Glossary · IIoT, data and AI
Edge device
Also known as: Edge node, Edge controller
German: Edge-Gerät
In industrial IT, an edge device is a hardware unit installed on or near machines that collects, processes and forwards data from the field level, typically running applications or containers and connecting OT networks to higher-level IT or cloud systems.
- IIoT
In one sentence
An edge device collects, processes and forwards machine data close to the process and often links the OT network to IT or cloud systems.
Example
An industrial PC in the control cabinet reads data from three PLCs, runs a quality model in a container and publishes the results via MQTT.
How it applies
- Engineering: Select edge devices for the industrial environment (temperature, vibration, power supply) and for the required interfaces. Separate OT and IT network ports to maintain segmentation.
- Security: Edge devices often bridge network zones, which makes them an attractive target. Harden them, manage credentials and keep software current (Update capability).
- Documentation: Document the installed software and versions, the network connections, the data flows and the maintenance procedure, including how to replace a failed device and restore its configuration.
Edge device vs. IoT gateway
An IoT gateway focuses on connectivity: protocol conversion and forwarding. An edge device additionally runs applications such as analytics or AI inference. Many products can do both, so the terms overlap.