US 12,085,925 B2
Centralized virtualization management node in process control systems
Mark J. Nixon, Thorndale, TX (US); Anthony Amaro, Jr., Round Rock, TX (US); Noel Howard Bell, Austin, TX (US); John M. Caldwell, Austin, TX (US); and Gary K. Law, Georgetown, TX (US)
Assigned to FISHER-ROSEMOUNT SYSTEMS, INC., Round Rock, TX (US)
Filed by FISHER-ROSEMOUNT SYSTEMS, INC., Round Rock, TX (US)
Filed on Dec. 12, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/079,546.
Application 18/079,546 is a continuation of application No. 16/874,040, filed on May 14, 2020, granted, now 11,550,311.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/859,508, filed on Jun. 10, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0113527 A1, Apr. 13, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H04L 67/12 (2022.01); G05B 19/418 (2006.01); G06F 9/30 (2018.01); G06F 13/40 (2006.01); G05B 17/00 (2006.01)
CPC G05B 19/41885 (2013.01) [G05B 19/4183 (2013.01); G05B 19/41835 (2013.01); G05B 19/41845 (2013.01); G05B 19/4185 (2013.01); G05B 19/41865 (2013.01); G06F 9/3017 (2013.01); G06F 13/4022 (2013.01); H04L 67/12 (2013.01); G05B 17/00 (2013.01); G05B 2219/13125 (2013.01); G05B 2219/13185 (2013.01); G05B 2219/2214 (2013.01); G05B 2219/31231 (2013.01); G05B 2219/32301 (2013.01); G05B 2219/32343 (2013.01); G05B 2219/32355 (2013.01); G05B 2219/32359 (2013.01); G05B 2219/32407 (2013.01); G05B 2219/40311 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of administrating a plurality of virtual nodes of a process control system of an industrial process plant, the method comprising:
administrating, by a virtual management node of the process control system, the plurality of virtual nodes during run-time operations of the industrial process plant during which a packet router of the process control system utilizes a set of records that is stored at the packet router and that is indicative of a set of publishers of data and respective subscribers to the published data to, via respective publish/subscribe layers, cause a field device disposed in a physical environment of the industrial process plant to obtain, based on a subscription of the field device to publications that are indicative of a control signal published by a virtual process controller included in the plurality of virtual nodes, a publication of the control signal,
the virtual process controller and the field device included in a process control loop that executes during run-time operations of the industrial process plant to control at least a portion of an industrial process, and
the administrating of the plurality of virtual nodes including creating an additional virtual node, and the creating of the additional virtual node including:
accessing, by the virtualization management node, information indicative of a configuration of the industrial process plant;
selecting, by the virtualization management node, a virtual template based on the information indicative of the configuration of the industrial process plant;
configuring the virtual template in accordance with the information indicative of the configuration of the industrial process plant to thereby create the additional virtual node; and
configuring the additional virtual node to at least one of: publish first data using a packet protocol, or obtain publications of second data using the packet protocol, the second data published by one or more other virtual nodes.