Patent ID: 9021067
Filing Date: 2015-04-28
Classification: G06F,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of determining Virtual Local Area Network identifiers (VLAN-IDs) in an Ethernet switch-based communication network of a process control (PC) system having a plurality of Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs), connected to switches of the Ethernet switch-based communication network, wherein IEDs are configured to periodically send multicast messages, and wherein the switches are adapted to selectively forward a multicast message based on message-specific VLAN-IDs, the method comprising: retrieving, for each sender IED of the plurality of IEDs and for each message configured to be transmitted by each sender IED, from a system description of the PC system having logical data flow definitions, receiver IEDs for which the message is destined; identifying a first exhaustive set of receiver IEDs of a first message, and a second exhaustive set of receiver IEDs of a second message; assigning, when the first and second sets of receiver IEDs differ in at most the sender IEDs, a same VLAN-ID to both the first and second messages, and storing the assigned VLAN-ID in a system description of the PC system.