IPA, Data Mapper and new UI

IPA, Data Mapper and new UI

IPA, Data Mapper and new UI

October 20, 2021

IPA (Intelligent Process Automation)

Crosser Cloud is now available in two editions: IIoT and IPA. The IPA edition focuses on integration between enterprise systems. We have verified over 700 systems that you can connect to using Crosser (see the new Connectors page). We are also introducing new UI tools to simplify these types of integrations, such as the Data Mapper (see below).

Each user can get access to either or both of these, depending on the license of your organisation. All existing users will get access to the IIoT edition (contact Crosser sales to get access to the IPA edition). The editions a user has access to controls which features that are available. For example, certain sections of the UI may not be visible and some modules not present. For more information about the differences between the editions see here.

New UI

In this release we are introducing a new UI. You will notice a new look and feel but there are also significant changes behind the scenes. The new UI will be gradually introduced, so for some time you will see a mix of the old and the new UI.

Data Mapper

Data transformations are among the most common operations performed in flows, clearly seen by the fact that the Property Mapper module is the most used module by far. To take data transformations to the next level we are now introducing the Data Mapper module. This module can do the same type of transformations as the Property Mapper but with a visual configuration tool. It leverages the new UI by providing a custom built configuration tool.

Note: The Data Mapper module can only be used on the new edge node (2.5.0).

Minor changes and bug fixes

  • The Resources page is moved to a tab on the Flows page
  • Auto-logout now opens a popup where the credentials can be updated, to stay logged in.
  • A flow that has mixed versions of the same module can no longer be started in the Flow Studio (Play button disabled)
  • Name and description are now maintained when copying a flow

New modules

New modules added since the last release:

  • Data Mapper - Transform messages using a visual configuration tool (see above).
  • Firebird Select/Insert - Read and write data in a Firebird SQL database.
  • Google Cloud Storage Writer - Write data to Google cloud storage.
  • Kafka Producer - Publish data to a Kafka queue.
  • Key Value Delete - Delete an entry from the internal key/value store.
  • MS SQL Executer - Execute generic SQL statements against a Microsoft SQL server.
  • Rockwell Data Table Receiver - Receives data from a Data Table write operation on a Rockwell PLC.
  • SAP RFC - Call any RFC/ABAP/BAPI function on an SAP system using Netweaver. Supports both reading and writing data.
  • SFTP Directory Reader - List files in a directory on a remote SFTP server.
  • SNMP Get - Get OIDs from an SNMP server.

Changed modules

Modules updated since the last release:

  • Array Split [2.1.3] - Performance optimizations.
  • Aveva Historian Reader [1.0.2] - Support for negative offsets, e.g. when the database and the server the node runs on are using different time zones. Support for hierarchical target.properties. Fixed validation when empty tags are left in the list.
  • AWS S3 Bucket Writer [4.0.0] - Support for new edge node (2.5.0).
  • Azure DataLake Writer [1.0.1] - Fixed issue with recovery after failed upload to Azure.
  • Azure IoT Edge Hub Receiver/Sender [4.0.1] - Microsoft SDK upgraded to latest version.
  • Azure IoT Hub C2D/D2C [4.0.1] - Microsoft SDK upgraded to latest version.
  • Azure Blob/File/Queue Storage [4.0.1] - Fixed issue with recovery after failed upload to Azure.
  • BigQuery Insert [1.1.0] - Google SDK updated to latest version.
  • CSharp [2.2.0] - Scripting library updated to latest version.
  • MariaDB Insert [2.9.1] - Add support for bulk insert.
  • Math Expression [1.1.1] - Fixed bug that caused some output to be decimal instead of double.
  • MQTT Pub Client [4.1.2] - Topic setting now has higher priority than topic from a message.
  • MsSQL Insert [1.8.0] - Add support for bulk insert.
  • MsSQL Select [1.6.1] - Cosmetic changes.
  • MsSQL Stored Procedure Read [1.0.2] - Cosmetic changes.
  • MySQL Insert [2.9.2] - Add support for bulk insert.
  • OPC UA Browser [3.5.0] - Added option to not generate client certificates and support for blank passwords.
  • OPC UA Reader [5.0.0] - BREAKING CHANGES: Loading taglists from files no longer supported, instead taglists can be updated dynamically by sending in a message (see module docs). The format of the output messages has been changed: the friendlyName property has been renamed to name and browseName and displayName are not included by default. General performance improvements and options to control how much information that is requested from the OPC UA server have been added. Added option to not generate client certificates and support for blank passwords.
  • OPC UA Subscriber [2.3.0] - Added option to not generate client certificates and support for blank passwords.
  • OPC UA Writer [3.3.0] - Added option to not generate client certificates and support for blank passwords.
  • PostgreSQL Insert [1.1.0] - Add support for bulk insert.
  • Python Bridge [3.3.1] - Added setting for configuring MQTT port.
  • Rockwell Reader [1.0.2] - Fixed issue where the module could get stuck when the path configuration was incorrect.
  • S7 Reader [2.2.0] - New version of S7 library. Fixed issue with REAL/LREAL.
  • S7 Writer [1.3.0] - New version of S7 library. Fixed issue with REAL/LREAL.
  • TimescaleDB Insert [1.1.0] - Add support for bulk insert.

    • Related Articles

    • Introducing Crosser Control Center and a new Flow Studio

      Release Note Crosser Control Center Feb 2, 2023 Introducing Crosser Control Center With this release we are introducing some brand changes that gradually will be implemented across all documentation, illustrations and marketing materials. The main ...

    • New Flows page

      April 28, 2022 New Flows page with categories The Flows page has got a major overhaul with a new look and feel, improved usability and the addition of categories to help you organize your flows. You can now create your own hierarchical categories in ...

    • Data Driven processing

      When building Flows for industrial integration use cases, we often come across protocols like Modbus, OPC UA and S7. For those protocols, we provide modules that allow you to use ‘resource-files’ to define which data you want to select/subscribe to. ...

    • New Resources page, Node types and relaxed naming requirements

      Release date: 2023-10-03 Resources page The Resources page is redesigned and aligned with the new UI look-and-feel. Filtering and sorting options have been improved. Node types Nodes can now be assigned a type. Currently the available types are ...

    • New Monitor Tool and support for Node 3.1

      Release Note Release date: 2023-12-20 New Monitor Tool With this release we introduce a completely new Monitor tool, that replaces the previous Dashboard and Events pages. The user interface has been redesigned from scratch and the new tool has four ...