Building Industrial IoT from
Edge to Cloud
Next-generation distributed I/O and
control open new possibilities for
connected infrastructure
Opto 22
43044 Business Park Drive • Temecula • CA 92590-3614
Phone: 800-321-6786 or 951-695-3000
Pre-sales Engineering is free.
Product Support is free.
www.opto22.com
Form 2348-210513
© 2020-2021 Opto 22. All rights reserved. Dimensions and specifications are subject to change. Brand or product
names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or organizations.
BUILDING INDUSTRIAL IOT FROM EDGE TO CLOUD
Next-generation distributed I/O and control open new possibilities for
connected infrastructure
WHAT’S THE GOAL? Much as consumer hardware and software technologies
have shifted to improve ease-of-use and connectivity,
By now, most anyone working in a role involving industrial industrial products and methods are following the same
automation has heard about digital transformation, the trend. By adopting information technology (IT) capabilities,
internet of things (IoT), or the industrial IoT (IIoT). These they are making it easier to connect industrial equipment
initiatives involve ever smarter devices communicating with computer networks, software, and services, both on
progressively closer to the “edge,” perhaps connected to an premises and in the cloud.
internet “cloud,” or even through some kind of
intermediate “fog.” This white paper discusses how a more distributed global
architecture is enabling connectivity from the field to the
Even if we consolidate these terms under the umbrella of cloud for sensors and actuators, and for the input/output
IIoT, for most folks a simple question remains: what is the (I/O) systems and controllers linked to them.
goal of the IIoT?
Simply put, end users would like the IIoT to create a UP AND DOWN THE ARCHITECTURE
cohesive system of devices and applications able to share
data seamlessly across machines, sites, and the enterprise Industrial automation architectures generally address data
to help them optimize production and discover new processing from a hierarchical perspective, as with the
cost-saving opportunities. classic Purdue model. One good feature of this hierarchy is
the clarity it provides with regard to where data can
Sharing process data has long been a goal of industrial originate, be stored, undergo processing, and be delivered.
automation, but traditional operational technology (OT)
architectures are poor at scaling, priced prohibitively, and However, the task of transporting data and processing it in
demand complex configuration and support. context is often quite difficult, because so many layers of
equipment are required to connect devices and
So what is changing to achieve this new, more ambitious applications.
goal?
For example, the illustration below shows a traditional
method of acquiring temperature data from facility
Traditional data acquisition methods require configuring and maintaining many
layers in a hierarchy of hardware and software.
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Building Industrial IoT from Edge to Cloud
equipment and moving it to a back-end client, like a
database. The problem with traditional architectures
is the amount of work it takes to design,
The lowest level of an automation architecture is made up physically connect, configure, digitally map,
of the physical devices residing on process and machinery communicate, and then maintain field
equipment: sensors, valve actuators, motor starters, and so data points.
on. These are connected to the I/O points of control system
programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and
maintained between high-level systems exposed to
human-machine interfaces (HMIs), both of which are well
external networks and low-level systems.
suited for local control but less useful for advanced
calculations and data processing. Developments over the past decade are significantly
altering this traditional hierarchy, flattening and simplifying
However, using industrial communications protocols,
it to a great extent.
these low-level devices can respond to data requests from
upstream supervisory control and data acquisition
(SCADA) systems where it might be historized or made SPANNING EDGE, FOG, AND CLOUD
available to corporate-level analytical software. Sharing
The hierarchical approach was necessary when computing
data within multi-vendor systems, however, often requires
capability, network bandwidth, and security features were
additional middleware, such as OPC device drivers, to
much less available. Each step up the hierarchy from a
translate the various industrial protocols.
basic hardwired sensor to cloud computing systems was
More advanced site manufacturing execution system required to access greater computing and networking
(MES) and overall enterprise resource planning (ERP) resources. It also clearly delineated the security measures
software also reside at higher levels of the architecture, networks required around unsecured field equipment.
hosted on PCs or servers on site or in the cloud, where the
Today, the relationship has changed because sensors and
cloud is defined as large-scale, internet-based, shared
other edge devices are far more capable, with some of
computing and storage.
them including processing and communications abilities
Information generally flows up to higher levels to be similar to a PC. Security protections like embedded
analyzed and used to optimize operations, but the middle firewalls are also becoming a standard feature, allowing
layers are required in order to interpret, translate, filter, and each device to act as a peer on the network instead of
format the raw data produced by low-level devices and passively listening and responding to high-level systems.
protocols.
The architecture is evolving to become flatter and more
Since these low-level devices typically lack protection distributed, as in the image below, which illustrates the
against cyber-intrusion, a clear division must also be same data acquisition scenario but replaces several layers
Modern edge devices, such as the Opto 22 groov RIO®, flatten and simplify the
architecture required to connect field I/O signals to business and control applications.
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Building Industrial IoT from Edge to Cloud
with a low-level device capable of sending data directly to • OPC UA—A platform-independent OPC
its destination. specification, useful for machine-to-machine
communication with legacy devices
The edge, made up of low-level networks, is still a critical
source of data, and the cloud is still a valuable resource for • Node-RED—A low-code, open-source IoT
heavyweight computing. However, the resources in programming language for managing data transfer
between, especially at the site level, are becoming a blend across many devices, protocols, web services, and
of data-generating devices and data-processing databases
infrastructure. Today’s smart remote I/O, also known as edge I/O, takes
This fuzzy middle ground earns the name fog, because it is advantage of these technologies and combines them with
akin to a widespread, pervasive, and middleweight cloud. standard IT protocols like TLS (transport layer security)
encryption, VPN (virtual private networking) for secure
Many other factors besides advancing technology are remote connection, and DHCP (dynamic host
driving this shift to a flatter architecture. The most configuration protocol) for automatic addressing. Rather
straightforward motivation is to balance computing and than requiring layers of supporting middleware, edge I/O
networking demands between the edge and higher-level devices are first-class participants in distributed systems.
systems. Edge computing offloads central processing,
preserves data fidelity, improves local responsiveness and Another obstacle to scalability for IIoT systems based on
security, and increases data transfer efficiency to the cloud. classic I/O hardware is the work required to provide power,
network connections, and the right I/O module types. To
Ultimately, however, this new edge-to-cloud architecture address these issues, vendors are taking advantage of new
depends on having new options at the edge for acquiring, technologies to make distributed I/O more feasible and
securing, storing, and processing field data. flexible.
DISTRIBUTED I/O EVOLVES Power plus networking
Field data can be raw I/O points connected at the edge or One example is power over Ethernet (PoE) capability,
derived calculation values. Either way, the problem with which uses an Ethernet network cable to simultaneously
traditional architectures is the amount of work it takes to supply low-voltage power and network connectivity.
design, physically connect, configure, digitally map,
communicate, and then maintain these data points.
Adding even one point at a later date may require revisiting
all these steps.
To create more scalable, distributed systems, some vendors
are making it possible to bypass these layers between the
real world and intermediate or top-level analytics systems.
With enough computing power, all the necessary software
for enabling communications can be embedded directly in
an I/O device. Instead of requiring a controller to configure,
poll, and communicate I/O data to higher levels, I/O
devices can transmit information on their own.
This kind of edge data processing is becoming possible
also due to a proliferation of IIoT tools, for example:
• MQTT with Sparkplug B—A secure, lightweight,
open-source publish-subscribe communications
protocol designed for machine-to-machine
communications, with a data payload designed for
mission-critical industrial applications
groov RIO edge I/O module
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Building Industrial IoT from Edge to Cloud
When PoE is embedded into an edge groov EPIC edge programmable
I/O device, it can even supply I/O power, industrial controller
simplifying electrical panel design and
saving money on additional
components and labor.
Flexible I/O
To make it easier for designers to specify
the right I/O interface types, some new
I/O devices also offer more flexible
configuration, like mixed and
multi-function I/O channels. These
provide extensive options to mix and
match I/O signal types as needed on
one device, reducing front-end
engineering work and spares
management.
The combination of these features within edge I/O devices Edge controllers like Opto 22’s groov EPIC® combine
makes it possible for implementers to easily add I/O points sensing and control of traditional I/O, intelligent device
anywhere they are needed, starting with a few points and fieldbus protocols, and modern edge I/O. They can also
scaling up as much as necessary at any time. Wiring needs host OPC UA servers like Ignition Edge® from Inductive
are minimized, so long as networking infrastructure is Automation® to communicate with a variety of networked
accessible. devices, making them uniquely efficient at bridging
For more comprehensive integration, control, and disparate automation networks.
calculation, any number of edge controllers can also be Then, with support for IT-compatible MQTT and REST
integrated. interfaces and a variety of networking options, EPICs can
securely connect OT networks to IT systems while reducing
EDGE CONTROLLERS BRING IT ALL the layers of middleware required to do so.
TOGETHER The combination of edge I/O and edge control leads to a
new distributed data architecture.
As with traditional I/O hardware, traditional industrial
controllers are limited in scope and require intermediary
systems in order to connect process data to the rest of the NEW ARCHITECTURE OPTIONS
organization. Like edge I/O, modern edge programmable
So what new architectural possibilities are available to
industrial controllers (EPICs) leverage new technologies to
industrial automation designers using modern edge I/O
assimilate more automation functions than previous
and edge controllers?
generations could.
With edge devices making local data available to
With industrially hardened components, secure
computing resources at the edge and at higher
networking options, multi-language programming, and
organizational levels, the logical hierarchy can be flattened
multi-core processing, edge controllers can deliver
even as the geographical distribution is expanded (see the
traditional real-time I/O control while also hosting
image on page 7).
communications, visualization, and even database servers.
Here you can see some examples of new information
In the case of IIoT applications, edge controllers can use
architectures that are becoming possible for use in places
this flexibility to communicate with an array of data
like remote equipment installations, commercial facilities,
producers, transform their data in meaningful ways, and
campuses, laboratories, and industrial plants.
deliver it securely to data consumers.
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Building Industrial IoT from Edge to Cloud
Edge controllers and edge I/O enable new information architectures in which devices can
share data locally and across the organization, through edge, fog, and cloud:
1. Shared infrastructure with edge data processing
2. Legacy device integration with edge controller as IoT gateway
3. Direct-to-cloud I/O network
4. Many-to-many MQTT infrastructure
Shared infrastructure with edge data The combination of smart hardware and software closes
processing the gap between OT and IT systems, creating a unified data
network that is scalable and centrally managed.
Where field signals are distributed over large geographic
areas or multiple sites, edge devices can facilitate data Legacy device Integration with edge
transmission to networked applications and databases, controller as IoT gateway
improving the efficiency and security of local infrastructure
or replacing high-maintenance middleware such as Edge I/O can form a basic data processing fabric for
Windows PCs. existing equipment I/O in brownfield sites and work in
combination with more powerful edge controllers and
For example, area 1 in the image above shows edge I/O gateways using OPC UA to integrate data from legacy RTUs,
(groov RIO) placed at multiple remote sites with an edge PLCs, and PACs. This approach improves security and
controller (groov EPIC) at another site integrating data from connectivity without interfering with existing control
existing PLCs. Two of the edge I/O modules are sourcing, systems.
processing, and communicating field data directly into a
central corporate database, using Node-RED. The EPIC and The example in area 2 of the image demonstrates this
other edge I/O exchange data for local control while also pattern. An edge controller acts as a secure gateway for
transmitting data to a central SCADA over MQTT. Data legacy devices, allowing them to interact with
processing is distributed throughout the edge network, cloud-hosted IoT platforms, SCADA, or MQTT clients while
allowing central systems to ingest data more efficiently. protecting them against unauthorized access from external
networks. At the same time, edge I/O is used to integrate
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Building Industrial IoT from Edge to Cloud
facility equipment (pumps, blowers, temperature sensors) SEAMLESS CONNECTIVITY IS POSSIBLE
and new equipment skids into the same network. The
groov EPIC may control the groov RIO modules, aggregate Seamless connectivity is now a reality, thanks to
and buffer their data in an embedded database, or simply technologies that make ubiquitous data exchange
transmit data to external systems. possible. New hardware and software products enable
interconnectivity among physical locations in the field, at
Direct-to-cloud I/O network the local control room, in the front office, across
geographic regions, and up to global data centers.
Engineers can also design simple, flat, data processing
networks using only edge I/O devices (without controllers Distributed edge I/O, edge controllers, and associated
or gateways), expanding as needed to monitor additional networking technologies support data transfer through
field signals. A distributed I/O system like this can process the edge, fog, and cloud portions of an industrial
and report data directly to cloud-based supervisory architecture. Using this approach, you can erase the former
systems, predictive maintenance databases, or MQTT boundaries between IT and OT domains and get the data
brokers. you need to optimize operations.
In our example, area 3 of the image shows two groov RIO
modules reporting data from the factory directly to the ABOUT OPTO 22
cloud, via Node-RED or MQTT. There’s no need for Opto 22 was started in 1974 by a co-inventor of the
intermediary control hardware, because each module solid-state relay (SSR), who discovered a way to make SSRs
provides configurable firewall and data encryption settings more reliable.
as well as a data processing engine to combine, filter, and
format data. Since each edge I/O module is independent, Opto 22 has consistently built products on open standards
the network can grow incrementally, reducing capital rather than on proprietary technologies. The company
project expenditures required to integrate new equipment. developed the red-white-yellow-black color-coding
system for input/output (I/O) modules and the open
Many-to-many MQTT infrastructure Optomux® protocol, and pioneered Ethernet-based I/O.
Edge devices with embedded MQTT clients can publish Famous worldwide for its reliable industrial I/O, the
field data directly to a shared MQTT broker/server or company in 2018 introduced groov EPIC® (edge
redundant MQTT server group located anywhere the programmable industrial controller). EPIC has an
network reaches: on premises, in the cloud, or as part of open-source Linux® OS and provides connectivity to PLCs,
regional fog computing resources. The broker can then software, and online services, plus data handling and
manage subscribers to that data—any number of visualization, in addition to real-time control.
interested network clients across the organization, The company’s latest product line, groov RIO®, provides
including control systems, web services, and other edge compact, autonomous edge I/O that is ideal for
devices. communicating field data in IIoT applications.
Area 4 of the image shows this architecture. Both groov RIO All Opto 22 products are manufactured
and groov EPIC have embedded MQTT clients, allowing any and supported in the U.S.A. Most
of the other architectures to be combined into an efficient solid-state SSRs and I/O modules are
data-sharing network. Two of the edge I/O modules in this guaranteed for life. The company is
example are publishing to a regional server group. The especially trusted for its continuing
other two are communicating with an edge controller at policy of providing free product support, free online
another site, which is using the edge modules as training and free pre-sales engineering assistance.
distributed I/O and publishing their data into the MQTT
network. Once data is published to the broker, devices and For more information, visit opto22.com or contact Opto 22
services that need that data can subscribe to it from Pre-Sales Engineering using the Contact Us form on
wherever they are on the network. our website.
PAGE 8
Form 2348-210513
43044 Business Park Dr. Temecula, CA 92590-3614 800-321-6786 • 1-951-695-3000 800-835-6786 • 1-951-695-3080
© 2020 Opto 22. All rights reserved. Dimensions and specifications are subject to change. Brand or product names used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or organizations.
