Containerized Process Control Redundancy With Dynamic Load Balancing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial process control systems are inflexible and hardware-centric, leading to increased costs and delays in installations and expansions due to dependence on purpose-built hardware, and lack the flexibility seen in IT systems where hardware requirements are abstracted from business logic.
Innovation Solution
A software-defined process control system (SDCS) decouples software and hardware, implementing business logic as logical abstractions on top of computer resources, with a software-defined networking, application, and storage layer that dynamically manages resources to support dynamic process control demands, using containers and orchestrators for load balancing and fault tolerance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If purpose-built hardware is used for process control systems, then system reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of control systems through containerization technology. Multiple virtual controller instances can be deployed on shared physical hardware, providing redundancy and reliability without requiring multiple separate physical control systems. Each containerized controller maintains the functional reliability of traditional dedicated hardware while sharing underlying physical resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal hardware platform that can host multiple different control applications and functions simultaneously through containerization. A single physical server can run multiple containerized controllers, I/O servers, and support functions, replacing the need for multiple specialized purpose-built hardware systems while maintaining system reliability through virtualization.
2Stability of the object's composition
If purpose-built hardware is used for process control systems, then system stability is improved, but adaptability and flexibility worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic resource allocation and container migration capabilities that allow the control system to adapt to changing process requirements in real-time. Containers can be dynamically created, moved, or scaled based on operational needs, providing flexibility while maintaining stable control through the abstraction layer that isolates applications from hardware changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments control applications into independent containerized units that can be individually managed, deployed, and scaled. This segmentation allows specific control functions to be adapted or updated without affecting the entire system, providing adaptability while maintaining overall system stability through modular architecture.
3Reliability
If hardware-centric architecture is used, then reliability is improved, but ease of manufacture and deployment worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional hardware-centric control architecture with a software-defined control system using containerization. Instead of relying on physical hardware configurations, the system uses virtualized controllers and I/O servers that can be deployed through software installation, dramatically simplifying manufacturing and deployment while maintaining reliability through virtualization abstraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple control functions and hardware interfaces into a unified containerized platform. By combining controllers, I/O servers, and support functions into a single integrated system that uses shared hardware resources, the patent simplifies the manufacturing process and reduces the number of discrete components that need to be assembled and configured.
4Reliability
If traditional control architecture is used, then fault tolerance is limited, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements fault tolerance through container replication and orchestration. Multiple container instances can be deployed across different physical hosts, and if one container fails, the orchestration system can automatically restart it on another host or activate a standby container, providing fault tolerance without requiring complex hardware redundancy systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an orchestration layer as an intermediary between the containerized control applications and the underlying hardware infrastructure. This orchestration layer manages container lifecycle, handles failures, and provides abstraction, simplifying the system architecture while enabling advanced fault tolerance capabilities through automated container management and recovery.
Data Source
AI summary
A software defined distributed control system (SDCS) in a process plant includes an application layer that includes a plurality of containers instantiated in a data center cluster. Each of the containers is an isolated execution environment executing within the local operating system of a respective computing node. The containers cooperate to facilitate execution of a control strategy in the SDCS, and includes a hyper converged infrastructure (HCI) operating across the data center cluster, which HCI is configured to communicate with the application layer via an adapter service. The HCI includes software-defined (SD) compute resources, SD storage resources, SD networking resources, and an orchestrator service. The orchestrator service is programmed to configure a first container to include a service executing within the first container. It also assigns the first container to execute on an available hardware resource to control a plurality of field devices operating in the process plant.