Edge Computing

Edge computing is a distributed computing approach that moves data collection, processing, and control closer to where data is generated like machines, sensors, and controllers. Handling tasks at or near the source instead of the IoT application reduces latency, saves bandwidth, increases resilience during connectivity gaps, and ensures critical data remains local when needed.

Edge computing in IoT is not just about computation but also about collecting data reliably from diverse industrial protocols. Acquiring and normalizing data from systems that communicate with various protocols like OPC UA, Modbus, BACnet, MQTT, HTTPS and other standards is often the first and most important step. This lays the foundation for local processing, analytics, and control.

Edge Computing with Zoho IoT

Zoho IoT recognises that organizations adopt edge computing with varying needs and expertise. This involves quick-start data collection, to robust industrial-grade deployments, to flexible tools for developers and OEMs to extend or embed edge capabilities.

To serve these diverse needs, Zoho IoT provides three distinct approaches to edge computing:

Edge Lite

Edge Lite is a lightweight agent for supported gateways that streamlines communication between gateways, Modbus devices, and the Zoho IoT application. It uses MQTT for secure data exchange between the gateway and Zoho IoT, enabling quick setup for data collection, command execution, and remote configuration.

Edge Lite supports remote configuration for the following Modbus protocols:

Modbus RTU
Modbus TCP
Modbus RTU over TCP

Learn More about Edge Lite.

Edge Server

Zoho IoT Edge Server is an industrial grade edge computation platform for medium to large scale deployments. It supports a wide range of protocols and the ability to build custom drivers. Edge Server reduces cloud dependency, improves resilience, and bridges the OT/IT gap and is recommended for plant wide and enterprise deployments.

Key Features:

Supports real time data processing through pipelines,
Secure communication with Zoho IoT over MQTT
Offline buffering and local storage.

Supported Protocols

Modbus - OPC UA - BACnet - Siemens S7 - SNMP - SQL - MQTT/HTTP

Learn more about Edge Server.

SDK and Plugins

SDKs and Plugins are built for developers, OEMs, and system integrators requiring greater flexibility to integrate with Zoho IoT. They handle the MQTT based communications (publish/subscribe, device authentication, connectivity) and allow users to focus on building logic and integrations.

Features

Collect and transmit telemetry data.
Execute commands and control flows.
Extend Zoho IoT with custom logic or proprietary protocols.
Embed Zoho IoT capabilities into applications or products.

Learn more about SDK and Plugins.

Comparison: Edge Lite vs Edge Server vs SDK & Plugins

Criteria	Edge Lite	Edge Server	SDKs & Plugins
Best For	Quick start, simple data collection & commands	Industrial-grade, plant-wide deployments	Developer-led custom integrations & OEM solutions
Audience	Operators, SMEs, quick pilots	OT/IT teams, large enterprises	Developers, OEMs, integrators
Sensor/Peripheral Connectivity	Modbus (RTU, TCP, RTU over TCP)	Modbus, OPC UA, BACnet, Siemens S7, SNMP, SQL, MQTT/HTTP etc plus custom drivers	Any protocol the developer chooses to integrate
Cloud Connectivity	MQTT (secure communication with Zoho IoT)	MQTT (secure communication with Zoho IoT)	MQTT handled by SDK/plugin runtime
Processing	Lightweight, with optional custom data processing (Beta)	Advanced pipelines with pre-built & custom blocks	Fully flexible — developer defines processing logic
Configuration	Managed from Zoho IoT cloud	Managed from Zoho IoT cloud (edge agent)	Local (developer-defined) or cloud-pushed via EdgeConfig (Beta)
Scalability	Small setups, gateway-level	Medium–large, plant-wide, enterprise	Any scale (depends on developer’s design)
Hardware Support	Teltonika gateways (TRB140–TRB255, RUT200/241/901/951/956) and Raspberry Pi 3 & 4 Request for if the application needs to be supported for any hardware.	Runs on industrial PCs/servers with sizing based on load (2–16+ cores, 2–16+ GB RAM)	Runs on any hardware developer chooses (embedded boards, gateways, OEM devices)
When to Choose	When you need a fast, low-effort entry point	When you need large-scale, resilient, real-time edge computing	When you need maximum flexibility and control — defining your own protocols, logic, and features. SDKs available in C, Python, Arduino, and Java (roadmap), plus a Node-RED plugin for flow-based development.

How to Choose?

Choose Edge Lite if you want a simple and minimal setup with a cloud first way to start collecting data and sending commands.
Choose Edge Server if you need plant wide, industrial grade edge computing with advanced processing pipelines and resilience.
Choose SDK & Plugin if you’re a developer or OEM looking for maximum control, where you define your own protocols, logic, and integrations.

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