Industrial automation service templates for provisioning of cloud services

• US 9,128,472 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2012
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Lawson, Douglas C., Reichard, Douglas J., Harkulich, Joseph A., Hessmer, Rainer, Chand, Sujeet, Farchmin, David W.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CAM LINH T
• Application Number:
  US13/725,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20130212129A1
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 707/779, 707/803
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 11/01 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0426 Programming the control sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31326 Database to manage communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31334 Database with devices, configuration, of plant
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33139 Design of industrial communication system with expert system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/12 Synchronisation of different clock signals provided by a plurality of clock generators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/14 Time supervision arrangements, e.g. real time clock
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/188 Virtual file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2471 Distributed queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9038 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5072 Grid computing
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• 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 67/51 : Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 80/10 : Efficient use of energy, e.g. using compressed air or pressurized fluid as energy carrier
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 : Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A library of cloud templates for configuring cloud-based industrial solutions is provided. A cloud template provisioning system provides a platform for location and retrieval of a variety of cloud templates that facilitate configuration of cloud-based industrial applications, including control panel templates, dashboard templates, data historian templates, virtual machine management templates, and other such templates. The cloud templates can be installed and executed on a client device to provide an intuitive interface for configuring various aspects of the cloud-based solution.

Claims

1. A system for provisioning cloud templates, comprising:

a memory that stores cloud templates in a template library, wherein the cloud templates are classified in the template library according to hierarchical categories of a storage schema, and wherein the hierarchical categories comprise at least an industry type and an industrial control project type;

a processor that executes computer-executable components stored in the memory to implement the system, the computer-executable components comprising;

a search component that receives a query specifying at least one category, of the hierarchical categories, and selects a subset of the cloud templates corresponding to the at least one category;

an interface component that displays information identifying the subset of the cloud templates; and

a retrieval component that provisions a selected cloud template of the subset of the cloud templates to a client device,

wherein the selected cloud template is configured to receive configuration data from the client device and to send a configuration instruction, based on the configuration data, to the cloud platform, and wherein the configuration instruction facilitates configuration of a portion of a cloud-based industrial system pertaining to the at least one category.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected template comprises a control panel template, and the configuration instruction comprises an instruction to at least one of define a user profile, set an access permissive for the user profile, or define a billing structure relating to usage of the cloud-based industrial system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected template comprises a dashboard template configured to render data on the client device relating to a current state of at least a portion of the cloud-based industrial system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected template is a data historian template, and the configuration instruction comprises an instruction to at least one of define a device tag from which industrial data is to be collected by a cloud-based data historian, define a data collection frequency for the cloud-based data historian, or define a hierarchical data model of an enterprise for use by the cloud-based data historian in connection with locating and storing the industrial data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the selected template is a virtual machine management template, and the configuration instruction comprises an instruction to at least one of define a virtual machine to be deployed on the cloud-based industrial system, associate the virtual machine with a hypervisor, start the virtual machine, stop the virtual machine, or delete the virtual machine.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the template library resides on a cloud platform.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the template library resides on a web-server.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a publishing component that receives a cloud template submission comprising a new cloud template and an indication of one or more of the hierarchical categories, and catalogs the new cloud template in the template library in association with the one or more of the hierarchical categories.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the search component selects the subset of the cloud templates based on selection information, received from the client device, indicating one or more of the hierarchical categories.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the retrieval component makes the selected cloud template available to the client device using a set of cloud resources provisioned to an industrial enterprise associated with the client device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the hierarchical categories further comprise a template type.

12. A method for provisioning cloud templates, comprising:

storing cloud templates in a template library according to hierarchical categories comprising at least an industry type and an industrial control project type;

receiving, by a cloud template provisioning system that includes a processor, a query from a client device specifying one or more categories of the hierarchical categories;

selecting a subset of the cloud templates that correspond to the one or more categories;

rendering, on the client device, identification information for the subset of cloud templates;

in response to receiving selection data from the client device indicating a selected cloud template of the subset of cloud templates, delivering the selected cloud template to a memory location associated with the client device; and

configuring a portion of a cloud-based industrial application based on one or more configuration instructions generated by the selected cloud template based on configuration data provided to the cloud template via the client device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the delivering comprises delivering a control panel template, and the configuring comprises at least one of defining a user profile, setting an access permissive for the user profile, or defining a billing structure relating to usage of the cloud-based industrial application.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the delivering comprises delivering a dashboard template configured to display data on the client device indicating a current state of at least a portion of the cloud-based industrial application.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the delivering comprises delivering a data historian template, and the configuring comprises at least one of defining a device tag from which data is to be collected by a cloud-based data historian, defining a data collection frequency for the cloud-based data historian, or defining a hierarchical data model of an enterprise for use by the cloud-based data historian in connection with locating and storing industrial data.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the delivering comprises delivering a virtual machine management template, and the configuring comprises at least one of defining a virtual machine to be deployed on the cloud-based industrial system, associating the virtual machine with a hypervisor, starting the virtual machine, stopping the virtual machine, or deleting the virtual machine.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising storing the template library on a cloud platform.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising storing the template library on a web server.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving a cloud template submission comprising a new cloud template and an indication of one or more of the hierarchical categories; and

cataloging the new cloud template in the template library in association with the one or more of the hierarchical categories.

20. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

categorizing a set of cloud templates in a template library according to hierarchical categories of a storage schema, wherein the hierarchical categories comprise at least an industry type and a control project type;

receiving a query from a client device, wherein the query identifies one or more categories of the hierarchical categories;

identifying a subset of cloud templates, stored in the template library, that relate to the one or more categories;

displaying identification information identifying the subset of cloud templates; and

based on receipt of selection data from the client device indicating a selected cloud template of the subset of cloud templates, sending the selected cloud template to a memory location associated with the client device,

wherein the selected cloud template is configured to receive configuration data via the client device and generate a configuration instruction that facilitates configuration of a portion of a cloud-based industrial application.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the selected cloud template comprises a control panel template, and the configuration instruction comprises an instruction to at least one of define a user profile for the cloud-based industrial application, set an access permissive for the user profile, or define a billing structure relating to usage of the cloud-based industrial application.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the selected template is a data historian template, and the configuration instructions comprises an instruction to at least one of define a device tag from which data is to be collected by a cloud-based data historian, define a data collection frequency for the cloud-based data historian, or define a hierarchical data model of an enterprise for use by the cloud-based data historian in connection with locating and storing industrial data.