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About the Kepware Integration

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The Kepware integration lets you stream real-time tag data from your KEPServerEX 6 into MaintainX®. The integration uses the Kepware IoT Gateway REST Client agent (referred to as the Kepware agent), which you configure in Kepware's IoT Gateway Plugin to send tag readings to MaintainX.

Kepware is one of MaintainX's supported, self-managed OT data connectors. The Kepware integration allows you to bring equipment and sensor data into MaintainX as part of Connected Data.

Integration Overview​

Tag data flows in one direction, from your OT environment to MaintainX. You manage your OT systems and the Kepware agent, and MaintainX receives the tag data that it sends.

Diagram of tag data flowing from a PLC, OPC server, sensors, and SCADA through Kepware Server connectors to the IoT Gateway REST Client, which sends the data to MaintainX in the cloud.
Tag data flow from OT devices through KEPServerEX 6 to MaintainX
  • OT sources: PLCs, OPC servers, sensors, and SCADA systems that connect to KEPServerEX 6 through channels and devices.
  • KEPServerEX 6: The server that collects tag values from those devices and identifies each tag by its Channel.Device.Tag path.
  • Kepware agent: The IoT Gateway REST Client agent that sends tag readings to MaintainX as HTTPS POST requests over an outbound connection on port 443.
  • Connector instance: The MaintainX endpoint that receives the readings, authenticated with its own access token.

Once you map your tags to meters, you can set up automations that use incoming readings to trigger work orders, notifications, and alerts.

Requirements​

On-Premise​

  • KEPServerEX 6: A licensed version of KEPServerEX 6 that's running.

  • Kepware IoT Gateway Plugin: A licensed version of the IoT Gateway Plugin installed and running. For more information, see the Kepware IoT Gateway Plugin documentation.

  • Network: Outbound network access from the Kepware host system to the MaintainX agent endpoint for your region on port 443:

    RegionEndpoint
    US1 (United States)https://agent.maintainx.com/
    EU1 (Europe)https://agent.eu1.maintainx.com/

    For guidance on identifying your region, see Choose Your Region.

MaintainX Account​

Key Concepts​

Connector Instance​

A link between one KEPServerEX 6 deployment and your MaintainX organization is called a connector instance. Each connector instance has its own unique access token that authenticates Kepware's requests with the MaintainX platform.

Multiple connector instances per organization are supported, so you can connect Kepware servers across different facilities or sites. Each connector instance must have its own token, and tokens aren't shared between connector instances.

Kepware Agent​

The Kepware agent is the IoT Gateway REST Client agent that you configure in Kepware's IoT Gateway Plugin. It sends tag readings to MaintainX as HTTPS POST requests at a configurable interval. It's one of several agent types in the plugin, which also includes agents such as the MQTT Publisher. Other agents you've configured don't affect the Kepware integration.

The Kepware agent only initiates outbound connections to MaintainX, so no inbound firewall rules are required. Each Kepware agent sends to a single connector instance, authenticated with that connector instance's access token. For more information on the security model, see Kepware Integration Architecture.

Meter​

A meter records a measurement for an asset in MaintainX. You map each tag that the Kepware agent sends to a meter on an asset. Smart tag mapping suggests a meter name, unit, and asset for each tag, and you can edit them before you accept the suggestion. MaintainX then stores each tag update as a reading on that meter.

note

Some existing connector instances use the auto-create meters feature instead of smart tag mapping. For those connector instances, MaintainX creates a meter for each tag and gives the meter the same name as the tag. Smart tag mapping isn't available for them. For more information, contact your MaintainX representative.

Tag​

A tag is a reference to a specific data point on a Kepware device, such as a sensor reading or control parameter. The Kepware agent sends each tag's readings to MaintainX.

Learn More​