IP-based Architecture for an Edge Cloud enabled Factory: Concept and Requirements

The introduction of edge computing, big data analytics and virtualization technology offers a variety of benefits for manufacturing environments. With the advent of Industry 4.0, Operational Technology (OT) was supposed to converge with the IT domain to create a unified network that satisfies all requirements for these novel technologies. However, the OT environment only adopts new technologies once a real benefit and their resilience are confirmed. Hence, most factory networks and its computational infrastructure have not adapted to the new data-based paradigm and virtualization is still in its infancy for shop floor applications. In this work we propose a new architecture for shop floor infrastructure and conduct a first experimental validation. The designed architecture is applicable for brownfield and greenfield environments and creates new possibilities in terms of scalability, optimization potential and security.