Softing´s dataFEED edgeConnector is a containerized PLC and CNC connectivity module adding OPC UA Server and MQTT (Pub/Sub) functionality.
It is possible to connect up to 20 PLCs and/or CNCs including from Siemens, Allen-Bradley, Modbus TCP, FANUC CNC, and Sinumerik 840D controllers.
dataFEED edgeConnector can be used on any Docker host that can execute Linux Docker containers based on an x86_64, ARM64, and ARMV7 architecture.
📝 Note: Fanuc CNC controller only works on x86_64 and ARMV7 platforms.
The default settings are described at the Default Settings page.
In order to run dataFEED edgeConnector a working Docker environment is required. For Docker installation instructions please refer to the official Docker installation documentation
The Docker images are provided through a public registry. To get the latest Docker image you need to pull the image from https://hub.docker.com/r/softingindustrial/edgeconnector:
docker image pull softingindustrial/edgeconnector:latest
After the Docker image has been pulled, a Docker container can be started. The webserver and OPC UA Server of the module have to be exposed on the host machine if dataFEED edgeConnector shall be accessed from outside the dockerized environment.
To start dataFEED edgeConnector with the default ports mapped 1:1 to the host machine:
docker container run -d -p 443:443 -p 4897:4897 --name edgeConnector softingindustrial/edgeconnector
The -p switch allows to map a complete port range start-end:start-end,
the -d switch allows to daemonize the container and the --name switch
allows to name the container.
The above example can be adapted to match the needs of your environment. For example, if your host already runs a webserver and the HTTPS port is blocked, the command can be adjusted to expose the HTTPS port of dataFEED edgeConnector on a different port:
docker container run -d -p 1443:443 -p 4897:4897 --name edgeConnector softingindustrial/edgeconnector
By default dataFEED edgeConnector is configured to allow only HTTPS access to its web-based configuration interface. If in certain situations, and after a thorough security assessment and acknowledging all security risks, it is decided that HTTP communication is necessary, then this can be achieved by defining the environment variable ENABLE_HTTP_CONFIG.
docker container run -d -p 443:443 -p 8099:8099 -p 4897:4897 --name edgeConnector -e ENABLE_HTTP_CONFIG="ON" softingindustrial/edgeconnector
The -p switch allows to map a complete port range start-end:start-end,
the -d switch allows to daemonize the container and the --name switch
allows to name the container:
docker container run -d -p 1443:443 -p 4800-4900:4800-4900 --name edgeConnector softingindustrial/edgeconnector
The -e or --env switch allows to set environment variables in the container.
For setting a timezone the variable TZ must be passed with a valid TZ database name.
docker container run -d -p 1443:443 -p 4800-4900:4800-4900 --name edgeConnector -e TZ=Europe/Berlin softingindustrial/edgeconnector
For further information about supported command line options please refer to the Run section of the official Docker command line documentation.
The module container can be stopped by the following command:
docker container stop edgeConnector
Please refer to the Stop section of the official Docker command line documentation for more details.
If the module container was stopped and not removed, it can be started again from its last state:
docker container start edgeConnector
Please refer to the Start section of the official Docker command line documentation for more details.
The module container can be removed at any time:
docker container rm -f edgeConnector
After removing the container its last state is lost. Please refer to the Remove section of the official Docker command line documentation for more details.
Optionally a Docker volume can be created to allow the configuration to be stored permanently. In this scenario, before starting the edgeConnector, these volumes should be created with the following commands:
docker volume create edge-connector-config
docker volume create edge-connector-mqtt
In this case the container should be started like this, using the volume:
docker container run -d -v edge-connector-config:/config -v edge-connector-mqtt:/mqtt -p 1443:443 -p 4897:4897 --name edgeConnector softingindustrial/edgeconnector
If the environment where you plan to run your container has an option to create a stack/compose file, an example can be found here for this purpose.
The configuration part, which is common for all kinds of dataFEED edgeConnector modules is described at the Configuration page.
The OPC UA Server functionality and configuration is described at the OPC UA Configuration page.
dataFEED edgeConnector’s scope of delivery includes a time-limited
and functionaly unlimited demo mode.
The demo mode is started immediately once the module has been started without a
valid license.
It will expire after 72 hours and dataFEED edgeConnector stops
working.
To remove the time limitation of the demo mode dataFEED edgeConnector
must be licensed.
dataFEED edgeConnector uses a floating license mechanism.
A working floating license server is required to have dataFEED edgeConnector
Siemens successfully licensed.
Please see the License README page for further details.
The license activation for dataFEED edgeConnector is described at the README page of the Softing License Server.
Please see the section License Server Connection Configuration of the License README file for further details.
For the license information of the open source components used by dataFEED edgeConnector, please see the Open Source page.