Introduction

Looking for the old Kubernetes Helm stack? See the UMH Core vs UMH Classic FAQ to understand which edition fits your project and the current migration path.

UMH-Core is a single Docker container that turns any PC, VM, or edge gateway into an Industrial Data Hub.

Inside that one image you'll find:

• Redpanda – an embedded, Kafka-compatible broker that buffers every message.

• Benthos-UMH – a stream-processor engine with 50+ industrial connectors.

• Agent – a Go service that reads config.yaml, launches pipelines, watches health, and phones home to the Management Console.

• S6 Supervisor – keeps every subprocess alive and starts them in the correct order.

Why teams pick UMH-Core

Benefit	What it means in practice
Simple	PLCs, sensors, ERP/MES, cloud services all talk to one Unified Namespace (UNS) instead of point-to-point spaghetti.
Lightweight	Runs on almost everything
No lock-in	100 % open-source stack: Redpanda, Benthos, S6, and much more

Key concepts at a glance

Instance
└─ Core
   ├─ Bridges 🚧         # ingest or egest data (ex-"Protocol Converters") - Roadmap Item
   │   ├─ Read Flow  # read side
   │   └─ Write Flow    # write side  
   │   └─ Connection   # monitors the network connection
   ├─ Stream Processors 🚧  # Roadmap - transforms messages inside UNS
   └─ Stand-alone Flows ✅  # Available now

• Bridge 🚧 – connects external systems to the UNS with health monitoring. See Bridges for details. (Roadmap item - basic functionality available)

• Stream Processor 🚧 – transforms messages already inside the UNS. (Roadmap item)

• Stand-alone Flow ✅ – point-to-point when UNS buffering isn't wanted. (Available now)

• Connection ✅ - a continuous network check whether the external system is available. (Available now)

Typical architecture

┌──────── PLC / Device ───────┐
│  OPC UA / Modbus / S7 / …   │
└────────────┬────────────────┘
             │  Bridge (Read Flow)
             ▼
    ┌───────────────────┐
    │ Unified Namespace │
    └───────────────────┘
             │  Bridge (Write Flow)
             ▼
   MQTT broker ▸ Cloud ▸ Historian ▸ Dashboards

Every message first lands in the Unified Namespace, giving you replay, buffering, and reliable data processing. MQTT Brokers, Databases, Historians, Dashboards, etc. then consume the data from that.

Getting Started

1. Quick Setup - Get UMH Core running in minutes

2. Unified Namespace Guide - Understand the core messaging architecture

3. Connect Your First Device 🚧 - Bridge industrial protocols to the UNS

4. Data Modeling 🚧 - Structure your industrial data for enterprise-scale analytics

Documentation Structure

• Usage Guides - Step-by-step implementation guides

  • Unified Namespace - Core messaging architecture

  • Data Modeling 🚧 - Enterprise data structuring

  • Data Flows - Connect and process data streams

• Production Deployment - Scaling, security, and operations

• Reference Documentation - Complete API and configuration reference

Learn More About UNS

For deeper understanding of the concepts behind UMH Core:

• The Unified Namespace Course Series - 4-chapter comprehensive course

  • Chapter 1: OT Foundations - Automation pyramid challenges

  • Chapter 2: The Rise of UNS - Core architecture principles

  • Chapter 3: IT Foundations - Modern IT patterns

• Industrial IoT Architecture - Edge computing in manufacturing

• MQTT vs UNS Comparison - Why data contracts matter

Community & Support

• Discord Community - Get help and connect with other users

• GitHub Repository - Source code and issue tracking

• Management Console - Web-based configuration and monitoring

• UMH Website - Company and product information