REAL IP to the EdgeWhy don’t we have it?

What I hope you will learn

• A little history• Why present Building Automation Systems (BAS) are the way they are

• What the consequence is• A jumble of proprietary, semi-open and open hardware and software

• Why that’s preventing the IoT from taking off• By putting slush puddles all along the runway

• How this problem could be solved• Provided everyone is willing to help shovel away the slush

A little history

It all really began with the silicon chip (IC)

• It shrank• Cost

• Size

• Implementation time

• So BAS wasn’t just for heavy industry anymore

• Many companies – existing and startup – jumped on the bandwagon

• And they all did their own thing• Lashing up systems to meet clients’ requirements

• Eventually ending up with stuff that worked pretty well for the time

But because it “just growed”…

• Everyone protected their trade secrets• So everyone ended up with hardware that was more or less different

• Unless they all “badge engineered” gear from the guys who knew how to do it good enough and cheap enough

• And everyone ended up with software (programming languages) and firmware (DIP switches, jumpers etc.) that was even more different• So you could forget about having a conversation between your gear and someone else’s

• And trying to match up voltages, balanced & unbalanced lines etc. was REAL fun• Especially if the controls and hardware were both 48V DC, but one was negative ground

and the other positive!

However, eventually

• BAS suppliers did start talking to one another• Even if VERY grudgingly

• They did start to arrange for exchange of information between their systems• Usually in a pretty cumbersome way

• But it was amazing what you could do with ASCII text files and “quick and dirty” BASIC programming

• And “Industry Standard” and “Open” data protocols emerged• But getting them adopted has been like pulling wisdom teeth

What the consequence is

Welcome to the Jumble

• BAS suppliers would like to entice you into their clutches, then lock you in with:• Proprietary hardware with “MUCH better performance”

• Proprietary software which is “MUCH easier to program”

• Extensive O&M add-on packages with “MANY more features”

• But they can’t, because:• Equipment manufacturers want to use their own controls

• There maybe someone else’s controls already there

• The Client’s Architect wants a special all-singing, all-dancing “Son et Lumière” water feature in the atrium with its own special controls

So…

• Most BAS* are conglomerations of equipment and controls from various sources [* No “s”, because it’s plural too!]

• And getting all the bits to talk to one another and to the Central Control and Monitoring System (CCMS) can make handover of a complete system look as if it’s fading into the distance

• The problems have been reduced by• Consolidation of the BAS market to fewer suppliers, and

• Uptake of open protocol systems

• But there’s still a LOT of interfacing required• And the IoT won’t be able to live with that

What’s preventing the IoT from taking off

In a word: Slush

• The problem is the interfacing• Each interface in a BAS slows it down

• Like puddles of slush on an aircraft runway

• Or a string of long jump sand pits on the course of a marathon

• But the IoT will have VERY MANY more devices than today’s BAS• So there will be VERY MUCH more traffic

• And the network will have to run VERY MUCH faster to prevent gridlock

• So, we have to get rid of the slush• Otherwise the people who have been sold on the wonders of the IoT will be

sorely disappointed when it doesn’t perform as expected

What is the slush?

• It’s data processing overhead• It’s necessary for conversion of measured analog values from sensors to

digital data

• And it’s necessary when every smart device connected to a data bus has to “sniff” every passing packet to check the delivery address and ask “Is it for me?”

• It shouldn’t be necessary for transferring data between different sections of a BAS network• But presently it is, because different sections use different data protocols

• So protocol translation has to happen at the interfaces

How big a problem is it?

• VERY BIG!• To show just how big, we’ll compare the transfer of information about an

analog sensor on the fringe of a BAS network to the Operator Work Station (OWS) with the journey of a group of football fans to a special match If you’re in UK, imagine they are Liverpool supporters from North Wales going by train to

watch a cup match in Paris (this is what you’ll see on the map)

If you’re in USA, imagine they’re Dallas Cowboys supporters from South Texas flying to watch an exhibition match in Paris

• Please download the accompanying PDF description (which includes a place name conversion chart for folk in USA), so you can follow the journey

How the problem could be solved

The next slide shows two schematic maps

• The upper one represents both sensor value transmission in a typical BAS network and the way the football fans would travel on the UK rail network and the Eurostar link to France

• The lower one shows what would be the difference if, instead of multiple data protocols, each with its own addressing system, the IoT used only one universal protocol and the common IPv6 address system needed for the huge number of IoT devices

• The difference will, I hope, convince you of the need for REAL IP to the Edge

NOTE: Colors on the maps match the description highlights

Look at it another way

See the Difference

BAS Operations

A-D

Process

Pack/Unpack

Wrap/Unwrap

Add/Read Tag

Send

NOP

IUP Operations

A-D

Process

Pack/Unpack

Wrap/Unwrap

Add/Read Tag

Send

NOP

What the pie charts show

• The pie charts are based on a comparison of operations carried out in each type of system

• Where the BAS requires an operation but IUP doesn’t, IUP show NOP – No Operation

• The pie charts show clearly that REAL IP to the Edge saves more than 50% of the operations

• And if you reckon in encryption to stop hacking, the improvement is even bigger:

With encryption you save nearly 60%

IUP Operations with Encryption

A-D

Process

Encrypt/Decrypt

Pack/Unpack

Wrap/Unwrap

Add/Read Tag

Send

NOP

BAS Operations with Encryption

A-D

Process

Encrypt/Decrypt

Pack/Unpack

Wrap/Unwrap

Add/Read Tag

Send

NOP

Think about itBut not for too long