Industrial Automation with Distrix

Transcription

1 Industrial Automation with Distrix Embedding Intelligence into Complex Networks A White Paper Investigation into the Industrial Internet 2015 Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved 1

2 The rise of the Industrial Internet is offering important advantages to Industrial Automation Networking customers. Integrating the data streams from operational and information technology networks unleashes enterprise efficiencies, improves customer satisfaction and reduces corporate risks. Software Defined Networks in particular increase network security, reduce time to action, and better utilize existing resources for higher performance without requiring widespread infrastructure replacement. DISTRIX gives industrial enterprises a head start in the Industrial Internet revolution Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

3 INTRODUCTION The Industrial Internet Consortium defines the Industrial Internet as an internet of things, machines, computers and people, enabling intelligent industrial operations using advanced data analytics for transformational business outcomes. It embodies the convergence of the global industrial ecosystem, advanced computing and manufacturing, pervasive sensing and ubiquitous network connectivity. 1 Cisco calls it the Internet of Everything. IBM calls it the Internet of Things. GE calls it the Industrial Internet. For this white paper, we will simply refer to it as the Industrial Internet. What drives the Industrial Internet are the data analytics and decision support derived from the integration of the formerly disparate Informational Technologies (IT) and Operational Technologies (OT). 2 This integration will result in much greater operational efficiency, customer service, inter-organizational collaboration, strategic decision-making, profitability, revenue growth and business innovation. Cisco estimates that there are up to 14 billion objects connected to the Internet today, and this is projected to grow to an estimated billion connected devices by According to IDC, more than half of the IOT activity is in manufacturing, transportation, smart city, and consumer applications, but within five years all industries will have rolled out IOT initiatives. 4 Industrial Internet will ripple from the plant floor to the back office, and all the way to suppliers to customers. It will affect manufacturing, energy, transportation, public safety, healthcare and many other 2015 Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved 3

4 industries. It will have a tremendous impact not just on industrial companies, but also on national economies. From Industrial Internet alone, China s cumulative GDP can rise by US $1.8 trillion and the U.S. cumulative GDP can rise by US$6.1 trillion by The integration of IT and OT will be ongoing because there still are mission-critical OT applications that cannot be addressed by the present IT network. However, the lessons of the global impact of the first two waves of the Internet revolution in the consumer and information technology markets cannot be forgotten. The early adopters disrupted traditional businesses and became dominant players in their target markets, almost overnight. Amazon.com for retail, Netflix for film and media, Apple itunes for music and Uber for personal public transportation are just a few examples. Moving faster than the industry standards, which were always trying to catch up, these Internet pioneers mastered the connective dynamics of the Internet. They explored more efficient and highly scalable business models to the detriment of their conventional competitors, who waited too long on the sidelines to adapt to the Internet. Martin McPhee, a senior vice president at Cisco who heads the company s consulting arm recently pointed out that after the advent of the Web in the mid 1990s: Just 25 percent of the Fortune 100 top U.S. companies were still in existence 15 years later. 6 History is repeating itself in the industrial enterprise market. Bill Ruh, who spearheads GE s Industrial Internet initiative put it bluntly: Industrial people who aren t in the game today, who are not making the kind of investments we re making, it s like someone in the retail sector now saying, We want to be like Amazon too. But you can t be like Amazon. It s too late. And in the industrial sector, you have to take the risk now. Because by the time it s obvious, which is a few years from now, it s going to be too late. 7 Major competitive advantages Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

5 can be derived now even by the partial implementation of the Industrial Internet technologies. Traditional companies, such as Caterpillar and GE, are embracing it. Forward-thinking companies are already deploying the Industrial Internet in various sectors of their businesses. DISTRIX currently delivers the enabling technology for the Industrial Internet. Distrix is a secure, resilient and versatile Software Defined Infrastructure which interfaces with OT networks and overlays existing IT networks, dramatically reducing the cost of deployment by retaining the current infrastructure investments. Distrix networks centralize analysis where appropriate, but embed logic and control at the edge where it is needed. Distrix can monitor, manipulate, analyze, contextualize and route encrypted and authenticated data from the edge devices to their ultimate destination. Distrix provides secure network-to-network or network-to-device secure connections at any of the seven network layers of the stack to transport the data generated at the edge to anywhere in the network. Distrix can give industrial enterprises a head start in the Industrial Internet revolution Industrial Internet Reference Architecture, Industrial Internet Consortium, June 4, 2015, p. 9 2 Ibid p Internet of Things Connections Counter, Cisco Systems, IDC Reveals Worldwide Internet of Things Predictions for Winning WIth The Industrial Internet Of Things, Accenture, 2015 report, p. 3 6 Eric Auchard, Many Big Companies Live In Fear For Their Future In Digital Age 7 John Gertner, Behind GE s Vision For The Industrial Internet Of Things, Fast Company, Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved 5

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Advanced Integrated Networks Opportunity and Empowerment from IIoT IIoT Risks and Challenges Software Defined Networking The Distrix Solution Distrix solutions for targeted industrial clients Distrix Connect Distrix Smart Data Distrix Smart Management About Distrix Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

7 Advanced Integrated Networks Advances in widespread plant-level sensor technologies, the Big Data they generate, and the network integration capabilities that empower them, collectively known as the Industrial Internet, are enabling transformational improvements to the way Industrial companies run their operations and conduct business. Industry is transforming, and this transformation extends from the plant floor to the back office, and from suppliers to customers. At the heart of this transformation is the integration of enterprise information systems with plant level operational systems. This convergence represents a significant departure from the way companies have traditionally operated, and the potential advantages extend into virtually all areas of the business. Significant challenges, however, are impacting widespread adoption of this Industrial Internet approach. Impediments typically include high expenditures and the difficulty in creating a reasonable and actionable deployment plan that does not cause widespread disruption of all systems involved. Additional challenges include security, eliability and the integration of the disparate protocols that currently exist. Nearly 5 billion sensors have been deployed, and an estimated 25 billion will be deployed in another 10 years, according to forecasts from Gartner. From , Gartner estimates that the compounded growth rate will reach 32.5%. IDC is projecting a $7 trillion market value for the Internet by 2020, of which $2 trillion will be related to industrial automation. 7

8 Opportunity and Empowerment from IIoT The sweeping and global changes ushered by the Internet to the consumer and the enterprise information technology industries will produce the same or greater transformation on the industrial automation industry. The disruptive changes of a connected automation industry will affect manufacturing, energy, transportation, public safety, healthcare and other markets all over the world. Towards the Connected Enterprise The integration of the enterprise information systems and the industrial level operational systems will result in much greater operational efficiency and versatility, lower cost of ownership, scalability, supply chain improvements and increased customer satisfaction. Connecting enterprise with operational systems increases agility, visibility, and profitability. Corporatewide insight to production data empowers better decisionmaking throughout the enterprise, including smarter management of inventory, reduced consumption of energy, gains in throughput and a more mature and integrated supply chain. Operational Efficiencies Operational efficiencies originating from advanced connected networks stem from the ability to contextualize and consolidate data from dispersed sensordriven systems. Contextualized information from the sensor and actuator devices at the edge of the network with the applied analytics will reduce downtime, increase efficiency, manufacturing adaptability and enhance production. The ability to react faster and more efficiently across the system means that the entire organization is more agile and responsive to changing market conditions, competitive forces and customer needs. Lower Cost of Ownership Additionally, lower total cost of ownership results from various systems being empowered to operate more efficiently and communicate more effectively. Rationalization of systems provides lower cost of management, increased efficiencies, lower capital expenditures, and fuller asset utilization, enabling the entire operation to be run leaner. With fully shared operational context, all components of the system from servers to production equipment to communication lines can be more effectively prioritized and utilized Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

9 Supply Chain Improvements The emergence of IIOT networks is not restricted to industrial elements alone. The suppliers will be able to integrate their automation systems with manufacturers. Just-in-time deliveries will become more precise and efficient. Suppliers can gain insight when systems are connected and aligned with production schedules, and those schedules can be more easily adjusted to changing demands or fluctuating prices. Increased Customer Satisfaction Customer requirements and expectations can be communicated to and acted upon faster throughout the industrial enterprise. This connected link from the customer to the supply chain all the way to the manufacturing facility can deliver heretofore unrealized efficiencies and customer satisfaction. Customer demands for more responsiveness and increasingly tailored products are characteristic of the changing customer relationship, especially in business-to-business industries. The agility offered by integrated networks can enable this type of relationship, enabling customization and customer feedback to be built into production. Growing Customer Expectations Construction: CEMEX, Mexico s leading cement manufacturer, integrates tracking and fleet management technologies to meet customer delivery requirements within 20 minutes. Aerospace: according to the MIT Lean Aerospace Initiative, significant changes in supply chain management practices at major manufacturers include closer integration of supplier networks, substation integration to decrease costs of products and systems, and advancing integrated logistics to include after-market maintenance and support capabilities. Automotive: Ever-tighter linkages between component suppliers and automotive manufacturers are supporting lead times as brief as a matter of hours as manufacturers move away from build to forecast models towards build to order ones. 9

10 IIoT Risks and Challenges While there are many advantages to the widely connected Industrial Internet networking approach, the speed of data creation and collection are outpacing the evolution of traditional networks, their costs, and their consequent management complexity. Industrial enterprises seeking to tap the benefits of broader connectivity within the organization as well as with suppliers and customers must come to grips with the need to mitigate the potential risks, not to mention the cost of upgrading their existing devices, networks and infrastructure. Significant Business Disruption In many instances, industrial control systems already incorporate both logical and mechanical provisions designed to enhance safety and reliability. These systems typically include a mix of old and new components that have evolved over time, some of which may be readily compatible with newer technologies, and some less so. As a result, deployments tend to be very complicated and may foster an all-or-nothing approach, where entire systems are replaced concurrently, even if their components are well before their end of life. Potential Security Issues In the presence of unified enterprise and operational networks, security risks, if not planned for and managed correctly, can be increased greatly due to the increased attack surface and number of attack vectors available to hackers. Attaching various systems can introduce industrial espionage risks that had not existed before, due to new connectivity and data accessibility channel creation. 28% 40% According to a recent survey of large organizations IT leaders, fully 28% of enterprise organizations claim that network security is much more difficult today than it was only two years ago. Nearly 40% of security professionals claim that network security is more difficult today because malware can easily circumvent traditional network security controls (i.e., firewalls, IDS/IPS, etc.). Enterprise Strategy Group Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

11 High Capital Expenditures The sheer cost of integrating enterprise systems with industrial operational control systems can be a significant issue on its own, but when costs also include wholesale network changes, the additional cost of new hardware can run the cost up to one that comes close to eclipsing the predicted benefit. When companies add a risk premium adjustment to the payback, the entire project may run the risk of a negative ROI, considering the uncertainty involved in such megaprojects. Increased Overall IT Risk Large IT projects are fraught with risk even when their scope does not include integration of disparate systems. In projects where IT and OT are converging, the overall risk of the project is exacerbated by the need to replace equipment that has been deployed piecemeal, and to adjust business processes that have evolved around them. Although rationalization of infrastructure can seem a magic bullet for highly efficient operations, the sheer complexity in the details can prove to be a tremendous burden. Hybrid systems that have evolved over time may require protocol conversion methods to be developed before they can be integrated; poorly documented applications may need to be investigated, and a host of other details may emerge. Institutional knowledge around equipment setup and configuration may also have evolved over time, and configuration and operational details may be difficult to locate. 11

12 Software Defined Networking Leveraging software to abstract the data plane from the control and management planes, or Software Defined Networking provides a powerful approach to enterprise and control system integration, especially in the presence of widespread sensor technologies and the vast amounts of data they generate. A Software Defined Networking (SDN) approach utilizes existing network assets to minimize risks and maximize consolidated advantages within a controlled deployment and operational context. Operational Complexity Business Agility Loaded Costs Asset Utilization Security & Control Mixed enterprise and operational networks not easily integrated. Complexity makes new services and processes difficult to implement. Maintenance is intensive, upgrades expensive. Dedicated service hardware prevents system rationalization. Complex overlapping security models are difficult to maintain. Embedding intelligence in the network gives cross-system insight. Software defined services are launched and adjusted easily. Utilizing existing hardware provides lower TCO. Application flexibility provides for higher asset utilization. Central control across system diminishes the attack footprint. Abstracting the Data Center Tremendous cost advantages can be achieved by connecting enterprise software systems with operational control systems while leaving critical infrastructure in place. Distributing data management across the network is far more cost effective, offers higher utilization, and is more easily and quickly deployed than using a strictly central approach where all data is backhauled and analyzed, regardless of context. Furthermore, with distributed logic, the entire system provides much clearer visibility and wider management capabilities. Network functions can be virtualized for encryption, certification, routing, firewall, proxy services, and other capabilities that would otherwise require complex, intensive, and difficult to track equipment management Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

13 Advanced Situational Awareness Software defined networking systems provide contextual analysis in real-time and present timely filtered information to the operator by consolidating multiple input streams from disparate systems and managing all network traffic in an application agnostic manner. Analysis of high level system performance trends also provides the opportunity to embed control logic into the network itself in order to act proactively and improve performance by responding to changing conditions as they occur, or even before they occur. In both cases the network not only consolidates and transmits data, but also understands it, contextualizes it, and analyzes it as it is generated by managing data streams where they are generated rather than exclusively backhauling all data increasing efficiency and responsiveness dramatically. In a widely distributed environment, a large proportion of network traffic can be noise faulty or irrelevant data, retries, and other non-critical transmissions. This can cause significant issues for operators that require a clear view of their systems and connected equipment. Fully Utilized Assets Within a software defined network, fewer changes to actual hardware are necessary, and with an agnostic service application approach, the hardware and connections they rely on can be much more effectively utilized because connectivity resources can be shared among applications. Secondary backhaul connections that had previously been dedicated to failover are utilized for network traffic or to transmit network health feedback, Network infrastructure is more easily managed and controlled. Equipment that had previously served only one critical but intermittent application is be fully utilized while retaining triage and priority for its core service. Fail-over becomes a system-wide feature with automatic protocol agnostic re-routing of network traffic in the event of scheduled maintenance or unscheduled failures. 13

14 Security Advantages With traditional networking approaches, security has often been considered a bolt-on service at best, and an afterthought at worst. This has often resulted in a perceived need to keep operational systems apart from enterprise systems. This is changing. With the increasing number and sophistication of security incidents, and high profile breaches making national news, security is becoming a much higher priority across the business. A software defined network boasts several advantages that make security more easily integrated. A federated security model defines and manages trust realms across the entire network, and a federated identity model defines users and user types, enabling access to applications rather than hardware. Similarly, software defined networking provides the ability to better predict threats, communicate them, and act on them by analyzing trends as they happen. Controlled Deployments With services and applications managing traffic through controlled software environments, software defined networks provide exceptional flexibility and power creating advantages that extend through integration to deployment and operation. The ability to leverage existing network assets means that once a software defined network solution is in place, fewer changes to actual physical hardware will likely be necessary. New features and functionality are made available through service integration in the servers themselves for a very flexible and adaptable system. These advantages extend across the entire life cycle of the equipment: from setup and integration to deployment and maintenance. Setup and Integration are much more easily staged than approaches that involve large scale hardware removal and replacement. Existing systems can be brought online gradually as business needs dictate, providing a very safe and controlled evolutionary approach by minimizing technical and business process disruption. Deployment and Maintenance expand on these advantages in that adjustments to existing systems and even integration of new service and application features can often be accomplished with adjustments or additions to software services on existing hardware, better utilizing the fluid and adaptable nature of software systems in general. Software Defined Networks, through their ability to intelligently route traffic and utilize network resources, make it much easier to prepare for the data onslaught of the Industrial Internet Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

15 The Distrix Solution Unlocking the Power of the Industrial Internet with Software Defined Networking Distrix provides an ideal approach to the Industrial Internet by integrating enterprise and operational networks into one common and controlled platform using existing assets for an in-place solution. The Distrix solution is easily staged for controlled deployments, easily integrated across a wide variety of system types, and works within a small footprint for seamless compatibility and power while increasing the utilization, resiliency and security of the entire system. Widespread Advantages By segregating the data, control, and management planes while deriving an autonomous monitoring stream, Distrix networks provide flexibility, performance, and control. Traditional networks integrate data with its destination and other meta-data in a common stream impeding the ability to control packets at anything other than the application layer. Distrix has a better way. The Distrix approach segregates information from its description and management, providing realtime contextualized prioritization and much finer embedded control. By separating the data plane from the control and management planes, embedded logic is defined from a centrally-managed service and propagated across the network. Nodes are then empowered to determine the best path for packet forwarding based on a contextualized view of the state of the network and available resources. Even end-point destinations can be controlled contextually based on changing conditions. This provides performance, utilization and overall insight. An embedded controller provides algorithms and instructions to each routing device and overall insight is further enhanced with a separate derived data stream monitoring the state of the network itself. Control can be automated, tweaked, and optimized with data being routed by port, service type or interface. In some cases the lowest latency connection will be required for critical information, whereas in others, less time sensitive data streams may use under-utilized paths. In all cases the most accurate and timely network state is used to make decisions. 15

16 Virtualizing the Network for More Efficient Services Distrix networks provide the agility needed for rapid integration and response to changing business needs. Once a traditional hardware-controlled network has been deployed, it can be very challenging to remain agile and respond to changing business needs. Network engineers invariably struggle with layering new functionality onto existing systems and changing the manner with which data is processed for improved performance. Multiple systems need to be engaged, service rules rationalized, and entire systems tested for unforeseen effects, often within poorly documented hybrid environments. In some cases this may completely preclude making necessary changes when unforeseen business needs arise. Distrix provides a sustainable and adaptable approach. Network design that is implemented will continue to function in the way it was intended, and layering additional services does not affect core functionality. Adding virtualized services on common hardware (Service Chaining) brings this ability to the next level by integrating required network services as they are needed on standard hardware rather than relying on dedicated customer hardware platforms that require direct settings and adjustments, typically individually. This type of Network Function Virtualization enhances efficiency and helps future proof the network by assuring that hardware is versatile but not dedicated. Network designs and business solutions can be realized with minimal effort by removing network functions from hardware and virtualizing routing and security. While traditional networks are often the slowest part of Industrial Internet implementations due to their complexity, Distrix networks make design and configuration easier and much faster to deploy. Distrix solutions also often means less hardware is required overall. If certain types of data need a new security process, Distrix can identify the data at the edge and send it through an entirely new processing engine. If a change occurs in the optimal routing for data, routers do not need to be reprogrammed directly a central change manages the entire network dynamically Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

17 Improved Security Distrix provides an improved overall security posture with an easily controlled, managed, and monitored system. Distrix is built to enhance visibility across all enterprise and operational networks, helping operators and embedded systems monitor for threats and respond to them in real time. By bringing various systems into a common security perimeter, more effective security policies can be integrated, and the attack surface is minimized. Data insight also improves defense. The ability to detect anomalies increases with highly contextualized data at hand. Various systems can triangulate their respective data when possible attacks are detected, improving overall defense accuracy, reducing time to response, and protecting against costly and disruptive false positive events. Distrix also provides the ability to elaborate on the entire multi-perimeter security model across the enterprise by not only including systems and sub-systems, but also applications. User permissions and controls have the finest-tuned level of detail possible, and the ability to change those rules is centrally managed, from high level applications all the way to the port level. Enhanced Reliability Distrix networks embed fail over and packet inspection for built-in continual reliability Reliability can pose extreme design challenges in enterprise networks alone, and integrating operational networks into a common system can introduce entirely new needs and concerns with production equipment systems being exposed to potential issues. Typically, complex routing and physical connections are required to ensure that networks remain functioning even during unexpected conditions. Downtime in a network in today s modern industry can mean millions of dollars of lost productivity, and investment in heavily redundant networks may be additionally difficult. Distrix provides a much more rational approach to network stability and reliability with softwareconfigured redundant links that can be applied to networks that have originally be designed for different purposes. Quality of Service can be applied to all data at the edge of the network, where it originated and service flows can be identified and forwarded through the network with higher priority than other traffic. With continuity centrally managed, even a link breaking runs no risk of congestion or misconfiguration. The self-healing nature of the network helps assure that the network path will go around the outage. 17

18 Embedded Intelligence From the Core to the Edge Distrix networks centralize analysis where appropriate, but embed logic and control at the edge where it is needed. One limitation of typical Software Defined Network implementations is persistent centralized control of the network. Control messages are often routed back to the management plane in order to change data flow behavior, imposing a startup penalty on the overall performance of the system. Distrix pushes the policies and network knowledge to the edge nodes, where they are actioned, enabling them to function without delay or to even operate independently in the event of communication disruptions or failures. Extending on this feature, Distrix further enhances information at the edge by tagging meta-data to data that has no contextual information in its envelope, and deriving a separate non-interfering data stream from it. This enables the network to utilize existing data and augment big data analysis without having to update all sensors in a typical Industrial Internet implementation. The newly created derived data stream can add context, such as date or time to an existing data stream, or it can augment data with other sensor information by combining multiple sensor streams and sending them back as consolidated or computed values on a separate virtual channel Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

19 Distrix solutions for targeted industrial clients Oil And Gas Manufacturing Integrating remote dispersed assets in automated environments Driving towards Industry 4.0 Ever-growing reliance on remote sensors in increasingly hostile and remote environments within challenging economic contexts means that insight needs to be clearer and response times shorter than ever before. Many different technologies in the field have to be reliable and remotely control or managed through a variety of owned and leased systems. Distrix networks provide increased resilience, utilization, and distributed intelligence for reduced downtime, greater certainty, and increased on-site safety with dispersed heterogeneous networks supporting complex operations involving large numbers of specialized sub-contractors. Companies are building connections to their back office for suppliers and customers. Industry 4.0 will demand secure and selective linkages to Operational Systems as well for even greater visibility, context and insight across the entire value chain. Existing manufacturing facilities have infrastructure that was designed for plant automation, and was not designed for back office integration. Distrix provides much greater visibility into Manufacturing Execution Systems (MEPs) and Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) through advanced enterprise integration, helping support modern business models for greater value chain integration and efficiency. Photos: Siyuwj, Divulgação Petrobras, [CC BY 3.0 br], via Wikimedia Commons 19

20 Distrix Connect Distrix Smart Data Distrix Smart Management Scalable access to heterogeneous systems for high availability and intelligent network performance The Distrix suite of products provides the ideal integration platform for enterprise and control systems. Distrix utilizes Application Specific Software Defined Networking (AS-SDN), to free the network from dedicated hardware constraints and the overhead associated with a host of centrally-managed embedded services. Distrix Provides an integrated solution on in-place hardware for complete network insight and control The Distrix solution provides an easily deployed means to leverage the advantages of the Industrial Internet - with improved utilization, enhanced insight, and increased system performance. Distrix integrates heterogeneous systems with a unique and the embedded approach that provides scalability needed for widely dispersed systems by embedding situational intelligence in the network itself with cross-stream insight. Distrix manages all common networking technologies such as TCP, UDP, or common Serial protocols by abstracting device data from the underlying transport method with AS-SDN, and an open API integrates custom communication protocols for flexibility and compatibility. Distrix Tunnels create private communication channels among endpoints to send and receive device data. The tunnels connect to a physical interface, a protocol specific port, or an application socket to proxy data and present it as if it originated locally, or to provide protocol or data translation services in real-time between end-points. This enables Distrix nodes to act as data channel managers, providing context to endpoint or aggregation points, for accumulation and targeted response. With all connections under one virtual network, performance and responsiveness are increased significantly, as well as the potential for insight and control within the network itself. Computational, network, and operational systems are utilized efficiently and able to accommodate adjustments as the network grows or business needs change Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

21 Distrix Connect Distrix Connect software provides simple, secure and scalable access to distributed systems with the creation of high-availability optimized networks. Distrix Connect enables multiple, geographically diverse, mixed protocol sensor-driven networks via a scalable, secure, cost-effective network that backhauls high-value traffic to one or more data mining and operations centers utilizing existing network assets in-place. Maximized Performance Distrix Connect abstracts the control and management planes from the data plane by creating a Software Defined Infrastructure. Software Defined Infrastructure (SDI) Links are compatible with common connection technologies and are individually tuneable to maximize performance and allow for operational networks to enter into a common Industrial Internet framework as equal players. Increased Security A Software Defined Infrastructure simplifies connectivity through networks secured with a tiered, multi-perimeter infrastructure. This makes management easier and the entire system upgradeable with the ability to embed additional services. It also offers significant security benefits by allowing network administrators to reduce the number of open ports between networks, greatly reducing the network attack footprint. Added Resiliency With Distrix Connect, distributed devices interact to create connection redundancy by leveraging all available infrastructure, so one sub-network can leverage another regardless of application when needed. The emergent reinforced backhaul forms specific focal points in remote networks, providing resiliency for both IT and OT data streams, even with protocols that do not ordinarily offer this level of redundancy. Client side data streams are prioritized using advanced QoS, and a network mesh topology can be formed between nodes, even on different networks, to ensure self-healing, survivability, and a much more robust network overall that utilizes assets fully and responds to changing conditions automatically. Redundancy from networks linked with an agnostic Name Defined Network environment provides fail-over, utilization, and performance. Distrix Connect routes traffic automatically either out of the box or with defined rules, increasing utilization across networks. QoS can be applied in sophisticated ways to identify network traffic priority by device, application, port, or a combination thereof. 21

22 Distrix Smart Data Distrix Smart Data applies intelligence to data in motion Distrix Smart Data is built for Big Data challenges. With tens of thousands of nodes transmitting millions of data points hourly in industrial settings, it is paramount to find critical information, act on it locally where possible, and transmit it to the datacenter when necessary. By acting on the difference between local and central needs, and taking the appropriate actions at the right times, network bandwidth requirements and datacenter analytical requirements are both reduced, response time is improved, and decisions are made with optimal efficiency. Full Context Distrix Smart Data streams augment raw data with contextualized metadata at the device interface in a separate data stream. Metadata is accurate to the local system, and independent of the devices being connected. By applying metadata to a new analytical data stream, the integrity of the application data stream between the sensor and the operational system is retained, while the capability of the network is enriched. Centralized Metadata Further advantages are provided by Distrix Smart Data Enhanced Stream Tapping which allows for operational data streams to remain intact between the sensor and the local system for direct ingestion, while metadata assignment can be applied only to the analytical data being sent to the central systems. With Distrix Smart Data, any data stream can be contextually analyzed and filtered to extract contextually important high value data, and by connecting remote system devices together at the edge, greater intelligence can be applied to the value of data collected. Embedded Business Logic The Distrix Policy Engine integrates with local processes, and thereby provides the ability to intelligently report sensor data. Business rules can be pushed to the device edge and implemented by the Distrix node either directly or through an integration with local systems. Meta data can be added to existing data streams to enhance information New information can be stored and analyzed without disrupting primary data flow Policies are defined at the edge rather than centrally managed Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved

23 Distrix Smart Management Distrix Smart Management provides the user, data, and networking tools to unlock the full power of an integrated Industrial Internet network. Integrated enterprise and operational networks need to be robust and dynamic to accommodate increasing complexity in their relationships, services, applications, and user types. The Distrix Smart Management platform provides the power to establish optimal network conditions, fine-tune existing system interactions, or impose new control methods between systems in a manner that responds to changing needs and conditions. Integrated Control Distrix Smart Management implements a sophisticated management plane that is completely separate from control and data, to allow for accurate network state insight and management in real-time either manually or through automated processes. Similarly, user control can be defined by system or application and grouped as needed for a universal approach across the entire system. Dynamic Optimization When paired with advanced network monitoring and in flight data context, network properties can be modified to optimize performance as conditions change, either with automatic tuning based on typical network behaviors or explicit operator controlled configuration parameters when infrastructures, topologies, and business rules demand a more customized approach. Instantaneous Insight With the ability to manage the entire network through a single or redundant access point, administrators have a complete view of the status and configuration of all relevant endpoints, to quickly identify outliers and potential points of security compromise. Distrix Smart Management also provides a rich set of performance metrics and actions for the entire network all the way to detailed application, connection, tunnel, and link performance reporting, alerts, and control. This allows for policy and configuration updates with or without operator intervention, for the most responsive and efficient network possible. Discrete or universal connection management provides responsive network control. Dynamic network tuning and routing capability adjusts paths and destinations in response to changing conditions as needed. Distrix Tunnels can be created and modified for specific application needs. 23

24 About Distrix Distrix unlocks the benefits of advanced, integrated enterprise and operational systems to increase security, competitiveness and asset utilization while reducing initial and ongoing costs and risks. Distrix is a secure, resilient and versatile Software Defined Infrastructure which interfaces with operational networks and overlays existing information networks, dramatically reducing the effort and cost of deployment and integration through simple ease-of-use and by retaining infrastructure investments already in place. With a remarkably small footprint, Distrix networks centralize analysis where appropriate and embed logic and control at the edge where it is needed. Distrix currently delivers the enabling technology to give industrial enterprises a head start in the Industrial Internet revolution. To contact our offices: 1880 West First Ave, Suite 200 Vancouver, BC V6J 1G5 Canada info@distrix.com Distrix Networks Ltd. All Right Reserved