A PoV on the IIC Industrial Internet Reference Architecture
Gateway-Mediated Edge Connectivity and Management
A gateway device typically mediates the connectivity between the Edge Tier and other tiers. It
provides a scalable and secure way to support different types of device/proximity networks,
devices and use cases.
A gateway device typically supports one or more interfaces to the Proximity Network and one or
more interfaces to Access Networks. One example of this is an On-Board Diagnostic Device (OBD)
that connects on one side to the vehicle on-board diagnostic port on the CANbus and to a cellular
network on the other side.
Commonly used topologies for Edge Connectivity include the Hub & Spoke and Mesh.
3.
GENERAL SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS
The IIRA provides guidelines for identifying system characteristics that must be engineered into
an IIS. It also provides guidelines for defining and adopting processes that ensure the IIS indeed
has the claimed characteristics.
Key system characteristics that are commonly required to be exhibited are given in the table
below. The IIRA specifically draws attention to Safety, Security and Resilience as three core
characteristics that are essential for ensuring availability of the core functions of an IIS.
System Characteristics
Attributes/Indicators
Scalability
The ability to provide consistent performance and
user experience, irrespective of parameters such as
the number of platform users, connected devices,
number of sensor data streams, concurrent requests,
total size of data stored, size of published datasets,
etc.
Reliability
The ability to quickly detect any degradation or
unavailability of services, initiate corrective action
and provide high availability
Usability
Ease of use of the IIS, applications, and APIs, including
intuitive, consistent and responsive UIs
IIC Journal of Innovation
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