Virtual IPC Redundancy for Hot Standby Control Consolidation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional redundant hot standby control systems for industrial control systems require a 1:1 or 1:P ratio of main controllers to standby controllers, leading to increased hardware costs and redundant hardware, which is inefficient in terms of resource utilization and cost.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a redundant hot standby control system using industrial personal computers (IPCs) with multiple virtual control devices, where at least one virtual control device acts as a main control device and others as standby devices across multiple IPCs, connected via control and field buses, allowing for a more efficient distribution of hardware resources and reduced hardware costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional redundant hot standby control system uses a 1:1 or 1:P ratio of main controllers to standby controllers, then system reliability is improved, but hardware cost increases and resource utilization decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple virtual control devices are merged onto a single physical controller, allowing one physical controller to host multiple virtual controllers including main and standby instances. This consolidation reduces the total number of physical controllers needed while maintaining the redundancy required for system reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
A single physical controller is designed to perform multiple functions by hosting different virtual control devices simultaneously. The physical controller can serve as both a main controller and a standby controller for other virtual devices, enabling cross-standby relationships and improving resource utilization.
2Reliability
If multiple physical standby controllers are deployed for each main controller, then system reliability is improved, but hardware cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of deploying separate physical standby controllers, virtual copies of control devices are created and run on existing physical controllers. These virtual standby controllers are software-based copies that consume minimal additional hardware resources while providing the same redundancy function.
3Reliability
If a 1:1 ratio of main to standby controllers is used, then system reliability is improved, but hardware cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple virtual control devices including main and standby instances onto shared physical hardware platforms, reducing the total quantity of physical controllers needed while maintaining the 1:1 redundancy ratio for reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Physical controllers are designed with multi-functionality to host both main and standby virtual control devices simultaneously, allowing the same hardware resource to serve multiple roles and reducing overall hardware requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a redundant hot standby control system, comprising: K industrial personal computers (IPC) 100, with a plurality of virtual control devices (1011-101m, 1021-102n) being established thereon respectively, wherein at least one of the plurality of virtual control devices (1011-101m) established on each IPC (100) is a main control device; and the other virtual control devices (1021-102n) are standby control devices, wherein each of the standby control devices corresponds to a virtual control device (1011-101m), which serves as the main control device, on another IPC (100), except for the IPC (100) to which the standby control device itself belongs, and a procedure, which is the same as that operated on the main control device corresponding thereto, is operated on the standby control device; a control bus (103) used for connecting a plurality of the M IPCs (100); and a field bus (104) used for connecting the M IPCs (100) and a plurality of field devices (105). Correspondingly, a control device, a redundant hot standby control method and a computer-readable storage medium are further disclosed in the present invention.