
uploader”.
7. Select the binary file (.BIN) unpacked from the archive as described in the step 2 of this procedure and
click to the button “Upload new firmware”.
IMPORTANT: If the current version of IB-COM firmware is 1.0 you have to upload the
auxiliary firmware 1.0.1 first (steps 9-11) and then repeat the upload with the target firmware
(steps 9-11 again).

Image 2.2 Firmware upload page
8. Wait until a green page appears in the browser window. If any error occurs repeat the procedure again.

Image 2.3 Firmware successfuly uploaded
9. After successful upload of the new firmware the IB-COM will reset automatically (only the
communication module, not the whole controller) and new firmware will be applied.
Note: After the IB-COM module is reset the DHCP server may assign different IP address to the
module. IF you have troubles with connection to the module using the previous IP address, check the
controller setpoint for the newly assigned IP address.
2.1.2 Direct ethernet connection to a computer

1. Adjust the setpoints in the group Comms settings:
o IP addr mode = MANUAL
o IP address = 192.168.1.100
o Net mask= 255.255.255.0
o Gateway IP = 192.168.1.1
2. 4. Adjust the ethernet adapter of your computer to a fixed IP address (i.e. disable the DHCP mode). Use
IP address = 192.168.1.101 and the same (sub)network mask and gateway address as in the controller
(see point 4 above). Remember original adjustment of the adapter.
3. In Windows XP: go to menu “Start” -> “Settings” -> “Network connection” -> “<name of the ethernet
adapter, e.g. “LAN” and click to button “Properties” at the at the tab “General”
o In the list select “Internet protocol (TCP/IP)” and click to “Properties” again.
o Check the radiobutton “Use following IP address” and enter the IP address, subnetwork mask and
gateway address as described above.

Image 2.4 Windows XP - manual IP address adjustment
4. If you have another operating system please see the documentation of the OS for details how to switch it
into fixed IP address mode.
5. Connect the ethernet socket of the controller to the ethernet socket of your computer. If your ethernet
adapter supports automatic crossing of RX and TX signals (as most of modern adapters do) you can use
normal straight UTP cable (the same as you use for connection to the LAN wall socket). Otherwise you
have to use “cross-wired” UTP cable.
6. Start a browser in your computer and put the address http://192.168.1.100/sp_index.htm into the browser
address line.
7. Proceed as described in the points 4 – 9 in the section “Connection via LAN”
8. Disconnect the computer from the controller and readjust the ethernet adapter back to the original
adjustment.

2.2 Original version is 2.X.X
The firmware is updated using a dedicated utility "IB-COM Flasher Tool" via either USB or Ethernet
connection.
1. Download the latest firmware package from the ComAp download center.
2. Download and install the "IB-COM Flasher Tool"
3. Use the flasher tool according to the picure below
2.3 Change from 1.X.X to 2.X.X

Proceed according to the description for original 1.X.X version. Keep in mind that after the update is finished
and the new firmware is applied the service page will not appear again as it is not supported anymore. You
have to use the IB-COM Flasher Tool to check the current firmware version.

3 Changes in version 2.0.0
3.1 Modified features

l Due to security reasons the integrated web server was completely removed.
o Controller web interface (SCADA) is not available anymore.
o IB-COM service web interface is not available anymore.
l MODBUS/TCP server is fixedly ENABLED.
l SNMP Agent is fixedly DISABLED.
l Firmware update is performed using a dedicated utility "IB-COM Flasher Tool". Please see the chapter
firmware_update.htm for details.

IMPORTANT: When updating the firmware to version 1.5.0 or higher from a version 1.4.0 or
lower the complete firmware update procedure must be repeated twice. Please close and reopen
the web browser between the two update cycles.
4.1 Bug fixes

l HTTP POST request issues.
o If a POST request without data is used instead of GET to obtain a page the authentication with
access code is bypassed.
o If a POST request with data was sent to the module, but body and data is separated into two TCP
packets the request is not processed correctly.
l Active e-mails issue
o Active e-mails would not be sent or would have damaged content if a retransmission occurs at TCP
layer while communicating with SMTP server.

5.1 Bug fixes

l All running TCP sockets might have been interrupted.
o The built-in DHCP client used incorrectly "broadcast flag" in DHCP options while renewing
IP address although the renewal message is sent as IP unicast. Some DHCP servers might evaluate
such message as invalid and the renewal procedure failed. Consequently the IP address lease time
elapsed and the module invalidated it's IP address and started complete DHCP handshake again.
o In the moment of invalidation of the IP address all running TCP sockets were closed and thus
communication with the module was interrupted (e.g. MODBUS/TCP communication).

6.1 Bug fixes

l Programming of controller configuration or firmware via AirGate failed.
o Programming of controller configuration failed if the connection was estabilished via AirGate, VPN or
other physical link with maximum segment size < 567 bytes
o The same issue applies to programming of controller firmware, however it is not recommended to
program firmware remotely anyway as if the connection drops during programming the controller
would remain inoperable and requires to be reprogrammed locally via boot jumper.
l Unsuccessful login to SMTP servers
o If the password for SMTP server contained characters "!" ,""", "#", "$", "%", "&" and AUTH PLAIN
method was used for authentication the authentication was not successful as the password was
improperly encoded into the base64 string.
l Wrong controller type in LAN discovery function
o The function "LAN discovery" might incorrectly report an IS-GAS controller as InteliNano controller.
l Incorrect command return value
o If a command was written by object 24551 with password included inside the data then the reading of
result code by 24550 returned invalid value.

IMPORTANT: When updating the firmware to 1.5.0 the complete firmware update procedure
must be repeated twice. Please close and reopen the web browser between the two update
cycles.
7.1 Bug fixes

l Number of alarms in active e-mail
o Number of alarmlist entries contained in an active e-mail was incorrectly limited to only first 8 entries.
l Acive e-mail results evaluation
o It might occur that the module returned failure response to the controller although the e-mail was sent
correctly. This might happen especially if AirGate SMTP was used.
l Security patches
o Using HTTP POST method instead of GET might allow the misbehaving user to get access to the
SCADA page without valid access code.
7.2 New features

l InteliSys Gas support
o The InteliSys Gas controller with standard firmware 1.2 is supported.
o Controller web interface is not available for this controller type.
l Controller clock synchronization
o It is possible to synchronize the controller internal clock from a NTP server.
o The function must be enabled via the service web interface
o The address of the NTP server must be adjusted via the service web interface as well.
l Secure access to service web interface
o The access to the service web interface is secured by the access code as well as controller
administrator password. Both credentials must be entered correctly to get access to the service web
interface.

8.1 Bug fixes

l Stability improvements
o Stability improvements have been added to eliminate ocassional problems with delayed or even lost
answers to communication requests.
l Web interface frozen
o It might ocassionally happen that the web interface froze showing a yellow page with a message
"Preparing".
l SMTP server authentication CRAM-MD5
o Uppercase hex characters were used in the digest hex string, which might lead to refusing the user
credentials even if they were correct.
o If the username was longer than 15 characters the login message that was sent to the server was
malformed and thus the server refused it.

9.1 Bug fixes

l Incorrect writing of text setpoints via the web interface
o If a string setpoint (e.g. airgate address, smtp address etc.) is changed via the controller web
interface it is not written into the controller correctly and completely. In most cases only certain part of
the setpoint is written (e.g. “airgate.co” instead of “airgate.comap.cz”).
l DNS request message alignment
o The DNS request sent by the module was not properly aligned. It contained one extra byte at the end,
which rarely caused the DNS server replied with "format error".
l Incorrect handling of characters with ASCII code > 128.
o If the controller name contains characters with ASCII code > 128 the header of active e-mail will be
invalid and the e-mail may not be delivered or may not be displayed correctly in the e-mail client
9.2 New features

l DHCP client modifications
o DHCP negotiation using relay agent is supported. This function is required when the DHCP server is
located in another network segment and the segment gateway is relaying the DHCP messages
(packets).
l DNS client modifications
o The DNS transaction number is now randomized.
o The UDP source port for DNS transactions is now randomized.
l Support for configuration table with size > 192kB
o InteliGen-NT and InteliSys-NT family controllers with configuration table larger than 192kB are
supported.

10.1 Bug fixes
l Incorrect implementation of SNMP scalar variable
o If GET operation was issued for a scalar variable and the request had not contained the instance
number or had contained instance number different than ".0" the module did not return an error
response.
o If GET-NEXT had been issued for a scalar variable and the request had not contained the instance
number the module returned response with wrong variable (wrong OID).
o If GET-NEXT had been issued for a scalar variable the module returned response with missing
instance number at the end of the OID.
l Incorrect notification of controller system status changes
o The connected terminal (e.g. InteliMonitor) was not correctly notified about system status changes. It
might result e.g. in displaying incorrect setpoint value if an alternative value was forced into the
respective setpoint. InteliMonitor did not update the value as it was not notified about the change.
l Wrong byte order in error code
o In specific rare cases the error code returned to an icorrect query that a client had sent via
ComAp/TCP protocol was returned with incorrect byte order. The client most probably reported such
an answer as "unknown error" instead of an error with specific meaning.
l Back reading of user attributes and login status
o If multiple clients were connected to the controller via ComAp/TCP protocol and different users were
logged in in these clients the back reading of user login status (attributes/rights, user login status)
could give incorrect data (mixed from all the clients).
o This is not a security issue as the bug applied only for back reading of current satus, not for the login
and access rights management itself.
l Incorrect wrting of text setpoints via the web interface
o If a string setpoint (e.g. airgate address, smtp address etc.) is changed via the controller web
interface it is not written into the controller correctly and completely. In most cases only certain part of
the setpoint is written (e.g. “airgate.co” instead of “airgate.comap.cz”).
l Wrong date and time in e-mails used for "SMS over e-mail" function
o The header of e-mail sent as "SMS over e-mail" had wrong date and time. It might have either zero
date and time or date/time of previously sent standard active e-mail.

11.1 Bug fixes
l SNMP issues
o Added missing object sysObjectID into the .mib-2.system node. The object returns the root
OID of the ComAp MIB subtree (1.3.6.1.4.1.28634).
l DNS issues
o If an empty domain name was put into some setpoint like airgate address, SMTP address etc. this
empty name was passed to the DNS client, which resulted in the client and related services stopped
working.
o Fixed several other minor bugs in the DNS client.
l Memory allocation problem
o There was a memory allocation problem if the controller address was other than 1.
o The issue reveals e.g. so that if two InteliMonitor clients are connected to a controller with address 3
via IB-COM the second InteliMonitor is not able to write setpoints after user is logged in in the first
InteliMonitor.
11.2 New features

l Support for sending SMS over e-mail
o The module now support the IB-EML-SMS option of the controller active call type. If this option is
selected in the controller the module sends an e-mail to the adjusted e-mail address while the
contents of the e-mail is equivalent to the content of a SMS.

12.1 Bug fixes
l Unable to connect to the module via MODBUS/TCP or ComAp protocol if the module is in fixed IP
address mode.
o If the ethernet cable was unplugged for more than cca 10 seconds while the communication was
estabilished in a client socket the socket was permanently lost. If all sockets of the given protocol
were lost consequently it was not possible to connect via that protocol at all.
o Restart or reboot of neighbouring ethernet device (e.g. router) is equivalent to the situation when the
ethernet cable is unplugged for a while and could cause this issue as well.
l MODBUS/TCP protocol frozen.
o The communication via MODBUS/TCP protocol froze if it had come to communication error in the
internal communication between IB-COM and the controller core.

13.1 Bug fixes
l Web server issues
o Web pages were not working at all for specific controller configurations (especially large
configurations with many extesion modules and large PLC).
o In rare cases the web pages for groups of values were not correctly displayed if the group contained
also setpoints.
o After obtaining new IP address the number of allowed web clients was not initialized and thus the
module incorrectly indicated that “too many clients connected” when a client attempted to visit the
web pages. The problem disappeared after several minutes.
l Non working AirGate after ethernet cable is replugged
o If manually assigned IP address is used (i.e. IP Addr Mode = MANUAL) the connection to AirGate is
not restored after the Ethernet cable had been unplugged and replugged again.
l Controller permanently locked if password break protection is active
o If the "password break protection" is active and IB-COM is in automatic IP address mode it might
happen the controller is permanently locked.
o This bug occurred only if the administrator password was different than "0".
o This bug was already patched at the controller side (since InteliGen-NT and InteliSys-NT, standard
branch, version 2.6.6).
l Missing SNMP mib-2 node
o Added support of “mib-2” oid node, which is required to be supported by every SNMP agent, is now
supported.
l AirGate status indication
o If the ethernet cable is disconnected from the module it stays showing the last obtained AirGate ID
instead of showing empty one.
l The module does not accept new settings from DHCP server
o If the DHCP server assigns new IP adress, DNS servers, gateway IP or network mask during the IP
address renewal process the module does not accept the new values and remains using the previous
ones.
l SNMP protocol problems
o IB-NT came through an undesirable reset if SNMP Protocol was ENABLED, SNMP Trap Dest.
Address was not blank and a new controller appeared on the CAN or RS485 bus.
o If GET-NEXT operation was issued with an OID above "igs-nt" (1.3.6.1.4.1.28634.5) the IB-NT
responded with "generic error".
o If multiple controllers were connected to the IB-NT the GET-NEXT operation issued with the last OID
from the first controller returned end of MIB instead of the first OID from the next controller.
l Incorrectly displayed date in US format
o The month was not correctly displayed at controller web pages if US date format was used.

l Problems with connecting multiple clients
o l If the controller has large configuration (typically large number of extension units) it may not be
possible to connect to the controller from more than one client (e.g. one instance of InteliMonitor).
l Problems with MODBUS-RTU
o MODBUS-RTU communication at RS485(2) interface might get frozen if the client requested data
frequently (typically without any delay between consequent requests).
13.2 New features

l Handling of languages in active e-mails
o E-mails are sent in ASCII using "Base64" encoding. The e-mail header contains information about the
used code page. "8BITMIME" is no more required.
o Standard SMTP protocol is used if no authentication is required by the mailserver.
o ESMTP protocol is used for servers requiring authentication. "LOGIN" authentication type is
supported.
o If the code page for adjusted language is not supported e-mail is sent in english.
l Modified method for software identification
o IB-COM software is identified always with four numbers separated by dot, i.e the pattern is
"M.N.P.B", where:
n "M" is major version number
n "N" is minor version number
n "P" is patch version number
o Additionally, "B" is used to identify the build number of the particular version
o The IB-COM software version can be checked at the IB-COM service web page (http://<module_ip_
addr>/sp_index.htm).
IMPORTANT: Please always use all these four numbers when you need to identify your
software (e.g. when you communicate with ComAp technical support)
l Number of ComAp clients increased

o The number of "ComAp" type clients which can be simultaneously connected to the module was
increased to 3, 2 of them can be connected either via AirGate or directly to IP address, the last one
can connect only directly to the IP address.
l Direct/AirGate connection
o Direct connection mode can be used even if AirGate mode is switched on.
o This means there can be e.g. one client (e.g. InteliMonitor, IV17T) connected directly within a LAN, in
which the bridge has fixed IP address, and other client can connect simultaneously from the Internet
using AirGate (e.g. WebSupervisor).
l Adjustable port number for communication with SMTP server
o It is possible to specify the TCP port, which will be used for communication with the SMTP server
when active e-mail is to be sent.
o The port number can be specified in the setpoint "SMTP address" as number appended with a colon
to the SMTP server domain name or IP address.

Example: smtp.mydomain.com:9925
o If the port number is not specified or it is specified incorrectly default port 25 will be used.
l Terminal "interlocking" removed
o Removed function: if one of connected terminals performed write operation into the controller all
remaining connected terminals were blocked for writing for next 5 minutes or until the "writing"
terminal had disconnected. The "interlocking" feature caused e.g. problems when a buliding
management system controlled genset power by writing repeatedly an "external value" into the
controller via MODBUS.
l Adjustable SNMP community strings
o SNMP read and write community strings are set by default to “public” and “private”.
o Both strings can be changed from module service web pages.

14.1 New features
Version 1.1.1 does not contain any changes regarding the standard operation. Only built-in production test
function was changed.

15 Changes in version 1.1
15.1 New features
l Support for InternetBridge-NT connected by RS485
o InternetBridge-NT 1.1.1 and higher can be connected to RS485(2) of IG-NTC-BB or IS-NTC-BB if IB-
COM version 1.1 or higher is used.
l Ethernet speed
o The ethernet interface was switched to speed autodetection mode. The speed (10 or 100Mbit/s) is
selected automatically according to the connected network infrastructure.
l History buffering
o Added support for buffering (mirroring) of the controller history in the DDE server.
l User accounts management
o Because of security reasons the management of users and their passwords as well as changing
access code via the controller web pages was removed.
o InteliMonitor must be used for these operations.
l LAN discovery
o Support for “LAN discovery” function was added.
o This function will be consequently added into InteliMonitor and other PC tools to simplify connection
to ComAp ethernet devices in local networks.
l Customizable logo
o The logo, which is displayed at the controller web pages, can be replaced by a custom one.
o Custom logo is to be uploaded via the service web pages.
o The logo must be GIF file with name “logo.gif”, preffered size is 100x45 pixels.
l MODBUS/TCP access code
o Access code protection can be deactivated for MODBUS/TCP protocol. This is to be done in the
service web pages.

16 Notes
16.1 Document history
Revision number Related sw. version Date Author
1 1.1 21.6.2012 Jan Tomandl
2 1.1.1 3.7.2012 Jan Tomandl
3 1.2.0 13.5.2014 Jan Tomandl
4 1.2.1 25.8.2014 Jan Tomandl
5 1.2.1 20.10.2014 Jan Tomandl
6 1.3.0 10.1.2015 Jan Tomandl
7 1.3.1 17.4.2015 Jan Tomandl
8 1.4.0 23.11.2015 Jan Tomandl
9 1.4.1 20.6.2016 Jan Tomandl
10 1.5.0 27.4.2017 Jan Tomandl
11 1.5.1 30.5.2018 Jan Tomandl
12 1.5.3 27.8.2020 Jan Tomandl

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IB-COM

Integrated Internet Module

New Features List

IB-COMNew Features List 2

1.2 Information about this version

IB-COMNew Features List 3

2.1 Original version is 1.X.X

2.1.1 Connection via LAN

IB-COMNew Features List 4

IB-COMNew Features List 5

IB-COMNew Features List 6

2.1.2 Direct ethernet connection to a computer

IB-COMNew Features List 7

IB-COMNew Features List 8

2.3 Change from 1.X.X to 2.X.X

IB-COMNew Features List 9

3.1 Modified features

IB-COMNew Features List 10

4.1 Bug fixes

IB-COMNew Features List 11

5.1 Bug fixes

IB-COMNew Features List 12

6.1 Bug fixes

IB-COMNew Features List 13

7.1 Bug fixes

7.2 New features

IB-COMNew Features List 14

8.1 Bug fixes

IB-COMNew Features List 15

9.1 Bug fixes

9.2 New features

IB-COMNew Features List 16

IB-COMNew Features List 17

11.2 New features

IB-COMNew Features List 18

IB-COMNew Features List 19

IB-COMNew Features List 20

13.2 New features

l Number of ComAp clients increased

IB-COMNew Features List 21

IB-COMNew Features List 22

IB-COMNew Features List 23

IB-COMNew Features List 24

IB-COMNew Features List 25

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