Connectivity Concepts¶
Before using EnOS Edge Connectivity Service, you need to know the following concepts:
Edge Device (Edge Gateway)¶
A gateway device deployed on the edge that goes about as a “gate” between two networks. The Edge device mounts sub-devices based on the device communication protocol and can directly connect to EnOS, so it can manage sub-devices, maintain the topology relationship with sub-devices, and synchronize the topology relationship to the cloud.
Sub-device¶
A hardware device deployed on the edge that is attached to Edge device. It will be connected to the EnOS through the proxy of Edge device based on a specific communication protocol.
Protocol¶
A protocol is a standard set of communication rules that allow devices to communicate with each other. Protocols can be classified as follows:
- Standard protocol and private protocol
- Access protocol and forwarding protocol
- Application layer protocol and link layer protocol
Protocol Configuration File¶
A protocol configuration file is the parameter configuration file required by the protocol program. The protocol configuration file should be named as protocol.sys.
Point File¶
The point file is the point.xlsx file that contains the actual measuring point from assets in the protocol. Different point files have different point table templates for download.
Device Collection Point¶
A device collection point is the actual measurement point measured from the sub-device and sent to EnOS Edge, such as wind speed and motor speed. The device collection point is defined in the point table template point.xlsx.
Types of device collection points are as follows:
- AI: Analogous input
- DI: Digital input
- PI: Pulse input
Device Control Point¶
A device control point is the measurement point for cloud or third-party applications to order the sub-device through EnOS Edge, such as starting, stopping, and resetting the device. The device control point is defined in the point table template point.xlsx.
Types of device control points are as follows:
- AO: Analogous output (any data types)
- DO: Digital output (usually integer)
Model Point¶
A model point is the measurement point of the device model in the IoT Hub of EnOS Cloud. When the device is connected to the, the collection point and the control point are mapped to the model point. And applications read and write data through model points. A model point can be associated with both the collection point and the control point.
Device Access Template¶
A device template is a configuration file that maps the collection and control points of a device to the measurement points in the device model. Features of the device template are as follows:
- Support mapping the collection and control points of a device to the measurement points in the device’s model.
- Support light-weight computing formulas and Lua scripts that map collection and control points to model points.