The Edge-Gateway Market in 2022 and Digi XBee’s History in This Space
The average Australian home has 14 internet-connected devices. That number increases exponentially every year.
The smart device industry is booming, both in personal-use devices and industrial-use. Unbelievable amounts of data are created and processed every day.
With the massive surge in IoT devices, the need for a control valve has presented itself. Edge computing responds to that need.
By creating an edge, gateways can make the determination whether or not the data is actionable or should be withheld from the device. This is both more secure and more efficient.
Today, the edge is quite flimsy. Many companies are developing edge gateways that can easily create intricate networks with maximum efficiency. The edge gateway market is heating up fast, and Digi’s XBee ecosystem is the perfect product for your IoT plans.
Continue reading for more about the IoT market and Digi XBee’s solutions.
The Fractured Edge Gateway Market Is Heating Up
With nearly every industry utilising IoT devices, data security is becoming more and more important. Edge gateways help provide this with at-the-source processing.
Edge gateways are capable of processing data from sensors, monitors, and controllers within your network at or near the source. From there, the edge gateway makes a determination to send only actionable information to the cloud, withholding unnecessary data.
If you manage a large network of temperature sensors, the constant stream of in-range data clogs up your bandwidth and slows down processing time. An edge gateway can withhold all that expected data and send the data over the WAN to the cloud when there is a detected temperature excursion.
The need for this type of technology is becoming more and more recognised as the number of IoT devices explodes. The world is on track to have 80 billion IoT devices connected by 2025—that is 10 devices for every person on Earth.
Vendors are rushing to create and provide edge computing technology to supply this rapidly developing market. The edge gateway market today is still immature and approaches to creating the edge gateway vary. Several companies, from established technology enterprises to start-ups, have proposed edge gateway products.
One of these companies is Digi, SAPPLY’s distribution partner. The Digi XBee ecosystem and the accompanying award-winning tool suite can provide anything you need to design and implement the edge gateway network for your company.
What Is an Edge Gateway?
Cloud controllers and monitors require a gateway device to transmit information to the internet of things (called IoT). This is where information lives- devices embedded with this technology can connect and share information with other systems. The IoT makes it possible to collect and share data with limited human involvement.
Gateways allow physical devices to access the IoT. The gateway operates as a connection point, transmitting and receiving data between the devices and the cloud. All of the data traffic going in or out of your devices will pass through a gateway.
The problem with traditional gateways lies in the massive expansion of these types of devices. These gateways transmit all data into the IoT to be stored and processed elsewhere.
One gateway paired with one device can transmit that information with ease. However, when you start to pair a gateway with dozens or hundreds of devices trying to transmit data things can get very bogged down.
Not only does this slow down the transmission of important data, but it can also dramatically increase bandwidth costs. This is where edge gateways come in.
Edge gateways process data at the source and only transmit actionable data. In other words, the gateways are able to withhold information that does not pass a threshold or need attention. This has several benefits:
- Keep transmission speeds high
- Lower bandwidth costs
- Increased security of data
Rather than being an open gate for data to relay through, edge gateways retain much of the data and prevent it from hitting the cloud. This way, only the most important information will be transmitted to your team.
Imagine you have a large network of temperature monitoring devices set up. Rather than having 1,000 devices worth of information going to the cloud for processing and coming back for a response, the edge gateway can determine whether the temperature exceeds the threshold at the source. This will dramatically increase response times and reduce bandwidth usage.
What Is the Difference Between Edge Computing and an Edge Gateway?
Edge computing is the process of retaining information that is not actionable. This can be built into an IoT device to process and respond to information at the source it is collected at. This software can reduce latency and congestion in your network.
In edge computing, each device can have an individual IoT access processor. While functional, this is not a sustainable process. An edge gateway can bring everything together to one device. Each device in your system can relay data to the edge gateway, which from there can process and transmit needed data.
The gateway works by centralising IoT devices to one edge gateway. By keeping all data centralised, security and performance are heightened. These edge gateways are capable of performing complex analyses extremely efficiently.
What Is an Edge Gateway Device?
An edge gateway device is the physical embodiment of the edge gateway. While the edge gateway itself can be a software program, the physical device can be kept on-site with the IoT devices it will be associated with. The edge gateway device is great for maximising efficiency and data security.
Some great Digi XBee gateways are:
- Digi XBee Ind Gateway ZigBee/ Pro
The ZigBee provides an open-source Python environment for any custom application development your team may need. This gateway is secure and able to scale to an unlimited number of XBee devices. It also includes various connectivity choices for maximum flexibility.
- Digi XBee Gateway ZB Eth-WiFi Coord
The ZB gateway is also fully scalable, coming with all the tools your developers need to create functional systems quickly. Remote Manager will automatically allow your team to access data in the network at any time.
- Digi ConnectPort X2 – XBee-PRO 900 HP to Ethernet
This device supports many Digi XBee protocols for whatever your project calls for. Industrial-grade enclosures make this gateway great for intense environments.
What Is Edge Computing IoT?
An IoT device, in short, refers to any “smart” device. These devices all communicate amongst each other over an enormous network, sending data between each other.
An edge computing IoT device works by processing the data at the source where it is created. The edge device can become part of the IoT when the device can process information and compute at the source to make low latency decisions.
Rather than having the information all route to a central processing centre, the device can make the determination of whether the data needs to pass the edge. This rapidly increases response time and efficiency, all while reducing your bandwidth costs.
What Is Digi XBee?
Digi XBee is SAPPLY’s distribution partner for these modules. The XBee ecosystem has been specifically developed for maximum customisation for IoT developers.
Digi’s XBee system includes everything you need to get your project running smoothly. XBee includes an award-winning tool suite, modules, and code libraries. Digi also produces the IoT gateways you’ll want to maximise your bandwidth and efficiency.
The Benefits of Digi Xbee Tools
The IoT atmosphere today is rapid-paced and complex. The Digi XBee ecosystem provides all the tools you need to optimise your project.
IoT devices go through an intricate lifecycle, from initial programming and configuration, to mass production and deployment, to network management. It can be very difficult to manage all of your devices throughout their lifecycle without the best tools.
Luckily, Digi XBee has all your need for total lifecycle management. The Digi XBee tool suite is so comprehensive, it won The Electronics Industry Award in 2020. Included with the tools suite are:
- Develop: everything your developers need to expedite coding and configuration of your system
- Build: program up to six devices at once or utilise the Digi XBee Multi Programmer tool to rapidly speed up your production times
- Deploy: expedite testing and debugging during the roll-out phase of your project
- Manage: monitor your network from anywhere in the world, and implement updates to all of your devices remotely.
Your project developers will love the ease and simplicity of the tool suite. Faster implementation and better management are possible with the Digi XBee ecosystem.
Best of all, Digi’s security software, TrustFence, is built right into your XBee devices.
Configure Your IoT System Using Digi XBee
With an exponentially growing IoT device market, edge computing is the solution for efficiency. Digi’s XBee ecosystem is perfect for your projects, configuring and connecting all your devices under an easy-to-use system. With the XBee Tool Suite, your developers will be able to program, implement, and manage your network from anywhere in the world.
Start planning your IoT network today. Get in touch with us to see how SAPPLY can assist.