Building automation network

1 . A building automation network comprising:

an embedded edge device having a data interface and an edge digital service agent adapted to automatically fetch container images of configured containers via the data interface from a cloud-based container repository for deployment as a container application in a persistent memory; and

a container engine adapted to run the deployed container application for performing tasks in the building automation network;

wherein the deployed container application stored in the persistent memory is configured and updated by a centralized web user interface provided in the cloud; and

the centralized web user interface is connected to a cloud-based container engine comprising a rule engine module adapted to validate automatically a configuration of the deployed container application configured or updated by means of the centralized web user interface.

2 . The building automation network according to claim 1 , wherein the deployed container application comprises a multi-container application composed of a group of multiple containers.

3 . The building automation network according to claim 1 , wherein the container engine of the embedded edge device is adapted to run the container application deployed in the persistent memory to perform tasks in the building automation network in real time.

4 . The building automation network according to claim 1 , wherein the data interface of the embedded edge device comprises a wired or wireless data interface connected to a message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) client of the embedded edge device adapted to receive messages from a MQTT broker provided in the cloud.

5 . The building automation network according to claim 1 , wherein each deployed container application comprises:

a unique container application identifier;

an application version identifier; and

one or more container application attributes.

6 . The building automation network according to claim 5 , wherein each deployed container application attributes comprise a state and/or an update availability of the respective deployed container application.

7 . The building automation network according to claim 1 , wherein configuration parameters of each container of the deployed container application are configurable individually using the centralized web user interface provided in the cloud.

8 . The building automation network according to claim 7 , wherein the configurable configuration parameters of a container comprise:

a container image URL,

at least one image tag,

a service identifiable name of the respective container,

a network mode,

resource consumption limits,

volume mounting,

firewall settings,

port mappings,

environmental variables, and/or

container communication parameters.

9 . The building automation network according to claim 1 , further comprising an edge application manager deployed in the cloud to manage distribution of a plurality of container applications deployed in different edge devices at multiple customer sites.

10 . The building automation network according to claim 1 , wherein the embedded edge device comprises a cloud gateway adapted to provide a cloud connectivity for building devices including sensors, actuators, and/or controllers installed in a building and adapted to communicate with each other via the building automation network.

11 . The building automation network according to claim 1 , wherein access to the centralized web user interface provided to configure and/or to update a deployed container application is only available to an authenticated user authorized to perform configurations and/or reconfigurations of the respective container application.

12 . The building automation network according to claim 1 , wherein at least one container of the deployed container application is adapted to process data provided by building devices of the building automation network and to push messages and/or process data via the data interface of the embedded edge device to the cloud.

13 . A computer-implemented method for operating a building automation network of a building connected to a cloud via a data interface of an embedded edge device, the method comprising:

configuring a container application using a central web user interface of the cloud;

deploying the container application in a persistent memory of the embedded edge device; and

running the deployed container application using a container engine of the embedded edge device;

wherein the deployed container application stored in the persistent memory is configured and updated by a centralized web user interface provided in the cloud; and

the centralized web user interface is connected to a cloud-based container engine comprising a rule engine module adapted to validate automatically a configuration of the deployed container application configured or updated by means of the centralized web user interface.

14 . A building automation system comprising:

a plurality of building devices;

wherein at least one of the building devices includes an embedded edge device having a data interface and an edge digital service agent adapted to automatically fetch container images of configured containers via the data interface from a cloud-based container repository for deployment as a container application in a persistent memory; and

a container engine adapted to run the deployed container application for performing tasks in the building automation system;

wherein the deployed container application stored in the persistent memory is configured and updated by a centralized web user interface provided in the cloud; and

the centralized web user interface is connected to a cloud-based container engine comprising a rule engine module adapted to validate automatically a configuration of the deployed container application configured or updated by means of the centralized web user interface.