- Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon
The Hereon operates a larger number of continuously measuring sensors on mobile and stationary platforms outside the Hereon Campus. Transferring the data from the sensors to the internal network is a critical step , as data is often required to be accessible for researchers in near-real-time (NRT) and needs be retrieved from the outside in a secure way that does not pose a threat to the internal infrastructure.
Therefore, we developed the He reon L ayer for M anaging I ncoming data (HELMI). Using HELMI, data from external sensor systems is moved securely via a Virtual Private Network solution ( Wireguard ) to the Hereon internal infrastructure. The Wireguard client can be either installed directly on the sensor system or on a piece of hardware dedicated for data transfer that is connected to the sensor. Data is transferred as files via the RSYNC or as NRT data via the Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol, respectively. After transfer researchers can retrieve their files and access telemetry from an internal endpoint. NRT-Data can be automatically visualized using web applications and parameters at the client can be remotely controlled .
The automatic data transfer via HELMI minimizes the risk of data loss, reduces memory requirements on the measuring system and allows to provide data in near real-time and thus to speed up the publication process of data.