Technical characteristics and safety knowledge of industrial control computers
I. Technical Characteristics of Industrial Control Computers
① The fully tempered industrial chassis conforming to the "EIA (Electronic Industries Association)" standard enhances its resistance to electromagnetic interference.
② Adopting bus structure and modular design technology, the industrial control computer CPU and each functional module use plug-in board structure and are equipped with soft locking lever, which improves the impact and vibration resistance.
③ The chassis is equipped with dual fans, positive pressure convection exhaust, and a dust filter for dust prevention.
④ It is equipped with a highly reliable industrial power supply and has overvoltage and overcurrent protection.
⑤ Both the power supply and keyboard are equipped with electronic lock switches to prevent unauthorized opening/closing and unauthorized keyboard input.
⑥ It has a self-diagnostic function.
⑦ A watchdog timer is provided, which will automatically reset the system without manual intervention in the event of a system crash due to a malfunction.
⑧ It has good openness and compatibility, absorbing all the functions of a PC, and can directly run various application software of a PC.
⑨ It can be configured with a real-time operating system, which facilitates the scheduling and operation of multiple tasks.
⑩ A passive motherboard (baseboard) can be used for easy system upgrades.
II. Security of Industrial Control Computers
The computers we typically use are for industrial production and not for office work or internet access. This significantly reduces the chance of virus infection. Generally, only industrial control software and office software are installed, and external devices or interfaces such as CD-ROM drives and USB ports should be disabled. Remember! Do not use any software tools to do this! This could cause other problems, and you shouldn't attempt to do it yourself, as it's for a stable system.
Generally, we can disable devices like optical drives and USB ports in the computer's BIOS. Then, setting a password for the BIOS prevents others from restarting the disabled devices, enhancing security. Additionally, industrial computers are typically not allowed to have antivirus software installed because such software can disable hardware resources or block certain system functions, deeming these calls unsafe even if those resources are essential for data communication. Therefore, secure computer management is crucial.
