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The industrial network "edge" is populated by devices, such as Ethernet, wireless, and cellular gateways; Ethernet switches and routers; and wireless access points (WAPs). Traditionally relied upon to bridge IT (information technology) and OT (operations technology) environments or bring legacy equipment into automation or enterprise architectures, industrial network edge devices have often been an afterthought in the quest to integrate operations. Originally intended largely to bring automation devices onto the enterprise backhaul, today's network edge products target sensor-to-cloud integration to further industrial internet-based strategies designed to improve business performance.
Availability of microprocessor-based devices with standard operating systems, such as Linux and Windows 10, that can host applications also drives the march towards edge or fog computing. Concurrent with this trend is the battle of the internet platforms extending to the industrial edge, with heavyweights, such as General Electric and the IBM/Cisco partnership bringing their platforms to edge devices via both their own and their partners' products.
Why? Because the edge is where the assets and the associated data to be analyzed by enterprise applications reside. All this leads to a broadening functional spectrum for industrial edge devices, one that ranges from protocol conversion gateways for interfacing disparate networks to sensor-to-cloud integration and edge computing. It also ushers in a broadening of the supply base with numerous new entrants and a host of new product introductions.
The combination of a large installed base of disconnected assets and long hardware replacement cycles is behind the need to incorporate legacy equipment to feed monitoring, optimization, analytics, and other applications. Industrial edge devices provide a primary path to incorporate these legacy assets into the automation or enterprise architecture.
Table of Contents
- Executive Overview
- Network Edge Key to the Industrial Internet Value Proposition
- The Race to the Cloud
- Bringing the Cloud to the Edge
- The Battle for the Edge
- Organizational Impact
- IT Suppliers in the Industrial Realm
- Recommendations
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Keywords: Industrial Network, Edge, IT (Information Technology), OT (Operations Technology), Automation Devices, Enterprise Architecture, ARC Advisory Group.