Deploy Service Coordination for Synchronized Runtime Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
In automation systems, traditional end-to-end deploy mechanisms for configuration data to runtime services are not synchronized, as each engineering tool or service uses proprietary protocols and formats, making coordinated deployment infeasible.
Innovation Solution
A deploy service acts as an intermediary to obtain and forward configuration collections from engineering services to runtime services, receiving acknowledgments and instructing their application only when all services confirm readiness, enabling synchronized deployment with rollback or partial deployment options if necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If each engineering tool or service uses proprietary deploy protocols and formats to establish end-to-end connections to runtime services, then each tool can deploy its configuration data independently, but synchronized deploy becomes infeasible and system coordination is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The deploy service acts as an intermediary between engineering services and runtime services. It receives configuration collections from multiple engineering services using their proprietary protocols, standardizes the deployment process, coordinates the deployment across all runtime services, and ensures synchronized application of configurations. This mediator approach maintains compatibility with diverse proprietary tools while enabling reliable synchronized deployment.
2Reliability
If a centralized deploy service coordinates all configuration deployments, then synchronized deploy across multiple runtime services is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The deploy service is designed as a universal component that can handle deployment for multiple different engineering services and runtime services through a standardized interface. It performs multiple functions including receiving configurations from various sources, validating configurations, coordinating deployment timing, and managing rollback procedures. This multi-functional design consolidates complexity into a single manageable service rather than requiring complex integration between multiple specialized components.
3Productivity
If configuration collections are applied immediately upon receipt, then deployment speed is fast, but system stability is compromised when some runtime services cannot apply configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The deploy service performs preliminary actions before actual configuration application: it first forwards configuration collections to all target runtime services, receives acknowledgments confirming each service's ability to apply the configurations, and only then instructs all services to apply the configurations simultaneously. This preliminary validation ensures system consistency while maintaining deployment speed through batched coordinated execution.
Solution Approach 2:
The deploy service implements a feedback mechanism where runtime services send acknowledgments back to the deploy service indicating whether they can successfully apply the received configuration collections. The deploy service uses this feedback to make informed decisions: if all services acknowledge readiness, it proceeds with coordinated deployment; if any service cannot apply the configuration, it triggers a rollback or partial deploy. This feedback loop ensures system stability while maintaining efficient deployment.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method performed by a deploy service 10 for coordinated deploy to RT services 15 in an automation system 17. The method comprises, from each of a plurality of engineering services 3, obtaining at least one configuration collection, each configuration collection being addressed to a specific one of the RT services. The method also comprises forwarding each of the obtained configuration collections to the RT service to which it is addressed. The method also comprises, for each of the configuration collections, in response to the forwarding thereof, receiving an acknowledgement from the RT service to which it was forwarded, indicating that the RT service is able to apply the configuration collection. The method also comprises, in response to receiving the acknowledgements for all of the configuration collections, instructing each of the RT services from which the acknowledgements were received to apply the configuration collections.