What is the use of industrial panel PC?

We typically use Advantech Panel PCs for view clients, they have a good range of panel PCs of all shapes, sizes and specs, our supplier is even able to load our preferred software image in them as part of the package which allows us to ship panels directly from supplier to the client preloaded with our configuration.

We try to avoid supplying the gateway server machines, rather leaving it up to the client’s IT provider to do so, when we do supply gateway servers, we typically provide a standard business grade PC like HP ProDesk, something that is widely available and their IT team understand and know how to work with.

I’d prefer to avoid wading into the Windows vs Linux debate, but when picking an OS, you need to think about who you want to have supporting the SCADA servers for the years to come, most people working with Ignition and PLC and SCADA specialists who are computer savvy, but not to the level of a professional IT service provider, if you have staff who are confident with Linux and are able to put in place remote monitoring, backup, disaster recovery services and perform the regular server maintenance that is required no matter what platform, then I’d say go with your preferred OS, however if you don’t I would suggest you stick to the OS that is supported by the IT company who you are outsourcing all of this to.

My personal experience with Linux is only from being called out to a factory that operates 24x7 where the SCADA suddenly had stopped working, in this case the SCADA was critical to the plants operation so the factory was fully shut down when I arrived, the client had an IT company but they weren’t confident with Linux so hadn’t been able to put in place any of their typical support systems.
The SI who had set up the SCADA server had no monitoring, external backups or any sort of disaster recovery plan.
A few software bugs and incorrectly configured gateway (and possibly incorrectly configured Linux OS) had caused the hard drive to fill up with logs and corrupt, and without regular backups the only fix was to restore a backup that was taken before the last round of changes.
There are two issues here that could have easily be prevented:
1: There was no monitoring of the system performance - a professional set up would have sent out an alarm way before the HDD was full preventing the site from having any down time at all.
2: There were no regular off-site backups - with regular off-site backups, it would have taken the client’s IT company less than an hour to fully restore the SCADA server to the previous day’s state, giving you a day to fix the problem without stopping the plant.

Broadax Systems, Inc. (BSI) is a leading panel PC supplier who offers high performance industrial touch Panel PCs, fan-less touch Panel PCs, rugged Panel PCs, and cost effective touch Panel PCs. BSI's panel PCs range from 7" to 24" support IP65 to IP67 front bezel and offer full body protection. The available PCIe/PCI expansion slots along with extended operation temperature and various mounting solutions meet our customers' needs. Broadax Systems, Inc. also provides Industrial Embedded PC solutions. Both Panel PCs and Embedded PCs are a perfect fit in many industries such as automation, manufacturing, surveillance, transportation, as well as the food & beverage market. For specific customization, including port modification, LCD modification or customizable logos, please contact us at 1-800-872-4547.