Appendix C: Glossary
Overview
This appendix consolidates core terms and their definitions used throughout the All‑in‑One Platform, covering major areas such as platform architecture, role permissions, entity management, data visualisation, and rule engine, to help readers quickly understand specialised terminology and concepts in the documentation.
A
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Aggregation | A statistical summary operation on telemetry data over a time period; common types include average, maximum, minimum, count, etc. |
| Alarm | A system‑generated event notification triggered when device telemetry data or attributes meet predefined conditions. Alarms have severity levels, statuses, and a clearing mechanism. |
| Alarm Debounce | A mechanism to prevent frequent triggering and clearing of alarms due to data fluctuations, by setting a minimum trigger interval or consecutive occurrence count to filter unstable data. |
| Alarm Rule | A logic configuration that defines the triggering conditions, severity levels, and clearing conditions for alarms. After enabled, the system continuously evaluates whether device data satisfies the conditions. |
| All‑in‑One Platform | An integrated IoT management platform based on the ThingsEye architecture, combining core functions such as device management, asset association, dashboard visualisation, rule engine, and alarm management. |
| API | Application Programming Interface – a set of interfaces provided by the platform for external systems or clients to call, supporting device data reporting, platform management operations, and data querying. |
| Asset | An object representing a physical or logical entity on the platform, such as a factory, production line, building, etc. Assets can be associated with multiple devices for organising device data by business dimension. |
| Attribute | Static or semi‑static information of a device, such as model, location, firmware version, etc. Attributes can serve as alarm conditions or data keys for widget display. |
| Audit Log | A log that records all user operations on the platform, including operation time, operator, operation type, and content. |
B
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Boolean | A data type that represents logical true or false, commonly used in alarm conditions and device status fields. |
| Built‑in | Functions or components that are pre‑installed in the platform and ready to use out‑of‑the‑box, such as the system root rule chain, default widget bundles, and standard alarm types. |
C
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Chart | A widget type that displays data graphically, including line charts, bar charts, pie charts, scatter plots, and many other forms. |
| Clear | The operation of marking an alarm status as "Cleared", indicating that the alarm condition is no longer met. Clearing does not delete the alarm record, only updates its status. |
| Component | A functional unit that can be independently deployed and used on the platform, such as widgets, rule nodes, data source connectors, etc. |
| Configuration | The process of parameterising various entities, rules, and interfaces on the platform, including device configuration, rule chain configuration, dashboard configuration, etc. |
| Connector | A component used to connect the platform with external systems or data sources, e.g., MQTT connector, HTTP connector, database connector, etc. |
| Container | A virtualisation unit for the platform's deployment environment; the All‑in‑One Platform is typically deployed in containers for ease of management and scalability. |
| Control Widget | An interactive widget that supports sending control commands to devices, such as switch buttons, sliders, and input fields. |
| Custom | Configurations or components created by users based on business needs, rather than being platform‑preset, such as custom dashboards, custom rule nodes, custom widgets, etc. |
D
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | A data visualisation tool that combines multiple widgets to display device data, asset data, alarms, and other information in a single interface. |
| Data Key | A field name identifier used by widgets to read telemetry or attribute data. The data key must exactly match the field name reported by the device (case‑sensitive). |
| Data Source | The data source configuration for a widget, defining which entity (device/asset) and which data fields the widget reads from. |
| Debug Mode | A feature in the rule chain editor that allows users to simulate message processing flows and view output at each step, used for troubleshooting rule chain issues. |
| Description | Supplementary explanatory text for dashboards, devices, assets, or rule chains, helping other users understand their purpose or configuration details. |
| Device | A physical or logical terminal that connects to the platform and reports data, such as sensors, gateways, controllers, etc. Devices are the primary source of telemetry data. |
| Device Credential | The credential used by a device for authentication when connecting to the platform. Common types include access tokens, X.509 certificates, and MQTT username/password pairs. |
| Dimension | A field used in data analysis or visualisation to classify and group data, e.g., analysing data by device type, location, etc. |
| Downstream | In a rule chain, the direction in which messages flow from upstream nodes to downstream nodes. |
| Draft | The unpublished state of a dashboard or rule chain. Content in draft state is editable and viewable only by its creator; it cannot be shared or assigned to End‑Users. |
E
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Entity | A generic term for objects such as devices, assets, and users on the platform. Each entity has a unique entity ID and type. |
| Entity Alias | An easily identifiable alias assigned to an entity within a dashboard or rule chain, used as a substitute for the entity ID. Supports dynamic resolution and context awareness. |
| Environment | The deployment and runtime environment of the platform; common distinctions include development, testing, and production environments, with data and configurations typically isolated between them. |
| Export | The operation of saving rule chains, dashboards, or data from the platform to a local file (e.g., JSON) for backup or migration. |
| Extensible | The platform supports extending functionality through custom rule nodes, widgets, dashboards, etc., to accommodate different business scenarios. |
F
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Filter | A conditional node in a rule chain used to filter messages; only messages that meet the condition are passed to downstream nodes. |
| Functional Requirement | A specific description and specification of required platform functionality from users or business stakeholders. |
I
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Icon | A graphical symbol used on the platform interface to identify functions or actions, e.g., the orange pencil icon indicates edit, the trash can icon indicates delete. |
| IoT | Internet of Things – the network system that connects the physical world with the digital world through sensors, devices, etc., enabling data collection and remote control. |
K
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Key | The name identifier of telemetry data or attributes, such as temperature or humidity. Widgets read the corresponding field values via data keys. |
L
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Link | A connection line between nodes in a rule chain, defining the path and conditions for passing messages from one node to the next. |
| Log | Records of operation events and system runtime information on the platform, used for audit trails and troubleshooting. Audit logs contain user operations; system logs contain service runtime status. |
M
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Metadata | Data that describes entity information, such as device ID, creation time, labels, etc. Metadata is typically independent of telemetry data and used for entity management and query filtering. |
| Model | A template used to describe device capabilities, attribute structures, and data formats. In the ThingsEye architecture, it is typically defined via device profiles. |
N
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Network Management | A set of functions on the platform for monitoring and managing device network connection status and data reporting conditions. |
| Node | A basic processing unit in a rule chain; each node performs a specific operation (e.g., filter, transform, store, notify, etc.). Multiple nodes are connected to form a message processing flow. |
O
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| On‑demand Loading | A strategy where the platform loads specific data or resources only when needed by the user, reducing initial load time and optimising performance. |
| OTA | Over‑The‑Air – refers to the delivery of firmware or configuration updates to devices over the network, without requiring on‑site operations. |
P
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Permission | The authorisation scope of different roles for specific modules or operations on the platform. The platform implements permission management via Role‑Based Access Control (RBAC). |
| Pre‑configuration | Configuration items that are set by default at the factory or during initial deployment; users can customise them as needed. |
| Publish | The operation of promoting a dashboard or rule chain from draft state to an available state. After publishing, dashboards can be shared and assigned, and rule chains can be referenced by devices/assets. |
Q
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Query Filter | An operation that filters device lists, alarm lists, or data query results, typically based on conditions such as entity name, type, or time. |
| Quota | The upper limit on the number of resources that can be created under a tenant, such as device count, user count, dashboard count, etc. Set by the System Administrator in the tenant profile. |
R
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Real‑time | Data with extremely low latency from device reporting to dashboard display, typically in milliseconds to seconds, suitable for monitoring scenarios. |
| Resource | A general term for objects that can be created and managed on the platform, including devices, assets, dashboards, rule chains, users, etc. |
| Root Rule Chain | The system‑preset default rule chain responsible for processing all messages flowing into the platform. It cannot be deleted and is always active. |
S
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Scenario | A specific business requirement or application context; platform operations are typically configured and managed around specific scenarios. |
| Security Policy | The definition and configuration of security rules on the platform, such as login failure limits, password complexity, and session timeouts. |
| Share | The operation of assigning a published dashboard to specified End‑Users. After sharing, the user can view and use the dashboard in their dashboard list. |
| Software Version | The current version number of the platform, used to confirm feature support and compatibility. Version consistency should be noted during upgrades or import/export operations. |
| Status | The current operational state of a device, alarm, or dashboard. Device status includes Online/Offline; Alarm status includes Active/Acknowledged/Cleared; Dashboard status includes Draft/Published. |
| System Administrator | The role with the highest platform privileges, responsible for tenant lifecycle management, system‑level configuration, and Tenant Administrator account management. |
T
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Telemetry Data | Real‑time time‑series data reported by devices, such as temperature, humidity, voltage, etc. Stored in chronological order and available for trend analysis. |
| Tenant | A logical isolation unit for resources (devices, assets, users, dashboards, etc.) on the platform. Data and configurations are isolated between tenants, and each tenant is independently managed by its Tenant Administrator. |
| Tenant Administrator | The role with full administrative privileges within a tenant, able to manage users, devices, assets, dashboards, rule chains, alarms, and all other resources. |
| Tenant Profile | A set of pre‑configured parameters created by the System Administrator, containing default settings and quota limits for tenants. It can be applied directly when creating a new tenant for rapid configuration. |
| Time Series | A sequence of data points ordered chronologically; telemetry data is a typical example. The platform supports storage, query, and aggregation of time‑series data. |
| Token | A string credential used for authentication in device or API access. The access token is the most common credential type used for devices connecting to the platform. |
| Trigger | The condition expression defined in an alarm rule; an alarm is triggered when device telemetry or attribute data meets the condition. |
U
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator – a string that identifies the location of a network resource. The platform accesses REST APIs and resources via URLs. |
| User | An individual with an account on the platform who logs in and performs operations. Based on role, users are divided into Tenant Administrators and End‑Users. |
V
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Virtual Machine | A form of computing environment for platform deployment; the All‑in‑One Platform can be deployed in virtualised environments alongside containerised deployments. |
| VPN | Virtual Private Network – a technology that creates an encrypted tunnel over a public network, used to securely access the platform or remote devices. |
W
| Term | Brief Description |
|---|---|
| Widget | A basic visualisation unit within a dashboard, used to display data in the form of charts, cards, tables, etc. |
| Widget Bundle | A collection of widgets grouped by functional purpose, helping users choose the appropriate widget type for their scenario. |