White Paper
Capabilities: Powered by Integrated Architecture Technology
Common System Infrastructure
There are seven shared services used across our process system:
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Directory — Common address book of plant-floor resources
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Security — Identifies, authenticates, and authorizes user access
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Data — Creates a publish and subscribe environment for real-time access to manufacturing information
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Diagnostics — Publishes activity, status, warning and error messages generated throughout the system
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Audit — Monitors and records manufacturing system changes
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Activation — Provides a secure, convenient software-based licence management system
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Alarms & Events — Applications can subscribe to one common, consistent view of alarms and events published by controllers
Security Management
Our solutions are designed to help minimize the risk of downtime associated with cyber security breaches while allowing your authorized personnel to use the system efficiently. The security service is a centralized system for restricting access to resources, making it easier for you to establish and maintain secure systems.
I/O and Field Device Connectivity
Rockwell Automation has a wide range of distributed I/O and process network connectivity options to help improve design and installation flexibility, improve control system and production reliability. This leads to lower costs associated with installation and maintenance while reducing space and infrastructure requirements. Versatile and high performance I/O modules allow you to perform analogue acquisition and control of both traditional 4-20mA and HART devices while utilizing the digital HART dialogue when smart field instrumentation is used.
Connectivity to process instrument buses such as Foundation Fieldbus H1, and Profibus PA, and a variety of sensor, device and drive networks round out the field connectivity options.
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Multidiscipline Controllers
Our controllers are high-performance and designed to address all the control requirements of today's applications. These controllers offer the processing power to control many loops with advanced process control strategies and are also capable of performing coordinated sub-millisecond multi-axis control in demanding discrete applications. Every controller features its own tag-based, real-time database that integrates seamlessly with all software applications.
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System Networks
Choose the network that best fits your application and mix them as required: EtherNet/IP, ControlNet and DeviceNet all speak a common language — the Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) — and share a universal set of communication services, allowing for transparent flow of information. This integrates all components in an automation system, from devices such as drives and motor controllers to business systems.
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Engineering Workstations
Our design and configuration suite provides an integrated environment for creating and modeling production processes, configuring control strategies and visualizations, as well as a tool to set-up process devices. This streamlines the overall planning, development and deployment processes resulting in faster, lower-cost implementations.
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Virtual Database Technology
A leap ahead of traditional process systems we offer a more flexible, next-generation approach by using a virtual tag database made up of all the tag definitions that reside in projects and/or controllers. The virtual database allows engineers to develop control projects individually and merge them into the system by establishing a communications link to the controller(s) or their associated project files.
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Asset Management
Our asset management streamlines the solution of diagnostic information from process instrumentation and other connected automation assets such as drives and motor control centers, based on the FDT/DTM open industry standard.
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Production Management
Our scalable batch solutions address order sequencing, execution, tracking, genealogy and interactive manufacturing process control. The scalability covers a wide range of product procedures, recipes and formulations.
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Data Management and ERP Connectivity
The data management suite allows integration and workflow across disparate systems, as well as storage of master data, events, process and production information. It organizes, synchronizes, archives and aggregates data collected by automated or manual systems.
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Solutions Begin with Data
It is key to retrieve, review and analyze mission-critical information from sources ranging from your plant floor to the Internet — as it happens. With today's complex and advanced production systems we aim to deliver increases in productivity.
For a white paper on how Rockwell Automation can help you achieve Process Automation Excellence with Process and Advanced Process Control, click on the documents in the left column.