Ignition HMI - The Details

It seems by and far a LOT of people on here highly praise Ignition HMI. Be it that you don't like Rockwell, or Wonderware, or the other providers - yada yada yada.

Looking at their model - they provide an unlimited licensing option. I mean, right there on their website - $26,950 for their top package with redundant servers and unlimited clients. I'm wondering how they stay in business with such a cheap model?

Furthermore, how big are they? Are they a sleeping giant I'm just not familiar with - or are they a 15-person shop with some guys who said, "we can do this better".

School me.

I like Citect and Wonderware but Ignition is better, it’s easier, I can install a server instance in five minutes. I can install a client in two.

The package is not cheap; it’s the others that are expensive and have been riding our backs for years. They stay in business because you will buy more.

The team at Inductive Automation are serious professionals who have retained their passion for their product. Not a giant but I’d say there were 50 in the office when I was there last year. they did start out 10 years ago with just a few, but they did do it better.


Chris



Chris

powerplan said:

I like Citect and Wonderware but Ignition is better, it’s easier, I can install a server instance in five minutes. I can install a client in two.

The package is not cheap; it’s the others that are expensive and have been riding our backs for years. They stay in business because you will buy more.

The team at Inductive Automation are serious professionals who have retained their passion for their product. Not a giant but I’d say there were 50 in the office when I was there last year. they did start out 10 years ago with just a few, but they did do it better.


Chris



Chris

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Five minute server instance? Really? That seem's pretty insanely impressive. The quick client deploy I can understand.

I guess a concern for business would be, if chosen to elect them as a platform are they gonna "be able to hang around with the big players" in the next 5-10-15 years (as automation systems are notorious for being setup and then left alone and not updated for a long time).

xC0MMAND0x said:

Five minute server instance? Really?

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Yeah. Really.

That seem's pretty insanely impressive.

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It is.

I guess a concern for business would be, if chosen to elect them as a platform are they gonna "be able to hang around with the big players" in the next 5-10-15 years (as automation systems are notorious for being setup and then left alone and not updated for a long time).

Click to expand...

They'll be around. Some of what you are calling the "big players" won't be. Who remembers the big player USData Factory Link?

They are growing fast!

I was out there in May, within the last year they have re-located to a new office building (very nice BTW, odd location but very nice), and are already out growing it. Some of the development staff are located at their previous facility due to the growth. I thought they told me they were at 150-200 people.

When I was out there, just to say "hello" their training classroom was booked full. Both the core training course and advanced training courses scheduled every month. Can't imagine they wouldn't do that unless there was a demand for it.

If you really know the software, you can be up and in running in less then 5 minutes. It's impressive. Project backup/restores are pretty quick too. I've already re-created our typical Wonderware/Rockwell HMI standard, and I must say I've improved upon it, and I'm not even in our advanced "development" group.

I didn't do the core training class, as their you tube library and training videos were enough to get me going, even passed their "core certification test" on the first try without going to the class. Granted my overall automation experience enabled me to pick it up that quickly. I have some engineers that I would send to it.

I have a few customers that regret getting locked in with the "big players", once you invest a few hundred grand in software licensing and realize how cost-inefficient it is and the problems they have...who's gonna take the fall and say "We should change..."

Spun up a Linux VM (which I'm fairly well versed in). Cruised through an installation, and started the project designer.

In about 10 minutes.

I'm already Impressed.

xC0MMAND0x said:

Spun up a Linux VM (which I'm fairly well versed in). Cruised through an installation, and started the project designer.

In about 10 minutes.

I'm already Impressed.

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You should have been impressed that you could download a fully functioning version with a 2 hour trial without having to give your life story. go try that with rockwell or wonderware and see how far you get.

My understanding is that it is browser based. Is that right?

It is browser based in terms of managment interface but once you launch a development session or client session it doesnt run in a browser. It uses java and launchs an independent java application.

You should also be impressed that you don't have to purchase a separate development license.

TheWaterboy said:

My understanding is that it is browser based. Is that right?

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Yes,

External to Ignition all you need is Java Runtime ( free download ) and a database, MySQL ( free download ).

With all downloads and set up, less than 30 minutes.

Try downloading FactoryTalk SE, and installing from scratch. 2 or 3 hours?

In all fairness you can get a 2 hour run time trial version of Citect as well. My main issue is that the core of Citect has not been updated much for years. They have developed some really nice high definition screens and the machines setup as well that is very good. The tab pages are also very good. I have not yet used Ignition but plan to use it for a home project to see how it goes.

I have looked at Ignition and when I add up the costs for the things I need(Historical data, alarming, and reporting) Indusoft becomes the better buy.

baldone said:

I have looked at Ignition and when I add up the costs for the things I need(Historical data, alarming, and reporting) Indusoft becomes the better buy.

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I dont quite understand this, as the features you list are fundementally a part of Ignition, with the exception of the 1 client license package. The "LITE" package provides all of that with 5 clients and unlimited tags. $1350/Client. I didnt see indusofts pricing on the website so I am curious of the cost difference.

You start to add costs for things like email/sms alerts, mobile connections, redundancy and,MES functuons. You increase Igniton costs simply to add features. Which is the way it should be. Not by some arbitrary tag count or client count. (Note: Ignition provides 1 and 5 clients to licenses to cater to small systems and impose restrictions to be price competative at this level).

Paully's5.0 said:

I dont quite understand this, as the features you list are fundementally a part of Ignition, with the exception of the 1 client license package. The "LITE" package provides all of that with 5 clients and unlimited tags. $1350/Client. I didnt see indusofts pricing on the website so I am curious of the cost difference.

You start to add costs for things like email/sms alerts, mobile connections, redundancy and,MES functuons. You increase Igniton costs simply to add features. Which is the way it should be. Not by some arbitrary tag count or client count. (Note: Ignition provides 1 and 5 clients to licenses to cater to small systems and impose restrictions to be price competative at this level).

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Most of the apps I write are single station or at most 1 station and 1 client and require 1500 tags or less and a 1500 tag Development/Runtime with 1 thin client and 1 web client for Indusoft is only $1,095. Runtime only is $645.

http://www.maplesystems.com/cgi-bin/beimatdongon/PriceLists/09020062.pdf

xC0MMAND0x said:

It seems by and far a LOT of people on here highly praise Ignition HMI. Be it that you don't like Rockwell, or Wonderware, or the other providers - yada yada yada.

Looking at their model - they provide an unlimited licensing option. I mean, right there on their website - $26,950 for their top package with redundant servers and unlimited clients. I'm wondering how they stay in business with such a cheap model?

Furthermore, how big are they? Are they a sleeping giant I'm just not familiar with - or are they a 15-person shop with some guys who said, "we can do this better".

School me.

Click to expand...

They stay in business because they are not reinventing the wheel. They utilize industry standards such as SSL, JDBC, Java, LDAP, etc at the core of the software. The charting components are not built from scratch, but instead, built off open source libraries such as JFreeChart. The server itself, at teh base level, runs inside of an opensource application server called Jetty. They keep the price cheap by using open source technologies, and also by being smart about their money. They run a very efficient operation. They are currently hovering around 100 people.

We have installed Ignition on projects ranging from a small PLC interface, to a large scale SCADA system with 10,000s of PLCs and RTUs.

I have been working with Inductive Automation software since.... 2006 I think. For the last 4 years, I have been exclusively using Ignition. If you want to have a discussion, send me a PM and I can walk you through some of the basic functionality.