An Off The Shelf Approach To Remote Process Control

This workshop presents remote process control over the Internet using remote-control computing software. Remote-control computing software allows you to connect to remote computers from your computer and control those systems. You can monitor and control attached system processes, provide problem solving assistance, upload and download files, and even change system parameters. In this session, participants will gain an understanding of what remotecontrol computing is, who the major players in the industry are, and how it can be used to monitor and control remote processes. Session attendees will also see a case study of remotecontrol computing software in operation, monitoring and controlling a plant floor production system. Introduction Networking technologies, and especially the Internet, have become a major component of application systems. As we teach the design and implementation of process control systems in the Engineering curriculum, we must recognize that these systems will require capabilities for control and support from remote locations. For example, the need for remote control may be driven by the high cost of a particular process. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory uses remote process control at its High Temperature Materials Laboratory to allow researches from across the country to use a million-dollar electron microscope. Even when control of the process is not required across the country, there are times when it is helpful (or even critical) to monitor another node on a LAN. For example, Conquergood describes in his research the ability to monitor and control potentially high voltages from one location by gathering voltage information from PCs doing data acquisition from various plant processes. While some research in this area has focused on custom solutions to provide remote control over the Internet, this paper will examine the issues involved in implementing remote process control systems using off-the-shelf remote-control computing software. Remote-control computing Remote-control computing refers to the ability of one computer system to control another computer system from a remote location. It is implemented over a network using software that resides on both computers. One system acts as the Host (or server) and the other system as the Guest (or remote controller). The guest system takes control of the host system. There are many software packages that provide some level of remote-control processing capability. Generally, they are categorized into two groups: consumer-oriented remote control and enterprise system remote control. The marketplace is very active, with new features and Page 683.1 Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright @ 2001, American Society for Engineering Education functionality for these products appearing quarterly. Enterprise remote-control products have the highest level of functionality and are the focus of this paper. Remote Process Control refers to the ability to monitor and control a business process from a remote location. The business process may include a plant process connected to other plant devices like PLCs, data collection equipment, or other computer systems. The remote and host computer systems are often running different operating systems. Connectivity from the remote to the host computer may also take various forms, with the Internet often the connection of choice. The role of remote-control computing for Process Control 1. Monitoring & Control As stated earlier, remote-control computing software allows you to connect to remote computers from your computer, and control those systems as if you were right there in front of them. This allows you to access applications on the host system and any other equipment attached to it, including other systems on the same LAN or WAN. You can monitor and control the processes controlled by the host, and run applications on network servers and other operating system platforms. 2. Maintenance & Support Many problems with process control systems can be resolved remotely when they occur, by taking over control of the host computer. You can run the software, confirm input requirements, check output, etc., and in fact, try anything you would do if you were sitting at their keyboard. You can even transfer files interactively sending and receiving data or programs that may assist with your problem resolution activities or to update the host system software. Remote-control computing software There are many players in the remote-control software marketplace. Many of the consumeroriented products are available as Freeware or Shareware. These products provide some level of remote-control and/or file transfer capability, but generally do not contain all of the features and functions required by the enterprise system user. A table identifying many of these programs and their capabilities can be downloaded from the Internet. The following table consists of a number of the more robust enterprise system remote-control software packages. Software Package Name Developer Carbon Copy Compaq Computer Corporation ControlIT Computer Associates International CoSession Remote Artisoft Laplink Traveling Software NetOP Remote Control for Windows Cross Tec Corporation PcAnywhere Symantec Corporation PCDuo Vector Networks P ge 683.2 Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright @ 2001, American Society for Engineering Education Proxy Funk Software ReachOut Enterprise Stac Software Timbuktu Pro Netopia VNC Oracle Research Laboratory Table 1: Enterprise System Remote-Control Software Features & Functions The features and functions of these software packages fall into the following categories: 1. Remote control capabilities: what you can do/control on the host machine. This describes the extent to which the software can recognize and utilize the hardware and software components on the host. This might range from limited capabilities to run programs on the host computer all the way to being able to run programs on any network server attached to the host. 2. Connectivity: the options for connecting the guest system to the host system. Most remotecontrol software products offer multiple connectivity options that may include: direct connect (cabled serial or parallel ports), modem to modem, LAN, WAN, Internet, and wireless infrared. Most systems utilize TCP/IP communications. 3. Supported operating systems: the operating environments supported by the software. Most of the packages support only the Microsoft Windows environments, although VNC and Timbuktu support Apple MacIntosh, and VNC also supports Unix. 4. File Transfer: the ability to transfer files and programs between the guest and host systems. Features of this capability include the ability to handle long file names, drag and drop transfer functions, the ability to synchronize files so that they are the same on both systems, and the ability to continue interrupted file transfers. 5. Security: this includes password protection of the guest and host systems, encryption of data transmissions, virus protection, and host system screen blanking and keyboard locking to prevent an onlooker from observing confidential processing. 6. Printer redirection: the ability to print at both the guest and host locations. 7. Chat: the ability to conduct a PC chat with a user at the host site during the remote-control session. 8. Drive mapping: the ability to map the disk drives from the host system to the remote system so that the remote system may use the files and programs located on them as if they were local disk drives. Product Ranking In my research, I was able to find three different organizations that have tested and ranked some, though not all, of the remote-control software packages listed in the table above. The test criteria P ge 683.3 Proceedings of the 2001 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright @ 2001, American Society for Engineering Education was similar in all three organizations; focusing on performance in terms of screen refresh and file transfer speeds, security features, remote-control functionality, and ease of use. The comparison done by Network Computing concentrated on solutions that offered operating system and network integration, advanced security options, and enhanced network installation capabilities. The News-Times Computer News focused on security and connectivity, as well as remote-control functionality. Smart Computing looked at file transfer features, security, and chat capability in addition to remote-control ability. All three organizations were unanimous in selecting Symantec’s pcAnywhere product as their remote-control product of choice.