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WhatisSCADA?
SCADAsystemsarethebackboneofmodernindustry

WhatisSCADAUsedFor?
SCADA(Supervisorycontrolanddataacquisition)isanindustrialautomationcontrolsystemat
thecoreofmanymodernindustries,including:
Energy
Foodandbeverage
Manufacturing
Oilandgas
Power
Recycling

Transportation
Waterandwastewater
Andmanymore

SCADAsystemsareusedbyprivatecompaniesandpublic-sectorserviceproviders.SCADA
workswellinmanydifferenttypesofenterprisesbecausetheycanrangefromsimple
configurationstolarge,complexprojects.
Virtuallyanywhereyoulookintoday'sworld,thereissometypeofSCADAsystemrunning
behindthescenes,whetheratyourlocalsupermarket,refinery,wastewatertreatmentplant,or
evenyourownhome.

HowDoSCADASystemsWork?
SCADAsystemsdeploymultiplesoftwareandhardwareelementsthatallowindustrial
organizationsto:
Monitor,gather,andprocessdata
Interactwithandcontrolmachinesanddevicessuchasvalves,pumps,motors,andmore,which
areconnectedthroughHMI(human-machineinterface)software
Recordeventsintoalogfile

InbasicSCADAarchitectures,informationfromsensorsormanualinputsaresenttoPLCs
(programmablelogiccontrollers)orRTUs(remoteterminalunits),whichthensendthat
informationtocomputerswithSCADAsoftware.SCADAsoftwareanalyzesanddisplaysthedata
inordertohelpoperatorsandotherworkerstoreducewasteandimproveefficiencyinthe
manufacturingprocess.
EffectiveSCADAsystemscanresultinsignificantsavingsoftimeandmoney.Numerouscase
studieshavebeenpublishedhighlightingthebenefitsandsavingsofusingamodernSCADA
softwaresolutionsuchasIgnition.
ClickheretoviewSCADAcasestudies(/scada-software-solutions/casestudies)

BasicSCADAArchitecture

AbasicSCADAdiagram
(/static/images/whatisscada/basic-scada-diagram.png)

AbasicSCADAdiagram
(/static/images/whatisscada/basic-scada-diagram.png)

TheEvolutionofSCADA
Inthe1950s,thefirstmini-computerswerefirstdevelopedandusedforindustrialpurposes.In
the1960s,whatwereoncemini-computerswerenowconsideredmid-sizedandtheywereused
forremotemonitoringandsupervisorycontrol.
ThetermSCADAwascoinedintheearly1970s,andtheriseofmicroprocessorsand
programmablelogiccontrollers(PLCs)duringthatdecadegaveenterprisesagreaterabilityto
monitorandcontrolautomatedprocessesthaneverbefore.
Inthe1980sand1990s,SCADAevolvedagainwiththewideuseoflocalareanetworks(LAN),
whichenabledSCADAsystemstobeconnectedtoothersystems,andtheintroductionofPCbasedHMIsoftware.
Inthe1990sandearly2000s,structuredquerylanguage(SQL)databasesbecamethestandard
forITdatabasesbutwerenotadoptedbySCADAdevelopers.Thisresultedinariftbetweenthe
fieldsofcontrolsandIT,andSCADAtechnologybecameantiquatedovertime.

ModernSCADASystems
ModernSCADAsystemsallowreal-timedatafromtheplantfloortobeaccessedfromanywhere
intheworld.Thisaccesstoreal-timeinformationallowsgovernments,businesses,and
individualstomakedata-drivendecisionsabouthowtoimprovetheirprocesses.Without
SCADAsoftware,itwouldbeextremelydifficultifnotimpossibletogathersufficientdatafor
consistentlywell-informeddecisions.
Also,mostmodernSCADAdesignerapplicationshaverapidapplicationdevelopment(RAD)
capabilitiesthatallowuserstodesignapplicationsrelativelyeasily,eveniftheydon'thave
extensiveknowledgeofsoftwaredevelopment.
TheintroductionofmodernITstandardsandpracticessuchasSQLandweb-basedapplications
intoSCADAsoftwarehasgreatlyimprovedtheefficiency,security,productivity,andreliabilityof
SCADAsystems.

SCADAsoftwarethatutilizesthepowerofSQLdatabasesprovideshugeadvantagesover
antiquatedSCADAsoftware.OnebigadvantageofusingSQLdatabaseswithaSCADAsystemis
thatitmakesiteasiertointegrateintoexistingMESandERPsystems,allowingdatatoflow
seamlesslythroughanentireorganization.
HistoricaldatafromaSCADAsystemcanalsobeloggedinaSQLdatabase,whichallowsfor
easierdataanalysisthroughdatatrending.

IgnitionHMI/SCADASoftware
IgnitionbyInductiveAutomationisanindustrialautomationsoftwareplatformthatmany
businessesandorganizationshaveswitchedtofortheirHMI/SCADAneeds.
Ignitionhasbeeninstalledinthousandsoflocationsinover70countriessince2010.Its
powerfulandrobustnatureallowsSCADAsystemintegratorstoreachthedemandsoftheir
customerswhilecostinglessthanotherSCADAsoftwaresolutions.
HereareafewreasonswhymoreenterprisesarechoosingIgnition:
IgnitionusesmodernITpracticesthatmakeitcompatiblewithcurrentSCADAsystem
components.
Itsuniquelicensingmodelletsuserspayaflatfeebasedonthenumberofservers.OtherSCADA
vendorstypicallychargeperclientorpertag,butIgnitionoffersunlimitedclientsandtags.
Ignitionisweb-deployable:itcanbedownloadedandinstalledinafewminutes,andclientscan
belaunchedorupdatedinstantly.

InductiveAutomation'smottoof"Dreamit.Doit."isaperfectembodimentofwhatIgnitioncan
do.Whileitsboldclaimsmaysoundtoogoodtobetrue,onedemonstrationofthesoftware
proveshowpowerfulitreallyis.Onceyouseewhat'spossible,youllbegintoimaginehowthe
softwarecanfityourSCADAneedsandopenupnewpossibilities.

IgnitionHMI/SCADAArchitecture

IgnitionSCADAArchitecture
(/static/images/whatisscada/ignition-scada-architecture.png)

IgnitionSCADAArchitecture
(/static/images/whatisscada/ignition-scada-architecture.png)

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