High availability and data migration in a distributed process control computing environment. Allocation algorithms distribute data and applications among available compute nodes, such as controllers in a process control system. In the process control system, an input/output device, such as a fieldbus module, can be used by any controller. Databases store critical execution information for immediate takeover by a backup compute element. The compute nodes are configured to execute algorithms for mitigating dead time in the distributed computing environment.

A process control system is provided which has at least one OPC client and one OPC server which communicate via a standardized OPC interface. Furthermore the process control system has at least two redundantly operated control devices which each communicate with the OPC server by means of a coupling device. Each control device is designed to provide process variables and status information. The status information contains the current role of the respective control device, wherein the current role is either that of a main control device or an auxiliary control device. The OPC server is designed to detect the main control device in response to the status information of at least one control device, to register a list of variables generated by the OPC client at the main control device and/or to transmit to the OPC client only the process variables which have been provided by the main control device.

A method for transmitting control commands in a computer system, which includes components at least in the form of nodes, actuators and communication systems, wherein the control commands are communicated over the communication systems from the nodes to the actuators, and wherein one or more of the components may fail to operate according their specification. For consistently accepting control commands at the actuators, the nodes and their control commands are assigned priorities, wherein a node and its control commands have the same priority, wherein at least two priorities are used, wherein a high priority node produces high priority control commands and a low priority node produces low priority control commands, and wherein a high priority node is configured to communicate its control commands over at least two communication systems to the actuators and a low priority node is configured to communicate its low priority control commands over at least one communication system to the actuators. An actuator accepts the high priority control commands from the high priority node as long as it receives said high priority control commands on any one of the communication systems, and in this first case, it discards the low priority control commands, and stops to accept said high priority control commands in case said actuator does not receive said high priority control commands from any of the communication systems for a configurable duration, and in the second case, the actuator starts to accept low priority control commands.

A networking device and networking method for use in industrial automation applications. The networking device includes redundant circuitry that can allow the networking device to continue normal operation in the event of a failure that occurs with hardware of the networking device. The networking device includes both primary and secondary network switch circuits, and associated components. The networking device can be an advanced physical layer (APL) switch that interfaces with APL field devices.

Controlling and communicating with separate sets of industrial process control devices via separate data protocols simultaneously with a single processing device that utilizes redundancy and task-splitting to increase availability. An exemplary system includes a device integrator processor configured to receive and transmit electronic data via a plurality of protocols simultaneously. In one form, the device integrator processor includes a primary module that primarily controls communications and synchronizes itself with a shadow module of the processor. In another form, the processor includes multiple cores that each control a set of devices. Moreover, the cores implement a redundancy scheme.

The invention relates to an engine control device comprising a first control channel (V1) and a second control channel (V2), each control channel comprising a first sensor (CAV1, CAV2) and a second sensor (CBV2, CBV2), each configured to provide, respectively, a first measurement (A) and a second measurement (B) to each channel, each of the channels having an active or passive state defining an active channel (V1) or a passive channel (V2), the active channel (V1) being designed to control at least one actuator (ACT) of the engine while the passive channel (V2) is designed to take over for the active channel if the latter fails.

An arrangement is provided for providing redundancy in a vehicle electrical control system, including a plurality of electronic control units connected to each other through a first data bus, and where each electronic control unit is connected to one or more I/O-units through a separate second data bus, where each second data bus is provided with a separate transceiver which allows communication between an electronic control unit and an I/O-unit, and where the arrangement includes a programmable switch arranged between the electronic control units and the transceivers, where the programmable switch is adapted to interconnect each transceiver with a selected electronic control unit. A transceiver may be reconnected to a new ECU in an easy way, when the ECU to which the transceiver was originally connected to breaks down, which allows the new ECU to access the I/O-units of the broken ECU and which in turn provides an effective redundancy for the electrical control system.

The invention relates to a method for handling faults in a central control device, wherein the control device comprises a distributed computer system (100), to which distributed computer system (100) sensors (112, 113, 122, 123) are connected or can be connected, wherein the distributed computer system (100), particularly all the components of the computer system, is distributed to a first fault containment unit FCU1 (101) and a second fault containment unit FCU2 (102), wherein FCU1 (101) and FCU2 (102) are each supplied with power via a separate, independent power supply, and wherein FCU1 (101) and FCU2 (102) interchange data solely via galvanically separated lines, and wherein some of the sensors are connected at least to FCU1 (101) and the remainder of the sensors are connected at least to FCU2 (102), and wherein FCU1 (101) and FCU2 (102) are connected to a redundantly designed communication system (131, 132) having one or more actuators, so that, if FCU1 fails, FCU2 will maintain a limited functionality using the sensors assigned to FCU2, and if FCU2 fails, FCU1 will maintain a limited functionality using the sensors assigned to FCU1.