• 2024.2 on July 23, 2023

Upgrade Requirements

You must have the latest published version of SOTI Connect 2024.1 installed on your system before installing version 2024.2. You cannot directly install SOTI Connect 2024.2 from an earlier version. In addition, SOTI Connect 2024.2 requires .NET 8 Runtime and ASP.NET Core Runtime 8 for upgraded .NET compatibility.

Release Highlights

Performance Improvements

With the most recent database and process management improvements and the migration to .NET 8, SOTI Connect 2024.2 is now more powerful and faster than ever. The modifications to the overall SOTI Connect system have resulted in significant performance improvements that double its capacity for managing devices per instance.

Permission Changes

Permissions management has been enhanced to provide more granular control and flexibility for administrators and users. By adding and leveraging Microsoft Entra ID support, we ensure a more secure and efficient workflow while seamlessly integrating with the Microsoft Azure ecosystem. 

Rules Enhancements

Rule creation within SOTI Connect has been enhanced to give users more control and flexibility, thereby streamlining the process of automation. Adding sequential rule actions allows users to choose between sequential and concurrent rule-firing modes, enabling them to tailor rule execution to match their workflow preferences.  

Automation options have been expanded with the introduction of device property-to-property comparison, which allows users to define conditions based on specific device attributes. Additionally, the integration of advanced relations in rules such as "startswith," "endswith," and "contains" furthers the user’s ability to create advanced and precise rules to meet their needs. 

Search Expansion

SOTI Connect has greatly expanded its search capabilities for this release. The saved searches functionality allows users to define and save their search queries, providing the convenience of accessing frequently used search criteria without having to recreate them repeatedly. SOTI Connect now also supports the use of the OR condition in search criteria, enhancing search flexibility and accuracy.

OEM Update

We are pleased to announce the release of SOTI Connect 2024.2 OEM Update. In this release, we have added Cab as a new partner for printer support, upgraded our firmware support for Zebra printers, and added a new device category for Zebra with RFID Sled support.

Cab Printers

SOTI Connect has added Cab as a certified printer manufacturer and now supports the full range of Cab SQUIX label printers for device management.

Zebra RFID Readers

Zebra and SOTI have combined to provide support for a new range of devices in SOTI Connect, adding device management for Zebra RFID readers. For this release, SOTI has certified the RFD40 and RFD90 UHF RFID Sleds to work with SOTI Connect 2024.2 and later.

Zebra Link-OS 7.0

Zebra has recently released an updated printer firmware version called Link OS 7.0 for their industrial and mobile printers. SOTI Connect has certified the printers included in that release for use with SOTI Connect 2024.2 and later.  Please see the Certified Device List to verify which printers are included.

Users will get the OEM Update when installing or upgrading to the latest version of SOTI Connect. For those on an earlier build of 2024.2, the OEM Update is supported via a Device Type Definition (DTD) file release targeted for SOTI Connect 2024.2 installations. Users can import this file into SOTI Connect to update supported devices without requiring a SOTI Connect upgrade. These updates can contain new supported device firmware versions, new devices, and more. To install the DTD file, users need to:

• Download the DTD file through the SOTI Connect Product Support page on SOTI Pulse 

• Import it through the Device Type Definitions page on SOTI Connect 

• Restart the Management Server 

Further instructions can be found in the SOTI Connect Help for 2024.2. 

 

General Improvements

SOTI Connect introduces several upgrades designed to improve the user experience. Some include: 

• Improvement of protocols management with added search, filter and bulk operations 
• Support for interrupted downloads in file store service, allowing partial data retrieval and continuation until completion 
• Upgrade of all system components from .NET6 to .NET8 
• Ability to set an expiration date on files in the file store; after this date, the file is deleted from the system
• Separation of historical file store transaction data so that an audit trail is available even after the file is deleted 
• Ability to track the activation and deployment state of certificates 

Resolved Issues

IOT-17299	Sorting columns on the device panel caused functionality issues
IOT-18557	Connection status remained as “not reachable” while device actions were completed successfully
IOT-21161	Bulk import of mappings created wrong Automatic Group Mappings
IOT-21164	Rules with relative time conditions did not execute correctly
IOT-21356	Sorting logic for Device Name and Device Type properties were inconsistent
IOT-21376	Actions were not visible when editing configurations
IOT-21390	The Management Server would not start after a 2024.1 to 2024.2 upgrade
IOT-21499	Automatic Group Mappings did not run when a device was added/moved to a group

 

Known Issues

IOT-19804	Automatic Group Mapping not working for custom attributes with Datetime type
IOT-21052	Generating and deploying a new certificate does not automatically update the certificate list in the device details

Upgrade Requirements

To upgrade to version 2024.1, the minimum requirement is version 2024.0. Upgrading from any version other than 2024.0 is not supported.

Release Highlights

Visualization Enhancements

We've introduced additional widgets to Visual Boards in the Design Studio to enhance the user experience. This includes a customizable Textbox widget designed to help users in organizing their visual boards, offering a practical way to maintain a structured and easily accessible layout. Additionally, the newly introduced Slider widget enables users to effortlessly adjust device properties through an intuitive slider interface.

Active Directory and LDAP

Customers can now fortify user authentication and streamline access management in SOTI Connect by integrating with Active Directory and LDAP. This offers features like enabling Active Directory for streamlined authentication, creating users directly from LDAP, importing users in bulk for efficient management, incorporating groups from LDAP to ensure organizational consistency, and initiating password changes for enhanced security.

Cloud Link Integration

SOTI Connect is now integrated with Cloud Link, extending its communication capabilities to reach customer resources behind firewalls, with the current focus on supporting ADCS. This integration empowers Connect to access and utilize critical resources efficiently, offering customers with an extended feature set for a more comprehensive device management solution.

General Enhancements

Responding to customer usage scenarios, we have implemented several enhancements to improve the user experience. Firstly, Individual Automation Rules have been updated to support multiple device types, offering greater adaptability compared to the previous limitation of a single device type. Additionally, we made a modification to ensure that when an Automatic Group Mapping is deleted, devices will not be automatically removed from the group. This change allows users to maintain their device organization within respective groups even after the deletion of an Automatic Group Mapping.

Other Enhancements

This release features several minor enhancements designed to improve the overall SOTI Connect experience:

• Macro Improvements
  • Enabling users to rename multiple devices simultaneously, leveraging available macros during the process
  • Users can utilize and send macros to devices that are specifically requesting information for various fields
• Bulk Custom Attributes
  • Ability to bulk import a set of custom attribute values for a range of devices, using a common identifier such as MAC address or serial number.
  • Support for bulk import through CSV files, automatic overwrite of existing field values, and detailed information about failed CSV rows is provided by the system.

New Models

We have added or upgraded support for several models from our existing partners:

• Zebra Link OS 6.8 and 6.8.1

Resolved Issues

Jira ID #	Issue Description
IOT-17194	The device panel sorting rules encountered functionality issues.
IOT-16852	The SNMP bulk import functionality lacked proper headers.
IOT-18063	The DateTime custom attribute applied to the printer, was missing as a usable parameter under rules.
IOT-15680	Offline-activated licenses had issues where the Connect web console remained usable even after the license had expired.
IOT-18083	When upgrading/downgrading printer firmware to another DTD, the used device type does not change.

Release Notes

Visualization Dashboards

The Visualization Design Studio now supports customers in creating fully customizable visual interfaces called dashboards. These dashboards provide a comprehensive view of multiple devices, whether it's an entire group or an entire system. Users can add widgets, such as charts, tables and more, to their dashboard pages for enhanced data visualization.

Camera Support

Customers can now manage their camera devices that use the ONVIF protocol, to conduct tasks such as registering, discovering, enrolling cameras, searching for new devices, performing bulk imports, and executing basic functions like check-in and set requests. This enables customers to see their cameras in an organized manner, ensuring efficient management and monitoring of their video assets. While the protocol allows SOTI Connect to find many manufacturers’ models, it is still recommended to manage only certified devices as ONVIF can be implemented differently per model.

SNMP Support (Phase 2)

In this phase of SNMP support expansion, we've introduced the ability to register devices with host names and discover and search for new devices with generic SNMP compatibility. With this, SOTI Connect can now support other manufacturers devices using SNMP as the protocol of choice, allowing SOTI to certify new makes, models, and even device types to be managed.

System Performance

We have made significant improvements to the system performance of SOTI Connect, ensuring greater throughput, faster user interface response, and support for larger installations. These enhancements include:

• Moving all system components to .NET 6
• Better caching usage
• Reconfiguring historical data storage for speed and reduced size
• Parallel message processing at the Protocol Adaptor level

New Models

We have added or upgraded support for several models from our existing partners:

• TSC: DH240, 340, 220, 320
• TSC: TH240, 340, 220, 320

Learn more about using these new features with What's New in SOTI Connect Online Help.

Resolved Issues

IOT-17594	SOTI Connect shows and defaults Tear-Off Position to -240 which is an 'Invalid Parameter'
IOT-17193	"Copy" rule should default to inactive status
IOT-17129	Device grid Search - Unable to filter for custom attributes with ENUM restricted fields
IOT-15680	Offline activated instances don’t expire

• 2.5.1 on September 6, 2023

SOTI Connect 2.5 Release Notes

Important Notes About This Release

SOTI Connect has now formally migrated to Microsoft Azure Cloud platform for all managed Cloud installations. AWS is still available upon request.

Release Notes

Audit Logging

SOTI Connect now logs when a user makes a significant change in the system and what they changed. These logs are separate from other system logs and help create an audit trail of actions for tracking purposes.

Compliance Rules

Administrators can now create compliance rules that identify devices that are not in compliance based on a set of policies setup within the rule. Devices not in compliance are flagged in the device grid so you can quickly find them and correct if necessary.

Visualization Enhancements

We’ve introduced additional features to Visualization, including:

• Undo and Redo in the visual board editor
• Exporting and importing of visual boards
• Resizing widgets
• New widgets, such as Shapes and Small Status Message

System Performance

We have made significant improvements to the system performance of SOTI Connect, ensuring greater throughput, faster user interface response, and support for larger installations. These enhancements include:

• Moving all system components to .NET 6
• Better caching usage
• Reconfiguring historical data storage for speed and reduced size
• Parallel message processing at the Protocol Adaptor level

Zebra SNMP Download

Zebra SNMP protocol support now includes the ability to download and implement files like firmware, scripts, and fonts to Zebra legacy devices. This provides legacy support equivalent to the MQTT support for Link-OS 6.7 models.

New Models

We have added or upgraded support for several models from our existing partners:

• SATO: PV3/PV4
• TSC: Alpha30R
• Printronix: v4 Firmware Upgrade
• Bixolon: SRP-350plusV

Learn more about using these new features with What's New in SOTI Connect Online Help.

Resolved Issues

IOT-14706	Auto-name actions in Enrollment rules were applying blank outputs
IOT-17191, IOT-17545	Device Connection status updates were not consistent across protocols

• 2.4.1 on March 2, 2023
• 2.4.2 on April 19, 2023

SOTI Connect 2.4 Release Notes

Release Highlights

Permissions

SOTI Connect now allows administrators to set up user access permissions by device group, limiting roles to specific groups for read and update capability. In addition, certain functional level access controls can also be assigned by group, specifically relating to certificates and configurations.

Clustering

Protocol Adapter (PA) clustering has been extended to the Zebra version of the PA, providing failover and load balancing support to the Zebra solution. Clustering has also been extended to the Management Server to allow for automatic failover of the system core – manual failover is still supported if desired.

Group Access and Function Permissions

We’ve expanded User Permissions with controls for accessing device groups based on role. Users will have capabilities depending on which group they belong.

Visualization Design Studio

Customers and partners can now create their own Visualization tabs through the Design Studio, allowing them to customize the interface for different needs and information. SOTI Connect has also added additional widgets such as graphs, an image carousel, and gauges for better presentation of key data.

Network Inventory

SOTI Connect can now help you understand what devices are on your system through our Network Inventory feature, searching parts of your network for all connected devices and allowing you to track them. Various search methods are available to filter your devices more precisely, including ONVIF for cameras.

General Enhancements

• Autorenewal of device certificates allows SOTI Connect to track when a device’s certificate is set to expire, alert IT, and then automatically renew the certificate
• The File Store is now an independent service that can be installed on a separate machine for better performance. Data can be stored elsewhere to take advantage of faster hardware.
• Operating and debugging logs stored on the printer can now be retrieved by SOTI Connect for Printronix and Zebra printers, allowing for better and faster evaluation of issues on remote devices
• Anomaly Detection has been added to prevent SOTI Connect being adversely affected by malfunctioning devices or security threats

Support for Avery Dennison

We have added support for Avery Dennison mobile and industrial printers as well as their RFID reader, expanding our catalog of supported devices. See the provided list of supported models:

• Tabletop Printers: ADTP1, ADTP2
• Desktop Printers: 9444d

Learn more about using these new features with What's New in SOTI Connect Online Help.

Resolved Issues

IOT-14131	Masked fields are unmasked in the Configuration page
IOT-14166	Connection Status temporarily disappears on upgrade to SOTI Connect 2.3.1

Known Issues

IOT-15039	Expired Connect certificates cannot be updated with Identity
IOT-15169	Users are not properly restricted on Device Permissions if given different access via different roles
IOT-15287	Console cannot be accessed after Root certificate update
IOT-15421	Users with limited group access permissions can still view unassigned devices under View All Devices and edit rules that also have other groups
IOT-15451	Users with permissions limited to a single group can edit rules which also have other groups
IOT-15483	Users can edit rules even if they don’t have permission for one of the actions within the rule
IOT-15493	Users limited to specific groups can still create new root groups

• 2.3.1 on June 28, 2022

SOTI Connect 2.3 Release Notes

Release Highlights

• Extended Identity Provider Support
• Protocol Adapter Clustering
• Connection Status
• Visualization Tab Improvements
• Chart Enhancements

Identity Management Enhancements

SOTI Connect has now expanded third-party identity management provider (IDP) support to include any SAML-compliant IDP, providing more options for security management of your devices.

Protocol Adapter Clusters

The SOTI Connect Installer now allows users to group protocol adapters together into clusters. Clusters are load balanced to provide increased resiliency and capacity and ensure continuous communication with devices.

General Enhancements

Connection Status

Device connection status now provides information for all device types about the protocol adapter the device is connected to, as well as more in-depth information on the device’s current connection status.

Chart Enhancements

Charts in SOTI Connect have been improved with enhanced 3D models to provide a more detailed visual display of device details and status.

Visualization Tab

The visualization feature has been expanded to include historical data graphs, warnings on device images, and the capability to zoom and pan on the image.

New Models for Existing Partners

SOTI Connect now supports more models for existing partners, include some devices newly released to the market. This includes the following:

• Sato: SAE600
• Toshiba: BA400,BA410T-G,BA410T-T,BA420T-G,BA420T-T
• Bixolon: XM7-20 11,XM7-20 14,XM7-20 8,XM7-40 11,XM7-40 14,XM7-40 8

SOTI Connect 2.2 Release Notes

Release Highlights

• Identity Management Enhancements
• System Management Enhancements
• Custom Attributes
• Visualization Tab Improvements
• New Printer Models for Existing Partners

Identity Management Enhancements

Role Management

Ownership of role management when integrating with SOTI Identity or external identity providers has been added to SOTI Connect, allowing administrators to define, assign and manage their console user roles directly from SOTI Connect.

Add Users through Groups

Users can now be added into SOTI Connect using User Groups in SOTI Identity and third-party access management providers, simplifying the process to add new users. SOTI Connect roles can then be assigned to give permissions to all users in the group.

OneLogin Integration

SOTI Connect has been upgraded to integrate with OneLogin, expanding the available options for user access authentication. Users in OneLogin can be added to SOTI Connect individually or via user groups.

System Management Enhancements

Syslog Support

Enterprise logging support via Syslog has been added to Connect, enabling the administrator to send logs to a Syslog service. To ensure ease-of-use and integration, logs include options for multiple protocols and different message formats.

Global Proxy Support

SOTI Connect can now communicate via proxy servers to internet-hosted services when Connect is installed on-premise. These services include, but are not limited to, licensing, notification and messaging services.

Security Access Implementation

To help keep communication secure, custom Client IDs and Client Secrets can be created for SOTI Connect API calls for other SOTI and third-party applications. These sets of Client IDs and Secrets can be turned on and off from within SOTI Connect.

Manual Failover Servers

To keep your instance running in the case of a management server failure, secondary or reserved management servers can now be manually brought online, adding an extra level of safety and peace of mind.

System Requirements

SOTI Connect now supports Microsoft Server 2019.

General Enhancements

Custom Attributes

User-defined, customized attributes for devices are now available, enabling an extra level of tracking and customization for users. Custom Attributes can be created by device type and updated manually and can be used as part of a rule.

Visualization Tab

The visualization feature has been expanded to include interactive data slider widgets, enabling users to better personalize their experience.

New Models for Existing Partners

SOTI Connect now supports more models for existing partners, include some devices newly released to the market. This includes the following:

• Bixolon: All mobile models
• Brother: RJ-3230B, RJ-3250WB, TJ-4xxx series
• Toshiba: BA400 series

SOTI Connect 2.1 Release Notes

Release Highlights

• Updated Rules Engine
• ADCS Support
• Auto-Group Device Placement
• Visualization Tab
• New Models for Existing Partners

Updated Rules Engine

The Rule Engine has been extensively updated to improve performance, use a standard JSON format for storage, and increase its ability to handle more complicate rule structures. This is a foundational improvement, and SOTI Connect will be expanded with new capabilities using these features in future releases.

ADCS Support

Third party certificate authority support, originally added in release 2.0, has been expanded to include Active Directory Certificate Services (ADCS) with PKI and SCEP formats. ADCS is a widely used format that allows admins to customize services to centrally issue and manage key certificates. This improves device security with easier and more secure certificate updates.

Auto-grouping Using IP Address

Auto-grouping can now automatically create groups that contain subsets of devices based on the match of either their FQDN or IP Address. This new release adds IP Address to accommodate devices that do not have a fully qualified domain name, which previously made it impossible to manage all devices.

Visualization Tab

The visualization feature has been expanded to include all certified models and manufacturers supported by SOTI Connect.

New Models for Existing Partners

SOTI Connect now supports more models for existing partners, include some devices newly released to the market. This includes the following:

• Toshiba BV400​
• Brother RJ-2000 and RJ-4200
• Bixolon portfolio of POS and Label printers
• SATO FX3​

• 2.0.1 on April 8, 2021

SOTI Connect 2.0 Release Notes

Release Highlights

• Auto-Discovery via Device Registry
• Auto-Group Device Placement
• Certificate Provisioning
• Visualization Tab
• Bixolon Support

Auto-Discovery via Device Registry

SOTI Connect now provides a method for printers to notify it of their presence on the network and how the printer can be reached, allowing for automatic enrollment of devices once they are attached to a network. Devices can then be rediscovered after notifying the Device Registry when their network identity (IP/FQDN) changes due to moving to a new location in a network. Auto-discovery using the Device Registry is currently only available for SATO printers.

Note: Device Registry is a separate application from SOTI Connect and will need to be configured to work with it.

Auto-Group Device Placement

The new auto-group function works with Device Registry to add devices to the appropriate groups once they’ve been discovered. Devices are sorted into groups by assigning a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) to a device group; any devices with the matching FQDN are sorted into the appropriate group. The auto-group function also helps identify when a device has moved by tracking changes to its FQDN. Rules can be used to take full advantage of auto-group features.

Certificate Provisioning

You can now integrate SOTI Connect with Certificate Authorities (CA) to generate certificates for devices using Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) and then distribute the certificates to managed devices. To make things easier, you can also automate distribution of certificates to your devices through rules which enable criteria-based device targeting. Certificate integration also enables you track active and historical certificates you’ve created.

Visualization Tab

The new Visualization tab provides an image of the device alongside key properties and relevant actions. Visualization can be accessed by opening Device Information. With this release, the Visualization tab is available for Printronix and SATO printers.

Bixolon Support

SOTI Connect now supports Bixolon mobile printers, starting with the SLP-DX420, but expanding into other series later on.

Features Included in SOTI Connect v1.3 Release

This is the newest release of SOTI Connect for commercial use. The features included in this release are:

• Improved archival for management
• Updates to the Rules process to support further automation
• Enhancements to system management capabilities and support
• Continued support and improvements for manufacturers and device types

Improved archival

SOTI Connect v1.3 supports the following enhancements to its system management capabilities:

• New Database archival option
• Archival of logs, device history and rule history by age and database size

Rules Updates

SOTI Connect v1.3 adds the following capabilities for rules:

• Updated flow for creating rules
• Rule creation UI changes
• Time based automation rules
• Individual automation rules
• Apply configurations via rules
• Enrollment rules macros

System Management Functions

SOTI Connect v1.3 supports the following enhancements to its system management capabilities:

• Download files from File Store
• Delete devices from SOTI Connect (DB)

Device Support in SOTI Connect v1.3 Release

SOTI Connect v1.3 has continued support for the following manufacturers:

• SATO industrial and mobile printers
• Printronix industrial and desktop printers
• TSC industrial and desktop printers
• Epson receipt printers
• Brother industrial and mobile printers
• Toshiba industrial printers
• Honeywell mobile printers

The system also comes with four simulators that can be used for demonstration and training purposes. These simulators are:

• MQTT Label Printer
• MQTT Sensors (push only)
• Philips Hue
• Honeywell HomeComfort

Original Release v1.2 Build 1336 on June 15, 2020

Please note: We strongly recommend following the standard IT change control practices and testing of product installations in pre-production environments.

Contact SOTI's Professional Services and Support Team or visit the SOTI Connect documentation for information on proceeding with your installation.

Features Included In Release v1.2

The features in this release include:

• Support for new manufacturers and device types
• Expansion of the Device Catalog functionality
• Adding Personal Favorites and other customization
• Improved reporting for better access to your data
• Updates to the Rules process to support further automation
• Enhancements to system management capabilities and support

New manufacturers and devices

SOTI Connect v1.2 supports the following manufacturers and additional device types in this release:

Manufacturers

• SATO
• TSC Printronix (both TSC printers and Printronix printers)
• Epson
• Brother
• Toshiba
• Honeywell

New Device Types

• Smart sensors (temp, pressure, etc.) with gateway
• Smart sensors with limited access (push only)

Device Catalog Functionality

SOTI Connect v1.2 allows for simpler updating of new and enhanced device definitions:

• Receipt via SOTI Announcements of new definitions and download
• Live importation of new Device Type Definition file without updating software

Personal Favorites and Customization

SOTI Connect v1.2 allows for more options to customize how a user looks at their data:

• Personal favorites by device type to allow selection of data and actions to see first
• User Preferences section to set defaults for display of data and UI
• Default column view on View Devices to preserve your favorite order

Reporting

SOTI Connect v1.2 adds the following capabilities for reporting:

• Create a current status report that can be schedule for regular review
• Improved filtering capabilities for building reports
• Export to PDF for further analysis, both in Reports and View Devices

Rules Updates

SOTI Connect v1.2 adds the following capabilities for rules:

• Rule history so that one can view when a particular rule was used and its success/failure
• Flag history so one can follow changes that are happening automatically
• Sending SMS messages from a rule
• Auto-naming functions for enrolling new devices

System Management Functions

SOTI Connect v1.2 supports the following enhancements to its system management capabilities:

• Removal of MongoDB
• Ability to update system certificates from console
• Centralized logging for all system components
• Ability to view system logs, plus ability to view all related logs for a specific device
• System Health check page to monitor operations

Device Support in Release v1.2

At the launch of SOTI Connect v1.2 it is expected that SOTI will have certified devices from seven different manufactures, with more to come in the following weeks. Any additional devices can be added to an installed system without resorting to a maintenance release. The expected manufacturers at launch are:

• SATO industrial and mobile printers
• Printronix industrial printers
• TSC industrial printers
• Epson receipt printers
• Brother industrial and mobile printers
• Toshiba industrial printers
• Honeywell mobile printers

The system also comes with four simulators that can be used for demonstration and training purposes. These simulators are:

• MQTT Label Printer
• MQTT Sensors (push only)
• Philips Hue
• Honeywell HomeComfort

Known Issues and Limitations

The following table lists the key known issues and limitations of SOTI Connect v1.2:

IOT-6036	ADFS user is not able to log into SOTI Connect from SOTI Identity.
IOT-6037	Not able to assign the role to Azure user in SOTI Identity for SOTI Connect application.
IOT-6985	System messages vanish if side Alert bar is accessed while user is on System messages page.
IOT-7654	After upgrade from v1.1.2, reports are very slow to load.
IOT-7682	Changing anything in Preferences dialog box is resetting columns in Device grid back to Saved column.

• v1.1.2 on March 23, 2020
• v1.1.1 on January 13, 2020

v1.1 Build 757 on November 04, 2019

Please note: We strongly recommend following the standard IT change control practices and testing of product installations in pre-production environments.

Contact SOTI's Professional Services and Support Team or visit the SOTI Connect documentation for information on proceeding with your installation.

Introducing SOTI Connect!

SOTI Connect is an Internet of Things Framework (IOTF): a flexible, expandable system for managing devices in an IoT network. Device administrators can use the system to remotely query device state, update the software on devices, configure, reboot and perform other actions permitted by the device manufacturer.

Features Included In Release v1.1

This is the first formal SOTI Connect release for commercial use. The features included in this release include:

• Enrollment and management of devices including collection of data
• Creation of rules on devices, collections of devices, and device types
• Building of reports based on historical data
• Basic administration functions like user management, protocol management, and logging
• Support for mobile and industrial printers plus a number of other IoT device types
• File Store for managing content for large items like firmware updates
• Integration with other SOTI systems such as SOTI Identity, SOTI Assist, SOTI Snap and SOTI Central

Enrollment and Management of Devices

SOTI Connect v1.1 allows for the performance of the following activities:

Enrollment

• Manual discovery or enrollment of new devices
• Rules to automatically discover and enroll new devices

Device Actions

• Includes Check-in, Naming, Grouping, Notes, and Flags
• Other device actions as defined by the device type definition

Creation of Rules

SOTI Connect v1.1 allows for the creation of rules with the following capabilities:

Types

• Periodic Actions including device enrolment and data collection for storage
• Automation based on IFTTT logic

Rule Actions

• Create conditional expressions based on device information
• Trigger actions using device protocol capabilities, system functions, and SOTI Connect commands
• Create rules for devices, for device types, or for groups

Reporting

SOTI Connect v1.1 allows for reporting with the following capabilities:

• Build quick reports based on devices, groups, or device types
• Sort and arrange column order
• Save a customized report for additional viewing
• Schedule a saved report to be run at a regular interval and emailed
• Export to CSV for further analysis

Administration Functions

SOTI Connect v1.1 supports the following administrative capabilities:

System Functions

• Enrollment of Protocols and Protocol Adapters via configuration changes
• Configuration of system settings
• Configuration of SOTI One platform components

User Actions

• Creation of roles with functional permissions and assignment to users
• Integration with SOTI Identity to allow SSO capabilities

Alerts

• View New Devices for enrollment, also undo rejected/deleted devices still desired in the system
• View Rule Alerts for issues that occur in the unattended execution of rules
• View System alerts for activities occurring in the current user session

Device Support in Release v1.1

This release is intended to be the first commercial version of a full-featured SOTI Connect. At launch it is expected that SOTI will have certified devices from three different manufactures, with more to come in the following weeks. These additional devices can be added to an installed system without resorting to an MR. The expected manufacturers at launch are:

• SATO industrial and mobile printers
• Brother industrial and mobile printers
• Printronix industrial printers

The system also comes with three simulators that can be used for demonstration and training purposes. These simulators are:

• Philips Hue
• Honeywell HomeComfort
• MQTT Label Printer

Key Components of SOTI Connect

SOTI Connect is an Internet of Things Framework (IOTF): a flexible, expandable system for managing devices in an IoT network.  Device administrators can use the system to remotely query device state, update the software on devices, configure, reboot and perform other actions permitted by the device manufacturer.

Protocol Adapters

Protocol Adapters (PA) are the "edge" of SOTI Connect, and are the system components used to communicate directly to the remote device/gateways. SOTI Connect currently supports PAs that communicate using MQTT and RESTful APIs, and through these to many different device command and data sets. The PA can be replicated in the customer network as required by networking and capacity requirements. If SOTI Connect is in the cloud, this component must be installed on the customer network to enable secure communication between the device and SOTI Connect.

Management Server

The Management Server (MS) is the core of SOTI Connect, and must be running for the system to be functional. The MS delivers the user interface, interacts with the database, and sends the commands to the Protocol Gateways.

Watchdog

This is an external subsystem that provides visibility into the operating status of SOTI Connect components and the capability of starting and stopping services.

MQTT Broker/Server

This is an external system component required for MQTT to function. The SOTI Connect installation package does not include a broker; we recommend using commercial brokers such as HiveMQ or VerneMQ (both open source).

Device Protocol Instances

This is a SOTI Connect term for gateway software from the manufacturer or third party to which we establish communications. In the example of MQTT, the "Instance" is synonymous with the broker mentioned above. In many REST implementations such as Brother or Hue, it is a gateway server that itself communicates to a wide range of devices and thus aggregates traffic. For SATO, it is the management software that resides on the device.

Based on the requirements of the protocol, SOTI Connect supports interacting with an Instance that is either in the Cloud, on the local network, or even on a device itself.

Known issues and Limitations

The following list includes the key known issues and limitations contained within SOTI Connect v1.1 commercial release version:

• IOT-4048 - In the exported report, devices with non-English names are displayed in ASCII codes.
• IOT-4710 - Service config page: Discover action for one instance discovers devices for all registered instances.
• IOT-5178 - Exception thrown, and status code returned, when device limit is reached.
• IOT-5198 - SOTI Assist: API error shown while resolving a SOTI Assist ticket from SOTI Assist tab.
• IOT-5277 - Alerts | New Devices: Page shows only 1000 devices when there are 2000.
• IOT-5314 - REST PG log file stops getting new logs.
• IOT-5404 - Installer failed to update the instance.
• IOT-5614 - Enrollment rules: Actions not executed when set to device type specifically.
• IOT-5733 - User Security: Invalid email addresses are accepted while registering a user.
• IOT-5749 - SOTI Identity: User was not logged out from SOTI Identity even after the 4 hour session timeout.
• IOT-5756 - Default text and link are missing in Reports/Collected data tab when there is no data.
• IOT-5840 - Automatic logout (Signal R) for SOTI Connect and IDP is not working when IDP-initiated SOTI Connect login happens second time.
• IOT-5872 - Emails for scheduled reports are being received every time Management Server gets restarted or an update happens.
• IOT-5893 - Cannot log into SOTI Connect after SOTI Identity is turned off in the SOTI Connect UI.
• IOT-5904 - Print quality darkness defaults are inconsistent.
• IOT-5942 - Create SOTI Assist icon is shown disabled for a SOTI Identity-enabled user.
• IOT-5944 - Columns on Report page are not reordering properly.
• IOT-5945 - Navigating to SOTI Connect when not logged in, SOTI Connect page shows before SOTI Identity login page.
• IOT-5974 - Device action appears in the drop-down list even though it isn't supported.
• IOT-5979 - System Alert messages are gone when user refreshes the browser.
• IOT-5998 - SOTI Identity: Error login to SOTI Connect (when SOTI Identity was ON using FILE metadata) after an update.