Patent ID: 8327130

Claim:
A method of installing an industrial automation device in an industrial automation network, comprising: communicating industrial automation device information across an industrial automation network to an identification authority component, the industrial automation device information including a type of industrial automation device being installed and at least one functionality of the industrial automation device being installed, wherein the functionality of the industrial automation device is at least one of a role or a level of criticality of the industrial automation device in an industrial automation process; issuing an industrial automation device identification credential based at least in part on the industrial automation device information communicated across the industrial automation network, the industrial automation device identification credential including a device identifier to uniquely identify the industrial automation device and an identification authority component identifier to uniquely identify an identification authority component that issues the industrial automation device identification credential; and establishing communication with the industrial automation device across the industrial automation network and receiving operational credentials including an access control list associated with the industrial automation device from the identification authority component in response to authenticating the industrial automation device identification credential.