Terminology

The Origin time stamp is the time the data is created on the device, device services, sensor, or object that collected the data before the data is sent to ____ and the database. The Created time stamp is when the data was created in the database.

Usually, the Origin and Created time stamps are the same or very close to the same. On occasion the the sensor may be a long way from the gateway or even in a different time zone.

A cloud-based environment in which to develop, run, test, and maintain web-based applications. The PaaS environment provides the entire IT resource stack as a service and provides all of the facilities required to support the complete life cycle of building and delivering web-based applications.

Using PaaS enables the creation and deployment of web-based application software without the cost and complexity of buying and managing underlying hardware, operating software, and utilities. Using PaaS therefore enables Developers to accelerate the pace of developing applications while reducing the complexity because Developers can provision, deploy, and manage applications using one unified management system.

By using PaaS, Developers get their application to market faster, and can innovate and experiment with new technologies using existing public, private, or hybrid cloud infrastructures.

And why is a rules engine important to IoT edge systems?

A rules engine is a software system that is connected to a collection of data (either database or data stream). The rules engine examines various elements of the data and monitors the date, and then triggers some action based on the results of the monitoring of the data it. 

Basically, a rules engine is a collection of "If-Then" conditional statements. The "If" informs the rules engine what data to look at and what ranges or values of data must match in order to trigger the "Then" part of the statement, which then informs the rules engine what action to take or what external resource to call on, when the data is a match to the "If" statement. 

Most rules engines can be dynamically programmed meaning that new "If-Then" statements or rules can be provided while the engine is running. The rules are often defined by some type of rule language with simple syntax to enable non-Developers to provide the new rules.

Rules engines are one of the simplest forms of "edge analytics" provided in IoT systems.  Rules engines enable data picked up by IoT sensors to be monitored and acted upon (actuated).  Typically the actuation is accomplished on another IoT device or sensor.  For example, a temperature sensor in an equipment enclosure may be monitored by a rules engine to detect when the temperature is getting too warm (or too cold) for safe or optimum operation of the equipment.  The rules engine, upon detecting temperatures outside of the acceptable range, shuts off the equipment in the enclosure.