The following are the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector release notes for versions 1.x. This Connector leverages KEPServerEX’s ability to connect to various industrial computers, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and instruments through the OPC-UA protocol to offer an n-to-1 integration with the Tetra Data Platform (TDP).

v1.1.0

Release date: 6 February 2025

What's New

TetraScience has released its next version of the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector, version 1.1.0. This release provides customers the option to deploy the Connector on-premises through Standalone deployments, which don't require a Tetra Hub. Standalone deployments are available on request and are activated through coordination with TetraScience. This release also fixes a bug where uploaded values were not being properly removed from the local storage.

New Functionality

New Functionality includes features not previously available in the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector.

• Standalone Deployments: Customers can now deploy the Connector on-premises as a Standalone deployment, which doesn't require a Tetra Hub. Standalone deployments are available on request and are activated through coordination with TetraScience. To deploy a standalone Connector, contact your CSM or account executive. For more information, see the Standalone Connector Installation and Upgrade Guide in the TetraConnect Hub. To access the guide, see Access the TetraConnect Hub.

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IMPORTANT

For production environments, a Tetra Hub is recommended for all Tetra KEPServerEX Connector deployments, unless they're explicitly not allowed by your organization's security policies. The Tetra Hub provides a durable disk buffer to the Connector, which allows it to recover from unexpected shutdowns without losing buffered events. This behavior is not as robust when the Connector is deployed to the cloud or as an on-premises Standalone deployment. To use persistent storage with the Standalone deployment, the installer script must be modified to mount an additional Docker volume on container creation. For instructions, see the Standalone Connector Installation and Upgrade Guide in the TetraConnect Hub.

Enhancements

Enhancements are modifications to existing functionality that improve performance or usability, but don't alter the function or intended use of the system.

• There are no enhancements in this release.

Bug Fixes

The following bug was fixed in this release:

• When deployed on-premises to either a Tetra Hub or as a Standalone deployment, the Connector's Docker container now automatically clears files from the local Docker volumes after they've been uploaded to the TDP. This behavior prevents the container from using up more local disk space than needed. (Issue #4081)

Deprecated Features

There are no new deprecated features in this release. For more information about TDP deprecations, see Tetra Product Deprecation Notices.

Known and Possible Issues

The following are known and possible issues for the Tetra KEPServerEX v1.1.0 release.

Potential Data Loss

• When the Connector is inactive or not running, messages sent by the MQTT broker during the inoperable period will not be available for uploading. When this happens, it's recommended that customers pause the publishing of messages from the KEPServerEX IoT Agent and then resume publishing when a functioning Tetra KEPServerEX Connector is available.
• To control the rate of publishing to the TDP, the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector caches messages from the MQTT server in a local datastore. If the Connector is deployed by using the Cloud option, it doesn't support persistent data. This can lead to data loss if the data is cached in the local datastore and the container is destroyed. A fix for this issue is in development and testing and is scheduled for a future release.
• To fix the local storage deletion bug, the Connector performs a database migration when moving to v1.1.0. As part of that migration, unuploaded data is kept, but stale uploaded data is deleted. If desired, a local backup of the persistent storage volume can be performed before upgrading the connector.

Security

Various security updates were applied.

Upgrade Considerations

Tetra KEPServerEX Connector v1.1.0 must be used with TDP v 3.6 or higher.

To upgrade existing Tetra Hub or Cloud deployments of the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector, see Edit a Pluggable Connector's Information.

Standalone deployments are available on request, and must be used with TDP v 4.2.0 or higher. To deploy a standalone Connector, contact your CSM or account executive.

v1.0.1

Release date: 8 February 2024

What's New

TetraScience has released its next version of the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector, version 1.0.1. This release resolves an issue discovered in v1.0.0 where the Connector is sometimes unable to use the customer-provided TDP certificate when the Connector is behind a proxy.

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NOTE

Tetra KEPServerEX Connector v1.0.1 includes all of the new functionalities and enhancements that were introduced in v1.0.0. For more information, see the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector v1.0.0 Release Notes.

New Functionality

There is no new functionality in this release.

Bug Fixes

The following bugs are now fixed:

• An issue that caused the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector to sometimes not be able to use customer-provided TDP certificates when the Connector is behind a proxy is now resolved.

Deprecated Features

There are no new deprecated features in this release. For more information about TDP deprecations, see Tetra Product Deprecation Notices.

Known and Possible Issues

For a list of known issues, see the Known and Possible Issues section of the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector v1.0.0 Release Notes.

Security

Various security updates were applied.

Upgrade Considerations

Tetra KEPServerEX Connector v1.0.1 must be used with TDP v 3.6 or higher.

v1.0.0

Release date: 3 November 2023

What's New

TetraScience has released its initial version of the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector, version 1.0.0. This Connector leverages KEPServerEX’s ability to connect to various industrial computers, such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and instruments.

New Functionality

New Functionality includes features not previously available in the Tetra Data Platform (TDP). These features may or may not affect “intended use” for GxP validation purposes.

• Supports batching and uploading data from KEPServerEX to the TDP by using either a fixed upload interval timer or manual requests made by users.
• Supports parsing raw data (json format) into an Intermediate Data Schema (IDS)(common/tagged-time-series:v3.0.0) by using the following artifacts:
  • Tetra Data Schema: common/tagged-time-series:v3.0.0
  • Protocol: common/kepserverex-tagged-time-series-raw-to-ids:v1.0.0
  • Task Script: common/tagged-time-series-raw-to-ids:v3.0.0

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NOTE

Both successful and unsuccessful quality reads are available through an SQL interface.

Known and Possible Issues

The following are known and possible issues for the Tetra KEPServerEX v1.0.0 release.

Potential Data Loss

• When the Connector is inactive or not running, messages sent by the MQTT broker during the inoperable period will not be available for uploading. When this happens, it's recommended that customers pause the publishing of messages from the KEPServer IoT Agent and then resume publishing when a functioning KEPServerEX Connector is available.
• To control the rate of publishing to the TDP, the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector caches messages from the MQTT server in a local datastore. If the Connector is deployed by using the Cloud option, it doesn't support persistent data. This can lead to data loss if the data is cached in the local datastore and the container is destroyed. A fix for this issue is in development and testing and is scheduled for a future release.

Security

Various security updates were applied.

Upgrade Considerations

This version of the Tetra KEPServerEX Connector must be used with TDP v 3.6 or higher.

Other Release Notes

To view other Tetra Connector Release notes, see Tetra Connector Release Notes.