Managing a fleet of machines efficiently and effectively is a daunting task for any organization, especially when those devices were manufactured by a wide variety of vendors and are spread across various locations.
This is where Viam Fleet steps in, offering a comprehensive solution to classify and monitor all of your machines with ease so that they run smoothly and stay productive.
With Viam’s clear approach fleet organizational logic, it is easy to drill down to any individual machine or group of machines to:
- Carry out setup and configuration
- Perform remote diagnostics and debugging
- Gather performance and health metrics such as uptime, version, and logs
- Update or deploy code
- Define granular user access and authorization
The straightforward topology of Viam Fleet
At the core of Viam's fleet management system is a hierarchical structure composed of organizations, locations, and devices (see image above). Organizations serve as the highest level grouping, allowing for the seamless management of machines at multiple entities.
Locations, on the other hand, act as virtual groupings of devices, with the flexibility to have up to three nested levels within each location. Each device resides within a location, creating a logical framework for organizing and accessing a subgroup of devices based on whatever key characteristic they may have in common.
The term "location" may imply a geographical grouping, such as a factory or office, but it can also represent any virtual grouping, i.e. by machine function or business division, that potentially encompasses different devices located thousands of miles apart. It is this virtual organizational framework that enables the efficient management of devices regardless of their physical location.
Viam’s fleet management framework also allows machines made by different manufacturers to be grouped together and comfortably interoperate with each other, breaking down silos and allowing all machines to be monitored from a single view.
Remote machine management, diagnostics, and updates
One of the key features of Viam Fleet is its ability to remotely configure and oversee devices. From adjusting machine settings to performing remote debugging to obtaining basic health metrics, Viam offers a range of functionalities to make device management tasks more efficient, even if you are not physically near the machines you are managing.
Central to Viam's fine-grained approach is the concept of configurations, which are rich, deep, and customizable. Configurations can define almost any aspect of a device, such as its control logic or its network settings, providing an agile and detailed framework for managing varied fleets.
Code fragments that enable easy asset differentiation
Additionally, Viam enables the creation of code “fragments,” which are reusable configuration components or chunks of configuration that can be deployed to all machines or a subset within a certain location.
These fragments enable efficient management of device-specific settings or logic and provide a simple way to target updates or other configuration changes to particular machines, a key feature when managing a heterogeneous fleet with dynamic needs.
The power and precision of granular permissioning
Permissions also play a crucial role in Viam's fleet management ecosystem, allowing organizations to define granular access controls for users. This includes authentication to define who can access a device and authorization mechanisms to make clear what a particular user can do on a given machine.
When these permissions are combined with Viam’s built-in security protocols, fleet managers can ensure that secure access to devices and management functionalities are only for approved parties.
Viam Fleet’s logical topography in action
Viam's Fleet is designed to be adaptable to various use cases. Whether an organization is managing internal machines, selling devices to external customers, or navigating complex partner ecosystems, Viam provides the tools and capabilities to meet wide-ranging needs.
To illustrate the practical application of Viam Fleet, let's consider an example scenario. Imagine you're an engineer at Widgets Galore Inc., responsible for managing a fleet of 1000 machines across 15 customers.
With Viam Fleet integrated into your workflow, you can seamlessly deploy over-the-air software updates, new drivers, control logic, or any other code using a secure cloud-based portal, and these deployments can be targeted to the machines associated with a particular customer. Updates can also be carried out without the need to manually log into each device or significantly change the existing software platform your machines currently leverage.
And that’s only the beginning of what you can add to your machines. You can also utilize Viam’s Modular Registry to optionally add any hardware component or service to your machines on the fly, such as a sensor for data capture, a new camera, AI, or innumerable other potential features — all without complex code.
In essence, Viam Fleet empowers organizations to streamline machine management processes, enhance operational efficiency, and unlock new possibilities for device innovation. With its flexible architecture and rich feature set, Viam Fleet is poised to revamp the way organizations keep tabs on their diverse fleets.
