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What's new in octoplant 101.3 (May 2024)

The following is a listing of the optimizations made in the current octoplant version.

Setup, migration and update

The latest changes increase the stability and efficiency of the update/migration of the server system.

  • Replaced database at clients (from Firebird to SQLite)
  • Improved agent setup to optimize performance
  • Agent support for 32-Bit Windows 7 systems
  • Improved backend process for Check-In/Check-Out log
  • Fixed error in registry handling so that entries can be removed correctly (e.g. extension for SmartImport)
  • Fixed the deactivation of the server license after a hardware change
  • Fixed bug at internal server configuration/communication
  • Improved server startup behavior to increase stability
  • Fixed bug at internal starting process of octoplant server
  • The port for VDogSecureConnect.exe is not needed anymore for firewall rules
  • Changed SSO protocol from strictly Kerberos to the Microsoft Negotiate service. This service then determines whether Kerberos or the NTLM protocol is used.

  • IP addresses are not supported on Kerberos by default and if used may cause a fallback to the deprecated NTLM. For more information on MS Negotiate and Kerberos, see:

  • Single sign-on (SSO) SPN attributes have changed:

    • All new SPN attributes must point to HTTP/{octoplant server name}.{FQDN}.
    • Any existing SPN attributes pointing to HTTP/{octoplant server name}.{FQDN} must remain and HTTP/{octoplant server name}.{FQDN} added. This will allow old clients to update to the new version.

  • It will no longer be possible to execute clients directly from a USB stick (portable device). Instead, a local installation will be required. This has been done to increase security.

  • Due to internal changes aimed at increasing performance and security (e.g. migrating to PostgreSQL 15 as well as integrating new functionalities), from octoplant 101.3.0 onward, the software can be run on the following Windows operating systems:

    • Server applications
      • Minimum version: Windows Server 2016
      • Recommended version: Windows Server 2022
    • Client/agent applications
      • Minimum version: Windows 7
      • Recommended version: Windows 10 or later
    • BackupClient and demo package
      • Minimum version: Windows 10 SP 2
      • Recommended version: Windows 10 or later

  • Full Qualified Domain Names (FQDN) or SPNs (Microsoft), are required for Single-Sign-On (SSO). The use of IP addresses for SSO no longer meets the current security requirements and is therefore no longer supported.

  • Due to technical changes, octoplant 101.3.0 requires reinstalling the octoplant hub on-prem (version 3.0.0). Updating older on-prem hub versions to v3.0.0 is not possible.

Device integration and versioning

We are continuously improving the functionality and range of supported devices / editors and have now integrated the following editor improvements:

  • Siemens TIA performance boost: Improved job execution speed of TIA projects significantly (performance boost increases compare speed by 4-16x)
  • Added Siemens TIA Portal V19 support
  • Added Siemens TIA Portal fallback for project device extraction (to TIA editor, if installed)
  • Improved TIA Portal upload: writes Openness whitelist Registry entry only if required. Added message about insufficient rights for manual entry.
  • Added Siemens WinCC Unified compare support to the Siemens TIA Portal compare
  • Added support of AVEVA System Platform 2020 & 2023 upload and compare
  • Added ABB AC500 upload support using the CODESYS V3 protocol
  • Added Emerson PME V10 support
  • Added Beckhoff TwinCAT support for encrypted projects
  • Added Asset Inventory support for Omron Sysmac Studio
  • Added Asset Inventory support for Omron CX Programmer
  • Added component type for Keyence CV-X Intuitive Vision System
  • Added WinCC compare support for text and graphics lists
  • Due to stability issues in the editor, parallel uploads of RSLogix 5000 jobs on the same machine are no longer supported. To scale the upload, multiple agents on different machines have to be used.
  • Improved password handling in the eventlog of backups
  • Fixed various bugs at Siemens TIA Portal compare to reduce false differences
  • Fixed various bugs at Siemens TIA Portal compare to improve overall performance and stability
  • Fixed various bugs at Rockwell RSLogix 5000 to improve performance and stability
  • Fixed various bugs at Rockwell RSLogix 500 compare to reduce false differences
  • Fixed RSLogix 5 compare error related to message instructions
  • Fixed Factory Talk View ME compare error related to alarms
  • Fixed Siemens WinCC upload failing if the database name contains hyphens
  • Improved WinCC Flexible compare to use an external process allowing for bigger projects
  • Fixed various bugs at Emerson PME compare to improve performance and stability
  • Improved stability of CODESYS parameter input
  • Fixed CODESYS V3.x upload related to IP4 addresses
  • Fixed CODESYS V2.x project export error to pass credentials to the editor on modern Windows systems
  • Improved error handling for SICK Sensors upload
  • Fixed SICK compare to eliminate false differences
  • Fixed Beckhoff TwinCAT compare to improve difference detection
  • Replaced Omron CX Programmer upload process
  • Fixed various bugs at Omron CX Programmer to improve performance and stability
  • Fixed Omron CX Programmer compare error related to escaped strings
  • Fixed various B&R Automation Studio compare bugs
  • Fixed Siemens S7 compare crash related to jump marks
  • Fixed EPLAN compare error related to unknown fields
  • Fixed GxWorks3 compare not working on an agent
  • Improved PHOENIX CONTACT PC WORX project parser
  • Fixed Stratix and Cisco 2960 Switches issue related to job executions
  • Fixed Switches Upload security warning with Hirschmann switches
  • Added FTP upload support for packet throttling.
  • Added ABB Robotics upload support for packet throttling
  • Fixed JSON compare issue on specially crafted data
  • Fixed Microsoft Word compare issue related to detail button after agent-side compare
  • Fixed text decoding bug resulting in obscure characters being inserted into text in rare circumstances

User management

It is important for administrators to be able to manage their users efficiently and intuitively. This service is now improved.

Security update: As part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing security standards, we have updated our software so that, from octoplant 101.3.0 onward, passwords must have a minimum length of at least one character and it will no longer be possible to use user accounts that have no password in place.

Logging in with an empty password will also no longer be possible. Should you be affected by this change, please contact your administrator.

We strongly recommend that you only use strong, secure passwords (see Best Practices for more information).

Usability/Interface

We have adapted the interface for easier and more secure handling and access to information.

  • End-of-life: To improve the security of the product as a whole as well as to improve user friendliness by reducing the number of client applications, both the WebClient and Web server will be removed.
  • Factory Floor Status information can now be accessed using an export in UserClient and ExportModule. Moving forward, Factory Floor Status data will be available in octoplant pro hub.
  • The Web server configuration and protocols in the serverarchive/VD$A/Webserverdirectory will be deleted. All files in this directory will be lost once an update is carried out.
  • Added Multi-Factor-Authentication (MFA) via Open Authentication 2.0 (OIDC) for Azure AD (optional activation). For a detailed look into how you can use OAuth in your production environment, go to OIDC (OpenID Connect) binding
  • Fixed handling of components so that they can be deleted when using an external working directory
  • Improved various error messages

System performance/stability

Stable and efficient software is the be-all and end-all for us and is improved by the following adjustments:

  • Sending of usage information is decoupled from asset information
  • Improved system stability related to SSO (Single Sign-on)
  • Improved performance and stability related to the synchronization of job results from BackupClient
  • Improved internal server-client communication
  • Updated Postgres Database to version 15.6
  • Improved security of stored credentials
  • Improved handling of access tokens
  • Improved system stability when deleting a component
  • Improved handling and stability when saving large number of jobs (e.g. >20.000 jobs)
  • Fixed bug that caused client to crash at startup
  • Increased stability of Claroty connector
  • Implemented various system security improvements
  • Updated various 3rd party libraries
  • Removed and replaced 3rd party library EasyMail to increase security
  • Optimized token handling to increase security

octoplant hub

We have also made adjustments in octoplant hub (on-prem) to improve your user experience.

  • Implemented secure handling of SMTP settings in on-prem hub database
  • Updated PostgreSQL to version 14.11
  • Updated Angular to version 15
  • Various setup adjustments to improve performance
  • Fixed various bugs to improve overall performance and stability