One of the killer features of the Axeda Platform is the Axeda Console, a browser-based online portal where developers and business users alike can browse information in an out-of-the-box graphical user interface. The Axeda Console is functional, re-brandable and extensible, and can easily form the foundation for a customized connected product experience.
Let's take a tour of the Axeda Console and explore what it means to have a full-featured connected app right at the start of your development.
What this tutorial covers
This tutorial discusses the landscape of the online browser-based suite of tools accessible to Axeda customers. It does not do a deep dive into each of the available applications, but rather serves as an introduction to the user interface.
Sections of the Axeda Applications Console that are discussed:
- Landing Page (Home)
- User Preferences
- Asset Dashboard
- Axeda Help
Note: This article features screenshots from Axeda 6.5 which is the current release as of July 1, 2013. In prior versions the Axeda Applications Console has also been referred to as ServiceLink. Stay tuned for Axeda 6.6!
What can I do from here?
From the landing page for the Axeda Console, you can access recent assets in your right sidebar or search for assets in the left sidebar. Each of the links in the main Welcome text corresponds to a main tab.
Troubleshoot, Monitor, and Service Assets - (Service tab) An Overview of the status of assets, filterable by a search on fields such as serial number, model, organization, etc.
Access and Control Remote Assets - (Access tab) If you are familiar with Windows Remote Desktop, this will seem familiar. This allows you to log into and control an asset as if you were typing from a physical keyboard directly into it without having to be on the same network or in the same location. This is particularly useful when the asset is behind a firewall or other controlled network.
Install and Deploy Software Updates - (Software tab) This tool provides the ability to create, view, configure, delete and deploy software packages (like a file that contains an update) to assets.
View Usage Data and Asset Charts - (Usage tab) You can use the Axeda Usage application to track and analyze asset usage.
Add New Assets, Organizations and Models - (Configuration tab) Find tools here for creating, updating and deleting domain objects.
Administrator Users, Groups and Assets - (Administration tab) Manage users, groups, auditing, and system-setup tasks
The remaining tabs that are not linked from the Home page are either custom tabs or less frequently used tabs (depending on use case). The custom tabs are examples of custom applications that are not distributed out of the box with an Axeda instance.
Wireless - (custom tab) an integration with the Jasper API that allows the user to monitor SIMs activated in their assets
Maintenance - track information about the operation of machines against service cycles
Case - manage the resolutions of asset issues
Report - (requires an additional license) provides a suite of standard reports, custom reports may also be added
Dashboard - allows you to create a landing page that displays information that is interesting to you
Simulator - (custom tab) an app that allows you to set data items, alarms, mobile locations, and geofences on an asset
For more details on Custom Tabs and the Extended UI, please take a look at [Extending the UI - Custom Tabs and Modules]. (Coming soon)
User Preferences
Each user in an Axeda instance has a certain set of privileges and visibility, which determine what actions she can take and what information she can see. A user also has control over certain aspects of her own use of the Axeda Console, which are configurable from the yellow Preferences link, located in the top right corner of the page.
This opens up the User Preferences page.
The User Preferences link allows you to set defaults for your user only. From here you can change the following settings:
User Attributes (email and password)
Locale - Change the locale which also sets the display language
Time Zone - Change the time zone as displayed in the Applications Console (note that this does NOT affect individual asset time zone. Asset time zone is reported by the agent)
Notification Styles - Specify which contact methods are appropriate for you and for what severity of triggered alert
Default Application - Set which tab should open up when you log into the Axeda Console
Items Per Page (Long Table) - For longer listings of items, how many rows should be displayed
Items Per Page (Short Table) - For shorter listings of items, how many rows should be displayed
Asset Dashboard
As the asset is the center of the Axeda universe, so the Asset Dashboard could be considered the central feature of the Axeda Console. You can open up the dashboard for any particular asset by clicking it in the Service tab or in the Recent Assets shortcuts.
You can also add modules within the Asset Dashboard that are either a custom application or the output of an Extended UI Module type custom object. From the Asset Dashboard you have an at-a-glance view of this asset's current data, alarms, uploaded files, and location to name a few.
The Asset Dashboard is built for viewing information about the asset. To perform create/read/update/delete functions on the asset, you will need to search using the Configuration tool instead.
To view a list of models or any domain object available for configuration, click the drop down arrow next to the View sub-tab and select the object name.
Once you have the list of models displayed, click the Preferences link on the model to access a Model Preferences Dashboard that allows you to configure the model image, the modules displayed, and other features of the Asset Dashboard.
Axeda Help
As part of learning more about the Axeda Console, make use of the documentation available to you by clicking the Help link in the top right corner of the page.
This will open a pop-up which contains information about the page you have open. It allows you to do a deep dive into any aspect of the Axeda Console, and includes search and a browsable index on Axeda topics.
Make sure to research topics in the Help section while troubleshooting your assets and applications.
