Chapter 4: Examples and Final Words
You might still be skeptical, and I know that. That was a large amount of information, pressed into a small article. Our goal was not to oversell a dream, but to provide you with a clear, factual understanding of why I believe the Unified Namespace is a game-changer in IT/OT convergence.
Throughout the article, I unpacked how the Unified Namespace seamlessly integrates with existing OT systems, explored its origins and Walker Reynolds' influential yet vague definition, and examined its IT foundations. I hope that by now, you've grasped the core reasons behind our strong belief in the Unified Namespace's potential.
To further get a better a proper grasp at the concept of Unified Namespace, there are a couple of steps that you can take:
- Go practical (recommended). Nothing beats trying it out on your own, either with simulated data, or directly with real data from your production.
- The quickest way to get some hands-on practice is by leveraging the United Manufacturing Hub. I personally believe that it is one of the best ways, but because I am the CTO of the company behind it, I might not be entirely neutral here. A more neutral alternative can be found further below.
You could start by creating a free account on our Management Console, enable demo mode in your account settings, and explore it (see also video above). If you have a VM or some hardware lying around, you could even install the United Manufacturing Hub and either work with the simulated PLCs that are included with it, or you can directly connect your actual factory setup and utilize the comprehensive tools that you either already have or that are included in the UMH.
By the way: You can use the UMH for free, and only need to pay for compliance features (e.g., SSO, support, guaranteed lifecycle, etc.) - The alternative would be setting up the MQTT message broker mosquitto into your Docker or Linux environment together with Node-RED and MQTT Explorer. It will take more time and it will be not the best user journey, but I also want to show that it is not dependent on any single vendor in the space (including us).
- The quickest way to get some hands-on practice is by leveraging the United Manufacturing Hub. I personally believe that it is one of the best ways, but because I am the CTO of the company behind it, I might not be entirely neutral here. A more neutral alternative can be found further below.
- Stay theoretical. We know that in larger enterprises doing something practically can be time-consuming. If you want to prepare yourself in talking with your manager, colleagues, or just simply want to throw in the concept of Unified Namespace into your internal discussions, you can leverage the following learning materials:
- You could look at the Architecture and see how we setup the United Manufacturing Hub and how and why we built it the way it is built
- Take a look at our other blog articles, and see if something piques your mind. We regularly write about different topics in the field.
- You could look at the Architecture and see how we setup the United Manufacturing Hub and how and why we built it the way it is built
- Contact us, whenever you are ready :) We are happy to answer your questions in our Discord Channel or on LinkedIn. To engage commercially, take a look at our website: www.umh.app
Stay tuned for our next article about data modeling in UNS-based architectures. My current thoughts are a bit unorganized, but you can preview them here: Data Archetypes in Manufacturing.
Appendix 1: Acknowledgements
A special thank you goes out to the people that provided me with feedback during the article creation:
- Jon Forbord
- Denis Gontcharov
- Daniel Helmersson
- Ricardo Maestas
- Some people that want to remain anonymously
And of course our customers and community members!