What is an IoT Device?

An IoT device bridges the gap between an on premise communications network and a cloud-based communications network. It provides “Southbound” data connectivity to end devices, completely on premise. It also has a “Northbound” communication path that provides data connectivity between itself and the cloud. In the case of the process, factory and building automation industries, the Southbound communications protocol is typically an industry standard protocol such as OPC UA, BACnet, Modbus, SNMP or Web services, but it can be a proprietary communications protocol as well. The Northbound communication path needs to be highly secure and is often based on a publish/subscribe (“pub/sub”) mechanism. Emerging communication protocols being used for this include Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) and Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT).

IoT and Industrie 4.0 represent the advent of connecting devices, or “things”, with cloud-based systems to harvest hidden information faster than ever before and to drive business value by providing new services. The value to organizations, line of business applications and customers may be attained in the form of cost reduction, new revenue streams, or an improved customer experience. Connectivity is key to achieving these business values. Without being able to connect devices from behind firewalls and securely publish their data to cloud-based applications, organizations will not be able to achieve the promises of advanced analytics through computing power in the cloud. IoT devices on premise play an important role in this value chain to securely connect things to the cloud. IoT devices can function in the form of hardware devices and software add-ons to existing installed applications inside a manufacturing site or building.

IoT Device Security and Management

IoT devices need to be designed with high security in mind because they serve as a bridge between the data stored on-premise and the outside world. Intel has designed an IoT device platform that enables Original Design Manufacturers (ODM) to provide sophisticated IoT devices that come with advanced security. These security features include unique hardware IDs, secure boot, whitelisting, and disabling onboard peripherals like USB and com ports. With Linux, Windows 10 IoT Core and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSB, we are seeing two major operating system platforms emerging as the cornerstone of IoT devices. In addition to enhanced security features, edge management is also very important, as IoT devices need to be managed remotely once they come online and register with the cloud. Remote management and configuration of IoT devices is imperative to provide efficient and cost effective device management. Over-the-air update capabilities will push software updates for the operating system and onboard data communication software.

Applications

Applications for IoT devices can be related to smart buildings or manufacturing applications. Manufacturing applications may require a more robust device design for industrial environments. Manufacturing networks are often isolated from the business network and the IoT device will need to have two Ethernet adapters to bridge both networks and securely communicate data to the cloud.

REST Interface for Third-Party Containers

Other containers running on an edge device can communicate with IoTWorX containers using the REST API. This allows partners and systems integrators to create their own containers to integrate with ICONICS components on an edge device.