Edge computing made easy

Unlike other highly available edge computing solutions, Stratus ztC Edge is easy to deploy, manage, and maintain. Designed for OT but equally suitable for IT, ztC Edge can be set up, configured, operated, updated, and repaired by local staff (and remote staff for certain functions) without specialized virtualization, availability, or IT skills, offering customers superior time to value and flexibility.

Not only is ztC Edge easy to deploy, manage and maintain, it’s also easy to secure. ztC Edge is differentiated by the variety and depth of protection it offers right out of the box – protecting your data and applications from harsh environments, hardware component failures, and cyber-security threats.

Unlike other edge computing solutions, ztC Edge is highly automated, performing a variety of administrative tasks by itself and saving customers time. Self-monitoring, self-protecting, and self-synchronizing, ztC Edge is suitable for deployment in environments with resource constraints – even unmanned locations.

Stratus ztC Edge ships with its own operating environment called Stratus Redundant Linux (SRL). SRL combines both a virtualization host and an availability layer to deliver application portability, resilience, and data protection. The pre-installed software can support multiple virtual machines, including the latest UEFI  VMs, each running different industrial control or IoT applications on Windows or Linux guest operating systems.

ztC Edge ships with its own integrated tool, the ztC Edge Console, that supports remote monitoring and management. By simplifying system and software management, Stratus saves customers time and money, especially if they contract out or incur a charge for system administration services.

ztC Edge systems are inherently secure, with restricted USB ports, default security settings, and secure communications protocols. Easy-to-configure host-based firewall, active directory integration, and trusted boot, further secure your ztC Edge environment. You don’t need to be a security expert to secure your ztC Edge.

Once a ztC Edge platform has been setup and configured, its system settings and user preferences can now quickly and easily be summarized and stored to a local drive or to Stratus Cloud. A new wizard, and templating capabilities incorporated into the ztC Edge Console, enable OT and IT professionals to remotely backup and restore their ztC Edge platforms. The only tested and approved way to backup and restore ztC Edge system settings and preferences, simplified system backup and restore helps customers (and partners) save time and reduce user error, reducing the time it takes to resume services, thus improving application availability.

ztC Edge systems support common industrial protocols, making them easier to integrate into, and work with existing industrial automation environments. Use OPC UA attributes, or SNMP requests and traps, to monitor, visualize and notify systems and users. A REST API offers customers another way to retrieve relevant system health and performance information and present them to third party systems management tools and dashboards.

The same templates that are used for backing up system preferences and restoring single ztC Edge platforms can also be used to provision multiple platforms quickly and easily, saving customers and partners time. Multiple templates can be created and archived for different use cases, workloads, or locations, and these templates can be used to rapidly provision single or multiple ztC Edge platforms that match desired deployment scenarios. By automating repeatable processes and reducing user errors, scalable system replication makes commissioning multiple systems more accurate and efficient.

ztC Edge’s compact, rugged design means that it can be installed in a wide variety of locations and industrial settings, giving users greater flexibility. Its hot-swappable design makes it possible for plant operators and technicians, rather than specially trained IT admins, to repair ztC Edge when necessary. Choose from two models – the 100i and the 110i and either a standalone or redundant system.

Stratus offers a secure, cloud-based repository for customers (and partners) to safely transmit, store and retrieve their ztC Edge system preference templates. Unlike other third- party cloud offerings, Stratus Cloud automatically authenticates users and groups using the same credentials as their Stratus Customer Service Portal account, as well as extends user-defined rights and permissions, saving customers (and partners) time and effort. Key word and metadata fields incorporated into the ztC Edge Console enable the unique description of templates, while encrypted channels prevent tampering and ensure their integrity.

A ztC Edge system can be deployed as a redundant pair that automatically mirrors all data in memory and all data written to disk, for greater protection. In the event of a node failure, the system automatically restarts any VMs running on that failed node to its other node, to ensure continuity of service – even nodes on another floor or building. And it does all this automatically, without any user intervention.

The VM Management tab in the ztC Edge Console can now be used to import entire OVA files and UEFI VMs, as well as OVF images, expanding customers’ options. Extensive testing of VM templates with partners like Rockwell helps shorten the time it takes to deploy third-party packaged applications. Additional error checking code in the wizard helps improve productivity.