Automated topology scan

• US 10,771,339 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2016
• Issued: 09/08/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Endress+Hauser Process Solutions AG
• Original Assignee: Endress+Hauser Process Solutions AG
• Inventors: Luber, Werner, Sotriffer, Ingomar, Mayer, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Dailey, Thomas J
• Application Number:
  US15/574,362
• Publication Number:
  US 20180139102A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,596 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40 Bus networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/20 Network management software packages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming

Abstract

A method for automatically registering a topology of a fieldbus network from a device access software. The device access software is installed in a host, which is in data connection with the fieldbus network, and the fieldbus network includes a plurality of field devices and gateway devices. The method includes scanning an address space of a field access device or a predetermined gateway device of the fieldbus network and determining gateway devices and field devices present in this address space. For each found gateway device, the method includes scanning an additional address space provided by the found gateway device and determining additional gateway devices and field devices present in the additional address space. The method is repeated until all gateway devices present in the fieldbus network in the region below the field access device or the predetermined gateway device are found or until a break condition is fulfilled.

Claims

1. A method for automatically registering a topology of a fieldbus network from a device access software, wherein the device access software is installed in a host which is in data connection with the fieldbus network, and wherein the fieldbus network includes a plurality of field devices and gateway devices, the method comprising:

scanning an address space of a field access device or of a predetermined gateway device of the fieldbus network to find gateway devices and field devices present in the address space;

querying device specifications from the gateway devices and the field devices present in the address space, wherein the device specifications include a hardware version, a software version, and a protocol version of a queried device;

comparing a first device driver with the device specifications of the queried device and determining of a quality value of the first device driver based on differences between the first device driver and the device specifications of the queried device;

instantiating and integrating into the device access software the first device driver when the quality value of the first device driver is above a predetermined limit value;

scanning an additional address space provided by each found gateway device to find additional gateway devices and additional field devices present in the additional address space;

querying the device specifications from the additional gateway devices and the additional field devices present in the additional address space;

comparing a second device driver with the device specifications of a queried additional device and determining of a quality value of the second device driver based on differences between the second device driver and the device specifications of the queried additional device;

instantiating and integrating into the device access software the second device driver when the quality value of the second device driver is above the predetermined limit value;

repeating the scanning of an additional address space for each found additional gateway device until all gateway devices present in the fieldbus network in a region below the field access device or below the predetermined gateway device are found or until a break condition is fulfilled; and

comparing a result of the registering of the topology of the fieldbus network with a stored earlier version of the topology of the fieldbus network and highlighting possible changes compared with the earlier version.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method is configured to register the topology of the fieldbus network in the region below the field access device or below the predetermined gateway device.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device specifications queried from the gateway devices and field devices include one or more of the following:

manufacturer-ID, device-ID, protocol version, command revision, device version, device revision, software version, software revision, device profile, and device profile revision.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

when the quality value of the first device driver or the second device driver is below the predetermined limit value, manually selecting a suitable device driver by a user.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

producing a first scan command for the address space of the field access device or of the predetermined gateway device and transmitting the scan command to the field access device or to the predetermined gateway device;

producing a second scan command for the additional address space for each found additional gateway device and transmitting the second scan command to each found additional gateway device;

evaluating a first scan result obtained from the field access device or the predetermined gateway device; and

/or

evaluating a second scan result obtained from each found additional gateway device.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the device access software includes a control software module.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein:

the control software module automatically initiates the scanning of the address space of the field access device or the predetermined gateway device;

the control software module produces a scan command for the address space of the field access device or the predetermined gateway device and transmits such to the field access device or the predetermined gateway device;

the control software module automatically initiates the scanning of the additional address space provided by a found gateway device;

the control software module produces a scan command for the additional address space provided by a found gateway device and transmits such to the found gateway device;

the control software module evaluates a scan result obtained from the field access device or the predetermined gateway device;

the control software module evaluates scan results obtained from the found gateway devices;

the control software module automatically queries device specifications of gateway devices present in the address space of the field access device or the predetermined gateway device; and

/or

the control software module automatically queries device specifications from additional gateway devices present in the additional address space.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gateway devices of the fieldbus network include at least one of the following:

one or more remote-IOs, one or more gateways, one or more links, one or more couplers, one or more protocol converters, and one or more multiplexers.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the gateway devices has two or more channels, wherein via each of the channels a subaddress space is addressable, and wherein the scanning of the address space of the at least one gateway device includes the scanning of the subaddress spaces.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scanning of the fieldbus network is executed only down to a predeterminable depth below the field access device or below the predetermined gateway device.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the scanning of the fieldbus network is performed only for field devices or gateway devices of a certain manufacturer.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the device access software is a frame application in accordance with the FDT standard;

the device access software is a frame application in accordance with the FDT standard, wherein drivers in accordance with the DTM standard are insertable into the frame application;

the device access software is a frame application in accordance with the FDT standard, wherein communication DTMs, gateway DTMs and device DTMs are insertable into the frame application;

the device access software is designed for device description files or drivers in accordance with at least one of the following standards;

DTM, DD, EDD, EDL, FDI; and

/or

used within the fieldbus network are one or more the following fieldbus protocols;

Fieldbus Foundation;

HART, Profibus, ModBus, CANopen, IO-Link, EtherCAT, Interbus, Profinet, Profinet IO, DeviceNet, CompoNet, other industrial Ethernet protocols and other fieldbus protocols.