Exele Newsletter July 2020

In this issue

Introducing the DataGate Data Diode
TopView 6.33 and 6.34 Releases
TopView SCADA Connect: support for GE iFIX and InTouch Edge
About: Twilio for SMS alarm notification
About: Alarm Actions Logs

Exele Announces DataGate Diode

For enterprises that run critical infrastructure or other protected networks, securing the flow of operational data across secure network boundaries is an ever-present challenge. Traditional data diode solutions are notoriously expensive, and they often require a great deal of time and expertise to install and maintain.

That’s why we developed DataGate, a robust and affordable data diode solution. The DataGate Diode allows organizations to transfer data from one domain to another while maintaining perimeter security. Best of all, it has been designed and optimized for OSIsoft PI and OPC systems, making it easy to install, configure, and maintain.
Learn more about the DataGate Data Diode

TopView 6.33 and 6.34 Releases

Alarm and Notification Software forOPC/SCADA, OSIsoft PI, OPC A&E, SQL, MQTT, Canary Labs, and PerfMon

TopView 6.33 Highlights:

SCADA Connect now included for supported SCADA Systems
Twilio support for outgoing SMS/text notification
IMAP for incoming email (alarm acknowledge, information request)
Cellular modem redundancy
Web Configurator: modify TopView Engine configuration
Alarm Actions Logs: details of alarm and notification activity per alarm
OPC Private Security

iFIX and InTouch Edge Support

SCADA Connect is designed to simplify the integration and configuration of TopView with many popular SCADA/HMI packages. Initial TopView configuration can be completed by a single click that imports the alarm details from the SCADA/HMI.

SCADA Connect now supports GE iFIX and Aveva/Wonderware InTouch Edge. SCADA Connect is included at no cost for supported SCADA Systems.

Twilio for SMS/Text Alarm Notification

Existing TopView customers who implement SMS/Text notification have two options for SMS message delivery:

Send an Email: requires that each recipient’s cellular provider offers an Email-to-SMS gateway to accept an email (1112223333@mycellularcarrier.com) and send it to the cellular phone number (1112223333) as an SMS message
Use a cellular modem: requires purchasing a cellular modem and SMS plan with a cellular provider

While these are valid solutions, how do larger companies such as Lyft, Airbnb, and Dell provide automated SMS messages to their customers? They use Twilio, a hosted communication platform.

TopView now supports Twilio for delivery of SMS messages. For less a 1¢ per message you can send messages through a reliable, hosted, SMS delivery channel.

About: Alarm Actions Logs

Trace all actions related to a single alarm

When a TopView alarm occurs, various events related to the alarm can transpire including notification (Email/SMS/Voice callout), alarm acknowledge, and alarm return-to-normal. These events are logged in the TopView application log but since they can occur over time, it may be difficult to trace the actions related to a single alarm since other application log messages may exist during the same time period.

In TopView 6.33 we introduced the Alarm Actions Log. All actions related to a single alarm are now logged to a separate Alarm Actions log which provides a single view of an alarm’s actions. The Alarm Actions Logs are viewable from TopView Admin Tools, and in 6.34 we added the ability to view Alarm Actions from the interactive TopView Engine and the Remote Viewer.