IP Address Assignment in Industrial Control Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial control systems face challenges in efficiently assigning IP addresses to constrained devices and maintaining a fault-tolerant addressing scheme, especially when devices are configured in various network topologies or when identical machines are installed in adjacent working cells, leading to inefficiencies and increased start-up costs.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that predetermine device positions and IDs in a topology, allowing for automatic IP address assignment by comparing preprogrammed configurations with actual device information, using CIP product keys or MAC addresses, and initiating an auto-IP addressing process to generate and confirm IP addresses, ensuring accurate communication and reducing reconfiguration needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual IP address assignment is used for constrained devices, then IP address uniqueness can be ensured, but the complexity of device configuration and setup time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling constrained devices to automatically generate and assign their own IP addresses using the auto-IP feature. Devices broadcast their presence on the network and automatically configure themselves without requiring manual intervention, thereby reducing configuration complexity while maintaining reliability through the predetermined device ID to IP address mapping stored in the controller.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-storing device ID to IP address mappings in the controller's memory before the devices are physically connected to the network. When a device is added to the network, the controller already has the corresponding IP address ready to be assigned, eliminating the need for manual configuration and reducing setup time while ensuring IP address uniqueness.
2Reliability
If manual IP address assignment is used for each device, then accurate communication can be ensured, but the time and cost for system start-up and reconfiguration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring device ID to IP address mappings in the controller's memory before devices are physically connected. When devices are added to the network, the controller automatically matches the device IDs with the pre-stored mappings and assigns the corresponding IP addresses instantly, eliminating manual configuration time and reducing system start-up time while ensuring communication accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables self-service by allowing devices to automatically broadcast their device IDs upon connection and receive their IP addresses automatically from the controller through the auto-IP feature. This eliminates the need for manual IP address assignment and reduces start-up time while maintaining communication accuracy through the predetermined mappings.
3Ease of operation
If traditional DHCP or static IP assignment methods are used, then IP address management can be simplified, but fault tolerance and adaptability to topology changes are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling devices to automatically generate and assign their own IP addresses using the auto-IP feature without requiring external DHCP servers. This simplifies IP address management by eliminating the need for DHCP infrastructure while maintaining fault tolerance through the predetermined device ID to IP address mappings stored in the controller, ensuring that IP addresses remain assigned even if network conditions change.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-storing device ID to IP address mappings in the controller's memory before devices are physically connected to the network. This preliminary configuration simplifies ongoing IP address management while ensuring fault tolerance, as the controller can automatically reassign IP addresses based on the pre-stored mappings even when devices are added, removed, or moved within the network topology.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system is provided in which a position for each device (relative to other devices) in a topology, and a corresponding device ID for each device, may be predetermined. Then, the predetermined position and corresponding device ID for each device may be compared to actual devices in a topology having preprogrammed device ID's and pre-assigned IP addresses. If the comparison produces a match, the pre-assigned IP addresses in the actual devices may be utilized. However, if the comparison does not produce a match, the condition may be reported for further action.