Edge

Learn about the conceptual aspects of Cumulocity Edge, the single-server variant of the Cumulocity platform.

Overview

Edge is a cloud-native solution for the delivery, deployment, and management of the single-server variant of the Cumulocity platform. In contrast to the Cumulocity platform, which is available in the cloud (for example, using AWS, Azure, or other data centers), Edge is installed in factories, that is, in the same site (“onsite”) in which the IoT assets are located.

Reasons for using an onsite installation of Edge include:

  • Autonomy: Even if there is no cloud connection, tasks like data collection and data analysis can still be performed.
  • Data reduction: Data is analyzed and aggregated close to assets, and thus less data needs to be sent to the cloud.
  • Reactivity: Both Edge and the Cumulocity platform include real-time streaming analytics engines. However, placing the rule execution in Edge reduces latency, because the round-trip to cloud is omitted.

Features of Edge include:

  • Edge Agent, which enables remote monitoring and management of an Edge instance from the Cumulocity tenant.
  • Data broker to send IoT data to the cloud and receive operations from the cloud, with web-based UI to filter data.
  • Streaming Analytics engine for real-time local data analysis including the Cumulocity Analytics Builder.
  • Ready-to-use Cockpit and Device Management applications.
  • Native protocol support for MQTT and REST.
  • Edge database for operational data storage.
  • OPC UA with web-based UI for efficient connection management and seamless integration of industrial automation systems.
  • Easy installation and upgrades.
  • Microservice hosting, which allows to run server-side applications which may be used to extend the Cumulocity platform with customer-specific functionality (optional component).
  • DataHub for historical data storage and analytics (optional component).

Kubernetes offers an efficient platform for deploying, scaling, and managing containerized applications using a centralized control plane. Given this, containers orchestrated by Kubernetes have become standard in contemporary IT, fitting a broad spectrum of deployment contexts. Edge capitalizes on these orchestration and management benefits, streamlining the operations of the Edge servers with other containerized applications in your deployment landscape.

Edge captures all the highlighted advantages of a cloud-native deployment strategy by using a Kubernetes operator, known as the Edge operator. This Edge operator serves as the central controller and facilitates the deployment and management of the Edge on a single-node Kubernetes cluster. This equips you with:

  • Unified Management: Manage Edge through an Edge Custom Resource (CR) in accordance with standard Kubernetes resources. This approach provides a unified and familiar interface for administrators and operators.
  • Desired State Management: Specify the desired state of Edge through Edge CR. The Edge operator then ensures that the actual state matches the desired state, simplifying operations and reducing the need for manual intervention.
  • GitOps Friendly: The declarative nature of CR aligns seamlessly with GitOps workflows. The entire Edge deployment state, including configurations, can be stored and versioned in Git, promoting transparency and traceability.
  • Automation: Edge CR empowers you to automate various operational aspects of Edge like scaling, upgrades, and configuration.
  • Distribution: Distribute and replicate the Edge deployments using Edge CR. Simplify the deployment and accelerate the adoption of Cumulocity platform across diverse environments.

Although the features remain on par with the Cumulocity platform, the deployment is as illustrated in the diagram below:

Cumulocity Edge versus other Cumulocity deployments

Edge uses the same software as Cumulocity platform.

However, while the base software is the same, there are differences regarding the activated optional features and pre-installed agents.

The following differences apply:

Area
 Edge Cumulocity platform
Multi-tenancy No; single tenant Yes
Cluster No; single server Yes
High availability HA capabilities depend on the underlying virtualization technology, server failure could lead to temporary downtime* Full HA: No downtime on server failure, optionally even for data center failure
Vertical scalability Yes, limited to appr. 100 tps per CPU core Yes, but not used
Horizontal scalability No Yes, nearly unlimited scalability
Upgrades with no downtime No Yes
Root access Yes Yes, if customer is hosting
Installation Offline, with VM image Online
Cloud Field Bus Included Optional
Streaming Analytics Included Optional
Data Broker Included Optional
OPC UA Included Optional
Microservice Hosting Optional Optional
Machine Learning Optional Optional
Data Hub Optional Optional

Edge functionalities

Since Edge is based on the same software as the cloud-based Cumulocity platform version, the included applications are the same in both versions, with minor restrictions.

For general information about functionalities and features of Cumulocity platform, see Get familiar with the UI.

Below you can find the links to the most common functionalities of Cumulocity.

Device Management

The Device Management application provides functionalities for managing and monitoring devices and enables you to control and troubleshoot devices remotely.

The following functionalities are available in Edge and described in detail in these sections:

SECTION CONTENT
Registering devices How to register one or more devices manually and how to bulk-register devices in order to connect devices to your account.
Viewing all devices What is displayed in the device list and how to sort devices by filtering devices.
Grouping devices Why and how to group devices into top-level groups, subgroups and smart groups.
Viewing device details Detailed description of the various kind of information available for various types of devices.
Monitoring and controlling devices How to monitor the connection quality and availability status of devices, how to handle alarms from devices, how to remote control and how to troubleshoot devices.
Managing device services How to monitor the data that your devices send about the services they are running. See detailed information about measurements, events and alarms sent for every service.
Managing device types How to process data from various device types by using device protocols.
Managing device data How to retrieve and manage firmware and software for devices; how to retrieve configuration data and store and manage it in a configuration repository as configuration snapshots.
SmartREST templates How to work with SmartREST templates, a collection of request and response templates used to convert CSV data and Cumulocity REST API calls.
Working with simulators Create a simulator with the same level of functionality as connected hardware devices and simulate messages (measurements, alarms, events and inventory) that the device sends to the Cumulocity platform with series of instructions that the simulator executes one after the other.
Connectivity How to set up your Jasper Control Center account, configure the connectivity for the SIM provider in your Cumulocity tenant, link SIMs and mobile devices, and checking connectivity.

Cockpit

The Cockpit application provides you with options to manage and monitor Internet of Things (IoT) assets and data from a business perspective.

The following functionalities are available in Edge and described in detail in these sections:

Section Content
Managing assets Organize assets in hierarchies by creating groups and assigning devices.
Data Explorer Interactively explore, compare and visualize IoT data.
Describes how to access and use the data explorer, add data points to the data explorer, customize data point properties, modify the visualization, store the data explorer as widget, and export the data.
Working with dashboards Create your own analytics and monitor pages by adding and arranging widgets. Share dashboards among all devices of the same type.
Working with reports Handle reports based on dashboard layouts, create reports for exporting data in CSV or excel format and schedule the export.
Using widgets in dashboards and reports Widgets can display maps, images, graphs, tables and other graphic representations of data. Add a widget to a dashboard or a report, modify widgets, and add assets to a new or existing widget.
Widgets collection Use various types of widgets from the Widgets collection that comes with Edge and configure them according your needs.
Managing exports Export data to either CSV or Excel files. Add and schedule an export to a CSV or XLSX file to any point in time.
Data point library Manage default settings (“profiles”) of your devices and apply them automatically using the Data point library.
Smart Rules Create and manage business rules to work on incoming data in realtime and to perform actions based on this data.
Smart Rules collection Use pre-defined global Smart Rules to configure rules for geofencing, thresholds or alarm escalation and notifications (SMS/email). Describes each smart rule and its configurable parameters in detail.
Configuring Cockpit applications Configure custom Cockpit applications according to your individual needs.

Administration

The Administration application enables account administrators to manage their users, roles, tenants and applications and lets them configure a number of settings for their account.

The following functionalities are available in Edge and described in detail in these sections:

SECTION CONTENT
Configuring Edge Providing information on Edge specific configuration options.
Home screen Providing information on your capacity usage and subscribed applications.
Managing users How to add users, edit, disable or delete them.
Managing permissions How to create and edit global roles and inventory roles, how to assign them to users, and how to grant application access.
Managing applications How to manage and configure own applications in your Edge account.
Audit logs How to view and filter audit logs that show security-relevant operations that have been processed by a user. See the different audit log types for more information.
Alarm mapping Change the severity and text of alarms to adapt them to your business priorities.
Managing data How to manage and configure retention rules for your data and how to manage stored files in the file repository.
Changing settings How to change account settings like application settings, manage the properties library, enable SMS provider features like user notifications and two-factor authentication, and manage credentials for different providers.

Kubernetes Operator

Kubernetes Operators are a powerful concept and pattern for managing complex applications and services within Kubernetes clusters. The operators are software extensions to Kubernetes that make use of custom resources to manage applications and their components. The operators follow Kubernetes principles, notably the control loop.

The integral part of the operator pattern is Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs), which allow you to define application-specific resources and its behavior. An operator uses these CRDs to understand how to manage and interact with the application.

The operators are particularly valuable for managing stateful applications, like Cumulocity. The operators automate best practices, routine tasks, and provide a consistent way to manage complex applications across different environments.

Edge operator

The Edge operator automates the deployment and management of Edge. The Edge operator manages a Custom Resource Definition (CRD) to extend the Kubernetes API for Edge. You can deploy and manage Edge on a Kubernetes cluster through Edge Custom Resource (CR). Modify the Edge CR file and use kubectl apply -f to apply the changes. The Edge operator receives these changes and installs or updates Edge accordingly.

The Edge operator enables you to install, configure, upgrade or downgrade, scale up or down Edge. The Edge operator supports:

  • Deploy Edge
  • Version upgrade and downgrade
  • Scale up and down resources
  • Configure persistent storage
  • Validate configurations