RANGER Data Connectivity

Unlock the full potential of the RANGER Sensor-to-Cloud technology thanks to its versatile supervisory system integration options. Discover the four distinct methods outlined in our comprehensive datasheet, each designed to empower you in harnessing the RANGER’s data to its maximum capability.

Whether you prefer the ready-to-go, feature-rich SignalFire Cloud, the power of combining SignalFire Cloud with your existing cloud infrastructure, directing all RANGER messages to your designated broker for utilization in your cloud application, or seamlessly consuming data directly from the SignalFire Cloud’s database using the API – the possibilities are limitless.

Explore the pathways to harnessing RANGER’s data, tailored to suit your unique preferences and requirements. Elevate your experience with RANGER and revolutionize the way you interact with data in your cloud ecosystem.

Method 1 – SignalFire Cloud Method

The SignalFire Cloud is a feature rich web application fully hosted and managed by SignalFire. It offers the ultimate experience in terms of plug-and-play experience, from measuring to visualization. The interface is designed with a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset allowing users to quickly make use of measurements coming from a RANGER. From starting up a RANGER ,assigning a widget to a variable, trending data, alarming on data, SMS and Email alarms by exception, scheduled reports, GPS monitoring, remote configuration , user management, customized dashboards and more. The web application requires a web browser and therefore works with smart phones, tablet readers, computers without the need to install any software.

Method 2 – Subscribing from SignalFire’s MQTT Broker

Whenever you need to have the data into your own application or database, you can subscribe to the MQTT broker hosted and managed by SignalFire. In this case you benefit from the SignalFire Cloud experience and simultaneously receive all the data published by the RANGER. The MQTT technology is brilliant because multiple subscribers can get data at the same time from a publishing device such as the RANGER. Furthermore, you MQTT/SparkPlugB capable host can also send commands in real time to the RANGER. For instance, you may want to force a reading right away by sending a request to the RANGER to read from its multiple sensors. Or you can send a command to turn on/off the built-in relay to command a valve, an actuator, a light, etc.

For this to work, we provide with a TLS Certificate to load in your application. This certificate provides for a secured and encrypted session between your web application and the SignalFire broker. As soon as RANGER gives birth upon initial commissioning, your web application will automatically discover all the data available from the RANGER. Plug-and-Play experience. Furthermore, because the RANGER is connected with the SignalFire Broker, the technical department of SignalFire can assist remotely when needed.

Method 3 – Private Broker Method

When using a private broker, the RANGER needs to first be configured to publish its data to said MQTT Broker. This is accomplished by connecting a computer running the RANGER toolkit software using a USB cable provided with the RANGER. The MQTT Broker is hosted by the user or a third party. The RANGER supports several modes for secured connection. TLS certificate with TLS validation and authentication is the most secured connectivity. The RANGER can be setup with a username and password as well to match the broker’s credentials.

All the parameters (Tags, MQTT Topics) are available for use by the web application. Such web application must be capable of parsing SparkPlugB messages over MQTT. These parameters are listed in the published RANGER Tag Guide that can be found on www.signal-fire.com and are fully available bi-directionally. If a Tag is writable, the hosting/publishing application can send a write command to change said parameter. In this scenario, SignalFire’s technical support has no capabilities to remotely troubleshoot the RANGER because the RANGER isn’t connected to SignalFire’s MQTT Broker. Also, the HART Remote PACTware connectivity isn’t possible as it requires HART Tunneling via the SignalFire Cloud.

Method 4 – REST API Data Polling Method

For applications that don’t support MQTT/SparkPlugB technology, SignalFire offers a REST API to poll data from the SignalFire Cloud’s database. The REST API offers several commands to poll data from one or many RANGERs at once, to poll a time delimited series of values, etc. The data is formatted using JSON, a common data type widely used by many applications.

For a secured connection, SignalFire will setup a connection using a Token. Once SignalFire configures the account for API connectivity, the Token is requested by the user and can solely downloaded by the user who requested API integration. Every REST API request is secured using such Token.

The REST API implementation does require a subscription to the SignalFire Cloud. The benefit are the use of the SignalFire Cloud for setup, commissioning, troubleshooting, managing of RANGERs with remote technical support from SignalFire.

A user can implement the REST API commands using Python script, JavaScript or Curl. To facilitate the deployment, obtain the schema for the data and to validate the returned variables, the REST API is fully functional with tools like OpenAPI, Swagger or ReDoc.