Ignition Edge on EG5120: How to deploy Ignition Edge on the EG5120

I've seen countless engineers get stuck trying to bring modern software to industrial hardware. They fight with locked-down operating systems, proprietary tools, and a frustrating lack of flexibility. It feels like you're fighting the hardware instead of working with it, right?

Let's be clear: it doesn't have to be this way. The real 'aha!' moment for many engineers is when they realize their industrial hardware can be as open and easy to use as a Raspberry Pi, but with the industrial-grade reliability they actually need. That’s exactly the sweet spot where the Robustel EG5120 and Inductive Automation's Ignition Edge meet. You've got a powerful, open Debian-based gateway and a user-friendly, low-code SCADA platform. So, how fast can you get from the box to a running dashboard? Faster than you think. Let's dive in and deploy Ignition Edge together.

Before we get our hands dirty, let's talk about why this pairing is so effective. The Robustel EG5120 isn't just another router; it's a true industrial edge computing gateway. What does that mean for you? It runs RobustOS Pro, an operating system based on Debian 11. If you've ever used a Raspberry Pi or any standard Linux distribution, you'll feel right at home. There are no proprietary roadblocks here.

You get:

• An Open Environment: No vendor lock-in. You have full control to install the software you need.
• Powerful Hardware: A quad-core ARM processor, plenty of RAM, and robust storage mean it can handle real data processing at the edge.
• Industrial Reliability: This isn't a hobbyist board. It's built for wide temperatures, vibration, and the demanding electrical environments of the factory floor.

This openness is precisely what makes it so simple to deploy Ignition Edge. We're essentially just installing a standard Linux application onto a capable, ruggedized computer.

Okay, let's get to it. I'll walk you through the entire process. All you need is your EG5120 powered up and connected to your network, and a computer to SSH into it.

First things first, we need the software. The EG5120 uses a 64-bit ARMv8 processor (aarch64), so we need the specific version of Ignition for that architecture.

1. Head over to the Inductive Automation Downloads page.
2. Select the Ignition Edge tab.
3. Look for the Linux AARCH64 (zip) version. It will be a .zip file. Download it to your computer.

Expert Tip: Don't download this directly onto the gateway. It's much faster to download it to your main machine and then transfer it over.

I can't tell you how many frustrated engineers I've talked to who installed an application in the wrong place or ran it with the wrong permissions, only to have it fail after the first reboot. We're going to do this the professional way to avoid all of that.

1. Transfer the File: Use the Secure Copy Protocol (scp) to move the file from your computer to the EG5120.
2. Create Installation Directory: Following Linux standards, third-party software should be installed in the /opt directory. SSH into your EG5120 and run:

Bash

sudo mkdir /opt/ignitionedge

3. Unzip the File: Unzip the contents of the ZIP archive into the directory we just created.

Bash

sudo unzip Ignition-Edge-linux-aarch64-8.1.XX.zip -d /opt/ignitionedge

4. Create a Dedicated User: For security, we shouldn't run services as the root or default user. Let's create a dedicated, non-login system user to run Ignition.

Bash

sudo useradd -r -m -s /bin/false ignition

5. Set File Permissions: Change the ownership of the installation directory to the ignition user we just created.

Bash

sudo chown -R ignition:ignition /opt/ignitionedge && sudo chmod -R u+rwx /opt/ignitionedge

Any serious industrial deployment needs services that start automatically. A power cycle shouldn't require a technician to SSH in and restart your SCADA system. Let's be clear: we need to create a systemd service for this.

1. Create a Service File: Use the vi text editor to create a new service file.

Bash

sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/ignition-edge.service

2. Paste the Configuration: Copy and paste the following text completely into the editor. This configuration ensures the service runs as our dedicated ignition user.

Ini, TOML

[Unit] Description=Ignition-Edge Gateway After=network.target [Service] Type=forking User=ignition Group=ignition ExecStart=/opt/ignitionedge/ignition.sh start ExecStop=/opt/ignitionedge/ignition.sh stop RemainAfterExit=yes [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target

3. Enable and Start the Service: Save the file (ESC, :wq). Now, tell systemd to recognize, enable, and start the new service.

• sudo systemctl daemon-reload
• sudo systemctl enable ignition-edge
• sudo systemctl start ignition-edge

4. Verify the Status: Check the service status to ensure it has started successfully. You should see the green text active (running).

Bash

sudo systemctl status ignition-edge

Now that the professional service is running, open a web browser on your computer and go to http://

:8088. You will be greeted by the Ignition commissioning screen. Congratulations, you've successfully managed to deploy Ignition Edge in a robust, reliable way!

You haven't just learned how to deploy it; you've unlocked a powerful new way to approach industrial projects. From here, you can:

• Connect Your OT Devices: Start connecting to your PLCs using the Modbus TCP driver.
• Build Edge Logic: Use Ignition Edge's features to convert Modbus data to OPC UA or MQTT, bridging your OT and IT systems.
• Run More Apps: Alongside Ignition, run other services like an MQTT broker or a database in Docker containers.

The combination of open hardware and flexible software puts the power back in your hands. Now, what problem will you solve first? To learn more about managing your fleet of gateways, check out the Robustel RCMS platform.