When you're kicking off a digital transformation initiative, it’s smart to start small. A pilot project with a single-server deployment of your manufacturing execution system (MES) keeps costs manageable and complexity low. And for many Kanoa MES customers, that single-server setup is exactly how the journey begins.
But as your deployment expands across lines, departments, or sites, the risks tied to managing updates, changes, and custom development directly on your production system can start to add up. That’s when it's time to start thinking about building out a Dev / Test / Prod environment architecture — or at least adding a dedicated Dev system alongside your production environment.
Let’s walk through what that means, why it matters, and how it can help your team move faster with less risk.
In the early stages of an MES project, a single-server approach makes perfect sense. You can:
Deploy quickly
Keep licensing and infrastructure costs low
Iterate fast in a contained environment
But as your MES becomes more operationally critical — feeding data to operators, production managers, and plant leadership — your ability to safely change or evolve that system starts to shrink.
When production teams rely on the MES day in and day out, downtime isn't just inconvenient — it’s disruptive. If you’re patching software, developing new screens, or rolling out configuration changes, you probably don’t want to do that directly on the system that’s actively driving production.
That’s where separating environments comes in.
A Dev / Test / Prod setup refers to maintaining separate environments for:
Dev: A sandbox for engineers to build, experiment, and iterate without fear of breaking anything mission-critical.
Test: A staging ground that closely mirrors your production system, where changes can be validated under realistic conditions and shared with end users for review or training.
Prod: The live system — stable, supported, and in active use by operators and teams on the plant floor.
Not every customer needs all three — and Dev + Prod is a perfectly valid and common configuration. In fact, many successful deployments run this way, using a Dev system to stage and validate changes before deploying them to the field. The important thing is that you're not engineering or testing directly in your production environment once the MES becomes integral to daily operations.
Here are a few examples of how Kanoa customers use Dev and Test environments to manage change effectively:
When upgrading your MES software, it’s best practice to apply the update first in your Dev environment — which contains a copy of your production application and recent data — and verify that:
Custom screens and workflows continue to function
MES logic behaves as expected
Reporting and dashboards remain intact
Once verified, the same update can be deployed to Prod during a scheduled maintenance window, significantly reducing the risk of surprises.
Your Dev system gives developers the freedom to experiment and build without fear of disruption. Whether you’re designing a new workflow or integrating with another system, Dev is the place to do it safely.
Before launching a new feature or screen in Prod, it’s often useful to preview it with the teams who will use it. For example, if you’re introducing a manual verification screen for operators to confirm production counts at shift end, you can deploy it to Test, let your operators try it out, and gather feedback before go-live. This helps:
Ensure the design supports actual workflows
Catch usability issues early
Drive user buy-in and smoother adoption
In more complex environments — especially those that are multi-site or regulated — a full Dev / Test / Prod architecture is often essential. In this case:
Dev serves as the open sandbox for building new functionality
Test mirrors Prod and supports validation, approval workflows, and training
Prod runs only stable, approved releases
This structure supports change control, compliance audits, and consistent rollouts across global sites.
When setting up Dev and Test systems, your SQL database architecture is just as important as your MES servers. Here are a few considerations:
You can often create separate databases on the same SQL Server that hosts your Prod system. This is cost-effective and straightforward, and it works well for many customers.
However, keep in mind that Dev and Test activity — especially during large updates or data simulations — can place extra load on the database server.
If your MES is mission-critical, or if your IT team has performance isolation requirements, consider hosting Dev and Test databases on a separate SQL Server instance.
Regardless of your setup, we recommend involving your IT team early to align with any existing database management policies and to avoid surprises.
If you're building or evolving your MES environment, here are a few best practices to guide your architecture:
Dev and Test environments should be isolated from live equipment controls. Simulate where possible.
Periodically clone your production database to Dev or Test for more realistic testing and validation. Just make sure that test data doesn’t flow back into Prod.
Different environments should have different access controls. Limit who can deploy to Prod, and separate developer and tester roles if needed.
Use Dev and Test systems to preview screens and workflows with your users before deploying to the field.
Kanoa supports flexible licensing models to help you scale safely:
Trial Mode: Both Kanoa and Inductive Automation support a two-hour trial mode, ideal for light testing. Note that after two hours, data collection pauses unless manually reset.
Discounted Licensing: Kanoa offers 50% off licenses and support for Dev and Test environments that accompany a licensed Prod deployment.
Inductive Rebates: Inductive Automation may offer discounts on Dev/Test licensing — reach out to your Inductive rep for details.
If you're running complex simulations, working with live data, or want the convenience of uninterrupted development, a fully licensed environment is often worth the investment.
Starting with a single-server MES pilot makes sense — and it’s how many of our most successful customers began. But as your MES expands in value and scope, it’s important to protect the integrity of your production environment and enable continuous improvement through a structured, multi-environment approach.
Whether you’re ready to adopt a full Dev / Test / Prod architecture, or just starting with Dev + Prod, the goal is the same: safer, smarter, and faster deployment cycles.
And if you’re not sure what setup makes sense for your team, we’re always happy to help you think through the options.