The Better together story
The Better Together story of Eurotech’s IoT and Edge Computing devices and Canonical’s Linux operating system is a tale of synergy and collaboration that has resulted in cutting-edge solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) industry.
Eurotech, a leading provider of embedded systems and machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies, plays a crucial role in various vertical applications, including manufacturing & industrial automation, transportation, logistics, healthcare, and energy management. On the other hand, Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, is known for one of the most popular IoT Linux distributions globally.
The partnership between Eurotech and Canonical began in 2018 when they collaborated to incorporate the Ubuntu system into Eurotech’s rugged edge servers. Together, Eurotech hardware and Ubuntu Linux create a robust and flexible platform for building and deploying IoT solutions on edge servers, IPCs, and Edge AI Systems, all based on Intel processors, fully certified with Ubuntu and an Edge Application Framework that ensures effective development, deployment and lifecycle management.
Ubuntu Certified Eurotech Hardware brings numerous benefits to customers. Canonical not only validates the image to meet high standards, but also conducts ongoing regression testing on real hardware to ensure the image’s compatibility with every minor release. This instills confidence in customers that their software stacks will operate as per Ubuntu specifications. Additionally, Canonical collaborates with Eurotech to integrate hardware drivers into the Ubuntu kernel, ensuring ease of use and compatibility with subsequent kernel updates. Certified devices are tested for reliability and performance, reducing effort, risk, support costs, and time-to-market.
The integration with Ubuntu also grants access to a vast ecosystem of open-source software packages, saving time and reducing development costs by eliminating the need for custom software solutions.
A perfect example for a strong combined value proposition to the market are Eurotech’s DynaCOR 44-11 and ReliaCOR 44-11 edge computers, powerful, application optimised system, that offer a unique value proposition to the industrial and transportation markets. With the integration with Canonical’s Ubuntu operating system, customers can enjoy a fully certified and supported operating system optimised for the hardware, known for reliability, security, and long-term support. The integration of ESF (Everyware Software Framework), a powerful edge application framework, further simplifies system deployment, reducing risk, time and effort.
ESF offers a modular and scalable architecture for IoT and edge computing solutions. Pre-built components, device drivers, communication protocols, and data management tools expedite development and reduce time-to-market. It provides a powerful no-code programming environment and supports a wide range of field protocols and OT communication standards, such as MQTT, OPC-UA, S7, Modbus, CAN, Bacnet and many more. ESF’s runtime engine enables real-time device and application management and secure connectivity for remote management and data access. This empowers developers to build robust and secure IoT solutions that can scale to meet market demands.
ESF is seamlessly integrated with Ubuntu, already embedded in certified Eurotech IPCs, Edge Servers, and Edge AI Platforms, providing a stable and secure foundation for IoT and Edge AI deployments. Ubuntu offers essential features for IoT applications, including advanced security capabilities, support for various hardware architectures, and a vast ecosystem of open-source software packages.
Eurotech’s capability to provide ESF in a containerized offering, together with container management, similar to data center servers, is a valuable asset, especially for edge server use cases. While data center servers leverage Ubuntu’s cybersecurity tools, Eurotech’s OT (operational technologies) experience, combined with edge server capabilities, is unparalleled. This flexibility in edge situations should not be underestimated, particularly for integration into emerging edge scenarios.
In addition to edge platforms, Eurotech also offers Everyware Cloud (EC) as part of its IoT and Edge computing software stack. EC is a microservices platform that enables the deployment, management, and monitoring of IoT devices at scale. It provides a wide range of features, including remote and device lifecycle management, data management, security management, extensive logging, and health monitoring.
Edge AI is a significant focus for Eurotech, enabling advanced analytics, AI, and workload consolidation at the edge. This opens up possibilities for applications that were previously constrained by communication bandwidth, quality, cost, performance, and latency issues. Eurotech’s powerful edge systems, equipped with AI hardware acceleration when needed, along with ESF’s programming and communication capabilities, empower customers to leverage AI and analytics effectively.
The partnership with NVIDIA provides Eurotech with access to cutting-edge GPUs and software stacks, facilitating timely and straightforward integration for customers. Eurotech’s qualification of Edge AI systems as ready-to-use pre-certified Edge AI nodes combines Canonical’s ODM Onboarding, NVIDIA Industrial Edge qualifications, state-of-the-art cybersecurity (IEC 62443-4-2), ESF and EC for seamless Edge AIOT (AI+IoT) integration.
Eurotech places a strong emphasis on cybersecurity, offering a standard-based, integrable edge security concept that addresses challenges such as hardware root of trust, password-less design, and certificate-based authentication. Eurotech provides these security features through the integration of a validated and managed Linux operating system, Everyware Software Framework (ESF), and the IoT management platform Everyware Cloud (EC). It offers blueprints, processes, guidelines, and professional services to secure edge nodes at scale.
Eurotech’s device integration with Ubuntu builds upon Canonical’s strong security foundation, designed to minimize attack surfaces and manage vulnerabilities in the operating system. This is one of the foundations to achieving high levels of Operational Technologies (OT) cybersecurity within its edge offering.
Eurotech’s commitment to cybersecurity is exemplified by its certification of systems in compliance with the globally recognized IEC 62443-4-2 standard. Edge computing systems from Eurotech, including recent models like the ReliaGATE and ReliaCOR series, meet the requirements of this standard, showcasing robust security features and capabilities.
IEC 62443-4-2 certification demonstrates Eurotech’s dedication to mitigating cybersecurity threats and data breaches. With the growing concern around cybersecurity in IoT deployments, using Eurotech’s certified systems helps customers reduce the risk of attacks, ensuring compliance with industry standards and government regulations. Industries like healthcare, energy, and transportation, with strict cybersecurity regulations, benefit from Eurotech’s edge computers, IPCs, and Edge Servers, as they meet these requirements while ensuring system security and compliance.
Eurotech’s IEC 62443-4-2 certification instills confidence in the security of IoT deployments. It assures customers that Eurotech’s gateways are designed with security in mind, undergo rigorous testing, and protect against cyber threats, securing their data and devices.
Eurotech’s commitment to cybersecurity through IEC 62443-4-2 certification is a significant value proposition for IoT industry customers. Its certified gateways offer robust security features, helping customers meet cybersecurity requirements and regulations while reducing the risk of cyberattacks and data breaches.
The partnership between Eurotech and Canonical, backed by their expertise and certifications, has resulted in a range of innovative solutions for the IoT industry. Whether you’re building a smart factory or a connected healthcare system, Eurotech and Ubuntu are truly Better Together.
