Industrial Control Network Interrogation via CIP Generic Messages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for analyzing industrial control networks lack the ability to rapidly and non-intrusively discover and characterize networking data across multiple devices and network levels, limiting their utility in ensuring maximum efficiency and reliability.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system that uses the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) to send generic messages across the network, with responses allowing for customized messages to extract detailed information from devices, enabling comprehensive data collection and storage in a structured format for diagnostic and reliability services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional analysis methods are used for industrial control networks, then comprehensive device information can be collected, but the analysis process is time-consuming and intrusive
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing communication with devices and retrieving their information objects before the actual analysis begins. The information objects are cached and prepared in advance, allowing rapid interrogation during the analysis phase without time-consuming device communications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates copies of device information by retrieving information objects from devices and storing them locally. These copied information objects can be analyzed without repeatedly querying the actual devices, significantly reducing analysis time while maintaining complete device information.
2Measurement precision
If traditional analysis methods are used for industrial control networks, then detailed device characterization is achieved, but the analysis intrudes on network operation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary communication setup and information retrieval before conducting the actual analysis. By establishing connections and caching device information in advance, the system minimizes the time devices are actively queried, reducing intrusion on normal network operations while still achieving detailed characterization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system copies device information objects to local storage for analysis, allowing detailed device characterization to be performed on the copied data rather than by continuously querying live devices. This approach achieves comprehensive characterization while minimizing the operational burden on the network and devices.
3Speed
If generic messages are sent to all network locations, then device presence can be quickly determined, but detailed information extraction requires additional customized messages
Solution Approach 1:
The communication process is segmented into distinct phases: first sending generic messages to all network locations to quickly identify device presence, then sending customized messages only to devices that responded. This segmentation allows rapid initial discovery while managing the complexity of detailed information extraction efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different message types based on local conditions - generic messages are sent universally to all network locations for quick device presence determination, while customized messages are selectively applied only to specific devices that indicate their presence, optimizing both speed and information extraction.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system system for analyzing an industrial control network 200 is provided in which useful networking data are presented to a user and/or monitored for events. By configuring an interrogator device 202 to send a generic message 216 to multiple network locations, presences of devices at particular locations may be determined. The generic message 216 is direct to different devices types to provide a response including multiple parameters. The interrogator 202 stores such parameters in data records and advantageously sends periodic collections of data records 236 to a processing manager 252. The processing manager 252, in turn, formats the data set 236, communicates with an enrich data structure 264 in order to enrich or augment data records of received data sets and communicates with a monitor data structure 266 in order to monitor data sets for one or more predetermined conditions.