Introduction: DEVICE MIRRORING
Overview
The Device Mirroring Module by Plantformance is an extension for Inductive Automation's Ignition platform that securely replicates live device and OPC tag data from a source gateway to a destination gateway in real-time.
What Problem It Solves
In the Ignition ecosystem, developers face a common dilemma: developing and testing applications requires realistic data, but making changes directly on a live Production (PROD) server is highly risky.
Traditionally, creating an isolated Development (DEV) environment meant losing access to real-time machine data, forcing developers to rely on static or simulated tags. The Device Mirroring Module solves this by safely streaming live data from PROD to an isolated DEV server without any risk of damaging the main production environment.
Key Features and Benefits
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Identical Structure: The module recreates the exact same number of devices and device names on the destination gateway using a "fake driver." This allows developers to easily copy and paste code or screens between DEV and PROD without breaking tag paths.
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Zero Production Impact: The replication maintains perfect isolation. Whatever happens on the DEV server (crashes, mistakes, heavy loads) cannot impact the live PROD server.
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Plug-and-Play Setup: Users can whitelist or blacklist specific devices to watch, eliminating the need to manually duplicate complex connections.
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Forensics & Compliance: It can also be used to stream raw data to a secondary server for compliance or forensics before any Ignition processing is applied.
Target Audience
The Plantformance Device Mirroring Module is designed for several distinct groups within the industrial automation and IT/OT sectors:
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Companies and IT/OT Managers Enforcing Strict Policies
It is for organizations that mandate strict "No development on PROD server" policies but recognize that their teams need real, live data to build and test effectively. It allows management to secure production environments while giving developers the tools they need.
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Ignition Developers and System Integrators
Developers who need to design, code, and test screens or scripts in a secondary (DEV) server using actual, real-time machine data. Because the module mirrors the exact device names and structures, developers can seamlessly move their code between DEV and PROD environments without having to rewrite tag paths.
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Automation Engineers
Engineers who need to duplicate one or more devices (or their data streams) without the headache of manually recreating and configuring complex device connections or risking network overloads.
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Compliance, Quality, and Security Teams
Personnel dealing with forensics, auditing, or compliance requirements. Because the module streams raw OPC tag data exactly as it comes from the device—before any Ignition processing, scaling, or scripting is applied—it serves as an unadulterated source of truth for secondary compliance servers.
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