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Home / Glossary / SCADA
Glossary · Device

SCADA

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition

In plain language

Software and hardware that lets operators watch and control equipment at a distance, such as water pumps or power stations.

The metaphor

Like a control room with screens showing every pump and valve across a city.

Going deeper

How it works

  • Sensors send readings to a central screen.
  • Operators send commands back.
  • It was built for reliability, with little thought for security.
  • Rarely seen outside utilities and factories.
In practice
  • A town monitors its water towers.
  • A factory watches its production line.
  • A utility checks a remote pump.

A question owners ask

Does my business have one?

Almost certainly not. It applies to utilities and industrial sites.

Related terms
BIOSBasic Input/Output SystemCCTVClosed-circuit TelevisionCSUChannel Service UnitEndpointESNElectronic Serial NumberFirmwareFPGAField Programmable Gate ArrayGPSGlobal Positioning System

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