An American utility company uses and runs SCADA applications to facilitate machine-to-machine communication and remotely manage different machinery. They were looking for a new connectivity setup to host their SCADA system.
Challenge
The utility company wanted to improve their network to host the increasing assets of their SCADA system. As the different parts of the SCADA system are distributed, the utility company expressed the need for network connectivity with wide coverage. Solid reliability to connect to different branches of the network was also needed since the SCADA system is expected to run 24/7.
The utility company also pointed out that security was a topmost requirement. Data was to be transferred over a third-party network, so security risks would be expected and they wanted to be ready for it. Their last challenge was to find a network with minimal infrastructure costs because the assets for their SCADA system alone already consume a lot of the company’s resources.
Solution
With this in mind, Peplink’s partner recommended routers from the MAX series. At each location, a MAX series router was deployed. At the headquarters, the MAX router is connected to the SCADA system and the main PLC (programmable logic controller). Within the remote sites, MAX routers are linked to PLS and IP sensors.
To manage this large-scale deployment, all MAX routers are configured and monitored remotely through InControl 2. In addition, these devices are designed with dual boot firmware capability and 256-bit AES VPN encryption as standard. For further security, the MAX series is certified for deployment on carrier private networks or can be easily configured in an infrastructure with an existing firewall.
Result
The new connectivity solution led to a significant uptime for the utility company with some MAX routers enabling the use of SpeedFusion’s Hot Failover. This allowed the utility company to maximize the three connectivity options some MAX routers offered: cellular, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi as WAN.
With this new deployment, the utility company has a reliable, scalable, and secure connectivity network for their SCADA applications. Additionally, they deployed this new setup with minimal costs, in both devices and labor.
Deployment
- Leverages up to three connectivity options: Cellular, Ethernet, Wi-Fi as WAN
- Selected models enable SpeedFusion’s Hot Failover
- Certified for private networks or configurable to fit existing infrastructure
