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Industrial automation and critical infrastructure applications including statistics acquisition and control (SCADA) systems require consistent and at ease reliability. Equipment and procedures are commonly automated with dependable programmable good judgment controllers (PLCs) and different “clever” devices, however PCs are still required for gadget employer, records storage, human-gadget border (HMI), and other SCADA venture.

Traditional PC hardwares and software program options are in reality now not reliable or reliable sufficient and are often difficult for upkeep personnel to keep. Addressing those shortcomings calls for committed computing structures in mixture with thin client software technologies for SCADA and other extra crucial programs.

In information era (IT), computing and networking should stability confidentiality, integrity, and availability (known as the "CIA" triad) in this order of priority.

Confidentiality ensures that most effective legal users can receive statistics.

Integrity guarantees statistics accuracy

Accessibility causes positive get right of entry to records to be limited to authorized customers.

In a plant or infrastructure, Operational Technology (OT) calls for different priorities to hold going for walks, particularly "AIC".

Availability comes first to make certain systems can work

Honesty comes 2d because the system desires to be depended on.

Confidentiality often comes directly in the back of two different components.

Availability, integrity, and privateness for SCADA and other essential infrastructure, compute and production are commonly carried out via devoted IT offerings to offer redundant hardware and software program. IT experts are experts in computer systems and networks, however a whole lot much less informed approximately OT software program, hardware, and working structures. OT personnel recognize automation, however they will now not be in the first-rate role to manage heavy computing and networking gadget. Therefore, a better solution is wanted to make sure the AIC in a value-effective and sustainable way.

In response to those checks, users can deploy Stratus ztC Edge structures at the side of Rockwell Automation ThinManager to offer virtual machines (VMs) and Remote Desktop Services (RDS) as wanted for his or her SCADA and other OT programs.

Stratus ztC Edge structures include two load balancing nodes (nodes 0 and 1). With this configuration and the related built-in hardware and software program, they offer integrated redundancy and clean failover.

A typical configuration is to set up 4 digital machines on a ztC Edge system, with every virtual gadget execution the next errands:

Server # 1: Active Almanack domain controller, DHCP server, DNS server

Server # 2: Primary HMI Application Server

(in this case Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk View and associated services)

Server # three: Secondary HMI Request Servers

Server # four: ThinManager, HMI clients, PLC software layout software program

This configuration gives an operating kernel. Note that Server # 1 is loaded with sharing between nodes 0 and 1, while Server # 2 is assigned to node zero and Server # three is assigned to node 1. Thus, even though the node becomes unavailable, there might be an active HMI server programs. Works continuously on some other node.

ThinManager is required to seamlessly handle more than one far flung skinny clients served by primary / secondary software servers. In the same way that ztC Edge effectively ensures dependable hardware operation, ThinManager guarantees reliable software program delivery no matter any underlying flaws. thetechartificial