Understanding Integrated Architecture

Like many other vendors, Rockwell Automation has recently rebranded and reorganized its offering. The ControlLogix family is part of Rockwell Automation's larger solution offering, called Integrated Architecture. Integrated Architecture is a relatively new term in the world of Rockwell Automation, but the concept has been in place for quite some time. It represents a convergence of the control and information systems within an operating environment. We have seen a continuous increase in demand for operational information to be provided to the corporate information system in real time to fulfill maintenance needs, environmental reporting, accounting, and other corporate requirements. At the same time, we have seen operational technology move from proprietary protocols and data access technology to traditional IT technologies, such as TCP/IP and Ethernet. The promise of Integrated Architecture is the ability to implement plant-wide optimization...