Tags

Tags

Tags are the foundation of data acquisition and processing in Tricloud Nexus. Tags define what data points you want to collect, process, and store from your connected equipment. After you’ve used Data Connectors to establish connections to your devices, you use Tags to specify which measurements (such as temperature, cycle status, error codes, or any other relevant data point) should be acquired and how they should be interpreted, processed, and ultimately stored.

Where Tags fit in the data flow

The Tricloud Nexus data flow can be summarized in four main steps:

  1. Connect: Establish secure, reliable connections to your physical equipment using Data Connectors (e.g., OPC-UA, Modbus, MQTT).

  2. Collect: Use Tags to specify exactly which datapoints (measurements) you want to acquire from the connected equipment.

  3. Process: Apply processing logic (e.g., scaling, equations, aggregation) at the Edge, so your data is ready for analytics or integration.

  4. Store: Decide where and how your data should be stored - at the Edge for local analysis, in the cloud for advanced analytics, or published to a Unified Namespace.

Now that you have connected your equipment to Tricloud Nexus using Data Connectors. The next step is to define which data points to collect by configuring Tags.

What is a Tag?

A Tag defines the acquisition of a specific datapoint from a connected device. Think of it as a digital sensor or variable - each Tag is mapped to a particular value in your equipment, such as a temperature reading, a machine status bit, or a production counter.

  • Tags act as the bridge between raw device data and your analytics, dashboards, and business processes.

  • Tags are individually configured and can be given descriptive names for easy reference and troubleshooting.

Tags aren’t just for collecting raw data. In Tricloud Nexus, you can also use Tags to:

  • Processing Data: Apply scaling, resampling, custom equations, or logic to create calculated values, and store the output.

  • Publish Data: Send processed measurements back to the factory floor, for example for closed loop control application, or to a Unified Namespace (UNS) using protocols like MQTT.

  • Store Data: Route measurements to local Edge storage or to cloud-based databases for analytics and reporting.

Measurement Types

When creating Tags, you specify the Measurement Type, which include:

  • Analog: Numeric values, e.g., temperatures, pressures, voltages.

  • Digital: Boolean values, e.g., on/off states, open/closed signals, 0/1.

  • String: Alphanumeric/text data/json, e.g., batch numbers, operator names, error codes.

Selecting the right measurement type ensures that your data is interpreted and processed correctly.

How to create a tag

  1. Navigate to Tags:

    • Go to the Assets section in the Designer.

    • Select the desired Asset (such as a machine or production line) in your hierarchy.

    • Click on the Tags tab.

  2. Add New Tag:

    • Click + New tag.

    • Enter a descriptive name for your Tag.

    • Select the data type (Analog, Digital, String).

    Select data type (Measurement type) for Tag

    • Give the Tag a Name that is ekspressive and follows ISA-95 structure

    • Choose the Data Connection (Data Connector) to use and apply settings for the Data Connector (e.g. MQTT, ,Modbus TCP, OPC-UA etc.). The exact configuration needed, depends on the type of data connector chosen, see subpages of this page for details.

    • Set the Access level of Tags: Read data is read from a data connection. Write data is written to the data connection

    • Optionally, configure scaling, sampling intervals, and any additional processing logic.

The screenshot below shows an example where Tags are defined for a Stamper asset, each with a type (String) and data source (SiteUNS, i.e., Unified Namespace):

Configuring Tags of the Stamper Asset

Tag Configuration

There are 3 sections to consider when configuring a tag, each shown in the UI as a separate tab:

  • Collect: General properties like naming, data connection, sampling and scaling.

  • Process: Processing properties for measurement aggregation, interpolation and setting output resolution.

  • Store: Properties that define the measurement ingestion (Cloud or local on edge) and metadata.

The following sections will describe each section how to set up a tag, using the different options

Summary

  • Tags allow you to define exactly what to collect from your connected equipment, how to process the data, and where to store it.

  • They are the central configuration point for measurement type, source mapping, and processing.

  • Tags make your data acquisition flexible, transparent, and ready for analytics - whether at the Edge or in the cloud.

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