Control system simulation system and method

A method of operating a simulation system to simulate operation of an industrial system using a plurality of virtual controllers, comprising:

• receiving, using an intermediary in the simulation system, a simulation instruction from a simulation executive to execute a simulation step in the simulation system, wherein the operation of the industrial system is controlled based at least in part on results from execution of the simulation step;
• determining, using the intermediary, a first subset of virtual controllers from the plurality of virtual controllers to use to execute the simulation step;
• determining, using the intermediary, whether each of the first subset of virtual controllers has completed execution of one or more previous simulation steps;
• instructing, using the intermediary, each of the first subset of virtual controllers to begin execution of the simulation step once each of the first subset of virtual controllers has completed execution of the one or more previous simulation steps;
• and
• transmitting, using the intermediary, an initiation complete status to the simulation executive once the simulation step has been initiated in each of the first subset of virtual controllers without regard to whether execution of the simulation step has been completed.

An industrial system comprising:

• a control system comprising a plurality of controllers configured to control operation of equipment in the industrial system;
• and
• a simulation system communicatively coupled to the control system, wherein the simulation system is configured to simulate operation of the industrial system, and comprises:
• a simulation executive configured to coordinate operation of the simulation system;
• a plurality of virtual controllers, wherein each of the plurality of virtual controllers is configured to use a model that models operation of any combination of the plurality of controllers and the equipment;
• and
• a communication interface communicatively coupled to the simulation executive and each of the plurality of virtual controllers, wherein the communication interface is configured to:
• receive a simulation instruction from the simulation executive to execute a simulation step;
• instruct a first subset of the plurality of virtual controllers to begin execution of the simulation step while a second subset of the plurality of virtual controllers continues execution of a previous simulation step;
• and
• transmit an initiation complete status to the simulation executive once the simulation step has been initiated in each of the first subset of virtual controllers without regard to whether execution of the simulation step has been completed.