Push vs. Pull SCADA: The Impact on Cellular Networks

Identifying the Problem

As industrial IoT deployments become more widespread, many organizations are finding that legacy SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) applications don’t always transition smoothly to these new environments, especially when using metered cellular uplinks. Traditional SCADA systems typically rely on polling methodologies, which can be both process inefficient and data heavy. In these systems, each site within the architecture is continuously queried for data point updates, regardless of whether there is new or relevant data to report. This approach results in excessive data transmission, which is particularly problematic over cellular networks where data usage is metered, and costs can quickly escalate.

Providing the Solution

To address these challenges, many organizations are moving towards push-based architectures, such as MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport). Unlike pull-based systems that constantly poll for updates, MQTT operates on a publish-subscribe model, where data is sent only when there are meaningful changes to report. This approach not only makes data communication more efficient but also reduces the overall amount of data transmitted. By sending updates only on exception, MQTT ensures every byte of data used over cellular is necessary, making large-scale deployments more scalable and cost-effective.

Achieving the Outcomes

At Solve Networks, we provide an edge-to-cloud private network architecture that is perfectly suited for modern SCADA systems. Our solutions offer a resilient path to the Internet while keeping all sites securely behind a private network. Additionally, our Multi-Network SIMs enhance carrier resiliency in a way that simply cannot be matched by single native SIM offerings. This ensures that your SCADA system remains robust, secure, and efficient, even as you scale up.