About the Schedules extension

Not all drivers have devices with a ScheduleDeviceExt (Schedules)—notably, this exists only if the driver protocol (or device) provides local event scheduling. Currently, this device extension exists only under components NiagaraStation and BacnetDevice.

Figure 47. Schedules device extension (NiagaraStation)

A device’s Schedules extension is the parent container for imported schedules—Niagara schedule components with a ScheduleImportExt. Events in an imported schedule are obtained from that device, and are read-only (often called “slave schedules”). By default, the Schedules extension also contains a Retry Trigger, see About the Retry Trigger.

The Schedules extension can also contain schedule export descriptors. These correspond to local station schedules that are exported (“pushed”) to that remote station (often called “master schedules”). A schedule export descriptor is automatically created whenever a local schedule is “imported” into a remote station.

The difference between a schedule import and schedule export are as follows:

Import

An imported schedule appears in the local station as a Niagara schedule, where read-only schedule events are configured/adjusted in a remote source device.
- If under a NiagaraStation device, the source is a Niagara schedule in that remote station.
- If under a BacnetDevice, the source is a BACnet Schedule or Calendar object residing in that BACnet device. That object’s data is now modeled as a Niagara schedule component.
Export

This is a Niagara schedule in the local station that is exported into a remote station (NiagaraNetwork) or BACnet Schedule or Calendar object (BacnetNetwork). A resulting schedule export descriptor allows configuration of a “push” mechanism to keep event configuration synchronized in the remote device.
Under a BacnetNetwork, the single “LocalDevice” component (that represents station data exported to BACnet) has a special view on its child Export Table component that permits “exposing” Niagara schedule components in the station as either a BACnet Schedule object or Calendar object. For details, see the Bacnet Users Guide.

You create imported schedules under a device’s Schedules extension using an Import Manager view. A separate Export Manager view provides access to schedule export descriptors. For details, see About Schedules extension views.

Schedule components local to the station can reside anywhere under the station’s Config hierarchy and be imported by one or more other stations. As this occurs, a schedule export descriptor is automatically created under the NiagaraStation component that represents the remote station (and is located in its Schedules container). On the other hand, if you import a schedule from another NiagaraStation or BacnetDevice, it must reside in that device’s Schedule container. Imported schedules are always under a specific device.