ThingWorx Kepware Edge Connectivity for Linux

Reliably and securely connect distributed devices to critical applications and systems

ThingWorx Kepware Edge: Connectivity deployments for Linux


ThingWorx Kepware Edge allows valuable features of KEPServerEX to be deployed in Linux-based environments, enabling connectivity directly at the site of the machine, device, or sensor. The product utilizes secure, efficient, and IoT-ready protocols such as OPC UA or MQTT to connect to local, remote, and cloud-based applications or platforms. ThingWorx Kepware Edge offers flexible deployment of valuable Kepware functionality for improved connectivity to distributed devices and machines.

ThingWorx Kepware Edge: Explore our business value

Connecting remote devices is notoriously difficult. Engineers contend with unreliable connections, legacy protocols, complex security requirements, and proprietary networks. ThingWorx Kepware Edge enables users to deploy out-of-the-box connectivity at the edge of their networks.

<p>Connecting remote devices is notoriously difficult. Engineers contend with unreliable connections, legacy protocols, complex security requirements, and proprietary networks. ThingWorx Kepware Edge enables users to deploy out-of-the-box connectivity at the edge of their networks.</p>

Reliability

ThingWorx Kepware Edge features the same best-in-class reliability as KEPServerEX and users can expect stable and dependable connectivity

ThingWorx Kepware Edge features the same best-in-class reliability as KEPServerEX and users can expect stable and dependable connectivity

Scalability

With support for popular Linux operating systems and tag-based pricing, users can cost-effectively deploy hundreds of instances to support an edge-based architecture

With support for popular Linux operating systems and tag-based pricing, users can cost-effectively deploy hundreds of instances to support an edge-based architecture

Simplicity

Protocol translation at the edge means users can rely on secure, efficient, and modern protocols instead of building and securing proprietary cell or radio networks

Protocol translation at the edge means users can rely on secure, efficient, and modern protocols instead of building and securing proprietary cell or radio networks

Connectivity

With support for the most popular industrial protocols, product OEMs and System Integrators no longer need to create and maintain custom drivers to connect their machines

With support for the most popular industrial protocols, product OEMs and System Integrators no longer need to create and maintain custom drivers to connect their machines

Security

Utilizes modern and secure protocols to protect your data in transit

Utilizes modern and secure protocols to protect your data in transit

Flexibility

Improves connectivity architecture when connecting automation applications (like SCADA, MES, or Historians) or IoT applications to remote PLCs, sensors, or other devices

Improves connectivity architecture when connecting automation applications (like SCADA, MES, or Historians) or IoT applications to remote PLCs, sensors, or other devices

How can various industries utilize ThingWorx Kepware Edge?

ThingWorx Kepware Edge is designed primarily to connect remote devices directly at the site of the device. There are several industries and company types that need to connect to remote devices, including:

Machine builder connectivity

Machine builders who are under increasing pressure to provide native connectivity to the machines they build, either to connect to local applications or to cloud based IoT platforms.

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Utilities monitoring for remote sites

ThingWorx Kepware Edge helps water and wastewater technicians that need to monitor remote treatment and pumping sites.

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Upstream and mid-stream oil and gas

Oil and Gas companies that need to monitor and control field sites rely on ThingWorx Kepware Edge to share data between remote locations, streamlining communication between production sites and SCADA solutions hosted in different facilities.

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Enhanced AR and machine learning for smart manufacturing

With the native interface, manufacturing technicians can quickly and easily find and utilize industrial data in augmented reality (AR) experiences, machine learning models, mashups, and other ThingWorx tools.

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What are the features of ThingWorx Kepware Edge?

With features that connect you to ThingWorx, users can quickly and programmatically add rich context to their industrial data and transform it into useful insights.

What is Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) client interface?

The Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) client interface for ThingWorx Kepware Edge provides industrial data to industrial IoT and cloud solutions, including Azure IoT Hub, Azure IoT Edge, Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT Core, and others. ThingWorx Kepware Edge allows the server to be deployed directly at the edge. MQTT can be used to transport data securely over the network, while operating efficiently to reduce costs and network traffic. It offers specific advantages including:

  • For IOT and Cloud: Streams real-time data from KEPServerEX to popular IoT and Cloud solutions such as Azure IoT Hub, Azure IoT Edge, and AWS IoT Core, among others.
  • Efficient Protocol: Supports publish/subscribe with MQTT servers/brokers supporting MQTT Spec 3.1 and 3.1.1.
  • Widely Compatible: Leverages the drivers within ThingWorx Kepware Edge to collect data from thousands of industrial sensors and machines, including PLCs, RTUs, PACs, DAQs, controllers, and more.
  • Advanced Message Formatting: Offers advanced message formatting for client agents to support multiple data modeling requirements, such as JSON, XML, CSV, and custom models.

How does MQTT improve cost savings and security?

MQTT is a highly efficient protocol. As a 'publish/subscribe' protocol, it can be configured to send data on change versus constantly requesting updates. Using MQTT can therefore reduce network traffic and associated costs, which can be especially high on cellular or satellite connections. MQTT also utilizes modern security: TLS at the transport layer, and encryption and authentication at the application layer. Users can be assured of message confidentiality and integrity using the MQTT protocol. MQTT supports advanced features such as deadbanding, support for reading and writing data arrays, and multiple application connections.

When is OPC UA used?

OPC UA is a modern communications protocol for industrial automation and has been adopted by many industrial applications. It is also used in a wide variety of Industrial IoT solutions, and the Industrie 4.0 Platform requires "Industrie 4.0-enabled products" to use OPC UA for communication. As an open standard, it enables interoperability in heterogeneous environments.

What is the ThingWorx Kepware Edge native interface?

With the native interface, 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 data within ThingWorx Composer, 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. The integration relies on the ThingWorx AlwaysOn protocol, based on the WebSocket protocol. It's many advantages include TLS-based security, persistence, and edge-initiated messaging. With AlwaysOn the edge device always reaches out to the ThingWorx platform and not vice versa, reducing attack vectors and making connections firewall friendly. 

What are the key benefits of the ThingWorx Kepware Edge interface?

The ThingWorx Native Interface gives users the most efficient, flexible, and integrated smart manufacturing interface available. Specific benefits include:

  • Codeless Device Mapping: Configure connectivity to an industrial device, seamlessly map ThingWorx Kepware Edge tags to the ThingModel, and maintain and view mapping directly from the ThingWorx platform.
  • Real-Time Data Analysis: Model, analyze, and visualize real-time industrial data, and quickly and easily find and utilize the specific data needed from any device supported by ThingWorx Kepware Edge.
  • Remote Project Loading: Users can easily deploy ThingWorx Kepware Edge projects remotely, enabling them to manage all their ThingWorx Kepware Edge instances from a single ThingWorx platform interface
  • Enhanced Data Contextualization: With ThingWorx Kepware Edge data and the ThingModel, access ThingWorx’s advanced analytics and simulation tools, orchestrate workflows, create mashups, and engage in AR experiences.

ThingWorx Kepware Edge: What customers are saying

Learn more about how ThingWorx Kepware Edge can connect distributed assets, simplify network architecture, and reduce data transmission costs.. Explore what our users are saying to see how these tools are helping companies like yours.

Brembo logo
Teel-margin

Brembo

With 40 facilities in 14 countries, Brembo had plenty of data but no easy way to turn that data into actionaable insights. By integrating these disparate data sources through Kepware they were able to tap into the information gathered by plant floor operations and build new systems and processes to realize incredible OEE improvements.

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Teel Plastics

For more than six decades, Teel Plastics has manufactured plastic extruded tubing used in industries from healthcare to solar energy. Because of the specialized nature of their product, Teel turned to Kepware to remove manual inputs and implement industrial automation to streamline processes electronically and minimize human error.

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ThingWorx Kepware Edge FAQs

The following frequently asked questions can help you navigate ThingWorx Kepware Edge products.

In which languages is ThingWorx Kepware Edge available?

Currently, ThingWorx Kepware Edge is available in English.

What operating systems are supported?

ThingWorx Kepware Edge

  • Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (x86-64)

ThingWorx Kepware Edge License Server
  • CentOS 7.x
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x or 8.x
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x or 8.x 
  • Windows 8.1
  • Windows 10
  • Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2019

What are the system requirements?

ThingWorx Kepware Edge

  • Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
  • x86-64 CPU Architecture
  • Latest Linux Standard Base (LSB) package
  • Java Runtime Environment for MQTT

License Server Linux:
  • CentOS version 7.x or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x or 8.x
  • OpenJDK 11.0 or greater
  • Minimum of 4 GB of RAM for the host
  • Python3
  • Latest Linux Standard Base (LSB) package

Windows:
  • Windows.Net framework 4.5 or later
  • OpenJDK 11.0 or greater
    • Note: Only 32-bit JREs are supported
  • CPU Architecture 86 / x86-64
  • Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, or Windows Server 2019

Is ThingWorx Kepware Edge just KEPServerEX for Linux?

The use case for ThingWorx Kepware Edge is different than a KEPServerEX deployment. KEPServerEX serves as the connectivity backbone for a facility. A single instance of KEPServerEX on a Windows Server can monitor an entire work cell, line, or site, and monitor and control hundreds of thousands of tags at low latency

ThingWorx Kepware Edge also provides highly reliable and secure connectivity between industrial devices and critical applications, but the value of the product is in enabling a new, distributed connectivity architecture, especially to connect remote devices. We don’t intend for it to be a like-for-like replacement and work primarily with customers who need to deploy a network of ThingWorx Kepware Edge nodes.

There are key differences. ThingWorx Kepware Edge is headless—all configuration happens through a REST API and command line interface. While the drivers included in ThingWorx Kepware Edge are like the drivers included in KEPServerEX, there are differences.

Who are your edge hardware partners?

Thingworx Kepware Edge solves connectivity challenges by taking industrial data and converting it to MQTT, OPC UA, or Thingworx AlwaysOn. However, Thingworx Kepware Edge still needs to be deployed on a hardware device.

In order to help our customers implement our new Thingworx Kepware Edge offering as part of an overall solution, Kepware has partnered with various hardware vendors to test Thingworx Kepware Edge on certain hardware models. This test will give users the confidence that our two products together can solve the edge connectivity challenge. Testing consists of processing 10,000 tags of various data types and scan rates and sending that data to both an OPC UA Client and a MQTT Broker. All listed Hardware Partners have successfully completed this test on one or more models.

Where can I get all Kepware product manuals?

View all Kepware product manuals here.

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