Asset association allows you to take information from multiple agents or wireless tracking devices (sources) and build a purely virtual "Composite Asset" (target). Associations involve mapping the models, assets, and data items of sources with the models, assets, and data items of target Composite Assets.
For the purposes of the rest of this topic, the assets running an Axeda Gateway, Axeda Connector, or Axeda IDM Agent and the wireless tracking devices are referred to as the "source assets" and the assets they are monitoring (including Composite Assets) are referred to as the "target assets".
To create associations, use the Manage links under Model Associations in the View and manage models page of the Configuration application, and under Asset Associations in the View and manage assets page of the Configuration application. To view current associations for specific assets, you can use the Asset Associations module on the Asset Dashboard.
A Composite Asset is available in the Axeda® Connected Product Management Applications in the same ways as any other asset. You can create it using the Asset wizard of the Configuration application. You can see information about it in an Asset dashboard (Axeda® Service application). You can also run reports against it and execute expression rules against it. For more information, refer to Composite Asset.
There are four main types of associations that can exist in the Axeda Platform. All assets have at least one of the following types of associations, and each type of association results in a specific behavior.
o No association at all
o Asset association only
o Model Association
o Self-Association
See the Asset, Model, and Self Associations topic for more details.
A single source asset or model can be associated with multiple target assets or models. The reverse is also true: a single target asset or model can be associated with multiple source assets or models. For example, source asset ModelABC can be associated with target models Container123, Container456, and Container789. In addition, target model Container123 can be associated with source asset ModelABC and source asset ModelXYZ.
A many-to-one association can result in a virtual, Composite Asset.
If you want to see the alarms, events, uploaded files, mobile locations, and data item values reported by an asset in the Asset dashboard for that asset, associations are not necessary. However, if you want to see this information in the Asset dashboard of another asset, associations allow you to set up the necessary mappings. The following topics provide a general outline of the steps you need to take for associations:
o View data item values reported by source assets in the Asset dashboards of target assets
Note: Only data that is produced by an Agent is forwarded to target assets. Any data that is generated by an expression rule is NOT forwarded to target assets.