PRE-CONFIGURED
The appliance is prepared around the agreed deployment before it arrives on site.
PLUG & PLAY SETUP PREVIEW
FROM BOX TO BASELINE — WITHOUT PUTTING PRODUCTION IN THE PATH.
OTCogniShield is being engineered to make factory-network visibility straightforward to deploy and practical to manage.
No software agents on production equipment. No active discovery scans across control networks. No continuous cloud dependency for day-to-day monitoring.
The appliance connects to an approved copy of your network traffic, confirms that the agreed feed is working and begins building a local picture of the equipment and communication relationships it can observe.
SIMPLE TO CONNECT. DISCIPLINED ABOUT WHERE IT CONNECTS.
WHAT “PLUG & PLAY” ACTUALLY MEANS
PRE-CONFIGURED HARDWARE DOESN’T MEAN AN UNPLANNED DEPLOYMENT.
A factory floor is not a home or office broadband network.
Connecting equipment to a live industrial environment without understanding where and how it should connect is poor engineering practice.
For OTCogniShield, plug-and-play means a disciplined deployment process:
PRE-AGREED COLLECTION
The SPAN port, network TAP or other approved traffic source is selected in advance.
NO AGENT FOOTPRINT
No OTCogniShield software agents need to be installed on PLCs, HMIs or production equipment for normal passive monitoring.
PASSIVE BY DESIGN
The appliance observes an authorised copy of network traffic rather than actively probing production equipment.
PRODUCTION INDEPENDENCE
Normal production operation should not depend on the OTCogniShield appliance being online.
THE AIM IS TO REMOVE UNNECESSARY IT COMPLEXITY — NEVER ENGINEERING DISCIPLINE.
BEFORE THE APPLIANCE ARRIVES
FIVE SIMPLE DETAILS ARE AGREED FIRST.
You do not need complete network diagrams or immaculate documentation to get started.
We need enough information to understand the intended monitoring scope and connect the appliance responsibly.
01 — SCOPE
Which production line, factory area or network segment are we trying to observe?
02 — COLLECTION POINT
Which authorised SPAN port, network TAP or other approved source will provide the traffic feed?
03 — PHYSICAL LOCATION
Where will the appliance sit, and where will it receive power?
04 — SITE CONTACT
Who from engineering, operations or IT can confirm the environment and support the installation?
05 — ACCESS & CHANGE REQUIREMENTS
What permissions, inductions or change-control steps must be completed before connection?
AGREE FIRST. CONNECT SECOND.
THE SETUP PROCESS
FIVE PRACTICAL STEPS FROM UNBOXING TO BASELINE.
01 — POSITION & POWER
Place the pre-configured OTCogniShield appliance in the agreed location and connect it to power.
02 — ATTACH THE PASSIVE FEED
Connect the approved network TAP, switch SPAN or other authorised capture source.
The appliance receives a copy of network traffic.
It does not sit inline between your machines.
03 — CONFIRM CAPTURE
Check that the expected network traffic is reaching the appliance.
04 — VALIDATE THE SCOPE
Confirm that the available traffic corresponds with the factory area or network segment agreed during scoping.
05 — BUILD THE BASELINE
As normal factory traffic is observed, OTCogniShield begins building the asset and communication picture for that agreed scope.
CONNECT. VERIFY. OBSERVE.
WHAT THE APPLIANCE DOES NOT DO
IT MONITORS THE NETWORK — IT DOESN’T TAKE CONTROL OF IT.
During normal passive monitoring, OTCogniShield does not:
- Actively scan or probe PLCs, RTUs or other production equipment
- Send control commands to machinery
- Require software agents on production systems
- Automatically block or isolate devices
- Sit inline between industrial controllers
- Require continuous public internet connectivity for day-to-day monitoring
Your existing PLCs, firewalls, safety systems and production equipment continue doing their own jobs.
OTCogniShield ADDS VISIBILITY AROUND THE ENVIRONMENT. IT DOESN’T BECOME PART OF THE CONTROL CHAIN.
BUILDING YOUR FIRST BASELINE
VISIBILITY DEVELOPS AS YOUR FACTORY OPERATES.
Passive monitoring does not manufacture network activity.
It observes communications that actually appear on the agreed feed.
The network picture therefore develops over time as equipment communicates during normal production, maintenance and engineering activity.
INITIAL VERIFICATION
Confirm that the expected traffic is reaching the appliance.
EARLY OBSERVATIONS
Identify devices, protocols and relationships visible in the available traffic.
DEVELOPING BASELINE
Build a clearer picture of machine-to-machine, engineering and infrastructure communication as activity is observed.
COVERAGE REVIEW
Identify important systems that may be quiet, isolated or outside the current monitoring point.
OTCogniShield SHOWS WHAT HAS BEEN OBSERVED — AND WHERE THE EVIDENCE IS STILL INCOMPLETE.
HOW YOU KNOW IT’S WORKING
VERIFY THE EVIDENCE — NOT JUST THE LIGHTS ON THE BOX.
A successful setup is more than an appliance with power.
The deployment should demonstrate that:
- The expected network feed is being received
- Traffic is being processed locally
- Observed devices begin appearing in the platform
- Communication relationships can be reviewed
- The visible network scope broadly matches what the site expected to observe
- Obvious coverage gaps can be identified
Your engineering team then helps confirm whether the observed devices and relationships make operational sense.
TECHNICAL CAPTURE FIRST. ENGINEERING CONTEXT SECOND.
IF THE VIEW IS INCOMPLETE
ADJUST THE VIEW — NEVER INVENT THE FACTS.
If an important machine or network area does not appear in the baseline, that does not automatically mean the appliance has failed.
It may mean:
- The selected SPAN or TAP does not carry that traffic
- The device has not communicated during the observation period
- The equipment sits on an isolated or separate network
- Encrypted traffic limits the information available
- Another collection point may be needed
OTCogniShield makes those boundaries clear.
WE WOULD RATHER SHOW AN HONEST GAP THAN PRESENT AN INCOMPLETE VIEW AS COMPLETE.
LOCAL BY DESIGN
MONITOR YOUR FACTORY WITHOUT MAKING IT DEPEND ON THE PUBLIC CLOUD.
OTCogniShield is designed to process monitoring data locally on the appliance.
Day-to-day monitoring does not require continuous streaming of factory-network traffic to a public cloud platform.
Updates can be handled through an agreed, controlled process.
That gives industrial teams greater control over:
- Factory-network data
- Internet connectivity
- Maintenance windows
- Update approval
- Recovery arrangements
YOUR FACTORY SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CHANGE ITS CONNECTIVITY RULES JUST TO BE MONITORED.
IF YOU NEED TO PAUSE
DISCONNECT THE MONITOR — NOT THE FACTORY.
Every deployment includes a clear stop procedure.
If the site wants monitoring paused, the appliance can be disconnected from its approved passive feed.
Because OTCogniShield is designed to sit alongside the network rather than in the production-control path, normal production operation should not depend on the appliance.
SECURITY MONITORING SHOULD SUPPORT PRODUCTION — NEVER BECOME A NEW PRODUCTION DEPENDENCY.
WHAT YOUR TEAM PROVIDES
YOU DON’T NEED A CYBER DEPARTMENT — JUST THE RIGHT PEOPLE.
A straightforward deployment typically needs four things from the site:
PLANT LEAD / ENGINEER
Someone who understands the production environment and can help validate asset identities and operational context.
NETWORK SUPPORT
Someone authorised to configure or confirm the approved SPAN, TAP or other collection point.
PHYSICAL ACCESS
An agreed appliance location, power and any required site access.
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT
Enough knowledge to confirm whether observed communication is expected, unusual or worth investigating.
The platform provides the evidence.
YOUR TEAM PROVIDES THE FACTORY KNOWLEDGE.
WHAT WE ARE VALIDATING NOW
“PLUG & PLAY” HAS TO BE PROVED ON REAL FACTORY FLOORS.
The deployment process is being validated through controlled UK factory pilots before commercial release.
Those trials are testing:
DEPLOYMENT
How reliably an approved monitoring point can be brought online in a live industrial environment.
USABILITY
Whether the setup process and interface make sense to smaller industrial teams without requiring an enterprise cyber-security function.
BASELINE QUALITY
How well the observed asset and relationship picture reflects the agreed network scope.
REFINEMENT
Where better guidance, pre-configuration or automation genuinely reduces effort.
REAL-WORLD ASSUMPTIONS
Which parts of the proposed plug-and-play process need changing once they encounter real factories.
We will refine the process around what those sites teach us.
“PLUG-AND-PLAY” IS THE PRODUCT PROMISE. LIVE FACTORY VALIDATION IS HOW WE EARN IT.
READY FOR YOUR FACTORY FLOOR?
START WITH ONE AGREED VIEW INTO THE NETWORK.
You do not need to redesign your facility.
You do not need software agents across your machinery.
And you do not need to stream factory-network traffic continuously to a public cloud platform.
Start with an agreed part of the plant.
Connect an authorised passive feed.
Begin building the evidence.
SELECT THE SCOPE. CONNECT THE FEED. BUILD THE BASELINE.