A device may receive a hash table that includes lists of protocol detectors, wherein the hash table is generated based on historical process data identifying potential process variables associated with an industrial control system. The device may receive a packet identifying potential process variables associated with the industrial control system, and may extract, from the packet, packet data identifying a source address, a destination address, a port, and a transport protocol. The device may compare the packet data with data in the hash table to identify a set of lists of protocol detectors, and may process the packet data, with the set of lists of protocol detectors, to determine a matching protocol, no matching protocol, or a potential matching protocol for the packet. The device may perform one or more actions based on determining the matching protocol, no matching protocol, or the potential matching protocol for the packet.

Examples of techniques for event prediction in a control communication network are disclosed. Aspects include determining state data associated with one or more devices associated with a control communication network, generating, by a machine learning model, a feature vector comprising a plurality of features extracted from the state data, and determining one or more event predictions associated with the control communication network based at least in part on the feature vector.

A device is configured to operate in an industrial automation environment. The device includes a processing unit, a memory, an industrial communication interface to communicate with an external device via an industrial communication protocol, and a serial peripheral interface to communicate with a peripheral board during operation of the device. The device is configured to receive configuration data related to an industrial automation function of the device via the serial peripheral interface and store the received configuration data in the memory, when the serial peripheral interface is coupled to an external memory device. When the serial peripheral interface is coupled to the peripheral board, the device is configured to operate to perform the industrial automation function, in accordance with the received configuration data.

An Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA) aggregation server for aggregating at least one OPC UA server in a remote address space is described. The at least one OPC UA aggregation server is configured to support data reduction and/or redundancy mechanisms.

A method for managing functionality licenses in a closed network is disclosed, wherein at least one subscriber device is connected to the closed network. The method includes operating a server having a license database, wherein the license database includes a plurality of functionality licenses and each functionality license includes a functionality identifier. When the server receives a license request from the at least one subscriber device, the license request including a further functionality identifier, the server compares the further functionality identifier to the functionality identifiers in the license database and assigns a functionality license of the database, which includes a functionality identifier that matches the further functionality identifier to the subscriber device from which the license request was received. Assigning entails storing of the at least one subscriber device from which the license request was received at the server as a licensed subscriber device in the license database.

A system and a method for industrial communication, employing an adaptive repeater supporting communication between at least two communicating devices using one of two or more predetermined communication protocols at a time instant, are provided. The adaptive repeater includes a communication direction module and a protocol adapter module operably coupled to one another. The communication direction module detects a direction of communication between the communicating devices using physical layer parameters of the communication protocols, and establishes communication there-between, using a sampling clock. The protocol adapter module adapts the communication direction module to the communication protocol in use, by generating the sampling clock.

The confidentiality of data is maintained in a case where analysis of an operation state of a facility is entrusted to the outside. Time difference information in operation between the manufacturing apparatuses (RB1), (RB2), . . . , arranged on the production line (LN) is stored for each of the apparatuses, in an inter-apparatus time difference information storage unit (33). At the occurrence of a failure in one of the manufacturing apparatuses (RB1), (RB2), . . . , the operation estimation unit (13) selects, from among the peripheral apparatuses on the upstream side and the downstream side with respect to the manufacturing apparatus concerned, one on the upstream side and one on the downstream side, estimates an operation period of each selected peripheral apparatus associated with the failure, reads log data corresponding to the estimated operation period from the operation history storage unit (31), and transmits the read piece to the external support center (SC).

An industrial automation system includes a collector component communicatively coupled to a first network and configured to receive one or more event logs via a first communication protocol. The industrial automation system also includes a first industrial automation component communicatively coupled to the first network and the collector component. The first industrial automation component is configured to communicate via the first communication protocol. Additionally, the industrial automation system includes a second industrial automation component configured to communicate via a second communication protocol, generate a first event log representative of a property associated with the second industrial automation component, and send the first event log to the first industrial automation component. The first industrial automation component is configured to convert the first event log into second event log interpretable by the collector component and send the second event log to the collector component via the first network.

A software defined (SD) process control system (SDCS) includes a method executed by a discovery service for inferring information regarding a physical or logical asset of a process plant. The method includes obtaining an announcement indicative of a presence of a physical or logical asset of the process plant. The method also includes obtaining, from a context dictionary, one or more parameters retrievable from the physical or logical asset or one or more services associated with the physical or logical asset that were not indicated in the announcement. Furthermore, the method includes storing a record of the discovered physical or logical asset in a discovered item data store. The record includes an indication of the identity of the physical or logical asset and the one or more parameters or one or more services associated with the physical or logical asset that were not indicated in the announcement.

A system (100) for controlling a plurality of lines (10), with each line (10) being at least one of a production line and a distribution line, comprises: a first subsystem (30), hereinafter referred to as “master room subsystem”, comprising a first control device (40) hosting an OPC UA server (45); and, for each line (10), a second subsystem (50), hereinafter referred to as “line control subsystem”, comprising: (a) a second control device (60) on which an operating system is running, the second control device (60) hosting an OPC UA client (65); (b) at least one field device (70); and (c) a connection device (80) arranged for allowing communication between the field device(s) (70) and the second control device (60). The field device(s) (70) is connected to the second control device (60) through a point-to-point digital communication interface, the second control device (60) having one port per field device (70).