Automated and monitoring systems for efficient urban management are becoming essential in modern smart cities. These advanced systems need to be deployed locally due to data protection, reliability, and location-specific requirements. The Aveiro Tech City Living Lab (ATCLL) is at the forefront of this innovation, developing advanced solutions for automatic traffic control, object and people detection, public safety (e.g., VRU, two-wheelers), and various types of V2X communications. However, these services must not only deliver optimal performance but also support continuous updates. To meet these challenges, the ATCLL has found an ideal partner in Portainer.
The challenge: A Multi-user, multi-service deployment environment for services on a smart-city scale infrastructure
The Aveiro Tech City Living Lab (ATCLL) is a Smart-City supported by a network of edge nodes distributed throughout the city and connected via optical fiber. These nodes are categorized into two types: wall boxes, which are fixed units integrated into existing structures, and smart lamp posts, strategically placed alongside roadways. Each node is equipped with ITS-G5 modules, traffic radars, and cameras.
These edge nodes host a variety of services, ranging from camera object detections to vehicular services. Most of these services are dockerized, making their deployment, management, and security critical.
Moreover, as a living lab, this infrastructure is designed to be shared with external partners, though access is controlled. Partners are to be granted limited access with different profiles, allowing them to interact with specific edge nodes and services based on their authorization levels.
The Solution: Automatic deployment of services on a cloud-continuum environment using Portainer
Portainer is a leading platform for container and device management. Portainer ensures the efficient and secure management of applications and devices, catering to both operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) sectors.
Portainer is an intuitive, centralized management interface used by both IT and OT professionals to transfer software from servers to edge devices. Since distributed applications may require configurations, Portainer also supports general or device-specific edge configurations, allowing the necessary files to be placed alongside the application on the devices in an Edge Group. Services can easily be deployed and configured remotely, eliminating the need for manual intervention and ensuring a smooth and efficient process. Furthermore, Portainer allows to create user groups and teams and specify roles for each user group with Role-Based Access Control.
Solution for the ATCLL
The Aveiro Tech City Living Lab (ATCLL) can use Portainer to efficiently manage and deploy its dockerized services across edge nodes like wall boxes and smart lamp posts. Portainer allows for the creation of standardized application templates for services such as camera object detection and vehicular services, ensuring its consistent and rapid setup. With Portainers role-based access control, external partners can be granted limited access to specific edge nodes and services based on their authorization levels, ensuring secure interactions with the infrastructure.
Deployment recipes and configuration files are stored in a shared Git repository, from which Portainer can retrieve and automatically deploy and configure services on the edge nodes. This process eliminates the need for manual setup. As new edge nodes connect, they automatically receive the necessary services and configurations.
By using Portainer, the ATCLL reduces complexity, enhances security, and ensures scalability and consistency across its network. This enables the ATCLL to effectively manage its smart city infrastructure, providing robust, secure, and scalable operations.
The result: An automatic smart-city management for multi-users environment
The introduction of Portainer to manage ATCLL’s edge nodes simplifies the deployment and configuration of various dockerized services, such as camera object detection and vehicular services. This solution enables automated installation and configuration of services on wall boxes and smart lamp posts, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
By utilizing modern container technology, Portainer greatly simplifies the process of deploying and managing software on edge devices. The intuitive user interface of Portainer allows users to quickly and securely manage applications and devices, providing controlled access to external partners based on their authorization levels. This approach not only reduces the time and effort required but also enhances the scalability, security, and reliability of ATCLL’s smart city infrastructure.
