System and method for server redundancy

A method comprising:

• designating, from a plurality of nodes communicably coupled to each other and a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), a single node as a server node, the designated server node configured to communicate with the PLC either directly, or through a network switch;
• designating remaining ones of the plurality of nodes as Human Machine Interface (HMI) client nodes, wherein the designated HMI client nodes are communicably coupled to the designated server node through a network switch;
• detecting a failure of the designated server node;
• and
• designating a new server node from among the designated HMI client nodes based on detecting the failure of the designated server node.

A system comprising:

• at least two network switches connected to a programmable logic controller (PLC) through wired connections;
• and
• a plurality of nodes connected to one of the at least two network switches;
• wherein one of the plurality of nodes is designated as a server node, wherein the designated server node is configured to communicate with the PLC through the one of the at least two network switches;
• wherein remaining ones of the plurality of nodes are designated as human machine interface (HMI) client nodes, the designated HMI client nodes configured to communicate with the PLC through the designated server node;
• wherein each of the designated HMI client nodes comprises a failover module configured to:
• detect a failure of the designated server node;
• and
• designate a new server node from among the designated HMI client nodes based on detecting the failure of the designated server node.