Cloud Connector (cloudConnector-CloudConnector)

This component enables a NiagaraStation running in a localhost or on an embedded controller to securely connect to a specific cloud platform.

For example, the CloudConnector_Sentience nCloudDriver component provides device registration and a secure connection to the Honeywell Sentience cloud platform for use with the Niagara Cloud Niagara Cloud and other cloud services.

In addition to enabling cloud connectivity, the cloud connector authenticates the device to Niagara Cloud; maintains a message queue for sending messages to and from the cloud; raises an alarm if a connectivity problem occurs; and provides a bearer token to other services to identify those as coming from a properly registered device.

The cloud connector service generates alerts for the fault state, that is Cannot connect to Cloud and routes them to the alarm class specified in the service’s Alarm Source Info property.

Device Registration is the default view that enables a user to register a device.

This component is found in the cloudSentienceConnector palette.

In the Niagara Cloud release 2018_4 and later, the connectors in the cloudSentienceConnector palette are renamed for clarity. The intended use for each one is as follows:

CloudConnector_Sentience nCloudDriver supports the Niagara Cloud and .
CloudBackupService supports the JACE-8000 and JACE-9000 controllers.
Use “CloudConnector_Sentience cloudBackup Only” for CloudBackupService when nCloudDriver is not supported (JACE-7 and older).
Upgrade From cloudBackup Only to nCloudDriver supports installations that initially provided a connector that was for cloud backups only, or if you had an older connector that pre-dates the release of Niagara Cloud.
Place Upgrade From cloudBackup Only to nCloudDriverunder CloudConnector/Connector Impl and select the action Switch To Iot Hub Message Client. A JACE-8000 and JACE-9000, as well as the CloudIotHubDep-rt.jar module are required for this upgrade.

For legacy platforms (JACE-3, JACE-6,JACE-7 and JACE-8000 ), and JACE-9000 platforms that are only used for cloud backups, only use the CloudConnector_Sentience cloudBackup Only component. This component does not support the Niagara Cloud, so this driver should not be used with legacy JACE platforms or with JACE-8000 platforms that are only used for cloud backups.

Figure 31. CloudConnector_Sentience nCloudDriver properties

To access these properties, expand Config > Services, scroll to CloudConnector_Sentience nCloudDriver, right-click the driver and click Views > AX Property Sheet.

Name	Value	Description
Status	read-only	Indicates the condition of the connector at the last check. {ok} indicates that the cloud connector component is licensed, registered with Sentience and Niagara Cloud, and successfully connected. {down} indicates that the cloud connector is not connected to the Niagara Cloud, perhaps it is not registered, or possibly loss of network connection. {disabled} indicates that the Enable property is set to `false`. {fault} indicates another problem. Check the Fault Cause property for more information.
Fault Cause	read-only	Indicates the reason why a system object (network, device, component, extension, etc.) is not working (in fault). This property is empty unless a fault exists.
Enabled	`true` (default)or `false`	Activates (`true`) and deactivates (`false`) use of the object (network, device, point, component, table, schedule, descriptor, etc.).
Connector Impl	additional properties	Contains read only properties that show registration and connection URLs, which determine how the device will be registered and connected. The topic SentienceConnectorImpl documents these properties.
Id	text string	Defines a globally unique identifier for each host, supplied by the Identity Provider with which the connector is registered. For the Honeywell Forge cloud platform, this is a system GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) that uniquely identifies the station within the cloud platform.
Connection State	read-only	Indicates whether or not the cloud connector is currently connected to the specified cloud platform. Disconnected, Connected, Pending Connect
Connect Retry Interval	hours minutes seconds (defaults to 20 seconds	Configures the amount of time between attempts to establish a connection upon a failure to connect.
Alarm Source Info	additional properties	Contains a set of properties for configuring and routing alarms when this component is the alarm source. For property descriptions, refer to the Niagara Alarms Guide
Last OK Time	read-only	Displays the last date and time the cloud connector was functioning as expected.
Last Fail Time	read-only	Displays the last date and time the cloud connector failed to connect.
Last Fail Cause	read-only	Displays the reason for the last failure of the cloud connector to connect.

Actions

Reconnect — This helps to reconnect the cloud.