Gateways & Communication
Gateway installation, connector setup, deploy and troubleshooting.
SolarTools IoT and energy management platform establishes a seamless, secure, and real-time bridge between your physical field devices and cloud services. The foundation of this bridge is formed by the Gateway and Connector layers.
Telemetry data from meters, inverters, sensors, weather stations, and PLCs on the field is first collected by the gateway agent running on the local network. It is then normalized and piped to the core platform through connector integrations defined on the SolarTools cloud infrastructure or edge devices.
System Architecture and Data Flow
The interactive diagram below summarizes the data collection and processing pipeline extending from field devices all the way to the SolarTools platform:
Field Devices
Devices that generate data on the field.
- PLC
- Sensors
- Meters
- IoT devices
Gateway
Data collection, local processing and communication layer.
- Collects data
- Applies local preprocessing
- Communicates over multiple protocols
- Provides secure connectivity
Connector
Data processing and integration layer.
- Performs protocol translation
- Normalizes data
- Manages integrations
- Optimizes data flow
SolarTools Platform
Data analysis, alarm management and visualization.
- Stores data
- Performs analytics & reporting
- Generates alarms & notifications
- Visualizes via dashboards
Section Directory and Workflow
This documentation section provides step-by-step guides to help you set up, deploy, and manage your gateway and connector infrastructure from scratch. The recommended workflow is as follows:
Add and Install Gateway
Create a new gateway entry in the platform dashboard, copy the unique Auth Key, and install the gateway daemon on a local Linux/Windows server or industrial PC.
Define Connectors
Add connectors matching your device communication protocols such as Modbus TCP/RTU, MQTT, or OPC-UA. Configure device profiles and tag mappings.
Deploy Config and Operations
Deploy your configuration changes to the field with a single click (Deploy Config). Monitor online/offline status, live logs, and signal quality via detail tabs.
Key Strengths of SolarTools Communication Infrastructure
The SolarTools gateway and connector architecture is equipped with advanced capabilities designed to maximize data stability under harsh industrial environments:
⚡ Multi-Protocol & Concurrency
Collect data from hundreds of different devices simultaneously using Modbus RTU (serial), Modbus TCP, and MQTT protocols over a single gateway instance.
💾 Offline Data Buffering
If the internet or GSM connection drops, the gateway securely buffers collected telemetry data in its local storage (SQLite/Flash). Once connection is restored, historical data is pushed back seamlessly without loss.
🔒 End-to-End TLS & Token Security
All traffic is protected by TLS 1.3 encryption. Gateways authenticate using individual, secure tokens issued specifically for each instance, which can be revoked at any time.
⚙️ Centralized & Remote Configuration
Modify connector parameters, polling intervals, or tag mapping remotely from the SolarTools cloud console and deploy it directly to the field without having physical access to the device.