New Cogent White Paper Simplifies Redundancy for OPC

Georgetown, Ontario (June 21, 2011) Cogent Real-Time Systems announces the release of of a new white paper titled "Redundancy for OPC" that provides background information and practical considerations for plant engineers and managers interested in implementing redundancy in a data communications network based on the OPC protocol.

The paper defines basic redundancy concepts such as cold, warm, and hot standby, seamless and smart switchovers, fallbacks, and object and link monitoring. It also points out common design problems like the timer pitfall and forced switching, and gives useful advice on how to get the best value in a redundancy manager.

"As system up-time becomes more critical to financial success, many plant engineers are looking at adding redundancy to their mission critical control systems," said Andrew Thomas, President of Cogent. "This paper is helpful for anyone interested in getting quickly up to speed on the main issues, so that they can make informed decisions."

The OPC protocol is a Windows standard for real-time data communication in industrial automation processes. Stated briefly, redundancy for OPC is typically implemented with two redundant OPC servers connected to a single OPC client, through some kind of redundancy manager. When the data from one OPC server becomes unreliable for some reason, the redundancy manager switches to the other OPC server.

Although the concept is straightforward, implementing redundancy in an OPC-based system requires a good understanding of what's at stake. A poorly implemented solution can mean delays, data loss, and overuse of system resources. Whether someone is currently using a redundant system, planning to implement one, or simply wants to broaden their understanding, Cogent's free "Redundancy for OPC" white paper provides useful information.

Founded in 1995, Cogent Real-Time Systems provides versatile and reliable middleware products to enable real-time data integration and access for industrial, embedded, and financial systems. Customers include Siemens, ABB, Honeywell, IBM, GE, Statoil, Goodyear, BASF, Cadbury Chocolate, and the Bank of Canada.