Product Updates
2023

Manufacturing Connect Edge 3.10.0

4min

Release Date: November 20, 2023

Review the current list of Limitations.

New Features

Description

DeviceHub:

  • Support is now provided for the following drivers:
    • AB DF1 Ethernet
    • AB DF1 Serial
    • Emerson FB107
    • IEC60870-5-104 Ethernet (Gen1)
    • Profinet Acyclic Turck
    • Mitsubishi iQ-F Ethernet

Network:

  • A new firewall management feature is now available by navigating to System > Network > Firewall. This feature allows you to manage firewall rules to open specific ports or port ranges for inbound communication.
    • The Firewall pane allows you to do the following:
      • Review what ports are being used by Manufacturing Connect Edge system components, applications, and containers.
      • Ensure that any DeviceHub drivers and Docker container applications are not running on conflicting ports.
      • Open ports and port ranges with appropriate protocol (TCP/UDP) for Docker applications, containers, and DeviceHub drivers.
      • Manage and close ports as needed.
    • These firewall rules apply only to IPv4 traffic.
  • A new static route management feature is now available by navigating to System > Network > Routes. This feature allows you to control the routing of messages in a complex network with multiple interfaces and gateways.
    • The Routes pane allows you to do the following:
      • Review the list of current static routes.
      • Add new static routes.
      • Edit and remove static routes.
    • Warning: Incorrect static routes can disconnect your network access to Manufacturing Connect Edge. Please add or modify routes with caution.

Enhancements and Improvements

Description

System:

  • The Wi-Fi section has moved to System > Network as a new tab.
  • A new NTP Client Status section in System > Network > DNS / NTP Servers displays information on the status and time synchronization of the NTP Client.
  • The OPC UA Server performance is now enhanced by moving to the Unified Automation Stack.
  • When you activate Manufacturing Connect Edge through Manufacturing Connect , a validation is now available to ensure the connection is valid.
  • You can download an event history in a CSV file by navigating to System > Events > Events History.
  • You can retrieve topics for events by navigating to System > Events.
  • When upgrading Manufacturing Connect Edge by uploading or downloading the upgrade file, you will now need to download a backup of your Manufacturing Connect Edge before proceeding with the upgrade.
  • When downloading a support bundle, you now have the option to download config and log details, or only download log details.
  • When importing a template and one component fails to be imported, the import process doesn't stop. The failed component is skipped and the template process continues.
  • When a license activation fails, the error messages now provide more relevant information on the cause of the error.
  • The grace period to allow a disconnection from the license server before a connection must be re-established is now increased from 8 hours to 24 hours.

Users:

  • When configuring roles, you can now specify which Flows Managers users can modify.

DeviceHub:

  • Several enhancements have been made to the Server Search feature.
  • You can now search for tags in all devices from DeviceHub > Tags.
  • If there is a system reboot, the status of devices is maintained. For example, if a device is stopped and Manufacturing Connect Edge is rebooted, the device will remain in a stopped state when Manufacturing Connect Edge restarts.
  • The Keyence Nano Ethernet (Gen1) driver now has more data types available.
  • When you click a device tile and then click the Tags tab, you can now manage the list of tags for the device.

Integration

  • The Google Pub/Sub connector now allows you to define custom attributes.
  • The Google Pub/Sub connector now allows you to upload the value for the Service Account Key field. 
  • You now have the option of uploading a CSV file of topics for connectors. 
  • You can now download the topics for a connector.
  • You can now clear logs for connectors.
  • Connectors that have certificate variables now allow you to upload certificate files.
  • The inbound option for topics has been removed from connectors that only support outbound topics.
  • In connector tiles, the text Manage Tags is now renamed Manage Topics.

OPC UA:

  • You can now do the following:
    • Define the network interface to expose the OPC UA server from.
    • Re-initialize the server when any changes are made to the server configuration.
    • Place items under the root or at the parent level.
    • Create a custom hierarchy with folders, devices, and tags.
    • Reset the hierarchy with the following options: All, Manually Created Only, Imported Only.
    • Pass any NATS topic as a message as long as it follows the standard DeviceHub structure.
  • The OPC UA server now does the following:
    • Converts all the data types of the respective driver to standard OPC UA server data types.
    • Allows bi-directional communication (read/write) to the topics.
  • A new OPC UA server Node ID field is now available.
  • The following new policies are now available:
    • Aes256_Sha256_RsaPss
    • Aes128_Sha256_RsaOaep

Analytics:

  • Two new options are now available for the DataHub Subscribe input processor:
    • Ignore Failed Data: Select to ignore data with the output success=false.
    • Ignore Null Value: Select to ignore data with the output value=null.

DataHub:

  • Starting with Manufacturing Connect Edge version 3.5.2, the user interface prompted you to configure an external timeseries database and not an internal one. You now have the option of configuring either an internal or external timeseries database with no plan to deprecate internal timeseries databases.

Applications:

  • In Applications > Containers, a new Status column displays the uptime and current status of the containers.

Flows Manager:

  • The maximum size of logs for flows is now 80 MB, rotated between two log files of 40 MB each.

Resolved Issues

Description

Terminal User Interface (TUI):

  • Fixed issue with a blank username or password not displaying an error message.
  • Fixed issue with the activation and deactivation function not working.
  • Fixed issue with the initial reboot sequence allowing you to access the main menu and make changes before the reboot initialization finishes and the reboot occurs.
  • Fixed issue with some fields, such as Cloud Activation URL and Docker Subnet, accepting blank entries before submitting.
  • Fixed issue with Cloud Activation not allowing to cancel or timeout.
  • Fixed issue with the Managed Services section not displaying any options.
  • Fixed issue with being able to access all TUI options if an admin user cancels the end-user license agreement (EULA) and logs in again to the TUI.

System:

  • Fixed issue with not being able to generate support bundles.
  • Fixed issue with the Docker version not creating events for DeviceHub, Connectors, and Flows.
  • Fixed issue with the source timestamp not updating in an OPC UA server.
  • Fixed issue with applications not running successfully after upgrading Manufacturing Connect Edge.
  • Fixed issue with users with the Auth:Modify permission having issues navigating to System > Device Management.
  • Fixed issue with downloaded template files including components that weren't selected.
  • Fixed issue with a connected DB-InfluxDB SSL connector significantly increasing its CPU usage after upgrading Manufacturing Connect Edge.
  • Fixed issue with templates not loading Marketplace catalogs and registries.
  • Fixed issue with LDAP Group Mapping not being available after updating Manufacturing Connect Edge.

DeviceHub:

  • Fixed issue where more than 11 DeviceHub devices are added and some of the devices get stuck in “Polling” status.
  • Fixed issue with users having the appropriate permissions but not being able to update the Enable Data Store option.
  • Fixed issue with the Siemens S7-Advanced (Gen1) driver (and all other Gen1 drivers) disconnecting, causing the memory of the process to increase over time until it is stopped by oom_killer.
  • Fixed issue with the Siemens S7 driver not being able to collect tags with the data type S5Time.
  • Fixed issue with the Browse Tags feature not working after browsing tags, canceling the operation, and attempting to browse tags again.
  • Fixed issue with the API sending empty responses if a DeviceHub device is stopped.
  • Fixed issue with a "Successfully copied" message displaying after copying a topic in DeviceHub but after pasting "undefined" displays.
  • Fixed issue with issues trying to read data a Profinet device using the PROFIdrive profile.
  • Fixed issue with the AB CompactLogix Ethernet FreeTag driver not being able to re-connect after a power outage for the PLC connected to the driver.
  • Fixed issue with devices not receiving all license features from the license server.
  • Fixed issue with address ranges for the following drivers:
    • AB PLC5 (Gen1)
    • AB PLC5 Ethernet (Gen1)
    • Beckhoff ADS/AMS Ethernet (Gen1)
    • Siemens S5-Ethernet (Gen1)
    • Siemens S7-200 Ethernet (Gen1)
    • Siemens S7-200 Serial (Gen1)
    • Siemens S7-300 Serial (Gen1)
    • Siemens S7-Advanced (Gen1)
  • Fixed the following issues with the AB CompactLogix Ethernet Advanced driver:
    • The driver not publishing NATS messages when the driver has a large number of tags.
    • Polling of tags affected by incorrect grouping of Boolean tags.

Analytics:

  • Fixed issue with the the formatting of the Tengo Script processor dialog.
  • Fixed issue with the Export option on the Analytics canvas not working successfully.
  • Fixed issue with an error persisting for the Change of Value node even after resetting Manufacturing Connect Edge.
  • Fixed issue with an error message displaying after connecting a Statistical Prediction node to a Moving Average node.
  • Fixed issue with the Next button in the Create Flow dialog not being available after selecting DataHub Subscribe.
  • Fixed issue with the Change of Value processor using the incorrect data type for values.
  • Fixed issue with the output of values written as string values when they should be written as integer values.
  • Fixed issue with the debug window not displaying correctly unless the browser page is refreshed.

Flows Manager:

  • Fixed issue with new flows not displaying or the admin flow instance not starting unless Manufacturing Connect Edge is rebooted.
  • Fixed issue with errors displaying after importing a file of flows.
  • Fixed issue with uploading a node_module file in an incorrect format, and a message displays incorrectly notifying you the file was successfully uploaded.
  • Fixed issue where a 502 Bad Gateway message displays and orphaned and duplicate Node Red processes are created after clicking tabs on the flow canvas.
  • Fixed issue with the poll-once topic only displaying data after clicking the inject node the first time. Subsequent clicks of the inject node now correctly display data.

Integration:

  • Fixed issue with the MongoDB 4+ connector consuming a large amount of RAM and consequently crashing.
  • Fixed issue with the Manage Tags link in connector tiles taking you to the configuration page for the connector. The link now correctly directs you to the Topics page for the connector.
  • Fixed issue with the Google Pub/Sub connector restarting topics after they are deleted.
  • Fixed issue with duplicate topics being created for connectors.

OPC UA:

  • Fixed issue with errors after starting and stopping the OPC UA Server.
  • Fixed issue with write requests being sent to the OPC UA server as empty payloads.
  • Fixed issue with importing an OPC UA hierarchy and not all nodes are imported.

Deprecated Components and Features

Description

System:

  • Functionality in System > Remote Access is no longer available.

Terminal User Interface (TUI):

  • You can no longer enter a site-based license through the TUI. To enter a site-based license or to complete offline license activation, you will need to use the Web UI for Manufacturing Connect Edge or Manufacturing Connect.

DeviceHub:

  • The Koyo Ethernet driver is no longer available. It has been replaced with the Koyo Ethernet (Gen1) driver.
  • The Siemens S7-400 driver is no longer available. We recommend using Siemens S7 or Siemens S7-Advanced (Gen1) instead.