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Overview of Onboarding MindConnect IoT2050

This chapter describes the initial configuration of an asset and MindConnect IoT2050 in order to onboard MindConnect IoT2050 to Insights Hub. Onboarding is the process of attaching a MindConnect Element to Insights Hub. And also, it describes the process of connecting industrial data sources to Insights Hub using MindConnect IoT2050.

To establish the initial connection between MindConnect IoT2050 and Insights Hub (onboarding), you have to configure the essential asset and MindConnect IoT2050 data. For onboarding the full configuration is not required, although you can accomplish all steps using Asset Manager.

The respective data to be configured for onboarding is described in the following procedure.

Prerequisites

  • MindConnect Element is connected to the Internet and powered on.
  • The connection cable for the Internet is correctly plugged into the Ethernet port for the Internet (Insights Hub).
  • MindConnect Element is connected to asset or plant network.
  • You have received the link to the Insights Hub UI with credentials (user and password data).
  • A customer account is created.
  • A standard USB device with a single partition in FAT or FAT32 is formatted for MindConnect IoT2050 only.
  • You have the role "mdsp:core:TenantAdmin". The user roles are set in Settings.

Prepare MindConnect Element

To prepare your MindConnect Element for V3, you have to update the firmware for boxes that were already connected to V2 (SAP). For devices connecting to Insights Hub region China 1, the MindConnect IoT2050 firmware should be V3.3.0.4 or higher.
You can find more information in chapter Manual firmware update of MindConnect Element

Onboard MindConnect IoT2050's device from web interface

To onboard the MindConnect IoT2050, the current IP address of the device is required. If the current IP address is unknown, you can retrieve it by accessing the log and system files using the USB stick command.

The log and system files copied to the USB stick as .tar.gz archives will include a settings file that contains the current network configuration. Typically, the IP address of eth0 should be used to access the local MindConnect IoT2050 UI in a web browser.

Excerpt from settings file:

ifconfig:

    eth0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1450
            inet 192.168.0.191  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.0.255
            inet6 fe80::5e4d:84ae:7400:a21  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
            ether 8c:00:11:16:8a:06  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
            RX packets 1111  bytes 171742 (167.7 KiB)
            RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
            TX packets 1498  bytes 331160 (323.3 KiB)
            TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

In this sample, MindConnect IoT2050's web server URL is http://192.168.0.191/.

Connecting to a Static IP Address on the Production Network

Starting from MindConnect IoT2050 version V03.07.01.02 b001, the device is configured to use a static predefined IP address (192.168.200.1) on the production network. This provides an alternative method for accessing the device in cases where retrieving log and system files via USB stick is not possible.

Prerequisites

  • The MindConnect IoT2050 device is updated to the latest version (V03.07.01.02 b001).
  • The system is offboarded or factory reset after applying this version via an online or USB firmware update.

To access the MindConnect IoT2050 UI Using the Static IP Address on the Production Network, follow these steps:

1.Configure the PC's Network Interface:

  • Set the PC's network interface to a static IP address (for example: 192.168.200.10).
  • Use the subnet mask 255.255.255.0.
  • Do not set a gateway, as a peer-to-peer connection will be used.

2.Connect the Network Interface:

  • Connect the PC's network interface to the MindConnect IoT2050's production network interface (X1-P1) using a cross-over network cable.
  • Wait until the LEDs on the X1-P1 interface are illuminated.

3.Access the MindConnect IoT2050 Web UI.

  • Open a web browser on the PC.
  • Enter http://192.168.200.1 in the address bar to access the MindConnect IoT2050's web server UI.

Info

  • During the onboarding process, the network configuration of the MindConnect IoT2050 will be overwritten with the asset's network settings. As a result, the connection may be lost and the MindConnect UI will need to be accessed again using the newly configured IP address. In some cases, the PC may need to be connected to the factory LAN to reach this new IP address.
  • To restore the default IP address on the production network interface of the MindConnect IoT2050, you will need to perform a factory reset using a USB command or offboard the system.

Onboard MindConnect IoT2050 to Insights Hub plugin

In order to onboard MindConnect IoT2050 to Insights hub plugin, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to Insights Hub
  2. Creating an asset for MindConnect IoT2050
  3. Enable connection to MindConnect IoT2050
  4. Configuring network settings.
  5. Transferring configuration to Mindconnect IoT2050
Last update: September 7, 2024