¹⁷Data Historians have existed in Distributed Control Systems (DCSs) for many years, and in fact pre-date DMZs. Their purpose during those halcyon days prior to network security concerns was to provide operations and maintenance personnel with long-term data useful for running the process and diagnosing a range of problems. DCS controllers are typically limited in memory, and simply cannot archive the vast quantities of process data capable within a general-purpose computer. Their function in modern times as part of an industrial control system DMZ is simply an extension of their original purpose.