GS.Gate is a gateway that can be connected to machines regardless of the manufacturer in order to record, analyze and filter status and performance data and forward it securely to monitoring systems or the cloud. According to Genua Managing Director Matthias Ochs, the top priority during development was 'security by design' and the requirement that no gateways for hacker attacks should be opened up by networking to obtain information.

When asked what specifically prompted Genua to work with Schubert System Elektronik on this topic, Ochs replies: "As a specialist in IT security, we need a partner who understands the requirements and opportunities of the industry when it comes to digitalization. The Gerhard Schubert Group is a pioneer in the field of digital packaging machines. Through networking and targeted analyses on a digital platform, Schubert is already enabling completely new business models through to process consulting and optimization, in addition to benefits such as predictive maintenance."

In concrete terms, 'security by design' means that with GS.Gate, the data processing applications that 'talk' to the machine are strictly separated from the security systems that protect the external communication and interface to the network. The separate areas each have their own operating systems and dedicated hardware resources - there is no overlap here. This is made possible by a microkernel operating system that runs as the lowest level on the GS.Gate and creates the separate areas.

The advantage of this approach, according to Ochs: "Only the specially hardened security systems are visible to the outside world, which are kept up to date with regular updates and protected against the latest threats. Behind this protective shield, the data processing applications can be operated without the constant intervention of updates and patches, which always entail the risk of disruptions to the coordinated processes." A VPN gateway forwards the information obtained exclusively via encrypted connections to the monitoring systems or the cloud, and a firewall protects the solution from unauthorized access and malware.

In physical terms, the GS.Gate therefore offers two separate areas on compact hardware. All common controllers are connected to the basic device exclusively via Ethernet. OPC-UA or a proprietary protocol can be used as the protocol. In addition, connection to an Ethernet-based fieldbus (e.g. Profinet, Sercos, Ethercat) or the IO-Link sensor-actuator bus is possible via a corresponding device option. With the Ethernet variant, the gateway acts as a slave, with the IO-Link variant as a master. "In principle, the data is always temporarily stored on the GS.Gate. Downstream data pre-processing can be implemented by the machine and system manufacturer on a customer-specific basis using the software container we provide," explains Lothar Kümmerlin, Managing Director at Schubert System Elektronik.

The GS.Gate will be used for the first time in the field at Gerhard Schubert packaging systems at the end of the first quarter of 2018. The general sales release is then scheduled for the middle of the year. The marketing concept envisages that each of the two companies will address their respective industries separately, but that there will be no company-specific device variants. For Genoa, the GS.Gate is a premiere in its product portfolio, as it combines both security and application systems specifically for industrial customers on a compact piece of hardware. Until now, Genua's solutions, such as industrial firewalls, VPN systems and data diodes, have only offered security functions.