Best 12 free SCADA software

AshlinOctober 2, 2021

9,223 6 minutes read

What is the purpose of SCADA in an industrial process?

Functions of SCADA in an industrial process — Industrial process monitoring with the help of SCADA

Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is software that can be used to control the industrial process. SCADA can monitor a plant or equipment in industries such as oil and gas, chemical plants, etc. So SCADA is software that is used to monitor the industrial process and if any changes should be made in the process then it would send a command signal to the PLC or other device.

The major functions of a SACDA are data acquisition, networked data communication, presentation of data, and control. We can control or monitor an entire plant with the help of SCADA. In case if there is any fault like a leak in a pipeline then the SCADA system would transfer this data to the home station and also would take the necessary action and control. SCADA would transfer command signals to the PLC or DCS according to the received field data.

Abbreviations

S. NO	Abbreviations	Full-Form
1	MQTT	MQ Telemetry Transport
2	ODBC	Open Database Connectivity
3	OPC	Open Platform Communication
4	SNMP	Simple Network Management Protocol
5	SMTP	Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
6	UDP	User Datagram Protocol
7	TCP	Transmission Control Protocol
8	RTP	Real-time Transport protocol
9	SQL	Structured Query Language
10	DNP3	Distributed Network Protocol
11	HDA	Historical Data Access

Full form of SCADA Communication protocols

How can we select SCADA software?

It must be compatible with different operating systems
OS supported must be considered
It must be selected according to the type of communication protocol
System-upgradation
Safety and reliability
It must be selected according to the drivers in the SCADA system
It should be adaptable

List of free SCADA software

1.Fernhill SCADA

2. Tatsoft factory studio

3. Rapid SCADA

4. Ignition SCADA

5.OpenAPC

6. OpenSCADA

7. WinTr

8. VTScadaLight

9. SCADA LTS

10. SZARP

11. IndigoSCADA

12. SCADABr

Sl no	SCADA software	OS supported	Features	Supported protocol	Download link
1	Fernhill SCADA	Linux, Windows, MAC	Supports open interfaces such as OPC, UA, ODBC. It also offers API access, import tools, Configuration tool	MQTT, OPC Classic, OPC UA, and ODBC	Download link
2	Tatsoft factory studio	Windows, Linux, Mac	Real-time data modeling, data logging, Audit trail, alarms, and events	OPC/MQTT	Download link
3	Rapid SCADA	Windows& MAC	Real-time monitoring, Data visualization, Hardware integration	MODBUS, OPC, SNMP, SMTP, MQTT	Download link
4	Ignition SCADA	Windows, MAC, cloud, Linux	Built-in OPC UA Hardware integration HMI integration SQL tags Real-time monitoring, Supports – Oracle, MS SQL, MYSQL, etc	Modbus, UDP, and TCP	Download link
5	OpenAPC	Windows, Linux, MAC	Editors visual interface, Open programming interfaces, Machine control	Modbus, HTTP, RTP	Download link
6	OpenSCADA	Windows, Linux	It can be connected with OPC Client, S7 MPI, S7 PPI, Profinet, Modbus RTU, Modbus TCP/IP	Modbus, OPC-UA, HTTP	Download link
7	WinTr	Windows	Advanced screen interface can be created by the symbol factory software, Uses Microsoft SQL server database, Unlimited table and each table would have 950 tags, Server client option	OPC client, S7 Mpi, S7 Ppi, Profinet, Modbus RTU, TCP/IP, SQL server	Download link
8	VTScadaLight	Windows	Workstation/server health monitoring, Redundancy and system backup capability, statistic reporting, and alarm management	OPC, ODBC, SQL queries, Historian, and SOAP	Download link
9	SCADA-LTS	Windows, Linux, Mac	Custom integration – SOAP & REST API, Reports of data with charts, Available in different languages such as Spanish, Portuguese	MODBUS TCP/IP, DNP3, OPC DA 2.0, HTTP listeners	Download link
10	SZARP	Windows, Linux	SZARP supports mobile devices, Better user interface	MODBUS (TCP & client-server)	Download link
11	Indigo SCADA	Windows, Linux	Softlogic programming with C scripts, Multiple users with different access rights, Real-time events, and alarm notification.	OPC DA 2.05, HDA 1.20, XML DA 1.0, OPC UA 1.03, DNP 3.0, MODBUS	Download link
12	SCADA BR	Windows, Linux	It can be used for home and building automation, Graphical representation of data, user permissions system	MODBUS TCP/IP, OPC, DNP3, IEC, HTTP, Serial ASCII	Download link

Comparison between free SCADA software

1.Fernhill SCADA

We can use this SCADA software to monitor and control our process, we can use this SCADA software for the major industrial processes from hydroelectric to wine production. This SCADA performs really well according to the client-server architecture. This software also provides certain data access interfaces such as .net API, Java Api, OPC Classic, OPC UA, and ODBC. This SCADA software also provides better security so that our equipment will be protected from unauthorized access.

2. Tatsoft factory studio

By using this tool, we would be able to design industrial applications securely and powerfully. There are many features for this software such as MQTT broker, audit trail, and a lot more. We can program scripts in C, VB.Net, javaScript, and python. It has many built-in protocol drivers to PLCs, DCS and it would also support other industrial standards too.

3. Rapid SCADA

This is open-source software that can be used for industrial automation, this software has many tools which will be useful for quick monitoring and controlling. This software can be used for large distributed industrial automation systems. It has the ability to interact with the external database in real-time. This software has many features such as an automatic control module, rapid gate module, remote troubleshooting, and a lot more.

4. Ignition SCADA

This type of software can be used with large industries, this is a web-based solution that can be used to control the process remotely. By using this software we can check data across different locations.

Supported protocol – Modbus, Ethernet, UDP, and TCP

5.Open APC

This is an open-source process control and it can be used to do many automation processes. We can use this software for process stabilization and also improve the process. So it would do the data collection, data analysis, and also the interpretation of the process and by doing this the process monitoring can be easily done. We can do the offline and online analysis by using this software

6. Open SCADA

This type of SCADA software has good modularity and scalability, by using this SCADA software we can check and visualize the industrial process. This software would provide better control over modules, and also it would provide access to the database. It has various communication modes such as MODBUS, OPC-UA to interact with the external environment. Data acquisition from external sources such as controllers and sensors is also possible.

7. WinTr

The WinTr SCADA software can be used to monitor and also to save the process data. This software can be connected with OPC clients, Profinet, Modbus. The process data will be saved to the database and this will be very useful. winter also offers an advanced screen interface and with the help of this feature. This software provides good flexibility by the Visual Basic and C# scripting. In case if there is an alarm or warning then it would be displayed on the screen in real-time and this would improve the process quality.

8. VTScada

We can use this software for highly customized industrial monitoring. This SCADA software has a better architecture that has all the HMI SCADA software features. This software has an HMI interface and due to this, there are process displays, alarm and event management, Historical data viewer, etc. The major feature of this software is that it has an open architecture and because of this we can communicate with most PLCs and RTUs. Special analog and digital tag features and the component connections won’t degrade over time

9. SCADA-LTS

SCADA-LTS is open-source software and this is developed in JAVA and it can be used with Windows, Linux, and MAC. There is no need for client installation because the user interface runs from a standard web browser. The major feature of this software is that we can monitor the up-date of the data points in real-time. This software has a vast communication protocol such as MODBUS TCP/IP, DNP 3, IEC 101, and a lot more.

10. SZARP

This is an open-source SCADA software, we can describe SZARP as software that has a major collection of processes/applications. Each process in this would have a separate task and it would be done perfectly too.

11. IndigoSCADA

This is open-source software that can be operated on Windows and Linux platforms. This software is developed in C and C++, and the major feature of this software is that it has many supported drivers such as OPC DA 2.05a, AE 1.10, H. DA 1.20, MODBUS, etc. We can watch the historical and real-time graphical representation of the data by using this software. We can do the maintenance of historical and real-time data with the help of SQL editor.

12. SCADA BR

This is open-source software that can be used for supervisory control applications. Real-time data visualization is possible with this software. It would record process data in a database. We can access this software on a desktop or in mobile, it has script engines to control automation and batches.