This clause introduces the concept of Asset compatibility, which allows an Asset to report if it is compatible with what was expected by system engineering.

An important use case is AutomationComponent replacement. If an identical replacement (same manufacturer, model, and firmware) is unavailable, the vendor may be shipping a compatible substitute with updated hardware or firmware.

Asset compatibility verification provides functionality to verify whether a specific Asset’s properties match or are compatible (e.g., a newer firmware that is backwards compatible) with what was expected by system engineering.

Knowledge about Asset (and/or firmware) compatibility typically only exists with the vendor of a specific Asset. Thus, compatibility may only be able to be determined by vendor-specific tools or a vendor’s Asset.

The IAssetRevisionType VerifyAsset Method combined with the AssetVerificationModeEnum AssetCompatibility allows verifying an Asset’s compatibility; see 6.3.3 for a detailed description.