The present invention relates to systems and methods to port controller state and context via non-volatile portable memory to controllers employing an open operating system. The present invention provides for saving a controller's state and context, for example after the controller has been suitably configured. The saved image can then be employed for subsequent controller startups to resume a particular state and context, utilized during maintenance to return a controller to a previously saved state and context, and employed to efficiently configure similar controllers via porting and/or loading the saved image to the similar controllers, which mitigates manual controller configuration. The present invention can be employed in connection with various industrial controller designs, memory configurations, and data transfer techniques. In addition, the present invention provides for serial and/or concurrent state and context transfers between controllers and memory devices.