OPC Experts Share Their Experiences
From Industrial Communications by Logitek we have organized training courses in which we will practically teach how to establish communication between Systems and between Devices. We tell you about it...
At Industrial Communications by Logitek, we are experts in OPC technology and want to share our knowledge with all those who wish to establish stable communication between their systems. That is why we have organized training courses in which we will practically teach how to establish communication between Systems and between Devices.
It has been 20 years since OPC was launched in its first version. Since then, the specification has changed a lot, an organization was created to manage the evolution, and OPC-DA has become a standard for communication in the Industrial field. And now it is in full evolution to become a standard in other areas, such as infrastructures or even the Internet of Things.
But to become a global communications standard, OPC has evolved a lot. Although the bases are the same, it does not look much like the OPC of 1996. At that time, computers were not usually on networks, but were isolated posts. This meant that the basis for communication between applications was focused on COM and DCOM. As computers have evolved, communication and network systems have also evolved. And of course, OPC clients are no longer local, but are on networks separate from the server. This circumstance, and the basis of OPC-DA in DCOM, make the establishment of communication a bit complex. Experience and basic knowledge are required to achieve robust and reliable communication. In the courses organized by Industrial Communications by Logitek, we have prepared real systems with which to communicate, learning to establish communication with a correct DCOM configuration.
What if communication cannot be established?
We have also prepared exercises with which to diagnose communication problems. These problems may be located between the devices and the server, or between the server and the clients. Whatever the case, we will teach you how to locate and solve communication problems. And not only that, but we will also give you advice on how communications can be optimized, so that they consume the least possible bandwidth and are robust against possible failures.
My systems are on separate networks. Can I communicate them?
Without a doubt. Nowadays it is very common to have the origin of the data in a different location from the system where you want to exploit it. Different networks can communicate, but with a specification called OPC-UA (Unified Architecture). It no longer bases communication on DCOM, but on communication technologies very common in IT, with digital signature of messages and encryption. These characteristics make OPC-UA a perfect protocol for the interconnection between remote systems in a secure way. But they also make it a complex protocol, which must be studied in depth. Therefore, in our course we practically teach the necessary details to know OPC-UA.
Will OPC-UA be a protocol for the Internet of Things (IoT)?
It is clear that the future of information management is in the cloud, in what we call the Internet of Things. What is not so clear is which protocol will be used as a standard for communication between devices and the cloud. It is still early to say, but everything points to the fact that there will not be a single protocol in IoT, but that one protocol or another will be chosen depending on the particular needs of each case. In the course organized by Industrial Communications by Logitek we have dedicated a very important section to IoT, talking about its protocols, needs, particularities and challenges.
The course will take place on three dates and three different locations: May 17-18 in Derio (Bizkaia), July 6-7 in Madrid, November 2 – 3 in Barcelona. If you want to obtain more information about the OPC and IoT courses taught by Industrial Communications by Logitek, you just have to follow this link.
