Industrial Control Data Sharing via Server-Side Web Formatting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing remote technical support systems for industrial control systems face challenges in securely sharing data between devices with limited bandwidth and processing capabilities, particularly in industrial installations, due to high communication demands and complexity in configuring Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
Innovation Solution
A method and system that allows data sharing between clients connected to the same server process, enabling minimal bandwidth usage and reduced system resource requirements, by logging client sessions and formatting data for compatibility with various devices, including PDAs and mobile phones, using HTML, XML, or other structured text formats, allowing asynchronous sharing without additional client software.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are used for secure remote technical support, then security is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to configuration complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary component that mediates between the client device and remote support systems. The server handles secure communication, authentication, and data transmission, eliminating the need for complex VPN configurations on client devices. This intermediary approach maintains security while simplifying the client-side implementation to basic web browser access.
2Reliability
If VPNs are used for secure remote technical support, then security is improved, but bandwidth usage increases due to additional security layers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the security and communication overhead from the client device by implementing it on the server side. The server handles encryption, authentication, and secure data transmission, while the client device only needs to send basic web requests. This extraction eliminates the bandwidth consumption associated with VPN protocols on client devices while maintaining security through server-side implementations.
3Reliability
If remote control software is used for technical support, then technical assistance capability is improved, but processing power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses web-based copying of the control interface where the server generates and serves HTML representations of system data and control options to multiple clients simultaneously. Instead of running resource-intensive remote control software on each device, the system creates web page copies that can be viewed and interacted with using standard web browsers, dramatically reducing processing requirements on client devices.
4Adaptability or versatility
If data is shared between multiple users in real-time, then collaboration capability is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple user access requests into a single server-side data transmission stream. The server maintains a single copy of the system data and control interface, serving it to multiple users through web pages. When data changes occur, the server updates its internal state once and automatically refreshes all connected users' web pages, eliminating the need for duplicate data transmissions to each user and significantly reducing bandwidth consumption while maintaining real-time collaboration.
Data Source
AI summary
A method to distribute or share data provided by a server process of an industrial control system to a client process running on a first machine of a first user, with a client process running on a machine of a second user. The server session is logged by the server process. It is determined that the first user makes a selection to distribute or share a client process with at least one second user. An address is retrieved for the at least one other user, and a channel is opened thus providing the same data provided to the client process running on the first machine to a client process running on a second machine of at least one second user. Also included are system, a human-machine interface and a computer program for carrying out the method.