IEN: What innovations are in store for users?
Hancock: This is my favorite question, so I will answer it first (and take the most time with it). And I can answer it with two words: Thin Clients. Our company (ACP) has been pushing this technology ever since we introduced it to the industrial community at a National Manufacturing Show in 1999. Just a note here -- I tend to use the phrases "Thin Client" and "Terminal Server" interchangeably, while really Thin Client is the actual user machine, and Terminal Server is the feature of a Microsoft Operating System that allows Thin Clients to run. Just be aware of this as you read the following.
First, a little background on Thin Client architecture. A Thin Client allows users to run standardWindows software the same way that people used to run a mainframe. Only now a Windows 2000 server machine acts as the mainframe, and the Thin Clients take the place of the terminals. But the basic model remains -- all of the software is only loaded and run on the server, and the display is presented directly on the Thin Clients. The memory of the server holds each user''s applications, and to the user it looks like he still has his full PC. Only now he is running from a dedicated PC that has only 32 MB of memory and no floppy or hard disks (that is what makes it "thin").
With a Thin Client system, a plant manager can deploy inexpensive, rugged, commodity Thin Clients throughout the facility. Whereas the PC was a complex piece of machinery, difficult to set up, configure, and maintain, the Thin Client is a joy to install. To set up a new Thin Client, simply plug it in and turn it on. All of the required applications and data are immediately available to the new client. And as the highest failure item in a traditional distributed PC used in manufacturing is the hard disk, a Thin Client without any disk drives is much less prone to failure. Thin Clients provide a much easier way to distribute secure operator interfaces throughout the plant -- the lack of disk drives makes it very difficult to introduce unauthorized software (games, viruses), hack into the system, or steal data.
This does not make them immune to damage. A factory is often a very harsh environment, and equipment can be damaged or destroyed in a number of different ways. While replacing a PC is very difficult, replacing a Thin Client couldn''t be easier. Replacing a PC requires the acquisition of substantially similar hardware, the installation of the same operating system that was on the previous system, and the installation and configuration of any software and drivers. This is really a problem with software that requires licensing (as does most industrial software), where the license file may no longer be available or may be keyed to a specific part of the machine. By comparison, a Thin Client replacement is trivial, as all of the applications and software are installed and run from the server. Factories are usually full time operations, and a Thin Client can be replaced by service technicians at 3:00 a.m. without intervention from the IT department.
Local power loss on a PC controlling a line can be a disaster, but that same power loss on a Thin Client is only inconvenient. A crashed PC may well require reinstallation of its operating system (and all associated software), but the Thin Client session continues to run on the server during the power failure, and, once power is restored, the Thin Client is back exactly where it would have been if the power had not been interrupted. If I/O to the machine is taking place on a separate server (or on the Thin Client server itself), then manufacturing data will continue to be collected during the power outage. As all of the data is stored on the server, there is no chance that an open file at the time of the power failure will become corrupted.
Many times factories do not have current backups. The distributed nature of a PC control system makes it inconvenient to keep all of the different machines in a good backup rotation. For a Thin Client system, however, the only machine that is backed up is the server. And as the server is usually stored in a secure location within the IT department, access to the machine for backup purposes is never a problem. This machine can simply be added to the list of computers that they are currently responsible for maintaining.
I honestly believe now that at least we are beginning to see what could be a very large shift toward the Thin Client model. Briefly, some of the reasons that I feel this way are:
1. Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. Previous installations of any Terminal Server system required the use of a very obscure version of Windows NT 4.0 called "Windows 4.0 Terminal Server Edition" (or TSE for short). But as of the release of Windows 2000, anyone with a 2000 Server has all the Microsoft components necessary to run Thin Clients.
2. Wonderware released support for InTouch on Terminal Server. This was a huge boost for several reasons. First, factories do not often install industrial control software (HMI, SCADA, etc.) on a platform that is not supported by the software vendor. If they did, they would have great difficulty if they ever had problems. Second, Wonderware releasing their software for Thin Clients added immediate credibility to the platform. Third, we (ACP) were able to start picking up Wonderware distributors to also sell and promote our Thin Client products. And finally, Wonderware started doing advertising and marketing of their Thin Client products, raising customer awareness.
3. Intellution, Rockwell, and Citect release HMI software on Thin Clients. The same thing as I pointed out in number 2 (above), only this has literally just happened. Both Intellution and Rockwell made their announcements in the middle of February, and were first showing their software at NMW a few days ago in Chicago. And Citect is just starting their rollout. By the way, Rockwell had a representative stationed in our booth at NMW showing the Allen Bradley ACP enabled Thin Clients running the new Thin Client version of RS-View, and we had the Intellution and Citect software running there as well.
4. Marketing by ACP. We have spent a great deal of money, time, and effort educating the industrial market about the benefits of Thin Clients when applied to factory automation, and I really can''t help but believe that our efforts are helping to produce the interest that we are seeing today. From our advertising, to our Website, to our Industrial Thin Client forums and our e-mail newsletter (which goes out to over 10,000 subscribers each month) it is difficult imagine how we haven''t reached a good number of the industrial market with our message.
IEN:How are manufacturers using existing technologies in new ways?
Hancock: This is another question that I believe can be answered with a ''Thin Client'' slant, because some of the new technologies (Windows CE, Web-based displays and Web-based Thin Clients) require the user to convert the displays that he is currently using. A true Thin Client system will allow any user to run the exact same Windows applications (HMI, SCADA, User Interface) that he is using right now. This is a tremendous benefit, and truly allows him to deploy his existing technology in a better way, where the reliance on PC hardware installed on the factory floor is eliminated.
IEN:What are the major concerns facing this sector in the next few years?
Hancock: It seems right now that lower cost is the overriding goal for many companies, and there are several ways that a Thin Client system helps achieve that. The initial purchase price of a Thin Client system can be lower (for an installation with more than approximately five clients) and the total cost of ownership is greatly reduced. This is the price that PC users must face with support and upgrades on all of their factory floor PCs. Since Thin Clients only run their applications on the server, all programs are updated and maintained only on the server. And the programs run at the performance level of the server, so by upgrading this one machine all of the connected Thin Clients receive a performance boost, and the Thin Client hardware itself doesn''t grow obsolete for many years to come. Lower TCO flows to the bottom line and is appreciated year in and year out.