With IoT Edge Survivability, Automated Systems Run in Real Time All the Time

Originally posted on IoT Evolution

Edge computing, in a short period of time, has helped create new and improved ways for industrial and enterprise-level businesses to maximize operational efficiency, improve performance and safety, automate all core business processes, and ensure “always on” availability.

On top of these benefits, the edge also offers advantages when it comes to leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) and their adjacent devices. Known as IoT edge, this is where sensors and devices communicate real-time data to a network. IoT edge computing solves latency issues associated with the cloud, as data is processed closer to its point of origin, as well as providing enhanced safety and a smoother end-user experience.

However, while the technology does provide a variety of benefits, that’s not to say that IoT edge computing is without its faults. One of the most common problems enterprises find with edge computing is a lack of survivability. Survivability means that the system should continue to operate as well as possible despite damage to hardware (computing resources, power, or networking) or the user.

While survivability is typically related to reliability challenges, the key distinction is that reliability is about a system adapting to a challenging environment to maintain capability. In contrast, survivability is about acceptance of physical resource loss and maintaining capability as well as possible with the resources available, which is where the notion of scaling down comes into play. Given a physical loss of computing resources, power, or networking, the system should adapt and maintain as much capability as possible, ideally prioritizing capabilities based on the user’s current needs.

Enterprises are now making survivability a top priority, searching for the right edge solution that not only offers them all the technical and IoT benefits as usual but also provides adequate survivability in case of emergency.

Pente Networks introduced the general availability of a plug-and-play, highly resilient, and edge-to-cloud solution optimized on the Pente enterprise platform.

Pente Survivable Edge is controlled and configured from the cloud but also works completely independently and contains all elements needed to provide service during a disconnect from the cloud. Capabilities include local breakout for data, survivability options, and the ability to support real-time management and automation while keeping one management system that can control as many edges, radios, and devices as needed.

“After over a year of collaboration, development, testing in our lab, multiple proofs-of-concept, and two successful deployments, we are pleased to bring to the global IoT developer and service provider communities an edge capability unmatched in terms of simplicity, predictability, and reliability,” said Jonathan Schwartz, CTO, Pente.

“The edge brings with it tremendous opportunities when the edge can support real-time, automated systems where ROIs have been proven to be most immediate and sustainable. The edge has also been notoriously difficult to manage with certainty, including the flow of data generated by sensors that can be utilized locally using mesh networking, in sync with data pumped into the cloud for analytics, centralized visibility, and control across distributed locations,” continued Schwartz.

Pente’s Survivable Edge software can be installed on any server and can be downloaded with a single click for automatic connection to the cloud, Schwartz explained. “The Edge is survivable and can withstand disconnect from the cloud while providing local monitoring of all traffic from devices through the radios.”

In a related announcement with Monogoto, a cloud-based cellular network enabling API-driven Infrastructure-as-a-Service, and Supermicro, a global technology leader committed to delivering first-to-market innovation for Enterprise, Cloud, AI, and 5G Telco/Edge IT Infrastructure, on advanced wireless edge solutions with a full-stack approach, Pente described their combined solution as a combination of Monogoto’s Connectivity-as-a-Service (CaaS) cloud, including cellular connectivity for IoT devices on public networks or on private 4G or 5G, with Supermicro appliances at the edge.

Monogoto is the first service provider to deploy Pente Edge software running on Supermicro’s systems in support of the introduction of Monogoto’s EdgePlus service offering.

Pente is contributing the mobile core and management layers as part of their new Pente Survivable Edge, which makes private LTE/5G private networks extremely robust and IoT solutions easier to deploy and manage.

Supermicro’s market-proven IoT SuperServer family will support this initiative, including the (SYS-E302-12D and SYS-110D). Both systems include the Intel Xeon D®-based processors, which is the most advanced System-on-a-Chip built for the edge with built-in AI, security, advanced I/O, and dense computing.

“We are a big believer in the combined future of Edge and private 5G futuristic use cases, such as augmented reality, autonomous systems, and advanced vertical industry solutions,” said Maor Efrati, CTO, Monogoto. “Working with Pente and Supermicro, we can deliver tightly integrated edge-to-cloud capabilities, which we have demonstrated in agriculture, education, and warehousing as a start. Together, we offer the ideal platform for developers of IoT and Industrial IoT solutions.”

If required, the Survivable Edge is available on pre-integrated servers such as Supermicro and AWS outpost but can also run on any standard server, and two edges can run together to create full redundancy. Schwartz also noted that the Survivable Edge could be complemented by a User Plane only edge to reach the highest throughputs.

Two of the initial significant implementations of Pente’s Survivable Edge include the support of autonomous tractors in vineyards in the United States (which reduce costs for the growers and improve yields) and the modernization of a large chemical plant (in Israel).