Edge Plant Data Recorder for Secure Remote Process Search
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Solution Overview
Problem
Process plant personnel face difficulties in searching for specific data within large, distributed, and complex datasets due to the lack of structural optimization for searching and analytics, and existing systems do not allow remote access to process plant-related data, increasing the risk of cyber intrusions and malicious attacks.
Innovation Solution
A process plant search query server is implemented to provide search functionality by analyzing queries using contextual knowledge repositories and generating meaningful responses, allowing users to access and view process plant-related data from remote devices while ensuring secure data delivery through a layered security hierarchy and unidirectional data diodes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If process plant data is made accessible remotely for searching and viewing, then user accessibility and situational awareness are improved, but the risk of cyber intrusions and malicious attacks increases
Solution Approach 1:
A data diode is introduced as an intermediary component between the process control system and external networks. The data diode allows data to flow only in one direction (from the control system to external systems) and physically prevents any reverse flow, thereby enabling remote data access while eliminating the risk of cyber intrusions through the communication path
Solution Approach 2:
The system architecture is segmented into distinct security zones: the process control system, the data diode interface, and external accessing systems. This segmentation isolates the critical control system from external networks, allowing remote data access functionality while containing potential security threats to the external zone only
2Productivity
If search functionality is added to process plant data, then data retrieval efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Data is pre-processed and pre-formatted within the process control system before being transmitted through the data diode. The data is organized in structured formats with appropriate indices and metadata during the initial data collection phase, enabling efficient search operations without requiring complex search algorithms to be implemented in the external system
Data Source
AI summary
To provide enhanced search capabilities in a process control system, a knowledge repository is generated that includes both contextual data and time series data. The contextual data organizes process plant-related data according to semantic relations between the process plant-related data and the process plant entities. When a user submits a process plant search query related to process plant entities within a process plant, search results are obtained by identifying a data set from the knowledge repository. The contextual data categorizes process parameters so that users can search for a particular process parameter category. Users can tag previous searches to execute them once again at a later time. Users can also execute queries for predicted or future states of process plant entities, batch queries regarding batch processes, soft sensor analytics and monitoring applications, parameter lifecycle applications, perturbation applications, step testing applications, or batch provisioning and scheduling applications using the knowledge repository.