Dedicated Servers Ensure Security and Stability of SCADA Operation In the past, the only hardware platform options for a SCADA system was either a commercial server or an industrial computer. But now Advantech’s specially designed SCADA servers offer improved system stability, security, and efficiency. Actually, there are seven advantages in all.
By Ken Lin, Product Manager of Advantech Computer Embedded Systems Group
A SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system forms a major part of large scale automation applications; it establishes a communications channel between the control center and field equipment. Collected information is uploaded to a control center, where managers remotely monitor and control on-site processes. A single computer is enough to run a SCADA system for a small-scale operation, but for large-scale applications, multiple servers need to work together. In general, SCADA systems employ industrial computers or commercial workstations as their servers. These are reasonably good, but they are not ideal for SCADA applications because their product designs lack consideration of certain practical requirements. Ken Lin, Product Manager of Advantech Computer Embedded Systems Group, indicated that after a careful analysis of SCADA demands, Advantech provides several SCADA server solutions (including HPC-7442, HPC-7242, AIMB -782, and ASMB-782) that offer seven advantages when it comes to meeting real-world SCADA requirements. Advantage 1: Reliability In SCADA applications, a SCADA server is normally placed in the field, and on-site environments are often severe, sometimes suffering extreme temperatures, unstable power supplies, etc. Accordingly, the hardware design of a SCADA server must comply with industrial-grade specs, including wide temperature range operation and extra high reliability. For example, an unstable power supply may result in system reboot failure. Especially if the power supply fails then restores in a very short time, the system may fail to reboot because residual voltage in the circuits can cause an error power sequence. In response to this, Advantech’s SCADA server motherboard provides a special discharge circuit that immediately clears residual voltage before the system starts to reboot. When AC power is restored, even if it is microseconds later, the reboot goes smoothly. As for network transmission stability, Advantech adopts two Intel® LAN chips that support a teaming function. Also software can be configured so that the two Ethernet ports simulate one
virtual Ethernet port with accelerated transmission speeds, and physical data flow rate is doubled. Load balancing is another benefit for network transmission. Furthermore, with the failover feature, there’s no need to worry about network communication interruptions; if one line is disrupted, the other one can continue to transmit. Advantage 2: Flexibility Flexibility gives customers multiple options for CPU, memory, and hard drives, depending on their system designs and requirements. In addition, the Advantech 4U SCADA server provides up to eight mobile HDD trays, which offer high storage capacity. Four trays are built into the chassis and the other four provided on an optional module. Each mobile HDD tray supports both 2.5 / 3.5-inch hard drives or SSDs, so customers are free to configure storage capacities based on their own needs. Advantage 3: Security Advantech’s design employs a mix of software and hardware for system security. In terms of hardware, the case has a lockable metal front door that protects the hard disk trays. Secondly, the intrusion detection mechanism can alert system administrators if the cover is opened without authorization, while system BIOS stores the related data as trace records. In contrast with general commercial servers, which provide external USB ports that allow casual removal, Advantech’s internal, onboard USB port offers a protected enclosure that keeps a USB key inside the chassis. As to software, Advantech cooperates with McAfee to provide white-list system protection; only the listed software is authorized to execute. Advantages 4: Remote Manageability Traditional practices mainly monitor the motherboard but do not provide for remote management; Advantech however has developed a small built-in alarm board - the intelligent system module, which integrates system information for monitoring. It
monitors both the
motherboard and system parameters including temperature, voltage, and fan speed. When equipped with SUSIAccess, a system will light an LED indicator at the front of the chassis if there is any abnormal condition, and it can send an automatic notification to the manager at the same time. Advantage 5: Smart Fan Control In addition to monitoring system operation and motherboard, the intelligent system module also uses a temp sensor to adjust system fan speed via its embedded controller. The CPU fan is controlled by the motherboard BIOS, based on the fan speed curve, and the power supply automatically adjusts its own fan speed too. As a result, an Advantech SCADA Server achieves thermal optimization, with quiet, power-efficient operation.
Advantage 6: High Performance Computing In the case of a large-scale SCADA system that handles massive amounts of data, higher computing power is required to execute tasks such as IP decoding and data processing. Advantech offers platforms supporting Intel’s® latest 3rd generation Core™ i processors and 32GB high-speed system memory; so it is easy for an Advantech SCADA server to handle more than 20,000 data points. Advantage 7: Longevity Stable operation is a top priority for industrial applications and both hardware and software have to work dependably without design changes for many years. However, IT technology is progressing rapidly and big changes occur every year or two. But users are sensitive to validation or certification costs when the hardware platform life cycle is short. At the customer design-in stage, Advantech provides SCADA servers with the latest technology, and in the customer mass deployment stage, Advantech provides 5 to 7 years’ longevity service, hence the customer’s total cost of ownership is minimized. The SCADA system is the core of automatic control. It can be made more stable and secure by using a dedicated server to manage the system as well as allowing automation equipment to operate more efficiently. Taking a true story as an example, an oil production operation managed widely distributed wells over large geographical areas. It divided its oilfields into several regions and established regional control centers that monitored about 200 wells apiece. The main control centers managed five to ten regions, totaling about one to two thousand oil wells. Based on this hierarchical management structure, the system required different SCADA servers in regional areas and higher storage capacity and data processing capability for the control center servers. Advantech tailored systems to fit the demands, at the same time ensuring the stability of data collection, monitoring performance, and optimizing oil production.
Table I: SCADA Server vs. Commercial Equipment Advantech SCADA Server
Commercial Workstation or Server
Operating Temperature
0~40˚C
10~35˚C
Tolerance of Instable
● High
Low
●
X
5 to 7 years
2 to 3 years
Power Supply Onboard USB Connector for Internal USB Dongle Product Availability