Your Automation Word Du Jour: Decoupling

#News(IoTStack) [ via IoTForIndiaGroup ]

EdgeX Foundry, an open source Linux Foundation project working to build a common open framework for IoT edge computing. The idea behind EdgeX Foundry’s framework is to enable plug-and-play components (e.g. apps) to be combined for secure, scalable IoT systems. EdgeX members with whom Automation World readers will be familiar include AMD, Analog Devices, Dell, FogHorn, Intel, Mocana, Opto 22, Samsung and Xage Security. Needless to say, decoupling figures heavily into EdgeX Foundry’s approach.
has three rules that are critical to EdgeX:

1. Decouple apps from infrastructure. “After all, when was last time you used ERP to run your DCS?” he asked.

2. For a consistent infrastructure, everything needs to be “plugged in.” So it’s important to decouple the edge from the cloud as close to the edge device as possible. “If you hard-couple devices to public cloud stacks, you’ll have to pay to get your data back,” he warned.
If you hard-couple devices to public cloud stacks, you’ll have to pay to get your data back.

3. For analytics purposes, decouple all domain knowledge from the platform. That is, domain knowledge should reside with the apps and related databases. EdgeX plans for more analytics-oriented applications. So, by having domain knowledge separate from the platform, Shepherd says, users will be able to more easily conduct analytics at the platform level, enabling them to “analyze the analytics.”

In the 18 months since the launch of EdgeX Foundry at Hannover Messe 2017, Steele noted that there have been three code releases, with the fourth (Delhi) being readied for release soon. In addition, several products featuring EdgeX capabilities—or that are EdgeX ready—have been introduced. Those products come from companies such as Dell, IoTech, Mocana and VMware. Shepherd noted that EdgeX Foundry plans to have a certification ready for launch by April 2019 so that products can be shown to conform with EdgeX infrastructure.