Creating New Axeda eMessage Entities Using ThingWorx Composer
For testing purposes, you can create your own Axeda agent entities in ThingWorx Composer to represent an Axeda Gateway or Axeda Connector asset on the ThingWorx Platform.
If you or any other Axeda users cannot log in to ThingWorx Composer, make sure that your ThingWorx user accounts have been added to the ThingWorx ComposerUsers group. It is possible to be able to run a remote session on an asset from a mashup and not be able to log into Composer. Refer to the User Groups topic in the ThingWorx Platform Help Center..
 |
This section provides summary information only. For full details on creating entities within ThingWorx Composer, refer to the section on ThingWorx Model Definition and Composer in the ThingWorx Help Center.
|
Creating an Axeda Thing
Suppose you are testing and want to connect an Axeda Agent that you are running on your computer to your ThingWorx Platform via your eMessage Connector. You must create a Thing for the Agent in ThingWorx Composer and point your Agent at your eMessage Connector. To create an Axeda Thing, follow these steps:
1. Log in to ThingWorx Composer.
2. Click 
to display the Browse menu. Then select > , and in the Things page, click +New.
to display the Browse menu. Then select > , and in the Things page, click +New.3. In the Name field on the General Information page, type a name for the Axeda Thing. You must configure the modelNumber and the serialNumber properties in Composer, as they exist in the Agent configuration.
4. From the Base Thing Template list, select the appropriate Thing Template for the type of entity (asset) running an Axeda eMessage agent. The following table lists the entity types and corresponding Thing Templates.
Entity Type | Thing Template Used |
|---|---|
Standalone model/asset running Axeda Connector | |
Gateway model/asset running Axeda Gateway | |
Managed model/asset that connects to an Axeda Gateway |
| | To support historical data on an Alarm or Event, a value stream needs to be created and associated with the Thing. |
5. Click 
.
.6. Select Properties and Alerts. Click 
to display the Set value of property panel (on the right) for any given property. Enter a value for the property as required.
to display the Set value of property panel (on the right) for any given property. Enter a value for the property as required.7. Click 
to save the new property value and close the panel.
to save the new property value and close the panel. | If you plan to use the Software Content Management (SCM) capabilities of ThingWorx Utilities with your Axeda Gateway and Axeda Connector agents, refer to the online help for ThingWorx Utilities to learn how to set up the Axeda Things for your agents to use this feature. The AxedaBaseModel Thing Template automatically adds the Thing Shape needed for Remote Access for all Axeda Things that use one of the Thing Templates listed in the table above. |
Creating Properties for Data Items
As needed, you can create properties to represent data items that the eMessage Agent sends in or data items that you may want to use locally on the ThingWorx Platform:
1. On the Properties | Alerts page, click + Add.
2. In the New Property panel, enter information for the property:
a. In the Name field, enter a name for the property.
b. Optionally, enter a few words about the property in the Description field.
c. From the Base Type list, select the base type for the property:
Axeda Data Item Type | ThingWorx BaseType |
|---|---|
ANALOG (numbers) | NUMBER |
DIGITAL (0 or 1) | BOOLEAN |
STRING | STRING |
d. As needed, select the check box next to Has Default Value, and specify the default value for the property.
e. If you want to retain values over a system restart, select the check box next to Persistent.
f. If applicable, select the check box next to Read Only. The property cannot be edited from ThingWorx if you select this option.
g. To log time-series values of the property in a value stream associated with the Thing (required for Axeda eMessage agents), select the check box next to Logged.
3. If the data item is sent in from the asset, select Remotely bound from the Binding list. Then set the following aspects:
◦ Remote Property Name — Specify the name of the remote property such that it exactly matches the data item name as configured for the Axeda agent.
◦ Push Type — Select Always Pushed to ensure that every value change is sent to ThingWorx.
◦ When Disconnected — Select the option, Fold all the changes into a single last changed value.
4. Click to save the new property.
to save the new property.5. Click to save the change to the Axeda Thing.
to save the change to the Axeda Thing.