Introduction
This document describes conceptual aspects of Cumulocity IoT Edge, the local version of Cumulocity.
Overview
Cumulocity IoT Edge is an onsite, single-server variant of the Cumulocity IoT Core platform. It is delivered as a software appliance designed to run on industrial PC’s or local servers.
In contrast to Cumulocity IoT Core, which is available in the cloud (e.g. using AWS, Azure or other data centers), Cumulocity IoT Edge is installed in factories, i.e. in the same site (“onsite”) in which the IoT assets are located.
Reasons for using an onsite installation of Cumulocity IoT Edge include the following:
- 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 send to the cloud.
- Reactivity: Both Cumulocity IoT Edge and Cumulocity IoT Core include real-time streaming analytics engines. However, placing the rule execution in Cumulocity IoT Edge reduces latency, because the round-trip to cloud is omitted.
Features of Cumulocity IoT Edge include:
- Cloud Fieldbus with web-based UI to create local Modbus and OPC/UA connections
- Data Broker to send IoT data to the cloud and receive operations from the cloud, with web-based UI to filter data
- Apama streaming analytics engine for real-time local data analysis
- Ready-to-use IoT Cockpit and Device Management applications
- Native protocol support for MQTT and REST
- Edge database for historic data storage
- Easy installation, upgrades and backup/restore
- Full online support and documentation
Versions
Cumulocity IoT Edge “October 2019 release” uses the following versions:
Edge component |
Version |
|---|---|
| Cumulocity Core | 10.5.0 |
| Apama | 10.5.0 |
To learn more about Cumulocity IoT Edge you may also consult the documentation of the above products.
You will find a version number with a format similar to “9.8.9-5” in which 9.8 is the Private Edition release of Cumulocity and 9.8.9 is the core platform version. The last number –x (e.g. 1,2,3) refers to the Edge build number.
Cumulocity IoT Edge versus other Cumulocity deployments
Cumulocity IoT Edge uses the same software as Cumulocity IoT Core.
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 | CUMULOCITY IOT EDGE | CUMULOCITY IOT CORE |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | No | Yes, if customer is hosting |
| Installation | Offline, with VM image | Online, with chef & RPM |
| Cloud Field Bus | Included | Optional |
| Apama real-time analytics | Included | Optional |
| Data Broker | Included | Optional |
Footnote: * The underlying infrastructure including the virtualization is not part of the product. For further details on high availability or fault tolerance options, refer to the relevant information provided by third parties (e.g.vSphere Availability).
In addition to Cumulocity IoT Edge, we provide a light-weight approach to implement Edge functionality: the Cumulocity agent and Device SDK. These can be installed on less powerful devices like embedded devices.