IoT Tips

The following videos are provided to help users get started with ThingWorx: ThingWorx Installation Installing ThingWorx (Neo4j) in Windows ThingWorx PostgreSQL Setup for Windows ThingWorx PostgreSQL for RHEL ThingWorx Data Storage Introduction to Streams Introduction to Value Streams Introduction to DataTables Introduction to InfoTables ThingWorx Concepts & Functionality Introduction to Media Entities Using State Formatting in a Mashup Configuring Properties ThingWorx REST API REST API (Part 1) REST API (Part 2) ThingWorx Edge SDK Configuring File Transfer with the .NET SDK ThingWorx Analytics *new* Getting Started with ThingWorx Analytics Part 1 Getting Started with ThingWorx Analytics Part 2 Installing ThingWorx Analytics Builder Part 1 of 3 Installing ThingWorx Analytics Builder Part 2 of 3 Installing ThingWorx Analytics Builder Part 3 of 3 Creating Signals in the Analytics Builder How to Access the ThingWorx Analytics Interactive API Guide ThingWorx Widgets How to Create and Configure the Auto Refresh Widget How to Create and Define a Blog Widget How to Create and Configure a Button Widget How to Use the Divider and Shape Widgets How to Create and Configure a Chart Widget How to Use a Contained Mashup How to Use the Data Filter Widget How to Use an Expression Widget How to Create and Configure a Gauge Widget How to Create and Configure a Checkbox Widget How to Use a Contained Mashup Widget How to Use a Data Export Widget How to Use the DateTime Picker Widget How to Use the Editable Grid Widget Using Fieldset and Panel Widgets How to Use the File Upload Widget How to Use the Folding Panel Widget How to Use the Google Location Picker How to Use the Google Map Widget How to Use a Grid Widget How to Use an HTML TextArea Widget How to Use the List Widget How to Use a Label Widget How to Use the Layout Widget How to Use the LED Display Widget How to Use the List Widget How to Use the Masked Textbox Widget Navigation in ThingWorx: Using Menus, the Navigation Widget, Link Widget, and Contained Mashups How to Use the Numeric Entry Widget How to Use the Pie Chart Widget How to Use the Property Display Widget How to Use the Radio Button Widget How to Use the Repeater Widget How to Use the Slider Widget How to Use the SQUEAL Search Widget How to Use the Responsive Tab Widget How to Use the Tag Cloud Widget How to Use the Tag Picker Widget How to Use the TextArea and TextBox Widgets How to Use the Time Selector Widget How to Use the Tree Widget How to Use the Value Display Widget How to Use the Web Frame Widget How to Create and Define a Wiki How to Use the XY Chart Quick note: Thread will be updated with more videos as they are added.

Not as simple a question as it sounds.  There more options than some might think and choosing the right one can be the difference between a well performing application and one that struggles as it scales up in size.  There are options both internal and external to the Thingworx platform that can be used.  Each has their own use cases and cost considerations.   Internal to Thingworx there are three options as the storage provider PostGreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server (Azure SQL for PTC hosted systems) and InFlux DB.  PostGreSQL can be used for storing the Thingworx model structure and data,  and is an open source technology, meaning no additional cost.  SQL Server allows the same model and data storage but has licensing costs associated.  Both perform well up to an estimated 500 Gb of data storage (this is a rough estimate dependant on use case).  For very high volume data InFlux is the choice, it performs well for large data sets.   External to Thingworx you can use virtually any data storage technology the provides a JDBC connector or even one that has a driver that can be used to create a Thingworx Extension via our SDK or edge SDKs.  The platform knows how to use JDBC drivers so this can easily be used to connect to relational data storage like Oracle.   The first real question to ask when making the choice of where to store data is, what does my data look like?  Many systems are adapted or migrated from legacy systems which may include relational data, others simply have this structure by necessity.  If the data will need to use complex SQL to retrieve (like using joins, like, cursors, temp tables, etc.) then store the data in a true relational database.  If it is simple historical data, time series data or data that does not require compounding or recursive calculation to be useful, then keep it in platform data storage.   The second question to ask is, how much data will I be storing.  This adds a bit of complexity to where data is best stored.  There is no limit to the number of records in any data structure however, the Thingworx Platform storage is optimized to store and retrieve time series data, using the ValueSteam and Stream types built into the Platform.  This is the most common IoT data structure and in this case you can refer back to the previous information when choosing  the correct backend storage.  Data tables can be used when contained in small data sets (around 100,000 records or less) you can use Platform storage for this as these are intended for largely static data structures.  Retrieving data when DataTables grow larger than this will begin to slow performance quickly. This is because currently Thingworx will do a full scan of the data, in this specific type of structure, when querying because all of the logic for the query or filter is done on the platform, not on the database (this will likely change in a future version).  So small amounts of data can be quickly loaded and parsed in memory. NOTE (Neo4j specific): In datatables if you add a index to a column, these indexes are used when calling "FindDataTableEntries" but not when using "QueryDataTableEntries".   Streams and ValueStreams, however, are optimized for time series data.  In these structures Thingworx has built in datetime filters that allow for very fast retrieval of data based on a date range.  When the number of records returned after the date range is applied is still a very large number (100,00 - 200,000) you may see a drop in performance of a query at that point.  Just as before, all records, after the date filter is applied, are returned to the Platform and further query and filtering are done in memory.   The querying/retrieval of data is commonly where the greatest performance issues are seen.  Using a JDBC connector to send the query to the database (even if it is PostGreSQL, SQL Server Or InFlux) can help, or if the historical data is not queried regularly you can move this data to a separate Thingworx data store (another DataTable or Stream).   That would leave only large data sets of non-time series data as the outlier.  This scenario could perform equally well (or poorly) primarily on how the data will be retrieved. If there are loose relationship between the data that need to be used then a relational system that would allow these to be executed on the database server is preferred.  Sequential data that does not need this type of processing could be stored in InFlux.   This is a base outline of considerations when designing data storage on your application.  Most use cases are unique and may have additional considerations around process and cost.

This document is designed to help troubleshoot some commonly seen issues while installing or upgrading the ThingWorx application, prior or instead of contacting Tech Support. This is not a defined template for a guaranteed solution, but rather a reference guide that provides an opportunity to eliminate some of the possible root causes. While following the installation guide and matching the system requirements is sufficient to get a successfully running instance of ThingWorx, some issues could still occur upon launching the app for the first time. Generally, those issues arise from minor environmental details and can be easily fixed by aligning with the proper installation process. Currently, the majority of the installation hiccups are coming from the postgresql side. That being said, the very first thing to note, whether it's a new user trying out the platform or a returning one switching the database to postgresql, note that: Postgresql database must be installed, configured, and running prior to the further Thingworx installation. ThingWorx 7.0+: Installation errors out with 'failed to succeed more than the maximum number of allowed acquisition attempts' Platform being shut down because System Ownership cannot be acquired error ERROR: relation "system_version" does not exist Resolution: Generally, this type of error point at the security/permission issue. As all of the installation operations should be performed by a root/Administrator role, the following points should be verified: Ensure both Tomcat and ThingworxPlatform folders have relevant read/write permissions The title and contents of the configuration file in the ThingworxPlatform folder has changed from 6.x to 7.x Check if the right configuration file is in the folder Verify if the name and password provided in this configuration file matches the ones set in the Postgres DB Run the Database cleanup script, and then set up the database again. Verufy by checking the thingworx table space (about 53 tables should be created)     Thingworx Application: Blank screen, no errors in the logs, "waiting for <url> " gears running be never actually loading, eventually times out     Resolution: Ensure that Java in tomcat is pointing to the right path, should be something like this: C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_101\bin\server\jvm.dll 6.5+ Postgres:   Error when executing thingworxpostgresDBSetup.bat psql:./thingworx-database-setup.sql:1: ERROR: could not set permissions on directory "D:/ThingworxPostgresqlStorage": Permission denied     Resolution:     The error means that the postgres user was not able to create a directory in the ‘ThingworxPostgresStorage’ directory. As it's related to the security/permission, the following steps can be taken to clear out the error: Assigning read/write permissions to everyone user group to fix the script execution and then execute the batch file: Right-click on ‘ThingworxPostgresStorage’ directory -> Share with -> specific people. Select drop-down, add everyone group and update the permission level to Read/Write. Click Share. Executing the batch file as admin. 2. Installation error message "relation root_entity_collection does not exist" is displayed with Postgresql version of the ThingWorx platform. Resolution:     Such an error message is displayed only if the schema parameter passed to thingworxPostgresSchemaSetup.sh script  is different than $USER or PUBLIC. To clear out the error: Edit the Postgresql configuration file, postgresql.conf, to add to the SEARCH_PATH item your own schema. Other common errors upon launching the application. Two of the most commonly seen errors are 404 and 401.  While there can be a numerous reasons to see those errors, here are the root causes that fall under the "very likely" category: 404 Application not found during a new install: Ensure Thingworx.war was deployed -- check the hard drive directory of Tomcat/webapps and ensure Thingworx.war and Thingworx folder are present as well as the ThingworxStorage in the root (or custom selected location) Ensure the Thingworx.war is not corrupted (may re-download from the support and compare the size) 401 Application cannot be accessed during a new install or upgrade: For Postgresql, ensure the database is running and is connected to, also see the Basic Troubleshooting points below. Verify the tomcat, java, and database (in case of postgresql) versions are matching the system requirement guide for the appropriate platform version Ensure the updrade was performed according to the guide and the necessary folders were removed (after copying as a preventative measure). Ensure the correct port is specified in platform-settings.json (for Postgresql), by default the connection string is jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/thingworx Again, it should be kept in mind that while the symptoms are common and can generally be resolved with the same solution, every system environment is unique and may require an individual approach in a guaranteed resolution. Basic troubleshooting points for: Validating PostgreSQL installation Postgres install troubleshooting java.lang.NullPointerException error during PostgreSQL installation ***CRITICAL ERROR: permission denied for relation root_entity_collection Error while running scripts: Could not set permissions on directory "/ThingworxPostgresqlStorage":Permission Denied Acquisition Attempt Failed error Resolution: Ensure 'ThingworxStorage', 'ThingworxPlatform' and 'ThingworxPostgresqlStorage' folders are created The folders have to be present in the root directory unless specifically changed in any configurations Recommended to grant sufficient privileges (if not all) to the database user (twadmin) Note: While running the script in order to create a database, if a schema name other than 'public' is used, the "search_path" in "postgresql.conf" must be changed to reflect 'NewSchemaName, public' Grant permission to user for access to root folders containing 'ThingworxPostgresqlStorage' and 'ThingworxPlatform' The password set for the default 'twadmin' in the pgAdmin III tool must match the password set in the configuration file under the ThingworxPlatform folder Ensure THINGWORX_PLATFORM_SETTINGS variable is set up Error: psql:./thingworx-database-setup.sql:14: ERROR:  could not create directory "pg_tblspc/16419/PG_9.4_201409291/16420": No such file or directory psql:./thingworx-database-setup.sql:16: ERROR:  database "thingworx" does not exist Resolution: Replacing /ThingworxPostgresqlStorage in the .bat file by C:\ThingworxPostgresqlStorage and omitting the -l option in the command window. Also, note the following error Troubleshooting Syntax Error when running postgresql set up scripts

It's been challenging, in the absence of OOTB Software Content Management (SCM) system within ThingWorx, to track, maintain code changes in different entities or to roll back in case of any entity is wrongly edited or removed. Though there's possibility to some extent to compare the differences i.e. when importing back the entities from the Source Control repository in ThingworxStorage. However this approach itself has it's own limitations. Note : This is not an official document, rather more of a trick to help workaround this challenge. I'll be using following components in this blog to help setup a workable environment. Git VSCode ThingWorx Scheduler Thing First two components i.e. Git & VSCode is something I preferred to use due to their ease and my familiarity. However, you are free to choose your own versioning platform and IDE to review the branches, commits, diff, etc. or simply use GIT Bash to review the branches and all related changes to the code. This blog divides into following structures Installing & setting up code versioning software Installing IDE Creating a Scheduler Thing in ThingWorx Reviewing the changes 1. Installing & setting up code versioning software As mentioned you can use any code versioning platform of your choice, in this blog I'll be using Git. To download and install Git, refer to the Git- Installing Git Setting up the Git Repository Navigate to the \\ThingworxStorage as this is the folder which contains the path to the \repository folder which in turns have SystemRepository folder. Note: Of course more custom repositories could be created if preference is to separate it from the SystemRepository (available OOTB) Once Git is installed, let's initialize the repository. If you are initializing the repository in ThingworxStorage and would like only repository folder to be tracked, be sure to create .gitignore and add following to it: # folders to ignore database esapi exports extensions logs reports certificates # keystore to ignore keystore.jks Note : Simply remove the folder/file from the .gitignore file if you'd like that file/folder to be tracked within the Git repository. Following commands have been issued in the Git Bash which can be started from Windows Start > Git Bash. Then from the Git Bash navigate to the ThingworxStorage/repository folder. Git Command to initialize repository $ git init Git command to check the status of tracked/un-tracked files/folders $ git status This may or may not return list(s) of files/folders that are not tracked/un-tracked. While issuing this command for the first time, it'll show that the repository and its content i.e. SystemRepository folder is not tracked (file/folder names will likely be highlighted in red color. Git command to configure user and then add required files/folders for tracking $ git config --global user.name "" $ git config --global user.email "" $ git add . This will add all the folders/files that are not ignored in the .gitignore file as we created above. $ git commit -m "" This will perform first commit to the master branch, which is the default branch after the initial setup of the git repository $ git branch -a This will list all available branches within this repository $ git branch e.g. $ git branch newfeatureA This will create a new branch with that name, however to switch to that branch checkout command needs to be used. $ git checkout newfeatureA Note this will reflect the change in the command prompt e.g. it'll be switched from  MINGW64 /c/ThingworxStorage/repository (master) to MINGW64 /c/ThingworxStorage/repository (newfeatureA) If there's a warning with files/folders highlighted in Red it may mean that the files/folders are not yet staged (not yet ready for being committed under the new branch and are not tracked under the new branch). To stage them: $ git add . To add them for tracking under this branch $ git commit -m "Initial commit under branch newfeatureA" Above command will commit with the message defined with "-m" parameter 2. Installing IDE Now that the Git is installed and configured for use, there are several options here e.g. using an IDE like VSCode or Atom or any other IDE for that matter, using Git Bash to review the branches and commit codes via command or to use the Git GUI. I'll be using VSCode (because apart from tracking Git repos I can also debug HTML/CSS, XML with minimum setup time and likely these are going to be the languages mostly used when working with ThingWorx entities) and will install certain extensions to simplify the access and reviewing process of the branches containing code changes, new entities those that are created or getting committed from different users, etc To install VSCode refer to the Setting up Visual Studio Code. This will cover all the platforms which you might be working on. Here are the list of extensions that I have installed within VS Code to work with the Git repository. Required Extensions Git Extension Pack Optional Extensions Markdown All in One XML Tools HTML CSS Support Once installed and done with all the above mentioned extensions simply navigate to the VSCode application's File > Open Folder > \\ThingworxStorage\repository This will open the SystemRepository folder which will also populate the GitLense section highlighting the lists of branches, which one is the active branch (marked with check icon) & what uncommitted changes are remaining in which branch see following: To view the history of all the branches we can use the extension that got installed with the Git Extension Pack by pressing keyboard key F1 and then search for Git: View History (git log) > Select all branches; this will provide overview such as this 3. Creating a Scheduler Thing in ThingWorx Now that we have the playground setup, we can either: Export ThingWorx entities manually by navigating to the ThingWorx Composer > Import/Export > Export > Source Control Entities, or Invoke the ExportSourceControlledEntities service automatically (based on a Scheduler's CRON job) available under Resources > SourceControlFunctions To invoke this service automatically, a subscription could be created to the Scheduler Thing's Event which invokes the execution of ExportSourceControlledEntities service periodically. I'm using this service with following input parameters : var params = { path: "/"/* STRING */, endDate: undefined/* DATETIME */, includeDependents: undefined/* BOOLEAN */, collection: undefined/* STRING */, repositoryName: "SystemRepository"/* THINGNAME */, projectName: undefined/* PROJECTNAME */, startDate: undefined/* DATETIME */, tags: undefined/* TAGS */}; // no return Resources["SourceControlFunctions"].ExportSourceControlledEntities(params); Service is only taking path & repositoryName as input. Of course, this can be updated based on the type of entities, datetime, collection type, etc. that you would want to track in your code's versioning system. 4. Reviewing the changes With the help of the Git tool kit installed in the VS Code (covered in section 2. Installing IDE) we can now track the changed / newly created entities immediately (as soon as they are exported to the respository ) in the Source Control section (also accessible via key combination Ctrl + Shift + G) Based on the scheduled job the entities will be exported to the specified repository periodically which in turn will show up in the branch under which that repository is being tracked. Since I'm using VS Code with Git extension I can track these changes under the tab GitLens Additionally, for quick access to all the new entities created or existing ones modified - Source Control section could be checked Changes marked with "U" are new entities that got added to the repository and are also un-tracked and the changes marked with "M" are the ones that are modified entities compared to their last commit state in the specific branch. To quickly view the difference/modifications in the entity, simply click on the modified file on the left which will then highlight the difference on the right side, like so

Welcome to the ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Community! The ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps are easy to deploy, pre-configured role-based starter apps that are built on PTC’s industry-leading IoT platform, ThingWorx. These Apps provide manufacturers with real-time visibility into operational information, improved decision making, accelerated time to value, and unmatched flexibility to drive factory performance.   This Community page is open to all users-- including licensed ThingWorx users, Express (“freemium”) users, or anyone interested in trying the Apps. Tech Support community advocates serve users on this site, and are here to answer your questions about downloading, installing, and configuring the ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps.     A. Sign up: ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Community: 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.   Manufacturing Apps Web portal: Register a login for the ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps web portal, where you can download the free trial and navigate to the additional resources discussed below.     B. Download: Choose a download/packaging option to get started.   i. Express/Freemium Installer (best for users who are new to ThingWorx): If you want to quickly install ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps (including ThingWorx) use the following installer: Download the Express/Freemium Installer   ii. 30-day Developer Kit trial: To experience the capabilities of the ThingWorx Platform with the Manufacturing Apps and create your own Apps: Download the 30-day Developer Kit trial   iii. Import as a ThingWorx Extension (for users with a Manufacturing Apps entitlement-- including ThingWorx commercial customers, PTC employees, and PTC Partners): ThingWorx Manufacturing apps can be imported as ThingWorx extensions into an existing ThingWorx Platform install (v8.1.0). To locate the download, open the PTC Software Download Page and expand the following folders:   ThingWorx Platform | Release 8.x | ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Extension | Most Recent Datacode     C. Learn After downloading the installer or extensions, begin with Installation and Configuration.   Follow the steps laid out in the ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Setup and Configuration Guide 8.2   Find helpful getting-started guides and videos available within the 'Get Started' section of the ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Portal.     D. Customize Once you have successfully downloaded, installed, and configured the Manufacturing Apps, begin to explore the deeper potential of the Apps and the ThingWorx Platform.   Follow along with the discussion and steps contained in the ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps and Service Apps Customization Guide  8.2   Also contained within the the 'Get Started' page of the ThingWorx Manufacturing Apps Portal, find the "Evolve and Expand" section, featuring: -Custom Plant Layout application -Custom Asset Advisor application -Global Plant View application -Thingworx Manufacturing Apps Technical Lab with Sigma Tile (Raspberry Pi application) -Configuring the Apps with demo data set and simulator -Additional Advanced Documentation     E. Get help / give feedback / interact Use the ThingWorx Manufacturing 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.

All of the entities and data in storage entities(Stream, ValueStream, DataTable, Wiki, Blog) are kept in Persistence Provider, to enhance the storage volume of Thingworx, it is advised to use bigger Persistence Provider (PostgreSQL or Cassandra rather than Neo4j and H2), move and keep certain part of data in external database or set up a second Persistence Provider Data Storage entities (Stream, ValueStream, DataTable) and Collaboration entities (Wiki, Blog) can be assigned to the new Persistence Provider to keep the Business Data The original Persistence Provider (upon installation) will be freed from large data input and respond faster, and only holds the Model Data (entity information) Small Persistence Provider like H2 or Neo4j, which does not require extra steps to setup in the Thingworx installation process, cannot set up a second Persistence Provider (they don't have .bat files to configure the database) Here is an example for setting up a second PostgreSQL (may also applicable for Cassandra) Install a new PostgreSQL in the server Should give different folder names for the files, or two PostgreSQL will affect each other PostgreSQL 9.5 could work with Thingworx 7.2.x, but cannot be used with 7.3 and above. Version 9.5 is not officially supported or advised by now, and the user should take their own risk if doing so. The new PostgreSQL will have a new port number (e.g. first port is 5432, the new port is 5433) Open PostgreSQL using pgAdmin 3 Create a new user role: a. Right click PostgreSQL9.4 (localhost:5433). b. Select NewObject>New Login Role. On the Properties tab, in the Role name field, enter the user role name. c. On the Definition tab, in the Password field, enter a unique password (you will be prompted to enter it twice). Add the new <postgres-installation>/bin folder to system path variable Edit the thingworxPostgresDBSetup.bat and thingworxPostgresSchemaSetup.bat from the Thingworx software download package, and change the port property to 5433 Execute the two scripts, and new database and tablesapce will be created platform-settings.json file does not need extra configuration Restart the Tomcat server, a new folder will be created under ThingworxPostgresqlStorage folder Go to Thingworx composer, create a new Persistence Provider in the Home list Give it a new name, and select Persistence Provider Package(only one choice) After selection, a Configuration field will show up in the ENTITY INFORMATION field ( such field will not appear in Neo4j based Thingworx) Open Configuration and change the JDBC URL to jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5433/thingworx, update Password, click Save The new Persistence Provider can be used in data storage entities now The new Persistence Provider can also be set as default provider

This post will cover the challenges I've had while going through the setup of .NET SDK based ADO Service for SQL Server DB Connection. I'll be starting from the scratch on setting up the service for this to present full picture on the setup. Pre-requisite 1. Download and install Microsoft SQL Server Express or Enterprise edition, for testing I worked with Express edition : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sql-server/sql-server-editions-express 2. Once installed, it's imperative that the TCP/IP Protocol is enabled in the SQL Server Configuration Manager for the SQL Server 3. Download ThingWorx Edge ADO Service from PTC Software download page What is ThingWorx ADO Service? An ActiveX Data Object service allowing connection to a Microsoft database source e.g. MS SQL Server, MS Excel or MS .NET application to the ThingWorx platform. It is based on the ThingWorx .NET SDK. Installing ADO Service Let me begin by saying this is just a summary, in a crude way of course, of ThingWorx Edge ADO Service Configuration Guide. So when in doubt it's strongly recommended to go through the guide,also provided together with the downloaded package. I'll be using the ThingWorx ADO Service v5.6.1, most recent release, for the purpose of this blog. Depending if you are on x86 or x64 Windows navigate to the C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET for accessing the InstallUtil.exe You'll find the above specified file under following two locations, use the one that applies to your use case. i) For x64 : C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319 ii) For x86 : C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319 1. Copy over the desired InstallUtil.exe to the location where you have unzipped the ADO Service package, the one downloaded above. e.g. I've put mine at C:\Software\ThingWorxSoftware\ADOService\ 2. Start a command prompt (Windows Start Menu > Command Prompt) and execute the InstallUtil.exe ThingWorxADOService.exe 3. This should create a service and some additional info in the \\ADOService folder in the form of InstallUtil.InstallLog 4. Check the log for confirmation, you should see something similar Running a transacted installation. ...     .... The Commit phase completed successfully. The transacted install has completed. ​​5. In Windows Explorer navigate to the folder containing all the unzipped files, and edit the AdoThing.config 6. For this blog I've security disabled, though obviously in production you'd definitely want to enable it 7. Configure the ConnectionSettings as per your requirement (refer to the guide for more detail on settings), below I'm noting the settings that will require configuration in its most minimum form (I've also attached my complete AdoThing.config file for reference) "rows": [       {         "Address": "localhost",         "Port": 8080,         "Resource": "/Thingworx/WS",         "IsSecure": false,         "ThingName": "AdoThing",         "AppKey": "f7e230ac-3ce9-4d91-8560-ad035b09fc70",         "AllowSelfSignedCertificates": false,         "DisableCertValidation": true,           "DisableEncryption": true       }     ] 8. Configure the connection string for the SQL Server in following section, in the same file opened above     "rows": [       {         "ConnectionType": "OleDb",         "ConnectionString": "Provider=SQLNCLI11;Server=localhosts\\SQLEXPRESS;Database=TWXDB;Uid=sa;Pwd=login123;",         "AlwaysConnected": true,         "QueryEnabled": true,         "CommandEnabled": true,         "CommandTimeout": 60       }     ] 9. Just to highlight what's what in ConnectionString above: "ConnectionString": "Provider=SQLNCLI11;Server=<Machine/ClientName>\\SQLServerInstanceName;Database=<databaseName>;Uid=<userName>;Pwd=<password>;" 10. To get correct connection string syntax for different source refer to the ConnectionStrings.com 11. Save the file 12. Navigate to the windows services by opening Windows Start > Run > services.msc 13. Check for the service ThingWorx .NET ADO Client as you'll have to start it if it's set to Manual, like so in my case Following message will be logged on successful connection  in the DotNETSDK -X-X-X.log : [Critical] twWs_Connect: Websocket connected! At the end of the blog I'll share some of the errors that I came across while working on this and how to go about addressing them. Creating and connecting to Remote Database Thing Now, let's navigate to the ThingWorx Composer and create a Thing with RemoteDatabase Template to consume the resource created above in the form of ADO Service. I've named my thing as AdoThing while creating it in ThingWorx Composer, which matches with the ThingName used in the AdoThing.json file. If everything went through as needed you should see the isConnected = true in the AdoThing's Properties section. Since, this is a Database thing I can now go about creating all the required services concerning the Create, Update, Delete (CRUD) operations, just like for any database for created using the RDBMS Connector. Handling errors while setting up the ADO Service Here are some of the errors that I encountered while setting up the ADO service for this blog: Error 1: com.thingworx.ado.AdoThing Cannot connect to database. : System.Data.OleDb.OleDbException: Login timeout expired Note: Logged in DotNetSDK-X-X-X.log Cause & Resolution: - Service is not able to successfully reach or authenticate against the SQL Server Express DB instance - Ensure that the TCP/IP is enabled for the Protocols for the SQL Express, as I have shared in the screenshot above - Make sure that the username / password used for authenticating with the database is correctly provided while configuring the settings for the OLEDB section in    AdoThing.config Error 2: com.thingworx.ado.AdoThing GetTables OleDbException error : System.Data.OleDb.OleDbException Note: Logged in Application.log from ThingWorx platform Cause & Resolution - This exception is thrown when user attempts to check for the available tables, while creating the service in the ThingWorx Composer - Resolution to this is similar to that mentioned above for Error 1 Error 3: [U: SYSTEM] [O: com.thingworx.ado.AdoThing] OleDbException [code = -2147217865, message = Invalid object name 'TWXDB.DemoTable'.] executing SQL query Note: Logged in Application.log from ThingWorx platform while testing/executing the SQL service created in the ThingWorx Composer Cause & Resolution - The error is due to the usage of DB name in front of the table name, it's not required since the DB name is already selected in the connection String Error 4: [O: com.thingworx.Configuration] Could not read configuration file. : Newtonsoft.Json.JsonReaderException: Bad JSON escape sequence: \S. Path 'Settings.rows[0].ConnectionString', line 656, position 71. Note: Logged in DotNetSDK-X-X-X.log Cause & Resolution - This is caused due to the "ConnectionString": "Provider=SQLNCLI11;Server=<machineNameOrIP>\SQLEXPRESS;Database=TWXDB;Uid=sa;Pwd=login123;", - Json requires this to be escaped thus switching to "ConnectionString": "Provider=SQLNCLI11;Server=<machineNameOrIP>\\SQLEXPRESS;Database=TWXDB;Uid=sa;Pwd=login123;", resolved the issue - Among many other, https://jsonformatter.curiousconcept.com/​ is quite helpful in weeding out the issues from the JSON syntax Error 4: [O: com.thingworx.ado.AdoClient] Error while initializing new AdoThing, or opening connection to Platform. : System.AccessViolationException: Attempted to read or write protected memory. This is often an indication that other memory is corrupt.     at com.thingworx.communications.client.TwApiWrapper.twApi_Connect(UInt32 timeout, Int32 retries)     at com.thingworx.communications.client.TwApiWrapper.Connect(UInt32 timeout, Int16 retries)     at com.thingworx.communications.client.BaseClient.start()     at com.thingworx.ado.AdoClient.run() Note: Logged in DotNetSDK-X-X-X.log Cause & Resolution - This error is observed when using FIPS version of the  ADO Service, esp. when downloaded from the ThingWorx Marketplace - Make sure to recheck the SSL configuration - When not using SSL check that the x64 and x86 directories only contain twApi.dll as by default FIPS version contain two additional dlls i.e. libeay32.dll & ssleay32.dll in both x64 & x86 directories

The use of the term “SSO” means different things to different people. Among Navigate Admins, it became shorthand for using PingFederate to provide both authentication with a single sign-on component, as well as authorization (checking permissions for access to files). In Navigate 1.5, this was the only option for configuring a production system, and many people were not ready for it. That was the origin of the “must have SSO” statement. Beginning with Navigate 1.6, PTC added a scenario called “Windchill Authentication”, that is suitable for Production and uses your Enterprise LDAP to authenticate users. It will issue a token so you get some of the benefits of single sign-on, but not all the bells and whistles that come with PingFederate. It’s also easier to configure. People have begun referring to Windchill Authentication as “non-SSO”, to distinguish it from PingFederate, even though Windchill Authentication has some SSO functions.   In the install manual, there are three scenarios: Fixed Authentication, Windchill Authentication, and Single Sign-On with PingFederate. People usually begin with Fixed Authentication (the easiest to configure, but not secure so it’s only good for Proof of Concept demonstrations), then do Windchill Authentication before tackling PingFederate. Windchill Authentication can take a couple of days while Webexing with us to get working, but for PingFederate we plan several Webexes over a period of 8 days for a typical install. During that time you will be coordinating with other administrators (such as the AD admin) and waiting for emails etc. to get remote admin tasks done as part of the install. Be prepared, timewise.

Please note that the below configuration is intended for testing purposes only.  Make sure that your final deployment is within your business security policies. The installation guide can be found at: http://support.ptc.com/WCMS/files/173161/en/ThingWorxDockerInstaller.pdf Postgres: Reference the Installation Guide above for a supported version of Postgres Once deployed, configure it to support remote connections: Navigate to: <PostgresInstallPoint>\data Open the following with a text editor: pg_hba.conf Find the line with IPv4 local connections Change 127.0.0.1/32 to 0.0.0.0/0 Restart PostgreSQL server NOTE: This could open up security vulnerabilities to the database, so make sure you take appropriate security measures if the data will be sensitive Docker: Find the appropriate Docker platform for your OS Docker Community Edition For Windows Server 2016, there is a download for the Edge (Windows Server 2016) under the above link -> Docker CE for Windows -> And then scroll down a little bit Docker Toolbox If you try to deploy the Docker Community Edition on a system that doesn't support, it will direct you to this installation instead At some point during or after the installation, it will prompt you to enable Hyper-V If this is a physical server, these settings will be in your Bios For VMWare, while the VM is powered down, go to VM-> Virtual Machine Properties -> Hardware -> Processors -> Enable 'Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI' Restart, and make sure Docker is running (whale icon in your system tray for the Windows Server 2016 edge version) With Docker running, open a command prompt and look at your IP settings For windows Server 2016, right click the start menu -> Command Prompt (admin) and run IPCONFIG Write down the IP assigned to DockerNAT, as this is will be your Postgres HOST later Share your main drive with Docker In Windows Server 2016, right click the docker icon in the system tray -> Settings -> Shared Drives -> C: Thingworx Installation: At this point you should have Docker installed and Postgres remotely configured with only the admin user (postgres) The installer will create the image/container inside of Docker, Install Tomcat, and configure your database Below is a capture of the settings used in the above screenshots.  Anything not listed (like specifying the container name, which is twxfoundation by default) was left as the default values:       Installation Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\twxEnterpriseFoundationPostgresDocker       ThingWorx License Directory: C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\license.bin       Local ThingWorx Foundation Port: 8080       Java Initial Heap setting for TWX Foundation: 1024       Java Max Heap setting for TWX Foundation: 2048       RDS Instance: 1     PostgreSQL Host: 10.0.75.1       PostgreSQL Port: 5432       PostgreSQL Admin Schema: postgres       PostgreSQL Admin Username: postgres       PostgreSQL Admin Password: <see note>       PostgreSQL ThingWorx Foundation Schema: thingworx       PostgreSQL ThingWorx Foundation Username: thingworx       PostgreSQL ThingWorx Foundation Password: <see note>       PostgreSQL ThingWorx Tablespace Location: /                     ​NOTE:​ It is highly recommended to use a complex password (Letters of all cases, numbers, and symbols) as we have opened up our database to remote connections RDS was set to Yes (Default is no) PostgreSQL Host is the IP taken from the earlier steps In this example, the Tablespace location is defined inside of Docker, not Windows Post Install: Confirm that Thingworx is running properly by opening a broswer and attempting to log in For our example, the URL is http://10.0.75.1:8080/Thingworx Troubleshooting: If the installation fails, refer to the end of the Installation Guide on where to look for logs, and items that need to be cleaned up before attempting to install again If the install was successful, but connecting fails, run the following in the command prompt to look at the Docker Server's startup logs for hints: Docker logs -f twxfoundation *Note that twxfoundation is the default during installation.  If this was changed in your installation, use that instead

With the new licensing introduction, it could get confusing at first on how to obtain and apply, especially with more than one app in place. This is an example on how to apply both foundation and manufacturing license when installing Thingworx 8. 1) Install Manufacturing App 8.0 and needed components (ex: Kepware) per  the guide with manufacturing app license - manufacturing app widget can now be accessed. 2) Accessing /Thingworx reports a licensing issue 3) Download Thingworx license from the license portal. 4) Rename the manufacturing app license.bin to <name>.bin and put Thingworx license.bin in the ThingworxPlatform folder. 5) Restart Thingworx service 6) Access /Thingworx and accept license agreement 7) Change license.bin back to the original manufacturing app license.bin (step 4) 😎 Restart Thingworx server 9) Both manufacturing app and foundation functions are available.

ThingWorx 7.4 covers the following areas of the product portfolio:  ThingWorx Analytics, ThingWorx Utilities and ThingWorx Foundation which includes Core, Connection Server and Edge capabilities. Key Functional Highlights Highlights of the release include: Source Integration: Improved integration framework making it easy to connect with external systems, including a standard Windchill connector, to retrieve data on demand. Industrial Connectivity: New Industrial Gateway and Discover navigation tool simplifying the mapping of tags to properties, including performance enhancements for data updates. Edge/CSDK: Build process improvements, Subscribed Property Manager (SPM) enhancements, asynchronous service requests and TLS updates to increase developer productivity, improve application performance and strengthen security. AWS IoT Connector: The latest version 1.2 of the Connector allows customers to more fully leverage their investment in AWS IoT. It features improved deployment automation via CloudFormation and automatic extension installation, ThingWorx Edge JavaScript SDK for use with the Connector with support for properties, services and events, and just-in-time certificate registrations. Contextualize Next Generation Composer: Re-imagined Composer using modern browser concepts to improve developer efficiency including enhanced functionality, updated user interface and optimized workflows. Engage These features will be available at the end of March 2017. Advanced Grid: New grid widget with improved design, context menu, multi-column sorting, global search and many more common grid-related features. Tree Grid: New tree-grid widget with same features as advanced grid plus ability to pre-load tree levels, dynamically load child data and auto expand all nodes to build more powerful mashups. Administer & Manage MS SQL Server: New persistence provider for model and run-time data providing customers an alternative to PostgreSQL. Security: ThingWorx worked with industry standard security scanning and auditing tools to identify and correct all non-trivial, and many trivial, vulnerabilities to ensure secure software best practices. Licensing: Link ThingWorx to PTC systems of record to manage user entitlement and provide usage information and auditing capability critical to TWX, PTC and its partners.  Documentation ThingWorx 7.4 Reference Documents ThingWorx Core 7.4 Release Notes ThingWorx Core Help Center ThingWorx Edge SDKs and WebSocket-based Edge MicroServer Help Center ThingWorx Connection Services Help Center ThingWorx Utilities Help Center Additional information ThingWorx eSupport Portal ThingWorx Developer Portal ThingWorx Marketplace Download ThingWorx Platform – Select Release 7.4 ThingWorx Edge C SDK 1.4 – Select Most Recent Datecode, C-SDK-1-4-0 ThingWorx AWS IoT Connector 1.2 – Select Release 7.4 ThingWorx Utilities – Select Release 7.4

Hi everybody, In this blogpost I want to share with you my local ThingWorx installation, with some optimizations that I did for local development. -use the -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC . This uses the older Garbage Collector from the JVM, instead of the newer G1GC recommended by the ThingWorx Installation guide since version 7.2. The advantage of ConcMarkSweepGC is that the startup time is faster and the total memory footprint of the Tomcat is far lower than G1GC. -use -agentlib:jdwp=transport=dt_socket,address=1049,server=y,suspend=n. This allows using your Java IDE of choice to connect directly to the Tomcat server, then debugging your Extension code, or even the ThingWorx code using the Eclipse Class Decompilers for example. Please modify the 1049 to your port of choice for exposing the server debugging port. -use -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=60000 -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false                  -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false           This sets up the server to allow JMX monitoring. I usually use VisualVM from the JDK bin folder, but you can use any JMX monitoring tool.           This uses no Authentication, no SSL and uses port 6000 - modify if you need. I usually startup Tomcat manually from a folder via startup.bat, and the setenv.bat looks like: set JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_102 set JRE_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_102 set THINGWORX_PLATFORM_SETTINGS=D:\Work\servers\apache-tomcat-8.0.33 // this is where the platform-settings.json file is located set CATALINA_OPTS=-d64 -XX:+UseNUMA -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -agentlib:jdwp=transport=dt_socket,address=1049,server=y,suspend=n -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=60000 -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false In this mode I can look at any errors in almost real time from the console and it makes killing the server for Java Extension reload a breeze -> Ctrl+C Please don't hesitate to provide feedback on this document, I certainly welcome it. Be warned: THESE ARE NOT PRODUCTION SETTINGS. Best regards, Vladimir

In this video we cover: a short introduction of Thingworx Analytics Builder The import of the Thingworx Analytics Builder extension   This video applies to ThingWorx Analytics 52.1 till 8.1   Updated Link for access to this video:  Installing Thingworx Analytics Builder:  Part 1 of 3

This is a reference document on how to move existing or fresh install ThingworxStorage location. Note: As of Thingworx 7.0 the platform-settings.json file has changed and therefore the newest version needs to be used  to change the location of the folders. Please refer to this guide pg.45-46 to see the new .json file.http://support.ptc.com/WCMS/files/170230/en/Installing_ThingWorx_7.1.pdf  A sample json is attached at the bottom of this document. Here are the main bullet points that need to be kept in mind when performing a migration process: ThingworxPlatform directory has to be in the same partition as where the Tomcat is installed. I.e. if your tomcat is in /apps, the ThingworxPlatform should also be in /apps, not in root. Note: if ThingworxPlatform will be placed in a different partition than the tomcat, create a THINGWORX_PLATFORM_SETTINGS environmental variable that will point to the correct location. Refer to the Installation Guide for details. Before modifying the location of the platform-settings.json, stop tomcat. There is no need to undeploy the Thingworx app, but do rename the existing folders (as a way of copying/preserving data if any exists) “ThingworxStorage” to “ThingworxStorageCopy” and “ThingworxBackupStorage” to “ThingworxBackupStorageCopy”. If this is a fresh install, proceed to step 3.. Modify the platform-settings.json to have desired locations for the ThingworxStorage folders. Start the tomcat. New ThingworxStorage and ThingworxBackupStorage will be created in the new location. Note: if there is any data in the ThingworxStorage (see ThingworxStorageCopy and ThingworxBackupStorageCopy from step 2), stop the tomcat and place the contents of the original folders into the new ones or just replace the directories. For Postgresql  scenarios: Ensure postgresql database is running. If fresh install/no need to preserve data,  and in case of 401 error, clean the existing database via the script and run the two scripts to install and setup DB and Schema. Start tomcat and verify connection. If data does need to be preserved, then run the schema update script to update from 6.5 to 6.6. then to 7.0 and 7.1 respectively, depending on which version you are starting with. To change the location of where postgresql would write data, find the thingworxPostgresDBSetup.sh script open it to edit: tablespace_location="/ThingworxPostgresqlStorage" Then re-run the DBsetup and Schema setup while tomcat is stopped. For assistance in resolving any difficulties related to the migration process, please contact Thingworx Technical Support.

A user can make a direct REST call to Thingworx platform, but when it comes to a website trying to make a REST call. The platform server blocks the request as it is a Cross-Origin request. To enable this feature, the platform server needs to allow Cross-Origin request from all/specific websites. Enabling Cross-Origin request can be done by adding CORS filter to the server. CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) specification enables the cross-origin requests from other websites deployed in a different server. By enabling CORS filter, a 3rd party tool or a website can retrieve the data from Thingworx instance. Follow the below steps inorder to update the CORS filter: Update web.xml file (located in $CATALINA_HOME/conf/web.xml) For Minimal Configurations, add the below code: <filter> <filter-name>CorsFilter</filter-name>   <filter-class>org.apache.catalina.filters.CorsFilter</filter-class> </filter> <filter-mapping>   <filter-name>CorsFilter</filter-name>   <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>         // "*" opens platform to all URL patterns, recommended to use limited patterns. </filter-mapping> NOTE: the url-pattern - /* opens the Thingworx application to every domain. For advanced configuration, follow the below code: <filter> <filter-name>CorsFilter</filter-name> <filter-class>org.apache.catalina.filters.CorsFilter</filter-class> <init-param> <param-name>cors.allowed.origins</param-name> <param-value> http://www.customerwebaddress.com </param-value> </init-param> <init-param> <param-name>cors.allowed.methods</param-name> <param-value>GET,POST,HEAD,OPTIONS,PUT</param-value> </init-param> <init-param> <param-name>cors.allowed.headers</param-name> <param-value>Content-Type,X-Requested-With,accept,Origin,Access-Control-Request-Method,Access-Control-Request-Headers</param-value> </init-param> <init-param> <param-name>cors.exposed.headers</param-name> <param-value>Access-Control-Allow-Origin,Access-Control-Allow-Credentials</param-value> </init-param> <init-param> <param-name>cors.support.credentials</param-name> <param-value>true</param-value> </init-param> <init-param> <param-name>cors.preflight.maxage</param-name> <param-value>10</param-value> </init-param> </filter> <filter-mapping> <filter-name>CorsFilter</filter-name> <url-pattern>/* </url-pattern>   // "*" opens platform to all URL patterns, recommended to use limited patterns. </filter-mapping> NOTE: update the cors.allowed.origin parameter with the desired web address Save web.xml file Restart tomcat For additional information, please follow the official tomcat reference document: http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-7.0-doc/config/filter.html#CORS_Filter Tested this using an online Javascript editor (jsfiddle) and executing the below script <script> var data = null; var xhr = new XMLHttpRequest(); xhr.open("GET", "http://localhost:8080/Thingworx/Things", true); xhr.withCredentials = true; xhr.send(); </script> The request was successful and list of things are returned.

We are excited to announce ThingWorx 8.4 is now available for download!    Key functional highlights ThingWorx 8.4 covers the following areas of the product portfolio: ThingWorx Analytics and ThingWorx Foundation which includes Connection Server and Edge capabilities.   ThingWorx Foundation Next Generation Composer: File Repository Editor added for application file management New entity Config Table Editor to enable application configurability and customization Localization support fornew languages: Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, Chinese/Taiwan, Chinese/Simplified Mashup Builder: Responsive Layout with new Layout Editor 13 new and updated widgets (beta) Theming Editor (beta) New Functions Editor New Personalized Workspace Platform: Added support for AzureSQL, a relational database-as-a-service (DBaaS) as the new persistence provider A PaaS database that is always running on the latest stable version of SQL Server Database Engine and  patched OS with 99.99% availability.   Added support for InfluxData, a leading time series storage platform as the new ThingWorx persistence provider Supports ingesting large amounts of IoT data and offers high availability with clustering setup New extension for Remote Access and Control Supports VNC, RDP desktop sharing for any remote device HTTP and SSH connectivity supported An optional microservice to offload the ThingWorx server by allowing query execution to occur in a separate process on the same or on a different physical machine. Installers for Postgres versions of ThingWorx running on Windows or RHEL AzureSQL InfluxDB Thing Presence feature introduced which indicates whether the connection of a thing is “normal” based on the expected behavior of the device. Remote Access Extension Query Microservice: Click and Go Installers for Windows and Linux (RHEL) Security: Major investments include updating 3rd party libraries, handling of data to address cross-site scripting (XSS)  issues and enhancements to the password policy, including a password blacklist. A significant number of security issues have been fixed in this release. It is recommended that customers upgrade as soon as possible to take advantage of these important improvements. Docker Support  Added Dockerfile as a distribution media for ThingWorx Foundation and Analytics Allows building Docker container image that unlocks the potential of Dev and Ops Note:  Legacy Composer has been removed and replaced with the New Composer.   Documentation: ThingWorx 8.4 Reference Documents ThingWorx Platform 8.4 Release Notes ThingWorx Platform Help Center ThingWorx Analytics Help Center ThingWorx Connection Services Help Center  

  If you’ve ever wished you could see into the future, you’ve come to the right place! Put your reflective suits and sunglasses on to prepare for a glimpse into the future of our upcoming ThingWorx 8.4 release! Here are sneak peeks of the top three features you may not have known are coming in ThingWorx 8.4.   1. Thing Presence While it sounds like something from an episode of Ghost Hunters, Thing Presence provides insight into the communication state of polling or duty cycle Things (those that check in and out on a periodic basis). We’re introducing a new IsReporting state, which would be set to true when polling assets check in on time and are considered “present in the network.” This helps to bridge the gap where the traditional ThingWorx IsConnected state reports offline and does not coincide with the actual network presence of the device.   Thing Presence: New "IsReporting" State2. Data Helpers You may not know what Data Helpers are, but if you’re a longstanding ThingWorx developer you likely know about Expression and Validator widgets. These widgets were handy because they allowed you to write conditional logic or input validation to drive behaviors in the UI, but were super frustrating to use. They took up lots of room on the visual layout canvas and only had a very little textbox to edit them. In the 8.4 release, we are happy to announce that these two widgets will no longer be placed on the layout canvas. Instead, they will have a dedicated editor to work from with plenty of room for code development, parameter configuration and event definition and binding. We’re wrapping all of this functionality into a nice little feature called…Data Helpers. Data Helpers: Expression and Validator Widgets No Longer in Layout Canvas3. ThingWorx Flow In case Thing Presence and Data Helpers aren’t exciting enough, we’re also introducing ThingWorx Flow, a neat new feature set that dramatically speeds development of connected applications through integrations with business systems like Salesforce and SAP. Imagine that, when a certain alert triggers, you want to automatically create a Salesforce service ticket and even send an emergency text to an operator to prevent damage to a device. A large set of out-of-the-box system connectors (PTC Windchill, Office 365, Google Docs, Slack, Jira and more) are included, which you can drag and drop onto a canvas to visually define a workflow. In the example below, a ThingWorx-connected device element, a Salesforce “create case” action and a Twilio text message connector were dropped into the canvas to create a visual workflow. Orchestration: Example Workflow that Creates Salesforce Cases and Alerts OperatorsThing Presence, Data Helpers & Flow—get ready for these and more in ThingWorx 8.4!   Stay tuned for future posts that go into greater depth about each of these features and comment your thoughts below!   Stay connected, Kaya

Preface This guide applies to a clean installation of the CentOS 7 Minimal distribution. This is labeled as "Minimal ISO" on the CentOS.org website and the filename of the iso image used to install the operating system will resemble "CentOS-7-x86_64-Minimal-1611.iso." The machine used in this guide was a virtual machine created using Oracle VirtualBox but the same steps should apply to any machine with a clean CentOS 7 Minimal install. It is however possible that some installations may encounter slight variations due to hardware configurations. Before starting Unzip the downloaded "MED-..._ThingWorx-Analytics-Server-Linux-Standalone-8-0-0.zip".  Inside the unzipped directory you will find a file called "ThingWorxAnalyticsServer-8.0.0-linux-x64-installer.run". Before running step number 10, upload that file to your CentOS machine using a SFTP SCP tool of your choice. Configuration and installation steps Step 1: Install Docker with the following commands (these steps are presented at https://docs.docker.com/engine/installation/linux/docker-ce/centos/#install-using-the-repository😞 yum install -y yum-utils device-mapper-persistent-data lvm2 yum-config-manager --add-repo https://download.docker.com/linux/centos/docker-ce.repo yum makecache fast yum -y install docker-ce Step 2: Create a group called docker (If this command reports the group already exists, that is ok. You can move to the next step): groupadd docker Step 3: Add your non-root user to the docker group, in this example my non-root user is called "thingworx", please replace with the correct username: usermod -aG docker thingworx Step 4: Start the Docker service and enable it to auto start after reboot: systemctl start docker systemctl enable docker Step 5: Verify that docker is working: docker ps Step 6: After running the above command you should see a single line output that resembles the following: "CONTAINER ID        IMAGE              COMMAND            CREATED            STATUS              PORTS              NAMES" Step 7: Disable selinux with the two following commands. Note by doing this you will want to make sure if this is a public facing server that you take appropriate security measures to lock down the system. setenforce 0 sed -i -e 's/SELINUX=enforcing/SELINUX=disabled/' /etc/sysconfig/selinux Step 8: Set the hostname of your machine to something otherthan the default which is "localhost.localdomain".  In this case I am using the name "centos", this can be replaced with a name of your choosing: hostname centos echo "centos" > /etc/hostname Step 9: Allow traffic through the default CentOS firewall.  Note that in a production environment, the firewall should be configured more granular to allow incoming traffic to only the required ports (5432, 2181 and 8080). Please refer to CentOS documentation and consult security best practices within your organization for more information. The following commands will completely disable the CentOS firewall. systemctl disable firewalld systemctl stop firewalld Step 10: Ensure the ThingWorx Analytics Server installer is executable then run the installer. You may have to change to the directory where the installer was uploaded to the machine, in this case I have it in the home directory of the user named thingworx.  Please replace that path with the correct path for your machine.  Note below are 3 separate commands. cd /home/thingworx chmod +x ThingWorxAnalyticsServer-8.0.0-linux-x64-installer.run ./ThingWorxAnalyticsServer-8.0.0-linux-x64-installer.run Step 11: Verify that the ThingWorx Analytics Server installation is successful. Note that it may take a few minutes for the system to become available. Retry the command after a few minutes if an error is initially encountered. curl http://127.0.0.1:8080/analytics/1.0/about/versioninfo NOTE: The response from the above command should resemble the following: {"implementationVersion":"8.0.0"}

If the ThingWorx 7.4 installation with MSSQL db doesn't start with a license error on the splash screen, despite taking the necessary steps for specifying the license path, the error might be misleading and the problem is actually lying in the database connection. Going to THingworxStorage/logs and opening ApplicationLog.log might reveal the following (or similar ) errors: 2017-04-13 10:26:17.993-0400 [L: INFO] [O: c.t.s.ThingWorxServer] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] Sending Post Start Notifications... 2017-04-13 10:26:17.999-0400 [L: ERROR] [O: c.t.p.m.MssqlModelExceptionTranslator] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] [message: Could not create a transaction for ThingworxPersistenceProvider] 2017-04-13 10:26:18.001-0400 [L: ERROR] [O: E.c.t.p.d.FileTransferDocumentModelProvider] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] [context: Could not create a transaction for ThingworxPersistenceProvider][message: Could not create a transaction for ThingworxPersistenceProvider] 2017-04-13 10:26:18.004-0400 [L: ERROR] [O: c.t.p.m.MssqlModelExceptionTranslator] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] [message: Could not create a transaction for ThingworxPersistenceProvider] 2017-04-13 10:26:18.005-0400 [L: ERROR] [O: c.t.s.s.f.FileTransferSubsystem] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] Error loading queued transfer jobs from persistence provider 2017-04-13 10:26:18.006-0400 [L: ERROR] [O: c.t.p.m.MssqlModelExceptionTranslator] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] [message: Could not create a transaction for ThingworxPersistenceProvider] 2017-04-13 10:26:18.006-0400 [L: ERROR] [O: E.c.t.p.d.FileTransferDocumentModelProvider] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] [context: Could not create a transaction for ThingworxPersistenceProvider][message: Could not create a transaction for ThingworxPersistenceProvider] 2017-04-13 10:26:18.007-0400 [L: ERROR] [O: c.t.p.m.MssqlModelExceptionTranslator] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] [message: Could not create a transaction for ThingworxPersistenceProvider] 2017-04-13 10:26:18.008-0400 [L: ERROR] [O: c.t.s.s.f.FileTransferSubsystem] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] Error loading queued transfer jobs from persistence provider 2017-04-13 10:26:18.008-0400 [L: INFO] [O: c.t.s.ThingWorxServer] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] Thingworx Server Application...ON A few things to check here. First, how the database was set up. The standard expected port if 1433, however, if you choose a different port - ensure that the port is available. If it isn't - update the port setting in SQL configuration manager. Another possible root cause -- the database scripts did not run properly upon the setup. Currently, there is an active Jira PSPT-3587 for resolving the script issue (NOTE, this thread to be updated once the Jira is fixed). There are two options here, either to run the sql files manually (found in the "install" folder of the downloadable), or edit the bat scripts manually. It's recommended to edit the script files instead because running the sql commands allows more room for a mistake. The following line in the bat scripts needs to be edited to have the ".\" removed: sqlcmd.exe -S %server%\%serverinstance%,%port% -U %adminusername% -v loginname=%loginname% -v database=%database% -v thingworxusername=%thingworxusername% -v schema=%schema%  -i .\thingworx-database-setup.sql Note, that the scripts need to be run from the same directory ("/install")

Embedded databases come with the installation of the ThingWorx Platform No additional installation or configuration is required for embedded databases Read about the various benefits and pitfalls of embedded versus external below Database Options H2 RDBMS (relational database management system), written in Java Has a small memory footprint Embedded into ThingWorx for easy installation Not as robust as other database options Not scalable in production environments (unless used alongside a separate, external database for stream, value stream, and other data) ​ See KCS Article CS243975 for further reading on the use of external databases Meant to be used for quick deployments and testing environments PostgreSQL ORDBMS (object-relational database management system), written in C PostgreSQL is the ThingWorx recommended database for production systems More Robust External database installed separately from ThingWorx Beneficial because external databases can be specifically configured for use in production, while embedded databases cannot Able to efficiently handle larger amounts of data and store more data without affecting ThingWorx system performance Greater Stability Recover from data corruptions more easily by accessing the database from an external application (separate from ThingWorx) using simple SQL statements Easier to back-up the database in case of issues (further reading in KCS Article CS246598) Less risky and simpler upgrade procedure, which occurs "in-place" Instead of exporting and importing data and entities, a simple schema update allows these to automatically persist into the new version If ThingworxStorage folder is accidentally deleted, entities and data are secure in the external database More Secure HA (High Availability) allows for multiple server instances at different locations in the network Assists in time of failover, i.e. if one server fails, the other can immediately take over Secures the data and prevents further data loss in the event of a failure Customizable security settings and complex password requirements Fewer security vulnerabilities than other databases Because Postgres is an external database, it can be harder to install Follow the steps in the installation guide closely See KCS Articles CS235937 and CS230085 for troubleshooting and help with installation and configuration Hana RDBMS (relational database management system) In-memory, column based data storage For more information on this database, please see the Getting Started with SAP HANA Guide Neo4J GDBMS (graph database management system), written in Java Data is not easily accessed by external applications, and CQL must be used instead of SQL, making recovery from corruptions very difficult Embedded database with limited configuration options Known to have issues with deadlocks Deprecated in version 7.0 (related KCS Article: CS228537) For full installation steps for H2 and PostgreSQL, see the ThingWorx Installation Guide

This Blog presents a simple Java utility to validate the deployment of ThingWatcher. It is important to note that the utility used is not a real life situation, the intent was to keep it as simple as possible in order to achieve its aim: validation of the deployment. An understanding of Java IDE (such as Eclipse) is necessary in order to run the utility with relevant dependency and classpath setup. Those are beyond the scope of this posting. We will cover the following points: Pre-Requisites Using the sample utility Code walk through Validate training job creation Validate model job creation Update for ThingWorx Analytics 8.0 Pre-requisites A strict adherence to the ThingWatcher deployment guide is recommended in order to first deploy training and model microservices as well as to familiarize yourself with ThingWatcher APIs. Prior to testing ThingWatcher, both the training and model microservices should be up and running The media for ThingWatcher (including model and training micro-service) should be downloaded from PTC Software Download page . The commands to deploy the micro-services will vary depending on the platform used and are presented in the ThingWatcher deployment guide. As a reference example, on Windows the command will be similar to the following: Start Docker: Start > Program > Docker > Docker Quick Start Terminal Load model micro service tar $ docker load < "D:\PTC\MED-61147-CD-522_F000_ThingWorx-Analytics-ThingWatcher-52-2\components\ModelService\ModelService\model-service.tar"     3. Install model service: $ docker run -d -p 8080:8080 -v '/d/TWatcherStorage/model:/data/models' -v '/d/TWatcherStorage/db:/tmp/' twxml/model-service:1.0 -Dfile.storage.path=/data/models -jar maven/model-1.0.jar server maven/standalone-evaluator.yml     4. Load training micro service tar file                         $ docker load < "D:\PTC\MED-61147-CD-522_F000_ThingWorx-Analytics-ThingWatcher-52-2\components\TrainingService\TrainingService\training-service.tar"     5. Install training service                         $ docker run -d -p 8090:8080  twxml/training-service:1.0.0  -Dmodel.destination.uri=model://192.168.99.100:8080/models -jar maven/training-standalone-1.0.0-bin.jar server /maven/training-standalone-single.yml Note: the -Dmodel.destination.uri points here to the model micro-service host. To find the ip address, enter docker-machine ip on the model micro-service docker machine.     6. Validate micro-services deployment: Execute docker ps  and confirmed that both services are up, as in the following example: CONTAINER ID        IMAGE                          COMMAND                      CREATED            STATUS              PORTS NAMES 5b6a29b95611        twxml/training-service:1.0.0  "java -Dmodel.destina"  13 days ago        Up 44 minutes      8081/tcp, 0.0.0.0:8090->8080/tcp  modest_albattani 8c13c0bc910e        twxml/model-service:1.0        "java -Dfile.storage."      2 weeks ago        Up 44 minutes      0.0.0.0:8080->8080/tcp, 8081/tcp  thirsty_ptolemy   Using the sample utility Download the attachment Main.java Import Main.java into Eclipse (or IDE of choice) with the ThingWatcher dependencies added in classpath. Update the trainingBaseURI (see below) to points to the training micro-services. The utility should be ready to execute. Code walk through The code declares a thingwatcher in the following snippet: ThingWatcher thingwatcher = new ThingWatcherBuilder() .certainty(90.0) .trainingDataDuration(60) .trainingDataDurationUnit(DurationUnit.SECOND) .trainingBaseURI("http://192.168.99.100:8090/training") .getThingWatcher(); In the above code it is important to update the trainingBaseURI argument with the correct ip address and port for the training micro-service host. The code then loops 10000 times and sends a new value, which simulates the sensor data, at a simulated 100 ms interval. The value is computed as Math.sin(i) for the whole calibrating phase and most of the monitoring phase too. We artificially introduce an anomaly by sending a value of Math.incremetExact(i) between the 9000 th and 9900 th iterations. During the Monitoring phase, the code logs the value, the anomalous status and the thingwatcher state. It is advised to save the output to a file in order to review the logging once the utility has run. In Eclipse this can be done by selecting the Main.java with right mouse button > Run As… > Run Configuration > Common and tick Output File under the Standard Input and Output, and specify a location for the output file. A review of the output log file will shows that somewhere between timestamp 900000 and 990000, the isAnomalousValue is true. Note that this does not starts and ends exactly at 900000 and 990000, as ThingWatcher needs a few occurrences before reporting it as anomaly. Sample output indicating an anomalous state: [main] INFO com.thingworx.analytics.demo.Main - Value = 901700,9017.0,-9016.403802019577 [main] INFO com.thingworx.analytics.demo.Main - isAnomalousValue = true [main] INFO com.thingworx.analytics.demo.Main - ThingWatcherStat = MONITORING As part of validating the successful deployment of ThingWatcher, it is recommended to validate the correct creation of a training and model job. Validate training job creation In order to validate the successful creation of a training job, execute a GET request to the training micro service : http://192.168.99.100:8090/training (update the ip address to the one on your system) This should return a COMPLETED job whose body starts with something similar to: Validate model job creation In order to validate the successful creation of a model job, execute a GET request to http://192.168.99.100:8080/models (update the ip address to the one on your system) to see all the models that have been created. For example: Alternatively, click (or use) the URI reported in the training job output, here http://192.168.99.100:8080/models/6/pmml.xml, to see the complete model definition. The output will be similar to: When this sample test runs correctly, the ThingWatcher deployment has been validated. Update for ThingWorx Analytics 8.0 Deploying the microservices, see Video Link : 1937 Updated Java code: see Does anyone know how to use java api to achieve anomaly detection with Thingwatcher8.0? To Note: The utility provided is for testing purpose only. The code does not represent any kind of best practice and is not meant to be a perfect java coding example. It is provided as is with no guarantee.