Importing devices from CSV

When you start monitoring with Visual BACnet, you can upload a CSV file of your most recent device list to either a ‘Site’ type node or a Monitoring Node. Uploading it to the Site node will recursively populate the Visual BACnet Device Browser of the Site node and all of its children with the devices on your network. 

Uploading a CSV file will not duplicate or replace devices that the Device Browser has already found. Because the Device Browser list is based on the Device ID, you must include a BACnet ID column when you upload your CSV device list. As long as each entry has a unique BACnet Device ID, any information in your CSV will add to the information already there.

Note that you need to have full access to Visual BACnet in order to upload a CSV. View Only accounts cannot upload a CSV file.

As you monitor your network, the Device Browser will fill itself in according to the information in the packets. For example, when a device sends a packet with an IP address and a BACnet Device ID, that information will be added to the Device Browser. If the information is already in the Device Browser, it will be updated.

If you have a device in your CSV list that isn't in the Device Browser, it will be added (along with all the information you included) to the list of devices. Its status will be "Never Seen" until it sends a packet.

If there is a device in the list that is already in the Device Browser, this will overwrite any existing information with the details in the CSV file (e.g. the Device Browser will update the IP address, if there is a disparity). The next time the device sends a packet, if the information is different (e.g. the IP address in your list was out of date), it will update it in the list again.

Use our CSV template to format your CSV file. Your CSV sheet can include: 

• BACnet ID* – the ID assigned to the device (e.g. 573648) - required
• Type – the type of device (e.g. Router, BBMD)
• BACnet Network – which network the device is on (e.g. 2001)
• BACnet Address – the device's BACnet address (e.g. 2)
• IP Address – the IP address assigned to the device (e.g. 10.0.0.1)
• MAC Address – the device's MAC address (eg. 00:50:00:b4:4h:4h)
• Vendor ID – the device's vendor ID (e.g. 7)