AT&T Connection Kit, Part 3 of 4: Connecting to the Axeda Platform

Now, Let's Learn How the Platform Interacts with Assets to Communicate Data

An Asset could be almost any wired or wireless device capable of communicating with the Axeda Platform. An Agent is a program that communicates with the Platform, providing information about the asset. Typically an agent runs directly on the device as an embedded software program or on an external processor with local data access to the device or sensors. We have created a sample agent that will run on your computer that interacts with you, your AT&T Connection Kit, and your PC and then communicates with the Platform.

Before we move forward, let's review some important terminology and concepts:

• Assets: In the Sample Application you have one asset (ATTDevAsset) that has been pre-populated with monitoring data, an alarm and a location.
• Data Items: Data Items are used to provide information such as location, temperature, velocity - just about anything - about your asset. In the sample, ATTDevAsset has a generically named data item, Value1. You will see historical values and a current value of 23. The app will also display other data items, such as information about the Ericsson module, your Jasper Account, and your PC.
• Locations: Locations are X,Y coordinates on a map and are stored in the same way as Data Items.
• Alarms: Alarms indicate exception conditions and can be used to provide indicators of a required action. Your current default asset (ATTDevAsset) has no alarms at this time. We are going to change that.

Step-1: Set Up Your AT&T Connection Kit

Please use the documentation that is provided with your kit to set it up and make sure it is able to connect to cellular and the internet properly.

Step-2: Download and Run the EricssonAgent  (Please Register to enable the Platform Access link)

1. Extract the contents of EricssonAgent.zip into a directory. EricssonAgent.zip contains EricssonAgent.exe and WMCoreApi-c.dll. WMCoreApi-c.dll is the Ericsson provided driver that allows API access to the module. It must be in the same folder as EricssonAgent.exe for this demo to work.
2. If you are running Windows 7 you now need to change the version of WMCore that you are running.
   
   1. Go to your Services (Click the Windows button, Type "Run" and select "Run". Enter services.msc)
   2. Go to the service named "Mobile Broadband Service" and click "stop"
   3. Run Command Line as administrator
   4. Navigate to your instillation directory of the Ericsson SDK
   5. Go to the WMCore folder and run WMCore.exe

Note: This is because the Mobile Broadband Service requires Windows 7 API calls to connect the device to the cellular network, while WMCore.exe can connect using the Ericsson API.

• Run EricssonAgent.exe. The first time that you run the EricssonAgent you will be asked to enter your "Customer Key". Your Customer Key is what uniquely identifies your asset's communication to the Platform from other users' asset communication. You will find your Customer Key at the top right of the sample application.

Note: If you ever need to modify the stored Customer Key simply modify/delete the EricssonAgentKey.dat file that will be created.

Step-3: Sending Asset Data

We are now going to start sending up data to the Axeda Platform. As a matter of fact, some data has already been sent up to the Platform. By simply running the EricssonAgent and entering your Customer Key, you have sent up the ICCID (number on the SIM card) and IMSI of your device. To view it, click the "Refresh" button at the top of the sample application then click on the "Jasper Info" tab to view them.

Before we begin sending up more data, let's go over the specifics of our EricssonAgent.
Because we are communicating wirelessly, it uses the Axeda Wireless Protocol (AWP) to communicate to the Platform. The AWP protocol is designed to be lightweight and prioritize communication to minimize bandwidth usage. As you can see in the picture above, there is some data we will simulate and some data that the EricssonAgent will get for us.

1. Set Value [This is the value of the data for the chart]
2. Set Alarm [This will allow you to create an alarm and set the severity]
3. Get GPS [If available, this will get your GPS coordinates]
4. Simulate GPS [Use this if using a non-GPS module or if you are indoors]
5. Get System Resources [This will get some system resources and information about your computer]
6. Get Connection Statistics [This will get the upload, download, time, cell tower, and provider of the current connection]
7. Send the Set Data [This sends all of the data that has been gathered. None of the set data will be sent until this is called
8. Exit

Below is a sample message.

Feel free to send all the data that you want. To be able to get Upload and Download data from Get Connection Statistics (#6) make sure that the Wireless Manager is not running (also make sure it is not executing in the tray either) as it will get the Upload and Download data and will prevent the EricssonAgent from gathering them. Now that you have entered some data and also had the EricssonAgent gather some data, Send the Set Data(#7) to the Platform. You can set multiple values (#1) and locations (#7) and they will all be sent to the Platform.

Now let's return to the Get Started Sample Application to see the results.

• Click the Refresh button located in the application itself (don't refresh the browser itself or you will have to log back in).

Notice how the map, graph, alarm, and module info updated on the Sample Application below.

The screen images below show you detailed data information specific to the System (Sys) Resources, Account and Module information.

Step-4: Sending Data to the Asset

To communicate with the Jasper API we need your credentials.

• Select "Jasper Info" in the tabs pane.
• Enter your Jasper Username, Password, and API License Key.
• Click the "Submit" button.

Notice how the "Send a Message" box is no longer grayed out. Also, notice how the Acct Info tab is now populated. If it is still grayed make sure your ICCID and Jasper Username, Password and License Key are correct.
We are now going to send a message to the EricssonAgent.

• Make sure your EricssonAgent is running.
• In the Send a Message box enter "Hello Ericsson Agent" and click Send.
• Look at the EricssonAgent. In less than 20 seconds the message should appear.

Related: Understanding Axeda's "ShoulderTap" Capability

First, some background information. Wireless assets may not always have network connection. Because of this, they always initiate communication with the Platform. If the Platform has any data waiting for the asset it will all be sent down once the asset initiates communication. This method of the asset initiating communication is called a "Heartbeat". A Heartbeat is essentially an agent telling the Axeda Platform "Hey, I'm still around. Do you have any data for me?"

If the asset has to initiate communication over the wireless broadband network it will never know when the Platform has data waiting for it unless it polls. Bandwidth is expensive. If we are polling the Platform for data regularly then costs will build up quickly. That is why Axeda invented a method of communication called "ShoulderTap". With ShoulderTap the Axeda Platform is able to initiate communication with an asset without knowing if the asset is currently connected to a wireless network or not. How does the Axeda Platform do this? It sends an SMS to the asset. When the asset gets the SMS, it then sends its "Heartbeat" to the Platform. Communication is then initiated and the data can be sent to the asset.

Note: The SMS itself contains no valuable data. Its content is literally just a "ShoulderTap". It is the fact that the agent received the SMS itself that matters.  In our case, the SMS message is sent through the Jasper Wireless WebServices as illustrated in the figure below.

Before moving on, feel free to experiment with additional values and location data. In the next step, you will learn how to create an Alarm using Expression Rules triggered by asset data.

Next, let's see how to process asset data to automate condition monitoring...