Overview
Control Plane is a self-service interface that empowers Process Engineers to manage factory assets and tags directly. Historically, simple changes like adding a machine or renaming a production line required filing support tickets and waiting for Data Engineers to redeploy pipelines.
Control Plane organizes factory configuration into a clear, navigable visual hierarchy:
Facility: The top level representing the factory floor, including time zone and location.
Line: Specific production lines within a facility.
Machine Type: Categories used to group similar equipment (e.g., "Filler").
Machine: Individual instances of equipment (e.g., "Filler-01").
Tags: The specific data points associated with a machine.
How it Works?
Dynamic Referencing: Assets and tags are stored independently, allowing pipelines to reference them dynamically rather than having them hard-coded in the configuration.
Immediate Metadata Updates: Changes to metadata, such as display names, take effect instantly without requiring a pipeline redeployment.
Map Machines 2 (MM2): When Control Plane is enabled, this new operator replaces the legacy "Map Machines 1" (MM1). MM2 is simplified, requiring only an array of machines to be mapped, which eliminates the need to specify data tables or dictionaries manually.
Integrated Environment Builder: The Control Plane is directly connected to the Environment Builder. Any change made in the Control Plane automatically populates in the layout tool, leaving only the physical machine connections to be defined in the Environment Builder.
Before You Begin
Control Plane must be enabled for your environment. If you do not see the Control Plane option, contact your Sight Machine administrator.
You must be working within a workspace context (Development or Pre-Production). Production workspaces are read-only in Control Plane.
Feature Benefits
Control Plane transforms administrative tasks into streamlined, self-service workflows.
Self-service asset management: Add, edit, and reorganize facilities, lines, machine types, machines, and tags without filing support tickets
Instant metadata changes: Updates to tag metadata (display names, units, aggregation) are reflected in analytics immediately, without redeploying pipelines
Visual hierarchy browser: Navigate your entire manufacturing structure in a two-panel layout with a collapsible navigation tree
Integrated line layout: View and manage your Environment Builder line layout directly from Control Plane