The new PACSystems High Availability solutions provide a scaleable synchronised hot-standby redundant control platform, with transparent process switchover and easy configuration to ensure uptime in essential applications.
These new High Availability solutions meet the demands of applications requiring seamless operation and zero downtime - where mere moments of interruption can significantly delay operational flow, create excessive operational costs, or pose a threat to product quality.
This is according to Daniel Coetzee, Business Manager Sub-Saharan Africa for GE Fanuc Automation, a division of the GE Infrastructure global business platform.
"Developed with GE Fanuc's patented, innovative technology, PACSystems High Availability assures not only maximum uptime but also transparent process switchover," Coetzee maintains.
Says Coetzee: "This fast switchover has measured up to five times faster than other systems with large data transfers in time critical applications, helping users to realize up to 20 percent more production capacity.
PACSystems High Availability solutions provide synchronised redundancy for any module in a control chain capable of bringing operations to a halt."
"Should any part of a controller fail, its backup counterpart automatically assumes control," he explains.
According to Coetzee, PACSystems High Availability is suitable for a variety of applications in the areas of:
"GE Fanuc combines the most advanced technologies to offer an industry-leading seamless redundant control switchover. With PACSystems High Availability, there is virtually no overhead added to the control application, making switchover fast and transparent," Coetzee points out. The control process and HMI/SCADA applications never see a "bump" during a process switchover operation.
"This functionality maximises data capture, minimises system restarts and protects equipment, assuring maximum process productivity," he comments.
Additionally, according to Coetzee, PACSystems High Availability delivers easier configuration through GE Fanuc's universal programming environment, Cimplicity Machine Edition, and its Redundancy Wizard.
"Users can set up shared data and I/O for both systems in the redundant configuration in a matter of minutes. Application scalability and modifications are made easy, and the programmer modifies only the application code. The redundancy and data synchronisation are automatically ensured," Coetzee advises.
He makes the point that, with multiple and scaleable ways to provide redundancy, a simple implementation can save up to 50 percent in control hardware cost versus traditional installations.
"PACSystems High Availability offers faster synchronisation, easy configuration and user-definable scalability - which drive the highest commissioning-to-production productivity possible," he confirms.
A PACSystems High Availability solution consists of two physically independent controllers connected to a variety of I/O, utilising a proven industrial network that provides deterministic data and automatic switchover.
The controllers incorporate dedicated and redundant links to one another and operate synchronously, transferring all of the application's variables, status, and I/O data with each data sweep. The redundant link uses GE Fanuc's new PACSystems Control Memory Xchange for the fastest synchronisation, with little or no impact on the application program.
"PACSystems High Availability is a new offering in GE Fanuc's family of Critical Control and Simple Hot Standby Redundancy Systems. PACSystems High Availability have been available from the second quarter 2004," Coetzee concludes.
Francesco Della Rosa