ThingsBoard
ThingsBoard: Managing Devices and Data Across Your Factory
Connecting a handful of sensors is straightforward. Managing hundreds of them, across multiple production lines or sites, with consistent dashboards, alerts and access control, is a different problem. ThingsBoard is the open-source IoT platform INGSOL uses to solve it, forming a core part of our technology stack for factories and manufacturing plants. This page explains what ThingsBoard is, how INGSOL uses it, and how it fits alongside the rest of our stack.
What Is ThingsBoard?
ThingsBoard is an open-source Internet of Things (IoT) platform for device management, data collection, processing and visualisation. It provides the layer between individual sensors and gateways on one side, and dashboards, rules and integrations on the other, supporting both cloud and on-premises deployment.
ThingsBoard is not a replacement for SCADA or an MES, and it does not perform supervisory control of machinery on its own. What it does well is manage large numbers of connected devices consistently: ingesting their data, applying rules and alerts, and presenting the results through configurable dashboards, whether those devices sit on one production line or across multiple factory sites.
Why INGSOL Includes ThingsBoard in the Stack
Open source and self-hostable:
As an open-source platform, thingsboard avoids locking your factory into a single proprietary iot vendor, and can be self-hosted for full control over your data.
BUILT FOR DEVICE SCALE:
Device profiles, telemetry ingestion and dashboard configuration are built to manage thousands of connected sensors and devices without a redesign as your deployment grows.
PROTOCOL FLEXIBILITY:
ThingsBoard connects over MQTT, HTTP, CoAP and other standard protocols, and integrates with LoRaWAN network servers such as The Things Network and ChirpStack for wide-area sensor deployments.
RULE ENGINE FOR AUTOMATION:
Built-in rule chains allow alerts, notifications and automated actions to be configured based on incoming device data, without requiring separate custom software.
ACCESS CONTROL AND MULTI-TENANCY:
Multi-tenancy and role-based access control support factories that need to separate data and dashboards by site, department or customer.
How INGSOL Uses ThingsBoard in Practice
Device Management
ThingsBoard provides a central point for registering, monitoring and managing the sensors, gateways and edge devices deployed across a factory. This includes tracking device status, firmware and connectivity, so that a fault with a specific sensor or gateway can be identified quickly rather than discovered through missing data downstream.
Data Ingestion and Processing
Telemetry from connected devices flows into ThingsBoard in real time, where it can be filtered, transformed and routed onward to INGSOL’s data infrastructure, including PostgreSQL and TimescaleDB, for longer-term storage and analysis.
Dashboards and Visualisation
ThingsBoard’s dashboard builder gives operators and supervisors a configurable, real-time view of connected devices and their telemetry, complementing the wider visualisation INGSOL builds in Grafana and Ignition for plant-level and enterprise dashboards
Alerts and Rule-Based Automation
Using ThingsBoard’s rule engine, INGSOL configures automated alerts and actions based on device data, such as flagging a sensor reading outside its expected range or triggering a notification when a device goes offline, reducing the time between an issue occurring and someone being informed of it.
LoRaWAN and Wide-Area Sensor Integration
For factories with sensors spread across large sites, yards or remote equipment, INGSOL integrates ThingsBoard with LoRaWAN network servers, including The Things Network and ChirpStack, so that low-power, wide-area sensor data flows into the same platform as wired and Wi-Fi connected devices.
ThingsBoard Within the INGSOL Technology Stack
ThingsBoard sits alongside Ignition, our core SCADA and MES platform, handling device-level IoT management while Ignition manages supervisory control and shopfloor execution. Data captured through ThingsBoard flows into PostgreSQL and TimescaleDB for structured storage, with TimeBase available for higher-frequency workloads. Grafana provides additional dashboarding and trend analysis, and Node-RED handles integration logic between ThingsBoard, other platforms and downstream systems. This combination gives factories a coherent IoT and SCADA architecture built entirely on open, interoperable technology, rather than a single closed platform.
Why Manufacturers Choose INGSOL's ThingsBoard Implementation
ThingsBoard is deployed and configured by engineers who understand the equipment and processes generating the data, not only the software platform itself.
As an open-source platform, ThingsBoard can be self-hosted, giving your factory full ownership and control over device data.
Device management, dashboards and rules are configured to scale from a single pilot line to a multi-site deployment without a platform change
ThingsBoard is implemented as part of INGSOL's wider Hardware & Edge, Communication & Integration and Data & Intelligence capability, so it works with the rest of your architecture rather than in isolation
INGSOL implements ThingsBoard as part of an open, scalable IoT and SCADA architecture built for factories and manufacturing plants of any size. Get in touch to discuss how ThingsBoard fits your technology stack, or a Digital Transformation Maturity Assessment for your plant.
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