Operational technology (OT) is the hardware and software that directly monitors or controls physical devices, infrastructure, and processes. In an industrial digital twin, it supplies observations of what equipment is doing. The boundary with information technology (IT) is functional: OT primarily serves physical processes, while IT supports business processes. IoT devices can blur that boundary; sensors serving physical operations are often treated as OT data sources. section 4.2 section 4.2.1
Industrial control commonly spans three related layers:
- SCADA and distributed control systems (DCS) provide supervisory monitoring and coordination. section 4.2.1
- Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) execute real-time control at the equipment level. section 4.2.1
- A process historian stores the resulting high-volume time-series data for analysis of past performance and trends. section 4.2.1
Getting equipment readings into a digital twin
A control system may report temperatures, pressures, flow rates, motor speeds, and valve positions several times per second. Rather than repeatedly querying SCADA or its historian for analysis, a data collector can subscribe to the stream, buffer readings, and forward them to a database mirror. The twin reads that copy. This reduces analytical load on systems whose control functions need deterministic reliability. section 4.2.1
OT control is not the same as an autonomous digital twin. A conventional closed-loop control system can use SCADA data and preprogrammed rules to direct PLCs; an autonomous twin instead evaluates tradeoffs and may predict future states or recommend adaptive control strategies. Keep that distinction in mind when using OT data for decisions: access to live readings does not itself make a system adaptive. section 1.3.5
