Spartan Edge

Background

Overview

Our Gateway platform, SpartanShield Edge, serves as a fully featured ecosystem for building value-added application and services for Broadband, SmartHome service providers. It can be fully independent offloading some workload from a vendor cloud platform or managerable via SpartanShield Cloud Platform.

The same set of micro-services accessible at our Cloud Plaftorm can rolled-out on the SpartanShield Fog Edge as well. So SpartanShield represents the End-to-End solution for the Cloud and Gateway tiers. The services are deployable as Docker containers on a target Gateway platform.

The following device management protocols are supported on the SpartanShield Fog Edge :

    • MQTT(S)
    • USP (TR-369)
    • CoAP
    • WebSockets

SpartanShield Fog Edge Platform is designed for the following target industries :

  • Mobile Operators, Telco Carriers.
  • Broadband, Connected Home Providers.
  • Healthcare.
  • Manufacturing.
  • Logistics.
  • Retail networks.
  • Security Providers.
  • Device OEM/ODM.

 

It allows to solve the following challenges for Gateway ecosystem :

  • Gateway complexities
  • Approaches for enhancements and optimization
  • Containerization and orchestration
  • Ecosystem for Gateway platform development and deployment

System Architecture

Fog Edge Platform runs on top of Linux/BSP and OpenWrt with Prpl Foundation middleware. Below presented the layered architecture of the Platform along with its core components.

High-Level System Architecture

SpartanShield Fog Edge includes open source core components along with commercial products on top of them:

  • Database micro-service
  • USP(TR-369) micro-service
  • Cloud integration micro-service
  • 3rd party integration micro-services like LoRaWan

Technology Stack

The diagram below outlines the technology stack for Fog Edge.

Container Deployment Options

There are different software deployment options available for Gateway. SpartanShield Fog Edge exploits the most effective deployment approach – customer products and services are deployable as separate docker containers.

It allows to maximize ease of development, test and deployment, maximize ROI and enhance customer satisfaction from new services and products.

Containers Deployment Orchestration

Gateway firmware and services development and testing pipelines are automated in order to push deliverables to SpartanShield AppStore for products and services.

Once available in the AppStore they can be installed on the Gateway via SpartanShield Container Orchestration lifecycle.

Also SpartanShield Cloud Platform is responsible for Gateway Device Management via USP(TR-369) protocol.

Gateway Containerization Enablers

The key factors for Gateway containerization are as follows:

  • Linux support for Containers via LXC/runc
  • prplLCM Lifecycle Management
  • USP(TR-369) via Prpl HL-API
  • Orchestration

SpartanShield Fog Edge Platform can drive your target Gateway platform via all those efforts mentioned.

On top of that, SpartanShield USP client manages the Gateway according to USP(TR-369) protocol along with SpartanShield GW Agent performs Gateway orchestration.

Container Lifecycle Management(LCM)

Container LCM peforms the following operations on a Gateway platform :

  • Dynamically launch and manage new services without having to replace the existing firmware or breaking core functionalities.
  • Run services in isolated and constrained environments, without coming across security or stability issues.
  • Take advantage of standardized APIs and modular architectures, which promote reusability and ease of integration across different software stacks.
  • Trigger operations remotely and locally.

SpartanShield FogEdge supports LCM operations based on PrplLCM open source product.

LCM Features

LCM Architecture

Matter gateway platform orchestration

Spartan Edge Platform in conjunction with Router Platform can provide End-to-End orchestration for Matter solutions.

From a moment when end user pressed a button on a Matter mobile commissioning application till a Matter device reacts to a command, the following magic happens behind the scene :

  1. Mobile App communicates the command to SpartanShield Cloud Platform via REST API.
  2. SpartanShield Cloud Platform provides pre(post) processing of the request including persisting audit info, logging, saving tons of metadata from information obtained from the mobile app request to name a few. Also further processing takes place based on AI/ML pipelines for analysis, predictions, trends comparison.
  3. SpartanShield Cloud Platform invokes several APIs exposed from its Device Management Services, Edge Integration Services.
  4. Edge Integration Services place a command into a queue to execute by SpartanShield Agent on the Gateway.
  5. SpartanShield Agent invokes appropriate API provided by Matter Stack Container on the Gateway.
  6. Matter Stack Container interacts with RF stack available at OpenThread Border Router to relay the command to Matter devices.
  7. Once the command executed, status updates communicated from Matter Stack Container to SpartanShield Agent which subscribed for any event updates.
  8. SpartanShield Agent updates the SpartanShield Cloud Platform via MQTTS channel.
  9. SpartanShield Cloud Platform sends push notification to the Mobile Application about a result of the operation.
  10. Mobile Application shows results of the operation to end-user.

With core features of Router Platform and Spartan Edge like loosly-coupled messaging, micro-services, infinite scalability and load-balancing, millions of Gateways along with millions of SmartHome connected users are handled easily.