Back in the fall, I previewed EdgeX Foundry’s 1.1 “Fuji” release in a talk at the Open Source Summit North America. I’m happy to say that EdgeX 1.1 is now live and available for use.
If you are new to EdgeX or edge computing, my OSS presentation offers a quick primer on the promise inherent in the Internet of Things (IoT), what people are calling the 4th industrial revolution. I then discuss how EdgeX Foundry is designed to be an open source, edge-focused framework that enables end-point intelligence. Lastly, I review the 1.0 release in some depth and preview EdgeX’s 1.1 enhancements.
The EdgeX 1.1 release, the project’s fifth so far, has two major additions. The first is a set of new and improved security features, including a PKI infrastructure for token/key generation. While we definitely have lots more to do, as co-chair of EdgeX’s Security Work Group I’m very pleased to see us working hard to ensure that EdgeX is a positive force for endpoint security.
The second major enhancement is a new application function SDK. This lets users perform custom data processing or take specific actions on top of EdgeX before their data is sent out to the cloud.
In addition, the EdgeX 1.1 release offers:
- Rewritten application services that enable more scalable and easier-to-use solutions for moving data from the EdgeX framework to cloud, enterprise, and/or on-premises applications.
- Example application services that let users quickly move data from EdgeX to the Azure and AWS IoT platforms.
- Improved unit test coverage.
- New device service connectors to BLE, BACNet, IP camera, OPC UA, GPS, and REST device services.
- Choices for commercially-supported EdgeX device connectors, including CANopen, PROFINET, Zigbee, and EtherCat.
As EdgeX itself looks ahead to 2020, in addition to maintaining our twice-yearly release schedule, we are hoping to increase awareness of the ways in which EdgeX can help people solve real IoT problems. To that end, I’m working with my VMware colleagues on some interesting use-case demonstration projects and have challenged a class of engineering students at the University of San Francisco to build their own IoT projects with EdgeX. Watch this space for more on both efforts in the New Year.
In the meantime, for more on Fuji and a look ahead to the project’s next release, “Geneva,” check out EdgeX Foundry Technical Steering Committee co-chair Jim White’s recent LF Edge blog post. Explore the code.
Stay tuned to the Open Source Blog and follow us on Twitter (@vmwopensource) for information on all the latest open source projects coming out of VMware.
