ClearSCADA data in ArcGIS?

[SimonGIS]

I am across how to consume ArcGIS web services within ClearSCADA.

We have a requirement to show the ClearSCADA data within ArcGIS, specifically serving up the time series data so it can be used in interfaces like ArcGIS Dashboards and analytical interfaces.

What is the best practise approach for consuming ClearSCADA data in a GIS for visualisation purposes?

A scheduled ETL export? 

Direct connect with ClearSCADA data model?

Any examples in the real world?

Thanks!

[BevanWeiss]

It's really going to depend quite a bit on the existing system architecture, and the intended use case.

If you just have a few users accessing the data semi-frequently, then having a custom Web Service that just proxies data requests back to Geo SCADA Expert, and then passes the data forward to the ArcGIS client is an option (or ODBC if ArcGIS support this)

If you're going to have lots of users, and lots of data, then you might want to offload some of the data requests from Geo SCADA Expert.  If you have a permanent standby server then you may not need to offload the data requests anyway (since the permanent standby will already shift that loading away from the main Geo SCADA Expert servers).

In all of this however I don't believe there is an easy interface to do the data retrieval.  I haven't seen an application where the SQL interface of Geo SCADA Expert is used to retrieve data within ArcGIS... I'm not even sure if ArcGIS supports such a data interface (and not sure how it would provide query parameters to apply the GIS aspect).

[SimonGIS]

Appreciate the detailed response Bevan.  

To make matters more complex, requirements have evolved to be a hybrid environment.

GeoSCADA and ArcGIS Enterprise are in different data centers, which rules out any direct connections with data stores (like ODBC).

From how I read your respone, there is nothing out the box for surfacing a custom web service on the GeoSCADA side.

Is there a tool that might assist in scheduling the export of a 'report' of timeseries data from GeoSCADA to some location?  Like a regular CSV file which I can then hoover up with another tool and push across to UPSERT into ArcGIS?

It might be that I don't know enough about the type of data stored on the GeoSCADA side.  I was assuming it might be a time series table, with fields like LOGGER_ID, READING 1, READING 2, DATETIME.  And that I could just keep pushing this data across on a schedule to a data store accessible by the ArcGIS side (such as SQL Server or PostgreSQL)

[sbeadle]

The SQL Export driver can be scheduled to write files containing CSV data from queries. The filenames can be customised. Your SQL can be requesting data from current data (last received at time of execution) or historic. 

[SimonGIS]

Thanks @sbeadle 

Sounds like we are close to defining an approach.

• Configure SQL Export Driver to schedule dumping a CSV of a pre-defined report/query
• Python script watching folder:
  • Hoovers up CSV file
  • Performs an Upsert/Append onto the ArcGIS Feature Service via web service endpoint
  • Uses a unique ID (some sensor or logger ID is assumed) for the Upsert
• GIS Layer symbolised appropriately by the desired sensor values, and time enabled for playback.

If possible, will reort back what actually happens!