OpenNet Configuration Software

OpenNet Instruments' networked data acquisition and control products are designed especially for Ethernet communication and come with full networking support including TCP/IP and UDP.

No software programming is necessary to either configure or use the devices, although the communication API (an XML Schema) is available for developers and programmers who wish to develop custom client applications.

The OpenNet Configuration Software is a multi-platform (currently Windows and Linux) application used for communicating channel configuration parameters and other information to the devices as described below.

The extensive networking capabilities remove the need for a dedicated PC to act as a master controller or mail server. Hence our devices are inherently less expensive and more robust than controller systems that depend on PCs.

Operational independence from a PC necessarily implies true OS independence, so that our products can successfully coexist on a network serving computers running Windows, Linux, or any other OS.

Controller Configuration
The device needs to be configured before use. The following steps outline the process to configure our products.

Configure the I/O
Before acquiring data, the user configures the digital and analog channels with the OpenNet Configuration Software and specifies the nature of the input signals. Various voltage, current, temperature and strain gauge modes are currently supported as described in the hardware specification for a specific product.

The control capabilities currently include full support for the configurable digital output channels, and analog outputs will be supported in the near future. The OpenNet Configuration Software easily configures the output logic through a drag and drop, connect-the-blocks dialog familiar in many similar applications.

Design a Web Page
HTTP/CGI web server capabilities mean that our products can serve HTML web pages with JavaScript (ECMAScript) and Java applet support. These technologies are leveraged by the OpenNet Configuration Software to enable users to develop fully customizable, dynamic web pages with no more effort than is required by a basic word-processing program. Background images, analog data boxes, customizable high and low digital state icons, alarm reset buttons and historical data charts all can be inserted where the user chooses on the HTML page, interspersed by text with customizable fonts and colors.

Setup Email Alarms
The email server capabilities allow our products to send triggered messages to designated users at their PC's, their PDAs or their email enabled cell phone. The user formats these messages with the OpenNet Configuration Software for transmission under appropriate user-definable alarm conditions to one or more recipients.

Setup Local Display (LCD)
The optional 2x20 character LCD display is configured in the OpenNet Configuration Software to output a custom formatted combination of text and data. The OpenNet Configuration Software includes a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) preview mode to catch user-formatting errors before the configuration parameters are downloaded to the device.

Configure the Network (IP Settings)
The OpenNet Configuration Software also includes support to set IP addresses, static or dynamic (DHCP) addressing, set device names, or query for any OpenNet devices on a network. Password protection is included for device configuration.

Controller Operation
During operation the controller carries out the process defined by the configuration profile. A user or external system can interact with the controller via the web (browser) interface or directly via XML. This interaction will be primarily to receive acquired data and to monitor an ongoing process.

Interaction via Browser
Any standard Internet browser may be used to view data defined for web output. Security is enabled on the controller and also by network access. The browser must be able to process XML and Java Script; which is not an issue with the current versions of all browsers support XML and Java Script.

Interaction with other Software Applications and Systems
Because the controller serves-up pure XML, it is possible for a variety of remote systems to interact with our products directly. Any XML enabled database system capable of triggering events can automatically get data from the controller. Similarly, applications that utilize native XML parsers can request data from the controller. This interaction is far more powerful than the interaction available from the email and web servers.  This interaction is a fundamental way to conduct business using innovative workflow management applications, automating essential day-to-day operations monitored and measured by sensors.

The simplest way to import XML data is to use a spreadsheet that understands XML. If you are using Excel 2002 (XP), simply open the appropriate XML file at the IP address. Again using the default static IP address.

http://192.168.0.200/getData.cgi will display the current or "live" data set and
http://192.168.0.200/getLoggedData.cgi will display the entire logged data.

If you are using Excel (2000 or 2002/XP), we have created a spreadsheet template to import XML files from a OpenNet-1000: Data Acquisition Unit, in this case our online demonstration unit. Please feel free to open or download the following file: OpenNetXMLtoExcel (xls).

If you would like the sources to this macro, please contact us by email at Sales@OpenNetInstruments.com. Provide your name, company name, city and state along with an email address where you would like the sources sent.