The remote management example described is an application at a global provider of automation solutions for material processing with branches in distributed locations. The systems in the plants themselves are controlled via programmable logic controllers, which in turn are connected to one industrial router per production plant. Programmable industrial NB1601 broadband routers are used, which offer multi-WAN LAN communication and can be easily networked with the latest technologies such as UMTS, LTE or LTE Advanced. The powerful devices are already equipped with standard industrial interfaces and protocols such as digital I/O, RS232 and many others. This enables access to sensors/actuators or SCADA systems. They comply with the EN 61000-6-2 standard and have a high level of interference immunity. Thanks to the integrated spring clip, they are suitable for DIN rail mounting.

Basic tasks

The complexity of rapidly growing networks is increasing as digitalization progresses and the demand for system interoperability grows. If a technician can only access the devices on site, their maintenance becomes inefficient and extremely expensive. To make matters worse, manual remote access to individual devices means that all software or configuration updates have to be carried out separately - expensive and outdated.

This is where the 'Connectivity Suite Platform' from NetModule comes in: This web-based system simplifies setting up a management network and managing the devices connected to it thanks to centralized administration. This allows problems to be identified and solved quickly. It opens up possible solutions to the problems that have arisen with the extensive networking of production facilities:

• How do you secure access to the systems?
• How do you monitor the status of the routers?
• How can the routers be maintained? (software updates, configuration changes)

The Connectivity Suite automates the creation of an encrypted management network and secure communication between servers, administrators/clients, devices and even the end devices connected to them using proven VPN technologies such as OpenVPN. To do this, the platform sets up an encrypted management network, giving administrators a secure connection to the router. At the same time, the 'Public Key Infrastructure' ensures that no router can infiltrate the network without authorization.

An optional grouping of routers is advantageous for sorting and simplifying configurations and firmware updates. So-called network tenants (clients) enable the grouping and separation of several network locations within a management platform. Only the administrator or technician responsible can access the tenants and devices assigned to them. Each tenant has its own VPN server. Routers can be assigned to this very easily via the web interface. VPN connections are set up, certificates are distributed and connections are established automatically - eliminating the need to juggle IP addresses!

At the heart of the Connectivity Suite platform is a modern REST API that is integrated directly into the applications. REST (Representational State Transfer) is a modern software interface for M2M communication. This enables the Connectivity Suite to be integrated into existing third-party tools or the functionality to be expanded to include additional components.

The operating status of all routers can be viewed at any time via the Connectivity Suite's web-based user interface.

© NetModule

Thanks to the platform's web-based user interface, the operating status of all routers is visible at all times, regardless of location and time. The configurations and software versions of the routers can also be determined very quickly via the Connectivity Suite and updated as required without much effort, whether for a single device or for several devices together. This makes it easy to plan updates and carry them out automatically at the desired time.

The central component of the user interface is the dashboard, which is also used for device management:

• The Health component indicates the status of the devices.
• The device list shows all routers with their characteristics (type, firmware version, online status) and which Tenant networks they belong to.
• Configuration allows you to prepare and manage the settings.
• The Deployment function allows you to import configurations and manage planned updates.

Specifications fulfilled

The Connectivity Suite for managing the routers used worldwide combines several advantages: Web-based UI for easy administration of the management network, fast access to individual routers and devices docked to them, minimized effort for maintenance and configuration and yet protection against external access. Due to its design, the Connectivity Suite is also suitable for larger projects and supports the integration of connected systems into a higher-level, complex back-end infrastructure. This makes it a sustainable investment.

Author

Jürgen Kern is CEO of NetModule.