# 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:

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#### **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.

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#### **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.

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#### **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.

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#### **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.

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#### **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.

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#### **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

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#### **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.

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#### **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.

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#### **9. Resource Groups & Organization**

Resource groups help customers structure their environment by cell, line, plant, or division. Tags and metadata enhance searchability and governance.

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#### **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
