Industrial software architecture sets new standard

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 28, 2003

The Invensys ArchestrA architecture has been developed over the last four years.

The Invensys ArchestrA architecture has been developed over the last four years.

Following the prelaunch of the ArchestrA architecture in late 2002 by Invensys, more than 80 beta testers, 15 systems integrators, 10 OEMs and six end-users have been examining the architecture with excellent results, according to Mark Davidson, Invensys Vice President of ArchestrA Marketing.

"Beta testers report that applications running on the ArchestrA architecture are robust, highly functional and offer good performance", said Davidson.

"In addition to these key indicators, significant applications engineering and productivity gains are being documented".

The first product to take full advantage of the ArchestrA architecture is the Industrial Application Server, a new offering within Wonderware's FactorySuite A2 product line.

The Industrial Application Server is available now for purchase.

Foxboro's I/A Series A2 system also uses the ArchestrA architecture in its latest releases.

Besides Wonderware and Foxboro, other Invensys companies developing solutions based on the ArchestrA architecture are APV, Esscor, Eurotherm and Invensys Building Systems.

In addition to being used for Invensys offerings, the ArchestrA open-development platform and tools uniquely enable third parties such as OEMs, machine builders and system integrators to build domain knowledge and add significant value to the solutions they provide.

End-users and suppliers alike will benefit from this unified platform, which enables the instant integration of application information.

One major end-user currently beta testing the ArchestrA architecture is General Mills.

"They are fully expecting the ArchestrA architecture to provide a common foundation for all Invensys solutions and to effectively integrate their existing base and third-party products", said Davidson.

"The ArchestrA architecture enables every system in an industrial plant to work in concert.

It is designed from the outset to extend the life of legacy systems by leveraging the latest software technologies.

Offerings built upon this architecture empower decision-makers to achieve their business goals, without abandoning prior investments in automation systems, production processes or intellectual property".

In the ArchestrA environment, software applications can be rapidly assembled rather than programmed.

New applications also can be created simply through the reassembly of existing applications.

The ArchestrA architecture extends the life of legacy systems by leveraging the latest Microsoft software technology, such as Microsoft.NET.

Don Richardson, Director of Microsoft's Manufacturing Industry Solutions Group, said, "The ArchestrA architecture utilises Microsoft.NET and other technologies such as Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Message Queuing and Microsoft Management Console, and further extends those technologies into the manufacturing industry.

Invensys and Microsoft share a focus on increasing manufacturers' productivity and lowering their lifecycle costs by delivering value-added solutions to customers through our collaborative efforts".