Citect describes CitectSCADA as a "scalable, flexible, and reliable system" for industrial automation, monitoring, and control applications. The package is said to comprise both HMI (human-machine interface) and SCADA components, and to include tools for rapid application development and deployment.
A sample CitectSCADA displayCitect says CitectSCADA 7.0's new clustering technology helps safeguard plant reliability even when changes are being deployed. It's said to reduce the impact of system expansion by providing the ability to pair many local control servers with a single central standby server, or to simply segment the control system on the same hardware to add separation between parts of the control system.
Other touted applications for the new clustering technology include:
- Provide a seamless operator view across existing control systems
- Offer a combination of local control (including alarms, reports, and trends), paired with a central standby server
- Support additional processing for expansion requirements by simply adding a new server to the control system
- Segment the control system to ensure changes in one business unit do not affect others
- Connect to multiple control systems to analyze alarms and trend data directly from the SCADA systems
- Use cluster swapping to re-use graphics screens between matching systems or for simulation or replay
According to Craig Resnick, Research Director, ARC Advisory Group, "In the past, manufacturers were forced to select between centralized and independent local systems for monitoring and controlling their operations. Now ... manufacturers can put local systems and centralized servers into redundant pairs, giving the benefits of standardization ... while at the same time locating alarms, reports, trends and I/O servers local to the process they control."
Citect says CitectSCADA 7.0 also offers enhanced communication control, with priority levels for standby communication paths, and simplified logging of user actions. By processing code only when tags change, it reduces overhead, the company adds.
Finally, the product also features "improved licensing" -- the same project configuration can be used across an entire site, with users only paying for the points they use (only the tags used at each operator display are counted), the company said.
Pricing and availability information were not disclosed.
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