I'm totally new to Maximo but not to databases, apps, software design, communications, & interfaces. That aside, hoping someone here has some Maximo info to help.

I have an inquiry from a large corporation using Maximo to interface to an Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS). I'm the expert on the ASRS which has a RS232 serial communication interface from 30 years ago (yes this machine was built quite well & still working great).  I have access to the interface protocol documents for an old terminal hookup, so that path is a known quantity and can be exploited for such integration.  Though I suspect there might need to be a go-between software on a PC/etc to convert the Maximo messaging to/from the ASRS thru that channel.

What I would need to know is the possibilities from the Maximo system to determine if and how such interface is achievable.  Like whether such options are add-on or included, configuration of that (I suspect there's some docs available), or if those things require a Maximo expert onsite and, if so, what that would entail.  These days I would expect an XML/JSON/etc data exchange via network.

I think the bigger question is what to ask the customer to find out what if anything their Maximo setup has and what they're willing to do on their end should they wish to pursue this.  For me, I just need to ask the right questions. They do have other equipment (tons of automation there) so maybe they've done similar for other storage type systems onsite.

In short, looking for some Maximo insight from anyone here who has worked out a similar solution... Thanx in advance.

I'm totally new to Maximo but not to databases, apps, software design, communications, & interfaces. That aside, hoping someone here has some Maximo info to help.

I have an inquiry from a large corporation using Maximo to interface to an Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS). I'm the expert on the ASRS which has a RS232 serial communication interface from 30 years ago (yes this machine was built quite well & still working great).  I have access to the interface protocol documents for an old terminal hookup, so that path is a known quantity and can be exploited for such integration.  Though I suspect there might need to be a go-between software on a PC/etc to convert the Maximo messaging to/from the ASRS thru that channel.

What I would need to know is the possibilities from the Maximo system to determine if and how such interface is achievable.  Like whether such options are add-on or included, configuration of that (I suspect there's some docs available), or if those things require a Maximo expert onsite and, if so, what that would entail.  These days I would expect an XML/JSON/etc data exchange via network.

I think the bigger question is what to ask the customer to find out what if anything their Maximo setup has and what they're willing to do on their end should they wish to pursue this.  For me, I just need to ask the right questions. They do have other equipment (tons of automation there) so maybe they've done similar for other storage type systems onsite.

In short, looking for some Maximo insight from anyone here who has worked out a similar solution... Thanx in advance.

John, 

MadMax IoT has an off the shelf connector to share data between automation systems and Maximo. You mentioned RS232, I'm guessing the ASRS system is using the Modbus protocol then? 

I'm totally new to Maximo but not to databases, apps, software design, communications, & interfaces. That aside, hoping someone here has some Maximo info to help.

I have an inquiry from a large corporation using Maximo to interface to an Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS). I'm the expert on the ASRS which has a RS232 serial communication interface from 30 years ago (yes this machine was built quite well & still working great).  I have access to the interface protocol documents for an old terminal hookup, so that path is a known quantity and can be exploited for such integration.  Though I suspect there might need to be a go-between software on a PC/etc to convert the Maximo messaging to/from the ASRS thru that channel.

What I would need to know is the possibilities from the Maximo system to determine if and how such interface is achievable.  Like whether such options are add-on or included, configuration of that (I suspect there's some docs available), or if those things require a Maximo expert onsite and, if so, what that would entail.  These days I would expect an XML/JSON/etc data exchange via network.

I think the bigger question is what to ask the customer to find out what if anything their Maximo setup has and what they're willing to do on their end should they wish to pursue this.  For me, I just need to ask the right questions. They do have other equipment (tons of automation there) so maybe they've done similar for other storage type systems onsite.

In short, looking for some Maximo insight from anyone here who has worked out a similar solution... Thanx in advance.

Just looked at the MadMax IoT overview/demo video & seems more a middleware that would not necessarily provide any benefit here as it only aggregates I/O status from devices with Modbus or other standard interfaces.  And, then another thing to manage & potentially add difficulty should there ever be any connectivity problems between the ASRS & Maximo, not to mention additional hours or days of setup & testing.

The ASRS has its own protocol from the 1980s where a dumb terminal would pass keystrokes via RS232 & the ASRS would manage the keystroke/chars until the pick/store/etc message was formed, then execute & reply whatever to show on the terminal screen.  Of course it does not matter if those ASCII characters came in at the speed of keyboard pecking char-by-char or as fast as the complete keyed message.

Saying that, the interchange would simply need to be that of the ASRS interface protocol in a way the ASRS could not tell the difference of a terminal or something emulating it.  That will likely be a custom middleware to talk to the Maximo system via network connection on one side & the ASRS via serial on the other side.

So it's either the custom middleware OR a customization, configuration, etc of Maximo to effect the ASRS interface.  Either way, I would need to know if Maximo can do that or anything else in the Maximo environment or app dealing with such interfaces.  Also, some detail of if/how actionable events can be triggered from something like an inventoried part screen where the user effects a request of parts from stock.

So anything along those lines anyone in the Maximo group can shed light on, like links to document pages/etc or other via experience, is what I'm looking for.  Or better said trying to minimize the haystack to find the few needles of interest (right now it seems like I have a few barns & not sure if such needles exist).  Anyway, thanks for the info in case its part of the need here.

John, 

MadMax IoT has an off the shelf connector to share data between automation systems and Maximo. You mentioned RS232, I'm guessing the ASRS system is using the Modbus protocol then? 

I'm totally new to Maximo but not to databases, apps, software design, communications, & interfaces. That aside, hoping someone here has some Maximo info to help.

I have an inquiry from a large corporation using Maximo to interface to an Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS). I'm the expert on the ASRS which has a RS232 serial communication interface from 30 years ago (yes this machine was built quite well & still working great).  I have access to the interface protocol documents for an old terminal hookup, so that path is a known quantity and can be exploited for such integration.  Though I suspect there might need to be a go-between software on a PC/etc to convert the Maximo messaging to/from the ASRS thru that channel.

What I would need to know is the possibilities from the Maximo system to determine if and how such interface is achievable.  Like whether such options are add-on or included, configuration of that (I suspect there's some docs available), or if those things require a Maximo expert onsite and, if so, what that would entail.  These days I would expect an XML/JSON/etc data exchange via network.

I think the bigger question is what to ask the customer to find out what if anything their Maximo setup has and what they're willing to do on their end should they wish to pursue this.  For me, I just need to ask the right questions. They do have other equipment (tons of automation there) so maybe they've done similar for other storage type systems onsite.

In short, looking for some Maximo insight from anyone here who has worked out a similar solution... Thanx in advance.

I'm totally new to Maximo but not to databases, apps, software design, communications, & interfaces. That aside, hoping someone here has some Maximo info to help.

I have an inquiry from a large corporation using Maximo to interface to an Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS). I'm the expert on the ASRS which has a RS232 serial communication interface from 30 years ago (yes this machine was built quite well & still working great).  I have access to the interface protocol documents for an old terminal hookup, so that path is a known quantity and can be exploited for such integration.  Though I suspect there might need to be a go-between software on a PC/etc to convert the Maximo messaging to/from the ASRS thru that channel.

What I would need to know is the possibilities from the Maximo system to determine if and how such interface is achievable.  Like whether such options are add-on or included, configuration of that (I suspect there's some docs available), or if those things require a Maximo expert onsite and, if so, what that would entail.  These days I would expect an XML/JSON/etc data exchange via network.

I think the bigger question is what to ask the customer to find out what if anything their Maximo setup has and what they're willing to do on their end should they wish to pursue this.  For me, I just need to ask the right questions. They do have other equipment (tons of automation there) so maybe they've done similar for other storage type systems onsite.

In short, looking for some Maximo insight from anyone here who has worked out a similar solution... Thanx in advance.

John,

Wow! 1980's RS232 Awesome! I get to go back to my youth!!  For you serial protocol keystroke emulation, I understand you need to have a properly formatted message to go from Maximo to ASRS and then a reposes generated by ASRS to come back to Maximo.  As @Jacky Qiu mentioned the MIF tool will likely provide you the correct inbound and outbound formatting.  I would start with publish channel and send you outbound json or xml message that way to start.  If you need to manipulate the message prior to publishing it you can likely call an automaton script first (rather than a custom Java class), thus making the entire communication eligible for promotion from a Dev or Test system into production through Maximo's native Migration Manager.

OK so now that we have solved that problem..... (hahahaha!) no onto the formatting and sending back the confirmation message.  That will take some more work.  The response message will need to be converted into some king of object in Maximo. have you mapped this out in a process flow yet? Has your team engaged with a technical professional with deep integration skills in Maximo?

Are you aware that IBM has a Client Engineering team that likely could assist you with a Minimum Viable Product in a short term engagement?  Are you aware of who your Brand Technical Specialist is from IBM, who can help you engage with the right business partner team and IBM team to help you solve this problem?  If not DM me and I will look into this and connect you with the right team.

"How can I help?"

I'm totally new to Maximo but not to databases, apps, software design, communications, & interfaces. That aside, hoping someone here has some Maximo info to help.

I have an inquiry from a large corporation using Maximo to interface to an Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS). I'm the expert on the ASRS which has a RS232 serial communication interface from 30 years ago (yes this machine was built quite well & still working great).  I have access to the interface protocol documents for an old terminal hookup, so that path is a known quantity and can be exploited for such integration.  Though I suspect there might need to be a go-between software on a PC/etc to convert the Maximo messaging to/from the ASRS thru that channel.

What I would need to know is the possibilities from the Maximo system to determine if and how such interface is achievable.  Like whether such options are add-on or included, configuration of that (I suspect there's some docs available), or if those things require a Maximo expert onsite and, if so, what that would entail.  These days I would expect an XML/JSON/etc data exchange via network.

I think the bigger question is what to ask the customer to find out what if anything their Maximo setup has and what they're willing to do on their end should they wish to pursue this.  For me, I just need to ask the right questions. They do have other equipment (tons of automation there) so maybe they've done similar for other storage type systems onsite.

In short, looking for some Maximo insight from anyone here who has worked out a similar solution... Thanx in advance.

Appreciate the insight, though it seems this Maximo portion might be as much a major task of the integration as what seems to be a middleware design translating the interchange between Maximo and the ASRS. I'd be really interested in seeing an example of a similar integration, like a protocol document showing a sample Maximo JSON/etc message interchange of a task request, as well as maybe a Maximo screen where an inventory action like "quantity of parts" requested would be derived from.

Without taking a deep-dive into Maximo to get a summary idea of this, its looking like a major undertaking. And maybe it is, but for now I'm just trying to get an idea of if such a task is days or weeks or months to make the integrations effort. If too many details and personnel are required to manage this, it would be a definite no-go given how its hard to find people with a work ethic to embrace and properly manage the customer side of this. I just need to get enough understanding to at least tell the customer what's needed on their end to work with that on my end (the ASRS and whatever middleware).

From the responses so far, it seems the project needs a Maximo expert on the customer end to determine what their Maximo setup has and can do towards this integration. But I'll also need to be able to ask rational questions about their Maximo setup, hopefully without the deep-dive or poring through all the great things Maximo can do just to find the tidbit of my interest. As mentioned, I have expertise in software and have coded many communication interfaces, serial and network, but just don't have the time to spend what appears to be days to understand all that Maximo can do & determine how it can here. Saying that, I appreciate any links to examples to get that "aha" overview.

John,

Wow! 1980's RS232 Awesome! I get to go back to my youth!!  For you serial protocol keystroke emulation, I understand you need to have a properly formatted message to go from Maximo to ASRS and then a reposes generated by ASRS to come back to Maximo.  As @Jacky Qiu mentioned the MIF tool will likely provide you the correct inbound and outbound formatting.  I would start with publish channel and send you outbound json or xml message that way to start.  If you need to manipulate the message prior to publishing it you can likely call an automaton script first (rather than a custom Java class), thus making the entire communication eligible for promotion from a Dev or Test system into production through Maximo's native Migration Manager.

OK so now that we have solved that problem..... (hahahaha!) no onto the formatting and sending back the confirmation message.  That will take some more work.  The response message will need to be converted into some king of object in Maximo. have you mapped this out in a process flow yet? Has your team engaged with a technical professional with deep integration skills in Maximo?

Are you aware that IBM has a Client Engineering team that likely could assist you with a Minimum Viable Product in a short term engagement?  Are you aware of who your Brand Technical Specialist is from IBM, who can help you engage with the right business partner team and IBM team to help you solve this problem?  If not DM me and I will look into this and connect you with the right team.

"How can I help?"

I'm totally new to Maximo but not to databases, apps, software design, communications, & interfaces. That aside, hoping someone here has some Maximo info to help.

I have an inquiry from a large corporation using Maximo to interface to an Automated Storage Retrieval System (ASRS). I'm the expert on the ASRS which has a RS232 serial communication interface from 30 years ago (yes this machine was built quite well & still working great).  I have access to the interface protocol documents for an old terminal hookup, so that path is a known quantity and can be exploited for such integration.  Though I suspect there might need to be a go-between software on a PC/etc to convert the Maximo messaging to/from the ASRS thru that channel.

What I would need to know is the possibilities from the Maximo system to determine if and how such interface is achievable.  Like whether such options are add-on or included, configuration of that (I suspect there's some docs available), or if those things require a Maximo expert onsite and, if so, what that would entail.  These days I would expect an XML/JSON/etc data exchange via network.

I think the bigger question is what to ask the customer to find out what if anything their Maximo setup has and what they're willing to do on their end should they wish to pursue this.  For me, I just need to ask the right questions. They do have other equipment (tons of automation there) so maybe they've done similar for other storage type systems onsite.

In short, looking for some Maximo insight from anyone here who has worked out a similar solution... Thanx in advance.