Azure IoT Edge is a powerful solution for your edge computing needs. It can collect telemetry, make local decisions, and send data to the cloud. This works great if an internet connection is available. If the connection is temporarily broken, everything still works. The telemetry is temporarily persisted so no data is lost.
An edge gateway can also act as a transparent gateway:

Here, child devices are made part of the local routing mechanism of the edge. The child devices are configured to send their telemetry to the edge device. From there, the same telemetry is sent to the cloud as if it’s sent by the child device itself.
The main advantages are:
- If no internet connection is available, the child telemetry is stored on the edge until the connection is restored. The child devices have no notion of the edge gateway, hence ‘transparent’
- The logic running on the edge is able to access the telemetry coming from child devices so this can be used and combined with other data to take local decisions
This architecture is also known as downstream devices.
I already wrote a blog on this topic previously. In there, some test apps stole the show.
Now, let’s see this in action with an actual industrial device. We also check out sending telemetry back:

We will be working with a Weidmueller UC20, an automation controller.
Doorgaan met het lezen van “Using a Weidmueller UC 20 Controller as Azure IoT Edge child device”