High performance control server system

A method for controlling a plurality of field devices in one or more process plants within a process control system via a controller farm, the method comprising:

• transmitting, by a plurality of controllers in a controller farm, control signals to a plurality of field devices each configured to perform a physical function to control at least a portion of a process in the process control system, wherein each of the plurality of controllers is configured to execute control modules corresponding to the plurality of field devices to control at least a portion of the process, wherein each of the plurality of controllers includes one or more of the control modules;
• selecting one of the plurality of controllers to execute one or more of the control modules for a particular time interval of a plurality of time intervals, wherein each of the plurality of controllers is selected to control more than one of the control modules at different time intervals of the plurality of time intervals, and wherein an indication of load, bandwidth, or available memory is obtained from each of the plurality of controllers and the one or more control modules are assigned to the plurality of controllers at periodic time intervals according to at least one of the load, bandwidth, or available memory for each controller;
• and
• transmitting, by the selected controller, control signals to the plurality of field devices in accordance with the one or more control modules during the particular time interval.

A method for load balancing control modules in a process control system, the method comprising:

• obtaining a plurality of control modules that control at least a portion of a process in the process control system via control signals provided to field devices configured to perform physical functions within the process control system;
• obtaining an availability metric from each of a plurality of controllers in a controller farm communicatively coupled to the field devices, wherein the availability metric is based on indications of load, bandwidth, or available memory for each of the plurality of controllers;
• and
• at each of a plurality of periodic time intervals, assigning each of the plurality of control modules to one of the plurality of controllers to execute the respective control module at a particular time interval of the plurality of time intervals based on the availability metrics, wherein each of the plurality of controllers includes one or more of the control modules, and wherein each of the plurality of controllers is selected to control more than one of the control modules at different time intervals of the plurality of time intervals.

A computing device in a process control system, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• non-transitory computer-readable medium coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions thereon, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computing device to:
• obtain a plurality of control modules that control at least a portion of a process in the process control system via control signals provided to field devices configured to perform physical functions within the process control system;
• obtain an availability metric from each of a plurality of controllers in a controller farm communicatively coupled to the plurality of field devices, wherein the availability metric is based on indications of load, bandwidth, or available memory for each of the plurality of controllers;
• and
• at each of a plurality of periodic time intervals, assign each of the plurality of control modules to one of the plurality of controllers to execute the respective control module at a particular time interval of the plurality of time intervals based on the availability metrics, wherein each of the plurality of controllers includes one or more of the control modules, and wherein each of the plurality of controllers is selected to control more than one of the control modules at different time intervals of the plurality of time intervals.