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As they explore the fully customizable development toolkits on the market, they are often concerned that their OPC expertise is inadequate for writing their own OPC client application. How should states and client objects be handled? When would an OPC group need to be created and have items added? What about timeouts, keep-alive intervals and more? Isn’t PubSub (as in OPC UA PubSub) a deli sandwich from a popular grocery store called Publix in the US region we live in? Look – we hear you – and its problems like this that Software Toolbox has been solving since 1996. Let’s start by saying this up front – you do NOT need to be an OPC expert or understand the internal complexities of OPC connectivity. Our OPC client development toolkit handles all of that and so much more for you. Let’s learn more. Topics: Technical Support OPC Data Client OPC Toolkit Benefits Continue Reading Tech Support Corner: DataHub Item Imports Made Easy 5 min read By Connor Mason on May 2, 2024 2:00:00 PM Cogent DataHub enables users to integrate diverse data sources quickly and efficiently within their industrial automation ecosystems. By providing multiple ways to consume, organize, and deliver data, handling multiple inputs is a strong suit of DataHub. CSV import functionalities are available for a variety of plug-ins including OPC DA & UA Clients, MQTT Client, External & Local Historians, Bridging, and Modbus. In this blog, we’ll delve into the format and import options of OPC UA items specifically tailored for DataHub’s OPC UA Client configuration, but the concept is the same for all CSV imports in DataHub. Topics: Technical Support DataHub Continue Reading Enabling Sustainability through all Levels of the Automation Pyramid 7 min read By Zachary Parham on Apr 25, 2024 2:00:00 PM Software Toolbox’s solutions play a pivotal role throughout multiple renewable energy sectors. However, our solutions don’t only help with the day-to-day creation of renewable energy but also the supply chains that enable the creation of these energy sources, reducing cost and increasing efficiency across all levels of your business via automation. Last week, we shared a specific use case of how our software is being used to help reduce waste and energy usage. In this final post of our Environmental Sustainability series , we will explore additional ways our software can be, and has been, used across the entire automation pyramid to reduce waste and increase efficiency. Chances are, this is something you are already very familiar with. But for those of you who are not, the automation pyramid functions as a conceptual blueprint utilized in industrial automation representing the different levels of data transfer necessary for automation. This pyramid likely aligns with the different areas within your business. Topics: DataHub OmniServer TOP Server OPC Router Earth Day Continue Reading Energy Efficiency Success Story: Cloudy with a Chance of Unified Data 6 min read By Sarah Eckhoff on Apr 18, 2024 2:00:00 PM Happy early Earth Day! And welcome back to our Environmental Sustainability series , where we explore the pivotal role of innovation in safeguarding our planet. In this third installment, our focus shifts to the chemical industry, where we will explore a compelling case study and uncover the strategies employed by one company to standardize and unify their operations with principles of sustainability. Through this case study, we will witness firsthand how advancements in technology and strategic decision-making can yield substantial gains in energy efficiency. Join us as we investigate where the pursuit of efficiency intertwines with environmental stewardship. Topics: DataHub Earth Day Continue Reading Empowering Sustainability in and through the use of Cloud Data Centers 8 min read By Zachary Parham on Apr 11, 2024 2:00:00 PM There is significant growth in companies offloading their applications, data management, files, and content to cloud hosted systems. While this is great for a multitude of reasons, have you wondered what impact that might have on your business reaching its sustainability goals? That’s where we have some good news – the cloud can be, and typically is, green, because of the economies of scale that large data centers provide. In this second post of our Environmental Sustainability blog series , we’ll look at what cloud providers and data centers are doing, how using cloud computing can help reduce your company’s energy usage and carbon footprint, and how Software Toolbox’s solutions empower them all. Topics: DataHub TOP Server Flow OPC Router Earth Day Continue Reading Revolutionizing Sustainability with Circular Economy and OPC Standards 5 min read By Sarah Eckhoff on Apr 4, 2024 2:00:00 PM In this first installment of our 2024 Environmental Sustainability Blog Series, we’re going to piggyback on last year’s Waste Reduction blog post , and take things a step farther – how can you incorporate aspects of a circular economy to positively impact your work environment? In this blog post we’ll discuss what a circular economy is, the impact circular economies have on the environment, and how software that leverages OPC Standards and the automation industry can play a pivotal role in fostering its success. Topics: OmniServer TOP Server Earth Day Continue Reading Did You Know? How to Use Character Translations in OmniServer 4 min read By Jessica Dillon on Mar 28, 2024 2:00:00 PM Those of you who are aware of OmniServer will already know that it is primarily used to retrieve information from devices that use ’non-standard’ protocols to communicate, such as weigh scales, barcode readers, and printers. An HMI, SCADA, MES, Historian, database, and more, could then read that data from OmniServer, making it a powerful, universal, data acquisition tool. Some of these ’non-standard’ device protocols require what we call "special handling". For most protocols, if you’ve used OmniServer, data that is sent or received is "what you see is what you get" type data. An ASCII "A" is transmitted or received and interpreted as an ASCII "A". But what if your device is expecting something else as part of its special handling in its communication protocol? Or what if you wanted to interpret the data differently from the device to meet new business standards or existing requirements? OmniServer is capable of handling advanced protocols where the devices send special characters/bytes that need to be handled in a specific way. In this blog, we will explain how to use a feature called "translations" in OmniServer with certain protocols that require special handling. Topics: Technical Support OmniServer Continue Reading Modbus Offset vs. Addressing: Why Does It Matter? 7 min read By Ryan Royse on Mar 21, 2024 2:00:00 PM Have you ever been confused on the difference between Modbus offsets and addresses? I’m sure you may have configured different Modbus devices from different manufacturers who follow different documentation...