OPC Router V.4.27 News

OPC Router takes another important step towards becoming the leading Industry 4.0 platform with the most comprehensive OPC UA implementation on the market. In the new version, new OPC Foundation specifications have been implemented that improve support for Industry 4.0 and IoT. Version 4.27 includes new communication plugins:

• OPC UA Pub/Sub.
• UA Cloud Library.

We offer you the possibility to download a demo version and see the new functionalities in operation.

UA Cloud Library

The UA Cloud Library is a central library in which, among other things, the technical definitions of the companion specifications are available for download.

A “companion specification” (CS) refers to information models based on the OPC UA standard model. A CS defines the data structures for specific industrial applications, such as CNC, injection molding machines, robots, RFID, etc. OPC UA offers simple and standardized data exchange between machines. CSs add standardized data models for similar systems and machines. In this way, machines from different manufacturers can receive and send the same data structures, simplifying the implementation of Industry 4.0.

With the new access to the OPC Foundation cloud library, OPC Router is one of the first software products that can provide the use of the available companion specifications. With this, the OPC UA server with the chosen companion specification is created with just a few clicks. The data of the objects contained in them are filled with graphic connections, as is usual in OPC Router.

The reuse of companion specifications allows you to take advantage of the value provided by the OPC Foundation working groups without any effort.

Currently, the UA Cloud Library already has multiple specifications for practical OPC Router cases.

OPC UA Pub/Sub Plugin – New Way to Transfer OPC Data

OPC-UA Pub/Sub completes the way devices can interact using OPC standards. OPC-UA Pub/sub does not follow the client-server paradigm as OPC-UA does, but rather devices are classified into 2 groups: those that receive data on demand, or Subscribers, and those that send data without connection, or Publishers.

The complexity of communications can be reduced by decoupling data emitters and receivers. This allows you to create N-to-M relationships/communications and avoids having to maintain countless 1-to-1 connections.

The use of Pub/Sub focuses on 2 sectors mainly. On the one hand, in communications close to devices, Pub/Sub can be used to establish real-time OPC communications on devices with low computing capacity.

On the other hand, Pub/Sub communications are very common in IoT or Cloud sectors, such as MQTT for example. The difference between MQTT and OPC-UA Pub/Sub is that the latter already includes the structure of the OPC data, so it can be used to publish (send) OPC UA data to other devices or subscribe to (receive) OPC UA data from others. Implementing this in MQTT is significantly more complicated since MQTT contents are usually written in XML or JSON, and not in OPC-UA.

OPC Router can operate with the new plugin as both Publisher and Subscriber. Thanks to the modularity of OPC Router, all existing plugins can be used simultaneously together with OPC-UA Pub/Sub, and, therefore, “publish” and “subscribe” to data.

From Docker to Kubernetes

OPC Router can be used from a Docker container since the previous version (4.26). The reception of this technology has been overwhelming. To further simplify access to OPC Router, scripts have been created for docker. You can find them on github and run them directly on the Docker command console.

OPC Router available without the need to install or configure. We invite you to see the new functionalities. Try them!