Automation Topology Discovery Using Orchestrated Point-to-Point Paths
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Solution Overview
Problem
Generating accurate and complete system topology information for industrial automation systems is challenging due to their heterogeneous nature and complex communication paths across various networks.
Innovation Solution
An industrial topology discovery system that deploys orchestrated discovery agents to autonomously discover and document the topology of automation systems, using different strategies for device and network information collection, and aggregates this information into a comprehensive model.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual documentation methods are used for industrial automation systems, then the process is simple and straightforward, but the accuracy and completeness of topology information cannot be achieved due to system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces discovery agents as intermediary components that autonomously traverse the automation system, collect device information, and generate topology documentation. These agents act as mediators between the complex automation system and the documentation system, automatically navigating through devices and communication paths to gather accurate topology data without requiring manual intervention, thereby achieving high accuracy while managing complexity through automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The discovery agents operate autonomously to self-document the automation system topology. They automatically discover devices, collect configuration information, trace communication paths, and generate comprehensive topology models without external assistance. This self-service capability enables the system to document its own complex structure accurately, resolving the contradiction between documentation accuracy and system complexity.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive system topology information is generated for heterogeneous devices across multiple networks, then complete documentation is achieved, but the complexity of collecting and aggregating information becomes prohibitively challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the information collection task by deploying multiple specialized discovery agents, each responsible for specific device types or network segments. These agents independently collect information from their assigned segments (controllers, I/O devices, communication networks) and report findings to a central aggregation system. This segmentation approach enables complete topology documentation across heterogeneous devices while managing aggregation complexity through distributed, modular information collection.
Solution Approach 2:
The discovery agents are designed with multi-functional capabilities to handle diverse device types and communication protocols uniformly. A single agent framework can discover and document various device categories (controllers, remote I/O, distributed I/O, communication devices) across different network types (Ethernet, Profibus, remote I/O networks). This universality enables complete topology information collection from heterogeneous systems while simplifying aggregation by using a consistent data collection and processing approach across all device types.
3Adaptability or versatility
If detailed topology documentation is created for risk analysis and security analysis, then the utility for these applications is maximized, but the effort and complexity of generating such documentation increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by automatically generating comprehensive topology documentation before it is needed for risk analysis or security analysis. The discovery agents continuously or periodically traverse the automation system, collect current topology information, and maintain up-to-date documentation. This preliminary documentation generation eliminates the need for manual topology analysis when risk or security assessments are required, providing ready-to-use detailed information while reducing the complexity and effort of ad-hoc documentation generation.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial topology discovery system autonomously discovers and documents industrial automation system topologies using orchestrated discovery agents of various types. The topology discovery system can reside on a cloud platform or another high level network and deploy discovery agents on plant networks and devices within an industrial facility. These discovery agents can implement different strategies for discovering system information, and can include agents configured to monitor and report on communication traffic across respective types of networks, agents configured to probe respective device types for identity and configuration information, and other types of agents. Discovery services executed by the topology discovery system can collect device and network information obtained by the agents and use this information to document the topology of the automation system as well as to orchestrate the discovery behavior of the agents to extract further information about the system based on defined discovery rules.