1

DIFFRENCE BETWEEN DCS AND PLC

You must automate a process, but you can't decide between a DCS and a PLC. Are these systems really all that different? The answers depend on a slew of other questions. Turn the clock back 10-15 years: The programmable logic controller (PLC) is king of machine control while the distributed control system. (DCS) dominates recess control. If you manufacture plastic widgets, You speak PLC. If you produce chemicals, you speak DCS.Today, the two technologies share kingdoms as the functional lines between them continue to blur. We now use each where the other used to Rule. However, PLCs still dominate high-speed machine control, and DCSs Prevail in complex continuous processes. The early DCS looked dramatically different from the early PLC. Initially, the DCS performed the control functions of the analog panel Instruments it replaced, and its interface mimicked their panel Displays. DCSs then gained sequence logic capabilities to control batch Processes as well as continuous ones. DCSs performed hundreds of analog Measurements and controlled dozens of analog outputs, using Multi-variable Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control. With the Same 8-bit microprocessor technology that gave rise to the DCS, PLCs Began replacing conventional relay/solid-state logic in machine Control. PLCs dealt with contact input/output (I/O) and started/stopped Motors by performing Boolean logic calculations. The big change in DCS over the past 20 years is its move from Proprietary hardware to the personal computer (PC) and standard LAN Technologies. With each advance in PC power, DCSs have moved up in Power. PCs gave us speedy, responsive, multi-media, windowed, Operator-process interfaces (OPI). Relational databases and spreadsheet Software enhances the ability of DCSs to store and manipulate data. Artificial intelligence (AI) technology gives us "smart" alarming. Today's DCS architecturally looks much like the DCS of 20 years ago, But tomorrow's DCS may control through networked "smart" deviceswith No I/O hardware of its own. Most DCSs offer redundant controllers, networks, and I/Os. Most give you "built-in" redundancy and diagnostic features, with no need for User-written logic.DCSs allow centralized configuration from the operator or engineering Console in the control room. You can change programming offline, and Download without restarting the system for the change to be effective.DCSs allow inter-controller communications. You can do data exchange in Most DCS systems ad hoc (no need for predefined data point lists). You Access data by tag name, regardless of hardware or location.DCSs use multi-tasking operating systems, so you can download and run Applications aside from the real-time control functions and still do Fractional-second control. DCSs now come in "micro" systems, to Price-compete with PLCs-but with full DCS features and capabilities.The typical DCS has integrated diagnostics and standard display Templates that automatically extend/update when your database changes. This database is central to the systemyou don't have different Databases sitting in the controllers. DCSs have user-friendly configuration tools, including structured English, control block libraries, SFC (sequential function chart), and Even RLL (relay ladder logic).

2 Most DCSs allow graphical configuration, provide online diagnostics, And are selfdocumenting. Most provide for user-defined control blocks Or customized strategies. The controllers execute control strategies as Independent tasks; thus, making changes to part of the control logic Has no impact on the rest.An important difference between DCSs and PLCs is how vendors market Them. DCS vendors typically sell a complete, working, integrated, and Tested system; offering full application implementation. They offer Many services: training, installation, field service, and integration With your Information Technology (IT) systems. A DCS vendor provides a Server with a relational database, a LAN with PCs for office Automation, networking support and integration of third-party Applications and systems. The DCS vendor tries to be youre "one -stop Shop." The PLC is more of a "do-it-yourself" device, which is sometimes Simpler to execute.Formable Logic Controllers. When PLCs were solely replacements for Hard-wired relays, they had only digital I/O, with no operator Interface or communications. Simple operator interfaces appeared, then Evolved into increasingly complex interfaces as PLCs worked with Increasingly complex automation problems. We went from a panel of Buttons and I/O-driven lamps to PLC full-color customized graphic Displays that run on SCADA software over a network.PLCs now have many DCS-like control unctions (e.g., PID algorithms) And analog I/O. They've moved past their birthplace: the igital world (Switch and binary sensor inputs and output contacts to run motors and rigger solenoids).PLCs are fast: They run an input-compute-output cycle in milliseconds. On the other hand, DCSs offer fractional second (1/2 to 1/10) control Cycles. wever, some DCSs provide interrupt/event-triggered logic for High-speed applications.PLCs are simple, rugged computers with minimal peripherals and imple OSs. While increasing reliability, PLC simplicity is not conducive to Redundancy. Thus, fully redundant ("hot," automatic, bump less) Variations of PLCs, with their added hardware and software, sometimes Suffer from a reduction in their reliability-a characteristic PLCs are Famous for.Data exchange typically requires you to reassign data registers and Hard code their addresses into the logic. If you add registers or need To reassign data, you typically have to deal manually with the Domino Effect.Typical PLC Relay Ladder Logic (RLL) languages include function blocks That can perform complex control and math functions (e.g., PID Algorithms). Complex multi-loop control functions (e.g., cascade Management and loop initialization) are not typical. For functions too Messy to implement in RLL, most PLCs provide a function block that Calls a user-written program (usually in BASIC or C).PLCs typically operate as "state" machines: They read all inputs, Execute through the logic, and then drive the outputs. The user-written Logic is typically one big RLL program, which means you, may have to Take the whole PLC off-line to make a change of any size. You also run Into database synchronization problems because of the separation of PLCs and the Man Machine Interface (MMI) software packages, as opposed To the central databases of DCSs.A PLC will run in a stand-alone configuration. A DCS controller Normally expects an operator interface and communications, so it can Send alarms, messages, trend updates, and display updates.Many PLC installations use interface software from third-party vendors For improved graphics and various levels of alarming, trending, and Reporting. The PLC and MMI software normally interact by sitting on the

3 Network and using the register exchange mechanism to get data from and To the various PLCs. This type of communication presumes you have reassigned data registers and can fetch data on an absolute address Basis. This can lead to data processing errors (e.g., from the wrong Input) you will not encounter with the central database of a DCS.Some PLCs use proprietary networks, and others can use LANs. Way, either the communication functions are the same-fetch and put registers. This can result in bottlenecking and timing problems if too many PCs Try communicating with too many PLCs over a network. A PLC may have a third-party package for operator interfaces, LAN Interface to PCs and peripherals, PLC data highway or bus, redundant Controllers with local and distributed I/O, local MMI and local Programming capability. The PLC would have redundant media support, but Not the redundant communication hardware or I/O bus hardware you would find In a DCS. A PLC would have preprogrammed I/O cards for specific signal Types and ranges. Today, the decision between PLC and DCS often depends on business Issues rather than technical features. Questions to consider are those involving The internal expertise to execute the project, Level of support available from a vendor/integrator, Long-term maintainability, and Life-cycle costs. PLCs and DCSs overlap in their features, but also have distinct Strengths and weaknesses. When deciding between the two, know who will Deliver and support your system, and how they will do it. Following we describe the SCADA systems in terms of their architecture, their interface to the process hardware, the functionality and the Application development facilities they provide. SCADA systems have made substantial progress over the recent years in Terms of functionality, scalability, performance and openness such that they are an alternative to in house development even for very demanding and complex control systems. What does SCADA mean? SCADA stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition. As the name Indicates, it is not a full control system, but rather focuses on the Supervisory level. As such, it is a purely software package that is Positioned on top of hardware to which it is interfaced. In general, via Programmable Logic Controllers (Plys), or other commercial hardware Modules.SCADA systems are using not only in industrial processes. e.g. steel Making, power generation (conventional and nuclear) and distribution, Chemistry, but also in some experimental facilities such as nuclear Fusion. The size of such plants range from a few 1000 to several 10 Thousands input/output (I/O) channels. However, SCADA systems evolve Rapidly and are now penetrating the market of plants with a number of I/O channels of several 100 thousands I/O's SCADA systems used to run on DOS, VMS and UNIX; in recent years all SCADA vendors have moved to NT, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Some also to Linux. 1. Architecture This section describes the common features of the SCADA products. Hardware Architecture One distinguishes two basic layers in a SCADA system: the "client Layer" which caters for the man machine interaction and the "data Server layer" which handles most of the process data control Activities. The data servers

4 communicate with devices in the field through process controllers. Process controllers, e.g. PLC's, are Connected to the data servers either directly or via networks or field buses that are proprietary (e.g. Siemens H1), or non-proprietary (e.g. Profibus). Data servers are connected to each other and to client stations via an Ethernet LAN.Software Architecture The products are multi-tasking and are based upon a real-time database (RTDB) located in one or more servers. Servers are responsible for data acquisition and handling (e.g. polling controllers, alarm checking, calculations, logging and archiving) on a set of parameters, typically those they are connected to.However, it is possible to have dedicated servers for particular tasks, e.g. historian, datalogger, alarm handler. The figure above shows a generic SCADA software architecture. Communications Internal Communication: Server-client and server-server communication is in general on a publishsubscribe and event-driven basis and uses a TCP/IP protocol, i.e., a client pplication subscribes to a parameter, which is owned by a particular server application and only changes to that parameter are then communicated to the client plication.Access to DevicesThe data servers poll the controllers at a user defined polling rate. The polling rate may be different for different parameters. The controllers pass the requested parameters to the data servers. Time stamping of the process parameters is typically performed in the controllers and this time-stamp is taken over by the data server. If the controller and communication protocol used support unsolicited data transfer then the products will support this too.The products provide communication drivers for most of the common PLC's and widely used field-buses, e.g., Modbus. Some of the drivers are based on third party products (e.g., Applicom cards) and therefore have additional cost associated with them. VME on the other hand is generally not supported. A single data server can support multiple communications protocols: it can generally support as many such protocols as it has slots for interface cards.He effort required to develop new drivers is typically in the range of 2-6 weeks depending on the complexity and similarity with existing drivers, and a driver development toolkit are provided for this. Interfacing Application Interfaces / Openness: The provision of OPC client functionality for SCADA to access devices in an open and standard manner is developing. There still seems to be a lack of devices/controllers, which provide OPC server software, but this improves rapidly as most of the producers of controllers are actively involved in the development of this standard. The products also provide an Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC) interface to the data in the archive/logs, but not to the configuration database, an ASCII import/export facility for configuration data, a library of APIs supporting C, C++, and Visual Basic (VB) to access data in the RTDB, logs and archive. The API often does not provide access to the product's internal features such as alarm handling, reporting, trending, etc. The PC products provide support for the Microsoft standards such as Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) which allows e.g. to visualize

5 data dynamically in an EXCEL spreadsheet, Dynamic Link Library (DLL) and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Database The configuration data are stored in a database that is logically centralized but physically distributed and that is generally of a proprietary format. For performance reasons, the RTDB resides in the memory of the servers and is of proprietary format. The archive and logging format is usually also proprietary for performance reasons, but some products do support logging to a Relational Data Base Management System (RDBMS) at a slower rate either directly or via an ODBC interface. Scalability Scalability is understood as the possibility to extend the SCADA based control system by adding more process variables, more specialized servers (e.g. for alarm handling) or more clients. The products achieve scalability by having multiple data servers connected to multiple controllers. Each data server has its own configuration database and RTDB and is responsible for the handling of a sub-set of the process variables (acquisition, alarm handling, archiving). Redundancy The products often have built in software redundancy at a server level, which is normally transparent to the user. Many of the products also provide more complete redundancy solutions if required. 2. Functionality Access Control Users are allocated to groups, which have defined read/write access privileges to the process parameters in the system and often also to specific product functionality. MMI The products support multiple screens, which can contain combinations of synoptic diagrams and text. They also support the concept of a "generic" graphical object with links to process variables. These objects can be "dragged and dropped" from a library and included into a synoptic diagram. Most of the SCADA products that were evaluated decompose the process in "atomic" parameters (e.g. a power supply current, its maximum value, its on/off status, etc.) to which a Tagname is associated. The Tag-names used to link graphical objects to devices can be edited as required. The products include a library of standard graphical symbols, many of which would however not be applicable to the type of applications encountered in the experimental physics community. Standard windows editing facilities are provided: zooming, re-sizing, and scrolling... On-line configuration and customization of the MMI is possible for users with the appropriate privileges. Links can be created between display pages to navigate from one view to another.