When we launched Paessler PRTG OPC UA Server in April of 2023, we were focused on helping OT technicians get a complete overview of their OT environment – including devices and systems that are considered to be “IT” – in their SCADA system. We knew we were onto something, and by the end of 2023, our opinion was validated: PRTG OPC UA Server won an award (2023 NED Innovation Award in the Software & Computers category) and was nominated by Computer & Automation for a Product of the Year award (we need your help with this)! Read on to find out more about how PRTG OPC UA Server gives OT t ..read more

If you want to monitor IoT or IIoT environments, chances are you will need to understand MQTT architecture, since MQTT is one of the most used protocols out there. And, if you’re using MQTT, there’s a good chance that you’re using the Eclipse Mosquitto MQTT broker, which has become one of the most ubiquitous MQTT brokers in the market. It’s creator, Roger Light, spoke on The Monitoring Experts podcast about how he started Mosquitto and how he watched it – and the IoT – grow exponentially over the years. You can listen to his story (and get tips for monitoring MQTT) by clicking on the banner ..read more

We released Paessler PRTG OPC UA Server earlier this year, and since then we’ve been hard at work improving and updating it to make it even better. With a new release of PRTG OPC UA Server out now, we thought this is the perfect time to get you caught up on the changes we’ve made, and their benefits to you ..read more

Monitoring industrial information networks is essential to ensure performance, reduce unplanned downtime, and optimize energy use in daily production. An important aspect of monitoring these networks is understanding the protocols in use, the most common of which are HTTP, OPC UA, and MQTT, among others. For this article, we will focus specifically on monitoring MQTT, which has become more common in Operational Technology networks with the rise of the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things).  ..read more

The industrial control cabinet has long been a staple in industrial environments. It provides a neat solution to keeping devices organized, often with protection against harmful conditions found on factory floors like excessive dust or humidity. With the rise of automation, the devices in a cabinet have become more varied as IIoT has required more network connectivity than in the past. Because of this, the role of ensuring all the parts inside the cabinet are working falls somewhere between the OT technicians and IT administrators. Knowing what’s going on inside an industrial cabinet requires ..read more

In OPC UA-based industrial environments, alarms are an important part of industrial processes - and particularly industrial supervisory and control systems (such as SCADA systems or DCS). OPC UA alarms indicate when there are problems in the OT environment, and OT teams use them to plan and organize their work. However, alarms in supervisory and control systems generally focus on OT equipment and industrial processes. But what about the supporting network components that don’t use OPC UA to communicate?  ..read more

OPC UA has become the de facto standard in industrial environments. With its wide adoption, we’ve seen an increase in devices and systems that support it. This is why we included OPC UA sensors in Paessler PRTG monitoring software. And now we’ve gone a step further with OPC UA: Paessler PRTG OPC UA Server, the first product extension for PRTG. PRTG OPC UA Server is designed to help OT teams get monitoring data from network components and the IIoT into their supervisory and control systems. And PRTG OPC UA Server is available as you read this! Read on below to find out what it does and how it ..read more

Warehouse automation has become an integral part of modern warehouses, just as it has done in manufacturing. From automatic placement by robots, through to automated retrieval of items, warehouses are becoming more digitized and autonomous than ever before. Of course, ensuring that automated processes are running has become critical to the success of logistics operations. And like with other areas, getting all the data about your infrastructure in one place is critical. Let’s take a look at some key aspects of automation that Paessler PRTG can bring into your monitoring overview ..read more

Whether you call it Industry 4.0, IIoT or Smart Manufacturing, the objective behind these trendy buzzwords is the same - to “connect all the things”. Whether you're responsible for a segment of critical national infrastructure, production lines in a thingamabob factory or a small family run farm; instrumenting and collecting data from your production environment can transform your business in terms of efficiency, cost savings and profitability. As Sir Francis Bacon (among others) observed “scientia potential est” or “knowledge is power ..read more

The operation of data centers is enormously energy and cost intensive. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the energy used in data centers, there are several approaches that can be used to quantify energy efficiency. In this context, two key figures appear frequently ..read more