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SCADA CENTRAL HOST COMPUTERS

SCADA CENTRAL HOST COMPUTERS
What are the roles of a central host computer in a SCADA system?

The central host computer or master station is most often a single computer or a network of computer servers that provide a man-machine operator interface to the SCADA system. The computers process the information received from and sent to the RTU sites and present it to human operators in a form that the operators can work with.

Operator terminals are connected to the central host computer by a LAN/WAN so that the viewing screens and associated data can be displayed for the operators. Recent SCADA systems are able to offer high resolution computer graphics to display a graphical user interface or mimic screen of the site or water supply network in question.

Historically, SCADA vendors offered proprietary hardware, operating systems, and software that was largely incompatible with other vendors' SCADA systems. Expanding the system required a further contract with the original SCADA vendor. Host computer platforms characteristically employed UNIX-based architecture, and the host computer network was physically removed from any office-computing domain.

However, with the increased use of the personal computer, computer networking has become commonplace in the office and as a result, SCADA systems are now available that can network with office-based personal computers. Indeed, many of today's SCADA systems can reside on computer servers that are identical to those servers and computers used for traditional office applications. This has opened a range of possibilities for the linking of SCADA systems to office-based applications such as GIS systems, hydraulic modelling software, drawing management systems, work scheduling systems, and information databases.

source: National Communication System, Technical Information Bulletin 04-1

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