General

What is edge technology?

The edge is the frontier of embedded systems and the applications they run, ranging from hefty server infrastructure to bare-bones field devices, and from oil rig monitors to the controls for aircraft engines. In the Industrial Internet context, Edge computing represents a new architecture and set of capabilities that are differentiated from legacy on-premise applications and gateways because of recent technology advances such as low-cost computational power, virtualization technologies, ubiquitous, standards-based connectivity, and advances in cybersecurity.  

These new capabilities lie at the heart of offerings that drive transformational outcomes for industrial customers:
  • More cost-effective, cloud-enabled applications enabled by preprocessing and filtering data at the edge.
  • Improved productivity and performance derived from a new generation of analytics and applications at the edge that has not been available before.
  • Faster time to market for modern software-based offerings and analytics enabled by a modular architecture and full ecosystem of app development and deployment, and edge management capabilities.

What is the difference between Predix Edge and Predix Edge OS?

Predix Edge is the brand name of the new software stack offered by GE, built under the Edge 2.0 initiative. During the development phase, Predix Edge OS was the informal name used by development teams to refer to the Yocto OS used within the Predix Edge stack. The OS within the Predix Edge stack has not been formally branded and is simply referred to as secure OS.

What is a Predix Edge VM? Why would I need an Edge VM?

Predix Edge VM is a ready to run Predix Edge on any hardware that supports ESXi 6.5 Virtual Machine. This is extremely useful for customers with a preference of particular vendor hardware and also makes it easy for adopting and deploying Predix Edge-based solutions. As this is on a virtualized platform, customers can use the same hardware to run other VMs alongside Predix Edge VM. This is easy to use and is agnostic to any particular hardware OEM. Predix Edge VM is ideal for running and hosting large complex analytics applications or have the need to ingest and process large volumes of data at maybe a centralized location.

Can I deploy Predix Edge on a device of my choice?

Predix Edge supports Intel and ARM architectures.

There is also an Ubuntu version of Edge Agent available that allows customers to quickly deploy their own Predix Edge enabled devices. However, this version does not benefit from the ability to improve the security, stability, and maintainability of the system through Predix Edge OS. A few key features are not supported on the Ubuntu version of Edge Agent, most notably the Predix Edge Technician Console (PETC) used for local, web-based management of a single device.
Note: The only version of Ubuntu supported is 18.04 LTS, and only for Intel/AMD processors (amd64/x86_84).

Can/when can I run Predix Edge on Windows?

Predix Edge GA release supports only Linux.

What is included in Predix Edge?

Predix Edge is a contemporary platform for applications that runs at the intersection of industrial control systems and the industrial Internet. You can use Predix Edge to send industrial asset data to the Predix Cloud or to deploy new applications to run in close proximity to an industrial control system.  

Predix Edge is composed of several systems that work together:
  • Predix Edge OS is a hardened Linux operating system that includes a container engine, a data plane for multi-container applications to share data, a protocol translator, a technician console for enrollment and management of the OS and applications running therein, an edge-to-cloud gateway for piping data to Predix Cloud services and an Edge Agent (described below).
  • Predix Edge Agent manages network interactions between the Predix Edge OS and both Edge Manager and the Predix Edge Technician Console.
  • Predix Edge Manager makes it easy to manage edge devices at scale. With Edge Manager, you can rapidly deploy multi-container applications and configurations to your edge devices and deploy configurations. The Intelligent Data Pump enables you to painlessly configure a data gathering application through a user-friendly interface.

What is the difference between Predix Edge and edge technology from other vendors?

Many other vendors have pieces and parts that an integrator is required to assemble and test. GE Digital provides a complete solution from soup-to-nuts including an industrial grade, hardened OS, protocol support, gateways to send data to the cloud, a data broker for sharing information between containers, an agent that talks to Edge Manager and an Edge Management capability that simplifies deployment and management of edge systems at scale.

Do I need to send my data to the Predix Cloud?

No, you are not required to send data to Predix Cloud, although you can if desired.