Onboarding Process

The onboarding process of Edge Devices is performed in the Industrial Edge Management (IEM). Users can onboard new Edge Devices by selecting the corresponding option from the Management UI in the IEM. Users will be asked to supply some generic information, such as Edge Device name. Users will also be asked for Edge Device specific information that is needed during the onboarding process. For SIMATIC IPC Edge Devices for example, users must also specify the required network configuration settings as the IPCs have no other means to configure these settings through an integrated UI or similar.

Industrial Edge teams are currently working on a solution that allows Device Builders to customize the screens that is displayed to remove or add fields depending on the Edge Device's needs. Check back later for more details on this feature.

Edge Device Configuration File

During the onboarding process, a configuration file is generated by the IEM. This file contains the information (such as the IP address of the IEM) that is needed by the Edge Device to onboard to the correct IEM as well as a set of one-time credentials that allow the Edge Device to register itself on the IEM. The Device Builder must provide means for transferring this file to the Edge Device.

Onboarding via Web based Interface

An option is using the web based interface that is included in the Industrial Edge Runtime. This UI allows the user to upload the configuration file and complete the onboarding from there. However, for using this interface, it is required that the user can access the UI. That means, the user must have already configured an appropriate network configuration and also created an account for accessing the Edge Device. Thus, this approach is normally only usable, if the user has a different means for configuring network settings and managing users, for example through a local user interface on the Edge Device.

Onboarding via USB flash drive

Another option is to provide both the onboarding configuration and the network settings. This solution is currently applied by the SIMATIC IPC Edge Devices. Both information are collected in a single configuration file that the user can put on an USB flash drive. When the user inserts the USB flash drive into the IPC, the file is automatically read by a service that runs on the operating system. The service performs the appropriate network configuration. Afterwards, the service hands over the onboarding related information to the Industrial Edge Runtime.

IEDK API

The onboarding process through an USB flash drive is implemented by using the IE Edge Device Kit API. Device Builders may also choose to provide a different onboarding process, for example through a mobile app or a local user interface. The only prerequisite is that the process ensures the IEM can be reached from the Edge Device and the obnoarding related information, which is created by the IEM, is provided to the Industrial Edge Runtime through the corresponding IE Edge Device Kit API call. For more details, refer to the IE Device Kit API section.