Strong Scalability with the Cloud, MQTT, Mobility, and More

The team at ESM developed a scalable asset management system to monitor performance and meet service requirements for a client with systems deployed all over Australia. Using a mix of MQTT and legacy FTP-enabled gateways in the field, we harnessed the scalability of Ignition to provide a platform that allowed the client to add, remove, and manage connected assets without the need to open the Ignition Designer.

Problem:

A number of clients have reached out to ESM looking for a software-based solution to manage distributed collections of internet-enabled assets. Common requirements included the ability to monitor key values and operational status, and also handle fleet management. In addition, the system needed to be web-accessible, easy to use, and have the ability to scale rapidly as new assets are deployed.

Solution:

It was decided that Ignition 8 provided the best toolset to allow ESM to build fresh, responsive displays that would look good on any device. Using the power of Ignition 8’s Perspective module, this system is easily accessed through the mobile app or any desktop browser. The map component is used to visualize the status of each asset’s location in close-to-real time, and the geolocation feature is used to track the position of fleet vehicles. Alarms can be configured on any tag, and device status is used to alert members of staff who can take appropriate action. Compatibility with MQTT allows the system to be extremely scalable while operating at low bandwidth.

To meet these accessibility and scalability requirements, the Ignition gateway, database, and MQTT broker are all hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). The Google maps API is also used to determine coordinates of locations and for vehicle routing. Sessions are secured using SSL, allowing users to access the platform securely from anywhere in the world. The flexibility of AWS ensures that this platform can continue to scale up as the number of units continues to increase.

Results:

ESM estimates that the client’s number of miles driven to service sites decreased by 40 percent — directly translating to savings in fuel, labor, and vehicle costs.

Operations, dispatchers, and maintenance teams have absolute real-time visibility of fixed and mobile assets.

Deploying Ignition on AWS eliminated the usual IT headaches of managing and scaling server hardware infrastructure — and met the OT department’s request to keep IT out of it.

Data laid over maps in real time provides operators with accurate information to make informed decisions on fleet logistics, and also provides higher levels of customer service and driver safety.

Use of MQTT radically decreases bandwidth usage and offers massive scalability.

Users have been very happy with this solution.