--- title: Organize Device and Tag Data by Using Metadata slug: manufacturing-connect-edge-v2/organize-device-and-tag-data-by-using-metadata docTags: createdAt: 2023-05-18T19:49:55.000Z --- When configuring DeviceHub devices and tags, you have the option of adding metadata, which allows you to define key-value pair data for the device output payload. The metadata can then be used to find, use, and reuse particular instances of data. Some examples where using metadata would be beneficial include the following: - Device category metadata organizes devices. - Tag type metadata organizes tag categories. - Plant Floor ID metadata organizes different areas of a production site. - Location metadata organizes devices and plants across multiple worldwide sites. # User Scenario For this user scenario, you will use device and tag metadata to organize your data using the following parameters: - The country and city the device is located in. In a real-life scenario, you may be using multiple Manufacturing Connect Edge instances across different locations that are managed by Manufacturing Connect. - The location (wing area) of the devices within each plant. - The category for each tag. You will create four devices, with two tags each, totaling eight tags. ## Step 1: Connect Devices You will first connect all relevant devices in DeviceHub. **To connect devices:** 1. Navigate to **DeviceHub**. The *Devices *pane opens. 2. Click **Add New Device**. The *Connect Device* dialog box appears. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/WX6zqj8Vq02AzX4CXW55l_add-devicemce.png" size="80" width="1078" height="645" caption="Connect a Device box" position="center" showCaption="true"} 3. Click the **Device Type** drop-down list and select **Simulator**. 4. Click the **Driver Name** drop-down list, and select **Generator**. Configure the following four devices. ### Device 1 - **Name**: PLC\_1 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair 1** - **Key**: Country - **Value**: US - **Key/Value pair 2** - **Key**: City - **Value**: Chicago - **Key/Value pair 3**: - **Key**: Device\_Location - **Value**: South\_Wing - **Enable Alias Topics**: To view the topic with an alias name instead of in raw format, select this checkbox. For Manufacturing Connect Edge version 3.5.2 and later, it is selected by default. Learn more about [Alias Topics](docId\:SqalV8ImyZmn8xA-56gno). ### Device 2 - **Name**: PLC\_2 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair 1** - **Key: **Country - **Value**: US - **Key/Value pair 2** - **Key**: City - **Value**: Chicago - **Key/Value pair 3** - **Key**: Device\_Location - **Value**: East\_Wing - **Enable Alias Topics**: To view the topic with an alias name instead of in raw format, select this checkbox. For Manufacturing Connect Edge version 3.5.2 and later, it is selected by default. Learn more about [Alias Topics](docId\:SqalV8ImyZmn8xA-56gno). ### Device 3 - **Name**: PLC\_3 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair 1** - **Key: **Country - **Value**: US - **Key/Value pair 2** - **Key**: City - **Value**: Cleveland - **Key/Value pair 3** - **Key**: Device\_Location - **Value**: North\_Wing - **Enable Alias Topics**: To view the topic with an alias name instead of in raw format, select this checkbox. For Manufacturing Connect Edge version 3.5.2 and later, it is selected by default. Learn more about [Alias Topics](docId\:SqalV8ImyZmn8xA-56gno). ### Device 4 - **Name**: PLC\_4 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair 1** - **Key: **Country - **Value**: Canada - **Key/Value pair 2** - **Key**: City - **Value**: Toronto - **Key/Value pair 3** - **Key**: Device\_Location - **Value**: North\_Wing - **Enable Alias Topics**: To view the topic with an alias name instead of in raw format, select this checkbox. For Manufacturing Connect Edge version 3.5.2 and later, it is selected by default. Learn more about [Alias Topics](docId\:SqalV8ImyZmn8xA-56gno). ## Step 2: Add Tags You can now add tags to the devices you created. For this user scenario, the tags will be used to capture air pressure and temperature values, and each device can have multiple tags for each measurement. **To add tags: ** 1. Navigate to **DeviceHub **> **Tags**. 2. From the *Tags *pane, click** Add New Tag**, and then select **Add One**. The* Add Tag *dialog box appears. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/JVX-hnXr2I-2ls3XUqdif_add-tagmce.png" size="80" width="846" height="494" caption="The Add New Tag icon" position="center" showCaption="true"} 3. Click the **Select a Device** field, and then select the first device to add tags to. Add the following eight tags. ### PLC\_1 Tag 1 - **Name**: S - Random value generator - **Value Type**: int64 - **Polling Interval**: Enter **5**. This is the time interval in seconds that the tag will be polled for data. - **Tag Name**: Temperature\_1 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair** - **Key**: Category - **Value**: Temp Tag 2 - **Name**: S - Random value generator - **Value Type**: int64 - **Polling Interval**: Enter **5**. This is the time interval in seconds that the tag will be polled for data. - **Tag Name**: Temperature\_2 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair** - **Key**: Category - **Value**: Temp ### PLC\_2 Tag 1 - **Name**: S - Random value generator - **Value Type**: int64 - **Polling Interval**: Enter **5**. This is the time interval in seconds that the tag will be polled for data. - **Tag Name**: Temperature\_1 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair** - **Key**: Category - **Value**: Temp Tag 2 - **Name**: S - Random value generator - **Value Type**: int64 - **Polling Interval**: Enter **5**. This is the time interval in seconds that the tag will be polled for data. - **Tag Name**: Air\_Pressure\_1 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair** - **Key**: Category - **Value**: Pressure ### PLC\_3 Tag 1 - **Name**: S - Random value generator - **Value Type**: int64 - **Polling Interval**: Enter **5**. This is the time interval in seconds that the tag will be polled for data. - **Tag Name**: Air\_Pressure\_1 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair** - **Key**: Category - **Value**: Pressure Tag 2 - **Name**: S - Random value generator - **Value Type**: int64 - **Polling Interval**: Enter **5**. This is the time interval in seconds that the tag will be polled for data. - **Tag Name**: Air\_Pressure\_2 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair** - **Key**: Category - **Value**: Pressure ### PLC\_4 Tag 1 - **Name**: S - Random value generator - **Value Type**: int64 - **Polling Interval**: Enter **5**. This is the time interval in seconds that the tag will be polled for data. - **Tag Name**: Air\_Pressure\_1 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair** - **Key**: Category - **Value**: Pressure Tag 2 - **Name**: S - Random value generator - **Value Type**: int64 - **Polling Interval**: Enter **5**. This is the time interval in seconds that the tag will be polled for data. - **Tag Name**: Temperature\_1 - **Meta Data**: Select checkbox. - **Key/Value pair** - **Key**: Category - **Value**: Temp ## Step 3: View Data You can now view the data from the devices and tags in Manufacturing Connect Edge through the [Flows Manager](docId\:eCK0tQfoy_d2ywgK4h1wq). ### View Data in Flows Manager 1. Navigate to **DeviceHub**. The *Devices *pane opens. 2. For the PLC\_1 device tile, open the **Action menu**, click **Copy topics**, and select the device topic name. Store the topic name somewhere for use later. The ">" indicates a wildcard character, so the topic name applies to all tags for the device. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/Zir4gq2YF3TfsPa3wpGSo_copydevicetopicmce.png" size="50" width="403" height="349" caption="Device topic name" position="center" showCaption="true"} 3. Copy and store the device topic names for all other devices. 4. Navigate to **Flows Manager**. 5. For a Flows Manager, click the **Go To Flow Definition** icon. The Flow canvas opens in a new browser tab. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/Sj8EYfpdzMCFym9Dv81Vj_create-flowmce.png" size="80" width="1080" height="547" caption="Go To Flow Definition icon" position="center" showCaption="true"} 6. On the Flow canvas, drag four **DataHub Subscribe **nodes and four **debug **nodes onto the canvas. Then, connect the nodes. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/daVvuPYlZHXYyrKm8Wwid_flowcanvas1.png" size="80" width="779" height="459" caption="Flow canvas nodes" position="center" showCaption="true"} 7. Double-click the first DataHub subscribe node. The *Edit DataHub Subscribe node* dialog box appears. - In the **Topic **field, paste the wildcard topic name for the device copied in step 2. - If needed, configure the Datahub Subscribe connection. See the [Configure Connector Nodes](docId\:cvhYwrcRDrQPGReHBQNZ-) section to learn more. - In the **Name **field, enter **PLC\_1**. - Click **Done**. 8. Continue configuring the other three **DataHub Subscribe** nodes for the other devices. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/tbrHE39C68jiTrVTs3hVK_flowcanvas2.png" size="80" width="791" height="503" caption="Four DataHub Subscribe nodes configured" position="center" showCaption="true"} 9. Click **Deploy**. 10. Expand the message window beneath the flow to view debug messages. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/uJmaK_cPXEt6DKZtj9pSU_flowcanvas3.png" size="80" width="1354" height="769" caption="The message window" position="center" showCaption="true"} 11. Click the **Debug **icon. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/rez2kWBOzmYTRB8QEie0x_flowcanvas4.png" size="80" width="1347" height="547" caption="The Debug icon" position="center" showCaption="true"} 12. Make sure the four debug nodes are activated. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/iUOi53j-y0mK5oJeT5Ujr_flowcanvas5.png" size="80" width="843" height="613" caption="Activate buttons" position="center" showCaption="true"} 13. View the data in the debug window. The payload below shows data from each tag in each of the four devices. The device and tag metadata is included at the end of each payload item. ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/SSUUxKZUk9bFTEPNn_6Zo/HQZTEg2Day87q0AaQbgak_image.png" size="80" width="1920" height="937" caption="Payload from four devices" position="center" showCaption="true"} ### View Payload Data Review the payload data from the debug window for each DeviceHub device. :::CodeblockTabs PLC\_3 ```json { "success": true, "datatype": "int64", "timestamp": 1683901823577, "registerId": "DBE0C6D2-A91D-49D1-9CB7-DBF3C6D9C919", "value": -1, "deviceID": "7C01E851-FE46-463A-90EC-98AA3F12BE09", "tagName": "Air_Pressure_1", "deviceName": "PLC_3", "description": "", "metadata": { "Country": "US", "Device_Location": "North_Wing", "City": "Cleveland", "Category": "Pressure" } } ``` PLC\_3 ```json { "success": true, "datatype": "int64", "timestamp": 1683901823577, "registerId": "E2A6A9E3-697B-436D-8682-866950BF96AC", "value": -1, "deviceID": "7C01E851-FE46-463A-90EC-98AA3F12BE09", "tagName": "Air_Pressure_2", "deviceName": "PLC_3", "description": "", "metadata": { "Device_Location": "North_Wing", "City": "Cleveland", "Country": "US", "Category": "Pressure" } } ``` PLC\_1 ```json { "success": true, "datatype": "int64", "timestamp": 1683901824688, "registerId": "7425F365-9D97-4B6C-BB01-DCCAFC04F383", "value": 1, "deviceID": "C9C3F3DF-954F-4233-834C-4B381741357C", "tagName": "Temperature_1", "deviceName": "PLC_1", "description": "", "metadata": { "Device_Location": "South_Wing", "City": "Chicago", "Country": "US", "Category": "Temp" } } ``` PLC\_1 ```json { "success": true, "datatype": "int64", "timestamp": 1683901824688, "registerId": "C35CB204-5A00-4753-B7AF-F1D6059A2E1B", "value": 1, "deviceID": "C9C3F3DF-954F-4233-834C-4B381741357C", "tagName": "Temperature_2", "deviceName": "PLC_1", "description": "", "metadata": { "Country": "US", "Category": "Temp", "Device_Location": "South_Wing", "City": "Chicago" } } ``` PLC\_2 ```json { "success": true, "datatype": "int64", "timestamp": 1683901825029, "registerId": "008A21C1-FE0A-41EC-83A6-48C60831C11C", "value": 1, "deviceID": "5D4EF199-AC0D-4510-839E-F3256650D0B8", "tagName": "Temperature_1", "deviceName": "PLC_2", "description": "", "metadata": { "Device_Location": "East_Wing", "City": "Chicago", "Country": "US", "Category": "Temp" } } ``` PLC\_2 ```json { "success": true, "datatype": "int64", "timestamp": 1683901825029, "registerId": "C083DE09-F6BD-428A-9710-6579ADB03F9C", "value": 1, "deviceID": "5D4EF199-AC0D-4510-839E-F3256650D0B8", "tagName": "Air_Pressure_1", "deviceName": "PLC_2", "description": "", "metadata": { "City": "Chicago", "Country": "US", "Category": "Pressure", "Device_Location": "East_Wing" } } ``` PLC\_4 ```json { "success": true, "datatype": "int64", "timestamp": 1683901827473, "registerId": "0D918230-21CD-4D89-9CF2-F4E3550B599B", "value": 0, "deviceID": "629145EB-2549-4BC1-8ECB-ACD86BC44061", "tagName": "Temperature_1", "deviceName": "PLC_4", "description": "", "metadata": { "Country": "Canada", "Device_Location": "North_Wing", "City": "Toronto" } } ``` PLC\_4 ```json { "success": true, "datatype": "int64", "timestamp": 1683901827473, "registerId": "7782779E-1582-4773-AB02-0A8CE8BD3597", "value": 0, "deviceID": "629145EB-2549-4BC1-8ECB-ACD86BC44061", "tagName": "Air_Pressure_1", "deviceName": "PLC_4", "description": "", "metadata": { "Device_Location": "North_Wing", "City": "Toronto", "Country": "Canada", "Category": "Pressure" } } ``` :::