Abstract This paper analyzes the timing performance of a persistent storage designed for distributed container-based architectures in industrial control applications. The timing performance analysis is conducted using an in-house simulator, which mirrors our testbed specifications. The storage ensures data availability and consistency even in presence of faults. The analysis considers four aspects: 1. placement strategy, 2. design options, 3. data size, and 4. evaluation under faulty conditions. Experimental results considering the timing constraints in industrial applications indicate that the storage solution can meet critical deadlines, particularly under specific failure patterns. Comparison results also reveal that, while the method may underperform current centralized solutions in fault-free conditions, it outperforms the centralized solutions in failure scenario. Moreover, the used evaluation method is applicable for assessing other container-based critical applications with timing constraints that require persistent storage.

In this paper, we analyze the scalability and performance of a persistent, fault-tolerant storage approach that provides data availability and consistency in a distributed container-based architecture with intended use in industrial control applications. We use simulation to evaluate the performance of this storage system in terms of scalability and failures. As the industrial applications considered have timing constraints, the simulation results show that for certain failure patterns, it is possible to determine whether the storage solution can meet critical deadlines. The presented approach is applicable for evaluating timing constraints also of other container-based critical applications that require persistent storage.

In our previous work we proposed a fault-tolerant persistent storage for container-based fog architecture. We leveraged the use of containerization to provide storage as a containerized application working along with other containers. As a fault-tolerance mechanism we introduced a replicated data structure and to solve consistency issue between the replicas distributed in the cluster of nodes, we used the RAFT consensus protocol. In this paper, we verify our proposed solution using the UPPAAL model checker. We explain how our solution is modeled in UPPAAL and present a formal verification of key properties related to persistent storage and data consistency between nodes.

Low latency and on demand resource availability enable fog computing to host industrial applications in a cloud like manner. One industrial domain which stands to benefit from the advantages of fog computing is robotics. However, the challenges in developing and implementing a fog-based robotic system are manifold. To illustrate this, in this paper we discuss a system involving robots and robot cells at a factory level, and then highlight the main building blocks necessary for achieving such functionality in a fog-based system. Further, we elaborate on the challenges in implementing such an architecture, with emphasis on resource virtualization, memory interference management, real-time communication and the system scalability, dependability and safety. We then discuss the challenges from a system perspective where all these aspects are interrelated.

Fog computing has been recently introduced to bridge the gap between cloud resources and the network edge. Fog enables low latency and location awareness, which is considered instrumental for the realization of IoT, but also faces reliability and dependability issues due to node mobility and resource constraints. This paper focuses on the latter, and surveys the state of the art concerning dependability and fog computing, by means of a systematic literature review. Our findings show the growing interest in the topic but the relative immaturity of the technology, without any leading research group. Two problems have attracted special interest: guaranteeing reliable data storage/collection in systems with unreliable and untrusted nodes, and guaranteeing efficient task allocation in the presence of varying computing load. Redundancy-based techniques, both static and dynamic, dominate the architectures of such systems. Reliability, availability and QoS are the most important dependability requirements for fog, whereas aspects such as safety and security, and their important interplay, have not been investigated in depth.

Industry 4.0 is the German vision for the future of manufacturing, where smart factories use information and communication technologies to digitise their processes to achieve improved quality, lower costs, and increased efficiency. It is likely to bring a massive change to the way control systems function today. Future distributed control systems are expected to have an increased connectivity to the Internet, in order to capitalize on new offers and research findings related to digitalization, such as cloud, big data, and machine learning. A key technology in the realization of distributed control systems is middleware, which is usually described as a reusable software layer between operating system and distributed applications. Various middleware technologies have been proposed to facilitate communication in industrial control systems and hide the heterogeneity amongst the subsystems, such as OPC UA, DDS, and RT-CORBA. These technologies can significantly simplify the system design and integration of devices despite their heterogeneity. However, each of these technologies has its own characteristics that may work better for particular applications. Selection of the best middleware for a specific application is a critical issue for system designers. In this paper, we conduct a survey on available standard middleware technologies, including OPC UA, DDS, and RT-CORBA, and show new trends for different industrial domains.