Recently, we had a vendor in to service the UPS for our DeltaV Server Room. We got to talking about the information stored on the UPS and how I have a project to get some of that information displayed on the DeltaV. He said since the UPS is an Emerson product it is possible to connect from the communication port on the UPS to the DeltaV so it would show up as a device on the DeltaV network. I have not been able to find anything that says you can do this. Is this possible?
Hi Glenn, I don't think the comment "..since the UPS is an Emerson product it is possible to connect from the communication port on the UPS to the DeltaV so it would show up as a device on the DeltaV network..." is correct. The first approach here is to verify which protocol and medium is used by the UPS to provide the information you want to share with the DeltaV system. Depending on this first answer you will define how you can bring this type of data into the DeltaV system. Even if the UPS can be monitored via SNMPv3 for example, you won't be able to seamlessly map it into our built-in switch management tool (Network Device Command Center) since our tools are pre-set to look for specific products in our network - DeltaV Smart Switches and Emerson Smart Firewall only. Moreover, the DeltaV Area Control Network is not designed to allow traffic from any device everywhere, you should segment traffic to prevent potential cyber-risks and impact to the overall system performance.
It's very likely that the integration will require a dedicated network, similar to a PLC network, where you will use some type of interface such as the EIOC or VIM to map UPS variables into the DeltaV system to supervise them correctly. For SNMP data, you will be looking at some 3rd party software solution that would need to be designed and validated before implementation.
Once you connect the UPS to a specific network, they become managed devices and cybersecurity becomes a point of consideration. You will need to define the threat vectors, potential entry points, and ideally provide mitigation plans before implementing this solution. Once connected, you will be recommended to ensure the UPS is always kept up-to-date, only required services and functions are available, user management is done routinely, and the list of actions go on.
Sorry for not providing a definite answer here, but I wanted to share my view of your needs to add to your evaluation before you take on this initiative further.