Dissecting Stuxnet. How it works with PLCs and VFDs.

The five major automation foundations, including the FDT Group, Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation, PROFIBUS & PROFINET International, and OPC Foundation have developed a single common solution for Field Device Integration (FDI). These foundations have combined their efforts to form a joint company named FDI Cooperation, LLC. The organizations is headed by a “Board of Managers”, which is composed of the representatives of the involved organizations, as well as managers of global automation suppliers including ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell, Invensys, Siemens, and Yokogawa.

FDI’s mandate is to develop a single technology for the management of information that comes from all intelligent devices throughout all areas of the plant. The mission of FDI LLC is to do the following:

• Complete the standardization of FDI under the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission).
• Manage the FDI Specification.
• Finalize the FDI tool kits for system and device manufacturers.
• Promote and provide high quality technology support for FDI, independent of and common for the respective communication protocols.
• Preserve end users’ and automation manufacturers’ investments by providing state-of-the-art technology that is fully backward compatible.
• Ensure stability, interoperability and compatibility of FDI-based products.

In the past, the development of such uniform technology was inhibited by too many different interests from organizations and automation manufacturers, resulting in the creation of disparate technical solutions. The current solutions – EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) in various formats and FDT (Field Device Technology) – have their strengths and weaknesses, but also overlap to a large extent and thus lead to additional expense for users and manufacturers. Efficient and economically viable device integration requires multiprotocol, standardized technology that makes device information available across systems and applications from different manufacturers.

FDI technology will provide a scalable solution that users can deploy in applications ranging from simple configuration to complex management of the most sophisticated field devices for the various tasks associated with all phases of their lifecycle, from configuration, commissioning, and diagnostics to calibration. This makes different solutions for different devices obsolete. FDI is a unified solution that addresses end user requirements across the spectrum.

FOUNDATION fieldbus, PROFIBUS, and HART all use EDDL as a core technology, but they all use slightly different variations of the technology. The FDI Cooperation has harmonized EDDL across communication protocols. This enables FDI to provide single cross protocol FDI Design and Test Tools including a common EDD Interpreter. EDDL harmonization is now complete, and this facilitates the second step -- harmonization between EDDL and FDT technologies. This is the ultimate goal of FDI.

In November of 2011 at the NAMUR meeting in Germany, FDI device packages were used for the first time to integrate FOUNDATION Fieldbus, HART, and PROFIBUS field devices from various manufacturers within an ABB process control system. Typical applications, such as parameter assignment, configuration, diagnostics, and maintenance, were demonstrated. The purpose of the working prototype was to verify the FDI concepts, apply the standard host components in a system context, and demonstrate FDI functionality. This successful demonstration leads to organizations' next steps:

• First draft of the FDI specifications was published at the end of 2011.
• Completion of Conformance test concepts to occur mid-2012.
• Completion of the validation and release of the FDI specifications for member review within the foundations (mid-2012).
• Completion of the FDI standard host components, such as EDD Engine and User Interface (UI) Engine by the FDI Cooperation (end of 2012).

The primary benefit of FDI is that end users with either an FDT or EDDL-based host will have a single source solution for managing the wealth of functionality and information from intelligent field devices. Users will no longer need to manage disparate device descriptions, which will reduce the costs associated with maintaining assets in the field.  FDI combines the advantages of FDT with those of EDDL in a single, scalable solution. FDI is applicable to a wide range of tasks over the entire lifecycle of the plant for both simple and the most complex devices, including configuration, commissioning, remote diagnostics, calibration, and more.

According to a recent report from IMS Research, pumping applications account for the majority of the global medium voltage motor control centers market. From an industry perspective, this market is heavily concentrated in the oil & gas and mining sectors, which account for more than half of total revenues in 2010. Other notable industries in this market included chemicals, commercial HVAC, power generation, pulp & paper and water & waste-water. Together, these sectors contributed another 26% of market revenues during the year. Highest growth forecasts are projected for the oil & gas and mining segments of this market from 2010 to 2015, largely due to high commodity prices that are expected to persist.

The global market for medium voltage motor control centers was worth more than $140 million in 2010, with more than 5,300 units shipped during the year. It was a recovery year following a dismal 2009, albeit as slow one. The US market comprised more than 60% of the global market during the year, while Canada accounted for nearly 20% of total revenues. The markets in EMEA and in Asia Pacific were much smaller, together comprising only 13% of total market revenues in 2010.

The main reason for the market’s concentration in North America stems from the fact that US end-users have a different approach to systems engineering. In the US, for example, much of the engineering expertise at many OEMs and end-users continues to be downsized, and companies increasingly rely on system engineering services from some of the larger industrial automation suppliers such as ABB, Eaton, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric and Siemens, who carry-in their own MCC solutions.

Outside of the US, the most common approach to starting and stopping medium voltage motors is to use vacuum breaker based medium voltage switchgear, normally designed and installed by a systems integrator, not one of the larger automation suppliers.

Siemens boasts about its automation offer and how it increases productivity and energy efficiency in this promotional video.

Last year, Vacon teamed with computer security provider F-Secure to complete research into computer security in industrial automation applications. Now the companies are ready to publish their findings in the form of a white paper.

The white paper introduces the nature of malware and security threats in industrial automation systems. The level of standardization in the information security field will be discussed, comparing the status of ICT systems security standardization to that of industrial automation.

The white paper will present security aspects of traditional field buses and Industrial Ethernet-based networks and the properties of industrial automation devices with a focus on security and tampering possibilities.

The white paper will also propose different methods to increase security both in network and in device level with methods varying from proper network management instructions to hardware differentiation on the device level. Vacon and F-Secure will suggest that the key to improved security is threat modeling and effective security measures which cannot be circumvented with reasonable efforts.

Vacon's and F-Secure's white paper on industrial information security will be published in December, 2011.

When designing new wind turbine generators, wind turbine designers typically exploit the package's two-dimensional (2D) simulation capability to rapidly find 'sweet spots' in the design space. Getting to the best design solution is always a balance between performance and cost. For wind turbines in particular, there are strongly competing design goals such as generator efficiency and power output quality versus the need for compact physical size and the minimization of expensive materials such as rare-earth permanent magnets.

Siemens Wind Power, maker of wind turbines for onshore, offshore and coastal sites recently selected Cobham Technical Services for its powerful Opera electromagnetic design software.

Siemens` wind turbine generators are large machines, with a large number of poles, but the fast execution of Opera 2D simulations means that the designers are free to thoroughly explore new architectural concepts. 

Opera's scripting capability allows the designers to set up thousands of simulations swiftly. As an individual 2D Opera simulation like this runs quickly - taking perhaps 10 minutes - and the design team has a computer that can run 80 simulations in parallel, thousands of potential design solutions can be explored and compared within just a few hours. The ability to quickly assess so many design variants enables a level of optimization that would otherwise not be possible. Following this 2D exploration, the team can then characterize the best potential design solutions using 3D simulation, speeding development and minimizing the need to manufacture costly prototypes.

^{Opera's scripting capability allows designers to evaluate thousands of generator design variations swiftly.}

Terrific video on Stuxnet - gives perspective to the effort and the impact.

Since a sample of respondents in the May edition of “Industrial Ethernet Book” was not statistically accurate, IMS Research is looking again at the data, and will revise survey results in a future edition of the book.

But initial corrections are offered here.

IMS reports that Ethernet TCP/IP continues to remain the dominant Ethernet technology used in factory automation due to extensive use at the plant level, where deterministic delivery of data is not always critical to the system. Considering the Industrial Ethernet variants that are designed to support communication functionality at the lower levels of an automation system, PROFINET enjoys the largest share of nodes in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), while EtherNet/IP is most prevalent in the Americas.

The companies that champion these protocols play a large role. Siemens backs the PROFINET standard and dominates the PLC market in Europe, while Rockwell Automation supports the EtherNet/IP standard and enjoys a similarly strong position in the Americas. IMS Research suggests that PLCs represent the most influential type of automation equipment when dictating the types of protocols being used.

Given this, the company suggests that long-term outlook for the adoption of industrial Ethernet variants will continue to be heavily influenced by the choice of PLC platform in region. Both companies continue to own in excess of 50% of revenues for their respective region, and while they also both compete with great success in each other’s local market, in all likelihood their regional strengths will continue. This factor is reflected in the forecast for 2014 industrial Ethernet usage, where PROFINET is projected to continue to gain strength in EMEA and EtherNet/IP in the Americas.

Ralph Langner talks about breaking the code and learning about the sinister purpose of Stuxnet.

Rumors surfaced last month of a potential take-over of Invensys, but it is unclear who will be doing the taking over. Invensys' short and checkered run in process, industry and power automation made it the brand-to-be for a few years in the 90s. Since, it has been carved up by divestiture, and now appears to be an electronics assembler with a small position in rail and white goods.

Here are highlights from a release from CityAM, a UK based news source:

Potential suitors include Emerson Electric, Siemens, China Southern Rail (CSR) and ABB.

Sources close to Invensys played down the rumours to City A.M., saying the firm has been linked with numerous bids over the last two years. No bids had been tabled as of last night.

Analysts have long viewed Invensys as a candidate for break-up, a view that chief executive Ulf Henriksson appeared to endorse in November when he said CSR could acquire or take a stake in the business.

Invensys, which makes industrial process automation systems, signalling and control systems for railways and various control products for domestic appliances and other applications, made an operating profit of £248m in the full financial year ended March 2010.

The question is, why would a Siemens, ABB or an Emerson want them?