Peer-to-peer exchange of data resources in a control system

• US 8,688,780 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2010
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Gordon, Kevin G., Kalan, Michael D., Jasper, Taryl J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Hee Soo
• Application Number:
  US12/695,869
• Publication Number:
  US 20100153771A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,524 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/204, 709/224
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31082 NDDS network data delivery service, producers and consumers model
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31124 Interface between communication network and process control, store, exchange data
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31206 Exchange of parameters, data, programs between two station, station and central or host or remote
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31225 System structure, plc's and pc's communicate over lan
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31324 Distributed real time knowledge, database
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31329 Distributed, among several servers, directory service
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33341 Peer to peer, change master if overloaded
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/36133 MMI, HMI: man machine interface, communication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1456 Hardware arrangements for backup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1464 for networked environments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1469 Backup restoration techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1074 for supporting data block transmission mechanisms file transfer H04L67/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1076 Resource dissemination mechanisms or network resource keeping policies for optimal resource availability in the overlay network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

System(s) and method(s) are provided for peer-to-peer exchange of data in a control system. Decentralized storage and multi-access paths provide complete sets of data without dependence on a specific or pre-defined data source or access paths. Data is characterized as data resources with disparate granularity. The control system includes a plurality of layers that act as logic units communicatively coupled through access network(s). Server(s) resides in a service layer, whereas client(s) associated with respective visualization terminal(s) are part of a visualization layer. Peer-to-peer distribution of data resource(s) can be based on available access network(s) resources and optimization of response time(s) in the control system. When client requests a data resource, all the locations of the data resource and the quickest source to retrieve it are automatically determined. The client stores copy of data resource. Peer-to-peer distribution of data resource(s) can be implemented within the service layer or the visualization layer.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a first operator interface terminal configured to communicatively couple with an industrial controller and render control data in a memory location of the industrial controller on a graphical element of a graphical screen, wherein the first operator interface terminal is further configured to send a data resource to a second operator interface terminal using a peer-to-peer protocol, and wherein the data resource comprises at least one of the graphical screen or the graphical element and metadata that causes the control data in the memory location of the industrial controller to be rendered on the second operator interface terminal via the graphical element.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first operator interface terminal is further configured to deliver the data resource to the second operator interface terminal in response to detection of an update of the at least one of the graphical screen or the graphical element implemented at the first operator interface terminal.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the update comprises generation of the graphical screen or a modification to the graphical screen.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the first operator interface terminal is further configured to send a request to a data management system for identification of one or more destination operator interface terminals that are to receive the data resource in response to the detection of the update, and receive identification data from the data management system identifying the one or more destination operator interface terminals.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first operator interface terminal is further configured to receive an instruction from a server to provide the data resource to the second operator interface terminal based on at least one network performance criterion.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first operator interface terminal is selected by the server based on a relative estimated response time for delivery of the data resource.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first operator interface terminal is further configured to communicatively couple to at least one of the industrial controller or the second operator interface terminal through at least one access network.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising an interface configured to communicatively couple a set of external networks with the first operator interface terminal.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the graphical screen is a first graphical screen, and the first operator interface terminal is further configured to receive an instruction from a data management station to store a second graphical screen determined to be accessed at a frequency above a threshold frequency for delivery to other operator interface terminals in response to a determination that the first operator interface terminal allows faster retrieval than the second operator interface terminal.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the graphical screen is a first graphical screen, and the first operator interface terminal is further configured to receive an instruction from a data management station to store a second graphical screen that is also stored on the second operator interface terminal for delivery to other operator interface terminals in response to a determination that the second graphical screen is accessed at a frequency that exceeds a threshold frequency.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the graphical screen is a first graphical screen, the graphical element is a first graphical element, and the data resource is a first data resource,

the first operator interface terminal is further configured to receive a second data resource from one or more other operator interface terminals using the peer-to-peer protocol, and

the second data resource is at least one of a second graphical screen or a second graphical element of the second graphical screen.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more other operator interface terminals comprise multiple operator interface terminals, and the operator interface is further configured to receive the second data resource from the multiple operator interface terminals over respective multiple peer-to-peer data paths.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the first operator interface terminal is further configured to deliver the data resource to the second operator interface terminal in response to detecting that the second operator interface terminal has been added to a set of peer-to-peer nodes including the first operator interface terminal.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the first operator interface terminal is further configured to deliver a subset of the control data to the second operator interface terminal using the peer-to-peer protocol.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a system including a processor, an indication that an operator interface terminal has been deployed in a network;

based on at least one criterion, selecting a set of peer operator interface terminals to supply the operator interface terminal with a data resource, wherein the data resource is at least one of a graphical interface screen or a graphical element of the graphical interface screen and includes metadata that identifies at least one memory address of an industrial controller containing control data to be rendered via at least one of the graphical interface screen or the graphical element; and

delivering the data resource to the operator interface terminal from the set of peer operator interface terminals using a peer-to-peer data transfer, wherein the metadata causes the control data contained in the memory address to be rendered on the operator interface via at least one of the graphical interface screen or the graphical element.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

in response to detecting an update to the graphical interface screen at the first operator interface terminal or at one of the set of peer operator interface terminals, selecting a set of destination operator interface terminals to which to distribute at least one of the graphical interface screen or the graphical element including the update; and

conveying at least one of the graphical interface screen or the graphical element including the update to the set of destination operator interface terminals, wherein the set of destination operator interface terminals are selected from the first operator interface terminal and the set of peer operator interface terminals.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the selecting the set of destination operator interface terminals comprises:

requesting identification of a group of operator interface terminals, including the set of destination operator interface terminals, suitable to receive the graphical interface screen; and

in response to the requesting, receiving identification of the destination operator interface terminal to deliver the graphical interface screen.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving, at the operator interface terminal, control data from an industrial controller for visualization on the graphical interface screen;

selecting, from the set of peer operator interface terminals, a set of destination operator interface terminals to which to distribute the control data; and

distributing the control data to the set of destination operator interface terminals using the peer-to-peer data transfer.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the selecting comprises:

determining a network latency amongst one or more pairs of operator interface terminals of a set of operator interface terminals, wherein the set of operator interface terminals comprises the operator interface terminal and the set of peer operator interface terminals;

accessing a metric that quantifies demand of a resource in a control system associated with the set of operator interface terminals; and

identifying a group of source operator interface terminals, of the set of operator interface terminals, to supply the resource based at least on a value of a response function that is based at least in part on at least one of the network latency or the metric.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the accessing comprises retrieving or receiving the metric from at least one of the set of operator terminals.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the accessing comprises:

extracting historical data relating to at least one of delivery of the resource, reception of the resource, or requests for the resource; and

assigning a value to the metric based at least in part on the historical data.

22. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

selecting one or more data resources for peer-to-peer backup on multiple operator interface terminals, of the set of peer operator interface terminals, based on at least one data criterion, wherein the data criterion includes a frequency at which the one or more data resources are accessed;

determining an availability of the multiple operator interface terminals based on at least one availability criterion;

selecting a subset of the multiple operator interface terminals on which to store the one or more data resources; and

storing the one or more data resources on the subset of the multiple operator interface terminals.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

prioritizing multiple data resources based on an importance ranking; and

backing up a data resource ranked highest in the importance ranking on the subset of the multiple operator interface terminals.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

in response to detection of a failed operator interface terminal of the set of peer operator interface terminals, requesting a copy of the one or more data resources during a restore process for the failed operator interface terminal;

determining an availability of a subset of the peer operator interface terminals during the restore process;

retrieving the copy of the one or more data resources from the subset of the peer operator interface terminals in response to determining that the subset of the peer operator interface terminals are available; and

operating the failed operator interface terminal using the copy of the one or more data resources.

25. A device, comprising:

a display component configured to render control data associated with a memory tag of an industrial controller via a graphical element of a graphical interface screen; and

at least one processor configured to execute computer-executable instructions retained in a memory to implement a client component configured to exchange a data resource with one or more peer devices in a network, wherein the data resource comprises at least one of the graphical screen or the graphical element and data that identifies the memory tag of the industrial controller, wherein the data causes the control data to be rendered on the one or more peer devices via the graphical element.

26. The device of claim 25, wherein the client component is further configured to deliver or receive the data resource in response to an update to the at least one of the graphical screen or the graphical element.

27. The device of claim 26, wherein the client component is further configured to deliver or receive the data resource in response to detection of an addition of the one or more peer devices to the network.

28. The device of claim 26, wherein the client component is further configured to supply metadata that controls peer-to-peer exchange of the data resource.

29. The device of claim 26, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions retained in the memory to implement an assessment component configured to select the one or more peer devices based in part on a network performance criterion.