Advancing Industry 4.0 Control Systems with MOM-based Hybrid Architecture

Efficiently managing the increasing complexity of Industry 4.0 system's implementation requires advanced system architectures that can handle high volumes of data and provide rapid responses. Architecture approach plays a critical role in determining the performance and scalability of software systems. This research paper explores and compares three architectural approaches—Monolithic, Microservice, and Hybrid—in the context of a Traffic Management System (TMS), which is a type of Industry 4.0 Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. Traditional monolithic architecture (MA) often struggles with scalability, flexibility, and performance. The microservice architecture (MSA) addresses these issues by breaking down the system into smaller, independent services, each handling a specific function. However, it introduces complexity in communication and data consistency. The proposed hybrid architecture (HA) leverages the strengths of both approaches by combining modular microservices with a shared, centralized database, and employs message-oriented middleware (MOM) protocol RabbitMQ for inter-service communication. A case study implementation of the TMS is conducted to evaluate the performance of these architectures with key performance metrics, including CPU utilization, throughput, and average error rate. Through this study, this paper explores that the HA offers a balanced solution, providing the scalability and resilience of microservices with the simplicity and centralized data management of monolithic systems.