3 ways to use PRTG for industrial monitoring 4.0
PRTG is well known in the IT world for monitoring… well… IT. But for quite some time, its capabilities have expanded beyond the world of traditional IT. And if you're already using PRTG to monitor IT for a manufacturing company, here are three ways you can start incorporating some aspects of OT and IIoT infrastructure into your monitoring concept.
1. Edge gateways and MQTT
Intelligent edge gateways are important elements of industrial IT. They are the bridge between the traditional OT workshop and IT systems such as data centers or the cloud. Of course, it is important to make sure these devices are running as they should, and many offer SNMP support or an API. This means that you can bring basic information about the gateway to PRTG, such as its availability and other metrics that indicate its status.
Going forward, incorporating OT metrics into the unified monitoring concept could be done by fetching them from the device through a smart gateway. Here's what this would look like, using the INSYS icom Smart Machinery Gateway example:
Because INSYS icom Smart Machinery Gateway uses MQTT (among other means) to communicate data upstream (for example, to a data collection system or the cloud), PRTG could subscribe to these messages using the new MQTT subscription sensor which will be released in the third quarter of 2020. We will have much more information on that (and the other MQTT sensors) in the coming months right here on this blog, so be sure to sign up for our newsletter!
2. NETWORK-node
To get data from machines and other devices that PRTG historically has no access to, there is another option: Node-RED. We introduced the PRTG Node-RED connector earlier this year, giving you even more options for entering data into PRTG. Here is a short description of how it works:
With Node-RED, you can send data pulled from a work floor machine to the PRTG Node-RED connector. With this connector, you specify the destination to send data to, such as an HTTP Push Data Advanced sensor or an HTTP IoT Push Data Advanced sensor that you configure in PRTG.
As an example: let's say you have a PLC that sends data using the Modbus fieldbus protocol. In Node-RED, you would use the Modbus read node to get the data from the PLC. You can then process and send the information to the PRTG connector and finally route it to an advanced HTTP push data sensor in PRTG Network Monitor.
3. IoT / IIoT sensor metrics
La prevalencia de dispositivos conectados e inteligentes en un entorno de fábrica ha ido en aumento, ya que la digitalización es un factor clave para modernizar las máquinas existentes en el brownfield para prepararlas para la Industria 4.0. Los sensores IIoT también se utilizan para monitorear factores ambientales como la temperatura y la humedad, se implementan para facilitar la automatización inteligente y más. La gestión de instalaciones es otra área que ha adoptado el uso de sensores para ayudar a gestionar aspectos como el consumo de energÃa e incluso el flujo de aire.
Bringing these metrics to PRTG allows you to monitor these environmental metrics as part of your overall monitoring, giving you a clearer picture of your environment. For example: rising temperatures could indicate a problem with the HVAC system, or rising humidity could pose a hazard to certain machinery. Knowing these values helps you make decisions about other aspects of your infrastructure and often even facilitates proactive steps, before a failure occurs.
PRTG and Industrial IT
As you can see, there are already a few steps you can take to start getting a holistic view of your industrial infrastructure. But this is only the beginning! We are currently focusing on features and functionality that will benefit industrial IT.
As I mentioned earlier, we already have dedicated MQTT sensors available, with more on the way. We are planning a Modbus TCP sensor (please take our survey). We are also working on OPC UA support, with several sensors to come: OPC UA sensor, IPC Beckhoff sensor, and the custom OPC UA sensor (please take our survey). Stay tuned to our blog and website for more exciting Industrial IT announcements in the coming months!
Do you use PRTG in an industrial environment? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below!
More information on the Paessler BLOG!
Luis Aguilar Sinde
PRTG Monitor Expert
sumber: https://www.metrix.es/ot-monitoring/
