6 minute read Written for plant IT, OT (Operational Technology) and operations leadership

The short answer

Yes. ProAlert™ is installed on a server inside the plant, on the plant’s own network, and the data stays in a SQL Server database you host. Every front-end library is served from that server with no CDN (Content Delivery Network), so the web application, the boards and the kiosks keep working on an isolated plant network and keep working when the outside connection does not. The Bridge Software Technologies team installs it, supports it remotely over VPN (Virtual Private Network) and delivers updates to your installation as they ship.

01Offline

What keeps running when the internet connection drops

Behavior with the plant network up and the outside connection down
Part of the systemWhat happens
Web application, boards and kiosksKeep working. They are served from the ProAlert server inside the plant and reference nothing outside it.
Real-time updates to screensKeep working. Events are pushed from the in-plant server over SignalR (a real-time web connection), and a client that drops reconnects on its own and picks up what it missed.
EdgeSense devices at the machineKeep working. Each device keeps a local queue, so if it loses contact with the server the cycle data is buffered and synced when contact returns.
ProAlert Mobile on the floorKeeps working on the plant Wi-Fi. If a phone loses the network entirely, it works from a local database and queues its actions until the connection is back.
Push notifications to a phone that is closed or in the backgroundNeed the outside connection, because they travel through Apple, Google and Microsoft notification services. An open app still receives events directly from the in-plant server.
Remote support from our teamNeeds the outside connection, through your VPN. The plant does not depend on it to run.
02Your IT

What on-premises asks of your IT team

On-premises means the plant provides the server. That is the cost of keeping production data inside the building, and it is a modest one.

  • Server sizing. As a planning guide, a deployment supporting 1,000 concurrent users typically needs about 2 CPU cores and 4 GB of RAM for the web server and 4 CPU cores and 16 GB of RAM for the SQL Server database, plus about 1 core and 2 GB for each additional real-time hub server.
  • Room to grow. The web tier is stateless, so it can be load balanced across more than one server, with a Redis backplane carrying real-time messages between them.
  • Network security. Traffic is encrypted with TLS (Transport Layer Security) 1.2 or higher, firewall rules restrict access to the server, and remote support access requires your VPN.
  • Upgrades that do not break the installation. Secrets are loaded from outside the deployment folder, so a new build cannot overwrite your connection string or keys. The application reports a pending database migration at startup rather than failing later, and unhandled errors are written to a table your team can query.
03Support

Who installs it and who keeps it current

On-premises does not mean you are on your own. Our team installs and configures the ProAlert server, the dashboards and the EdgeSense devices, mapped to your lines, shifts and escalation rules. After go-live we provide remote maintenance over VPN, database maintenance, continuous updates and operator, supervisor and administrator training, under one subscription. The full model is on Deployment and Support.

Accounts arrive by invitation only. A fresh installation has no seeded users and no shipped default administrator password; the first administrator is established from an emailed activation link.

04Fit

When on-premises is the right call

  • The floor cannot wait on an outside connection: a line-stop call, a board or a work order has to work during an internet outage.
  • The plant runs an isolated OT network that production systems are not allowed to leave.
  • Company or customer policy requires production and quality records to stay on hardware the company controls.

The trade-off is that the plant hosts the hardware. In return, the data, the uptime and the network are yours.

05FAQ

Questions buyers ask next

Does ProAlert work without an internet connection?

Yes. ProAlert runs on a server inside the plant and serves every front-end library itself, with no content delivery network, so the web application, boards, kiosks, real-time updates and EdgeSense devices keep working on the plant network when the outside connection is down. Push notifications to phones that are closed or in the background, and remote support, are the parts that need the outside connection.

Where is the production data stored?

In a SQL Server database on a server the plant hosts. Every timestamp is stored in UTC, every change to auditable data is written to the audit trail automatically, and records are soft-deleted rather than physically removed, so history is preserved.

What server does an on-premises installation need?

As a planning guide, 1,000 concurrent users typically need about 2 CPU cores and 4 GB of RAM for the web server and 4 CPU cores and 16 GB of RAM for the database, plus about 1 core and 2 GB for each additional real-time hub server. The web tier is stateless and can be load balanced as the deployment grows.

How is an on-premises system supported and updated?

Our team installs and configures the system on site, then provides remote maintenance and updates through a secure VPN, plus training, under one subscription. New platform capabilities are delivered to the installation as they ship.

Bring the systems you run today

We will walk your current stack against this page on a 30-minute call and tell you plainly what ProAlert covers and what it does not.

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