ThingWorx Remote Access
ThingWorx Remote Access consists of the following components:
• The ThingWorx Platform.
• The ThingWorx Remote Access Extension (RAE) imported into the ThingWorx Platform to create the Remote Access Subsystem as well as all the entities needed for remote access.
• A remote device that is running a remote access server, such as SSH or VNC and an agent that can communicate with the ThingWorx Platform. If it is a ThingWorx Edge Agent, the communication uses the ThingWorx AlwaysOn protocol. If it is an Axeda Gateway or Connector Agent, the communication uses the Axeda eMessage Protocol and, if not using GAS v.7.1.0, the ThingWorx eMessage Connector.
• The ThingWorx Remote Access Client (RAC) installed on an end user's machine.
• The client-side application to be used over the remote access connection, also known as a "tunnel". For example an SSH client or VNC Viewer.
• One of the following versions of Global Access Server (GAS), which offloads remote access processing from the ThingWorx Platform:
◦ ThingWorx Global Access Server (GAS), v.7.0.0, v.7.0.1, or v.7.1.0
◦ Axeda Global Access Server (GAS), v.6.9.2 or v.6.9.3
When installing ThingWorx GAS v.7.1.0, you assign a category (as in Axeda GAS and ThingWorx GAS 7.0.x) and a platform type to the GAS. The category can be either Standalone (the default, for development or on-premise installations) or Hosted (for example, GAS instances operated by PTC Cloud Services). The platform type can be either Axeda or ThingWorx. If you are connecting your agents to ThingWorx Platform, select ThingWorx as the platform type. The GAS functions differently depending on the platform type:
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Axeda Platform Type
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ThingWorx Platform Type
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Use for Axeda GAS v.6.9.2/v.6.9.3
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Use for ThingWorx GAS v.7.x.
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Use with Axeda eMessage Agents and the ThingWorx Remote Access Client (RAC).
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GAS v.7.x can communicate as GAS v.6.9.2/v.6.9.3 does, but does not directly communicate with the Remote Access Subsystem or the Remote Access Extension.
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ThingWorx GAS v.7.1.0 can communicate directly with the Remote Access Subsystem and the Remote Access Extension.
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When using Axeda GAS v.6.9.2/v.6.9.3, the Remote Access Extension v.3.0.0 can allow ThingWorx to communicate with those versions of GAS, but the GAS will still communicate with eMessage Agents only.
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When using ThingWorx GAS v.7.x with this platform type, the Remote Access Extension v.3.0.0 can communicate directly with the GAS.
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Axeda GAS v.6.9.2/v.6.9.3 sends status updates to the eMessage Connector only. These updates do not appear in the Audit Message store on ThingWorx Platform.
ThingWorx GAS v.7.0.x does not send any remote session audit information directly to ThingWorx Platform unless the GAS v.7..0.x is run with the Axeda platform type. Axeda remote access relies on remote session audit messages from GAS to function properly.
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ThingWorx GAS v.7.1.0 and later supports full, bidirectional communication between ThingWorx Platform and the GAS. This allows remote session audit messages to be sent from GAS to ThingWorx Platform.
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When there are no audit records to be processed, GAS v.7.x does not send the audit block in the payload. An empty audit block will result in a RAProtocolError event from the Remote Access Subsystem and a logged error message but will not mark the update as failed. This is consistent with validation errors in status updates in the eMessage Connector for GAS.
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Axeda GAS v.6.9.2/v.6.9.3 and ThingWorx GAS v.7.0.x are only for use with Axeda eMessage Agents (Axeda Gateway, Axeda Connector). ThingWorx GAS v.7.1.0 can connect directly to ThingWorx Platform, without going through the eMessage Connector. At this time, it is intended for use with Axeda eMessage Agents only. For more information about the changes in GAS for the various releases, refer to GAS (Global Access Server) Enablement.
The following diagram illustrates the interaction of these ThingWorx remote access components, without the use of a Global Access Server (GAS):
In this illustration, the line with dashes indicates the remote access tunnel between the user and an edge device that is running a ThingWorx Edge agent.
The route for remote access varies, depending on the type of agent, ThingWorx Edge or Axeda eMessage, and on the method of remote access, ThingWorx tunneling or the Global Access Server (GAS). When the GAS is added to the picture, the interaction of the components looks like this:
| | At this time, ThingWorx Edge agents do not support the use of a Global Access Server (GAS). |
The rest of this section provides information about the ThingWorx Remote Access Extension (RAE) and ThingWorx Remote Access Client (RAC) components of ThingWorx Remote Access. For details on ThingWorx Global Access Server (GAS), refer to the PDF for your version of ThingWorx GAS, ThingWorx Global Access Server Reference, v.7.0.0 or to ThingWorx Global Access Server Reference, v.7.1.0. For information about the ThingWorx eMessage Connector, refer to the ThingWorx Axeda Compatibility Package 2 Help Center.
To learn what's new in your version of the RAE, refer to What's New in the ThingWorx Remote Access Extension? in the ThingWorx Platform 9 Help Center. To learn what's new in your version of the RAC, refer to What's New in the ThingWorx Remote Access Client? in the ThingWorx Platform 9 Help Center.