1. An automation control module (ACM) comprising: an ACM central processing unit (CPU) configured to carry out ACM functions including at least one of user logic and function block executions, input/output (I/O) scanning, and communications with other devices; a system memory coupled to said ACM CPU, said system memory comprising an operating system; a backplane configured to couple at least one I/O module to said ACM; said ACM and said backplane are electronically coupled to a backplane interface; and a SOAP/XML and web server system electrically coupled to said backplane and said ACM CPU, and configured to process simple object access protocol (SOAP)/extensible markup language (XML) requests from a network, said SOAP/XML and web server system are embedded within said ACM and comprising a SOAP/XML server including an independent processor.