PLC Engineering Data Synchronization Across Local and Cloud Nodes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing programmable logic controllers (PLCs) face challenges in synchronizing engineering data across multiple nodes, ensuring consistent and accessible data for both local and remote access, and providing reliable design, development, and verification access while maintaining a synchronized view of engineering data regardless of location.
Innovation Solution
A distributed architecture comprising a synchronization server, an engineering function server, and a communication server manages engineering object models across multiple automation control device nodes, edge nodes, and cloud nodes, ensuring data consistency and accessibility through HTTP or HTTPS channels, and implementing device engineering functions such as loading, editing, compiling, activating, and debugging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a distributed architecture with multiple nodes is used to enable remote and local access to PLCs, then accessibility and remote design/development capability are improved, but data consistency and synchronization across nodes become more difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cloud node as an intermediary that mediates between local nodes and remote access points. The cloud node stores engineering data and coordinates synchronization across all nodes, ensuring data consistency while enabling both local and remote access. The cloud node acts as the authoritative source that resolves conflicts and maintains the master copy of engineering data.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where nodes continuously report their data state to the cloud node, which then coordinates updates across the network. The cloud node monitors changes at local nodes and propagates synchronization status back to all nodes, creating a closed-loop feedback system that maintains data consistency across the distributed architecture.
2Productivity
If engineering data is stored and accessed across multiple distributed nodes, then accessibility and collaboration are improved, but synchronization complexity and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into three distinct functional nodes: local nodes for device-level operations, cloud nodes for centralized data management and synchronization coordination, and remote nodes for access points. This segmentation allows each node type to have specialized responsibilities, simplifying the overall synchronization logic while enabling efficient collaboration across the distributed system.
Solution Approach 2:
The cloud node serves as an intermediary layer that abstracts the complexity of synchronization from local and remote nodes. Instead of requiring direct peer-to-peer synchronization between all nodes (which would create exponential complexity), the cloud node mediates all data exchanges, centralizing the synchronization logic and reducing system complexity.
3Reliability
If real-time synchronization of engineering data is implemented across all nodes, then data freshness and reliability are improved, but network bandwidth consumption and energy usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic synchronization rather than continuous real-time synchronization. Nodes periodically exchange data updates with the cloud node based on change detection and scheduled intervals. This periodic action maintains data freshness by ensuring updates are propagated across the network while reducing network traffic and energy consumption compared to continuous synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs self-service mechanisms where nodes locally detect changes in engineering data and autonomously initiate synchronization only when necessary. Instead of continuously polling or maintaining constant connections, nodes serve themselves by monitoring their own data state and requesting synchronization only when changes occur, reducing unnecessary network traffic and energy consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
Over the past several decades, rapid advances in semiconductors, automation, and control systems have resulted in the adoption of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in an immense variety of environments. A synchronization system coordinates storage, retrieval, and activation of engineering object models among local and remote nodes. The synchronization system facilitates local and remote design and development access to the PLCs, as well as continued correct operation of the PLCs.