SCADA

What is SCADA?

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) covers any application that obtains operational data about a system to control and optimize it.

SCADA automation enables companies to monitor their equipment, reduce inefficiency and waste, communicate process results across the organization, and monitor performance on different systems. Staying competitive means continually finding new ways to operate faster and more flexibly. There is always pressure to increase productivity, efficiency, agility, quality and profitability, minimizing costs.

Critical questions to ask when selecting SCADA software

When you decide to automate or improve existing automation, start by considering how your requirements will evolve over the next 15 years (the typical lifecycle of a SCADA system). Are you able to anticipate your expected needs during this period of maturity in evolving automation?

It is almost impossible to predict changes in automation requirements during this period, especially when the connectivity capabilities of plant equipment change. That's why it's important to understand not only what available technology can do for you today, but what technology you might need in the future. Ask yourself these questions:

• What are the short- and long-term corporate objectives? Is the proposed automation consistent with these objectives?
• What hidden functionality will really help business in the long run?
• How will technology eliminate or reduce current inefficiencies and costs?

Here's a quick overview of some of the features that make InduSoft Web Studio an excellent solution for SCADA applications of any size.

Why InduSoft Web Studio?

Dashboards - Create easy-to-read, reusable dashboards that let you make informed decisions quickly.

Remote features - read/write access to your SCADA system from any device and browser that supports HTML5. No virtual or remote desktop is required - just publish to the web and access your application from any browser that supports HTML5.

Security - We created InduSoft Web Studio with SCADA security in mind. Security can be set at each runtime individually or on a network for a central security system, such as Active Directory. InduSoft Web Studio provides user-group-level security. Require a minimum password size, set the number of days a password is active, turn on Automatic Loggingoff, lock the account after invalid attempts, or use electronic signatures. 

Patented database connectivity - You can't fix what you can't measure. InduSoft Web Studio can easily provide shop floor data for third-party systems (e.g. ERP, MES) or get data from it.

InduSoft Web Studio can interact with any relational database supported by a ADO.NET, OLE DB provider, or valid ODBC driver. Easily communicate with SQL databases, including current versions of Microsoft SQL Server.

OPC UA - InduSoft Web Studio provides native OPC interfaces such as OPC UA (Client/Server), OPC DA (Client/Server), OPC XML (Client), OPC .NET (Client), and OPC HDA (Server). OPC UA and OPC DA also offer native redundancy configuration.

Built-in Drivers - InduSoft Web Studio provides over 250 native communication protocols for PLC, robots, temperature controllers and more!

Product characteristics

Design Tools

Graphical and design tools to save your development time

• Creates sophisticated interfaces with easy point-and-click, drag and drop
• Imports graphics of more than 15 different formats for enhanced and realistic screens
• Contains screen objects and animations with full features, with customizable properties such as bar charts, colors, resizing, flashing, animation, scaling, padding, positioning, rotation, commands, hyperlinks, combo boxes, and text input/output
• Provides an object-oriented environment for simple application development and reuse of screens and objects.
• Uses an extensive symbol library to simplify development.

Thin Clients

3 different thin clients, remotely view information anywhere

InduSoft Web Studio supports 3 types of remote application viewers: a dedicated viewer for plant operations, where navigation should be restricted to specific HMI/SCADA applications, a Microsoft Internet Explorer-based browser that allows full access to any authorized IP address or application, and a Studio Mobile Access viewer that works with any browser. Up to 1000 simultaneous Thin Clients are supported. Mix and match the type, including Web Thin Client, Secure Viewer, and SMA. Each can log in as a different user, on a different screen and in a different language. Each client can be view only or read/write based on security.

Alarms

The sophisticated alarm management system allows you to send alarms to various utilities, such as screen, email and web browser, and archive to the printer; allows users to store notes after recognition of the alarm(s).

Provides free-form alarm messages, uses secondary search keys, and accesses through groups or tags

Files alarms in a file, printer, or database

Filters, sorts, or alarms color ratings for easy visual interpretation

Filters alarms by categories at runtime

Redundancy

Support for redundant servers or databases.

Redundancy is supported in several ways:

InduSoft Web Studio or CEView publishes screens as web pages in Internet Explorer or Secure Viewer. Screen graphics are published as html pages through a "web server". The data is published through a "data server. InduSoft Features:

• Support for redundant web servers
• Support for redundant data servers

InduSoft also allows connections to databases. Databases can be used to record alarm, event, or trend data. The "Grid" object can interact directly with the databases.

• Redundant: In this mode, IWS saves data to the primary and secondary databases. If one of these databases is unavailable, IWS continues to save data only to the available database. When the database that was unavailable becomes available again, IWS synchronizes the two databases automatically.
• Store and forward: In this mode, IWS saves data only to the primary database. If the primary database becomes unavailable, IWS saves the data to the secondary database. When the primary database becomes available again, IWS moves the data from the secondary database to the primary database.

Trends

Keeps track of process behavior online or through historical trends and sends information over the network for monitoring on screens or web browsers.

Distributes information across the network for easy monitoring on application screens or web browsers.

ActiveX and .NET

Expandability - Get additional functionality using third-party .NET or ActiveX controls.

InduSoft supports the use of ActiveX and .NET controls.

Using open and reusable technologies, InduSoft functionality can be expanded beyond built-in functionality.

Add controls such as charts, gauges, gauges, reports, browsers, and even media players.

.NET components are designed according to the Microsoft .NET Framework, which is a standard for modular programming technologies. Because IWS is a .NET container, you can configure and run .NET Components on the IWS application screens. The actual functions of a .NET component are contained in a .NET Control object, which provides the configuration dialogs in IWS.

Events

Track events that occur with this easy-to-use feature.

An event can be any tag change, generate reports or revenue, open and close screens, log on and off the security system, and so on. InduSoft Web Studio saves all of these events in a log file, which can be retrieved by the Alarm/Event Control object.

Script

Support for two different powerful scripting languages.

InduSoft Web Studio (IWS) has two built-in scripting languages:

• IWS (or built-in) script functions
• VBScript

VBScript is supported only on Windows operating systems. VBScript was specifically chosen for its ability to run on the WindowsCE, XP, Vista, and Server editions.

Safety

Password protect screens, objects, editing and more ...

InduSoft provides user-group level security:

Up to 256 (0-255) levels

Resources to develop applications that are FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compliant, which is one of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Code of Federal Regulations that covers electronic records and electronic signatures

Independent security features in development and runtime environments

Development

• Project settings
• Driver, Data Sources
• network configuration
• Create, modify tags
• Create, modify screens
• Create, modify task sheets

Runtime

• Start application
• Close application
• Database spy (write)
• Task exchange
• Creating users
• Disabling access to Task Manager

You can optionally:

• Require a minimum password size
• Set the number of days a password is active
• Enable automatic logging off
• Lock the account after multiple invalid attempts
• Use electronic signatures

Security can be set at each runtime individually or on a network for a central security system

Recipes and Reports

Easily create and manage powerful recipes and reports.

Creates flexible, user-defined revenue groups in SCADA software

Imports/exports revenues, reports and real-time data in XML format

Publishes dynamic, animated graphical screens in real time, trends, alarms, reports, and recipes in standard web browsers

Diagnosis

Solve problems and test projects with ease.

Use the Database Spy and Output window (also called Log Win during runtime) to quickly troubleshoot and efficiently test your applications.

Use Database Spy to:

• Monitor and force values for app tags
• Run and test functions
• Run and test mathematical expressions

You can use the Output (or Log) window to view the debug messages generated by IWS during runtime. Use the Output window to display:

• Field read commands and field write commands: Shows all read and/or write commands that are sent to connected devices.
• Protocol analyzer: Shows messages generated by configured device drivers.
• OPC Messages: Shows messages generated by OPC communications.
• TCP / IP messages: shows the messages generated by TCP / IP communications.
• Revenue/Report: Shows the messages generated by the Revenue and Report tasks.
• View Open/Close: Displays a message whenever a screen is opened or closed.
• Logon/Logout: Displays a message whenever a user logs on or logs out. (For more information, see Security.)
• Track messages: Shows the messages generated by the Trace (function). This function is used to generate custom messages from within your IWS application.
• Database messages: Shows the messages generated by the ODBC and ADO.NET.
• DDE messages: Shows the messages generated by DDE communications.
• Enter date/time: Records the timestamp of each message.
• Cross-reference information

Database

Capture data for production, quality, speed, uptime/downtime, and more in any SQL database.

The following tasks in the SCADA software support the database interface:

• Alarms: The application can save and/or retrieve messages from the alarm history in a relational database.
• Events: The application can save and/or retrieve event messages in a relational database.
• Trends: The application can save and/or retrieve trend history values in a relational database.
• Viewer: Database information can be displayed in table format (Alarm / Event Control and Grid objects) or in graphical format (Trend Control object).
• Web: You can deploy an application that stores/saves data to a relational database and makes it work on the Web.

Using its built-in database interface, IWS can easily provide shop floor data to third-party systems (e.g., ERP, MES) or get data from it.

IWS can interact with any relational database supported by a ADO.NET, OLE DB provider, or valid ODBC driver. InduSoft Web Studio easily communicates with SQL databases, including SQL Server 2012, 2014, 2016, and beyond.

Drivers / OPC

InduSoft has more than 240 built-in drivers, with no need to use OPC servers every time communication is required.

All drivers are included in all InduSoft Web Studio or CEView installations. Most PLCs, temperature controllers and many other devices are supported at no additional cost.

Included are drivers that support major PLC manufacturers such as Allen Bradley, Siemens, Schneider, Mitsubishi, Omron, GE-Fanuc, as well as standard protocols such as MODBUS RTU/ASCII, DeviceNet, Profibus, Interbus and Ethernet/IP.

Although OPC communication is supported, it is not necessary for communication between InduSoft and most PLC/controllers.

InduSoft Web Studiao is an OPC DA server and/or an OPC client. For more information about this technology.

InduSoft has passed OPC UA interoperability testing and will soon support this new standard.

System requirements:

CPU: 1.8 GHz dual core processor

RAM: 2 GB

HDD / SSD: 50 GB of free space on the main drive

Operating system: Microsoft Windows 8 32-bit, Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit and Microsoft Windows Vista 32-bit

Resolution: 1024×768