by Gary Mintchell | Nov 30, 2016 | Internet of Things, Operations Management
Have we reached a choke point in the IIoT platform currently in vogue? Glen Allmendinger, founder of Harbor Research, studies the area of connectivity. He continues to move with the times–perhaps even ahead of the times–going from M2M to IoT to (now) Smart Systems.
We should all know by now that the Internet of Things isn’t a Thing. The term was no doubt coined to capture the idea of connecting smart devices over the Internet using Internet protocols. There is a consumer aspect and an industrial aspect to the term. GE coined “Industrial Internet” (although it does not seem to care if the term gains widespread use) which then gave us “Industrial Internet of Things.” Some people then try to merge the term with the German initiative Industrie 4.0. But the only core similarity lies in a foundation of digital technology.
Allmendinger writes in a recent essay about the “failure of IoT platforms.” He is on to a key thought, here. He’s discussing network architecture as much as platforms. Specifically, he sees the failure of client/server architecture to scale and achieve required flexibility. We might as well exploit the power of the cloud and peer-to-peer. I tend to like publish/subscribe. I’m thrilled to see OPC Foundation moving to a pub/sub architecture, for example. Now if it, as well as other standards, would move to REST from SOAP, things would be better.
I’ve included a few excerpts from Allmendinger’s essay. Check out the entire piece here.
Today, platforms for the Internet of Things are still a kludgy collection of yesterday’s technology and architectures that do not address the most basic development challenges.
Today the world of smart communicating devices is mostly organized in hierarchies with smart user interface devices at the top and the dumb devices [often analog or serial sensors and actuators] at the bottom. Within this structure, there are typically various types of “middle box” supervisory and gateway devices forming a point of connectivity and control for the sensors and actuators as well as the infrastructure for the network. From our perspective, this description of today’s IoT systems architecture looks very familiar and is largely organized like client-server based computer systems….. no surprise given they were designed in the 1990′s.
As the Internet of Things opportunity matures, the sensor and actuator devices will all become smart themselves and the connectivity between them (devices, for the most part, that have never been connected) will become more intelligent and the interactions more complex. As the number of smart devices grow, the existing client-server hierarchy and the related “middle boxes” acting as hubs, gateways, controllers and interfaces will quickly start to blur. In this future-state, the need for any kind of traditional client-server architecture will become superfluous. In a future Smart Systems world, the days of hierarchical models are numbered.
This is the move we’ve been waiting for…….. to a truly distributed architecture because today’s systems will not be able to scale and interact effectively where there are billions of nodes involved. The notion that all these “things” and devices will produce streaming data that has to be processed in some cloud will simply not work. It makes more sense structurally and economically to execute these interactions in a more distributed architecture near the sensors and actuators where the application-context prevails.
Dispersed computing devices will become unified application platforms from which to provide services to devices and users where the applications run, where the data is turned into information, where storage takes place, and where the browsing of information ultimately takes place too – not in some server farm in a cloud data center.
From our view the movement towards peer-to-peer, and the view that many people hold that this is somehow novel, is ironic given that the Internet was originally designed for peer-to-peer interactions. We seem to be heading “back to the future.”
Today’s platforms for Smart Systems and the IoT should be taking on the toughest challenges of interoperability, information architecture and user complexity. But they’re not.
We need to creatively evolve to an entirely new approach that avoids the confinements and limitations of the today’s differing platforms. We need to quickly move to a “post platform” world where there is a truly open data and information architecture that can easily integrate diverse machines, data, information systems and people – a world where smarter systems will smoothly interact to create systemic intelligence – a world where there are no artificial barriers between different types of information.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 29, 2016 | Automation, Internet of Things, Networking, Operations Management
What is an “edge” device in terms of network architecture for today’s Industrial Internet of Things? Classical networking practice has had it’s definition. But how do you extend the definition in today’s industrial networks with perhaps thousands of devices at the edge? Do you label all those smart devices as edge?
I have been spending much time with Dell Technologies and its IoT division. It has built a computing device with a multitude of connection ports, data storage, and computing capability. This device is named Gateway, but it is labeled as an edge device. Meanwhile I interviewed two GE Automation and Controls executives who labeled controllers (PLCs) as edge devices.
I ran across this article by ARC Advisory Group’s Greg Gorbach. I’ve quoted some of it below. You can read it in its entirety here. He analyzes a number of points of view. Does it all matter to you what is called an edge device? How do you configure a modern IIoT network?
Power of Edge – Greg Gorbach
What is the industrial edge, and why does it matter? Is it network infrastructure? Can the edge be found in a sensor that feeds a controller in a plant? Or is it in a smart machine that’s in service halfway around the globe?
In networking, an edge device is a device which provides an entry point into enterprise or service provider core networks. Examples include routers, routing switches, integrated access devices, multiplexers, and a variety of local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) access devices. Edge devices also provide connections into carrier and service provider networks. Network providers and others have been pushing intelligence – compute power and the ability to run applications and analytics – to these edge devices for some time.
But the growth of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) extends the ‘edge’ beyond the network devices, into industrial and commercial devices, machines, and sensors which connect to the network. Edge computing and analytics can, often should be, and increasingly is close to the machines and data sources. As the digitization of industrial systems proceeds, we expect that analysis, decision-making, and control will be physically distributed among edge devices, the network, the cloud, and connected systems, as appropriate.
These functions will end up where it makes most sense for them to be.
IIoT will change the way industrial organizations generate, collect, and analyze data. Data will be generated faster and in greater volume than ever before. This will require today’s plant information infrastructure to evolve. One part of this new infrastructure will be intelligent edge devices, which will include the latest generation of controllers, such as DCS’s, PLC’s and PACs. Besides providing control, these edge devices will securely collect, aggregate, filter, and relay data, leveraging their close proximity to industrial processes or production assets. They will also be capable of collaborating with powerful analytics tools, detecting anomalies in real time, and raising alarms so that operators can take appropriate actions.
With edge computing and analytics, data is processed near the source, in sensors, controllers, machines, gateways, and the like. These systems may not send all data back to the cloud, but the data can be used to inform local machine behaviors as it is filtered and integrated. The edge systems may decide what gets sent, where it gets sent and when it gets sent.
Placing intelligence at the edge helps address problems often encountered in industrial settings, such as oil rigs, mines, chemical plants, and factories. These include low bandwidth, low latency, and the perceived need to keep mission critical data on site to protect IP.
As you think about digitizing and transforming your industrial operations or your products and services, pay special attention to the edge. Consider the optimal location for analysis, decision-making, and control, and the best way to distribute these among edge devices, the network, the cloud, and other connected systems.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 29, 2016 | Internet of Things, News, Operations Management, Organizations, Standards
IIoT Business Model
In another advancement for the Industrial Internet of Things, The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), the global, member-supported organization that promotes the accelerated growth of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), announced the publication of the Business Strategy and Innovation Framework (BSIF). The BSIF helps enterprises to identify and analyze issues that must be addressed to capitalize on the opportunities emerging within the IIoT.
“Everybody knows that the Industrial Internet of Things will completely transform the way that business works. What’s not clear is exactly how to deploy these new IIoT concepts to best effect,” said Jim Morrish, Chair of the Business Strategy Task Group, and Founder and Chief Research Officer, Machina Research. “What the IIC’s Business Strategy and Innovation Framework provides is a toolkit for identifying, prioritizing and initiating the deployment of those crucial IIoT initiatives. It’s a significant step forward for the IIoT industry in terms of working to capitalize on the huge opportunities presented by this new technology wave.”
The BSIF serves as a reference document for chief executives in enterprises planning to engage in IIoT concepts. A single-source compendium of the issues and challenges enterprises should consider before they deploy IIoT initiatives, the BSIF details frameworks and concepts to help enterprises increase value for users, customers and partners while at the same time helping to reduce market and technical uncertainties.
The BSIF outlines a comprehensive set of best practices for companies engaging in IIoT, but companies are free to adopt a lighter touch or use an existing internal project model, especially within smaller companies. Alternatively, a range of project support processes may already be in place and the approach documented in the BSIF may be used to enhance existing infrastructures to address new IIoT opportunities (particularly for larger companies).
“The IIC’s Business Strategy and Innovation Framework is an important industry milestone,” said Jim Nolan, EVP, IoT Solutions, InterDigital. “It offers timely, strategic guidance to the many organizations that are beginning to implement IIoT solutions.”
The BSIF is the most in-depth Industrial IoT-focused business strategy framework comprising expert vision, experience and business strategy best practices from IIC members, including Bosch Software Innovations, InterDigital, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Machina Research. The BSIF is available free of charge. For more information about the BSIF, click here.
The Business Strategy and Innovation Framework provides a high-level identification and analysis of issues that any enterprise will need to address to capitalize on the opportunities emerging from this current revolution that is the IIoT. This comprehensive document is a product of the Business Strategy Task Group, a strategy-focused task group within the Industrial Internet Consortium’s Business Strategy and Solution Lifecycle Working Group.
The Business Strategy and Innovation Framework describes the requirements to succeed in IIoT:
- An IIoT strategy and goals
- A structured framework to target and select the right IIoT opportunities
- A system in place to identify, assess and initiate IIoT opportunities
IIoT requires enterprises to rethink their current business models. This is necessary regardless of whether they actually adopt IIoT solutions internally: Industry is moving toward IIoT adoption, and enterprises that keep pace with this trend will undoubtedly have a strong competitive advantage.
Contributors to the Business Strategy and Innovation Framework dedicated their valuable time and expertise in authoring, editing and other ways. In particular, we would like to thank the following contributing members and their organizations:
- Veronika Brandt – Bosch Software Innovations
- Ken Figueredo – InterDigital, Inc.
- Steve Haldeman – Hewlett Packard Enterprise
- Jim Morrish – Machina Research, Chair of the Industrial Internet Consortium Business Strategy Task Group
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 28, 2016 | Automation, Technology
Rockwell Automation was all about Connected Enterprise at Automation Fair 2016. Festo joined in the fun showcasing seamless connectivity with Rockwell Automation’s factory automation and process automation architectures in such areas as:
- IO-Link Premier Integration
- Ethernet/IP
- Integrated Architecture Builder (IAB)
- Studio 5000 Software with L5K export
- World class training
Ethernet/IP is the primary interface node for Festo pneumatic solutions, which now extends to the sensor level with process data, service data, and events information because of IO-Link Premier Integration. The IO-Link section of the Festo Flexible and Modular Automation exhibit features products that facilitate top down/bottom up integration.
Encompass products on display include the Festo CTEU bus node for easily adding Fieldbus connectivity to pneumatic valve terminals. Fieldbus connectivity to valve terminals also significantly reduces installation and engineering costs. The CTEU bus node inexpensively integrates Rockwell PLCs with multiple Festo valve terminal models, including MPA-L and the VTUG. Since a single CTEU node serves two valve terminals, it contributes to lower inventory requirements and simplifies logistics.
The MPA-L is a modular valve terminal suitable for most pneumatic applications for discrete and process automation. The high flow rate to size ratio makes for universal applications from food and beverage packaging to semiconductor fabrication. MPA-L can run pressure and vacuum, with multiple zones. The VTUG is an electrical terminal for solenoid valves. It provides diagnostics via fieldbus and has up to 24 valve positions. Festo valve terminals offer two functions on a single valve positon for greater functionality in a small footprint terminal.
Also on display are the IO-Link integrated SDAT analog sensor for reporting the piston position of a pneumatic cylinder and the VPPM proportional pressure regulator with IO-Link for greater data transfer and diagnostic information availability. IO-Link Premier Integration provides the data foundations to Industry 4.0 concepts and Industrial Internet of Things IIoT functionality.
The highest level of safety
Festo features the Encompass product MS6-SV-E soft start and quick exhaust valve which can be used with GuardLogix Integrated Safety applications. MS6-SV-E reduces pressure quickly and reliably and builds up pressure gradually in industrial pneumatic systems. The pneumatic system safety device is a self-testing, redundant system conforming to the requirements of EN ISO 13849-1. Thanks to the 2-channel design and its monitoring, the device fulfills category 3 and 4 requirements, which enables a performance level “e” to be attained – the highest safety level.
21st Century mechatronic training
Festo Didactic, one of the world’s leading providers of mechatronic training, showcases in the Festo Flexible and Modular Automation exhibit its curriculum supporting Rockwell PLCs. The Festo Didactic product and service portfolio offers customers holistic education solutions for all areas of manufacturing technology and process automation, such as pneumatics, hydraulics, electrical engineering, production technology, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, CNC, HVAC, and telecommunications.
by Gary Mintchell | Nov 28, 2016 | Automation, Networking, Technology
FDT IIoT Server
The FDT Group announced a revised mission statement, an IIoT Server, and agreements with other organizations—OPC Foundation, ODVA for CIP, and AutomationML–at its press conference at SPS 2016 in Nuremberg.
This highlights the role of technology organizations in this connected era—they must cooperate and collaborate or die.
“FDT is the open standard for industrial automation integration of networks and devices, harnessing IIoT and Industrie 4.0 for enterprise-wide connectivity” proclaims the organization on its updated Website.
The FDT Group launched FDT/IIoT Server (FITS) for mobility, cloud, and fog enterprise applications. The FITS solution protects industry investments in FDT through advanced business logic, well-defined interfaces and common components, and enables operating system (OS) agnostic implementation of the technology while supporting today’s integrated automation architecture.
The server features robust layered security leveraging vetted industry standards and utilizing encrypted communications with transport layer security (TLS).
FITS also takes advantage of an OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) annex enabling sensor-to-cloud, enterprise-wide connectivity in industrial control systems used in the process, hybrid and factory automation markets. Together, FDT and OPC UA allow sensor, network and topology information to permeate the enterprise, including mobile devices, distributed control systems (DCSs), programmable logic controllers (PLCs), enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, the cloud, and the IIoT and Industry 4.0.
According to Glenn Schulz, managing director of the FDT Group, the FITS solution represents the key architectural role that FDT plays in an intelligent enterprise. “The FDT Group is working with the various IIoT initiatives around the world to ensure that our new architecture meets their emerging requirements,” Schulz said. “In addition, the FDT platform is being enhanced to include operating system agnostic support for standard browsers, fit-for-purpose apps, and general web services for any potential expansion. These advancements underscore our support for the hundreds of thousands of installed FDT/FRAMES and tens of millions of FDT-enabled products in the global installed base.”
It announced the release of an annex to the FDT standard for the OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA).
The FDT/OPC UA annex is intended for implementation by automation system manufacturers in FDT Frame Applications (FDT/FRAMEs). System suppliers with an FDT/FRAME embedded in their distributed control system (DCS), asset management system, programmable logic controller (PLC) or other system have the ability to include an OPC UA server in an application accessible from any OPC UA client application.
The combined FDT/OPC standards create a single system infrastructure that standardizes the connection of industrial networks, automation systems and devices. This approach enables unification of system engineering, configuration and diagnosis in Industrie 4.0, and supports Industrie 4.0 devices, but is also able to build a bridge to Industrie 3.0 networks and devices.
Also announced was release of an updated annex to the current FDT standard for ODVA’s media-independent Common Industrial Protocol (CIP). Network adaptations of CIP include EtherNet/IP, DeviceNet, CompoNet and ControlNet. The latest version of the CIP annex to the FDT specification enables the use of proven and widely implemented ODVA networks in FDT/FRAME Applications with the latest enhancements.
And a further announcement was integration of the open AutomationML data exchange standard into open, non-proprietary FDT Technology. Together, the two standards will help advance global adoption of Industrie 4.0 solutions.
First developed in 2006, AutomationML is intended to standardize data exchange in the engineering phase of production systems.
