OmniMES and Microservice Architecture – The Foundation of a Flexible MES System
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OmniMES and Microservice Architecture – The Foundation of a Flexible MES System

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Martin Szerment

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Published on October 6, 2025

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OmniMES is a modern Manufacturing Execution System (MES) designed on a microservice architecture.
This model ensures scalability, flexibility, and independent development of individual modules — from machine communication to data analytics and production management.

1. What Are Microservices

A microservice architecture divides an application into independent components (services), each responsible for a specific business function.
Each microservice:

  • runs as a separate process (e.g., a Docker container),

  • communicates with others through REST API or MQTT/Sparkplug B,

  • can be deployed, scaled, and updated independently.

Unlike monolithic architecture, microservices reduce the risk of total system failure and enable much faster implementation of new features.

2. How OmniMES Uses Microservices

OmniMES consists of several independent services running in a Docker Compose environment or in the cloud (e.g., DigitalOcean, OVH).

ServiceDescriptionTechnology
apiCentral REST API built with Django REST Framework – user management, production data, ERP integrationPython / Django
streamReceives machine data via MQTT Sparkplug B and stores it in the databaseNode.js
simulateSimulates machine operation and generates test production dataNode.js / Python
redashData analytics and visualizationPython / Flask
grafanaReal-time dashboardsGo
mqtt-broker (EMQX)Central communication broker for IIoT devicesErlang
nginx-proxyReverse proxy and HTTPS load balancerNginx
certbot / sslAutomatic management of Let's Encrypt certificatesPython
faiss-indexDocumentation vectorization and AI-powered question answering (RAG module)Python / LangChain

Each of these services plays a clearly defined role but together they form a cohesive ecosystem, communicating through shared APIs and message queues.

3. Advantages of Microservice Architecture in OmniMES

  1. Scalability – Any service can run in multiple instances (e.g., scale only stream when signal traffic increases).

  2. Independent updates – Updating api or simulate doesn’t require restarting the whole system.

  3. Fault tolerance – A failure of one service (e.g., grafana) doesn’t stop the others.

  4. Deployment automation – Docker and CI/CD integration allow fast, repeatable updates.

  5. Flexible development – Different teams can develop microservices in different technologies (Python, Node.js, Go) without dependency conflicts.

4. Example Data Flow

  1. The machine sends data in MQTT Sparkplug B format to the EMQX broker.

  2. The stream service decodes messages, analyzes frequency, and saves data to MongoDB or PostgreSQL.

  3. The api service exposes this data via REST API to dashboards and web applications.

  4. Redash and Grafana visualize production data and KPIs.

  5. faiss-index enables the AI assistant to answer user questions based on technical documentation (RAG module).

5. Deployment and Management

OmniMES can operate both:

  • On-premise – within a factory on a local server,

  • In the cloud (SaaS) – on DigitalOcean droplets or OVH VPS.

Microservice management is performed using:

  • Docker Compose – for test environments,

  • Docker Swarm / Kubernetes – for production environments with auto-scaling and monitoring.

6. Summary

The microservice architecture is the core of OmniMES — making the system:

  • Modular,

  • Scalable,

  • Secure,

  • Easily integrable with ERP, SCADA, and AI systems.

OmniMES is therefore not just a monitoring tool — it’s a complete IIoT + MES + AI platform, adaptable to any industrial environment.

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