Test manager for industrial automation controllers
AssigneeYokogawa Electric Corporation
InventorsMark Anthony De Castro Cu-Unjieng, Chin Wei Chia, Jason Allan Lu Ng
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An engineering tool for testing a process control system includes one or more test manager instances. Each test manager instance includes circuitry that receives test cases and associated test requests. The circuitry also identifies a target for each test request, translates each test request into instructions to the identified target, checks each test request for validity, initiates execution of each test case, monitors subscribed data generated by the target, computes a difference between the subscribed data at a first point in time and a second point in time, and generates a notification when the computed difference is greater than a predetermined threshold.
Claims16
An engineering tool for testing a process control system, the engineering tool comprising:
- one or more test manager instances, wherein each test manager instance includes first circuitry configured to:
- receive at least one test case and associated test request from a source of test cases;
- identify, from a plurality of targets, a target for each test request, wherein the plurality of targets include a physical controller, a logic simulator, and a controller simulator;
- translate each test request into a series of instructions for the identified target;
- check each test request for validity of the identified target before its associated test case is executed;
- identify one or more database instances for use with each test case including identifying a work database that has not been compiled for use when the logic simulator is the identified target and identifying a master database that has been compiled for use when at least one of the physical controller and the controller simulator is the identified target;
- read variables for each test case from the one or more database instances after its associated test request is checked for validity;
- check validity of data to be written to the identified target for each test case;
- initiate execution of each test case;
- check validity of data read from the identified target for each test case;
- monitor subscribed data generated by the identified target for each test case;
- compute a difference between the subscribed data at a first point in time and the subscribed data at a second point in time;
- and
- generate a notification when the computed difference is greater than a first predetermined threshold.
A method of testing a process control system, the method comprising:
- receiving at least one test case and associated test request from a source of test cases;
- identifying, from a plurality of targets, a target for each test request, wherein the plurality of targets include a physical controller, a logic simulator and a controller simulator;
- translating each test request into a series of instructions for the identified target;
- checking each test request for validity of the identified target before its associated test case is executed;
- identifying one or more database instances for use with each test case including identifying a work database that has not been compiled for use when the logic simulator is the identified target and identifying a master database that has been compiled for use when at least one of the physical controller and the controller simulator is the identified target;
- reading variables for each test case from the one or more database instances after its associated test request is checked for validity;
- checking validity of data to be written to the identified target for each test case;
- initiating execution of each test case;
- checking validity of data read from the identified target for each test case;
- monitoring, using circuitry, subscribed data generated by the identified target for each test case;
- and
- computing, using the circuitry, a difference between the subscribed data at a first point in time and the subscribed data at a second point in time;
- and
- generating a notification when the difference is greater than a predetermined threshold.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions thereon which when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method comprising:
- receiving at least one test case and associated test request from a source of test cases;
- identifying, from a plurality of targets, a target for each test request, wherein the plurality of targets include a physical controller, a logic simulator and a controller simulator;
- translating each test request into a series of instructions the identified target;
- checking each test request for validity of the identified target before its associated test case is executed;
- identifying one or more database instances for use with each test case including identifying a work database that has not been compiled for use when the logic simulator is the identified target and identifying a master database that has been compiled for use when at least one of the physical controller and the controller simulator is the identified target;
- reading variables for each test case from the one or more database instances after its associated test request is checked for validity;
- checking validity of data to be written to the identified target for each test case;
- initiating execution of each test case;
- checking validity of data read from the identified target for each test case;
- monitoring subscribed data generated by the identified target for each test case;
- and
- computing a difference between the subscribed data at a first point in time and the subscribed data at a second point in time;
- and
- generating a notification when the difference is greater than a predetermined threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.