Designing Distributed Control Systems

Create high-integrity control systems with tried and tested design patterns

There is a global trend in both the number of automated features in machines and communication between machines and with external systems. This trend requires new approaches to the design of control systems. Software architects and developers must produce machines that are safe and provide easy maintenance, improved efficiency and increased productivity. In addition, machines need to conform to environmental considerations. All of these factors impact machine design.

‘Designing Distributed Control Systems’ presents 80 patterns for designing distributed machine control system software architecture (forestry machinery, mining drills, elevators, etc.). These patterns originate from state-of-the-art systems from market-leading companies, have been tried and tested, and will address typical challenges in the domain, such as long lifecycle, distribution, real-time and fault tolerance. Each pattern describes a separate design problem that needs to be solved.

All the patterns in the book originate from state-of-the-art systems used by market-leading companies. They have been tried and tested, and address typical challenges such as long lifecycles, distribution, configuration management and fault tolerance. There are also patterns for fleet management and for designing humans-machine interfaced. The patterns offer guidelines for system design accompanied by consequences and trade-offs, as well as quality such as performance and extendibility.

The patterns in the book are used to design an example software architecture that is included in the text. This application will help both novices and experts to understand the design process from beginning to end, including how to identify a problem domain, as well as how to use patterns in a practical system design process. With proven methodologies and a unique look at designing software architectures for machines, Designing Distributed Control Systems is an essential read for anyone striving to create better systems that result in improved revenue and increased customer satisfaction.