A Practical Introduction to OPC UA

This lecture explores the business and technical forces that pushed the creation of what we now know as Classic OPC.

This lecture looks at the technical reasons why OPC UA will not replace existing industrial automation protocols.

The platform independence of OPC UA opens new possibilities for operation on the plant floor as well as the enterprise.

Two types of network communication methods are currently used for OPC UA Client - Server communication.

OPC UA uses a completely different means of addressing than Classic OPC. This lecture looks at the difference.

Certificates form the core of OPC UA security and in this lecture we see what they are and how they implement security.

Certificates support signatures and encryption, both of which are key features in the implementation of security.

This lecture brings all of the theory mentioned in the previous two lectures and shows how it directly applies to OPC UA clients and servers.

The OPC UA Information Model is a very complex subject. But in this lecture, we look at what we need to know about this model in order to properly configure client/server software applications.

A look at the OPC UA information model based on what was covered in the previous lecture.

A walkthrough of the procedure for downloading and installing the software applications that will be used throughout this section.

This lecture shows the various elements of the OPC UA server that are linked to the theory from the previous section.

This lecture shows the various elements of the OPC UA client that are linked to the theory from the previous section.

The theory from the previous section is used to configure and eventually connect the OPC UA client to the server.

Now that we have seen a live connection of client to server, we can cover an additional point on security.

This lecture looks at different scenarios for client-server connection, as well as indirectly gives exercises in troubleshooting.

Overview of what will be accomplished in this section.

Modsim32 is connected as a resource and requires no install. KEPServerEX is downloaded from the PTC website and installed. The application runs as a fully functional demo that expires after 2 hours, and then must be restarted to be used again.

UaExpert OPC UA client is connected to KEPServerEx OPC UA server using minimal application level security and no user level security.

UaExpert OPC UA client is connected to KEPServerEx OPC UA server using sign & encrypt application level security and username/password user level security.

A Modbus TCP channel and device are created within KEPServerEx to read 2 Holdings Registers from the Modsim32 Modbus TCP Simulator. The UaExpert OPC UA Client is then connected to KEPServerEX in the same manner as in the previous lecture.

Overview of what will be accomplished in this section.

An overview of how Ignition SCADA is structured as a software application and then how to download and install.

Ignition's capability as an OPC UA client is used to connect to KEPServerEX and read the Holdings registers from Modsim32.

Ignition's built-in OPC UA server is connected to Modsim32 and configured to read the two Holdings registers. Then those values are read through the OPC UA client in Ignition.

Overview of what will be accomplished in this section.

An overview of the general structure of Node-RED and the various components that need to be installed. Location of downloads and instructions for installation.

Every OPC UA data item has a unique identifier. This lecture looks at the composition of the identifier.

The flow is built that will acquire data from KEPServerEX, specifically two holdings registers values from the Modsim32 simulator.

The flow from the previous lecture is run.

Introduces the Node-RED dashboard and the two values acquired are displayed.