subject: SCADA and Its Relation To Industry [print this page] SCADA and Its Relation To Industry SCADA and Its Relation To Industry
Generally the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition systems are the computer-led control systems that apply the concept of controlling and monitoring industrial processes. They are used in diverse environments such as the power generation, food production plants, manufacturing as well as refinery. Other applications will include gas and oil pipelines, communication centers, water treatment works, shipping industry, space stations and airports.
The SCADA vendors can either conduct their sales publically or privately. It depends on the programming; either run on repetitive, batch or continuous mode. In fact, the SCADA systems' growth has been pretty massive over the years. Majority of it is due to the digital technology advancements which has directly streamlined the procedures and introduced higher levels of efficiency and complexity. Currently, these systems have a wide array of applications ranging from monitoring energy consumption of ventilation systems and heating to controlling the manufacturing processes.
For example, the Iconsys have been providing progressive industrial control solutions since the year 1987 and they have witnessed enormous changes taking place. The most primitive instances of supervisory control and data acquisition systems were called the "monolithic" systems. They were run on mainframe computers as networks were not available at that time. They were operating as independent superfluous units, having no connectivity to other systems in the similar facility. A secondary mainframe will responsible for the backup.
The use of a LAN connection network was introduced by the second generation SCADA vendors. Every station would be responsible for a specific task but they were still utilizing the proprietary network protocols hence the ongoing security problems caused by hackers. The latest network generation applies the open system architecture equipped with a WAN network. This makes things easier to connect the peripheral devices including disc drives and printers as well as allowing the use of internet protocols. Such advancements have expanded the communication infrastructure and allow the download of standard protocols via the internet. This is indeed useful in the current vogue in conjunction with the "mix and match" software. Nevertheless, several clients still prefer the custom-designed systems as the latest program has led to few security issues.
