SCADA
Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation
Build a working SCADA project in Ignition, from the gateway and tags to screens, alarms, SQL history and Perspective.
Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation and control. It has 13 modules and takes about 13.2 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$23.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Beginner
- 13.2 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$23.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation and control
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: SCADA engineer, HMI developer, control room technologist and systems integrator. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- Ignition (free trial mode; Maker Edition free for personal use). Hardware: none. Use a Modbus or OPC UA simulator.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Install Ignition and configure the gateway
- Create tags and connect OPC UA and Modbus devices
- Build screens with animation and alarms
- Log history to SQL and build reports
- Use MQTT and work in Perspective
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation and control.
Level: Beginner. Beginner to intermediate. PLC basics assumed.
What you need
Software: Ignition (free trial mode; Maker Edition free for personal use).
Hardware: None. Use a Modbus or OPC UA simulator.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
13 modules in order, at your own pace. 13.2 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1What Ignition Is36m
- 2Install and Gateway Setup30m
- 3Tags, with lab practice: 21m
- 4Device Connections, with lab practice: 35m
- 5Designer: The Batching Project, with lab practice: 1h 19m
- 6Editing, Testing, Vision Client, with lab practice: 49m
- 7Alarms, with lab practice: 20m
- 8Databases and History, with lab practice: 30m
Show the other 5 modules
- 9Reporting and Notifications38m
- 10MQTT and IIoT, with lab practice: 36m
- 11Perspective36m
- 12Deployment: Edge, Cloud, Containers31m
- 13Final Assessment
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Show what to download (1 tool)
Required
- 01Free trial mode, resets every 2 hours
Ignition
Inductive Automation
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11, Windows Server 2016 to 2025, macOS 13 or newer, Linux (tested on Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04)
- Account
- None needed
- Size
- needs 4 GB RAM and 10 GB free disk space
The full version runs free in trial mode for as long as you want; the only limit is that the Gateway times out every two hours and you restart the trial. Ignition Maker Edition is a free licence for personal, non-commercial use only, with up to 10,000 tags and 10 concurrent sessions.
Steps
- 1.Open the Ignition downloads page.
- 2.Download the installer for your operating system.
- 3.Run the installer; it takes a few minutes.
- 4.Open the Gateway in your browser and start the trial.
- 5.Launch the Ignition Designer and build your first project.
- When the 2-hour trial ends, restart it from the Gateway page; your projects are kept.
- Inductive University has free Ignition training videos.
Official download pageinductiveautomation.comAlternatives
- Ignition Maker Edition: Free for personal, non-commercial projects, with no 2-hour limit; not for use at a business or non-profit.
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
Practise what sits behind an Ignition project: scaling a field signal, building a reusable tank and pump screen and setting alarms that do not flood.
- Read the P&IDProcess lab, about 20 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Read the P&ID
- Loop checkProcess lab, about 35 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Loop check
- Build an operator screenProcess lab, about 45 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Build an operator screen
- Alarm rationalisationProcess lab, about 50 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Alarm rationalisation
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 18 hours
Four-site rural water telemetry: Modbus RTUs to a Perspective SCADA with alarms, history and a daily report
Build the central SCADA for a four-site rural water scheme on Ignition, with Modbus TCP to four pump-station controllers, UDT-based tags, alarms with email escalation, SQL history, a 06:00 report and role-based Perspective views. You deliver the gateway backup, your own tag list and alarm list, and a FAT record that tests screens, alarms and communications. The sample pack shows what a telemetry integrator hands a water utility.
- 10documents in the pack
- 10steps to follow
- 6things to hand in
- 18 hof work, at your pace
- URSUser Requirements: Central Telemetry and SCADA for the Makindu–Mtito Andei Scheme
- Network architectureNetwork Architecture: Control Room and Four Remote Sites
- IP planIP Address Plan and Device List
- Tag listTag List, UDT Definitions and Naming Convention
- Alarm philosophyAlarm Philosophy: RGJS Telemetry
- Alarm listAlarm List: Four Sites
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$23.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
SCADA and HMI
Eight short weeks of tags, screens, alarms and trends: notes, diagrams, a few videos and practice in LADX Mini and free web SCADA tools. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipMore free courses
Roles that use this skill
- SCADA engineer
- HMI developer
- Control room technologist
- Systems integrator
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: Shane Welcher, Fusion Automate, Inductive Automation, Inductive University, Corso Systems. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
Shane Welcher · Fusion Automate · Inductive Automation · Inductive University · Corso Systems. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab
Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Is Ignition free to learn?
Yes. Trial mode runs fully for two hours at a time and resets with a click; Maker Edition is free for personal, non-commercial use. Inductive University itself is free.
Vision or Perspective?
Both are covered. Vision is the desktop client used in the batching project; Perspective is the web and mobile module.
Do I need a PLC?
No. A Modbus or OPC UA simulator on your PC provides the data.
Is the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it an Inductive Automation qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not an Inductive Automation credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
How long does the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course take?
Plan on about 13 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the thirteen modules at your own speed.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course cover, module by module?
The Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course has 13 modules. It opens with "What Ignition Is", goes through "Install and Gateway Setup", "Designer: The Batching Project", "Reporting and Notifications" and "Deployment: Edge, Cloud, Containers" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course?
After the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course: Explain the platform, licensing, architectures and editions; Install the gateway, set it up and back it up; Create, scale and diagnose tags with quality overlays. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course, and does it cost anything?
For the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course, software: Ignition (free trial mode; Maker Edition free for personal use). Hardware: none. Use a Modbus or OPC UA simulator. The course itself is free.
Is the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course suitable for me, and what level is it?
Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation is rated beginner. Beginner to intermediate. PLC basics assumed. It is written for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in automation and control, and takes about 13.2 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course?
Skills from the Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation course (for example: explain the platform, licensing, architectures and editions) are used in roles such as SCADA engineer, HMI developer, control room technologist and systems integrator, and in SCADA engineer work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
Ignition SCADA by Inductive Automation, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.