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IoT Publish

IoT publish

Open Automation Software is excited to announce it’s new IoT Publish feature for Azure IoT, AWS IoT Gateway and MQTT

IoT Publish

With Open Automation’s IoT Publish you can configure tags from a single or multiple data sources in OAS and publish them to Azure IoT, AWS IoT Gateway or an MQTT Broker. Tags can be published to a single topic or to multiple topics (one for each tag). Publishes can be scheduled to happen at a certain time of day, be event driven with a trigger tag and can also be continuous. The configurable publish interval setting allows you to publish at a specified rate.

Data is sent to Azure, AWS or MQTT as JSON packets which include device id, topic, tag id, quality and timestamp. Options are available to change the key names and to send without quality and/or timestamp. Timestamp can be formatted in ISO 8601, Unix seconds or milliseconds, Ticks or you can customize your own. Additional options are available to publish the latest value only and to include all tags in each publish or only those whose value has changed.

The Store and Forward feature of OAS can be turned on to prevent data loss in case of communication failure. If a communication failure occurs, OAS will buffer the data on your hard drive in the directory that you specify until communication is restored. Then it parses the data out to your destination.

For step by step instructions for the IoT Publish, watch the video below:

Supported Data Sources

  • Allen Bradley
  • Modbus
  • Siemens
  • OPC UA
  • OPC DA
  • MTConnect
  • OPTO-22
  • Rest API
  • Database
  • HMI
  • Other IoT Endpoints

Below are some examples of what the published data will look like with different options selected:

Publish All Values as One Topic Publish Latest Value Only as One Topic Publish Each Tag as a Separate Topic
{
“deviceId”: “OASIOT”,
“topic”: “oas_tags”,
“values”: [
{
“id”: “Ramp”,
“value”: 16,
“quality”: true,
“timestamp”: “2022-03-21T09:03:36.000Z”
},
{
“id”: “Sine”,
“value”: 0.587785252292473,
“quality”: true,
“timestamp”: “2022-03-21T09:03:36.000Z”
},
{
“id”: “Random”,
“value”: 96,
“quality”: true,
“timestamp”: “2022-03-21T09:03:36.000Z”
},
{
“id”: “Ramp”,
“value”: 17,
“quality”: true,
“timestamp”: “2022-03-21T09:03:37.000Z”
},
{
“id”: “Sine”,
“value”: 0.6691306063588583,
“quality”: true,
“timestamp”: “2022-03-21T09:03:37.000Z”
},
{
“id”: “Random”,
“value”: 26,
“quality”: true,
“timestamp”: “2022-03-21T09:03:37.000Z”
}
]
}
 {
  “deviceId”: “OASIOT”,
  “topic”: “oas_tags”,
  “values”: [
    {
      “id”: “Ramp”,
      “value”: 39,
      “quality”: true,
      “timestamp”: “2022-03-21T08:55:39.000Z”
    },
    {
      “id”: “Sine”,
      “value”: 0.8090169943749475,
      “quality”: true,
      “timestamp”: “2022-03-21T08:55:39.000Z”
    },
    {
      “id”: “Random”,
      “value”: 10,
      “quality”: true,
      “timestamp”: “2022-03-21T08:55:39.000Z”
    }
  ]
}
 {
  “deviceId”: “OASIOT”,
  “id”: “Ramp”,
  “value”: 35,
  “quality”: true,
  “timestamp”: “2022-03-21T09:07:15.000Z”
}
{
  “deviceId”: “OASIOT”,
  “id”: “Sine”,
  “value”: -1,
  “quality”: true,
  “timestamp”: “2022-03-21T09:07:15.000Z”
}
{
  “deviceId”: “OASIOT”,
  “id”: “Random”,
  “value”: 83,
  “quality”: true,
  “timestamp”: “2022-03-21T09:07:15.000Z”
}
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How to Insert AWS IoT Hub Data into a JSON Structure

AWS IoT-->>Open Automation Software-->>JSON

Open Automation Software Tags can be defined to interface with AWS IoT Gateway with the built in AWS IoT Gateway Driver Interface. This tutorial walks you though downloading and installing OAS, configuring an AWS IoT Gateway driver, configuring tags and storing them as JSON packets. You may want to start by reading our What is JSON article.

Step 1. Download and Install the Open Automation Software and Start the OAS Service

If you have not already done so, you will need to download and install the OAS platform.  Fully functional trial versions of the software are available for Windows, Windows IoT Core, Linux, Raspberry Pi and Docker on our downloads page.

On Windows run the downloaded Setup.exe file to install one or more of the Open Automation Software features. Select the default Typical installation if you are not sure what features to use or the Custom installation if you want to save disk space on the target system.  When prompted agree to the End User License Agreement to continue the installation.

For more detailed instructions and video tutorials, visit the installation guide for your system:
Windows Installation | Linux Installation | Raspberry Pi Installation | Dockers Installation

The OAS Service Control application will appear when the installation finishes on Windows.  Use this application to start the 3 Services. Run the Configure OAS application on Windows and select Configure-Tags; if the first time running, the AdminCreate utility will run to create an Administrator login as shown in Step 1 of Getting Started – Security.

Step 2. Configure Your AWS IoT Gateway Data Source

  1. First, you will need to open the Configure OAS application from the program group Open Automation Software.

  2. Select Configure >> License from the top menu and verify that AWS IoT is one of the available Drivers in the lower left of the form. The demo license will have this by default. If you do not see AWS IoT available, contact support@openautomationsoftware.com to update your license.

  3. Select Configure >> Drivers from the top menu.


  4. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.


  5. The Configure Drivers Screen will appear. Select AWS IoT Gateway from the Driver dropdown box.


  6. Enter a meaningful Driver Interface Name that you will refer to this physical connection when defining Tags with an AWS IoT Data Source.

  7. Define the properties for the desired physical connection.

  8. Click the Add Driver button above the Driver list in the left pane to add the Driver Interface as an available selection when defining Tags in the next step.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your AWS IoT Gateway data source, click here to see our Getting Started AWS IoT Gateway tutorial.

Step 3. Configure Your Tags

OAS provides multiple ways to add and define tags:

To add a Tag manually:

  1. In the OAS Configure Application, select Configure >> Tags from the top menu.


  2. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.


  3. Click on the Add Tag button located at the top of the Tag browser on the left portion of the screen.


  4. A dialog box will appear. Enter a name for your new tag and click ok.

  5. A configuration screen will appear for your new tag. Select your data source type in in the Data Source dropdown box.


  6. Specify the correct data type in the Data Type dropdown box.

  7. Click Apply Changes at the bottom right of the window.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your tags, click here to see our Getting Started Tags tutorial.

Step 4. Insert Tag Data into a JSON Structure

Create a new tag and set it’s Data Type and Data Source to JSON. Click Ok.

json data source

Click the Edit Value button next to the Structure input field.

json structure

Enter in your JSON structure. 

{
"pump": false,
"tanks": [
{
"room": 1,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
},
{
"room": 2,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
}
]
}

Click the Add button.

json add

The tag browser will open. Select your Network Node. Select the tag and it’s property that you want to fill your key/value pair with. In the Key field enter the key you want to reference. Do this for each key/value pair that you want to fill.

json browse

After you are done adding your tags, your results will look like:

json keys

Click Apply Changes.

For more detailed instructions, see the JSON Data Source article in our knowledge base.

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How to Insert OPC UA Data into a JSON Structure

How to Insert OPC UA Data into a JSON Structure

Open Automation Software Tags can be defined to connect to OPC UA Servers with the built in OPC UA Driver Interface. This tutorial walks you though downloading and installing OAS, configuring an OPC UA driver, configuring tags and storing them as JSON packets. You may want to start by reading our What is JSON article.

Step 1. Download and Install the Open Automation Software and Start the OAS Service

If you have not already done so, you will need to download and install the OAS platform.  Fully functional trial versions of the software are available for Windows, Windows IoT Core, Linux, Raspberry Pi and Docker on our downloads page.

On Windows run the downloaded Setup.exe file to install one or more of the Open Automation Software features. Select the default Typical installation if you are not sure what features to use or the Custom installation if you want to save disk space on the target system.  When prompted agree to the End User License Agreement to continue the installation.

For more detailed instructions and video tutorials, visit the installation guide for your system:
Windows Installation | Linux Installation | Raspberry Pi Installation | Dockers Installation

The OAS Service Control application will appear when the installation finishes on Windows.  Use this application to start the 3 Services. Run the Configure OAS application on Windows and select Configure-Tags; if the first time running, the AdminCreate utility will run to create an Administrator login as shown in Step 1 of Getting Started – Security.

Step 2. Configure Your OPC UA Data Source

  1. First, you will need to open the Configure OAS application from the program group Open Automation Software.

  2. Select Configure >> License from the top menu and verify that OPC UA is one of the available Drivers in the lower left of the form. The demo license will have this by default. If you do not see OPC UA available, contact support@openautomationsoftware.com to update your license.

  3. Select Configure >> Drivers from the top menu.

  4. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  5. The Configure Drivers Screen will appear. Select OPC UA from the Driver dropdown box.

  6. Enter a meaningful Driver Interface Name that you will refer to this physical connection when defining Tags with a OPC UA Data Source.

  7. Define the properties for the desired physical connection.

  8. Click the Add Driver button above the Driver list in the left pane to add the Driver Interface as an available selection when defining Tags in the next step.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your OPC DA data source, click here to see our Getting Started OPC UA tutorial.

Step 3. Configure Your Tags

OAS provides multiple ways to add and define tags:

To add a Tag manually:

  1. In the OAS Configure Application, select Configure >> Tags from the top menu.

  2. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  3. Click on the Add Tag button located at the top of the Tag browser on the left portion of the screen.

  4. A dialog box will appear. Enter a name for your new tag and click ok.

  5. A configuration screen will appear for your new tag. Select your data source type in in the Data Source dropdown box.

  6. Specify the correct data type in the Data Type dropdown box.

  7. Click Apply Changes at the bottom right of the window.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your tags, click here to see our Getting Started Tags tutorial.

Step 4. Insert Tag Data into a JSON Structure

Create a new tag and set it’s Data Type and Data Source to JSON. Click Ok.

json data source

Click the Edit Value button next to the Structure input field.

json structure

Enter in your JSON structure. 

{
"pump": false,
"tanks": [
{
"room": 1,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
},
{
"room": 2,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
}
]
}

Click the Add button.

json add

The tag browser will open. Select your Network Node. Select the tag and it’s property that you want to fill your key/value pair with. In the Key field enter the key you want to reference. Do this for each key/value pair that you want to fill.

json browse

After you are done adding your tags, your results will look like:

json keys

Click Apply Changes.

For more detailed instructions, see the JSON Data Source article in our knowledge base.

Posted on

How to Insert OPC Server Data into a JSON Structure

How to Insert OPC Server Data into a JSON Structure

Open Automation Software Tags can be defined to connect to Classic OPC Data Access 2.xx and 3.0 Servers with the built in OPC Interface. This tutorial walks you though downloading and installing OAS, configuring tags from your OPC Server and and storing them as JSON packets. You may want to start by reading our What is JSON article.

Step 1. Download and Install the Open Automation Software and Start the OAS Service

If you have not already done so, you will need to download and install the OAS platform.  Fully functional trial versions of the software are available for Windows, Windows IoT Core, Linux, Raspberry Pi and Docker on our downloads page.

On Windows run the downloaded Setup.exe file to install one or more of the Open Automation Software features. Select the default Typical installation if you are not sure what features to use or the Custom installation if you want to save disk space on the target system.  When prompted agree to the End User License Agreement to continue the installation.

For more detailed instructions and video tutorials, visit the installation guide for your system:
Windows Installation | Linux Installation | Raspberry Pi Installation | Dockers Installation

The OAS Service Control application will appear when the installation finishes on Windows.  Use this application to start the 3 Services. Run the Configure OAS application on Windows and select Configure-Tags; if the first time running, the AdminCreate utility will run to create an Administrator login as shown in Step 1 of Getting Started – Security.

Step 2. Configure OPC Server Tags

OAS provides multiple ways to add and define tags:

To add a Tag manually:

  1. In the OAS Configure Application, select Configure >> Tags from the top menu.

  2. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  3. Click on the Add Tag button located at the top of the Tag browser on the left portion of the screen.

  4. A dialog box will appear. Enter a name for your new tag and click ok.

  5. A configuration screen will appear for your new tag. Select OPC in the Data Source dropdown box.

  6. Use the Browse button to the right of the OPC Item to browse OPC Servers for the desired OPC Item.

  7. Select Local, the desired OPC Server, branch within the OPC Server, and OPC Item and click OK.

  8. Specify the desired OPC Update Rate for the Tag.

  9. Click Apply Changes at the bottom right of the window.

To add Tags with One Click OPC:

  1. In the OAS Configure Application, select Configure >> Tags from the top menu.

  2. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  3. To begin the One Click OPC process select the Group you would like to import to in the Tag configuration. If you want to import to the Root Level, select the Tags Group at the top of the tree.
    Then select the One Click Import button on the top menu bar.

  4. Click on the Import OPC DA 2.XX or 3.0 Items Button in the pop up window.

  5. Use the One Click OPC Wizard to browse for a branch as a starting position within an OPC Server or just select the OPC Server name itself to add all items from the selected OPC Server. For the best networking design select OPC Servers from Local even if you are configuring a remote OAS Service.

  6. Select to enable the options to Get Data Type from OPC Server and optionally the Descriptions.
    Additionally if you want to specify to Trend all of the points select Trend Points.

  7. Click Add Tags and it will automatically add all of the OPC Items from the OPC Server Branch you have selected and all of the sub Branches beneath it.

  8. Select the Save button on the toolbar at the top.

For more detailed instructions on Configuring OPC Server Tags, visit our Getting Started OPC tutorial or the One Click OPC tutorial or watch the video tutorial below:

Step 4. Insert Tag Data into a JSON Structure

Create a new tag and set it’s Data Type and Data Source to JSON. Click Ok.

json data source

Click the Edit Value button next to the Structure input field.

json structure

Enter in your JSON structure. 

{
"pump": false,
"tanks": [
{
"room": 1,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
},
{
"room": 2,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
}
]
}

Click the Add button.

json add

The tag browser will open. Select your Network Node. Select the tag and it’s property that you want to fill your key/value pair with. In the Key field enter the key you want to reference. Do this for each key/value pair that you want to fill.

json browse

After you are done adding your tags, your results will look like:

json keys

Click Apply Changes.

For more detailed instructions, see the JSON Data Source article in our knowledge base.

Posted on

How to Insert MTConnect Data into a JSON Structure

How to Insert MTConnect Data into a JSON Structure

Open Automation Software Tags can be defined to connect to MTConnect Servers with the built in MTConnect Driver Interface. This tutorial walks you though downloading and installing OAS, configuring an MTConnect driver, configuring tags and storing them as JSON packets. You may want to start by reading our What is JSON article.

Step 1. Download and Install the Open Automation Software and Start the OAS Service

If you have not already done so, you will need to download and install the OAS platform.  Fully functional trial versions of the software are available for Windows, Windows IoT Core, Linux, Raspberry Pi and Docker on our downloads page.

On Windows run the downloaded Setup.exe file to install one or more of the Open Automation Software features. Select the default Typical installation if you are not sure what features to use or the Custom installation if you want to save disk space on the target system.  When prompted agree to the End User License Agreement to continue the installation.

For more detailed instructions and video tutorials, visit the installation guide for your system:
Windows Installation | Linux Installation | Raspberry Pi Installation | Dockers Installation

The OAS Service Control application will appear when the installation finishes on Windows.  Use this application to start the 3 Services. Run the Configure OAS application on Windows and select Configure-Tags; if the first time running, the AdminCreate utility will run to create an Administrator login as shown in Step 1 of Getting Started – Security.

Step 2. Configure Your MTConnect Data Source

  1. First, you will need to open the Configure OAS application from the program group Open Automation Software.

  2. Select Configure >> License from the top menu and verify that MTConnect is one of the available Drivers in the lower left of the form. The demo license will have this by default. If you do not see MTConnect available, contact support@openautomationsoftware.com to update your license.

  3. Select Configure >> Drivers from the top menu.

  4. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  5. The Configure Drivers Screen will appear. Select MTConnect from the Driver dropdown box.

  6. Enter a meaningful Driver Interface Name that you will refer to this physical connection when defining Tags with a MTConnect Data Source.

  7. Leave Enable and Add Tags Automatically enabled.

  8. Specify the Live Data Url for the MTConnect stream.

  9. Click the Add Driver button above the Driver list in the left pane to add the Driver Interface as an available selection when defining Tags in the next step.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your MTConnect data source, click here to see our Getting Started MTConnect tutorial or watch the video tutorial below:

Step 3. Configure Your Tags

OAS provides multiple ways to add and define tags:

To add a Tag manually:

  1. In the OAS Configure Application, select Configure >> Tags from the top menu.

  2. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  3. Click on the Add Tag button located at the top of the Tag browser on the left portion of the screen.

  4. A dialog box will appear. Enter a name for your new tag and click ok.

  5. A configuration screen will appear for your new tag. Select your data source type in in the Data Source dropdown box.

  6. Specify the correct data type in the Data Type dropdown box.

  7. Click Apply Changes at the bottom right of the window.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your tags, click here to see our Getting Started Tags tutorial.

Step 4. Insert Tag Data into a JSON Structure

Create a new tag and set it’s Data Type and Data Source to JSON. Click Ok.

json data source

Click the Edit Value button next to the Structure input field.

json structure

Enter in your JSON structure. 

{
"pump": false,
"tanks": [
{
"room": 1,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
},
{
"room": 2,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
}
]
}

Click the Add button.

json add

The tag browser will open. Select your Network Node. Select the tag and it’s property that you want to fill your key/value pair with. In the Key field enter the key you want to reference. Do this for each key/value pair that you want to fill.

json browse

After you are done adding your tags, your results will look like:

json keys

Click Apply Changes.

For more detailed instructions, see the JSON Data Source article in our knowledge base.

Posted on

How to Insert MQTT Data into a JSON Structure

MQTT-->>Open Automation Software-->>JSON

Open Automation Software Tags can be defined to connect to MQTT devices and software brokers with the built in MQTT Driver Interface. If you want to interface OAS with another MQTT Client please see the Getting Started MQTT Broker guide. This tutorial walks you though downloading and installing OAS, configuring an MQTT driver, configuring tags and storing them as JSON packets. You may want to start by reading our What is JSON article.

Step 1. Download and Install the Open Automation Software and Start the OAS Service

If you have not already done so, you will need to download and install the OAS platform.  Fully functional trial versions of the software are available for Windows, Windows IoT Core, Linux, Raspberry Pi and Docker on our downloads page.

On Windows run the downloaded Setup.exe file to install one or more of the Open Automation Software features. Select the default Typical installation if you are not sure what features to use or the Custom installation if you want to save disk space on the target system.  When prompted agree to the End User License Agreement to continue the installation.

For more detailed instructions and video tutorials, visit the installation guide for your system:
Windows Installation | Linux Installation | Raspberry Pi Installation | Dockers Installation

The OAS Service Control application will appear when the installation finishes on Windows.  Use this application to start the 3 Services. Run the Configure OAS application on Windows and select Configure-Tags; if the first time running, the AdminCreate utility will run to create an Administrator login as shown in Step 1 of Getting Started – Security.

Step 2. Configure Your MQTT Data Source

  1. First, you will need to open the Configure OAS application from the program group Open Automation Software.

  2. Select Configure >> License from the top menu and verify that MQTT is one of the available Drivers in the lower left of the form. The demo license will have this by default. If you do not see MQTT available, contact support@openautomationsoftware.com to update your license.

  3. Select Configure >> Drivers from the top menu.

  4. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  5. The Configure Drivers Screen will appear. Select MQTT from the Driver dropdown box.

  6. Enter a meaningful Driver Interface Name that you will refer to this physical connection when defining Tags with a MQTT Data Source.

  7. Enter the IP Address of the broker. The default port is 1883.

  8. Enter the User Name and Password if required.

  9. Set the Keep Alive Time. The default is 60 Seconds.

  10. Set the Reconnect Time. The default 10 Seconds. If the connection to the broker is lost the Reconnect Time determines how long to wait before attempting to reconnect.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your MQTT data source, click here to see our Getting Started MQTT tutorial or watch the video tutorial below:

Step 3. Configure Your Tags

OAS provides multiple ways to add and define tags:

To add a Tag manually:

  1. In the OAS Configure Application, select Configure >> Tags from the top menu.

  2. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  3. Click on the Add Tag button located at the top of the Tag browser on the left portion of the screen.

  4. A dialog box will appear. Enter a name for your new tag and click ok.

  5. A configuration screen will appear for your new tag. Select your data source type in in the Data Source dropdown box.

  6. Specify the correct data type in the Data Type dropdown box.

  7. Click Apply Changes at the bottom right of the window.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your tags, click here to see our Getting Started Tags tutorial.

Step 4. Insert Tag Data into a JSON Structure

Create a new tag and set it’s Data Type and Data Source to JSON. Click Ok.

json data source

Click the Edit Value button next to the Structure input field.

json structure

Enter in your JSON structure. 

{
"pump": false,
"tanks": [
{
"room": 1,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
},
{
"room": 2,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
}
]
}

Click the Add button.

json add

The tag browser will open. Select your Network Node. Select the tag and it’s property that you want to fill your key/value pair with. In the Key field enter the key you want to reference. Do this for each key/value pair that you want to fill.

json browse

After you are done adding your tags, your results will look like:

json keys

Click Apply Changes.

For more detailed instructions, see the JSON Data Source article in our knowledge base.

Posted on

How to Insert Allen Bradley Data into a JSON Structure

How to Insert Allen Bradley Data into a JSON Structure

Open Automation Software Tags can be defined to connect directly to Allen Bradley controllers with the built in ABLogix and ABClassic Driver Interfaces which support communications over Ethernet to ControlLogix, CompactLogix, GuardLogix, and Micro800 with the ABLogix driver, and MicroLogix, SLC 500, and PLC-5 with the ABClassic driver. This tutorial walks you though downloading and installing OAS, configuring an Allen Bradley driver, configuring tags and storing them as JSON packets. You may want to start by reading our What is JSON article.

Step 1. Download and Install the Open Automation Software and Start the OAS Service

If you have not already done so, you will need to download and install the OAS platform.  Fully functional trial versions of the software are available for Windows, Windows IoT Core, Linux, Raspberry Pi and Docker on our downloads page.

On Windows run the downloaded Setup.exe file to install one or more of the Open Automation Software features. Select the default Typical installation if you are not sure what features to use or the Custom installation if you want to save disk space on the target system.  When prompted agree to the End User License Agreement to continue the installation.

For more detailed instructions and video tutorials, visit the installation guide for your system:
Windows Installation | Linux Installation | Raspberry Pi Installation | Dockers Installation

The OAS Service Control application will appear when the installation finishes on Windows.  Use this application to start the 3 Services. Run the Configure OAS application on Windows and select Configure-Tags; if the first time running, the AdminCreate utility will run to create an Administrator login as shown in Step 1 of Getting Started – Security.

Step 2. Configure Your Allen Bradley Data Source

  1. First, you will need to open the Configure OAS application from the program group Open Automation Software.

  2. Select Configure >> License from the top menu and verify that Allen Bradley is one of the available Drivers in the lower left of the form. The demo license will have this by default. If you do not see Allen Bradley available, contact support@openautomationsoftware.com to update your license.

  3. Select Configure >> Drivers from the top menu.

  4. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  5. The Configure Drivers Screen will appear. Select either AB Classic for MicroLogix, SLC 500, and PLC-5 or AB Logic for ControlLogix, CompactLogix, GuardLogix, and Micro800 from the Driver dropdown box.

  6. Enter a meaningful Driver Interface Name that you will refer to this physical connection when defining Tags with an Allen Bradley Data Source.

  7. Define the properties for the desired physical connection.

  8. Click the Add Driver button above the Driver list in the left pane to add the Driver Interface as an available selection when defining Tags in the next step.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your Allen Bradley data source, click here to see our Getting Started Allen Bradley tutorial.

Step 3. Configure Your Tags

OAS provides multiple ways to add and define tags:

To add a Tag manually:

  1. In the OAS Configure Application, select Configure >> Tags from the top menu.

  2. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  3. Click on the Add Tag button located at the top of the Tag browser on the left portion of the screen.

  4. A dialog box will appear. Enter a name for your new tag and click ok.

  5. A configuration screen will appear for your new tag. Select your data source type in in the Data Source dropdown box.

  6. Specify the correct data type in the Data Type dropdown box.

  7. Click Apply Changes at the bottom right of the window.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your tags, click here to see our Getting Started Tags tutorial.

Step 4. Insert Tag Data into a JSON Structure

Create a new tag and set it’s Data Type and Data Source to JSON. Click Ok.

json data source

Click the Edit Value button next to the Structure input field.

json structure

Enter in your JSON structure. 

{
"pump": false,
"tanks": [
{
"room": 1,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
},
{
"room": 2,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
}
]
}

Click the Add button.

json add

The tag browser will open. Select your Network Node. Select the tag and it’s property that you want to fill your key/value pair with. In the Key field enter the key you want to reference. Do this for each key/value pair that you want to fill.

json browse

After you are done adding your tags, your results will look like:

json keys

Click Apply Changes.

For more detailed instructions, see the JSON Data Source article in our knowledge base.

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How to Insert Siemens Data into a JSON Structure

How to Insert Siemens Data into a JSON Structure

Open Automation Software can connect directly to Siemens controllers with the built in Siemens Driver Interfaces which support communications over Ethernet to S7-200, S7-300, S7-400, S7-1200, and S7-1500. This tutorial walks you though downloading and installing OAS, configuring a Siemens driver, configuring tags and storing them as JSON packets. You may want to start by reading our What is JSON article.

Step 1. Download and Install the Open Automation Software and Start the OAS Service

If you have not already done so, you will need to download and install the OAS platform.  Fully functional trial versions of the software are available for Windows, Windows IoT Core, Linux, Raspberry Pi and Docker on our downloads page.

On Windows run the downloaded Setup.exe file to install one or more of the Open Automation Software features. Select the default Typical installation if you are not sure what features to use or the Custom installation if you want to save disk space on the target system.  When prompted agree to the End User License Agreement to continue the installation.

For more detailed instructions and video tutorials, visit the installation guide for your system:
Windows Installation | Linux Installation | Raspberry Pi Installation | Dockers Installation

The OAS Service Control application will appear when the installation finishes on Windows.  Use this application to start the 3 Services. Run the Configure OAS application on Windows and select Configure-Tags; if the first time running, the AdminCreate utility will run to create an Administrator login as shown in Step 1 of Getting Started – Security.

Step 2. Configure Your Siemens Data Source

  1. First, you will need to open the Configure OAS application from the program group Open Automation Software.

  2. Select Configure >> License from the top menu and verify that Siemens is one of the available Drivers in the lower left of the form. The demo license will have this by default. If you do not see Siemens available, contact support@openautomationsoftware.com to update your license.

  3. Select Configure >> Drivers from the top menu.

  4. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  5. The Configure Drivers Screen will appear. Select Siemens from the Driver dropdown box.

  6. Enter a meaningful Driver Interface Name that you will refer to this physical connection when defining Tags with a Siemens Data Source.

  7. Define the properties for the desired physical connection.

  8. Click the Add Driver button above the Driver list in the left pane to add the Driver Interface as an available selection when defining Tags in the next step.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your Siemens data source, click here to see our Getting Started Siemens tutorial.

Step 3. Configure Your Tags

OAS provides multiple ways to add and define tags:

To add a Tag manually:

  1. In the OAS Configure Application, select Configure >> Tags from the top menu.

  2. Select localhost or the remote service you wish to modify with the Select button to the right of the Network Node list.

  3. Click on the Add Tag button located at the top of the Tag browser on the left portion of the screen.

  4. A dialog box will appear. Enter a name for your new tag and click ok.

  5. A configuration screen will appear for your new tag. Select your data source type in in the Data Source dropdown box.

  6. Specify the correct data type in the Data Type dropdown box.

  7. Click Apply Changes at the bottom right of the window.

For more detailed instructions on configuring your tags, click here to see our Getting Started Tags tutorial.

Step 4. Insert Tag Data into a JSON Structure

Create a new tag and set it’s Data Type and Data Source to JSON. Click Ok.

json data source

Click the Edit Value button next to the Structure input field.

json structure

Enter in your JSON structure. 

{
"pump": false,
"tanks": [
{
"room": 1,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
},
{
"room": 2,
"level": null,
"flowrate": null,
}
]
}

Click the Add button.

json add

The tag browser will open. Select your Network Node. Select the tag and it’s property that you want to fill your key/value pair with. In the Key field enter the key you want to reference. Do this for each key/value pair that you want to fill.

json browse

After you are done adding your tags, your results will look like:

json keys

Click Apply Changes.

For more detailed instructions, see the JSON Data Source article in our knowledge base.