Core Concepts Introduction
SDA is built on a set of foundational concepts that enable Industrial DevOps (OT DevOps), automation reliability, device-centric lifecycle management, and secure, scalable factory operations. This section introduces the concepts that appear throughout the platform and serve as the backbone for how customers deploy, manage, and secure their automation systems.
Why Core Concepts Matter
Industrial automation environments are complex and heterogeneous—multiple vendors, aging industrial networks, mixed generations of PLCs, robots, drives, and HMIs, and the need for continuous uptime. SDA abstracts this complexity by providing standardized workflows, uniform backup and deployment processes, and cloud-enabled lifecycle management for OT.
Understanding the core concepts helps users:
Navigate the platform more effectively
Interpret device and project data consistently
Build reliable pipelines for deployment, backup, and operations
Apply OT DevOps principles such as versioning, testing, and automation
Maintain security and compliance within industrial networks
Core OT DevOps & Backup Concepts in SDA
This introduction page will cover high-level explanations of the foundational concepts, with detailed sub-pages for each:
1. Devices
In SDA, devices represent PLCs, robots, drives, HMIs, and other automation equipment. Each device includes metadata, connectivity details, project associations, snapshots, backups, and operational status. Devices act as the anchor for all OT actions.
2. Projects
A project is the source code or engineering data associated with a device or automation cell. SDA standardizes how projects are stored, versioned, accessed, and edited—including support for browser-based engineering through IDEaaS.
3. Pipelines
Pipelines bring DevOps-style automation to OT tasks. SDA provides OT-specific pipeline actions such as:
Project backup
Deployment
Firmware updates
Variable reads/writes
Password rotation
Device snapshots
Library upgrades
These are vendor-specific and executed via SDA Gateway connectivity.
4. Backups & Snapshots
SDA streamlines automated and manual backups:
Project Backups capture engineering files
Device Snapshots capture device state
FTP/SMB Backups capture program files via file transfer
These concepts ensure reliability and support disaster recovery.
5. Version Control
Projects, backups, and changes are always versioned. SDA provides:
Automatic version history
Comparison capabilities
Audit trails
Integration with Git workflows (optional)
Versioning underpins DevOps-style change management in OT environments.
6. Security Concepts
Core security elements include:
Vaults & Secrets for securely managing OT credentials
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for fine-grained permissions
Audit Logs for traceability
MFA, SSO and identity integration
Gateway security for encrypted OT ↔ cloud communication
7. SDA Gateway
The gateway is the secure OT communication bridge. It connects your OT environment to the SDA cloud. It enables:
Direct device operations
Remote engineering
Pipeline execution
Network traversal and secure connectivity
The gateway is required for all OT operations.
8. IDEaaS (Browser-Based Engineering)
IDEaaS provides cloud-hosted engineering tools enabling users to upload, download, debug, and modify PLC programs from anywhere—securely tunneled through the gateway.
9. Resource Groups & Organization
Resource groups help customers structure their environment by cell, line, plant, or division. Tags and metadata enhance searchability and governance.
10. Compliance & Auditability
SDA is built for regulated industrial environments. Core concepts tie into:
SOC 2 Type II
ISO 27001 (planned H1 2026)
Credential isolation
Change tracking
Immutable logs
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