Starter Solutions: Introduction
This article explains the HighByte Starter Solutions library.
What Does This Article Cover?
This article provides an overview of the purpose and objectives of the HighByte Starter Solution library. The article outlines what a starter solution is and what it is not. The article also provides general guidance related to aligning an Intelligence Hub data pipeline solution with a use case. The article sets expectations and aims to give the reader confidence about when and how to apply HighByte Starter Solutions.
What a starter solution is
A starter solution in HighByte Intelligence Hub is a pre-built project template that demonstrates how to connect, model, and move industrial data through a complete pipeline. It comes with example inputs, outputs, models, and pipelines already configured, so you don’t have to start from a blank canvas.
- Starter solutions are a complete data pipeline including inputs and outputs, although it is unlikely that both the inputs and outputs will align with unique project requirements.
- Starter solutions are organized by type of data and the representative systems that provide that type of data. Sometimes, actual solutions are more complex and require a data pipeline solution to process multiple types of data.
- Starter solutions organize examples by data type and representative source system (e.g., PI, OPC UA, SQL).
- Starter solutions align with the common design patterns we observe.
- Starter solutions showcase best practices and common design patterns observed in the field.
What a starter solution is not
Starter solutions are merely an initial solution. The following are additional considerations related to starter solutions.
- A starter solution is likely not perfectly aligned with a specific use case. It is intentionally generic and will need to be modified to align with unique requirements.
- Starter solutions are simplified so that they are easy to understand. They are not robust or production hardened and often do not include error handling or health monitoring.
- Starter solutions are not tested for high throughput and may need to be modified to scale.
- Starter solutions often focus on one primary external system for input or output, and actual solutions often exchange data with many systems. So, starter solutions may need to be modified to align with unique requirements.
- They may not always include the latest Intelligence Hub features, though we keep them as current as possible.
General Intelligence Hub use case considerations
The design approach is determined by the actual use case. These considerations help when defining the use case.
- What role or persona will consume the data, and for what purpose?
- How will the data be utilized by the intended role or persona?
- What is the specific destination system?
- How will the data be accessed and used in the destination system?
- What is the required shape and format of the data in the destination system?
- Is latency important, and what is the design requirement?
- If applicable, how can cloud storage or compute costs be minimized?
Remember: moving all available data is rarely effective. Instead, define what's essential and design pipelines accordingly.
Summary
If you are looking for inspiration, are motivated to be successful fast, please consider the HighByte starter solutions library. We believe that they are the quickest path to success.