Glossary
- Nina Cardillo
The table below defines commonly used terms.
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Broker | A broker in MQTT receives the MQTT messages and sends each message to the appropriate subscribed client. |
Channel | The IAP groups topics and message handling attributes into directional communication channels. See Channel in the IAP/MQ Topic Syntax table. |
CMS | Central Management System, which includes the CMS web pages as well as the CMS REST and WebSocket APIs. |
Commission | Configures a device to a specific network (same as provision). This process is different for each protocol. For LON devices, provisioning assigns a logical domain/subnet/node ids, configures peer-to-peer connections, and optionally sets the original value. For BACnet and Modbus, provisioning verifies that smartthe SmartServer can read one the datapoints (usually the first in the XIF file). |
Context | Contexts are used to organize devices within the SmartServer IoT. Context types include world, region, campus, building, floor, room, and area. Contexts are created and viewed using the SmartServer CMS Planning widget. The Planning widget allows you to create a hierarchical representation of where devices appear at a site (e.g., factory or store). This representation allows you to look at a subset of devices based on location instead of seeing all devices. |
Customer | An organization or person that licenses the SmartServer IoT. |
Device Capacity License | This license supports provisioning edge devices on a SmartServer at multiple levels of capacity. This license is required for provisioning devices on a device with SmartConnect as well as SmartServer Manager or SmartSupervisor. This license does not expire. |
Device Management Mode | LON devices are provisioned by the SmartServer IoT. See also Independent Management Mode |
Datapoint Logging and Alarming (DLA) | A datapoint logging and alarming (DLA) file contains datapoint properties and uses a .dla extension. You can use the Datapoint Properties widget to define the datapoint properties, export the datapoint property definitions to a DLA file, and import the DLA file to other SmartServers. DLA files can also be manually created or modified and imported on the same SmartServer or a different SmartServer. |
Driver | Provides SmartServer support for protocols. The SmartServer software includes standard drivers (such as BACnet, EnOcean, LON). Custom drivers can also be developed. |
Edge Server | Manages a segment.The SmartServer is an Edge Server. |
Event-driven updates (Datapoint Properties) | Event-driven updates occur when a datapoint is updated on an edge device and then the update is automatically sent to the SmartServer. For LON devices, these are peer-to-peer connections with the source on an edge device going to the SmartServer. For BACnet devices that support COV, these are COV connections from a COV datapoint to the SmartServer. Event-driven updates are not supported for Modbus devices. |
Geozone | Geographic area defined with the CMS; may contain embedded geozones. |
Handle | Handles are unique identifiers of addressable items used with IAP topics. For more information, see Handle in the IAP/MQ Topic Syntax table, and Handle Allocation. |
Install code | The install code is printed on the the label that is found on the back of the SmartServer IoT. It is also displayed on the SmartServer Configuration page System tab for SmartServer IoT and SmartConnect. The install code is part of the SmartServer IoT and SmartConnect hostname, where hostname uses the format smartserver-<install code>, for example: smartserver-hsbcw69. |
IoT Access Protocol (IAP) | The IoT Access Protocol (IAP) is an open and extensible protocol designed for the loT to provision and manage IoT devices, to access and update data from the devices, and to leverage the power of big data and AI with IoT-friendly interfaces to cloud services. This section is a reference for software developers and web-page authors. It documents the following APIs: IAP/MQ which uses MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) as the transport protocol, IAP/REST which uses REST over HTTP or HTTPS, IAP/WS which uses WebSockets, and IDL API which implements a driver interface to IAP/MQ. |
Independent Management Mode | LON devices are provisioned by an external tool based on the IzoT Net Server. See also Device Management Mode |
Lock Code | A code that is created by the Lock Code Generator Utility and that is needed for activating capacity licenses offline using the License Customer Portal. The Lock Code Generator Utility converts your SmartServer install code to a lock code. |
Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) | Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) used for low transmission frequency, low energy consumption devices spread over wide area (10+ km in rural areas, ~2 km in urban areas). |
LonWorks Network Server (LNS) | LonWorks Network Services (LNS) is a control network operating system for Windows-based computers supporting both client/server and stand-alone applications. It allows a computer to provide a broad range of services over LonWorks networks. It can be used to manage and control LON devices. |
LoRaWAN Network Server (LNS) | LoRaWAN Network Server (LNS) manages a network of Low-Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) devices using the LoRaWAN protocol. |
Maintenance License | This license supports SmartServer software upgrades for a specified device capacity and time interval. This license is required to upgrade the SmartServer software version of a SmartServer IoT or a device running SmartConnect. This license expires at the end of the time interval. |
MAC ID | Unique ID used for SmartServer Configuration page System and LON tabs. See also Neuron ID and Unique ID (UID). |
Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) | Provides a flexible lightweight publish/subscribe protocol that enables messaging in IoT applications. |
Neuron ID | Unique ID in the CMS. See also Unique ID and MAC ID. |
Peer-to-Peer Connections | Peer-to-peer connections exist between LON devices only. If devices are on the same LON channel and you remove the SmartServer then source datapoints updates will continue to be sent to the destination device. |
Point-to-Point Connections | This is a connection between datapoints, but with the SmartServer in the middle. In this case, the source datapoint value has to be sent to the SmartServer by polling or event-driven updates, and if the source datapoint value changes, then the SmartServer will send the update to the destination datapoints. If you remove the SmartServer, then the connections will no longer work. |
Program ID | A program ID is a unique identifier for a device type, where a device type is defined by the hardware platform and application software loaded on the device. Network management tools use the program ID of a device to associate a device with a network interface definition for the device. The program ID is a 64-bit identifier that is typically represented as a series of 16 hexadecimal ASCII-encoded digits using the following format: FM:MM:MM:CC:CC:UU:TT:NN |
Provision | Configure a device to a specific network (same as Commission). This process is different for each protocol. For LON devices, provisioning assigns a logical domain/subnet/node ids, configures peer-to-peer connections and optionally sets the original value. For BACnet and Modbus, provisioning just makes sure that the SmartServer can read one the datapoints (usually the first in the XIF file). |
Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) | The most distinct feature of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is that it uses a pair of keys to achieve the underlying security service. The key pair comprises of private key and public key |
Resource | For REST, a resource is an object with a type, associated data, relationships to other resources, and a set of methods that operate on it. Essentially a resource is every thing or entity that can be identified, named, addressed, or handled, in any way whatsoever, on the web. For MQTT, a topic is the equivalent of a REST resource. |
Resource File Set | Defines device interfaces, datapoints and datapoints types used by the device. The SmartServer includes standard Resource File Sets. If your device has a non-standard device interface, datapoint list, or datapoint type, then you will need to provide a custom Resource File Set in addition to the XIF for your device. For LonWorks devices, these custom Resource File Sets are provided by the device manufacturer. All other protocols (i.e., BACnet, Modbus, EnOcean, and LoRaWAN) do not require custom Resource File Sets as long as you use standard datapoint types (e.g., SNVT_temp_p, float). Resource File Sets are created using the IzoT Resource Editor. The SmartServer only supports Resource File Set XML files; use the IzoT Resource Editor to convert the Resource File Sets to XML files. |
Resource Type | IAP supports a variety of resource types such as devices, groups, schedules, etc. See Resource_Type in the IAP/MQ Topic Syntax table. |
SID | See Segment Identifier. |
Segment | A collection of devices that can be addressed with a common segment ID. |
Segment Identifier | The SID is the Segment Identifier, which is the logical address of the device that controls a segment. In IAP, that device is either an edge server, or, an IAP-native edge device that is the only device on that segment. Such an edge device can still implement other object types, such as alarms or connections for itself, and uses the standard topic layout. For more information, see SID in the Syntax table. |
Scalar Datapoints | Scalar datapoints represent a single field where the value is an integer or float as shown in the Datapoints widget example below.  |
SmartConnect | SmartConnect is the containerized SmartServer software (SmartServer Platform and CMS) that resides on custom hardware. SmartConnect is available with SmartServer 4.2 and higher and can be installed on the Raspberry Pi 4 or CM4. |
SmartSupervisor | SmartSupervisor is used to provision, manage, monitor, and control devices provisioned onto multiple SmartServers using a single SmartServer SmartSupervisor. With SmartSupervisor, the CMS runs on a host computer that you provide separate from the SmartServers. The CMS resides on one server (a local or cloud server) that can be used to control up to 10 SmartServers. SmartServer Platform software resides on the SmartServer hardware. Communications between the CMS and SmartServer Platform is performed using MQTT. The edge devices may be any mix of BACnet, LON, and Modbus devices. SmartSupervisor gives you a single pane of glass to set up and operate your system across multiple SmartServers. You can access SmartSupervisor from a web browser to communicate with the SmartSupervisor host, or you can create your own CMS using the IAP interfaces to the SmartSupervisor host. See also SmartServer Manager. |
SmartServer Core License | This license provides core SmartServer functionality and supports BACnet routing, device discovery, device import, and device creation. This license is required for SmartConnect does not expire. |
SmartServer IoT | SmartServer IoT is the industry’s first truly open, end-to-end, and extensible, multi-protocol IoT edge server that accelerates your system integration projects for industrial IoT applications. It is ideal for monitor and control, energy management and data analytics applications in smart buildings, cities, and factories and allows you to interface to those devices with local workstations and remote cloud services. With SmartServer IoT, the SmartServer software (SmartServer Platform and SmartServer Manage) resides in the SmartServer hardware. |
SmartServer Manager | SmartServer Manager is used to provision, manage, monitor, and control all your devices from a single CMS integrated with a single SmartServer. With SmartServer Manager, the CMS runs on the SmartServer IoT Edge Server. The edge devices may be any mix of BACnet, LON, and Modbus devices. You can use the SmartServer Manager integrated in the SmartServer, or you can create your own CMS using the IAP interfaces to the SmartServer. See also SmartSupervisor. |
SmartServer Platform | The SmartServer Platform includes all of the built-in functions within the SmartServer except the CMS web pages, which can be hosted on the SmartServer IoT, SmartConnect, or on a cloud server. |
Structured Datapoints | Structured datapoints represent more than one value where multiple fields are separated by a comma as shown in the Datapoints widget example below.  |
Topic | In MQTT, a topic refers to a string that the broker uses to filter messages for each connected client. An MQTT client can publish and subscribe to a topic. A topic in MQTT is the equivalent of a REST resource. |
Unique Identifier (UID) | Unique identifier for the device. Each device must have a unique UID. The UID format for each protocol is different. See also MAC ID and Neuron ID. Examples:
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User | A person associated with a customer account with access to one or more geozones associated with one or more SmartServer IoT licenses. |