Method and apparatus for creating instances for pre-defined areas of a topology

An apparatus comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions, comprising:
• a communication device type manager (DTM) component configured to:
• receive partition information from device manager gateway device via a network, wherein the partition information specifying a division of a local area into a plurality of sub-areas, and each sub-area comprises a plurality of devices connected in at least one Field Device Tool (FDT)-compliant network,
• display, on a visual presentation medium, a first graphical presentation based on the partition information, wherein the first graphical presentation provides a list of the sub-areas,
• receive a first input indicating a first user selection of a sub-area of the sub-areas,
• in response to the first input, obtain, via the network, configured system topology information from the device manger gateway device concerning the plurality of devices contained in the selected sub-area, wherein the configured system topology information relates to at least one of an operation of the plurality of devices or an interconnection of the plurality of devices,
• display, on the visual presentation medium, a second graphical presentation based on the configured system topology information,
• receive a second input indicating a second user selection of a modification associated with the selected sub-area,
• in response to the second input and based upon an analysis of the configured system topology information, create, based upon an analysis of the configured system topology information, a DTM-compliant software instance for each device of the plurality of devices in the selected sub-area.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution, cause an apparatus including a processor to perform operations comprising:

• obtaining, by a communication device type manager (DTM) via a network, partition information from a device manager gateway device disposed in a local area, wherein the partition information specifying a division of the local area into a plurality of sub-areas, and each sub-area comprises a plurality of devices connected in at least one Field Device Tool (FDT)-compliant network;
• displaying, on a visual presentation medium, a first graphical presentation based on the partition information, wherein the first graphical presentation provides a depiction of the sub-areas;
• receiving a first input indicating first user selection of a sub-area of the sub-areas;
• in response to the first input, obtaining, by the communication device type manager (DTM) via the network, configured system topology information from the device manager gateway device concerning the plurality of devices contained in the selected sub-area, wherein the configured system topology information relates to at least one of an operation of the plurality of devices or an interconnection of the plurality of devices;
• displaying, by the apparatus on the visual presentation medium, a second graphical presentation based on the configured system topology information;
• receiving, by the apparatus, a second input indicating second user selection of a modification associated with the selected sub-area;
• and
• in response to the second input and based upon an analysis of the configured system topology information, creating a DTM-compliant software instance for each device of the plurality of devices in the selected sub-area.