Message management facility for an industrial process control environment

Abstract

A message management facility is described herein that is hosted by a networked node, in a process control network environment, that is separate from a control processor. The message management facility routes a stream of messages received from the control processor to a set of destinations on a supervisory network. By interposing the message management facility on a node that is interposed, in a message steam, between alarm message sources (control processors) and alarm message sinks (workstations, printers, historians), a number of additional functions can be implemented to carry out a number of advanced functions. Examples of such functions include: table-based routing of a single alarm to a number of destinations on an application network, suppressing alarm showers by applying a criterion to received messages when shower conditions have been sensed, invoking commands based upon a configured category assigned to particular identified messages prior to delivery of the message to its final destination, and invoking actions in response to event/mode status changes (including re-prioritizing alarms).

1 . A message management facility within a node, in a process control network environment, separate from a control processor for routing a stream of messages received from the control processor to a set of supervisory destinations, the message management facility comprising: 
 a message receiver for receiving a message including a message group ID field;    message routing information comprising a set of message routing entries, wherein each routing entry includes:    a message group ID value, and    a set of message routing destinations for received messages specifying the message group ID; and    a destination server for transmitting the message received by the message receiver to one or more network destinations in accordance with an ID specified in the message group ID field and a set of message routing destinations specified in a corresponding routing entry of the message routing information.    
     
     
         2 . The message management facility of  claim 1  wherein the messages comprise alarm messages generated by the control processor.  
     
     
         3 . The message management facility of  claim 1  wherein the control processor and a message routing destination are located on two distinct networks, and wherein the alarm management facility bridges the two distinct networks.  
     
     
         4 . The message management facility of  claim 3  wherein the message management facility operates on a networked node comprising at least a control network interface for receiving messages from the control processor via a control network, and an application network interface for transmitting messages to message routing destinations.  
     
     
         5 . The message management facility of  claim 4  wherein the routing destination is a workstation.  
     
     
         6 . The message management facility of  claim 4  wherein the routing destination is a message printer.  
     
     
         7 . The message management facility of  claim 4  wherein the routing destination is a message database.  
     
     
         8 . The message management facility of  claim 4  wherein the received messages comprise alarm messages, and wherein the alarm messages are received by the control network interface within message packets comprising potentially multiple alarm messages.  
     
     
         9 . The message management facility of  claim 1  further comprising a message definition table, wherein an entry in the message definition table includes an alias field supporting designating a text string for a received message having a message ID corresponding to the entry in the message definition table.  
     
     
         10 . The message management facility of  claim 1  further comprising a message definition table, wherein an entry in the message definition table includes an command category ID field supporting designating executable commands for a received message having a message ID corresponding to the entry in the message definition table.  
     
     
         11 . The message management facility of  claim 10  further comprising a command category processor that initiates executing a command specified for a received message having a message ID value corresponding to an entry within the message definition table.  
     
     
         12 . The message management facility of  claim 11  further comprising a command table comprises a set of executable command entries, and wherein an executable host field within an entry in the set of executable command entries specifies a host upon which a specified command is executed.  
     
     
         13 . The message management facility of  claim 1  further comprising an event/mode status message processor that initiates executing a set of actions based upon a change in event/mode specified in a received event/mode status message.  
     
     
         14 . The message management facility of  claim 13  wherein individual actions of the set of actions comprise specifying a parameter value on an application object maintained by the control processor.  
     
     
         15 . The message management facility of  claim 1  wherein the message management facility further comprises alarm shower suppression functionality that monitors quantity of alarm messages received from a control network and applies a criterion to limit passing alarm messages to destinations in response to detecting an alarm shower condition.  
     
     
         16 . A message monitor within a node, in a process control network environment, separate from a control processor for monitoring a stream of messages received from the control processor and initiate executing a command in response to detecting particular identified messages in the stream of messages, the message monitor comprising: 
 a message table including a set of message table entries, each entry comprising: 
 a message ID, and  
 a command ID;  
   a message receiver including a message monitoring functionality for: 
 receiving a message including a message ID value, and  
 identifying a categorized message by locating an entry in the message  
   table corresponding to the received message; and    command execution functionality that initiates executing a command associated with the command ID, of the entry in the message table for the categorized message, in association with the message receiver identifying the categorized message.    
     
     
         17 . The message monitor of  claim 16  wherein identifying the categorized message is carried out by comparing the message ID value of the received message and a message ID value specified by an entry in the message table.  
     
     
         18 . The message monitor of  claim 16  wherein the message monitor additionally includes message routing functionality for routing the stream of messages received from the control processor to a set of supervisory destinations.  
     
     
         19 . The message monitor of  claim 16  wherein the command ID comprises a command category ID that corresponds to a set of executable commands identified in a corresponding entry within a command category table.  
     
     
         20 . The message monitor of  claim 19  further comprising a command table that includes a set of executable command entries referenced by entries in the command category table.  
     
     
         21 . The message monitor of  claim 20  wherein the executable command entries include an executable host field that identifies a host upon which a specified command is executed.  
     
     
         22 . The message monitor of  claim 16  wherein the command specifies launching an executable program.  
     
     
         23 . The message monitor of  claim 16  wherein the command specifies playing a stored voice message.  
     
     
         24 . The message monitor of  claim 16  wherein the messages comprise alarm messages issued by control processors.  
     
     
         25 . A status message monitor within a node, in a process control network environment, separate from a control processor for monitoring a stream of messages received from the control processor and initiate executing a command in response to detecting particular identified status messages in the stream of messages, the message monitor comprising: 
 a message receiver including a message monitoring functionality for identifying status changes relating to modes/events specified in a received message; and    initiating executing actions in accordance with a current mode/events status in view of the received message.    
     
     
         26 . The status message monitor of  claim 25  wherein the actions executed in accordance with the current mode/events status comprise reprioritizing alarms issued by the control processor.  
     
     
         27 . The status message monitor of  claim 26  wherein reprioritizing alarms is carried out by the status message monitor specifying a parameter value on an application object maintained by the control processor.  
     
     
         28 . The status message monitor of  claim 25  wherein the received message comprises a state alarm issued by the control processor.  
     
     
         29 . The status message monitor of  claim 25  further comprising a table of matrices that define categories of actions initiated when a particular mode/event state is entered.  
     
     
         30 . The status message monitor of  claim 29  wherein the actions comprise parameter actions that modify the values of specified control blocks hosted by the control processor.  
     
     
         31 . A message management facility within a node, in a process control network environment, separate from a control processor for regulating flow of a stream of messages, received from the control processor to a set of supervisory destinations, in response to sensing a message shower condition, the message management facility comprising: 
 a message receiver for receiving a stream of messages including a priority value;    a destination server for transmitting messages from the stream of messages received by the message receiver to one or more network destinations; and    a message shower condition detector for detecting message shower conditions, and wherein a message shower suppression criterion, invoked in response to detecting message shower conditions, is applied to the stream of messages to limit passing messages to the network destinations via the destination server.    
     
     
         32 . The message management facility of  claim 31  wherein the message shower suppression criterion requires discarding messages from the control processor having a priority below a threshold priority.  
     
     
         33 . The message management facility of  claim 31  wherein the messages comprise alarm messages generated by the control processor.  
     
     
         34 . The message management facility of  claim 31  wherein the control processor and the one or more network destinations of the received messages are located on two distinct networks, and wherein the alarm management facility bridges the two distinct networks.  
     
     
         35 . The message management facility of  claim 34  wherein the message management facility operates on a networked node comprising at least a control network interface for receiving messages from the control processor via a control network, and an application network interface for transmitting messages to message routing destinations.  
     
     
         36 . The message management facility of  claim 35  wherein the routing destination is a workstation.  
     
     
         37 . The message management facility of  claim 31  wherein message shower conditions are detected by counting alarm messages received by the message receiver during a message count period and comparing the number of received alarm messages during the period to a shower threshold count.  
     
     
         38 . The message management facility of  claim 37  wherein a message shower detected state, once entered, persists until a next message count period completes.