Dear <<&firstname>>,

Thank you for your interest in Hilscher’s “Industrial Raspberry Pi” products.
By leveraging the Raspberry Pi’s open-source ecosystem, these devices serve a rich array of application solutions, from HMI and PLC to edge processor and cloud gateway.

Hilscher offers two broad families of Industrial Pi gateways. Both products are industrialized versions of the popular Raspberry Pi computer. They are housed in DIN rail-mountable metal enclosures with a thermally stable processor design for demanding environmental conditions. The products are complaint to IEC 62443 for Industrial Cybersecurity.

The first product line is the “Connect Edge Gateway”, a Raspberry Pi compatible architecture with a built-in industrial Ethernet controller, ideal for IoT and Industry 4.0 automation projects. As part of Hilscher’s netIOT Edge Gateway family, Connect Gateways include Hilscher’s powerful Edge Server software. Edge Server facilitates the secure field-to-cloud data transfer required for industrial IoT applications. Connect Gateway users can access native cloud connectors to popular cloud platforms, as well as native Node-RED, OPC UA, and diagnostics software.

The second Industrial Pi gateway product line, called the “netPI”, is for users who are familiar with the Raspberry Pi ecosystem and are looking for a cost-effective industrialized platform to run Docker-hosted application software. Read on for more about each of these devices (and how to choose which is best for you). A summary can be found in the Gateway Comparison Chart.

Hilscher’s Connect Gateway is a Raspberry Pi computer that’s been engineered for industrial use with a rugged enclosure and hardened circuit board design. It includes a built-in industrial network controller, as well as security enhancements, support for Docker containers, REST API, a suite of diagnostics software and cloud platform support for the major cloud providers:
  • Alibaba
  • Amazon
  • Google
  • IBM
  • Microsoft
  • SAP
  • Siemens

Connect Gateways include native Node-RED and native OPC UA (Server and Client) as well as Hilscher’s powerful “Edge Server” software. With Edge Server, Connect Gateway users can securely move data between OT and IT applications and access low-level network diagnostics on EtherNet/IP, PROFINET and EtherCAT. The Connect Edge Server software provides:
  • Field device status
  • OT network status
  • Topology identification
  • Web to OT secure link
  • Backup and restore

Connect Gateways are sold and serviced directly by Hilscher’s in-house engineering and support staff and are part of Hilscher’s netIOT line of Edge Gateways. They support leading third-party software application packages for operator interface, SCADA, soft PLC control and SQL databases.
 
The netPI Gateway has a similar hardware configuration and operating system as the Connect, but it does not include the Edge Server software. It is sold on Amazon and supported through a community-sourced online Forum. netPI is ideal for users who are familiar with the Raspberry Pi ecosystem and are looking for a cost-effective industrialized platform to run Docker-hosted application software. Bare metal versions are available for OEM branding.
 
Common to both platforms—the Connect and netPI gateways—is Hilscher’s own netX chip included on the Pi device. netX provides connectivity from the gateways to the OT networks, such as Modbus TCP, PROFINET and EtherNet/IP. Also common are expansion module options for I/O and security features that include: security-enhanced Yocto Linux, https communications, user/right management, PKI certificate handling and signed package installations.
 
Read more about these products in Hilscher’s Industrial Raspberry Pi Whitepaper.
 
Here are links for more information on Connect Edge Gateways:
 
netIOT Edge Gateways Overview
 
netIOT Edge Gateways Specifications
 
Here are links for more information on netPI:
 
netPI Gateway Overview

Watch netPI Video
 
If you have additional questions, please send us an email. We are delighted to serve you with these innovative Industrial Raspberry Pi gateways.
 
Best regards,

Philip Marshall CEO,
Hilscher North America, Inc.
(630) 505-5301