Industrial Container Registry With OT-IT Proxy Orchestration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial control systems in OT environments lack efficient integration with container orchestration systems, as they operate on distinct operating systems, limiting the management and coordination of OT assets using IT-based container orchestration methods.
Innovation Solution
Integrate specialized hardware and software control systems within industrial control systems to support limited operations of container orchestration systems, using container nodes and proxy nodes to translate commands between IT and OT environments, enabling coordination and management of OT assets through a container registry and storefront.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If industrial control systems operate on distinct operating systems (OT environment), then system reliability and stability are maintained, but integration with IT-based container orchestration systems is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a gateway component that acts as an intermediary between OT industrial control systems and IT container orchestration systems. This gateway translates commands and data between the two distinct environments, enabling integration while maintaining the operational stability of the OT system. The gateway bridges the protocol and architecture gaps, allowing containerized applications to interact with industrial equipment without requiring the OT system to adopt foreign operating systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into distinct layers: the OT control layer maintains its proven stability, while the IT container orchestration layer provides flexibility and modern deployment capabilities. The gateway operates as a separate intermediary layer that connects these segments. This segmentation allows each layer to operate independently with its strengths preserved - reliability in OT and adaptability in IT.
2Ease of operation
If container orchestration systems are integrated into OT environments, then management and coordination of OT assets is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway serves as a simplified intermediary that abstracts the complexity of container orchestration from the OT asset management perspective. It translates complex container commands into simple OT-compatible instructions, providing ease of operation for managing OT assets through familiar interfaces while the backend handles the orchestration complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual representation or copy of the container orchestration interface that is accessible to OT systems through the gateway. This allows OT systems to interact with containerized applications using simplified, familiar commands rather than requiring direct integration with complex orchestration infrastructure, thereby reducing perceived system complexity.
3Productivity
If container images are deployed to industrial components, then software update efficiency is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary portions of container images for deployment to industrial components rather than transferring complete images. The gateway identifies and retrieves only the specific software updates or configuration changes needed, reducing network bandwidth consumption while maintaining update efficiency by delivering precisely what is required without unnecessary data transfer.
Data Source
AI summary
A method may involve receiving, via at least one processor, a request from an industrial component operating in an industrial automation system, such that the request may include an indication of a software function. The method may then involve querying a container registry having a plurality of container images based on the software function, identifying at least one container image of the plurality of container images that corresponds to the software function, sending an indication of the at least one container image to the industrial component, and receiving a selection of the at least one container image from the industrial component. The method may also involve retrieving the at least one container image from the container registry and sending the at least one container image to the industrial component.