Dell has announced its new Edge Gateway 3000 Series, targeting logistics, energy management, digital signage, transportation and industrial automation industries with affordable prices.
Dell has announced its new Edge Gateway 3000 Series, targeting logistics, energy management, digital signage, transportation and industrial automation industries with affordable prices.
The original Dell Gateway 5000 Series starts at US$899, while the new series starts at US$399 and brings more affordable gateways for IoT manufacturers.
The new gateway series comes with three models. Model 3001 comes with a multifunction I/O port and programmable serial ports targeting industrial automation and energy management users.
Model 3002 uses CAN bus for land and marine protocols, and integrates with the ZigBee protocol for mesh sensor networks. The device targets transportation and logistics users. Model 3003, with a displayport output for video displays and 3.5mm line for audio streaming, targets digital signage and retail industries.
All models include Intel Atom processor, 2GB RAM and 8GB eMMC storage, Ethernet, USB digital GPS, accelerometers, atmospheric pressure sensors, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE and 3G or 4G LTE cellular options for select countries.
The Edge Gateway 3000 Series also comes with the Dell Command Suite and optional support for the Edge Device Manager, allowing users to manage all Dell IoT devices on a single dashboard.
IoT gateways help users manage data gathered from IoT devices, and also handle device connectivity, protocol translation, data filtering and processing and security. With powerful IoT gateways, processing, analyzing and producing insights immediately by location become possible in the industry.
An edge gateway also strengthens security because it works between the external Internet and the local Intranet, which can prevent outside players from gaining access to the user’s network via a connected device with security flaws.
Dell already sells IoT gateways and embedded PCs in the IoT market. The new products are targeting niche markets that require smaller sensor networks, tight space and simple analytics. Dell’s move signals that different applications have different gateway needs, and that different IoT use cases cannot be treated the same.