ABB 2VAA005093 HR Series Control and I/O
HR Series Control and I/OAchieving total plant automation
with a single control and I/O platform
ABB Ability™ Symphony® Plus is the new generation of ABB’s highly acclaimed
Symphony family of distributed control systems – the world’s most widely
used DCS in power generation and water management applications. In all,
there are more than 7,000 Symphony DCS installations in operation all over
the world, more than 5,000 of which are in power and water applications.
No other automation platform has such a long
field record and large global installed base as
ABB’s Symphony Plus family. For more than 35
years, the system has progressed through several
evolutionary steps. From Network 90 in 1980,
through INFI 90TM, INFI 90TM Open, and Symphony,
to Symphony Plus, the system progression has
followed ABB’s long-held policy of ‘Evolution
without obsolescence,’ ensuring that each new
generation enhances its predecessor all the while
maintaining full compatibility with them.
Symphony Plus includes a comprehensive suite
of standards-based control and I/O hardware
and software that meets your requirements
for total plant control. The suite's HR Series
(Harmony Rack) meets the past, present and
future needs of its users by protecting their
previous control investments while delivering
higher performance, reliability, and capacity.
HR Series control-based systems feature scalable,
high-performance controllers, a comprehensive
set of I/O options, fast, secure and redundant
communications, an efficient easy-to-use
engineering tool, and a state-of-the-art HMI
workplace. Newest additions to the HR Series
portfolio include an environmentally hardened
DIN-rail mounted native remote I/O option and
integration of intelligent electrical and field
devices via PROFIBUS, HART and Modbus TCP
communication protocols.
In summary, HR Series control-based solutions
lower system life cycle costs and total cost
of ownership by delivering the value needed
to remain competitive in today’s challenging
business environments: increasing reliability,
minimizing equipment downtime, improving
production yields, reducing maintenance and
support costs, reusing physical and intellectual
control and I/O investments, and adding new
products and features with ease.

Overview HR Series process control unit (PCUs) functional overview Symphony Plus HR Series provides a scalable communication products including the NIS21/
solution that spans and integrates loop, unit, NPM22 modules provide significant increases to
area, plant and interplant controls. Its system performance and capacity compared to previous
communication architecture is based on a generations. Additionally, new HR Series INFI-Net
high-speed, high-throughput and highsecurity to Computer Interface (ICI), INFINet to INFI-Net
redundant INFI-Net control network. The scalable Local and Remote Bridge modules, and INFInetwork supports any combination and quantity Net to PN800 (INFI-Net over Ethernet) Bridge
of control, engineering, operation and application modules are available.
interface nodes. Each node on the control
network operates independently of other nodes. The Harmony OPC server provides OPC
Acting as its own communication manager, the connectivity between devices on the INFI-Net
system requires no traffic directors. INFI-Net to control network and OPC client applications. In
INFI-Net communication modules support multi- non-redundant and redundant configurations,
network system topologies that provide a system it can be used in conjunction with ABB products
capacity of more than 62,000 nodes. such as DataLink and popular non-ABB products
such as OSIsoft PI System and Aspen InfoPlus.21.
High system reliability and availability are
key characteristics of this mission-critical HR Series ICI800 Ethernet CIU provides Ethernetcontrol network. Reliability is bolstered by based communication between INFI-Net and
redundant hardware and communication the system’s engineering tools, HMI and the
paths. Extensive use of error checking and Harmony OPC server for connection to thirdmessage acknowledgment assures accurate party applications. As per NERC CIP-007-2
communication of critical process data. Patented R5, SSL certifications authenticate its
exception reporting technology optimizes the connections with interface applications, further
use of control network bandwidth. The store safeguarding the integrity and privacy of the
and forward ring topology of INFI-Net, along ICI800 communication path.
with multi-master and multi-cast messaging
features result in INFI-Net having an effective
bandwidth that exceeds 300 Mbaud. INFI-Net
communications are also highly deterministic.

Powerful, scalable control platform
HR Series controllers are the latest in a long
line of field-proven multi-function rack process
controllers, and include the BRC300, BRC400,
and the BRC410 bridge controllers (figure 3).
This scalable family of controllers, based on a
160 MHz, 32-bit Freescale Coldfire processor, can
be adapted to a broad spectrum of applications
and process requirements. HR Series controllers
feature an extensive library of more than 150
predefined control algorithms or function
codes. These functions provide the power to
easily design complex control strategies to fit
any control application, including continuous,
sequential, batch and advanced control. In
addition to standard function blocks, HR Series
controllers support C programming and batch
functions.
HR Series controller features include:
• Enhanced controller reliability
• More than 10x performance of previous
generation controllers
• Simultaneous support for all HR Series I/O,
SD Series I/O and S800 I/O subsystems
• Intelligent device integration via HART I/O
and PROFIBUS DP V0, V1, V2
• Downloadable firmware
• BRC400 / BRC410 specific enhancements:
– Extended user configuration memory
(2 MB NVRAM)
– Support for 30,000 function blocks
– Flexible online configuration capability
– Modbus TCP device integration via 100 MB
Ethernet port (BRC410 only)
High reliability and availability
With redundant controller, communication, I/O
and power options such as the recently released
MPS IV (Modular Power System), HR Series
controller subsystems provide the highest level
of availability. Compliance with international
standards assures the highest level of reliability
and quality needed to meet the most rigorous
global specifications and requirements.
Backward compatibility through ABB’s ‘Evolution
without obsolescence’ life cycle program ensures
protection of installed investments while
providing the most cost-effective and seamless
way of introducing new functions and technology
into a running plant. Together, the HR Series
provides users with fast, accurate, uninterrupted
control of their process, resulting in greater
production efficiency, increased availability,
and lower maintenance costs.
Soft controller reduces commissioning times
For new plant, upgrade, or expansion projects,
HR Series soft controllers can dramatically reduce
commissioning and start-up time and costs by
permitting thorough testing and pre-tuning of
control loops prior to its implementation in the
field. The HR Series soft controller uses the same
control logic (ie, function block configuration) as
the physical HR Series controllers. Coupled with
virtual communication devices, the entire HR
Series control-based system can be implemented
within one or more PCs which allow for testing
results made in the virtual environment to be
directly transferable to the operating system
environment.
