What is Talk2M
Machine Builders and Infrastructure markets have, for many years, used Modem-to-Modem connections for remote access to devices and outstations. Today, the Internet offers exciting prospects for industry players but also brings more IT complexity.Talk2M makes things smarter!
Talk2M (stands for Talk to Machines) is an Internet Service designed to address the growing need for broadband and wireless access to perform remote maintenance & access distant equipments. The key added-value of Talk2M is the full integration of IT security standards by allowing an Internet communication tunnel between the user and the remote machine without any IT network security change on both sides! This major breakthrough allows easy deployment while hiding the complexity of the IT network infrastructure.
Together with the eWON range of industrial routers, Talk2M sheds new light on Internet remote access & maintenance, being compliant with a wide range of serial or Ethernet based PLCs: Siemens®, Rockwell Automation®, Schneider Electric®, Omron®, VIPA®,…
Designed with affordability in mind, Talk2M’s User Interface is the engineer's address book and single click access to your machines!
How does Talk2M work?
Talk2M comprises connectivity services based on a hosted web application designed to connect users to their machines via the Internet. This hosted application acts as a broker and relays the communications originated by the users to their machines. It is intended to be used in the industrial automation sector.
Talk2M uses virtual private networks (VPNs) and tunneling. Talk2M accepts connections from users as well as from their machines, so both parties can exchange data using tunneling technology.
Talk2M tunnels are initiated by eWON industrial routers and use only outgoing connections. No incoming connections are made (in other words, the Talk2M server does not initiate tunnels), so no ports need to be enabled in your corporate firewall for incoming connections. In addition, Talk2M is designed to be minimally intrusive. This means that it tries to use outgoing ports that are already enabled, which are usually the HTTP port (80) and the related secure HTTPS port (443).
The information exchanged during the communication is encrypted (SSL 128 bits) and only authenticated users can connect to the eWON.
Talk2M uses virtual private networks (VPNs) and tunneling. Talk2M accepts connections from users as well as from their machines, so both parties can exchange data using tunneling technology.
Talk2M tunnels are initiated by eWON industrial routers and use only outgoing connections. No incoming connections are made (in other words, the Talk2M server does not initiate tunnels), so no ports need to be enabled in your corporate firewall for incoming connections. In addition, Talk2M is designed to be minimally intrusive. This means that it tries to use outgoing ports that are already enabled, which are usually the HTTP port (80) and the related secure HTTPS port (443).
The information exchanged during the communication is encrypted (SSL 128 bits) and only authenticated users can connect to the eWON.
The Talk2M service is hosted on the Internet
Each eWON industrial router connected to your machine connects exclusively to the Talk2M server. An authentication mechanism ensures that each eWON industrial router talks to the Talk2M server that has the same key. A similar mechanism ensures that each user can only communicate with a specific eWON industrial router. All data exchanged via the Talk2M server and the Internet is encrypted, so the data remains secure.
If I decide to use Talk2M, what ports do I need to open if all my firewall outgoing ports are closed?
Talk2M is designed to be minimally intrusive. It is based on the Open SSL/Open VPN protocol, so its base port is UDP 1194. However, the eCatcher PC client and the eWON industrial router check to see whether the UDP 1194 port is open in outgoing mode before they connect to the Talk2M server. It is usually closed, so Talk2M technology is designed to use the HTTPS port (TCP 443) as an alternative, since it is considered to be more widely used than the Open VPN port. This means that if no outgoing communication ports are open on your company firewall, you need to open at least the HTTPS port (TCP 443) in outgoing mode.
Key benefits
Reduce costly site visits
- Studies show that service costs can be reduced up to 50% by eliminating unplanned site visits.
Provide direct support to your customers
- Remote machine diagnosis enables immediate access by specialists to reduce problem resolution times.
Maintain regular contact with your equipment
- Talk2M lets you monitor your equipment without interfering with its operation.
Take advantage of broadband internet connections
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Use reliable, fast and economical modern communication media, such as LAN or 3G, instead of unreliable, slow and expensive dial-up solutions.
