Kepware unable to connect TWx 8.5

[aiGreek]

Greetings,

as per title, I am unable to connect a Kepware server to a cloud instance of TWx. I've been able to connect multiple other servers, so the issue must be on this machine.

I configured the Project->Thingworx tab like I always do, after creating an industrial connection via ManApps and following the relative instructions, but I always get this error:

"Error ThingWorx Native Interface Connection to ThingWorx failed. | Platform = danieli-dev.cloud.thingworx.com:443/Thingworx/WS, error = could not establish a websocket connection."

I've tried disabling encryption and using the 8080 port, which results in this error:

"Connection to ThingWorx failed. | Platform = danieli-dev.cloud.thingworx.com:8080/Thingworx/WS, error = could not initialize a secure socket connection."

The machine which is running Kepware is still running Windows 7 and in order to install and run Kewpare I had to follow this article (CS321323) to install the required certificates, could my issue be related to this?

Thank you for the support.

[anarwal]

Hi @aiGreek , Try using the ip address instead of the domain name of the server . I see you have tried with 8080 and 443 port . Does thingworx runing on ssl?

[aiGreek]

The Thingworx instance is in the cloud, does it have a static IP address?

I don't know if TWx is running on SSL, but all the other Kepwares I configured use port 443 and had no issues and are currently communicating with the platform.

[c_lowy]

Hi @anarwal,
This Cloud instance is running on https (port 443) so you will need to configure the ThingWorx certificate in KEPServer to allow for the connection. Have you tried downloading the root certificate from ThingWorx and setting it up in the KEPServerEX Settings as per Configuring KEPServerEX/ThingWorx Industrial Connectivity to connect to SSL/TLS enabled ThingWorx Platform ?

[aiGreek]

No, I didn't try. I will try as soon as I can reach the device (the plant is now in production, I'll have to wait its next scheduled maintenance later this week) and let you know.

I did download some certificates in order to install Kepware (see my original post), are those sufficient or do I need to download the ones suggested in the article you posted?

[c_lowy]

The article you mentioned seems specific to the KEPServerEX installation and unrelated to ThingWorx and I believe that importing the ThingWorx root certificate into the KEPServerEX truststore is still required to allow for a connection between ThingWorx and KEPServerEX.

[aiGreek]

Hi @c_lowy,

I've tried following the article you linked, I downloaded and imported the certificate in Kepware, but unfortunately I'm still getting the "could not establish a websocket connection".

Any other ideas? Could it be related to the Windows 7 version on the machine?

[Ciprian-Traian]

Hello @aiGreek ,

Do you have multiple Kepware servers connecting to ThingWorx with the same Industrial Connection Thing ?
Can you create another Industrial Connection Thing in ThingWorx and try again to connect with Kepware.

Hope it helps,

[aiGreek]

Hello @Ciprian-Traian,

no, I always created 1 Industrial connection for 1 Kepware.
I've tried to create another industrial connection anyway, but I'm still getting the same error unfortunately.

[anarwal]

Is it possible to send event logs from the kepware

[aiGreek]

Hi @anarwal,

here are the logs I saved from my first try last week, I didn't get them from yesterday's attempt. If you might need more logs, I'll have to get them next week at the next scheduled maintenance.

[Ciprian-Traian]

Hello @aiGreek ,

Maybe you have tried this already but can you modifiy settings in the KEPServerEX Project Properties:

Legacy Mode Disable

Port: 8080

Trust self-signed certificates: No

Trust all certificates: No

Disable encryption: Yes

If that does not work try with:

Legacy Mode Disable

Port: 443

Trust self-signed certificates: Yes

Trust all certificates: Yes

Disable encryption: No

Hope it helps,

[aiGreek]

Hi @Ciprian-Traian,

I tried both of those settings last week, I get "danieli-dev.cloud.thingworx.com:8080/Thingworx/WS, error = could not initialize a secure socket connection." if I use the port 8080 with its relative settings and "danieli-dev.cloud.thingworx.com:443/Thingworx/WS, error = could not establish a websocket connection." if I use the 443 port with its relative settings.

I have a scheduled remote support session tomorrow with PTC Support, I'll let you know if we solve this issue.

[aiGreek · Accepted solution]

With the help of the support we've got to the cause of the problem, which was... a firewall.

I feel kinda dumb as I didn't bother to check before, but my colleagues assured me that the device wasn't blocked by any sort of firewall and it clearly wasn't the case.

Thank you all for the support and sorry for having wasted your time with my (non)issue.