White Paper
Four Ways Ignition SCADA
Speeds Development
How The New SCADA Helps You Build More in Less Time
800.266.7798
www.inductiveautomation.com
Four Ways Ignition SCADA
Speeds Development
Have you ever been trapped
in development hell?
The phrase is used in the film indus-
try to describe movies that languish
for years in pre-production before
ever being filmed. But many people
who work in other industries can
relate to it especially those whove
developed software applications.
Modern technologies offer many promising
possibilities for your enterprise, but the actual
process of development can feel endless and
painful, especially for those who arent trained as
software developers.
The old SCADA software licensing model can make the
One thing that old SCADA software does well is
development process a nightmare.
make development relatively simple for non-
programmers. Most SCADA designers have rapid
application development (RAD) capabilities that Four Ways to Speed Up
allow you to design in a visual and intuitive manner. and Simplify Development
If, for example, your companys quality department
Inductive Automation has invented a platform called
wants an easier way to track quality samples, you
Ignition that cross-pollinates SCADAs drag-and-drop
can quickly go into a SCADA designer and create a
simplicity with the straightforward licensing and
trending graph to meet their needs.
deployment of IT. On the surface, Ignition may look
Unfortunately, old SCADA is too limited to be an primarily like software for HMI, SCADA, and MES, but
effective development solution across the enterprise. its more fully described as software for building
SCADAs pay-by-the-tag licensing and convoluted software. Ignition is such a major departure from old
deployment models make it untenable for many or- SCADA licensing, deployment, and technology that
ganizations. Old SCADA hinders innovation because it occupies its own category as The New SCADA.
its based on 90s-era technology, it doesnt interface
Ignition is built to make development affordable
well with databases, and its usually tied to Windows
and practical. It includes four distinctive features in
operating systems.
particular that allow you to quickly build any type of
What many enterprises have not yet discovered is solution your enterprise needs. Those features are:
that there is a new SCADA solution that removes RAD tools, a uniform design experience, a modular
those limitations and provides the ability to develop architecture, and seamless connectivity. Lets exam-
applications for the plant floor and every other part ine how each of these features streamlines the big
of the enterprise. task of development.
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Four Ways Ignition SCADA
Speeds Development
1. RAD Tools Also, Ignition has a built-in Python scripting engine
that enables you to use graphical script builders,
The rapid application development (RAD) tools in
which you can use to create a whole project by
Ignition are its included Designer application,
pointing and clicking instead of writing script. For
object-oriented development environment, drawing
example, you can use script builders to set up event
tools, and powerful scripting engine. These tools
handlers (which dictate how the system should
save time, and make it simple to create dynamic
respond to mouse clicks, changing properties, etc.)
projects for SCADA and other needs.
without having to script them out.
If you know how to write scripts and need to use them
for a specific project, you can still do this in Ignition.
In fact, you can create script modules that allow you
to write blocks of code once and then use them any-
where. You can also combine scripting with drag-and
-drop design. However you want to approach your
project, Ignition makes it faster and easier.
2. Uniform Design Experience
Lets look a little closer at one of Ignitions RAD tools:
the Designer application. The web-launched Ignition
Designer is a major differentiator from other HMI/
SCADA software packages, which tend to have design
If you have little or no knowledge of scripting, mak- applications which are overly restrictive or complex,
ing a screen can seem daunting. But with the Vision or that require you to purchase individual licenses for
Module installed in Ignition, even a relative novice each design client. What makes the Ignition Designer
can use windows, components, and templates to remarkable is the way it provides a uniform design ex-
build projects. You can open a window and begin perience one space where you can design anything.
dragging and dropping in components such as lines,
Usually, when a controls engineer is designing a
shapes, buttons, tables, charts, and more.
project in old SCADA, he will have to switch between
If you need to make an HMI screen with water tanks many different windows, such as a designer for
on it, you can select pre-configured components to templates, another designer for windows, a deploy-
represent the tanks. There are also many pre-con- ment application, a licensing application, a graphic-
figured components for pipes, pumps, and other terminal application, and so on. Working in different
objects youd see in a manufacturing environment. applications is much more straightforward with the
You can also easily create vector drawings and Ignition Designer, because you can literally design in
animations, and import graphics by dragging them different applications without ever having to leave
onto the workspace. the Designer window.
You can also save time by reusing components and One of the drawbacks of designing in old SCADA is
templates across separate windows. If you decide the inability to use more than one designer client
to change the design of a template, the change you simultaneously. The Ignition Designer, however,
make will be automatically reflected in all uses of provides unlimited design clients and supports
that template across all windows. Once your visual concurrent development, so that multiple develop-
elements are in place, you can make them active by ers can work on the same project at the same time.
binding the properties of the components to infor- Concurrent development gives you many ways to
mation in the real world, such as tags, other compo- work on a project. For example, you could configure
nents properties, SQL-query results, and more. an alarm notification pipeline in one designer, and
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Four Ways Ignition SCADA
Speeds Development
go into sequential function charts (SFCs) in another The modular architecture of Ignition helps it run
designer, and easily switch back and forth between smoothly and is also very beneficial from a develop-
the two. ment standpoint because you can install, remove,
and upgrade modules without affecting other parts
The Ignition Designer is the only SCADA designer
of the system and causing a setback.
in the world that provides a single environment for
working on separate designers, applications, and Because there is a lower level of risk, you have more
modules. It provides a fluid experience that makes freedom to experiment. You can add a new module
designing a project infinitely less convoluted and to your system, and if it doesnt work for your needs,
time-consuming. you can simply remove it and still be assured that
the underlying platform will continue to run prop-
3. Modularity erly. The fact that the modules are built on a com-
mon platform means there will be fewer bugs and
As we look deeper into the Ignition platform, we see
greater stability overall than other SCADA systems.
another characteristic that distinguishes it from
In the long run, Ignitions modularity makes expan-
traditional SCADA: its modular architecture. It was
sion simple and affordable rather than impractical
built to support an unlimited number of modules,
and expensive.
each of which is built on the Ignition platform. You
can plug a new module into Ignition and it will
4. Seamless Connectivity
integrate seamlessly into the system to provide new
features like designer workspaces, gateway settings, Ignition has seamless connectivity between the
drivers, and much more. various modules that plug into its unified platform.
It also connects seamlessly with other programs,
With the broad range of modules that you can add
devices, and databases.
to Ignition, you can build any kind of HMI, SCADA, or
MES (manufacturing execution systems) system, or Elements such as Java, OPC-Unified Architecture
even one that stands outside of those standard cate- (OPC-UA), and SQL database connectivity make
gories. Many of the most commonly used features of Ignition a seamless, cross-platform presence across
Ignition are actually provided by different modules; the enterprise. With Java and SQL databases, which
for example, the connectivity between OPC data and are commonly used by IT departments, Ignition
SQL databases is provided by the SQL Bridge Module, enables advanced data management, processing,
and Ignitions web-launched HMI/SCADA clients are and reporting. Ignition has broken new ground as
made possible by the Vision Module. (For a full listing the first SCADA software built entirely on Java,
of Ignition modules, visit inductiveautomation.com) which makes it cross-platform compatible and
easily web-deployable.
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Four Ways Ignition SCADA
Speeds Development
Because it can put PLC data into SQL databases, central location, or directly update plant-floor
Ignition makes that data readable by other systems information to the ERP, or move data out of isolated
in the enterprise. This means that controls informa- databases, or set up a more manageable alarming
tion can easily be layered with information from system, or make an easily accessible document
other areas of the enterprise, such as ERP data. Its management system, or make your factory paperless
connectivity with SQL databases also empowers you the possibilities are basically endless.
to ask questions of PLC data. These capabilities open
Whether you need to build an application for han-
up innumerable opportunities to improve efficiency
dling PLC data or helping with HR paperwork, you
and profitability.
are free to think enterprise-wide with Ignition. Your
technology can be more connected, which means
your people can be more connected as well.
From Endless Development
to Endless Possibilities
As The New SCADA, Ignition is built with modern, IT-
friendly technologies and server-based licensing that
comes with unlimited tags, clients, and connections.
Its rapid development tools including the Designer,
its modular architecture, and its seamless connectivity
make it an ideal development tool not just on the
plant floor but across your enterprise.
Ignition also shortens development time by allowing
OPC-UA is the automation industrys standard cross-
you to spend much more time defining your project
platform framework for accessing real-time and
and less time implementing it. Once youve defined
historical data, and when Ignition has the OPC-UA
exactly what you want the project to accomplish, you
Module installed, it has OPC-UA server and client
can build it fast. It can be built in days or weeks,
functionality. This allows Ignition to connect with
instead of months. That way, there is less chance that
multiple control networks, easily integrate new
the requirements for the project will change during
hardware, connect to local and remote PLCs, and
development. Or, if you need to go back and change
support connections to any number of compliant
the project definition, you can do so without essen-
third-party OPC-UA servers.
tially tossing out weeks or months of work.
These elements within Ignition allow you to connect
If youve ever thought about something you would
all of the systems in your enterprise, from SCADA
like to build if only you werent blocked by costs, risks,
to ERP. Data can be integrated seamlessly from the
time commitments, or technical hurdles, Ignition
plant floor up to the executive offices. You can build
gives you the chance to go for it. It offers all the tools
any sort of automated system for any department.
necessary to develop projects in a very fluid and
Instead of trying to get by using a prepackaged
viable way. The development process doesnt need
solution or trying to make incompatible programs
to feel endless or tortuous; it can be fast and even
work together, you can build what you need and
enjoyable. And when you rediscover the passion for
build it quickly.
building, innovation is bound to follow.
Ignition doesnt limit you to building HMI, SCADA,
To learn more about Ignition, visit:
or MES projects. You could use it to develop your
inductiveautomation.com
own customer relationship management (CRM)
system. You could log data from various sites to a
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POwerful eNOugh FOr
aNY prOJEcT
Time-saving templates & tools
Rich component library
Powerful data-binding functionality
flexiBlE eNOugh FOr
aNY ARCHiTEctURE
Modular architecture
Easily customizable systems
Seamless connectivity to devices
CapaBlE eNOugh FOr
aNY iNDUsTRY
Oil & Gas
Food & Beverage
Water & Waste Water
Start Building Your Project Today!
Download Ignition for Free at:
IgnitionBuild.com
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www.inductiveautomation.com
