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The New TLM Server in Schubert Packaging Machines

The individual components in production or automation systems are usually large systems on which different functions are brought together. The dissolution of such a monolithic system by means of virtualization and containerization makes development more efficient as well as systems more secure and scaleable. The new TLM server that has been developed for Gerhard Schubert GmbH shows the optimum interaction between hardware and software.

The new TLM Server

Greater efficiency and security through virtualization and containerization

The challenges:

  • A complex system with a variety of hardware components
  • High resource expenditures in terms of time, money and organization
  • Inconvenient for the user because of additionally required laptop

The success factors:

  • Systematic analysis of the application to properly implement the requirements
  • Development competence in hardware and software
  • System consulting in close cooperaton with the customer

The result:

  • A distributed hardware-independent system based on an individually configured High Performance Box IPC
  • Use of special operating system and software components for virtual machines and edge computing
  • Quick, reliable and secure operation including support by the manufacturer

The starting position

The Starting Point: A Complex and Difficult to Maintain System with Operating Computer


Our solution

Our Solution: A Distributed and Efficient System Through Containerization and Virtualization

High Performance Box-IPC

Hardware

As a high performance IPC, the Prime Box Performance serves as a hardware basis that is perfectly equipped for the editing and processing of complex data.

8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 processor

32 GB RAM

512 GB M.2 SSD

The system is designed independent of the hardware. If a CPU is terminated, it can be easily replaced. It is not necessary to redesign the hardware.

If required, the client server architecture allows to integrate several operating computers for the targeted visualization of data. In the future, only a slim web panel from the Prime Panel series will be used.

Software

On the software level, BIOS/UEFI and the operating system are individually customized to the requirements. Several derivates of the Prime OS family that were especially developed for the Prime Cube hardware are used for a functional and slim operating system. With Prime OS VM different operating systems are virtualized and distributed on the plant server. Users can, for example, run operating systems for edge computing applications there, plus additional ones for AI, service accesses, device management, etc. Applications are provided in containerized form via PRIME OS Edge. In this way, all necessary components and dependencies are isolated in one container.


Both operating systems could, among other things, be derived from the use case of the Schubert TLM server and are now available for a wide range of applications. More on the software

Until now, we have installed the machine software to the Windows system of our customers’ machines. Every now and then, there are customer-specific adaptations which can cause problems in case of updates. Due to containerization we can now define and apply the software components including the operating system as a package. We can perform more extensive tests in advance to ensure the functionality with our customers. Thus, future updates will be significantly faster and also more reliable

Jan Köhler

Head of Control Technology G. Schubert GmbH

Resume

Sustainable Success with System Consulting and Development Competence

We are happy to realize and successfully launch this pioneering project as a technology partner within the Schubert group for and with our parent company. From this experience we derive products and solutions to be used in different application areas.

Tobias Ott

Head of Technical Customer Teams Schubert (TCT)*

*The TCT was formed early in 2023 and is decentrally located both at the headquarters of SSE in Neuhausen ob Eck and in Crailsheim. It is our goal to accompany both Gerhard Schubert GmbH and major customers directly and intensively in the areas of development and technology."

Authors & Contributors:

  • Tobias Ott, Head of TCT Schubert (SSE)
  • Dominik Bacher, Development System Software (SSE)
  • David Bongermino, Team Leader System Software (SSE)
  • Alexander Matt, Team Leader Product Management Prime Cube (SSE)
  • Jan Köhler, Head of Control Technology (G.Schubert)

What is Virtualization?

Virtualization is the abstraction or digital imitation of physical IT resources (e.g. hardware components such as memory).Several software elements such as operating systems can be used on one hardware by means of this digital hardware support. The major benefits of virtualization include the independence from hardware, the efficient use of the system by compressing the hardware and the low hardware costs. If the hardware causes problems, it can be easily replaced. In this case, the virtual machine keeps running. The virtual machines are generated by hypervisors that are also called virtual machine monitors. They position themselves as an abstracting layer between the existing hardware and the applications such as operating systems.

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