Architectural components for IoT

To understand where we are going, we sometimes have to know where we have been. The history of IT and industrial automation can help with understanding how things work today, and we can build on them as technology evolves. One of those earlier reference models is the Purdue Reference Architecture developed in the mid-1990s. One of the key characteristics of the Purdue model is the definition of layers or levels of separation for industrial systems.

ISA-95 is the standard for Enterprise-Control System Automation, which was built on top of the Purdue model and continues to evolve today. The focus of ISA-95 is to help define standards for interfacing production control systems and enterprise IT systems, focusing on layers 3 and 4 of the Purdue reference model. This is generally where operational protocols such as fieldbus protocols meet the IT or Ethernet networks.

In large part, we are moving into the realm of Enterprise Architecture (EA) and defining...