Boston-based PTC Inc. has released the latest update to its IoT/M2M platform, ThingWorx, with version 10.0 sporting several upgrades under the hood, improved data handling capabilities, security bumps, and additions to its user interface in Software Content Management screens.
ThingWorx is typically used by large manufacturers to monitor and attenuate large fleets of IoT devices, but is also a common choice in smart building installations. It integrates with organisations’ CRMs, business intelligence, reporting, and other systems. Although marketed as a turnkey application, the majority of installs require at least some bespoke development and fine-tuning to embed ThingWorx in the rest of an organisation’s stack.
As an example, the capture of live data from sensors and machines gives companies the ability to build digital twins of existing physical systems, and test changes to operational models without affecting day-to-day production. The same data helps preventative maintenance, where plant and machinery can be taken offline for remedial work with as little impact as possible. While at least some of these types of functions can be achieved inside the platform, many companies will have invested in their own systems to surface and parse data according to their needs. Integration remains a key part of any ThingWorx deployment, and many end-users procure the platform as part of a larger service offering from resellers and value-add service providers specialising in their sector.
Software updates
Version 10.0 sees Java 11 deprecated and the company says its will only test in and support Java version 21 as of this update. Java’s Spring Framework has been upgraded to version 6, and Spring Security to 6.4.2. TLS 1.3 is now supported, although 1.2 remains the default. Security has also been tightened around CSP (Content Security Policy), with ThingWorx constraining developers to work within CSP Level 2.
Security measures such as the above are becoming increasingly important as companies meld operational technology with IT networks, the internet, and the cloud.
jQuery has been updated to version 1.14.1, so legacy widgets running using earlier versions may need a wrapper, and PTC states that custom extensions using jQuery versions below 1.9 may need a rewrite to remain compatible.
Additions to capabilities
There have also been additions to the platform that increase interoperability with the IT stack. ThingWorx 10.0 now offers ‘IoT Streams’ to write property-value changes to Apache Kafka or an Azure Event Hub, and has beefed up the resilience of data queues so events and property changes persist even in the event of service interruptions. Developers get various configuration options that support several batch and cache sizes so can be set in line with assets’ reliability.
New feature ‘CacheThing’ stores runtime entity data in memory for near-realtime processing of time-critical events, and admins can set weekly or monthly range-based partitions to Postgres value_stream_table‘s to increase the speed of database queries and operations.
There are some improvements to data visualisation dashboards, with filtering now available that can segment asset fleets, so facilities with many thousands of devices can neatly divide and paginate data according to type or purpose of device, warning notices, etc. Deployment histories now include download failures, successful retries, asset-side log viewing, and the ability to identify patterns of connection issues to devices, according to the platform’s updated documentation.
ThingWorx 10.0’s updated Java, Tomcat 11, messaging infrastructures (i.e. Kafka connectivity), caching, database partitioning, and report subsystems are major backend updates. The addition of mashup widgets and Web Component SDK refinements, as well as additional dashboard features may have less impact to all the broader user base, but represent a deal of frontend investment, too.
(Image source: “At Boeing’s Everett factory near Seattle” by Jetstar Airways is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.)
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