TALK2M free, light or pro? Which Service to Choose for Your Ewons and Why?

Remote Access to Ewon Routers via Talk2M free, light or pro?

Let's start at the beginning: what is Talk2M? Talk2M is a cloud-based service provided by Ewon that allows you to remotely connect to Ewon routers via the Internet. You may have Ewon routers in many locations in your factory, or a machine manufacturer may have them installed in machines all over the world. On a remote machine you can edit its PLC program, back it up, view the machine via an IP camera, connect to a remote PC's desktop, download logs from PC programs and much more. To connect to the Talk2M service, you need to have eCatcher installed on your computer, which is a VPN client application that connects you to the Talk2M VPN server.

Every Ewon router user has access to the Talk2M free service for 12 months from the first registration of Ewon with the Talk2M service. Talk2M free is provided free of charge and is always included with your purchased Ewon router. Ideally, you connect to Talk2M by downloading the eCatcher.exe program, running it and registering as a new user. You can then also set up new user accounts for your colleagues. You can request one of the two higher Talk2M versions – Talk2M light or pro – in your eCatcher account settings.

What Are the Differences Between Talk2M free, Talk2M light and Talk2M pro?

• In the number of simultaneous users connected to multiple Ewon routers within one Talk2M account
• In the amount of monthly data usage and stored tags
• In the management of users and their rights
• In security settings and access to LAN devices behind an Ewon

Let's take a closer look at each of these points:

Number of Simultaneous Connections

For the Talk2M free account, only one remote connection can be established at a time from a computer (via eCatcher) to a remote Ewon router. If you are the only user of the Talk2M free account, this is not a problem because you can connect to other Ewon routers by disconnecting from the first Ewon and connecting to the second Ewon. If you have other users registered under the same account (e.g. your fellow programmers), only one user will connect to an Ewon router at a time. The other users can run the eCatcher program, see the list of available Ewon routers and see if any of their colleagues are already connected to a router. However, they cannot connect to another Ewon router until a colleague disconnects from the first Ewon router. This type of account is available for 12 months from the time you register your Ewon with Talk2M, after which you will need to choose one of the paid accounts below or register another new Ewon with your existing free account.

The Talk2M light account allows you to run 2 remote connections simultaneously from one Talk2M account. For many users, this number is sufficient, as they can connect to a machine at the same time as, for example, a colleague in another country or branch office and work together or in parallel.

The Talk2M pro account allows you to run several simultaneous remote connections from a single Talk2M account. This advantage will be appreciated by all companies and users of Ewon routers who have machines in many countries around the world and often have several programmers connecting to these machines (Ewon routers) at the same time. In addition, these companies may have technicians abroad who also need access to Ewon routers. The number of simultaneous connections of several users to several Ewon routers (within a single Talk2M account) starts at 5 and the maximum number is 50.

In addition to eCatcher, you can also use the M2Web Internet platform to connect to Ewon routers. The M2Web platform does not require any installation, and you can enter your Talk2M login details via a web page from your computer, mobile phone or tablet. With M2Web you can connect to LAN devices behind an Ewon that have their own web server. You can also connect to IP cameras, computers via remote desktop, etc. You cannot connect to PLCs via programs such as TIA Portal and STEP7. The M2Web portal can be accessed via a web browser at m2web.talk2m.com. As a user, you enter your login details and select the Ewon router you wish to connect to. The free and light accounts give you 5 simultaneous connections through the M2Web portal. Talk2M pro gives you unlimited connections to the M2Web portal.

Monthly Data Volume – User <-> Ewon Router

By data we mean the total amount of data transferred between you as a remote technician and an Ewon router. This includes data of transferred PLC programs, data for connection to the remote desktop of a computer, etc. Among the biggest consumers of data volume are most often the transmissions from IP cameras that you have connected to the Ewon router.

• Talk2M free provides 3 GB of data per month. If you exceed this monthly limit, the Talk2M service will be deactivated for the rest of the month.
• Talk2M light provides 5 GB of data per month. If you exceed this monthly data limit, Talk2M will be deactivated for the rest of the month.
• Talk2M pro provides 20 GB of data per month and if you exceed this amount, you can purchase Talk2M credit to pay for additional data.

Advanced User and Device Management in Your Talk2M Account

This is one of the most important things to consider when choosing between the Talk2M free, light and pro accounts. With Talk2M free and light you set up all Ewons in one account and all users can see and connect to these Ewons. For a smaller company with one or two technicians and several Ewon routers, this is ideal. If you have more users and Ewon routers, you need to start sorting both groups.

In the paid version of Talk2M pro, the Talk2M account administrator can create groups and subgroups for Ewon devices. You can easily group Ewon routers (machines) by region, country, machine type, PLC type, etc. You can then assign specific machines to a specific programmer, so that the programmer responsible for machines in the Czech Republic will not see machines (Ewons) in Germany because they are the responsibility of another programmer. With Talk2M pro you can:

1. Sort Ewon routers into groups (User group)
2. Give programmers access to Ewon routers within groups (Ewon pools)
3. Give programmers access to all or selected LAN devices behind an Ewon router

Setting Up Security and Access to Talk2M and LAN Devices behind an Ewon

Talk2M free and Talk2M light services 

• Talk2M account password must be at least 8 characters, including a capital letter, number and special character
• 2-factor authentication via SMS
• 2 levels of firewall rules for access to LAN devices behind an Ewon: Standard / High

Talk2M pro paid service

• Administrator can set the desired password length
• Administrator can set the desired password expiration
• 2-factor authentication via SMS
• Administrator can set access to LAN devices behind an Ewon for specific users
• 4 levels of firewall rules for access to LAN devices behind an Ewon: Standard, High, Enforced and Ultra

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can I start with the free version of Talk2M and upgrade to Talk2M light or Talk2M pro when I decide the free version is no longer sufficient?
  • Yes, of course. The Talk2M account administrator can request an account upgrade in eCatche, Account, Credit and payments section..
• What about security – e.g. two-factor authentication?
  • Each version offers security. The free, light and pro versions offer the option of two-factor authentication. However, the administrator of the pro version can make some of the security settings even stronger.
• What is the free Talk2M service?
  • Talk2M free is an excellent and reliable service with a number of Talk2M servers around the world that has enabled 9 million VPN connections in over 10 years and continues to grow rapidly. However, as the ever-increasing number of free accounts became too much for the operator to manage and maintain, the operator limited the availability of the free version to 12 months from the first time a router was registered with Talk2M. After that, one of the two paid account options must be selected.
• What happens if my data traffic goes over the limit?
  • Accounts that have exceeded their monthly data allotment (3 GB free / 5 GB light / 20 GB pro) will be prevented from transferring data until the end of the month (free/light) or will be charged additional fees (pro).
• Can I order additional simultaneous users or more data for Talk2M pro?
  • The Talk2M pro setup covers the needs of the most typical applications for machine builders, system integrators, OEMs, etc. However, if for any reason you need additional simultaneous connections, data transfer or SMS messages, you must top up your Talk2M account credit by ordering the product TM50042. You can then select additional data or an additional simultaneous user in the eCatcher application.
• How can I view my usage statistics and top up my Talk2M pro credit if necessary?
  • The Talk2M pro administrator receives a monthly email with the account balance. This information is also available in real time in the eCatcher account. If the balance is low, it must be topped up by ordering the product TM50041 or TM50042.
• I have several Talk2M free accounts. Can I merge them all into one Talk2M pro account?
  • Yes, you can merge all your Talk2M free accounts into one Talk2M pro account via eCatcher.