Baetyl—an LF Edge project that extends cloud computing, data and service seamlessly to edge devices— has released v2.4.3 release. With the efforts of many active contributors, new functions have been added, and some existing functions have been continuously optimized since the previous v2.3.0 release. These new features continue to follow the cloud-native philosophy and build an open, secure, scalable, and controllable intelligent edge computing platform.
Compared to the previous Baetyl v2.3.0 releases, the new features and optimizations in v2.4.3 include:
- Device management functionality has been refactored with the addition of a device template interface, support for calculating OT data collection values, support for IEC-104 protocol, updated OPC-UA and Modbus drivers, and updated driver-node binding logic;
- Support for Windows platform has been added with the ability to generate Windows – platform images for the Baetyl edge main module;
- Remote invocation has been implemented, allowing for remote access to specified edge services with results returned from the cloud;
- New container mode with eKuiper as an optional system application;
- New baetyl-rule module supports HTTP Target;
- Adaptation to the highest K3s 1.24.4 version;
- Fix workload type creation failure bug;
These new features are available and now you can view the release note here. Other features can be further explored by the developers, and Baetyl will continue to improve and optimize its functionality.
Integration with eKuiper
Baetyl uses eKuiper as a system optional application on the edge-side for stream processing and data analytics. The collaboration and integration with eKuiper increase the linkage between LF Edge projects and promote innovation. Platform and version adaptation enables Baetyl to run on more devices. The optimization of device management and new driver support prepare for the access of more devices with different protocols. From the point of eKuiper, this means you can deploy eKuiper more quickly and conveniently.
In the new version, the integration between Baetyl and eKuiper makes the following changes, including:
- set mqtt client as Baetyl broker;
- mount eKuiper’s data file to the host to ensure no configuration loss;
- add k8s service to the eKuiper application to enable calling eKuiper’s open API from the host as well as from within the cluster to enable edge configuration changes;
- built-in eKuiper as an optional application in the Baetyl framework, so that eKuiper can be installed directly through Baetyl, eliminating the need for separate installation;
After the integration, the Baetyl framework enhances the ability of edge message processing, while users can use Baetyl’s ability to use eKuiper more easily and quickly.
What’s next?
For future releases, the project is working on strengthening the management of non-intelligent devices at the edge, including providing
- more comprehensive management functions for device models, devices, and drivers on the cloud management platform,
- a software gateway management module on the edge to support the ability of devices to connect through various industrial drivers,
- a unified northbound connection protocol blink for access implementation.
The Baetyl project is also further expanding and optimizing the implementation of cloud storage at the underlying level, providing support for database storage outside of k8s crds. It’ll also enhance the integration with K8s cloud-native, providing more edge cloud-native capabilities for access, such as providing the ability to view edge description information, and so on.
