This document discusses interoperability and RTI's experience with facilitating interoperability between complex distributed systems. It describes RTI's work on over 800 projects across various industries involving 15+ standards efforts. RTI promotes using data-centric middleware like DDS to allow systems built with different technologies, platforms and vendors to easily share information through a common data model and quality of service controls. The document argues this approach improves integration, flexibility and future-proofing for systems compared to traditional methods.

1. Your systems. Working as one.
Interoperability: A Perspective
Stan Schneider
Real-Time Innovations, Inc. CEO & IIC Steering Committee

2. Levels of Interoperability
• What level?
• Mandate?
• Guidelines?
• How?
• When?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_interoperability

3. RTI’s Experience
• ~800 Designs
– Healthcare
– Transportation
– Communications
– Energy
– Industrial
– Defense
• 15+ Standards &
Consortia Efforts

4. Interoperable Navy Open Architecture
• Next-generation of
– Lockheed Aegis
– Raytheon DDG 1000
– Raytheon SSDS
– LCS (Lockheed and GDAIS)
– Raytheon LPD-17
– Many more, US and allies
• Highly distributed systems
include radar, weapons,
displays, controls
• Standards-based, high-
performance middleware
breaks vendor lock-in, drives
interoperability ,and future-
proofs the architectural design
© 2014 Real-Time Innovations,

5. Facilitate Plug-n-Play Across Vendors
• Audi hardware-in-the-loop
simulation feeds realistic data to
components for testing
• The system offers plug-n-play
between simulation vendor
solutions
• RTI middleware enables a modular
test environment that scales to
work with hundreds of devices

6. Integrate New and Old
• The VW Driver Assistance
and Integrated Safety
system combines radars,
laser range finders, and
video to assist safe
operation
• The V-Charge program
demoed a self-driving
vehicle in 2014
• The system integrates with
existing CANbus through
VW Cargate™ ECU
• RTI enables advanced
reactive systems in
transportation
© 2014 Real-Time Innovations,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xQfKTAtyNU

7. Provide a Common Platform
© 2014 Real-Time Innovations,
Revolution®
"GE Healthcare chose the DDS
standard because it can handle many
classes of intelligent machines.
RTI Connext DDS satisfies the
demanding requirements of our
devices and supports standardization
on a single communications platform
across product lines."
-- J Gustavo Perez, General Manager for
MI&CT Engineering

8. Improve Safety by Connecting Devices
• Hospital error is the 6th
leading cause of
preventable death
• The Integrated Clinical
Environment (ICE)
standard specifies
interoperability for
medical devices
• RTI Connext DDS ties
together many classes of
devices from many
vendors
“RTI Connext DDS met all our needs – whether
we’re handling 12 patients, or 200.”
-- DocBox Founder, Tracy Rausch

9. The Industrial Internet Consortium
• Goal: Interoperability for the IIoT
• 140+ companies!
• RTI role
– Steering committee, data
management (lead), framework,
security, use case (lead), marketing
– Lead or co-lead 3 testbed teams

11. Communications Evolution
Point-to-Point
TCP
Sockets
Publish/Subscribe
Fieldbus
CANbus
Queuing
AMQP
Active
MQ
Data-Centric
DDS
Shared Data Model
DataBus
Client/Server
MQTT
REST
XMPP
OPC
CORBA
Brokered
Daemon

12. It’s All About the Data
Data centricity enables interoperation, scale, integration
Messaging middleware
DataBus
Unstructured files
Database
Data Centricity
Data Centricity

13. Data Centric is the Opposite of OO
Object Oriented
• Encapsulate data
• Export methods
Data Centric
• Encapsulate methods
• Export data
Explicit
Shared
Data
Model

14. The DDS Data-Centric Standard for the IIoT
• OMG’s Data Distribution Service is
the Proven Data Connectivity
Standard for the IoT
• OMG: world’s largest systems
software standards org
– UML, DDS, Industrial Internet
Consortium
• DDS: open & cross-vendor
– Open Standard & Open Source
– 12 implementations
Interoperability between source
written for different vendors
Interoperability between applications
running on different implementations
DDS-RTPS Protocol
Real-Time Publish-Subscribe
Distribution Fabric
DDS API

15. Interoperability of the Word “Interoperability”
“Interoperability” is meaningless without “between”

16. Interoperability Between Applications
• Proximity
• Platform
• Language
• Physical network
• Transport protocol
• Network topology
DDS “DataBus”
Seamless data sharing regardless of: Explicit Shared
Data Model with
Controlled QoS

17. Interoperability Between Language, OS, CPU
C on VxWorks
ppc
C# on Windows
x86
Java on Android
C++ on Linux
Labview on
Windows
Excel on
Windows
Node.js on
Cloud
JavaScript in
Browser
DDS Databus
Serialize native
types to
implement data
model on
standard wire
protocol

18. Interoperability Between Networks
Image Store
Machine Domain
Scanner
HMI
Machine Net
Gantry
Servo
Machine Control (SRIO)
Emitter
Control
Dosage
Monitor
ECG Sync
Scanner
Control
Power
System
Patient
Status
Image Domain
Image Databus
Image
Generation
Scanner Data
Acquisition
Bridge data
model and QoS
across network
types

19. Interoperability Between Devices
Map unique devices
to standard, common
data model

20. Interoperability Between Protocol Vendors
OCI ETRI PrismTech IBM RTI TwinOaks

21. Unit DataBus
Unit DataBus
Interoperability Between IT & OT
• Connect…
– Fast
– Seamless
– QoS controlled
– Secure
– Data centric
• Across 80 Platforms…
• Over 12 Transports
Intelligent
Machines
Intelligent
Systems
Intelligent
Industrial
Internet
Cloud DataBus
Site DataBus
Intelligent
System of
Systems
Unit DataBus
Sens
e
Act
Thin
k
HMI
Machine DataBus
Thin
k
HMI
Machine DataBus
Sens
e
Act
Thin
k
HMI
Machine DataBus
Hide
Sensor-
Cloud
complex
topology
behind a
single
logical
DataBus

22. Interoperability Between Subsystems
• Bridge
– Data models
– Protocols
– Security domains
• Isolate subsystems
– Control export
– Filter access
– Translate modelsOther
protocol
s
Routing Service
Pluggable Adapters
Transformation Engine
System
Super System
Subsystem
Subsystem
Subsystem
Subsystem

23. Interoperability Between Security Entities
• Per-Topic Security
– Control r,w access for each
function
– Enforce each dataflow
• Complete Protection
– Discovery authentication
– Data-centric access control
– Cryptography
– Tagging & logging
– Non-repudiation
– Secure multicast
– 100% standards compliant
• No code changes!
• Plugin architecture for
advanced uses
• Topic Security model:
– PMU: State(w)
– CBM: State(r); Alarms(w)
– Control: State(r), SetPoint(w)
– Operator: *(r), Setpoint(w)
CBM AnalysisPMU Control Operator
State Alarms SetPoint

24. Interoperability Between Versions

25. Interoperability Maturation Path:
Reduce Distance to Integrate
Party A Party B
No standard exists,
completely custom
integration
Interfaces can be transformed/mapped
Interfaces use a common model
“Plug and Play” standard defined
Credit: Scott Neumann, UISol position paper

26. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_interoperability
Bridge transports transparently
Physical
Standard protocols (DDS)
“Typesafe” shared schema (IDL/XML)
Industry-specific, standard data models
Interoperability Recommendation
Interoperability is
about sharing Data
Model and QoS

27. For More Information
• RTI site: www.rti.com
• Examples, forum, papers: community.rti.com
• IIC website: www.iiconsortium.org
• Email: stan@rti.com
• Connect on LinkedIn
• Free RTI Connext DDS Pro:
www.rti.com/downloads