Software Toolbox Technical Blog

Welcome to the next installment of our Data Storage Deep Dive series! For years, Software Toolbox has been synonymous with terms like “device connectivity” and “data integration” thanks to our variety of connectivity solutions that help collect real-time data for all your industrial automation operations. Beyond just real-time data, our team recognizes the value of historical data within the industry, and we aim to help businesses make larger data backed decisions over time.

OmniServer is a universal data acquisition software application designed to bi-directionally retrieve information from a wide range of Ethernet, serial, or USB devices that use 'non-standard' protocols to communicate, such as weigh scales, barcode readers, lab instruments, inspection machines, printers, & more. This data is then typically delivered by OmniServer to HMI, SCADA, MES, & Historian systems using standard protocols like OPC DA, OPC UA, & AVEVA Suitelink.

Welcome back to our Summer of IoT blog series! This week, we are excited to announce the release of OmniServer Version 3.4.0.1 which in the professional edition, now includes MQTT client capability, which enables publishing data to MQTT Brokers such as the Cogent DataHub Smart Broker, HiveMQ, Mosquitto, and others.

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.

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.

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.

Unlike off-the-shelf OPC servers and drivers that talk to specific devices or protocols and no others, OmniServer can be configured to talk to virtually any device or combination of serial, USB, or Ethernet connected devices with some outliers based on the complexity of the protocol. OmniServer helps you bring data that would otherwise be inaccessible into your process and business systems, helping you make more effective decisions. In our experience there are still many software applications that do not have open interfaces such as OPC for data input. This is particularly common in quality control and test stand applications. Operators use a digital device to capture a measurement, and then have to type that into their test stand or QC software. This slows testing rates and can be error prone. There is a better way. 

We all love it when things go according to plan, but realistically that’s not always the case. Inconsistent device documentation and confusing protocol specs can make custom protocol implementation for devices that don't use standard communications protocols daunting, and although OmniServer is significantly easier than custom code solutions, there are still a lot of details to attend to!

So, what happens when things aren’t working as you hoped? With OmniServer, our users rave about its simple but powerful diagnostics tools and how they make troubleshooting communication issues a breeze. In this blog post, we will examine the five diagnostics tools available within OmniServer: the Logger, Item Values, I/O Monitor, Poll Statistics and Offline Devices. Our own technical team uses these same diagnostics when we are helping you during or after implementation.