Capabilities of Industrial IoT Gateways

Industrial Internet of Things gateways, also called edge gateways, protocol converters, etc., are micro-hosts composed of high-performance industrial-grade microprocessors equipped with embedded operating systems and independent IOT software. It has physical interfaces such as 232/485 serial ports, network ports, WIFI and GPRS modules, and can communicate with smart meters, PLC equipment, touch screens, SCADA/DCS to complete data reading and local storage, and also has protocols such as HTTP and MQTT. Integrate with third-party (SCADA, MES) system platforms.

Industrial gateways are like the nerves of our human body, which transmit the information we perceive (such as vision, touch, etc.) to our brains for processing. What kind of response to make and transmit it to the whole body and limbs to make actions through the nerves; in other words, if there is no industrial IoT gateway, it is like the nerves of our human body are cut off, and we cannot perceive the external environment and cannot control it. His own movements, like a vegetable or a person with uncoordinated limbs, are lacking in behavior. Therefore, the industrial gateway is an indispensable and important device in the industrial Internet of things.

What are the functions of an Industrial Internet of Things gateway?

1. Data collection and forwarding functions

As the most basic function of an industrial gateway, it is necessary to connect sensors, instruments, PLCs and other equipment on the industrial site to the gateway through industrial bus interfaces (RS485, CAN), wireless interfaces, and network interfaces. The gateway can adapt to the communication protocol of the field equipment, such as modbus, ModbusTcp, TCP/IP, OPC, DTL645, etc. RFID reads and writes device data and can issue control commands; it can communicate with most device controllers on site, has powerful data collection and transmission capabilities, and supports personalization Customized development of the protocol; the adjustment and optimization of the edge collection template and collection strategy can be realized through the local or cloud platform, and efficient data upload can be realized; the standardization of different types of device data can be realized through the standardization engine; the industrial Internet of Things gateway can collect The data is sent to the system platform through 4G/5G, industrial bus interface, network interface, etc.

Of course, the industrial IoT gateway itself can also have an I/O interface to meet more complex control requirements in industrial sites. The gateway is responsible for integrating and collecting the on-site data, and then centrally summarizes it into the industrial gateway. The industrial gateway sorts out and analyzes the information and records it in the control panel, so as to realize remote control, remote upgrade, remote communication, and real-time monitoring of industrial equipment.

2. Storage and breakpoint resume function

The industrial Internet of Things gateway has a built-in database, supports local data storage, and can effectively prevent data loss; the collected data can be Stored in its own memory, and will not be lost when power is turned off. It forms a double backup with the platform, and the platform can call historical data at any time. When the 4G/5G base station has a problem or is under maintenance, the platform loses contact with the site, and the gateway continues to collect and store on site. After the communication with the platform is restored, the data can be actively uploaded to the platform from the moment of disconnection to ensure the basic data of the platform. Integrity, the platform can fully tap the application of data and bring value to customers. It has common communication protocols for integration with third-party systems and secondary development API/SDK interfaces, which can realize rapid integration with third-party systems (SCADA, MES, etc.).

3. Powerful edge computing function

"Cloud-edge collaboration" is already a major trend in the current Internet of Things. The platform decentralizes computing tasks, requiring industrial gateways to have edge computing functions. In practical applications, the platform is connected to a large number of devices, and the amount of concurrent data is huge, which brings great pressure to the platform and network (especially 4G/5G tariffs).

The industrial IoT gateway supports various edge computing functions such as intelligent collection, data filtering, alarm calculation, jump trigger, formula calculation, grouping strategy, etc. Through the establishment of equipment models and data standardization, the pressure on the cloud service center is greatly reduced, and the robustness and high concurrency of the system are improved; after equipment heterogeneity is eliminated and standardization is achieved, project R&D and construction costs are greatly saved .

The industrial gateway can process the on-site data according to the preset, and just send the processing results to the platform; for some simple linkage control and alarm, edge computing can also be realized on the spot through logic programming, which greatly improves the real-time performance of control and alarm; Secondary development is also a type of edge computing, such as cross-platform development, container APP development, and edge computing for industrial gateways should be an open platform. Both debugging engineers and development engineers can realize their own edge computing needs.

4. Remote maintenance and commissioning services

The cost of manual on-site maintenance is sometimes higher than the cost of the equipment itself, so remote maintenance is essential.

After the industrial gateway is connected to the public network, the supporting debugging software should be able to remotely connect to the on-site gateway through the remote server. Engineers can debug the on-site gateway or troubleshoot on-site problems in the office, and solve problems remotely when they are found, greatly improving operating efficiency. Truly realize "planning strategies, winning thousands of miles away". In addition, industrial gateways should also have functions such as software and hardware security encryption, wireless networking, high-performance chips, 4G routing, and firewalls.

With the continuous development of Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and other technologies, industrial gateways have gradually become the key to smart new industries. At present, industrial gateways are widely used in industrial automation, smart cities, manufacturing, smart agriculture, mechanical equipment, PLC control, smart robots, water supply equipment, smart transportation, smart factories, remote monitoring, environmental monitoring and other fields, without wiring and reduced maintenance The cost is very convenient to use.