Connect external building systems to Cloud BMS and monitor the health of your data integrations.
Data sources is a building-level module. Select a building from the sites list to access its data sources.
Data sources are the connection points between Cloud BMS and external building systems. Each data source represents a configured integration with a building automation system (BAS), meter, IoT platform, access control system, or other external service. Data sources collect device and point data from these systems into Cloud BMS for monitoring, control, and analytics.
You add data sources by selecting from the API catalog, which organizes available integrations by system type. Cloud BMS supports 200+ integrations across BACnet, Modbus, REST API, MQTT, and other protocols.
1
Open the API catalog
On the Data Sources page, click API Catalog in the left panel. The catalog displays available integrations organized by category (Access Control, Asset, BAS, Meter, and others). Use the search bar to find a specific integration.
The API catalog organizes integrations by system type
2
Select an integration
Click the integration you want to configure. The integration detail page displays supported entities, data collection schedules, and available fields.
3
Enter authentication details
Click +Add Data Source in the upper right corner. A three-step wizard opens starting with the Authentication step.Fill in the connection fields specific to the selected integration type.
Step 1 of the wizard collects authentication details for the external system
Hide Common authentication fields
Field
Description
Name
A descriptive name for this data source (for example, Lobby BACnet Controller)
Area
The building area this data source serves
Room
The specific room associated with this data source
URL
The endpoint address for the external system
Username
Authentication credential for the external system
Password
Authentication credential for the external system
For Niagara integrations, install the Cloud BMS Niagara driver on the station before you add the connector. Optional scope fields can then narrow discovery:
Field
Description
Folder
Limits discovery to devices inside a specific folder in the Niagara station
Devices Root Slot
Niagara slot path where Cloud BMS begins searching for devices (for example, slot:/Drivers/...)
Use these fields when a station has a large device tree or when multiple buildings share one Supervisor. Narrowing the scope reduces discovery time and makes results easier to review.Click Test Connection to verify your credentials before proceeding. If authentication succeeds, click Next.
For APIs that support dynamic ID discovery, Cloud BMS retrieves available Site IDs and Building IDs directly from the API after you verify your credentials. Instead of manually requesting these identifiers from the vendor or client, you can select them from a dynamically loaded list. This capability depends on the external API. Not all integrations support it.
4
Configure data streams
In the Configuration step, select which data streams to collect. Toggle individual streams on or off, and set the collection frequency for each.
Step 2 lets you enable data streams and set collection intervals
Each data stream displays an allowed frequency range. Set the Value and Interval (seconds or minutes) within that range. Click Next when finished.
5
Review and submit
The Review step displays a summary of your selected data streams and their collection frequencies. Verify the configuration and click Submit to create the data source.
Step 3 shows a summary of enabled data streams and collection frequencies
Connectors can ingest native alarms from external building systems into the KODE alarm engine. Ingested alarms appear on the FDD Events page alongside routine-generated faults. Use this when operators need a single console for BMS alarms instead of switching between KODE and the subsystem interface.Niagara is the first supported integration. Additional subsystems will follow the same normalized alarm framework.
When you add or edit a data source, enable the Alarm data stream in the Configuration step. Set the collection Value and Interval within the allowed range, then complete the wizard.
1
Open the connector configuration
Add a new data source from the API catalog, or open an existing connector and select Edit from the three-dot menu.
2
Enable the Alarm stream
In the Configuration step, toggle Alarm on and set the collection frequency.
Step 2 lets you enable data streams and set collection intervals
3
Submit and verify
Complete the wizard, then open the connector Analytics tab to confirm alarm collection activity. Alarms enabled in the source system should appear on FDD Events.
Each building requires its own connector configuration. Alarm enablement and disablement remain in the source system. KODE ingests alarms that are active in the source.
When ack writeback is supported for the connector, acknowledging an alarm in KODE updates the source system. Acknowledgments made in the source also sync to KODE.Ack writeback prevents unacknowledged alarms from accumulating in the BMS queue, which can exhaust subsystem resources. Operators can acknowledge from KODE without opening the Niagara or BMS console.
After you add a data source, the connector view provides real-time visibility and control over the integration. Select any data source from the list to open its connector view.
The connector view displays collection metrics, discovered entities, and data stream activity
The upper-right corner of the connector view provides these controls:
Live Updates enables real-time monitoring of API requests
Test Connection verifies the data source is reachable and credentials are valid
Details displays the connection configuration
Activity opens a panel showing a log of recent actions and credential changes
The status badge in the upper-left of the connector view reflects successful data collection. It is not the same as connectivity. A connector can pass Test Connection and still show collection problems.
The Activity panel shows a timestamped log of connector updates
The three-dot menu in the connector view provides additional options:
Import from Sheet imports devices and points from a spreadsheet before or after connectivity is established (see Import devices and points from a sheet)
Refresh Cache reloads cached data from the external system
Edit opens the data source configuration for modification
Disable temporarily pauses data collection without deleting the data source
The Analytics tab displays data collection metrics and discovery statistics.Use the Overview section to see:
Devices discovered, with a health status badge and modeled-versus-total count
Points discovered, with modeled-versus-total breakdown
Schedules discovered from the external system
Use the Data Stream section to monitor collection activity:
Collection Activity shows total items collected in the filtered period and all time, with timestamps for the next collection, last collection, and collecting-since date
Data Stream Graph displays collection activity over time with green bars for successful collections and red bars for failures
The data stream chart supports two views. Use the Records and Collects tabs to switch between them.
Records shows how many data records were gathered from the API during each time period. Use this to verify that the external system is sending data as expected.
Collects shows how many times Cloud BMS attempted to collect data. Use this to verify that collection is running on schedule.
The Collects tab shows collection frequency over time
If the Collects chart shows consistent activity but Records shows zero, the collection is running correctly but the external system has no new data to send. If Collects drops below the expected count (for example, fewer than 12 per hour for a five-minute collection frequency), investigate whether the connection or the collection process is experiencing issues.
For Niagara timeseries streams, Cloud BMS polls point values every 30 seconds and stores a new record when the value changes. If the value stays unchanged, Cloud BMS records it again after one hour to confirm continuity.Use Pause Collection on an individual data stream to stop collection without disabling the full connector. Resume collection from the same controls when you are ready.Use the Export button to download collection data, and the date range selector to filter the chart to specific time periods.
Click Live Updates to enable real-time monitoring of API requests. Every time Cloud BMS makes a request to the external system, the screen refreshes with the latest data. This is useful for debugging or real-time monitoring of a specific data source.
On the Analytics tab, go to the Data Stream section and click Edit Configurations. The Edit Data Source dialog opens with data stream settings.
2
Set the new frequency
Toggle individual data streams on or off using the Select All toggle or individual stream toggles. For each enabled stream, set the Value and Interval within the allowed range.
The Edit Data Source dialog lets you adjust collection frequency for each data stream
3
Review and apply
Click Next to review your changes, then click Submit to apply the updated configuration.
The Health tab provides a real-time overview of the connector’s operational status.
If a data source is offline, open the connector Health tab and note the error category. Follow the suggested actions in the error category reference.
The Health tab shows uptime metrics and error logs for the data source
Use the Uptime Activity section to monitor:
Failures count in the selected date range
Uptime percentage over the selected period
Uptime Graph with color-coded bars showing periods of uptime (green) and downtime (red)
Use the Filter by category dropdown and the date range selector to narrow results to specific error types or time periods.Use the Error Logs section to diagnose issues:
Each error entry displays the error type, start time, last occurred timestamp, and occurrence count
Click an error entry to open the Error Details dialog with the error meaning, suggested actions, start and end times, duration, and individual error log messages with their timestamps
If a data source goes up and down repeatedly, all distinct error occurrences appear in the log
Use the Export button to download the raw error list for further assessment or to share with external parties
The Error Details dialog provides the error meaning, suggested actions, and individual log entries
Discover Schedules discovers schedules from the external system
Edit opens the data source configuration for modification
Duplicate creates a copy of the data source with the same settings
Delete removes the data source and its associated data
Deleting a data source removes its associated devices and points from Cloud BMS. Verify that no active dashboards, schedules, or analytics depend on this data source before deleting.
You can import devices and points into Cloud BMS using a structured spreadsheet, even before the data source connection is established. This unblocks deployment work such as templating, ontology mapping, and graphics while site connectivity (VPN, firewall, routing) is still in progress.Once the data source is connected and discovery runs, previously imported devices and points are treated as existing records and begin collecting data automatically.
Until the data source is connected and discovery completes, imported devices and points have no live values or history. The spreadsheet import uses the same identifiers that discovery produces, so merging happens automatically.
Navigate to the data source connector view, click the three-dot menu, and select Import from Sheet.
The Import From Sheet dialog with a link to download the template and a drag-and-drop upload area
2
Download the template
Click Download Template in the import dialog. The template includes columns for device identifiers, point identifiers, metadata, and ontology fields.
3
Fill out the template
Populate the template with device and point data exported from the external system (commonly Niagara). The following columns are required:
Hide Required columns
Column
Description
Device External ID
The unique device identifier from the external system
Device External Path
The full path to the device in the external system
Device Name
A human-readable name for the device
Point External ID
The unique point identifier from the external system
Point External Path
The full path to the point in the external system
Point Name
A human-readable name for the point
Point Kind
The point data type (Number, Str, or Bool)
You can also include optional columns for device metadata (Area, Location, Zone, Device Type) and point ontology fields (Ontology Field, Display Name, Precision, COV Tolerance, Default Graph, Ontology Unit).
You can complete templating and metadata assignment directly in the spreadsheet instead of using the UI. This is faster for large sites with many devices.
4
Upload and import
Upload the completed .xlsx file and click Import. The import runs as a background job with validation before any data is written.
Only one import job can run per data source at a time. Different data sources on the same building can run imports concurrently.
When a data source goes offline, use the following approach to identify the issue.
A connector can show Online while site VPN, gateway, or point data still fails. Treat list status, Health errors, and on-site VPN state as separate checks. Recent IP or modem changes often explain both tunnel and device issues.
1
Check the health tab
Open the connector view and navigate to the Health tab. Review the uptime graph and error logs for recent failures.
2
Review error categories
Click individual error entries to see the category and recommended actions. See the error category reference for a full list of categories, meanings, and suggested actions.
3
Test the connection
Click Test Connection to verify that Cloud BMS can reach the external system. A failed test confirms the issue is at the connection level.
4
Verify external system status
Confirm that the external controller, gateway, or server is powered on and connected to the network. Check for IP address changes, credential rotations, or firewall modifications.
Brief connectivity alerts sometimes clear within a few minutes with no data loss. If the Health tab shows a short outage that already recovered, confirm devices and points stayed online before escalating.Cloud BMS maintains the VPN tunnel and platform uptime on its end. Connectivity failures at the device, controller, or BMS server level are typically resolved by checking the on-site infrastructure. Contact KODE Labs support at support@kodelabs.com if you need assistance with troubleshooting.
