SCADA is a control system used to manage industrial processes from a central location. A water utility’s SCADA system shows the water level in every reservoir, controls pumping stations, and generates alerts when a pressure sensor reads outside normal range – all from one control room.
Industrial routers and switches are the networking backbone of SCADA deployments – carrying polling traffic between the control room and remote field devices.
- Field devices – PLCs, RTUs, and sensors that collect data and execute commands on-site
- Communication – typically Modbus, DNP3, or IEC 61850 over industrial cellular or fibre
- HMI – the operator screen showing real-time process data and alarm lists
- Historian – database recording all process values over time for analysis and reporting
- Criticality – communication loss can trigger safety shutdowns; deterministic failover on the network is essential