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Our webgremlins have finally been able to put this blog on the official ControlGlobal website, so I won't be updating this blog from here on out.
Please visit http://www.controlglobal.com/soundoff/
Now that we have the ability to have blogs on the CG website, we're going to have several more in the near future.
We'll see you there!
For the first time in three years, I am taking a week's vacation.
With the exception of moderating the Wireless Panel Discussion on April 9 with Jose Gutierrez and Dave Kaufmann, I am outa here.
I will return on the 13th.
Gone.
Have I missed it?
DCOM is going away. OPC-UA isn't complete. What about .NET support for OPC?
Just asking...
Rich Merritt comments on a press release he sent me this afternoon; and it struck me funny:
Attached and appended below is a new product release describing the EPX2 voltage to pressure transmitter. You can obtain a high-resolution digital photo at ftp://editors.miinet.com. Download the EPX2 Voltage to Pressure Transmitter photo from the EPX2 folder.
This may seem like another run-of-the-mill product release at first, but note that the EPX2 can be powered by NATURAL GAS!
This means that control valves and pneumatic actuators at remote sites, where it is impossible or too expensive to install an air compressor, can be controlled by using natural gas as the pneumatic supply. Moore Industries developed this product for the natural gas industry for use at remote gas well heads, but it can be used anywhere gas is present and electricity isn’t.
Here's a press release from Eric Byres and Dale Peterson that should give your morning a different look, especially if you work with OPC a lot...
We'll post the white paper tomorrow at ControlGlobal.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Whitepaper Reveals OPC Usage May Be Putting Major Industries at Risk
Lantzville, BC, April 4, 2007 – A survey of 113 OPC users from Fortune 500 companies show that OPC deployments may be putting industry at risk. Companies are using it for mission critical applications, are allowing access from potentially insecure networks and don’t understand how to secure OPC properly.
The survey results and an OPC overview are presented in the report, OPC Security Whitepaper #1 - Understanding OPC and How it is Deployed. The report was produced jointly by security experts at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), Digital Bond and Byres Research. Over a year in the making, the report is on based on industry surveys and in-lab testing of both OPC vulnerabilities and security solutions. It is the first in a series of three whitepapers that will be released over the next two months. The second and third white papers will investigate the specific security risks incurred in deploying OPC and offer security guidelines for industrial companies using the technology.
OPC is a communications technology designed to facilitate the transfer of data between industrial control systems, supervisory systems and enterprise systems in industries such as electricity, petroleum refining, chemical production, nuclear power, water, transportation and manufacturing. It was developed in response to the need for a standardized method for allowing different control systems to interface with each other. Today it has grown to be the leading technology for integrating different control products.
Many in the industry believe that OPC is just used for data management purposes on the plant floor and isn’t all that vital. The survey results contradict this myth, showing that OPC is a critical component of many production systems. Over a quarter of the end-users surveyed reported that loss of OPC communications would result in a shutdown of their company’s production. While a few users remarked that they had deliberately structured their systems to minimize any safety and operational effects if loss of OPC-based information should occur, others stated the opposite; “We control the motor drives by OPC with the DCS. If we lose the OPC we stop the production!” Many OPC experts note that the technology was never designed with this level of criticality in mind.
Unfortunately, viruses and worms from the IT world may be increasingly focusing on the underlying RPC/DCOM protocols used by OPC. At the same time, news of the vulnerabilities in OPC are starting to reach the mainstream press, as seen in the March 2007 eWeek article entitled “Hole Found in Protocol Handling Vital National Infrastructure”.
Other bad news is that approximately 20% of the companies reported deploying OPC over the site business networks and corporate Intranets and 12% used OPC over the Internet, most without encryption. Since these networks are often connected to the Internet they are inherently less secure than the control networks found on the plant floor. The use of OPC over non-control systems networks leads to the distinct possibility of DCOM-based attacks disrupting critical operations.
The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that that securely deploying OPC applications has proven to be a challenge for most engineers and technicians. While OPC is an open technology with the specifications freely available, engineers must wade through a large amount of very detailed information to answer even basic security questions. There is little direct guidance on securing OPC, and this new research indicates that much of what is available may actually be ineffective or misguided. This highlights the urgent need for better OPC security guidance.
Eric Byres, the CEO of Byres Security Inc., says: “The results were a surprise to us because they indicate that industry has been using OPC in ways that are far more risky than we expected. Not only are the chances of a successful cyber attack on OPC more likely (considering the networks it is being used on), but consequences are significantly more severe. All things considered, there is little doubt that some clear advice for the control engineer on how best to secure OPC systems would be very useful. We hope that these whitepapers start to address that need.”
The first whitepaper focuses on providing an overview of OPC Technology and how it is actually deployed in industry. Whitepaper #2, due out May 7, will outline the risks and vulnerabilities incurred in deploying OPC in a control environment. The third whitepaper summarizes current good practices for securing OPC applications running on Windows-based hosts. All three papers are intended to be read and understood by IT administrators and control systems engineers/technicians rather than OPC programming or security experts.
Initial reviews of whitepaper #1 support the paper and its findings. Ralph Langer, an internationally recognized OPC security expert, comments “This is certainly one of the best introductions to OPC that I have ever come across”.
The first whitepaper OPC Security Whitepaper #1 - Understanding OPC and How it is Deployed will be available April 4, 2007 on the Byres Security (www.byressecurity.com) and Digital Bond (www.digitalbond.com) websites
I hope the program is now posted at www.wbf.org because I have NEVER seen a conference program with better presentations. This conference is a "do not miss" event.
Yeah, there's going to be one world class keynote-- that guy from Bristol-Myers...and then there's mine. But that should not scare you off from going to what is becoming the most underappreciated conference in automation.
Be there! None of this "be there or be square" nonsense. Just get your heinie over there and attend.
This press release from Profibus' organization (PTO-- whatever that means now that they've decided to abandon the German) executive director Mike Bryant continues the obfuscatory trend begun by the Foundation Fieldbus at their user group last month.
Look, folks, "there can be only one." (If you don't get the reference, google "Highlander.")
Any marginally competent definition of fieldbus must include CANbus, Modbus, AS-i, BACnet, and a bunch of others...and the only one that nobody wants to include: HART.
Why don't you all want to include HART in the numbers game? It is simple...there are roughly 22 million installed HART devices in process automation. This is a number that absolutely dwarfs Profibus-PA and Foundation Fieldbus, both of whom have roughly a half million by third party count, and close to 650K each by their own counts, which may be, well, optimistic.
Now I don't want to get into the argument that HART doesn't do as much as the other buses. It does not matter. HART and HART Wireless are going to continue to be a fieldbus for at least another generation. Regardless of how many of us wish that we could go to pure digital buses in process automation, we aren't going to be able to do that any time soon.
PROFIBUS Nodes Exceed 18 Million; On Track To Exceed 20 Million By 2008
Scottsdale, AZ—March 30, 2007—Annual sales of PROFIBUS nodes reached a new high of 3.4 million in 2006 according to figures just released by PI (PROFIBUS and PROFINET International), the umbrella organization representing 25 regional PROFIBUS offices around the world and over 1400 member companies. This brings the total number of PROFIBUS nodes installed worldwide to 18.8 million. PROFIBUS remains on track to easily surpass the milestone of 20 million nodes by 2008 forecasted at the start of 2004.
According to Mike Bryant, Executive Director of the PTO (PROFIBUS and PROFINET North America): “Doubling from 10 million to 20 million within four years has been easier than expected as the market realized the power of PROFIBUS. We actually sold more nodes last year than any other fieldbus organization, and it isn’t slowing down. The pattern set in discrete automation was repeated in process automation and PROFIBUS remains by far the strongest candidate for fieldbus applications in both market sectors.”
The total number of installed PROFIBUS PA devices reached 630,000 by the end of 2006. Therefore, today there are approximately 3.3 million PROFIBUS devices (DP and PA) in this market, roughly 5 times more than any other fieldbus.
PROFIBUS suits the majority of process applications because they often require process instruments and discrete functionality to run side by side. This so-called ‘hybrid’ requirement dominates the process industry and PROFIBUS is the number one choice not only in technology, but also in terms of life cycle cost.
PROFIsafe, the functional safety profile for PROFIBUS networks also saw impressive growth in 2006. The number of installed PROFIsafe systems rose to 26,000 and the number of PROFIsafe products in use topped 230,000. PROFIsafe boasts particular benefits for customers when used in conjunction with PROFIBUS, or PROFINET, PROFIBUS’s sister Industrial Ethernet solution, thanks to their shared functionality and common look and feel.
PROFIBUS continued to build on its position as a market leader in all regions worldwide. Developments on the Asian markets, spearheaded by China, have been particularly rapid and above-average growth is expected there in coming years. A PROFIBUS organization was founded for the Middle East in Dubai, another important step for PROFIBUS growth in the future.
The PTO (PROFIBUS and PROFINET North America) is the non-profit, member-supported automation organization for communication solutions. It is dedicated to supporting the discrete and process industries in achieving beneficial results using fieldbuses, specifically PROFIBUS and PROFINET. The PTO also assists device manufacturers in the development and marketing of PROFIBUS and PROFINET products. Covering North America, PTO is one of 25 regional associations that make up PI (PROFIBUS and PROFINET International). Established in 1989, PI has over 1400 members, who have developed and now supply more than 2500 types of devices. To date, more than 18,000,000 devices have been installed. For additional information contact the PTO at 16101 N. 82nd Street, Suite 3B, Scottsdale, AZ 85260. Phone: 480-483-2456; Fax: 480-483-7202. Internet: www.us.profinet.com.
ISA has decided to offer a reprint of the book that Eddie Habibi and Bill Hollifield of PAS self-published last year. ISA's version is paperback, with a rather nice cover, and will sell for $79, while PAS' version will remain in print, and sell for $69 in hardback. There's something wrong with this picture...
PAS competitors have noted that the book, while well written and funny, is (at least according to them) one-sided and highly favorable to PAS take on alarm management.
Here's the text of the ISA press release:
ISA Publishes Alarm Management Textbook Authored by PAS
Alarm Management: Seven Effective Methods for Optimum Performance,
previously published by PAS now available from ISA
Houston, TX – March 30, 2007 – In recognition of the need for alarm management as a means to improve operating reliability and safety at the world’s operating plants, the Instrument Society of America (ISA) has entered into agreement with PAS, Inc. to re-publish The Alarm Management Handbook under the ISA publications brand.
An initial printing of the new book, titled Alarm Management: Seven Effective Methods for Optimum Performance and co-authored by PAS CEO, Eddie Habibi, and PAS Principal Alarm Management Consultant, Bill Hollifield is now available from the ISA bookshop and online information portal.
The book is the only text on Alarm Management available from the ISA and represents a major step forward for adoption of the 7-step approach to Alarm Management as put forward by PAS. The 7-step approach improves the performance of alarm systems, by benchmarking alarm system performance against industry standards, developing an alarm philosophy document, rationalizing alarms, and applying real-time alarm management optimization strategies. Many companies worldwide have already purchased multiple copies of the PAS publication and adopted the 7-step approach as a necessary part of their operational excellence and reliability initiatives.
The new text, Alarm Management: Seven Effective Methods for Optimum Performance is available in softcover from the ISA at http://www.isa.org/alarmmanagement
The Karlsruhe meeting was a big success for SP100. Congratulations to the people who put the end users ahead of vendor advantage.ISA-SP100.11a Unanimously Approves Scope and Systems Architecture for Release of Draft Standard
Research Triangle Park, NC (30 March 2007) -- At a recent ISA-SP100.11a working group meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, 60 attendees unanimously approved the scope and systems architecture of Release 1 of the draft standard.
“ISA-SP100.11a Release 1 will be an open standard for anyone to implement and deploy. The standard will be simple to use, and will be focused on serving process industry applications without excluding factory automation,” said ISA-SP100.11a lead editor and co-chair Pat Kinney of Kinney Consulting, LLC.
Release 1 is intended to provide technology to address Class 1 (non-critical) to Class 5 applications, such as monitoring. The standard will assure multi-vendor device interoperability, and will include only 2.4 GHz 802.15.4-2006 radios. The work of the committee will adhere to a comprehensive coexistence strategy, and will use channel hopping to support co-existence and increase reliability. The standard will use a single application layer, providing both native and tunneling protocol capability for broad usability, and provide simple, flexible, and scaleable security addressing major industrial threats. The standard will also offer field device meshing and star capability.
The system architecture will include provisions to accommodate alternate PHY’s in future releases, support factory automation applications, support low latency applications, and will not preclude low cost implementations over the life cycle of the intended deployments.
A draft of the standard will be complete by October, 2007.
“The contributions of technology and knowledge from suppliers are proving to be an invaluable part of allowing us to move our work forward. Several companies have made significant technology and resource contributions throughout the initial stages of the standard committee’s work. Likewise, the input from asset owners about their experiences and needs are critical to the work of our committee,” said ISA-SP100 Committee Chair Wayne Manges of Oak Ridge National Labs. “The extensive use case data that we have collected over the past year provides a solid foundation on which we can merge user needs with practical technology solutions to achieve a useful standard.”
During the meeting in Germany, the working group also agreed that the second release will include critical Class 1 to 5 applications in addition to monitoring; additional gateway functionality as needed; additional network manager functionality as needed; and dual or alternate PHYs such as narrow band frequency hopping, sub-GHz, licensed bands, high speed, 5 GHz, etc. All requirements will be user-driven.
“We expect that the technical options that we explore will evolve and change as we work on this draft. If we continually keep our goal in mind of making sure that this standard is the best possible standard for the users in the process and manufacturing communities, we’ll be successful,” said Manges.
We forget that Honeywell HPS is bigger than its process automation business...
