Niagara Terminology Basics
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- Published: Tuesday, 01 June 2021 17:46
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The following is an excerpt from our N4 User Course:
What is a Host?
A Host is any machine (computer or Jace) that has N4 installed on it.
When N4 is installed on a computer, it automatically generates a unique Host ID for that machine.
When a Jace is shipped from the factory, it already has a Host ID that was assigned by the factory.
The Host ID is used to identify the Host on the Tridium Licensing Server. The license is directly tied to the Host ID.
What is a Platform?
A Platform is the tool we use to configure the Host machine.
We cannot add or remove anything from the Platform.
When a Jace is shipped from the factory, it only has a Platform connection.
We use the Platform connection to configure the Jace and install the Station we have built.
A Platform connection is not available in a web browser.
What is a Station?
The Station is what we build.
It has our graphics, integration, schedules, logic, trends, alarms, and so on.
When you access a site, typically the Station is what you are accessing.
A Station connection is available in a web browser.
What is a Passphrase?
A Passphrase is used to encrypt sensitive data. It is an additional password that needs to be configured.
There are two distinct Passphrases that are used.
The first Passphrase is used for encrypting stations “at rest” (non-running stations) on the machine that is running N4. This Passphrase is set when you install N4 for the first time. If you forget this Passphrase, it can be reset to the factory default be editing the Windows Registry.
The second (and most important) Passphrase is used to encrypt sensitive data on the SD-RAM card of the Jace Host.
This Passphrase cannot be reset. That is, if you don’t know the Passphrase on the Jace, the only way around that is to clean the Jace back to a factory state.
Known Passphrases can be changed with tools that are available in the Platform on either Host.
Workbench (or WorkPlace) is the user interface that is used to access Platforms and Stations on any given host.
It is a tool.
Stations do not run in Workbench, we just use Workbench to access them.
Opening and closing platform and station connections, or opening and closing Workbench, does not affect any running station or platform.