Network configuration in industrial automation systems
AssigneeABB Schweiz AG
InventorsThomas Keul, Ralf Jeske, Stefan Pook
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for network configuration in an industrial automation system includes obtaining, by a process control system comprising a plurality of network devices each associated with a network switch, network configuration data; and using the network configuration data to configure the network devices. The network configuration data identifies at least a redundancy protocol to be used by each of the network devices. Obtaining the network configuration data comprises activating one or more network connections of the network switches as a minimum number of network connections for obtaining the network configuration data, and receiving the network configuration data via the one or more activated network connections.
Claims10
A method for network configuration in an industrial automation system, the method comprising:
- obtaining, by a process control system comprising a plurality of network devices each associated with a network switch, network configuration data, wherein the network configuration data identifies at least a redundancy protocol to be used by each of the network devices;
- and
- using the network configuration data to configure the network switches,
- wherein obtaining the network configuration data comprises activating one or more network connections of the network switches as a minimum number of network connections for obtaining the network configuration data, and receiving the network configuration data via the one or more activated network connections;
- wherein activating the network connections comprises enabling only ports corresponding to the network connections to be activated;
- wherein the network configuration data is usable to configure a first network device to use a first redundancy protocol and a second network device to use a second redundancy protocol, wherein the first and second redundancy protocols are at least partially incompatible;
- and
- wherein communication between the network devices within the process control system takes place via one or more interconnects in a mounting termination unit of the process control system.
A method for network configuration in an industrial automation system, the method comprising:
- using an engineering tool to compose network configuration data for a process control system comprising a plurality of network devices each associated with a network switch, wherein the network configuration data is usable by the process control system to configure the network devices, and wherein the network configuration data identifies at least a redundancy protocol to be used by each of the network devices;
- and
- downloading the network configuration data from the engineering tool to the process control system during a commissioning sequence, wherein the network configuration data is downloaded to the process control system via a minimum number of network connections activated for that purpose by the process control system
- wherein activating the network connections comprises enabling only ports corresponding to the network connections to be activated;
- wherein the network configuration data is usable to configure a first network device to use a first redundancy protocol and a second network device to use a second redundancy protocol, wherein the first and second redundancy protocols are at least partially incompatible;
- and
- wherein communication between the network devices within the process control system takes place via one or more interconnects in a mounting termination unit of the process control system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.