See what people are up to with Opto 22’s new edge I/O module.

groov RIO has been available for a few months, and people are already surprising us with how they’re putting it to work. Here are a few of the amazing examples we’ve seen from our early adopters.

Topics: Case studies, system integrator, groov RIO

Building industrial MQTT networks at scale with Opto 22 groov devices.

If you've followed this series since the beginning, you should have a good idea of how to set up your groov EPIC or groov RIO for MQTT communication. You also understand the importance of Sparkplug B in building MQTT systems and designing industrial-strength IoT networks.

Topics: MQTT, groov EPIC, Sparkplug, Ignition, MQTT implementation, groov RIO

Our MQTT series continues with a deep dive into groov EPIC’s (and now groov RIO’s) features for high-reliability MQTT networks.

At its heart, MQTT was designed for unreliable networks. Back in the ’90s, ConocoPhillips (now Phillips 66) was looking for a way to improve telemetry reporting over its low-bandwidth dial-up and costly VSAT (small satellite dish) SCADA network. IBM partnered with system integrator Arcom Control Systems (now Cirrus Link Solutions) to develop a minimalist communication protocol that could gracefully handle intermittent network outages and high latency among many distributed devices over TCP/IP. 

Topics: Node-RED, MQTT, Ignition Edge, groov EPIC, groov Manage, Sparkplug, MQTT implementation, groov RIO

With the latest firmware update, groov EPIC gets I/O for the IIoT and more

Out this week, groov EPIC firmware version 2.0 is a milestone for the platform, and there are more than a few reasons to consider updating. Here’s an overview of what’s included.

Topics: Updates, PAC Control, IIoT, Node-RED, MQTT, Codesys, groov EPIC, groov RIO

In part 2 of our series, we look at how to set up groov Manage and Ignition Edge for publishing with Sparkplug B payloads.

MQTT is the darling of enterprise IoT because of its efficiency, simplicity, and flexibility, which makes it ideal for use in applications that communicate with resource-constrained edge-of-network devices. After being nurtured for years within IBM, and incorporated into their smart energy, health, and utilities solutions, MQTT has become the chosen messaging protocol across all the major cloud IoT platforms as well as highly scalable applications, like Facebook Messenger.

Topics: Node-RED, MQTT, Ignition Edge, groov EPIC, groov Manage, Sparkplug, MQTT implementation

Wondering how to implement MQTT with groov EPIC? Follow along with this series, starting with basic string publishing.

Ever since ‘00, when the next year rolls around I think, “Welcome to the future!” Every year it feels much truer, and how could 2020 be any less? I’m excited about what we have planned for you this year. Among other things, we’re upping our commitment to MQTT in a big way. Stay tuned for announcements on that in the coming months.

For the moment, though, I want to address the current feature set groov EPIC offers for MQTT, the lightweight pub-sub communication protocol for IoT. With so many ways to do it—via groov Manage, Node-RED, or Ignition Edge—you may be wondering which, if any, is right for your application. In this series, I’m going to look at different scenarios where you might want to use MQTT and show you how to get started.

Topics: Node-RED, MQTT, EPIC, groov EPIC, groov Manage, MQTT implementation

Opto 22 speaks up for open-source software.

For this month’s IoT feature in Design World magazine, Opto 22 had the chance to weigh in on the value that open-source software brings to industrial automation.

Some key points for the industry:

• Open source is everywhere in the enterprise and consumer sectors, powering innovation in products, services, and projects we all know.
• Open source changes the economic model for industry, freeing engineers and end users from the trap of vendor
  lock-in.
• Open source accelerates innovation and offers key technologies that empower IIoT growth.

Topics: Node-RED, groov EPIC, Linux, open source software

Curious to get your hands on a groov EPIC learning center (LC)? So was I. Lucky me, this was dropped off at my cubicle recently. Let’s see what’s inside!

Topics: Training, IIoT, groov EPIC, groov EPIC Learning Center

One of the new features in recent versions of the groov EPIC firmware (R1.4.0+) that hasn’t gotten much attention yet is the built-in virtual private network (VPN) client. I’m excited about it because it’s an incredibly rare feature in PLCs and PACs and makes it much easier to create a secure architecture for managing remote equipment.

Why? Because a VPN essentially creates a secure tunnel through the internet—using encryption and user authentication—that can connect remote EPICs to your PC or trusted company network. From a security and connectivity standpoint, it’s like the EPIC is on your desk or in your facility, protected in all the ways you protect your company network. Anything you can do with a locally networked device, you can do with a remote system using VPN.

Topics: Security, groov EPIC, OpenVPN