8/9/2016

AnIntroductiontoSCADA

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AnIntroductiontoSCADA

AnIntroductiontoSCADA
ThetermSCADAstandsforSupervisoryControlAndDataAcquisition.ASCADAsystemisacommonprocessautomationsystemwhichis
usedtogatherdatafromsensorsandinstrumentslocatedatremotesitesandtotransmitanddisplaythisdataatacentralsiteforcontrol
ormonitoringpurposes.ThecollecteddataisusuallyviewedononeormoreSCADAHostcomputerslocatedatthecentralormastersite.
ArealworldSCADAsystemcanmonitorandcontrolhundredstohundredsofthousandsofI/Opoints.AtypicalWaterSCADAapplication
wouldbetomonitorwaterlevelsatvariouswatersourceslikereservoirsandtanksandwhenthewaterlevelexceedsapresetthreshold,
activatethesystemofpumpstomovewatertotankswithlowtanklevels.
CommonanalogsignalsthatSCADAsystemsmonitorandcontrolarelevels,temperatures,pressures,flowrateandmotorspeed.Typical
digitalsignalstomonitorandcontrolarelevelswitches,pressureswitches,generatorstatus,relays&motors.
Thereistypicallyanotherlayerofequipmentbetweentheremotesensorsandinstrumentsandthecentralcomputer.Thisintermediate
equipmentexistsontheremotesideandconnectstothesensorsandfieldinstruments.SensorstypicallyhavedigitaloranalogI/Oand
thesesignalsarenotinaformthatcanbeeasilycommunicatedoverlongdistances.Theintermediateequipmentisusedtodigitizethen
packetizethesensorsignalssothattheycanbedigitallytransmittedviaanindustrialcommunicationsprotocoloverlongdistancestothe
centralsite.
FieldDevicesforSCADARTU,PLC,IEDs,andSmartdevices
TypicalequipmentthathandlesthisfunctionarePLCs(ProgrammableLogicControllers)andRTUs(RemoteTerminalUnits).These
devicesemploydefactostandardindustrialdatacommunicationprotocolssuchasModbus,ABDF1,andDNP3.0totransmitthesensor
data.TypicalphysicalinterfacestandardsareBell202modem,RS485&RS232.

TheSCADAHostisusuallyanindustrialPCrunningsophisticatedSCADAMMI(ManMachineInterface)orHMI(HumanMachine
Interface)software.ThissoftwareisusedtopolltheremotesitesandstorethecollecteddatainitscentralizedSQLorOracledatabase.
LogiccanbeconfiguredintheSCADAHostsoftwarewhichthenmonitorsandcontrolsplantorequipment.Thecontrolmaybeautomatic,
orinitiatedbyoperatorcommands.
DataacquisitionisaccomplishedfirstlybytheRTUsorPLCsscanningthefieldinputsconnectedtotheRTU/PLC.Thisdataisusually
collectedatapollingrateconfiguredbytheoperator.Thepollingrateisdeterminedbythenumberofsites,theamountofdataateach
site,themaximumbandwidthofthecommunicationchannelandtheminimumrequireddisplayandcontroltime.
OncethedatahasbeenacquiredandsenttotheSCADAHost,theMMIsoftwarewillscantheacquireddata(usuallyataslowerrate.)The
dataisthenprocessedtodetectpresentalarmconditions,andifanalarmispresent,analarmmessagewillflashontheoperatorscreen
andaddedtoanalarmlist.Theoperatormustthenacknowledgethisalarm.Thereare3commontypesofdatacollected:
Analogusedfortrending
Digital(on/off)usedforalarming
Pulse(i.e.revolutionsofsomekindofmeter)accumulated/counted
GraphicsMimics
Theprimaryoperatorinterfaceisasetofgraphicalscreenswhichshowarepresentationoftheequipmentbeingmonitored.Realtimedata
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isdisplayednumericallyorgraphicallyaschangingbars,circles,linesorothershapesoverastaticbackground.
Astheacquireddatachangesinrealtime,thebar,circle,lineorotherrepresentativeshapeisupdated.Forinstance,ananaloglevel
increasemaybedisplayedasalengtheningoftherepresentativeverticalbaroravalvegraphicmaylookopentorepresentthatitisopen.
AtypicalMMIwillhaveanestedtreestructureofmanysuchscreens,usuallywiththemanyoverviewscreenonthefirstpagewiththemost
relevantdatadisplayed.Therearethenlinksthatgotootherpages.UserscaneasilyconfigurethetypeofI/Opoint,communication
protocoldriver,pollingrate,alarmthresholdsandnotifications,trendprocessdataaswellasconfiguretheUserandOperatorscreens.
NextgenerationSCADAMMIsoftwaresuchasNetSCADAincludeallthesefunctionsinoneconvenienteasytouseandcosteffective
packageandalsohaveseamlessinternetintegrationenablingmanyclientstosecurelyviewthecollecteddataanywhereontheinternet.A
flexibleSCADAHostcaneasilyexpandtohandleadditionalfutureremotesitesandI/Opoints.
SCADACommunications
SCADAcommunicationscanemployadiverserangeofbothwired(leaseline,dialupline,fiber,ADSL,cable)andwirelessmedia
(licensedradio,spreadspectrum,cellular,WLANorsatellite).Thechoicedependsonanumberoffactorsthatcharacterizetheclients
existingcommunicationinfrastructure.
Factorssuchasexistingcommunicationsinfrastructure,availablecommunicationsattheremotesites,dataratesandpollingfrequency,
remotenessofsite,installationbudgetandabilitytoaccommodatefutureneedsallimpactthefinaldecision.IncomplexSCADA
architectures,therecanbeavarietyofbothwiredandwirelessmediaandprotocolsinvolvedtogetdatabacktothecentralmonitoringsite.
SCADAsystemsdifferfromDCSs(DistributedControlSystems)whicharegenerallyfoundinplantsites.WhileDCSscovertheplantsite,
SCADAsystemscovermuchlargergeographicareas.OftenSCADASystemsarerequiredtointerfacetoaplantsiteDCSifthereare
remotesensors,instrumentsormotorsandpumpsthatmustbecontrolled/monitoredbytheplantsiteDCS.
Wireless
CertaintypesofapplicationslikethoseinOil&Gas,Electrical&WaterUtilities,Water&WastewaterandEnvironmentalMonitoring
inherentlyrequireSCADAcommunicationsbecauseoftheremotenessoftheassets(i.e.Oilwells,waterwells,generatorstations).
Furthermore,duetotheremotenessmanyoftheseoftenrequiretheuseofwirelesscommunications.Inthesecases,thetraditional
solutionistoaddaradiomodemstagetothestandardSCADAarchitectureshownabove.

NextgenerationWirelessSCADAequipmentsuchasBentekSystemsSMX900orUNICONIPoffersanotherlevelofintegrationby
placingthewirelesscommunicationsandRTUfunctionalitytogetherinthesamepackage.

Inadditiontothishigherlevelofintegration,nextgenerationSCADAequipmentsuchastheIP100alsosupportTCP/IP,UDPorotherIP
basedcommunicationsprotocolsaswellasstrictlyindustrialprotocolssuchasModbusTCP,ModbusoverTCPorModbusoverUDPall
workingoverprivateradio,cellularorsatellitenetworks.TheIP100canactasanEthernetSerialgatewaytoenableolderlegacyserial
equipmenttoconnecttoTCP/IPnetworks.CoupledwithHostsoftwaresuchasNETSCADA,thisenablesimplementationofpowerfulIP
basedSCADAnetworksovermixedcellular,satellitesystemsandlandlinesystems.

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