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Communi­cation Types

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Communi­cation Types

Unified-E offers two types of communication between the operator device and the endpoint (e.g., a PLC): direct communication and gateway communication.
In direct communication, the operator device accesses the endpoint directly without any intermediary – no HMI server or web server is required. In gateway communication, all access to the endpoint is handled through an HMI server. This allows not only remote access via the internet, but also the sending of alarm notifications to smartphones.

Direct Communication – No Server Required

In direct communication, the operator device is on the same network as the controller. The data required for visualization is transmitted directly from the controller to the operator device using the appropriate communication drivers. No additional software, web server, or HMI server is required.
Since no online services are used, only a Direct License at a fixed price per operator device is needed.

Use Cases

  • Local machine operation: The classic setup – the operator device is located close to the machine or plant and shares the same network with the connected PLCs.
  • HMI app for Android & iPhone: Machine control takes place in a local network or via VPN. The smartphone communicates directly with one or more PLCs.
Direct Communication
Only the Unified-E App Designer and Unified-E Client are required for direct communication

Setting Up Operation

Only two steps are required to deploy the HMI visualization to the operator device:

  1. Create the operation app (HMI visualization) in the Unified‑E App Designer. Click "Publish" to generate an app package file.
  2. On the operator device, open the Unified‑E Client and register the app package file once – the visualization is ready to run.

Gateway Communication – With HMI Server

In gateway communication, the Unified‑E App Manager acts as the HMI server and plays a central role in handling read/write access between operator devices and endpoints (e.g., PLCs). It runs in the background as a Windows service and receives requests from the local network or via the internet.
The Unified-E App Manager functions as a gateway, encrypting communication with the operator devices and forwarding read/write operations to the appropriate endpoints. It also handles centralized data management – such as alarm messages, logs, and recipe data.

Use Cases

  • Plant operation – when multiple operator stations need to access the system simultaneously. Includes centralized storage for alarm logs and recipe data.
  • Remote monitoring via smartphone – enables monitoring and control of the system over the internet. Alarm messages are sent directly to smartphones as push notifications.
  • Machine operation – when continuous CSV or alarm logging is required, even if the HMI device is switched off.
Gateway Communication
In gateway communication, the operator device connects to the PLC or endpoint via an HMI server

The following types of gateway communication are possible between the gateway and the operator device:

Internet Firewall-Friendly

The smartphone communicates with the gateway indirectly using a relay messaging service via the Internet. Advantage: The gateway does not have to accept incoming HTTPS connection requests, so additional configurations on the router or firewall are not necessary.

Internet Direct

The smartphone communicates directly with the gateway, which is connected to both the Internet and the local (production) network. This type of communication requires setting up port forwarding on the router or firewall.

Local Network (Offline)

In this type of communication, it is assumed that the gateway PC is not connected to the Internet. Therefore, there are some limitations: Local push notifications are only supported on Android devices, and licensing is done with an offline license key.

Setting Up Operation

To deploy the HMI visualization on the operator device using gateway communication via the Unified-E App Manager, only three steps are required:

  1. Create the operation app (HMI visualization) in the Unified‑E App Designer. Click "Publish" to generate an app package file.
  2. Install the app package in the Unified‑E App Manager.
  3. The operator device registers once via the Unified‑E Client with the App Manager for the selected operation app – the visualization is ready to use.

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