How to Select a Process Control System Architecture and ...

The system architecture refers to the way the hardware and software components of the process control system are organized and connected. There are different types of system architectures, such as centralized, decentralized, hierarchical, modular, or hybrid. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of performance, flexibility, scalability, and cost. For example, a centralized architecture has a single controller that performs all the control functions and communicates with all the sensors and actuators. This architecture is simple and easy to maintain, but it may suffer from communication delays, data overload, and single point of failure. A decentralized architecture has multiple controllers that operate independently and communicate with each other only when necessary. This architecture is more robust and scalable, but it may require more coordination and synchronization among the controllers.

One thing that caught me in the past is that I selected the fresh new product that just came out and had the best performance in the market. Turned out, the software library wasn't ready (after being through multiple rounds and levels of support from the company). To do what it said in the specification, we will have to wait for the future release of the software. However, when the next releases came out (we worked with the manufacturer and waited for the next 2 releases), it still didn't solve the issues. We had to change the hardware and lost lots of development time.