When do I need OPC UA?

11. April 2024 – Know-How

As a quasi-industry standard, OPC UA offers you many advantages. High security, ease of use and cross-platform data exchange in the field of IIoT and Industry 4.0 are important arguments. Many applications today already offer an integrated OPC UA interface as standard, such as Visu or BDE. This significantly simplifies access.

Do I need to know how to program for OPC UA?

You do not necessarily need programming knowledge to use OPC UA. If you are working with ready-made interfaces, everything can usually be configured directly in the user interface. Programming knowledge is not necessary in this case. However, if you want to access the data of an OPC UA server from your own program, this is also possible thanks to the firmly defined standard.

Which OPC software do I need?

There may be different solutions depending on your application. The following questions may be helpful in selecting the right option:

Do I already have a tool that offers an interface?
Which OPC standard does this tool use: OPC UA, OPC DA or another?
Is the interface client or server?

If you already have a client and want to use it to access certain PLCs or controllers, you need an OPC server that can communicate with the desired controllers. Also consider the type of communication, e.g. for Siemens controllers, whether your TIA Portal and firmware versions are supported.

Is Secure Communication also supported?
Is the server certified by the OPC Foundation?
Is it updated regularly and is there a maintenance contract (SUS) available?

The appropriate OPC UA software

For example, the free UAExpert tool is available as an OPC UA client. If you are looking for a certified OPC UA server for communication with Siemens S7 PLCs and SINUMERIK controllers, take a look at the ACCON OPC UA Server. With the free demo version, you can easily test it free of charge before purchasing. You can find the demo and further information on the product page. We provide helpful tutorial videos on how to set up and use the ACCON OPC UA Server.

Tip

ACCON OPC UA Server High-performance, certified OPC UA server for S7 and SINUMERIK

For access to your Siemens controller via OPC UA the ACCON OPC UA Server is the right choice. Besides S7 PLCs, it is also suitable for SINUMERIK machine tool controllers. One of the few servers certified by the OPC Foundation that also supports optimized data blocks.

From €790.00*