Secure remote maintenance
Like consumer goods, machines and systems are now sold in all corners of the world. Modern communication and transportation bring distant locations ever closer together. Modern production and logistics systems enable markets on a global scale.
But for OEMs, having customers around the world also comes with its share of new challenges. The situation becomes more difficult when it comes time for more extensive maintenance. To avoid the cost of flying service technicians and engineers halfway around the world, OEMs are increasingly relying on remote maintenance.
Simple and secure
With B&R's remote maintenance solution, a service technician can access machines from anywhere in the world to retrieve logbook entries, application data and much more. This is done via a certificate-secured and encrypted VPN connection between the SiteManager on the machine and the GateManager at the machine manufacturer's service center.
Fast maintenance response times
When a customer's equipment or machine isn't working, every minute counts. If a service technician isn't available on-site, it can be hours or days before expert assistance is available. With the B&R remote maintenance solution, a technician can connect, run diagnostics, adjust parameters and resolve the error – all in a matter of moments.
Secure remote maintenance
Secure remote programming
As a machine manufacturer, you want to actively support your commissioning team on-site at your customer's location from the convenience of your office. Your software developers need access to the machine being installed in order to adjust system parameters and the software configuration to the customer's needs.
Secure remote data logging
Data transfer
www – three letters, infinite possibilities. With Internet access now reaching the farthest corners of the earth, it is clearly the ideal way for service technicians to connect to machines. A prerequisite for this is the ability to transmit data securely and reliably. B&R's remote maintenance solution utilizes a secure VPN connection. No data is transferred until the sophisticated authentication process has completed successfully. The connection to the Internet can take place via LAN, WLAN or a mobile network. All three connection variants are protected by firewall.
SiteManager
A SiteManager is part of the machine network and provides access to the network via the GateManager. All SiteManager variants are equipped with integrated inputs and outputs as well as at least one Ethernet port. The integrated firewall manages all access to the machine network – on both the IP address and protocol layers. All SiteManager variants can be configured in Automation Studio.
GateManager including machine pool management
Machine manufacturers have many customers – and even more machines in the field. To improve the efficiency of remote maintenance, the B&R remote maintenance solution features a GateManager with integrated machine pool management. This manages the machines in the field, and also manages the access rights of service staff operating the individual machines. The Machine Pool Management service included in B&R's remote maintenance solution is easy to use without any special IT knowledge.