Abstract: A system analyzer and a method for analyzing an impact of a change in a component of a distributed control system (DCS) are disclosed. The system can collect and store data representing the DCS components and their interconnection as well as signals of the DCS components. The DCS can be graphically modeled with nodes and directed edges, wherein a node represents either a type of DCS component or a signal of a DCS components, and wherein an edge is an “influence”-edge, or a “contains”-edge. Information on a change of a DCS components is received, a depth first or breadth first search is performed over the “influence”-edges and “contains”-edges and determine unchanged DCS components which would be affected by a malfunction, a removal or a taking out of operation of the at least one DCS component, and information on the affected DCS components is transmitted to an operator interface.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for automatically configuring network devices of a data network having at least two configurable network devices, whose configuration parameters are deployable over the data network to the configurable network devices from an initial configuration state to a desired configuration state. At least one of the configurable network devices is from a first type of network devices, whose configuration requires a pre-defined series of at least one intermediate configuration state. A central deployment network device determines the actual state of each configurable network device for comparing with desired states of the configurable network devices, and in case of a difference, determines a subsequent intermediate and or respective subsequent desired configuration state wherein actual states of the configurable network devices are considered.

Abstract: A configuration management device for vendor-independent network device configuration includes a network interface unit for communicating with network devices over a communications network and a data storage unit. The network interface unit can include a unified device network interface and a device-specific driver unit, where the unified device network interface can: retrieve a device profile; to identify a network device which belongs to a network device type corresponding to the device profile; retrieve information on a device-specific configuration protocol to be used during configuration of the network device; and download values for the vendor-independent configuration parameters to the network device.

Abstract: A method for generating control-code, where at least one function-block and/or function-block-connection is specified.