Entitlements

Entitlements allow HMIs or IPCs to be connected to with FactoryTalk Remote Access and determine what operations are granted by that connection.
There are two main types of entitlements for using FactoryTalk Remote Access:
  • FactoryTalk Remote Access Runtime entitlement:
     This Runtime entitlement can be a Pro or Basic entitlement, featuring an initial 90-days trial period coming with two Pro Trial entitlements.
  • FactoryTalk Remote Access 1/2/5/10/25/50 Concurrent Connection entitlement:
     This domain entitlement comes with an initial 90-days trial period and may be purchased in volumes of 1/2/5/10/25/50 concurrent connections.
Entitlements for both domains and devices in your organization are shown in the
Entitlements
 section in the FTRA Manager. In this area, you can see how many entitlments allocated to devices have been assigned and how many are still available to you.
See the table below for further information:
FactoryTalk Remote Access Runtime Basic
Basic entitlements allow file transfers, task management, and minimal VPN capabilities.
NOTE: OptixPanel Compact graphic terminals display an
Upgrade
 button next to the Basic entitlement type, in the right pane of the
Domain view
, in the Entitlements section. This button allows to upgrade the Basic entitlement to more advanced types by purchasing just the services that are not already included in the Basic entitlement.
FactoryTalk Remote Access Runtime Pro
Pro entitlements allow VPN access to all devices on the computer network, file transfers and task management.
FactoryTalk Remote Access Runtime Pro Trial
The FactoryTalk Remote Access Runtime Pro entitlement allows full use of the Pro entitlement features.
FactoryTalk Remote Access 1/2/5/10/25/50 Concurrent Connections
Domain entitlements are acquired through the FT Hub and determine how many concurrent connections you can establish at the same time.
NOTE: See How to activate a licenseentitlement to learn how to activate an entitlement.

Trial Period and first organization creation

When creating your first organization in the FT Hub, your domain will be associated with a 90-day free trial entitlement. During this time, you will be required to purchase an entitlement lasting 365 days starting from its activation date. Nevertheless, if you wish to create another organization, you will need to have already an entitlement associated with your first organization, then you will be required to purchase an entitlement for any further organization.
Besides the entitlement purchased for each further organization, a 90-day free trial entitlement will be associated with your domain anyway. The free trial entitlement allows for an indefinite number of concurrent connections.
  1. Access your organization in FT Hub.
    NOTE: See FTRA Manager authentication for further information on this topic.
  2. Click on the FactoryTalk Remote Access tile. If you are accessing FactoryTalk Remote Access for the first time, a window message will prompt you to name your new FactoryTalk Remote Access domain.
  3. You will be redirected to the FTRA Manager and the entitlement trial period starts.

Entitlement expiration

When an entitlement expires, the domain connected to it expires too.
  • FactortyTalk Remote Access Runtime Trial entitlements
     expire after 90 days and no grace period follows the entitlement trial expiration.
    NOTE: Notification messages will appear each time you log on to the service informing you of the number of days remaining in the trial period. After the trial period is over, you will not be able to use the service until you obtain a subscription.
  • FactoryTalk Remote Access 1/2/5/10/25/50 Concurrent Connection entitlements
     expire after 365 days and a 7-days grace period following the expiration date activates to allow for entitlement renewal through the FT Hub. If the entitlement is not renewed within the grace period, the user can still access the domain, without being able to carry out any action within it.
    Select the
    Settings
    Domain Options
    Send e-mail notifications of account information
     entry to allow each admin and owner user to receive an e-mail every day during the grace period, informing them about any days left to the entitlement expiration.
    NOTE: 60, 30, and 10 days before the
    FactoryTalk Remote Access 1/2/5/10/25/50 Concurrent Connection entitlement
     expires, an e-mail is sent to all of the admin and owner users to inform them about the expiration deadline.

Features comparison

Features
Runtime Basic
Runtime Pro
Stratix®  4300 Router
OptixPanel™ Compact
(Ships with Runtime Basic, Upgradable to Pro)
OptixPanel™ Standard
(Ships with Runtime Pro)
Embedded Edge Computer
(Ships with Runtime Pro)
  • Interactive tools: screen mirroring, chat, screenshots, file transfer, task manager
  • Remote access approval
  • Submission of assistance request (with expiration date)
  • Command Line Interface (CLI) to manage runtime functions from the command line
✔
✔
x
✔
✔
✔
  • Optimized Layer-2 VPN with access to the remote system
  • Multiple connections to a single Runtime with separate VPNs for each client
  • Internet connection support via PROXY
  • Integrated firewall for VPN traffic
  • Local Connection
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
  • Access to devices behind the remote system
    • via Ethernet interface
    • via Serial interface
    • via USB interface
  • Internet connection sharing (ICS) with devices on the machine network (LAN)
x
✔
✔
x
✔
✔
  • Programming of NAT rules (S-NAT and D-NAT) between Ethernet communication interfaces
  • Programming of static routing rules between Ethernet communication interfaces
  • Remote access approval and notification by onboard digital I/O
x
x
✔
x
x
x
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