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.
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.
Reliability
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
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
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
Security
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
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 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.
ThingWorx Kepware Edge helps water and wastewater technicians that need to monitor remote treatment and pumping sites.
Oil & 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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
The OPC Unified Architecture (UA) Server Interface for ThingWorx Kepware Edge provides client applications (such as MES, SCADA, or Industrial IoT solutions) seamless and secure access to industrial automation data. ThingWorx Kepware Edge allows the server to be deployed in flexible and secure Linux environments. OPC UA offers benefits such as:
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.
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.
The ThingWorx Native Interface gives users the most efficient, flexible, and integrated smart manufacturing interface available. Specific benefits include:
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.
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.
Read the Full StoryFor 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.
Read the Full StoryThe following frequently asked questions can help you navigate ThingWorx Kepware Edge products.
Currently, ThingWorx Kepware Edge is available in English.
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.
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.
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