Product Overview
The ThingWorx Native Interface seamlessly and securely integrates KEPServerEX with the ThingWorx® Industrial Innovation platform—giving users a customizable single-pane-of-glass industrial Internet of Things (IoT) solution.
Flexible, customizable, and user-friendly, ThingWorx is the industry’s leading application development platform for IoT applications. Both KEPServerEX and ThingWorx adapt to a wide range of manufacturing environments and integrate with a variety of solutions to meet the unique needs of different industries.
With minimal configuration required, the ThingWorx Native Interface feeds industrial data—provided by KEPServerEX—directly into ThingWorx. All of the data in KEPServerEX is immediately available to browse within the ThingWorx Composer, so users can easily manage tags for all their connected Things, visualize and analyze data, kick off events in other systems, and more.
The ThingWorx Native Interface takes less than ten minutes to implement—enabling unparalleled time-to-value for IoT applications.
Business Value
- Secure data transfer: Data transfer between KEPServerEX and ThingWorx is secured using modern encryption and TLS. Furthermore, KEPServerEX users have full control over what data is sent to ThingWorx, and can set read or read/write permissions at the tag level.
- Data Contextualization: With KEPServerEX data and the ThingModel, users can add metadata, structure, and context to industrial data. A rich digital representation of operations makes it easy for users of various roles to create value-added applications using ThingWorx’s advanced analytics and simulation, orchestration, visualization, and augmented reality (AR) tools.
- Accessible Data for Real-Time Analysis: Users can model, analyze, and visualize their KEPServerEX real-time industrial data, and quickly and easily find and utilize the specific data they need from any device supported by KEPServerEX.
- Augmented Reality and Machine Learning Integration: Users can quickly and easily find and utilize industrial data in augmented reality (AR) experiences, machine learning models, mashups, and other ThingWorx tools. Users get access to all of their real-time KEPServerEX data within ThingWorx, including the ability to quickly associate that data with new or existing things in the ThingModel, and the ability to view mapping and critical diagnostic information from the ThingWorx platform.
Resources
Performance
- Remote Project Loading with ThingWorx: Users can easily deploy KEPServerEX projects remotely—while editing network settings and configuring and managing all of their KEPServerEX instances from a single ThingWorx platform interface.
- Store and Forward:
- Users can seamlessly transfer data between KEPServerEX and ThingWorx—even in the event of a communication loss or unstable connection.
- Users can easily monitor and determine operational health.
- Multiple modes enable users to determine when stored data is forwarded.
- Proxy Support: Users can connect KEPServerEX to ThingWorx via a proxy in order to implement network and security best practices when connecting to the cloud or via a wide area network (WAN).
Release Notes
6.8.796.0
12/17/2019
- Upgraded to ThingWorx CSDK Version 2.2.7.
- Resolved a race condition that could cause loss of data when Store and Forward was enabled and active.
6.7.1046.0
6/27/2019
- Added support to connect to the Thingworx Platform through a Proxy Server.
- None, Basic, Digest, and NTLM Authorization methods are supported.
- Added WARN message to the Event Log following failed authentication to ThingWorx to check that the ApplicationKey is valid.
- Legacy Mode, used for connecting to ThingWorx versions 7.3 or older, is no longer supported and has been removed from the product. KEPServerEX 6.7 supports connectivity to ThingWorx versions 7.4 and newer.
6.5.829.0
6/19/2018
- Fixed an issue where a configuration transfer (push or pull) between the server and the ThingWorx platform failed due to the reliance on a blank password for the server's Administrator user account.
- Added a new user group in the User Manager called “ThingWorx Interface User” that is dedicated to the ThingWorx platform connection and allows for configuring the platform's permissions to access the server's object properties.
- Added a new user in User Manager called “ThingWorx Interface” that is dedicated to the ThingWorx platform connection.
- Enhanced the error reporting associated with configuration transfers to provide more information to help with troubleshooting.
- Added a new Store and Forward mode called “On Hold” to forward only the latest property updates to the ThingWorx platform after recovering from a disconnect. This new mode allows ThingWorx applications that are actively monitoring production to get the freshest data available on reconnect.
- Forwarding stored property updates that were collected while in "On Hold" mode can be triggered by changing the mode from “On Hold” to “Active”.
- Added “_ForwardMode” system tag to control changing the Forward Mode (On Hold, Active). This allows configuring (and scheduling via user defined script) the mode from the ThingWorx platform.
- Updates for Diagnostic Properties are no longer stored when the server is disconnected from the ThingWorx platform. This change is to ensure that the latest diagnostics updates can always be provided to the platform upon reconnect while Store and Forward is enabled. If these properties need to be stored, then it is recommended that the platform reference the server's matching system tags to the Diagnostic Properties (Note: Diagnostic Properties are available on the ThingWorx platform via the Industrial Gateway Thing).
- Added support for the following Store and Forward system tags:
- _StoreAndForwardEnabled
- _StoreAndForwardEnabledStatus
- _DatastoreCurrentSizeMB
- _DatastoreRemainingSpaceMB
- _DatastoreUseableDiskSpaceMB
- _DatastoreAttachError
- _DroppedUpdates
- _ForwardMode
- _ForwardModeStatus
Manufacturing Use Case
A global automotive parts manufacturer needed to reduce machine downtime, improve product quality, and create dynamic visualizations of production systems so they could proactively prevent issues.
Using the KEPServerEX ThingWorx Native Interface to connect KEPServerEX data with ThingWorx, the manufacturer enabled company-wide device-to-Cloud connectivity through one single-pane-of-glass IoT solution.
In this example, KEPServerEX collects data from CNC machines and streams it in real-time to ThingWorx, which in turn provides clearly visualized data and gives users the ability to rapidly analyze their plant floor performance—from individual components to holistic overviews. Using data from KEPServerEX, ThingWorx analyzes uptime data to find trends and prevent downtime. With greater insight into asset and resource allocation, the manufacturer makes more informed decisions about productivity and efficiency across the entire enterprise.
Read the full use case: HIROTEC AMERICA case study
KEPServerEX is more than an OPC server—it's a connectivity platform for industrial automation and IoT. Simply download KEPServerEX, and then select from Kepware's library of more than 150 device drivers, client drivers, and advanced plug-ins to fit the communication requirements unique to your industrial control system.
A feature is an integrated software component of KEPServerEX that provides additional core server functionality. Features are included with the purchase of any KEPServerEX license, and can be utilized at any time.