Optigo Capture Tool (Software): Guide for Visual BACnet

Overview

The Optigo BACnet Capture Tool allows users to capture BACnet traffic manually (i.e. at the push of a button) or on a schedule. Upon completion of each capture, the resulting PCAP files are automatically uploaded to a Visual BACnet Troubleshooting folder or Monitoring node for analysis.

An appropriately long capture length can give users an accurate read on the network’s health. For regularly scheduled baselining and system health checks, we recommend a capture duration between 60 minutes and 120 minutes. Then, if there are any problems on the network, subsequent five to 20-minute captures are appropriate for troubleshooting. 

Intended use of Visual BACnet	Recommended capture length
General system health check	1 hour
Troubleshooting and validating a fix	5 - 20 minutes

Read more in our Best Practices for Capturing Packets to Use in Visual BACnet.


 

Download and Install the Capture Tool

First, go to the Capture Tool Software page, find the appropriate software package (e.g. Windows, Linux), download it, and install it on your computer.

Login to the Capture Tool

If you're running Windows, and Chrome has been configured as your computer's default web browser, simply double-click on the 'Optigo Capture Tool' shortcut on your desktop to go directly to your Capture Tool's login page.

Otherwise, launch Chrome first and then enter https://localhost:4000 in the address bar at the top. That will bring you to the Capture Tool's login page.

NOTE:
The address 'https://<HOST_IP>:4000/login' (where 'HOST_IP' is your capture computer's actual IP address) is also valid, and that will work from any computer on the same local area network (LAN).


The first time you visit the tool's login page, you may see a message warning you that the site is unsafe. Rest assured, the Optigo Capture Tool is perfectly safe, so feel free to go ahead and click on the 'Advanced' button, followed by the 'Proceed to localhost (unsafe)' link.

NOTE:
A custom signed SSL certificate can be installed by following these instructions.
 

At the login screen, enter admin in the 'Name' field and enter the default password _admin_ (underscore + admin + underscore) in the 'Password' field. Then click the 'LOGIN' button.

The first time you login to the Capture Tool, you will see a yellow warning banner at the top, to remind you that you are still using the default password. 

It is highly recommended that you immediately change your password, by doing the following:

1. Click on the menu icon (three horizontal lines in the top-right corner).
    
2. Select 'Update Password'.
    
3. Change your password and then click the 'UPDATE' button.
   
   Passwords must have:
        - at least 8 characters
        - at least one upper case letter
        - at least one one lower case letter
        - at least one digit
    

Configuring Settings

To configure your settings, click on 'Settings' (left-hand side).

There are three different settings tabs: Capture, Cloudlink, and Continuous Capture.



 

First, fill in the 'Capture' settings. These will vary, depending on whether you're capturing BACnet IP traffic, BACnet Ethernet traffic, BACnet Ethernet/IP traffic, or BACnet MS/TP traffic. 

 

For example, to configure the Capture Tool to capture only BACnet IP traffic, do the following:

1. Select 'BACnet/IP Only'.
    
2. Select your 'Capture Interface' (i.e. the appropriate NIC listed in your Windows network settings). 
    
3. If applicable, add any additional non-standard BACnet ports (anything other than BAC0-BACF or 47808 - 47823 --- e.g. 50000) in the 'Additional UDP Ports (optional)' field.
    
4. Click the 'Save' button.

NOTE: 
Ignore the 'Capture Filter' field for now. Only BACnet traffic is currently supported, but this may change in a future release.

 

To configure the Capture Tool to capture BACnet MS/TP traffic, do the following:

1. Select 'BACnet/MSTP'.
    
2. Select your 'Capture Interface'. 
    
3. Select the baud rate (default is 76800).
    
4. Click the 'Save' button.

Next, fill in your 'Cloudlink' settings:

1. Enter the 'Server Address'.
    
2. Enter the 'API Key'.
    
3. Click the 'Save' button.

NOTE: 
The 'Server Address' is 'app.visualbacnet.com' by default, but it will be different if you are connecting to different cloud or on-premise deployment.

Once you've saved your Cloudlink settings, check the 'Upload Link' status (left-hand side). If configured correctly, the 'Server Connection' icon will turn green.

If you have purchased a Continuous Capture license, proceed to the 'Continous Capture' settings tab. If not, feel free to ignore it or contact Optigo support for details on how to purchase a continuous capture license and how to use this feature.

Manual Captures

To capture BACnet traffic manually, confirm that your Capture and Cloudlink settings are correct and then do the following:

1. Set the capture duration (5 minutes to 120 minutes).
   
    
2. Click the capture start button.

After the selected capture duration has elapsed, the capture tool will stop capturing and the resulting PCAP file will be uploaded to the target Visual BACnet Troubleshooting folder or Monitoring node for analysis.

 

Scheduled Captures

With the scheduling feature, users can schedule the date, time, frequency, and duration of their BACnet captures.  

For example, if you wanted a 60-minute capture to occur every day at 11:00pm, but for it to stop after 7 captures, click on 'Schedule' (left-hand side) and then do the following:

1. Enter the name of your scheduled capture in the 'Name' field.
    
2. Select 'Daily' in the 'Repeat' field.
    
3. Enter '60' in the 'Duration' field.
    
4. Enter '11:00 PM' in the 'At time' field.
   NOTE: the time picker uses the same time format (12-hour or 24-hour) as your computer's clock
    
5. Select 'After number of captures' in the 'End repeat' field.
    
6. Enter '7' in the 'Number of captures' field.
    
7. Click the 'CREATE SCHEDULE' button.

After the schedule is created, it will appear in the list of scheduled captures on the 'Schedule' page. 

The very next upcoming scheduled capture is also displayed at the bottom of the 'Capture' page, just above the 'Last Capture' section. 

As with manual captures, after each scheduled capture is completed, the resulting PCAP file will be uploaded to the target Visual BACnet Troubleshooting folder or Monitoring node for analysis.

Both manual captures and scheduled captures can be terminated by clicking on the capture stop button. The Capture Tool will then upload a PCAP file of the BACnet traffic that was captured up to that point.

In addition, the status of in-progress captures (i.e. time elapsed, BACnet packets, and capture file size) is continuously updated on the 'Capture' page.

 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact support ([e-mail]) or use the chat pop-up feature in Visual BACnet.

IMPORTANT: 
If you encounter problems with capturing and require help from Optigo's support team, please make sure to have your capture tool's log files ready, just in case they are requested.