Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Apache Kafka as a Middleware to Support the PLC-Service Bus Architecture with IEC 61499

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Software Architecture. ECSA 2022 Tracks and Workshops (ECSA 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 13928))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Flexible, loosely coupled, and adaptable PLC software is required to meet the current market demand for customization, improved product quality, and variability in manufacturing systems. The PLC-Service bus is an architecture that improves flexibility and adaptability and provides loosely coupled PLC software. This paper integrates Apache Kafka as a network layer into Eclipse 4diac™ (open source IEC 61499 implementation) to use state-of-the-art messaging functionality and implement the PLC-Service bus architecture. With this tool, we can easily configure and orchestrate PLC software based on events. Also, the number of monitor tools for Apache Kafka allows us to avoid ad-hoc developments and use existing out-of-the-box solutions to monitor and analyze the message traffic.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Gbk1BhMzE.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    https://github.com/KonstiBPC/4diac-kafka.

  2. 2.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUtSA8g9owY&ab_channel=fortiss.

References

  1. 4diac FORTE. https://www.eclipse.org/4diac/en_rte.php

  2. 4diac IDE. https://www.eclipse.org/4diac/en_ide.php

  3. Communication architecture. https://www.eclipse.org/4diac/en_help.php?helppage=html/development/forte_communicationArchitecture.html

  4. Eclipse 4diac - Open source PLC framework for industrial automation & control. https://www.eclipse.org/4diac/index.php

  5. Eclipse 4diac documentation. https://www.eclipse.org/4diac/en_help.php?helppage=html/before4DIAC/iec61499.html. Accessed 29 Dec 2022

  6. Programmable controllers-part 3: programming languages. Standard IEC 61131–3:2013, International Electrotechnical Commission

    Google Scholar 

  7. Common object request broker architecture. https://www.omg.org/spec/CORBA/1.0. August 1991. Accessed 04 Jan 2023

  8. Ashiwal, V., Gutierrez, A.M., Zoitl, A.: Implementing a PLC-service bus with IEC 61499. In: 2022 IEEE 5th International Conference on Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems (ICPS), pp. 01–07 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICPS51978.2022.9816929

  9. Ashiwal, V., Majumder, M., Zoitl, A.: Evaluation of middleware technologies for the plc-service bus in IEC 61499. In: 2022 IEEE 27th International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation (ETFA), pp. 1–4 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1109/ETFA52439.2022.9921536

  10. Ashiwal, V., Zoitl, A.: Messaging interaction patterns for a service bus concept of PLC-software. In: 2021 26th IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation (ETFA), pp. 1–8 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1109/ETFA45728.2021.9613638

  11. Ashiwal, V., Zoitl, A., Konnerth, M.: A service bus concept for modular and adaptable PLC-software. In: 2020 25th IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation (ETFA), vol. 1, pp. 22–29 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1109/ETFA46521.2020.9211908

  12. Balador, A., Ericsson, N., Bakhshi, Z.: Communication middleware technologies for industrial distributed control systems: a literature review. In: 2017 22nd IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation (ETFA), pp. 1–6 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/ETFA.2017.8247730

  13. Bosi, F., et al.: Cloud-enabled smart data collection in shop floor environments for industry 4.0. In: 2019 15th IEEE International Workshop on Factory Communication Systems (WFCS), pp. 1–8 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/WFCS.2019.8757952

  14. Breest, M., Schulte, R.: An introduction to the enterprise service bus (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Canizo, M., Onieva, E., Conde, A., Charramendieta, S., Trujillo, S.: Real-time predictive maintenance for wind turbines using big data frameworks. In: 2017 IEEE International Conference on Prognostics and Health Management (ICPHM), pp. 70–77 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICPHM.2017.7998308

  16. Edenhill, M.: librdkafka - the apache kafka c/c++ client library, June 2022. https://github.com/edenhill/librdkafka

  17. Fu, G., Zhang, Y., Yu, G.: A fair comparison of message queuing systems. IEEE Access 9, 421–432 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3046503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Fuchs, J., Feldmann, S., Legat, C., Vogel-Heuser, B.: Identification of design patterns for IEC 61131–3 in machine and plant manufacturing. IFAC Proc. Volumes 47(3), 6092–6097 (2014) https://doi.org/10.3182/20140824-6-ZA-1003.01595, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474667016425668, 19th IFAC World Congress

  19. Gosewehr, F., Wermann, J., Borsych, W., Colombo, A.W.: Apache camel based implementation of an industrial middleware solution. In: 2018 IEEE Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems (ICPS), pp. 523–528 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICPHYS.2018.8390760

  20. Hofmann, M., Rooker, M., Zoitl, A.: Improved communication model for an IEC 61499 runtime environment. In: ETFA2011, pp. 1–7 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1109/ETFA.2011.6059121

  21. Hohpe, G., Woolf, B.: Enterprise Integration Patterns: Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions. Addison-Wesley Longman Publishing Co., Inc, USA (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  22. IEC TC65/WG6: IEC 61499–1, function blocks - part 1: architecture v2.0: Edition 2.0 https://www.iec.ch

  23. Neves, D.T., Santos, M., Pinto, M.: Reactor: a middleware as a service to interact with objects remotely. In: 2015 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), pp. 2433–2439 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICIT.2015.7125456

  24. Scheer, A.W., Thomas, O., Adam, O.: Process modeling using event-driven process chains, chap. 6, pp. 119–145. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd (2005). https://doi.org/10.1002/0471741442.ch6,https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/0471741442.ch6

  25. Schmidt, D.C., Gokhale, A., Schantz, R.E., Loyall, J.P.: Middleware r &d challenges for distributed real-time and embedded systems. SIGBED Rev. 1(1), 6–12 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1145/1121554.1121556

  26. Sommer, P., Schellroth, F., Fischer, M., Schlechtendahl, J.: Message-oriented middleware for industrial production systems. In: 2018 IEEE 14th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE), pp. 1217–1223 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1109/COASE.2018.8560493

  27. Strljic, M.M., Vollmann, C., Riedel, O.: Shop-floor service connector - a message-oriented middleware focused on the usability and infrastructure requirements of SMEs developing smart services. In: 2020 3rd IEEE International Conference on Knowledge Innovation and Invention (ICKII), pp. 37–40 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1109/ICKII50300.2020.9318831

  28. Wenger, M., Hametner, R., Zoitl, A.: Iec 61131–3 control applications vs. control applications transformed in IEC 61499. IFAC Proc. Volumes 43(4), 30–35 (2010). https://doi.org/10.3182/20100701-2-PT-4011.00007, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474667015301130, 10th IFAC Workshop on Intelligent Manufacturing Systems

  29. Yongguo, J., Qiang, L., Changshuai, Q., Jian, S., Qianqian, L.: Message-oriented middleware: a review. 2019 5th International Conference on Big Data Computing and Communications (BIGCOM), pp. 88–97 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Zarte, M., Pechmann, A., Wermann, J., Gosewehr, F., Colombo, A.W.: Building an industry 4.0-compliant lab environment to demonstrate connectivity between shop floor and it levels of an enterprise. In: IECON 2016–42nd Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, pp. 6590–6595 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1109/IECON.2016.7792956

  31. Zimmermann, P., Axmann, E., Brandenbourger, B., Dorofeev, K., Mankowski, A., Zanini, P.: Skill-based engineering and control on field-device-level with OPC UA. In: 2019 24th IEEE International Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation (ETFA), pp. 1101–1108 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/ETFA.2019.8869473

Download references

Acknowledgements

The financial support by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs, the National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development, and the Christian Doppler Research Association is gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. LIT CPS Lab, Johannes Kepler University, 4040, Linz, Austria

    Virendra Ashiwal

  2. CDL VaSiCS, LIT CPS Lab, Johannes Kepler University, 4040, Linz, Austria

    Antonio M. Gutierrez & Alois Zoitl

  3. Johannes Kepler University, 4040, Linz, Austria

    Konstantin Aschbacher

Authors
  1. Virendra Ashiwal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Antonio M. Gutierrez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Konstantin Aschbacher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alois Zoitl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Virendra Ashiwal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil

    Thais Batista

  2. Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Tomáš Bureš

  3. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Claudia Raibulet

  4. University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Henry Muccini

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Ashiwal, V., Gutierrez, A.M., Aschbacher, K., Zoitl, A. (2023). Apache Kafka as a Middleware to Support the PLC-Service Bus Architecture with IEC 61499. In: Batista, T., Bureš, T., Raibulet, C., Muccini, H. (eds) Software Architecture. ECSA 2022 Tracks and Workshops. ECSA 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13928. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36889-9_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36889-9_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-36888-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-36889-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation