Migration from Classic

This guide walks through migrating from UMH Classic to UMH Core. The key changes involve data contracts, configuration syntax, and architectural improvements.

Migration Strategy

The recommended approach is side-by-side deployment to minimize risk:

1. Deploy Core next to Classic - Point a Bridge at the Classic UNS topics

2. Cut over producers/consumers gradually

3. Shut down Classic pods once data is verified

Key Changes from Classic to Core

Data Contract Migration

Core Change: _historian → _raw

UMH Classic (Deprecated):

# Bridge configuration
pipeline:
  processors:
    - tag_processor:
        defaults: |
          msg.meta.data_contract = "_historian";

# Consumer patterns  
topics: ["umh.v1.+.+.+.+._historian.+"]

UMH Core (Current):

# Bridge configuration - Start simple
pipeline:
  processors:
    - tag_processor:
        defaults: |
          msg.meta.data_contract = "_raw";

# Consumer patterns
input:
  uns:
    topics: ["umh.v1.+.+.+.+._raw.+"]        # For simple sensor data
    topics: ["umh.v1.+.+.+.+._temperature.+"]  # For structured temperature data

Configuration Changes

Bridge Configuration

UMH Classic:

# Old benthos-style configuration
input:
  opcua: 
    # ... configuration
processors:
  - tag_processor:
      defaults: |
        msg.meta.data_contract = "_historian";
output:
  kafka: {}

UMH Core:

# New protocolConverter (Bridge) configuration
protocolConverter:
  - name: device-bridge
    desiredState: active
    protocolConverterServiceConfig:
      location:
        2: "production-line"
        3: "device-name"
      template:
        dataflowcomponent_read:
          benthos:
            input:
              opcua: 
                # ... configuration
            pipeline:
              processors:
                - tag_processor:
                    defaults: |
                      msg.meta.data_contract = "_raw";
            output:
              uns: {}  # Always use UNS output

Key Differences

Aspect	UMH Classic	UMH Core
Data Contracts	_historian only	_raw + explicit contracts
Configuration	Direct Benthos config	Embedded within Bridges/Flows
Output	Direct Kafka	UNS output (abstracts Kafka)
Location	Manual topic construction	Automatic hierarchical path construction (supports ISA-95, KKS, or custom naming)
Data Modeling	Single payload format	Structured models + contracts
Database Integration	Automatic with _historian	Manual with specific contracts

Important: No Default Database Integration

⚠️ Breaking Change: UMH Core has no default data contract that automatically writes to TimescaleDB.

UMH Classic:

# _historian automatically integrated with TimescaleDB
pipeline:
  processors:
    - tag_processor:
        defaults: |
          msg.meta.data_contract = "_historian";  # Auto-saved to database

UMH Core:

# _raw is for simple data only - NO automatic database integration
pipeline:
  processors:
    - tag_processor:
        defaults: |
          msg.meta.data_contract = "_raw";  # NOT saved to database automatically

# Database integration requires explicit configuration
dataFlow:
  - name: timescale-sink
    dataFlowComponentConfig:
      benthos:
        input:
          uns:
            topics: ["umh.v1.+.+.+.+._raw.+"]
        pipeline:
          processors:
            - mapping: |
                # Manual transformation for database
                root.timestamp = this.timestamp_ms.ts_unix_milli()
                root.value = this.value
                # Extract location from topic
                let parts = metadata("umh_topic").split(".")
                root.enterprise = parts.1
                root.site = parts.2
                root.tag_name = parts.7
        output:
          sql_insert:
            driver: "postgres"
            dsn: "postgres://user:pass@timescale:5432/manufacturing"
            table: "sensor_readings"

Migration Impact:

• _raw data contracts do NOT automatically save to TimescaleDB

• You must create explicit database sink flows for any data you want persisted

• This provides more control but requires manual configuration

Exporting Benthos Configurations

Export your existing Benthos configs from Classic:

kubectl get configmap <benthos-config-name> -o yaml > classic-benthos-config.yaml

Extract the Benthos pipeline section and paste it into Core's config.yaml → dataFlow: section.

What to Migrate

Component	Classic Location	Core Location	Notes
Benthos pipelines	Individual pods	config.yaml → dataFlow	Export configs from ConfigMaps
Node-RED flows	Node-RED pod	External container	Run separately, connect via MQTT/HTTP
Grafana dashboards	Bundled Grafana	External Grafana	Point at TimescaleDB
TimescaleDB	TimescaleDB pod	External database	Use Bridge to forward data

3. Verify Migration

1. Check topic creation: Ensure new _raw topics are being created

2. Validate consumers: Confirm all consumers are receiving data from _raw topics

3. Monitor metrics: Watch for any data loss or processing errors

4. Test integrations: Verify external systems still receive expected data

Side-by-Side Deployment

Run Core alongside Classic during transition:

# Core Bridge reading from Classic UNS
protocolConverter:
  - name: classic-bridge
    desiredState: active
    protocolConverterServiceConfig:
      template:
        dataflowcomponent_read:
          benthos:
            input:
              kafka:
                addresses: ["classic-kafka:9092"]
                topics: ["umh.v1.+.+.+.+._historian.+"]
            pipeline:
              processors:
                - mapping: |
                    # Convert _historian to _raw
                    root = this
                    meta.data_contract = "_raw"
            output:
              uns: {}

Getting Help

• Migration Issues: See Troubleshooting Guide

• Configuration Questions: Check Configuration Reference

• Community Support: Visit UMH Community Forum

Next Steps

After completing the basic migration:

1. Data Modeling 🚧 - Implement structured data contracts

2. Stream Processors 🚧 - Transform raw data to business models

3. Production Deployment - Scale and secure your UMH Core deployment

Tag Groups Migration

UMH Classic (Tag Groups in Payload):

# Classic bridge configuration
pipeline:
  processors:
    - tag_processor:
        defaults: |
          msg.meta.data_contract = "_historian";
          msg.meta.tag_name = "head";  # Groups appear inside payload

# Classic payload with tag groups
{
  "timestamp_ms": 1670001234567,
  "pos": { 
    "x": 12.5,
    "y": 7.3,
    "z": 3.2
  },  
  "temperature": 50.0,
  "collision": false
}

# Classic database storage
# head$pos$x, head$pos$y, head$pos$z, head$temperature, head$collision

UMH Core (Virtual Paths in Topics):

# Core data model with virtual paths
datamodels:
  - name: CNCHead
    version: v1
    structure:
      pos:
        x: { type: timeseries }
        y: { type: timeseries }
        z: { type: timeseries }
      temperature: { type: timeseries }
      collision: { type: timeseries }

# Core stream processor
streamprocessors:
  - name: cnc_head_sp
    contract: _cnc_head:v1
    sources:
      x_raw: "umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._raw.head_pos_x"
      y_raw: "umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._raw.head_pos_y"
      z_raw: "umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._raw.head_pos_z"
      temp_raw: "umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._raw.head_temperature"
      collision_raw: "umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._raw.head_collision"
    mapping:
      pos.x: "x_raw"
      pos.y: "y_raw"  
      pos.z: "z_raw"
      temperature: "temp_raw"
      collision: "collision_raw"

# Result: Individual topics with virtual paths
# umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._cnc_head.pos.x
# umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._cnc_head.pos.y
# umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._cnc_head.pos.z
# umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._cnc_head.temperature
# umh.v1.corp.plant.line.cnc._cnc_head.collision

Migration Benefits:

• Granular subscriptions: Subscribe to just pos.* for positioning data

• Independent scaling: Different retention for different sensor groups

• Type safety: Each topic has explicit schema validation

• Cross-site consistency: Same virtual path structure across all CNCs

Migration Steps:

1. Identify tag groups in Classic payloads (nested JSON objects)

2. Create data models with folder structures matching groups

3. Define stream processors to map raw inputs to virtual paths

4. Update consumers to subscribe to specific virtual path patterns