Discovery Service Context Inference for Software-Defined Process Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial process control systems are inflexible and hardware-centric, leading to increased costs and complexity in engineering and change management, with a reliance on purpose-built hardware causing cost overruns and supply-chain delays in process plant installations and expansions.
Innovation Solution
A software-defined process control system (SDCS) decouples software and hardware, implementing business logic as logical abstractions on top of computer resources and dynamically managing resources using a hyper-converged infrastructure, including a software-defined networking layer, application layer, and storage layer, to support dynamic demands and ensure fault tolerance and load balancing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If purpose-built hardware is used in process control systems, then system reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses virtualization to create virtual copies of hardware resources (CPU, memory, storage, networking) that can be replicated and distributed across multiple physical hosts. This allows the control system to maintain reliability through redundancy while reducing complexity by using standardized hardware platforms instead of purpose-built specialized equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal hardware platform that can serve multiple functions through software configuration. The same physical server hardware can host different virtual machines running various control applications, I/O processing, historical data archiving, and engineering functions, eliminating the need for dedicated hardware for each function.
2Stability of the object's composition
If purpose-built hardware is used in process control systems, then system stability is improved, but adaptability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic resource allocation where virtual hardware resources can be dynamically created, moved, scaled, and configured without physical hardware changes. Virtual machines can be migrated between physical hosts, resources can be allocated on-demand, and the system can adapt to changing process requirements while maintaining stable operation through virtualization abstraction.
3Measurement precision
If specialized I/O devices are used for different field devices, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual I/O layer that acts as an intermediary between field devices and control applications. This virtual I/O subsystem provides standardized interfaces and protocols, allowing different field devices to be accessed through common virtualization abstractions while maintaining the precision capabilities of specialized hardware through properly configured virtual device drivers and communication protocols.
4Reliability
If hardware-centric architecture is used, then reliability is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/hardware-centric system with a software-defined architecture. Instead of relying on specialized hardware configurations and physical wiring, the system uses software virtualization to define and configure control functions, I/O processing, and system architecture, dramatically simplifying deployment, replication, and modification while maintaining reliability through virtualized redundancy.
Data Source
AI summary
A software defined (SD) process control system (SDCS) includes a method executed by a discovery service for inferring information regarding a physical or logical asset of a process plant. The method includes obtaining an announcement indicative of a presence of a physical or logical asset of the process plant. The method also includes obtaining, from a context dictionary, one or more parameters retrievable from the physical or logical asset or one or more services associated with the physical or logical asset that were not indicated in the announcement. Furthermore, the method includes storing a record of the discovered physical or logical asset in a discovered item data store. The record includes an indication of the identity of the physical or logical asset and the one or more parameters or one or more services associated with the physical or logical asset that were not indicated in the announcement.