Introduction¶

Welcome to the comprehensive OnSphere Framework software documentation.

Initially conceived as a supervisory and replacement software solution for CellNet, the pioneering supervisor of Swissdotnet, OnSphere has evolved into a versatile framework designed to tackle an expansive array of automation challenges. This documentation serves as your primary resource for gaining a deep understanding of OnSphere’s capabilities, features, and its diverse range of applications.

Whether you are looking to operate, configure, or harness the full potential of OnSphere, this documentation is your go-to source for all essential information.

Overview¶

OnSphere is a powerful framework that serves as a solution for automating various tasks and processes. Its primary objective is to seamlessly connect multiple systems that may not have been originally designed to operate together. This flexibility makes OnSphere an ideal choice for a diverse set of automation problems.

Typical Use Cases¶

Supervisor of supervisor¶

In the intricate landscape of industrial monitoring, OnSphere stands out as the perfect bridge between supervisors. Its central role revolves around uniting and synchronizing various local supervisors, thus fostering operational synergy. OnSphere streamlines communication and coordination across different monitoring layers.

Supervising Building Automation¶

OnSphere can be employed to monitor and control various building automation systems. It provides a centralized platform for managing lighting, security, and other building-related processes, ensure efficient operations and support a broad layer of customization.

Connecting Disparate systems¶

OnSphere excels at bridging the gap between disparate systems and applications. It acts as a middleware that harmonizes data exchange and communication between systems that were not originally designed to work together.

Key features¶

Flexibility¶

OnSphere’s modular design allows for easy customization and adaptation to specific automation requirements. Users can create tailored solutions without extensive development efforts.

Scalability¶

The framework is highly scalable, accommodating both small-scale automation tasks and large-scale multi-sites enterprise-level projects.

Extensive Integration¶

It supports a wide range of protocols and APIs, making it compatible with most systems. Its modularity makes it easy to integrate different APIs. If the protocol is not yet supported, please contact us for details of new implementations.

Integration with a CCMS¶

OnSphere integrates a Configuration and Change Management Systems (CCMS), allowing for automated change tracking, version control, and configuration management. This ensures system stability and reliability.

Notification System¶

One of OnSphere’s key features is its robust notification system. It enables automated communication by sending alerts, notifications, and reports to relevant stakeholders, keeping them informed in real-time with live field values.

Keys Concepts¶

Configuration¶

OnSphere leverages the power of GIT to manage its configurations efficiently. GIT, a robust version control system, ensures that changes to OnSphere’s configuration settings are tracked, documented, and controlled. This approach allows for seamless collaboration, precise configuration management, and the ability to revert to previous states when necessary, ensuring the reliability and stability of OnSphere’s operations.

Key Features:

Comprehensive history access complete with commit messages
Precise tracking of all changes prior to committing
Rapid rollback to prior states
Seamless integration of multiple reviewers
Coexistence of multiple configurations in close proximity

External sources to learn about GIT usage :

Usage of flat files

OnSphere’s configuration relies on a user-friendly and flexible approach. It is structured around text files in the JSON format, organized in a hierarchy that accurately mirrors the client’s environment. This hierarchical structure enables the precise and granular representation of all configuration parameters and options.

The major advantage of this approach lies in its universal accessibility. Configuration files in JSON format can be easily edited with any standard text editor, and they also support automated script-based generation. This means users are not confined to a specific software, greatly simplifying the process of customization and configuration management. Furthermore, this ease of editing fosters collaboration among teams, as everyone can contribute to the configuration settings using familiar tools.

In the end, this JSON-based, text file configuration structure offers exceptional adaptability, ease of use, and the added benefit of automated scriptable configuration generation for streamlined management.

The system offers a JSON schema for each configuration file, enabling the implementation of extensive validation within a tailored configuration tool. This feature proves highly beneficial for seamlessly converting older configurations into OnSphere-compatible formats, simplifying the migration process.

Visual Studio Code plugin

Swissdotnet’s VSCode plugin Composer elevates configuration management. Seamlessly integrated into Visual Studio Code, it simplifies and enhances configuration file handling. With real-time validation, it spots errors as you type, reducing issues. It also offers auto-completion, making configuration tasks effortless. This tool ensures accuracy, boosts efficiency, and fosters smoother development workflows, elevating your software quality. SwissDotNet’s commitment to user productivity shines through this indispensable VSCode plugin.

Leveraging Market-Standard Software¶

Authentification with Keycloak: Authentication within our system relies on Keycloak, a robust and trusted identity and access management platform. Keycloak ensures secure and seamless user verification, providing a solid foundation for protecting sensitive data and ensuring only authorized individuals gain access to our services.
Micro-service based: Our infrastructure relies on Docker Swarm, which is a flexible tool for orchestrating containers. It excels in overseeing, standardizing, and distributing tasks. Docker Swarm effectively handles and scales applications in containers, ensuring consistency across different environments, and efficient distribution of workloads. The Micro-service software architecture already prove his strength in reliability and scalability, and enable us to deliver consistent and efficient services to our users.
Portainer: We streamline container management with Portainer, a user-friendly container management platform. It simplifies the deployment, monitoring, and scaling of Docker containers in a Swarm.

OnSphere is the ideal solution for organizations seeking to connect and coordinate various manufacturer-specific supervisory systems. Its protocol-agnostic approach, universal data mapping, multiple manufacturer support, customization options, and real-time monitoring capabilities make it the ideal choice for achieving interoperability and efficiency in the realm of industrial automation. OnSphere reduce the complexity of managing diverse supervisory systems. It allow a very powerful and straightforward control of industrial process.

OnSphere is highly active, continuously evolving to meet your needs. Stay updated with our latest changes and improvements by checking out our changelog.