2024 Automation & Control Software Learning Resources

Welcome to our most popular blog post of the year! Each year we publish this blog post to help you learn, grow, and support empowering you to improve your business.

This post is our 7th annual sharing of references to learning resources including our ever hot Tech Support Corner, popular technical blog posts, and product capabilities that users have told us were the most helpful to them over the course of the last year.

2023 continued the challenges in supply chain, inflation, labor shortages, and exploding customer demand and in many cases technology continues to be a key part of dealing with the challenges.

Secure Streaming of OT & IT Data: Edge & Premise to Hybrid Cloud & Cloud 

This has been a hot topic we've heard from you about all through 2023, and you can expect we'll be delivering more solutions than we already have throughout 2024!  Meanwhile, a reminder that Software Toolbox offers multiple solutions to fit different application requirements, and the best thing you can do is have a free consult with one of our experienced senior technical consultants. 

Here are some resource links to learn more about our solutions: 

• Video Webcast: Building Better Data Foundations for Manufacturing 
• Understanding MQTT Quality of Service
• Integrating OT data with InfluxDB
• Secure Data Tunneling
• Using OPC Router for Edge computing and Docker Containers
• Interoperability between OPC UA and MQTT SparkplugB
• Integrating REST API data with OPC 
• Integrating OPC with Amazon AWS 
• Integrating OPC with Azure Iot Hub
• Parsing multiple JSON formats on a single MQTT connection

Sustainability Blog Series

Automation is a critical part of helping companies achieve their sustainability goals. Our team produced a series of stories that discuss how our customers are leveraging Software Toolbox solutions in their initiatives.

Learn more about our customer sustainability applications

OPC Integration Resources

• DCOM Hardening - March 14, 2023 was the day DCOM became harder to use.  Software Toolbox has the widest range of solutions for converting OPC Classic to eliminate DCOM.
• Converting OPC DA Servers to OPC UA
• Secure Data Tunneling
• New to OPC? Have questions, get our free guide
• Understanding OPC UA Certificates
• Understanding OPC Redundancy Options
• E-Book - Exploring OPC UA Security Concepts

Product Training

• TOP Server Training Videos
• Using the TOP Server Application Report 
• OmniServer Training Videos
• DataHub Training Videos
• Understanding DataHub Redundancy
• OPC Router Training Videos
• OPC Data Client Development Toolkit Basic Training
• LGH File Inspector Made Easy
• LGH File Inspector - Automating Queries

More Product Specific Resources

DataHub

• Using the Datahub Alarm Notification Plug-in
• Using DataHub with Process & External Historians
• DataHub V10 Features & Reasons to Upgrade
• Video Tutorial: Using DataHub Webview
• Introduction to DataHub Scripting & Reasons to Use

OPC Data Logger

• New Version 4.0 adds Store & Forward 
• Understanding the OPC Data Logger Configuration Components
• Exploring File Spanning in Text/CSV file logging in OPC Data Logger

OmniServer

• Exploring the OmniServer Configuration UI
• Using the OmniServer 5 Troubleshooting & Diagnostics Tools

OPC Router

• New Version 5.x - Browser Based configuration, direct configuration of Docker deployed containers with OPC Router runtimes & more
• OPC Router Configuration Management Tips
• Using OPC Router ETL tools for Data Exchange
• Video tutorial: Using the OPC Router Email Plug-In
• Converting Non-OPC Data to OPC UA with OPC Router
• Using Visual Studio for OPC Router Scripting

• TOP Server Security Features
• Making TOP Server Configuration Changes During Runtime
• Increase Data Availability with TOP Server Device Redundancy Features
• TOP Server Troubleshooting Device Communications
• Troubleshooting AVEVA Suitelink Connections
• Using TOP Server as a Modbus Server

Conclusion

We hope you found this resource useful and that it helps you hone your skills and knowledge throughout this year and beyond.  Subscribe to our blog and, as always, if you have questions, let us know.