Tentacle Edge Server

Tentacle is an open-source edge server built for industrial automation. It connects to real hardware via Modbus and other industrial protocols and publishes data to AnywhereSCADA using Sparkplug B over MQTT.

Download

Tentacle is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can download it in two ways:

From Your Space Page

1. Open your space in AnywhereSCADA
2. Scroll to the Downloads section
3. Find the Tentacle Server card
4. Select your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux)
5. Click the download button

The space page automatically detects your OS and shows the recommended format. Click Show other formats to see all available downloads.

From GitHub

Download the latest release from the Tentacle GitHub repository.

Installation

Windows

1. Download the .zip archive
2. Extract to your desired location
3. Run the Tentacle executable

macOS

1. Download the .tar.gz archive
2. Extract: tar xzf tentacle-*.tar.gz
3. Run the Tentacle executable

Linux

1. Download the .run installer (recommended) or .tar.gz archive
2. For .run: make it executable with chmod +x tentacle-*.run and run it
3. For .tar.gz: extract with tar xzf tentacle-*.tar.gz and run the executable

What Tentacle Does

Tentacle acts as a Sparkplug B edge node. It:

• Connects to PLCs, sensors, and other devices via Modbus TCP/RTU and other industrial protocols
• Translates register data into named Sparkplug B metrics
• Publishes birth certificates (NBIRTH, DBIRTH) and data messages (NDATA, DDATA) to your AnywhereSCADA space
• Handles reconnection, store-and-forward, and metric aliasing automatically

Connecting to AnywhereSCADA

1. Configure Tentacle with your space's MQTT credentials:
   • Broker URL: mqtts://mqtt1.anywherescada.joyautomation.com:8883
   • Username: Your space's short ID
   • Password: Your space's auto-generated password
2. Define your Modbus devices and register mappings in Tentacle's configuration
3. Start Tentacle — it connects to the broker, publishes birth certificates, and begins polling your devices
4. Metrics appear on your AnywhereSCADA dashboard in real time

Use Cases

• Edge data collection — poll PLCs and sensors via Modbus and forward to the cloud
• Protocol translation — bridge industrial protocols to Sparkplug B / MQTT
• Remote sites — deploy at remote locations with intermittent connectivity (store-and-forward)
• Development — test your AnywhereSCADA setup with real or simulated hardware

Tentacle vs. Squid

Feature	Tentacle	Squid
Purpose	Production edge data collection	Quick evaluation with demo data
Data source	Real hardware (Modbus, etc.)	Simulated metrics
Runs as	Background service / daemon	Desktop application
Configuration	Config file with device mappings	Sign in and connect
Best for	Production deployments	Demos and testing

Next Steps

• MQTT & Sparkplug B — protocol details and troubleshooting
• Real-time Monitoring — view live metrics from Tentacle
• Historian — store and trend Tentacle data over time