A Descriptor with configuration information contains the Information Model that incorporates the configuration of AutomationComponent. The product information can also be part of a Descriptor with configuration information, for example, in the case where the product information is relevant to understanding and using the configuration information.

The configuration information provided may be different, depending on the type of the AutomationComponent or the use case for sharing.

Configuration information dependent on the type of AutomationComponent:

• Controller configurations typically contain the FunctionalEntities together with input and output Variables, DataSets, and the publisher and subscriber capabilities.
• For IO and field devices, the configuration typically contains the values for the parameters for the built-in FunctionalEntities, the built-in DataSets, and the publisher and subscriber capabilities. For modular devices, the configuration may also include the definitions for the Asset structure, e.g., installed modules.
• For machines and modular process skids that are supplied as a single product, the configuration may be similar to field and IO devices, i.e., fixing some or restricting some configuration parameters for functions and communication.
• For machines and modular process skids that are not available as products, the configuration may include the full assembly of the hardware from other AutomationComponents, together with the configuration for each part.

Configuration information dependent on use cases for information sharing:

• When engineering the same AutomationComponent by multiple Controls Engineers, a Descriptor with configuration information may contain a full snapshot of the configuration state. For example, the saved work of one Controls Engineer can be used for the continuation of the work of the next Controls Engineer.
• When a Connection needs to be defined between two Controllers, the two Controls Engineers may provide information about the communication interfaces to each other using a Descriptor. This information would include the respective FunctionalEntities, DataSets and the publisher and subscriber capabilities, whereas non-relevant information would not be included.
• For configuration of the Connections, a special set of configuration information is needed that describes the ConnectionConfigurationSets. This can be provided with a Descriptor. The use case here is that a System Integrator has created ConnectionConfigurationSets information, and the System Integrator wants to provide it to the Controls Engineer, who is configuring the ConnectionManager component that is responsible for the connection establishment.

A Descriptor with configuration information is typically built based on data from Descriptors with product information. In this case, the relevant Descriptors with product information are either included or referenced by the Descriptor with the configuration information.

The configuration information included in a Descriptor may be incomplete. It is possible that a Descriptor only contains a partial configuration for an AutomationComponent. This can be useful when a Controls Engineer wants to share only the relevant information with another Controls Engineer.

Figure 10 shows a Descriptor with configuration information for a Controller stored in the configuration.aml file. The Descriptor with product information is included.

Figure 10 – Example of a Descriptor with configuration information

Figure 11 shows a Descriptor with configuration information and product information for a Controller. The Descriptor has an external reference to the Descriptor with product information instead of including it in an EmbeddedDescriptors file.

Figure 11 – Example of a Descriptor with configuration information referencing a Descriptor with product information from the vendor’s website