SCADA, which stands for supervisory data acquisition and control, was initially developed and deployed during the 1960s [1]. Since then, the technology has spread into an amazing number of industrial applications. Today, SCADA systems are typically found in industrial plants where remote monitoring and control of equipment is necessary because of wide distribution of equipment, or because of hazardous or inaccessible locations. Such facilities might include water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, chemical engineering facilities, oil refineries, nuclear facilities, and other such plants that are critical to the nation’s infrastructure.

SCADA systems are usually networked, with at least one central controller, called the master terminal unit (MTU), and one or more remote terminal units (RTUs) distributed throughout the plant at necessary control points. Think of an RTU roughly as an extension of a remote analog-to-digital converter. It can receive signals from sensors at the control point, convert and send these signals to the controller, and also receive command messages back from the controller and convert these commands so that they can be understood by the actual control mechanisms. An essential part of every SCADA system is the communication channel, which may involve one of a number of specific protocols designated to transmit measurement and control data information over a distance.

This book consists of 15 chapters, called units, which discuss the entire range of topics related to SCADA, from how SCADA systems are built, to security issues in SCADA, to the cost and economics of SCADA-based systems. The level of discussion is very basic, without any significant engineering considerations as to how to design or build SCADA systems. In the first chapter, the author characterizes the audience as “managers, supervisors, engineers, operators, and technicians who contemplate coming in contact with SCADA systems.” This is exactly what follows; consequently, this is not a book for designers. Nevertheless, I read it with pleasure one hot afternoon, when my brain needed some relief from business pressure, and had to be switched to a slightly lighter subject.

Although the text is not formally divided into parts other than units, I would characterize the book’s contents as composed of three essential divisions. The first division, comprised of the first five units, contains extremely basic information on the purpose of SCADA, its historical perspective, and a couple of other relevant issues, such as sensors, actuators, and real-time response.

The next four chapters form the core of the book, and explain what SCADA actually is. This involves a discussion of the RTU and the way it accesses the measurement and control devices (referred to here as field devices), descriptions of functions of the RTU and MTU in separate chapters, and a brief chapter characterizing communication in SCADA, mentioning the essential IEEE Standard C37.1 for SCADA and Automation Systems. The latter chapter is a little disappointing, since there is a lot more to say on this topic, even at the very basic level. The chapter on communication with the field devices was also disappointing; it barely mentioned another essential standard, IEC 61158 Industrial Communication Networks, or related industrial bus protocols that can be used in SCADA, such as Fieldbus, Profibus, MODBUS, or CAN.

For a variety of reasons, the rest of the book is less interesting than its core part. Some of the topics, such as the operator interface (chapter 10), are not SCADA-specific; some, such as SCADA security, are better explained in other books on SCADA [2]; and some, such as SCADA applications (chapter 13), are too big to cover adequately in a single chapter.

Overall, the book constitutes nice reading for a complete SCADA newcomer, and can be fully digested in a single afternoon. The subject itself is very refreshing for a computer scientist, since it shows how we can actually apply in practice the technologies and algorithms we develop. For more detailed treatment of SCADA systems, especially from the designer’s perspective, one has to read more detailed literature, study the standards, or dig into vendor documentation.