ThingWorx Axeda Compatibility Package Release Notes, v.1.2.0
These release notes are for the ThingWorx Axeda Compatibility Package, version 1.2.0. The sections below explain what is new in this release, enhancements, and issues fixed in this release. Information is also provided for previous releases.
What's New in This Release?
This release of the ThingWorx Axeda Compatibility Package supports the following new features:
• Thing Presence — To support the meaning of "online" for polling agents such as Axeda Connector and Axeda Gateway Agents, this new feature of the ThingWorx Platform expands the concept of "connected" to mean "connection normalcy". A polling device must be connected to be available for SCM package downloads or remote sessions. A new property has been added for Things, called isReporting. This property is populated by the results of an algorithm that determines if a Thing is in this state. When the value of this property is true, the device is ready for a remote session and can be selected to receive a package deployment. For complete details, refer to the section on Thing Presence in the ThingWorx Platform Help Center.
• ThingWorx Remote Access —
◦ Support for Axeda Global Access Server (GAS) for remote sessions with Axeda eMessage Agents.
◦ A new Remote Access Client for use for remote sessions through ThingWorx.
◦ Support for Axeda Desktop Viewer, with the ability to download the correct version.
◦ A new extension, called Remote Access Extension (RAE), with entities to support remote access servers and remote sessions in general for ThingWorx Platform.
◦ New entities in the Axeda Compatibility Extension (ACE) to support GAS and remote sessions.
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Auto-launch is not currently supported.
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• ThingWorx Software Content Management (SCM) — The eMessage Connector now supports Upload instructions in addition to the previously supported Download, Execute, and Restart instructions.
For more information, refer to ThingWorx Software Content Management (SCM) Extension in this Help Center.
• Support for encrypting configuration files for eMessage Connectors.
ACP Component Versions for Release 1.2.0
The following table shows the versions of the components included in this release of the Axeda Compatibility Package (ACP).
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Component
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Version
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ThingWorx eMessage Connector
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1.2.2
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Axeda-ThingWorx Entity Exporter (ATEE)
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1.2.1
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ThingWorx Connection Services Extension (CSE)
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1.5.5
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ThingWorx Axeda Compatibility Extension (ACE)
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3.0.41
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ThingWorx Migrator for the Axeda Compatibility Extension (ACE)
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3.0.41
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ThingWorx Remote Access Extension (RAE)
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1.0.2
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ThingWorx Utilities Core (Thingworx-Utilities-Core-8-4-0.zip)
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8.4.0-88
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ThingWorx SCM Extension (ThingWorx-Utilities-Software-Content-Management-8-4-0.zip)
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8.4.0-88
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For Remote Access, you need to download a Remote Access Client separately from the Axeda Compatibility Package. If you have been using the most recent version of Axeda Desktop Viewer, you can continue to use that client.
Additional Software Requirements
The following table lists the additional, required software for this release of the Axeda Compatibility Package (ACP):
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Required Product
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Required Version
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|---|---|
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Java Development Kit (JDK)
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v.1.8.0_u162_b12 or higher (64-bit)
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Linux 64-bit operating system
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Tested on Linux 64-bit version of Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS)
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Axeda Platform
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v.6.9.0 or later to export users; otherwise, 6.8.0 or later
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Axeda Global Access Server
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v.6.9.2 or later
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ThingWorx Platform
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8.4.0-b2013 or later
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Axeda Gateway Agent or Axeda Connector Agent
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v.5.3.1 or later
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An issue with the Axeda Platform REST API prevents the ATEE from exporting remote interface data from Axeda Platform versions prior to 6.8.2. On the affected versions, any exported assets are treated as if they had no remote interfaces, and will not be compatible with the ThingWorx Remote Access Extension. The ATEE will record a log message, if debug logging is enabled, when it detects the REST API issue.
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Enhancements and Issues Fixed in This Release
The following table lists and briefly describes enhancements and issues fixed in this release.
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Issue ID (Case ID)
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Description
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Enhancements
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EMX-3257
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Update eMessage Connector to support encrypted configuration file.
As part of PTC's continuing efforts to improving security, the eMessage Connector can now run using an encrypted configuration file. For details, refer to Setting Up an Encrypted Configuration File for an eMessage Connector.
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Issues Fixed
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EMX-2654
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The eMessage Connector now supports the setting of a maximum file size for file transfer. Refer to Restricting the Maximum File Size for File Transfers for details.
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EMX-2672
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Fixed an issue in the eMessage Connector that was causing Axeda agents to send a registration message again unnecessarily.
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EMX-3011 (14043586)
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Axeda Deployment Utility v.6.8.3 does not work with eMessage Connector. Deploying changes causes it to hang.
After using the Axeda Deployment Utility to configure Axeda Gateway Agents (v.6.9.x) and clicking Deploy Changes to Agent, the configuration file is sent, but the Deployment Utility subsequently hangs on the message, "Retrieving device information from the Enterprise". After a while, a timeout occurs.
This issue is fixed in this release. The Utility no longer hangs after a user clicks Deploy Changes to Agent. Note that ThingWorx Platform does not support the Axeda Platform concepts of Organization, Location, Region, and System, so the eMessage Connector cannot get or set that information for eMessage Agents. Instead, these fields are empty after a get or set operation. For details, refer to Support for the Axeda Deployment Utility.
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EMX-3083
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Older agents using protocols that have been deemed insecure may experience issues connecting, such as agents utilizing SSLv2Hello.. This issue is fixed in this release.
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EMX-3091 (14142874)
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Axeda Compatibility Extension v.2.3.2 timestamps need to allow for unique mashup needs
When Axeda eMessage Agents escalate Alarms and Events, the details are loaded into infotables. The infotable contains Timestamp and Value properties. The Timestamp is the time the Alarm/Event occurred on the Remote Thing and the Value is a nested infotable containing the Alarm or Event details. These details include another Timestamp, which contains the time that the Alarm/Event was received by the ThingWorx Platform (this is a meaningless value). This second Timestamp included with the Alarm/Event details should contain the time the Alarm/Event occurred on the Remote Thing.
This issue is fixed in this release.
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EMX-3246
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Fixed an issue where the eMessage Connector would hang if it received a non-XML message.
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UTL-5173
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Specifying a Download instruction with a file that is not compressed in the tar.gz format and also selecting the check box next to the option, "Agent should uncompress this file after downloading" results in the file not being downloaded correctly to the agent. Specify the uncompress option ONLY for files that are in the tar.gz format.
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UTL-5181
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If the File Transfer Subsystem is restarted during a file download, the platform is not able to cleanly terminate the download, causing the delivery target to be stuck in a non-terminal state until it times out.
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Known Issues - Axeda Compatibility Extension (ACE)
The following table lists and briefly describes a known issue with the ACE:
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Issue ID
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Description
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|---|---|
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ACE-115
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When importing the Axeda Compatibility Extension, the following error message appears in the ApplicationLog for the ThingWorx Platform:
2019-01-28 14:00:44.791+0000 [L: ERROR] [
O: c.t.t.Thing] [I: AxedaRemoteViewerRefreshScheduler] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: https-jsse-nio-8443-exec-7] Thing State is being set to ERROR because it failed during the initialization phase: The runAsUser field was empty! The runAsUser field for any Timers and Schedulers in ThingWorx Platform, v.8.4.0, cannot be empty. This field for the AxedaRemoteViewerRefreshScheduler entity in the ACE is empty on import. You must navigate to the entity in ThingWorx Composer and set a valid user. After saving the entity, you MUST restart ThingWorx Platform.
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Known Issues - ThingWorx Software Content Management Extension
The following table lists and briefly describes known issues for the ThingWorx Software Content Management Extension and ThingWorx Platform:
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Issue ID
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Description
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|---|---|
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UTL-5611
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After importing the SCM extension bundle, a warning message about the extension trying to overwrite existing entities may appear. This message is expected and does not cause an issue. You can ignore it. In addition, refer to Importing ThingWorx Utilities Core and the SCM Extension.
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UTL-5462
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Delivery target times out of the Instructions Received state when its installation date is set too far in the future. Currently, the Instructions Received timeout does not take the installation date into account. For now, be sure that installation dates and the Instructions Received timeout are configured in such a way that package installation will being on the targeted devices before the Instructions Received timeout is exceeded.
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EDGA-1853
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The Axeda Connector Agent ignores the deviceRelativePath setting for SCM deployments. The deployment of a package with the following Download instruction succeeds when it should fail::
• Destination: /
• SourceFiles: ["C:\\qsaconfig.xml"]
• RepositoryName: TW.RSM.Thing.FileRepository
This same deployment to an Axeda Gateway device or a device managed by an Axeda Gateway Agent fails as expected.
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Known Issues - Axeda-ThingWorx Entity Exporter (ATEE)
The following table describes the known issue for ATEE operating with Axeda Platform:
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Issue ID
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Case
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Description
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|---|---|---|
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CORE-4376
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113580
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Gateway Asset Link is missing
This issue affects Axeda Platform, versions 6.8.0, 6.8.1, and 6.8.2, and impacts the Axeda-ThingWorx Entity Exporter (ATEE) as follows:
• Prevents the ATEE from populating the Managed Devices infotable on Things that represent Axeda Gateway entities in ThingWorx.
• Prevents the ATEE from populating the gatewayId on Things that represent Axeda Managed Device entities in ThingWorx.
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Known Issues - eMessage Connector
The following table lists and describes the known issues for the eMessage Connector in this release:
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Issue ID
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Description
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|---|---|
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EMX-607
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In the unlikely event of a setDataItem service call failing, the ThingWorx Platform does not receive a notification event. It would be better if the eMessage Connector could notify ThingWorx Platform of this event
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EMX-1749
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File transfers to the ThingWorx Platform instances that are running on the Windows OS are subject to the file naming restrictions of Windows, including the use of special characters such as question mark, colon, and so on. Refer to https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365247(v=vs.85).aspx
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EMX-1892
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eMessage XML is incomplete and does not send specific information back to the agent in the status message. This did not appear to cause issues with the Axeda agents that were tested; it is just a difference between the Axeda Platform and the eMessage Connector.
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EMX-1893
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Invalid Axeda alarms result in a blank value being written to the alarm field. Axeda Platform would reject these bad values. This is a difference between Axeda and the eMessage Connector.
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EMX-2178
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In eMessage Connector, if a configuration value is not provided, the helper method that is used to obtain it (except getIntegerValue() and getLongValue()) throws a ConfigException
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EMX-2193
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Axeda Gateway agents receive too much xml when registering. Currently, a redundant SetPingServlet is returned to Gateway agents. This has no known effects on the agents.
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EMX-2198
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Currently, selecting the time zone, Asia/Riyadh87, causes an error in the eMessage Connector, saying that the time zone was not valid, even though it is one of the time zones in the TimezoneMapper class.
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EMX-2232
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When a download request is issued from the ThingWorx Platform with targetPath:<empty>, the job eventually transitions to a state of CANCELLED, and a null pointer exception is observed in the Connector log.
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EMX-2319
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After starting the eMessage Connector, the logs directory is in a subdirectory from the current working directory and not where one would expect, at $EMESSAGE_CONNECTOR_HOME/logs.
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EMX-2412
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NotifyPropertyUpdates invocations to the eMessage Connector are not handled, resulting in a WARN message being logged. The operation of the Connector is not affected.
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EMX-2482
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When performing a download that is relative to the agent's home directory, use only the forward slash ("/") to specify the root directory and not "./". Using "./" results in the ThingWorx Platform sending an empty value to the Connector, which triggers an error being logged in the eMessage Connector. In addition, the file transfer will not complete successfully.
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EMX-2486
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Certain scenarios can create a flood of Thing look-ups to the ThingWorx Platform. The most likely cause for this situation is if an eMessage Connector fails unexpectedly and is restored while experiencing many requests per second for different agents (~10+ new agent communications per second). During this scenario the eMessage Connector can cause strain on ThingWorx Platform.
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EMX-3083
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Older agents using protocols that have been deemed insecure may experience issues connecting, such as agents utilizing SSLv2Hello. This issue will be resolved in an upcoming release.
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