addVANTAGE Professional has undergone a radical overhaul - and is now available in it's latest version 5.0 Many new features were added, many proven features further improved.

What is addVANTAGE Pro 5.0?

Pro 5.0 is a powerful yet universal software package to collect, store, process and graphically display data. The inherent flexibility of the software makes it an ideal tool for many applications, for weather and environmental data as much as for hydrographic's, for leakage detection, frost warning and pump monitoring to countless other applications. Pro 5.0 not only displays data graphically, as can be seen in the screen shot on the top of this page, but also as text in a table, informs and/or alarms the user about specific events, provides a number of tools to process the data according to the needs of the clients, be it a simple report, an advanced statistic, or even a complex expert system, such as a disease model to predict outbreak of phytophtora in potatoes.

But addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 does much more: its integrated web server enables its user to give access to anybody all over the world through an internet connection - using nothing else but a common web browser. This makes addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 the ideal platform for those who not only want to collect, store and visualize data for themselves, but also for others - the ideal solution for "Service-Providers".

There are countless applications for this kind of data providing. Here are just a few:

addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 is entirely programmed in Java, thus operating on a large variety of hardware platforms and operating systems, like Windows, Linux, MacOS X or Solaris, to name just a few. The server has a modular structure allowing for virtually unlimited scalability. A Pro 5.0 server can scale from a single user system up to a large super server, servicing tens of thousands of users and running a multitude of extensions in parallel.

What's new in addVANTAGE Pro 5.0?
Past experience has shown that a large number of addVANTAGE Pro users do not (only) want to work on their local PC, but rather access their data on the server of their consultant, the cooperative, the water association or a hydrographical institute. This simply saves them administrational work, like software setup, ongoing updates, data backup and related tasks. But it also enables them to access their data from anywhere at anytime. We have listened well - and that's why

addVANTAGE Pro 5 goes Web Browser!
addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 provides a vast number of features - and every single one is now available through the internet and a standard web browser interface. Sure, the software can be installed on a single user PC without web access. But for all those, who want to link their Adcon RTU into an existing back bone without running their own base station respectively for all those operating such a back bone, this new system offers two distinct advantages:

1) Advantages for the User
The user, whose Adcon RTU's are part of a network no longer needs to install any software on his PC. High-speed internet access and a standard web browser are sufficient. Going to the web site of the service provider and logging in with Username and password will provide access to the data according to the user's profile. Installing, configuring and updating local software are a thing of the past, and that head crash (made a backup recently?) has lost its horrors.

2) Advantages for the Service Provider
Distributing data to many remote users has never been easier. The addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 administrator can setup as many single users, user groups and guest accounts as needed, and assign to each of these accounts an individual user profile with varying user rights, giving access to certain RTU's while hiding others, letting one user work with statistics extension and another with the grape powdery mildew model, while the general public gets access to temperature, humidity and rain fall data only. The data provider no longer needs to install updates on every clients machine, and telephone support just got a whole lot easier.

addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 in detail
1. Platform independent
2. Client - Server based
3. Scalable
4. Embedded Database
5. Access via the Internet
6. Concise Data Visualization
7. WAP-Interface
8. Modular Framework
9. Application specific Extensions, e.g. for Agriculture
10. The addUPI Protocol
11. Data Export into Third-Party Software
12. Multi-language
13. Pro 5.0 - The Platform of the Future!
14. Hard- and Software Requirements

1. Platform independent
addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 is entirely programmed in Java, thus potentially operating on a large variety of hardware platforms and operating systems. The current version of Pro 5 supports various Windows versions. It will soon be available in a Linux version. Porting Pro 5 to Mac OS and UNIX is planned. For the development of Pro 5.0 we have used the latest set of Java tools to provide an even better and more comfortable user interface.

2. Client - Server based
addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 is based on a client-server concept. The modular concept of the Server allows almost unlimited scalability and expandability.

3. Scalable
The server has a modular structure allowing for virtually unlimited scalability. A Pro 5.0 server can scale from a single user system with 5 RTU's up to a large super server, managing 2.000 RTU's, servicing tens of thousands of users and running a multitude of software extensions in parallel. Moving to a larger version, allowing for more RTU's and more concurrent data base accesses, is a very fast and easy process .   back

4. Embedded Database
When setting up addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 an embedded SQL data base is automatically installed and configured on the Server machine. Pro 5.0 accesses this data base via a JDBC interface. The user doesn't need to get involved at all with data base setup, management and administration. Whichever configuration adjustments might be necessary can all be done through the graphical user interface of addVANTAGE Pro 5.0            back

5. Full Internet Access
With addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 all features of the software are accessible via a standard web browser. All you need on your machine is a sufficiently fast internet connection and a browser (Mozilla Firefox or MS Internet Explorer).

The administrator of the addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 server (that can be you, that can be your consultant, that can be a data service provider) can assign to every user a profile of access rights. Thus not every user needs to see everything and necessarily has the rights to do everything. Example: you run a little network of 5 stations. You can give neighbor Smith access to only one station, let him work with only one model, and let him only passively look at data, while neighborJones can look at two stations, work with three models and make his own treatment and irrigation inputs, create his own trend panels and perform statistical computations.      back

6. Concise Data Visualization
With addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 you can freely choose how you want to look at your data. Your options to individualize your trend panels are virtually unlimited. You want to compare the air temperature readings of 5 different stations? No problem: put them together into one trend panel and call it "Air Temp. Comparison". For hardware diagnostics you would like to see the charging level of all your stations internal batteries at a glance? Just throw all of them in a single "Battery status" panel!

Of course you can freely select the colors of your trend lines and panel backgrounds, and choose between lines (eg. for temperature) and bars (e.g. for rain). Setting horizontal guide lines, e.g. for irrigation full and refill point, eases significantly the early detection of critical conditions. Mark areas with individual colors.

Connect two panels with each other for better comparison or overview. Example: when opening the weather graph you can see at the same time the precipitation statistics and the temperature MIN, MAX and Average values.

Trend panels can display any desired interval. Select hourly, daily, weekly or monthly or even annual graphs from a drop-down menu. If you rather look at your data in the form of a table rather than a graph - it's just a mouse click away.                      back

7. WAP-Interface
Got a mobile phone? Than you can look at your data from anywhere at any time, even without a PC and an internet connection. The addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 Server offers a convenient WAP Interface, that can easily be configured for permanent access.         back

8. Modular Framework
It's modular design makes addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 our platform for the years to come. New functions, new extensions, new modules can easily be integrated into the existing framework. Modules/ Extensions access the well-protected Server-Kernel through well defined interfaces / protocols. Amongst these extension you will currently find various disease models for agriculture, the statistics extension and the main extension, which lets you set up alarms, email messages, events , thresholds, etc. New extensions will be added continuously, like the addTIMER, a time-based control-extension to switch solenoids on and off, expected for Q3 2006.Furthermore you will see third-party extensions, developed by our partners, like the "Plantsens" extension from our spanish distributor VerdTech for their ultra-precision dendrometer.        back


9. Application Specific Extensions, e.g. for Agriculture
Since addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 is not only meant to collect and visualize data, but also to process it, there is meanwhile a large variety of disease extensions for agriculture available. Read more about these extension in the "Disease Model" section.

Since data within the addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 SQL database can easily be accessed via the addUPI protocol (see next §), it is fairly easy for third parties to develop their own extension, and market it to the addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 users.                                 back

10. The addUPI Protocol
The abbreviation addUPI stands for "addVANTAGE URL Programming Interface". This is an html-based protocol, developed by Adcon Telemetry, which allows rapid access to every single record in the data base. This protocol is not only used within addVANTAGE Pro 5.0, but also within the A840 Telemetry Gateway.

addVANTAGE Pro servers communicate among themselves or with A840 Gateways using the addUPI protocol. But this protocol can also be used by third party software vendors to retrieve data from a Pro 5.0 data base. Well known companies such as OTT Hydrometry, Germany, and Sentek, Australia, have already developed addUPI based interfaces to their own software.                                                  back


11. Data Export into Third-Party Software
On a more traditional level of data exchange are ASCII files, which can be created with the export extension "A-2-A" (="addUPI to ASCII"). The user can configure these files to a large extent, defining his own headers, averaging methods, export intervals, file extensions (.csv or .txt), etc.                  back

12. Multi-Language
Crossing borders is a must in a global economy. Selling data to users that do not speak english is much easier if the data can be presented to the user in his own language. Therefore addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 allows each user to define his own language interface on the fly, independently from the language on the Pro 5.0 server or his own PC. Currently addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 is available in English, French, German and Portuguese. It will soon also be available in spanish and italian. More languages are planned.  back

13. Pro 5.0 - The Platform of the Future!
addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 is the latest product of Adcon's software development department. It will be our platform for many years to come. Thanks to its modularity, versatility and scalability it can be used for a large variety of applications, from agriculture to water management, from environmental monitoring to professional meteorology, from flood warning to sports and leisure. Being programmed in Java it is platform independent and can be run on Windows and Linux machines, and can easily be ported to UNIX, AIX and Mac-OS systems. addVANTAGE Pro 5.0 is a safe investment into the future of data visualization and distribution.      back

14. Hard- and Software Requirements
Server: Windows 2000, XP Professional
Pentium III 1,5 GHz, 512 MB RAM min
Ethernet and LAN-Card built-in
For Data Providing: ADSL / xDSL or faster Internet connection

Client: Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Linux
Pentium II 1 GHz, 512 MB RAM
Ethernet and LAN-Card built-in
Internet browser Mozilla Firefox or MS Internet Explorer
Internet connection needed, when data shall be accessed remotely from a Data Provider.

All systems need to run Java VM 1.3.1 or higher. The server should have a sufficiently fast and large hard disk to cope with many concurrent data requests and growing data bases. Please do not forget to backup your data frequently!      to top of page