ArchestrA architecture continues to grow

Invensys continues to deliver on new product, end customer and partner adoption of the ArchestrA industrial automation and information software architecture

ArchestrA technology is a comprehensive plant automation and information architecture designed from the outset to extend the life of legacy systems by leveraging the latest software technologies like Microsoft.NET.

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 re-assembly of existing applications.

Significant Invensys product shipment progress utilising ArchestrA in 2003 include.

Upgraded Wonderware FactorySuite A2 software components as well as the completely new Industrial Application Server offering.

ArchestrA Ready network and Windows XP upgrades to Foxboro I/A Series Systems - I/A Series A2.

A new entry-level Foxboro A2 automation system offering that stretches from simple I/O, loop controllers and panel displays, to redundant controllers, data management and complete networked systems, utilising Wonderware FactorySuite A2 as the supervisory software.

Ready upgrades to Avantis enterprise asset management software that provide real-time condition monitoring connections to Wonderware InTouch 8.0 to deliver maintenance decision support, as well as the ability to display asset intelligence across company intranets via a secure Wonderware SuiteVoyager plant information portal.

Users of these Invensys products include leading companies such as BASF, BP, Enel Power, General Mills, and SABMiller.

In addition, over 2500 existing Wonderware customers have been shipped FactorySuite A2 software as part of their comprehensive support agreements.

ArchestrA development tools and software technology are openly available to third party OEMs and systems integrators to help make them more competitive and encapsulate their unique domain knowledge and value add.

Two third party platform providers that are working with Invensys on ArchestrA based solutions are Standard Automation and Control LP, of Houston, and Stratus Technologies, of Maynard.

Standard Automation recently released "Matrix Total Control system" features Wonderware FactorySuite A2 process management tools and applications including operator interface, plant historian, industrial application server and batch management.

Matrix is a total control solution delivering a process automation system for regulatory, sequential and batch control applications.

Matrix is the first non-Invensys automation platform to openly adopt the ArchestrA software architecture.

Standard Automation and Control LP is a part of the MTL MOST business unit which has adopted ArchestrAT as a technology for the MOST Process and Hybrid control components.

Additionally, Wonderware FactorySuite A2 components (specifically, the Industrial Application Server and InSQL) are currently being qualified to run on the latest Stratus Technologies ftServer hardware platforms.

Stratus Technologies implementations are designed to bring continuous availability to Microsoft Windows environments, with better than 99.999% uptime.

This will enable ArchestrA based solutions to expand beyond the current high-availability topologies into even more critical plant applications.

Invensys continues to work closely with Microsoft Corporation to ensure that customer applications built on the ArchestrA industrial software architecture are preserved as Microsoft.NET technologies evolve.

ArchestrAT software is already running successfully on the Microsoft release candidate for Windows 2003 Server in Invensys test labs.

"Our commitment to providing the most comprehensive automation software framework across the broad range of discrete, process, hybrid, building, and SCADA automation as an industrialised implementation of Microsoft.NET is unwavering," said Mark Davidson, vice president of ArchestrA Marketing.

"Inter and intra-plant collaboration is facilitated by the flexible ArchestrA plant application model, the Microsoft SQL Server based historian, as well as the extensible enterprise connectivity provided by Microsoft.NET web services.

"By taking advantage of Microsoft.NET and Microsoft enterprise technologies, Invensys is able to deliver an architecture that helps manufacturers integrate their diverse legacy applications now, and will help them more easily scale-up and take advantage of new applications and enterprise technologies in the future," said Don Richardson, director of manufacturing industry solutions at Microsoft.

"With ArchestrA, Invensys customers recognise they can quickly increase their productivity and reduce IT lifecycle costs by accessing data from the shop floor and gaining visibility into critical manufacturing operations in real time".

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