Inductive Automation Blog

A panel of longtime Ignition users and integrators discuss the challenges and successes of tackling Ignition deployments at an enterprise scale. Learn about how collaboration with other integrators can unlock opportunities to take on global projects. We will discuss what it's like to have three to four different companies working together to complete a project and how to make sure the customer's needs are always front and center.

Project Scope

• Tags: 25,000
• Screens: 250
• Clients: approx. 20 daily active clients, 4 dedicated terminals
• Alarms: approx. 15,000
• Devices used: More than 50 devices, such as ABB AC500 PLCs, Socomec UPS, Pramac gensets, ABB Network Analyzers and MV Relais, Honeywell Firefighting Systems
• Architectures used: Standard Ignition Architecture
• Databases used: MySQL
• Historical data logged: 3 billion rows, 6,000 historical tags, two years of data retention, monthly partitioning

Project Overview

This project provided Aruba with an advanced real-time monitoring and control system for its revamped IT2 Arezzo Data Center. This was Aruba’s first data center, put into operation more than 15 years ago, covering approximately 2,000 square meters.

Problem

After the positive experience with a previous MTech project, Aruba wanted to give a new shape to this old but still strategic data center, with particular attention to the use of modern technologies, building a flexible control system to control all its subsystems.

The system includes:

• Data center electrical power distribution (medium voltage – low voltage) and continuity (UPS, batteries, and gensets)
• Renewable electrical power production (photovoltaic)
• Data center firefighting and flooding (with more than 50 sensors)
• Data rooms cooling with traditional chillers
• Ambient conditions monitoring (temperature, humidity, air quality)
• Building automation (lighting, HVAC, and access management)

All this data collection and interaction must lead to:

• Plant monitoring
• Remote commands
• Automatic management procedures
• Real-time alarms, pipelines, and notifications
• Long-term historian
• Power consumption analysis
• Data center KPIs
• Maintenance

Solution

Ignition allowed MTech to easily connect to all the devices installed in the plant and collect a huge amount of data in a structured way, using UDTs. Developing PLC software with Ignition UDTs and templates in mind allowed MTech to create PLC elements using an object-oriented approach.

Some customer requirements were:

• Detailed graphic interface and universal access from any device
• SQL database data storage
• Access for multiple concurrent clients 
• Structured alarm notification

All these were fulfilled by Ignition Perspective. Unlimited tags/clients licensing gave space for future (and really fast) growth of the system. The solution also includes an audit log and third-party software data access.

When the project was started in late 2019, the Perspective Module was something new and incredibly fascinating with the possibilities it provided in the development and enjoyment of content for MTech. After more than a year of development on this platform, customer expectations have been fully met, creating something new and innovative in the data center management industry.

Result

Once again, Ignition has demonstrated its power and flexibility, as well as an incredible ability to bring real innovation into the hands of customers. The ability to manage truly complex systems from the palm of your hand is certainly the real next step in automation and control of systems.

Project Scope

• Tags: approx. 124,000
• Screens: 190
• Clients: approx. 30 daily active clients, 4 dedicated terminals
• Alarms: approx 50,000
• Devices used: More than 250 devices such as ABB AC500 PLCs, Socomec UPS, Pramac gensets, ABB Network Analyzers and MV Relais, Honeywell Firefighting Systems
• Architectures used: Standard Ignition Architecture
• Databases used: MySQL database
• Historical data logged: 15 billion rows, 40,000 historical tags, 2 years data retention, week partitioning

Project Overview

This project provided Aruba with an advanced real-time monitoring and control system for its new Global Cloud Data Center (ANSI/TIA 942 Rating 4 compliant), the largest data center campus in Italy (200.000 sqm).

Problem

Aruba wanted to build a modular and flexible data center designed primarily to offer its Italian and International customers colocation services. Aruba needs to control all its subsystems from a single fully integrated system.

The system includes:

• Data center electrical power distribution (medium voltage - low voltage) and continuity (UPS, batteries, and gensets)
• Renewable electrical power production (hydroelectric and photovoltaic)
• Data center firefighting and flooding (with more than 100 sensors)
• Geothermal use of groundwater for data rooms cooling with traditional chillers in backup
• Ambient conditions monitoring (temperature, humidity, air quality)
• Building automation (lighting, HVAC, and access management)

All this data collection and interaction must lead to:

• Plant monitoring
• Remote commands
• Automatic management procedures
• Real-time alarms, pipelines, and notifications
• Long-term historian
• Power consumption analysis
• Data center KPIs
• Maintenance

Solution

Ignition allowed MTech to easily connect to all the devices installed in the plant and collect a huge amount of data in a structured way (using UDTs). Developing PLC software with Ignition UDTs and templates in mind allowed MTech to create PLC elements using an object-oriented approach.

Some mandatory customer requirements were:

• Detailed graphic interface
• SQL database data storage
• Multiple concurrent clients access
• Structured alarm notification

All these were fulfilled by Ignition, and unlimited tags/clients licensing gave space for future (and really fast) growth of the system.

The solution includes:

• Audit log
• Scheduled data export (reports)
• Third-party software data access

The next step will be integrating Ignition Perspective (keeping in production the previously existing Vision pages) to give universal access to the system, especially from mobile devices. This integration will lead to new features, such as interactive maintenance.

Results

Ignition has shown its capability to be a flexible platform for creating powerful and beautiful HMIs, allowing developers to use incredible scripting with ease. Data collection is extremely reliable, and level of performance is satisfactory for end users even with massive amounts of data (billions of historical samples).

Online changes have guaranteed that Aruba will not need to interrupt its services in any case. Final cost of the entire Ignition solution is less than any “traditional” SCADA solution.

At the end of each conference, the Ignition Firebrand Awards are given to the most outstanding real-world Ignition projects featured in our yearly Discovery Gallery project showcase. Join us to celebrate the creative spirit of the Ignition community as we honor this year’s Firebrand Award winners and hear their stories of struggle, innovation, and triumph in a fun and informative panel discussion led by Inductive Automation’s chief strategy officer, Don Pearson.

Watch this ICC Community session from ICC 2016.