Why Edge Agent Server?  

1. Data Collection Drivers - Supports wide variety of southbound protocol drivers such as Modbus, OPC-UA, BACnet, Siemens S7, SNMP, SQL, MQTT, and HTTP, etc to communicate with the devices, equipment and systems. Further, it provides options for creating your own drivers for collecting data over custom protocols. 
   
2. Low Latency Processing - Processes data at source for real-time monitoring and faster decision-making.
   
3. Reduced Cloud Dependency - Minimizes the need to send every data point to the cloud, saving bandwidth and costs.
   
4. Improved Reliability - Continues to operate even during network outages by storing and forwarding data when the connection is restored.
   
5. Enhanced Data Security - Keeps sensitive data locally in encrypted format, reducing the risk of external exposure.
   
6. Data processing using pipelines - Tailor your processing needs using data pipelines, choosing from a gallery of pre-defined logical blocks or creating your own custom blocks using scripts to filter, transform, and route device data through configurable stages before it's stored locally or sent to the cloud.
   
7. Bridging the OT/IT gap - Helps in bridging the OT/IT divide by providing the operational data for integration.  
   

 Architecture  

1. Data Source
   (Devices & Systems)
   
   Indicate the physical components, such as sensors, PLCs, field equipment, and systems located at the operational level. They are the source of the data, for monitoring and managing the devices and systems.

1. Data Collection
   

1. Native Drivers
   

Built-in software modules or protocols such as Modbus, OPC-UA, BACnet, Siemens S7, SNMP, MQTT, and HTTP, etc. allows you to communicate data from a wide range of devices and systems.

These native plugins are typically pre-installed in the Edge Server environment to simplify configuration, enable faster device onboarding. They are the southbound drivers responsible for data collection, normalization, and storage at the edge.

1. Custom Drivers
   

C, Java, and Python SDKs are provided alongside native drivers to build custom drivers for specific devices, protocols, and systems, offering flexibility for custom setups.

1. Data Processing & Orchestration
   

The processing & orchestration of data is done using pipelines. i.e. The flow of data from collection to the cloud is defined in the pipelines using pre-built or custom functions.

1. Pre-built General processing functions for filtering, aggregating, expression evaluation, publishing data, etc.
   
2. Pre-built Solution specific functions for vertical specific data filtering and processing requirements. For example, in industrial IoT, part production, OEE calculation, down time, etc.
   
3. Custom functions (User defined block) for user defined functions to incorporate your own logic.
   

The process can be triggered via scheduled or data collection. During this processing, access to both collected and cached data is available. It checks incoming data values (like temperature, pressure, or speed, and other configured parameters), applies defined conditions filters, transforms, and routes device data through configurable stages before it's stored locally or sent to the cloud.

1. Edge Agent Management
   
   The Edge Agent Management acts as the central engine that manages communication and data flow between the services. It handles the following key operations:
   
   
1. Configuration Management
   
2. Command Handling
   
3. OTA
   
4. Dashboard
   
5. Offline Buffer
   
6. Monitoring
   
7. Schedulers
   
8. Logging
   
   

1. Data Storage
   
   The collected and processed data can be stored in Time Series Memory and Cache Memory for processing.
   
   

1. Zoho IoT Cloud Platform
   

The Zoho IoT Cloud Platform acts as the central hub for managing, visualizing, and analyzing data collected from edge-connected devices. 

Deployment Types

DMZ deployment    

 
Why DMZ deployment?

1. Ensure safe and reliable communication between Zoho IoT and Edge server.
   
2. Protect your local network by preventing direct internet exposure of the Edge server.
   
3. Minimize the risk of external attacks or breaches by limiting remote access to internal servers.
   
   

IP and Port Configuration