System Architecture

MIMTIS is an enterprise class machine-to-machine (M2M) suite, with strong security features, that provides solutions for smarter asset monitoring, control and customer services. These solutions are available as a hosted subscription service (SAAS) or as licensed software that can be deployed on-site. Smarter solutions to improve operational and customer service efficiency can be implemented with the following modules: MIMTIS Main Terminal Unit (MTU), MIMTIS Middleware, Gateway & Transport Layer and Integration API & SDK

MIMTIS Main Terminal Unit (MTU)
MIMTIS Middleware
Gateway and Transport Layer
Integration API and SDK

MIMTIS Main Terminal Unit (MTU)

MIMTIS MTU is the central server that co-ordinates between various sub components, stores and processes data. The MTU provides user administration, HMI, reporting and analysis. MTU offers true enterprise-class scalability, with support for single-server or clustered environments, providing reliable redundant deployment that can support thousands of concurrent users and assets. MTU can be deployed as a master server or as a node. This allows integration of various company sites running MIMTIS as a node. The MTU has following components:

Human machine interface (HMI)

MIMTIS browser based HMI allows you to display all the required information on a single web page. The system allows easy customization of the HMI as per user's monitoring and control objectives. It allows human operators to monitor the asset, control it and manually accept alarms. MIMTIS provides gauges, switches and other visualization components for easy and interactive viewing of asset data. Plot multiple data points on a single graph for a faster trend analysis and to uncover insights into asset condition.

Administration interface

MIMTIS comes with a web based administration interface that makes the tasks of configuration and maintenance of the system easy. The administrator can connect to the interface with a browser and can then access all server-related configuration options and maintenance tasks. You can set up multiple administrative roles with varying privileges.

Rules engine

MIMTIS rules engine has both production and reaction rules capabilities. The production rules engine executes when a user or the application invokes them. The reactive rules engine reacts automatically when events occur. The following three rules are supported:

Threshold alarm rules
Business rules
Risk rules

Reporting engine

MIMTIS reporting engine provides the capability to create, save and edit custom reports that present the information you want to see, organized in the way you want to see it. An interactive interface lets you select the metrics you want and define multiple levels of sub-reports. Once created, each custom report is available to facilitate organization or asset-wide reporting, leading to increased efficiency and proﬁtability. In addition, MIMTIS reporting allows you to transform, analyze and present real-time information throughout the enterprise for prioritized decision-making.

Analysis engine

MIMTIS analysis engine provides data analysis and graphing functionalities for users. You can uncover meaningful patterns with easy-to-use; graphical interfaces, interactive expression computing and SQL query tools best suited for your analysis tasks. The expression functionality can be used for mathematical and statistical analysis of data. You can also export data for analysis with third party applications. MIMTIS analysis provides you the expertise to extract knowledge from data that can be used to improve operations and customer service.

Hardware configuration and diagnostics

MIMTIS hardware configuration and diagnostics module is used to monitor, configure, troubleshoot and upgrade hardware components. The module continuously monitors field devices and generated system alerts when these devices malfunction. The module also allows system administrators to remotely configure and upgrade firmware for field devices.

Email and SMS server

Data is processed as per predefined alarm or business rules and in case of alarm conditions, alerts are sent via email and SMS to users. Escalation rules can be built for action in cases where alarm is not reset within a time frame. The system allows secure acknowledgment of alarms via email and SMS by field staff. It is used to communicate and escalate system alarms and warnings to appropriate users.

Hardware Adapters

The hardware adapters are similar to device drivers that help the application to parse and interpret data for a specific device. The hardware adapters also provide hardware configuration and diagnostic information to the middle ware and hardware configuration and diagnostic module. To support a new hardware only the hardware adapter has to be developed, this makes the system truly hardware agnostic.

MIMTIS Middleware

MIMTIS middleware is designed to help manage the complexity and heterogeneity inherent in a distributed monitoring and control system. It provides a common programming abstraction across a distributed and varied range of hardware gateways and applications. The middleware can gather data from a wide variety of networked devices, analyze and feed it to the application layer that can use the data to make decisions. The middleware has the following components:

Local Terminal Unit (LTU)

The MIMTIS LTU server or MTU node is responsible for locally controlling, acquiring and buffering information from sub-components like the Remote Terminal Unit (RTU). The LTU transmits the data collected and control action taken locally to the MTU over the WAN. LTU is a MTU deployed as a node with LAN and bus networking capabilities. The LTU also helps in reducing communication cost as communication from multiple RTU’s are channeled through it.

Poller and Listener

MIMTIS poller is designed primarily to support devices that only support pull mode. It polls slave devices with the required command, address or code. For each polling configuration you simply specify the slave ID, function/command, address, size and poll rate. You can read and write slave devices from the poller. Multiple data formats such as float, double and long are available. Exception errors are captured and thrown to hardware diagnostic module for action. Support for Modbus TCP/IP, Modbus UDP/IP, Modbus RTU, Modbus ASCII and 485 is inbuilt. Custom pollers for proprietary protocols can also be implemented, on request. The listener listens for the response of the poller and communicates it to the higher level middleware stack.

Gateway Server and Transport Layer

MIMTIS gateway server and transport layer enable networking with field RTU/gateways; and serve as an entrance point for data packets from field devices. The gateway and the transport layers together provide bi-directional routing of a given packet of data, and also furnish the actual path in and out of the gateway for a given packet.

Integration API and SDK

A programmable interface into the MIMTIS infrastructure provides flexible, two-way communication to harness the rich functionalities of MIMTIS with other applications. API allows you to create your own toolbox, develop enhanced interfaces tailored to your needs and design your own custom application. MIMTIS is highly customizable and extensible, with support for custom branding, directory services integration, system extensibility and bidirectional data integration.