BMS Master and BMS Slave bring automation servers in different buildings onto one screen, open each building's live graphic screen in the same window without logging in again and collect the alarms in one place, and are three applications that work together on multi-server sites.
As a site grows, one server is not enough
On a growing site the automation usually does not fit on one server: different buildings, different blocks, each with its own automation server. On a campus, a production plant, a multi-block development, a hospital or an organization with several branches, the picture is the same. The operator, however, is one person. Opening a separate screen for every server, logging in again each time and chasing alarms one by one makes running a large site exhausting. The problem is not the number of servers; it is that there is no center between them.
Slave opens, Master collects
BMS Slave opens up the SCADA graphic pages of the server it runs on. BMS Master takes those pages into its own graphic screen. That is why installation has two steps: BMS Slave on every remote server, BMS Master on the main one. The list on the main server shows all the site's servers in one place; at most ten slave servers are added to one master, and the application shows that ceiling above the list itself.
One screen, one session
The operator now sits in front of a single screen. Moving from one building to another does not mean opening a new window or logging in again; each server's live SCADA screen opens inside the main screen. While moving between one building's own pages, the screen does not reload, so there is no waiting and no interruption. The site behaves as if it had been built as one system from the start.
Adding a new building takes a few minutes
To bring a building into the system you enter the name the server will appear under, its address and its login details. The application makes the connection itself; there is no separate relay server in between. The moment the record lands in the list, that server's pages are listed. From the same form you edit an existing record or remove it from the list.
You choose the page that becomes the door
Master connects to the server you added and lists every graphic page on it. From that list you mark only one as the home page, because the embedded page is nothing more than an entry point. The operator moves between that building's other pages using the slave server's own menu, and does so without the page reloading. Your choice is saved and goes into your backup as well.
Embedding is one paste
Once you have picked the page, Master copies the embed component for you. In your main server's graphic screen management you add a component to whichever page you want and paste what you copied. There is no other setting to make; the moment you save, the remote building's screen opens inside your main server.
The alarms are collected in one place too
Once the screens are joined, the alarms have to be joined as well. On every slave server there is an option that forwards alarms to the main server; when it is ticked, that server's alarms are sent to Master at regular intervals. The option is off by default, so it is you who switches forwarding on. Forwarding runs through the central alarm manager, Alert Plus, on that server; if Alert Plus is not installed, the application shows a warning in place of the option.
The connection lives on your own servers
All of the connection work runs on your own servers, on site, and the data does not go to the cloud. Slave prepares its pages on its own server and opens the settings needed for embedding by itself; the status tab shows that the device is ready and how many graphic pages it holds. That number is the number of pages that will be listed on the Master side.
Your installation lives in one file
The installation on the main server is downloaded as a single file; the file holds each server's name, address and user name, along with the home page you chose and your size setting. On restore, the records are written one by one and you watch the progress on screen. The components you pasted into your graphic pages still work after a restore; you do not have to paste them again. Login details do not go into the backup; after restoring, they are entered once for each server.
A browser was never made for a control screen
Opening the facility screen in a browser puts the same chores in front of the operator every day: address bar, tabs, certificate warning, a window closed by accident. BMS Desktop removes that layer. The application opens and the facility screen is simply there. No address bar, no tabs, no warning dialog. Every start begins in the same place.
A secure connection in a building with no internet
Most commercial buildings are cut off from the internet. On such a network a browser cannot verify the automation server's certificate: it warns at every start, and the operator learns to click past the warning. BMS Desktop and BMS Master recognise each other's certificate. The connection is encrypted and verified without ever reaching the internet, and the warning screen disappears.
The connection is set up once
During setup you enter the automation server's address, username and password once. The application tests the connection, recognises the server's identity and stores it. From then on it goes straight to the facility screen. If the server cannot be reached you get a full-screen, plain warning instead of a browser error page. When the connection returns, the application goes back to the facility screen on its own.
Whatever the main server shows is what you get
BMS Desktop connects to the main server and shows its facility screen. Because the remote servers' graphics arrive embedded in that screen, all of them appear in the same window. The application is not a viewer only; the screen is identical to the one in the browser and you operate from it. It requires BMS Master to be installed and licensed on the main server.
The operator's computer is never left open
At shift change the screen stays on. After a period you set, BMS Desktop switches to the screen saver and asks for a PIN on the way back. The same PIN guards the settings: without it the server address and password can be neither seen nor changed. The operator can also end the session directly.
How BMS Master and BMS Slave work: introduction
Bringing automation servers in different buildings onto one screen, embedding a remote building's graphic screen into the main server, and collecting the alarms in one place.
Frequently asked questions
Are the two applications installed separately?
Yes. BMS Slave goes on every remote server and BMS Master only on the main server. Both install from the automation server's store and work together.
Do the servers in the remote buildings need a license too?
BMS Slave is free and needs no license to be installed on a remote server. The other applications running on that server still require their own license levels; Alert Plus, which alarm forwarding needs, is a BMS-level application. So no license is needed for a building whose screen you want to bring to the center; every building whose alarms you also want to bring requires its own BMS license.
What is needed to collect the alarms in one place?
Two things: the forwarding option ticked on the slave server, and Alert Plus installed on that server. If Alert Plus is not installed, BMS Slave keeps working; only alarm forwarding is not switched on.
Does the operator log in again when switching buildings?
No. Master makes the connection itself; for the operator, each building is a page that opens inside the main screen. Moving between one building's pages does not reload the screen either.
Are all of the remote building's pages visible?
One page is chosen to be embedded into the main server, and that page is the entry point. The operator moves to the other pages from the remote server's own menu, inside the same screen.
What if the slave server's pages were designed at a different resolution?
The width and height of the embedded area are changed in the settings; the slave server's pages stay as they are.
Does the data go to the cloud?
No. The connection between Master and Slave runs on your own servers, on site.
Can the installation be moved to another main server?
Yes. Your server records, the home pages you chose and your size setting live in one file and are restored from it. Because login details do not go into the backup, they are entered once for each server after restoring.
Do the servers in the remote buildings have to be Sona as well?
Yes. The connection is made through the applications on both sides; BMS Slave runs on the remote server and BMS Master on the main one. So the main server and the servers in the remote buildings are the same platform.
Which network does the connection run over?
Master connects to the remote server over its network address, and the connection is made inside your own network; it does not go to the cloud. How the network between the buildings is built is the site's own infrastructure decision.
Can the facility screen not be seen without BMS Desktop?
It can; the screen also opens in a browser. BMS Desktop dedicates the operator's computer to one job: the same screen at every start, without address bar, tabs or certificate warning.
Can I connect straight to a single remote server?
No. BMS Desktop connects only to the main server where BMS Master is installed and licensed. The remote servers' graphics arrive through the main server's screen.
What does the PIN protect?
Whoever sits down at the computer without authorisation. The PIN is asked at start-up, when entering settings and when leaving the screen saver. Without it the server address and password cannot be changed.
Is an internet connection needed?
Only during installation, while the application is downloaded from the Microsoft Store. After that it talks only to your own server on the local network.
BMS Slave is free and is installed on every remote server. BMS Master is included in the BMS licence and is installed only on the main server. Both are installed from the store in Sona Application Center. BMS Desktop is free and is installed from the Microsoft Store; it has no separate licence. It only requires BMS Master on the main server to be licensed.
The pair runs on Sona BMS automation servers; the main server and the servers in the remote buildings are the same platform.
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