I have a scenario where 5 different PLCs supplied by different Package Vendors are to be connected to the Integrated Control and Safety System (ICSS) network. I have following queries:

1) If I ask for OPC connectivity from all PLC Vendors and take OPC Server from ICSS, what important information shall I convey to Package PLC Vendor and DCS Vendor?

2) How do I transfer Time Stamps for DCS-Synchronized Simplex PLC's which are serially connected to DCS Communication servers. The intent is to provide time stamps to Sequence of Event (SOE) servers.

3) If vendor does not provide HART Pass through capability, and I want to take HART MUX from DCS Vendor, what important points of contention crop up?

Regards

 

Each HART multiplexer vendor may use a different proprietary protocol over RS485. It may be a challenge to interface that into your intelligent device management (IDM) software

Ideally they should use HART multiplexers supporting HART-IP, but there aren't that many out there yet.

WirelessHART gateways is better, they are newer and more modern, all support HART-IP so much easier to integrate a mix of those.

 

I'll try address your first question. You will need an OPC Server per PLC- DCS vendor, if each vendor is different. With OPC Data Manager Tool you can map each server (and tags) to to your predominant/master OPC server. find more on data manager here : https://www.matrikonopc.com/products/opc-data-management/opc-data-manager.aspx

IF you just want to view your tags straight from ICSS you need to check if an OPC client is provided with ICSS.