This document describes the "open source" project "OpenSCADA." OpenSCADA is a SCADA system constructed on principles of modularity, scalability, and multi-platform hosting.
The development of the software is driven by the principles of "open source" licencing. It was determined that an open, reliable and public SCADA system was a necessity. The involvement in development, testing, elaboration, distribution and use of a significant number of developers, enthusiasts and other interested persons allows for the minimization and distribution of financial expenses and work load.
The OpenSCADA system is intended for acquisition and archiving of data, and the visualization and control of operating influences. Owing to a high level of abstraction and modularity this full-function SCADA system can be utilize in many areas of system control.
The OpenSCADA system can be applied:
As basic (host) operational system, for development and use, the OS Linux is chosen, which is the optimum solution in questions:
As far as the project is developed and realized by principles of multiplatformity, it does not make a problem to port it on other OS, that is planned in the future.
Heart of system is the modular kernel. And depending on that, what modules are connected, system can to act both in a role of various servers, and in a role of various clients, and also to combine these functions in one program. It allows to work in practice client-server architecture of SCADA system on the basis of the same components/modules, saving thus: machine memory, disk space, and also valuable time of programmers.
Server configurations of system are intended for acquisition, processing, delivery of influences, archiving, recording of the information from various sources, and also for granting of this information to clients (UI, GUI, TUI...). The modular architecture allows to expand functionality of a server without its restarting.
Client configurations can be built on the basis of various graphic libraries (GUI/TUI ToolKits), as using a kernel of the program and its modules (by addition to it the module of UI-user interface), and as the independent application, connecting the kernel of OpenSCADA as library.
The opportunity of a flexible configuration of system allows to build decisions under concrete requirements of reliability, functionality and the sizes of system.