OT-IT Gateway Connectors and Workflows for Industrial Data Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Developers face challenges in efficiently obtaining data from OT-IT gateways due to the need for coordination with multiple IT teams and managing access to data from various machines in industrial sites, leading to increased development time and errors.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an OT-IT workflow service that allows operators to configure and deploy gateway connectors and workflows, providing a user-friendly interface for developers to access and process data from data sources, with features like permission management and secure data transmission using encryption protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If developers work with multiple IT teams to access predefined data subsets from gateways, then data access is achieved, but development time increases and coordination complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an OT-IT workflow service as an intermediary layer between developers and gateway data sources. This service provides standardized APIs and abstractions that allow developers to access gateway data without directly coordinating with multiple IT teams. The workflow service handles data subset definitions, access permissions, and gateway communications, thereby reducing development time while maintaining reliable data access.
2Reliability
If developers process data in separate computing environments, then data processing is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges data processing capabilities into the OT-IT workflow service itself, eliminating the need for separate computing environments. The workflow service provides integrated processing functions including data filtering, transformation, and enrichment directly at the service layer, thereby maintaining processing capability while reducing overall system complexity.
3Ease of operation
If operators manage access to data from various machines manually, then access control is achieved, but operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the OT-IT workflow service automatically manages data access permissions and configurations. Operators can define access policies and data subsets through simplified interfaces, and the service automatically handles permission enforcement, configuration propagation to gateways, and access management, thereby easing operations while reducing complexity through automation.
4Ease of operation
If predefined data subsets are used from gateways, then data access is simplified, but data flexibility and customization are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic data subset definitions within the OT-IT workflow service. While predefined data subsets provide simplified access, the service allows runtime configuration and customization of data subsets through programmable interfaces. Developers can dynamically define, modify, and query custom data subsets based on specific application needs, thereby maintaining ease of access while providing full adaptability and versatility.
Data Source
AI summary
An OT-IT (operational technology-information technology) service of a provider network allows operators to configure gateway connectors for data sources (e.g., machines at an industrial site) and allows developers to specify workflows that consume data from the data sources. To do so, the OT-IT service provides an operator interface to receive topology data for the client's remote network. The OT-IT service configures connectors for data sources based on the topology data and deploys the connectors to gateway devices. The OT-IT service also provides a developer interface to present available data sources and to receive specifications for workflows that consume data from the data sources. The OT-IT service deploys the workflows to execution locations. The OT-IT service then configures the gateways to send tagged data from the connectors to the workflows for processing.