[dropcap type=”default”]P[/dropcap]rismTech, a global leader in software platforms for distributed systems, today announced Vortex Connect, a scalable and extensible framework for connecting different endpoint technologies together in Industrial Internet of Things systems.
Vortex Connect enables field devices such as sensors and actuators using a broad range of Operational Technology communication protocols to connect into core IIoT networks supporting both the edge and cloud subsystems.
IIoT systems represent a convergence between the OT and Information Technology worlds. Both domains have traditionally deployed technologies specific to their own use-cases with little need for seamless integration between the underlying infrastructures. This is certainly no longer the case and the IIoT is blurring the boundaries between systems.
For companies to leverage the benefits from the plethora of new data generated by connected assets, information must be able to flow seamlessly and possibly in real-time to wherever in a system the analytics is deployed, either at the edge of a system or in the cloud.
Interoporable
One of the key challenges facing the IIoT community is how to connect operational or field systems that use a broad and extensive catalog of communication technologies with higher level IIoT systems where the protocols are completely different.
Vortex Connect enables data from operational systems to be ingested by IIoT edge nodes (e.g. IoT Gateway or Fog Node), converted into a normalised in-memory data model which can be shared with other communication endpoints via the framework. Data integration is achieved via a set of protocol-specific connectors that interact and populate the data model with real-time data.
Vortex Connect provides a set of out-of-the-box connectors to common OT protocols such as Modbus (TCP/IP and RTU), CANopen, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP and core IoT data-backbone protocols such as MQTT, DDS and HTPP/REST. Each connector is purchased separately and additional protocol connectors will be added over time as the product is rolled out.
Vortex Connect is part of the Vortex family of products that provide efficient real-time device, edge and cloud IoT data sharing. Vortex is a crucial enabler for systems that have to reliably and securely deliver high volumes of data with stringent end-to-end qualities-of-service. Vortex provides a platform independent interoperable data sharing solution for Embedded, Mobile, Web and Enterprise environments.
“We believe that Vortex Connect represents a major step forward in helping to solve the problem of how our customers integrate their OT and IT infrastructure in an end-to-end IIoT system. Currently, this is an area of major cost and has been a significant roadblock to IoT adoption. Vortex Connect will enable the IIoT community to address this challenge in a much more efficient and scalable way,” said Toby McClean, Vortex Edge Product Manager, PrismTech.
Vortex Connect is available now for selected pilot projects and will be generally available in early 2017.
