SmartCheck FAQs and HowTos: General

Yes, Schaeffler offers various training options for SmartCheck. More information on this can be found here.

No, the SmartCheck is not certified for use in areas where explosive atmospheres might occur (ATEX-zones).

Yes, SmartCheck can be configured to send emails when certain events occur. For this, check the manual.

Yes, you can copy measurement configurations from one SmartCheck to another. You can download a configuration from one SmartCheck via SmartWeb (File -> Save device configuration) and apply it to the next SmartCheck (File -> Upload device configuration). The same can be achieved using the SmartUtility (Light) software, by downloading the configuration (More actions -> Download configurations) and uploading it to the next device(s) (More actions -> Upload configurations).

Yes, SmartCheck supports Power over Ethernet (PoE) according to the IEEE 802.3af Mode A standard. This allows the device to receive both data and electrical power through a single Ethernet cable, simplifying installation and reducing the need for additional power sources.

SmartWeb and SmartUtility Light are included in the scope of supply. SmartUtility is a separate purchase. This is needed for data analysis. A 60-days test version is available free of charge.

No, they are standard M12 plug connectors. Only the M12 ethernet cable has a D coding.

For the configuration of the SmartCheck, an internet browser is needed, which connects to the device’s SmartWeb via Ethernet. For the data handling, also SmartUtility can be used.

When you have a problem with the SmartCheck device and think that this might be a bug in the software, then we highly appreciate you to report this to us, so we can investigate and improve the SmartCheck firmware. On the top of this page, you find the link to our technical support.

When you contact us, it really helps us when you provide the following information, depending on the use case:

• Type and serial number of the device, i.e. mac address, printed on the label of the device.
• Hardware configuration.
• Connections to the outside world, e.g. is there a network connection, which protocols are used, which external signals are connected to the device, etc.
• Version number of the components involved, e.g. firmware version number of the SmartCheck firmware, software version of SmartUtility, if it is involved, etc. In the firmware, the version numbers are all listed in SmartWeb in the menu under Help –> Version information. This table can be copied as text and then pasted into an email or support form.

When the support requests more information, it is helpful to provide for example log files of the SmartCheck device, which can be analysed by the support team and the developers to investigate the problem. There are 2 ways of downloading them:

• While in SmartWeb, change the URL in the browser to /debug_info.scr and press .
• Open the maintenance system of the SmartCheck device, e.g. restarting the device and reloading the browser several times until the maintenance system is shown. Then enter the maintenance system by clicking on the icon and then click on the icon “Download debug log files”, then click on the symbol.

Both will download an encrypted package of all log files in the system, which can only be unpacked by Schaeffler support and R&D to investigate the issue. Some virus scanners will not allow this file type to be sent. In this case, either use a shared drive like OneDrive or Google Drive to send the file, or just rename the extension from .scr to .txt. Since the file is an encrypted .tar.gz file, and only contains log files in text form, this poses no security risk to anyone.

The device can get its IP address in one of three ways:

1. Automatically from a DHCP server on your network.
2. If set to DHCP, but no DHCP server is found, it will assign itself the default address of 192.168.1.100.
3. Manually assigned by you.

If you do not know the IP address of your device, you can try the following methods to find it:

• Use the SmartUtility (Light) software, which can scan your network and find the device. This uses a UDP broadcast to locate the device. On modern company-managed computers, this might not be allowed due to firewall settings. Then SmartUtility will not find any device. But even if the firewall allows the broadcast, it might not find the device if is on a different network section. Network switches might block broadcasts between different sections.
• Check your DHCP server’s client list to see if the device has been assigned an IP address.
• Try the default IP address of 192.168.1.100.

If these measures do not work, it will become much more difficult to find the device. You might need to log the network traffic in the hope that the device is configured to access external network resources. In this case it makes sense to use a network sniffer tool like Wireshark to log all network traffic and then filter for the MAC address of the device. The MAC address is printed on a label on the device. Or if you know that devices in your network are usually configured to a certain IP range, you can write a script to ping all addresses in that range and see which ones respond.

There are three ways to find the MAC address:

1. You’ll find a label on the device itself.
2. With Smartweb (Help -> Version information -> Serial number)
3. In SmartUtility, when you search for devices

The MAC address is equal to the serial number of the device.

SmartCheck offers several features that require secure, encrypted communication. The following protocols and features in SmartCheck use certificates:

• OPTIME: SmartCheck uses TLS for secure communication with the OPTIME cloud platform. This certificate is automatically installed during onboarding to OPTIME.
• MQTT: SmartCheck can use TLS for secure MQTT communication with an MQTT broker.
• HTTPS: SmartCheck’s SmartWeb interface and the status webservice use HTTPS for secure communication.
• OPC UA: SmartCheck can use TLS for secure OPC UA communication with an OPC UA client.

MQTT

MQTT uses its own certificates for secure communication. To use your own certificates for MQTT, you will need to import them into the device. For each MQTT-connection, you can add your own set of certificates. In SmartWeb, select the configuration screen, select Communication Channels -> Add -> MQTT and enter the data on the first configuration screen. Then click next to the following configuration screen:

Here you can upload the following:

HTTPS and OPC UA

HTTPS and OPC UA share the same SSL certificate for secure communication. By default, a self-signed certificate is installed in the factory to be used by HTTPS and OPC UA communication. However, you can also use your own TLS certificate, such as one issued by a trusted certificate authority (CA), to enhance security and ensure that your communication is trusted by clients.

To use your own certificate, you will need to import it into the device. For this, reboot into the maintenance system (in SmartWeb, click on Help -> Select device restart -> Start the device’s Maintenance System). Then enter the maintenance system, click on “Adjust system settings” and then on “Replace server certificate (PEM)”. Details on this can be found in the user manual

When using this certificate also for OPC UA, on creation of the certificate, you need to set the following “alternative subject”: “URI:urn:schaeffler:cms”

IMPORTANT: SmartCheck currently only supports RSA certificates. DSA or elliptic curve are not supported.

In the uploaded file, both the certificate and the private key must be included in PEM format. Both can be copied in the same file, with the private key first, followed by the certificate. An example of the file content is shown below:

-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
Proc-Type: 4,ENCRYPTED
DEK-Info: DES-EDE3-CBC,393D6554E99EFEB5

/QpMuOG+p2uQbqVLei0D/r7wwj2nwWkkXmOfyCdyfwTDeL0g81IPcU7RBeDKNRJU
...
W3iwnw/HPgWPgJfevjq1nxXYxBzU1KpASviFPOkuZMXqZQlJTEjNucnRnW3GpUoU
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
MIIFRjCCBC6gAwIBAgIUK9rNTCqxyJnxTR/qIiuxKotcwv8wDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEL
...

d3vOixcfSyFUdyEtyFB9TLHIszP8eYgKVtS9yT9PinGLvYSlSgVz6Qt5fmRe348K
2g4qFFBMXM5kdA==
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

For as long as there is free memory available, all measurement data is stored in the internal flash memory of the SmartCheck device. When there is only 5MB of free memory left, the system starts to delete the oldest measurement data to free up space for new data. But is does this in an intelligent manner, by removing single measurement points from historical data, for example by removing hourly measurements and keep only one measurement per day. The longer back in history, the fewer data points are kept. This way, the system can store data for a very long time, even with limited memory.

SmartUtility Light can download data and configurations, as well as upload configurations.

The SmartCheck device has an internal clock, which can drift over time, since its accuracy is depending on many factors like the temperature for example. Additionally, the system time can be off after a power-down of the system. To always have the correct time on the device, it can use a time-server using the network time protocol (NTP). See the manual on how to configure this. Aks your IT department for the address of this server.

SmartCheck has 2 keys for resetting the device and starting the learning mode. The manual describes how to activate or deactivate these functions.

If you want to operate the keys on the SmartCheck device, you must first deactivate the key lock. Press the Reset key and then press the Teach key within 2 seconds. The LED between the keys flashes to confirm. After 2 minutes, the key lock is automatically reactivated. The LED between the keys then goes out again.

SmartCheck stores all configurations directly in non-volatile memory. Measured data is cached for up to 5 minutes, before it is written to non-volatile memory, so worst-case measurement data of the last 5 minutes may be lost in case of a power loss. The internal real time clock (RTC) of the SmartCheck is buffered, when an external buffer supply is connected. If not, the internal RTC will reset to the last time of any event stored in the non-volatile memory, e.g. the last time a measurement was stored. This may lead to incorrect timestamps for measurements after the power loss, until the RTC is synchronized again, e.g. via NTP or by setting the device manually to the correct time.

The measurements will continue as soon as the power supply is restored, and the SmartCheck will automatically reconnect to the network and to the configured data exchange targets.

If you use “Restore factory default settings”, no changes will be made to your own network settings. This is to prevent losing the network connection to the device.

The firmware of the SmartCheck device is improved over time. Certainly it is a valid strategy not to update the firmware of the SmartCheck device in the field. Never change a running system, right? However, updating has several benefits:

1. New features can greatly improve the benefit of the device, for example with new analysis methods or more configuration possibilities.
2. As with any complex software, also the firmware of the SmartCheck device contains bugs which slipped the quality assurance measures before the release of a new version. In new firmware versions, bugs which are found internally or reported by customers are fixed.
3. The firmware can have IT security issues, which will be fixed after they are reported, for example in the open-source components used in the firmware. More information on this can be found in the on IT security information document on this page.

Updates are always published on this page. For each new firmware version, we also provide the release notes, which explain in detail which changes were made to the firmware.

If you are using the SmartUtility software software or SmartUtility Light software software on your PC, you will be informed automatically whenever a new firmware version for your devices is available.