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Device Applications

This section will guide you through understanding and navigating your Device Applications within the IEM.

Overview

Device Applications are the powerful software components that run directly on your Industrial Edge Devices. These applications can be separated into two types of apps: Hub Applications and Custom Applications. Understanding their differences is key to managing them effectively.

Hub Applications

These are applications you have downloaded directly from the Industrial Edge Hub. They come with several advantages and characteristics, designed for ease of use and reliability:

  • Central distribution: Device Applications are distributed globally via the Industrial Edge Hub. Updates, versions, and the overall lifecycle of these applications are centrally controlled in the Industrial Edge Hub.
  • Automatically shared and published: The applications are automatically available for all users in the IEM. Only one version can be published at the same time. Typically, the latest version downloaded.
  • Already virus scanned and signed: These apps come with digital signatures, ensuring their authenticity and integrity. They have undergone security scans, providing an added layer of trust.

NOTICE

Add application via IEM UI
If you upload Device Applications directly through the IEM UI using the Add Application button, they willll behave like Hub Applications.

Custom Applications

These are applications you have developed yourself, acquired from other sources, or customized, and then sideloaded (uploaded directly) to your IEM. They require a bit more hands-on management:

  • Sideloading: You bring these applications into your IEM using specific tools such as the Industrial Edge App Publisher or the IECTL.
  • Multiple versions: You can upload and manage multiple versions of an application simultaneously.
  • Manual publishing and sharing required: To make a specific version of your custom application available to all other users, you'll need to manually publish it. Similarly, sharing specific versions or the entire application with individual users requires manual action.

It's good to note that depending on how an application was brought into your IEM, its behavior and management options might differ slightly. You can find more details on this in the Upload applications section.

Device Application overview

The Device Applications overview page is your go-to place for managing all Device Applications within your IEM. It's designed to give you a clear and intuitive view of your entire application landscape. You can choose how you want to see your applications with two flexible display options:

  • Card view: Displays applications as visual cards for an intuitive, graphical representation
  • List view: Presents applications in a structured list format for efficient scanning and sorting

Device Application details

When viewing a specific application, the details page provides comprehensive information organized into three main sections:

  • Device installations
  • Version information
  • Additional information

Device installations

This tab displays where your application is deployed. It shows you all the Industrial Edge Devices that currently have this application installed. For each device, you see:

  • The installed version of the application.
  • The IP address of the device.
  • An action menu with quick options, such as:
    • Updating the application on that specific device.
    • Accessing the Device details page for more information about the device itself.
    • Updating the application's configuration.
    • Downloading application logs for troubleshooting or monitoring.
    • Uninstalling the application from the device.

You can also initiate new device application installations directly from this view. For step-by-step installation instructions, refer to the Install applications section.

Version information

Here, you find all the details about the different versions of your application. This tab is particularly useful for understanding the evolution of your app:

  • Each application version comes with its release notes, thoughtfully provided by the app developer. These notes act as a helpful summary of what's new, improved, or fixed in that specific version.
  • From here, you can share, publish, or delete your version.
  • You can also access the application's underlying images and their associated digest via the action menu for each version, which is great for technical insights.

Additional information

This section provides supplementary details that give you a broader understanding of the application:

  • A concise app description.
  • The current published (live) version - if applicable.
  • Important architecture specifications to ensure compatibility.
  • The trusted vendor who signed the application - applicable for Hub apps.