Dell recently announced the launch of the new Edge Gateway 5000 Series purpose-built for the building and factory automation sectors. Composed of an industrial-grade form factor, expanded input and output interfaces, and with wide operating temperature ranges, the Edge Gateway 5000, combined with Dell’s data analytics capabilities, promises to give companies an edge computing solution alternative to today’s costly, proprietary IoT offerings.
Making good decisions using data generated by sensors is the central objective of IoT. Yet the rich data generated by IoT devices presents its own set of challenges. Harbor Research estimates that by 2020 smart systems will create over 194 petabytes of data. The sheer volume and complexity of managing this new decentralised, localised data can quickly overload traditional environments and analysis tools. Edge analytics, carried out with the help of versatile gateways, will help with this data overload by determining what data needs to be acted on quickly and then filtered or stored.
The Dell Edge Gateway sits at the edge of the network (near the devices and sensors) with local analytics and other middleware to receive, aggregate, analyse and relay data, then minimise expensive bandwidth by relaying only meaningful data to the cloud or data centre. Thanks to new Dell Statistica data analytics capabilities also announced today, Dell is expanding analytics to middleware on the gateway. This means companies can now extend the benefits of cloud computing to their network edge and for faster and more secure business insights while saving on the costly transfer of data to and from the cloud.
“Organisations are struggling to make the best decisions regarding the data volume and complexity created by the vast numbers of sensors, embedded systems and connected devices now on the network,” says Andy Rhodes, executive director: Commercial IoT Solutions at Dell. “As more of the data is processed in real time at the edge of the network, the gateway becomes the spam filter for IoT.”
The Edge Gateway 5000 is the newest addition to Dell’s end-to-end portfolio of IoT-enabling solutions and services, which provide customers with choice and flexibility to architect IoT ecosystems with analytics at the edge, the cloud or the data centre and take advantage of Dells world-class management offerings to reduce complexity and enhance security. The gateway is available for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to build into their solutions or for building and factory automation customers to use as part of their IoT strategy which can span data centre solutions, advanced analytics and digital services. Additionally, customers’ can take advantage of Dell’s global availability, trusted security options, and Dell Support and Deployment services including ProSupport which provides end-to-end hardware support throughout the entire product lifecycle, helping customers maximise their gateway environment and minimise time spent on maintenance.
For example, ELM Energy is already using Dell gateways to make a difference in securing a more sustainable energy future. ELM’s FieldSight Controller automates decision structures that toggle between the use of distributed energy sources such as solar, wind and backup generators and traditional utility grid sources. The systems also help customers make decisions about the most effective times to broker surplus energy back to the open market.
Key benefits of the Dell Edge Gateway 5000 Series include:
• Ability to be mounted on the wall and to operate in locations with extreme temperatures like boiler rooms and deserts
• Expansive I/O structure designed to bridge both legacy serial connections (RS-422/485, CAN bus) and modern wireless networks (Wi-Fi, 802.15.4 mesh) to the internet with expansion capability for future options
• Operating system flexibility with choices that include Ubuntu, Wind River Linux, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise.
• Security foundation including TPM, secure boot and BIOS level lockdown of ports.
• Manageability with Dell Command Monitor for Linux and Cloud Client Manager.
• Dell is working with innovative independent software vendors and system integrators like SAP, OSIsoft, Eigen Innovations and Lucid add domain expertise.
• Standard Dell lead times allowing customers to receive hardware quickly, a rarity in the OT industry today .
• Consulting, strategy and integration from Dell Services to help information-intensive enterprises like healthcare and insurance customise IoT approaches for their industry.
