What a KNX server does on site
The KNX Association notes that every KNX device carries its own microprocessor, so an installation does not need a central control unit. A KNX automation server adds functions on top of the bus: a web-based KNX visualisation, scenes, schedules that facility staff edit themselves, trend logs, an alert log and data exchange with the building management system (BMS) over BACnet/IP or Modbus. These functions sit on KNX, which the KNX Association describes as an open standard trusted for over 30 years. According to their maker, Embedded Systems, LogicMachine controllers need no internet connection to operate; cloud services are optional.
LogicMachine5 controllers and CANx modules
The six LogicMachine controllers here mount on a DIN rail, 3 to 6 DIN modules wide, each with a KNX/TP port, Ethernet and RS-485. They differ by what they add: DALI, 1-Wire, CAN FT, on-board inputs and outputs or a KNX choke; the LM5Lp2 adds none of these. CANx extension modules have no KNX port: they attach to a CAN FT port, found here on the LM5p2-KC, -KCD and -RIO3.
Bus power, network and ETS
Plan bus power for each KNX line; see KNX power supplies. The visualisation and BACnet/IP need an Ethernet network on site, and the KNX devices are configured in ETS, the manufacturer-independent KNX engineering tool.
