1. Open-loop vs.

closed-loop control: SCADA is predominantly open-loop; that

is, control decisions are made by a human (hence, the supervisory Control
element. !y contrast, DCS is predominantly closed-loop, meanin" that
control decisions # actions are mainly al"orithmic and e$ecute automatically
based on the process state at any "iven point in time.
%. &on"-distance Communications: 'rue SCADA (i.e., not the (actory )oor
stu* that some people still call SCADA but that is no+ +idely ,no+n as -.S
(manu(acturin" e$ecution systems usually involves miles/,ilometers
bet+een the host and the 0eld elements (1'2s, 3&Cs, etc.. .ven a lar"e
automotive plant, (or e$ample, havin" several acres under roo( still doesn4t
have the same operational environment or monitorin"/control issues as say,
a cross-country pipeline or a po+er '#D net+or, the latter bein" +hat 5 call
true SCADA environments.
'here is also a third element that is a little more subtle yet increasin"ly
ambi"uous as both SCADA and DCS systems have been deployed +idely in
both areas. 'hat is, SCADA most o(ten deals predominantly +ith discrete
processes +hereas DCS most o(ten involves batch or continuous processes.
'hat is, traditional SCADA applications typically have operational dynamics
that occur in seconds, minutes or hours as compared to DCS control
response dynamics, +hich are o(ten measured in sub-second increments;
much too (ast to +ait (or a human decision and response. 6o+ever, li,e the
other t+o criteria, the ,ey +ord today is predominantly, because there are
both types o( systems o(ten even sharin" a common host and/or 0eld
elements installed in both environments.
'he prime purpose o( a DCS is to automate a process.
'he prime purpose o( a SCADA system is to provide a 7remote7 operator
visibility o( a process and permit that person to control the process.
'he term 7SCADA7 is used to cover a +ide ran"e o( systems. 8hen re(errin"
to a 7(actory-automation7 SCADA, there is o(ten little di*erence bet+een DCS
and SCADA. 8hen re(errin" to a system that interconnects remote sites
(such as an electrical transmission substation net+or,, a "as pipeline or a
+ater distribution system then there are si"ni0cant di*erences.
'o di*erentiate them it may help to ,eep a sin"le simple a$iom in mind:
A SCADA system must continue to operate 7reasonably7 even i( the
communication system (ails temporarily.
5n the 7local SCADA7 or (actory automation end o( the spectrum, 5 a"ree that
there seems to be technical conver"ence bet+een these systems.
9eep in mind that there are also some hybrid systems +here a SCADA
component interconnects multiple 7local DCS7 sites and +here SCADA is
used to collect remote site data that is inte"rated into a DCS system.
Sometimes these systems can be hi"hly inte"rated, sometimes they can
appear to be separate interconnected systems.
DCS uses a common database (or the control layer and the 6-5 layer so the
6-5 is con0"ured usin" the actual control point entities. SCADA uses
separate database at each remote 3&C/1'2 and the 6-5 pac,a"e, +ith some
(orm o( cross-re(erencin" the 3&C/1'2 point +ith the entity con0"ured (or
display on the 6-5.
A "ood e$ample o( an inte"rated system is in the case o( an oil re0nery 5
+or,ed at usin" a DCS (or the re0nery control system but uses a SCADA
system (or monitorin" and control o( the output product pipeline supplyin"
multiple products to a ma:or city some 1;<,m a+ay. 'he operator is unable
to see any di*erence bet+een SCADA and DCS but the instrument tech=s
sure ,no+ the di*erence +hen they have to play +ith satellite dish
ali"nment to maintain the bac,up comm=s +ith S5& > sa(ety si"nals involved.
5 thin, that -i,e=s analo"y o( closed loop vs open loop is a "ood one. One
thin" to add to that is that SCADA systems employ 3&C=s or 1'2=s to 3rovide
closed loop control at remote sites +ith the central operator=s control bein"
supervisory. Compare this to the DCS that has a centrali?ed controller that
uses 5/O nests at remote locations +ithin a sin"le plant. 5nterestin"ly, it
means that SCADA is actually more o( a 7Distributed Control System7 than a
DCS is.
A SCADA system, in many applications, is actually a net+or, o( small control
centers. .ach remote 3&C or 1'2 is a discrete control system that is installed,
con0"ured and tuned, and then le(t alone to do its :ob. 'he SCADA system
collects re"ular reports (rom these locations to monitor +hat=s "oin" on and
based on those reports an operator may ad:ust con0"urations, set points or
intervene in a process.
5n more comple$ SCADA systems 1'2=s +ill also communicate +ith each
other directly or interact +ith a central al"orithm so that do+nstream
systems can recon0"ure themselves based on upstream conditions.
@ohn !ou+,ne"t also bou"ht up the notion o( the database. 'he DCS is a
sin"le system and so has a sin"le database. .ach point is de0ned, named
and associated +ith an 5/O point. SCADA systems are de0ned in reverse.
'hat is, you +rite the so(t+are (or your 1'2 or 3&C and de0ne at that level,
those points that +ill be lin,ed to the SCADA database (polled data, alarm
and event reports, history etc. 'he SCADA system +ill automatically scan
so(t+are and build its database (rom the 1'2 or 3&C so(t+are (or an 5/O
driver such as an O3C server. Arom the operator=s point o( vie+, they only
have a sin"le database, but the SCADA system is built (rom the code up,
+hilst the DCS is de0ned (rom the top do+n.
&astly, 5=d li,e to consider +hat happens i( you pulled the po+er plu" on the
server - an event that 5 am sure +ould terri(y many o( you. 6o+ many o(
people on the list have a system that could survive a total blac, out o( the
central control room or similarly a complete loss o( remote communicationsB
5 do not thin, that DCS systems are desi"ned to survive this at all, but many
SCADA systems, on the other hand, are. Certainly there are lar"e and
comple$ SCADA systems that reCuire constant attention and a (e+ minutes
o( dead time +ould (rea, people out. 5 e$pect that in most cases, +ithout any
central control at all, the 1'2=s and 3&C=s +ould be capable o( maintainin" a
stable system (or a an e$tended period, +hile normality +as restored.
5t +ill be interestin" to note +hat systems can or cannot and i( there are
clear lines o( division by application or si?e.