WO2013091873A1

WO2013091873A1 - System and method for smart nested communication for efficient and secure field communication in process automation systems

Info

Publication number: WO2013091873A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/005301
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dirk Schulz
Original assignee: ABB Technology AG
Current assignee: ABB Technology AG
Priority date: 2011-12-22
Filing date: 2012-12-20
Publication date: 2013-06-27
Anticipated expiration: 2014-06-22

Abstract

The invention relates to a system and a method for process automation system (10) and a method of its operation, supporting a number of standardized or proprietary communication protocols P₁,..., P_x and having one or more optionally modular device or network integration component (12 16,), preferably being standardized, responsible for the handling of automation networks using the same or different protocols from the set of P₁,..., P_x whereas each of the network integration components (12 16) offers one or more functions (14) in a standardized manner via which information according to a possibly different subset of the protocols P₁,..., P_x is interchanged with other device integration components (16) and supports one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces (18) to allow direct or indirect physical access via further device or network integration components to physical devices (20) using one or more of the protocols P₁,..., P_x, whereas the system includes at least one standardized or proprietary function (14b) to determine for each device (20) the interface (18) via which it can be reached and/or at least one standardized or proprietary function (14d) that, for each communication attempt, directs communication and overhead tasks to an interface (18) through which the device (20) can be reached and at least one standardized or proprietary function (14c) which upon instantiation of at least one device integration component (16) within or associated to the network managed by the first integration component (12) and subsequent association of a physical device (20) to the device integration component (16) disregarding the interface (18) to which it is connected establishes the logical assignment of the device (20) to the networks managed by the integration components (12, 12b), thus allowing automatic determination of sets of communication parameters for both the device managed by the at least one device integration component (16) and (20) sufficient to establish communication via any of the interfaces (18).

Description

System and Method for Smart Nested Communication for Efficient and Secure Field Communication in Process Automation Systems

Description

The invention relates to a system, in particular a process automation system, for smart nested communication for efficient and secure (Multi-Point) field communication in process automation systems having a preferably standardized device integration component Nl being responsible for the handling of an automation network, which in particular is based on the HART communications protocol, and comprises an FDT (Field-Device-Tool) Communication DTM (Device-Type-Manager) or an FDI (Field Device Integration) Device Package which is being provided for support of communication with both a wireless gateway and a HART modem being attached to the engineering client.

The HART Communications Protocol (Highway Addressable Remote Transducer Protocol) is an early implementation of Fieldbus, which is a digital industrial automation protocol.

In today's device management systems (DMS), each kind of communication interface (Communication Device in FDI) typically has its own software component, e.g. Communication DTM in FDT, Communication Server in FDI including the Device Integration Component for the Communication Device. Also, there are not necessarily standardized interfaces for cross-communication between these tools. Any open DMS standard constrains the requirements on the use-cases and interfaces of such software components up to making them an aspect of certification. In particular, an overlying host system or frame is defined which interacts with these software components, requires defined functions, or offers defined functions - some by combining the functions of the individual software components. In conclusion, the freedom in implementing system features e.g. related to nested communication is limited by the DMS standard.

During the plant life-cycle, a wireless device is connected to the DMS by at least two distinct topologies; during operation, it is connected by the wireless mesh; during commissioning or maintenance, there are a number of possibilities like mobile tools or handhelds or FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) modems attached to engineering clients.

The restrictions in communication interfaces and the lack of standardized cross- communication have an impact on workflow efficiency and on security.

This means that at least two individual topologies have to be engineered whereas information between the two topologies cannot be exchanged by standardized means.

Particularly WirelessHART join keys have to be distributed by means of additional copy & paste actions; consequently it is inevitable during this process that all these secrets are also revealed to the end-user. In this, it is essential that the device and network ids, device tags, and join keys are consistent between gateway/network manager and each device. This means that when changing a join key for one or more live devices, it is advantageous to change them using an atomic update method where either both end-points (device and gateway) are updated or none; this avoids inconsistency between device and gateway and prevents permanently inaccessible devices.

Furthermore, a device connected to a modem during commissioning still has to be assigned to a network in an additional manual step.

One of the reasons to still use a standard-conforming DMS and not attempt a fully proprietary solution is a DMS feature like nested communication. Nested communication arranges for each device in a communication chain a corresponding software component so that each such component only needs to know their immediate communication partners; in particular, the end-points can be fully unaware of the intermediate hops. Any of the communication connections in this invention may also be interpreted as to include an arbitrary level of such nested communication. Hence it is an object of the invention to provide a smart nested communication for a process automation system, in particular for efficient and secure key distribution, which is reliable and easy to both engineer and operate.

This object is achieved by a system, in particular a process automation system and in particular a system providing smart nested communication for efficient and secure (Multi-Point) field communication, supporting a number of standardized or proprietary communication protocols Pi, P_x ,in particular comprising or having a commissioning network, and having one or more optionally modular device or network integration component preferably being standardized, responsible for the handling of automation networks using the same or different protocols from the set of Pi, P_x , whereas _each of the network integration components

- offers one or more functions in a standardized manner via which information according to a possibly different subset of the protocols Pi, P_x is interchanged with other device integration components and

- supports one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces, to allow direct or indirect physical access via further device or network integration components, in particular modular devices or network integration components, to physical devices using one or more of the protocols Pi P_x,

whereasjhe system includes

a) at least one standardized or proprietary function to determine for each device the interface via which it can be reached and/or

b) at least one standardized or proprietary function that, for each communication attempt, directs communication and overhead tasks to an interface through which the device can be reached and

c) at least one standardized or proprietary function which upon

• instantiation of at least one device integration component within or associated to the network managed by the first integration component and

• subsequent association of a physical device to the device integration component disregarding the interface to which it is connected establishes the logical assignment of the device to the networks managed by the integration components, thus allowing automatic determination of sets of communication parameters for both the device managed by the at least one device integration component and device sufficient to establish communication via any of the interfaces.

Furthermore, means for so-called nested communication may be provided and available in which the communication end-points need not be aware of potentially existing intermediate hops in the communication hierarchy.

Moreover, in a further embodiment the data or information model does necessarily directly correspond to the structure of the software functions; a network management component may e.g. own data on both the network and connection point objects in an FDI information model; alternatively, the network management functionality may be split into a pure network and a connection point aspect. The same holds for the device integration components.

In a further embodiment any network integration component, despite being responsible for tunneling communication between different protocols, may also be responsible for the management of the linking device or proxy that fulfills the corresponding function in the physical world. This device management function is similar to the one in the device integration component . It may or may not be within the network integration component, however this is inconsequential for the essence of this invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the process automation system according to the invention it is provided that the integration component communicates identical information possibly over different interfaces and protocols to at least two physical devices in parallel or in sequential succession

• as soon as a device is reachable or

• at a point in time determined by another DCS component or human operator.

Another advantageous form of the process automation system according to the invention is characterized in that the information consists of symmetric or asymmetric security credentials to enable end-to-end communication between a physical device and a gateway. Preferably according to a further embodiment of the invention the information is transmitted to the devices first, and then to the gateway, before a re-join is triggered in the device to provide support of the construction of the required atomic function.

Advantageously one preferred form of the process automation system according to the invention is designed such that the interface allows communication with reachable devices by means of a secure connection.

Another preferred embodiment of the process automation system according to the invention is characterized in that the integration component includes support for the device management of at least one of the interfaces

An advantageous form of the process automation system according to the invention is characterized in that the integration components include support for the management of at least one of the interfaces that each uses for communication, whereas preferably the interface may allow communication with reachable devices by means of a secure connection.

Advantageously, one preferred form of the process automation system according to the invention provides that according to one function of the integration component it is requesting the generation of security information from security credentials management and executing the distribution of said information.

Accordingly a further advantageous embodiment is characterized in that any combination of those functions is implemented within one of the device or network integration components to encapsulate the described functions within a single distributable component, allowing the selected combination of functions to be fully proprietary and making at most the interfaces of functions and the not selected functions a subject to standardization and certification rules.

Finally, a preferred embodiment of the new process automation system according to the invention a mobile tool or handheld is being provided which is connected to one of the interfaces acting on behalf of one or more field devices for the purpose of device identification and/or distribution of security credentials, allowing the described functions to communicate also for devices being remote from the interfaces, and for this purpose storing any combination of the following:

• device identification information, • security credentials,

• device communication status such as join state in wireless networks,

• time-stamps or time-stamp history for the change of any of the previous items.

As stated before already a further subject of the invention is a method for operation of a process automation system according to the aforementioned features and embodiments, supporting a number of standardized or proprietary communication protocols P-i, ..., Ρχ, in particular using a commissioning network, and having or using one or more device or network integration component, preferably being standardized, being responsible for the handling of automation networks using the same or different protocols from the set of P-i, P_x whereas each of the network integration components

- supports one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces to allow direct or indirect physical access via further device or network integration components to physical devices using one or more of the protocols Pi , P_x; whereas the method for operation of the system provides

c) at least one standardized or proprietary function which upon

In other words the new method comprises multiple functions in order to achieve its best operability, e.g. a function to determine for each device the interface via which it can be reached as well as includes or interfaces with a component that, for each communication attempt, directs communication and overhead tasks to the interface (PI) through which the device can be reached.

According to another function it is provided that it directly instantiates at least one device integration component within the network managed by and subsequently assigning a physical device to the device integration component disregarding the interface to which it is connected in order to achieve the assignment of a device to the Nl- managed network. Furthermore the method as described before is characterized in that identical information is communicated to several physical devices in parallel by the integration component

Another preferred feature of said method provides that the generation and distribution of security information is contained and executed within the integration component

According to a preferred embodiment of the method illustrated before it provides the utilization of such information which consists of communication parameters including security credentials to enable end-to-end communication between a physical device and a gateway.

Another embodiment of the method according to the invention is provided with some devices realizing slave and some master functions whereas the information is transmitted to the slave devices first, and only upon successful transmission to the master devices, to provide support of the construction of an atomic communication function.

A preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that the information is transmitted to the devices first, and then to the gateway, to provide support of the construction of the required atomic function.

Advantageously there is a further embodiment of the method according to the invention whereas the communication with reachable devices is achieved by means of a secure connection via an interface. A further preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention provides that the assignment of a device to the at least one device integration component is performed automatically

a) upon the detection of a new device if there is exactly one matching Dl or b) upon the detection of a new device and the device integration component is auto-instantiated with or without user confirmation from the detected device or c) for combinations of devices with separate communication interfaces upon the detection of a new device and the device integration component for both device and communication interface are auto-instantiated, mutually associated, and assigned to their physical counterparts with or without user confirmation from the detected device or

d) by the user selecting a device and a device integration component manually and performing an explicit assignment operation

• for combinations of devices with separate communication interfaces by dragging the representation of the physical interface onto the device instance representation creating an association between the device and its instance and the communication interface and its instance and/or

• for combinations of devices with separate communication interfaces by dragging the representation of the physical device onto the interface instance representation creating an association between device and its instance and the communication interface and its instance.

Preferably another embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that a handheld device and/or mobile tool or mobile processing unit or device is used on behalf of one or more devices for the purpose of device identification and/or distribution of security credentials, allowing the operation method also for devices being remote from the interfaces, and for this purpose storing any combination of the following information which is synchronized with the automatically upon the connection to one interface or following the connection upon a user request:

a. device identification information,

b. security credentials,

c. device communication status such as join state in wireless networks, d. time-stamps or time-stamp history for the change of any of the previous items. A preferred feature of the method according to the invention provides that stored device information and communication status for a selection of devices is updated by connections of handheld to devices, either automatically or upon user request.

Finally an advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention is characterized in that security credentials for a selection of devices is created within the handheld using a predefined default network ID or prompting the user to select a network ID from a provided list or manually enter it under one of the following conditions, either the creation of credentials is triggered explicitly by the user of the handheld or the creation of credentials is automatically offered to perform to the user of the handheld if a device is connected which is not communicating and for which no credentials have been previously stored.

These and further embodiments and improvements of the invention are subject matter of the sub-claims.

By means of an exemplary embodiment shown in the accompanied drawing the invention itself, preferred embodiments and improvements of the invention and specific advantages of the invention shall be explained and illustrated in more detail.

It is shown in

Fig. 1 principal make-up of a field device hierarchy in industrial automation or process automation,

Fig. 2 essential/typical functions of an exemplary system according to the invention,

Fig. 3 illustrates conceivable implementations by showing two particularly beneficial embodiments,

. Fig. 4 exemplary system comprising field devices which may be physically monolithic or composed of a device part and a communication interface,

Fig. 5 further exemplary system comprising field devices which may be physically monolithic or composed of a device part and a

communication interface, Fig. 6 exemplary embodiment of the system and method, according to the invention,

Fig. 7 further embodiment of the system and the method according to the invention, wherein a mobile tool, in particular a handheld, is used to represent one or more devices in the field,

Fig. 8 components managing fieldbus specific information,

Fig. 9 an exemplary embodiment of a fully encapsulated

implementation within an FDT Communication DTM,

Fig. 10 exemplary embodiment of modular encapsulated

implementation within an FDI DMS,

Fig. 11 relation of FDI and the terminology of the drawings of Fig. 1 to fig. 10.

Fig. 12 shematic view of how communication functions (50) are related to the device assignment (40),

Fig. 13 schematic view of how in detail device association and communication functions can be integrated,

Fig. 14 exemplary embodiment of the method of smart nested communication according to the invention. Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a process automation system 10 having a network/device integration component 12 which is responsible for the handling of an automation network.

This device integration component 12 which is part of the automation network respectively the process automation system 10 comprises one or more software interfaces 14 by which interchange information according to standardized or proprietary protocol specifications Pi ... P_x with other device integration components 16.

Furthermore the process automation system 10 comprises one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces 18 which allow direct or indirect physical access to physical devices or device networks 20 using one or more of the protocols Pi through P_x.

A further component is provided to determine for each device the interface 18 via which it can be reached respectively to direct communication and overhead tasks to the interface (PI) via which the respective device can be reached.

Finally there is a device being assigned to the Nl-managed network which is achieved by directly instantiating other device integration components 16 within the network managed by the network/device integration component 12 and subsequently assigning a physical device to other device integration components 16 disregarding the interface 18 to which it is connected at that time.

The method of operation of the system is directed to reliable and easy procedures thus only one necessary interaction has to be executed which is characterized in that the respective user triggers the complex key distribution process in a few steps.

Those steps are the following ones:

a) physically connect the respective device to the provided modem (see Fig. 6);

b) then execute a scan function in the Communication DTM and finally c) assign the detected device to a Device DTM having the same user interface as the Communication DTM.

All further aspects of key handling are provided for automatic execution. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the modem being used for communication is a FSK modem whereas FSK is an acronym for Frequency Shift Keying which is also known as frequency shift modulation and frequency shift signalling. Frequency Shift Keying is a data signal converted into a specific frequency or tone in order to transmit it over wire, cable, optical fiber or wireless media to a destination point.

Advantageously the key handling to be attended is rather easy whereas it comprises the steps of key generation, deriving the correct Network ID, and the key download to both the respective device and the gateway.

Another preferred specific feature of the process automation system is that any communication requests are dynamically diverted either to the gateway or to the modem.

Furthermore the respective user is enabled to work without any exposure of security information about the system. This means the user does not need any further information about security features in order to get access to the system or to operate the system respectively.

Another preferred feature of said method provides that the generation and distribution of security information is contained and executed within the integration component According to a preferred embodiment of the method illustrated before it provides the utilization of such information which consists of communication parameters including security credentials to enable end-to-end communication between a physical device and a gateway.

The figure 1 shows the principal make-up of an field device hierarchy in industrial automation. Device Integration components are stacked corresponding to the hierarchy of physical devices in the field. This enables the system to pre-determine the steps that communication requests have to traverse to any destination in the field and let each integration component prepare the communication request to pass the physical component in the field that it is responsible for.

In fig. 2 the essential/typical functions of an exemplary system according to the invention are disclosed.

Accordingly, a device assignment function (14c) which infers associations between physical devices (20) and networks (12) using the association between physical device (20) and device instance (16) along with previous associations of device instances (16) and networks (12) is provided.

Furthermore a path finder function (14b) is provided, which is aware of any device or network integration component (12/16) and which accesses the network integration component (12) to detect the available protocol handlers (14); this component thus can enumerate engineered or infer implicit communication paths that may reflect actually available paths in the physical world.. A communication director function (14d) is provided, which is aware of any device or network integration component (12/16) and the paths enumerated by (14b) and which accesses the network integration component (12) to make use of the the available protocol handlers (14); this component thus can direct communication requests in a manner that they reach an interface (18) from which the physical component to be accessed is actually reachable.

Optionally, a security credentials manager (24) is provided, which manages secrets for authentication and/or encryption of data related to field communication. It may generate, replace, store, hand out, and revoke such credentials based on requests from other system components (14b, 14c, 14d). In one embodiment, it generates WirelessHART join keys an associates them with a device and network ID following the association (14c) of a physical device (20) to a device instance (16) and in turn to a network integration component (12).

Fig. 3 illustrates conceivable implementations by showing two particularly beneficial embodiments.

The functions (14b, 14c, 14d, 24) described and disclose in fig. 2 may be individual components which simply interact with each other through standardized interfaces; this allows an open system in which these components may be offered by different suppliers and may easily be exchanged. However, the corresponding interfaces must be standardized and the implementations must adhere to them; testing and certification are required.

The functions (14b, 14c, 14d, 24) described in fig. 2 may be implemented within a single component (26). They may interact in proprietary manner and only a single component (26) must be provided, installed, and maintained. However, no easy exchange of the individual functions within the single component (26) is possible; if multiple components (26) are used in the system with different protocol handlers (14), no easy reuse of (14b, 14c, 14d, 24) is possible. Any combination of these two scenarios is conceivable, each with the given requirements on standardization of interfaces.

In fig. 4 according to an exemplary system the fact or feature is disclosed that field devices may be physically monolithic or composed of a device part and a communication interface. Examples for this are WirelessHART Adapters on Wired HART devices, the ABB Fieldbus Plug (FBP) on a Universal Motor Controller (UMC), or a RE- TA communication module on a drive, such as ACS800, ACS1000, etc..

This modularity may be reflected in the system by having separate integration components for device and communication module (essentially also represented as a device). However, the communication modules themselves may have little module- specific data, they may mostly fulfill functions defined by the fieldbus standards in general. They may be omitted in the system-side representation of the field topology (which means less engineering effort an may seem less confusing for users), and the fieldbus-specific functions may be moved into the component of the communication master. In case of wireless, the gateway component would then simply implement support for both the wired and the wireless protocol variants.

According to a further exemplary system fig. 5 illustrates the fact that field devices may be physically monolithic or composed of a device part and a communication interface. Examples for this are WirelessHART Adapters on Wired HART devices, the ABB Fieldbus Plug (FBP) on a Universal Motor Controller (UMC), or a RETA communication module on a drive (such as ACS800, ACS1000, etc.).

This modularity may be reflected in the system by having separate integration components for device and communication module (essentially also represented as a device). However, the communication modules themselves may have little module- specific data, they may mostly fulfill functions defined by the fieldbus standards in general. They may be omitted in the system-side representation of the field topology (which means less engineering effort and may seem less confusing for users), and the fieldbus-specific functions may be moved into the component of the communica- master. In case of wireless, the gateway component would then simply implement support for both the wired and the wireless protocol variants.

In the disclosed embodiment of fig. 6- which in general is similar to the embodiment of fig. 7 except the handheld - shows a schematic view of a process automation system 10 having a network/device integration component 12,16 which is responsible for the handling of an automation network.

This network/device integration component 12 which is part of the automation network respectively the process automation system 10 comprises one or more software interfaces 14 by which interchange information according to standardized or proprietary protocol specifications Pi ... P_x with other device integration components 16.

Furthermore the process automation system comprises one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces 18 which allow direct or indirect physical access to physical devices or device networks 20 using one or more of the protocols Pi through P_x.

Those steps are the following ones:

a) physically connect the respective device to the provided modem (see Fig. 6);

All further aspects of key handling are provided for automatic execution. According to a preferred embodiment the modem being used for communication is a FSK modem whereas FSK is an acronym for Frequency Shift Keying which is also known as frequency shift modulation and frequency shift signalling.

A device integration component is used for one or more devices in the field. It typically is connected to at most one other component (device, DMS, or nothing) at a time.

The device integration component takes care of the fact that no actually responding devices are present. In addition to pretending to connected to present devices, the integration component may browse the data from suitable network and device integration components and synchronize the data.

The synchronization with other components works both ways: device parameters may be downloaded from offline engineering, but changes in the field or values from pre-parameterized devices may also be uploaded through it.

In addition, the integration component may store a log of field activities (encountered devices, device health, performed actions) with a time-stamp. A thus information system is better prepared to keep the users informed about the status of the field and it can better support troubleshooting for devices which are unreachable through other means.

In the disclosed embodiment of fig. 7, a mobile tool, in particular a handheld, is used to represent one or more devices in the field. It typically is connected to at most one other component (device, DMS, or nothing) at a time.

The handheld has its own integration component, which takes care of the fact that no actually responding devices are present. In addition to pretending to connected to present devices, the handheld integration component may browse the data from suit- able network and device integration components and synchronize the data with the handheld.

The synchronization with the handheld works both ways: device parameters may be downloaded from offline engineering, but changes in the field or values from pre- parameterized devices may also be uploaded through it.

In addition, the handheld may store a log of field activities (encountered devices, device health, performed actions) with a time-stamp. A thus information system is better prepared to keep the users informed about the status of the field and it can better support troubleshooting for devices which are unreachable through other means.

In fig. 8 components managing fieldbus specific information, i.e. not specific to individual device types, such as addresses, tags, and particularly also security credentials may request a distribution of this information to the communication end-points (masters and field devices) are disclosed..

Not only must a path be found to each such end-point, but information must also be synchronized between two end-points. This is different from a typical up- or download of device parameters.

The components managing this information (e.g. 24) are aware of these requirements and trigger the synchronized distribution of the necessary information.

Subsequently the smart nested communication functions (14b, 14d) take care that each end-point is accessible. One essential beneficial feature is that the functions include interfaces whose integration components are not explicit communication masters for a device. Criteria are the interface type (e.g. local FSK Modem), the visibility of the destination device in the live list of the interface, etc.

In fig. 9 an exemplary embodiment of a fully encapsulated implementation within an FDT Communication DTM (12) is shown, wherein all protocol handlers (14) and the path finder (14b), communication director (14d), device assignment (14c), and securi- ty credentials manager are encapsulated within a single redistributable component. This enables the the Communication DTM to support multiple communication paths in parallel and always select a specific (optimal) one. The rest of the system need not be aware of this, and such a DTM is expected to still be certifiable. In particular, the device DTMs for (16, 16c) must only be connected to a single parent (12).

In fig. 10 an exemplary embodiment of a modular encapsulated implementation within an FDI DMS (Field Device Integration Device Management System) is shown, wherein all protocol handlers (14) and the FDI Communication Manager - consisting of path finder function (14b) and communication director function (14d) - device assignment (14c), and security credentials manager are individual components. The FDI Information Model allows components (14b, 14c, 14d) to infer multiple possible communication paths select a specific (optimal) one. Despite the possibility to engineer relationships (32), the device packages for (16, 16c) must still only be connected to a single parent (NIm); the relationships (32) can be inferred and used according to decisions by (14b, 14d).

Fig. 11 gives an impression of how FDI and the terminology of the drawings fig. 1 to fig. 10 are related.

The FDI Communication Device, just as the Interface m, is a (partly) hardware component. Since FDI runs Device Packages inside of a kind of„sand-box", a piece of code is required that may access the actual hardware: the FDI Communication Server. Equally, the Communication Server must be made available within the FDI Information Model, which uses sand-boxed components. Therefore, also an FDI Device Package is introduced, which represents the FDI Communication Device.

Figure 12 provides a summary view how communication functions (50) is related to the device assignment (40). The device assignment is an essential task in any device engineering because it associates each physical device with its corresponding software component in the process automation system. It enables each software component to identify (including addressing information) the device for which it is respon- sible. Without this association, no communication between system and device is possible.

Figure 13 show a schematic view of how in detail device association and communication functions can be integrated for maximum benefit. A physical device (20) is associated with a device instance (16) in the context of a particular network or fieldbus line (12). The device instance may have been previously engineered of instantiated from a live list after connecting the system and the physical device. For the known relationship of the device instance (16) with the network or fieldbus line (12), the association of the physical device (20) to the network (12) can be inferred. Required communication parameters (e.g. such as wireless join keys) and constraints given by the network (e.g. such as unique addresses). Any derived information can now be distributed to the components that require them. Typically, this relates to the physical device (20) but may also include a communication master (28). The latter is the case e.g. for the wireless device indentifiers and join keys, which must be consistently and securely distributed to the communication end-points (20, 28). With the described method, no such detail must be exposed to any user at any time (security). Details on the communication are given in figure 14, particularly how the communication can occur oblivious of the interface to which the physical device (20) is connected (efficiency).

In fig. 14 an exemplary embodiment of the method of smart nested communication according to the invention is disclosed. Upon any communication request by any data-owning requester component in the system, the path finder function (14b) enumerates possible communication paths. For this purpose, it accesses engineered communication connection between components (12,16) or it infers possible connection based on the supported protocols of the existing components and types of communication interfaces (18). Additionally, it may use a caching function and check which paths previously could be used with success. Additionally, it may query the interfaces (18) for live lists of reachable devices. Based on the enumerated possible paths and their properties, the communication director (14d) directs the communication through the device and network components (12/16) and corresponding interfac- es (18) to allow the requester access to the device (20) or communication master (28).

The present invention also comprises any combination of preferred embodiments as well as individual features and developments provided they do not exclude each other.

Reference List

process automation system

device integration component

software interface

b path finder

c device assignment

d communication director

device integration component

c compound device integration

component

proprietary communication interface

device

c compound device

mobile tool

security credentials management distributable component

communication master device

general method

method for device assignment

method for smart communication

method involving mobile tool protocol or protocol-specific

communication configuration

Claims

1. A system (10), in particular a process automation system, supporting a number of standardized or proprietary communication protocols Pi, P_x and having one or more optionally modular device or network integration components (12), preferably being standardized, responsible for the handling of automation networks using the same or different protocols from the set of P-i, P_{x ,}

characterized in that

each of the network integration components (12, 16)

- offers one or more functions (14) in a standardized manner via which information according to a possibly different subset of the protocols Pi, P_x is interchanged with other device integration components (16) and

- supports one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces (18) to allow direct or indirect physical access via further device or network integration components to physical devices (20) using one or more of the protocols Pi, P_xand whereas the system includes

• at least one standardized or proprietary path finder function (14b) to determine for each device (20) the path to the interface (18) via which it can be reached, and/or wherein the interfaces (18) provide live lists of reachable devices and may be may be queried for said lists, and/or

• at least one standardized or proprietary communication director function (14d) that, for each communication attempt, directs communication and overhead tasks to an interface (18) through which the device (20) can be reached and

• at least one standardized or proprietary device assignment function (14c) which upon instantiation of at least one device integration component (16) within or associated to the network managed by the first integration component (12) and subsequent association of a physical device (20) to the device integration component (16) disregarding the interface (18) to which it is connected establishes the logical assignment of the device (20) to the networks managed by the integration components (12), thus allowing automatic determination of sets of communication parameters for both the device managed by the at least one device integration component (16) and device (20) sufficient to establish communication via any of the interfaces (18).

System according to claim 1 , whereas the integration component (12) communicates related information over different interfaces and protocols (18) to at least two physical components, at least one of which may be a communication master (28) and one a device (20), in parallel or in sequential succession using the corresponding protocol handlers (14) in order to achieve a consistent configuration of multiple communication endpoints

• as soon as each device is reachable or

• at a point in time determined by another DCS component or human operator.

System according to claims 1 or 2, whereas the integration components (12) include support for the management of at least one of the interfaces (18) that each uses for communication.

System according to at least one of the claims 1 to 3, whereas the interface (18) allows communication with reachable devices (20) by means of a secure connection.

System according to at least one of the claims 1 to 4, whereas the integration component (12) is requesting the generation of security information from a security credentials management (24) and executing the distribution of said information, in particular, symmetric and/or identical or asymmetric and/or related or corresponding encryption keys

System according to at least one of the claims 1 to 5, whereas any combination of the functions (14, 14b, 14c, 14d) is implemented within one of the device or network integration components (12) to encapsulate the described functions within a single distributable component (26), allowing the selected combination of functions (14b, 14c, 14d to be fully proprietary and making at most the interfaces of functions (14) and the not selected functions a subject to standardization and certification rules.

7. System according to at least one of the claims 1 to 6, whereas a handheld and/or mobile device tool is connected to one of the interfaces (18) acting on behalf of one or more field devices for the purpose of device identification and/or distribution of device parameters such as security credentials, allowing at least the previously described functions (14b, 14c, 14d, 24) to communicate indirectly also to devices (20) being remote from the interfaces ( 8) by connecting to them at another point in time via one of the supported protocols , and for this purpose storing at least any selection from the following:

• device identification information,

• security credentials,

• device communication status such as join state in wireless networks,

8. System according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the interfaces (18) and device and network integration components (12, 16) are distributed over at least two execution components (32), in particular PC^'s and/or clients, one of which provides a user interface for interacting with the components and subsets of the interfaces (18) are only available temporarily to the path finder (14b) and communication director (14d).

9. System according to claim 8 characterized in that the path finder (14b) prefers interfaces (18) which are located on the execution component which initiates directly or indirectly a communication request.

10. System according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, means for so-called nested communication are available in which the communication end-points need not be aware of potentially existing intermediate hops in the communication hierarchy.

11. Method of the operation of a process automation system (10) according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 7 supporting a number of standardized or proprietary communication protocols Pi, P_x and having one or more optionally modular device or network integration component ( 2, 16), preferably being stand- ardized, responsible for the handling of automation networks using the same or different protocols from the set of Pi, P_x

a) and each of which offers one or more functions (14) in a standardized manner via which information according to a possibly different subset of the protocols Pi, P_x is interchanged with other device integration components (16);

b) furthermore supports one or more standardized or proprietary communication interfaces (18) to allow direct or indirect physical access via further device or network integration components to physical devices (20) using one or more of the protocols Pi, P_x, and/or wherein the interfaces (18) provide live lists of reachable devices and may be may be queried for said lists,;

c) and the system includes at least one standardized or proprietary function (14b) to determine for each device (20) the interface (18) via which it can be reached and/or

d) at least one standardized or proprietary function (14d) that, for each communication attempt, directs communication and overhead tasks to an interface (18) through which the device (20) can be reached and e) at least one standardized or proprietary function (14c) which upon instantiation of at least one device integration component (16) within or associated to the network managed by the first integration component (12) and subsequent association of a physical device (20) to the device integration component (16) disregarding the interface (18) to which it is connected establishes the logical assignment of the device (20) to the networks managed by the integration components (12), thus allowing automatic determination of sets of communication parameters for both the device managed by the at least one device integration component (16) and device (20) sufficient to establish communication via any of the interfaces (18).

Method according to claim 11 , whereas the information consists of communication parameters including security credentials, in particular such as symmetric or asymmetric encryption keys,, to enable end-to-end communication between a physical device and a gateway.

13. Method according to at least one of the claims 11 or 12 with some devices realizing slave and some master functions whereas the information is transmitted to the slave devices (20) first, and only upon successful transmission to the master devices (28), to provide support of the construction of an atomic communication function.

14. Method according to at least one of the claims 11 to13 whereas the assignment of a device (20) to the at least one device integration component (16) is performed automatically

a) upon the detection of a new device (20) if there is exactly one matching Dl or

b) upon the detection of a new device (20) and the device integration component (16) is auto-instantiated with or without user confirmation from the detected device (20) or

c) for combinations of devices (20b) with separately attached communication interfaces (20a) upon the detection of a new combined device (20c) and the device integration component (16) for both device (20b) and communication interface (20a) are instantiated, mutually associated, and assigned to their physical counterparts with or without user confirmation to the detected device (20c) or

e) by the user selecting a device and a device integration component manually and performing an explicit assignment operation

• for combinations of devices with separately attached communication interfaces by dragging the representation of the physical interface onto the device instance representation creating an association between the device and its instance and the communication interface and its instance and/or

• for combinations of devices with separately attached communication interfaces by dragging the representation of the physical device onto the interface instance representation creating an association between device and its instance and the communication interface and its instance.

15. Method according to at least one of the claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the communication parameters are downloaded over different interfaces and protocols (18) to at least two physical components in parallel or in sequential succession using the corresponding protocol handlers (14) in order to achieve a consistent configuration of multiple communication endpoints

• as soon as each device is reachable or

• at a point in time determined by another DCS component or human operator.

16. Method according to at least one of the claims 11 to 15, characterized in that the path finder function (14b) takes into account previously cached information about successfully used communication paths and the communication director (14d) updates this cache during of following a completed communication sequence.

17. Method according to at least one of the claims 11 to 16, characterized in that a so-called nested communication is available or provided or performed in which the communication end-points need not be aware of potentially existing intermediate hops in the communication hierarchy.