That is the downside with UNS, if the broker fails everything fails.. For the UMH lite i do not know, i have not used it. However what you do in other scenarios using edge devices you store data locally and push to the main DB at intervals. This way you can put the heavy load on the network when the traffic is low and you will always have a failsafe with the data locally.. I guess this could be a new feature for UMH in the future.. How about that @Jermuk , to use for example RPI as edge devices running an ultra light UMH with protocol converters and postgres and have some settings for interval push of the data.. You could also have an auto cleanup after data is received and ackknowledged in the main storage. You could also have different scenarios with constant data streaming and with a local fallback if connection is lost. you could have the main UMH to poll devices for data at specific times.. For running on RPI you could have some easy setup using only docker and some script or a companion running to handle updates etc..

When we integrate Kafka at the edge level it will directly act as a “store and forward DB” it will retain messages for upto a week (in current settings) and forwards them as soon the connection ish back up 🙂

Perfect! That will be done end of Monday? 😜

Ah. nice.. So on the edge you will use kafka to stream messages instead of mqtt? Would it also be possible to for example run benthos service on the edge device and stream calculated/transformed data and push raw data at intervals or not at all? I have several machines atm where i push multiple signals and use nodered to set conditions for when the machine is running or not.. Doing this direct in an edge device would be quite nice and only stream the useful data

Not 100% sure on the implementation yet but via the bridges you can adjust the topic which you want to “forward” e.g. you can have a raw one that stays local

Idk how much I would prefer RPI to be the edge device, but a beefed up PC for industrial environments would be ideal imo.

Depends on where you define edge

Hot take: RPI devices should be for dedicated applications. If you want to stretch to another machine you can do that, but handling applications that multiple services rely on sounds like a bad failure point.

Regardless of where you define edge A raspberry pi would only be expected to do small work loads, data integration for a small amount of data sources, in close network proximity. I believe this to also be best use of using umh lite or node red.

believe me; rasp pi's are not fit for industrial applications

I would say that an RPI or whatever similar could work fine to use as edge device like reading data from a PLC and send it further.. I would not use it as a main controller. What i would like to have is something like the revolution pi as edge device where you have the industrial interface.. atm i am investigating the arduino opta as edge device since you can run mqtt on it, or the new siemens logo which also supports mqtt.. This gives the ability to collect data and do calculations but you will still not solve network downtime.. This is why kube edge on a rpi could be a better solution.. Add an industrial interface and some connectors and you are good to go. Or any other IPC. It should however be a price worth solution and not take to much space.

I would not use a Raspberry Pi. RevPis have some of the normal issues fixed (like the SD card dying after 2 yearts), but still its a weird non-standard architecture that makes maintenance quite difficult

fyi, i do this and i'm regretting it :p had some sd cards fail on me already

thank you for confirming it!

When referring to raspberry pi, I’m not implying that one use the single board that you put in your own 3d printed case, eating up sd cards. This obviously isn’t fit for industrial use. But one that has been integrated into an industrial chassis, has emmc instead of sd card, with additional ssd storage support. revpi, onlogic, recomputer, edatec Yeah they have architectural differences between a typical x68_64, but many of the reliability challenges are much improved. And the cost to feature set is unmatched, making it appealing for small workloads and low investment.

btw: tried the onlogic one, did not manage to install an OS on there lol

This is also what i mean. What i would like to have is some kind of simple computer like RPI with an industrial interface and an image/script to run from mgnt console to install the edge functions. To handle all edge devices direct from the mgnt console with updates, settings, deployments etc. If one could find a solid board with extention capabilities like adding modbus RTU, some digital in, analog etc, this could be a really good way to retrofit machines.. Or have an edge device that reads S7 data, restructure the data to fit the model and act as a gateway between the machines internal network and the industry network to not expose the machine to the network.

Yes, I'm on the same page. Which is why I like the rpi devices...some come with DIO, and most come with RS232 or RS485 so you can integrate into modbus RTU, 2 ethernet ports, so you can isolate networks. Great features for the purpose....the challenge is ensuring compatibility and reliability. I agree, it would be awesome for a UMH lite or other management software to just "deploy and manage" the edge device quickly, easily, and all in one place.... I have found this in varying degrees but it's typically for more expensive or proprietary hardware, and/or software. Dell Native Edge Balena Litmus ...they all have some level of device management combined with software, varying degrees of features, and prices.

Guys, check out the Siemens IoT 2050 😉

Looks like it has their "industrial os" on it...what does this mean? does it have any special software or management capabilities? Drivers? Easy to setup MQTT/OPUA?

yes, industrial os is Siemens version of debian

for $700 I can get a much more capable device...

and has a real time interface (so you can use profinet on it)

valuable to some...not as much in the US...put a rockwell label on it and it will be mostly accepted...but then it would be $2000

Dont get an arduino opta. Waste of time.

Why do you say that? don't have one...but would like one..

i have looked at it way back but it is still to expensive to have as an edge device for 1 machine..

Agreed....

if we're talking really barebone (just MQTT and I/O) an Siemens LOGO can be nice too

already have 2, but i am arduino biased. 🤣 I have been programming arduino for the last 20 years almost.. i bought my first when they had released like version 2 or 3 i think.

Cheap and slow...

Been talking with Rick on it and he’s been having a mountain of issues.

RickB?

Yes, the latest LOGO handles mqtt finally.. I does however not have wifi which is really nice for retrofitting.. atm i have several wifinodes sending digital signals from machines and they have not yet failed.

I was looking at the documentation and was going to buy one.....but when I saw how limited and slow it was....I bought an S7-1200 instead. But the logo has free software, and low cost...so It is appealing. I already had access to TIA...and I paid $200 for a new S7 on ebay.

There are several issues with the opta for sure.. It is not quite fully stable yet in all areas.. What i want to have is the industrial interface and c++ capabilities. This i get with the opta.