How Penn State Solved MS/TP Issues Overnight

Penn State University Pattee Mall

When Tom Walker looked at Penn State University’s Navy Yard network, he saw big issues. 

The system was busy and loud. So loud, that the overrun MS/TP network was bringing down the entire building. 

Because this was happening on the MS/TP network, pinpointing the problem would mean boots on the ground to segment and test the chain, piece by piece. 

No one wants to have to do that, but it wasn’t even clear what was wrong. All the traffic seemed like a broadcast storm, yet Tom could see in Visual BACnet that wasn’t the case. No Global Who-Is, no BACnet Broadcast Traffic, and no BBMDs going wild. 

The non-stop network activity meant that Who-Is messages, responses, COVs, and broadcasts were getting completely missed. 

Using Optigo Networks’ simple BACnet Capture Tool and the powerful Visual BACnet application, the team quickly spotted the offender and stopped the incessant traffic — in a single day. 

Find out how Penn State solved MS/TP issues in a single day

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