HULFT meets the requirements of IoT environments

In this column, Akimichi, a technology writer with extensive knowledge of internet infrastructure, reports from his unique perspective on the benefits of using HULFT, which supports companies' data integration platform, and the technologies that support safety and security. For those who only know the name HULFT, he provides an easy-to-understand overview of the basic functions and file transfer.

»HULFT8 product introduction page

Part 9: HULFT meets the requirements of IoT environments

HULFT IoT Ver.2.0 was released in July.
The new version adds a new function called "EdgeStreaming" that enables "non-programming development" of a series of edge computing data integration processes that distribute the load of factory IoT systems and reduce network traffic.
This reduces the engineering costs associated with OT (operational technology) and IT (information technology) collaboration, and supports the adoption of IoT in factories.

HULFT IoT

The term Internet of Things was coined in 1999 to convey the concept of RFID.

»Reference: RFID JOURNAL

I was a student at the time, and I remember hearing the term IoT being used in conversations about RFID and sensors. Over time, the term IoT has come to have a broader meaning than it originally had, and is now used in a variety of different fields.
Although the scope of the term IoT has expanded compared to the past, there are still many cases where devices must meet certain conditions, such as small size, low memory consumption, and unexpected power outages.

HULFT IoT is software that enables the use of the advanced file transfer, compression, job execution, and other functions realized by HULFT in IoT sites. A common environment in which HULFT IoT is used is where devices are placed in unmanned remote locations and monitored and controlled remotely.
Furthermore, for security reasons, there may be restrictions on initiating communication from outside the network where IoT devices are located.
It is technically possible to allow communication from the outside to the inside by opening ports on the firewall or NAT router at the entrance and exit of the network where IoT devices are located, but this type of operation is often not preferred as it makes it more difficult to launch attacks from the outside.
To accommodate such environments, HULFT IoT is designed for pull-type communication from the agent to the manager.

As of 2019, HULFT IoT is primarily used for line monitoring in factories and remote monitoring of equipment.
In particular, it is often used to collect various logs from images and sensors via the Internet from the company's equipment delivered to remote locations, and to monitor equipment operation, perform maintenance, and perform predictive maintenance.
In some cases, remote monitoring using images and log data has reduced the round-trip travel costs of maintenance personnel who previously had to visit the delivery site to investigate the cause and then return to make repairs whenever an issue arose.

Features of HULFT IoT

HULFT IoT maintains the reliable file transfer that has been a strength of HULFT to date, while undergoing various extensions and adjustments to accommodate the environments required for IoT.
The major differences between HULFT IoT and conventional HULFT are as follows:

• Agents for IoT devices and a manager that manages the agents
• Various convenient functions for IoT devices
• Reduced program size
• Automatic recovery
• Pricing Structure
• Secure Transfer

Compared to the previous HULFT, it is specialized for IoT and has narrowed down its uses and configurations in advance. Another major feature is the design that allows the manager to manage multiple agents collectively.

Below, we will introduce the characteristics of each.

Agents for IoT devices and a manager that manages the agents

HULFT IoT consists of two modules: a manager and an agent.
The agent is placed in the IoT device, and the manager is placed in the application server.
In addition, the manager includes the conventional HULFT in the transfer section.

The main initial settings on the agent side are only information about the manager and information required for authentication.
When the agent starts up, it queries the manager for configuration information and obtains the information from the manager.

This mechanism makes it easier for managers to centrally manage agents running alongside a large number of IoT devices.

Various convenient functions for IoT devices

The agent is equipped with a variety of convenient functions that make HULFT IoT a reality.

In factories where HULFT IoT is used, the power supply may suddenly be cut off along with the breaker.
If the power suddenly goes out while a file is being written, the associated file may become corrupted.
If configuration files become corrupted, it may be difficult to automatically restore them, so HULFT IoT stores configuration files other than the initial settings in memory.
With the exception of the initial configuration, which contains information related to the manager, the agent retrieves the configuration from the manager and keeps it in memory.

Other features include:

• Ability to quickly delete unnecessary files once file transfer is complete
• Ability to resend when network-related failures occur
• Remote software update of agents from the manager
• File send function for multiple agents

In addition, just like the previous version of HULFT, it also allows for flexible job execution and script execution.

Automatic recovery

In cases where many small IoT devices are controlled together or operated in remote locations, even if some kind of failure occurs, it may be desirable to avoid manual recovery as much as possible.
For such environments, HULFT IoT has a mechanism for automatic recovery.
With HULFT IoT, the two agent processes monitor each other, allowing automatic recovery even if one of the processes terminates abnormally.

Reduced program size

IoT devices are often small, so they require lightweight programs.
The agent side of HULFT IoT is less than one-tenth the program size of the conventional HULFT.

These weight reductions have been achieved by eliminating mainframe functions that are highly unlikely to be used in IoT.

Secure Transfer

As a security feature of HULFT IoT, communication can be performed using HULFT encryption, just like the conventional HULFT.
In addition, when a file send, we check the consistency of the file size and the number of records to ensure that the transfer was successful.

Agent authentication is also a major feature of HULFT IoT.
When initially configuring the agent, you set up the authentication information on the agent to perform initial configuration with the manager.
Using this initial setting information, when the agent first communicates with the manager, an agent ID is automatically generated and saved on the agent side.
Agents may be running behind a NAT router, and when observed from the manager, multiple agents may appear to be running on the same IP address.
To adapt to such environments, HULFT IoT performs authentication including agent ID.

You can also use a whitelist to limit the agents that can connect.
By setting up a whitelist, you can specify the IP addresses of agents that are allowed to connect.

Starting with HULFT IoT Ver.1.5.0, it is now possible to encrypt communication paths using the "HULFT over TLS" function, which uses the TLS protocol. By making TLS, a standard encryption protocol, available, it is now possible to limit externally exposed ports to HTTPS ports.
It is also now possible to transfer data via a Web Proxy.

Pricing Structure

Previously, HULFT was sold as individual software.
HULFT IoT is free for the agent side that connects with sensors, etc., and the pricing structure for the manager side depends on the number of agent connections and the duration.

This pricing structure is also a feature of HULFT IoT, which is equipped with functions for continuous monitoring and operation.

How agents and managers work

Now let's take a closer look at how agents and managers work.

HULFT IoT is not a push model from the manager to the agent, but a pull model from the agent to the manager.
This is because factory equipment is often installed behind NAT or a firewall, and in many environments it is better to make a TCP connection from the agent to the manager.

The agent polls the manager.
The interval at which the agent polls can be configured on the manager side.

Agent settings are configured from the manager's settings screen.
The manager settings screen can be opened from a browser.
The settings for the manager are transmitted to the agent when the agent accesses the manager.

The agent operates according to the settings configured on the manager side and send files to HULFT contained in the manager.
You can also distribute files uploaded to a manager to multiple agents.

Agent monitoring and file send

The HULFT IoT agent periodically monitors the status of the target files according to the transfer settings.
Files are updated based on information from the device, and files that meet the transfer conditions are detected and send to HULFT.
This process of detecting and transferring a file is called trigger firing.

You can specify the file to be monitored by specifying the file path or by using wildcards.
There are two ways to specify forwarding conditions.
"Size" transfers files when they reach a certain size, and "Timestamp" transfers files when a certain period of time has passed since the file was last updated.

If multiple files are detected, you can specify the transfer order, such as sending the oldest file first.

File distribution function

Next, we will introduce the file distribution function.
This function allows you to distribute any file on the application server where the manager runs to IoT devices.

By distributing files from the manager to agents all at once, you can efficiently update the firmware of a large number of IoT devices.

When performing a firmware update, the file send function and job execution function are combined.
This can be achieved by configuring the firmware update as a normal job in the reception settings.

lastly

HULFT IoT is a specialized product that meets the requirements of IoT while retaining the convenience of the conventional HULFT.
At the time of writing, there are many factory-related cases, so the functions for that purpose are extensive, but as the number of fields in which it is used increases in the future, it is likely that new functions will be added and new products will be created.
I have been researching and writing articles about various HULFT products, but each product continues to change in response to customer needs.
We expect HULFT IoT to continue to grow as it meets future customer needs.

Akimichi asked someone at HULFT. Column list

The person who wrote the article

Mr. Akimichi Ogawa

A blogger who runs "Geek Page."
He received his PhD from the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University. After working on the development of communication technology for home networks at Sony Corporation, he left Sony in 2007 and is currently active as a blogger.
He has written many books, including "Akamai: The Unknown Internet Giant." He won the Alpha Blogger Award in 2011.

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