Topic 3

SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITION (SCADA)

Introduction
- In modern manufacturing and industrial processes, mining industries, public and private
utilities, leisure and security industries telemetry is often needed to connect equipment and
systems separated by large distances.
- Control system architecture can range from simple local control to highly redundant distributed
control. The SCADA system applies to facilities that are large enough that a central control
system is necessary.
- SCADA refers to the combination of telemetry and data acquisition. It encompasses the
collecting of the information, transferring it back to the central site, carrying out any necessary
analysis and control and then displaying that information on a number of operator screens or
displays. The required control actions are then conveyed back to the process.
- SCADA is a widely distributed computerized system primarily used to remotely control and
monitor the conditions of field based assets from a centralized location.
- The PLC is still one of the most widely used control systems in industry. As need to monitor
and control more devices in the plant grew, the PLCs were distributed and the systems
became more intelligent and smaller in size. PLCs and DCS (distributed control systems) are
used

Components of a SCADA system

- SCADA encompasses the transfer of data between a SCADA central host computer and
number of remote sites (RTU) and the central host and the operator terminals.
- The figure below shows a generic SCADA system that employs data multiplexing (MUX)
between the central host and the RTU.

- SCADA system consist of:

1. Remote terminal unit (RTU): They are primarily used to convert electronic signals received
from field devices into (or from) the language (known as the communication protocol) used to
transmit the data over a communication channel.
- It connects to sensors in the process, converting data to the supervisory system.
- PLC used as field devices because they are more economical, versatile, flexible and
configurable than special-purpose RTU’s
- RTU gathers data from field devices (pump, valves alarms etc) in memory, until the MTU
(master terminal unit) initiates a second command.

2. Communication network / system – used to transfer data between field data interface
devices and control units and the computers in the SCADA host computer (MTU)
- This is intended to provide the means by which data can be transferred between the central
host computer server and field based RTU.
- Communication network refers to the equipments needed to transfer data to and from different
sites.
- The medium used can either be cable, telephone or radio
- The way the SCADA system network (topology) is set up can vary with each system but there
must be uninterrupted, bidirectional communication between the MTU and the RTU for a
SCADA or data acquisition system (DAS) to function properly.
- This can be accomplished in various way i.e private wire lines, underground cables, telephone
radio, modern, microwave dishes, satellite and other atmospheric means and many times,
system employ more than one means of communicating to the remote site.
- Communication systems used for SCADA are often split into two distinct part: WAN and LAN.
- The interface between the two parts is commonly achieved through some form of multiplexing.
- Multiplexing allows different data streams to share single data link. It combines communication
paths to and from many RTUs into a single bit stream, usually using Time Division Multiplexing
(TDM).
- It may itself be a SCADA processing device that manages the local network and not only
combines data, but also reduces the amount of data that be interchanged within the central
host.

3. Central computer or master terminal unit (MTU)

- It is defined as the master or heart of a SCADA system and is located at the operator’s central
control facility.
- Most often it is a single computer or a network of computer servers that provide a man-
machine operator interface to the SCADA system.
- The computers process the information received from or sent to the RTU sites and present it
to human operator in a form that the operators can work with.
- Operators terminals are connected to the central host computer by a computer network so
that the viewing screens end associated data can be displayed for the operator.
- Some examples of the types of display screens offered by most systems include:
• System overview pages displaying the entire system often summarizing SCADA
sites that might be faulty
• Site mimic screens for each individual RTU location showing up to the minute site
information
• Alarm summary pages displayed current alarms and other types of alarms in which
have been acknowledged or not
• Trend screens enabling the operator to display the behaviour of a particular variable
over time.

4. Human machine interface (HMI)

- It is the apparatus which present process data to a human operator, and through which the
human operator controls the process.
- This displays this information in an easily understood graphical form, a rehives the data
received, transmit alarms and permit operator control as required.
- The HMI is essentially a PC system running powerful graphic and alarm software programs.
- It is usually linked to the SCADA system’s database and software programs, to provide
trending, diagnostic data and information management.

5. SCADA software
- SCADA software can be divided into two types: open and proprietary.
- Proprietary software often is configured for a specific hardware platform and may not
interface with the software or hardware produced by competing vendors.
- Commercial off-the shelf (COTS)/open software are more flexible, and will interface with
different types of hardware and software.
- The focus of proprietary software is on process and control functionality while COTS software
emphasizes on compatibility with a variety of equipment and instrumentation.
- Software products typically used within a SCADA system are as follows:-
• Central host computer operating system:- software used to control the central
host computer hardware.
• Operator terminal operating system – Software used to control the central host
computer hardware at the operators terminal. It contributes to the networking of the
central host and operator’s terminal.
• Applications – They are of two types; central host computer application and
operator terminal applications. These handles transmitted and reception of data to
and from the RTU and central computer. It also provides the GU/ which offers mimic
screens, alarm pages trend.
• Communication protocol drives: - required to control the translation and
interpretation of the data between ends of the communication links in the systems.

How does SCADA Work

- SCADA is a computer system for gathering and analyzing real time data
- The ability to monitor the entire control system in real time is facilitated by data acquisition
including meter reading and checking status of sensors that are communicated at standard
intervals depending on the system.
- The collected field data is transmitted through a communication network to the master terminal
unit which the data is processed.
- The MTU monitors and control data from various field devices (sensor) that are either in close
proximity or off site.
- Thus in summary, the SCADA system perform the following four functions:
• Data acquisition
• Networked data communication
• Data presentation
• Control

Data acquisition
- This is the process of sampling signals that measure real world physical conditions and
converting the resulting samples into digital numerical values that can be manipulated by a
computer.
- Data acquisition within SCADA system is accomplished first by the RTU scanning the field
data interface devices connected to the RTU.
- The time to perform this task is called the scanning internal. The MTU scans RTU to access
data in the process referred to as polling the RTU.
- Some systems allow the RTU to transmit field values and alarms to the central host without
being processed by the central host.
- The components of data acquisition systems include:
• Sensors that converts physical parameters to electrical signals
• Signal conditioning circuitry to convert sensor signals into a form that can be converted
to digital values e.g implication, alternation multiplexing.
• Analog to digital converters, which converts conditioned signals to digital values.
• Data acquisition hardware acts as the interface between the computer and the outside
world. It primarily functions as a device that digitizes incoming signal so that the computer
can interpret them.

Types of data acquisition systems (DAS)

These depend on type of communication protocol used.
i) Wireless data acquisition system: consist of one or more wireless transmission sending
data back to a wireless receiver connected to a remote computer.
ii) Serial communication data acquisition system: are good choices when the
measurement needs to be made at a location which is distance from computer.
iii) USB DAS: The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a new standard for connecting P.C to
peripheral devices such as monitor, DAS.

Processing Data from the field

- Data can be of three main types:
i) Analog data (real numbers) which will be trended (placed in graphs)
ii) Digital data (ON/OFF) which may have alarms attached to one state or the other
iii) Pulse data (e.g. counting revolution of a meter) is analog data normally accumulated or
counted such data are treated within the SCADA operator terminal software displays as
analog data and may be trended.
- Data from the field are processes to detect alarm conditions, and if alarm is predicted, it will
be displayed on dedicated alarm list on the application software running on the central host
computer.
- Where variables in the field have been changing over time, the SCADA system usually offers
a trending system where the behaviour of a particular variable can be plotted on a GUI screen
(graphical user interface screen).

Tasks in SCADA system

i) Input/output task – This program is the interface between the control and monitoring
system and plant floor.
ii) Alarm task – this manages all alarms by detecting digital alarm point and comparing the
values of analog alarm points to alarm thresh hold.
NB: SCADA can be seen as a system with many data elements called points. Each point
is a monitor or sensor and there points can be either soft or hard. Hard data points can
be on actual monitor; soft point can be application or software calculation. Data elements
from hand and soft points are usually always recorded and logged to create a time stamp
or history.
iii) Trend task: it collects data to be monitored over time.
iv) Report task – Reports are produced from plant data. These reports are periodic, event
triggered or activated by the operator.
v) Display task – manages all data to be monitored by the operator and all control actions
requested.
Application of SCADA system
- In essence, SCADA application has two elements:-
i) The process/system/machinery needed to be monitored or controlled: - This can take the
form of a power plant, water system, network, traffic light system.
ii) A network of intelligent devices that interfaces with the first system through sensors and
control output. This network, which is the SCADA system, gives the capability to measure
and control specific elements of the first system.
- SCADA systems control are used in the following industries
i) Manufacturing: SCADA system manages parts inventories, regulate industrial
automation and robots, and monitor process and quality control.
ii) Traffic signals: SCADA regulates traffic lights, controls traffic flow and detects out of
order signals.
 iii) Electric power generation, transmission and distribution: Electric utilities use SCADA
system to detect current flow and line voltage, monitor the operation of circuit breakers,
and to take sections of the power grid outline or offline.
iv) Building, facilities and environment: Facility managers use SCADA to control HVAC,
refrigeration units lighting and entry systems.
v) Water and Sewage: state and municipal water utilities use SCADA to monitor and
regulate water flow, reservoir levels and pipe pressure.
vi) Mass transit: transit authorities use SCADA to regulate electricity to subways, trains and
trolley buses, to automate traffic signals for rail system; to track and locate trains and
buses; and to control rail road – crossing gates.

Benefits of SCADA
i) Improved operation of the plant or process resulting in savings due to optimization of the
system.
ii) Reduces the operating and maintenance cost hence maximize the profits.
iii) Maximize productivity, ensure continuous production and increased productivity of the
personnel.
iv) Improved safety of the system due to better information and improved control.
v) Protection of the plant equipment.
vi) Safeguarding the environment from a failure of the system.
vii) Enhances reliability and robustness of critical industrial processes.
viii) Improved energy savings due to optimization of the plant.
ix) Improved and quicker receipt of data so that clients can be invoiced more quickly and
accurately.
x) Government regulations for safety and metering of gas (for royalties & tax etc).

Creating a functional SCADA system

(i) Phase 1: The DESIGN of the system architecture includes the communication system. Also
involved in this initial phase will be any site instrumentation that is not currently in existence,
but will be required to monitor desired parameters. Design stage translate the design basis
document into a system design and document the design clearly and completely so that it can
be constructed properly, commissioned completely, and operated and maintained reliably and
efficiently.
(ii) Phase 2: The SUPPLY of RTU, communication, and HMI equipment, which consists of a PC
system and the required powerful graphic and alarm software programs.
(iii) Phase 3: The PROGRAMMING of the communication equipment and the powerful HMI
graphic and alarm software programs.
(iv) Phase 4: The INSTALLATION of the communication equipment and the PC system. The
stage involves installing and placing into operation the SCADA system hardware and software
in compliance with the design documents.
(v) Phase 5: The COMMISSIONING of the system, where communication and HMI programming
problems are solved, and the system is proven to the client, and operator training and system
documentation is provided. Commissioning is the formal process of verifying and documenting
that the installed SCADA system complies with and performs in accordance with the design
intent, as defined in the design documentation

Design approaches/strategies for SCADA system

Local control system
- It describes a system architecture in which sensors, controllers and controlled equipments are
within close proximity and the scope of each controller is limited to a specific system or sub-
system.
- Local controllers are typically capable of accepting inputs from a supervisory controller to
initiate or terminate locally.
- Controlled automatic sequence, or to adjust control set points, but the control action itself is
determined in the local controller.

a) Local b) Centralized

Centralized control system

- Describes a system in which all sensors, actuators and other equipment within the facility are
connected to a single controller or a group of controllers located in a common control room.
- This type was common for power plants and other facilities using single-loop controllers.

Distributed control system

- It offers the best features of both local control and centralized control.
- In a DCS, controllers are provided locally to systems or group of equipment but networked to
one or more operator stations in a central location through a digital communication circuit.
- Control action for each system or subsystem takes place in a local controller but the central
operator station has complete visibility of the status of all systems and the input and output
data in each controller, as well as the ability to intervene in the control logic of the local
controller if necessary.
- In a DSC, data acquisition and control functions are performed by a number of distributed
micro-processor-based units, situated near to the devices being controlled or the instrument
from which data is being gathered.
- Input and output wiring runs are short and less vulnerable to physical description or electro-
magnetic interference.
- The data highway is normally capable of high speed
User Configurable Open System (UCOS)
UCOS is a control system that employs object-oriented techniques at every level of its system
architecture. It includes a number of subsystems which segment the functionality of UCOS.
This includes an Engineering Workstation Subsystem, an Operator Workstation Subsystem,
and a Field Control Unit (FCU) Controller Subsystem. The subsystems communicate via a
Control Network.
• Engineering Workstation (EWS) used for project development. The EWS is the
development tool where control schemes are configured then downloaded to the OWS,
FCU, and SDS. The entire project is configured using a single integrated tool based on
graphical Windows standards. Graphical techniques are also used to define the logical
relationships among the devices in a process area. Project configuration begins by defining
the system architecture: workstations, field control units (FCUs), I/O, networking, etc.
Graphical techniques are also used to define the logical relationships among the control
elements for multiple devices.
• Operator Workstation (OWS) for operator interface. This is used to monitor and control
the process. It uses the project screens created during project development and animates
them based on real-time data received from field control units and field data servers.
Authorized operators can monitor detailed activities for many types of devices and send
commands using standard faceplate command windows and group displays.
• Field Control Unit (FCU) for control logic execution and direct scanning of I/O. The FCU
provides I/O services by monitoring and controlling I/O across standard networks and data
highways. The FCU can provide simultaneous support for multiple vendors’ I/O and I/O
networks. The variety of platform and form-factor options supported by the FCU allows
incorporation of distributed, distinct I/O subsystems into common control strategies.
 • Control Network. System supports redundant and non-redundant fiber optic and Ethernet
local networks using the TCP/IP networking protocol for standardized, advanced application
connectivity. The LAN/WAN can be extended to other sites inside or outside the plant using
such remote communications technologies as satellite, radio, microwave, and dial-up
running such standard protocols as TCP/IP, Modbus, OPC, DDE
• I/O Subsystem supporting I/O from all industry standard suppliers. The same logic can be
solved to manipulate different I/O subsystems from different manufacturers without having
to change any of the programming or operational parameters of the configured system.
• SCADA Data Server (SDS) for interfacing data from intelligent devices, such as PLCs,
Fieldbus technologies, RTUs, PLC I/O, and other third-party devices
• Process Historical Archiver (PHA) for storing and retrieving historical data collected by
the FCU, SDS or any other intelligent device in the system
• microFCU: is a small, low-powered PLC that executes sequential and regulatory logic and
directly scans onboard I/O. It can replace RTUs at a significant reduction in cost and power
consumption – plus it can provide local intelligent control of devices, which RTUs can't do.

SCADA SECURITY / ACCESS CONTROL

- Access control is the selective restriction to access to a plant/place or other resources. Hence
the security access control is the act of ensuring that an authenticated user accesses only
what they are authorized to and no more.
- SCADA systems are used to control and monitor physical processes, however the security of
these system is important because compromise or destruction of these system may impact
multiple areas of society or industries.
- It is important to be able to detect possible attacks and respond in an appropriate manner in
order to minimize the impacts.
• Protect: Deploying specific protection measures to prevent and discourage electronic
attack against the process control systems.
 • Detect: Establishing mechanisms for rapidly identifying actual or suspected electronic
attacks.
• Respond: Undertaking appropriate action in response to confirmed security incidents
against the process control systems.

Defence in Depth
- Where a single protection measure has been deployed to protect a system, there is a risk that
if a weakness in that measure is identified and exploited there is effectively no protection
provided.
- No single security measure itself is foolproof as vulnerabilities and weaknesses could be
identified at any point in time. In order to reduce these risks, implementing multiple protection
measures in series avoids single points of failure.
- In order to safeguard the process control system from electronic attacks (e.g. hackers, worms
and viruses), it may be insufficient to rely on a single firewall, designed to protect the corporate
IT network.
- A much more effective security model is to build on the benefits of the corporate firewall with
an additional dedicated process control firewall and deploy other protection measures such
as anti-virus software and intrusion detection

Remote access
- Maintain an inventory of all remote access connections and types (e.g. virtual private network
or modems).
- Ensure that a valid business justification exists for all remote access connections and keep
remote connections to a minimum.
- Implement appropriate authentication mechanisms (e.g. strong authentication) for remote
access connections.
- Implement appropriate procedures and assurance mechanisms for enabling and disabling
remote access connections.
- Ensure that remote access computers are appropriately secured (e.g. anti-virus, anti- spam
and personal firewalls).

Anti-virus:
- Protect process control systems with anti-virus software on workstations and servers.
- Where anti-virus software cannot be deployed other protection measures should be
implemented (e.g. gateway anti-virus scanning or manual media checking)

E-mail and Internet access

- Disable all email and internet access from process control systems.

System hardening
- Undertake hardening of process control systems to prevent network based attacks.
- Remove or disable unused services and ports in the operating systems and applications to
prevent unauthorized use.
- Understand what ports are open and what services and protocols used by devices (especially
embedded devices such as PLCs and RTUs). This could be established by a port scan in a
test environment. All unnecessary ports and services should be disabled (e.g. embedded web
servers).
- Ensure all inbuilt system security features are enabled.
- Where possible restrict the use of removable media (e.g. CDs, floppy disks, USB memory
sticks etc.) and if possible removable media should not be used. Where it is necessary to use
 removable media then procedures should be in place to ensure that these are checked for
malware prior to use.

Backups and recovery

- Ensure effective backup and recovery procedures are in place, and are appropriate for the
identified electronic and physical threats. These should be reviewed and regularly tested.
- Test the integrity of backups regularly through a full restore process. Store backups at on and
off site locations.
- Media should be transported securely and stored in appropriately secure locations.

Physical security
- Deploy physical security protection measures to protect process control systems and
associated networking equipment from physical attack and local unauthorized access.
- A combination of protection measures is likely to be required which could include, drive locks,
tamper proof casing, secure server rooms, access control systems and CCTV.

Security patching
- Implement processes for deployment of security patches to process control systems.
- These processes should be supported by deployment and audit tools.
- The processes should make allowance for vendor certification of patches, testing of patches
prior to deployment and a staged deployment process to minimize the risk of disruption from
the change.
- Where security patching is not possible or practical, alternative appropriate protection
measures should be considered.

Personnel background checks

- Ensure all staff with operational or administration access to process control systems are
appropriately screened.

Passwords and accounts

- Implement and enforce a password policy for all process control systems that cover strength
of passwords and expiration times.
- It is recommended that passwords are changed frequently, but where this is not possible or
practical, alternative appropriate protection should be considered.
- Regularly review all access rights and decommission old accounts.
- Where possible change vendor passwords from default settings.
- Passwords may not be deemed necessary for some functions (e.g. view only mode).
- Consider stronger authentication methods for critical functions.
Document security framework
- Document a full inventory of the process control systems and components.
- Document the framework that provides the security for the process control systems and
regularly review and update to reflect current threats.
- This document should include details of the risk assessments, assumptions made, known
vulnerabilities and security protection measures deployed.
- Ensure all process control system documentation is secured and access limited to authorized
personnel
Topic 4: INDUSTRIAL COMMUNICATION NETWORK

Introduction
- Industrial communication refers to the wide range of hardware and software products and
protocols used to communicate between standard computer platforms and devices used in
industrial automation.
- Although a communication circuit can involve only two pieces of equipment with a circuit
between them, the term network typically refers to connecting many devices together to permit
sharing of data between devices over a single or redundant circuit.
- The industrial automation systems are often implemented as an open distributed architecture
with communication over digital communication networks.
- It is now common for users connected to a local area network to communicate with computers
or automation devices on other local area networks via gateways linked by a wide area
network.
- As the industrial automation systems becomes large and the number of automation devices
increases, it has become very important for industrial automation to provide standards which
make it possible to interconnect many different automation devices in a standard way.
- Considerable international standardization efforts have been made in the area of local area
networks. The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) standards permit any pair of automation
devices to communicate reliably regardless of the manufacturer.
- By definition, an industrial network requires geographical distribution of the physical
measurement I/O and sensors or functional distribution of applications. Most industrial
networks transfer bits of information serially.
- Serial data transfer has the advantage of requiring only a limited number of wires to exchange
data between devices. With fewer wires, we can send information over greater distances.
Because industrial networks work with several devices on the same line, it is easier to add a
new device to existing systems.
- To make all this work, our network must define a set of rules – a communication protocol -
- to determine how information flows on the network of devices, controllers, PCs, and so on.
- With improved communication protocols, it is now possible to reduce the time needed for the
transfer, ensure better data protection, and guarantee time synchronization, and real-time
deterministic response in some applications.
- Industrial networks also ensure that the system sends information reliably without errors and
securely between nodes on the network.

Network levels
- The industrial automation systems can be very complex, and it is usually structured into
several hierarchical levels. Each of the hierarchical level has an appropriate communication
level, which places different requirements on the communication network.
- Industrial networks may be classified in several different categories based on functionality:
field-level networks (sensor, actuator or device buses), control-level networks (control buses)
and information-level networks
Field level
- The lowest level of the automation hierarchy is the field level, which includes the field devices
such as actuators and sensors.
- The elementary field devices are sometimes classified as the element sublevel. The task of
the devices in the field level is to transfer data between the manufactured product and the
technical process.
- The data may be both binary and analogue. Measured values may be available for a short
period of time or over a long period of time. For the field level communication, parallel, multi-
wire cables, and serial interfaces such as the 20mA current loop has been widely used from
the past.
- The serial communication standards such as RS232C, RS422, and RS485 are most
commonly used protocols together with the parallel communication standard IEEE488.
- Those point-to-point communication methods have evolved to the bus communication
network to cope with the cabling cost and to achieve a high quality communication.
- Field-level industrial networks are a large category, distinguished by characteristics such as
message size and response time.
- In general, these networks connect smart devices that work cooperatively in a distributed,
time-critical network. They offer higher-level diagnostic and configuration capabilities
generally at the cost of more intelligence, processing power, and price.
- At their most sophisticated, fieldbus networks work with truly distributed control among
intelligent devices like FOUNDATION Fieldbus.
- Common networks included in the devicebus and fieldbus classes include CANOpen,
DeviceNet, FOUNDATION Fieldbus, Interbus-S, LonWorks, Profibus-DP, and SDS.
- Nowadays, the fieldbus is often used for information transfer in the field level. Due to timing
requirements, which have to be strictly observed in an automation process, the applications
in the field level controllers require cyclic transport functions, which transmit source
information at regular intervals.
- The data representation must be as short as possible in order to reduce message transfer
time on the bus.

Control Level
- At the control level, the information flow mainly consists of the loading of programs,
parameters and data.
- In processes with short machine idle times and readjustments, this is done during the
production process. In small controllers it may be necessary to load subroutines during one
manufacturing cycle.
- This determines the timing requirements. It can be divided into two: cell and area sublevels.

i) Cell sublevel:
- For the cell level operations, machine synchronizations and event handlings may require short
response times on the bus. These real-time requirements are not compatible with time
excessive transfers of application programs, thus making adaptable message segmentation
necessary.
- In order to achieve the communication requirements in this level, local area networks have
been used as the communication network. After the introduction of the CIM concept and the
DCCS concept, many companies developed their proprietary networks for the cell level of an
automation system.
- The Ethernet together with TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/internet protocol) was
accepted as a de facto standard for this level, though it cannot provide a true real-time
communication.
- Many efforts have been made for the standardization of the communication network for the
cell level.
- The IEEE standard networks based on the OSI layered architecture were developed and the
Mini-MAP network was developed to realize a standard communication between various
devices from different vendors. Some fieldbuses can also be used for this level.

ii) Area sublevel:

- The area level consists of cells combined into groups. Cells are designed with an application-
oriented functionality.
- By the area level controllers or process operators, the controlling and intervening functions
are made such as the setting of production targets, machine startup and shutdown, and
emergency activities.

- Control-level networks are typically used for peer-to-peer networks between controllers such
as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), distributed control systems (DCS), and computer
systems used for human-machine interface (HMI), historical archiving, and supervisory
control.
- Control buses are used to coordinate and synchronize control between production units and
manufacturing cells.
- Typically, ControlNet, PROFIBUS-FMS and (formerly) MAP are used as the industrial
networks for controller buses.
- In addition, we can frequently use Ethernet with TCP/IP as a controller bus to connect upper-
level control devices and computers.

Information level
- The information level is the top level of a plant or an industrial automation system.
- The plant level controller gathers the management information from the area levels, and
manages the whole automation system.
- At the information level there exist large scale networks, e.g. Ethernet WANs for factory
planning and management information exchange.
- Ethernet networks are used as a gateway to connect other industrial networks.
- With respect to management Information System Communication in automated system, there
are three types of networks used:
o Local Area Network (LAN)
o Wide Area Network (WAN)
o Metropolitan area network (MAN)

1) Local Area Network (LAN)

- These types of networks connect network devices over a relatively short distance.
- Quite often, a networked office building, home or school contains a single LAN although it is
normal to come across a building that contains a few small LANs.
- On a few occasions, a LAN may also span over a group of nearby buildings. Such
networks are usually owned by one organization.
- It interconnects computers and filed devices/peripherals over a common medium so users
might share access to host computers, database, files, applications and peripherals.
- The following characteristics differentiate one LAN from another
o Topology – The geometric arrangement of devices on the network e.g. star, ring etc.
o Protocols – The rules and encoding specifications for sending data. The protocol also
determines whether the network uses peer to peer or client/server architecture.
o Medium/media – Devices can be connected by twisted pain wire, coaxial cable, or fibre
optic cables. Some networks do without connecting media instead communicate
through radio waves.

2) Wide Area Network (WAN)

- WAN is a data communication network that covers a relatively broad geographical area and
often uses transmission facilities provided by common carriers e.g telephone companies.
- WAN technologies generally function at the lower layers of the OSI reference model (Open
system Interconnection) the physical layer, data link layer and network layer.
- It’s used to connect LANs and other types of networks together so that users and computers
in one location can communicate with users and computers in other location.
- LANs are connected to a WAN through a device referred to as a router. In IP networking, both
the LAN and WAN addresses are maintained by the router.
- Most WANs exist under distributed or collective ownership and management and unlike the
LANs, are not necessarily owned by one organization.

3) Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

- This is a network that spans over a physical area like a city that is smaller than a WAN but
larger than a LAN.
- Quite often, such computer networks are owned and operated by single entities such as
government bodies or large corporations

4) Controller Area Network (CAN)

- The CAN protocol is a priority based bus network using a career sense multiple Access with
collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) medium access scheme.
- In this protocol, any station can access the bus when ever it becomes idle.
- This is a communication protocol specification that defines parts of the OSI physical and data
link layer. It meets real-time requirements encountered in any industries. The network
protocol can detect and correct transmission errors caused by electromagnetic interference
- It is suitable for industrial applications because:
o Low cost
o Suitability for harsh electrical environment
o Good real-time capabilities
o Ease of configuration
- CAN is particularly well suited to networking smart I/O devices sensors and actuators either
in a single machine or plant.

Networks Models/Layers
- Network model defines a set of network layer and how they interact. There are several
different network models depending on what organization/industry want.
- The most important are:
i) The TCP / IP model
ii) OSI network model
1. The TCP/IP model
- TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is the basic communication
language or protocol of the Internet. It can also be used as a communications protocol in a
private network (either an intranet or an extranet).
- TCP/IP is the de facto global standard for the Internet (network) and host–to–host (transport)
layer implementation of internet work applications because of the popularity of the Internet.
- The TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet) is a layer protocol where it defines 4
layers’

i) Network access/interface layer

- It provides access to the physical-network. The purpose of a network interface is to allow your
PC to in order to access the wireless or fiber-optic network-infrastructure & send data to other
computer systems.
- Its main function is to connect host and devices using some protocol so that data or IP packet
can transmit over it.

ii) Internet layer

- Internet Layer provides connectionless communication across one or more networks. It is
concerned with network-to-network communication. This layer is responsible for addressing
& routing of data on the network.
- It is used to allow hosts to insert packets into any network and have them to deliver
independently to the destination.
- It specifies an official packet format and protocol known on internet protocol. Packet routing
is very essential task in order to avoid congestion.

iii) Transport layer

- It provides the means for the transport of data segments across the Internet-layer. It is
concerned with end-to-end communication.
- This layer sends the data to the internet-layer when transmitting & sends data to the
Application-layer when receiving.
- It specifies 2 end-to-end protocol; TCP and UDP (Transmission Control Protocol and user
datagram protocol).
o TCP is a reliable connection – oriented protocol that permits a byte stream originating
on one machine to be transported without error on any machine in the internet.
o UDP is an unreliable, connectionless protocol for applications that do not want TCPs
sequencing on flow control and wish to offer their own.

iv) Application layer

- It provides the user with the interface to communication. This Application layer is where web
browser, TELNET, FTP, email, or other client application runs. This layer sends to & receives
data from the transport-layer
o The virtual terminal protocol (VTP) permits a user on one machine to log into a
distant machine and work there.
o The file transfer protocol (FTP) permits a user on one machine to log into a distant
machine and work there. It offers a way to more data efficiently from one machine to
another.
o Electronic mail (simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) sends emails to other
computers that support the TCP/IP protocol.
Advantages TCP/IP model:
• It can be used to establish/set up connection b/w different types of computers.
• It operates/works independently of the operating system.
• It support for a number of routing-protocols.
• It enables the internetworking between the organizations.
• It has a scalable, client-server architecture.
Disadvantages:
• It is complex to set up & manage.
• Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) is faster than TCP/IP model.
• The shallow/overhead of TCP/IP is higher-than IPX.

2. OSI network model

- Developed by international standards organization (ISO) to standardize protocols used in
version (TCP/IP) layers.
- The model is known as the OSI (open systems interconnectivity) reference model
because it is related with connecting open system i.e. systems that are open for
communication with other system.
- It describes seven layers as they relate to one host computer communicating to another host
computer.

i) Physical layer
- This is the lowest layer which describes the way actual data in the form of symbols that are
sent over a medium such as copper wire or fibre optic cabling. Item like signal level symbol
representation and connector pinout are defined at this layer. The main functions are
a) Hardware specification – the details of the physical cables, network interface cards,
wireless radios etc are part of this layer.
b) Encoding and signaling – How are the bits encoded in the medium is also decided by
this layer.
c) Data transmission and reception: the transfer of each bit of data and assures the
transmission of each bit with a high probability.
d) Topology and network design: the type of network topologies to be used and which part
of the network in the routes going to be placed, where the switches will be used etc.

ii) Data link layer

- This layer provides reliable transmission of a packet by using the services of the physical layer
which transmits bits over the medium in an unreliable fashion.
- It maintains a reliable connection between adjacent nodes or stations over a physical channel
- To distinguish one from another, a method of node addressing must be defined.
- To ensure only one node has access at any one time, a method of medium access control
(MAC) must be implemented.
- Information sent over the data link layer is called frames. This layer is concerned with:
a) Framing – breaking input data into frames and caring about the frame boundaries and
the size of each frame (a few hundred bytes)
b) Acknowledgement: sent by receiving end to inform the source that the frame was
received without any error.
c) Sequence numbering – to acknowledge which frame was received.
d) Error detection: the frames may be damaged lost or duplicated leading to errors. The
error control is on link to link basis.
e) Retransmission – The packet is retransmitted if the source fails to receive
acknowledgment.
f) Flow control – necessary for a fast transmitter to keep pace with a slow receiver.

iii) Network layer

- It is concerned with logical addressing process of nodes and routing schemes. The basic
functions of the layer are routing and congestion control.
- Routing deals with determining how packets will be routed (transferred) from source to
destination.
- Congestion control involves the control of packets minimizing dropping of packets,
transmitting fine and delays.
- It is required when communication must span multiple networks – interconnecting.

iv) Transport layer

- This layer is concerned with the variable transmission of messages sent between two host
computers.
- It is responsible for the end to end communication control. This is different from the data link
layer which only concerned with the transmission of frames.
- A message usually requires many – frames to be sent before the complete message can be
received.
- This requires fragmenting the message into many pieces to be re-assembled at the other end.
Missing fragments must be re-sent. The transport layer addresses this issue.
- Other functions are:-
o Multiplexing and de-multiplexing
o Error control mechanism on end to end basis
o Flow control – regulate flow of information
o Connection establishment / release.

v) Session layer
- The layer is concerned with the establishment and termination of communication sessions
between processors in host computers.
- It also ensures that the data transfer starts from where it breaks, keeping it transparent to the
end user.

vi) Presentation layer

- The presentation layer translates the format of data between sender and receiver.
- It is responsible for the data interpretation, which allows for inter- operability among different
equipments.

vii) Application layer

- This layer provides the services that are required by specific applications. It contains
application protocols with which the user gains access to the network.
- The choice of which specific protocols end their associated functions are to be used at the
application level is up to the individual user. For example commonly used protocols or HTTP(
for web browsing), FTP (or file transfer)
- HTTP – Hyper text transfer protocol – permits applications such as browser to upload and
download web pages.

Operation of OSI layer

- From the figure, if a node wants to sent a data packet from the application, it must first call for
the sending service of its application layer which in turn will call the sending function in the
next layer, and so on till the data is sent at the physical medium to other node.
- This node will reverse the sequence till the received data reaches the application. Layer of
its node then to the application which will use this data.
- Any communication system that is based on the OSI seven layer has high flexibility and
compatibility with product from different vendors.
- However OSI system is often too complex for network architecture hence has a considerable
overhead in both the communication and the processing.

- Strictly speaking, a network requires only layers 1, 2, and 7 of the protocol model to operate.
- In fact, many device bus networks use only these three layers. The other layers are added
only as more services are required (e.g., error-free delivery, routing, session control, data
conversion, etc.).
- Most of today’s local area networks contain all or most of the OSI layers to allow connection
to other networks and devices.

Advantages:
• It provides wide variety of choice.
• It does not depend or rely on a specific computer system.
• It interprets the product functionality at each-stage.
• It encrypts the data for security purpose.
• It is easy to add multiple-network models.

Disadvantages:
• Many applications do not require/need the data integrity, which is provided by OSI-model.
• In order to fast set up OSI requires agreement between three-parties: users & service
provider.
• Complex.
• This model is not adapted at all to telecommunication applications on computer.
3. Field bus model
- Due to complexity of the OSI model, modification has been done on the industrial networks,
where only three layers are left.
- The resulting fieldbus is referred to as a 3 – layer architecture. These layers are:-
o Application layer
o Data link layer
o Physical layer

- Several characteristics and functions in the data link layer are key to the distributed real time
control capabilities of fieldbus.
a) The data link layer is based on a token passing protocol.
b) The Link Active Scheduler (LAS) is a centralized device that acts as the arbitrator of the
bus.
c) The LAS executes a schedule that makes possible deterministic communication.
d) The LAS distributes time to the network to permit all devices to share the same sense of
time.
- The user application layer defines blocks that represent the functions and data available in a
device.
- Rather than interface to a device through a set of commands as commonly used with
communication protocols, fieldbus user interacts with device through a set of blocks that
define device capabilities in a standardized way.
- The data link layer has important aspect which is medium access control.

Medium Access Control (MAC)

- In a field bus or industrial network, several stations share the same communications media in
order to save wiring costs. However, since the medium is shared, not all devices can
communicate simultaneously.
- Therefore there must be rules to govern who gains access to the medium and those rules are
called medium access control (MAC). Thus MAC addresses identify network devices in LANS.
- This process of media access requires that each node be able to shut down its transmitter
without interfering with the network’s operation.
- This can be done in one of the following ways:
o with a modem that can turn off its carrier
o with a transmitter that can be set to a high independence state
o with a passive current-loop transmitter, wired in series with the other transmitters, that
shorts when inactive
- Although many access methods exist, the most commonly used ones are polling, collision
detection, and token passing.
 1) Polling
- The access method most often used in master/slave protocols is polling.
- In polling, the master interrogates, or polls, each station (slave) in sequence to see if it has
data to transmit. The master sends a message to a specific slave and waits a fixed amount of
time for the slave to respond.
- The slave should respond by sending either data or a short message saying that it has no
data to send. If the slave does not respond within the allotted time, the master assumes that
the slave is dead and continues polling the other slaves.
- Interslave communication in a master/slave configuration is inefficient, since polling requires
that data first be sent to the master and then to the receiving slave.
- Since master/slave configurations use this technique, polling is often referred to as the
master/slave access method.

2) Carrier Sense, Multiple Access (CSMA)

- The basic media access method that uses first-come-first served principle.
- It is probabilistic media access control (MAC) protocol in which a node verifies the absence
other traffic before transmitting on a shared transmission medium, such as an electrical bus
or a band of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- It is based on the principle sense before transmitting or ‘listen before talk’.
- CSMA/CD collision detection – performance by terminating transmission as soon as a
collision detected, thus shortening the time required before a retry can be attempted.
- This method handles collision as they occur, but if the bus is constantly busy, collision can
occur so often that performance drops drastically. Thus this method works well as long as the
network does not have an excessive amount of traffic.
- CSMA/CA collision avoidance – is used to improve the performance by attempting to be
less ‘greedy’ on the channel.
- If the channel is sensed busy before transmission then the transmission is differed for a
random interval.
- If the channels sensed ‘idle’ then the station is permitted to transmit. Once the channel is
clear a station sends a signal telling all other stations not to transmit, and then sends its
packet.

3) Token passing protocol

- With this approach, each participant to the network is guaranteed some time to transmit a
message on a permission basis.
- This permission occurs when a participant receives the one token that exist in the network
(token is a small frame)
- The token is passed from one participant to another in a circular fashion in what is called
logical ring.
- Once a participant receives the token, the participant must initiate a transmission or pair the
token to the next participant in an orderly fashion.
- The token is usually passed from one participant to another with the highest address
regardless of the next participant’s physical location.
- The participant with the highest address will pair the token to a participant with the lowest
address.
- It’s not necessary to have one master to hand out the token.
- Participant could be peer to one another and simply agree that they will not possess the token
for more time than previously agreed.
Prepared and compiled by [email protected]