Re: [foxboro] Question - Installing Foxboro IADay 0 Ethernet / problem withDell P4

While I agree that Windows' market dominance is the basis for many of 
these decisions, I'll offer up another theory: that using Windoze is the 
"easy way out".  Microsoft generally woos developers with good development 
tools (although their APIs can be large and complex), and Windows' 
popularity ensures a wide choice of third-party add-ons.  The initial 
learning curve for development on *nix is steeper.  Even Foxboro seems to 
be writing all its new apps in Windows, and then using a porting layer to 
run them on Solaris.
Since people in my line of work are the ones usually buying the systems 
here, we only have one AW70 on the site -- and it is strictly used as an 
OPC gateway.  And it locks up every two months.  I always hear from 
Foxboro that their customers want Windoze, but at the last user group they 
had, almost no one I talked to seconded that notion (the ones that had *70 
boxes used them as WPs only).  Maybe it's a selling point to someone, 
lower-end customers maybe...but I haven't met them.

Speaking of OPC, it's a blessing and a curse.  It's an almost ubiquitous 
standard, so everyone seems to have an OPC server, but it's closely tied 
to Windows.  To avoid the PC/Windows issues, an interesting phenomenon is 
happening now, where vendors are embedding OPC into their hardware.  I 
hope some of the newer, lower-level standards like Ethernet/IP catch on, 
as these would be a better solution than OPC in many cases.

As for connectivity to the rest of the world, Solaris has not been a 
handicap for us.  Heavy-duty data collectors like PI and Aspen tend to 
write their own drivers and use their own protocols anyway.  And I don't 
*want* to run Excel on the DCS consoles; if I had that need, I would 
rather present that kind of application using thin client capabilities -- 
either X (built-in) or Citrix or RDP.

Corey Clingo
BASF Corp.






"Ken Heywood" <kheywood@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent by: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
03/25/2004 08:23 PM
Please respond to foxboro

              To:  foxboro 
              cc: 
         Subject:       Re: [foxboro] Question - Installing Foxboro IADay 0 
Ethernet / problem 
with Dell P4






Editorial Comment:

Yes, Solaris, Linux and QNX are ready for prime time 24/7 operations where 
Windoze may never be ... but ... the overwhelming number of guys buying 
the systems say they want the interoperability (read that as 'familiar 
environment') of Gates-world. So, the manufacturers scramble to put 
systems based on the latest Win to the market. It's simply market demand 
and they are following the demand. I'm not saying that it's right, it's 
just how it is in business. Unfortunately, the people who have to live 
with the control system aren't the ones (necessarily) who specify the 
bidding requirements.

*K





 
 
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