Virtualized Control Software Failover With Prioritized State Sync
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Solution Overview
Problem
In containerized and clustered environments, maintaining reliable control of industrial processes is challenging due to communication overhead and inflexible coupling of control application instances, making it difficult to implement setups with more than two redundant controllers.
Innovation Solution
A method for controlling industrial processes using a prioritized subset of internal variables, determined through automated analysis, to facilitate seamless failover in virtualized environments, allowing for dynamic resource allocation and reduced communication bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complete synchronization among multiple control application instances is implemented, then reliability is improved, but communication overhead increases and device complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The internal state of the control application is segmented into prioritized subsets based on importance. Only the most critical state variables are synchronized to backup instances, rather than complete synchronization. This segmentation reduces communication overhead and system complexity while maintaining reliability for critical process control functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and transmits only the essential prioritized subset of internal state variables from the active control instance to backup instances. This extraction approach eliminates unnecessary data transmission, reducing communication bandwidth requirements and system complexity while preserving the ability to maintain reliable control through failover.
2Stability of the object's composition
If tight coupling of individual control application instances is implemented, then state consistency is improved, but adaptability worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts the coupling strength between control instances based on operational conditions. During normal operation, loose coupling allows independent instance management and flexibility. When failover is required, the system dynamically establishes tighter coupling by transmitting prioritized state subsets, ensuring state consistency only when needed while maintaining adaptability throughout.
3Reliability
If more than two redundant control application instances are implemented, then reliability is improved, but communication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different backup instances receive different prioritized subsets of internal state variables based on their specific backup roles and requirements. This local quality approach optimizes communication by tailoring the state information transmitted to each backup instance, reducing overall communication overhead while maintaining reliability across multiple redundant instances.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method (100) for controlling an industrial process (1), comprising the steps of: • providing (110) process data (1a) of the industrial process (1) to an active instance (2) of a control software as input, wherein the process data (1a) comprises a set of process variables of the industrial process (1), and/or plant variables of the industrial plant executing this process (1); • based on this input, updating (120) an internal state (2a) of the active instance (2) of the control software that is characterized by a set of internal variables of this active instance (2); • based on this updated internal state (2a), determining (130), by the active instance (2), an output signal (2b), and outputting (140) this output signal (2b) to at least one piece of equipment (1b) that is configured to alter a state, and/or a behavior, of the industrial process (1); and • providing (170) a prioritized subset (2a*, 2a**, 2a***) of the internal variables that characterize the state (2a) of the active instance (2) to at least one further instance (3, 4, 5) of a control software that is configured to take over control of the industrial process (1) in case of a failure and/or malfunction of the active instance (2).