From Legacy to Leading Edge: An IIoT Modernization Success Story

From Legacy to Leading Edge: An IIoT Modernization Success Story | SPONSORED

Purpose-built time series database InfluxDB is the foundation for Teréga’s new data historian. Teréga also built Indabox, a proprietary gateway that connects to machine sensors and control devices to collect, process, and assemble data for secure transfer to IO-Base. Teréga found the addition of real-time metrics, unrestricted data ingestion, and better ecosystem integration so successful that it made IO-Base a software-as-a-service platform through its subsidiary, Teréga Solutions.

Modernizing Teréga

Teréga, a gas storage and transportation company in southwestern France, manages a network of 5,000 kilometers of natural gas pipelines and is at the forefront of the energy transition currently taking place at both European and territorial levels. Teréga’s business model, which swaps fossil fuels for a multi-energy mix of biomethane and hydrogen—in addition to more traditional energy sources—reflects the new energy economy. To fully support their progressive business model, Teréga needed a cloud-native smart grid.

Before the modernization, Teréga’s IT system was not a cloud-native smart grid. Teréga’s legacy on-premises technology relied on servers connected to limited cloud resources. An elaborate maze of firewalls and demilitarized zones separated the operational technology that created data and cloud resources. Though tight security was necessary because Teréga operates machinery connected to France’s critical services, the system had many drawbacks. Physical challenges included high maintenance and operational costs and challenging site builds, making it difficult to onboard new customers. There were also technical challenges, like slower data ingest rates, that made it difficult to surface insights. For these reasons and others, Teréga underwent a full modernization.

Teréga’s initial attempts to migrate their legacy historian, OSI Pi, to the cloud were unsuccessful. After assessing the market, they found no suitable cloud-native data historians that specialized in industrial data. Teréga turned to InfluxDB to build a custom historian.

Building IO-Base

Everything starts with data. Teréga created Indabox as a one-stop-shop for all data collection. Indabox, which replaced the entire on-prem server and firewall system, is now the sole piece of IT equipment needed at industrial sites. It connects directly to sensors and machine controllers through various protocols (Modbus, Ethernet/IP, OPC-UA, and others). Indabox collects, processes, and sends data securely and directly to the cloud.

Teréga replaced their legacy data historian, OSI Pi, with InfluxDB’s fully managed Cloud solution. Teréga considered other time series databases during the investigation phase of modernization, but InfluxDB’s ability to create metrics from raw event data during ingestion set it apart from the competition. The real-time metrics provided by InfluxDB (such as pressure, gas quality, and temperature) simplify deployment and support for over 100k metrics. Interoperability with tools and software such as Grafana led to additional confidence and ongoing support.

IO-Base is the complete hardware/software system Teréga created. With the successful completion of IO-Base, Teréga has a fully cloud-native data historian, custom-designed to operate and monitor critical industrial activities. IO-Base is highly available and runs 24-7. Indabox is the only technology needed to connect to the onsite operational technology stack and IO-Base in the cloud. Indabox connects to the machine sensors and industrial controls through required protocols. IO-Base also includes front end applications that allow users to customize preferences for data retrieval, visualizations, user management, and the creation of new metrics using formulas.

Results

IO-Base yielded several positive results for Teréga.

● Unlimited Data Collection – Because InfluxDB has no data ingestion restrictions or limits, Teréga can collect data more frequently. Now Teréga collects data at five-second intervals compared to the much slower one-minute collection intervals their legacy system allowed, exposing previously undetectable issues.
● High Level Support – InfluxDB’s support team helped Teréga with data migration as they set up their new solution.
● Reduced TCO – The global Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for time series data is 50% lower with IO-Base than Teréga’s legacy on-prem historian and server system. After creating IO-Base, Teréga only needs an Indabox unit to add a new customer, making the on-boarding process faster and easier.

Teréga’s experience with IO-Base and Indabox were so positive that it made both available for third party use through its subsidiary, Teréga Solutions. Now, Indabox is available for purchase and IO-Base is a SaaS platform. In addition to the tools and templates Teréga uses in the energy sector, Teréga’s engineers built tools and templates that fit with other business sectors, making efficient and effective use of time series data a straightforward process.

About the author

Jessica Wachtel is a Developer Marketing Writer at InfluxData where she creates content that helps make the world of time series data more understandable and accessible. Jessica has a background in software development and technical journalism.