The Tetra LabX Connector is a standalone, containerized application that accesses the Mettler Toledo LabX system integration service, extracts tasks, and related data. The Connector then outputs that data in JSON format and uploads it to the Tetra Data Platform (TDP).

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IMPORTANT

The Tetra LabX Connector is available in beta release currently and is activated for customers through coordination with TetraScience. For more information, or to activate the Connector in your environment, contact your customer account leader.

Operational Guide

The following procedures show how to install and operate the Tetra LabX Connector.

Install a Tetra LabX Connector

To install a Tetra LabX Connector, do the following.

Prerequisites

The Tetra LabX Connector requires the following:

• If LabX is running in an on-premise network, the LabX Connector should run either on a Tetra Hub or as a standalone deployment on an on-premises Linux server.
• Tetra Data Platform (TDP) v3.6.0 or higher (for standalone operation, v4.2.0 or higher).

(Optional) Provision Hub or Standalone Instance

To set up a Tetra Hub, see Create and Install a Tetra Hub.

To set up a standalone Connector deployment, see the Standalone Connector Installation and Upgrade Guide in the TetraConnect Hub.

For more information about deployment options, see Connector Deployment Options.

Create a Tetra LabX Connector

To create a Tetra LabX Connector, do the following:

1. Sign in to the TDP. Then, in the left navigation menu, choose Data Sources and select Connectors. The Connectors page appears.
2. Follow the instructions in Create a Pluggable Connector. For CONNECTOR TYPE, make sure that you select LabX Connector

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NOTE

After the Connector is created, the initial MODE status is set to IDLE by default. To activate the Connector, you must configure its settings. For instructions, see the Configure the Connector section.

Configure the Connector

On the Connectors page, select the name of the connector that you created. Then, select the Configuration tab to configure the required settings.

Configuration Parameters

A detailed specification of the configuration parameters is available in the README, which is available via the "Connector Readme" button on the connector page

Review and Edit the Connector's Information

The Information tab on the Connector Details page displays information about the Connector, the files pending, successfully uploaded, or failed. It also provides functionality to edit a Connector’s information, metadata, and tags.

To edit the Connector's information, select the Edit button on the Connector Details page's Information tab.

For more information, see Review and Edit a Pluggable Connector's Information.

Set the Connector's Status to Running

Set the Connector's status to Running by following the instructions in Change a Pluggable Connector's Status.

Metrics

After a Connector instance is created and running, you can monitor the Connector’s health by selecting the Metrics tab on the Connector Details page. The Metrics tab displays the Connector's container metrics as well as aggregated states on total files scanned and uploaded as well as files that returned errors or are pending.

Access Data

Every N minutes (with the polling interval set in configuration), the Connector queries LabX to find any tasks created since the last poll. The Connector then marks these tasks in its internal data store as pending upload. During each polling interval, the Connector reviews its list of known tasks that haven't yet been uploaded. For each of these tasks, it queries LabX to see if the task is ready for upload. A task is marked ready for upload when its state in LabX is either Completed or Aborted.

Limitations

The LabX API does not provide a way to determine the timezone of the LabX instance. Because of this, customers must choose the timezone for each connectred LabX instance when configuring the Connector on the TDP. If the timezone of the instance changes, there may be a mismatch between the Connector and the LabX instance, which can result in data affixed with incorrect timezones.