Introduction to Industrial Control Systems

Introduction to Industrial Control Systems

What Every Engineer Needs to Know

Power grids, water plants, pipelines and factories all run on computers most people never see. Introduction to Industrial Control Systems explains how those systems work, in plain language, for engineers, technicians and IT professionals who keep hearing PLC, SCADA and OT but were never taught what sits behind the words.

What This Book Delivers

• What ICS is, and why it is not IT. The priorities that make industrial systems different, and why you cannot simply reboot a plant.
• A map you can use. The Purdue model, level by level, from sensors and valves up to the business network.
• Every major component, explained. PLC, HMI, SCADA, DCS, RTUs, field devices, engineering workstations and historians, and how they work together.
• Industrial networks without the mystery. Modbus, fieldbus, EtherNet/IP, PROFINET, DNP3, IEC 61850, OPC, ring topologies, and what normal traffic looks like.
• A clear view of the road ahead. Where these systems are exposed, and what to learn next.

Who It's For

• Engineers and technicians from electrical, mechanical or instrumentation backgrounds moving closer to control systems.
• IT and cybersecurity professionals who now work alongside, or are responsible for, operational technology.
• Anyone preparing for ICS/OT cybersecurity training who wants the foundation first.

How It's Structured

• Chapters 1-4: what an industrial control system is, how it differs from IT, how it is organized, and what it feels like to operate.
• Chapters 5-9: the components, one by one, then the whole system working together.
• Chapters 10-13: industrial networks and protocols, and the gap that leads to cybersecurity.