Scadas reviewed

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IBG - SA Instrumentation & Control Buyers' Guide

June 2003 News

The June issue of SA Instrumentation & Control once again sees our popular 'Scada review' feature. What makes this review different is that the reviews are written by end-users of the software systems, not by the vendors. Our world-class journalist, Maurice McDowell also interviews some of the leading vendors in the industry to find out what latest trends are about to hit the market.

It is interesting to notice that the Microsoft-based ( www.microsoft.com) PC has remained by far the dominant force in the scada market. My own experience of Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows XP, is that it offers significantly improved stability when compared with its predecessors. XP does require a monumental amount of RAM (random access memory) to work at a reasonable speed, but considering how the price of RAM has dropped in recent times this is becoming less of an issue. 512 MB RAM is typically retailing at less than R1 000,00.

Despite significant inroads into the file and web server market, Linux ( www.linux.org) has yet to really catch on to the desktop market. Most of the scada vendors indicate that they are more than willing to port their products to Linux, but not until the market demand for Linux-based systems increases. The result is a chicken-and-egg situation that will probably see Microsoft firmly ensconced as the dominant player in the industrial control market for at least the next few years.

To some degree it seems logical that Apple-Macintosh ( www.apple.com) never gained a foothold in the scada market. Apple's primary focus has long been the graphic-design user. Apple also does not have the market presence of the PC. Technews, the publisher of SA I&C, recently tried to purchase a new-generation e-Mac. We discovered that delivery on the new and swanky gadget is upwards of three weeks. Compare this with the 'off-the-shelf' availability of the generic PC and there is little wonder that PC hardware dominates the downtime-critical industrial market.

Technews has launched an e-mail newsletter service to accompany its host of publications. Scheduled to go out to coincide with the publication of SA Instrumentation & Control, the instrumentation newsletter is the reader's connection between the world of print and the online world. All of SA I&C's content can be found online at www.instrumentation.co.za. The instrumentation professional can also make use of our comprehensive online buyers' guide free of charge at www.ibg.co.za. Readers wishing to subscribe to the instrumentation e-mail newsletter should send a blank email to [email protected]

Graeme Bell, Editor, SA Instrumentation & Control, [email protected]

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