WIRES

The Evolution of Industrial Edge Networks

by Chuck Drobny, GlobaLogix and Mike Ryan, Cisco

The future of field SCADA is best understood if one looks at it from the perspective of copper wires. 

Yes, copper wires. 

To see where it’s going and understand the why, take a few leaps back to the past. 

Not that far. Let’s go to pre-Y2K. 

We had some rudimentary - compared to now - computing capabilities. We’d just started to connect machines, not only in the same office, but across town and to other cities. 

The IT staff’s job was to use the new gear and connect everything. They used wires. They wired each office and plugged into each computer. We didn’t have wireless or smart phones then. 

They ran server rooms with massive conduits stuffed with copper networking cables with RJ 11, 12 and 13 connectors - like the ones we started to use on our home phones. 

Remember the real old phone systems from back before WWII? You’ve seen pictures. To connect a call, an operator [IT person] had to pull a wire jack and plug it into a connection on the board - copper wires. Well the early IT guys did about the same thing. No physical connection by wire - no computer connection. One wire, one connection. Change connections - more the wire to another jack. 

Inside the server rooms were banks of connector racks, patch panels with one wire per office and per computer. The IT folks managed connectivity by patching through the wires. 

Then along came Y2K and a MASSIVE upgrade in hardware infrastructure. We also got open sourced software like Linux along with Apache servers and when the Internet took off, so did a lot of new connectivity capabilities. 

The IT guys started to connect to smart switches and routers that enabled network managers to redirect and route connective pathways by changing settings on a computer program. They stopped having to switch and connect a lot more copper wires to change and improve on connectivity. From room to room. Also, they did it from computer to server - the ones inside the IT space - inside the company’s walls. 

Then we figured out how to connect wirelessly though Wi-Fi. No more wires at all to connect. But we needed those advancing routers and switches to manage the new and changing connections. 

Then along came the Cloud…

Actually, it had been there all along in the Internet, but it took a while to get a way to manage all those rapidly changing connections from computer to computer. The file servers with all that data and the programs that were once run on local machines all went up to the Cloud. We used software control panels to manage all that. 

Then along came the hackers, crooks and cyber criminals. But alas we found we were able to protect ourselves with better software on those routers and switches. 

So here we are now, connecting everything to anything. The computer at home talks to the Tablet, which shares the same applications on the smart phone… for a seamless office experience. All of this is managed on consoles by those IT guys. 

However, those IT guys don’t always get along with the operators who are managing their field and plant SCADA. Yes, that SCADA is advancing and getting better but there’s one big difference. 

The field guys are still contenting with too many copper wires. They run from sensors to RTUs and PLCs, from RTUs to modems, switches and comms devices.

Most of what’s out in the field are legacies of the past when troubleshooting on any component had to be done on site. A component adjustment or reconfiguration connection has to be done on site after miles of crowded highway and rough range roads are traversed.

The newer sites are of course more sophisticated. There are switches and routers and the technician can connect a laptop to devices on the field site to troubleshoot and – if they’ve got the right parts - make changes. Similarly, the process requires time consuming and costly travel. Lots of truck rolls that could be avoided. 

A better way is coming. The next iteration of advancement is to bring the managed switch, like the Cisco Industrial Ethernet Rugged Switches, to the field. These purpose-built devices can operate in harsh conditions while supporting high speed applications helping companies operate safer and more efficient. Furthermore, as more IOT sensors and video cameras are being installed in the field there is a need for enhanced port density while keeping the equipment in the cabinet to a minimum. However, the greatest advantage for operations is the ability to setup these remote networks with ease. Power over Ethernet (PoE) aids the ease of deployment as there is less cabling and a standardized design approach. This also helps with a troubleshooting process that can be used at any site or location.

It will enable the field guys to hook up stuff once, then ever after change the paths and connections with a software console. Instead of traveling to the site, this can happen from the field office. For that matter it can happen from any location with an Internet connection.

As this occurs things will change for the definitive advantage of both Operations and IT. Everyone will have controlled access to the sites for troubleshooting, diagnosis and reconfiguration.

The operation teams will be using the same tools and talking the same networking language as their counterparts in the IT department. They’ll get along better due to more efficient processes. The field guys will be spending less time traveling out to the field to shuffle around wires or reboot the system and hope that it starts right. It will cost less to manage the systems.

What does the future hold after we can securely manage our remote operations? 

Stay tuned…