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We tried to run the inSCADA Platform on INTEL's new generation 64-bit mobile processor computer called LattePanda. The answer we are looking for; Can inSCADA be used in IIoT applications on low-end mobile devices and endpoints?
For mobile devices or embedded systems used in many IoT applications, the application is developed using development kits suitable for their platforms. In general, 3g / 4g routers, linux-based embedded systems and RTUs are used, which play the protocol converter role at the endpoints. They transfer the collected data to central applications or defined cloud services via a protocol (MQTT, Rest) that is suitable for the link layer used.
So far, everything is very common and known. Let's think like this; Let's imagine that you can run the applications you have developed for your technological infrastructure, your mobile processor hardware, desktop computer, server, or powerful processor hardware without mobile processor.
At this point, LattePanda provides exactly this. In our test, we tried the version of LattePanda with Windows 10 Enterprise installed and the results are promising.
TEST SYSTEM HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE FEATURES
Our computer we use in our test system.
LattePanda 64 Bit Mobile CPU, 4G/64G
LattePanda Windows 10 Enterprise Licensed 4GB / 64GB Specifications
CPU: Intel Atom x5-Z8350
OS: Windows 10 Enterprise Lisanslı
RAM: 4GB DDR3L
Stroage : 64GB
GPU: Intel HD Graphics, 12 EUs @200-500 Mhz, single channel memmory
1xUSB3.0, 2xUSB 2.0 portsWiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 ,Internal
Arduino CPU : ATmega32u4
Video Out : HDMI and MIPI-DSIDahili Touch panel Connector
100Mbps Ethernet
6 GPIO Connections,
from Cherry Trail CPU
20 GPIO, Arduino Leonardo'dan
6 adet plug&play Gravity sensor Connector
Power Input : 5V/2A Card Dimensions : 88 * 70 mm
We carried out our test on the platform that we gave the technical specifications above. There is a lot to be said about LattePanda, but when you search it on the internet, you will see it in many sources.
When we run LattePanda for the first time, it opened very quickly, which is not much different from the working performance of a desktop computer. We made the inSCADA installations without any problems and started the inSCADA. Of course, even if a desktop PC was not opened at the speed we are used to (under 30 seconds), it completed its opening for 161 seconds. As seen in the picture below, CPU and RAM usage of the inSCADA platform is not bad either.
As can be seen from the picture, the results are;
Startup : 161 sn
CPU Usage : %9
inSCADA Service CPU Usage (Idle): Below 1%
After this step, we ran a sample application in the inSCADA Platform in LattePanda to see the resource usage.
We entered the inSCADA running on LattePanda by typing the IP address of LattaPanda and the inSCADA web port through the browser I opened on my desktop computer.
We ran the Links under the Example project that came with the standard setup, two alarms and a script that calls periodically from OpenWeather.
In the example project, we ran 4 Modbus TCP slaves, 1 Modbus TCP Client, 1 DNP3 Master and 1 DNP3 Outstation connection. Although there are approximately 500 registers on the devices created at each terminal, 25% of them also contain "variable expression" expressions that cause resource use. Technical results CPU usage can be seen in the picture below;
General CPU Usage ranges from a maximum of 65% to a minimum of 30%. Connecting to the application via a browser on another computer on the network is compatible with the general usage quality data update periods, parameters in the configuration settings.
As a technical result, it is possible to use inSCADA on a mobile 64 processor computer such as LattePanda, and it is clear that LattePanda's new version 1.8 Ghz processors will give even better results on 8GB RAM models.
Overall, all platforms that increase efficiency thanks to new generation low power consumption, mobile 64 Bit processor devices have the potential to replace conventional embedded systems. It is now seen that platforms can be used to directly use desktop application development tools instead of producing an RTU or IoT device, developing embedded systems and using lower and middle level programming languages.
Perhaps Microsoft is aiming to capture success on mobile, more powerful mobile hardware, and therefore supports LattePanda.
Note: Since there is no stable Linux version for LattePanda yet, I am looking forward to answering the question of how Linux works naturally.
Goodbye until the next post.