SEMINAR REPORT ON

SCADA
By:
Prakash kumar (90081017) Department of instrumentation

Abstract
SCADA stands for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. As the name indicates, it is not a full control system, but rather focuses on the supervisory level. It is a computer system for gathering and analyzing real time data. SCADA systems are used to monitor and control a plant or equipment in industries such as telecommunications, water and waste control, energy, oil and gas refining and transportation. A SCADA system gathers information, such as where a leak on a pipeline has occurred, transfers the information back to a central site, alerting the home station that the leak has occurred, carrying out necessary analysis and control, such as determining if the leak is critical, and displaying the information in a logical and organized fashion. SCADA systems can be relatively simple, such as one that monitors environmental conditions of a small office building, or incredibly complex, such as a system that monitors all the activity in a nuclear power plant or the activity of a municipal water system. This paper describes the SCADA systems in terms of their architecture, their interface to the process hardware, the functionality and the application development facilities they provide.

Introduction:
What is SCADA? SCADA stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition. As the name indicates, it is not a full control system, but rather focuses on the supervisory level. It is a software package that is positioned on top of hardware to which it is interfaced, in general via Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), or other commercial hardware modules. Systems similar to SCADA systems are routinely seen in factories, treatment plants etc. These are often referred to as Distributed Control Systems (DCS). They have similar functions to SCADA systems, but the field data gathering or control units are usually located within a more confined area. Communications may be via a local area network (LAN), and will normally be reliable and high speed. Basically, SCADA is a computer system for gathering and analyzing real time data. What is the difference b/w scada and dcs? 1. DCS is process oriented, while SCADA is data acquisition oriented. 2. DCS is process state driven, while SCADA is event driven. 3. DCS is commonly used to handle operations on a single locale, while SCADA is preferred for applications that are spread over a wide geographic location. 4. DCS operator stations are always connected to its I/O, while SCADA is expected to operate despite failure of field communications. Supervisory Station Supervisory Station is used to refer to the software and servers responsible for communication with field equipment (PLCs, RTUs etc), and after that to HMI software which runs on the workstations in control room, or somewhere else. Master station could be composed of only one PC in small SCADA systems. Master station could have multiple servers, disaster recovery sites and distributed software applications in larger SCADA systems. For increasing integrity of

system, multiple servers are occasionally configured in hot-standby or dualredundant formation, providing monitoring and continuous control during server failure. Earlier, open platforms like Linux were used not as widely because of dynamic development environment or due to the SCADA customer who could afford field hardware or devices for being controlled could generally also purchase Open VMS or UNIX licenses. All big operating systems, today, are being used for HMI workstations and master station servers.

What is data acquisition? Data acquisition is the process of retrieving control information from the equipment which is out of order or may lead to some problem or when decisions are need to be taken according to the situation in the equipment. So this acquisition is done by continuous monitoring of the equipment to which it is employed. The data accessed are then forwarded onto a telemetry system ready for transfer to the different sites. They can be analog and digital information gathered by sensors, such as flow meter, ammeter, etc. It can also be data to control equipment such as actuators, relays, valves, motors, etc. So why or where would you use SCADA? SCADA can be used to monitor and control plant or equipment. The control may be automatic, or initiated by operator commands. The data acquisition is accomplished firstly by the RTU's (remote Terminal Units) scanning the field inputs connected to the RTU ( RTU's may also be called a PLC - programmable logic controller). This is usually at a fast rate. The central host will scan the RTU's (usually at a slower rate.) The data is processed to detect alarm conditions, and if an alarm is present, it will be displayed on special alarm lists. Data can be of three main types. Analogue data (i.e. real numbers) will be trended (i.e. placed in graphs). Digital data (on/off) may have alarms attached to one state or the other. Pulse data (e.g. counting revolutions of a meter) is normally accumulated or counted.

These systems are used not only in industrial processes. For example, Manufacturing, steel making, power generation both in conventional, nuclear and its distribution, chemistry, but also in some experimental facilities such as laboratories research, testing and evaluation centers, nuclear fusion. The size of such plants can range from as few as 10 to several 10 thousands input/output (I/O) channels. However, SCADA systems evolve rapidly and are now penetrating the market of plants with a number of I/O channels of several 100K. The primary interface to the operator is a graphical display (mimic) usually via a PC Screen which shows a representation of the plant or equipment in graphical form. Live data is shown as graphical shapes (foreground) over a static background. As the data changes in the field, the foreground is updated. E.g. a valve may be shown as open or closed. Analog data can be shown either as a number, or graphically. The system may have many such displays, and the operator can select from the relevant ones at any time. SCADA systems were first used in the 1960s.SCADA systems have made substantial progress over the recent years in terms of functionality, scalability, performance and openness such that they are an alternative to in house development even for very demanding and complex control systems as those of physics experiments. SCADA systems used to run on DOS, VMS and UNIX; in recent years all SCADA vendors have moved to NT and some also to Linux.

How SCADA Works?

The measurement and control system of SCADA has one master terminal unit (MTU) which could be called the brain of the system and one or more remote terminal units (RTU). The RTUs gather the data locally and send them to the MTU which then issues suitable commands to be executed on site. A system of either standard or customized software is used to collate, interpret and manage the data. SCADA as of now uses predominantly open-loop control systems, though some closed-loop characteristics are often built in. As this is an open-loop

system, it means that SCADA system cannot use feedback to check what results its inputs have produced. In other words, there is no machinelearning.

The Future of SCADA:

The large territories and huge volumes of data SCADA can handle form a formidable combination. Todays SCADA systems can manage anything from a few thousands to one million of input/output channels. The technology is still evolving in terms of sophistication as well. SCADA systems as they are now can perform a large variety of tasks and some systems have artificial intelligence built into them. They are also more network-enabled, thus paving the way for voice-data-control data convergence. With proper planning and a custom-made installation, a SCADA system becomes a valuable asset

Architecture:
In this section we are going to details which describe the common architecture required for the SCADA products. Hardware Architecture The basic hardware of the SCADA system is distinguished into two basic layers: the "client layer" which caters for the man machine interaction and the "data server layer" which handles most of the process data control activities. The data servers communicate with devices in the field through process controllers. Process controllers, e.g. PLCs, are connected to the data servers either directly or via networks or fieldbuses that are proprietary (e.g. Siemens H1), or non-proprietary (e.g. Profibus). Data servers are connected to each other and to client stations via an Ethernet LAN. Fig.1. shows typical hardware architecture.

Figure 1: Typical Hardware Architecture

Software Architecture The SCADA products are multi-tasking and are based upon a realtime database (RTDB) located in one or more servers. Servers are responsible for data acquisition and handling like polling controllers, alarm checking, calculations, logging and archiving) on a set of parameters, typically to which those are connected. However, it is possible to have dedicated servers for particular tasks, e.g. historian, datalogger, alarm handler. Fig. 2 shows a SCADA architecture that is generic for the product.

Figure 2: Generic Software Architecture

Communication: Internal Communication: Server-client and server-server communication is in general on a publish-subscribe and event-driven basis and uses a TCP/IP protocol, i.e., a client application subscribes to a parameter which is owned by a particular server application and only changes to that parameter are then communicated to the client application. Access to Devices: The data servers poll the controllers at a user defined polling rate. The polling rate may be different for different parameters. The controllers pass the requested parameters to the data servers. Time stamping of the process parameters is typically performed in the controllers and this time-stamp is taken over by the data server. If the controller and communication protocol used support unsolicited data transfer then the products will support this too.

The products provide communication drivers for most of the common PLCs and widely used field-buses, e.g., Modbus. Of the three fieldbuses that are recommended are, both Profibus and Worldfip are supported but CANbus often not. Some of the drivers are based on third party products (e.g., Applicom cards) and therefore have additional cost associated with them. VME on the other hand is generally not supported. A single data server can support multiple communications protocols; it can generally support as many such protocols as it has slots for interface cards. The effort required to develop new drivers is typically in the range of 2-6 weeks depending on the complexity and similarity with existing drivers, and a driver development toolkit is provided for this. Interfacing Application Interfaces / Openness The provision of OPC client functionality for SCADA to access devices in an open and standard manner is developing. There still seems to be a lack of devices/controllers, which provide OPC server software, but this improves rapidly as most of the producers of controllers are actively involved in the development of this standard. The products also provide

an Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC) interface to the data in the archive/logs, but not to the configuration database, an ASCII import/export facility for configuration data, a library of APIs supporting C, C++, and Visual Basic (VB) to access data in the RTDB, logs and archive. The API often does not provide access to the product's internal features such as alarm handling, reporting, trending, etc.

The PC products provide support for the Microsoft standards such as Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) which allows e.g. to visualize data dynamically in an EXCEL spreadsheet, Dynamic Link Library (DLL) and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE).

Database The configuration data are stored in a database that is logically centralized but physically distributed and that is generally of a proprietary format. For performance reasons, the RTDB resides in the memory of the servers and is also of proprietary format. The archive and logging format is usually also proprietary for performance reasons, but some products do support logging to a Relational Data Base Management System (RDBMS) at a slower rate either directly or via an ODBC interface. Scalability Scalability is understood as the possibility to extend the SCADA based control system by adding more process variables, more specialized servers (e.g. for alarm handling) or more clients. The products achieve scalability by having multiple data servers connected to multiple controllers. Each data server has its own configuration database and RTDB and is responsible for the handling of a sub-set of the process variables (acquisition, alarm handling, archiving).

SCADA as a system:
A SCADA System usually consists of the following subsystems: A Human-Machine Interface or HMI is the apparatus which presents process data to a human operator, and through this, the human operator monitors and controls the process. A supervisory (computer) system, gathering (acquiring) data on the process and sending commands (control) to the process. Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) connecting to sensors in the process, converting sensor signals to digital data and sending digital data to the supervisory system. Programmable Logic Controller (PLCs) used as field devices because they are more economical, versatile, flexible, and configurable than special-purpose RTUs.

Human-Machine Interface:

A Human-Machine Interface or HMI is the apparatus which presents process data to a human operator, and through which the human operator controls the process. An HMI is usually linked to the SCADA system's databases and software programs, to provide trending, diagnostic data, and management information such as scheduled maintenance procedures, logistic information, detailed schematics for a particular sensor or machine, and expert-system troubleshooting guides. The HMI system usually presents the information to the operating personnel graphically, in the form of a mimic diagram. This means that the operator can see a schematic representation of the plant being controlled. For example, a picture of a pump connected to a pipe can show the operator that the pump is running and how much fluid it is pumping through the pipe at the moment. The operator can then switch the pump off. The HMI software will show the flow rate of the fluid in the pipe decrease in real time. Mimic diagrams may consist of line graphics and schematic symbols to represent process elements, or may consist of digital photographs of the process equipment overlain with animated symbols. The HMI package for the SCADA system typically includes a drawing program that the operators or system maintenance personnel use to change the way these points are represented in the interface. These representations can be as simple as an on-screen traffic light, which represents the state of an actual traffic light in the field, or as complex as a multi-projector display representing the position of all of the elevators in a skyscraper or all of the trains on a railway. An important part of most SCADA implementations is alarm handling. The system monitors whether certain alarm conditions are satisfied, to determine when an alarm event has occurred. Once an alarm event has been detected, one or more actions are taken (such as the activation of one or more alarm indicators, and perhaps the generation of email or text messages so that management or remote SCADA operators are informed). In many cases, a SCADA operator may have to acknowledge the alarm event; this may deactivate some alarm indicators, whereas other indicators remain active until the alarm conditions are cleared. Alarm conditions can be explicit - for

example, an alarm point is a digital status point that has either the value NORMAL or ALARM that is calculated by a formula based on the values in other analogue and digital points - or implicit: the SCADA system might automatically monitor whether the value in an analogue point lies outside high and low limit values associated with that point. Examples of alarm indicators include a siren, a pop-up box on a screen, or a coloured or flashing area on a screen (that might act in a similar way to the "fuel tank empty" light in a car); in each case, the role of the alarm indicator is to draw the operator's attention to the part of the system 'in alarm' so that appropriate action can be taken. In designing SCADA systems, care is needed in coping with a cascade of alarm events occurring in a short time, otherwise the underlying cause (which might not be the earliest event detected) may get lost in the noise. Unfortunately, when used as a noun, the word 'alarm' is used rather loosely in the industry; thus, depending on context it might mean an alarm point, an alarm indicator, or an alarm event.

Remote Terminal Unit (RTU):

The RTU connects to physical equipment. Typically, an RTU converts the electrical signals from the equipment to digital values such as the open/closed status from a switch or a valve, or measurements such as pressure, flow, voltage or current. By converting and sending these electrical signals out to equipment the RTU can control equipment, such as opening or closing a switch or a valve, or setting the speed of a pump. It can also control the flow of a liquid.

SCADA Sensors:
Almost any sensor may be used with the measurement and control system, allowing customization for each operation. Each of our control units features a variety of channel types for flexibility in measuring many different types of sensors. For example, magnetic flow meters can be measured using pulse counting channels instead of being measured as a 4-20 mA signal. Likewise,

ultrasonic level transmitters can be measured using SDI-12 protocol on digital ports instead of as a 4-20 mA signal. Our control units also provide extensive signal conditioning and are easily expandable.

Functionality: Access Control Users are allocated to groups, which have defined read/write access privileges to the process parameters in the system and often also to specific product functionality. MMI The products support multiple screens, which can contain combinations of synoptic diagrams and text. They also support the concept of a "generic" graphical object with links to process variables. These objects can be "dragged and dropped" from a library and included into a synoptic diagram. Most of the SCADA products that were evaluated decompose the process in "atomic" parameters (e.g. a power supply current, its maximum value, its on/off status, etc.) to which a Tag-name is associated. The Tagnames used to link graphical objects to devices can be edited as required. The products include a library of standard graphical symbols, many of which would however not be applicable to the type of applications encountered in the experimental physics community. Standard windows editing facilities are provided: zooming, re-sizing, scrolling... On-line configuration and customization of the MMI is possible for users with the appropriate privileges. Links can be created between display pages to navigate from one view to another. Trending The products all provide trending facilities and one can summarize the common capabilities as follows:

the parameters to be trended in a specific chart can be predefined or defined on-line

a chart may contain more than 8 trended parameters or pens and an unlimited number of charts can be displayed (restricted only by the readability) real-time and historical trending are possible, although generally not in the same chart historical trending is possible for any archived parameter zooming and scrolling functions are provided parameter values at the cursor position can be displayed

The trending feature is either provided as a separate module or as a graphical object (ActiveX), which can then be embedded into a synoptic display. XY and other statistical analysis plots are generally not provided. Alarm Handling Alarm handling is based on limit and status checking and performed in the data servers. More complicated expressions (using arithmetic or logical expressions) can be developed by creating derived parameters on which status or limit checking is then performed. The alarms are logically handled centrally, i.e., the information only exists in one place and all users see the same status (e.g., the acknowledgement), and multiple alarm priority levels (in general many more than 3 such levels) are supported. It is generally possible to group alarms and to handle these as an entity (typically filtering on group or acknowledgement of all alarms in a group). Furthermore, it is possible to suppress alarms either individually or as a complete group. The filtering of alarms seen on the alarm page or when viewing the alarm log is also possible at least on priority, time and group. However, relationships between alarms cannot generally be defined in a straightforward manner. E-mails can be generated or predefined actions automatically executed in response to alarm conditions. Logging/Archiving The terms logging and archiving are often used to describe the same facility. However, logging can be thought of as medium-term storage of data on disk, whereas archiving is long-term storage of data either on disk or on another permanent storage medium. Logging is typically performed on a cyclic basis, i.e., once a certain file size, time period or number of points is reached the data is overwritten. Logging of data can be performed at a set frequency, or only initiated if the value changes or when a specific

predefined event occurs. Logged data can be transferred to an archive once the log is full. The logged data is time-stamped and can be filtered when viewed by a user. The logging of user actions is in general performed together with either a user ID or station ID. There is often also a VCR facility to play back archived data. Report Generation One can produce reports using SQL type queries to the archive, RTDB or logs. Although it is sometimes possible to embed EXCEL charts in the report, a "cut and paste" capability is in general not provided. Facilities exist to be able to automatically generate, print and archive reports. Automation The majority of the products allow actions to be automatically triggered by events. A scripting language provided by the SCADA products allows these actions to be defined. In general, one can load a particular display, send an Email, run a user defined application or script and write to the RTDB. The concept of recipes is supported, whereby a particular system configuration can be saved to a file and then re-loaded at a later date. Sequencing is also supported whereby, as the name indicates, it is possible to execute a more complex sequence of actions on one or more devices. Sequences may also react to external events. Some of the products do support an expert system but none has the concept of a Finite State Machine (FSM). Interoperability When SCADA was developed a few decades back, it was a relatively simple system and the various components were all developed and put together by the manufacturer of the hardware or the vendor who supplied it to clients. However the variety and complexity of requirements in the recent times have given rise to the need for specialist developers. Companies often buy the different components according to their requirements and put them together, in a mix and match manner.

Therefore the specialist developers have to ensure interoperability of the component they take care of. In other words, the components have to be developed in such a way that they can be used with a variety of applications developed by different vendors. The challenge here is that most SCADA systems are very application specific and each component is tailor made to its specific application. Therefore, the components have to also work across a number of application-specific platforms. The Promise of Wireless Sensor Networking The static, inflexible and centralized architecture of the system further limits the interoperability of a SCADA system with other systems as well as their coverage of data. Wireless Sensor Networking is an emerging area that can tackle this problem. With this technology, sensors can be deployed with more ease and flexibility. For example, in a SCADA system developed for gas/oil fields, sensors are typically placed at production wells and injection walls. With wireless sensor networking technology, sensors can be placed at other crucial places like pipelines and tanks at relatively lower costs. This greatly enhances the efficiency of the SCADA system by making more information available. The current SCADA systems are not enabled to be integrated with wireless networking systems and new systems and software with this capability may have to be developed to exploit this possibility. Extensibility Another area where the current SCADA systems are found lacking is extensibility. In other words they are not equipped to be connected to new applications like safety alarm systems, real-time communication networks based on new technology etc. This in turn limits the ability of the RTUs to take proactive measures to prevent accidents.

SCADA Security issue:

The move to better standardized and more open solutions from the proprietary technologies along with increase in number of the connections between office networks and SCADA systems as well as Internet has led to more vulnerability to attacks- check references. Subsequently, SCADAbased systems security is being questioned as they are targets to cyberterrorism/cyberwarfare attacks. Mainly, security researchers are looking into: 1. Concern lacking in security and lack of authentic deployment, operation and design in existing networks of SCADA. 2. By the use of proprietary interfaces and specialized protocols, the erroneous belief that the SCADA systems are benefiting by security through obscurity. 3. The erroneous belief about the SCADA networks being secure due to the fact that they are purportedly secured physically. 4. The erroneous belief about the SCADA networks being secure due to the fact that they are disconnected from internet, supposedly. SCADA systems also are used for monitoring and controlling physical processes, examples being, distribution of water, traffic lights, electricity transmissions, gas transportation and oil pipelines and other systems used in the modern society. The SCADA systems security is primary as the destruction or compromise of the systems would have a bad impact on various areas of the society which have been removed from original compromise. Example- financial losses will be faced by the customers who receive electricity from the source, due to the blackout by the electrically compromised SCADA system. Its effect on new deployments and legacy SCADA will be seen.

Evolution:
SCADA vendors release one major version and one to two additional minor versions once per year. These products evolve thus very rapidly so as to take advantage of new market opportunities, to meet new requirements of their customers and to take advantage of new technologies. As was already mentioned, most of the SCADA products that were evaluated decompose the process in "atomic" parameters to which a Tagname is associated. This is impractical in the case of very large processes when very large sets of Tags need to be configured. As the industrial applications are increasing in size, new SCADA versions are now being designed to handle devices and even entire systems as full entities (classes) that encapsulate all their specific attributes and functionality. In addition, they will also support multi-team development. As far as new technologies are concerned, the SCADA products are now adopting:

Web technology, ActiveX, Java, etc. OPC as a means for communicating internally between the client and server modules. It should thus be possible to connect OPC compliant third party modules to that SCADA product.

SCADA A BOOM IN ENGINEERING:

While one should rightly anticipate significant development and maintenance Savings by adopting SCADA product for the implementation of a control system, it does not mean a no effort operation. The need for proper engineering can note sufficiently emphasized to reduce development effort and to reach a system that complies with the requirements, that is economical in development and maintenance and that is reliable and roust. Examples of engineering activities specific to the use of a SCADA system are the definition of: 1. A library of objects complete with standard object behavior, graphical interface and associated scripts for animation, 2. Templates for different types of panels, eg alarms

3 Instructions on how to control eg. A device 4 A mechanism to prevent conflicting controls

PRACTICAL USES OF SCADA:

SCADA

used as a control mechanism for chemical plants, electricity generation, electric power transmission, electricity distribution, heating. Control mechanisms are described in Process Control. EPICS is an example of an open source software environment used to develop and implement SCADA system to operate devices such as particle accelerators, telescopes and other large experiments.

Potential benefits of SCADA:

1. Control units function as PLCs, RTUs, or DCUs. 2. Control units perform advanced measurement and control independent of the central computer. 3. PID control continues, even if communications to the main computer are lost. 4. Control units have many channel types to measure most available sensors. 5. Systems are compatible with our own or other vendors' HMI software packages. 6. Control units have their own UPS; during ac power loss, they continue to measure and store time-stamped data. 7. Control units provide on-board processing. statistical and mathematical

8. Systems are easily expandable: add new sites or add sensors to existing sites.

9.

Control units have wide operating temperature ranges and operate in rugged environments.

References:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCADA www.ref.web.cern.ch/ref/CERN/CNL/2002/003/scada/ www.princeton-indiana.com/wastewater/pages/scada/scada-overview.html www.scadanews.com www.sss-mag.com/scada.html www.scada.com