Mobilizing thin-client management

It’s been 25 years since the launch of ThinManager software. This device management and content delivery platform is used by plant operators and maintenance technicians in manufacturing and process industries to centralize thin-client device management. This year, with the help of Pepperl+Fuchs, operators and technicians will have an even easier and safer time working with ThinManager.

Attendees at Rockwell Automation Fair in Anaheim, Calif., this month will get a look at the companies’ newest innovation that makes ThinManager even more mobile, and further transforms the management of thin clients on the plant floor. Pepperl+Fuchs’ tablet series Tab-IND and Pad-Ex industrial-grade tablets for harsh environments are now their first ThinManager-ready tablet solutions, according to the companies.

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The tablets can run ThinManager’s proprietary firmware, and remove an operating system, such as Windows, from the plant floor, says Kimberly Gonzalez, senior product specialist at Rockwell Automation. “We changed the device that enables it to receive ThinManager firmware and be completely managed by ThinManager software,” she says. “[Tab-IND and Pad-Ex] are Windows tablets, but for this new offering, we stripped those operating systems and gave them ThinManager’s special sauce. That’s the novelty of this solution that we're excited about.”

This innovation provides a more streamlined, mobile operating device that can be managed just like traditional thin client devices in a ThinManager-managed plant or factory. It also increases the cybersecurity of the solution. “There’s nothing on that device that can be susceptible to security vulerabilities,” Gonzalez adds.