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Integration & Protocols

RAPIX Zone Controllers communicate with BMS, SCADA, and other external systems over standard protocols such as Modbus , MQTT , and BACnet . The native RAPIX JSON API is also available over TCP, HTTP, or WebSocket.

Commissioning is performed in RAPIX Integrator.

For what zones, scenes, flags, operating properties, schedules, and tags mean in RAPIX, see Zones & scenes.

RAPIX system topology. Zone Controllers link multiple DALI lines via Ethernet — there is no proprietary communications backbone.

  1. Layer 1 · Management

    BMS & head-ends

    Modbus, BACnet, MQTT, and RAPIX JSON API into BMS / SCADA over standard IT networks.

  2. Layer 2 · Network

    Ethernet backbone

    Lighting zones span multiple DALI lines in multiple locations over standard Ethernet.

  3. Layer 3 · Field

    DALI assets

    DALI/DALI-2 drivers and relays (including DT8 colour fittings), DALI-2 sensors and modular switches, RAPIX touch screens.

DALI line capacity

Zone controllers provide 2 or 4 onboard DALI lines (model-dependent). 2-line Ethernet extension modules add 2 DALI lines each (up to two modules), for a maximum of 8 DALI lines per controller. There is no practical limit to the number of controllers on a site.

Example: a site needing 10 DALI lines might use two 4-line zone controllers plus one 2-line DALI-2 Ethernet Interface (4 + 4 + 2 = 10), connected via Ethernet (there is no requirement for the modules to be co-located, so they can be installed together or distributed around the building).

Supported protocols

Built into zone controllers — no additional purchase or licence fees.

BMS / SCADA

BACnet /IP & Modbus TCP

Included

BACnet/IP and Modbus TCP for BMS and SCADA integration — configured in RAPIX Integrator.

  • Control and monitor RAPIX zones — including dim levels, occupancy, colour, lux, and fault status
  • Activate and monitor RAPIX scenes
  • Read and write RAPIX flags and operating properties
  • DALI devices — optional per-device control and monitoring, including emergency luminaire status
  • Project-wide access — connect to one nominated zone controller for zones, scenes, flags, and operating properties across the site
  • Configurable exposure — choose which entities are available to BACnet and Modbus using tags in Integrator
IoT / Analytics

MQTT

Included

MQTT — the zone controller acts as an MQTT client to your broker. Control and status use JSON payloads on rapix/ topics, configured in RAPIX Integrator.

  • Control and monitor RAPIX zones — including dim levels, occupancy, and fault status
  • Activate and monitor RAPIX scenes
  • Read and write RAPIX flags and operating properties
  • Project-wide access — connect one nominated zone controller to the broker for zones, scenes, flags, and operating properties across the site
  • Configurable exposure — choose which entities are available to MQTT using tags in Integrator
Show control / AV

DMX — DMX & sACN

Included

DMX — a nominated zone controller drives Art-Net (v1–v4) or sACN Ethernet DMX nodes; fixtures connect on RS-485 behind the node. Configured in RAPIX Integrator (Site → Interfaces → DMX Manager).

  • Channel mapping — each DMX channel takes a fixed value, RAPIX zone level, zone colour component (RGBW), operating property, or flag-selected value
  • Universes and fixtures — add universes (node type, universe number, Art-Net node IP where required); map fixtures by start address and per-channel source
  • Colour and level — fittings with a dimming channel use zone level on dimmer; fittings without dimming scale RGBW components by zone level
  • DMX source controller — one zone controller connects to the node(s); zone and scene state is shared across the site mesh
Custom AV / BMS

RAPIX JSON API

Included

RAPIX JSON API — JSON command and response messages over Ethernet, configured in RAPIX Integrator. A published AV interfacing guide documents the standard integrator command set at no extra cost; extended documentation is available under NDA, also at no licence fee.

  • Control and monitor RAPIX zones — level, status, and events
  • Activate and monitor RAPIX scenes
  • Read and write RAPIX flags and operating properties
  • Project-wide access — connect to one nominated zone controller for zones, scenes, flags, and operating properties across the site
  • Configurable exposure — choose which entities are available to the API using tags in Integrator
  • Transports — JSON over TCP, HTTP, and WebSocket
AV systems

Control4

Included

Free manufacturer-sponsored driver — bi-directional IP control between Control4 and RAPIX zone controllers, using the RAPIX JSON API.

For protocol-specific commissioning assistance, contact our technical team via the Contact Us page.