The Four Key Components of SCADA

Applied Tech Review | Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Before deploying a SCADA system, it is essential to comprehend the four essential system components present in any SCADA network and can be adjusted to the company's individual needs.

Fremont, CA: SCADA is a centralized monitoring and control system for the entire area. This supervisory system collects process data and gives control commands to the process. This supervisory system's primary objective is to monitor and control industrial process equipment for public and private companies. SCADA systems are practically ubiquitous throughout the globe today. This comprises industrial facilities, manufacturing, transportation, oil and gas, power distribution, and water management, among other things.

Here are the main components of SCADA:

Inputs

Input (digital or analog) and output relays or electrical signals that interface directly with managed parts at faraway sites. This is where SCADA functions begin. These sensors and control relays perform data gathering but cannot independently interpret communication protocols. However, your SCADA system must still collect and report this information in a useful manner. This is where RTUs enter the picture.

Remote Telemetry Units (RTUs)

Similar to Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), Remote Terminal Systems (RTUs) are compact, field-deployed computerized units. A remote telemetry unit, also known as a remote terminal unit (RTU), serves as a local collection point for collecting data from sensors and transmitting commands to control relays.

Human Machine Interface (HMI)

HMI software is a computer master station system that processes data and permits a human operator to control and administer the system. HMIs provide information acquired from many RTUs to the human operator. This information is displayed on the master unit's user interface, which should be comprehensible and actionable, as alarms typically need prompt responses. The most effective HMI SCADA software will provide the data as an intelligible map-based graphical representation.

Communications network

At remote sites, the communications network connects telemetry and SCADA. Ethernet is currently one of the most prevalent communication technologies.