In today’s industrial landscape, staying competitive means staying connected. From production lines to predictive maintenance, Industrial IoT (IIoT) is transforming how factories operate—turning raw machine data into business-critical insights.
While there is a wealth of data generated by Industrial IoT, it is useless without edge computing solutions that provide efficient operational continuity, secure connectivity, and also real-time data processing.
As factories and industrial systems become smarter with IoT and edge computing, the need to automate processes, reduce costs and keep everything seamlessly connected is critical. But what is the solution to this complexity?
In this post, we explore how the synergy between ALPON X4 developed by Sixfab, and ThingsBoard addresses these challenges—bringing real-time intelligence and scalable monitoring to industrial environments.
What is ThingsBoard? A Powerful IoT Dashboard for Industrial Use
ThingsBoard is a top open-source system made for industrial IoT monitoring and edge computing for IIoT. It helps businesses manage their IoT needs with a safe gateway that works with different ways to connect, handle devices and real time analytics.
What ThingsBoard Can Do
- Industrial Automation IoT: Makes work smoother by automating tasks in factories and other industrial settings.
- ThingsBoard Cloud Integration: Connects cloud systems and edge devices easily for better teamwork.
- Remote Industrial Monitoring: Gives live updates on machines and processes, so you always know what’s happening.
- Edge Computing vs Cloud Computing: Finds the right balance between processing data locally and using the cloud for the best results.
Why ALPON X4 is the Best Edge Device for ThingsBoard
To make the most of ThingsBoard for industrial IoT, you need a device that’s strong, safe and scalable edge computing with your business needs. ALPON X4 does exactly that, it’s like a trusted worker that never stops, even in the industrial conditions.
Together with ThingsBoard, ALPON X4 creates a powerful and flexible industrial IoT solution. It handles localized, low-latency processing of sensor data at the edge, minimizing delays and reducing bandwidth usage. Its scalable architecture supports seamless integration with both cloud platforms and on-premises systems, allowing businesses to grow without rethinking their infrastructure. With remote monitoring and control capabilities, operators can manage devices and environments from anywhere. And thanks to real-time analytics and rule-based automation, critical decisions can be made instantly—keeping operations efficient, responsive, and resilient.
What Makes ALPON X4 Stand Out
- Secure IoT Gateway: Built-in safety features keep your data and network protected.
- Industrial IoT Monitoring: Collects and analyzes data without interruptions, helping you fix problems before they happen.
- Edge Computing for IIoT: Processes data locally to reduce delays and improve performance.
- Device Integration: Effortlessly connects with many sensors and systems, saving time for smart home automation and industrial projects.
ALPON X4’s Best Features
- Reliable Connections: Supports LTE built-in multiple eSIM profiles, Wi-Fi, and Gigabit Ethernet to stay online.
- High Performance: Handles complex IoT edge computing tasks with ease, thanks to the advanced processing power of Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4.
- Enhanced Security: Uses TPM 2.0, secure boot, encrypted communication, VPN tunneling, role-based access control.
- Easy to Scale: Supports working with ThingsBoard Cloud for simple, remote management.
📖 For more information about ALPON X4 technical specifications, hardware details, software capabilities, and setup instructions, visit the ALPON X4 documentation.
Use Cases: How ALPON X4 and ThingsBoard Work Together in Industry
- Industrial Automation: Factories can use ALPON X4 with ThingsBoard to automate their operations, reduce downtime and more.
- Remote Asset Monitoring: Teams access ThingsBoard’s dashboards remotely thanks to ALPON X4’s LTE connectivity and receive alerts to quickly fix problems, even in remote locations.
- Smart Energy Management: Projects can save power by using IoT tools to better monitor and manage energy.
- Smart Agriculture: ALPON X4 helps farmers remotely monitor soil, water systems, moisture and weather to increase yields.
Security & Scalability: Ensuring a Reliable IIoT System
- Industrial Automation IoT security is ensured with TPM 2.0 encryption, secure boot, encrypted communication, VPN tunneling, role-based access control.
- Scalable deployment is easily achieved as the needs of edge computing solutions grow.
- Edge Computing for IIoT reduces cloud dependency by enabling data processing to happen locally on the device, speeding up operations.
Getting Started: Setting Up ALPON X4 with ThingsBoard for IoT Projects
Deploying ThingsBoard on ALPON X4 is quite simple. If you already have the device connected and ready to use, the process is easy. If you are new to ALPON X4, check out the ALPON X4 Getting Started page to quickly get it ready for ThingsBoard deployment. If your device is ready, let’s get started!
1. Go to the Application section of your asset on Sixfab Connect.
2. Click the + Deploy button to configure and deploy the container.
3. In the Deploy Container window, use the following settings:
- Container Name: ThingsBoard
- Image: Select “I would like to use my own container path” and enter: thingsboard/tb-postgres:latest
- Click “+ Add More” in the Environment, Ports, and Volumes sections, then follow the detailed instructions page to complete the configuration.
- Enable the “Host Network” option.
- Click the “+ Deploy” button to deploy ThingsBoard.
If you’d like to deploy your container by uploading it to the Sixfab Registry or need more advanced configuration options, detailed instructions are available.
📖 For a complete, step-by-step guide on deploying ThingsBoard with ALPON X4, visit:
Deploying ThingsBoard with ALPON X4
Get Ready for the Future with ALPON X4 & ThingsBoard
An efficient, secure, and smart IoT system can be created by monitoring your automations with ALPON X4 and ThingsBoard in your projects. Whether it’s Industrial Remote Monitoring or IoT Edge Computing, ALPON X4 is offered as a high performance edge computing solution for your projects.
🔗 Learn more about ALPON and revolutionize your industrial IoT setup today!