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Introducing Kanoa MES

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Kanoa MES is a modular Manufacturing Execution System built on and for Inductive Automation’s Ignition platform, using Microsoft SQL Server as its primary data store. Kanoa delivers a production-ready MES foundation out of the box, while staying fully extensible through Ignition’s application development toolset.

Kanoa follows a platform-first philosophy:

  • Rapid time-to-value with a standardized operational model (assets, materials, work orders, execution)
  • Modular adoption: start with Ops, then add Quality and Trace as your requirements mature
  • Ignition-native delivery: built for the Gateway model and designed for Ignition Perspective
  • Open data architecture: configuration and production history live in SQL for reporting, integration, and analytics

Kanoa is built on Ignition, and that relationship is central to how the product works.
For a deeper explanation, see Kanoa MES on Ignition.

What can Kanoa MES do?​

Kanoa MES provides the core workflows and data structures most manufacturers need to run and improve operations:

Kanoa Ops (required foundation)​

Kanoa Ops establishes execution context and standardized MES structures you build everything else on:

  • Asset and line modeling
  • Material definitions and standard rates
  • Work order / production order management
  • Scheduling context (including shifts and crews)
  • Production tracking, OEE, downtime, and performance loss coding
  • Operator workflows (operator station patterns you can customize)

Optional add-on modules​

As your scope expands, you can add:

  • Kanoa Quality: quality forms, specifications, SPC and analysis tools
  • Kanoa Trace: lot/serial tracking, genealogy, routing, and traceability reporting

Extend with Ignition​

Because Kanoa is Ignition-native, teams frequently extend Kanoa with:

  • Custom operator UX (Perspective pages tailored to the plant)
  • Dashboards and KPI views
  • Reporting and analytics
  • ERP transactions and integrations
  • Custom automation logic that fits site-specific workflows

Kanoa provides the MES foundation; Ignition provides the development and deployment platform.

Core characteristics​

Kanoa inherits many of the “unlimited, server-based” advantages that make Ignition attractive:

  • Server-based deployment: installed on an Ignition Gateway (one server controls the system)
  • Simple licensing: licensed per Gateway, expanded via modules
  • Unlimited scale at runtime: no per-client runtime licensing model for operator access patterns
  • Web-based management: installed and administered through the Gateway interface
  • Open SQL backend: your MES data is stored in Microsoft SQL Server and remains accessible

If you’re new to Ignition concepts like Gateway, projects, and Perspective deployment, the Ignition User Manual is a helpful companion reference.

Understanding where Kanoa fits​

Kanoa Module Stack

A typical Kanoa deployment looks like this:

  1. Ignition Gateway (application runtime and execution engine)
  2. Microsoft SQL Server (kanoaCore database schema and manufacturing history)
  3. Kanoa Module (Gateway-installed module providing MES APIs and logic)
  4. Kanoa Ignition Projects (Perspective projects providing the out-of-the-box application)

Together, these components form a complete MES that remains extensible.

1) Ignition Gateway​

Kanoa installs onto an Ignition Gateway and runs inside Ignition’s server-based architecture. The Gateway hosts:

  • Projects (Perspective/UI and configuration tools)
  • Tag providers and runtime execution
  • Security, user access, and session management
  • Scripting, scheduling, and integration logic

Kanoa doesn’t replace Ignition—it builds on it.

2) kanoaCore database (Microsoft SQL Server)​

During installation, you configure a connection to Microsoft SQL Server. Kanoa installs its core schema where it stores:

  • Plant configuration (assets, materials, routing structures)
  • Order execution and production events
  • Downtime and state/event history
  • Quality results and form records (if Quality is installed)
  • Traceability and genealogy records (if Trace is installed)

Because the database is SQL-based and open, it can be used for:

  • Reporting and analytics
  • Integrations and data exchange
  • Long-term historian-style manufacturing records (where appropriate)

You can find more information on our database in the Database Schema section.

3) Kanoa Module (Gateway integration + APIs)​

The Kanoa Module runs inside the Gateway and provides the application-facing API surface for MES operations. This is where Kanoa encapsulates validated business logic and efficient database transactions.

You interact with this layer through the system.kanoa scripting APIs.

Example calls:

system.kanoa.asset.addAsset(...)
system.kanoa.events.getAssetStateEvents(...)
system.kanoa.order.addProductionOrder(...)

These APIs are used to implement and extend workflows such as:

  • registering assets and production structure
  • executing orders and recording production
  • capturing downtime and state changes
  • querying MES event history and operational context

You can find our full API documentation in our Systems Functions section.

4) Kanoa Ignition Projects (the out-of-the-box application)​

Kanoa installs a set of Ignition projects designed to deliver immediate functionality while remaining customizable. These projects provide:

  • Engineering/configuration UX
  • Operator-facing execution patterns
  • Standard navigation and MES workflows

Because they are native Ignition projects, you can extend them using normal Ignition practices: inheritance, overrides, new views, custom navigation, and site-specific UX.

What you get when you install Kanoa MES​

When you install Kanoa MES onto a Gateway, you receive three core deliverables:

  1. kanoaCore database schema in Microsoft SQL Server
  2. Kanoa Module installed in the Ignition Gateway (including system.kanoa APIs)
  3. Kanoa Ignition Projects that provide the out-of-the-box application and extension points

This structure is intentional: it gives you a working MES immediately, plus a clean platform for customization.

Next steps​