Customer Case Study
Customer: Auroras Grid
Industry: Energy Management Systems
Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland
Use Case: Reliable Remote Access & Device Connectivity Monitoring
About Auroras Grid
Auroras Grid develops innovative energy management systems (EMS) that help industries and utilities monitor, optimize, and control distributed energy assets such as Li-ion batteries.
Their technology improves battery efficiency and enables smarter, more sustainable energy operations across large and remote deployments.
To manage hundreds of devices in the field, Auroras Grid’s engineering team needed a secure and reliable way to access systems remotely — especially under unstable network conditions.
The Challenge
Auroras Grid used a VPN overlay (Netbird) as their primary method for remote access. While the VPN offered rich features, it occasionally suffered from reliability issues, including:
- Random disconnects after version updates
- Memory leaks and agent instability
- Loss of access when devices had full disk or agent crashes
For engineers, downtime meant uncertainty — was the device offline due to a network issue, or had it lost power entirely?
The team needed a failsafe solution that was simple, dependable, and always available when things went wrong.
The Solution: SocketXP IoT Platform
Auroras Grid adopted SocketXP as a fallback remote access solution alongside their VPN overlay.
SocketXP’s secure reverse tunnel technology allowed engineers to connect to remote devices instantly — even under difficult field conditions.
“We use SocketXP as a fallback method to access our energy management systems remotely. While limited in terms of capabilities, it is very reliable. If a device is offline on SocketXP, we know it either has no power or internet access.”
— Stijn Nefkens, Chief Product Officer, Auroras Grid
SocketXP soon became the “break-glass” remote access tool the team could rely on during emergencies or unexpected VPN outages.
Results
1. Always-On Reliability
SocketXP maintained access in extreme situations where other tools failed — including full disk scenarios or agent crashes.
“SocketXP has always been able to grant access even in extreme cases (Eg: disk full scenario). We tested Teleport for a while, but its agent would lose access when the disk was full.”
— Stijn Nefkens, Chief Product Officer, Auroras Grid
2. Clear Visibility into Device Status
SocketXP provides a consistent state of the devices at any point in time.
“If a device appears offline in SocketXP, engineers instantly know it’s a power or network issue, not a software bug — saving hours of troubleshooting.”
— Stijn Nefkens, Chief Product Officer, Auroras Grid
3. Peace of Mind for Field Operations
SocketXP replaces the role the VPN overlay perfectly, combining feature-rich management with a fail-safe access path that’s always dependable.
Why Reliability Matters Most
In energy systems, uptime equals trust.
A reliable connection means faster troubleshooting, safer operations, and less uncertainty.
“To be honest, I prefer reliability 100% over features (in a remote device management software).”
— Stijn Nefkens, Chief Product Officer, Auroras Grid
Outcome
With SocketXP, Auroras Grid established a robust, redundant remote access framework for its distributed energy management systems.
SocketXP ensures engineers can still reach their devices — securely, instantly, and reliably.
Key Highlights
- Reliable failsafe remote access for energy systems
- Seamless coexistence with VPN overlays
- Clear visibility into device health and connectivity
- Proven resilience under extreme conditions