Possibility of using USB stick for downloading data?

Good question. There are however a number of issues that makes this hard to accomplish, the most obvious one being that our current modules does not have a host USB port :-). But, as you mention yourself there are other issues, such as security. Here is a list of things that we think are show-stoppers for USB sticks, especially for software download:

1. Assure that the addressed system is the correct recipient for the new files/data. This can not always be done by the system itself because it may not have knowledge of the complete system. Think of for example; empty units, spare units from other applications, "not-working" units, cabling problems etc.
2. Assure that updates only can be done according to the operator’s security level. Will not work if you have an "empty" module without any software/application.
3. Preservation of specific data. An update of software should not override the specific machine's settings, parameters etc. This is a complex operation, e.g. the new update could consist of new parameters, removed parameters, parameters that need to be changed, and of course parameters that should stay intact.
4. Special operations needed when updating a system that consist of "incompatible" software. This could happen when major tech leaps has been done in the functionality.

But, you are not the first one asking for this, and we realize there is a need for an easier way to get logs from a machine or update it with new software. Our idea is to use smart phones instead. A simple app that will allow you to login to your machine when needed, get logs and update software. The app connects to the machine via WiFi or Bluetooth. It will also be able to store and fetch files "in the cloud", using solutions such as Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. Please let us know your thoughts.



More information to follow...

I have seen the option for 'tablet control' in IQAN Design.

Can you give me any more information about this as there doesn't seem to be much in the manual.

We get customers ask about downloading log files that we have on the system. They wish to download all the logs and save them to a computer. The simplest solution would be to use a USB stick on something like the MD3.

A app on a mobile phone or tablet could also work. Would the customer need to purchase IQAN software if this was the case? Also is this functionality currently available on phones or tablets, ie. apple or android?

The property Allow IQANrun for tablets (available on Security), must be set to Yes to make it possible to use tablets to connect to the system. If set to No the master will reject any connection request from a tablet. When we release smart phone apps there may be additional properties for those apps, or we'll rename the existing one so that it's valid for both tablets and smart phones. This is not decided yet.

We'll update the user manuals so it is clear how these properties work.

There is currently one app available; IQANrun 3 Free for iPad. We'll soon release the same app for Android tablets. With this app it is possible to view the logs, but not save them. Saving logs will be added to the paid version of these apps. Further on there are plans for a smart phone app that can save logs.

More info can be found here: http://forum.iqan.se/topic/581717-iqanrun-3-free-app-available-on-app-store/

Something that allows application updates to be installed by the end user would be great - many of us have customers that are expensive to reach. A phone app would work - our operators generally have smart phones - but it would be important to be able to download the update file while in service and install it on a machine outside a cell service area. My $0.02 worth

This will be possible, both on the tablet and smart phone version. You can download the update file from an email or a Dropbox account when you have Internet connection. The update file is then saved on your smart device and can be used later on to update a machine where you do not have Internet access.
Apps to be updated/released later this fall.

ideal