Orchestrated Discovery Agents for Industrial Topology Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Generating accurate and complete system topology information for industrial automation systems is challenging due to the large number of heterogeneous devices and complex communication paths across various networks.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a discovery component that deploys and orchestrates discovery agents to collect information about devices and networks, and an aggregation component that generates a topology model based on this information, using multiple agent types executing different discovery strategies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple discovery agents with different discovery strategies are deployed to collect information from heterogeneous devices and networks, then the completeness and accuracy of system topology information is improved, but the device complexity and orchestration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the topology discovery task by deploying multiple specialized discovery agents, each responsible for specific device types or network protocols. Each agent executes targeted discovery strategies for its designated domain, dividing the complex heterogeneous system into manageable segments that can be discovered independently and then integrated into a complete topology model.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary orchestration layer that manages the deployment, coordination, and data aggregation of multiple discovery agents. This intermediary component handles the complexity of orchestrating diverse agents with different strategies, translating their findings into a unified topology model without requiring direct complex interactions between the agents themselves.
2Adaptability or versatility
If comprehensive system topology information is generated for large heterogeneous automation systems, then the utility for risk analysis, security analysis, and design documentation is improved, but the time and resources required for documentation generation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by proactively deploying discovery agents to collect and document topology information before it is needed for analysis or design work. The topology model is generated in advance and maintained as an up-to-date representation of the automation system, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual documentation when risk analysis, security analysis, or design documentation is required.
Data Source
AI summary
An industrial topology discovery system autonomously discovers and documents industrial automation system topologies using orchestrated discovery agents of various types. The topology discovery system can reside on a cloud platform or another high level network and deploy discovery agents on plant networks and devices within an industrial facility. These discovery agents can implement different strategies for discovering system information, and can include agents configured to monitor and report on communication traffic across respective types of networks, agents configured to probe respective device types for identity and configuration information, and other types of agents. Discovery services executed by the topology discovery system can collect device and network information obtained by the agents and use this information to document the topology of the automation system as well as to orchestrate the discovery behavior of the agents to extract further information about the system based on defined discovery rules.