ICVMS: An Internet-based controller virtual maintenance system

The Internet provides great potential for the controller software maintenance of process plants. This paper aims at developing an Internet-based controller virtual maintenance system (ICVMS) to solve controller software performance monitoring and remote maintenance issues. Based on the ICVMS, control system and process model experts and real-site technicians can work together as a team to provide the controller maintenance support although they are geographically dispersed. The major challenge of ICVMS is how to test and revise remotely the new designed controller software. The generic system architecture is presented first in this paper. Then the basic model of Internet-based virtual maintenance system has been introduced, which is verb Suitable for remote designing and testing control strategies. Several essential implementation issues of the system, including software architecture, network communication architecture and Web-based user interface, are briefly described. A water tank system with a liquid level control system is used as a case study to illustrate how the prototype of ICVMS works over the Internet.