Operational Technology + Information Technology
Applying Message Oriented Middleware to Operational Systems
Arlen Nipper - Cirrus Link
How can we apply technology to:
• Mitigate environmental risk?
• Detect leaks earlier?
• Resolve problems faster?
• Manage audit and regulation more effectively?
Instrumented
Interconnected
• Run operations more efficiently?
Intelligent
Message Oriented Middleware
Message Oriented Middleware (MOM) is a well proven and an integral component in
modern Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)
solutions. How can we best apply this mature and well proven technology to Operational
systems as well?
• What problems does Message Oriented Middleware solve?
• How can Message Oriented Middleware be applied to operational systems
today?
Using the SCADA Host as Message Oriented Middleware
To a large extent, we as an industry have already been trying to make our Operational
Applications “look” like Message Oriented Middleware…..
Future Apps &
Integration
Historian
Analytics &
BIG DATA
Electronic Flow
Measurement
ERP
Mobile Apps
Asset Management
& Optimization
“Enterprise (IT)”
1
SCADA
Host
3
Protocol X
2
“Operations (OT)”
Using the SCADA Host as Message Oriented Middleware
Future Apps &
Integration
Analytics &
BIG DATA
ERP
Mobile Apps
Asset Management
& Optimization
“Enterprise (IT)”
3
1
Electronic Flow
Measurement
Flow
Computer
PLC
SCADA
Host
Protocol X
2
“Operations (OT)”
Using the SCADA Host as Message Oriented Middleware
3
1
Flow
Computer
PLC
Electronic Flow
Measurement
2
“New” 1
Application
3
SCADA
Host
Protocol X
2
4
“Enterprise (IT)”
“Operations (OT)”
1
Create a “New” application that can provide the interface between the EFM
application and the SCADA Host Application.
2
Define the interface/data schema between the New application and the EFM
application.
3
Modify/change/test any required Access Control List (ACL) and define the security
for connecting to the SCADA Host application.
4
Modify the SCADA Host poll tables so that additional polls to the Flow Computer are
added to acquire desired information.
Using the SCADA Host as Message Oriented Middleware
“What is invariably happening is that more and more access to SCADA data from the lines of business is putting
the SCADA Host application in the position of being a MOM system, which they were never intended to be in the
first place. As more and more applications and modifications are made to the SCADA Host application to satisfy
the needs of lines of business, the systems invariably become harder and harder to manage, and ultimately
become so brittle that no one will touch them to add additional capabilities. At this point innovation within the
business, as it applies to the vast amount of additional information in field devices, comes to a grinding halt!”
Decoupling Devices from Applications using
Message Oriented Middleware
Future Apps &
Integration
Historian
Analytics &
BIG DATA
Electronic Flow
Measurement
ERP
Mobile Apps
Asset Management
& Optimization
“Enterprise (IT)”
1
SCADA
Host
3
Protocol X
2
“Operations (OT)”
Starting from here…… we can keep all of the same components by just
re-architecting the topology a bit.
Decoupling Devices from Applications using
Message Oriented Middleware
SCADA
Host
Future Apps &
Integration
Historian
Analytics &
BIG DATA
1
Electronic Flow
Measurement
Message
Oriented
Middleware
ERP
2
Mobile Apps
3
Asset Management
& Optimization
“Enterprise (IT)”
“Operations (OT)”
Nice topology picture, but how can you actually implement this architecture?
Use Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT)
A Transport Designed for SCADA
“MQTT is a bi-directional lightweight event and message oriented transport allowing devices
to communicate efficiently across constrained networks to backend systems”
MQTT was originally designed for use in real time pipeline SCADA systems!
1. Natively built on top of TCP/IP.
2. Stateful with continuous session awareness.
3. Extremely bandwidth efficient.
4. Three levels of Quality of Service for data delivery.
5. Data agnostic.
6. Client side session establishment.
7. No defined security model. Since MQTT is natively build on
top of TCP/IP, best practice TCP/IP security scheme can be
used.*
*The OASIS MQTT Security Subcommittee is working in conjunction with NIST for recommended best
practices using MQTT in critical infrastructure.
Add an MQTT Data Broker
The Message Oriented Middleware Component
MQTT Enabled
Application
MQTT Enabled
Device
MQTT
JMS Enabled
Application
SOAP Enabled
Application
Enabled
Message
Oriented
Middleware
MQTT Enabled
Device
MQTT Enabled
Device
MQTT - Publish Subscribe Messaging
A Publish Subscribe messaging protocol allowing a message to be published once and multiple
consumers (applications / devices) to receive the message providing decoupling between the producer
and consumer(s)
A producer publishes a message (publication) on a topic (subject)
A consumer subscribes (makes a subscription) for messages on a topic (subject)
A Message Oriented Middleware server / broker matches publications to subscriptions
• If no matches the message is discarded
• If one or more matches the message is delivered to each matching subscriber/consumer
The Resulting 100% MQTT MOM SCADA Implementation
SCADA
Host
Future Apps &
Integration
Historian
Analytics &
BIG DATA
Electronic Flow
Measurement
DMZ 3
2
ERP
1
MQTT
Enabled
Message
Oriented
Middleware
Mobile Apps
Asset Management
& Optimization
“Enterprise (IT)”
1
MQTT message transport.
2
MQTT, JMS, REST, SOAP, and “other” ESB message transports
3
Single point DMZ for access control, permissions, and security settings.
4
SCADA is a VERY important data consumer, but not the ONLY consumer.
Protocol X
1
Edge of Network
Controller
Edge of Network
Controller
4
Protocol Y
3 -Native
MQTT device
“Operations (OT)”
2
With MQTT and Message Oriented Middleware we can move
from “Current State” …..
… to “Future State”
SCADA
Host
SCADA
Host
SCADA
Host
SCADA
Host
Future Apps &
Integration
Historian
DMZ
Analytics &
BIG DATA
Electronic Flow
Measurement
ERP
Mobile Apps
Asset Management
& Optimization
MQTT
Enabled
Message
Oriented
Middleware
SCADA
Host
SCADA
Host
The Vision - Tie All Operations Together
Cathodic Protection
Upstream
Terminal Automation
MQTT
Transport
Data
Center
Enterprise
Message
Oriented
Middleware
SCADA
Midstream/Downstream Pipeline Control
16
Tank Farm / Storage
Summary
Poll-Response SCADA systems were perfectly viable solutions when first
developed 35 years ago. They have served the industry well, and continue to
do so. But we are entering 2014. SCADA solutions need to leverage the very
same Message Oriented Middleware technologies that IT solutions use to:
• Decouple device protocols from applications.
• Dramatically improve critical data update times.
• Reduce network bandwidth consumption.
• Enable “one to many” information exchange.
•“Unlock Operational Intelligence” stranded in field devices!
Additional Topics Not Yet Covered
• Message flows, data transformation, message transformation.
• Migration strategy maintaining Operational Integrity and 100% legacy
backwards capability.
• Redundancy (native architecture capability)
• High availability (native architecture capability)
• Scalability (native architecture capability)
We can apply technology to:
• Mitigate environmental risk
• Detect leaks earlier
• Resolve problems faster
• Manage audit and regulation more effectively
Instrumented
Interconnected
• Run operations more efficiently
Intelligent
Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) Resources
All things MQTT
http://mqtt.org
Eclipse Paho
http://www.eclipse.org/paho/
Eclipse M2M
http://wiki.eclipse.org/Machine-to-Machine
OASIS MQTT Technical Committee
https://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=mqtt
MQTT Specification
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/webservices/library/ws-mqtt/index.html