KNX Stack NGS

Editions

KNX Stack NGS (Next Generation Scalable)

As the most flexible device model for KNX System B is suitable both for small and simple devices as well as for complex devices that impose significant demands in terms of KNX resources.

Both editions – COMPACT and PLUS – share the same code basis. This simplifies the change between both versions. Virtual address spaces are used that are resolved at the driver level and mapped to the corresponding physical storage areas. This means that applications can easily be ported to different platforms.

The firmware includes more than just the communication stack: it provides a complete implementation of the standardized device model System B. The result is unrestricted compatibility with the ETS software. The source code is of modular structure, fully documented and can be included in the KNX Stack NGS (depending on the license model).

Included in our KNX Stack NGS package is a developer workshop to help you getting started. We will advise you on system architecture and give you full support for your development work.

COMPACT Edition

The COMPACT edition of the KNX Stack NGS comes with a small footprint but enables a complexity which is suitable for the majority of today’s KNX devices. The new Weinzierl System B implementation is very scalable and allows a migration to the even more powerful PLUS edition – making the COMPACT edition future proof. choice for small devices.

Features

System software for KNX devices
Medium: TP, RF, IP
Configuration modes: System mode (ETS)
Device model: System B
Up to 255 group objects
Up to 64 kB loadable memory
Available for different microcontrollers
Bus access: KNX UART Transceiver
Source code in ‚C‘ programming language
Modular development boards
Software tools
ETS support
KNX certified

PLUS Edition

The most obvious advantage of the PLUS edition is the number of available group objects. While the COMPACT version supports up to 255 objects, the PLUS version allows thousands of group objects. To achieve this the formats of the communication tables (group address, association and group object tables) use the extended format for System B.

The PLUS version also offers a significantly increased address space. The configuration data like parameters and tables can be loaded into a range of up to 1 MB via the bus. The extended address range can also be used to load application code via the bus – possible within an ETS download.

Features

System software for KNX devices
Medium: TP, RF, IP
Configuration modes: System mode (ETS)
Device model: System B
Up to thousands of group objects
Up to 1 MB loadable memory
Available for different microcontrollers
Bus access: KNX UART Transceiver
Source code in ‚C’ programming language
Modular development boards
Software tools
ETS support
KNX certified
Advanced table handling
Download of op-code
Long frames allow faster download

Complex performance

The PLUS edition of the KNX Stack NGS specifically targets complex devices with a 32-bit architecture. It is optimized to ensure high performance for all application sizes. For complex devices it is not only required to support bigger tables. Regardless of the number of group objects, in any case they have to be processed “in-time”.

While the COMPACT edition is based on code-saving search algorithms, the PLUS editions uses additional lookup tables that allow quick access via indices. The processing of the communication objects has also been accelerated and a linear search through all objects is avoided with the use of additional buffers. This increases the demand on memory – however, a huge reduction of CPU clock speed is possible. Furthermore, long frames enable faster downloads.

Loadable code

For most devices it is favorable to program the application program ex factory. So in the field the ETS only writes the group addresses and the parameters. The benefit is a faster download. For special reasons (e.g. bug fixing or project business) it might be necessary to load a complete application program via the ETS – our PLUS edition supports the loading of op-code.