Tips & tricks

Below we’ve collected tips & tricks on the remote transfer based on user experiences:

Test your setup

We strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the CANedge3 before you deploy it in the field. In particular, make sure to test your configuration (see also below points) and ensure that you get familiar with over-the-air updates of configuration and firmware.

Optimize your file size

We strongly recommend that you reduce your file size as per our step-by-step guide. This reduces your server storage costs and data processing time. Further, if you’re uploading via 3G/4G, it can significantly reduce your data transfer costs. In most use cases, you can achieve a 90% reduction in file size without loosing relevant data insight.

Compare logging vs. upload rates

The amount of data logged by the CANedge3 can differ dramatically. In most applications the unfiltered log rate will be about 0.5-1.5 MB/minute.

The upload rate will also differ, e.g. based on coverage and device installation. Further, you may have a use case where data is e.g. only offloaded every 3rd day in an interval of 20 minutes due to intermittent cellular coverage. In these latter cases, it’s extra important to determine the amount of data logged between each of these intervals - and evaluate the amount of data uploaded per minute when the device has coverage.

As outlined above, you can reduce your log file size according to your results.

Match file split size vs. your use case

The CANedge3 does not support resumable file uploads. This means that if a large file transfer fails, the device will have to start from scratch. In use cases with constant and stable connectivity this is typically not an issue. However, if data is uploaded periodically (e.g. when a vehicle returns to a specific area), it is recommended to use a small split size - e.g. 5 MB.

On the other hand, we do not recommend to use e.g. 10-30 second split sizes. While it enables “near real-time upload” it will cause large overheads on your data and post processing will be less efficient. If you do decide to use very small split sizes, we recommend to use event based data processing (e.g. AWS Lambda functions) to process each file as soon as it gets uploaded.

Encrypt your passwords

We recommend to encrypt your passwords before deploying the unit in the field. Without this, others can access your sensitive passwords by extracting your device SD card. However, make sure to test your connection with the encryption enabled to ensure you perform the change correctly.

For batch encryption we recommend using the OTA batch manager tool.

Use the CANcloud status dashboard

It’s generally useful to monitor your device status via the CANcloud status dashboard, e.g. to watch out for bottlenecks, unexpected delays in your device heartbeats or issues with declining SD card capacity (indiciating an issue with your log rate vs. upload rate).

Avoid OTA update confusion

Using over-the-air updates can be a bit confusing at first. In particular, note that once your CANedge3 has connected to your server, it will upload the Configuration File to the device folder. If you then manually update the Configuration File on the SD card of the device, you’ll experience that the changes you made get overwritten. This is because the CANedge3 recognizes that there is a different Configuration File on your server - which triggers an over-the-air update. In other words this is working as intended - but may be confusing the first time.

Use OTA updates carefully

Over-the-air updates are powerful, but they should be used carefully. Performing an update can lead to the CANedge3 getting disconnected from your server, e.g. if you tweak a setting without knowing the full extent of what effect this has.

In particular, be careful in changing the following settings over-the-air:

  1. Real-time clock: The device requires that the RTC is synced at all times to communicate with your server. Therefore we strongly recommend to keep the Network RTC sync enabled at all time and avoid modifying the RTC Adjustment field
  2. Split size: Changing the split size to a large file size can block the data upload if you e.g. have an unstable connection as explained further above.
  3. Connect: Most of the connect section is sensitive. Fully understand each field before changing anything. For details, hover fields in CANcloud or review the field in the CANedge Docs