Plant availability plays a crucial role in the process industry, so it’s essential to build redundancy into automation technology designs. Beckhoff has expanded its range of solutions in this area to include a software solution for redundant control operation: TwinCAT Controller Redundancy.
Using standard components, TwinCAT Controller Redundancy protects plant uptime through redundant control operation.
Although the robust design of the company’s Industrial PCs already ensures a high level of availability, TwinCAT Controller Redundancy (TF1100) adds to this further. In just a few easy steps, the entirely software-based solution allows two standard industrial PCs that both run the same PLC program to operate as redundant controllers.
An additional, high performance network connection between the two controllers provides the necessary synchronisation. Standard Ethernet is used here, so no dedicated hardware components are required. With minimal effort, this ensures that only one of the two industrial PCs addresses the fieldbus components at any given time, and that the control programs are executed simultaneously on both computers. This synchronisation is the basic prerequisite for changing the primary industrial PC, in the event of a fault, without losing any information.
Other redundancy methods
In addition to controller redundancy, the well-established EtherCAT Redundancy (TF6220) software protects against failures caused by faulty cable connections. The I/O modules are connected by two separate cables, which should ideally be laid in different locations. While EtherCAT Redundancy addresses communication from the controller to the fieldbus, the TwinCAT Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP, TF6230) provides cable redundancy for Ethernet communication according to IEC 62439-3 to higher-level systems such as MES or decoupled HMI systems. The protocol defines a redundant and transparent network connection, which can be monitored and diagnosed in TwinCAT.
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