Set up your x500 IoT gateway

Cloud enable your machine, Getting started

The x500 IoT gateway is the hardware component which enables you to remotely access your PLCs, HMIs and other devices.

This article shows you how to set up your x500 IoT gateway. After your x500 IoT gateway is set up you will be able to access and manage your x500 IoT gateway on X4 remote.

Prerequisites

* X4 remote account (view our getting started guide)
* x500 IoT gateway
* USB flash drive (included with the x500 IoT gateway)

The steps to follow in order to set up your x500 IoT gateway are:

Create a configuration file

First step is to create a configuration file on X4 remote that will tell the x500 IoT gateway to what company it belongs and how it’s connected. Most input fields will be pre-filled, based on standard use cases, so for most users, all the fields can be left untouched. The next steps show you how to create a configuration file.

  • Go to [Tools] in the main menu and press [Start configuration].
  • Select your connection type and click [Next]

Connection types

* Wired network using Ethernet cable.
* Wireless network using a Wi-Fi signal. Required info: network name (SSID) and password. (requires hardware with Wi-Fi)
* Cellular Network using a 4G cellular network. Required Info: network apn and SIM card PIN code. (requires hardware with 4G support)

Wi-Fi network

Note that the x500 IoT gateway can’t connect to a Wi-Fi network if it requires you to log in to a webpage or accept their terms of use first. Please use another Wi-Fi network if possible.

  • After choosing the connection type, you can generally leave the default DHCP settings and press [Next]. If you need to set a static IP address, you can do so by pressing the respective entry. View our static WAN IP address-article for more information.
  • Next you’ll enter a unique IP address for your x500 IoT gateway and press [Next]. This needs to share the subnet of your PLC/HMI but cannot match their IP address!

LAN/WAN conflict

The LAN subnet (machine network, i.e. 192.168.140) needs to differ from the WAN subnet (company network). More information can be found here.

  • Press [Next] to finish your configuration file.
  • Press [Download] and place the file in the root directory of the USB flash drive, not in a folder.

File name

It is essential that the file is named “router.conf“, without any added characters or numbers.

Register your x500 IoT gateway

Once the configuration file is placed on a USB flash drive, you can start registering your x500 IoT gateway. The next steps show how to register your x500 IoT gateway.

  • Connect your x500 IoT gateway to the internet.
    • Wired connection: Connect the “internet” port on the x500 IoT gateway to your company network.
    • Wireless connection: Make sure to be in range of the Wi-Fi’s access point.
    • 4G connection: Make sure the SIM card is properly inserted and in range of the cellular network
  • Power on your x500 IoT gateway using a 12-24 VDC power supply.
  • Insert the USB flash drive containing the configuration file into the x500 IoT gateway’s USB port.
  • Wait around 2 minutes for the x500 IoT gateway to configure and register itself.

RDY LED status

The x500 IoT gateway’s RDY LED should blink blue quickly shortly after inserting the USB flash drive, indicating that the x500 IoT gateway is (re)configuring itself. If this hasn’t happened after 1 minute, please check that the file is located in the root directory of the USB flash drive and that the file name is exactly “router.conf“. Try a different USB flash drive if the problem persists. View our LED Status article for details on the other RDY LED status messages.

Once your x500 IoT gateway shows a constant blue light it’s registered on X4 remote.

Closest Lenze vpn server

The x500 IoT gateway connects to the closest Lenze vpn server, based on its location. The location is determined based on its IP address, this is called GeoIP. You can overrule this by manually entering a location and then turning its VPN connection off and on.

Remove the USB drive once the x500 IIoT gateway is registered

When you make changes in the configuration after the initial configuration and the USB drive with the “router.conf” file is still in the x500 IoT gateway, the x500 IoT gateway will reboot itself to the old configuration after a temporary power disconnect.

Activate your x500 IoT gateway

After a successful registration of your x500 IoT gateway a yellow bar will pop up in the [Devices] page. The next steps show how to activate your x500 IoT gateway.

  • Go to [Devices] in the main menu. You will find a yellow bar at the top in your device list stating “New device”.
  • Press the yellow bar, select [Activate], and name your device as you see fit.

Information

The first number and figure combination (i.e. “C0:D3:91:31:46:41”) is the MAC address of your x500 IoT gateway. The second number (i.e. “16055202”) is the serial number of the x500 IoT gateway.

Next Step

The x500 IoT gateway is now set up and activated. You can now connect to your machine