IoT & Connectivity Tips

ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Setup and Configuration Guide 8.2 ThingWorx Manufacturing and Service Apps Customization Guide 8.2

Key Functional Highlights Add connectivity to National Instruments TestStand Make it easier to edit the apps Easier to find mashups and things in Composer Support for Asset sub-types Open up the tag picker to allow adding any connection types through Composer General App Improvements Enhance tag picker to improve speed of configuration Make it easier to add additional properties to assets Make app configuration more intuitive by centralizing the configuration Controls Advisor Merge the Server and Connection status fields Asset Advisor Performance improvement when displaying pages Add support for CFS/ServiceMax integration Added trial support for Service     Compatibility ThingWorx 8.2.x KEPServerEX 6.2 and later KEPServerEX V6.1 and older as well as different OPC Servers (with Kepware OPC aggregator) National Instruments TestStand 2016 SP1 and later Support upgrade from 8.0.1 and later     Documentation What’s New in ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Setup and Configuration Guide What’s New in ThingWorx Service Apps ThingWorx Service Apps Setup and Configuration Guide ThingWorx Manufacturing and Service Apps Customization Guide     Download ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Freemium portal ThingWorx Manufacturing and Service Apps Extensions

Original Post Date:     June 6, 2016 Description: This tutorial video will walk you through the installation process for the PostgreSQL-based version of the ThingWorx Platform in a Windows environment.  All required software components will be covered in this video.    

Video Author:                     Stefan Taka Original Post Date:            June 6, 2016   Description: This tutorial video will walk you through the installation process for the Neo4j based version of the ThingWorx Platform in a Windows environment.  All required software components will be covered in this video.      

Video Author:                     Christophe Morfin Original Post Date:            October 2, 2017 Applicable Releases:        ThingWorx Analytics 8.1   Description:​ In this video we will walk thru a few steps to ensure the installation process was successful.    

Video Author:                     Christophe Morfin Original Post Date:            October 2, 2017 Applicable Releases:        ThingWorx Analytics 8.1   Description:​ In this video we will walk thru the installation steps of ThingWorx Analytics Server 8.1.  This covers the Native Linux installation though the steps will be similar for a docker installation on Windows or Linux.    

Video Author:                     Christophe Morfin Original Post Date:            September 26, 2017 Applicable Releases:        ThingWorx Analytics 8.0 & 8.1   Description:​ This video shows the commands to execute to deploy the training and results microservices as docker container.  This is based on Docker Toolbox to highlight the specific settings required on Toolbox.    

Video Author:                     Mohammed Amine Chehaibi Original Post Date:            November 28, 2016 Applicable Releases:        ThingWorx Analytics 52 to 8.0   Description: In this video we will cover how to start your virtual image of ThingWorx Analytics using Oracle Virtual Box.    

Video Author:                     Christophe Morfin Original Post Date:            October 10, 2016 Applicable Releases:        ThingWorx Analytics 52.x and 7.4   Description: In this video we cover the process of installing ThingWorx Analytics Server 52.1.  It is suggested that you first review the first part on prerequisites.      

Video Author:                     Christophe Morfin Original Post Date:            October 10, 2016 Applicable Releases:        ThingWorx Analytics 52.x and 7.4   Description: In this video we review the prerequisites needed prior to installing ThingWorx Analytics Server.  

Video Author:                     Christophe Morfin Original Post Date:            September 13, 2016 Applicable Releases:        ThingWorx Analytics 52.2 to 8.0   Description: In this video we cover the installation of the UploadThing Module.   Useful Links: How to copy files from Windows to Linux  

In the 8.2 release, we have upgraded our Mashup Runtime to jQuery 3.2.  This will give the platform a much needed upgrade to its core visualization library which will bring bug fixes, better performance, security enhancements, HTML5 compatibility and support for current browsers.  We will continue to upgrade all of our libraries across the platform with each ThingWorx release to ensure we are current and optimized.   We are releasing this functionality in 8.2 as an early preview and to enable regression testing of your ThingWorx applications.  In the Next Gen Composer, simply click on User Preferences and look for this setting:     Enabling jQuery3 runtime   JQuery 3 does introduce some new breaking changes (not from PTC!) that may affect existing apps.  We recommend turning on the JQuery3 option and testing your apps as soon as possible so there is time to fix any issues.  Please let PTC know if you are finding issues through our support site and our support staff will coach you through the upgrade process.  In 8.3, the jQuery 3 library will be our default for the Mashup design and runtime.  This means you will need to address any compatibly issues that jQuery 3 introduces (if any) to your widgets/applications before upgrading to the 8.4 release, where jQuery 3 will be the only available option.  We are hoping this dual mode, early access will help everyone through the transition and produce the best IoT applications possible!   You can also use the guides here for your reference: https://jquery.com/upgrade-guide/3.0/ https://github.com/jquery/jquery-migrate#migrate-older-jquery-code-to-jquery-30 https://blog.jquery.com/2017/03/16/jquery-3-2-0-is-out/

This expert session focuses on overviewing the patch and upgrade process of the Thingworx platform. It provides information on how to perform a patch upgrade for the platform as well as extensions upgrade, and when an in-place upgrade is applicable. It can be viewed as a quick reference note for upgrading your system.     For full-sized viewing, click on the YouTube link in the player controls.   Visit the Online Success Guide to access our Expert Session videos at any time as well as additional information about ThingWorx training and services.

As many already know, ThingWorx versions 8.0+ now support both Apache Tomcat versions 8.0.44+ and versions of 8.5.13+. For this reason, many will want to consider using the latest Apache version for their ThingWorx instance, even despite the fact that the installation documentation does not seem to provide examples for the 8.5.x versions. This is because much of the configuration between the two versions remains the same. One may question these similarities when looking at the updated documentation from Apache on configuring SSL Connector ports. It would seem like some of the more traditional elements are now unusable, since they are marked for deprecation (including keystoreFile, keystorePass, and clientAuth). However, for now, these elements are still usable because Tomcat will convert whatever is provided in the Connector tag to the brand new SSLHostConfig tag (used primarily by Tomcat going forward). Apache has noted that these configuration options will continue to be usable throughout the next few major versions of Tomcat. PTC is already working on documentation which helps utilize the new configuration options in the future, but it won't be available for some time. In the meantime, for step-by-step instructions and further reading, see our Knowledgebase Article using self-signed certs (this article uses a CA). Happy developing!

Key Functional Highlights Patching & Upgrades Supports upgrading from 8.0.1 using the Manufacturing Apps Installer    Streamlined patch support for customer issues Updated the installer technology to align with ThingWorx platform   App Improvements Fixed bugs with acknowledging alerts Added support for collecting feature data from National Instruments InsightCM product   Controls Advisor Added ability to retrieve KEPServerEX connection information in case the connection is lost or deleted Minor UI improvements   Asset Advisor Updated the UI for anomaly status   Production Advisor Improved the status history widget to align with Asset Advisor Added synchronized zooming to the chart widgets     Compatibility ThingWorx 8.1.0 KEPServerEX 6.2, 6.3 KEPServerEX V6.1 and older as well as different OPC Servers (with Kepware OPC aggregator) Support upgrade from 8.0.1     Documentation ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Get Started     Download ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Freemium portal PTC Smart Connected Applications

Starting in ThingWorx 8.0, Application keys are now encrypted and stored in the database. The Key used to encrypt the Application key id value is stored in /ThingworxStorage/Keystore.jks and the password for the keystore is stored in /ThingworxPlatform/keystore-password. These files are created automatically by ThingWorx and unique to that instance. ThingWorx 8.1 In addition to the handling application key decryption, the Instance device ID is also stored in keystore.jks. To properly configure an HA landscape using ThingWorx 8.1, consider either; In a dark Site scenario, copying the license_capability_response.bin from the primary lead server to the ThingworxPlatform folder of all slave instances In a connected scenario, removing or renaming the existing capability response on the slave servers after replacing the keystore.jks and password-keystore to automatically retrieve a new capability response based on the encrypted device ID Failure to do so will result in a Host ID mismatch error [message: Trusted storage hostid does not match system hostid.]

Overview of prerequisites and components required to achieve a successful installation PTC Navigate View ALM App and a brief functionality demonstration of the product.     For full-sized viewing, click on the YouTube link in the player controls.   Visit the Online Success Guide to access our Expert Session videos at any time as well as additional information about ThingWorx training and services.

Welcome to the ThingWorx Service Apps Community! The ThingWorx Service Apps are easy to deploy, pre-configured role-based starter apps that are built on PTC’s industry-leading IoT platform, ThingWorx. The Asset Advisor for Service provides the ability to remotely identify, diagnose, and resolve service issues for a proactive maintenance approach.   A. Sign up: PTC account credentials are needed to participate in the ThingWorx Community. If you have not yet registered a PTC eSupport account, start with the Basic Account Creation page.   B. Download: Import as a ThingWorx Extension (for users with a ThingWorx SCP entitlement-- including PTC employees, and PTC Partners): ThingWorx Service Apps can be imported as a ThingWorx extension into an existing ThingWorx Platform install (v8.1.0). To locate the download, open the PTC Software Download Page and expand the following folders:   PTC Smart Connected Applications | Release APPs | ThingWorx Service Apps Extension | Most Recent Datacode   C. Learn Find helpful documentation in PTC Reference Documents.   D. Get help / give feedback / interact Use the ThingWorx Service Apps Community page as a resource to find documentation, peruse past forum threads, or post a question to start a discussion! For advanced troubleshooting, licensed users are encouraged to submit support tickets to the PTC My eSupport portal.

ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Setup and Configuration Guide 8.0.1   Note: The ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Freemium (Express) 8.1 and Dev Kit 8.1 installers will be available in late November 2017. This document contains information on the installation and use of the ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Freemium (Express) installer 8.0.1 and ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Dev Kit installer 8.0.1.   The ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Extensions 8.1.0 have now been released. For documentation on this version, please see these updated documents:   ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps 8.1.0 Documentation ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps 8.1.0 Available for Download!

ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Setup and Configuration Guide 8.1.0 ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Customization Guide  8.1.0