This article covers the following topics:

• Verify that Equipment Hub Can Communicate
  • • Check the Connection from Within the Service
    • Confirm the Equipment Hub Service is Running
    • Test Connection from the PC Where Equipment Hub is Installed
    • Check that TLS 1.2 is Enabled and Set as the Default Protocol
    • Check Proxy Settings
• Verify Connection to the Measurement Device Database/Files
  
  • • Check that Equipment Hub has Permissions to Access Database/Files
    • Confirm that Firebird is Running (Daily QA3 only)
• Check the Browser Console for Additional Clues
• Check the Equipment Hub Log
• Recovery Options

Verify that Equipment Hub Can Communicate

Check the Connection from Within the Service

Verify Equipment Hub connection by navigating to “Manage - Measurement Devices” and clicking the “Manage Equipment Hubs” button in the upper left corner:

 

 

Click the “Edit” button for the specific Equipment Hub to be tested:

 

Click the “Check connection” button in the upper right corner. A green text popup in the lower right corner indicates connection: 

 

A red popup indicates a problem with the connection:  

Confirm the Equipment Hub Service is Running

Confirm that the Equipment Hub software service is running by opening the Windows Services snap-in (on Windows 10 type "services" in the search bar) on the computer where Equipment Hub is installed, right-click on the Equipment Hub service, and note the status. If Equipment Hub is not running, right click on the service and click “Restart”. If a restart succeeds, confirm the connection by re-performing step 1.

 

Test Connection from the PC Where Equipment Hub is Installed

7.  Confirm that the computer on which the Equipment Hub software is installed can reach the cloud service by navigating to https://tqa-eqhub2.imageowl.com/ for Equipment Hubs at or above version 3.4.0.0 or https://tqa-eqhub.imageowl.com/ for earlier versions of Equipment Hub in a web browser. Both versions should also be able to communicate to https://tqaspool.imageowl.com/spool Below is a successful attempt:

An unsuccessful attempt will yield:

 

Typically, if the connection to https://tqa-eqhub.imageowl.com/ or https://tqa-eqhub2.imageowl.com/  fails, it is because of insufficient permissions to access the site through a firewall. Equipment Hub communicates via HTTPS (port 443).

Further testing can be done to confirm that the socket will connect using a website that allows you to test sockets. On such site is Pie Socket at https://www.piesocket.com/websocket-tester. To test general connectivity through web sockets navigate to the page and click the connect button:

 

Click the Connect button.  Below is the message received if the connection is successful: 

- Connection established

To test the Equipment Hub socket, specifically, follow these steps:

1. Click the "Socket.IO v4.x Tester" link for Equipment Hub versions 3.4.0.0 or higher or "Socket.IO v2.x Tester" for earlier versions.
2. In the address bar type wss://tqa-eqhub2.imageowl.com/ (or wss://tqa-eqhub.imageowl.com/ for versions below 3.4.0.0)
3. Click the Connect button

 

A successful connection will look like the one shown below:

If these connections are not successful, the cause will need to be investigated and resolved.

 

Check that TLS 1.2 is Enabled and Set as the Default Protocol

This step only applies to Windows Server 2012, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. Newer versions of Windows should support TLS 1.2 out of the box. Older versions will not be able to run TLS 1.2. The section below details how to check if TLS 1.2 is enabled and set as the default. If not, refer the customer to the https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/update-to-enable-tls-1-1-and-tls-1-2-as-default-secure-protocols-in-winhttp-in-windows-c4bd73d2-31d7-761e-0178-11268bb10392 article to run the update and change the registry keys.

Check Proxy Settings

By default, Equipment Hub used the proxy settings found in Internet Explorer. Usually the settings found in Internet Explorer are a safe bet and are often kept up to date by group policy settings that are pushed out to client computers. The proxy settings for Equipment Hub are stored in the "TotalQA® Equipment Hub.exe.config" file which is located in the directory where Equipment Hub is installed (C:\Program Files (x86)\TotalQA® Equipment Hub by default). Below is the default configuration file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration> 
   <startup>
      <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.0"/>
   </startup>
   <system.net>
      <defaultProxy>
         <proxy usesystemdefault="True"/>
      </defaultProxy>
   </system.net>
</configuration>

If a proxy is not used for Equipment Hub but Internet Explorer has a proxy configured, Equipment Hub can be set to not use a proxy by either deleting the section enclosed by the system.net tags or changing the proxy usesystemdefault tag to false as shown below:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration> 
   <startup>
      <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.0"/>
   </startup>
   <system.net>
      <defaultProxy>
         <proxy usesystemdefault="False"/>
      </defaultProxy>
   </system.net>
</configuration>

The proxy settings can also be set directly in the configuration file by providing values for the proxyaddress and bypasslist tags, as shown below in green:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <configuration> 
   <startup>
      <supportedRuntime version="v4.0" sku=".NETFramework,Version=v4.0"/>
   </startup>
   <system.net>
      <defaultProxy> 
         <proxy proxyaddress="http://proxy.example.com:1234" bypassonlocal="True" /> 
         <bypasslist> 
            <add address="example.com" /> 
         </bypasslist> 
      </defaultProxy> 
   </system.net>
</configuration>

Note:  Any changes to the configuration file will not take effect until the Equipment Hub service is restarted.

Verify Connection to the Measurement Device Database/Files

If you are still unable to connect, confirm that the parameters are correct for the QA Equipment connected to the Equipment Hub. Start by noting all measurement devices connected to the equipment hub in question:   

 

Navigate to “Manage QA Equipment” and click “Edit” for each individual QA Equipment noted above, one at a time: 

 Verify that the device is active and the settings are correct:

• For Daily QA 3 or QA BeamChecker Plus QA Equipment, confirm the database path, database user name, and database password.

• For Fluke QA Equipment, confirm the com port.

• For PIPSPro QA Equipment, confirm the PIPSPro username, PIPSPro password, and the server.

For each QA Equipment make any needed changes and click the “Check connection to equipment” button:

 

A green popup indicates success while a red popup requires further troubleshooting.

 

Check that Equipment Hub has Permissions to Access Database/Files

Ensure that the Equipment Hub service has permissions to access the location where the daily QA files are stored. If Equipment Hub will be accessing files that a local system account does not have rights to access, for example a network drive, a user who does have access rights must be assigned. To assign a user: open the Windows services snap-in, right-click on the Equipment Hub service, select properties, and click the Log On tab. Click the This account radio button, and enter the information for the user account with access. Select the options that meet the needs of the site and click Ok.

Confirm that Firebird is Running (Daily QA3 only)

If you are using a Daily QA3 device and unable to connect, ensure that the Firebird Server is running from Windows Services. Open the Windows Services snap-in (on Windows 10 type "services" in the search bar) on the computer where Equipment Hub is installed, right-click on the Firebird Server service, and note the status. If Firebird Server is not running, right click on the service and click “Restart”. 
 

Also check the following:

• Ensure that a version of Firebird compatible with the Daily QA3 database is used. Known compatible version is Firebird Server 32-bit v2.5.8.
• Ensure that the database version is 1.03.00.00, 1.04.03.00, and 1.04.04.00. If another version is in use, please contact support.

Check the Browser Console for Additional Clues

Inspect the console to see the processing step and identify any potential problems. To open the console, navigate to the new QA page in question, right click anywhere on the page, click on inspect, and click the console tab in the upper right:

Each capture process is similar but there are differences. The example below is for an MPC import:

The next example below is from a Daily QA3 device:

Check the Equipment Hub Log

If the connection continues to be problematic, obtain a copy of the Equipment Hub log for analysis. The log is named log.txt and is located in the install directory, typically at C:\Program Files (x86)\TotalQA® Equipment Hub.

Recovery Options

To set these options open the Windows services snap-in, right-click on the Equipment Hub service, select properties, and click the Recovery tab:

The First and Second failure options should be set to "Restart the Service" and the Reset fail count should be set to 1 day.

It may also be advisable to set the service for a delayed start. To configure this setting, open the Windows services snap-in, right-click on the Equipment Hub service, and select properties. Click the Startup type drop down and select Automatic (Delayed Start) as shown below: