Connector Installation on Linux

Before installing any connector it is recommended that you read the Connectors Overview page. All connectors follow common instructions for installation and require prerequisites be installed. The following information is specific to this connector.

These instructions are for setting up a data access connector for OPC UA (Universal) or a Simulator connector on a Linux system to acquire time series data.  Note: OPC DA is not supported on Linux due to COM and DCOM system limitations.

Installing ThinkIQ Connector on Linux (Debian-Based Distros)

This guide walks you through installing and setting up ThinkIQ connectors on Linux.
Supported Operating Systems

• Ubuntu 22.04 and newer
• Any Debian-based distribution (e.g., Debian, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, etc.)

Prepare the Environment

1. Install Ubuntu 22.04+ or another Debian-based distro (on a VM or physical machine).
2. Make sure you have a user account with sudo privileges (needed for installing packages).
   
   1. You can test this by running:

      sudo whoami
      
      

   If it prints root, you’re good.

3. Open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T on Ubuntu).

 Create a Gateway and Connector in ThinkIQ

Follow the common instructions for installing a gateway and connector. In the Gateway creation popup, select Linux from the Operating System dropdown. When selecting a Connector, choose one of the supported connectors:

• Simulator
• OPC UA Live Data

 After the connector is created, download the generated .deb installer file. It will usually be saved in your Downloads folder.

Once the connector is created, copy and save:

• Endpoint URL
• Activation Code

Install Gateway & Connector on Linux

1. On your Linux system, open a terminal.
2. Navigate to the folder where the .deb file was downloaded (for most users this is Downloads):

   cd ~/Downloads

3. Install the connector package:

   sudo apt install ./tiq-gateway.deb

4. During installation, you will be prompted to enter:

• Endpoint URL
• Activation Code
  Use the values you saved earlier

Check Connector Setup

1. Go back to the ThinkIQ platform site.
2. Open the connector page you created earlier.
3. Refresh the page.
4. Go to the Tags tab.

• You should now see the connector’s tags listed.
• This means the connector is installed and working.

Notes 

•  Supported Linux connectors:
  • Simulator
  • OPC Live Data
• Works on any Debian-based Linux distro, but Ubuntu 22.04+ is officially supported.
• If you encounter errors during installation:
  • Run:

 sudo apt-get install -f

Record activation code and download a deb installer.

Install deb with apt

sudo apt install ./tiq-gateway.deb

Example installation output: 

sudo apt install ./tiq-gateway.deb 
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'tiq-gateway' instead of './tiq-gateway.deb'
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  tiq-gateway
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0 B/21.2 MB of archives.
After this operation, 152 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 /home/michael/Downloads/tiq-gateway.deb tiq-gateway amd64 1.1.11 [21.2 MB]
Selecting previously unselected package tiq-gateway.
(Reading database ... 212548 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../Downloads/tiq-gateway.deb ...
Unpacking tiq-gateway (1.1.11) ...
Setting up tiq-gateway (1.1.11) ...
------------------------------------------------
           Post install configuration
------------------------------------------------
Checking for tiq configured services...
=============================================
        ThinkIQ Gateway Configurator
=============================================
The Ingestion Server Endpoint can be found on the connector Overview tab in the Model Explorer.
Ingestion server endpoint: https://opcua.sprint.dev.thinkiq.net/UA/ThinkIQOpcUaServer
The activation code can also be found on the connector Overview tab in the Model Explorer.
Activation code: 6CKM44XCKP
Creating Directory Structures.
[13:41:27 INF] Configuring UA Client
[13:41:27 INF] Step 1 - Create application configuration and certificate.
[13:41:27 INF] Step 2 - Create a session with your server: https://opcua.sprint.dev.thinkiq.net:443/UA/ThinkIQOpcUaServer/ 
[13:41:28 INF] Start call to Activate connector
Found client certificate file using data: /opt/thinkiq/services/certificates/client/app/certs/GatewayClient [29F4AD359AE11619A0CE81C44E65EB31433C3D77].der
[13:41:28 INF] Public Cert: /opt/thinkiq/services/certificates/client/app/certs/GatewayClient [29F4AD359AE11619A0CE81C44E65EB31433C3D77].der
Updating monitor configuration files...
[13:41:29 INF] OpcUaClient AppSettings: Changing data handler DataRoot directory to /opt/thinkiq/DataRoot
[13:41:29 INF] OpcUaClient AppSettings: Changing data storer DataRoot directory to /opt/thinkiq/DataRoot
[13:41:29 INF] Monitor AppSettings: Changed ConnectorDir to /opt/thinkiq/services/SouthBridgeService
[13:41:29 INF] Monitor AppSettings: Changed ConnectorLogDir to /opt/thinkiq/services/SouthBridgeService/Logs
[13:41:29 INF] Monitor AppSettings: Changed GatewayDir to /opt/thinkiq/services/OpcUaNorthService
[13:41:29 INF] Monitor AppSettings: Changed GatewayLogDir to /opt/thinkiq/services/OpcUaNorthService/Logs
[13:41:29 INF] Monitor AppSettings: Wrote changes to /opt/thinkiq/services/SystemMonitor/appsettings.json
[13:41:29 INF] OpcUaClient EndpointsConfig: Changed ServerUrl to https://opcua.sprint.dev.thinkiq.net/UA/ThinkIQOpcUaServer
Updating North Service configuration files...
[13:41:29 INF] OpcUaClient AppSettings: Changing data handler DataRoot directory to /opt/thinkiq/DataRoot
[13:41:29 INF] OpcUaClient AppSettings: Changing data storer DataRoot directory to /opt/thinkiq/DataRoot
[13:41:29 INF] OpcUaClient EndpointsConfig: Changed ServerUrl to https://opcua.sprint.dev.thinkiq.net/UA/ThinkIQOpcUaServer
Updating South Service configuration files...
[13:41:29 INF] connType = OPC UA Live Data; installPath = /opt/thinkiq/services/SouthBridgeService
[13:41:29 INF] Connector AppSettings: Changed DataRootDir to /opt/thinkiq/DataRoot
[13:41:29 INF] Connector AppSettings: Wrote changes to /opt/thinkiq/services/SouthBridgeService/appsettings.json
[13:41:29 INF] Connector ModelSettings: Changed Parent to [
  "mk_org",
  "linux_ua_gw"
]
[13:41:29 INF] Connector ModelSettings: Changed Name to ua_deb
[13:41:29 INF] Connector AppSettings: Wrote changes to /opt/thinkiq/services/SouthBridgeService/model.json
[13:41:29 INF] Checking for SouthBridgeService service...
[13:41:29 ERR] Service SouthBridgeService: command failed: is-active --quiet tiq-southbridgeservice.service.
[13:41:29 ERR] exit code: 3
[13:41:29 ERR] error message: 
[13:41:29 INF] Debug: CheckForService: False
[13:41:29 INF] Service SouthBridgeService being created...
[13:41:29 INF] Service SouthBridgeService being enabled...
[13:41:29 INF] Service SouthBridgeService being started...
[13:41:29 INF] Checking for OpcUaNorthService service...
[13:41:29 ERR] Service OpcUaNorthService: command failed: is-active --quiet tiq-opcuanorthservice.service.
[13:41:29 ERR] exit code: 3
[13:41:29 ERR] error message: 
[13:41:29 INF] Debug: CheckForService: False
[13:41:29 INF] Service OpcUaNorthService being created...
[13:41:29 INF] Service OpcUaNorthService being enabled...
[13:41:29 INF] Service OpcUaNorthService being started...
[13:41:29 INF] Checking for SystemMonitor service...
[13:41:29 ERR] Service SystemMonitor: command failed: is-active --quiet tiq-systemmonitor.service.
[13:41:29 ERR] exit code: 3
[13:41:29 ERR] error message: 
[13:41:29 INF] Debug: CheckForService: False
[13:41:29 INF] Service SystemMonitor being created...
[13:41:30 INF] Service SystemMonitor being enabled...
[13:41:30 INF] Service SystemMonitor being started...
Data Source for the ThinkIQ UA connector
  Example: opc.tcp://localhost:62578/boiler
Data Source endpoint: opc.tcp://192.168.122.231:49320
Updating UA connector endpoint
Restarting connector service...

Make sure to approve the ThinkIQ certificate on the UA server if it is configured for certificate negotiation.

Removing the Linux UA connector:

sudo apt remove tiq-gateway

Mapping Tags

To receive time series data from a new connector, its tags must be properly linked to attributes in ThinkIQ system. Learn how to Map Tags to Data Sources.