VariSuite^TM incorporates all the components available within the framework. All framework installations have the messaging middleware at its core. This messaging middleware is a centralised component provided by SSL that facilitates the rapid transfer of data between relevant applications. It is a very robust, fully tested component that can reside on any workstation including the ability to reside on a single workstation with other components. For example, VariSim^TM, the messaging middleware and VariView^TM can reside on a single workstation to provide a complete Training simulator environment.

VariSim^TM and VariView^TM are components of VariSuite^TM. Other components include the plug-in host, the historian and the OPC Client.

Plug-ins are additional applications that can be incorporated within the VariSim^TM environment, that use data provided by VariSim^TM. They include applications such as leak detection, survival time, inventory totalisation, tracking functions etc (see main menu). These applications do not have to reside within VariSim^TM but can be incorporated within a plug-in host that communicates with VariSim^TM via the messaging middleware. This makes the VariSuite^TM environment highly flexible without any restriction on its scalability. Since all components can communicate as a distributed but combined set of components, any hardware or processing constraints can be simply solved with additional workstations.

The historian is a powerful database application specifically designed by SSL for the storage of any data available within VariSuite^TM. This specifically includes any data calculated by VariSim^TM, the plug in applications and SCADA. No restrictions are placed on the historians storage capability and all data within it can be extracted for analysis using graphical tools or made available for replay facilities.

An OPC client is available that communicates directly with the messaging middleware. This is commonly used to communicate with third party applications such as SCADA systems and PLC’s. In fact, any third party application can be simply incorporated into VariSuite^TM via the OPC connection or directly with the messaging middleware. Data cleansing tools that check, analyse and emulate data are an incorporated component within VariSuite^TM to ensure valid data is continually used by the system.