After 15 years of active service, the Danish Navy needed to re-fit and modernize technology aboard the Absalon-class support ship. Logimatic and ThinManager make it happen.
Category: Security
Thin client terminals are more secure than PCs because they have no hard drives or CD/DVD drives that allow users to place data onto their systems. ThinManager-ready thin clients have their USB ports disabled by default which completely locks down our thin clients from users loading viruses, games or other malicious content.
ep16 The Plant » ThinManager 11.2, Version 12 and BEYOND with Nick Putman and Doug Coulter
Nick Putman and Doug Coulter from Rockwell Automation join Bryan to talk ThinManager.
New Bluetooth Proximity Beacon
Please note that ACP is no longer able to order and or stock the GELO.01 Bluetooth beacons.
Effective immediately, we will inventory and endorse a Bluetooth proximity beacon from a company called Radius Networks. Their ‘RadBeacon X4’ is a rugged, weatherproof (NEMA 4X), and temperature resistant beacon powered by four AA batteries (not included). Battery life has been extended to over 5 years. Both the transmit and interval levels are adjustable.
The RadBeacon X4 is a fully stand-alone Bluetooth Smart™ proximity beacon that supports iBeacon™, AltBeacon™, and Eddystone™ technology. The RadBeacon X4 is a rugged, weatherproof, and temperature-resistant proximity beacon powered by four AA batteries. It can be installed in any location, regardless of available power and provides proximity advertisements for mobile applications that are compatible with iBeacon, AltBeacon, and Eddystone standards, including xthe Physical Web™.
TECH|TIP » ThinManager Platform 9
April 25, 2016 marks the release of ThinManager Platform 9.
ThinManager is a software solution for automation networks that enable secure, centralized confi guration and deployment of applications and content to every PC, thin client, mobile device and user. ThinManager® increases safety and security through powerful visualization and authentication features allowing you to reduce your maintenance and downtime by simplifying the management of all devices and users.
You can also go mobile with ThinManager’s built-in mobility solution, Relevance®—the only location-based mobile management platform that allows applications and content to be securely delivered to specifi c locations within your facility and nowhere else.
Increase your productivity, visualization, mobility and security from one easy-to-use, centralized and scalable management platform.
New in ThinManager Platform 9
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Support for 4k monitors
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Virtual Screens
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Session scaling
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SMS messaging
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Support for new biometric hardware
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Support for VNC connections
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Authenticated Email
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Firewall compatible TFTP
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And much more!
It’s in to be thin
ThinManager was mentioned in a recent LinkedIn Post from InSource Solutions about how thin client technology is more manageable, scalable and mobile.
Below are excerpts written by Jason Paquette, Product Marketing Manager at InSource Solutions, from his post regarding thin client management and mobility with an HMI.
New Security Document Outlines the Details of ThinManager® Security
By the very nature of design, thin client networks offer superior security to PC-based networks, hands down. No local storage and no access to removable drives make ThinManager thin clients “data safe” work terminals. If stolen or damaged, these terminals will not lose any data. The same applies to mobile devices using ThinManager’s Relevance® mobility solution.
Apart from the hardware design, there are several other factors that determine how secure your thin client installation will remain. Network port settings, authentication methods and encryption all play a part in your security strategy. ACP has just released an updated security white paper that discusses these other factors in order to give our end users a well-rounded knowledge of best practices and settings that will ensure your thin client network stays secure.
DOWNLOAD NOW » “Security and ThinManager with Relevance”.
Using ThinManager – Location Resolver Technology
ThinManager’s zero client computing has always been the most secure way to deliver content to your plant floor terminals. The industry leading security of ThinManager now offers the only location-based mobile platform that allows you to create & configure secure “walls” around your data and applications using location resolvers. You gain complete control of the floor through their configuration. We call this location-based technology Relevance.
Location resolvers in Relevance are used to define locations throughout your plant. Examples of defined locations can be as broad as the entire network, a tethered thin client terminal, or a defined “geo-fenced” area. Relevance uses technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, NFC and QR Codes to let administrators define an unlimited number of locations.
With your locations defined, you can now deliver applications and content based on location to any number of modern mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones.
- Transfer – An authenticated user on a mobile device can transfer the content from a tethered terminal to their mobile device. When finished they can return it or have it return if the user leaves the “geo-fenced” location defined by the ThinManager Administrator.
- Clone – An authenticated user with high level or “Supervisor” access can receive content on their tablet cloned from each line as they pass between defined locations allowing them to easily monitor statuses and reports as they supervise.
Using ThinManager – Safety and Security
Data Security – not just a buzzword. Today we know all too well that our data is important and keeping it secure and safe is often even more important.
This video focuses on the security and data safety in ThinManager. ThinManager gives you complete control in your production environment over who sees what, where and when. Secure data management has always been in the forefront when creating ThinManager. Our location-based resolvers create “Geo-Fences” for total security when integrating mobility in to your production environment.
The Factory of the future runs on ThinManager. Start a free trial of ThinManager today.
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User Authentication with ThinManager
With so much sensitive data and information out there in your network applications and tech these days, security and proof of identity are of the utmost importance. When people think security with technology they think first about user authentication. Most likely they think usernames and passwords, maybe pass-codes as on most mobile devices.
In a modern factory or production environment using ThinManager, there are several options at your disposal to make user authentication fast and amazingly safe and secure. ThinManager syncs with your existing Windows network Active Directory to provide an easy entry to your users and user authentication.
=&0=& – The tried and true method to proof of identity. ThinManager allows for keyboard incorporation giving users the ability to provide their network credentials and access the information you determine, at a terminal in which you have granted them the permission.
=&1=& – Faster than the traditional username and password, badge readers allow for the swipe or tap of a card badge, or insert of a smart card, to prove the identity of that user. Handy for touchscreen terminals where a keyboard might not be optimal. Card readers can also be used in part with a password for even more security. ThinManager now supports NLA (Network Level Authentication) policies depending on the configuration and desired method of use.
=&2=& – The newest module to ThinManger, finger print scanners add a unique level of security that can not be lost or forgotten by the user. Truly unique to each user, a fingerprint scanner allows quick proof of identity and is easily incorporated with ThinManager version 8 and higher.
Each method has pros and cons to their implementation and use, but ThinManager allows for each one in an effort to be flexible and incorporate with your business practices and company policies.
We all know that data security starts with user authentication. ThinManager remains the front runner in supporting secure methods for your users to show proof of identity.
Increase Visualization with IP Cameras
When you think about IP Cameras in your work environment, what comes to mind? You might think of monitoring safety and security of the facility. That is a completely valid thought. For many facilities that is likely the main reason that cameras were put in to place.
IP Camera use, especially in the last 5 years, has given way to much more. A new focus in a modern production environment is “increased visualization”. Increasing visualization can spawn from anything that makes you more productive by way of seeing more information. The use of cameras allows you to have an in-depth feel for an environment, not just a view of the screen at the terminal.
Strategic placement of cameras in the environment can give you a view of the true environmental condition of that area. It will allow you to see the terminal and line, not just watch what is happening on screen.
Seeing what is happening in the true environment at a given moment can add great value. Is the operator at their station? Is there a blockage in the production line? These can be easily answered if you have incorporated IP Cameras in the environment. ThinManager makes this a piece of cake.
Cameras can be connected to your network, plugged straight in to your terminal thin client or set up on a stand alone network. The best set up will depend on a combination of the hardware available to you and the bandwidth at your disposal.
Once a camera is found on your network, it can be added as an overlay or stand alone display client to any terminal set up in ThinManager. Virtual visibility with IP Cameras in your production environment is a low cost but high reward way to increase visualization, safety and productivity.
Want to hear more about ThinManager and exactly what ThinManager is, check out What is ThinManager.
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