Proxus treats Edge Gateways as "cattle, not pets." They are designed to be replaceable, stateless, and secure by default. This philosophy drastically reduces the operational overhead of managing hundreds of sites.
The Stateless Philosophy
Traditional SCADA Problem
If a site PC fails in traditional systems, an engineer must:
- Fly to the remote location
- Reinstall the operating system
- Restore from backup (if it exists)
- Reconfigure all device drivers
- Test and validate
Downtime: Hours to days.
Proxus Solution
In Proxus, Gateways hold no state:
- Boot: Gateway starts and connects to Central Core using its authentication token
- Fetch: Downloads the latest Deployment Manifest (devices, rules, scripts)
- Execute: Begins polling devices and processing logic immediately
If hardware fails, swap it with a new unit, apply the token, and it is operational in minutes.
Deployment Manifest
When a Gateway connects, it receives a Deployment Manifest containing:
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| Device Profiles | Which PLCs and Protocols to poll, addresses, intervals |
| Rules | Condition-action logic to run locally |
| Functions | Custom C# code for transformations |
| Integrations | Where to forward processed data |
The manifest is version-controlled. Rolling back is instant.
Security Model
The connection between Edge and Core is engineered for Zero Trust environments.
Outbound Only
Gateways initiate the connection. No inbound firewall ports required.
Token Authentication
Every Gateway is authenticated via a unique, revocable token.
Sandboxed Functions
User C# scripts run in isolated contexts preventing crashes.
Encrypted Transport
All data in motion uses TLS 1.3 encryption.
Store & Forward
Industrial networks are unreliable. Proxus Gateways include a built-in buffer mechanism.
How It Works
Fieldbus Actor
PLC Communication
Dispatcher
Data Routing
Event Log
Local Buffer
Network Link
May Fail
Central Core
Cloud/On-Prem
States
| State | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Online | Data streamed instantly to Core |
| Offline | Data written to local disk buffer (configurable size) |
| Reconnected | Buffer drained FIFO, preserving timestamps and sequence |
Even during extended outages, no data is lost. The buffer size is configurable based on your disk capacity and expected outage duration.
Gateway Lifecycle
- Provisioning: Generate token in Management Console
- Deployment: Install Gateway agent, configure token
- Activation: Gateway connects, downloads manifest
- Operation: Continuous data collection and processing
- Update: New manifest pushed, applied without restart
- Replacement: Swap hardware, reapply token