Connect IoT Requirements#
The Connect IoT Automation Manager component has a low hardware footprint and is designed to run in a variety of platforms.
Software Requirements#
The supported operating systems (must be supported by Node.js), are listed in the table below:
| System | Architecture | Version |
|---|---|---|
| GNU/Linux | x64 | kernel >= 3.10, glibc >= 2.17 |
| GNU/Linux | arm64 | kernel >= 4.5, glibc >= 2.17 |
| Windows | x64, x86 (WoW64) | >= Windows 7/2008 R2/2012 R2 |
| macOS | x64 | >= 10.11 |
Table: Supported operating systems for Connect IoT
Note
Requirements based but not limited to the Tier 1 values of the Node.js platform list compilation/execution support. Confirm the values for the Node.js version Connect IoT runs on, available in https://github.com/nodejs/node/blob/main/BUILDING.md#platform-list ↗.
Independent from the Operating System, the following software components must also be available:
| Requirement | Description |
|---|---|
| Node.js | Node.js must be available on each computer that runs the Connect IoT Automation Manager (the Connect IoT runtime). MES v12 requires Node.js 26. The Automation Manager package already includes this runtime, so a separate installation is only needed when you run the Automation Manager from sources. Custom driver and task packages must be built and tested with Node.js 26. For compatibility with packages built for earlier releases, the Connect IoT engine accepts LTS Node.js versions from 20.15.0 up to 26.x. Critical Manufacturing does not support running Connect IoT outside this range. The native driver components are prebuilt and distributed by Critical Manufacturing for each supported Node.js major version and do not load on unsupported ones; no compilation is required on the host. |
| Local Package Repository | - There must be one local package repository available per site. MES supports NPM-based repositories (see NPM Registry Compatibility Requirements) or our custom directory-based repository, which requires no installation or server. - The repository must be accessible by both Critical Manufacturing MES and Connect IoT runtime computers. |
Table: Software components required for Connect IoT
Furthermore, there some driver specific requirements as listed in the following table that are applicable to the computer that will host the Connect IoT runtime engine that uses that driver:
| Driver | Requirement | Can be containerized |
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth (BLE) | - Must fulfill the noble pre-requisites - refer to the link https://github.com/noble/noble - Must have a compatible Bluetooth adapter - https://github.com/noble/node-bluetooth-hci-socket#Prerequisites ↗ - In Microsoft Windows, it is necessary to change the Bluetooth driver to use WinUSB instead of the Microsoft Bluetooth Stack. To accomplish this, use the zadig tool supplied in the Setup ISO. | Yes (requires hardware devices to be forwarded to container) |
| Database | - No additional software requirements. Only network access to the target database server is needed. | Yes |
| Factory Automation | - Requires network access to the Kafka broker(s) and RabbitMQ broker used for automation job messaging. | Yes |
| File (CSV + Raw) | - The directory(ies) to be used by the driver must be fully accessible, mapped and authenticated within the OS. | Yes |
| Fuji Nexim | - Requires network access to the Fuji SMT equipment interface (the driver listens as a TCP server for the equipment to connect to). | Yes |
| IPC-CFX | - .Net 10.x SDK - refer to https://github.com/dotnet/core/blob/main/release-notes/10.0/supported-os.md - Install Visual C ++ Redistributable 2015-2022 in every machine - refer to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170 ↗ | Yes |
| Kafka | - Requires network access to the Kafka broker(s). No local broker installation needed. | Yes |
| Keyboard Wedge | - Can only work in Linux OS (it is restricted by Windows because it acts as a keyboard logger). | Yes (requires hardware devices to be forwarded to container) |
| MQTT | - No additional software requirements. Only network access to the MQTT broker is needed. | Yes |
| OIB | - Must have Microsoft .Net Framework 4.6 installed. | No |
| OPC DA | - Can only run on a Windows OS (OPC DA protocol requirement) - Must have .Net Framework 4.8 installed. - Must have AdvosolOpcCoreComponents (supplied in the Setup ISO) installed. | No |
| OPC UA | - Must have OpenSSL installed (for on-demand certificate generation). For more information, see https://docs.openssl.org/ ↗. | Yes |
| PanaCIM | - Requires network access to the Panasonic PanaCIM equipment interface (the driver listens as a TCP server for the equipment to connect to). | Yes |
| REST Client | - No additional software requirements. | Yes |
| REST Server | - No additional software requirements beyond exposing/mapping the listening port. | Yes |
| SECS/GEM | - .Net Standard 2.0 compatible runtime - refer to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/standard/net-standard - Install Visual C ++ Redistributable 2015-2022 in every machine - refer to https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170 ↗ | Yes |
| Serial | - Must have a physical or virtual serial port available (COM port on Windows, /dev/tty* on Linux/macOS), with the corresponding OS-level driver installed (e.g. for USB-to-serial adapters). | Yes (requires the serial device to be forwarded to container) |
| TCP/IP | - No additional software requirements. In Passive (listen) mode, the listening port must be exposed/mapped. | Yes |
Table: Driver requirements for Connect IoT
Hardware requirements#
Connect IoT Automation Managers are designed to be executed on edge devices, with limited hardware capabilities. However, they can also be deployed in containerized environments together with the MES Application Layer. The actual requirements in terms of processing power and memory will depend on the number of integrations and the workflow implemented for each integration.
Contact Critical Manufacturing for additional information to help you estimate the workload associated to your integrations.