A PoV on the IIC Industrial Internet Reference Architecture
Integration –The ability of different components within an IIS to communicate with each
other using agreed upon network protocols and exchange data. This has also been
referred to as Technical Interoperability.
Interoperability –The ability to exchange information via messages with agreed upon
syntax (or structure) and semantics (or meaning of symbols used in messages).
Composability –The ability of components to interact with other components to create
desired effects and satisfy end user requirements based on the expected behavior of the
participating components.
Connectivity is a key capability that enables Integration and Interoperability.
3.4
Connectivity
The IIRA describes connectivity in terms of two main functional layers. They are as follows:
Communication Transport Layer – The role of this layer is to provide Technical
Interoperability. This layer corresponds to the combination of Physical, Data Link,
Network and Transport Layers of the OSI Reference Model. Underlying networks and
protocols are completely specified and agreed upon by communicating components to
ensure that data can be exchanged between them.
Communication Framework Layer – The role of this layer is to provide syntactic
interoperability. It corresponds to the Sessions, Presentation and Application layers of the
OSI model. Syntactic interoperability requires message structure and data formats to be
completely specified and independent of the actual component implementation.
Communication Gateways are used to extend the reach of communication across different
transport networks and across different Communication Framework implementations.
3.5
Data Management
Data Management is a foundational capability on which functions in the Control, Operations and
Information domains depend. Data Management is performed on hosts and endpoints in the
Platform and Edge tiers.
Types of data that are common in an IIS include sensor observations, alerts and events, command
and control signals and configuration data.
The most common data management functions in an IIS include data ingestion, cleaning, filtering,
sampling, compression, feature extraction and transformation. Data storage, meta data
management and search/discovery services are other common data management functions.
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December 2015