iPush® Embedded Overview

Conventionally, the industrial I/O devices are built over a relatively closed environment (such as Modbus/RS232/422/485). However, with the prevalence of TCP/IP network technologies (such as ADSL/GPRS), the automation industry has come to a stage of integration with the technologies.

To begin with, a common platform is needed to manage the I/O devices more easily. Secondly, the fact that remote automation still cannot fulfill the real-time requirement, a more efficient message-delivering mechanism is thus required. A solution to achieve the goal of remote automation as real-time as local connection is now available.

iPush® Embedded introduces a messaging platform over TCP/IP, which can locally collect and transmit data to remote applications in real time. As a result, it greatly accelerates the integration of industrial automation and network technologies.

iPush® Embedded is an industrial edition of ICE iPush® Communication Server (iPush® Server), which is the first leading platform of MOM (Message-oriented Middleware) developed by ICE Technology Corp. iPush® Embedded is featured with the properties described below:

• Active Push
  iPush® Embedded adopts the message-driven mechanism. That is, when receiving a message from the I/O modules, iPush® Embedded will automatically push the data to subscribers, with no pulling efforts by request.
• Bi-directional Real-Time Communication
  iPush® Embedded can immediately send a message to the subscribers. The subscribers that receive messages are also able to send control commands to the I/O modules (within milliseconds).
• Massive Messaging
  iPush® Embedded is able to send a great amount of data (including meters, status and alerts) that are received from the I/O modules.
• Wide Range Accessibility
  iPush® Embedded can be accessed easily by a variety of remote devices, such as PC, Pocket PC and mobile phone.
• Massive Connection
  iPush® Server can be installed to manage the massive connection of WinCon-8000s group.
• The technical features are listed further:
• Massive Messaging
• Channel/Subject Addressing
• HTTPS Tunneling
• Large Size Message Transmission
• Remote Administration
• User Authentication and Authorization
• Logging System
• SDK Support - Windows DLL, ActiveX Control,
• Java Class, Linux C Library, and ActiveX
• Control for Windows CE.NET

iPush® Embedded integrates WinCon-8000 SDK to control I-8000, I-87K and I-7000 I/O modules easily. The data collected from the I/O modules is actively pushed to the subscribers or remote applications for post processing.

Regarding the remote application, developers can make use of the supported SDK by iPush® Embedded, including Windows DLL, ActiveX Control and Java Class, to build the applications of bi-directional monitoring and control.

In the case of many WinCon-8000s working as a group, iPush® Server may be needed for more efficient management. This situation can be best illustrated by the application of Distributed Collection & Centralized Control. For example, WinCon-8000 with iPush® Embedded can be installed at an unmanned remote station to collect relevant data including meters, status and alarms. On receiving the data, iPush® Embedded will immediately send it to the remote center with iPush® Server for advanced real-time monitoring and control.

iPushR Embedded aims to increase the benefits in different aspects as follow.

• For program developers, iPush Embedded provides an easier way of developing remote/real-time applications that can be deployed on a variety of devices such as PC, Pocket PC and mobile phone.
• For system integrators, iPushR Embedded provides a more efficient way of managing a group of WinCon-8000s by means of remote/real-time applications based on Publish/Subscribe messaging technologies.
• For enterprise customers, iPush Embedded helps realize the application of remote/real-time monitoring and control by aggregating and consolidating the data. iPush Embedded also serves as an enterprise message hub that transparently transfers the I/O data from control layer, via plant layer, to enterprise information system.

WinCon-8000 with iPush Embedded (shown as Figure-1 above) will bring about real-time automation regardless the distance, and serve as the best infrastructure of the automation industry of the new era.

• Remote Equipment Probing and Monitoring
• Process Variables Monitoring and Self-adjustment
• Interactive Laboratory over Network