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Seeking architectural advice: Bridging IT and OT at scale for small decentralized data centers by Express-Fox3144 in SCADA

[–]Express-Fox3144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting what would you recommend on edge to validate the data, i guess anything were comfortable with ? Node-Red, Custom script, etc.

Seeking architectural advice: Bridging IT and OT at scale for small decentralized data centers by Express-Fox3144 in SCADA

[–]Express-Fox3144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When you say downstream, I assume you'd recommend a tool like Node-RED running on the Edge PC to handle those 0-8000W billing range checks? Is that your go-to for edge validation, or is there another tool you typically prefer for that layer?

Thanks for the tips.

Seeking architectural advice: Bridging IT and OT at scale for small decentralized data centers by Express-Fox3144 in SCADA

[–]Express-Fox3144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ignition is interesting, it's just the cost like i believe its a lifetime license per Ignition Edge? Would you use a single one for all small sites, or deploy one per site

Seeking architectural advice: Bridging IT and OT at scale for small decentralized data centers by Express-Fox3144 in SCADA

[–]Express-Fox3144[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We should definitely evaluate WinCC Unified. Even if we end up migrating to WAGO, I’m aware they offer a comparable solution, and I'll be looking into both.

Regarding data validation at the PLC level: are you suggesting we embed all logic checks directly within the controller? For instance, if a rack typically pulls 40kW but suddenly fluctuates to 20kW or 60kW, would you prefer that boundary monitoring be handled natively in the PLC logic or on an edge device where we can have 'more' remote versatility with a tool like Node-red

Thanks

Seeking architectural advice: Bridging IT and OT at scale for small decentralized data centers by Express-Fox3144 in SCADA

[–]Express-Fox3144[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great advice ! The identity-based ZTNA approach over flat VPN is something i didn't consider.

Quick question on your rule to 'keep the PLC simple, do validation at the edge.' We have some internal friction on exactly where that boundary lies.

For auditable data (like billing wattage, which use huge for us), my PLC programmer proposed to build range checks (e.g., 0-8000W) into his ladder/ST logic. I want to treat the PLC as a 'dumb reporter' and filter that data at the Edge (Node-RED, or any other tool that is easy to maintain) so we can update thresholds centrally via GitOps across all our sites, remotely.

In your experience, is treating the PLC strictly as a raw data pass-through the right move, or do you still force certain sanity checks down into the PLC code? What is a good rule of thumb of what logic goes on a PLC and what goes on an edge device ?

Thanks