20240053718. BACKGROUND DISCOVERY AGENT ORCHESTRATION simplified abstract (Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.)

BACKGROUND DISCOVERY AGENT ORCHESTRATION

Organization Name

Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc.

Inventor(s)

Taryl J Jasper of Concord Township OH (US)

Charles M Rischar of Chardon OH (US)

Radek Bartman of Jablonec and Nisou (CZ)

Roman Vitek of Prague (CZ)

BACKGROUND DISCOVERY AGENT ORCHESTRATION - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240053718 titled 'BACKGROUND DISCOVERY AGENT ORCHESTRATION

Simplified Explanation

The abstract describes an industrial topology discovery system that autonomously discovers and documents industrial automation system topologies using orchestrated discovery agents of various types. The system can reside on a cloud platform or another high-level network and deploy discovery agents on plant networks and devices within an industrial facility. These agents can implement different strategies for discovering system information, such as monitoring communication traffic and probing devices for identity and configuration information.

• Industrial Topology Discovery System:

 * Discovers and documents automation system topologies autonomously.
 * Uses orchestrated discovery agents of various types.
 * Can reside on a cloud platform or high-level network.
 * Deploys agents on plant networks and devices within industrial facilities.
 * Agents implement different strategies for discovering system information.

• Discovery Agents:

 * Monitor and report on communication traffic.
 * Probe devices for identity and configuration information.
 * Execute discovery services to collect device and network information.
 * Orchestrate discovery behavior to extract further information based on defined rules.

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1. 1. 1. Potential Applications

- Industrial automation system management - Network security monitoring - System troubleshooting and maintenance

1. 1. 1. Problems Solved

- Difficulty in manually mapping and documenting complex industrial automation system topologies - Lack of visibility into communication traffic and device configurations - Inefficient discovery processes in industrial facilities

1. 1. 1. Benefits

- Automates the discovery and documentation of industrial automation system topologies - Improves network security by monitoring communication traffic - Enhances system troubleshooting and maintenance processes

Original Abstract Submitted

an industrial topology discovery system autonomously discovers and documents industrial automation system topologies using orchestrated discovery agents of various types. the topology discovery system can reside on a cloud platform or another high level network and deploy discovery agents on plant networks and devices within an industrial facility. these discovery agents can implement different strategies for discovering system information, and can include agents configured to monitor and report on communication traffic across respective types of networks, agents configured to probe respective device types for identity and configuration information, and other types of agents. discovery services executed by the topology discovery system can collect device and network information obtained by the agents and use this information to document the topology of the automation system as well as to orchestrate the discovery behavior of the agents to extract further information about the system based on defined discovery rules.