Another gateway

Industrial gateway for data acquisition, visualization and control

GE Intelligent Platforms has announced the availability of its Industrial Gateway Server (IGS) 7.5 drivers for the company’s Proficy® software. The enhanced offering, utilizing industry-standard Kepware KEPServerEX and driver technology, includes more than 100 protocols, which enables connectivity to thousands of different control hardware and instruments. Several of the connectivity solutions support vertical-industry specific hardware, popular in today’s growing markets.

A single IGS 7.5 instance allows for customers to connect to a variety of devices, IGS 7.5 provides users with an opportunity to consolidate information from different control hardware and instruments to visualize, control, analyze and optimize via connected Proficy HMI/SCADA, MES, EMI or Workflow software. It is optimized to use the maximum possible speed supported by the devices with built-in diagnostics for communication errors and complete browsing functionality into devices. This connectivity solution added to GE’s Proficy software portfolio allows customers to manage operations from a more complete perspective, allowing them to process various data points and co-relating multiple process indicators.

“The capabilities and functionalities of control hardware and instruments are being enhanced at the same pace as the software,” said Prasad Pai, Product Manager for GE’s Proficy iFIX software. “Newer communication standards and protocols are being introduced with the view of providing customers the ultimate flexibility in data acquisition and control. Due to these fast paced changes, it is important to partner with a company, such as Kepware, focused solely on keeping abreast with the changes.”
IGS 7.5 provides robust and efficient connectivity through the latest OPC DA standards and also comes with a native Proficy iFIX interface that takes speed and reliability further. It goes beyond Proficy iFIX HMI/SCADA solutions and can be used with the entire Proficy software portfolio, such as Proficy CIMPLICITY, Workflow, Plant Applications and Historian, aligning with GE’s commitment to providing a tightly integrated software portfolio. The native interface into the Proficy iFIX software is also a unique feature of this driver over other offerings.

“Today, with acquisitions/mergers and consolidation, companies inherit a variety of control hardware and instruments in their plants,” said Pai. “The biggest challenge is how to consolidate them and bring them to a common data communication standard. The enhanced IGS 7.5 goes a long way in providing that solution.”

The enhanced IGS 7.5 application supports remote and offline configuration options without disrupting communications. Existing customers can seamlessly upgrade to the enhanced IGS 7.5 and access all the newly added device connectivity options quickly. GE’s on going work with Kepware keeps the product in tune with technology changes and enhanced with connections into newer devices.