IP couplers (or also IP interfaces, but not really IP devices) can have additional (tunneling) interfaces. If supported, these can establish these additional connections in the respective line (each assigned with its own Individual Address). An example for this is the simultaneous access of a TP line by different (monitor) clients via an interface - a sort of multi-connection interface (but with or via different Individual Addresses).
Additional interfaces require their own Individual Addresses and are also called 'Additional Individual Addresses'. The additional address is defined by the device’s association with the line (Area.Line.x), whereby Area and Line cannot be edited, only the participant address can be. The addresses ultimately assigned are loaded to the device during the download of the device.
Types
There are two types of interfaces for these additional addresses.
Tunneling Interfaces
Their use corresponds to the use case described above.
Assignment of Group Addresses to the interface
It is possible to assign Group Addresses to the interface using drag & drop or with the Connect dialog (only for individual Group Addresses). The assigned Group Addresses are then visible in the detail view.
- Assigning individual Group Addresses -> the selected Group Address is assigned
- Assigning entire areas, e.g. a middle group -> the Group Addresses currently present in the area are assigned (subsequent changes in the area are not synchronized automatically)
These are the use cases:
- Interfaces secured using KNX Secure must know the types of access to the corresponding Group Addresses permitted on this interface (because the Individual Addresses + Group Address combination of the interface via which communication is allowed is entered in the respective remote position in the devices. The interface is also a sort of secured device in the KNX Secure participant network in the installation).
- These Group Addresses need to be added to the filter tables of couplers (automatically) during the calculation by ETS.
Manufacturer-specific Interfaces
ETS has no influence on and no knowledge of the use case according to the application description or manual; it only provides the Individual Address and manages it.
Display
For devices containing additional interfaces, there is a badge indicating the number of the total amount of Individual Addresses (device's own Individual Address + all additional Individual Addresses). The first Individual Address is always the device's address, while the additional interfaces are displayed below the device in the Tree View.
Interface devices (e.g. Tunneling interfaces, USB interfaces, etc.) do not currently appear in the list of associations in the group addresses panel. In case a tunneling slot is linked to a group address, then this association is only visible when selecting the device itself, but not in the opposite direction, when selecting the group address.
Behavior
Devices with additional interfaces behave like devices that have been selected more than once.
- If a device like this is moved to another line, all Individual Addresses are also moved respectively (the strategy for creation or copying of the new Individual Address is 'Fill up'). Address overflows can also occur in this case, e.g. if there are not enough free addresses available in the source line when making an assignment or in the target line when copying or moving. In this case, the additional Individual Address will simply not be set or will be ignored.
- If already in ETS assigned Individual Addresses of an additional interface being parked, the addresses are (again) freely available from ETS perspective. ETS is using these - again free - addresses for further assignments according to its current copy strategy. Again assigned, the additional interfaces will get a (still) free address out of the line.
- Changes of the Individual Address of an additional interface leads to a change of Download Flags of the entire device (to take effect, the changes requires a subsequent download of the device).
KNX Secure
For KNX IP Secure devices with secure tunneling activated that contain additional tunneling interfaces, a separate password per tunneling interface is managed via the 'Settings' tab under sidebar > Properties.
- Different users manage their own, individual tunneling interfaces with a separate password.
- A user manages several tunneling interfaces with one and the same password. These passwords can only be assigned or changed through (initial/subsequent) commissioning of the device itself.
Notes
- When the Individual Addresses for additional interfaces are changed manually in the local Interfaces Dialog, they are not synchronized in the device, i.e. are not loaded to it (compatibility).