SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR GENERATING AND DISTRIBUTING ALARM AND EVENT NOTIFICATIONS

The present invention provides systems and methods for controlling associated processes of a process facility and, in particular, for distributing data among various nodes of a real time process control system that controls such a facility. An exemplary process control system includes a plurality of sensors, controllable devices, and communication paths, as well as a computer system. The sensors and controllable devices are associated with various ones of the processes of the process facility, and the communication paths associate the sensors and controllable devices with the computer system. The computer system operates on data relating to the process facility, and distributes the data among the nodes thereof. The nodes are associated by the communication paths, and the computer system further includes notification controllers. The notification controllers are associated with the nodes, and operate to sense reestablishment of lost ones of the communications paths from first distributed nodes to second distributed nodes and, in response thereto, communicate notification data from the second distributed nodes to the first distributed nodes.