Industrial use cases
fluxrig is a distributed runtime for the convergence of Operational Technology (OT) and institutional IT infrastructure. It functions as an Industrial DataOps Runtime. It provides a memory-safe execution layer for protocol normalization, heterogeneous data aggregation, and deterministic logic at the factory edge.
By composing specialized Gears, industrial engineers can transform what the shop floor already publishes into semantic, cloud-ready events without modifying mission-critical control hardware. Reading PLC registers directly needs the Modbus and RS-485 gears, which are on the roadmap. Today a Rack sits behind whatever already speaks TCP or HTTP.
The Unified Namespace (UNS) strategy
fluxrig is a native implementation of the Unified Namespace architectural pattern. The platform uses the Mixer as the central source of truth for the entity registry and the secure mTLS transport. This enables a single, contextualized hierarchy for all industrial data. This bridges the gap between the shop floor (OT) and the boardroom (IT).
TIP
This strategy is central to modern Industrial DataOps. For more context on the terminology and industry alignment, see the Foundation Components guide.
Operational patterns
Unlike monolithic IIoT gateways, fluxrig provides a flexible spectrum of operational patterns for industrial automation.
Passive data acquisition (SPAN)
For legacy environments where you must not touch the PLC cycle, fluxrig operates as a passive observer.
- Zero impact: Capturing OT traffic from a switch mirror port allows full telemetry acquisition with absolute isolation from the industrial physical process.
- Shadow verification: Run a digital twin in parallel with legacy SCADA systems to validate new logic before a production cutover.
Active normalization and control
In this pattern, fluxrig acts as an inline gateway. It polls OT data and applies real-time logic before transmission to the central ecosystem.
- Protocol aggregation: Translate what the fieldbus gateway already publishes into semantic
fluxMsgevents via the Bento Gear. Reading Modbus or Profinet registers directly needs the[Roadmap]Modbus gear. Today a Rack sits behind whatever terminates them. - Autonomous edge filtering: Execute high-frequency thresholding and filtering locally. The setup transmits only relevant "Critical Events" (e.g., Pressure Variance > 5%). This reduces bandwidth and cloud ingestion costs.
Visualization: the industrial verification rig
Step-by-step processing
- Data aggregation (1-2): Merge disparate data from PLCs and mesh sensors into a unified internal bus.
- Data normalization (3): Normalize data into the standard
fluxMsgformat. Attach sovereign metadata (trace_id, machine_id). - Audit integrity (4): The Correlator Gear
[Roadmap]logs every industrial event to the local immutable archive before external transmission. - Anomaly detection (5): Divert real-time deviations to the SRE alerting tier for immediate operational response.
Sovereign security: inbound zero
Industrial environments require absolute isolation. fluxrig enforces a strict Inbound Zero policy via secure mTLS tunnels:
- Outbound initiation: The localized Rack initiates the connection to the Central Mixer. The firewall opens no inbound ports.
- Surface attack elimination: By maintaining a closed-firewall profile, the factory floor remains invisible to public internet scanning and lateral movement attacks.
CAUTION
Industrial warning: execution latency
Running complex logic on resource-constrained distributed nodes can introduce execution latency.
- Impact: High CPU contention may delay high-frequency poller signals (e.g., sub-10ms RTU acquisition).
- Recommendation: Prioritize the Stable Bento Gear for data acquisition. Maintain lean logic profiles to ensure deterministic data acquisition.
Implementation reference
| Gear | Function | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bento | Universal Protocol Bridge | Stable (Modbus, MQTT and SMTP need a custom build. See the gear reference) |
| io_modbus | Native TCP/RTU High-Speed Poller | Planned |
| network_sniffer | Passive OT Traffic Capture | Planned |
| Wasm Logic | Custom Edge Filtering & Autonomy | Stable |