The FBM233 Redundant Field Device System Integrator (FDSI) module provides an Ethernet interface between single- or dual-port field I/O devices and the EcoStruxure™ Foxboro™ DCS.

Each FBM233 module has an RJ-45 connector (10/100Mbps copper Ethernet connection) on the front of the module for connecting dual-port Ethernet devices.

The FBM233 connects to an Ethernet switch or hub to communicate with one external device or up to 64 external devices.

The combination of a pair of modules provides redundancy at the fieldbus module (FBM) level.

In this configuration, one FBM233 is the master and the other is the tracking module.

Input points on the control station are updated from device www.ge-drive.com  input points received on the network connected to the master.

Device output points (depending on the I/O driver) are written by both the master and the trace module.

If the I/O driver detects a problem (e.g. any device loses its heartbeat), a role switch is automatically performed, or the user can switch roles at any time via the SMDH.

Functional Features

Key features of the FBM233 include

– Redundant 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps Ethernet network transfer www.ge-drive.com rates to and from field devices

– Communication with up to 64 field devices

– Downloadable I/O software drivers from available protocol libraries

– Up to 2000 DCI block connections

– Integration of field device data into the Foxboro DCS control database using an Ethernet connection

– Field Installation

– G3 rated (harsh) environments.

I/O Driver

The FBM is a general purpose Ethernet hardware module that can be loaded with different software drivers.

These drivers configure the FBM to recognise the specific protocol used by the device.

Some of these software drivers are standard products. Other custom drivers can be developed to meet specific needs.

These drivers are dynamically downloaded to the FBM233 with software code specifically designed to interface with the protocols of third party devices.

The configuration steps and software requirements for each driver are specific to the device integrated into the system.

Ethernet Link Setup

Data communication between the FBM233 and field devices takes place via the RJ-45 interface on the front of the FBM233 module.

The RJ-45 connector of the FBM233 can be connected to the field device via a hub or an Ethernet switch.

The FBM233 connects to an Ethernet switch or hub to communicate with one external device or up to 64 external devices.

Configurator

The FDSI Configurator sets up the FBM233 ports and XML-based device profiles.

The Port Configurator makes it easy to set communication parameters (e.g., Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), IP address) for each port.

The Device Configurator is not required for all devices, but when it is, it can configure device-specific and point-specific considerations

(e.g., scan rate, address to which data is to be transferred, and amount of data to be transferred in a single transaction).