Iba, located in Germany, specializes in measurement systems for industry and energy. They develop hardware and software solutions for process data acquisition and analysis, which includes acquiring, recording, analyzing, and processing measurement data. Their systems cater to industries requiring process data acquisition and analysis in automated technical processes. Their target clients are in industrial production, power generation, and energy distribution.

The ibaManagementStudio product is an on-premises software solution which provides a central overview of all currently installed iba software within a company network. All information collected in the server such as license information, software version and status, etc. can be displayed on arbitrary systems by using a web browser only. The product features include inventory information, user management, alarming, remote software and license update.

The customer requested that the ibaManagementStudio, which was initially built using the .NET Blazor framework, be migrated to Angular to align with iba's standardized frontend framework. So we ended up supporting the client with the migration process to Angular. This migration presented challenges, including adapting the existing backend architecture and implementing frontend solutions and packages that were compatible with Angular. Another requirement was a centralized installer file storage to store the most recent versions of the other iba product installers. The main goal was to enable the ibaManagementStudio clients to quickly access the most recent installer files, which would, in turn, support the customer in leveraging the most recent iba products. A new centralized installer file storage solution was required to provide ibaManagementStudio clients with secure, scalable, and global access. Using a public FTP server to solve this issue would lead to security vulnerabilities.

SnapSoft provided not only agile full stack developers, but also expertise in building ecosystems on scalable cloud infrastructure and a strong background in custom application development. Additionally, SnapSoft offered a scalable, well-defined AWS infrastructure that utilized AWS Organizations, thereby preparing the client's infrastructure for future AWS-related projects.

AWS was chosen due to its scalable, secure, and reliable cloud infrastructure, which is essential for modern application development. Using multiple accounts, AWS enables resource separation, enhanced security, advanced monitoring, and scalability options. Introducing iba into the AWS environment offers significant innovation potential and a strong foundation for future growth. Also AWS was used to avoid the security vulnerabilities that would have been caused by using a public FTP server to solve the centralized file storage problem.

Key deliverables included:

Migrating to Angular

• Architectural changes to the current Blazor solution including web socket communication and introducing a Web API layer.
• Introduced Kendo UI as the UI framework.
• Implemented proper data state handling on the client side.

Creating File Storage

• Leveraging AWS S3 for a secure and scalable way of storing files.

User Authentication and Authorization

• User management was implemented leveraging AWS Cognito.
• Handling access to the S3 bucket based on the authenticated user.

AWS Landing Zone Deployment

• Multi-account setup using AWS Organizations.
• Configuration of organizational units for management, security, production, and development accounts.
• Introducing sandbox accounts for iba developers to try out AWS Resources.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

• Terraform was employed to build and scale infrastructure efficiently.

Security Optimization

• Implementation of security baselines across accounts.
• Security Control Policies (SCPs) to enforce governance.

Monitoring

• Core monitoring enabled through AWS CloudTrail in a dedicated AWS Account to monitor Organization wide audit logs.

User Management and Access Control

• AWS SSO setup for seamless and secure user logins with well defined permissions.

• AWS Organizations: Managed multiple accounts within a secure structure, providing separation and compliance readiness.
• AWS CloudTrail: To enable logging and monitoring of account activity.
• AWS SSO: For secure and simplified user access.
• AWS S3: For storing the installer files in a centralized location.
• AWS Cognito: To authenticate and authorize users.
• Terraform: Enabled Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for repeatable, reliable deployments.

A new centralized installer repository has been implemented to enable iba to seamlessly provide the latest product installers to its customers through ibaManagementStudio. The scalable and secure environment is guaranteed by the AWS implementation of the centralized installer. The product seamlessly integrates sync, allowing ibaManagementStudio clients to instantly receive the most up-to-date installers. The ibaManagementStudio product now utilizes a modern UI framework by migrating to Angular, which aligns with their technology stack.