Introducing Litmus Edge Ignition Module: Transforming Data into Intelligence

Developers in manufacturing and industrial environments are always looking for tools that are easy to use and work well together. This integration between Litmus Edge and Ignition by Inductive Automation is a great example of that. Ignition is already a powerhouse in the industrial and manufacturing community, known for its versatile and flexible SCADA/HMI and application development capabilities. It is considered one of the most popular tools for industrial applications, with Inductive Automation reporting a large and rapidly growing user base across various industries.

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Given its widespread adoption, Ignition has become a critical tool for integrating with MES, ERP, databases, and a variety of other data sources and systems.

This widespread usage, however, has necessitated point-to-point integration, which in turn demands custom development and maintenance. Moreover, scaling these solutions and maintaining performance levels presents significant obstacles.

Another layer of complexity arises when attempting to leverage AI and ML algorithms with the data managed by Ignition, particularly when aiming to utilize these advanced technologies in real-time. The infrastructure required to support these use cases further amplifies these challenges, making it a considerable hurdle to overcome in the pursuit of innovative industrial solutions.

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The integration of Litmus Edge and Ignition aims to deliver a seamless data journey to current Ignition users, abstracting the complexity of point-to-point integrations and meeting the ever-evolving needs of industries leveraging Ignition for MES, SCADA, and general application development.

See our step-by-step guide on how to use the Litmus Edge Ignition Module.

Below are three distinct use cases that demonstrate the versatility of using Litmus in conjunction with Ignition.

In this scenario, Ignition is the key source of operational data collected from PLCs and various industrial devices. This data is then seamlessly transferred to Litmus Edge, where it undergoes modeling, processing, and preparation for use in cloud-based services and applications, requiring minimal to no additional processing.

Consequently, cloud services, data warehouses, enterprise applications, AI tools, and platforms, along with other data consumers, can easily access the necessary data in the format they need, exactly when and where it's needed. Furthermore, the bi-directional connectors of Litmus Edge with these services and applications enable the insights derived from the data analysis to be promptly delivered back to the plant floor for near real-time application. The entire data operation, facilitated by the Litmus Edge module, is designed for high throughput, seamlessly collecting data from Ignition and distributing it to targeted endpoints like Azure, AWS, GCP, and Databricks.

The second use case is around data enrichment and extracting insights at the industrial edge before the data is sent to cloud. Here, Litmus Edge takes charge of collecting data either directly from Ignition or from other data sources. The data undergoes analysis against sophisticated Ready Analytics or machine learning models running inside Litmus Edge. The collected data is further enriched (AKA contextualized) through the Analytics Workflow engine inside Litmus Edge as part of the complete data journey. The resultant valuable insights, or calculated variables, are then written back to Ignition. This cycle demonstrates Litmus Edge acting as an analytical engine, bolstering Ignition's native functionality by adding advanced data analysis capabilities.

Litmus Edge users are familiar with its Applications Marketplace feature. Ignition can be hosted directly within Litmus Edge as a containerized application. Thanks to Litmus Edge's compatibility with Docker and the availability of containerized versions of Ignition, the Litmus Edge environment transforms into a business application platform.

This use case is specifically advantageous for users with existing Ignition licenses who wish to develop new applications leveraging the Litmus Edge data infrastructure. It integrates Ignition as a hosted offering in the Litmus marketplace, providing users a unified platform for both application development and enhanced data handling.

Recently, there has been a marked shift in how industrial data is used. Rather than being a byproduct of industrial operations, data is now seen as an invaluable corporate asset. This new way of thinking comes because there is a big focus on making data-driven innovations. Data can help to vastly improve operational efficiency, reduce downtime, and enhance overall business intelligence.

Litmus Edge is a catalyst for bringing industrial data to the forefront of enterprise-level decision-making. As an industrial data operations platform, Litmus Edge simplifies the collection, analysis, and integration of data from a myriad of industrial devices and systems. By bridging the gap between on-site operations and cloud or enterprise applications, Litmus Edge ensures that industrial data is more accessible, actionable, and valuable than ever before.

Litmus Edge can enable Ignition users with more context and modern data use cases at the edge by not only acting as a conduit for data collection and redistribution but also becoming the analytical powerhouse that extends Ignition's native capabilities. Whether it's making operational data accessible in the cloud or enriching it with actionable insights derived from machine learning, Litmus Edge positions itself as an indispensable addition to the Ignition ecosystem.

Try the Litmus Edge + Ignition Module today. Sign in to the Litmus Central Portal and get started with a smarter, more efficient data journey.