Bring all your workloads to the edge with AKS Edge Essentials. Now Generally Available!
Announcing the General Availability (GA) of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Edge Essentials! AKS Edge Essentials has been developed as a managed Kubernetes for the operational edge on small-footprint devices to orchestrated workloads and drive business optimization.Powering the next generation of Digital Transformation with Windows IoT and Azure Kubernetes Service
As edge computing becomes mainstream and a key strategy for enterprises to enhance their operations digitally, they require a reliable and comprehensive technology platform to fuel their ambitious goals. This platform needs to support a heterogenous device and cloud environment which enables running, deploying, and managing cloud-native applications. Microsoft is at the forefront of understanding evolving customer needs in this space and is providing solutions like Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Edge Essentials to run modern containerized applications on embedded devices running Windows operating systems. This blog explores the latest updates for these products and how they provide a rich platform for customers and partners to build intelligent, secure, cloud-native edge solutions with enterprise-grade security, reliability, and manageability.Enable an Industrial Dataspace on Azure
What is an Industrial Dataspace? An industrial dataspace is an environment designed to enable the secure and efficient exchange of data between different organizations within an industrial ecosystem. Developed by the International Data Spaces Association, it focuses on key principles such as data sovereignty, interoperability, and collaboration. These principles are crucial in the context of Industry 4.0 where interconnected systems and data-driven decision-making optimize industrial processes and create resilient supply chains. A tutorial with step-by-step instructions on how to enable an industrial dataspace on Azure is available here. Use Case: Providing a Carbon Footprint for Produced Products One of the most popular use cases for industrial dataspaces is providing the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF), an increasingly important requirement in customers' buying decisions. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is a common method for calculating the PCF, splitting the task into scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3 emissions. This example solution focuses on calculating scope 2 emissions from simulated production lines using energy consumption data to determine the carbon footprint for each product. Accessing the Reference Implementation The Product Carbon Footprint reference implementation can be accessed here and deployed to Azure with a single click. During the installation workflow, all the required components are deployed to Azure. This reference implementation supports data modelling with IEC standard Open Platform Communication Unified Architecture (OPC UA), aligned with the OPC Foundation Cloud Initiative. It also uses the IEC standard Asset Administration Shell (AAS) to provide product semantics, creating a Product Carbon Footprint AAS for simulated products and storing it in an AAS Repository. Finally, the implementation uses the IEC/ISO standard Eclipse Dataspace Components (EDC) to establish the trust relationship between the manufacturer and the customer, enabling the actual PCF data transfer via an OpenAPI-compatible REST interface. Conclusion Enabling an industrial dataspace on Azure can help manufacturers meet regulatory requirements, optimize industrial processes, and improve customer engagement by leveraging modern cloud technologies and standards to provide a secure and efficient data exchange environment, ultimately driving transparency and sustainability in the manufacturing industry.
