Technical articles for industrial IT and OT teams
74 articles on OEE, Modbus, OPC UA and MQTT, OT security, industrial data, edge computing and IT/OT project planning.
74 articles
Edge vs Cloud for Industrial Data: A Decision Framework, Not a Religion
Cloud is not always the answer, and edge is not automatically safer. A practical framework for where processing should live.
How Time-Series Database Compression Keeps Historians Fast
Historians keep very large volumes of samples manageable. Understanding lossless and lossy compression helps you size and tune them.
PLC Program Backup Best Practices: Protecting the Code That Runs Your Plant
The only copy of a machine's logic should never live on a single laptop. A practical backup strategy for PLC programs of any age.
MQTT Sparkplug B: The Payload Standard That Makes IIoT Data Usable
Raw MQTT topics are easy to publish and hard to govern. Sparkplug B adds structure, birth certificates, and last-gasp messages.
The Purdue Model Explained: Designing IT/OT Network Zones That Actually Work
The Purdue reference model is the backbone of industrial network design. Here is how to map your plant to levels and where the DMZ belongs.
IEC 62443 for Beginners: What the OT Security Standard Actually Requires
IEC 62443 is the reference framework for industrial cybersecurity. Here is a plain-language map of its parts and how to start applying it.
OPC UA vs MQTT: When to Use Each in an Industrial Architecture
OPC UA and MQTT solve different problems. This guide maps each protocol to the architecture where it earns its place.
Modbus TCP vs Modbus RTU: Choosing the Right Protocol for Your Line
Both protocols move register data between controllers, but they differ in transport, latency, and wiring. A practical comparison for retrofit and greenfield projects.
LoRaWAN in Industrial Environments: Long-Range IoT for Factory and Field
When Wi-Fi is too short-range and cellular is too costly, LoRaWAN fills the gap: it connects low-data-rate sensors across warehouses, yards and remote sites at low cost per device.
Industrial Data Historians: Choosing Between OSIsoft PI, Ignition, and InfluxDB
Every factory needs a historian — but the choice between enterprise platforms, SCADA-native solutions, and open-source time-series databases depends on your scale, budget, and team skills.
Energy Monitoring for Manufacturing: From Sub-Metering to Real-Time Dashboards
A practical guide to energy monitoring in manufacturing: what to meter, how to connect meters to dashboards, and how to use demand data to find savings and prove them.
Retrofitting Legacy PLCs with MQTT: A Practical Field Guide
You do not need to replace your Siemens S7-300 or Allen-Bradley SLC to get IIoT data. A lightweight MQTT gateway bridges legacy controllers to modern analytics without touching the control logic.
Industrial Alarm Management: Building Systems That Operators Actually Trust
Alarm floods erode operator trust. A structured alarm management lifecycle based on ISA-18.2 turns a noisy alarm system into one operators can act on.
Industrial Monitoring Dashboards with Grafana: From Sensor to Screen
Grafana is not only for DevOps. Paired with a time-series database and industrial data connectors, it is a flexible, cost-effective option for manufacturing dashboards.
Containerization on the Factory Floor: Docker and K3s for Industrial Edge
What containerization looks like on a factory floor: when Docker or Podman is enough, when K3s earns its place, and the pitfalls to plan for, from persistent storage to rollbacks.
Building a Predictive Maintenance Pipeline with IoT Vibration Sensors
A well-designed vibration monitoring pipeline can reveal bearing wear, misalignment and imbalance before they become failures. This is how the pipeline fits together, from sensor to work order.
Web-Based SCADA: Why Browser-First Is the Future of Industrial Monitoring
Thick clients, Windows workstations and painful upgrade cycles are the usual pain points of classic SCADA. How browser-delivered SCADA changes the architecture, and how to migrate without a big-bang replacement.
OPC UA: The Industrial Interoperability Standard That Finally Delivers
OPC UA is replacing legacy protocols as the backbone of industrial interoperability. Here is what IT engineers need to know about adoption, security, and real-world integration patterns.
Bridging the Gap: How IT and OT Teams Can Finally Work Together in Manufacturing
IT and OT have different languages, different priorities, and different risk tolerances. Sustainable digital transformation only happens when both sides build shared frameworks — not just shared networks.
Data Preprocessing for Industrial ML: Cleaning Sensor Noise Without Losing the Signal
Raw industrial sensor data is messy. Before any ML model can deliver value, it needs to survive proper preprocessing. Here is the pipeline that actually works in the field.
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