Thin Client for Java

So this is the feature that preserves your bootimage, and makes it bullet proof?

Turn if off to make the changes in the bootimage and then turn it back on.

Any changes made without this won’t be there after a reboot.

Did I get close?

That’s correct, and the ability to turn it on and off is only available when logged on as Administrator.

I was hoping one of the Wyse experts might have some input. Also, once delivered to the field, how are people setting up the thin clients to automatically start up and connect to the server, displaying the Ignition program?

On Windows clients I set up a batch file to query the service and make sure it is running before starting the client. You can find it here.

Thanks for pointing me to the batch file.

We have a lot of Wonderware around here and in the past they provided a program called Startit to sequence the startup of programs.

Just putting links in the startup folder doesn’t guarantee their order of execution.

Finally, I started using a batch file that would ping 127.0.0.1 once a second for x numbers of times. There was not a sleep command that could be used to generate the delay.

This way you could be sure programs started and had sufficient time to stabilze before starting the next one.

Question, if FBWF is enabled, do you lose any log files or data files on reboot? Place them in an unprotected partition?

Thanks

Quick and dirty, but it works, consistently.

Back to your original question, I’m working on my first Ignition project and have set up an Ubuntu server with some HP t5565 thin clients (~$235 ea.). They have a 1Gb SSD and 1Gb RAM and run an HP OS that is actually Debian Linux and comes with just about everything needed pre-installed (including the Java jre) and an ELO touch driver.

While I haven’t put this into production yet, from what I can see so far, they appear to work quite well for this application.

Thanks for posting this. You experience will help all of us.

Dennis

Has anyone come across a thin client-like setup that includes a 6-8 inch touchscreen display? We have a project that will require a small form factor client, but that will likely need to be either panel mounted or in-vehicle mounted. Thanks!

I am looking for a simple to implement, panel pc to replace some PLC touchscreens. Size is about 10". I read though all the posts in this thread and wonder if the recomendations are the same given how technology becomes outdated so fast. What are you guys currently using out there. I must avoid linux based solutions since I already lost that battle here. We are currently paying $1,400 for vendor specific panels so I think budget is a non issue.
Thanks

Hi Tim,

I still install the same hardware as before. The only thing that I’d recommend differently is that I had to go away from the SSDs as they were just not holding up-- but it was still worth a shot to use! :slight_smile:

Also, having separate units (monitor and PC) lets you replace one or the other cheaper than replacing an entire set (like a PV+ or PPC)

SSDs not holding up?

What was the issue here? I thought SSDs were vastly superior to hard drives. No moving parts etc.

There are certain workloads that SSDs aren’t perfect for.
Using them as scratch disks for lots and lots of non-random writes is one of those.
Consumer flash’s number of write cycles per cell determines this.

We use SSDs in all of our SCADAs now and have had great luck with them. Some tweaks are required, disable defrag, disable indexing, etc.

We had heat issues with them. They weren’t really rated for industrial environments, and, well, eventually it showed. They worked great for a few months, but overall, it wasn’t one of our more stunning successes. :laughing:

Part of the heat issue we came across, was that the 19in screens we use put out a surprising amount of heat. Enough so that the fans on the cabinets couldn’t keep up. :unamused:

I know industrial strength SSDs are out there. We found some to use in our product. They are 4G or 8G though.

I don’t know about retail boxed versions.

Anybody find/know of retail SSDs able to handle +80C/-40C?

tigerdirect.com/applications … yt1-9037AP

I am going to be ordering this unit, thinking I am going to put linux mint on it, and see about running some screens. Not running the designer though. The designer is very “resource hungry”
It is fiarly economical but not “industrial” but I can put this little guy just about anywhere…
I am going to hook it to my 46 inch lcd and see just how hard I can push it.

I can say that I know of at least one integrator who is using those boxes mounted to the back of a touch screen (they built their own mounting bracket). I wouldn’t recommend it for harsh environments, but for where they’re using them, I think they’ve been pretty happy with them.

Regards,

Offhand I don’t know any that do 80C, The Intel ones are good to 70C.

I’m putting a touch screen OI at a remote site that has a vpn connection to the server that during normal operation will run the client App. But will also have a panel edition version of the app installed so local control could still be maintained in the event of a communications failure. The question is would a PC like the ASUS EeeBox that tailfire mentioned be suitable/capable of running the panel edition app or should I be looking for more horsepower. The panel edition app will be monitoring/controlling < 100 data points in the PLC.

Thanks,

Hi Wes,

I’d say yes, but I’d also recommend getting a 2Gb stick of RAM and upgrading it-- after all, you can never have too much RAM… :mrgreen:

Anyone ran across these yet? Pricing looks very good and they now have low power dual core i-7 processors available.

fit-pc.com/web/fit-pc/intensepc/

For around $850 without RAM or HD this looks good compared to a lot of the fanless systems I have looked at and tried.

Maybe get a chance to try one in a month or so.

Darren

Those are some pretty impressive options they offer in such a small package! The onboard graphics are pretty nice as well. The Intel integrated HD 3000 has been a strong performer for me. I know there is no replacement for dedicated graphics, but Intel is doing pretty well with the HD series. But overall, a very impressive package.